Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using a nominal GDP rule to guide discretionary monetary policy

Given doubts about the reliability of the monetary aggregates as intermediate targets of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve attempts to meet its dual goals--gradual reduction of inflation and mitigation of cyclical downturns in output--through purely discretionary adjustments of an interest rate instrument in response to myriad incoming data. A procedure in which the Fed would consult a nominal GDP feedback rule, while retaining the flexibility to use discretion in its monetary policy decisions, might contribute to achieving its long-run inflation goal without significantly interfering with its ability to pursue its short-run cyclical goal. This paper describes such a policy regime, and presents some empirical evidence pertinent to an assessment of how it might work.
Becoming a Knowledge-Sharing Organization: A Handbook for Scaling Up Solutions through Knowledge Capturing and Sharing

Many development challenges are common across the world, but the solutions to them usually remain localized—they never get adapted for replication, or the key element is forgotten. Yet some agencies and some localities are more effective at learning from success and applying it further over time and space. What is the difference between those who make progress and those who fall behind? The answer is as simple as it is complex: knowledge—captured knowledge acquired in a specific local context that is adapted, scaled up, and replicated so that fertilizers get to the farmer, children get enrolled in schools, communities are sheltered from natural disasters, and life-saving medicines reach their destination. This volume offers a simple, systematic guide to creating a knowledge-sharing practice in your organization. It shows how to build the enabling environment and develop the skills needed to capture and share knowledge gained from operational experiences to improve performance and scale up successes. Its recommendations are grounded on the insights gained from the past seven years of collaboration between the World Bank and its clients around the world—ministries and national agencies operating in various sectors—that are working to strengthen their operations through robust knowledge sharing. While this handbook has been informed by the academic literature on knowledge management and organizational learning, its operational background and many real-world examples and tips also provide a practical foundation for public sector officials in developing countries and for development practitioners. Moreover, the overall concepts and approaches will also hold true for most organizations in the private sector and the developed world. This handbook is arranged as follows: Chapters 1–4 address the enabling environment needed by an organization to systematically identify, capture, and share relevant operational experiences. Chapters 5–8 detail the technical skills required to execute the program. These eight topic areas, or pillars, represent the capacities organizations need, and the actions they can take to develop them. Chapter 9 summarizes the essential points; an extensive appendix includes templates, checklists, a sample knowledge asset, and sample job descriptions. Public sector organizations around the world have found that using the framework presented here has moved them strongly ahead in their quest to capture, use, share, and scale up their experiences and knowledge.
Differential In Vivo Gene Expression of Major Leptospira Proteins in Resistant or Susceptible Animal Models

ABSTRACT Transcripts of Leptospira 16S rRNA, FlaB, LigB, LipL21, LipL32, LipL36, LipL41, and OmpL37 were quantified in the blood of susceptible (hamsters) and resistant (mice) animal models of leptospirosis. We first validated adequate reference genes and then evaluated expression patterns in vivo compared to in vitro cultures. LipL32 expression was downregulated in vivo and differentially regulated in resistant and susceptible animals. FlaB expression was also repressed in mice but not in hamsters. In contrast, LigB and OmpL37 were upregulated in vivo. Thus, we demonstrated that a virulent strain of Leptospira differentially adapts its gene expression in the blood of infected animals.
FPGA Implementation for Enhancing Image Using Pixel-Based Median Channel Prior

Poor weather condition such as fog, rain or haze causes problem in getting information from image. As computer vision system extracts features from the scene, it is important that reliable information could be obtained by removing haze. This paper proposes a fast fog removal method which is implementable in hardware for single image. Using pixel-based median channel of haze image, we can estimate atmospheric light. As a result, high-quality image can be recovered with lower computation complexity compared to patch-based dark channel prior. FPGA implementation shows that real-time dehazing is achievable with median channel prior.
The Method of Finding Potentially Churning Customers Based on Social Networks

Customer churn analysis has become an important focus of corporate marketing. It will be a great help to profitability if there is a method can find losing customers in time. In the paper, a method based on RFM and Cross-correlation model is proposed. Firstly, the customer’s value is calculated by RFM. Secondly, the typical losing curves of customer value are matched via cross-correlation. And finally, integrated with social network analysis (SNA) and community detection, the group of potential losing customers are revealed. The effectiveness of the presented method has been proven in a dataset of retail sales records.
Wavelet Transform of Fractional Integrals for Integrable Boehmians

The present paper deals with the wavelet transform of fractional integral operator (the RiemannLiouville operators) on Boehmian spaces. By virtue of the existing relation between the wavelet transform and the Fourier transform, we obtained integrable Boehmians defined on the Boehmian space for the wavelet transform of fractional integrals.
Conscious Perception as Integrated Information Patterns in Human Electrocorticography

Abstract A significant problem in neuroscience concerns the distinction between neural processing that is correlated with conscious percepts from processing that is not. Here, we tested if a hierarchical structure of causal interactions between neuronal populations correlates with conscious perception. We derived the hierarchical causal structure as a pattern of integrated information, inspired by the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness. We computed integrated information patterns from intracranial electrocorticography (ECoG) from six human neurosurgical patients with electrodes implanted over lateral and ventral cortices. During recording, subjects viewed continuous flash suppression (CFS) and backward masking (BM) stimuli intended to dissociate conscious percept from stimulus, and unmasked suprathreshold stimuli. Object-sensitive areas revealed correspondence between conscious percepts and integrated information patterns. We quantified this correspondence using unsupervised classification methods that revealed clustering of visual experiences with integrated information, but not with broader information measures including mutual information and entropy. Our findings point to a significant role of locally integrated information for understanding the neural substrate of conscious object perception.
Dissecting the fine details of assembly of a T=3 phage capsid

The RNA bacteriophages represent ideal model systems in which to probe the detailed assembly pathway for the formation of a T = 3 quasi-equivalent capsid. For MS2, the assembly reaction can be probed in vitro using acid disassembled coat protein subunits and a short (19 nt) RNA stem-loop that acts as the translational operator of the replicase gene and leads to sequence-specific sequestration and packaging of the cognate phage RNA in vivo. Reassembly reactions can be initiated by mixing these components at neutral pH. The molecular basis of the sequence-specific RNA–protein interaction is now well understood. Recent NMR studies on the protein demonstrate extensive mobility in the loops of the polypeptide that alter their conformations to form the quasi-equivalent conformers of the final capsid. It seems reasonable to assume that RNA binding results in reduction of this flexibility. However, mass spectrometry suggests that these RNA–protein complexes may only provide one type of quasi-equivalent capsid bui.
Empirical Investigation on Information Breach Effect on the Market Value of the Firm: Focused on Source and Long Term Performance

This paper analyzes the impact of information breach on shareholder value by measuring the stock price reaction associated with the announcements of data breach. The breach firms in the sample lost, on average, 1.3% of their market value, amounting to 98.9 million won of loss within two-day of the event period after the announcement. We examine the abnormal returns in various categories (i.e., source, type, size, etc.) of information breach. Although the market does not react significantly to the announcements of outside breach, we find statistically significant market reactions to inside breach. We estimate abnormal returns over the following 60 days. The mean 60-day cumulative abnormal return and BHAR (buy-and-hold abnormal returns) are both significantly far from zero. We conclude that there is a coherent market reaction following the announcement. The difference between the market reactions to IT firms and Non-IT firms is statistically significant. But breach amount, firm size, and the year the breach occurred do not show to be significant variables.
Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology miR-28-5 p Promotes Chromosomal Instability in VHL-Associated Cancers by Inhibiting Mad 2 Translation

Chromosomal instability enables tumor development, enabled in part by aberrant expression of the mitotic checkpoint protein Mad2. Here we identify a novel regulatory mechanism for Mad2 expression involving miR-285p-mediated inhibition of Mad2 translation, and we demonstrate that this mechanism is triggered by inactivation of the tumor suppressor VHL, the most common event in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In VHL-positive cancer cells, enhanced expression of miR-28-5p diminished Mad2 levels and promoted checkpoint weakness and chromosomal instability. Conversely, in checkpoint-deficient VHL-negative renal carcinoma cells, inhibition of miR-28-5p function restored Mad2 levels, mitotic checkpoint proficiency, and chromosomal stability. Notably, chromosome missegregation errors and aneuploidy that were produced in a mouse model of acute renal injury (as a result of kidney-specific ablation of pVHL function) were reverted in vivo also by genetic inhibition of miR-28-5p. Finally, bioinformatic analyses in human ccRCC associated loss of VHL with increased miR-28-5p expression and chromosomal instability. Together, our results defined miR-28-5p as a critical regulator of Mad2 translation and mitotic checkpoint function. By identifying a potential mediator of chromosomal instability in VHL-associated cancers, our work also suggests a novel microRNA-based therapeutic strategy to target aneuploid cells in VHL-associated cancers. Cancer Res; 74(9); 2432–43. 2014 AACR.
The Economic Effects of Federal Peanut Policy: The 1996 FAIR Act, the 2001 Farm Security Act, and the Federal Crop Insurance Program

CHVOSTA, JAN. The Economic Effects of Federal Peanut Policy: the 1996 Fair Act, the 2002 Farm Security Act, and the Federal Crop Insurance Program. (Under the direction of Walter N. Thurman.) Government programs that restrict production and increase prices to particular groups of producers have a long history in the United States. The purpose of this research is to analyze the implications of such a program for peanuts in three independent essays. The first essay focuses on the development of a model of the effects of crosscounty transfers on peanut quota after the 1996 farm bill. Using a spatial linear regression model, the hypothesis that the lifting of transfer restrictions tends to equilibrate lease rates across counties is tested. The results indicate that, after the 1996 bill, peanut quota moved out of counties that under produce their quota to overproducing counties, indirectly indicating a tendency for lease rates to equalize. The second essay studies the most recent changes to the peanut program, enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2002, and reviews important events that led to these changes. Several models are developed that analyze the costs and benefits of the revised program in domestic and foreign markets. It is concluded that farmers in most peanut producing states will incur losses due to the peanut program changes, with the exception of Texas and Florida. The impact of the transformation on the world price of edible peanuts is analyzed and shown to be theoretically ambiguous-the world price could either increase or decrease depending on demand and supply elasticities. The essay explores numerically the influence of the relevant elasticities. The third essay reviews the U.S. federal crop insurance program and investigates its interaction with the peanut program. A model of a risk neutral profit maximizing farmer is developed and comparative static results are derived. The results show that in equilibrium peanut quota lease rates do not represent the full difference between the support price and world price and are affected by the cost of crop insurance. THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF FEDERAL PEANUT POLICY: THE 1996 FAIR ACT, THE 2002 FARM SECURITY ACT, AND THE FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM
Weekly paclitaxel combined with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (CaelyxTM) given every 4 weeks: dose-finding and pharmacokinetic study in patients with advanced solid tumors.

BACKGROUND We aimed to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and characterize the toxicity of the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD; Caelyx trade mark ) and weekly paclitaxel (wPTX), and to investigate pharmacokinetics of PLD in this combination. METHODS A phase I study was performed with an initial dose of 50 mg/m(2) wPTX and 30 mg/m(2) PLD. The paclitaxel dose was escalated in increments of 10 mg/m(2) and PLD in increments of 5 mg/m(2) until the MTD was reached. The pharmacokinetics of PLD were studied at the highest achieved dose levels. RESULTS Forty-four cancer patients were enrolled. The MTD was 30/90 and 35/80 mg/m(2) for PLD/wPTX. Dose-limiting toxicities included treatment delay for neutropenia grade 3, febrile neutropenia, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia and deep venous thrombosis. Toxicity below the MTD was mild: skin toxicity grade 1-2 developed at high cumulative doses and vascular thrombotic events occurred in two patients with predisposing factors. No cardiotoxicity or clinically relevant peripheral neuropathy was seen. Nausea/vomiting and alopecia were negligible. Three complete responses and nine partial responses were documented among 34 evaluable cases. PLD plasma concentrations were evaluated in seven patients treated at subMTD. Paclitaxel produced a median 53.5% increase of PLD area under the concentration curve (range 4.4%-219%). CONCLUSIONS The combination of PLD/wPTX constitutes an active chemotherapy regimen with mild toxicity that merits investigation in phase II at 30/80 or 35/70 mg/m(2). Patients should be monitored for a potentially increased risk of thromboembolic events.
Automated operation approach for embedded HVDC links during (N-1)-conditions in the AC system

In Germany, new HVDC links are planned for power transmission from the north to the south. One possibility is to schedule the operation of the HVDC links, which are to be embedded in the AC grid. Because the calculation via optimal power flow is time intensive and does not include the current grid situation, a simplified control method is introduced. It has the advantage that the HVDC power set point can be set automatically. Furthermore, another operation mode handles alert situations when an AC line loading is higher than intended and, therefore, adapts the power set point during (N-1)-conditions to avoid line overloadings. This paper proposes an automated method, which minimizes transmission losses while including the AC line loadings as limits for the HVDC power. A numerical case study shows the functionality of the proposed concepts and a detailed (N-1)-analysis investigates the behavior during unexpected line outages.
Effect of Heterogeneity and Noise on Cross Frequency Phase-Phase and Phase-Amplitude Coupling

Cross-frequency coupling is hypothesized to play a functional role in neural computation. We apply phase resetting theory to two types of cross-frequency coupling that can occur when a slower oscillator periodically forces one or more oscillators: phase-phase coupling, in which the two oscillations are phase-locked, and phase-amplitude coupling, in which the amplitude of the driven oscillation is modulated. Our first result is that the shape of the phase resetting curve predicts the tightness of locking to a pulsatile forcing periodic input at any ratio of forced to intrinsic period; the tightness of the locking decreases as the ratio increases. Theoretical expressions were obtained for the probability density of the phases for a population of heterogeneous oscillators or a noisy single oscillator. Results were confirmed using two types of simulated networks and experiments on hippocampal CA1 neurons. Theoretical expressions were also obtained and confirmed for the probability density of N spike times within a single cycle of low frequency forcing. The second result is a suggested mechanism for phase-amplitude coupling in which progressive desynchronization leads to decreasing amplitude during a low frequency forcing cycle. Network simulations confirmed the theoretical viability of this mechanism, and that it generalizes to more diffuse input.
The Relationship among Perceived Value, User Satisfaction, Brand Trust, and Loyalty in Mobile Phone Context

Understanding the value that customers perceive in an offer, creating value for them, and managing it over time have long been recognized as essential elements of a firm’s business strategy. Identifying what an individual customer seeks from a service also helps a firm with formulating its value proposition. The purpose of this paper is to extend this line of research to consider user satisfaction, brand trust, as mediating variables in the context of using mobile phone that relate customers perceived value and brand loyalty. It is also to investigate the roles of product knowledge and self-efficacy on the constructs. Thus, this study investigates the importance of sub-dimensions of perceived value and brand loyalty. The main findings show that the positive linkage between satisfaction, brand trust, and brand loyalty in the mobile phone users is substantiated.
Capital Structure Determinants Based Upon Total Debt, Short- and Long-Term Debt, Industry and Time

We investigate important debt level determinants and whether or not these determinants are affected by industry and time. Continuing from our previous paper, we include short- and long-term debt levels and test whether or not there are differences of key debt level determinants between long- and short-term debt levels. We find that unlike Western firms, short-term debt level takes a bigger portion of total debt level than long-term debt level in Korean firms. Although this is an unusual phenomenon reflecting financial theory, this is the way Korean firms manage their debts. This proves that Korean firms rely more upon short-term debt. We find that not only total debt level, but also short- and long-term debt levels also have target debt levels; and this fact implies that adjusting debt level is firms’ top priority as previous debt levels are related to firm‘s bankruptcy probability and efficient debt management policy. This of course supports the trade-off theory. We also find that previous debt levels, total assets and firms’ earnings are the most important capital structure determinants for firms; and these factors are followed by new investment, dividend and tangible assets. Their associations with DLs (total debt levels, and short- and long-term debt levels) are generally consistent. Namely, DLs are decided by the similar key factors. In addition, cash level change, interest rate and time variables show different directions with DLs between short- and long-term debt levels. They also show different associations with DLs in line with industries and time. Namely, some variables play different roles for firms’ short-term and long-term debt level decision in accordance with industries and time. This paper also suggests that annual stock price growth and R&D expenses have less influence on DLs. We find some evidence that industry and time factors influence debt level shifts, but we admit that we do not have crystal clear structural evidence to prove these influences. Finally, this paper mainly supports the trade-off theory. However, as given evidence of the negative relationship between DLs and earnings, we could also partially support the pecking order theory. However, we do not find evidence that support the market timing theory.
Nanogel‐based delivery system enhances PGE2 effects on bone formation

Recovery of bone loss is one of the active research issues in bone medicine due to the need for efficient measures for bone gain. We examined here a novel drug delivery system using a nanogel of cholesterol‐bearing pullulan (CHP) in combination with prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). PGE2 or PGE2/CHP, vehicle (saline containing 0.06% ethanol and 0.02% Tween 80) or CHP were injected on to the calvariae of mice once every day for 5 days per week for 4 weeks. Low dosage of PGE2 (0.6 µg) alone or CHP alone did not induce new bone formation in this system. In contrast, PGE2 (0.6 µg)/CHP induced new bone formation. Bone formation activities of PGE2 was enhanced by CHP nanogels only at the site of injection (calvaria) but not in the distant sites of the skeleton, showing that PGE2/CHP could avoid systemic effects. In spite of the fact that previously reported animal models of bone formation by PGE2 were associated with loss of body weight, bone formation based on PGE2/CHP did not associate with loss of body weight. Furthermore, only a single application of PGE2 in combination with nanogel cross‐linking hydrogel sphere (PGE2/CHP‐PEO) induced new bone formation. Thus, nanogel‐based delivery system is an efficient delivery system of bone anabolic agent, PGE2. J. Cell. Biochem. 101:1063–1070, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.