Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choques de oferta em modelos de metas inflacionárias

We construct a dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated to the Brazilian economy, in which a fraction of the firms set nominal wages one period in advance, according to its expected value. The artificial economy simulations generate series consistent with real data, and with a typical estimation of a structural Inflation Targeting model. We argue that these structural models specifications are incorrect, for not considering supply shocks. In contrast, our model can separate supply and demand shocks effects, in addition of being (potentially) robust to the Lucas' Critique.
Microbial secondary succession in soil microcosms of a desert oasis in the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Mexico

Ecological succession is one of the most important concepts in ecology. However for microbial community succession, there is a lack of a solid theoretical framework regarding succession in microorganisms. This is in part due to microbial community complexity and plasticity but also because little is known about temporal patterns of microbial community shifts in different kinds of ecosystems, including arid soils. The Cuatro Cienegas Basin (CCB) in Coahuila, Mexico, is an arid zone with high diversity and endemisms that has recently been threatened by aquifer overexploitation. The gypsum-based soil system of the CCB is one of the most oligotrophic places in the world. We undertook a comparative 16S rRNA 454 pyrosequencing study to evaluate microbial community succession and recovery over a year after disturbance at two sites. Results were related to concurrent measurements of humidity, organic matter and total C and N content. While each site differed in both biogeochemistry and biodiversity, both present similar pattern of change at the beginning of the succession that diverged in later stages. After one year, experimentally disturbed soil was not similar to established and undisturbed adjacent soil communities indicating recovery and succession in disturbed soils is a long process.
Joint Allocation of Leisure and Consumption Commodities: A Japanese Extended Consumer Demand System 1979—90

In this study we estimate the parameters of a household expenditure function which includes joint choice of leisure and consumption commodities in scope without a separability assumption. We have used Japanese prices, wage rate, labour supply, and expenditure data on ten commodity groups, collected from 47 cities over 12 years. This data set has the advantage that separate observations are available for each data point for all the variables. We employed the AI demand system, for estimation. Controlling for time-specific effects, the result implied a definite rejection of the weak separability of labour supply and commodity choice, and non-rejection of the homogeneity and symmetry restrictions on the demand system. All the own-price elasticities are significantly negative, and both substitutes and complements are observed across commodity groups. As for the negativity, all but one of the eigenvalues of the substitution matrix are negative. The result as a whole showed consistency with demand theory. The estimated compensated labour supply elasticity is 0.39, which is in reasonable agreement with the previous studies.
A Model of the Determinants of International Trade in Higher Education

This article focuses on a neglected aspect of international trade in services i.e. trade in Higher Education. The purpose of the research endeavour is to draw together the determinants of this trade using its most visible aspect - foreign students. There are many categories of foreign student, but the study is confined to those students who opt to complete higher educational outside the home country. There is much competition among host nations for international students and the factors influencing demand for and supply of university places for foreign students are considered, using medical education as a case study. Little if any attention has been given to theory generation in this field and this study was undertaken to redres the balance. The model presented here clearly illustrartes the many variables which impact on a student's decision to stydy overseas, and their choice qf destination, the most critial one being information.
The impacts of welfare reform on federal assistance to persistently poor children

During the late twentieth century, the US social safety net was transformed to incentivize work by providing generous wage subsidies for low-income workers and reducing federal assistance to able-bodied unemployed adults. Following the transformation and during the economic boom of the 1990s, welfare rolls and annual poverty rates plummeted, especially for children. Despite the economic boom, there were still many persistently poor children living with parents who did not work, and little is known about how the reforms impacted these children's finances. In this paper we compare rates of persistent child poverty before and after the welfare reforms and examine how federal assistance received by persistently poor children changed as a result of the reforms. We find that federal assistance to persistently poor children declined following the reforms, but with divergent results depending on parental employment. While persistently poor children with employed parents benefited from increased income via the Earned Income Tax Credit, those with chronically unemployed parents did not and also experienced substantial reductions in cash welfare and food stamps. These findings demonstrate how persistently poor children fared financially in the years following the reforms and suggest possible implications for the current period of high unemployment.
Locating the Human Frontal Eye Fields With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

The variability in the location and function of the human frontal eye fields (FEFs) was assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Ten subjects performed a saccadic eye movement task previously shown to be influenced by TMS of the FEFs. A sequence of points over the prefrontal cortex was stimulated until an effective site of the TMS was found that induced contralateral saccade delays. In 7 out of the 10 subjects, we were able to localize a region in the prefrontal cortex that when stimulated produced delays in the execution of contralateral saccadic eye movements. The location of this functionally defined FEF region across these subjects was approximately 1.5 cm anterior to the motor hand area, although there was considerable variability in this measure. In the remaining 3 subjects, no site within our circumscribed probing was found that when disrupted with TMS produced delays in contralateral saccadic eye movements. The inter-individual differences in the location and function of the FEFs highlights the importance of using functional as well as anatomical landmarks when attempting to localize brain structures.
The Use of Microcomputer‐based Simulation Models in the Teaching of Operations Management

Recent advances in computing have led to major developments in the facilities available for simulating the behaviour of manufacturing systems. Animation facilities on microcomputers provides scope for the use of simulation to facilitate the learning process associated with operations management. The use of simulation is explored to teach aspects of plant design and operations control. Animated simulation models can make a major contribution to the teaching of operations management, especially for students with limited knowledge of real‐life manufacturing environments.
Cutting Edge: Recombinant Listeria monocytogenes Expressing a Single Immune-Dominant Peptide Confers Protective Immunity to Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Infection1

The vast majority of the world’s population is infected with HSV. Although antiviral therapy can reduce the incidence of reactivation and asymptomatic viral shedding, and limit morbidity and mortality from active disease, it cannot cure infection. Therefore, the development of an effective vaccine is an important global health priority. In this study, we demonstrate that recombinant Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) expressing the H-2Kb glycoprotein B (gB)498–505 peptide from HSV-1 triggers a robust CD8 T cell response to this Ag resulting in protective immunity to HSV infection. Following challenge with HSV-1, immune-competent mice primed with recombinant Lm-expressing gB498–505 Ag were protected from HSV-induced paralysis. Protection was associated with dramatic reductions in recoverable virus, and early expansion of HSV-1-specific CD8 T cells in the regional lymph nodes. Thus, recombinant Lm-expressing Ag from HSV represents a promising new class of vaccines against HSV infection.
Local Government Measurement and Use of Performance Accounting and Financial Reporting Data in Planning and Budgeting Decision Support

This study utilizes case study research to document and explain how three U.S. county governments use performance measures on debt obligations in their comprehensive annual financial reports and in their annual budget documents. Municipal debt is a critical source of revenue for local governments and is used for construction of roads, schools, and other capital costs. All three counties use data on debt service as a performance measure in their budget; however, the range of clarity of data on measurement of debt service levels to support debt over time varies widely and is worth noting. In addition, it is unclear whether external stakeholders (other than state government) do not pay closer attention to performance measures on debt because the measures and standards are set by the state. Further empirical work is needed to establish evidence in that regard.
Regulatory RNAs

RNAs have many important functional properties, including that they are independently controllable and highly tunable. As a result of these advantageous properties, their use in a myriad of sophisticated devices has been widely explored. Yet, the exploitation of RNAs for synthetic applications is highly dependent on the ability to characterize the many new molecules that continue to be discovered by large-scale sequencing and high-throughput screening techniques. In this review, we present an exhaustive survey of the most recent synthetic bacterial riboswitches and small RNAs while emphasizing their virtues in gene expression management. We also explore the use of these RNA components as building blocks in the RNA synthetic biology toolbox and discuss examples of synthetic RNA components used to rewire bacterial regulatory circuitry. We anticipate that this field will expand its catalog of smart devices by mimicking and manipulating natural RNA mechanisms and functions.
Universities and local economic development: The case of Linköping

With the increasing focus by policy‐makers on links between industry and academic institutions, universities have become important for local economic development in generating new and applied knowledge which can be used by indigenous high‐technology industry. As a number of studies have demonstrated, the stimulation of small technology‐based firms is one of the more relevant methods of undertaking efficient technology transfer from university to industry. This paper examines an example of this type of technology transfer in the Linkoping region of Sweden, looking at the relationship between SMIL (a local association of small technology‐based firms) and the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at Linkoping University. The conclusion that can be drawn in the case of CIE‐SMIL is that a university, through a policy and strategy of delegating various tasks to smaller internal departments with focused activities, can successfully devote itself to external activities.
A parametric method for determining the number of signals in narrow-band direction finding

A novel and more accurate method to determine the number of signals in the multisource direction finding problem is developed. The information-theoretic criteria of Y. Yin and P. Krishnaiah (1988) are applied to a set of quantities which are evaluated from the log-likelihood function. Based on proven asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimation, these quantities have the properties required by the criteria. Since the information-theoretic criteria use these quantities instead of the eigenvalues of the estimated correlation matrix, this approach possesses the advantage of not requiring a subjective threshold, and also provides higher performance than when eigenvalues are used. Simulation results are presented and compared to those obtained from the nonparametric method given by H. Wax and T. Kailath (1985). >
Hydrogen Peroxide Potentiates the EDHF Phenomenon by Promoting Endothelial Ca2+ Mobilization

Objective—The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that H2O2 contributes to the EDHF phenomenon by mobilizing endothelial Ca2+ stores. Methods and Results—Myograph studies with rabbit iliac arteries demonstrated that EDHF-type relaxations evoked by the SERCA inhibitor cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) required activation of KCa channels and were potentiated by exogenous H2O2 and the thiol oxidant thimerosal. Preincubation with a submaximal concentration of CPA unmasked an ability of exogenous H2O2 to stimulate an EDHF-type response that was sensitive to KCa channel blockade. Imaging of cytosolic and endoplasmic reticulum [Ca2+] in rabbit aortic valve endothelial cells with Fura-2 and Mag-fluo-4 demonstrated that H2O2 and thimerosal, which sensitizes the InsP3 receptor, both enhanced CPA-evoked Ca2+ release from stores, and that the potentiating effect of H2O2 was suppressed by the cell-permeant thiol reductant glutathione monoethylester. CPA-evoked relaxations were attenuated by exogenous catalase and potentiated by the catalase inhibitor 3-aminotriazole, and were abolished by the connexin-mimetic peptide 43Gap26, which interrupts intercellular communication via gap junctions constructed from connexin 43. Conclusions—H2O2 can enhance EDHF-type relaxations by potentiating Ca2+ release from endothelial stores, probably via redox modification of the InsP3 receptor, leading to the opening of hyperpolarizing endothelial KCa channels and an electrotonically-mediated relaxant response.
Population pharmacokinetics of clozapine evaluated with the nonparametric maximum likelihood method.

AIMS To evaluate the distribution of population kinetic parameters for clozapine and their relationship to age and gender in patients on continuous treatment with the drug. METHODS Retrospective therapeutic drug monitoring data (391 samples from 241 patients) were evaluated using the nonparametric maximum likelihood method. Patients treated concomitantly with drugs known to interact with clozapine were not included. The distribution of clozapine clearance was compared with the distribution of the activity of the drug metabolic enzyme CYP1A2 found in other populations, as recent studies indicate that CYP1A2 is a major determinant for clozapine elimination. The kinetic linearity for clozapine was studied in 41 patients who each provided data from more than one dose level. RESULTS Clozapine clearance was highly variable in the population and skewed towards high values. Men had higher clearances CL/F (median with 25% and 75% quartiles 38.2 (22.0, 60.0) vs 28.3 (15.2, 48.6) l h(-1)) and a larger volume of distribution V/F (694 (224, 970) vs 401 (189, 932) l) than women. Clearance did not decrease with age in any gender. Clozapine clearance was similarly distributed as the indices of CYP1A2-activity found in other populations by other authors. Evidence of nonlinear kinetics was not found. CONCLUSION The large kinetic variability for clozapine found in this study implies that the dose of clozapine needs to be individualised over a wide dose range. The similarity of the distribution of clozapine clearance in this study and the CYP1A2-activity in other populations support the assumption that CYP1A2 is a major determinant for clozapine elimination.
Law and the Demand for Property-Casualty Insurance Consumption

This paper examines the importance of legal rights and enforcement in influencing property-casualty insurance consumption. We extend the existing literature by examining the role of legal factors in determining insurance density across countries. Also, measures of risk aversion, loss probability and price, which overcome limitations of proxies used in the existing literature on insurance demand are analysed. Using a panel data set we apply a Generalized Methods of Moments dynamic system estimator, which relaxes the assumption of strict exogeneity of the regressors and produces unbiased and efficient estimates. The results show a strong positive relationship between the protection of property rights and insurance consumption, which is robust to various model specifications and estimation techniques. Moreover, the results show the purchase of property-casualty insurance is significantly and positively related to loss probability and income, as well as providing weaker evidence of a negative relationship with price.
Patient‐Provider Communication Regarding Referral to Cardiac Rehabilitation

&NA; This study investigated the dynamics of patient‐provider communication in the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) referral process, to identify which aspects lead to CR participation. Semi‐structured individual interviews were conducted with 31 patients eligible for CR. Questions probed the content and perception of the discussion that patients had with healthcare providers (HCP) regarding CR attendance. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and imported into N6 software for grounded analyses. Key emerging themes were identified: illness perceptions; HCP encouragement; timing of discussion; and ease of referral. CR attenders were apt to self‐advocate to ensure their enrollment in CR, whereas nonattenders were more likely to minimize the seriousness of their disease, and less likely to persevere to overcome obstacles in enrolling in a CR program. Surprisingly, the strength of the HCP referral did not influence the decision to attend CR as strongly when compared to the HCP's ability to facilitate enrollment in a CR program
Sustainability of the Deficit Process With Structural Shifts

This article discusses the condition for deficit sustainability and searches for shifts in the structure of U.S. deficit policy. I show that, contrary to the current literature, cointegration between revenues and expenditures inclusive of debt payment is not a necessary but a sufficient condition for a strict interpretation of deficit sustainability. The necessary condition requires that debt grow slower than the borrowing rate. For tests on structural shifts, I use a test for structural change that searches for shifts in the rank of the cointegrating matrix. I find that there is a shift in deficit policy in the early 80s so that cointegration between revenue and expenditure inclusive of interest payments holds only up to 1980. I show, however, that the deficit process is still sustainable despite the failure of cointegration in the 80s. The finding of shifts in the deficit process is more uncertain when I normalize by gross national product or population, but the deficit is shown to be sustainable regard.
Dynamic Correlations and Volatility Spillovers between Crude Oil and Stock Index Returns: The Implications for Optimal Portfolio Construction

This paper researches the portfolio construction between stock price of group of seven (G7) and West Texas Intermediate crude oil from January 2, 1998 to March 1, 2012. We investigate the volatility spillover between stock price and oil price with the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC), constant conditional correlation (CCC) and BEKK models, and also analyze their optimal hedge ratio and portfolio weights. The empirical result is that the hedge effectiveness of DCC model is better than the CCC model and BEKK models. The hedge effectiveness (HE) in Canada is the highest but Japan is the lowest. Moreover, the results show that Japan has the biggest optimal portfolio weight and the lowest hedge ratio. We do this research with expectation of providing investors information to increase the basis of investing. Keywords: Crude oil; DCC model; Hedge effectiveness; Optimal portfolio JEL Classifications: C22; G1; N7
Corporate Governance and Dividend Policy: A Study of Listed Hotels and Restaurant Companies in Sri Lanka

Purpose – The aim of this study is to find out the linkages between corporate governance variables and dividend payout of hotels and restaurant companies in Sri Lanka. Methodology – The investigation is performed for a sample of 17 companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange during 2008-2012. Findings – The results suggest that only CEO duality is negatively related to dividend payout whereas board size; board independence; return on assets and debt-to-total assets do not appear to be significantly related to the dividend payout. Practical implications– Findings should help corporate governors to pay more attention on designing effective dividend policy to maximize share holders' wealth. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the linkages between corporate governance and dividend payout of hotels and restaurant companies in Sri Lanka.
Distribution‐preserving k‐anonymity

Preserving the privacy of individuals by protecting their sensitive attributes is an important consideration during microdata release. However, it is equally important to preserve the quality or utility of the data for at least some targeted workloads. We propose a novel framework for privacy preservation based on the k‐anonymity model that is ideally suited for workloads that require preserving the probability distribution of the quasi‐identifier variables in the data. Our framework combines the principles of distribution‐preserving quantization and k‐member clustering, and we specialize it to 2 variants that respectively use intra‐cluster and Gaussian dithering of cluster centers to achieve distribution preservation. We perform theoretical analysis of the proposed schemes in terms of distribution preservation, and describe their utility in workloads such as covariate shift and transfer learning where such a property is necessary. Using extensive experiments on real‐world Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, we demonstrate the merits of our algorithms over standard k‐anonymization for a hallmark health care application where an insurance company wishes to understand the risk in entering a new market. Furthermore, by empirically quantifying the reidentification risk, we also show that the proposed approaches indeed maintain k‐anonymity.
Modeling financial contagion: approach-based on asymmetric cointegration

We analyze the financial contagion using an approach based on cointegration with asymmetric adjustment TAR and M-TAR. To capture the contagion effect, we consider regime change in the adjustment of the error correction term. We have introduced Threshold Autoregressive model (TAR) and Momentum Threshold Autoregressive model (M TAR) in adjustment mechanism of the error correction model with assumption that the error term exhibits self-excite jump. Our empirical study required the selection of four markets indices such as the CAC40, the FTSE 100, the S&P500 and NIKKEI225. We used these markets to understand the mechanism of shock propagation during the 2007 crisis. The results demonstrate the transmission of shocks by pure contagion from the S&P500 to FTSE100 and the CAC40. In contrast, we found a shocks transmission in the bond of interdependence from the S&P500 to NIKKEI225.