Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Household demand for improved water supply services in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia

With population growth and urbanization, demand for improved water services has been growing. It is imperative therefore to examine different factors that influence demand for improved water services and the resultant welfare changes. Using cross-sectional household survey data collected through structured questionnaire from ten administrative units in Mekelle City, we estimate household willingness to pay models and identify major determinant factors of demand for improved water service. In order to help us do this, we considered selection issues and estimated models using the Heckman Two-Step Estimator. Our results show that the amount of bid (amount of money households would be willing to pay) that households (already connected to private taps) would be willing to pay is positively associated with household income, ownership of the house, price of vended water and the practice of water purification. For households who are not connected to private taps, the amount they would be willing to pay for (improved) private tap connection is positively associated with formal education, housing status and gender. We also investigate the welfare gains and losses as a result of improved water service. Analytical results show that, as the number of households who subscribe to improved water service increases, there is a gain in surplus for households and revenue (producer surplus) for the municipality.
Dynamics of the Work Life Balance at the Firm Level: Issues and Challenges

We cannot ignore the realities of the workplace today, which have produced more stress and made the lives of individuals more complex, extending beyond the physical boundaries of the organization. There is a need to adopt a well thought out work life balance (WLB) initiative that should be strategic, credible, and coherent with the business and HR policy framework at the firm level. It will surely enhance the corporate image as well as help in institutionalising a performance-based culture in the firm. WLB is a growing cause of concern for all stakeholders and it should be pursued religiously in order to seek a mutually beneficial solution for the organizations and the employees in the long run.
Combination of CD40 Agonism and CSF-1R Blockade Reconditions Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Drives Potent Antitumor Immunity

This study demonstrates the advantage of combining agonist anti-CD40 with CSF-1R blockade for maximal antitumor benefit and survival in a preclinical mouse model. The results provide rationale for the combination of two distinct immunotherapies to improve clinical outcome. Efficacious antitumor immune responses must overcome multiple suppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment to control cancer progression. In this study, we demonstrate that dual targeting of suppressive myeloid populations by inhibiting CSF-1/CSF-1R signaling and activation of antigen-presenting cells with agonist anti-CD40 treatment confers superior antitumor efficacy and increased survival compared with monotherapy treatment in preclinical tumor models. Concurrent CSF-1R blockade and CD40 agonism lead to profound changes in the composition of immune infiltrates, causing an overall decrease in immunosuppressive cells and a shift toward a more inflammatory milieu. Anti-CD40/anti–CSF-1R–treated tumors contain decreased tumor-associated macrophages and Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. This combination approach increases maturation and differentiation of proinflammatory macrophages and dendritic cells and also drives potent priming of effector T cells in draining lymph nodes. As a result, tumor-infiltrating effector T cells exhibit improved responses to tumor antigen rechallenge. These studies show that combining therapeutic approaches may simultaneously remove inhibitory immune populations and sustain endogenous antitumor immune responses to successfully impair cancer progression. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(12); 1109–21. ©2017 AACR.
Ownership Restrictions and Stock Prices: Evidence from Chinese Markets

In this paper, I test a one-period capital asset pricing model (CAPM) under share ownership restrictions to explain differences in prices and expected excess returns between the classes of shares that can be bought and traded by domestic and foreign investors, respectively, in the Chinese stock markets. I find that cross-sectional variability in the spread between the expected domestic and foreign share excess returns is related to differences in individual shares' market betas. The empirical results are by and large consistent with the CAPM. After the betas are controlled for, idiosyncratic variance and firm size have no effect. Copyright 1999 by MIT Press.
Effect of Force Feedback on Rubber Hand Illusion

Our previous study has proposed a novel approach with a robotic/haptic technology to tactile rubber hand illusion (TRHI) paradigm in order to open new discussions about the manipulation of human body-parts ownership. The results demonstrated that the use of master-slave system can cause the TRHI, enabling a unique condition-active self-touch. As an advanced approach, this study examines the effect of force feedback on the TRHI under the active self-touch. We hypothesize that appropriate force feedback plays an important role to determine our body-parts ownership, people would not experience the TRHI if the force feedback from a fake hand largely differs from the contact force on a real hand. This paper, in particular, discusses how the force feedback affects the TRHI under the active self-touch by variously changing force rendering on the master device.
Caspase-1 Inflammasome Activation Mediates Homocysteine-Induced Pyrop-Apoptosis in Endothelial Cells.

RATIONALE Endothelial injury is an initial mechanism mediating cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE Here, we investigated the effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on programed cell death in endothelial cells (EC). METHODS AND RESULTS We established a novel flow-cytometric gating method to define pyrotosis (Annexin V(-)/Propidium iodide(+)). In cultured human EC, we found that: (1) homocysteine and lipopolysaccharide individually and synergistically induced inflammatory pyroptotic and noninflammatory apoptotic cell death; (2) homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide induced caspase-1 activation before caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3 activations; (3) caspase-1/caspase-3 inhibitors rescued homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide-induced pyroptosis/apoptosis, but caspase-8/caspase-9 inhibitors had differential rescue effect; (4) homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide-induced nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain, and leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain containing protein 3 (NLRP3) protein caused NLRP3-containing inflammasome assembly, caspase-1 activation, and interleukin (IL)-1β cleavage/activation; (5) homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species, (6) intracellular oxidative gradient determined cell death destiny as intermediate intracellular reactive oxygen species levels are associated with pyroptosis, whereas high reactive oxygen species corresponded to apoptosis; (7) homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide induced mitochondrial membrane potential collapse and cytochrome-c release, and increased B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein/B-cell lymphoma 2 ratio which were attenuated by antioxidants and caspase-1 inhibitor; and (8) antioxidants extracellular superoxide dismutase and catalase prevented homocysteine/lipopolysaccharide -induced caspase-1 activation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and pyroptosis/apoptosis. In cystathionine β-synthase-deficient (Cbs(-/-)) mice, severe hyperhomocysteinemia-induced caspase-1 activation in isolated lung EC and caspase-1 expression in aortic endothelium, and elevated aortic caspase-1, caspase-9 protein/activity and B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein/B-cell lymphoma 2 ratio in Cbs(-/-) aorta and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Finally, homocysteine-induced DNA fragmentation was reversed in caspase-1(-/-) EC. Hyperhomocysteinemia-induced aortic endothelial dysfunction was rescued in caspase-1(-/-) and NLRP3(-/-) mice. CONCLUSIONS Hyperhomocysteinemia preferentially induces EC pyroptosis via caspase-1-dependent inflammasome activation leading to endothelial dysfunction. We termed caspase-1 responsive pyroptosis and apoptosis as pyrop-apoptosis.
An evaluation of power relationships among stakeholders in the tourism industry networks of Agra, India

Tourism-related businesses require a multitude of resources in order to operate successfully and given these resources can be accrued from more than one source, bases of power become complex. This is an inductive study which critically evaluates the application of stakeholder theory to an analysis of the tourism destination networks of Agra, India. It examines the relationships of power and dependency that exist between individual and group organisations and the way in which they motivate their behaviour towards each other. The key findings show that resource-based power is formed from the power of individual businesses, the power of the ancillary services stakeholders and the power of the authorities and that network-based power is acquired from the power of agents and the power of groups.
Profiling of Coumarins in Peucedanum palustre (L.) Moench Populations Growing in Finland

The coumarin composition of Peucedanum palustre (L.) Moench populations growing in Finland was investigated. A total of 132 flowering P. palustre specimens from 43 locations in southern and central Finland were collected, divided into root, stem, leaf, and umbel samples, and analyzed by HPLC. HPLC coupled to high‐resolution mass spectrometry was used to aid the identification of coumarins. A total of 13 coumarin‐structured compounds were quantitatively analyzed from the samples. The coumarin profile of root samples was found to differ from the aerial plant parts. The main coumarins in roots were oxypeucedanin and columbianadin. In aerial parts, peulustrin isomers were the most abundant coumarin components. Umbels and leaves also contained a considerable amount of umbelliprenin, which was only found in traces in roots. Based on hierarchical cluster analysis of the coumarin profiles, some populations shared common characteristics. The most distinct property connecting certain populations was their high peulustrin content. Another notable common property between some populations was the high umbelliprenin content in aerial plant parts. Some populations were clustered together due to their low overall coumarin content.
Capital Structure, Risk and Asymmetric Information

This paper argues that firms may not issue debt in order to avoid the adverse selection cost of debt. Theory suggests that since debt is a concave claim, it may be mispriced when outside investors are uninformed about firms' risk. The empirical literature has however paid little attention to the caveat that the "lemons" problem of external financing first identified by Myers (1984) only leads to debt issuance, i.e., a pecking order, if debt is risk free or, if it is risky, that it is not mispriced. This paper examines whether and for what firms the adverse selection cost of debt is more than a theoretical possibility and how this cost relates to other costs of debt such as bankruptcy. In the absence of any direct measure of something that is unknown to investors and thus cannot be in the econometrician's information set, we present extensive strong and robust evidence in a large unbalanced panel of publicly traded US firms from 1971 to 2001 that firms avoid issuing debt when the outside market is likely to know little about their risk.
Prevalence of Transition Pathways in Australia

This paper identifies broad patterns, or pathways, in labour market and education activities associated with different life stages. Key points: This paper uses longitudinal information from the calendar in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to track monthly education and labour market activities from 2000 to 2010 for about 6500 working age individuals. The techniques of optimal matching and cluster analysis (OMCA) are used to identify and group individuals with similar patterns of activities into 'pathways'. Much of the wider literature considers transitions from one activity to another (such as study to employment, or employment to retirement). OMCA applied to calendar style data for other countries shows that there can be multiple transitions (such as reversals or repeated activities, like returning to the labour force or churning in and out of employment) and different pathways can arise with key life events (such as leaving education, family formation or retirement). Seventeen pathways are identified. Although each pathway contains some variation between the sequences of activities, distinct patterns can be observed. For youths aged 15–24 in 2001, five pathways are identified: three associated with increasing education levels and transitions to work; one associated with churning in and out of work; and one dominated by young women withdrawing from the labour force to raise children. Activity sequences for young adults aged 25–39 are grouped into four pathways: two involving work (one with increasing education); and two involving prolonged periods outside the labour force associated with raising children (with one pathway showing subsequent return to work). Mature adults aged 40–54 in 2001 follow one of four pathways: one dominated by work; two dominated by women spending time outside the labour force raising children (with one return to work pathway); and one pathway associated with early retirement. For seniors aged 55–64, four pathways are identified: one dominated by work; and three associated with retirement or transitions to retirement. Successful and unsuccessful outcomes in the labour market can be related to the pathways that individuals follow. The analysis in this paper can be a valuable input to identifying relationships between pathways and outcomes, and the individual characteristics that are associated with specific pathways. That analysis could then inform strategies to reduce the risk of unsuccessful labour market outcomes, such as prolonged unemployment.
Endogenous growth and demographic transition in a model of cultural transmission

Demographic transition theory is developed highlighting cultural transmission pattern as a key driver. Individuals maximize cultural fitness, i.e. the rate of own cultural type absorption by future generations. With low population density, one’s culture can be picked up only by own children, and so cultural fitness equals genetic fitness, individuals allocate all energy surplus to reproduction, and the Malthusian regime occurs. With rising population density, cultural transmission between non-relatives accelerates; knowledge production by an individual makes his culture more attractive. Individuals reallocate some of energy surplus from reproduction to knowledge production, causing technological growth. The model fits observed demographic transition patterns.
Generalized Latin Hypercube Design for Computer Experiments

Space filling designs, which satisfy a uniformity property, are widely used in computer experiments. In the present paper, the performance of nonuniform experimental designs, which locate more points in a neighborhood of the boundary of the design space, is investigated. These designs are obtained by a quantile transformation of the one-dimensional projections of commonly used space-filling designs. This transformation is motivated by logarithmic potential theory, which yields the arc-sine measure as an equilibrium distribution. The methodology is illustrated for maximin Latin hypercube designs by several examples. In particular, it is demonstrated that the new designs yield a smaller integrated mean squared error for prediction.
Effect of H2-CO2 on Methanogenesis from Acetate or Methanol in Methanosarcina spp

Growth of Methanosarcina sp. strain 227 and Methanosarcina mazei on H2-CO2 and mixtures of H2-CO2 and acetate or methanol was examined. The growth yield of strain 227 on H2-CO2 in complex medium was 8.4 mg/mmol of methane produced. Growth in defined medium was characteristically slower, and cell yields were proportionately lower. Labeling studies confirmed that CO2 was rapidly reduced to CH4 in the presence of H2, and little acetate was used for methanogenesis until H2 was exhausted. This resulted in a biphasic pattern of growth similar to that reported for strain 227 grown on methanol-acetate mixtures. Biphasic growth was not observed in cultures on mixtures of H2-CO2 and methanol, and less methanol oxidation occurred in the presence of H2. In M. mazei the aceticlastic reaction was also inhibited by the added H2, but since the cultures did not immediately metabolize H2, the duration of the inhibition was much longer.
A small university and knowledge-based development: a case of Northern Iceland

The aim of this paper is to outline the progress of the University of Akureyri and its effect on regional development in Northern Iceland during the period of 1987-2012. A case study methodology was used, drawing upon historical material, official sources, and interviews. The main findings are that the university has greatly stimulated knowledge-based development in Northern Iceland. It has enhanced regional innovation dynamism by strengthening human, relational, structural and social capital of the area. This paper has drawn attention to diverse positive effects of a small university with regard to regional- and knowledge-based development. As such, it might serve as a catalyst for further research in this area.
An Intra-Household Approach to the Welfare Costs of Inflation

The literature on the welfare costs of inaation universally assumes that the many-person household can be treated as a single economic agent. This paper explores what the heterogeneity of the agents in a household might imply for such welfare analyses. First, we show that allowing for a one-person or for a many-person transacting technology impacts the money demand function and, therefore, the welfare costs of inaation. Second, more importantly, we derive su¢ cient conditions under which welfare assessments which depart directly from the knowledge of the money demand function (as in Lucas (2000)) are robust (invariant) under the number of persons considered in the household. Third, we show that Baileyis (1956) partial-equilibrium measure of the welfare costs of inaation can be obtained as a Orst-order approximation of the general-equilibrium welfare measure derived in this paper using a many-person transacting technology.
A Path-Counter Method for Fault-Tolerant Minimal Routing Algorithms in 2D Mesh

Fault-tolerant Manhattan routing algorithms aim at finding a Manhattan path between the source and destination nodes and route around all faulty nodes. However, besides faulty nodes, some nonfaulty nodes that are helpless to make up a fault-tolerant Manhattan path should also be routed around. How to label such nonfaulty nodes efficiently is a major challenge. We propose a path-counter method. It can label such nodes with low time-complexity by counting every node’s fault-tolerant Manhattan paths to the source or destination node. During the path-counting procedure, no available nodes will be sacrificed under arbitrary fault distribution. Compared with fault-block model based work, our proposed method is independent of fault distribution, so its computational complexity is very low.
Endogeneity and the corporate governance - performance relation

The governance-performance literature is characterized by its inability to reach a consensus regarding the nature of the relation. We posit that these inconsistent findings are symptomatic of inadequacies in the econometric techniques employed when adjusting for all forms of endogeneity. To test this, we fit a comprehensive model of performance and governance using a range of econometric techniques. Once a dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) specification robust to all forms of endogeneity is employed, we observe no causal relation between governance and firm performance, suggesting that apparently significant relations uncovered by pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and fix-effects models are the result of spurious correlations.
Revisiting Customer Value Analysis in a Heterogeneous Market

Purpose – Customer value has recently become a primary focus among many strategy researchers and practitioners as an essential element of a firm's competitive strategy. Many firms are engaged in some form of customer value analysis (CVA), which involves a structural analysis of the antecedent factors of perceived value (i.e. perceived quality and perceived price) to assess their relative importance in the perceptions of their buyers. Previous CVA research has focused upon using aggregate market or market segment level analyses. The purpose of this paper is to expose the limitations of implementing CVA on either an aggregate or market segment level basis, and propose an alternative individual level approach.Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops an extended hierarchical Bayesian approach for cross‐sectional data with one observation per response unit, which allows for estimation at the individual firm level to make CVA more useful. This paper demonstrates the utility of the proposed Bayesian meth.
ATCH S ELECTION FOR F ASTER T RAINING OF N EURAL N ETWORKS

Deep neural networks are commonly trained using stochastic non-convex optimization procedures, which are driven by gradient information estimated on fractions (batches) of the dataset. While it is commonly accepted that batch size is an important parameter for offline tuning, the benefits of online selection of batches remain poorly understood. We investigate online batch selection strategies for two state-of-the-art methods of stochastic gradient-based optimization, AdaDelta and Adam. As the loss function to be minimized for the whole dataset is an aggregation of loss functions of individual datapoints, intuitively, datapoints with the greatest loss should be considered (selected in a batch) more frequently. However, the limitations of this intuition and the proper control of the selection pressure over time are open questions. We propose a simple strategy where all datapoints are ranked w.r. t. their latest known loss value and the probability to be selected decays exponentially as a function of rank. Our experimental results on the MNIST dataset suggest that selecting batches speeds up both AdaDelta and Adam by a factor of about 5.
Análise comparativa de ferramentas de gestão de portfólio: um estudo de caso na indústria alimentícia

Portfolio Management is the centralized management of one or more portfolios, which includes identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing and controlling projects, programs and related work to achieve specific strategic business objectives. There are different methods and tools in the literature that can be applied to portfolio management. The objective in this paper is to analyze the same portfolio using the DEIN and PAMP methods for comparison purposes. One of the tools is based on scoring models, while the other is based on economic-financial models. The case study was performed in a small food company where the feasibility of the two methods was evaluated. The results indicated that the methods can be applied complementarily and, although they present different basis, they resulted in a comparable product portfolio.