Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantity or quantile? A global study of income, status, and happiness

When respondents provide their own subjective evaluation of life quality, or satisfaction, on a zero-to-ten scale, the global countryweighted average is almost precisely 5.0. Is this perfectly-middling value a coincidence? In this study I assess competing theories of cardinal and ordinal income position for explaining life satisfaction around the world, both within and across countries. Life satisfaction is now well-established as a proxy for well-being that is complementary to revealed preference methods. Much has been learned with this happiness metric, in diverse fields of economics spanning both microeconomic and macroeconomic approaches, since Easterlin brought it to economists’ attention by asking whether economic growth was leading to increased well-being (1974). Nevertheless, the answer to this momentous question is still after forty years in need of further evidence. Theoretically, two formulations of utility functions incorporating others’ contemporary consumption have been treated. In one, a peer group provides a reference consumption level used in evaluating one’s own consumption. This structure has been estimated extensively in the empirical literature. However, in another formulation, utility is sensitive only to own rank, via the cumulative distribution function, rather than to cardinal differences. Theoretical insights into such economies are arguably more developed than those based on cardinal comparisons. However, empirical treatments, especially in multi-country studies, are absent. Using Gallup World Poll data, I show that worldwide, a pure-rank model is as successful as one based on a classical utility function, and that within countries, especially richer ones, rank is preferred to cardinal income in explaining life satisfaction. ∗Institute for Health and Social Policy, School of Environment, and Department of Economics, McGill University.
Effect of Solid State Fermented Dried Feed with Avian Specific Lactobacillus species and Bacillus subtilis on Haematological, Blood Biochemical and Anti-oxidant Profile of Broiler Birds

ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 09 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com The present experiment was conducted to study the effect of feeding fermented dried feed with avian specific Lactobacillus species and Bacillus subtilis in broiler birds. Two hundred and fifty one day old mixed sex commercial (Venn Cobb) broiler chicks were randomly distributed into five groups (Gr 1, Gr 2, Gr 3, Gr 4 and Gr 5) of 50 birds each by following completely randomized block design. Each group, comprised of five replicated pens (n=5) and each replicate contained ten broiler chickens. The Group 1 was fed the basal diet as per BIS, 2007, without any supplementation and was served as control (C). Birds in Group 2 (AGP) were fed basal diet supplemented with the Antibiotic Growth Promoters i.e. Bacitracin methylene disalicylate @ 0.5 g/kg of feed. Birds in Group 3 (FBS) were fed basal diet fermented with Bacillus subtilis. Birds in Group 4 (FLB) had received the basal diet fermented with avian specific Lactobacillus species, isolated and characterized from broiler bird itself and birds in Group 5 (FBSLB) had received the basal diet fermented with Bacillus subtilis& avian specific Lactobacillus species. Duration of experiment was 42 days. Blood was collected on day 28 and day 42 for checking haematological parameters like RBC, WBC, PCV and Hb, blood biochemical values and anti-oxidant profile. It was observed that RBC, WBC, PCV and Haemoglobin values at day 42 was found similar (P>0.05) between different treatment groups. Total protein was found to be significantly higher (P<0.05) in FBSLB at day 28 and it was significantly higher (P<0.01) in FLB group at day 42as compared to other treatment groups. Average glucose concentration in serum was significantly higher (p<.01) in AGP & FLB group as compared with control, FBS & FBSLB group. Albumin and globulin value also showed significant difference (P<0.05) between experimental groups. Average values SGPT and SGOT at day 28 and 42 was found similar (P>0.05) in comparison to control group. Triglyceride and cholesterol level were not affected (P>0.05) due to treatment imposed in this study. Though HDL and LDL cholesterol concentrations in serum were not affected by the treatments imposed in this study, HDL cholesterol was tended (p=.07) to be increased in broilers fed fermented dried feed as compared to control group. Anti-oxidant status in blood serum was found significantly higher (P<0.01) for FBSLB in comparison to other treatment groups. It could be concluded that fermented dried feed showed better blood biochemical profiles and improved anti-oxidant status in broiler birds. K e y w o r d s Fermented dried feed, Biochemical parameters, Haematology, Antioxidantprofile, Broilers Accepted: 04 August 2019 Available Online: 10 September 2019 Article Info Int.J.Curr.Microbiol. App.Sci (2019) 8(9): 150-160
Experience of Patients on Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Phenomenological Study

ABS TRACT Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the experiences related to mechanical ventilation (MV) and intensive care unit (ICU) environment of the patients who were on prolonged MV. Material and Methods: This was a prospective and qualitative research. Phenomenological method was used to collect and evaluate the data. The study was conducted with the patients who had been MV treatment for at least seven days in ICU between September 2004 and February 2005. The patients were interviewed with a semi-structured interview form and interviews were recorded on tape. The data were evaluated with Colaizzi’s qualitative research analysis method. Results: Ten patients were interviewed in the research. The mean age of the patients was 49.9 ± 18.47; 7 were male and 5 had graduated from high school. Mean duration was 10.8 ± 6.4 days for MV, 44.2 ± 50.6 for ICU and 49.9±38.9 days for hospitalization. MV indications were respiration arrest or insufficiency related to medical or surgical reasons. Five categories and 14 themes were determined after the analysis of the interviews. Physical restriction, dependency, air hunger, thirst, pain, inability to talk and difficulty to be understood were described as uncomfortable and stressful experiences for the patients. Flexible family visits, positive thinking, praying, hope for survival, care by experienced and friendly ICU nurses were effective for coping with stressful factors related to prolonged MV and the ICU environment. Conclusion: Prolonged MV and ICU environment were uncomfortable and stressful experiences for the patients. Experienced ICU nurses have a key role in helping patients cope with this situation. Patient care should be based on a holistic approach and convenient coping methods should be supported. In conclusion, ensuring ICU nurses are aware of the results of such studies and including this subject in service training programs should be useful to increase the nurses’ experiences.
Taxing Capital is Indeed Not a Bad Idea: The Role of Human Capital and Labor-Market Frictions

In a second-best optimal growth setup with only factor taxes as available instruments, is it optimal to fully replace capital by labor income taxation in the long run? The answer is generally positive based on Chamley, Judd, Lucas, and many follow-up studies. In the present paper, we revisit this important tax reform-related issue by developing a human capital-based endogenous growth framework with frictional labor search and matching. We allow each rm to create multiple vacancies and each worker to determine labor market participation endogenously. We consider a benevolent scal authority to nance direct transfers to households and unemployment compensation only by factor taxes. We nd that Hosios rule is a necessary but not su¢ cient condition for e¢ ciency. We then conduct dynamic tax incidence exercises along the balanced growth path using a model calibrated to the U.S. economy with a pre-existing 20% at tax rate on both the capital and labor income. Our numerical results suggest that, due to a dominant channel via the interactions between the rms vacancy creation and the workers market participation, it is optimal to switch only partially from capital to labor taxation in a benchmark economy where human capital formation depends on both physical and human capital stocks. When we completely remove the extensive margin of the labor-leisure trade-o¤ or when the human capital accumulation process is independent of physical capital, the optimal tax mix features a larger shift from capital to labor taxation; but, the optimal capital tax rate in either case is still positive. When we return to a Walrasian economy without labor-market frictions, it is optimal to fully eliminate capital taxation. JEL Classi cation: E62, H22, O4, J2.
INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT FOR CDFA AGREEMENT NUMBER 16-0510-SA: CHARACTERIZATION OF XYLELLA FASTIDIOSA PLANT CELL WALL DEGRADATION AND INHIBITION OF THE TYPE II SECRETION MACHINERY Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator

Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Caroline Roper Dario Cantu Andrew McElrone Dept. Plant Pathology and Microbiology Dept. of Viticulture and Enology USDA-ARS, Dept. Viticulture and Enology University of California University of California University of California Riverside, CA 92521 Davis, CA 95616 Davis, CA 95616 mcroper@ucr.edu dacantu@ucdavis.edu ajmcelrone@ucdavis.edu
Flourishing after retirement : understanding the sport career transition of New Zealand's elite athletes

Researchers have written extensively about the transitional experiences of former athletes and theorised about how to affect healthy and positive outcomes for athletes. While some studies have revealed significant psychological distress amongst retired athletes, others have found no indication of adjustment difficulty. Thus, the present study took a more specific approach, and aimed to identify the factors which either influenced post adjustment difficulty or led to flourishing in transitioned athletes. Data was collected from 81 former elite New Zealand athletes by means of a questionnaire, distributed amongst various sporting codes and organisations. The questionnaire included measures of athletic identity, flourishing and emotional responses. Results indicated that athletes who had stronger athletic identities also had higher levels of flourishing after retirement. Furthermore, those who retired voluntarily demonstrated high levels of flourishing and less post sport adjustment difficulty in comparison to those who retired involuntarily. Planning for retirement also resulted in significantly less post-retirement adjustment difficulty. Additionally, female athletes who displayed high levels of athletic identity also experienced more negative emotions when dealing with retirement. These findings demonstrate the importance of planning and preparing for retirement, as it has the potential to lead to more positive long terms outcomes for athletes. A better understanding of athletic identity and the experiences of athletes who retire involuntarily will allow governing sporting bodies and sport psychologists the opportunity to identify early the athletes who may be more prone to adjustment difficulties, and intervene appropriately. The development and implementation of a proper athlete transition programme or process within New Zealand would better support healthy and smooth transitions out of sport, and lead to more positive outcomes for athletes.
Towards End-to-End spoken intent recognition in smart home

Voice based interaction in a smart home has become a feature of many industrial products. These systems react to voice commands, whether it is for answering a question, providing music or turning on the lights. To be efficient, these systems must be able to extract the intent of the user from the voice command. Intent recognition from voice is typically performed through automatic speech recognition (ASR) and intent classification from the transcriptions in a pipeline. However, the errors accumulated at the ASR stage might severely impact the intent classifier. In this paper, we propose an End-to-End (E2E) model to perform intent classification directly from the raw speech input. The E2E approach is thus optimized for this specific task and avoids error propagation. Furthermore, prosodic aspects of the speech signal can be exploited by the E2E model for intent classification (e.g., question vs imperative voice). Experiments on a corpus of voice commands acquired in a real smart home reveal that the state-of-the art pipeline baseline is still superior to the E2E approach. However, using artificial data generation techniques we show that significant improvement to the E2E model can be brought to reach competitive performances. This opens the way to further research on E2E Spoken Language Understanding.
Toward more inclusive measures of economic well-being: debates and practices

This paper reviews debates and practice around the conventional and alternative measures of economic well-being. Evaluating the major contending 'Beyond GDP' measures - Genuine Progress Indicator, Human Development Index, Happiness/life evaluation index, Happy Planet Index, the OECD's Better Life Initiative dashboard - the paper argues that the GPI is the only indicator that that incorporates inequality, care for human beings and care for the environment in a single framework. GPI is therefore best suited to guide policy in responding to the major challenges of our time - rising inequality, climate change, environmental destruction. GPI's GDP-like features make it suitable to gauge economic performance that contributes to well-being outcomes and examine proposed policies. Meanwhile, its dashboard-like features allow changes in contributing variables to be tracked in physical and monetary terms. Although GPI has high data demands, which make it difficult to estimate the full GPI for low-income countries, and an evolving methodology, the main obstacles to adopt the GPI are social and institutional, including lack of political leadership and institutional support.
Education and Health: Long-Run Effects of Peers, Tracking and Years

We investigate two parallel school reforms in Sweden to assess the long-run health effects of education. One reform only increased years of schooling, while the other increased years of schooling but also removed tracking leading to a more mixed socioeconomic peer group. By differencing the effects of the parallel reforms we separate the effect of de-tracking and peers from that of more schooling. We find that the pure years of schooling reform reduced mortality and improved current health. Differencing the effects of the reforms shows significant differences in the estimated impacts, suggesting that de-tracking and subsequent peer effects resulted in worse health.
Labor Unions and Uneqal Representation∗

Recent research has documented that lawmakers are more responsive to the views of the auent than to the less well-o. is raises the important question of whether there are institutions that can limit unequal representation. We argue that labor unions play this role and we provide evidence from the contemporary U.S. House of Representatives. Our novel dataset combines income-specic estimates of constituency preferences based on 223,000 survey respondents matched to 27 roll-call votes with measure of district-level union strength, drawn from 350,000 administrative records. Exploiting within-district variation in preference polarization, within-state variation in union strength and rich data on confounds, our analysis rules out a host of alternative explanations. In contrast to the view that unions have become too weak or fragmented to maer, they signicantly dampen unequal responsiveness: a standard deviation increase in union membership increases legislative responsiveness towards the poor by about 6 to 8 percentage points. ∗We thank John Ahlquist, Lucio Baccaro, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Patricia A. Kirkland, Clara Park, Jonas Pontusson and Elizabeth Rigby for very helpful comments on earlier dras of the paper. We are also grateful for feedback from conference/seminar participants at the annual meetings of APSA (2017) and MPSA (2018), IAST/TSE, and the Geneva Workshop on Unions and the Politics of Inequality. We thank Konstantin Käppner for contributing to an earlier version and Spencer Dorsey and Marco Morucci for excellent research assistance. Becher gratefully acknowledges nancial support from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)-Labex IAST. Stegmueller’s research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017S1A3A2066657). †Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, University of Toulouse 1 Capitole, michael.becher@iast.fr ‡Duke University, daniel.stegmueller@duke.edu
Validation of Tidal Stream Turbine Wake Predictions and Analysis of Wake Recovery Mechanism

This paper documents the predictive capability of rotating blade-resolved unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) and Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) computations for tidal stream turbine performance and intermediate wake characteristics. Ansys/Fluent and OpenFOAM simulations are performed using mixed-cell, unstructured grids consisting of up to 11 million cells. The thrust, power and intermediate wake predictions compare reasonably well within 10% of the experimental data. For the wake predictions, OpenFOAM performs better than Ansys/Fluent, and IDDES better than URANS when the resolved turbulence is triggered. The primary limitation of the simulations is under prediction of the wake diffusion towards the turbine axis, which in return is related to the prediction of turbulence in the tip-vortex shear layer. The shear-layer involves anisotropic turbulent structures; thus, hybrid RANS/LES models, such as IDDES, are preferred over URANS. Unfortunately, IDDES fails to accurately predict the resolved turbulence in the near-wake region due to the modeled stress depletion issue.
Fast Mode Decision with Flexible Macroblock Ordering in SVC

Recent developments viable high quality videos at the cost of significantly increased in the computational complexities for multilayer video encoding. Especially for wireless devices with limited processing capability such as smartphones that resulted hard to visualize high-quality content. These advances lead challenges towards low latency applications such as video conferences and streaming where retransmission approach for missing content is not feasible. So, there is critical demand for research to have an efficient coding technique to achieve the high quality video along with low complexity and error resilience features. Proposed scheme exploits the local characteristics of encoded videos to reduce computation complexity with flexible macroblock ordering tool as an error resilience scheme. Performance of proposed scheme reveals that algorithm can achieves 31% on average in terms of reducing the computing complexity, compared to the conventional approach with the same bit rate distortion.
Enhanced semi-definite relaxation method with application to optimal anisotropy function construction

Non-convex quadratic programs find applications in many areas and they are known to be NP hard in general. The standard approach is to relax the non-convex quadratic optimization problem via a convex conic problem, for which effective algorithms are already known. The fundamental question in the theory of semi-definite relaxation is to give conditions under which the relaxation is exact. In this case it is often said that the problem possesses a hidden convexity property and this problem is closely related to finding strong duality conditions for non-convex quadratic problems. The conditions are already known for quadratic problems with one or two (in the complex case) quadratic constraints and the results are based on the so-called S-lemma. We propose an exact semi-definite relaxation method for quadratic problems with nonconvex objective and subject to convex quadratic, linear and eventually semi-definite constraints, based on enhancing the linear equality constraints by quadratic ones. Sufficient conditions that guarantee the exact relaxation are given and the technique is applied to the problem of optimal anisotropy function construction as a minimizer for the anisoperimetric ratio for a given Jordan curve.
Mononuclear phagocyte system blockade improves therapeutic exosome delivery to the myocardium

Rationale: Exosomes are emerging as a promising drug delivery carrier. However, rapid uptake of exosomes by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) remains an obstacle for drug delivery into other targeted organs, including the heart. We hypothesized that prior blocking of uptake of exosomes by the MPS would improve their delivery to the targeted organs. Methods: Exosomes were isolated from the cell culture medium. Fluorescence-labeled exosomes were tracked in vitro and in vivo by fluorescence imaging. The expression of clathrin heavy chain (Cltc), cavolin1, Pak1 and Rhoa, known genes for endocytosis, were profiled in various cell lines and organs by qPCR. The knockdown efficiency of siRNA against Cltc was analyzed by Western blotting. Exosomecontrol and exosomeblocking were constructed by encapsulating isolated exosomes with siControl or siClathrin via electroporation, while exosometherapeutic was constructed by encapsulating isolated exosomes with miR-21a. Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity model was used to verify the therapeutic efficiency of the exosome-based miR-21a delivery by echocardiography. Results: Exosomes were preferentially accumulated in the liver and spleen, mainly due to the presence of abundant macrophages. Besides the well-known phagocytic effect, efficient endocytosis also contributes to the uptake of exosomes by macrophages. Cltc was found to be highly expressed in the macrophages compared with other endocytosis-associated genes. Accordingly, knockdown of Cltc significantly decreased the uptake of exosomes by macrophages in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, prior injection of exosomeblocking strikingly improved the delivery efficiency of exosomes to organs other than spleen and liver. Consistently, compared with the direct injection of exosometherapeutic, prior injection of exosomeblocking produced a much better therapeutic effect on cardiac function in the doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity mouse model. Conclusions: Prior blocking of endocytosis of exosomes by macrophages with exosomeblocking successfully and efficiently improves the distribution of following exosometherapeutic in targeted organs, like the heart. The established two-step exosome delivery strategy (blocking the uptake of exosomes first followed by delivery of therapeutic exosomes) would be a promising method for gene therapy.
United States Patent ( 19 )

An automatic answering telephone apparatus for send ing an out-going message through a telephone line and recording at least one incoming message on a magnetic tape using a tape recorder which can record a conversa tion between an operator and a conversation partner on the magnetic tape not in the automatic answering mode, the tape recorder further having rewinding, fast-for ward winding and stop functions, and including: a posi tion detector for detecting a tape travelling position; a memory for storing the detected tape traveling position such as to store the detected tape travelling position of the end of the latest incoming massage; a line status detector for detecting a change in status of the tele phone line; and a controller responsive to an output of the line status detector, the detected tape travelling position, and the stored tape travelling position for positioning the magnetic tape to the stored tape travel ling position using the fast-forward winding and the stop functions when the line status detector detects the change. The change may be caused by a ring signal, off-hook action, or busy state of the telephone line. The positioning may be carried out when rewinding or re producing is being performed.