Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Who Benefits From Tax-Exempt Bonds?: An Application of the Theory of Tax Incidence

This paper develops and applies a conceptual framework to estimate the distribution among income groups of benefits from the federal income tax exemption of interest on state and local bonds. The current method for distributing the benefits of tax‐exemption used by the Tax Policy Center and federal agencies errs by failing to account for implicit taxes and subsidies that result from the tax‐exemption of selected sources of investment income. In this paper we take account of how the exemption might affect relative returns to different financial instruments and relative costs of private and public sector goods and services. The benefit that holders of tax‐preferred assets receive is over‐stated by the failure to account for the implicit tax these investors pay in the form of reduced pre‐tax returns. And the benefit that holders of taxable assets receive is understated by the failure to account for the implicit subsidy these investors received in the form of increased pre‐tax returns. We show how adjusting for responses by private markets and state and local governments affects the distribution of benefits among income groups. Across a range of possible assumptions, we find that the exemption still primarily benefits higher‐income individuals. However it is important to note that all holders of capital receive some of this benefit, not just holders of municipal debt. The assumption of how state and local government budgets change in the presence of the exemption matters greatly in terms of how much and whether other households benefit from the exemption. Finally, we apply this framework to estimate the distributional effects of the President’s proposal to limit the tax savings from the tax exemption of municipal bond interest to 28 percent of interest received. Tax payers facing marginal tax rates higher than 28 percent primarily bear the burden of this change – however other households could either face a net burden from the change or a benefit depending on how states respond to the federal change and how relative prices of private and public goods change.
The Impact of Level of Sunk Cost and Locus of Control on the Willingness to Continue Investment: Mediated Effect of Risk Perception

The study investigates the impact of locus of control on sunk cost effects by aligning the risk perception of decision makers. The data is generated from an experimental questionnaire survey, and the study subjects are managers of listed companies in Taiwan. The results show the sunk cost effect to be common among managers. The level of sunk cost directly affects the willingness to continue investment projects, and the relationship between these sunk cost levels and the willingness to continue investment projects is not mediated by risk perception. In addition, the locus of control is a determinant factor affecting the sunk cost effect. The locus of control indirectly affects sunk cost effects through the mediating effect of the risk perceptions of decision makers. The findings highlight the importance of locus of control for decision makers with regard to risky decisions.
The novel VEGF receptor 2 inhibitor YLL545 inhibits angiogenesis and growth in breast cancer

Their antiangiogenic effects make vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) inhibitors useful for cancer treatment. However, most of these drugs have unexpected adverse side effects. Here, we show that the novel VEGFR2 inhibitor YLL545 suppressed tumor angiogenesis and growth in triple-negative breast cancer without adverse effects. YLL545 treatment also markedly inhibited proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation by human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. These effects of YLL545 were equal to or greater than those seen with sorafenib. In addition, YLL545 inhibited VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR2 and activation of downstream signaling regulators, such as phospho-STAT3 and phospho-ERK1/2, in HUVECs. Embryonic angiogenesis assays in zebrafish and Matrigel plug assays in mice demonstrated that YLL545 inhibits angiogenesis in vivo. YLL545 also inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, and 50 mg/kg/d YLL545 inhibited human tumor xenograft growth by more than 50% in BALB/c nude mice. These observations suggest YLL545 is a potentially useful anticancer drug candidate.
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A STABILITY-INDICATING HPTLC METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF ANTITUBERCULAR DRUGS

SUMMARY A simple, selective, precise, and stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been established and validated for analysis of isoniazid and rifampicin both as the bulk drugs and in formulations. The compounds were separated on aluminumbacked silica gel 60 F254 plates with n-hexane–2-propanol–acetone–ammonia–formic acid, 3:3.8:2.8:0.3:0.1 (v/v) as mobile phase. This system was found to give compact spots for isoniazid and rifampicin (RF values 0.59 ± 0.02 and 0.73 ± 0.04, respectively). Densitometric analysis of isoniazid and rifampicin was performed at 254 nm. Regression analysis data for the calibration plots were indicative of good linear relationships between response and concentration over the range 100–700 ng per spot. The correlation coefficients, r 2 , were 0.994 and 0.997 for isoniazid and rifampicin respectively. The values of slope and intercept of the calibration plots were 3.755 ± 0.22 and 3099.1 ± 51.21, respectively, for isoniazid and 4.0957 ± 0.25 and 3567.6 ± 61.11, respectively, for rifampicin. The method was validated for precision, recovery, and robustness. The limits of detection and quantification were 20 ± 0.51 and 60 ± 1.05 ng, respectively, for isoniazid and 25 ± 0.63 and 75 ± 1.12 ng, respectively, for rifampicin. Isoniazid and rifampicin were subjected to acid, base, peroxide, and UV-induced degradation. In stability tests the drugs were susceptible to acid and basic hydrolysis, oxidation and photodegradation. Statistical analysis proved the method is repeatable, selective, and accurate for estimation of isoniazid and rifampicin. Because the method could effectively separate the drugs from their degradation products, it can be used as a stabilityindicating method.
Chronic postsurgical pain in mixed surgical population. Does an acute pain service make a difference?

OBJECTIVES To investigate the influence of an Acute Pain Service (APS) on the incidence of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP). To assess the acute pain intensity as a risk factor for CPSP. The impact of an APS on the incidence of CPSP has not yet been studied. METHODS Retrospective questionnaire given to randomized cohorts study, performed in two hospitals - Hospital A with an APS and Hospital B without such service. 1444 patients underwent eight different surgical procedures in both hospitals within one year, 175 patients from each hospital were randomized. RESULTS 208 questionnaires were analysed. There was a significant difference in acute pain intensity in the first 24 hours after surgery. The difference of CPSP incidence between hospitals was not significant (Hospital A nine patients (8.6 %), Hospital B sixteen patients (15.5 %). The patients with CPSP experienced significantly more intensive pain in the first 24 hours and at discharge than patients without CPSP regardless of the hospital. CONCLUSION The study did not demonstrate the incidence of CPSP was lower in the hospital with an APS despite the lower postoperative pain scores. However there was a noticeable trend toward higher incidence of CPSP in the hospital without an APS. The study demonstrated that APS decreases intensity of an acute postoperative pain and acute pain intensity is a risk factor for CPSP incidence (Tab. 5, Ref. 27).
2,2′,2′′-(Nitrilotrimethylene)tris(1H-benzimidazol-3-ium) trinitrate

In the title compound, C24H24N7 3+·3NO3 −, the cation exhibits a distorted propeller-like conformation in which the benzimidazolium fragments form dihedral angles of 9.4 (1), 10.7 (1) and 19.1 (1)° with each other. In the crystal, intermolecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link cations and anions into double ribbons propagated in [100]. Weak intermolecular C—H⋯O interactions further consolidate the packing.
Enterotoxigenic profiles and polymerase chain reaction detection of Bacillus cereus group cells and B. cereus strains from foods and food‐borne outbreaks

Bacillus cereus is one of the important food pathogens. Since B. cereus group cells, such as B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, B. anthracis and B. mycoides, share many phenotypical properties and a high level of chromosomal sequence similarity, it is interesting to investigate the virulence profiles for B. cereus group cells, including B. cereus strains isolated from foods and samples associated with food‐poisoning outbreaks. For this investigation, the presence of enterotoxin genes, such as those of haemolysin BL, B. cereus enterotoxin T and enterotoxin FM, were assayed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. Meanwhile, their enterotoxin activities were assayed using the BCET‐RPLA kit, haemolytic patterns on sheep blood agar and their cytotoxicity to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Results showed that there were 12 enterotoxigenic profiles for the 98 B. cereus group strains collected. In addition, if any of the three types of enterotoxins was present in the B. cereus group cells, these cells were shown to be cytotoxic to the CHO cells. Similar enterotoxigenic profiles could be found among strains of B. cereus, B. mycoides and B. thuringiensis. Thus, all B. cereus group strains may be potentially toxigenic and the detection of these cells in foods is important. We thus designed PCR primers, termed Ph1/Ph2, from the sphingomyelinase gene of B. cereus cells. These primers were specific for all B. cereus group strains and could be used for the detection of B. cereus cells contaminated in food samples.
IGF‐1 upregulates electroneutral K‐Cl cotransporter KCC3 and KCC4 which are differentially required for breast cancer cell proliferation and invasiveness

The cellular function of electroneutral K‐Cl cotransport (KCC) is to regulate epithelial ion transport and osmotic homeostasis. Here we investigate the mechanisms by which insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) cooperates with KCC to modulate breast cancer biology. IGF‐1 stimulates KCC activity of MCF‐7 breast cancer cells in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. Increased KCC3 and KCC4 abundances contribute to IGF‐1‐enhanced KCC activity. Endogenous cellular invasiveness was modestly attenuated by KCC4‐specific siRNA and the residual invasiveness was much less sensitive to IGF‐1 stimulation. KCC3 knockdown significantly reduced basal growth rate and almost abolished IGF‐1‐stimulated cell proliferation. Consistently, MCF‐7 cells obtained advantage in cell proliferation and invasiveness by overexpression of KCC3 and KCC4, respectively. Blockade of gene transcription by actinomycin D abolished IGF‐1‐mediated increase in KCC3 and KCC4 mRNA, indicating that IGF‐1 increases KCC abundance through the regulation of KCC genes. IGF‐1 treatment triggered phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades which were differentially required for IGF‐1‐stimulated biosynthesis of KCC3 and KCC4. Loss‐of‐function mutations in KCC significantly inhibited the development and progression of xenograft tumor in SCID mice. The expression level of IGF‐1 and KCC polypeptides in the surgical specimens showed a good linear correlation, suggesting autocrine or paracrine IGF‐1 stimulation of KCC production in vivo. Among patients with early‐stage node‐negative breast cancer, disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) curves were significantly different based on IGF‐1 and KCC expression. Thus, we conclude that KCC activation by IGF‐1 plays an important role in IGF‐1 receptor signaling to promote growth and spread of breast cancer cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 210: 626–636, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Speech recognition features based on deep latent Gaussian models

This paper constructs speech features based on a generative model using a deep latent Gaussian model (DLGM), which is trained using stochastic gradient variational Bayes (SGVB) algorithm and performs efficient approximate inference and learning with a directed probabilistic graphical model. The trained DLGM then generate latent variables based on Gaussian distribution, which is used as new features for a deep neural network (DNN) acoustic model. Here we compare our results with and without features transformed by DLGM and also observe the benefits of combining both the proposed and original features into a single DNN. Our experimental results show that the proposed features using DLGM improved the ASR performance. Furthermore, the DNN acoustic model, which combined the proposed and original features, gave the best performances.
Code length limit in phase-sensitive OTDR using ultralong (>1M bits) pulse sequences due to fading induced by fiber optical path drifts

Recently, it has been demonstrated that by recovering the amplitude and phase of the backscattered optical signal, a ΦOTDR using pulse coding can be treated as a fully linear system in terms of trace coding/decoding, thus allowing for the use of tens of thousands of bits with a dramatic improvement of the system performance. In this communication, as a continuation of previous work by the same authors, a preliminary study aiming at characterizing the limits of the system in terms of maximum usable code length is presented. Using a code exceeding 1 million bits over a duration of 0.26ms, it is observed that fiber optical path variations exceeding ≈π occurring over a time inferior to the pulse code length can lead to localized fading in the ΦOTDR trace. The occurrence, positions and form of the fading points along the ΦOTDR trace is observed to be strongly dependent on the type, frequency and amplitude of the perturbations applied to the fiber.
Evidence that the recA441 (tif-1) mutant of Escherichia coli K-12 contains a thermosensitive intragenic suppressor of RecA constitutive protease activity

The recA441 mutant of Escherichia coli, which has been thought to have thermoinducible constitutive RecA protease activity, is known to have two mutations within recA. We show here that the mutation that alters codon 38 actually confers temperature-independent constitutive protease activity; the second mutation in recA441, which is at codon 298, appears to be acting as a temperature-sensitive suppressor of the protease activity.
Virtual dual-task treadmill training using video recording for gait of chronic stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to examine the effects of virtual dual-task treadmill training using a real-world video recording of the gait of individuals with chronic stroke. [Subjects] Forty chronic stroke survivors were randomly divided into two groups of 20 subjects each. [Methods] The experimental group performed virtual dual-task treadmill training using a video recording for 30 minutes per session, three times a week for 4 weeks, whereas the control group performed only treadmill training for 30 minutes per session, three times a week for 4 weeks. A video recording was performed in a large supermarket, and the subjects could walk at their favorable speed on a treadmill. The temporospatial gait variables were measured to examine the training effect. [Results] The experimental and control groups showed statistically significant improvements in the gait variables after training. The enhancement of gait ability was statistically better in the experimental group than in the control group. [Conclusion] Our findings suggest that virtual dual-task treadmill training using a video recording can improve the gait parameters of chronic stroke survivors.
Fast Isogenic Mapping-by-Sequencing of Ethyl Methanesulfonate-Induced Mutant Bulks1[C][W][OA]

Mapping-by-sequencing (or SHOREmapping) has revitalized the powerful concept of forward genetic screens in plants. However, as in conventional genetic mapping approaches, mapping-by-sequencing requires phenotyping of mapping populations established from crosses between two diverged accessions. In addition to the segregation of the focal phenotype, this introduces natural phenotypic variation, which can interfere with the recognition of quantitative phenotypes. Here, we demonstrate how mapping-by-sequencing and candidate gene identification can be performed within the same genetic background using only mutagen-induced changes as segregating markers. Using a previously unknown suppressor of mutants of like heterochromatin protein1 (lhp1), which in its functional form is involved in chromatin-mediated gene repression, we identified three closely linked ethyl methanesulfonate-induced changes as putative candidates. In order to assess allele frequency differences between such closely linked mutations, we introduced deep candidate resequencing using the new Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine sequencing platform to our mutant identification pipeline and thereby reduced the number of causal candidate mutations to only one. Genetic analysis of two independent additional alleles confirmed that this mutation was causal for the suppression of lhp1.
Clinical applications of cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Noninvasive measurement of metabolic and cardiorespiratory variables can be readily obtained using computerized systems as part of exercise testing of patients on a cycle ergometer or treadmill. The major indications for CPEX are: to assess exercise-related symptoms, especially dyspnea and chest pain; to measure exercise capacity including acceptability of patients with end-stage heart disease for cardiac transplantation; to evaluate for impairment/disability; to establish safety and guidelines for exercise training; and to assess response to specific therapy. As most patients with chronic cardiorespiratory disorders reduce their activities and consequently become deconditioned, CPEX should be considered as part of the initial evaluation. The results of CPEX should enable the physician to understand the reason(s) for the patient's exercise limitation and usually support the recommendation that the patient participate in a reconditioning or rehabilitation program. Should expired gases be measured as routine for all exercise tests? The use of CPEX depends on the clinical question. If the question is, "Does the patient have ischemic heart disease? ", then a standard "cardiac stress test" is adequate. If the clinical question is, "Why is the individual limited in exercise ability? " or "Why is a patient breathless with activities? ", then comprehensive CPEX is indicated. One important issue relating to CPEX is cost effectiveness. Do the results of CPEX justify the expense? There are little if any data to answer this question. However, if CPEX can establish a specific diagnosis, exclude significant heart disease, estimate work capacity, and/or provide guidelines for prescription of exercise intensity, this information may be invaluable to the individual patient and to the health-care provider. It is possible that CPEX may answer a specific clinical question and thereby actually eliminate the need and reduce the cost of additional expensive diagnostic tests. A prospective assessment of the cost effectiveness of CPEX will be important for select clinical problems.
Accounting for Labor Misallocation in China with Provincial Data 1980-2010

This paper develops a simple accounting framework to measure the extent of labor misallocation in Chinese provinces over the period 1980-2010. It also investigates possible factors that influence labor misallocation. The main findings are: (1) the extent of labor misallocation fell substantially in the first half of 1980s. During the 25 years since 1985, labor allocation has improved somewhat but there was no monotonic trend of improvement over time. (2) In 2010, the Eastern region had the lowest level of labor misallocation, followed by the Central region, and the Western region. (3). Wage differentials cross primary, secondary and tertiary sectors accounted for a substantial portion of measured overall labor misallocation; the secondary sector’s wage deviations from VMPL also had the effect of raising labor misallocation, whereas the impacts of the primary and tertiary sectors’ wage deviation from VMPL differed over time. (4) A higher level of urbanization, the development of the tertiary sector and the growth of the non-state sector appear to have contributed to a reduction in labor misallocation.
Econometric Analysis of the Nexus of Exchange Rate Deregulation and Agricultural Share of Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between exchange rate deregulation and the agricultural share of gross domestic product in Nigeria from an econometric perspective using time series data. The data were analysed using augmented dickey fuller unit root test, unrestricted vector autoregression and pairwise granger causality. The results of the data analysis revealed the existence of unidirectional causality from exchange rate to agricultural share of gross domestic production in Nigeria and this implies that market driven exchange rate policy has been significant in influencing the trend in agricultural share of gross domestic production in Nigeria. However, it is recommended that the monetary authority of Nigeria should closely monitor the movement of the market driven exchange rate so that exchange rate deregulation does not become counterproductive through unhealthy price distortions on agricultural production, international trade and foreign direct investment in the agricultural sector of Nigeria’s economy.
Long-term power allocation for multi-channel device-to-device communication based on limited feedback information

In underlay Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, where a D2D pair reuses the cellular spectrum and creates interference to regular cellular users, there exists a tradeoff between the achieved D2D rate and the interference to cellular users. In this work, we present stochastic optimization solutions to allocate the D2D transmission power over multiple resource blocks (RBs), to maximize the D2D rate, under a sum-power constraint and long-term individual power constraints over each RB at the D2D transmitter, which gives probabilistic guarantees on the interference to regular cellular users. This stochastic optimization problem can be solved optimally in the Lagrange dual domain with stochastic subgradient updating. However, since the vector channel state space is exponentially increasing in size, the standard subgradient updating method has prohibitive computation and storage complexity. Instead, by first showing that only the signs of subgradients are necessary to find the optimal Lagrange multipliers, we propose a distributed algorithm where each interference-victim cellular user calculates the subgradient and reports only its sign in one-bit feedback. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization with limited feedback.