Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous Banking Markup, Distributional Conflict and Capacity Utilization

We develop a post-Keynesian macrodynamic model of productive capacity utilization and income distribution in which the supply of credit-money is endogenous. Nominal interest rate is set by banks as a markup over the base rate, which is exogenously determined by the monetary authority. Over time, banking markup falls with firms' profit rate on physical capital and rises with the rate of inflation, whereas the base rate remains unchanged. The dynamic behaviour of the system is analysed for both cases regarding capacity utilization, namely full utilization and excess capacity, which then makes for the possibility of multiple equilibria for the state variables real wage and nominal interest rate. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2003.
Voluntary Export Restraints and Economic Welfare: A General Equilibrium Analysis

We derive some sufficient conditions for the Suzumura-Ishikawa proposition on voluntary export restraints to hold when their model is extended to a general equilibrium framework. The sufficient conditions are concerned with the magnitude of income effects which play no role in the partial-equilibrium analysis of Suzumura and Ishikawa.
The effects of manufacturer brand performance, brand strength and role performance on retailer satisfaction

This study examines how brand performance, brand strength and role performance affect retailer satisfaction, specifically economic and non-economic satisfaction. The research model was proposed and empirically tested using data collected from retailers that their in-store area is bigger than 100 m2 in Turkey. Results reveal that brand performance and meeting consumer needs as a dimension of brand strength influences retailer satisfaction both economically and non economically. However, other dimensions of brand strength and innovation of manufacturer brand did not have a significant influence on satisfaction. Also, specific relationships between role performance of manufacturer and satisfaction of retailer are discussed. Key words: Brand performance, brand strength, role performance, satisfaction, retailer.
Basal Prolactin Values Correlate with Response to Reboxetine Treatment in Major Depression, but Not with Response to Citalopram

Little is known about variables that might predict outcome in major depression. Recently, basal prolactin values (BPV) have been suggested to predict response to treatment with tricyclic antidepressive drugs. In order to examine whether BPV predict response to selective mono-aminergic therapy, 24 in-patients with major depression were treated in a single-masked, randomised study using the most selective noradrenergic or serotonergic reuptake inhibitors available for antidepressant treatment, i.e. reboxetine and citalopram. A significant correlation between BPV and treatment response to reboxetine was found, but not between BPV and response to citalopram. As BPV are influenced by noradrenergic activity, it can be hypothesized that depressed patients with comparatively high BPV have a relatively high noradrenergic function. This might explain why in our study depressed patients with the highest BPV responded strongest to selective noradrenergic treatment with reboxetine. As measurement of BPV is simple, further studies are suggested to examine the possible clinical value of the link between prolactin, noradrenergic function in major depression and treatment response.
Tourism and Economic Growth in Australia: An Empirical Investigation of Causal Links

This paper seeks to determine whether tourism has promoted economic growth in Australia during the last two decades. Specifically, it uses Granger Causality analysis to explore the relationship between (i) tourism expenditure and gross domestic product and (ii) tourism expenditure and expenditure on other factors known to be associated with tourism demand. According to the results, there is a bi-causal link between tourism and economic growth, indicating the possible existence of tourism-led endogenous growth. The results also suggest that food expenditure (specifically expenditure in restaurants, cafés and takeaways) may be the key to growth in the tourism sector. Evidently, expenditure in this sector may facilitate the growth of other industries through the local market, thus kick-starting a system of endogenous growth via tourism.
Expression of the tetK gene from Staphylococcus aureus in Escherichia coli: comparison of substrate specificities of TetA(B), TetA(C), and TetK efflux proteins

The tetK gene, which encodes a tetracycline efflux pump from Staphylococcus aureus, was expressed in Escherichia coli by using an inducible, low-level expression system. The tetK gene, as well as the tetA(B) gene from the transposon Tn10 and the tetA(C) gene from plasmid pBR322, was subjected to the regulatory control of the lac repressor, and resistance to tetracycline was measured as a function of the isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside concentration. The maximum resistance of the E. coli strain containing the tetK construct was comparable to the maximum resistance of the strain containing the tetA(C) construct but was less than the resistance of the strain containing the tetA(B) construct. Overexpression of the tetK, tetA(B), or tetA(C) genes was toxic. When expression was regulated so that resistance to tetracycline was comparable, then the TetA(B) and TetA(C) proteins conferred very similar levels of resistance to a variety of tetracycline derivatives. In contrast, the TetK protein was less capable of conferring resistance to the tetracycline derivatives minocycline, 6-deoxy-6-demethyltetracycline, and doxycycline. The implications for the recognition of various tetracycline substituents by the TetK protein are discussed.
Networks in the Understanding of Economic Behaviors

As economists endeavor to build better models of human behavior, they cannot ignore that humans are fundamentally a social species with interaction patterns that shape their behaviors. People's opinions, which products they buy, whether they invest in education, become criminals, and so forth, are all influenced by friends and acquaintances. Ultimately, the full network of relationships- how dense it is, whether some groups are segregated, who sits in central positions- affects how information spreads and how people behave. Increased availability of data coupled with increased computing power allows us to analyze networks in economic settings in ways not previously possible. In this paper, I describe some of the ways in which networks are helping economists to model and understand behavior. I begin with an example that demonstrates the sorts of things that researchers can miss if they do not account for network patterns of interaction. Next I discuss a taxonomy of network properties and how they impact behaviors. Finally, I discuss the problem of developing tractable models of network formation.
Managing technology as a strategic asset

For firms facing rapid advances in technology and intense global competition, the integration of technology into strategic thinking and decision making is essential for growth — and even for survival. It is in this context that this paper addresses the managerial challenges and choices presented to firms attempting to employ technology as a strategic asset. Emphasis is placed on creating managerial language, frameworks, processes and focal issues as a foundation to support the effective integration of technology into strategy.
A Similarity Classifier with Bonferroni Mean Operators

A similarity classifier based on Bonferroni mean based operators is introduced. The new Bonferroni mean based variant of the similarity classifier is also extended to cover a new Bonferroni-OWA variant. The new Bonferroni-OWA based similarity classifier raises the question of how to accomplish the weighting needed and for this reason we also examine a number of linguistic quantifiers for weight generation. The new proposed similarity classifier variants are tested on four real world medical research related data sets. The results are compared with results from two previously presented similarity classifiers, one based on the generalized mean and another based on an arithmetic mean operator. The results show that comparatively better classification accuracy can be reached with the proposed new similarity classifier variants.
Twisted Lines : Artificial muscle and advanced instruments can be formed from nylon threads and fabric.

At the mention of nylon, you may think of shirts, stockings, fishing line, and sutures. A recent discovery, first reported in February 2014 in Science, is that the strong, tough, and inexpensive threads that make up fabrics and filaments can actively contract and expand? with much greater force than muscle [1]. This newly discovered musclelike action creates opportunities in medical devices? among other areas? that are just beginning to be explored.
Technical Possibilities and Political Imperatives in 70 years of Administrative Reform

1 Summary The 1920's Kemmerer missions initiated 70 years of trial and error in improving Latin American public administration. Different approaches with different origins were applied individually and regionally, generating an equal variety of explanations for poor results. Reform actions in mainland Latin America are examined historically and the technical approach to change that has guided national and international agencies is shown to be questionable.
Evaluation and adaptive attenuation of the cardiac vibration interference in mechanomyographic signals

The study of the mechanomyographic signal of the diaphragm muscle (MMGdi) is a promising technique in order to evaluate the respiratory muscles effort. The relationship between amplitude and frequency parameters of this signal with the respiratory effort performed during respiration is of great interest for researchers and physicians due to its diagnostic potentials. However, MMGdi signals are frequently contaminated by a cardiac vibration or mechanocardiographic (MCG) signal. An adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) can be used to reduce the MCG interference in the recorded MMGdi activity. In this paper, it is evaluated the proposed ANC scheme by means of a synthetic MMGdi signal with a controlled MCG interference. The Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) between both root mean square (RMS) and mean frequency (fm) of the synthetic MMGdi signal are considerably reduced with the presence of cardiac vibration noise (from 0.95 to 0.87, and from 0.97 to 0.76, respectively). With the ANC algorithm proposed the effect of the MCG noise on the amplitude and frequency of MMG parameters is reduced considerably (PCC of 0.93 and 0.97 for the RMS and fm, respectively). The ANC method proposed in this work is an interesting technique to attenuate the cardiac interference in respiratory MMG signals. Further investigation should be carried out to evaluate the performance of the ANC algorithm in real MMGdi signals.
Chemical and thermal properties of VIP latrine sludge

This study investigated the chemical and thermal properties of faecal sludge from 10 dry VIP latrines in Bester's Camp in the eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa. Faecal sludge samples were selected at different depths and from the front and back sections of 10 VIP latrines during a manual emptying process. The samples were analysed for: moisture content; volatile solids; chemical oxygen demand; ammonia; total Kjeldahl nitrogen; pH; orthophosphate; thermal conductivity; calorific value and heat capacity. These properties will facilitate the design of faecal sludge emptying and treatment equipment. A manual sorting of the pit contents was carried out to determine the categories and amounts of household waste present. There was a significant difference in the moisture, volatile solids, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and orthophosphate content of the faecal sludge between the front and back sections of the pit. There was minimal change in the thermal properties within the pit. The median values through the pit of each property analysed were: moisture content - 0.81 g water/g wet mass; volatile solids - 1.5 g VS/g ash; COD - 1.7 g COD/g ash; ammonia nitrogen - 10 mg NH3-N/g dry mass; TKN - 39 mg N/g dry mass; pH - 8.03; orthophosphate - 0.06 mg PO4/g dry mass; thermal conductivity - 0.55 W/m K; calorific value - 14 kJ/g dry mass; heat capacity - 2.4x103 kJ/kg K. On average, 87% of pit content is faecal sludge; the remainder consists of wastes such as paper, plastics and textiles.
Adolescent Girls’ Offending and Health-Risking Sexual Behavior: The Predictive Role of Trauma

Several studies have highlighted high levels of risk for girls who have been exposed to traumatic experiences, but little is known about the exact relationship between traumatic experiences and problems with delinquency and health-risking sexual behavior (e.g., precipitory and/or exacerbatory roles). However, numerous short- and long-term detrimental effects have been linked to trauma, delinquency, and health-risking sexual behavior. The utility of diagnostic and experiential trauma measures in predicting the greatest risk for poor outcomes for delinquent girls was examined in this study. Results indicate that the experiential measures of trauma (cumulative and composite trauma scores) significantly predicted adolescent offending and adolescent health-risking sexual behavior, whereas the diagnostic measures of trauma (full and partial diagnostic criteria) did not.
Opting out of the Legal System: Extralegal Contractual Relations in the Diamond Industry

BUSINESS disputes arise in all industries, and the diamond industry is no exception. Unlike the situation in many other industries, however, diamond industry disputes are resolved not through the courts and not by the application of legal rules announced and enforced by the state. The diamond industry has systematically rejected state-created law. In its place, the sophisticated traders who dominate the industry have developed an elaborate, internal set of rules, complete with distinctive institutions and sanctions, to handle disputes among industry members. This article explores the reasons that this system of private governance has developed and endured within the diamond trade. Section II provides a brief overview of the diamond industry. It sketches the workings of the international diamond cartel and discusses diamond production and valuation. Section III describes the organization of the market for rough and polished diamonds, paying special attention to the role of trading clubs (bourses). It focuses on the terms and structure of transactions and details the workings of the bourse's private arbitration system that keeps all judgments secret as long as they are promptly paid. Section IV is the core of this article. Section IVA briefly considers why diamond dealers need to make executory contracts; it then explains that the diamond market also operates as an implicit loan market. Section IVB compares the cost of entering into legally unenforceable (extralegal) agreements to the cost of entering into legally enforceable contracts. It
Small and medium-sized enterprise internationalisation strategy and performance in times of market turbulence

This article examines the relationship between the strategies utilised by small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) for international expansion, and their performance during market turbulence. Analysing the strategy process of firm internationalisation, three main dimensions of this unfolding process are condensed: the scale, scope and speed of firm internationalisation. The influence of these three dimensions on performance during market turbulence is explored using a hypothesised model tested through an integrated dataset combining data pertaining to firm strategy, and performance. The analysis demonstrates that the scope and speed of internationalisation render a positive performance effect, whereas the scale of internationalisation does not. The article contributes to knowledge regarding sustainable and successful internationalisation strategies during times of market turbulence.
A Modular Approach for Smart Home System Architectures Based on Android Applications

European market size for smart home systems is expected to grow by 20% to over 4.3 billion USD by 2017. This growth is mainly due to the development of luxury and premium markets towards a mass market. In 2014, more than one billion mobile devices with Google's operating system Android were sold, which resulted in a market share of more than 80%. Thus, mobile devices have already reached the mass market. The main idea behind this work is the reuse of mobile devices as smart home systems to reduce market entry barrier for end users and to contribute to a more holistic use of mobile devices. Therefore, we developed a modular architecture concept for smart home systems based on Android devices. In order to ensure the usefulness of this concept, the characteristics of existing systems and the potential of mobile devices were taken into account. Our primary goal was the development of a generic software architecture for various smart home applications. Therefore, we present a plugin framework concept that allows modular system design. Our framework is implemented by using components without modifying the Android operating system itself.
DISSOCIATIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN ADOLESCENT DIARIES OF INCEST VICTIMS

Early diaries of two 29-year-old Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) female patients, who were amnestic to childhood incest memories until the current treatment, were content-analyzed and compared with adolescent diaries of three women who had no known history of psychopathology or child abuse and with one adolescent diary written by a woman in treatment for a chronic AdjustmentDisorder. Diaries were transcribed and coded by several raters for 77 items in six major categories: I) thoughts and ideas; 2) positive daily experiences; 3) emotional pain; 4) cross genderrelationships; 5) other relationships; and 6) dissociation. Interater reliability checks were performed on every tenth page. Diaries written by adult DID patients during their adolescence had no references to abuse but contained significantly more dissociative themes, and had significantly fewer references to cross-gender relationships, than controls. The overall mood and the number of entries describing positive daily experiences showed differences which were not found to be significant. We believe this could be accounted for by the buffering effect of the dissociative defense. Further controlled research is needed to substantiate these findings, but the accessibility and diagnostic potential of such diaries is worth exploring for early identification of child incest victims who are developing a dissociative disorder. Our data show that DID in our adult patients did not appear de novo during psychotherapy and corroborated the existence of dissociative symptoms years before the formal
Controlling systolic blood pressure is difficult in patients with diabetic kidney disease exhibiting moderate‐to‐severe reductions in renal function

This study compared the use of antihypertensive treatment and blood pressure (BP) controls between patients with diabetic kidney disease (DK+) and patients with non‐diabetic kidney disease (DK−) exhibiting moderate‐to‐severe chronic renal failure who did not need renal replacement therapy. A cross‐sectional survey included all renal patients with s‐creatinine at ⩾200 µmol/l attending regular control sessions at six renal units in Norway. Of the 351 patients included, 73 (20.8%) were DK+. The proportion reaching a BP goal of <130/80 mmHg was similar in DK+ and DK− (14.1% vs 13.6%, p = 0.92), while 38% and 39% achieved a BP of <140/90 mmHg, respectively. The systolic BP goal was more difficult to achieve than the diastolic BP goal in DK+ patients (35% vs 15%) despite a mean of three different types of drugs being used. Loop diuretics and beta‐adrenergic‐receptor antagonists were the most frequently prescribed drugs, and the use of angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin‐II‐receptor antagonists declined when renal function deteriorated, from 80% to 0% and from 66% to 20% in the DK+ and DK− groups, respectively (p = 0.001). Thus, despite the use of multiple antihypertensive drugs, controlling BP – especially the systolic BP – is difficult in high‐risk patients with chronic renal failure caused by diabetic kidney disease.
What’s the story? Creating and sustaining environmental networks

Networks have been embraced as appropriate means for environmental governance because of their potential inclusivity, flexibility, resilience, and ability to comprehend multiple values and ways of knowing. Analysis of networks, however, falls short of accounting for the emergence and persistence of these innovative and complex modes of governance, as well as their failures. We offer a framework for using narrative to understand and evaluate networks. We understand networks to be sets of relationships, between humans and also between humans and their environment, that define and guide behaviour. Narrative is a constitutive element of these networks; narrative and network are co-produced. Narrative analysis enables a critical investigation of environmental action and policy that at the same time captures the variety of environmental relationships and associated meanings and emotions that can inspire collaborative behaviour. Using a case study of the development of alternative agriculture in the United States, we provide a methodology for investigating ‘narrative-networks’ that affords deeper explanations of how and why emergent, often informal and unlikely, environmental networks endure over time.
The Economic Benefits of Political Connections in Late Victorian Britain

The late Victorian era was characterized by close links between politicians and firms in the United Kingdom, with up to half of all members of Parliament serving as company directors. We analyze 467 British companies over the period 1895 to 1904. An analysis of election results shows that the election of a new tech director is associated with a 2 percent to 2.5 percent increase in that firm's share price, whereas old tech firms were unaffected by the electoral fortunes of their directors. New technology firms with political directors were more likely to undertake seasoned issues of both equity and debt.