Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bank Behavior and the Cost Channel of Monetary Transmission

This paper presents a New Keynesian model that dwells on the role of banks in the cost channel of monetary policy. Banks extend loans to firms in an environment of monopolistic competition by setting the loan rate according to a Calvo-type staggered price setting approach, which means that the adjustment of the aggregate loan rate to a monetary policy shock is sticky. We estimate the model for the Euro area by adopting a minimum distance approach. Our findings exhibit that, first, frictions on the loan market influence the propagation of monetary policy shocks as the pass-through of a change in the money market rate to the loan rate is incomplete, and, second, the cost channel is operating, but the effect is weak since inflation is driven by real unit labor costs rather than the loan rate. Our main conclusion is that the strength of the cost channel is mitigated as banks shelter firms from monetary policy shocks by smoothing lending rates.
Baseline-free damage identification of metallic sandwich panels with truss core based on vibration characteristics

A baseline-free damage identification method is proposed to identify damages in metallic sandwich panels with truss core in the article. The method is based on flexibility matrix and gapped smoothing method, with damage index defined DIm. The weight coefficient m is introduced to consider the effect of damages on both low-order modes and high-order modes. Numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to evaluate the present method. Besides, damage index DI m * is also defined by processing DIm with Teager energy operator, and comparisons between DIm and DI m * are also carried out. Results show that the proposed method is effective in detecting single damage and multiple damages of the same or different extent. The weight coefficient m plays a very important role in identification of multiple damages of different styles. When comparing with DI m * , it is found that the present index DIm is better at suppressing the singularity caused by contact nodes and detecting of multiple damages which contain small or slight damages.
Interactive comment on “Role of net radiation on energy balance closure in heterogeneous grasslands” by C. Shao et al

General remarks This manuscript investigates the influence of net radiation measurements on the energy balance closure. The study is based on data from three grassland eddy covariance sites where in one experiment the effect of the natural spatial variability was investigated and in another experiment inhomogeneity of the vegetation height was deliberately created by different clipping regimes of the grass within the footprint area. In addition the effect of dome aging of the Q7.1 net radiometers was also analyzed. Other net-radiometers used in this study were of type CNR-1 by Kipp and Zonen.
Multinationals in a Small Open Economy – The Case of the CzechRepublic (1997-2010)

This paper analyses the role and behaviour of multinationals in the Czech Republic. Using firm-level data (innovation survey waves 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2008) we applied a structural model that describes the link between innovation and productivity (CDM model). Multinationals are more hesitant than domestic firms when deciding about innovation. Those multinationals that decided to innovate invested more per employee than domestic firms; their labour productivity advantage is rather ambiguous. The next analysis focused on productivity, wages and market concentration in the sample of firms representing not only innovators, but the whole Czech economy (1997-2010). On average, multinationals are more productive, pay higher wages and have no impact on market concentration. However, in a detailed view, multinationals increased market concentration in the first period (1997-2003) and had significantly lower productivity in the years of economic crisis. These results suggest a close relationship between the multinationals behaviour and economic fluctuations. A long term and short term relationship between FDI and real GDP was observed.
Characterization of the chirp behavior of integrated laser modulators (ILM) by measurements of its optical spectrum

In this work we present a characterization of the chirp parameters of a commercially available ILM by means of measurements made with a high-resolution optical spectrum analyzer. Particularly, we will use the FM/AM method for the characterization of the transient chirp parameter and will compare results with the standard Fibre Transfer Function method. The FM/AM method will be applied to frequencies down to 100 MHz due to the capabilities of the high-resolution optical spectrum analyzer. We will see that, for the studied ILM, the transient chirp parameter varies in such a way that it changes from positive to negative values when the bias voltage applied to the device changes from 0 to -1,5 volts. Moreover, we will also characterize the adiabatic chirp of the device, which is a parameter difficult to measure due to the small value it has compared with directly modulated lasers. In this case, the possibility of measuring optical frequencies with extremely high resolution will simplify the measurement and will provide accurate values for this parameter.
Perceptions of Stakeholders Regarding The Effect Of Financial Mismanagement on the Quality of School Workers, Students' Enrolment and Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Gucha Sub-County, Kenya

There have been a number of cases reported mainly through the local print and electronic media regarding mismanagement of finances in public secondary schools. Gucha is one such district that experienced 47 cases of financial mismanagement between the year 2008-2010. This study was therefore set to establish the perceptions of stakeholders on the effect of financial mismanagement on quality education: school workers, students’ enrolment and performance in public secondary schools in Gucha district. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The study population consisted of 126 head teachers, heads of departments, Board of governors’ chairpersons, bursars, 1011 teachers, and 10 quality assurance officers. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 5 boarding schools, 37 day schools, 42 head teachers, 42 Bursars, 42 heads of departments, 42 BOG chairpersons, 337 teachers while purposive sampling was used to select 10 quality assurance and standards officers. Data was collected by the use of questionnaire, interviews schedule, Focus group discussions and observation forms. Quantitative data collected through questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of means, frequency counts and percentages. Qualitative data collected through interviews and Focused group discussions were transcribed, organized into themes and sub-themes as they emerged in an on-going process. The study established that financial mismanagement had adversely affected students’ enrolment, performance and the quality of workers. Based on the findings of the study it therefore emerged the need for the government to appoint a financial committee at the school level comprising of members from other stakeholders to assist principals in managing school finances. This will reduce the principals’ powers of controlling finances by themselves and increases levels of accountability and transparency.
FUNGI IN THE APPLE SOOTY BLOTCH AND FLYSPECK COMPLEX FROM SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

Sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) is a late season disease complex of apple and pear caused by epiphytic fungi that blemish the fruit surface, resulting in economic losses in humid regions worldwide. The SBFS disease complex includes more than 60 species of fungi in eastern North America, but species in many other parts of the world have not been identified. From August to October 2007, SBFS-infested apple fruits were collected from 14 orchards in central and southern Serbia and Montenegro. Colony morphology and sequences of the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were assessed for 92 SBFS isolates and compared to previously identified species. From the four SBFS genera that were found in Serbia and Montenegro – Pseudocercosporella, Schizothyrium, Peltaster and Pseudocercospora – five putative species were identified. Most (72 of 92) isolates were Pseudocercosporella spp. All of these species have also been isolated from infested apples and described in North America or Germany.
Decoding Information Processing When Attention Fails: An Electrophysiological Approach

The success of the attentional system in keeping people “on task” in dynamic environments arises from the coordinated operation of multiple neural networks. performance can occur. Here, we investigated the neural bases of attentional failuAlthough this coordinated effort is often successful, errors in res using computational techniques combined with high temporal resolution measures of brain activity using EEG. Attentional failures were induced by presenting two masked targets in rapid succession. In this task, correct identification of the first (T1) leads to impaired identification of the second (T2), a performance failure known as the attentional blink (AB). We applied linear pattern classification algorithms to measures of neural activity acquired during the AB to investigate two key issues about the temporal dynamics of visual attention. First, we tested whether the computational approaches would accurately discriminate the stimulus presented to the observer independent of behavior. Second, we tested whether our computational approaches could predict when the observer would make an error. Our analyses revealed that single-trial EEG activity could be used to not only predict the type of stimulus presented to the observer, but also to predict performance errors. These results are consistent with the notion that the brain represents information about the type of stimuli presented to observers and suggest that computational approaches may be used to provide a moment-by-moment analysis of an observer’s attentional state.
Agroecology Education by Bicycle on Two Continents: Student Perceptions and Instructor Reflections

Given that much of the learning about international agroecology would ideally occur outside the classroom, adventure learning (AL) and systems action education (SAE) can offer synergistic approaches that synthesize these methodologies into a cohesive student learning experience. This article reports on the evolution of a series of international agroecology courses offered from 2009 to 2011 that progressively integrated AL and SAE approaches in course design. The courses were taught by a University of Minnesota professor as he bicycled across Africa (2009 and 2010) and South America (2011), exploring various landscapes, crops, climatic regions, and food systems with students back home via distance technologies. End-of-course survey responses indicated that students (1) did not find the course any more rigorous than similar level courses, (2) found the course much more unique (p < 0.01), and (3) increased their desire to travel abroad (p < 0.01). Our examination also revealed challenges and opportunities inherent with AL and SAE–merged classrooms. Overall, we found that AL and SAE approaches could be integrated to enhance agroecology education and can make courses inspiring, challenging, and rewarding. The result could have implications for schools that seek to prepare students to work in a global environment.
Enhancing the Performance of the Microwave Absorbing Materials by Using Dielectric Resonator Arrays

We present a technique for enhancing the performance of microwave absorbing materials in terms of weight, thickness, and bandwidth. The introduced technique is based on fabricating the microwave absorbing (MA) material in a structure comprised of an array of circular cylinder dielectric resonators (CDR) backed by a perfect electric conductor (PEC) ground plane. Numerical electromagnetic methods are employed to study the properties of the proposed MA array structures, where 3D full wave simulation using finite-element method is implemented. The obtained results show that the performance of the MA-CDR arrays significantly outperforms that of a flat layer composed of the same material and having equivalent thickness. A flat layer of MA material with thickness of 5 mm backed by perfect electric conductor (PEC) shows as low as dB reflection loss (RL) peak and ~3 GHz 10-dB bandwidth, whereas an MA-CDR array, composed of the same MA material, of height of 4 mm can achieve as low as ~−50 dB RL peak and ~12 GHz 10-dB RL bandwidth.
Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy with Seven Years of Data from IceCube and IceTop

With data collected over the last seven years, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has measured both the large- and small-scale anisotropy in the cosmic-ray arrival direction distribution with a high level of significance. In addition to the sidereal anisotropy, we have also measured the solar dipole caused by the orbital motion of the Earth around the Sun. We present the cosmic-ray anisotropy measurement with a full seven years of data and a systematic study of both the sidereal anisotropy and solar dipole.
Mining Change Traces from Versioned UML Repositories

As software evolves, analysis and design models should be modi fied, correspondingly. In this scenario, one of the main problems is to detect which elements should be changed due to a given change. This paper presents an approach that applies data mining over a versioned UML repository in or der to detect change traces among model elements at different abstraction lev els. These traces are presented to the software engineer together with context information obtained from SCM systems and used within CASE tools. We also present the results of a retrieval performance evaluation of our approach, which are promising.
Systematic bias in estimates of reproductive potential of an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stock: implications for stock–recruit theory and management

Stock-recruit relationships that use spawning stock biomass (SSB) to represent reproductive potential assume that the proportion of SSB composed of females and the relative fecundity (number of eggs produced per unit mass) are both constant over time. To test these two assumptions, female-only spawner biomass (FSB) and total egg produc- tion (TEP) were estimated for the Northeast Arctic stock of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) over a 56-year time period. The proportion of females (FSB/SSB) varied between 24% and 68%, and the variation was systematic with length such that SSB became more female-biased as the mean length of spawners increased. Relative fecundity of the stock (TEP/SSB) varied between 115 and 355 eggs·g -1 and was significantly, positively correlated with mean length of spawners. Both FSB and TEP gave a different interpretation of the recruitment response to reductions in stock size (overcompensatory) compared with that obtained using SSB (either compensatory or depensatory). There was no differ- ence between SSB and FSB in the assessment of stock status; however, in recent years (1980-2001) TEP fell below the threshold level at which recruitment becomes impaired more frequently than did SSB. This suggests that using SSB as a measure of stock reproductive potential could lead to overly optimistic assessments of stock status. Resume : Les relations stock-recrues qui utilisent la biomasse du stock reproducteur (SSB) pour representer le poten- tiel reproductif presupposent que la proportion de SSB representee par les femelles et que la fecondite relative (nombre d'oeufs produits par unite de masse) sont toutes deux invariables dans le temps. Afin d'evaluer ces deux presupposi- tions, nous avons estime la biomasse des reproducteurs femelles seuls (FSB) et la production totale d'oeufs (TEP) chez un stock de morues franches (Gadus morhua) de l'Arctique sur une periode de 56 ans. La proportion de femelles
D Modeling Algorithm based on Dynamic Terrain Grid Rendering

In view of the low accuracy of modeling and bad result of rendering in the general algorithm and application of 3D modeling of venue, this paper put forward a 3D modeling algorithm of venuenasium based on dynamic terrain grid rendering. Harmonic mapping is firstly used to establish the corresponding relationship between grid and texture plane, and the parametric grid is mapped to distortion deformation of the texture plane, getting the texture coordinates of grid point in the texture domain under the effect of harmonic mapping, then adopting LOD algorithm based on the viewpoints and the quadtree decomposition to render terrain, and also based on edge crack to optimize details, finally utilizing the fuzzy variance shadow to reduce the sawtooth. Compared with other common algorithms, the simulation experiments show that the proposed rendering algorithm of 3d modeling method of venue based on dynamic grid terrain has better effect of modeling and rendering in the application of 3D modeling of venue.
Client learning and the performance of collaborative infrastructure projects

Australia is a leading user of collaborative procurement methods, which are used to deliver large and complex infrastructure projects. Project alliances, Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), and partnering are typical examples of collaborative procurement models. In order to increase procurement effectiveness and value for money (VfM), clients have adopted various learning strategies for new contract development. However client learning strategies and behaviours have not been systematically analysed before. Therefore, the current paper undertakes a literature review addressing the research question “How can client learning capabilities be effectively understood? ”. From the resource-based and dynamic capability perspectives, this paper proposes that the collaborative learning capability (CLC) of clients drives procurement model evolution. Learning routines underpinning CLC carry out exploratory, transformative and exploitative learning phases associated with collaborative project delivery. This learning improves operating routines, and ultimately performance. The conceptualization of CLC and the three sequential learning phases is used to analyse the evidence in the construction management literature. The main contribution of this study is the presentation of a theoretical foundation for future empirical studies to unveil effective learning strategies, which help clients to improve the performance of collaborative projects in the dynamic infrastructure market.
The Dynamic of Secession: A rise in the benefits of secession

Part I: 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical foundation for analysis of secession Part II. The Costs and Benefits: 3. The benefits of membership 4. The costs of secession 5. The costs of membership 6. The benefits of secession Part III. The Dynamic of Secession: 7. 'Last resorts': a rise in the costs of membership 8. 'Opportune moments': a reduction in the costs of secession 9. A reduction in the benefits of membership 10. A rise in the benefits of secession 11. Conclusion.
Renovation of classrooms with non-continuous acoustical treatment material

Good acoustical conditions in classrooms are quite related to the learning process of the individuals. The school environment should promote an atmosphere that induces everyone's interest in listening and being involved in communication. The efficiency of the learning environment can be measured by the acoustical conditions of the c1assrooms. Following the process of renovation of two c1assrooms at the Lisbon Engineering Institute, ISEL, an alternative acoustical treatment approach was implemented. The solution usually adopted to create appropriated acoustical conditions consists on covering the ceiling area with sound absorption material distributed uniformly. Although this solution keeps the reverberation time at reasonable values it attenuates the first reflections with a loss of detail in the communication path, affecting the articulation of consonants, and consequently degrades the acoustical parameters related to the comfort in the room such as the Speech Transmition Index, and the Clarity. Therefore, part of the ceiling area was kept without acoustical treatment to enhance the reflection of the early sound energy more efficiently to the audience. The treated zones are covered with the same type of acoustical material but with different thickness to better control the reverberation. Results of the adopted solution are presented and compared with the usual acoustical treatment of classrooms by simulation and by using auralization techniques.
Estimating Net Operating Income Growth for Modeling U.S. Apartment Property Capitalization Rates

The properties of income-to-price ratios in asset markets have potentially far reaching implications for understanding investor behavior. Prevailing levels of commercial real estate (CRE) capitalization rates, similar to price/earnings ratios for stocks and owner equivalent rent-to-price relatives for houses, may foretell future investment returns and income growth rates. In CRE capitalization rate models, rent growth rates often proxy for the net operating income (NOI) growth rates. Empirical studies of capitalization rate predictive powers produce inconsistent results that may be due either to the use of these rent growth proxies, model misspecification, or both. We use a novel approach for generating NOI growth rate estimates that involves combining survey rent and the expense growth rates for U.S. apartments. Our GARCH analysis of the capitalization rate spread process using the estimated NOI growth rate produces theoretically consistent results. Importantly, we demonstrate efficiency gains from using.
Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology Cytogenetic biodosimetry for accidental emergency irradiation exposure preparedness , in particular merit of the use of drug-induced premature chromosome condensation ( PCC ) with calyculin

More than one year has past since the hazardous nuc lear fuel core melting out accident at Fukushima No . 1 Nuclear Energy Plant by attacking giant earthquake and foll owing tsunami on 11 th March 2011. This nuclear plant accident is so obviously the most serious radiation exposure hazar d since the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in US SR (now in Ukraine) 1986, that recognizes the people over the world of the plausible scenario of threaten of nucl ear hazard accident caused by natural disaster, nuclear terrorism attac k or assault of nuclear weapon. In the situation of emergency irradiation exposure accident happened, the actions which must be first undertaken are (1) determine t he event level and estimate the precise irradiation dose as quick as p os ible, (2) prevent the people both citizens and w orkers from external and internal irradiation exposure and contamination and (3) if casualties exist, triage diagnosis shou ld be done to perform required medical management appropriate for the patients severely or lethally radiation expose d as rapid as possible. For the purposes, precise dose estimation system establishment should be requested and prepa red. However, in particular in case of the emergency irradiation acc ident, body-worn dosimetry equipment such as film b adge is useless for assess the exposure dose of public citizens bec aus people usually don't put on these tools on bod y. Biological dosimetry (biodosimetry) is a suitable way for this purposes and cytological biodosimetry methodology is most popular and has been used for long time. It is now therefor e seems the adequate time to consider the importanc e of preparedness of biodosimetry based dose assessment system for th e radiation exposure accident caused by natural dis ster, terrorism or war, so here we present short review of the cyto genetic biodosimety method by means of scoring the radiation induced chromosome aberrations, in particular for t he high dose emergency radiation exposure accident.