Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the impact of US subsidies on world cotton prices: A meta-analysis approach

Despite the literature dealing with the impact of subsidies on world cotton prices, there is no consensus regarding the quantification of these effects. The aim of this article is to contribute to this literature through the implementation of a meta-regression analysis. This methodology allows us to: (i) identify the main sources of heterogeneity between the primary studies, (ii) give some tracks to improve the modeling, (iii) provide a reliable effect of the removal of subsidies on world cotton prices. Relying on the estimation of various models to derive robust results, our findings show that a withdrawal of US subsidies would increase the world cotton price by around 11% on average.
Essential role of conserved arginine 160 in intramolecular electron transfer in human sulfite oxidase.

Arginine 160 in human sulfite oxidase (SO) is conserved in all SO species sequenced to date. Previous steady-state kinetic studies of the R160Q human SO mutant showed a remarkable decrease in k(cat)/K(m)(sulfite) of nearly 1000-fold, which suggests that Arg 160 in human SO makes an important contribution to the binding of sulfite near the molybdenum cofactor [Garrett, R. M. , Johnson, J. L. , Graf, T. N. , Feigenbaum, A. , Rajagopalan, K. V. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 6394-6398]. In the crystal structure of chicken SO, Arg 138, the equivalent of Arg 160 in human SO, is involved in the formation of a positively charged sulfite binding site [Kisker, C. , Schindelin, H. , Pacheco, A. , Wehbi, W. , Garnett, R. M. , Rajagopalan, K. V. , Enemark, J. H. , Rees, D. C. (1997) Cell 91, 973-983]. To further assess the role of Arg 160 in human SO, intramolecular electron transfer (IET) rates between the reduced heme [Fe(II)] and oxidized molybdenum [Mo(VI)] centers in the wild type, R160Q, and R160K human SO forms were investigated by laser flash photolysis. In the R160Q mutant, the IET rate constant at pH 6.0 was decreased by nearly 3 orders of magnitude relative to wild type, which indicates that the positive charge of Arg 160 is essential for efficient IET in human SO. Furthermore, the IET rate constant for the R160K mutant is about one-fourth that of the wild type enzyme, which strongly indicates that it is the loss of charge of Arg 160, and not its precise location, that is responsible for the much larger decrease in IET rates in the R160Q mutant. Steady-state kinetic measurements indicate that IET is rate-limiting in the catalytic cycle of the R160Q mutant. Thus, the large decrease in the IET rate constant rationalizes the fatal impact of this mutation in patients with this genetic disorder.
Patching a patch - software updates using horizontal patching

This paper presents a method for optimizing software updates of consumer electronic devices running multiple applications with a common software component, called horizontal patching. Instead of using separate deltas for patching different applications, the method generates one delta from the other. Due to the large similarities between the deltas, this horizontal delta is small in size. Experimental results on two test sets, consisting of software updates for sensor networks and smart phones, show that significant improvements can be achieved. Between 27% and 84% data can be saved from transmission, depending on the type of applications and shared components.
An analysis of the relationship between high school teachers' organizational commitment levels and perceptions of school culture

Accepted: 16.12. 2014 In this study, it is aimed at investigating the relationship between high school teachers’ organizational commitment levels and their perceptions of school culture. Therefore, relational (correlational) model has been used in the study. The sampling group of the study consists of 265 teachers who work at high schools in Palandoken district of Erzurum. Organizational Commitment Scale and School Culture Scale have been used as data collection instruments. Data has been analysed through arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. At the end of the study, positive and significant correlation has been found between organizational commitment levels of high school teachers and their school culture. Teachers’ perception levels on emotional commitment has been found to be higher than normative and continuance commitment levels. Besides, it has been determined that high school teachers’ perceptions on school culture are at the highest levels in unity of purpose dimension while they are at low levels in learning partnership dimension. It has been concluded that collaborative leadership and collegial support dimensions of school culture predict teachers’ perceptions of emotional commitment; learning partnership dimension predicts their perceptions of continuance commitment; collaborative leadership dimension predicts their perceptions of normative commitment in positive direction and at meaningful levels. In this context, educational administrators in educational organizations should lead teachers and support them about learning partnership which is one of the factors of setting school culture. Moreover, educational administrators should produce works for setting organizational commitment which helps achieving the objectives of the institution. Regarding the fact that organizational commitment and school culture affect each other, these two variables should be compromised in school setting.
Substitution among Capital, Labor, and Natural Resource Products in American Manufacturing

This paper presents estimates of partial elasticities of substitution among reproducible capital, labor, and an input aggregate of natural resource products. We are specifically interested in two hypotheses: (i) Are natural resource products strictly complementary in production with either capital or labor? (ii) Are resource products typically less substitutable with capital than with labor? To both questions the answer is, generally, no. Two modes of investigation are used, one based on a translog production function and the other making use of a translog cost function. For most industry groups, the estimated substitution elasticities obtained from the cost function are somewhat lower than those based on the translog production function.
Multilayer Convolutional Sparse Modeling: Pursuit and Dictionary Learning

The recently proposed multilayer convolutional sparse coding (ML-CSC) model, consisting of a cascade of convolutional sparse layers, provides a new interpretation of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Under this framework, the forward pass in a CNN is equivalent to a pursuit algorithm aiming to estimate the nested sparse representation vectors from a given input signal. Despite having served as a pivotal connection between CNNs and sparse modeling, a deeper understanding of the ML-CSC is still lacking. In this paper, we propose a sound pursuit algorithm for the ML-CSC model by adopting a projection approach. We provide new and improved bounds on the stability of the solution of such pursuit and we analyze different practical alternatives to implement this in practice. We show that the training of the filters is essential to allow for nontrivial signals in the model, and we derive an online algorithm to learn the dictionaries from real data, effectively resulting in cascaded sparse convolutional layers. Last, but not least, we demonstrate the applicability of the ML-CSC model for several applications in an unsupervised setting, providing competitive results. Our work represents a bridge between matrix factorization, sparse dictionary learning, and sparse autoencoders, and we analyze these connections in detail.
A small-scale study comparing the impact of psycho-education and exploratory psychotherapy groups on newcomers to a group for people with dementia

Background: The importance of providing emotional support to people newly diagnosed as having dementia is now widely recognised. However, the evidence base for this work is limited, so that it is difficult to draw conclusions either about whether this form of work is effective or which form of intervention might be most suitable for people with dementia. Objectives: This study compared the effectiveness of exploratory psychotherapy and psycho-educational group interventions for new group members. Methodology: Participants had received a diagnosis of Dementia of the Alzheimer's type or a similar form of dementia and had a mild level of cognitive impairment. Interventions occurred in ten, weekly sessions with participants attending either a psychotherapy or a psycho-educational group, each of which were facilitated by the same team of clinicians, and had the same amount of therapist contact. Data relating to levels of mood was collected at the start and at the end of the group intervention from eight participants in each arm of the study. Data collection occurred independently from the intervention by a researcher who was blind to the form of intervention. Results: There was a significant interaction between mode of therapy and levels of depression and a borderline significant interaction between therapy type and levels of anxiety. However, once the low affect level of participants in the psycho-educational groups was controlled for, differences between the interventions were non-significant. Discussion: Although the results that can be drawn from this study are limited, nevertheless it supports previous research indicating that a 10-week group psychotherapy intervention can be effective in reducing levels of depression for people with a mild level of dementia.
Product architecture and integrated manufacturing information system: a comparative study of Japanese and Korean firms

Japanese firms are known for their superior technology and excellent quality performance. However, in spite of outstanding technological competency and quality performance, global competitiveness of Japanese electronic firms has been deteriorating in 2000s. In contrast, Korean counterparts have displayed significant global competitive gains. This article presents research model that defines interrelationships among product integrity, product architecture and IT strategy. This model is examined through case study of Japanese and Korean firms. The research results suggest that Japanese selected firms have solid base of monozukuri system from product concept planning to delivery to customers. However, different from Korean firms, these selected Japanese firms do not appear to utilise full IT potential for integrated manufacturing information system (IMIS). Differences between Japanese and Korean firms are discussed along with implications and lessons of this case study.
Production and Consumption of Corn in Ghana: Forecasting Using ARIMA Models

This study describes an empirical study of modeling and forecasting production and consumption of corn in Ghana using ARIMA models. The study revealed that ARIMA (2, 1, 1) and ARIMA (1, 1, 0) were the appropriate models for forecasting production and consumption respectively. Our forecast showed an increasing pattern in consumption and production of corn. Despite the increase in production, government has to still invest money into corn production, motivate corn farmers, and implement good policies for better land tenure systems for corn cultivation to ensure that production always exceeds consumption to avoid importation of corn into the country. This is imperative because importation could lead to high prices of corn and increase inflation rate, hence affecting the economy of the country.
The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farmer Nutrient Management Behavior in Chinese Rice Production: A Household-Level Analysis

Agricultural nutrients play a critical role in food production and human nutrition in China. Against this backdrop, agricultural extension services are essential for providing farmers with knowledge and information about nutrient management. By using a propensity score-matching (PSM) approach, this study examines the impact of agricultural extension on farmer nutrient management behavior. Survey data about rice farmers in seven provinces of rural China are used. The empirical results indicate that participation in agricultural extension has a positive impact on rationalizing farmer nutrient management behavior. However, this impact is trivial. Compared with non-participating farmers, the reduced ratio of total fertilizer use and total inorganic fertilizer use by participating farmers is only 1.7% to 3.7%, and the improved ratio of the total organic fertilizer use and the level of soil-testing-based fertilizer use by participating farmers is only 1.008% to 1.173%. Additionally, the causal impacts of agricultural extension participation on nutrient management behavior tend to be higher for more educated, risk-loving and larger-scale farmers. This study reveals that China faces great challenges in implementing improved nutrient management practices for hundreds of millions of farmers through extension services. The findings also have important implications for China’s extension system to meet the objectives of improving nutrient management.
DNA-uptake machinery of naturally competent Vibrio cholerae

Significance Transformation allows naturally competent bacteria to take up DNA from the environment and integrate the DNA into the chromosome by recombination. In Gram-negative bacteria, the DNA-uptake machinery shuttles the incoming DNA across the outer membrane, the periplasmic space, and the inner membrane. This study investigates the DNA-uptake complex of the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, using a cellular biology-based approach. We visualized different components of this multicomponent complex, including a type IV pilus appendage, determined their (co)localization within the bacterial cell, and conducted an analysis of competence-gene mutants. We conclude that the uptake of DNA occurs via (at least) a two-step process. Natural competence for transformation is a mode of horizontal gene transfer that is commonly used by bacteria to take up DNA from their environment. As part of this developmental program, so-called competence genes, which encode the components of a DNA-uptake machinery, are expressed. Several models have been proposed for the DNA-uptake complexes of competent bacteria, and most include a type IV (pseudo)pilus as a core component. However, cell-biology–based approaches to visualizing competence proteins have so far been restricted to Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we report the visualization of a competence-induced pilus in the Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae. We show that piliated cells mostly contain a single pilus that is not biased toward a polar localization and that this pilus colocalizes with the outer membrane secretin PilQ. PilQ, on the other hand, forms several foci around the cell and occasionally colocalizes with the dynamic cytoplasmic-traffic ATPase PilB, which is required for pilus extension. We also determined the minimum competence regulon of V. cholerae, which includes at least 19 genes. Bacteria with mutations in those genes were characterized with respect to the presence of surface-exposed pili, DNA uptake, and natural transformability. Based on these phenotypes, we propose that DNA uptake in naturally competent V. cholerae cells occurs in at least two steps: a pilus-dependent translocation of the incoming DNA across the outer membrane and a pilus-independent shuttling of the DNA through the periplasm and into the cytoplasm.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF LAYOFFS

Using probit analysis, this article finds that differential treatment accounts for a substantial portion of the higher layoff rates of blacks in comparison to whites. However, women are found to be considerably less prone to layoffs than men with similar characteristics. Among those who obtained subsequent employment (taking into account the possible selectivity bias in such a subsample), white males are hurt more by layoffs than black males in terms of both short-term and long-term earnings growth; women's earnings are not necessarily affected by layoff at all. However, whites and males are found to be more likely to be reemployed than blacks and females, respectively.
Short and long-run rent adjustment in the Dublin office market

Commercial property played a critical role in the downfall of Ireland’s tiger economy. Despite this, analytical research on Ireland’s non-residential markets remains surprisingly scarce. This paper makes a small contribution to redressing this deficit by estimating a rent determination model for the Dublin office market. A two-stage error correction mechanism is adopted. This involves estimation of a long-run equilibrium rent equation and a short-run rent adjustment process. The long-run analysis suggests that office demand is relatively elastic in Dublin. This may reflect the openness of the Irish economy and Dublin’s status as a secondary European market. The standard short-run model produces unrealistically low estimates of the natural vacancy rate. Tests for asymmetric adjustment prove inconclusive and fail to correct this. However, controlling for a structural shift in the Irish economy from manufacturing to office-based activities in the late 1990s results in a more plausible specification. This indicates that office rents are relatively sensitive to supply shocks, perhaps reflecting a high proportion of speculative development in Dublin. The short-run model also indicates a relatively slow rate of rent adjustment. This may derive from institutional characteristics of the Dublin market such as long leases.
Enhanced Strain Effects in 25-nm Gate-Length Thin-Body nMOSFETs With Silicon–Carbon Source/Drain and Tensile-Stress Liner

We report the demonstration of 25-nm gate-length L<sub>G</sub> strained nMOSFETs featuring the silicon-carbon source and drain (Si<sub>1-y</sub>C<sub>y</sub>S/D) regions and a thin-body thickness T <sub>body</sub> of ~18 nm. This is also the smallest reported planar nMOSFET with the Si<sub>1-y</sub>C<sub>y</sub>S/D stressors. Strain-induced mobility enhancement due to the Si<sub>1-y</sub>C<sub>y </sub>S/D leads to a significant drive-current I<sub>Dsat</sub> enhancement of 52% over the control transistor. Furthermore, the integration of tensile-stress SiN etch stop layer and Si<sub>1-y</sub>C <sub>y</sub>S/D extends the I<sub>Dsat</sub> enhancement to 67%. The performance enhancement was achieved for the devices with similar subthreshold swing and drain-induced barrier lowering. The Si<sub>1-y </sub>C<sub>y</sub>S/D technology and its combination with the existing strained-silicon techniques are promising for the future high-performance CMOS applications
Inflation, Price Level and Hybrid Rules Under Inflation Uncertainty

The performance and robustness of optimised interest rate rules are analysed in a New Keynesian model estimated for the euro area economy. In particular, we examine the properties of rules responding to inflation, the price level, or a combination of the two (a hybrid rule). All the rules also respond to the output gap. The optimal hybrid rule is only marginally superior when there is no model uncertainty. When there is uncertainty about the degree of inflation persistence, the inflation rule is the most robust rule and the performance of the other two rules deteriorates. However, all the rules perform well if the true degree of inflation persistence turns out to be less than policymakers' estimate. Copyright The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics", 2005 .
National Culture and Internal Control Material Weaknesses Around the World

The scandals surrounding questionable accounting practices and corporate wrongdoing during 2000-2008 have often been attributed to the lack of effective internal controls. We examine the relations between national culture and the incidence and number of reported internal control material weaknesses (ICMWs). We focus on three dimensions of national culture—individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance (as identified by Hofstede)—which we hypothesize are related to ICMW. Consistent with our hypotheses, cross-country analysis indicates that individualism and power distance are positively related, and uncertainty avoidance is negatively related, to the existence of ICMW. We also find a significant positive relation between individualism and the number of ICMWs. These results are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. In addition, we document that all three dimensions of national culture influence the propensity to remediate previously identified ICMW.
Are inflation expectations in Russia forward–looking?

The aim of this research is to identify the process that guides the evolution of inflation expectations in Russia. The significance of this theoretical issue is stipulated by the fact that the characteristics of this process are the key determinants of both inflation dynamics and the effectiveness of disinflation measures introduced by the Central Bank. This paper studies the degree to which inflation expectations appear forward-looking and backward-looking. We estimate the Hybrid Phillips curve that includes proxies for both backward- and forward-looking components of inflation expectations. Applying generalised method of moments we asses, which of the two components play a predominant role in determining Russian inflation. The estimates are based on the monthly macroeconomic statistics for the period 1999-2013. Our analysis suggests that to a large extent inflation expectations in Russia remain backward-looking. Hence, it is recommended to take action to enhance agents confidence in the Central Banks policy before switching to aggressive inflation targeting.
Computational analysis of the cathepsin B inhibitors activities through LR‐MMPBSA binding affinity calculation based on docked complex

Cathepsin B, a ubiquitous lysosomal cysteine protease, is involved in many biological processes related to several human diseases. Inhibitors targeting the enzyme have been investigated as possible diseases treatments. A set of 37 compounds were recently found active in a high throughput screening assay to inhibit the catalytic activity of Cathepsin B, with chemical structures and biological test results available to the public in the PubChem BioAssay Database (AID 820). In this study, we compare these experimental activities to the results of theoretical predictions from binding affinity calculation with a LR‐MM‐PNSA approach based on docked complexes. Strong correlations (r2 = 0.919 and q2 = 0.887 for the best) are observed between the theoretical predictions and experimental biological activity. The models are cross‐validated by four independent predictive experiments with randomly split compounds into training and test sets. Our results also show that the results based on protein dimer show better correlations with experimental activity when compared to results based on monomer in the in silico calculations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2009
Career Paths in American Luxury Hotels: Hotel Food and Beverage Directors

While much has been written on operational aspects of hotel food and beverage functions, the literature on career paths and background characteristics of successful food and beverage directors is quite sparse. A survey was distributed to all food and beverage directors of four and five star hotels in America to obtain a clear understanding of the career histories of food and beverage directors and to determine if there are any distinguishing characteristics in terms of demographics, education or experience which are possessed by successful food and beverage directors. Nearly all of the food and beverage directors reported having ambitions for higher positions, with hotel general manager the most preferred higher position. The results of the study have implications for hospitality education curriculum development and human resource planning in the luxury full service hotel industry.