Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inflation targeting and the anchoring of inflation expectations: cross-country evidence from consensus forecasts

Using survey data of inflation expectations across a 36 developed and developing countries, this paper examines whether the adoption of inflation targeting has helped to anchor inflation expectations. We examine the response of inflation expectations following a shock to inflation, inflation expectations, and oil prices. For the 13 countries that adopted inflation targeting midway through the time period used in this study, there is a significant difference in the responses between the earlier and the later subperiods. A shock leads to a positive, significant, and persistent increase inflation expectations in the earlier, pre-targeting subperiod, but the same response is much less significant and persistent in the later, posttargeting subperiod. For the control group of 23 countries that did not adopt inflation targeting during this time period, there is no difference between responses in the earlier and the later sub-periods.
Assessing the validity of the updated Medical College Admission Test

This report represents early information about the validity of the updated Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) battery introduced in 1991. Data are given on both the use of the new examination in the selection of medical students and its estimated predictive value for freshman students' performance. Admission officials from 114 institutions responded to a survey on medical school admission practices and on the use of MCAT data; also elicited were assessments of the examination in relation to its design and implementation objectives. Regression-based evaluations of the predictive validity of the MCAT, undergraduate grades, and of undergraduate selectivity data for first-year grades at 12 institutions are described. Survey responses suggest that MCAT data are viewed in relation to the varied information needs of admission decision making and are supplemented by other academic and nonacademic information in selection. The new battery generally is judged favorably by admission officials. Predictive validity results reflect the usefulness of MCAT scores, undergraduate grades, and selectivity data for identifying individuals apt to succeed in medical school. The authors conclude that preliminary information about the results of the new examination is encouraging. The members of the MCAT Validity Studies Advisory Group, who assisted the authors in framing and conducting the research presented in this report, continue their research and deliberations about the use, utility, and impact of the updated MCAT.
Toxic effects of indoxacarb enantiomers on the embryonic development and induction of apoptosis in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)

Indoxacarb is a highly potent insecticide widely used to control Lepidoptera insects in vegetable, tea, cotton, and rice fields. It can run off into aquatic environments. It is consisted of two enantiomers. Environmental risks and aquatic toxicity of indoxacarb enantiomers have not been fully investigated. In this study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to varying concentrations of (−)‐R‐indoxacarb and (+)‐S‐indoxacarb until 96‐h post‐fertilization (hpf) to assess the embryonic toxicity. (−)‐R‐indoxacarb was 1.3‐fold more toxic than (+)‐S‐isomer to zebrafish embryos at 96 hpf. (−)‐R‐indoxacarb exhibited reduction in body length and pericardial edema compared with (+)‐S‐indoxacarb. (−)‐R‐indoxacarb decreased the hatching rate sixfold greater than (+)‐S‐indoxacarb. The rate of pericardial edema induced by (−)‐R‐indoxacarb was 2.5 times greater than that by (+)‐S‐indoxacarb. The heart rate of the larvae exposed to (−)‐R‐indoxacarb was 30% lower than that to (+)‐S‐indoxacarb. In addition, exposure to the chiral isomers resulted in significant increases in apoptosis; interestingly (−)‐R‐indoxacarb induced apoptosis in the heart area, whereas (+)‐S‐indoxacarb induced apoptosis in the head area. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 7–16, 2017.
Does the tourist care? A comparison of tourists in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, are two islands in Southeast Asia that face several developmental challenges associated with the rapid growth of tourism. Both islands are part of a marine park, are small in size and have several natural resources that need protection. They both face burgeoning tourist numbers that have increased tourism infrastructure development and are leading to environmental degradation. These islands have discussed ways to incorporate sustainability into their management and marketing practices, and they have looked to tourists as a support for change. This study examines the motivations, profiles and perceptions of tourists in island destinations, their level of awareness of environmental issues there, the extent to which they feel responsible about preserving or protecting their natural resources and the role they may be willing to take in their management, including their willingness to pay for environmental protection. The findings showed that the majority of the tourists to both islands were young, had relatively high levels of income and were from English-speaking nations. Tourists in both islands stated that they were willing to pay for sustainability practices, but there were differences around who they felt should be primarily responsible for implementing sustainability measures.
Sticky Price and Sticky Information Price-Setting Models: What is the Difference?

"Using a partial equilibrium framework, Mankiw and Reis show that a sticky information model can generate a lagged and gradual inflation response after a monetary policy shock, whereas a sticky price model cannot. Our study demonstrates that the finding is sensitive to their model's parameterization. To determine a plausible parameterization, we specify a general equilibrium model with sticky information. In that model, we find that inflation peaks only one period after a monetary disturbance. A sensitivity analysis of our results reveals that the inflation peak is delayed by including real rigidities when the monetary policy instrument is money growth, whereas inflation peaks immediately when the policy instrument is the nominal interest rate. "("JEL "E31, E32, E52) Copyright 2007 Western Economic Association International.
Water use in Plantations of Eucalypts and Pines: A Discussion Paper from a Tree Breeding Perspective

SUMMARY Plantation forests are being established on more marginal, harsh sites to accommodate expansion of agriculture. Because of this, tree breeders and silviculturists are interested in improving drought hardiness of trees. Breeding approaches to improve drought hardiness includes the assessment of trees as dead or alive in trials after severe droughts followed by the selection of the best surviving phenotypes for the establishment of seed orchards or land races. Physiologists estimate water utilization in trees in terms of water use efficiency (WUE). It is a function of biomass per unit of evapotranspiration and is calculated on a leaf or wood scale in clonal plots and stands. The gene complexes that control drought hardiness and WUE are probably different. It one respect, traditional breeding might have a limited impact on changing WUE since it will be difficult to alter rate of evapotranspiration through selection. In another respect, one could argue that selecting trees for high productivity is indirectly selecting for high WUE in some environments. Alternative approaches such as assessing heavy isotopes of carbon and oxygen in leaf tissue are being used by some scientists as a surrogate measure of water use in crops and trees. This paper presents the general findings from catchment studies on water uptake in pines and eucalypts and discusses how tree breeders might use results to further the development of drought hardy varieties grown in seasonally dry environments.
Regional development in Lithuania considering multiple objectives by the MOORA method

Abstract The inequality between the regional incomes in a nation with a developed fiscal and parafiscal regime including social security will be equilibrated automatically by transfer payments from the richer to the poorer regions. The automatic system is not a guaranty for success. Internationally a project oriented system of the international organizations is known instead of an automatic system but the final goal is not always very clear. Multiple Objectives Optimization looks more robust to obtain regional and international development. Moreover a system of transfer payments is not sufficient to measure the well being of a regional population. In the well‐being economy, each individual would have to feel good concerning material wealth, health, education, all kind of security and concerning the environment. With other words, multiple objectives have to be fulfilled. However, these different multiple objectives are expressed in different units. Weights are most of the time used to equalize these differ.
Decision feedback turbo equalization for space-time coded systems

We present a novel turbo equalization structure for space-time coded systems. It is based on performing channel equalization via a decision feedback equalizer (DFE) designed using a novel maximum likelihood criterion. The resulting optimization problem is solved using the space-alternating generalized EM (SAGE) algorithm. This results in expressions for the forward and backward filters of the DFE that take large benefit from the more and more refined estimations of the transmitted symbols iteratively obtained by the outer decoder.
Epidemiology of Eimeria Infections in Calves in Addis Ababa and Debre Zeit Dairy Farms, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence, species composition, and associated risk factors with Eimeria infection in calves of 40 dairy farms in Addis Ababa city and Debre Zeit town. Of the total 580 calves examined for Eimeria infection, 68.1% (395) were infected with 1 or more Eimeria species. A total of 11 species of Eimeria were identified. The most prevalent was E bovis found in 38.45% of the examined samples. The other species found were E zurnii (18.1%), E auburnensis (17.9%), E canadensis (16.9%), E ellipsoidalis (11.2%), E subspherica (6.7%), E cylindrica (6.4%), E alabamensis (4.7%), E wyomingensis (4.3%), E bukidnonensis (3.1%), and E brasilensis (1.2%). Eimeria oocysts were detected in calves from 15 to 345 days of age. There were no statistically significant (P > 0.05) associations between infection by Eimeria and the presence of diarrhea in examined calves. Agro-ecology and age of the study calves were observed as the most important factors associated with occurrence of Eimeria infections in calves. There was strong association (P < 0.001) between the intensity of infection, age of the calves, and consistency of the feces. The observation of pathogenic species of Eimeria (E bovis and E zurnii) in calves in this study suggests that coccidiosis may be contributing to the enteric syndromes affecting calves of the area.
Correlation between immature platelet fraction and reticulated platelets. Usefulness in the etiology diagnosis of thrombocytopenia

Background: Reticulated platelets (RP) are a surrogate marker for megakaryocytic activity, but the limitation of this determination is the lack of standardization of methodology. The determination of the immature platelet fraction (IPF) is performed in a simple, automated, and reproducible way between laboratories. We analyzed the correlation between IPF and RP, and usefulness of IPF in patients with thrombocytopenia.
Evaluation of risks related to the use of adeno-associated virus-based vectors.

Recombinant AAV efficacy has been demonstrated in numerous gene therapy preclinical studies. As this vector is increasingly applied to human clinical trials, it is a priority to evaluate the risks of its use for workers involved in research and clinical trials as well as for the patients and their descendants. At high multiplicity of infection, wild-type AAV integrates into human chromosome 19 in approximately 60% of latently infected cell lines. However, it has been recently demonstrated that only approximately 1 out of 1000 infectious units can integrate. The mechanism of this site-specific integration involves AAV Rep proteins which are absent in vectors. Accordingly, recombinant AAV (rAAV) do not integrate site-specifically. Random integration of vector sequences has been demonstrated in established cell lines but only in some cases and at low frequency in primary cultures and in vivo. In contrast, episomal concatemers predominate.Therefore, the risks of insertional mutagenesis and activation of oncogenes are considered low. Biodistribution studies in non-human primates after intramuscular, intrabronchial, hepatic artery and subretinal administration showed low and transient levels of vector DNA in body fluids and distal organs. Analysis of patients body fluids revealed rAAV sequences in urine, saliva and serum at short-term. Transient shedding into the semen has been observed after delivery to the hepatic artery. However, motile germ cells seemed refractory to rAAV infection even when directly exposed to the viral particles, suggesting that the risk of insertion of new genetic material into the germ line is absent or extremely low. Risks related to viral capsid-induced inflammation also seem to be absent since immune response is restricted to generation of antibodies. In contrast, transgene products can elicit both cellular and humoral immune responses, depending on the nature of the expressed protein and of the route of vector administration. Finally, a correlation between early abortion as well as male infertility and the presence of wt AAV DNA in the genital tract has been suggested. Although no causal relationship has been established, this issue stresses the importance of using rAAV stocks devoid of contaminating replication-competent AAV. This review comprehensively examines virus integration, biodistribution, immune interactions, and other safety concerns regarding the wild-type AAV and recombinant AAV vectors.
Expression of integrins and E‐cadherin in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck

Integrins and cadherins are cell adhesion molecules suggested to play an important role in malignant progression and tumour differentiation. Our aim was to characterise the pattern of expression and the relations between integrin β1, β4, β6 and E‐cadherin and the different histopathological features important when judging tumour differentiation, using a well‐defined scoring system. Formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded pre‐irradiation biopsies from 85 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) were stained and evaluated for the expression of integrin β1, β4 and β6 and E‐cadherin. The integrins were upregulated in carcinomas compared to the adjacent mucosa and E‐cadherin was downregulated. However, differences were found within the tumour: Expression of E‐cadherin was lost and the three integrins were upregulated at the tumour borders, compared to central parts of the tumour biopsy. Expression of the integrins did not correlate with tumour or histopathological parameters, whereas expression of E‐cadherin was correlated with high degree of keratinisation, high nuclear maturation and few mitoses – factors that characterise well‐differentiated carcinomas ‐and E‐cadherin can therefore be considered as a marker of differentiation. Furthermore, loss of adhesion expressed by low E‐cadherin and integrin β4 correlated with the presence of nodal metastases at the time of diagnosis.
Foreign Direct Investment Theories: An Overview of the Main FDI Theories

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) acquired an important role in the international economy after the Second World War. Theoretical studies on FDI have led to a better understanding of the economic mechanism and the behavior of economic agents, both at micro and macro level allowing the opening of new areas of study in economic theory. To understand foreign direct investment must first understand the basic motivations that cause a firm to invest abroad rather than export or outsource production to national firms. The purpose of this study is to identify the main trends in FDI theory and highlight how these theories were developed, the motivations that led to the need for new approaches to enrich economic theory of FDI. Although several researchers have tried to explain the phenomenon of FDI, we cannot say there is a generally accepted theory, every new evidence adding some new elements and criticism to the previous ones.
Support Schemes for Renewable Energy: An Economic Analysis

We consider leading approaches to the decarbonisation of electricity supply. Price supports through long term contracts, such as feed-in-tariffs have been very effective at eliciting rapid escalation of renewable supply, largely because risks have been transferred away from suppliers and tariffs have been generous. However, countries with the most ambitious programs of this type (Denmark, Germany and Spain) have experienced a noticeable increase in electricity costs. Quota programs, combined with some form of tradable carbon certificates, have typically produced a lesser response with lower impact on consumers. Assured access to grids has also played an important role in expediting growth. Both genres of policy instruments increase global demand for renewable technologies, thereby promoting dynamic efficiency. However, other inefficiencies remain. Feed-in-tariffs place primary onus of technology selection and support on governments and regulators. Limitations on carbon trade reduce effectiveness and increase costs as well. The next generation of instruments would benefit from better locational and temporal price signals.
Unemployment, underemployment and depressive affect among Southeast Asian refugees

Synopsis This study of 1348 adult Southeast Asian refugees resettling in Vancouver, British Columbia and a comparison sample of 319 permanent residents of the city demonstrates a reciprocal relationship between unemployment and depressive affect. Increased risk of depression accompanied job loss and depression made it more difficult to stay employed. Although the association between unemployment and depression was common to both refugee and host society samples, links between these phenomena proved different in the two groups. In contrast to the refugees for whom income loss was the over-riding stress resulting from job loss, loss of esteem and loss of social contact also proved to be salient stressors for resident Canadians. Although a threat to the mental health of resident Canadians, underemployment – working at a level which considering one's education and previous occupation, is lower than might be expected – did not jeopardize the mental health of refugees.
OPTIMAL CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND INCOME SUPPORT REFORM UNCERTAINTY

This paper investigates the extent to which an active agricultural policy directed to the return and/or the variability of return in farming that is understood and anticipated, where the political process creates parameter uncertainty and noise about the precise timing of reform, influences the capital structure at the farm level. Closed for solutions for the implied restructuring prior to the reform is derived. The empirical analyses the policy induced incentives for debt levels adjustment that may have prevailed prior to and after the 1996 Farm Bill. The empirical analysis strongly supports the theoretical analysis.
Loss of bladder smooth muscle caveolae in the aging bladder

Caveolae are specialized regions of the cell membrane that modulate signal transduction and alterations in these structures affect bladder smooth muscle (BSM) contraction. Since bladder dysfunctions are common in the elderly, we evaluated the effect of aging on the morphology of caveolae and caveolin protein expression in BSM.
Identification of Two Novel Human Acyl-CoA Wax Alcohol Acyltransferases

The esterification of alcohols such as sterols, diacylglycerols, and monoacylglycerols with fatty acids represents the formation of both storage and cytoprotective molecules. Conversely, the overproduction of these molecules is associated with several disease pathologies, including atherosclerosis and obesity. The human acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) 2 gene superfamily comprises seven members, four of which have been previously implicated in the synthesis of di- or triacylglycerol. The remaining 3 members comprise an X-linked locus and have not been characterized. We describe here the expression of DGAT2 and the three X-linked genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains virtually devoid of neutral lipids. All four gene products mediate the synthesis of triacylglycerol; however, two of the X-linked genes act as acyl-CoA wax alcohol acyltransferases (AWAT 1 and 2) that predominantly esterify long chain (wax) alcohols with acyl-CoA-derived fatty acids to produce wax esters. AWAT1 and AWAT2 have very distinct substrate preferences in terms of alcohol chain length and fatty acyl saturation. The enzymes are expressed in many human tissues but predominate in skin. In situ hybridizations demonstrate a differentiation-specific expression pattern within the human sebaceous gland for the two AWAT genes, consistent with a significant role in the composition of sebum.
The relationship of stock returns, interest rates, economic activity and inflation: Evidence from Latin America

This study employs a four-variable vector autoregressive (VAR) model to investigate the relationship of stock returns, inflation, interest rates and real economic activity. The sample consists of four Latin American countries from January of 1995 to December of 2005. Our results indicate heterogeneous patterns for the relationship of financial and economic variables across countries. We also show that monetary policy shocks seem to affect Latin American stock markets. That evidence is rather weak, though. On the other hand, there is no significant relationship between stock markets and real activity and inflation.
Efficient algorithms for the discovery of DNA oligonucleotide barcodes from sequence databases

Efficient design of barcode oligonucleotides can lead to significant cost reductions in the manufacturing of DNA arrays. Previous methods are based on either a preliminary alignment, which reduces their efficiency for intron‐rich regions, or on a brute force approach, not feasible for large‐scale problems or on data structures with very poor performance in the worst case. One of the algorithms we propose uses ‘oligonucleotide sorting’ for the discovery of oligonucleotide barcodes of given sizes, with good asymptotic performance. Specific barcode oligonucleotides with at least one base difference from other sequences in a database are found for each individual sequence. With another algorithm, specific oligonucleotides can also be found for groups or clades in the database, which have 100% homology for all oligonucleotide sequences within the group or clade while having differences with the rest of the data. By re‐organizing the sequences/groups in the database, oligonucleotides for different hierarchical levels can be found. The oligonucleotides or polymorphism locations identified as species or clade specific by the new algorithm are refined and screened further for hybridization thermodynamic properties with third party software.