Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Labor Market Policy Instruments and the Role of Economic Turbulence

Times of high unemployment always inspire debates on the role of labor market policy and its optimal implementation. This paper uses a dynamic model of search unemployment and bilateral wage bargaining to characterize optimal labor market policy in a possibly turbulent environment. A firing externality, generated by the existence of a partial unemployment insurance system, distorts the pre-policy equilibrium along three margins: job creation, job acceptance, and job destruction. Optimal policy is characterized by a payroll tax, a firing tax, and a hiring subsidy. Endogenous job acceptance demands that a firing tax and a hiring subsidy have to be set equal in any case and cannot be used to correct for the possible failure of the Hosios condition. In that case the optimal policy mix has to be extended by either an output or recruitment tax/subsidy. It is further shown that the derived policy mix is robust to the introduction of economic turbulence in form of state-dependent worker transitions between skill classes. This is crucial as widely discussed intergroup redistribution schemes, like in-work benefits targeted at low-skilled workers, are rendered considerably less effective in that case. Instead of redistribution from high- to low-skilled workers or from firing firms to unemployed workers, the paper identifies a scheme involving redistribution from firing to hiring firms to be optimal.
Solving a Multivariable Congruence by Change of Term Order

We consider the congruencea? i=1sbihimodIwhereh1,? ,hsare given modulo a zero dimensional idealI. We give two polynomial time algorithms for determining a Grobner basis, relative to an arbitrary term order, of the moduleMof solutions of the congruence, and, in particular, for finding its minimal element. These are based on a generalization of an algorithm of Faugereet al. and extend the 1-variable solution techniques that use the Euclidean algorithm and the Berlekamp? Massey algorithm.
Exact Parametric Confidence Intervals for Bland-Altman Limits of Agreement

Purpose The previous literature on Bland-Altman analysis only describes approximate methods for calculating confidence intervals for 95% limits of agreement (LoAs). This article describes exact methods for calculating such confidence intervals based on the assumption that differences in measurement pairs are normally distributed. Methods Two basic situations are considered for calculating LoA confidence intervals: the first, where LoAs are considered individually (i.e., using one-sided tolerance factors for a normal distribution); and the second, where LoAs are considered as a pair (i.e., using two-sided tolerance factors for a normal distribution). Equations underlying the calculation of exact confidence limits are briefly outlined. Results To assist in determining confidence intervals for LoAs (considered individually and as a pair), tables of coefficients have been included for degrees of freedom between 1 and 1000. Numerical examples, showing the use of the tables for calculating confidence limits for Bland-Altman LoAs, have been provided. Conclusions Exact confidence intervals for LoAs can differ considerably from the Bland and Altman approximate method, especially for sample sizes that are not large. There are better, more precise methods for calculating confidence intervals for LoAs than the Bland and Altman approximate method, although even an approximate calculation of confidence intervals for LoAs is likely to be better than none at all. Reporting confidence limits for LoAs considered as a pair is appropriate for most situations; however, there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to report confidence limits for LoAs considered individually.
A technique to expose animals to concentrated fine ambient aerosols.

This paper presents the development and evaluation of an ambient particle concentrator for conducting animal inhalation exposure studies. The system utilizes the principle of virtual impactors to concentrate ambient particles in the size range 0.1-2.5 microns (aerodynamic diameter; dp) by drawing them through a series of three virtual impactors. Each impactor contains the majority of ambient fine mass (dp < 2.5 microns aerodynamic diameter) in a bleed flow (minor flow) that is 20% of the total flow entering the virtual impactor. The virtual impactors have been characterized using indoor air samples as test aerosols. Fine mass and sulfate concentrations at the outlet of the concentrating system were compared to the ambient fine mass and sulfate levels, which were determined using Harvard-Marple impactors. In each of the stages, particle concentration was increased by a factor of approximately 3. Thus, an overall concentration factor of about 25-30 was achieved. The main goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting animal exposures using the newly developed ambient fine particle concentrator. ImagesFigure 1.Figure 2.Figure 3.Figure 4.Figure 5.Figure 6.
Calligraphic Stylisation Learning with a Physiologically Plausible Model of Movement and Recurrent Neural Networks

We propose a computational framework to learn stylisation patterns from example drawings or writings, and then generate new trajectories that possess similar stylistic qualities. We particularly focus on the generation and stylisation of trajectories that are similar to the ones that can be seen in calligraphy and graffiti art. Our system is able to extract and learn dynamic and visual qualities from a small number of user defined examples which can be recorded with a digitiser device, such as a tablet, mouse or motion capture sensors. Our system is then able to transform new user drawn traces to be kinematically and stylistically similar to the training examples. We implement the system using a Recurrent Mixture Density Network (RMDN) combined with a representation given by the parameters of the Sigma Lognormal model, a physiologically plausible model of movement that has been shown to closely reproduce the velocity and trace of human handwriting gestures.
Exploring Virtual Worlds for Scenario-Based Repeated Team Training of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Medical Students

Background Contemporary learning technologies, such as massively multiplayer virtual worlds (MMVW), create new means for teaching and training. However, knowledge about the effectiveness of such training is incomplete, and there are no data regarding how students experience it. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a field within medicine in high demand for new and effective training modalities. Objective In addition to finding a feasible way to implement CPR training, our aim was to investigate how a serious game setting in a virtual world using avatars would influence medical students’ subjective experiences as well as their retention of knowledge. Methods An MMVW was refined and used in a study to train 12 medical students in CPR in 3-person teams in a repeated fashion 6 months apart. An exit questionnaire solicited reflections over their experiences. As the subjects trained in 4 CPR scenarios, measurements of self-efficacy, concentration, and mental strain were made in addition to measuring knowledge. Engagement modes and coping strategies were also studied. Parametric and nonparametric statistical analyses were carried out according to distribution of the data. Results The majority of the subjects reported that they had enjoyed the training, had found it to be suitable, and had learned something new, although several asked for more difficult and complex scenarios as well as a richer virtual environment. The mean values for knowledge dropped during the 6 months from 8.0/10 to 6.25/10 (P = .002). Self-efficacy increased from before to after each of the two training sessions, from 5.9/7 to 6.5/7 (P = .01) after the first and from 6.0/7 to 6.7/7 (P = .03) after the second. The mean perceived concentration value increased from 54.2/100 to 66.6/100 (P = .006), and in general the mental strain was found to be low to moderate (mean = 2.6/10). Conclusions Using scenario-based virtual world team training with avatars to train medical students in multi-person CPR was feasible and showed promising results. Although we found no evidence of stimulated recall of CPR procedures in our test-retest study, the subjects were enthusiastic and reported increased concentration during the training. We also found that subjects’ self-efficacy had increased after the training. Despite the need for further studies, these findings imply several possible uses of MMVW technology for future emergency medical training.
Comparative Transcriptomic Analyses of Three Species of Placobdella (Rhynchobdellida: Glossiphoniidae) Confirms a Single Origin of Blood Feeding in Leeches

Abstract: One of the recalcitrant questions regarding the evolutionary history of clitellate annelids involves the feeding preference of the common ancestor of extant rhynchobdellid (proboscis bearing) and arhynchobdellid (jaw bearing) leeches. Whereas early evidence, based on morphological data, pointed towards independent acquisitions of blood feeding in the 2 orders, molecular-based phylogenetic data suggest that the ancestor of modern leeches was a sanguivore. Here, we use a comparative transcriptomic approach in order to increase our understanding of the diversity of anticoagulation factors for 3 species of the genus Placobdella, for which comparative data have been lacking, and inspect these in light of archetypal anticoagulant data for both arhynchobdellid and other rhynchobdellid species. Notwithstanding the varying levels of host specificity displayed by the 3 different species of Placobdella, transcriptomic profiles with respect to anticoagulation factors were largely similar —this despite the fact that Placobdella kwetlumye only retains a single pair of salivary glands, as opposed to the 2 pairs more common in the genus. Results show that 9 different anticoagulant proteins and an additional 5 putative antihemostasis proteins are expressed in salivary secretions of the 3 species. In particular, an ortholog of the archetypal, single-copy, anticoagulant hirudin (not previously available as comparative data for rhynchobdellids) is present in at least 2 of 3 species examined, corroborating the notion of a single origin of blood feeding in the ancestral leech.
Pseudomonas stutzeri Nitrite Reductase Gene Abundance in Environmental Samples Measured by Real-Time PCR

ABSTRACT We used real-time PCR to quantify the denitrifying nitrite reductase gene (nirS), a functional gene of biogeochemical significance. The assay was tested in vitro and applied to environmental samples. The primer-probe set selected was specific fornirS sequences that corresponded approximately to thePseudomonas stutzeri species. The assay was linear from 1 to 106 gene copies (r2 = 0.999). Variability at low gene concentrations did not allow detection of twofold differences in gene copy number at less than 100 copies. DNA spiking and cell-addition experiments gave predicted results, suggesting that this assay provides an accurate measure of P. stutzeri nirS abundance in environmental samples. AlthoughP. stutzeri abundance was high in lake sediment and groundwater samples, we detected low or no abundance of this species in marine sediment samples from Puget Sound (Wash.) and from the Washington ocean margin. These results suggest that P. stutzeri may not be a dominant marine denitrifier.
Thermophysiological responses and work strain in fishermen on deep-sea fishing vessels.

BACKGROUND Fishermen working on deep-sea vessels in the Barents and Norwegian Sea are exposed to low air temperatures, strong winds, high humidity, rain, snow and work at different intensities. Few studies have investigated the effect of environmental work factors on the physiology of this occupational group. The aim of the study was to investigate work strain and thermophysiological responses of fishermen on the trawl and factory decks of deep-sea vessels. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five professional male fishermen (age 39 ± 13 years) were recruited to the study which was performed on three trawlers in the Norwegian Sea in April, June and August 2014. During a six-hour shift, heart rate (HR), core (Tc) and mean skin (Ts) temperatures were recorded, and questions about subjective thermal sensation and comfort were answered. RESULTS Short periods of hard (above 86% of HRmax) work raised Tc by 0.8°C to 37.8°C and decreased Ts by 2.3°C to 29.8°C during work on the trawl deck, and subjects reported being warm and sweaty. On the factory deck long periods of fairly light (between 52% and 66% HRmax) work, Tc of 37.4°C and Ts of 30.9°C were measured. CONCLUSIONS Fishermen experience intermittent periods of heavy work on the trawl deck shown with elevated core temperature and HR. Work on the factory deck includes long periods of repetitive work with light to moderate work strain. A better understanding of work strain and environmental challenges during work on Norwegian deep-sea vessels will help identify exposure risks during work in the cold and heat.
Greedy dynamic routing on arrays

We study the problem of dynamic routing on arrays. We prove that a large class of greedy algorithms perform very well on average. In the dynamic case, when the arrival rate of packets in anN×Narray is at most 99% of network capacity, we establish an exponential bound on the tail of the delay distribution. Moreover, we show that in any window ofTsteps, the maximum queue-size isO(1+logT/logN) with high probability. We extend these results to the case of bit-serial routing, and to the static case. We also calculate the exact value of the ergodic expected delay and queue-sizes under the farthest first protocol for the one-dimensional array, and for the ring when the arrivals are Poisson.
Initiation of DNA replication in a eukaryotic rolling-circle replicon: identification of multiple DNA-protein complexes at the geminivirus origin.

The mechanism of initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotic rolling- circle replicons is still poorly understood in molecular terms. Geminiviruses, a family of plant DNA viruses, which use this strategy during part of their replicative cycle, replicate in the nucleus and are amenable to molecular studies. Except for the virally encoded initiator protein (Rep), geminivirus DNA replication relies on cellular factors, likely interfering with cell cycle regulation of the infected cell. Here, we report the identification of three distinct DNA-protein complexes of the DNA replication initiator protein encoded by wheat dwarf geminivirus (WDV) within viral regulatory sequences controlling DNA replication and transcription. We have mapped the WDV Rep binding sites by combining gel-shift assays, electron microscopy and DNase I footprinting. Two of the Rep-DNA complexes (C and the V) are high-affinity complexes, located in the proximity of the two divergent TATA boxes, at 150 and 90 bp, respectively, from the DNA replication initiation site. The third one, the O-complex, is a low-affinity complex, which can assemble under conditions supporting the DNA cleavage reaction. This suggests that it might be responsible for initiation of rolling-circle DNA replication in WDV and other members of the Mastrevirus genus.
Near‐field imaging and spectroscopy of electronic states in single‐walled carbon nanotubes

Near‐field photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to study the electronic properties of semiconducting Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes in different environments. A sharp laser‐illuminated metal tip was raster scanned over the sample and served as a strongly confined excitation source. We observed localization of photoluminescence and variations of emission energies along nanotubes on a length scale of about 30 nm. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Adaptive Fuzzy Output-Feedback Sliding Mode Control for Switched Uncertain Nonlinear Systems with Input Saturation

The paper deals with the problem of adaptive fuzzy output-feedback sliding mode control for switched uncertain nonlinear systems with input saturation. Based on sliding mode control technique, an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller is designed for switched uncertain nonlinear systems by using fuzzy logic systems to approximate the uncertain functions. By means of state variable filters, a state observer is constructed to solve the problem of unmeasured states of the system. Moreover, input saturation which is one of the most important input constraints usually occurs in many industrial control systems. The controller is designed by choosing a suitable Lyapunov function. Actually, it is verified that all the signals in the closed-loop system can not only guarantee uniformly ultimately bounded, but also achieve well performance. Finally, some computer simulation results of a practical example are illustrated to show the performance of the proposed approach.
Cognitive performance and the course of depressive symptoms over 7 years of follow-up: the SMART-MR study

Background Depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment often co-occur, but their interactive relationship is complex and the direction of causation is still a topic of research. We examined the influence of cognitive performance on the course of depressive symptoms during 7 years of follow-up in patients with vascular disease. Method Within the SMART-MR study, 736 patients (mean age 62 ± 10 years) had neuropsychological assessment on four cognitive domains at baseline [memory (MEM), working memory (WMEM), executive functioning (EXEC), and information processing speed (SPEED)]. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at baseline and every 6 months during 7 years of follow-up. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models were used to assess the association between cognitive performance with depressive symptoms at multiple time points during follow-up. Interaction terms between the respective cognitive domains and time was included to examine if the course of depressive symptoms differed according to baseline cognitive performance. Results The GEE analyses showed no significant interactions between the respective cognitive domains and time indicating no different course of depressive symptoms according to baseline cognitive performance. Lower MEM, EXEC or SPEED, but not WMEM performance, was significantly associated with more depressive symptoms during follow-up per z score decrease: MEM [B = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35–1.05]; EXEC (B = 0.88, 95% CI 0.41–1.36), and SPEED (B = 0.57, 95% CI 0.21–0.92). Conclusions Poorer cognitive performance on the domains MEM, EXEC and SPEED, but not WMEM, was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms over 7 years of follow-up, but not with a different course of depressive symptoms over time.
JackRabbit : Improved agility in elastic distributed storage

Elastic storage systems can be expanded or contracted to meet current demand, allowing servers to be turned off or used for other tasks. However, the usefulness of an elastic distributed storage system is limited by its agility: how quickly it can increase or decrease its number of servers. This paper describes an elastic storage system, called JackRabbit, that can quickly change its number of active servers. JackRabbit uses a combination of agility-aware offloading and reorganization techniques to minimize the work needed before deactivation or activation of servers. Analysis of real-world traces and experiments with the JackRabbit prototype confirm JackRabbit’s agility and show that it significantly reduces wasted server-time relative to state-of-the-art designs. Acknowledgements: We thank the members and companies of the PDL Consortium (including Actifio, APC, EMC, Emulex, Facebook, Fusion-io, Google, Hewlett-Packard Labs, Hitachi, Huawei Technologies Co., Intel, Microsoft Research, NEC Laboratories, NetApp, Oracle, Panasas, Riverbed, Samsung, Seagate, STEC, Symantec, VMWare, and Western Digital) for their interest, insights, feedback, and support. This research was sponsored in part by Intel and by CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University under grant #DAAD19–02–1–0389 from the Army Research Office. Experiments were enabled by generous hardware donations from Intel, NetApp, and APC. We thank Cloudera and Facebook for sharing the traces and Yanpei Chen for releasing SWIM.
Electricity consumption analysis and power quality monitoring in commercial buildings

The results of the analysis of the electricity consumption and power quality indicators in two office buildings are presented. It comprises electricity consumption and power quality during work days and weekends. The consumption data analysed is from a one year period and the power quality analysis is based on a one week measuring period. The aim of this analysis is to determine the current situation in these buildings in order to study the possibilities and limitations to implement different energy efficiency measures. In addition to the energy efficiency point of view, the problem is also addressed together with the power quality aspects.
A destination driven navigator with dynamic obstacle motion prediction

A real time navigating system, called destination driven navigator, is developed. The paper presents an obstacle representation method named cross-line, the concept "work space" to reduce the robot's search space and the environment storage cost, an adapted regression model to predict the dynamic obstacles' motion, and the multi-state path repair rules to quickly translate an infeasible path into feasible one, the path-planning algorithm and destination driven navigator to guide a mobile robot traveling in dynamic environments and reach a destination safely. A group of experimental results is conducted that exhibit that the destination driven navigator is a powerful and effective paradigm for robot motion planning and obstacle avoidance.
Reversible data hiding: Advances in the past two decades

In the past two decades, reversible data hiding (RDH), also referred to as lossless or invertible data hiding, has gradually become a very active research area in the field of data hiding. This has been verified by more and more papers on increasingly wide-spread subjects in the field of RDH research that have been published these days. In this paper, the various RDH algorithms and researches have been classified into the following six categories: 1) RDH into image spatial domain; 2) RDH into image compressed domain (e.g., JPEG); 3) RDH suitable for image semi-fragile authentication; 4) RDH with image contrast enhancement; 5) RDH into encrypted images, which is expected to have wide application in the cloud computation; and 6) RDH into video and into audio. For each of these six categories, the history of technical developments, the current state of the arts, and the possible future researches are presented and discussed. It is expected that the RDH technology and its applications in the real word will continue to move ahead.
A passage to India: cultural distance issues in IJVs’ knowledge management

ABSTRACT Cultural distance has been identified as one of the main issues affecting partnership processes in international joint-ventures (IJVs). However, there is still a lot of debate about the role played by cultural differences in influencing IJVs’ knowledge management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how cultural distance impacts on knowledge management processes of IJVs’ relationships in a cross-cultural business environment. We performed a content analysis focused on an embedded case study, the IJVs of the Generali Group in India. Results show that trust alone is not sufficient to support knowledge management within IJVs, as partners may feel reluctant to share strategic information. However, the creation of facilitation roles, the development of knowledge acquisition skills, and the contributions of managers and employees generate a social glue that increases the willingness to share knowledge and facilitates knowledge management processes.