Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Essays on interaction between monetary and fiscal policy

This thesis consists of three essays on the discretionary interactions of fiscal and monetary policy authorities when they stabilise a single economy against shocks in the dynamic setting. In the first essay, I investigate the stabilization bias that arises in a model of noncooperative monetary and fiscal policy stabilisation of the economy, when the monetary authority implements price level targeting but fiscal authority remains benevolent. I demonstrate that the gain in welfare depends on the level of steady state debt. If the steady state level of the government debt is relatively low, then the monetary price level targeting unambiguously leads to social welfare gains, even if the fiscal authority acts strategically and faces different objectives and has incentives to pursue its own benefit and therefore may offset some or all of monetary policy actions. Moreover, if the fiscal policymaker is able to conduct itself as an intra-period leader then the social welfare gain of the monetary price level targeting regime can be further improved. However, if the economy has a relatively high steady state debt level, the gain of the price level targeting is outweighed by the loss arising from the conflicts between the policy makers, and such policy leads to a lower social welfare than under the cooperative discretionary inflation targeting. In the second essay I study the macroeconomic effect of the interaction between discretionary monetary policy which re-optimises every period and discretionary fiscal policy which reoptimises less frequently. I demonstrate the existence of two discretionary equilibria if the frequency of fiscal policy re-optimizes annually while monetary policy adjusts quarterly. Following a disturbance to the debt level, the economy can be stabilised either in a ‘fast but volatile‘ or ‘slow but smooth’ way, where both dynamic paths satisfy the conditions of optimality and time-consistency. I study several delegation regimes and demonstrate that the policy of partial targeting the debt level results in far worse welfare outcomes relative to a strict inflation targeting policy. In the third essay, I extend the framework developed in the second essay to the case with Blanchard-Yaari type of consumers. This brings in two effects. First, an increase in debt results in higher consumption via the wealth effect, the marginal cost is higher so the need for higher interest rate and higher taxation will increase, therefore the dynamic complementarity between actions of the two policymakers become stronger. Second, higher inflation affects consumption via the average propensity to consume and this effect is likely to weaken the dynamic complementarity. I show that when the households are assigned a mortality rate, overall the first effect dominates the second. The transition paths of the economic variables back to the steady state will be more volatile and the multiple equilibria are more likely to arise.
Validation of the Croatian Pain Catastrophizing Scale through a study on the influence of medical education on pain catastrophizing

Background and Purpose: Pain catastrophizing is an important risk factor for pain and pain-related outcomes. There is no validated Croatian version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the most commonly used questionnaire for assessment of pain catastrophizing. The aims of this study were to validate the Croatian version of the PCS and to study whether formal medical education has correlation with pain catastrophizing. Participants and Methods: Translation and back-translation of the original English version of the PCS to Croatian language was made. The Croatian Pain Catastrophizing Scale (Cro-PCS) was given to 521 healthy students from first and last year of medicine and economics. Results: The Cro-PCS showed the same 3-factor structure (rumination, magnification and helplessness) as the original study. It also showed appropriate internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.88). When compared to students of economics, last-year medical students had significantly lower rumination score, which accounts for the largest proportion of pain catastrophizing variance. Conclusions: The Croatian version of PCS shows appropriate psychometric properties, similar to the English original scale. Therefore, Cro-PCS could be useful for clinical practice and research in Croatian patients. We also found that medical education may be linked with reduction in pain catastrophizing, which contributes to our understanding of effectiveness of educational interventions.
Protecting sensitive knowledge by data sanitization

We address the problem of protecting some sensitive knowledge in transactional databases. The challenge is on protecting actionable knowledge for strategic decisions, but at the same time not losing the great benefit of association rule mining. To accomplish that, we introduce a new, efficient one-scan algorithm that meets privacy protection and accuracy in association rule mining, without putting at risk the effectiveness of the data mining per se.
Legislative Term Limits and Government Spending: Theory and Evidence from the United States

Abstract What are the fiscal consequences of legislative term limits? To answer this question, we first develop a legislative bargaining model that describes negotiations over the allocation of distributive projects among legislators with different levels of seniority. Building on several predictions from the model, we develop two hypotheses for empirical testing. First, the adoption of term limits that results in a larger reduction in the variance of seniority within a legislature increases the amount of government spending. Second, legislatures that adopt stricter term limits increase the amount of government spending, while legislatures that adopt moderate term limits show no change in the amount. We provide evidence for these hypotheses using panel data for 49 US state legislatures between 1980 and 2010.
FREE MARKET ACCESS FOR LDCS UNDER THE EBA INITIATIVE. AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS USING THE GRAVITY APPROACH

This paper assesses the effectiveness of the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative launched by the EU in 2001. It evaluates whether EBA was effective in increasing the exports from LDCs to the EU over the period 1995-2006. After arguing that the impact of trade preferences should be estimated by using disaggregated trade flows rather than aggregated trade, the analysis is carried out by considering five products (cloves, coffee, crustaceans, molluscs and vanilla beans) which meet three selecting criteria related to the export intensity of EBA countries, to the real/actual preferences of EBA and to the intra-year distribution of EU tariffs. Furthermore, the exports share of the 5-selected goods with respect to national exports is never marginal and, in many cases, is higher than 60%. From an econometric perspective, we improve the reliability of results by giving more attention to the econometric setting and to measurement of the preferential treatment. The evidence is mixed and while this limits the possibility to draw a general conclusion about the role of EBA, it supports the decision to work using disaggregated data because the evidence provided allows us to gauge the sector specificities which would be hidden when analysing total trade. Results show a positive impact on the exports of crustaceans and vanilla of the preferential treatment granted by the EU under EBA, whereas the evidence is un-conclusive when considering the other three products.
Efficient Processing of Mobile Crowdsourcing Queries with Multiple Sub-tasks for Facilitating Smart Cities

The proliferation and ever-increasing popularity of mobile devices have dramatically increased the potential for mobile crowdsourcing across a wide gamut of applications that are relevant to smart cities. While existing works have mostly focused on mobile crowdsourcing for queries involving a single given major task, the issue of addressing complex queries with multiple related large sub-tasks (with spatio-temporal dependencies) has received little attention. In this regard, the key contributions of the paper are three-fold. First, we present a scheme, designated as BMS (Broker-based processing of Multiple Sub-tasks), in which a broker coordinates the processing of multiple related large subtasks in a given query among a set of mobile peers. Second, we propose the DMS (Distributed processing of Multiple Sub-tasks) scheme in which the processing of multiple sub-tasks in a query occurs in a distributed manner without the existence of any brokers. Third, the results of our performance evaluation demonstrate the effectiveness of both of the proposed schemes in terms of relatively low query response times, high query success rates and reasonable communication costs.
Effect of geometry variation of LTCC distributed air-gap filter inductor on light load efficiency of DC-DC converters

A low profile power inductor fabricated using low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology has been demonstrated to improve the light load efficiency of a converter, without the use of additional control circuitry. This is brought about by means of a distributed air gap design, which causes a change in inductance with load current. Variation in inductor geometry is performed experimentally to study the effects on the light load efficiency of a converter. By decreasing the conductor width of the inductor, the light load efficiency can be further improved by 30% compared with using commercial inductors of similar inductance. Variation in the number of parallel conductors in a multi-conductor structure does not have significant effect on light load efficiency improvement
Poland's Accession to the EMU

This paper is focused on the development of a proper macroeconomic strategy in the process of Poland's accession to the European Monetary Union. It is argued that due to legal and political considerations Poland may not opt out from EMU participation. The country will however command net gains from participation in the eurozone, mainly due to reduced macroeconomic and microeconomic uncertainty. In order to achieve even higher gains it is necessary to reduce price and wage rigidities, eliminate constraints on free movement of labor, further promote trade links with EU and its diversification. Loss of monetary and exchange rate instruments will require responsive but generally conservative fiscal policy. Particularly, as Poland might experience major economic upturn at the outset in the EU membership, the country should achieve positive budget balance by this time. It will allow for fiscal expansion in case of future negative asymmetric shock or recessions. Fiscal policy should be therefore assigned to improve saving-investment balance and consequently current account, so that direct inflation targeting is well placed to achieve fulfillment of Maastricht price stability criterion. Real exchange rate is not an independent instrument to target current account, as real appreciation of domestic currency is unavoidable due to rapid productivity gains in Poland. Finally, the accession to EMU should follow promptly the accession to EU. Unilateral introduction of Euro is too risky for banking and real sectors. Slower process of joining EMU would hamper credibility of macroeconomic adjustment commitment.
Swing-Up and Stabilization of Rotary Inverted Pendulum using Sliding Modes

Abstract Control of Rotary Inverted Pendulum (RIP) is a classic control problem. It represents a broader class of underactuated systems. The dynamical equations of RIP are nonlinear coupled and complex. The nonlinear feature and the complex internal dynamics makes the design of the control challenging. This paper presents swing up and stabilization both via sliding modes. Tracking control of rotary actuator using sliding modes is developed for swing up of RIP till the pendulum reaches in the linear region around the vertical upright position. Once it reaches in the linear region, a stabilization control using sliding mode is switched on. A linear model of the RIP is used for developing the SMC law for stabilization. Effectiveness of the method is validated in simulation as well as by experiment.
High frequency link DC/AC converter with PWM cycloconverter

A high-frequency link DC/AC converter developed for flexible, compact, and high-efficiency uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems is discussed. The DC/AC converter consists of a 50% duty ratio rectangular voltage output inverter, a high-frequency transformer, a pulse-width modulation (PWM) cycloconverter, and an LC filter. For this converter, a three-phase output DC/AC converter can be easily realized with only one inverter and one three-phase cycloconverter. Conversion efficiency is inherently high because the inverter can utilize zero-current switching to minimize the switching loss. Output waveform control is improved because the dead time in the cycloconverter PWM can be eliminated. The main circuit configuration, the PWM method of the cycloconverter used to obtain a sinusoidal output voltage and the switching method of the inverter are described. The experimental results of a 1 kVA DC/AC converter using a high-frequency link of 20 kHz in both single-phase and three-phase output are discussed. <<ETX>>
Design and Implementation of Detection and Tracking System for Bagged Cargo

A novel detection and tracking system for bagged cargo is proposed in this paper. First, a boosted cascade classifier based on Haar features is designed to recognize and locate the motion region together with frame difference. Second, a block region grow method is proposed to avoid the illumination and shadow interference in the frame difference image. Finally, template matching and mean shift are combined to locate and track the cargo. Experimental results show that the proposed method can locate the cargo with high accuracy and have good performance for detection and tracking bagged cargo.
An improved PID controller for switching converters

This paper describes the design and construction of an improved PID controller for a DC-DC buck converter working in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM). The converter operates at a switching frequency of 1MHz. The lead-lag controller is first designed on the basis of classical theory of control systems using root-locus technique. The controller is then equivalently converted into a PID controller. The application of the derivative part of the PID controller on the output voltage signal rather than on the output voltage error signal reduces both the maximum percent overshoot and the settling time. The modified but improved form of PID controller is known as PID controller with Derivative on Output Only (PID-DOO). The analog PID controller is converted into a digital controller for the easier implementation. MATLAB/Simulink based simulation results are presented to validate the design procedure.
Analgesic Effects of Oligonol, Acupuncture and Quantum Light Therapy on Chronic Nonbacterial Prostatitis

Background: Chronic Nonbacterial Prostatitis (CNBP) is a condition that frequently causes long-term pain and a significant decrease in the quality of life. Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the analgesic effects of oligonol, acupuncture, quantum light therapy and their combinations on estrogen-induced CNBP in rats. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted in Edirne, Turkey, using a simple randomized allocation. A total of 90 adult male Wistar rats were randomized into 9 groups of 10 rats each: Group I, control; Group II, CNBP, Group III, oligonol only, Group IV, acupuncture only; Group V, quantum only; Group VI, oligonol + quantum; Group VII, acupuncture + oligonol; Group VIII, quantum + acupuncture; Group IX, acupuncture + quantum + oligonol. Oligonol treatment was given at a dose of 60 mg/day for 6 weeks. Conceptual vessels (CV) 3 and 4, and bilaterally urinary bladder (Bl) 32 and 34 points were targeted with 1-hour acupuncture stimulation. The quantum light therapy was applied in 5-minute sessions for 6 weeks (3-times/a week). For pain measurements, mechanical pressure was applied to a point 2 cm distal to the root of the tail to elicit pain and consequent parameters (peak force, latency time of response and total length of measurement) were assessed. Results: Analgesic effects were observed with all treatment regimens; however, the most prominent median analgesic effect was shown in the quantum light therapy in combination with acupuncture for estrogen-induced CNBP (PF1 = 663.9, PF2 = 403.4) (P = 0.012). Furthermore, we observed that monotherapy with quantum light showed a better analgesic efficacy as compared to oligonol and acupuncture monotherapies (PF1 = 1044.6, PF2 = 661.2) (P = 0.018, P = 0.008, P = 0.018; respectively). Conclusions: All treatment modalities showed a significant analgesic effect on CNBP in rats, being most prominent with the quantum light therapy.
Dynamically Integrating Item Exposure with Rating Prediction in Collaborative Filtering

The paper proposes a novel approach to appropriately promote those items with few ratings in collaborative filtering. Different from previous works, we force the items with few ratings to be promoted to the users who would potentially be able to give ratings, and then leverage the gathered user preference to punish the promoted items with low quality intrinsically. By slightly sacrificing the benefit of recommending the best items in terms of user satisfaction, our approach seeks to provide all of the items with a chance to be visible equally. The results of the experiments conducted on MovieLens and Netflix data demonstrate its feasibility.
Echocardiography and pulmonary function as screening tests for pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE A prospective study to evaluate echocardiography and gas transfer (DLCO) by comparison with cardiac catheterization in discriminating between patients with and without systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SScPAH). METHOD A total of 137 (52 with and 85 without pulmonary fibrosis) had echocardiography and lung function tests within 3 months of their definitive invasive study. RESULTS At cardiac catheterization 99 of these patients were found to have PAH, while PAH was excluded in 38. Echocardiographically estimated tricuspid gradient (TG) showed a moderate positive correlation (r(2) = 0.44, P<0.005) with both mean pulmonary pressure and invasively determined tricuspid gradient. DLCO showed a weak correlation (r(2 )= 0.09, P = 0.006), when compared with mean pulmonary arterial pressure. In total, 97% of patients with an echocardiographically determined TG of > 45 mmHg were found to have pulmonary hypertension at catheterization. However, no threshold could be defined with either screening test that safely excluded PAH. CONCLUSIONS The positive predictive accuracy of currently used non-invasive tests are adequate for the diagnosis of advanced PAH provided sufficiently high thresholds (TG > 45 mmHg or DLCO < 55% predicted) are used. These tests cannot be relied upon to exclude pulmonary hypertension where pre-test probability is high.
Application of sparse matrix clustering with convex-adjusted dissimilarity matrix in an ambulatory hospital specialist service

Objective Patients with chronic diseases and complications may frequently visit different specialists. Analytics could help deliver patient-centric seamless care by providing insights on the visit patterns of this group of patients, so that utilization of healthcare resources can be optimized. A new perspective focusing on patients' specialist utilization records combined with statistical learning methodology can quantify the tightness of links between different specialties and highlight important specialist clusters. Method & Data Cosine angular dissimilarity matrix was used to measure connections among 163 specialties in 3 Singapore general hospitals based on 931,504 specialist attendance visits in 2013. A convex transformation on angular dissimilarity was introduced to solve low similarity problem caused by matrix sparsity and thus improved hierarchical clustering performance. The objective was to improve transformation by maximizing variance of off-diagonal dissimilarity coefficients. Ward's method was used in clustering with dissimilarity matrix. Interactive visualization of sortable matrix was used to highlight important specialist clusters. Results Through clustering, 20 significant clusters were identified in 3 hospitals. Common clusters such as orthopedics, oncology-surgery, internal medicine, neuroscience, etc. were found among the 3 hospitals. Components of common clusters among hospitals were similar. Conclusion Patient utilization records can bring new and systematic insight of cooperative specialist services alongside traditional clinical research. Convex adjustment improves performance of Ward's method on low similarity distance matrix significantly. Hierarchical clustering on convex-adjusted dissimilarity matrix is effective in discovering specialist clusters.
Five-fingered assistive hand with mechanical compliance of human finger

This paper introduces an exoskeleton assistive hand that supports human hand and wrist activities by using user's bioelectric potential to control the exoskeleton movement. The exoskeleton has three active joints for an index finger, three active joints for combination of a middle finger, a ring finger and a little finger and two active joints for a thumb. It also has two passive joints between the index finger part and the combined part of the three fingers. Our proposed poly-articular tendon drive mechanism simulates a mechanical compliance of a human finger so that the exoskeleton could realize comfortable and stable grasping. This paper proposes a new mechanism "dual sensing system" and a new control algorithm "bioelectric potential-based switching control" so that the exoskeleton could synchronize wearer's hand activities without any force sensor. A tendon-driven mechanism and a dual sensing system enable wearer's fingers to move freely when they does need power assist but precise position control or force control. A bioelectric potential-based switching control enables the exoskeleton to augment their grasping force only when wearer's fingers generate a relatively large grasping force. A five-parallel-link mechanism is used to assist wrist activities of a wearer. Through experiments it is confirmed that the exoskeleton does not disturb a wear's pinch of a small object and that it augments grasping force for a heavy work.
Markov Decision Process Frameworks for Cooperative Retransmission in Wireless Networks

The challenging problem of cooperative retransmission in the wireless networks is investigated in this paper. This paper introduces the centralized and distributed Markov decision process (MDP) frameworks in the context of cooperative retransmission. Specifically, a MDP model with the global channel information is first constructed for the cooperation problem in the MAC layer. It is shown that this global MDP is able to perform optimally, where the objective is to minimize the total number of required transmissions for a successful packet delivery to the destination. When the global information is unavailable, we show that the suitable distributed MDP models can replace the global model for a near-optimal performance. Furthermore, the reinforcement learning methods are investigated when the MDP model is unavailable. Interestingly, simulation results confirm that the learning methods also provide an acceptable performance despite their simplicity and low overhead.