Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Union Dissolution Lead to Unemployment? A Longitudinal Study of Health and Risk of Unemployment for Women and Men Undergoing Separation

Research on the socio-economic consequences of divorce or union dissolution has largely focused on women's loss of income after separation. Scant attention has been paid to the effects of union dissolution on individuals’ employment. Expanding the literature on the interlocked effects of divorce and health on labour market outcomes, the aim of this paper is to examine the consequences of union dissolution on employment for both women and men. The data on which this study is based are drawn from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP) study. Using Cox proportional hazards regression models, I estimate the effects of union disruption on unemployment for employed men and women in a marriage or cohabitating union over the period of 1999–2004. Findings indicate that individuals whose unions end are at a greater risk of unemployment compared to their married/cohabiting counterparts. Results also suggest the presence of relevant gender differences in the ways in which women and men experience union dissolution in relation to their labour market position. Men's hazard of unemployment is higher than that of their female counterparts, even after controlling for crucial gendered variables.
Análisis económico de la conducta de los votantes

En este articulo hago revista de la bibliografia acerca de la microeconomia politica en la participacion electoral, el voto estrategico y la informacion de los votantes, con hincapie en avances recientes. Analizo brevemente ademas algunas consecuencias de esta bibliografia para la consolidacion democratica en la America Latina.
S-phase-specific transcription regulatory elements are present in a replication-independent testis-specific H2B histone gene

The testis-specific H2B histone (TH2B) gene is expressed in pachytene spermatocytes during meiotic prophase I in the absence of any significant DNA synthesis. Unlike somatic histones, synthesis of testis-specific histones is not affected by inhibitors of DNA synthesis. A genomic rat TH2B gene was cloned by using a DNA fragment derived from TH2B cDNA as a probe. Expression of the cloned TH2B was investigated by gene transfer experiments. From these studies, we found that the 5' upstream region of the cloned TH2B gene contained S-phase-specific transcription elements which regulated expression of a reporter gene in an S-phase-specific manner. The S-phase-regulatory element was found to be located in two regions containing CCAAT elements between -153 and -110 base pairs (bp) and an octamer element (ATTTGCAT) between -109 and -84 bp. The two regions were required for a maximal stimulation of transcription of the cloned TH2B gene in S phase. On the other hand, only the octamer element was reported be important for the S-phase-specific transcription of human H2B gene. Since the synthesis of the TH2B histone is independent of DNA synthesis and specific for pachytene spermatocytes in vivo, the presence of the S-phase-specific transcription regulatory elements in the TH2B gene is surprising.
HOW HAPPY ARE THE ALBANIANS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF LIFE SATISFACTION

This paper uses the nationally representative Albanian Living Standards Measurement Survey from 2005 to investigate the determinants of life satisfaction.In common with much of the existing empirical economics literature that models life satisfaction (or subjective well-being), this paper exploits an ordered probit model. In contrast to this literature, however, the current study places an important emphasis on regression model evaluation. Diagnostic testing revealed a number of econometric model deficiencies but the explicit incorporation of a heteroscedastic function into the ordered probit model resolved all detected problems. The tenor of the key findings generally reflects that found in the literature on the determinants of life satisfaction for both advanced capitalist and transitional economies. However, a number of additional themes with a strong Albanian flavour were interrogated. In particular, our study revealed evidence of long memories among Albanian respondents with respect to the collapse of that country’s notorious pyramid scheme and the scarring effects of this episode continue to impact on life satisfaction even with the passage of almost eight years. In addition, a sizeable effect for communal level crime activity on life satisfaction was also detected.
Nonlinear Unscented $H_{\infty}$ Suspension and Tracking Control of Mobile Vehicles

In this paper, a new nonlinear q controller synthesis algorithm is applied to suspension and tracking control of a mobile vehicle. It is well known that the traditional H∞ controller for a linear system consists of a full-state estimate-based linear feedback control law and an H∞ state estimator. The feedback control law is synthesized by solving an algebraic Riccati equation, whereas the estimator is similar in form to a Kalman filter (KF). The nonlinear controller is obtained by synthesizing a “frozen” or “semifrozen” estimated state optimal control law, replacing the estimator by a nonlinear filter, and obtaining the estimates by applying the unscented transformation. The resulting controller is a nonlinear controller. The results indicate that, in the case of the closed-loop nonlinear H∞ controller, the estimator tracks the platform position to within 2% of the setpoint. When the H∞ estimator is combined with methods involving the control law synthesis based on replacing the nonlinear optimal control problem by a sequence of linear optimal control problems, a powerful computational tool may be established for synthesizing control laws for a variety of nonlinear controller synthesis applications.
Sphingolipid-modulated Exosome Secretion Promotes Clearance of Amyloid-β by Microglia

Background: Exosome is a membrane vesicle released from several types of cells, including neurons. Results: Neuronal exosomes accelerate Aβ fibril formation, and the exosome-associated Aβ is taken into microglia to degrade it. Conclusion: Exosomes promote Aβ clearance. Significance: These findings provide a new function of exosome in the brain and also suggest its involvement in the development of Alzheimer disease. Amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), the pathogenic agent of Alzheimer disease, is a physiological metabolite whose levels are constantly controlled in normal brain. Recent studies have demonstrated that a fraction of extracellular Aβ is associated with exosomes, small membrane vesicles of endosomal origin, although the fate of Aβ in association with exosome is largely unknown. In this study, we identified novel roles for neuron-derived exosomes acting on extracellular Aβ, i.e. exosomes drive conformational changes in Aβ to form nontoxic amyloid fibrils and promote uptake of Aβ by microglia. The Aβ internalized together with exosomes was further transported to lysosomes and degraded. We also found that blockade of phosphatidylserine on the surface of exosomes by annexin V not only prevented exosome uptake but also suppressed Aβ incorporation into microglia. In addition, we demonstrated that secretion of neuron-derived exosomes was modulated by the activities of sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes, including neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (nSMase2) and sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2). In transwell experiments, up-regulation of exosome secretion from neuronal cells by treatment with SMS2 siRNA enhanced Aβ uptake into microglial cells and significantly decreased extracellular levels of Aβ. Our findings indicate a novel mechanism responsible for clearance of Aβ through its association with exosomes. The modulation of the vesicle release and/or elimination may alter the risk of AD.
Activation of Platelets by Aspergillus fumigatus and Potential Role of Platelets in the Immunopathogenesis of Aspergillosis

ABSTRACT Aspergillus fumigatus is the most frequent cause of invasive mold infections worldwide. Platelets contribute to inflammation and promote thrombosis, characteristically seen in aspergillosis, and might be involved both in antifungal defense and in the histopathological process. In the experiments reported here, in vitro activation of platelets by conidia, swollen conidia, and hyphae from A. fumigatus was assessed by flow cytometry and enzyme immunoassays. THP-1 monocytes and human monocytes with and without platelets were cultured with hyphae from A. fumigatus, and the release of interleukin-8 (IL-8) was measured by enzyme immunoassays. A. fumigatus potently induced the expression of CD62-p and CD63 and the release of CD40 ligand, RANTES, and Dickkopf homolog 1 in platelets, with particularly enhancing effects of hyphae compared with conidia. The hypha-mediated activation of platelets further enhanced the release of IL-8 both in THP-1 monocytes and in human adherent monocytes. In conclusion, we have found that A. fumigatus is a potent inducer of platelet-mediated inflammation, potentially promoting protective as well as harmful responses during aspergillosis.
The Wikinomics of Saemaul Undong

Abstract Saemaul Undong is an integrated rural development program (IRDP) that was particularly active in the 1970s in South Korea. On the one hand, the IRDP literature generally refers to Saemaul Undong as a collection of know-hows and actions accumulated through the process of trial-and-error, i.e., an IRDP that lacks a coherent theoretical framework. On the other hand, while the social innovation literature considers some initiatives as being emblematic, great success stories in rural development are rare, particularly those initiated and led by the state. In this paper, I aim to interpret Saemaul Undong in a social innovation theoretical framework, with particular attention to its scaling methods through hybridization between top-down and bottom-up strategies and through the usage of key performance indicators (KPIs). In effect, I reinterpret Saemaul Undong as an ‘open-source rural development framework,’ drawing parallels with the open-source development framework, another successful contemporary social innovation paradigm in the information and communications technology (ICT) context.
A Hedonic Pricing Model of Lift Tickets for US Alpine Ski Areas: Examining the Influence of Crowding

This study applies the hedonic pricing model to lift ticket prices from 2011 for 181 alpine ski areas in the USA. Marginal implicit prices are estimated for a variety of ski area physical characteristics and skier amenities. While controlling for these other attributes, the analysis also investigates crowding effects in alpine downhill skiing. Increased crowding, approximated by additional skiers per hour per acre, is shown to raise lift ticket prices at first, before exerting a negative impact on lift ticket prices at high levels of crowding. The results provide evidence for the existence of both agglomeration and congestion effects in downhill skiing and support previous findings of non-linear crowding effects in other outdoor recreation activities.
Clinical and Physical Evaluation of the Infertile Male: Testicular Measurement or Orchidometry/Klinische und physikalische Bewertung des infertilen Mannes: Hodenmessung oder Orchidometrie

Summary: For the quantitative determination of the testicular size or volume, two groups of apparatus are available: on the one hand, model testes, which are extremely valuable in longitudinal and cross‐sectional studies during the period of pubescence, and on the other hand, measuring devices, with which the testicular dimensions can be specified. The latter instruments are helpful chiefly during the adolescent years and the diagnosis of problems surrounding fertility. The testicular volume can be calculated subsequently from the specific testicular measurements. The formula, for computing the volume of an ellipsoid, seems to be the most suitable for this purpose. Appliances also have been developed, which allow the largest (longitudinal) dimension (in mm) and the testicular volume (in cm3) to be read off simultaneously.
[Experimental models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis].

INTRODUCTION Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurodegenerative disease that affects almost selectively motor neurons. Its ethiopathogeny is not fully understood, although there are several mechanisms that could play a role. It has no curative treatment and just a drug (riluzole) and mechanical ventilation has demonstrated to improve survival of these patients. In the last decades experimental models have been developed which have led us to better understand this disease and to design possible therapeutic strategies. METHOD We reviewed published articles concerning experimental models for ALS and neurodegeneratives diseases using the PubMed database. RESULTS Several experimental models for ALS have been described, from animal models (mainly transgenic animals for human mutations in superoxidedismutase [SOD1]) to cellular models, each of them with advantages and objections. CONCLUSIONS ALS experimental models have implied a great advance in the knowledge of this disease and the design of new therapeutic strategies.
Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment

The unique equilibrium solution to a game in which a continuum of individual employers choose permanent wage offers and a continuum of workers search by sequentially sampling from the set of offers is characterized. Wage dispersion is a robust outcome provided that workers search while employed as well as when unemployed. The unique nondegenerate equilibrium distribution of wage offers is constructed for three cases: (1) identical workers and employers, (2) identical employers and an atomless distribution of worker supply prices, and (3) identical workers and an atomless distribution of job productivities. Copyright 1998 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
Water pricing in Ireland: a techno-economic and political assessment

Ireland is one of a very small number of countries in the world which does not charge for domestic drinking water supply. Recent developments have indicated that the reintroduction of domestic charges in Ireland is being planned. Ireland has a daily average water usage per person of around 150 litres and an increasing demand for clean water reserves and talks of imminent water metering and charges. This paper investigates the current status of water resources and water supply in Ireland, and assesses the technical, economic and political challenges involved with the reintroduction of domestic water charges accompanied by the implementation of a domestic metering programme. The study highlights the need for a system of water charging and metering in Ireland to ensure more careful management of water resources, to promote more sustainable use of water, and to provide a more stable revenue stream for local authorities.
Employers’ use of older workers in the recession

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which there have been changes during the recession in the behaviour of employers with regards to their employment of older workers. The paper aims to show that there has been substantial change since the last recession and that there are, potentially, significant developments still occurring.Design/methodology/approach – A small group of employers from a range of sectors were interviewed twice, once at the outset of the (first) recession and once towards its end.Findings – The situation for older workers in employment is better than in previous recessions, mainly because employers are less likely to resort to redundancies for workers of all ages. Instead, a range of flexible working options are being utilised, including flexible retirement and adjustments to work processes. In the main the flexibility was instituted and controlled by the organisations. Employers are looking for alternative strategies to deal with a shift in control over the r.
Exchange Rate Volatility and Tourist Flows into Turkey

This paper examines the effects of Exchange Rate Volatility on tourist flows into Turkey for the period of 1994~2012. Our results show that (i) there is a negative relationship between exchange rate volatility and tourist inflows into Turkey; (ii) there is a negative impact of the relative price ratio on the tourist flows indicating that relatively expensive places deter tourist arrivals, given the keen international competition among alternative destinations; (iii) GDP per capita at tourist origin, measured in Purchasing Power Parities, exerts positive influence on tourist flows. Our findings thus, suggest some direct policy implications: first, policy makers of a tourist destination country aiming to target potential markets for their tourist products, should, in principle, avoid markets prone to exchange rate volatility due to political and social upheavals or financial instability. Moreover, countries relying heavily on their tourism industry, should avoid using exchange rate policies for other policy objectives like international price competiveness, as these policies may end up to an exchange rate volatility that could reduce its tourism inflows substantially in the longer run.
A proposal for impact-adjusted valuation: Critical leverage and execution risk

The practice of valuation by marking-to-market with current trading prices is seriously flawed. Under leverage the problem is particularly dramatic: due to the concave form of market impact, selling always initially causes the expected leverage to increase. There is a critical leverage above which it is impossible to exit a portfolio without leverage going to infinity and bankruptcy becoming likely. Standard risk-management methods give no warning of this problem, which easily occurs for aggressively leveraged positions in illiquid markets. We propose an alternative accounting procedure based on the estimated market impact of liquidation that removes the illusion of profit. This should curb the leverage cycle and contribute to an enhanced stability of financial markets.
Solution structure and dynamics of the outer membrane enzyme PagP by NMR

The bacterial outer membrane enzyme PagP transfers a palmitate chain from a phospholipid to lipid A. In a number of pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria, PagP confers resistance to certain cationic antimicrobial peptides produced during the host innate immune response. The global fold of Escherichia coli PagP was determined in both dodecylphosphocholine and n-octyl-β-d-glucoside detergent micelles using solution NMR spectroscopy. PagP consists of an eight-stranded anti-parallel β-barrel preceded by an amphipathic α helix. The β-barrel is well defined, whereas NMR relaxation measurements reveal considerable mobility in the loops connecting individual β-strands. Three amino acid residues critical for enzymatic activity localize to extracellular loops near the membrane interface, positioning them optimally to interact with the polar headgroups of lipid A. Hence, the active site of PagP is situated on the outer surface of the outer membrane. Because the phospholipids that donate palmitate in the enzymatic reaction are normally found only in the inner leaflet of the outer membrane, PagP activity may depend on the aberrant migration of phospholipids into the outer leaflet. This finding is consistent with an emerging paradigm for outer membrane enzymes in providing an adaptive response toward disturbances in the outer membrane.
A Prototype of a Stair-Climbing System for a Wheelchair

In general, lower limb disabled people do their daily activities on wheelchairs. The disabled people encounter difficulties when they have to ascend or descend the stairs. For example, enter or exit buildings that have no ramps, go up or down in buildings that have no elevators or cross pedestrian bridges. For these situations, many assistants are required to carry a lower limb disabled person and a wheelchair. This leads to a risk of injury for both the disabled person and the assistants. Therefore, this research presented a prototype of a stair-climbing system for a wheelchair. This research was aimed to enhance the quality of life for the lower limb disabled people by enabling the wheelchair to climb the stairs with only one assistant to control the wheelchair. The designed stair-climbing system consisted of two 5-spokes wheels and the slot plates. The 5-spokes wheels were used for climbing the stairs. The slot plates were used for sliding the rear wheels of the wheelchair. The 5-spokes wheels were installed at the rear of the wheelchair and were driven by power from an electric motor. When climbing the stair, the rear wheels were slid to the front of the wheelchair. To move on the floor, the rear wheels were slid back to the rear of the wheelchair. From test results, the wheelchair with the stair-climbing system could ascend and descend the stairs with the maximum riser height of 200 mm. The maximum payload was 80 kg. The stair-climbing system could reduce the number of the assistants to only one person and the wheelchair could still move on the floor as a general wheelchair.
This paper investigates whether the hot IPO effect persists post-IPO in China’s Growth Enterprise Market

(GEM) based on the dynamic equicorrelation of trading volume and stock returns. We find that the hot IPO effect ends after two years with the imbalance between demand and supply for GEM stock relieved, which indicates that the rational learning process requires almost two years for most investors. Further, we confirm that returns and volumes are positively correlated at the 1% significance level. This result indicates that the fundamental analysis may not apply to the GEM because the information content of trading volume is capable of forecasting stock returns.
Oil Shock Impacts on the Borderplex Regional Economy

This study analyzes the effect of oil price shocks on the economies of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, jointly referred to as the “Borderplex”. It employs a measure of the net oil price increase developed by Hamilton (1996) in a manner similar to that applied by Sill (2007) to the United States national economy. Impulse response functions are calculated to determine the impact of 10-percent oil price shocks on the Borderplex regional economy. The asymmetrical relationship between oil prices and economic performance is also examined using a net oil price decrease variable. Results found in this study are inconclusive. Negative and statistically significant relationships for the net oil price increase are obtained in the El Paso real personal income, El Paso non-agricultural employment, Ciudad Juarez retail sales, and Ciudad Juarez formal sector employment equations. Inconsistent results are reported for the El Paso retail sales equation, while there appears to be no relationship between net oil price increases and El Paso gross metropolitan product or between net oil price increases and El Paso median existing single family house prices. The results presented in this study do not find definitive evidence in support of an asymmetrical relationship between oil prices and metropolitan economic performance.
Partial credit guarantees and firm performance: evidence from Colombia

This paper studies the effect of government-backed partial credit guarantees on firms’ performance in Colombia. These guarantees are automatically granted by the National Guarantee Fund (NGF) to firms without enough collateral to lift their credit constraints. We put together a panel of firms covering the period 1997–2007 that allows us to control for observed and unobserved firm characteristics potentially affecting both the selection of firms into the program and firms’ performance. We find that firms that gain access to credit backed by the NGF were able to grow in terms of both output and employment. However, we do not find any effect on productivity, wages, or investment.