Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic Dependence and Gender Division of Household Labour in the Republic of Korea

This paper examines the relationship between economic dependence and gender differences in housework in Korea. There are three explanatory alternatives for the relationship; economic rule of exchange, gender display perspective and deviant neutralization. We analysed both 2004 and 2009 time use survey data. The findings show the significant gender differences in time spent on housework that wives spend much more time on housework than husbands. However, among couples with non-normative gender roles, in some cases the more economically powerful wives spend more time on housework than breadwinner wives with weaker economic power, although such cases are rare. Rather, it is appropriate to conclude that, the more economically independent the wives, the less time they spend on housework; this is also the case for husbands. Overall, the Korean case shows what the economic exchange theory predicts. Thus, improvements in working wives' economic power will lead to gender equity in the division of housework.
Verification of Counterurbanisation Processes: Example of the České Budějovice Region

Abstract Counterurbanisation as a deconcentrating process of settlement systems is connected with population migration from cities to their geographically distant hinterland located beyond the external border of suburbs, i.e. beyond the metropolitan zones. Many authors consider it a low-intensity process empirically hard to identify. Still, in the South Bohemian region of České Budějovice (RCB) counter-urbanisation was confirmed, although it is not a dominant but rather a highly variable process with some effect on the character of settlements. It seems that after a long period of population and socio-economic decline a new rise started in several municipalities of the RCB rural area. The smallest rural settlements (less than 200 residents) boast now the top population growth rate along with the top net migration rate. In general, the volume of immigration flows to the rural area from the centre and suburbs of České Budějovice is higher in absolute figures than the volume of emigration flows from the rural area. The detailed anonymised database of migrants of the Czech Statistical Office makes it possible to analyse the migration volume and direction by municipalities.
A Note on the Financial Variable and Ratio Structure of New Zealand Listed Companies

: This paper reports the results of an investigation into the financial structure of accounting variables and ratios of New Zealand listed firms. Seven major factors were identified and these accounted for more than 82 percent of the information contained in a set of forty-four variables. These factors are labelled profitability, size, activity, solvency, liquidity, growth in size and, growth in profits/profitability. Although the first five factors have also been identified as separate corporate dimensions in studies conducted in the United States and elsewhere, variables representing growth have not been examined before. Our study suggests that the growth variables represent two distinct and significant factors.
The Euribor Futures Market: Efficiency and the Impact of ECB Policy Announcements

For an effective and smooth monetary policy, it is important that interest rate expectations are in line with central bank policy intentions. The predictability of money market interest rates is, therefore, an indicator of transparency and clarity in the communication of monetary policy and of the effectiveness of monetary policy implementation. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2004
An inducible mouse model for microvillus inclusion disease reveals a role for myosin Vb in apical and basolateral trafficking

Significance Microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) is a rare intestinal enteropathy resulting in severe diarrhoea in neonates. Here, we have generated an intestine-specific knockout mouse model for Myosin Vb, the gene causing MVID in the majority of human patients. Our mouse model completely recapitulates the intestinal human MVID phenotype, including severe diarrhoea, loss of microvilli, occurrence of microvillus inclusions, and subapical secretory granules in villus enterocytes. In addition, we identify a newly identified role of Myo5b in trafficking of basolateral proteins, in the apical localization of the brush border membrane fusion protein syntaxin 3 (STX3), and in early differentiation of enterocytes. Our data indicate a role of MYO5B in regulating polarity of epithelial cells and have important implications for future treatment options for MVID patients. Microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) is a rare intestinal enteropathy with an onset within a few days to months after birth, resulting in persistent watery diarrhea. Mutations in the myosin Vb gene (MYO5B) have been identified in the majority of MVID patients. However, the exact pathophysiology of MVID still remains unclear. To address the specific role of MYO5B in the intestine, we generated an intestine-specific conditional Myo5b-deficient (Myo5bfl/fl;Vil-CreERT2) mouse model. We analyzed intestinal tissues and cultured organoids of Myo5bfl/fl;Vil-CreERT2 mice by electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. Our data showed that Myo5bfl/fl;Vil-CreERT2 mice developed severe diarrhea within 4 d after tamoxifen induction. Periodic Acid Schiff and alkaline phosphatase staining revealed subapical accumulation of intracellular vesicles in villus enterocytes. Analysis by electron microscopy confirmed an almost complete absence of apical microvilli, the appearance of microvillus inclusions, and enlarged intercellular spaces in induced Myo5bfl/fl;Vil-CreERT2 intestines. In addition, we determined that MYO5B is involved not only in apical but also basolateral trafficking of proteins. The analysis of the intestine during the early onset of the disease revealed that subapical accumulation of secretory granules precedes occurrence of microvillus inclusions, indicating involvement of MYO5B in early differentiation of epithelial cells. By comparing our data with a novel MVID patient, we conclude that our mouse model completely recapitulates the intestinal phenotype of human MVID. This includes severe diarrhea, loss of microvilli, occurrence of microvillus inclusions, and subapical secretory granules. Thus, loss of MYO5B disturbs both apical and basolateral trafficking of proteins and causes MVID in mice.
Foreign Direct Investment, Services Trade Negotiations and Development: The Case of Tourism in the Caribbean

This article examines whether and how developing countries can use services trade negotiations to increase the amount of inward FDI conducive to development. It reviews how services trade rules can affect inward FDI, and employs panel data analysis with innovative use of instrumental variables in the tourism sectors of 9 Caribbean countries during 1997–2003. It argues that Caribbean countries may want to signal openness to inward FDI in GATS, while maintaining a degree of flexibility in the use of policy measures; in the current negotiations with the EU on Economic Partnership Agreements, the focus could be on emphasising the development dimension.
Fiscal Discipline and Asymmetric Adjustment of Revenues and Expenditures: Local Government Responses to Shocks in Denmark

Fiscal discipline is a concern because of possible spending and deficit bias in fiscal and political institutions. This study investigates adjustments under fiscal federalism, concentrating on decentralized government in Denmark and allowing for a comparison with neighbors Norway and Sweden and with similar analyses of U.S. states. Fiscal adjustments are investigated as responses to shocks measured as deviations from budgeted current surplus. The econometric results show that local governments respond by compensating adjustment of tax rates and expenditures. The shock responses tend to be asymmetric. Positive shocks hardly affect the income tax rate, whereas negative shocks induce higher tax rates. The authors interpret the asymmetry as the result of spending pressure due to redistributive politics and show that political characteristics are important for tax determination. They conclude that the Danish design of controlling the local public sector avoids fiscal imbalances but allows a bias toward expansion.
The impact of share price on seasonality and size anomalies in Australian equity returns

Given the high correlation between a firm's stock price and market capitalisation, it is possible that the well-documented size anomaly is masking a share-price effect. Using a seemingly unrelated regression model to accommodate contemporaneous correlation between portfolios, we estimate the separate effects of firm size and share price on returns to Australian equity portfolios. The analysis is also extended to estimate seasonal components of size and price effects. Our major findings are: (i) firm size and share price have significant and independent effects on portfolio returns averaged over all months, (ii) the familiar negative relation between size and returns is confirmed across all months, and (iii) the relation between share price and returns is negative in July and positive in all other months (with the exception of January where no price effect occurs). These findings, which are consistent across sub-periods and robust to method variations, highlight the need for future research to provide an economic foundation for the relation between average returns, size and price.
Bacillus subtilis mutant allele sup-3 causes lysine insertion at ochre codons: use of sup-3 in studies of translational attenuation

The mutation sup-3 in Bacillus subtilis suppresses ochre (TAA) mutations at each of three codons in the 5' end of the cat-86 coding sequence. The suppressor is shown to insert lysine at ochre codons. The efficiency of suppression by sup-3 is about 15%, as determined by changing a cat-86 Lys codon (codon 12) to an ochre codon and measuring the level of CAT in the suppressor-containing strain. The results obtained are discussed in light of previous observations that ochre mutations at cat leader codons 2 and 3 can be phenotypically suppressed by sup-3, whereas ochre mutations at leader codons 4 and 5 cannot. Translation of the cat leader is essential to inducible expression of cat. Our data support the interpretation that the nature of amino acids 2 through 5 of the leader peptide contributes to determining whether chloramphenicol can stall a ribosome in the leader, which in turn leads to induction of cat expression.
Opa+ Neisseria gonorrhoeae exhibits reduced survival in human neutrophils via Src family kinase‐mediated bacterial trafficking into mature phagolysosomes

During gonorrhoeal infection, there is a heterogeneous population of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Gc) varied in their expression of opacity‐associated (Opa) proteins. While Opa proteins are important for bacterial attachment and invasion of epithelial cells, Opa+ Gc has a survival defect after exposure to neutrophils. Here, we use constitutively Opa− and OpaD+ Gc in strain background FA1090 to show that Opa+ Gc is more sensitive to killing inside adherent, chemokine‐treated primary human neutrophils due to increased bacterial residence in mature, degradative phagolysosomes that contain primary and secondary granule antimicrobial contents. Although Opa+ Gc stimulates a potent oxidative burst, neutrophil killing of Opa+ Gc was instead attributable to non‐oxidative components, particularly neutrophil proteases and the bactericidal/permeability‐increasing protein. Blocking interaction of Opa+ Gc with carcinoembryonic antigen‐related cell adhesion molecules (CEACAMs) or inhibiting Src family kinase signalling, which is downstream of CEACAM activation, enhanced the survival of Opa+ Gc in neutrophils. Src family kinase signalling was required for fusion of Gc phagosomes with primary granules to generate mature phagolysosomes. Conversely, ectopic activation of Src family kinases or coinfection with Opa+ Gc resulted in decreased survival of Opa− Gc in neutrophils. From these results, we conclude that Opa protein expression is an important modulator of Gc survival characteristics in neutrophils by influencing phagosome dynamics and thus bacterial exposure to neutrophils’ full antimicrobial arsenal.
Heterogeneity in Perceptions of Service Quality among Groups of Railway Passengers

The aim of this work is to analyze the different perceptions among groups of users regarding transit service quality. We propose a methodology based on a classification and regression tree (CART) approach, allowing the characteristics that most influence overall service quality to be identified. The methodology is applied by using data regarding rail service in northern Italy, particularly suburban lines connecting different towns of the hinterland of the city of Milan. Passengers expressed their opinions about service characteristics such as safety, cleanliness, comfort, information, and personnel. We found that perceptions about service quality are differentiated among the various groups of users.
Toll‐like receptors in central nervous system glial inflammation and homeostasis

Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern‐recognition receptors expressed on cells of the innate immune system that allow for the recognition of conserved structural motifs on a wide array of pathogens, referred to as pathogen‐associated molecular patterns, as well as some endogenous molecules. The recent emergence of studies examining TLRs in the central nervous system (CNS) indicates that these receptors not only play a role in innate immunity in response to infectious diseases but may also participate in CNS autoimmunity, neurodegeneration, and tissue injury. This review summarizes the experimental evidence demonstrating a role for TLRs in the context of CNS inflammation in both infectious and noninfectious conditions. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
What shapes player performance in soccer? Empirical findings from a panel analysis

In this article, we investigate the pay–performance relationship of soccer players using individual data from eight seasons of the German soccer league Bundesliga. We find a nonlinear pay–performance relationship, indicating that salary does indeed affect individual performance. The results further show that player performance is affected not only by absolute income level but also by relative income position. An additional analysis of the performance impact of team effects provides evidence of a direct impact of team-mate attributes on individual player performance.
DOES THE EXCHANGE RATE MATTER FOR MONETARY POLICY UNDER INFLATION TARGETING? EVIDENCE FROM MEXICO, NEW ZEALAND AND CANADA

Title of Dissertation: DOES THE EXCHANGE RATE MATTER FOR MONETARY POLICY UNDER INFLATION TARGETING? EVIDENCE FROM MEXICO, NEW ZEALAND AND CANADA Juan Pedro Trevino, Doctor of Philosophy, 2003 Dissertation directed by: Professor Carmen M. Reinhart Department of Economics Recently, many developed and developing countries have adopted inflation targeting as the monetary policy framework. There is large debate regarding the importance of external variables, such as the exchange rate, for monetary policy decisions under this framework, particularly in small open economies. In the first chapter I explore the extent to which the adoption of an explicit inflation target in Mexico can be associated to a de facto change in the behavior of the central bank in terms of how it responds to changes in the exchange rate and other external variables, along with conventional variables considered relevant for monetary policy. The results indicate the presence of a change in the behavior of the central bank in Mexico associated to the adoption of an explicit inflation target in January of 1999. Variables such as policy credibility and the output gap tend to become more important for monetary policy, while the exchange rate becomes relatively less relevant when the inflation target is in operation. As compared to the cases of New Zealand and Canada two small open economies that have successfully followed this policy prescriptionthe results suggest that monetary policy implementation in Mexico has become much more like in those countries. In the second chapter I present a modified version of Drazen and Masson (1994), where instead of assuming exogenous unemployment persistence, an endogenous externality from choosing positive inflation is imposed on unemployment. In face of an adverse shock to unemployment, a policymaker that generates surprise inflation to offset such shock will generate a negative spillover that will translate into future higher unemployment. The result is that this constitutes an additional channel for commitment to zero inflation other than the signaling/reputation channel. This modification may contribute to explain, on the one hand, why a policymaker that is highly committed to lower inflation may still inflate under extreme circumstances, and, on the other, why the central bank in countries like Mexico, where credibility may still be an issue, continue to follow a stringent monetary policy at a cost of “sluggish” economic growth. DOES THE EXCHANGE RATE MATTER FOR MONETARY POLICY UNDER INFLATION TARGETING? EVIDENCE FROM MEXICO, NEW ZEALAND AND CANADA
A Modular Multiport Power Electronic Transformer With Integrated Split Battery Energy Storage for Versatile Ultrafast EV Charging Stations

This paper proposes a power converter architecture for the implementation of an ultrafast charging station for electric vehicles (EVs). The versatile converter topology is based on the concept of the power electronic transformer. For the direct transformerless coupling to the medium-voltage grid, a cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter is utilized. On the level of each submodule, integrated split battery energy storage elements play the role of power buffers, reducing thus the influence of the charging station on the distribution grid. The power interface between the stationary split storage stage and the EV batteries is performed through the use of parallel-connected dual-half-bridge dc/dc converters, shifting the isolation requirements to the medium-frequency range. By choosing several different submodule configurations for the parallel connection, a multiport output concept is achieved, implying the ability to charge several EVs simultaneously without the use of additional high-power chargers. All possible charging station operating modes among with the designed necessary control functions are analyzed. The state-of-charge self-balancing mode of the delta-connected CHB converter is also introduced. Finally, the development of a downscaled laboratory prototype is described, and preliminary experimental results are provided.
A PVT resistant coarse-fine time-to-digital converter

This paper presents a fine-coarse time interval measurement scheme which is resilient to the variations of process, voltage, and temperature (PVT). Two Delay Locked Loops (DLLs) have been utilized to minimize the effects of PVT on the measured time intervals. A two-step time-to-digital converter is designed to ensure a high-resolution measurement over a wide dynamic range. The proposed scheme has been implemented using CMOS 65nm technology. Simulation results using ADS tools indicate that the measurement resolution varies by less than 0.12ps with ±15% variations of power supply voltage. The proposed method also presents a robust performance against process and temperature variations. The measurement resolution changes by few femto-seconds from slow to fast corners for process variations and it varies by a maximum of 0.1ps with changes from −40 °C to +100 °C in temperature.
A Test of the Hotelling Valuation Principle

Time-series tests of the Hotelling r-percent rule for natural resource prices have not been strongly supportive, but the tests and the data are subject to serious difficulties. We propose here an alternative testing strategy based on another but less widely known implication of the Hotelling model. We test this implication, which we call the Hotelling Valuation Principle, by regressing the market values of the reserves of a sample of U.S. domestic oiland gas-producing companies on their estimated Hotelling values. We find that the estimated Hotelling values account for a significant portion of the observed variations in market values and that the Hotelling measures are better indicators of the market values of petroleum properties than two widely cited publicly available alternative appraisals.
Mitochondrial behavior during oogenesis in zebrafish: A confocal microscopy analysis

The behavior of mitochondria during early oogenesis remains largely unknown in zebrafish. We used three mitochondrial probes (Mito Tracker Red CMXRos, Mito Tracker Green FM, and JC‐1) to stain early zebrafish oocyte mitochondria, and confocal microscopy to analyze mitochondrial aggregation and distribution. By using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), we traced mitochondrial movement. The microtubule assembly inhibitor nocodazole and microfilament inhibitor cytochalasin B (CB) were used to analyze the role of microtubules and microfilaments on mitochondrial movement. By using the dual emission probe, JC‐1, and oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide 4‐(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP), we determined the distribution of active and inactive (low‐active) mitochondria. Green/red fluorescence ratios of different sublocations in different oocyte groups stained by JC‐1 were detected in merged (green and red) images. Our results showed that mitochondria exhibited a unique distribution pattern in early zebrafish oocytes. They tended to aggregate into large clusters in early stage I oocytes, but in a threadlike state in latter stage I oocytes. We detected a lower density mitochondrial area and a higher density mitochondrial area on opposite sides of the germinal vesicle. The green/red fluorescence ratios in different sublocations in normal oocytes were about 1:1. This implies that active mitochondria were distributed in all sublocations. FCCP treatment caused significant increases in the ratios. CB and nocodazole treatment caused an increase of the ratios in clusters and mitochondrial cloud, but not in dispersed areas. Mitochondria in different sublocations underwent fast dynamic movement. Inhibition or disruption of microtubules or microfilaments resulted in even faster mitochondrial free movement.
Teamworking and Labour Regulation in the Autocomponents Industry

This paper examines how particular structural pressures external to the firm can combine with the internal micro-dynamics of workplace relations and conflict to create a mode of labour regulation which corresponds to a `Japanese style' teamworking rather than alternative, more autonomous models. It draws on both quantitative and qualitative case study research data of the introduction of job reforms at a brownfield autocomponents factory in South Wales. The paper investigates three key facets of the reform process. First, how the external factors of industrial restructuring and the forging of new customer-supplier relations between firms shape managerial priorities and organisational outcomes. Second, how the microdynamics of workplace relations, in particular, the different interests and actions of managerial, white collar and shopfloor employees, have a direct bearing on the final composition of teamworking. Third, in response to the lack of attention given to the views of those who are most affected by job reforms, the paper provides a systematic analysis of the disempowering impact of teamworking on shopfloor workers' labour processes.
Patterns of Reduced VAT Rates in the European Union

Reduced VAT rates have positive and negative effects. In this article, the authors briefly discuss the main studies available on VAT rate structures and the impact of those structures on tax revenues. They have also developed a method for calculating the “erosive effect” of reduced rates and exemptions on the VAT revenues that each of the 27 Member States can theoretically derive from consumption by households. On the basis of the results of that analysis, the authors show the regional patterns of those VAT concessions.