Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poverty Reduction and Growth: Virtuous and Vicious Circles

Poverty Reduction and Growth is about the existence of these vicious circles in Latin America and the Caribbean about the ways and means to convert them into virtuous circles in which poverty reduction and high growth reinforce each other. This publication is organized as follows: Chapter 1: From vicious to virtuous circle; Chapter 2: Dimensions of well-being, channels to growth; Chapter 3: How did we get here? Chapter 4: The relative roles of growth and inequality for poverty reduction; Chapter 5: Pro-poor growth in Latin America; Chapter 6: Does poverty matter for growth? Chapter 7: Subnational dimensions of growth and poverty; Chapter 8: Microdeterminants of incomes: labor markets, poverty, and traps? ; and Chapter 9: Breaking the cycle of underinvestment in human capital in Latin America.
Protective effects of Urtica dioica L. on experimental testicular ischaemia reperfusion injury in rats

In this study, it was aimed to examine the effects of Urtica dioica L. (UD) that has antioxidant feature in the experimental testicular I/R model in rats in terms of anti‐apoptotic and antioxidative effects. In our study, 24 male rats were divided into three groups: control group, I/R group and I/R + UD (2 mg kg−1) group. Seminiferous tubule calibre measurement, Johnson score, haematoxylin–eosin staining, proliferative cell nucleus antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemical staining and TUNEL as histopathological have been conducted. The structural deterioration in the testicular on I/R group has reduced after the treatment of UD. Our data indicate a significant reduction in the activity of in situ identification of apoptosis using terminal dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL), and there was a rise in the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in testis tissues of UD‐treated rats in the I/R group. The I/R + UD group showed a decrease in malondialdehyde levels and an increase in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in comparison with the I/R group. It could be concluded that protective effects of UD on the I/R testicles are via reduction of histological damage, apoptosis, oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.
Supplier relations and supply chain performance in financial services processes

Purpose – This paper aims to empirically test the relationship between supplier relations and satisfaction with overall supplier performance in a services context at a process level of analysis.Design/methodology/approach – Two hypotheses are developed, one predicting a positive relationship between a multi‐dimensional construct of supplier relations and satisfaction with overall supplier performance, and one five‐part hypothesis predicting positive relationships between the underlying components of supplier relations and satisfaction with overall supplier performance. Using a sample of 108 financial services processes, the first hypothesis is tested using regression analysis, and the second hypothesis is tested using correlation analysis.Findings – After controlling for supplier efficiency and responsiveness, use of information technology, electronic information‐sharing, supplier type, and firm size, better supplier relations are associated with satisfaction with overall supplier performance. However, wh.
Reverse engineering of CT-based rocker sole model—Finite element analysis

Footwear provides the primary surface of interaction with the environment during locomotion with foot. In order to minimize foot disorders, many manufacturers try to improve the material and structural design of footwear according to the biomechanics associated with foot and footwear. In this study, a preliminary 3D finite element foot-rocker sole model was established from actual CT scan information of three rocker sole molds and a male subject, for accurate implementation of the foot-sole-ground interaction in the mid-stance event. Results indicate that the high stress occurs on the heel and first metatarsal head for the foot part and the transformations of high stress can effectively disperse the pressure from rearfoot and forefoot to arch region of the foot for the sole part.
0 Graphene and Cousin Systems

Besides its simple molecular structure, the magic of 2D graphene, a sheet of carbon graphite, is essentially due to two fundamental electronic properties: First for its peculiar band structure where valence and conducting bands intersect at two points K+ and K− of the reciprocal space of the 2D honeycomb making of graphene a zero gap semi-conductor. Second, for the ultra relativistic behavior of the charge carriers near the Fermi level where the energy dispersion relation E = E (p) behaves as a linear function in momenta; E (p) = v f p + O ( p2 )
Dynamics of Monetary Policy Uncertainty and the Impact on the Macroeconomy

A large literature lauds the benefits of central bank transparency and credibility, but when a central bank like the U.S. Federal Reserve has a dual mandate, is not specific to the extent it targets employment versus price stability, and is not specific to the magnitude interest rates should change in response to these targets, market participants must depend largely on past data to form expectations about monetary policy. We suppose market participants estimate a Taylor-like regression equation to understand the conduct of monetary policy, which likely guides their short-run and long-run expectations. When the Federal Reserve's actions deviate from its historical targets for macroeconomic variables, an environment of greater uncertainty may be the result. We quantify this degree of uncertainty by measuring and aggregating recent deviations of the federal funds rate from econometric forecasts predicted by constant gain learning. We incorporate this measure of uncertainty into a VAR model with ARCH shocks to measure the effect monetary policy uncertainty has on inflation, output growth, unemployment, and the volatility of these variables. We find that a higher degree of uncertainty regarding monetary policy is associated with greater volatility of output growth and unemployment.
Measurement of tibial slope angle after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy: case series

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: In the past, changes in tibial slope were not considered when planning or evaluating osteotomies, and success in high tibial osteotomy was related to the alignment and amount of femorotibial angular correction. The aim here was to measure changes in tibial slope after medial opening wedge tibial osteotomy and investigate the effect of tibial slope angle on the clinical results. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective review study on a series of cases, at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculdade de Medicina de Marília (Famema), Marília, Brazil. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients were studied, and a total of thirty-one knees. Lateral roentgenograms of the tibia were used pre and postoperatively to measure the tibial slope based on the proximal tibial anatomical axis. The clinical results were measured using the Lysholm knee score. RESULTS: There was an average increase in tibial slope angle after surgery of 2.38° (95% confidence interval: ± 0.73°). There was no correlation (r = -0.28) between the postoperative Lysholm knee score and the difference in tibial slope angle from before to after surgery (P = 0.13). CONCLUSION: Medial opening wedge tibial osteotomy led to a small increase in tibial slope. No significant correlation was found between increased tibial slope and short-term clinical results after high tibial osteotomy. Other clinical studies are needed in order to establish whether extension or flexion osteotomy could benefit patients with medial compartment gonarthrosis.
Comparative study of traffic models : a concrete mass evacuation example

Three different types of traffic flow models are considered: time continuous microscopic, time discrete microscopic and macroscopic. All three models are used to estimate the time necessary for the evacuation of Bird Island, North Carolina, in the case for instance of a hurricane. The typical underlying assumptions related to the use of each model are discussed together with their relative pros and cons. In spite of their fundamental differences, all three approaches lead to comparable results regarding evacuation times. Evacuation strategy is also discussed.
Motivational factors associated with physical activity and quality of life in people with severe mental illness

BACKGROUND There has been increasing interest for investigating the role of motivation in physical activity among people with severe mental illness (SMI). Autonomous motivation has been suggested to have a potentially important role in adoption and maintenance of physical activity. However, the knowledge about factors that facilitate autonomous motivation among people with SMI is scarce. AIM The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with motivation for physical activity as well as the relationships between motivation, physical activity and health-related quality of life in individuals with SMI that were currently physically active. METHODS A cross-sectional design was used, and 88 participants were recruited from a public health network promoting physical activity for people with SMI. They answered a questionnaire package consisting of scales measuring psychological need support - psychological need satisfaction - and motivation for physical activity, physical activity and health-related quality of life. RESULTS The majority of participants reported to be in regular physical activity. Associations between variables were tested according to the self-determination theory process model. Structural equation modelling yielded good fit of the process model to the data. Specifically, a need-supportive environment was positively associated with psychological need satisfaction, while psychological need satisfaction was positively associated with autonomous motivation and mental health-related quality of life, and negatively associated with controlled motivation and amotivation. Physical activity was positively associated with autonomous motivation and physical health-related quality of life, and negatively associated with amotivation. CONCLUSION This study indicates that individuals with SMI can be regularly physically active when provided with suitable opportunities. Furthermore, the present results suggest that it is vital for health-care practitioners to emphasise creating a need-supportive environment when organising physical activity because such an environment is associated with both increased autonomous motivation for physical activity and mental health-related quality of life.
Motion Hooks for the Multiview Extension of HEVC

MV-HEVC refers to the multiview extension of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). At the time of writing, MV-HEVC was being developed by the Joint Collaborative Team on 3D Video Coding Extension Development (JCT-3V) of International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Moving Picture Experts Group and ITU-T VCEG. Before HEVC itself was technically finalized in January 2013, the development of MV-HEVC had already started and it was decided that MV-HEVC would only contain high-level syntax changes compared with HEVC, i.e., no changes to block-level processes, to enable the reuse of the first-generation HEVC decoder hardware as is for constructing an MV-HEVC decoder with only firmware changes corresponding to the high-level syntax part of the codec. Consequently, any block-level process that is not necessary for HEVC itself but on the other hand is useful for MV-HEVC can only be enabled through so-called hooks. Motion hooks refer to techniques that do not have a significant impact on the HEVC single-view version 1 codec and can mainly improve MV-HEVC. This paper presents techniques for efficient MV-HEVC coding by introducing hooks into the HEVC design to accommodate inter-view prediction in MV-HEVC. These hooks relate to motion prediction, hence named motion hooks. Some of the motion hooks developed by the authors have been adopted into HEVC during its finalization. Simulation results show that the proposed motion hooks provide on average 4% of bitrate reduction for the views coded with inter-view prediction.
Nanoparticle Filtration Performance of NIOSH-Certified Particulate Air-Purifying Filtering Facepiece Respirators: Evaluation by Light Scattering Photometric and Particle Number-Based Test Methods

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certification test methods employ charge neutralized NaCl or dioctyl phthalate (DOP) aerosols to measure filter penetration levels of air-purifying particulate respirators photometrically using a TSI 8130 automated filter tester at 85 L/min. A previous study in our laboratory found that widely different filter penetration levels were measured for nanoparticles depending on whether a particle number (count)-based detector or a photometric detector was used. The purpose of this study was to better understand the influence of key test parameters, including filter media type, challenge aerosol size range, and detector system. Initial penetration levels for 17 models of NIOSH-approved N-, R-, and P-series filtering facepiece respirators were measured using the TSI 8130 photometric method and compared with the particle number-based penetration (obtained using two ultrafine condensation particle counters) for the same challenge aerosols generated by the TSI 8130. In general, the penetration obtained by the photometric method was less than the penetration obtained with the number-based method. Filter penetration was also measured for ambient room aerosols. Penetration measured by the TSI 8130 photometric method was lower than the number-based ambient aerosol penetration values. Number-based monodisperse NaCl aerosol penetration measurements showed that the most penetrating particle size was in the 50 nm range for all respirator models tested, with the exception of one model at ∼200 nm size. Respirator models containing electrostatic filter media also showed lower penetration values with the TSI 8130 photometric method than the number-based penetration obtained for the most penetrating monodisperse particles. Results suggest that to provide a more challenging respirator filter test method than what is currently used for respirators containing electrostatic media, the test method should utilize a sufficient number of particles <100 nm and a count (particle number)-based detector.
LONG‐RUN M3 DEMAND IN SOUTH AFRICA: A COINTEGRATED VAR MODEL

This paper presents a system cointegration analysis of a long-run demand for money (measured in terms of M3) in South Africa. In particular, the paper estimates a cointegrated vector autoregression model, consisting of real money, income and the opportunity cost of holding money. Using a variety of theory consistent identification schemes, the money demand function is identified along with other two cointegrating relations, namely, an IS-type relationship and a relationship relating inflation to the spread between long- and short-term interest rates. The model shows that of the variables used, only income and real money are error-correcting to the money demand relation. The money demand relation is found to be relatively stable over the sample period, when short-run fluctuations are corrected for. The model further shows that the long-run link between money and inflation is rather weak. Copyright (c) 2007 The Author. Journal compilation (c) 2007 Economic Society of South Africa.
An analysis on the issues of the rights of spouses in the Islamic Family Law in Malaysia

This paper intends to analyze problems regarding mutual rights of Muslims married couple in Malaysia. It has drawn the attention of many researchers to carry out studies on this issue since there have been accusations and complaints on the implementation of the Islamic Family Law (IFL) by the Syariah Court, which is said to have discriminated the wife/women of their rights. The qualitative approach research employed interviews and content analysis as method of study on the Islamic Family Law as well as on the documented cases. The results of the research showed that among the most disputable cases were matters related to polygamy, fasakh, jointly acquired property and children custodian. Conversely, all data were analyzed by using the qualitative data analysis, concluded that the Islamic Family Law in Malaysia has infact implemented the concept of equality.
FDI-Growth Nexus in Ethiopia: Is there any Causality?

The objective of this paper was to investigate the causal link between FDI and economic growth in Ethiopia. Using annual data ranging from 1974-2010 and employing the Toda-Yamamoto (1995) bivariate causality test, we could not find any causality running from FDI to growth or vice versa. However, there was an evidence of cointegration between FDI and growth. The implications of the results are: first, the flow of the aggregate level of FDI is too small to translate in to growth. Second, perhaps FDI flow has gone in to sectors that could not create linkages and fuel economic growth. Thus, developing countries like Ethiopia should formulate policies attracting FDI in to economic sectors that could harness the benefits of the FDI outweighing the costs of hosting FDI (like profit repatriation to FDI sending economy). Seabra and Flach (2005) document adverse impact of profit repatriation due to FDI. With further availability of data, future research should examine the causal link in a multivariate framework while addressing the issue of structural break.
Bureaucracy and pro-poor change

This paper takes a political economy perspective in analysing the nature and causes on the decline in bureaucratic conduct. Section 1 lays out the details of this structure. Based on a logical model which places the bureaucracy within the larger context of the objective function of the state, the nature of the political process, the degree of centralisation and fragmentation of the bureaucratic structure and processes for monitoring and accountability of the bureaucracy, this model provides the basis for subsequent analysis. Section 2 provides a historical overview with regard to changes in the bureaucratic and political structure and the impact it had on the above mentioned balance between bureaucratic conduct and political compulsions. Section 3 then analyses the consequences on service delivery that this systematic weakening of the bureaucratic structure has had. Section 4 then critically assesses some of the recent attempts at bureaucratic reform in the light of the framework developed in Section 1. The conclusion then summarises the paper and draws implications for pro-poor change of the structure and conduct of the bureaucratic structure in Pakistan
Institutional and negotiated order perspectives on cost allocations: The case of the Swedish university sector

Abstract A growing number of studies of the issue of cost allocations based on different institutional theories have recently emerged in the management accounting literature. These provide an alternative to efficiency-centred explanations of the evolution of cost allocation practices and have increasingly drawn attention to the roles of competing interests, power, agency and politics in the more or less continuous (re-)construction of cost allocation rules. This paper extends this literature by combining an institutional perspective with insights gleaned from the negotiated order (NO) literature, using recent developments in the Swedish university sector as an empirical illustration. This draws attention to the role of negotiations in the political regulation of costing in a highly institutionalised environment. Adopting a comparative, embedded case study design we contrast three recent attempts to re-negotiate cost allocation rules with varying outcomes. It is concluded that the role of institutional factors as well as socio-political negotiations in framing the ambiguity associated with cost allocations is important in explaining why and how change in cost allocation rules is mobilised or diverted. Especially, the NO perspective enriches institutional explanations of the stabilising role of power in this respect by drawing attention to how power relationships and coalitions of interests are formed around the specific issues at stake. This leads to a more dynamic and less atomistic conceptualisation of power and agency than in much prior research on the institutionalisation of accounting.
Technology Outsourcing in Manufacturing Small- And Medium-Sized Firms: Another Competitive Resource?

Based on a sample of UK manufacturing small- and medium-sized firms in the engineering and electronics industry, the study identifies firm- and industry-specific factors that stimulate R&D outsourcing and assesses the impact of R&D investment and outsourcing on firms' profitability. The findings indicate that (1) R&D investment fosters profitability, (2) firms with a lower turnover spend less on R&D, (3) current R&D does not explain innovation measured by revenues from new products and patents, (4) smaller firms with lower R&D investment levels tend to outsource R&D and (5) outsourcing is not inferior in terms of product innovation. Hence, outsourcing can enhance profitability albeit the benefit of outsourcing decreases with firm size. Managers of small firms should consider outsourcing R&D, as this can reduce R&D expenditure and lead to the more effective use of resources as well as achieving a similar degree of product innovation with resultant increases in profitability.
Orexin gene therapy restores the timing and maintenance of wakefulness in narcoleptic mice.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Narcolepsy is caused by selective loss of the orexin/hypocretin-producing neurons of the hypothalamus. For patients with narcolepsy, chronic sleepiness is often the most disabling symptom, but current therapies rarely normalize alertness and do not address the underlying orexin deficiency. We hypothesized that the sleepiness of narcolepsy would substantially improve if orexin signaling were restored in specific brain regions at appropriate times of day. DESIGN We used gene therapy to restore orexin signaling in a mouse model of narcolepsy. In these Atx mice, expression of a toxic protein (ataxin-3) selectively kills the orexin neurons. INTERVENTIONS To induce ectopic expression of the orexin neuropeptides, we microinjected an adeno-associated viral vector coding for prepro-orexin plus a red fluorescence protein (AAV-orexin) into the mediobasal hypothalamus of Atx and wild-type mice. Control mice received an AAV coding only for red fluorescence protein. Two weeks later, we recorded sleep/wake behavior, locomotor activity, and body temperature and examined the patterns of orexin expression. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Atx mice rescued with AAV-orexin produced long bouts of wakefulness and had a normal diurnal pattern of arousal, with the longest bouts of wake and the highest amounts of locomotor activity in the first hours of the night. In addition, AAV-orexin improved the timing of rapid eye movement sleep and the consolidation of nonrapid eye movement sleep in Atx mice. CONCLUSIONS These substantial improvements in sleepiness and other symptoms of narcolepsy demonstrate the effectiveness of orexin gene therapy in a mouse model of narcolepsy. Additional work is needed to optimize this approach, but in time, AAV-orexin could become a useful therapeutic option for patients with narcolepsy.