Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Cities, Local Officials, and Municipal Incorporation Laws: A Supply-Side Model of City Formation

ABSTRACT: This article develops a framework for analyzing when and why municipal incorporation laws impede or facilitate boundary changes that benefit special interests. This goal is achieved by shifting the attention from demand-side factors—such as wealth, race, and heterogeneity of tastes—behind the formation of municipalities to actors who supply them: city, county, and state officials. I develop a theoretical model that shows that there is an inverse relation between the number of jurisdictions and the size of the constituency of those public officials who review incorporation petitions. I also find that: (1) ceteris paribus, more new municipalities are formed in counties with a large volume of retail trade, and (2) neither state nor local officials can block fiscally motivated incorporations.
Trends in Food Stamp Program Participation Rates: 1994 to 2000

Notes that fewer people are now eligible for food stamps than in the past, but a higher proportion of those eligible chose to participate, and overall participation rates rose in 2000 after five years of decline. Although participation rates rose for most groups, they declined in 2000 for citizen children living with noncitizen adults, disabled nonelderly adults, and elderly people.
‘It's Not Easy Being Green’: Electricity Corporations and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy

If costly and catastrophic climate change is to be avoided, there is an immediate need to stabilize and reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) entering the atmosphere. The electricity generation sector, responsible for the highest percentage of the world's GHGs, is under mounting social and political pressure to minimize its GHG emissions. In many countries privatization has resulted in previously vertically integrated public electricity utilities being owned and managed by large energy corporations. The implications of electricity privatization for addressing major environmental issues such as climate change were not considered by governments at the time of sale nor have they been widely studied or understood since. This article adopts a political economy approach to examine corporate behaviour in the electricity generation sector and whether private ownership of this sector impacts on state action to reduce emissions. In examining this issue, we consider the carbon strategies of four energy corporations with a stake in Australia's power generation industry. We consider the relationship between the policy statements of these firms on climate change and carbon emission reductions with the action and strategies of their carbon-intensive power generation assets in the Australian state of Victoria. This integrated analysis and assessment of responses at the various organizational levels of these corporations highlights their complex, and in some cases contradictory, responses towards climate change mitigation and how their behaviour constitutes a significant barrier to GHG emission policies.
Prediction and identification using wavelet-based recurrent fuzzy neural networks

This paper presents a wavelet-based recurrent fuzzy neural network (WRFNN) for prediction and identification of nonlinear dynamic systems. The proposed WRFNN model combines the traditional Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy model and the wavelet neural networks (WNN). This paper adopts the nonorthogonal and compactly supported functions as wavelet neural network bases. Temporal relations embedded in the network are caused by adding some feedback connections representing the memory units into the second layer of the feedforward wavelet-based fuzzy neural networks (WFNN). An online learning algorithm, which consists of structure learning and parameter learning, is also presented. The structure learning depends on the degree measure to obtain the number of fuzzy rules and wavelet functions. Meanwhile, the parameter learning is based on the gradient descent method for adjusting the shape of the membership function and the connection weights of WNN. Finally, computer simulations have demonstrated that the proposed WRFNN model requires fewer adjustable parameters and obtains a smaller rms error than other methods.
A Corpus of Read and Spontaneous Upper Saxon German Speech for ASR Evaluation

In this Paper we present a corpus named SXUCorpus which contains read and spontaneous speech of the Upper Saxon German dialect. The data has been collected from eight archives of local television stations located in the Free State of Saxony. The recordings include broadcasted topics of news, economy, weather, sport, and documentation from the years 1992 to 1996 and have been manually transcribed and labeled. In the paper, we report the methodology of collecting and processing analog audiovisual material, constructing the corpus and describe the properties of the data. In its current version, the corpus is available to the scientific community and is designed for automatic speech recognition (ASR) evaluation with a development set and a test set. We performed ASR experiments with the open-source framework sphinx-4 including a configuration for Standard German on the dataset. Additionally, we show the influence of acoustic model and language model adaptation by the utilization of the development set.
The Internet, Global Healthcare Management Systems, and Sustainable Development: Future Scenarios

Telecommunications technologies and the Internet offer a revolution in management of global healthcare systems and sustainable development. This paper explores emergent telecommunications infrastructures and their consequences for the future of healthcare management using a scenario methodology. A world systems view from evolutionary economics provides a unique perspective on sustainable development. System performance on the dimensions of universal access, equitable resource allocation and consumer participation are evaluated in light of ideological, political and cultural considerations of governance. Alternative scenarios vary according to market dynamics led by healthcare institutions (push) or by consumer demand (pull), and according to system control mechanisms that may be technologically embedded, institutional or behavioural. The scenario analysis suggests that telecommunications technologies and the Internet may contribute significantly to improve global healthcare system performance, to manage ideological diversity and to reduce the wide inequities that separate the industrialized nations from the developing world.
Positioning control of magnetic levitation system by SMC

In this paper, we address two position control scheme; the lead-lag control and the sliding mode control for a stage system, which is levitated and driven by electric magnetic actuators. This consists of a levitating object (called platen) with 4 permanent magnetic linear synchronous motors in parallel. Each motor generates vertical force for suspension against gravity and propulsion force horizontally as well. This stage can generate six degrees of freedom motion by the vertical and horizontal forces. Dynamic equations of the stage system are derived simply. The sliding mode control algorithm is more effective than the lead-lag control algorithm to reduce effects from movements and disturbances of other axis.
Demand response for thermostatically controlled loads using belief propagation

This paper explores a belief propagation algorithm approach, for state estimation of thermal states of aggregated populations of thermostatically controlled loads to provide balancing services in power systems. Balancing services such as frequency control require high accuracy and thus estimation is crucial, especially when sensing and communication in real time is not available or partially. We use Markov chain models to describe the thermal states of aggregated thermostatically controlled loads populations and belief propagation for state estimation. Kalman filter, which has been used in similar studies, is known to be an instance of belief propagation framework. This fact motivates us to introduce belief propagation in this framework, and demonstrate that it provides the same results as Kalman filter. Moreover, belief propagation algorithm is fully decentralized, offering higher flexibility of system modeling using factor graphs. Besides demand response, belief propagation can be applied for different purposes in power systems, either in fully distributed or in mixed systems, and is easily integrated with Kalman filter or similar probabilistic frameworks.
Inhibitory Effect of Bovine Milk Lactoferrin on the Interaction between a Streptococcal Surface Protein Antigen and Human Salivary Agglutinin*

Human whole saliva induces aggregation ofStreptococcus mutans cells via an interaction between a surface protein antigen (PAc) of the organism and salivary agglutinin. Bovine milk inhibits the saliva-induced aggregation of S. mutans. In this study, the milk component that possesses inhibitory activity against this aggregation was isolated and found to be lactoferrin. Surface plasmon resonance analysis indicated that bovine lactoferrin binds more strongly to salivary agglutinin, especially to high molecular mass glycoprotein, which is a component of the agglutinin, than to recombinant PAc. The binding of bovine lactoferrin to salivary agglutinin was thermostable, and the optimal pH for binding was 4.0. To identify the saliva-binding region of bovine lactoferrin, 11 truncated bovine lactoferrin fragments were constructed. A fragment corresponding to the C-terminal half of the lactoferrin molecule had a strong inhibitory effect on the saliva-induced aggregation of S. mutans, whereas a fragment corresponding to the N-terminal half had a weak inhibitory effect. Seven shorter fragments corresponding to lactoferrin residues 473–538 also showed a high ability to inhibit the aggregation of S. mutans. These results suggest that residues 473–538 of bovine lactoferrin are important in the inhibition of saliva-induced aggregation of S. mutans.
Evaluating others’ behaviour: a public-good experiment with ex-post communication

The present study investigates the effect of ex-post communication on the voluntary provision of public goods. The experiment consists of two stages. In the first stage, paired subjects play a standard public-good game; in the second, each of them evaluates his or her partner’s contribution in the first stage and sends a free-form written message to him or her. The experimental results show that the mere presence of an opportunity for ex-post communication is not enough to promote cooperation. However, once subjects actually receive negative messages, they contribute significantly more in the following round. Positive messages, by contrast, do not have such an effect.
Empirical Bayesian Density Forecasting in Iowa and Shrinkage for the Monte Carlo Era

The track record of a sixteen-year history of density forecasts of state tax revenue in Iowa is studied, and potential improvements sought through a search for better performing "priors" similar to that conducted two decades ago for point forecasts by Doan, Litterman, and Sims (Econometric Reviews, 1984). Comparisons of the point- and density-forecasts produced under the flat prior are made to those produced by the traditional (mixed estimation) "Bayesian VAR" methods of Doan, Litterman, and Sims, as well as to fully Bayesian, "Minnesota Prior" forecasts. The actual record, and to a somewhat lesser extent, the record of the alternative procedures studied in pseudo-real-time forecasting experiments, share a characteristic: subsequently realized revenues are in the lower tails of the predicted distributions "too often". An alternative empirically-based prior is found by working directly on the probability distribution for the VAR parameters, seeking a betterperforming entropically tilted prior that minimizes in-sample mean-squared-error subject to a Kullback-Leibler divergence constraint that the new prior not differ "too much" from the original. We also study the closely related topic of robust prediction appropriate for situations of ambiguity. Robust "priors" are competitive in out-of-sample forecasting; despite the freedom afforded the entropically tilted prior, it does not perform better than the simple alternatives.
Enhancing the Blended Shopping Concept with Additive Manufacturing Technologies - Added Value for Customers, Retailers and Additive Manufacturers

This paper starts from the idea that combining processes of eCommerce and traditional commerce (blended shopping) can bring advantages for customers and retailer. One possibility to take the emerged individualization trend on consumer markets into account is to integrate latest rapid prototyping technologies (additive manufacturing) in order to enhance the blended shopping concept. The availability of Internet can be seen as the enabler for such services. First blended shopping and rapid prototyping with its latest developments of additive manufacturing (AM) are explained. Then their impacts on the aimed individualized blended shopping concept are depicted with the help of a use case. From this use case the benefits for business and consumers are derived and additionally the framework of a needed AM-toolkit is concretized. Finally the paper closes with a future outlook on the necessity of research in the field of individualization aspects of blended shopping and web standards.
Coevolution of URAT1 and Uricase during Primate Evolution: Implications for Serum Urate Homeostasis and Gout

Uric acid is the highly insoluble end-product of purine metabolism in humans. Serum levels exceeding the solubility threshold can trigger formation of urate crystals resulting in gouty arthritis. Uric acid is primarily excreted through the kidneys with 90% reabsorbed back into the bloodstream through the uric acid transporter URAT1. This reabsorption process is essential for the high serum uric acid levels found in humans. We discovered that URAT1 proteins from humans and baboons have higher affinity for uric acid compared with transporters from rats and mice. This difference in transport kinetics of URAT1 orthologs, along with inability of modern apes to oxidize uric acid due to loss of the uricase enzyme, prompted us to ask whether these events occurred concomitantly during primate evolution. Ancestral URAT1 sequences were computationally inferred and ancient transporters were resurrected and assayed, revealing that affinity for uric acid was increased during the evolution of primates. This molecular fine-tuning occurred between the origins of simians and their diversification into New- and Old-World monkey and ape lineages. Remarkably, it was driven in large-part by only a few amino acid replacements within the transporter. This alteration in primate URAT1 coincided with changes in uricase that greatly diminished the enzymatic activity and took place 27–77 Ma. These results suggest that the modifications to URAT1 transporters were potentially adaptive and that maintaining more constant, high levels of serum uric acid may have provided an advantage to our primate ancestors.
Hydrocarbon degradation and plant colonization by selected bacterial strains isolated from Italian ryegrass and birdsfoot trefoil

Aims: To assess the degradation potential and plant colonization capacity of four alkane‐degrading strains (ITSI10, ITRI15, ITRH76 and BTRH79) in combination with birdsfoot trefoil and Italian ryegrass and to evaluate the diversity of indigenous alkane‐degrading soil bacteria in the rhizo‐ and endosphere.
A non-hierarchical approach of speech emotion recognition based on enhanced wavelet coefficients and K-means clustering

This paper represents a non-hierarchical speech Emotion Recognition method, where the speaker-independent emotional features are extracted from the Teager energy (TE) operated wavelet coefficients of speech signal. The detail as well as approximate Wavelet coefficients enhanced by TE operation is used to determine entropy. Entropy values of TE operated detail and approximate wavelet coefficients downsize the feature dimension. The reduced feature vector thus formed is found effective for distinguishing different emotions when fed to a K-means clustering method in a non-hierarchical process. Detail simulations are carried out on EMO-DB German speech emotion database containing four class emotions, such as angry, happy, sad and neutral. Simulation results show that the proposed emotion recognition method provides better four-class emotion recognition performance through its attribute of speaker independence with lesser computation in comparison to a state-of the-art method.
International Market Segmentation and Cross-Export Strategies Development Case Study: Iranian Furniture Industry

ABSTRACT By developing an international market and significant differences between countries in this regard, segmentation becomes an increasingly important concept in marketing. In this article, the international market of Iranian furniture industry is segmented and cross-exporting strategies are developed to increase the market share of Iranian furniture in each segment. To achieve this, two distance functions are introduced based on correlation between export groups to cluster countries with k-means algorithm. After market segmentation for increasing sales in each segment, cross-exporting strategies are predicted by extracting association rules in each segment based on Apriori algorithm to set export baskets.
The Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost Approach

The transaction cost approach to the study of economic organization regards the transaction as the basic unit of analysis and holds that an understanding of transaction cost economizing is central to the study of organizations. Applications of this approach require that transactions be dimensionalized and that alternative governance structures be described. Economizing is accomplished by assigning transactions to governance structures in a discriminating way. The approach applies both to the determination of efficient boundaries, as between firms and markets, and to the organization of internal transactions, including the design of employment relations. The approach is compared and contrasted with selected parts of the organization theory literature.
Segmenting Spa Customers Based on Rate Fences Using Conjoint and Cluster Analyses

The purpose of this study was to segment spa customers based on their preferences for spa rates and restrictions. A survey was conducted using a self-administrated questionnaire distributed to Chinese visitors in Hong Kong with spa experience. Four distinct customer segments were identified by combining conjoint and cluster analyses: treatment-oriented spa goers, guarantee-sensitive spa goers, price-sensitive spa goers, and fewer days advance booking seekers. The results support the effectiveness of combining conjoint and cluster analyses in market segmentation studies. The findings will be useful for spas in designing rate fences preferred by different types of customers, which could in turn increase spa revenue.
Kinetics of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, but not PARP1 itself, determines the cell fate in response to DNA damage in vitro and in vivo

Abstract One of the fastest cellular responses to genotoxic stress is the formation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymers (PAR) by poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase 1 (PARP1, or ARTD1). PARP1 and its enzymatic product PAR regulate diverse biological processes, such as DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, transcription and cell death. However, the inter-dependent function of the PARP1 protein and its enzymatic activity clouds the mechanism underlying the biological response. We generated a PARP1 knock-in mouse model carrying a point mutation in the catalytic domain of PARP1 (D993A), which impairs the kinetics of the PARP1 activity and the PAR chain complexity in vitro and in vivo, designated as hypo-PARylation. PARP1D993A/D993A mice and cells are viable and show no obvious abnormalities. Despite a mild defect in base excision repair (BER), this hypo-PARylation compromises the DNA damage response during DNA replication, leading to cell death or senescence. Strikingly, PARP1D993A/D993A mice are hypersensitive to alkylation in vivo, phenocopying the phenotype of PARP1 knockout mice. Our study thus unravels a novel regulatory mechanism, which could not be revealed by classical loss-of-function studies, on how PAR homeostasis, but not the PARP1 protein, protects cells and organisms from acute DNA damage.
Assessment of in vitro biofilm formation by Helicobacter pylori

Background and Aims: Biofilms are surface‐bound communities of bacterial cells that are implicated in their survival. As with various bacteria studied to date, Helicobacter pylori can have an alternate lifestyle as a biofilm. We previously reported that strain TK1402 showed a strong biofilm‐forming ability in vitro. However, the mechanisms of its biofilm development remain unclear. We analyzed the basic characteristics of the biofilm‐forming ability in strain TK1402.
New Bounds on the Complexity of the Shortest Path Problem

It is shown that $O(N^{5/2} )$ comparisons and additions suffice to solve the all-pairs shortest path problem for directed graphs on N vertices with nonnegative edge weights. In conjunction with preprocessing, this result is exploited to produce an $o(N^3 )$ algorithm for solving the shortest path problem.
Effect of Carbon Dioxide-Enriched Water and Fresh Water on the Cutaneous Microcirculation and Oxygen Tension in the Skin of the Foot

The effects of immersion of the lower leg and foot in fresh water and in carbon dioxide (CO2 )-enriched water (1200 mg CO2 per kg water; succinate + sodium bicarbonate: Actibath®, KAO Tokyo) on cutaneous circulation, vasomotion and oxygen tension (PO2) were measured by laser Doppler flowmetry and transcutaneous oximetry. On the first of two consecutive days patients were randomly assigned to have the lower extremities immersed in either fresh water or CO2-enriched water under standardized conditions (temperature, 34°C; depth, 35 cm; immersion time, twenty minutes) with concurrent measurement. On the second day patients were switched to the other bath type. For both sets of measurements probes were attached symmetrically to the dorsum of each foot. Included in the study were 18 patients with mild, bilateral, peripheral, occlusive arterial disease (intermittent claudication, femoral or iliac type). During immersion in CO2 enriched water the Doppler laser signal and vasomotion amplitude rose by 300%, while PO2 increased by 10%. These increases were still apparent during the latter part of the measurement period, following withdrawal of the limbs from the bath, while patients were seated and supine. During immersion in fresh water and thereafter the Doppler laser signal was unchanged and the PO2 increase was considerably less marked. The authors were thus able to demonstrate vasodilation and increased oxygen utilization (Bohr effect) resulting from topical CO2 application, and hence, that the use of topical CO2 has an objective basis.