Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast Design Space Exploration of Vibration-Based Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors

An energy-harvester-powered wireless sensor node is a complicated system with many design parameters. To investigate the various trade-offs among these parameters, it is desirable to explore the multi-dimensional design space quickly. Because of the large number of parameters and costly simulation CPU times, it is, however, often difficult or even impossible to explore the design space via simulation. This paper presents a response surface model (RSM) based technique for fast design space exploration of a complete wireless sensor node powered by a tunable energy harvester. As a proof of concept, a software toolkit is developed that implements the proposed design flow and incorporates either real data or parametrized models of the vibration source, the energy harvester, tuning controller, and wireless sensor node. Several test scenarios are considered, which illustrate how the proposed approach permits the designer to adjust a wide range of system parameters and evaluate the effect almost instantly but still with high accuracy. In the developed toolkit, the estimated CPU time of one RSM estimation is 25 μs and the average RSM estimation error is less than 16.5%.
On the Condition for Export-Led Growth

In this paper, the author explores the conditions under which favorable export shocks produce export-led growth in a three-sector, three-factor, general equilibrium model that allows for endogenous capital accumulation. The export shock takes the form of either a resource discovery or an increase in the world market price of the export good. While surprisingly simple conditions define the outcome in many cases, there is no general presumption that an export boom will act as an engine of growth; much depends on the precise structural characteristics of the economy.
Evaluation of Public Projects under Optimal Taxation

by which different weights are given to benefits obtained and costs incurred by persons who differ with respect to income level and possibly other characteristics which are assumed to bear strongly on welfare. There have, however, been conflicting views on the matter. One argument has been that the attainment of distributional ends should be the responsibility of tax policy and should not be allowed to interfere with the assessment of government projects. Hylland and Zeckhauser (1979) have recently given a valuable contribution to the theoretical clarification of this issue. They showed that under certain assumptions (in their own words): distributional objectives should affect taxes but not programme choice or design. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the same question within a more general economic setting and using a different analytical approach. The more precise purpose is to establish conditions under which the conventional cost-benefit criterion (that sums up unweighted net benefits and neglects tax distortions1) or a simple modification of it is valid in the presence of distributional objectives and second best taxation. Hylland and Zeckhauser showed that certain assumptions are sufficient to permit the use of the conventional cost-benefit criterion in the presence of optimal income taxation. This paper derives conditions which are necessary and sufficient for this criterion to be valid under the same tax system. In general it extends the analysis to the case of mixed income and commodity taxation. It also tries to give more attention to the economic content of the formal results. It should be made clear that the project considered in this analysis is of the public good type. A related strand of analysis is concerned with the social evaluation of publicly provided goods which are sold in the market at tax-distorted prices or market goods used in the public sector. The literature started by Diamond and Mirrlees (1971) has established that when optimal commodity taxes are in operation, private sector producer prices are appropriate public sector shadow prices for such goods even when distribution matters. This is an important result which could do a lot to simplify cost-benefit analyses in the public sector. The Diamond and Mirrlees paper also presented an optimality rule for the provision of public consumption in the presence of taxation (Diamond and Mirrlees, 1971, Section IX). But no attempt was made to derive conditions which would allow the use of simple cost-benefit criteria in this case. So this is the problem to which we address ourselves. We shall return to the relationship between the evaluation of public goods and that of market goods at the end of the paper. Section 2 describes the economic setting within which the cost-benefit analysis is to be
A Simple Wicksellian Macroeconomic Model

This paper describes a simple Wicksellian macroeconomic model that can be used in undergraduate macroeconomics courses. It is designed as an alternative to the Romer (2000) model that is slowly replacing IS-LM/AS-AD in many textbooks. The Wicksellian model has four desirable features relative to the Romer model. First, it treats the interest rate as an exogenous monetary policy instrument rather than assuming that the central bank follows a monetary policy rule. Second, the model can be used to derive a monetary policy rule that is consistent with optimizing behavior on the part of the central bank. Third, the model includes a term structure equation. Fourth, the model has a simple recursive structure that makes it easy to work with. The model can be used to analyze a number of interesting issues in monetary policy that are difficult to handle in the IS-LM/AS-AD or Romer model frameworks. These include issues involving permanent versus temporary expenditures shocks, anticipated expenditures shocks, and shocks to the term structure of interest rates. The model can easily be simplified for use in a principles course or extended for use in upper-level macroeconomics courses.
The Adam Williams initiative: collaborating with community resources to improve care for traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND The Brain Trauma Foundation has developed treatment guidelines for the care of patients with acute traumatic brain injury. However, a method to provide broad acceptance and application of these guidelines has not been published. OBJECTIVE To describe methods for the development, funding, and continued educational efforts of the Adam Williams Initiative; the experiences from the first 10 years may serve as a template for hospitals and nurses that seek to engage in long-term quality improvement collaborations with foundations and/or industry. METHODS In 2004, the nonprofit Adam Williams Initiative was established with the goal of providing education and resources that would encourage hospitals across the United States to incorporate the Brain Trauma Foundation's guidelines into practice. RESULTS Between 2004 and 2014, 37 hospitals have been funded by the Adam Williams Initiative and have had staff members participate in an immersion experience at Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo, California) during which team members received both didactic and hands-on education in the care of traumatic brain injury. CONCLUSIONS Carefully cultivated relationships and relentless teamwork have contributed to successful implementation of the Brain Trauma Foundation's guidelines in US hospitals.
Immunohistochemistry in the Diagnosis of Cutaneous Viral Infections- Part II: Cutaneous Viral Infections by Parvoviruses, Poxviruses, Paramyxoviridae, Picornaviridae, Retroviruses and Filoviruses

Background:Cutaneous viral infections are increasing in recent years, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Objective:Immunohistochemistry (IHC) provides a rapid and helpful tool that can be applied to confirm the diagnosis of specific viral infections that may be difficult to diagnose with certainty using routine microscopy alone. Methods:Several immunostains that are useful in histopathology have been reviewed and tested in cutaneous samples of viral infections. Emphasis is placed on new stains and novel uses of existing stains. Results:This article is an up-to-date overview of the potential uses of IHC in the histopathologic diagnosis of cutaneous viral infections by parvoviruses, polyomaviruses, poxviruses, paramyxoviridae, picornaviridae, retroviruses, and filoviruses. Limitations:Specific monoclonal antibodies are commercially available only for some members of these virus families. Conclusions:IHC may assist dermatopathologists to appropriately diagnose viral infections by parvoviruses, polyomaviruses, poxviruses, paramyxoviridae, picornaviridae, retroviruses, and filoviruses.
Interest rate linkages within the European Monetary System: an alternative interpretation

In this note the empirical evidence presented by Karfakis and Moschos (1990) and Katsimbris and Miller (1993) on interest rate linkages in the EMS is reinterpreted and their finding of non-stationarity of interest rate differentials in the EMS is rationalized. It is argued that their results are not counterintuitive if it is taken into account that the integration of financial markets in the EMS has been a gradual process, which has implied slow convergence of interest rates to German levels. Such a dynamic process accounts for the non-stationarity of interest rate differentials. However, the argument that standard parity conditions require pairwise cointegration of interest rates is a valid one once convergence has been achieved.
Last-chance tourism: the boom, doom, and gloom of visiting vanishing destinations

Popular press and industry stakeholders are reporting a travel trend whereby tourists increasingly seek to experience the world's most endangered sites before they vanish or are irrevocably transformed. Termed ‘last-chance’ or ‘doom’ tourism in the popular media, the desire for tourists to witness vanishing landscapes or seascapes and disappearing species may have important consequences for tourism management, yet the nature of these consequences is poorly understood by the academic community. This paper describes how last-chance tourism is promoted in various tourism marketing strategies, especially in the Arctic. The analysis is supported through a literature review of web-based information and an analysis of three different studies conducted in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada – the self-declared polar bear capital of the world. The authors also examine more closely the concepts of dark and last-chance tourism, and elaborate on the possible connections between the two. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this type of tourism and identifies potential risks and opportunities.
A Trigonometric Flexible Consumer Demand System

This paper proposes the first ever empirical specification of a trigonometric demand system. The new model is potentially useful because of some attractive features. It is flexible, amenable to exact aggregation over consumers, possessed of trigonometric Engel curves, which can oscillate, and able to have an unusually large regular region. With comparisons between the new model and two other popular models, an illustration is given for Japanese demand for non-durables and services. The new model shows relatively gentle Engel curves with an inflection point on each of them, which seem reasonable, given that aggregate expenditure is used in parameter estimation.
Socio-economic deprivation and survival of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Scotland

Socio-economic deprivation is known to be associated with poorer survival from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) but routine data have not been able to determine whether this can be explained by differences in disease severity at presentation. We examined survival in all patients diagnosed with NHL in Scotland between 1979 and 1996 and between 1994 and 1996 used Scotland and Newcastle Lymphoma Group data, which include detailed clinical staging information. Compared with individuals from the most affluent areas, survival is 10% poorer in intermediate, and 19% poorer in patients living in the most deprived areas. Deprivation is associated with more B symptoms and poorer performance status but not with other indicators of more advanced disease, suggesting that the disease may be more aggressive or immunocompetence poorer among more deprived populations. We also noted improvements in relative survival from NHL over time.
Quasi‐Experimental Analysis on the Effects of Adoption of a Value Added Tax

type="main" xml:id="ecin12099-abs-0001"> Value added taxes (VATs) have become an important source of government funding in past decades, but little empirical work has been carried out on their macroeconomic impacts. As the decision to implement a VAT is endogenous, regression methods analyzing the impact of the policy choice will yield biased estimates. To solve this problem, I first model the VAT adoption decision for 192 countries using survival analysis. I then match adopters to non-adopters using propensity score matching. I find that VAT adoption is associated with an increase in growth and investment as well as lower inflation and government spending as a share of GDP. (JEL H20, H21)
Disseminated BCG Disease in an Infant with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) being a live attenuated vaccine may cause disseminated disease (BCGiosis) in patients with impaired immunity. Patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) having defect in both cellular and humoral immunity are predisposed to a host of live vaccine related complications, especially BCG. We report a 6 month-old baby boy with fever for 5 months, generalized rash for 3 months, cough and cold for 1 month, poor feeding and weight loss over last 1 month. He had an uneventful perinatal period and received BCG at birth. Examination revealed mild pallor, generalized erythematous papular rash with central crusting and splenohepatomegaly. Skin biopsy and culture confirmed BCG infection while computed tomography of abdomen and skeletal survey showed disseminated involvement. Immunological investigations were suggestive of an underlying SCID. The infant showed improvement with antitubercular therapy combined with intravenous immunoglobulin and other supportive measures. The case highlights the possible risk of such rare yet lethal complication of BCG especially at places where it is given routinely at birth or in the neonatal period and also emphasizes the need for neonatal screening for SCID in such regions.
Extraction of Surplus under Adverse Selection: The Case of Insurance Markets

Abstract We consider a principal-agent setting with two types of risk averse agents with different abilities to avoid losses. Abilities (types) are characterized by two distributions F and G which are agents' private information. All agents have the same increasing and strictly concave utility function U , under which G has a higher certainty equivalent. In this environment we derive a characterization of pairs of distributions under which a first best outcome can be achieved or approximated . We prove that a first best outcome can be achieved if and only if the distribution F is not absolutely continuous with respect to the distribution G . If this condition is not satisfied, the first best outcome can be approximated (arbitrarily close) if and only if the likelihood ratio dF / dG is unbounded. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Number: D82
Ultrasonographic depiction of knee joint alterations in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess inflammatory changes within the knee joint of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients by using ultrasound (US). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy subjects (HS) were evaluated as controls. US findings were correlated with disease activity parameters. METHODS Twenty-six SLE patients were enrolled in the study, 25 RA patients and 15 HS were selected as controls. US was performed by two different experienced operators, using an Agilent-HP Image point Hx machine equipped with a 10 MHz linear transducer. Power Doppler (PD) was used to determine local synovial perfusion (PFR 700-1100 Hz; gain 60-65dB; low filter). Knee joints were examined bilaterally. US findings, expressed after consensus of the 2 operators, were correlated to clinical and serological parameters of disease activity. Statistical analysis was performed by the EPISTAT program. RESULTS In SLE, synovitis was found in 21 knees (40%), joint effusion in 12 (23%), synovial proliferation in 12 (23%), positive PD signal in 5 (10%) and gastrocnemius-semimembranosus bursitis in 5 (10%). No erosions were detected. There was a significant difference respect to RA for synovitis (p<0.003), synovial proliferation (p<0.002) and positive PD signal (p<0.01). No correlation was found between US alterations and SLE disease activity parameters. In the HS group 1 patient showed mild synovial proliferation. CONCLUSION This is the first study that investigates knee joint involvement in SLE by ultrasonography. US was able to depict inflammatory alterations in the articular tissues of SLE patients, revealing some common characteristics with RA, except for the presence of erosions. We believe that US might be of help in the global evaluation of SLE patients with inflammatory joint involvement, providing relevant information to the clinician.
The Rpd3-Sin3 Histone Deacetylase Regulates Replication Timing and Enables Intra-S Origin Control in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT The replication of eukaryotic genomes follows a temporally staged program, in which late origin firing often occurs within domains of altered chromatin structure(s) and silenced genes. Histone deacetylation functions in gene silencing in some late-replicating regions, prompting an investigation of the role of histone deacetylation in replication timing control in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Deletion of the histone deacetylase Rpd3 or its interacting partner Sin3 caused early activation of late origins at internal chromosomal loci but did not alter the initiation timing of early origins or a late-firing, telomere-proximal origin. By delaying initiation relative to the earliest origins, Rpd3 enables regulation of late origins by the intra-S replication checkpoint. RPD3 deletion suppresses the slow S phase of clb5Δ cells by enabling late origins to fire earlier, suggesting that Rpd3 modulates the initiation timing of many origins throughout the genome. Examination of factors such as Ume6 that function together with Rpd3 in transcriptional repression indicates that Rpd3 regulates origin initiation timing independently of its role in transcriptional repression. This supports growing evidence that for much of the S. cerevisiae genome transcription and replication timing are not linked.
Climate-change feedback on economic growth: explorations with a dynamic general equilibrium model

ABSTRACT Human-generated greenhouse gases depend on the level and emissions intensity of economic activities. Therefore, most climate-change studies are based on the models and scenarios of economic growth. Economic growth itself, however, is likely to be affected by climate-change impacts. These impacts affect the economy in multiple and complex ways: changes in productivity, resource endowments, production and consumption patterns. We use a new dynamic, multi-regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the world economy to answer the following questions: Will climate-change impacts significantly affect growth and wealth distribution in the world? Should forecasts of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions be revised, once the climate-change impacts are taken into account? We found that, even though economic growth and emission paths do not change significantly at the global level, relevant differences exist at the regional and sectoral level. In particular, developing countries appear to suffer the most from the climate-change impacts.
Interleukin-6 signaling in patients with chronic heart failure treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy

Introduction Increased expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been described in left ventricular dysfunction in the course of chronic heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a unique treatment method that may reverse the course of chronic heart failure (CHF) with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF). We aimed to evaluate the IL-6 system, including soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) and soluble glycoprotein 130 (sgp130), in HF-REF patients, with particular emphasis on CRT effects. Material and methods The study enrolled 88 stable HF-REF patients (63.6 ±11.1 years, 12 females, EF < 35%) and 35 comorbidity-matched controls (63.5 ±9.8 years, 7 females). Forty-five HF-REF patients underwent CRT device implantation and were followed up after 6 months. Serum concentrations of IL-6, sIL-6R and sgp130 were determined using ELISA kits. Results The HF-REF patients had higher IL-6 (median: 2.6, IQR: 1.6–3.8 vs. 2.1, IQR: 1.4–3.1 pg/ml, p = 0.03) and lower sIL-6R concentrations compared to controls (median: 51, IQR: 36–64 vs. 53. IQR 44–76 ng/ml, p = 0.008). There was no significant difference between sgp130 concentrations. In the HF-REF group IL-6 correlated negatively with EF (r = –0.5, p = 0.001) and positively with BNP (r = 0.5, p = 0.008) and CRP concentrations (r = 0.4, p = 0.02). Patients who presented a positive response after CRT showed a smaller change of sIL-6R concentration compared to nonresponders (ΔsIL-6R: –0.2 ±7.1 vs. 7 ±14 ng/ml; p = 0.04). Conclusions HF-REF patients present higher IL-6 and lower sIL-6R levels. IL-6 concentration reflects their clinical status. CRT-related improvement of patients’ functional status is associated with a smaller change of sIL-6R concentration in time.
THE TERM STRUCTURE OF INTEREST RATES AS A GAUSSIAN RANDOM FIELD

A simple model of the term structure of interest rates is introduced in which the family of instantaneous forward rates evolves as a continuous Gaussian random field. A necessary and sufficient condition for the associated family of discounted zero-coupon bond prices to be martingales is given, permitting the consistent pricing of interest rate contingent claims. Examples of the pricing of interest-rate caps and the situation when the Gaussian random field may be viewed as a deterministic time change of the standard Brownian sheet are discussed. Copyright 1994 Blackwell Publishers.
BANKRUPTCY DISCRIMINATION WITH REAL VARIABLES

This paper reconsiders the accepted usage of nondeflated financial ratios in statistical models to differentiate between failed and nonfailed firms. Non-deflated ratios are hypothesized to inadequately reflect inter-temporal macroeconomic fluctuations that affect the ability of firm's to survive. Using a sample of 124 oil and gas companies between the period 1982–1988, the going concern assumption is evaluated with statistical logit models using either nondeflated or deflated financial ratios. Deflated company ratios are created by transforming data with price indices or by creating market value ratios. Empirical results suggest that a superior bankruptcy early warning model is developed for the oil and gas industry by creating real financial and reserve ratios and by introducing external factors, such as oil prices, interest rates and accounting method, as independent predictors. Overall classification accuracy is approximately 95 percent.