Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Supplemental Private Insurance Increase Medicare Costs

The Medicare program was created in 1966 to provide for the health care needs of the elderly. Due in part to the failure of the program to cover certain services such as prescription drugs the market for private supplemental insurance developed rapidly. In addition employers found that retiree health benefits were an inexpensive form of deferred compensation to offer workers. The emergence of private insurance to supplement Medicare while providing insurance for uncovered services also decreased the price sensitivity of elderly consumers for services that were covered by Medicare. This in turn has induced demand for covered services beyond those that would have existed if Medicare were the only insurance available to the elderly. In this paper we estimate the magnitude of induced Medicare expenditures due to the presence of private supplemental insurance. We use a unique source of data the 1990 Health Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. This data contains linked Medicare claims for elderly PSID respondents from which direct measures of expenditures for Medicare-covered services have been created. In addition due to the panel nature of the PSID (23 consecutive years) we have instruments that permit controls for the potential endogeneity of the purchase of private supplemental insurance. Therefore we are able to distinguish induced expenditures due to insurance from higher expenditures due to potential selection effects of persons purchasing private insurance. These estimates are the first to be able to measure the induced demand effect of private supplemental insurance on Medicare program expenditures. As such they provide a quantitative measure of how the private sector may induce significant expenses in public programs. (authors)
Whole-plant hydraulic resistance and vulnerability segmentation in Acer saccharinum.

Hydraulic properties were studied in Acer saccharinum L. , a riparian species that also grows well on a dry soil when transplanted. Hydraulic resistances were measured by two independent techniques: a new high-pressure flowmeter (HPFM) method and a conventional evaporative flux (EF) method. Vulnerability to cavitation was also investigated on petioles, stems and roots using a hydraulic conductivity technique. Vulnerability segmentation was found, i.e., roots, stems and petioles had different vulnerabilities to xylem dysfunction. Petioles were most vulnerable with 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity at -0.5 MPa, roots were least vulnerable (50% loss at -2.2 MPa) and stems were intermediate in vulnerability. The HPFM and the EF methods gave comparable results, except that the EF method gave a significantly higher value for resistance across petioles plus leaves. Native embolism was high enough to explain the discrepancy in resistance across petioles plus leaves between the HPFM and the EF methods, indicating that the HPFM estimates the minimum (potential) hydraulic resistance of plants. Whole-plant hydraulic resistance of A. saccharinum was low compared to resistances of other temperate species. The hydraulic characteristics of A. saccharinum were consistent with adaptation to its typical environment: low whole-plant resistance assures high transpiration rates in the presence of sufficient water, and vulnerability segmentation provides the ability to survive during droughts through shedding of expendable organs.
Cell Identification Performance Optimization in Co-Channel Heterogeneous Cellular Networks Employing CRE Based on a Hierarchical Synchronization Signal Structure

Recently, data traffic has been explosively increasing in mobile communication due to the prevalence of smart phones. A co-channel heterogeneous cellular network (HetNet), in which small-cell base stations (S-BSs) are placed at the hot spot area of a macro-cell base station (M-BS), has been receiving attention in order to deal with the increasing traffic. In general cellular systems, synchronization signal (SS) symbols for the cell identification at user equipments (UEs) are periodically transmitted from each base station. For HetNet, Cell Range Expansion (CRE), in which a bias value is added to the reference signal received power from S-BSs, has been investigated as a promising approach to offload the traffic into small-cells from macro-cells. However, there is an issue that the cell identification performance at small-cell area degrades with the CRE bias value, since larger CRE bias value suffers from larger interference from M-BSs at the received SS symbols transmitted from S-BSs in the small-cell area expanded by CRE. In our previous work, we proposed a performance improvement scheme on small-cell identification possible with synchronization signal power boosting (called SSPB) at S-BSs for HetNet employing CRE based on the hierarchical SS structure of LTE/LTE-Advanced systems. Unfortunately, the proposed SSPB suffers from a trade-off issue of improving the cell identification performance between macro-cell area and small-cell area. Then, this paper investigates a transmission power optimization of the SS symbols in HetNet employing CRE. The authors evaluate the cell identification performance when applying SSPB. And then, they evaluate its quality with a parameter of the power boosting value of SS symbols for various CRE bias values, and clarify that the optimal transmission power boosting value of the SS symbols at S-BSs is almost the same as the CRE bias value.
Privatisation and the Creation of a Market Based Legal System: The Case of Egypt

This work examines and evaluates efforts of legal reform, through the analysis of legal changes in several areas of law, including securities regulation, competition law, the law on secured transactions and bankruptcy law. The study aims at assessing the overall difficulties affecting the creation of a market based legal system for emerging economies, and concludes by providing several recommendations and suggestions which are relevant to most countries and institutions engaged in the privatization process.
Candida albicans SET1 encodes a histone 3 lysine 4 methyltransferase that contributes to the pathogenesis of invasive candidiasis

Candida albicans causes diverse mucosal and systemic diseases. Although this versatility likely depends upon carefully co‐ordinated gene expression, epigenetic regulation in C. albicans remains poorly characterized. Screening a genomic expression library, we identified C. albicans Set1p as an immunogenic protein with homology to a lysine histone methyltransferase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, we demonstrated that total immunoglobulin, IgG and IgM titers against a unique Set1p N‐terminal fragment were significantly higher among patients with disseminated candidiasis (DC) or oropharyngeal candidiasis than controls. Disruption of SET1 resulted in complete loss of methylation of histone 3 at lysine residue 4, hyperfilamentous growth under embedded conditions, less negative cell surface charges and diminished adherence to epithelial cells, effects that were reversed upon gene re‐insertion at a disrupted locus. During murine DC, the null mutant was associated with prolonged survival and lower tissue burdens. Taken together, our findings suggest that SET1 regulates multiple processes important to the pathogenesis of candidiasis. The Set1p N‐terminal fragment does not exhibit significant homology to eukaryotic or microbial proteins, and might represent a novel therapeutic, preventive or diagnostic target.
Expression Microdissection: Operator-Independent Retrieval of Cells for Molecular Profiling

Tissue microdissection is an important method for the study of disease states. However, it is difficult to perform high-throughput molecular analysis with current techniques. We describe here a prototype version of a novel technique (expression microdissection) that allows for the procurement of desired cells via molecular targeting. Expression microdissection (xMD) offers significant advantages over available methods, including an increase in dissection speed of several orders of magnitude. xMD may become a valuable tool for investigators studying cancer or other disease states in patient specimens and animal models.
The International Integration of Money Markets in the Central and East European Accession Countries: Deviations from Covered Interest Parity, Capital Controls and Inefficiencies in the Financial Sector

Based on the concept of covered interest parity it is shown that the money markets in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the Slovak Republic meanwhile display a high degree of international integration with the euro area. Integration has strengthened continuously in the review period of 1999 to mid 2002. The segmentation that could still be observed stems from both restrictions on the short-term movement of capital and the limited development of the financial sectors in the four accession countries. While almost all capital controls have since been removed and will no longer play a role after accession to the EU, the implementation and transmission of the single monetary policy within the Eurosystem will possibly be impeded, if the financial sectors in CEE are then still underdeveloped.
Corporate Financial and Investment Policies When Future Financing is Not Frictionless

We study a model in which future financing constraints lead firms to have a preference for investments with shorter payback periods, investments with less risk, and investments that utilize more pledgeable assets. The model also shows how investment distortions towards more liquid, safer assets vary with the marginal cost of external financing and with firm internal cash flows. Our theory helps reconcile and interpret a number of patterns reported in the empirical literature, in areas such as risk-taking behavior, capital structure choices, hedging strategies, and cash management policies. For example, contrary to Jensen and Meckling [Jensen, M. , Meckling, W. , 1976. Theory of the Firm: managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics 305-360], we show that firms may reduce rather than increase risk when leverage increases exogenously. Furthermore, firms in economies with less developed financial markets will not only take different quantities of investment, but will also take different kinds of investment (safer, short-term projects that are potentially less profitable). We also point out to several predictions that have not been empirically examined. For example, our model predicts that investment safety and liquidity are complementary: constrained firms are specially likely to decrease the risk of their most liquid investments.
Knowledge Sharing and Its Impact on Innovation Performance: A case study of Teaching Quality Assurance Program

This case study aims to examine the internal factors that contribute to successful Knowledge Sharing (KS) among the university teaching staff, employees and students towards achieving innovation performance. A review of literature has been presented that focuses on the KS and innovation performance. The debate is supported by a practical KS program called Teaching Quality Assurance. Finally, conclusions and discussions derived from both the literature review and the practical case have been submitted with suggestions for future research trends.
An investigation into the relation between corporate governance and firm value in the U.K

﻿ The separation of ownership from control, which characterises the modern firm, necessitates monitoring and inducement mechanisms to ensure that managers maximise shareholder wealth. This study investigates the relation of firm value to these corporate governance mechanisms. The results of the analysis show that there is considerable interdependence between corporate governance and firm structure variables. Most importantly, it appears that the two principal governance mechanisms, managerial equity ownership and the board of directors, are optimally chosen. The methodology employed here suggests that previous work has not fully accounted for the comprehensive and simultaneous nature of the governance process. Weaker evidence is obtained for directors' remuneration and outsider equity ownership. Directors' remuneration is substantially determined by the structure of the firm, and is not strongly related to the performance of the firm. In addition, it appears that large equity investors have different motivations and their presence within a firm's ownership structure may not always be associated with a monitoring function.
Full automatic path planning of cooperating robots in industrial applications

Parts made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for airplane components can be so huge that a single industrial robot is no longer able to handle them, and cooperating robots are required. Manual programming of cooperating robots is difficult, but with large numbers of different sized and shaped cut-pieces, it is almost impossible. This paper presents an automated production system consisting of a camera for the precise detection of the position of each cut-piece and a collision-free path planner which can dynamically react to different positions for the transfer motions. The path is planned for multiple robots adhering to motion constrains, such as the requirement that the textile cut-piece must form a catenary which can change during transport. Additionally a technique based on machine learning has been implemented which correctly resolves redundancy for a linear axis during planning. Finally, all components are tested on a real robot system in industrial scale.
The Economic Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Microenterprises in the Context of Development

This paper investigates the impact of information and communication technologies, especially landline and mobile phones, computers, and Internet cafés in facilitating economic growth in the developing world. Data on access to ICTs, as well as business‐relevant behaviors and attitudes, was collected by a multi‐stage probability sample of women microentrepreneurs in Mumbai, India. Main findings include evidence that in urban microenterprises owned by women, business growth is a function of ICT access and is related to motivation to use ICTs for business purposes; and that the more positive a woman microentrepreneur feels about her status and power because of her business, the more she will be motivated to use ICTs in support of her business. Implications for the study of digital divides and strategies for studies of communication and technology more generally are considered.
Context Watcher ─ Sharing context information in everyday life

We present the Context Watcher, a mobile application that enables mobile phone users to easily and unobtrusively share personal context data such as their location, heart rate, speed, or view, with their mutual consent. Not only can the data be shared, it can also be used as input for information services, to adapt applications to the context, or to automatically derive daily patterns and situational information, such as ‘meeting with a supervisor’, ‘is a regular visitor’ or ‘having the best condition of all your friends’. The application is built atop of the MobiLife context management framework, a generic approach enabling context discovery, exchange and reasoning. In the context management framework, different entities, context providers, are exposed to and interact via the internet. The context management framework and its principles will be discussed in detail, as well as the different context providers that play a role in the Context Watcher application. The Context Watcher has a large user base of 100+ users, some of which are 24x7 power-users taking the Context Watcher wherever they go, enabling the research on daily patterns and situations to work with real-life data, resulting in powerful algorithms and better understanding of context and context-awareness.
Energy consumption balancing (ECB) issues and mechanisms in wireless sensor networks (WSNs): a comprehensive overview

Wireless sensor networks comprise of a large number of low cost sensor nodes that have strictly restricted sensing, computation and communication capabilities. In addition to this, sensor nodes have limited battery life which is not rechargeable in many applications. Due to resource limitations for the sensor nodes, it is important to use energy efficiently for each sensor node. This will result in prolonged network lifetime and functionality. Energy consumption balancing (ECB) property ensures that the average energy dissipation per sensor is equal for all sensors in the network. ECB can be considered as energy efficiency property that optimally manages energy consumption of sensors to prolong network lifetime. This paper investigates the ECB theory and ECB related mechanisms. A classification of ECB mechanism is given by surveying the current and state of the art research in this area. In addition, comparison and main constraints of the mechanisms are presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. * Correspondence
Synthesis, Assembly and Secretion of Mouse Immunoglobulin

The immunoglobulins produced by plasma cells and their precursors are either sequestered in the cell membrane, where they may function as the receptor for antigen, or they are secreted so that they may interact with antigen in various parts of the body. It is not clear how the cell regulates these two different fates for the immunoglobulin molecules which it produces. Within the last few years, a great deal has been learned about the synthesis and assembly of secreted immunoglobulins. Tliis review will summarize our own. studies on immunoglobulin biosynthesis using normal and malignant plasma cells of mouse origin. In an attempt to learn more about the relationship between assembly and secretion, we have also investigated the effect of metabolic inhibitors and have examined some tumors and cell lines which are defective in immunoglobulin secretion. Similar studies carried out here and in other laboratories have recently been reviewed (Scharff & Laskov 1970, Williamson 1971, Baumd et al. 1971a, Baumal et al., m press, Scharff et at., in press).
Ativos Fiscais Diferidos nas Instituições Financeiras: Uma Abordagem Sobre Riscos

O presente artigo tem como objetivo evidenciar o impacto do registro contabil dos ativos fiscais diferidos na estrutura de riscos das instituicoes financeiras. Primeiramente, e discutida a contabilizacao do imposto de renda diferido contemplando as normas IAS 12 e FAS109. Em seguida e revisado o arcabouco normativo brasileiro para a contabilizacao de tributos diferidos nas instituicoes financeiras, analisando as normas contabeis e de imposicao tributaria. Entre outros pontos, depreende-se como podem ser constituidos ativos fiscais diferidos em instituicoes financeiras atraves das adicoes temporarias e dos prejuizos fiscais/bases negativas. Com base no referencial apurado, correlaciona-se a contabilizacao de ativos fiscais diferidos com a determinacao do capital minimo adequado (Patrimonio Liquido Exigido) diante dos riscos bancarios. Para ilustrar essa relacao, desenvolve-se para um banco comercial brasileiro um modelo para calculo do indice de adequacao de capital (Indice da Basileia), identificando-se os efeitos do registro contabil dos ativos fiscais diferidos. Como conclusao verifica-se que e crucial o acompanhamento regular da evolucao do capital requerido por parte dos gestores e reguladores bancarios, bem como monitorar a qualidade dos ativos fiscais diferidos que sao reconhecidos pelas instituicoes financeiras.
In vivo measurements of ultrasonic backscattering in blood

Ultrasonic backscattering in blood including its dependence on the hematocrit, plasma proteins, shear rate, and flow disturbance, has been studied extensively theoretically and experimentally in vitro. However, much of the result has never been validated in vivo. To do so, backscattering measurements were made on pigs using a 10-MHz non-focused intravascular transducer in direct contact with blood. The probe was placed in either the abdominal aorta or the inferior vena cava. The backscattering coefficient (BSC) of blood flowing in these vessels as well as downstream from a stenosis was measured using an approach that was originally developed for measurements with focused transducers. With this approach, 6% porcine red cell saline suspensions prepared immediately after each in vivo measurement were used as the reference medium. Result from seven pigs at hematocrits ranging from 29 to 36% (31.9/spl plusmn/2.5%) demonstrated that BSC of blood in the vena cava, (4.62/spl plusmn/2.06)/spl times/10/sup -5/ cm-sr/sup -1/, is consistently higher than that in the aorta, (2.65/spl plusmn/1.22)/spl times/10/sup -5/ cm-sr/sup -1/. The difference has been attributed to the lower shear rate and the formation of red cell aggregation in venous blood. These in vivo results are in agreement with those obtained in vitro. In response to stenoses created by ligating the aorta, backscattering of the blood measured downstream from the stenosis showed that the closer the site of measurement relative to the stenosis, the higher the backscatter, presumably resulting from the higher degree of flow disturbance. In vitro backscattering results on porcine whole blood were also acquired at 20 MHz with a Diasonics intravascular scanner.
Emulating large designs on small reconfigurable hardware

FPGA based hardware emulation is becoming very popular for checking the functional correctness of designs prior to fabrication. A design is partitioned and mapped on a programmable hardware system that consists of several FPGAs. Typically, as the design size increases, the utilization of FPGA devices tends to fall rapidly. This demands large amounts of hardware resources for emulating large designs. The authors have demonstrated a methodology for mapping huge designs by partitioning, scheduling, and proper controlling through software on small reconfigurable or programmable hardware platforms. They explore the usage of time domain as a viable alternative to space domain for logic emulation. The methodology is demonstrated with real executing examples.
Ground truth measurement of trees using terrestrial laser for satellite remote sensing

Forest monitoring for environmental policy requires accurate and efficient ground-truthing techniques in the field. In this paper, a portable terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) is utilized to estimate leaf area index (LAI) of mixed forest stands in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our method converted laser XYZ coordinates to orthographic coordinates to create fish-eye images, from which LAI was estimated. The results were highly correlated with LAI estimates from three traditional techniques: radiation obtained by AccuPAR (R2 = 0.81), Landsat TM (R2 = 0.79), and fish-eye lens photography (R2 = 0.91). This novel technique is a simple and efficient way to collect and analyze LAI and provides good ground truth data for satellite remote sensing.
Nanophotonics - research challenges and applications

The talk will discuss several examples of nanophotonic light sources where structures with a low-dimensional electronic confinement (quantum dots/quantum dashes) are combined with structures for photon confinement (photonic crystals). Applications of these devices are e.g. telecommunication or sensing. Quantum dots are usually fabricated by self-organized growth techniques where a semiconductor material with a large lattice constant is deposited on a substrate with a smaller one. After the formation of a very thin wetting layer, it is energetically favourable to form three-dimensional structures with typical dimensions on the order of a few to several ten nanometers[1]. There are several advantages of quantum dots over quantum wells, e.g. the possibility to extend the wavelength range accessible with a given material system[2], a reduced carrier diffusion and a reduced linewidth enhancement factor. In some material systems, the shapes of the structures fabricated by self-organized growth are not round, but rather elongated. These structures are called quantum-dashes [3].