Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceived Neighborhood Safety and Adolescent School Functioning

This study examined the association between adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods' safety and multiple elements of their functioning in school with data on 15 year olds from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 924). In general, perceived neighborhood safety was more strongly associated with aspects of schooling that were more psychosocial in nature (e.g., school attachment) than those that were more cognitive (e.g., test scores). Examination of neighborhood and family moderators of these associations revealed that perceived neighborhood safety was negatively associated with grades for youth from low-income families but was positively associated with school attachment for youth from such families when they lived in neighborhoods rated by observers as high in physical disorder.
Retracted: Recellularization of Acellular Human Small Intestine Using Bone Marrow Stem Cells

We aimed to produce an acellular human tissue scaffold with a view to test the possibility of recellularization with bone marrow stem cells to produce a tissue‐engineered small intestine (TESI). Human small‐bowel specimens (n = 5) were obtained from cadaveric organ donors and treated sequentially with 6% dimethyl sulfoxide in hypotonic buffer, 1% Triton X‐100, and DNase. Each small intestine (SI) piece (6 cm) was recellularized with EPCAM+ and CD133+ allogeneic bone marrow stem cells. Histological and molecular analysis demonstrated that after decellularization, all cellular components and nuclear material were removed. Our analysis also showed that the decellularized human SI tissue retained its histoarchitecture with intact villi and major structural proteins. Protein films of common extracellular matrix constituents (collagen I, laminin, and fibronectin) were found in abundance. Furthermore, several residual angiogenic factors were found in the decellularized SI. Following recellularization, we found viable mucin‐positive goblet cells, CK18+ epithelial cells in villi adjacent to a muscularis mucosa with α‐actin+ smooth muscle cells, and a high repopulation of blood vessels with CD31+ endothelial cells. Our results show that in the future, such a TESI would be ideal for clinical purposes, because it can be derived from the recipient's own immunocompatible bone marrow cells, thus avoiding the use of immunosuppression.
Where do we go now?: anytime algorithms for path planning

Commercial computer games has become one of the largest industries in the area of entertainment. Real Time Strategy (Rts) based games is one of the most important among different types of computer games and is also considered to be a good research platform within Artificial Intelligence (Ai). There exists a number of algorithms that can deal with the Ai related problems of this domain, e.g. the ones of getting as cheap or fast as possible from one point to another (i.e. path planning). However most of the algorithms used in academia are better suited for problems that do not need to be solved within tight time frames. Anytime algorithms (Aa) are algorithms that can be stopped at any point in time and yet come up with a preliminary solution. We believe that by making algorithms anytime, we can optimize their behaviors to better suit the Rts domain. This study will introduce a tool for evaluating path planning algorithms and compare the performances of A*, Recursive Best First Search (Rbfs), Potential Fields (Pf) and their anytime versions for the path planning problem.
Investment in General Training: The Role of Information and Labour Mobility

Following the seminal work of Becker (I964), it is widely accepted in the literature that firms will be unwilling to finance training which workers may use in other firms. This paper takes issue with this prediction and suggests that firms will frequently share in the cost of such general training.1 Becker argues that a firm which pays for the training of workers in skills of potential use to other firms will lose these workers: since other firms bear none of the costs of general training, they can attract a worker with such training by outbidding the firm which trained him. Recognising this absence of property rights over an investment in general training, firms will refuse to provide it. Hence, if general training is to take place, the trainee will have to pay for it. If potential trainees are unwilling or unable to pay, general training will not take place. A shortage in general training is likely to emerge; this may be especially pronounced in developing countries.2 In contrast, the outlook for
A Novel HARQ Pooling Scheme for Improved Multi-Connectivity in 5G Cloud RAN

5G Radio Access Network (RAN) is expected to support HetNets and cloud technologies natively to provide scalable high capacity. Specifically, smaller transmission time intervals in 5G coupled with increased propagation delay due to the fronthaul between the baseband unit (BBU) and the remote radio head (RRH) result in variable HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) round trip times. Therefore, HARQ design is one of the challenging aspects in realizing such an architecture because it needs to factor in non-ideal and non-uniform fronthaul latencies across cells. In this paper, we address this design problem using a novel HARQ process pooling scheme for UEs operating in multi-connectivity mode. The HARQ processes of a UE are pooled and shared across different carriers, instead of having independent HARQ processes for each carrier. We further propose a dynamic and adaptive split of the HARQ processes across carriers to enable independent scheduling and transmission from each of the carriers such that the UE's throughput is maximized. We evaluate the proposed algorithm using system simulations and show that our scheme provides superior system performance.
Optimal Pricing Strategies for New Products in Dynamic Oligopolies

This paper deals with the determination of optimal pricing policies for firms in oligopolistic markets. The problem is studied as a differential game and optimal pricing policies are established as Nash open-loop controls. Cost learning effects are assumed such that unit costs are decreasing with cumulative output. Discounting of future profits is also taken into consideration. Initially, the problem is addressed in a general framework, and we proceed to study some specific cases that are related to models presented in recent literature. Three basic classes of sales dynamics are analyzed: competition with price effects only, competition with price as well as adoption effects, and competition with adoption effects only. In some cases it turns out that results which hold for the monopoly case, carry over to the multi-firm case, in the sense that the qualitative structure of optimal pricing strategies is the same in the monopoly and the oligopoly cases. However, due to competitive interdependencies, differences certainly exist in the levels as well as the rates of change of optimal prices.
Valuing guarantees in a BOT infrastructure project

Host governments often provide guarantees in build‐operate‐transfer (BOT) infrastructure projects to attract private sector investors. Problems arise because the governments often do not know the full extent of contingent liabilities when issuing guarantees, and because they account and record guarantee costs only when guarantees come due. This paper discusses the guarantees' financial impact from the perspectives of the government and the project sponsor. A typical Indonesian BOT toll road project is taken as the case study. Stochastic simulation using Latin Hypercube technique is applied on the cash flow model with and without guarantees. Several types of guarantees including minimum revenue guarantee, maximum interest rate guarantee, debt guarantee, tariff guarantee and minimum traffic guarantee are discussed. Simulation results reveal that guarantees can reduce risk but are not free of cost. If compared with equivalent subsidies, however, some guarantees can be more effective in lessening the extent of project risk.
China’s catch-up to the US economy: decomposing TFP through investment-specific technology and human capital

We implement a neoclassical growth model that incorporates investment-specific technology (IST) modifying capital investment in the law of motion of capital and bifurcates productivity into human capital and total factor productivity (TFP) in the production function. We focus on the role of changes in the quality-adjusted price of investment goods on China’s growth by comparing the effects of IST and human capital on the decomposition of US and Chinese productivity. The results show that both human capital and IST play an important role in the decomposition of US TFP. For China, human capital accounts for an increasingly higher portion of Chinese TFP for the period 1952–2009; however, IST contributes to the explanation of TFP only after the 1979 reforms. The analysis is extended by considering the impact of IST in the consumer’s investment decision and by projecting both countries’ GDP while modelling unbalanced Chinese growth using catch-up. Our model predicts that the Chinese economy will surpass the US economy in 2024.
Accounting for Risk and Stability in Technology Adoption

"The reasons for sluggish adoption of long-run agricultural systems are not well understood. Researchers have identified risk and uneven cash flows as two likely culprits, yet the literature has done little to investigate their impacts simultaneously. We explore the unique influence of risk, risk preference, stability, and stability preferences on the adoption of long-run investments. We developed risk-stability-segregated expected utility (RSSEU) to disentangle risk from stability and then compute the impacts of risk, stability, and preferences over a range of values found in previous studies. Results clearly demonstrate that adoption decisions are influenced differentially by risk and stability. An unstable income can overwhelm the risk effect or visa versa, depending on a person's preferences for risk and stability. Disentangling risk and stability could be very important if economists are to understand how decisions are made. For example, we found that the impact of risk on individual behavior is very low when the expected income flow is unstable. In this case, policies that smooth expected income over time will be more effective than ones that reduce risk. In contrast, risky technologies with a stable income path are more appropriately addressed with instruments like insurance or facilitating futures markets". Copyright 2007 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
Verschillen in groepsdiscriminatie, zoals waargenomen door immigranten uit verschillende herkomstlanden in veertien lidstaten van de Europese Unie

Drawing on the second and third wave of the European Social Survey, we analyse the perception of in-group discrimination of 7034 immigrants from 177 different countries of origin in 14 European Union countries. In addition to testing the effects of individual factors, such as education, religion, and migration history, we estimate the effects of macro-characteristics of both origin and destination countries. We distinguish four dimensions of explanations: immigration, religion, economic circymstances and immigration policies. The influence of adherence to Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and non-Christian religions on perceived in-group discrimination is significant, and can not be explained by characteristics of the origin or destination countries. The migration history of these groups is also relevant for the perceived discrimination: immigrants who are citizens of the country of their destination, who speak the majority language at home and who are married to a native perceive in-group discrimination less often. There are strong effects of the macro-characteristics of the country of origin. Immigrants from poorer origin countries perceive in-group discrimination more often. There are also a significant effects of immigration policies of the country of destination: easy access to long term residence, more relaxed rules for family reunion, no special policy or a more easy entrance to the labour-market for immigrants and a higher level of job protection decreases perceived in-group discrimination among immigrants.
Tourism destination image and motivations: the Spanish perspective of Mexico.

ABSTRACT The notion that a tourist has about a certain destination is conditioned by his vision of it, and this behavior is the result of his perceptions (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Goodrich, 1978). The outcome of this information assessment process is currently known as destination image (Milman & Pizam, 1995). Based on the model of Baloglu and McCleary (1999) we propose a model which explains the process of destination image formation. For testing this model, we have gathered information from residents in Spain, with Mexico as a destination. For this task, a covariance analysis was estimated by maximum likelihood with EQS.
Quantitive imaging in late traumatic brain injury. Part I: late imaging parameters in closed and penetrating head injuries

Objective : To ascertain the value of relatively simple quantitative radiologic measurements after head injury. Despite major advances in neuroradiology, analysis and reporting of imaging studies is based primarily on individual subjective and local experience, rather than on reproducible, standardized parameters; reliance on newer technologies can improve care, but also raises diagnostic costs. Design : Blinded, retrospective, quantitative assessment of computerized tomography studies done some 14 years post-injury. Outcome measures : Frontal horn width (FHW); septum-caudate distance (SCD); temporal horn width (THW); interuncal distance (IUD); third ventricle width (3VW); ventricular score (VS); sulcal width (SW); gray-white matter discriminability (GWMD) and subjective assessment of atrophy (SAOA). Results : Diffuse and frontal damage was noted in both closed (CHI) and penetrating (PHI) head injury groups. Enlargement of frontal lobe parameters (septum caudate distance and frontal horn width suggest frontal injury in both closed and penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI). Temporal horn width and inter-uncal distance were related to VS, 3VW and FHW in closed, but not in penetrating head injury. Conclusions : Simple linear CSF space measurements are correlated with volumetric and parenchymal measures, and can represent valuable and reliable low-cost quantitative measures of long term brain damage after TBI.
Effects of Knee Extension Constraint Training on Knee Flexion Angle and Peak Impact Ground-Reaction Force

Background: Low compliance with training programs is likely to be one of the major reasons for inconsistency of the data regarding the effectiveness of current anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs. Training methods that reduce training time and cost could favorably influence the effectiveness of ACL injury prevention programs. A newly designed knee extension constraint training device may serve this purpose. Hypothesis: (1) Knee extension constraint training for 4 weeks would significantly increase the knee flexion angle at the time of peak impact posterior ground-reaction force and decrease peak impact ground-reaction forces during landing of a stop-jump task and a side-cutting task, and (2) the training effects would be retained 4 weeks after completion of the training program. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Twenty-four recreational athletes were randomly assigned to group A or B. Participants in group A played sports without wearing a knee extension constraint device for 4 weeks and then played sports while wearing the device for 4 weeks, while participants in group B underwent a reversed protocol. Both groups were tested at the beginning of week 1 and at the ends of weeks 4 and 8 without wearing the device. Knee joint angles were obtained from 3-dimensional videographic data, while ground-reaction forces were measured simultaneously using force plates. Analyses of variance were performed to determine the training effects and the retention of training effects. Results: Participants in group A significantly increased knee flexion angles and decreased ground-reaction forces at the end of week 8 (P ≤ .012). Participants in group B significantly increased knee flexion angles and decreased ground-reaction forces at the ends of weeks 4 and 8 (P ≤ .007). However, participants in group B decreased knee flexion angles and increased ground-reaction forces at the end of week 8 in comparison with the end of week 4 (P ≤ .009). Conclusion: Knee extension constraint training for 4 weeks significantly altered lower extremity movement patterns and transferred these changes in lower extremity movement patterns to stop-jump and side-cutting tasks in which ACL injuries frequently occur. Training effects were retained 4 weeks after the training was completed but were diminished in magnitude. Clinical Relevance: A knee extension constraint device may be a useful training tool in future ACL injury prevention programs to alter movement patterns without extra training time.
Localization of JPEG Double Compression Through Multi-domain Convolutional Neural Networks

When an attacker wants to falsify an image, in most of cases she/he will perform a JPEG recompression. Different techniques have been developed based on diverse theoretical assumptions but very effective solutions have not been developed yet. Recently, machine learning based approaches have been started to appear in the field of image forensics to solve diverse tasks such as acquisition source identification and forgery detection. In this last case, the aim ahead would be to get a trained neural network able, given a to-be-checked image, to reliably localize the forged areas. With this in mind, our paper proposes a step forward in this direction by analyzing how a single or double JPEG compression can be revealed and localized using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Different kinds of input to the CNN have been taken into consideration, and various experiments have been carried out trying also to evidence potential issues to be further investigated.
Reassessing the NAIRUs after the Crisis

The financial crisis has resulted in a substantial increase in unemployment in the OECD. This paper shows that this increase has reversed the reduction in structural unemployment which has been estimated to have occurred in most OECD countries since the late 1990s. Structural unemployment is defined as a time-varying NAIRU derived from the information contained in a reduced Phillips curve equation (linking inflation to the unemployment gap) by means of a Kalman filter. The overall limited revisions in historical NAIRU estimated in 2008 after such a large labour market shock support the robustness of the OECD approach. This approach is therefore extended to almost all OECD countries. Alternative specifications of the Phillips curve are proposed for some specific groups of countries. Un reexamen des NAIRUs apres la crise La crise de la crise financiere a entraine une augmentation importante du chomage dans l'OCDE. Ce document montre que cette augmentation a inverse la tendance a la reduction du chomage structurel que l’on avait ete estime avoir eu lieu dans la plupart des pays de l'OCDE depuis la fin des annees 1990. Le chomage structurel est defini comme a un NAIRU variant dans le temps et derive de l'information contenue dans une equation de courbe de Phillips reduite (reliant l'inflation a l'ecart du chomage au chomage structurel) au moyen d'un filtre de Kalman. Les revisions dans l’ensemble limitees du NAIRU historique estimes en 2008 apres un tel choc sur le marche du travail supportent la robustesse de l'approche de l'OCDE. Cette approche est donc etendue a presque tous les pays de l'OCDE. Des specifications alternatives de la courbe de Phillips sont proposees pour certains groupes specifiques du pays.
An econometric model of the monetary sector of the Bangladesh economy

An econometric model of the monetary sector of Bangladesh is formulated and estimated using annual data for the period 1974-87. The model is evaluated using a range of diagnostic tests and the results from dynamic simulations. The simulations indicate that, historically, inflation, real output growth and monetary growth are all consistent with a structuralist framework in which exogenous shocks such as harvest failures play a leading role in monetary expansions via their effects on food prices. Accommodationist monetary polices may generate further inflationary pressures, though there may be short periods during which monetary expansions increase real output. Excess supplies of real money balances do not appear to have any significant impact on real expenditures. -Authors
Reasoning About a Capability Machine with Local Capabilities Provably Safe Stack and Return Pointer Management ( without OS Support )

Capability machines provide security guarantees at machine level which makes them an interesting target for compilation schemes that provably enforce properties like control-flow correctness and encapsulation of local state. We provide a formalization of a representative capability machine with local capabilities and study a novel calling convention for enforcing control-flow correctness and encapsulation of local state on it. To prove these properties, we provide a logical relation that semantically captures the guarantees provided by the hardware (a form of capability safety). These results are not tied to our calling convention and can be used to reason about arbitrary programs.
Effect of Oxamyl Treatment of Potato Seed Pieces on Pratylenchus penetrans and Yield.

In the first 2 years of a 3-year (1987-89) microplot study, aqueous solutions of oxamyl (32 mg/ml) were applied to cut potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Russet Burbank) tubers, grown in fine sandy loam infested with Pratylenchus penetrans. The seed-piece treatment alone and the seed-piece treatment followed by three foliar sprays generally reduced (P = 0.05) population densities of P. penetrans in the soil at midseason and in the soil and roots at harvest, compared to the control. In 1989, all seed pieces treated with oxamyl at 96 mg/ml or at 32, 64, and 96 mg/ml followed by a polymer sticker : water (1:4) dip failed to emerge. Only oxamyl at 64 mg/ml reduced (P = 0.05) midseason soil population densities of P. penetrans. A pre-plant soil treatment with 1,3-D reduced (P = 0.05) numbers of P. penetrans at planting each year and increased (P = 0.05) tuber yields in 1988 and 1989 compared to the control. In 1989, tuber yields from the sticker treatment and the oxamyl seed-piece treatment at 64 mg/ml were lower (P = 0.05) than those in the 1,3-D treatment and similar to those from the untreated control, possibly because of phytotoxicity. Oxamyl treatment of potato seed pieces to control P. penetrans does not appear practical for field production.
Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems via Periodically Intermittent Control

This brief studies the exponential stabilization problem for a class of nonlinear systems by means of periodically intermittent control. An exponential stability criterion given in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities, together with a simpler sufficient condition determined by three scalar inequalities, is presented. A suboptimal intermittent controller is designed with respect to the general cost function under the assumption that the control period and control width are fixed and known. Numerical simulations are presented to verify the theoretical results.