Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two Decades of Social Investment in Latin America: Outcomes, Shortcomings and Achievements of Conditional Cash Transfers

Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs) have been at the core of the remarkable expansion of social protection in Latin America in the early twenty-first century. Our article reviews the origins of CCTs in the Social Investment (SI) approach to social policy design, explores their characteristics and traces their expansion in Latin America. It further questions whether CCTs designed under the influence of SI can generate long-term substantial improvements in social outcomes. Our analysis suggests that while CCTs have evidently produced a number of positive outputs they are not, on their own, enough to achieve the aim of reducing poverty. CCTs appear to be more effective in poverty alleviation when they are accompanied by – or form part of – a wider package of measures that enhance social and employment rights, integrating workers into the formal economy under better conditions. We conclude that unless the structural deficiencies that shape many of the Latin American welfare regimes are addressed, the potential of social investment policies, like CCTs, to combat poverty will remain limited.
A Simple Model Of Nepotism

This paper analyses theoretically favouritism in recruitment decisions. We study the investments in connections by applicants for jobs which pay a wage rent and the behaviour of public or private managers intending to favour the recruitment of connected agents in place of more competent candidates. Key elements in determining favouritism are the delegation of recruitment decisions and unverifiable information regarding the skills of job applicants. We show in an agency framework that if the manager is “corruptible”, both low and high ability workers invest in connections and that nepotism is more widespread in jobs paying high wage-rents; in organisations in which “low-powered incentives” are used for managers; when firm performance is slightly sensitive to abilities; when it is easy to make hidden payments and the intensity of family ties is strong; when the uncertainty of connection process is low.
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF INULA L. (s.str.) AND ITS ALLIED GENERA FROM PAKISTAN AND KASHMIR

Numerical analysis of 21 species belonging to the genera Inula L. (s.str.), Pentanema Cass. , Duhaldea DC. , Dittrichia Greuter and Iphiona Cass. , was carried out to find out the interrelationship of these taxa. Two distinct groups of taxa are formed from which one group comprises of Dittrichia and Pentanema and other group is represented by Inula, Duhaldea and Iphiona. The grouping of the taxa points out the close affinity and the genus Inula L. (s.str.) is further divided into two distinct groups which indicates the heterogenous and paraphyletic nature of the genus.
Leveraged Buyout Activity: A Tale of Developed and Developing Economies

Returns on LBOs are on average higher for developed economies. However, returns of LBOs during high economic growth periods are high for developing economies relative to developed economies. Onthe other hand returns in developing nations are lower when compared to the returns in developed nations in periods of negative economic growth. Developing countries are more unstable relative to developedcountries during conditions of boom as well as collapse. Exit times for LBO transactions in developing economies are therefore shorter relative to developed economies in periods of high positive (negative) economic growth rate. During periods of negative economic growth rate, LBOs in developing economies exit sooner. In periodsof low or medium economic growth, LBOs in developing economies take longer to exit. Reputed firms and small firms have higher returns and exit sooner. Club deals have higher returns and exit sooner whencompared with single PE firm deals. Club deals in developing economies are on average not profitable and exit sooner
The effect of outplacement services on earning prospects of unemployed

I use two administrative databases combining information about workers' characteristics and earnings to estimate the effect of outplacement services on wage prospects of unemployed workers. The results suggest that the impact of outplacement is positive, although the magnitude depends on the type of service and gender. On one side, the group with the best results is constituted by men who receive individual outplacement, increasing their average annual gross wage by around 42%. On the other side, women who receive group outplacement show small results, whose figures are near 17%. Se utilizan dos bases de datos administrativas que combinan informacion sobre las caracteristicas de los trabajadores y sus ingresos para estimar el efecto de los servicios de recolocacion en las perspectivas salariales de los trabajadores desempleados. Los resultados sugieren que el impacto de la recolocacion es positivo, aunque la magnitud depende del tipo de servicio y del genero del trabajador. Por un lado, el grupo con los mejores resultados esta constituido por hombres que reciben el servicio de recolocacion individual, aumentando en media su salario bruto anual cerca del 42%. Por otro lado, las mujeres que reciben el servicio de recolocacion grupal muestran resultados pequenos, con un incremento cercano al 17%.
Social pragmatics in technical writing: A corpus-based analysis of thematic articles

The main objective of this paper is to analyse some sociocultural implications involved in the process of technical writing. In particular, the analysis will focus on those socially and ideologically-related rhetorical mechanisms of linguistic interaction that engineers use when writing thematic articles. As a selected corpus maps out, concepts such as ideology, power, politeness or a persuasive rhetoric prove to be key factors in determining the appropriate linguistic choices in those social interactions within this community. In the light of social pragmatics, the extent to which institutional and cultural factors affect research writing in the field of technology will therefore call for a redefinition of the ‘classical’ objectivity sought in these specialised discourse practices.
Portfolio Insurance Using Leveraged ETFs

This study examines the use of Leveraged Exchange Traded Funds (LETFs) within a constant proportional portfolio insurance (CPPI) strategy. The advantage of using LETFs in such a strategy is that it allows a greater percentage of the portfolio to be invested in the risk-free rate relative to a traditional CPPI. Where a standard CPPI strategy may require 50% of the portfolio to be invested in equities, using a 2x LETF only requires 25%, and a 3x LETF only requires 16.7% to attain the same effective exposure to equities. Results show when the risk-free asset is yielding at least 3% or the 1 year minus 90-day Treasury exceeds 1%, the use of LETFs within a CPPI framework results in annual returns approximately 1–2% higher with better Sharpe, Sortino, Omega, and Cumulative Prospect Values while reducing Value at Risk (VaR) and Excess Shortfall (ES) below VaR.
Interactive comment on “Joint retrieval of surface reflectance and aerosol properties with continuous variation of the state variables in the solution space: Part 2: Application to geostationary and polar orbiting satellite

I think Part II does a rather nice job in introducing the different sources of uncertainties for SEVIRI and PROBA-V (uncertainty assessment a necessity is too often neglected). As a general impression though, the writing seems more of a lab “living” log, i.e. notes accumulated as the work was being carried out. You’ll notice how many of my highlighted comments aim at condensing the text as the reader might get lost in
Geomorphology and endangered fish habitats of the upper Colorado River: 1. Historic changes in streamflow, sediment load, and channel morphology

The hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecologic effects of reservoir operations are thought to be key factors in the decline of native fishes in the upper Colorado River basin. The present paper examines the extent to which changes in streamflow and sediment loads have affected alluvial reaches of the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colorado. The analysis shows that since 1950, annual peak discharges of the Colorado River and its major tributary, the Gunnison River, have decreased by 29–38%. The total volume of runoff delivered to the study area has not changed significantly over the period of record, but the annual hydrograph has been modified greatly by reductions in peak flows and augmentation of base flows. Annual suspended sediment loads of the Colorado River and Gunnison River have likewise decreased. This was particularly apparent during the period from 1964 to 1978, when annual sediment loads were 40–65% less than the long‐term average. Analysis of aerial photographs indicates that between 1937 and 1993 the main channel of the Colorado River has narrowed by an average of 20 m and about 1/4 of the area formed by side channels and backwaters has been lost.
The Distribution, Habitat, Diet and Forensic Significance of the Scarab Frankenbergerius forcipatus (Harold, 1881) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

ABSTRACT Records of African beetles feeding on carrion are scattered and incomplete, but important to forensic entomology. Thirty-three specimens of Frankenbergerius forcipatus (Harold, 1881) were found on carrion near Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, providing new insight into the distribution (hills and mountains), habitat (fynbos and forest), biology (generalist on decaying material) and forensic significance (wet-decay, late opportunist) of the species.
Business Models for Distributed Energy Technologies - Evidence from German Cleantech Firms

Global demand for heating and electricity relies heavily on fossil fuels, which contribute significantly to global warming and climate change. There is an urgent need to accelerate the diffusion of clean energy technologies such as solar thermal collectors and micro CHP (combined heat and power generation). One important bottleneck is the identification of adequate business models. Building on a thorough review of business model literature, we identify important aspects of successful business models for distributed energy. The second part of the paper reports on empirical evidence from a survey of 64 German distributed energy firms.
The Last 5 Gyr of Galactic Chemical Evolution Based on H ii Region Abundances Derived from a Temperature Independent Method

Most of the chemical evolution models are not very reliable for the last 5 Gyr of galactic evolution; this is mainly because abundance gradients found in the literature show a big dispersion for young objects; a big culprit of this is the dispersion found in H ii region gradients. Part of this dispersion arises from two different methods used to determine O/H in H ii regions: the direct method (DM), based on forbidden lines; and the temperature independent method (TIM), based on permitted lines; the differences between these two methods are about 0.25 dex. We present two chemical evolution models of our galaxy to fit the O/H gradients of H ii regions, one obtained from the DM and the other obtained from the TIM. We find that the model based on the TIM produces an excellent fit to the observational stellar constraints (B-stars, Cepheids, and the Sun), while the model based on the DM fails to reproduce them. Moreover the TIM model reproduces the flattening observed in the 3–6 kpc galactocentric range; this flattening is attained with an inside-out star formation quenching in the inner disk starting ∼9 Gyr ago.
Effects of local abundance on pollination and reproduction in the narrow endemic endangered species Delphinium bolosii (Ranunculaceae)

Effects of local abundance, in terms of plot size (number of individuals) and purity (relative abundance), on pollination interactions were studied by examining the quantity and quality of pollinator services and subsequent seed set in the narrow endemic, endangered and self-compatible species Delphinium bolosii. The most frequent visitors were Lepidoptera (mainly Macroglossum stellatarum and two species of Gonopteryx) and Hymenoptera (small bees). Differences in relative frequency of visits to plants were observed between populations, possibly due to the intrinsic local insect fauna. Plots with high numbers of individuals attracted more pollinators, so plants from these plots were visited more often. At the individual level, no effect of size was detected but visitation rates were significantly different between the two studied populations. The same pattern was observed for stigmatic pollen loads and seed set. The effects of purity were assessed by comparing pure plots of D. bolosii with a mixed plot that also included the neighbor species Rubus ulmifolius, an invasive shrub. Although interspecific competition for pollinator visits was observed, conspecific pollen deposition did not vary between pure and mixed plots. However, negative effects on reproductive traits such as higher rates of seed abortion (50%) and a lower S/O index (viable seeds/ovules) were detected in individuals from the mixed plot. These results may be helpful for developing conservation measures, especially in one of the populations, where R. ulmifolius is abundant due to nearby abandoned agricultural land.
The Synchronized Universe : New Science of the Paranormal by Claude Swanson

Recent experiments performed on physical plasma revealed the possibility to establish a direct relationship between non-linearity and the creation of space charge configurations with behavior usually attributed to living beings. Such a “viable” self-organized complexity acts as the “vital” part of a plasma oscillator working with differential negative resistance and, in certain conditions, as the genuine cause of the so-called Turing instability. FUNCTIONAL DOUBLE LAYERS EMERGED IN PLASMA BY SELF-ORGANIZATION E. Lozneanu, D. G. Dimitriu, L. M. Ivan, M. Sanduloviciu Physics Department, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania, e-mail: dimitriu@uaic.ro Instead of considering the double layer (DL) as generated by two plasma maintained at different potentials, we show that it actually acts as a functional structure that, performing the operations “learned” during its emergence by self-organization, it is itself able to sustain a proper potential drop that separates the two plasmas. We prove this by two facts. First, the self-assemblage process of a DL is a nonlinear process during of which thermal energy from the plasma is directly converted into energy of the electric field of the DL. [1] Locally, and for a very short time, the second law of thermodynamics is not active during this process. Second, for its surviving the DL emits entropy in the form of incoherent light, i.e. it formally acts as a system that produces negative entropy. [1] Possessing memory, the DL acts as an “intelligent” circuit element that attributes to the plasma diode the ability to work as a bistable/multistable circuit
Ginger ameliorates reproductive toxicity of formaldehyde in male mice: Evidences for Bcl-2 and Bax

Introduction: Root of dietary ginger considerably improves the activity of antioxidant enzymes in reproductive system and reduces the signs of cell damage in testis tissues. The present study conducted numerous sperm, hormonal, bio-chemical analysis and gene expression in order to evaluate the reproductive damages caused by exposure to formaldehyde (FA) and to investigate the ameliorative properties of co-administration of FA and Zingiber officinale (Ginger) in mice model. Methods: Forty-eight male NMRI mice were randomized into 6 groups of 8 animals each, including control group, control sham (received distilled water by gavage), FA group (10 mg/kg twice per day), intraperitoneally (i.p) and 3 FA groups (10 mg/kg i.p) + Ginger (500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg/d by gavage, respectively). Sperm parameters, sexual hormones, antioxidant activity and expression of Bax and Bcl-2 genes were analyzed after 35 days. Results: FA significantly diminished sperm parameters, sexual hormones and antioxidant enzymes (P < 0.05). Also, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax genes had significant (P < 0.05) increase and decrease, respectively in FA group. Co-administration of Ginger extract significantly recovered the above parameters. Conclusion: Co-administration of Ginger extract ameliorates reproductive damages of FA by its androgenic, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. Hence, it might be beneficial in these patients.
Potentials and challenges in 3D concrete printing

Reinforced concrete structures have constantly become more safe and durable over the past century and the materials properties have improved tremendously, but the design and construction method have not changed much over time. Concrete structures face a series of challenges like a new degree of freedom for architecture, sustainability, health, increased productivity and a better integration to BIM models. 3D Concrete printing has the potential to meet these demands, although it is not clear yet which type of structures will benefit most from this additive type of manufacturing. However, in order to explore the benefits, the first task of research is to make the print process robust. This is needed since the load bearing capacity of a structure depends on the design and the printing strategy. Besides, the issue of a lack of reinforcing steel must be solved to ensure safe structures, for example by developing new and ductile types of concrete.
Iowa State University From the SelectedWorks of Kristin Yvonne Rozier May , 2010 LTL satisfiability checking

We report here on an experimental investigation of LTL satisfiability checking via a reduction to model checking. By using large LTL formulas, we offer challenging model-checking benchmarks to both explicit and symbolic model checkers. For symbolic model checking, we use CadenceSMV, NuSMV, and SAL-SMC. For explicit model checking, we use SPIN as the search engine, and we test essentially all publicly available LTL translation tools. Our experiments result in two major findings. First, most LTL translation tools are research prototypes and cannot be considered industrial quality tools. Second, when it comes to LTL satisfiability checking, the symbolic approach is clearly superior to the explicit approach.
Martian xenon components in Shergotty mineral separates: Locations, sources, and trapping mechanisms

Abstract— Isotopic signatures and concentrations of xenon have been measured in Shergotty mineral separates by laser step heating. Martian atmosphere and ‘martian interior’ xenon are present, as is a spallation component. Martian atmospheric xenon is 5–10 times more concentrated in opaque minerals (magnetite, ilmenite, and pyrrhotite) and maskelynite than in pyroxenes, perhaps reflecting grain size variation. This is shown to be consistent with shock incorporation. A component consisting of solar xenon with a fission contribution, similar to components previously identified in martian meteorites and associated with the martian interior, is best defined in the pyroxene‐dominated separates. This component exhibits a consistent 129Xe (129Xe/132Xe ˜1.2) excess over solar/planetary (129Xe/132Xe ˜1.04). We suggest that gas present in the melt, perhaps a mixture of interior xenon and martian atmosphere, was incorporated into the pyroxenes in Shergotty as the minerals crystallized.
Recurrent Neural Networks for Predictive Maintenance of Mill Fan Systems

In the present paper we focus on online monitoring system for predictive maintenance based on sensor automated inputs. Our subject was a device from Maritsa East 2 power plant – a mill fan. The main sensor information we have access to is based on the vibration of the nearest to the mill rotor bearing block. Our aim was to create a (nonlinear) model able to predict on time possible changes in vibrations tendencies that can be early signal for system work deterioration. For that purpose, we compared two types of recurrent neural networks: historical Elman architecture and a recently developed kind of RNN named Echo stet networks (ESN). The preliminary investigations showed better approximation and faster training abilities of ESN in comparison to the Elman network. Direction of future work will be increasing of predications time horizon and inclusion of our predictor at lower level of a complex predictive maintenance system. Keywords—Technical diagnosis, Thermal Power Plant (TPP), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), Distributed Control System (DCS), predictive maintenance.
INVESTIGATING THE RESPONSE OF OLIGODENDROCYTE PROGENITOR CELLS TO THE CUPRIZONE MODEL OF DEMYELINATION

xi 1 The Significance and Modeling of Demyelination and Remyelination . 1 1.1 Myelin Structure and Function in The CNS . 2 1.2 Oligodendrocytes and their Origins:. 6 1.21 OPC Populations in the Adult CNS. 6 1.3 Multiple Sclerosis and Myelin Diseases. 12 1.4 Demyelination Models:. 14 1.41 Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis. 14 1.42 Virus-Induced Models . 15 1.43 Toxin-Induced Models . 15 1.5 The Cuprizone Model. 16 1.51 The Cuprizone Model in C57BL/6 Mice . 18
Millimeter Wave Antenna for Intelligent Transportation Systems Application

A compact broadband millimeter wave antenna for intelligent transportation (ITS) application is proposed in this paper. This antenna uses coplanar wave guide feeding technique for broad bandwidth. The proposed antenna works at 79 GHz resonant frequency having a large bandwidth of 78.2 GHz. The measured gain of the antenna is 17.5 dBi. The proposed antenna is very suitable for short range radar (SRR) application and 5G technologies.
Internet technologies and the grid paradigm: designing a custom environment for web service-based applications

Methodological and computational difficulties introduced by the expanding knowledge base of science domains reflected in the growing volumes of data that must be stored, retrieved and analyzed can be overcome by applying distributed technologies from a grid, web services and internet technologies in general. Applications are developed as services-based paradigms, making use of for example Java platforms that support interoperable data handling, scalability, load balancing and other capabilities. Moreover they should be deployed in an embedded secure environment that may provide all necessary functionalities like description, processing, discovery, composition etc. In the context of specific grid infrastructures and astrophysical applications, the paper starts with issues that have arisen in deploying grid applications, then describes the design and custom solutions proposed in the areas of discovery, composition and security. The introduction of specific technology components implementing standard specifications can enhance grid computing infrastructure providing a method for an integrated solution.
Cost of Business Cycles with Indivisibilities and Liquidity Constraints

It is almost universally agreed that individuals face incomplete insurance markets and cannot perfectly insure against the idiosyncratic risk. In this paper simple general equilibrium models with incomplete insurance markets are examined in order to assess the impact of imperfect insurance on the magnitude of the welfare costs of business cycles. Two versions of incomplete insurance markets are considered, and certain statistical properties of the equilibrium stochastic processes in these environments are compared with those of a perfect insurance economy.
An Empirical Approach to Optimal Experimental Design Selection and Data Analysis for the Synthesis Phase of Kansei Engineering

Kansei Engineering (KE) is a methodology able to incorporate, systematically and concretely, people’s emotions into product design solution, above all in concept design phase. This work aims at testing the appropriateness and the robustness of statistical methods which are at this moment new in KE applications. In particular, in order to reduce the length and the reliability of the evaluation session in Virtual Reality environment, optimal experimental designs and methods of analysis are suggested.