Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Devaluation and the J-Curve: Some Evidence from LDCs

Within the international trade literature it is not uncommon to find arguments about whether devaluation will improve the trade balance. It is argued that the flows of goods respond only with time lags to changes in the exchange rate. The J-Curve terrn is used to describe the movement over time of the trade balance: it may deteriorate at first and improvement may come later. This paper presents a method by which one could detect the existence of the J-Curve. The method is applied to four developing countries. The empirical evidence supports the pattern of movemnent described by the J-Curve. A major policy option for a country facing a persistent balance of payments deficit is said to be devaluation of its currency. Within the international trade literature it is not uncommon to find arguments about whether devaluation will improve the trade balance or the balance of payments. For example, proponents of the elasticities approach describe the necessary and sufficient conditions for an improvement in the trade balance in terms of elasticities of demand and supply referred to as the Marshall-Lerner condition. ' While there is abundant empirical evidence to suggest that these conditions are indeed met (at least for industrial countries), there have been circumstances under which 2 devaluation has not been successful. For example, one might wonder why the U.S. trade balance deteriorated so much in 1972 despite the devaluation of the dollar in 1971. This unfavorable effect of devaluation on the trade balance is termed the "J-Curve" phenomenon Received for publication August 23, 1984. Revision accepted for publication November 26, 1984. *The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I would like to thank two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the initial draft of this paper. 1 Proponents of the absorption approach (e.g., Alexander, 1952) describe how devaluation may change the terms of trade, increase production, and switch expenditures from foreign to domestic goods, thus improving the trade balance. International monetarists argue that devaluation reduces the real value of cash balances and/or changes the relative price of traded and nontraded goods, thus improving both the trade balance and the balance of payments. 2 For an cstimate of the elasticities, see Houthakker and Magee (1969) and Warner and Kreinin (1983). The former study provides the elasticities estimates under fixed exchange rates and the latter under floating rates. This content downloaded from 157.55. 39.17 on Wed, 31 Aug 2016 04:39:37 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor. org/terms
Getting on Track for a Sustainable Retirement: A Reality Check on Savings and Work

The aim of traditional retirement planning is to set a wealth accumulation target for your retirement date so that your desired expenditures can be obtained using a “safe” withdrawal rate. But it is quite difficult to know if you are making progress toward this target. Volatility over short periods of time strongly limits the usefulness of using your current wealth accumulation at ten or even five years before retirement to predict your final retirement wealth. Fortunately, it is not necessary to focus on a retirement wealth accumulation target. The accumulation and retirement phases should not be treated separately in this way. This paper outlines a framework for considering if someone in mid-career is on track for a sustainable retirement. It investigates what combinations of savings rates and years of continued work would have allowed someone to have always accumulated enough by retirement to afford one’s desired retirement expenditures in all of the rolling periods from the historical data. A strategy is “safe” if it worked in the worst-case offered thus far by history. I consider a 55 year old as a case study to show what savings rate will be needed to retire 10 years later, or how much longer one should work with a variety of other savings rates. Results are shown for a wide variety of situations. These findings can potentially serve as a reality check about the sustainability of one’s retirement plans.
Processing of foot pressure images and display of an advanced clinical parameter PR in diabetic neuropathy

In diabetic foot, sensation loss predisposes to skin ulceration which may result in amputation, the most feared complication. Therefore, understanding and detection of factors responsible for plantar ulceration and their measurement reproducibly is necessary to save the foot at risk. As peak foot pressure were not sufficiently sensitive, power ratio (PR), a new diagnostic parameter, by analysis of foot pressure distribution in standing and walking images of foot has been developed. PR is related to different levels of sensation loss in the diabetic foot. Algorithm is developed (in MATLAB) to automatically separate (crop) bitmap files of different foot sizes. Algorithm is also developed (in Visual C ++) to calculate PR of cropped images and display simultaneously PR of all foot sole areas. This display of PR simultaneously in all foot areas helps clinician to effectively discriminate between normal, early and advanced stages of diabetic neuropathic subjects and also in detecting foot sole areas at risk.
Molecular adsorbent recirculating system in patients with early allograft dysfunction after liver transplantation: A pilot study

Early allograft dysfunction (EAD) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) causes marked morbidity and mortality. We conducted a prospective pilot study to assess the safety and efficacy of molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) in treatment of EAD after OLT. Twelve consecutive adult liver allograft recipients with a median age of 48 years, 9 of whom were male, were prospectively included and supported with MARS. EAD was defined as the presence of at least 2 of the following: serum bilirubin >10 mg/dL, prothrombin time <40%, aspartate aminotransferase or alanine transferase >1,000 U/L, and plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDRICG) <10% per minute within 72 hours after reperfusion. One‐year patient and graft survival was 66%. There was a significant decrease in serum bilirubin (P = 0.002), serum creatinine (P = 0.006), and aspartate aminotransferase (P = 0.005) and a significant increase in PDRICG (P = 0.007) after MARS treatment. Prothrombin time, albumin level, and platelet count remained stable. Sustained improvement of renal and neurological function and of mean arterial pressure were observed. No MARS‐related adverse effects occurred. MARS treatment provides a safe approach to the treatment of EAD after OLT. On the basis of this pilot study, a multicenter randomized clinical trial that uses MARS treatment in EAD after OLT has been initiated. Liver Transpl 12:1357‐1364, 2006. © 2006 AASLD.
Capacity development in protected area management

Increasing land consumption and loss of biodiversity make it particularly important that protected areas fulfil their function. This, however, is often impaired by insufficient political and financial support. This study investigates how existing protected area management capacities can be used more effectively in a prompt and lasting manner. Therefore, data from protected area management effectiveness evaluations were analysed. Efficient workflows and teamwork were identified to be key capacities for effective management. Simultaneously, deficient financial and social security, lack of incentives and inflexible management structures prevent the productive use of existing capacities. In order to improve the situation, greater attention should be given to intangible assets. Additionally, protected area managers and employees must be enabled to be more self-reliant and self-responsible in order to foster a lasting learning process.
Roles of Adenosine Receptor Subtypes in the Antinociceptive Effect of Intrathecal Adenosine in a Rat Formalin Test

The contributions of adenosine receptor subtypes to antinociception produced by adenosine were determined at the spinal level. There are 4 types of adenosine receptors, namely A<sub>1</sub>, A<sub>2A</sub>, A<sub>2B</sub> and A<sub>3</sub>. The authors investigated the properties of the subtypes of spinal adenosine receptors in terms of nociceptive modulation. The nociceptive state was induced by subcutaneously injecting formalin solution (5%, 50 µl) into the hind paws of male Sprague-Dawley rats. After observing the effect of intrathecal adenosine during the formalin test, the effects of intrathecal adenosine A<sub>1 </sub>(CPT), A<sub>2A</sub> (CSC), A<sub>2B</sub> (alloxazine) and A<sub>3 </sub>(MRS 1220) receptor antagonists on the action of adenosine were examined. Intrathecal adenosine inhibited phase 2 flinching response without affecting phase 1 response. CPT, CSC, alloxazine and MRS 1220 antagonized the antinociceptive action of adenosine during phase 2 of the formalin test. These results suggest that spinal adenosine A<sub>1</sub>, A<sub>2A</sub>, A<sub>2B</sub> and A<sub>3 </sub>receptors may play an important role in the antinociception of adenosine in the formalin-induced facilitated state.
Market E fficiency at the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange

The question of market efficiency is one of the most important, intriguing and debated issues in finance. The efficient market hypothesis states that the current market price of an asset reflects all the available information concerning the asset, and, therefore, this information cannot be used to predict future prices and earn excess returns. However, in order for the price to incorporate new information, some actions must be performed by traders that receive the information. Therefore, some time must elapse until a new equilibrium state is reached. How long does this take? We study the issue of convergence to eefficiency at the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange. We examine various parameters that can be predictive of the returns, including features of the limit order book. Furthermore, we take trading fees into account and conclude that some form of market efficiency holds even at the smallest time horizon.
A policy framework for surface water and shallow groundwater allocation, with special reference to the Komadougou Yobe River Basin, northeast Nigeria

The Hadejia and Jama'are rivers rise on the Basement Complex of Kano and Bauchi States, and on entering the area underlain by sedimentary rocks, they lose most of their water in their passage through Jigawa, Yobe and Borno to Lake Chad. Water resource developments on the Hadejia branch are now so far advanced that effectively the entire flow is consumed before the confluence, where the river changes name to the Yobe. These developments have taken place in the absence of a coherent, integrated water management policy, either nationally, for the river basin, or at a local level. The Jama'are tributary is so far undeveloped, although this is unlikely to remain so for much longer. In this article proposals for an analytical framework for water allocation policy in the river basin are made, together with an analysis of the characteristics of the major existing water-using activities. The article argues, not for a particular water allocation policy, but for clarity and transparency in the development of such policy by the relevant authorities in Nigeria.
Impaired Alveologenesis and Maintenance of Secretory Mammary Epithelial Cells in Jak2 Conditional Knockout Mice

ABSTRACT Jak2 is a hormone-receptor-coupled kinase that mediates the tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stat). The biological relevance of Jak2-Stat signaling in hormone-responsive adult tissues is difficult to investigate since Jak2 deficiency leads to embryonic lethality. We generated Jak2 conditional knockout mice to study essential functions of Jak2 during mammary gland development. The mouse mammary tumor virus-Cre-mediated excision of the first coding exon resulted in a Jak2 null mutation that uncouples signaling from the prolactin receptor (PRL-R) to its downstream mediator Stat5 in the presence of normal and supraphysiological levels of PRL. Jak2-deficient females were unable to lactate as a result of impaired alveologenesis. Unlike Stat5a knockouts, multiple gestation cycles could not reverse the Jak2-deficient phenotype, suggesting that neither other components of the PRL-R signaling cascade nor other growth factors and their signal transducers were able to compensate for the loss of Jak2 function to activate Stat5 in vivo. A comparative analysis of Jak2-deficient mammary glands with transplants from Stat5a/b knockouts revealed that Jak2 deficiency also impairs the pregnancy-induced branching morphogenesis. Jak2 conditional mutants therefore resemble PRL-R knockouts more closely, which suggested that Jak2 deficiency might affect additional PRL-R downstream mediators other than Stat5a and Stat5b. To address whether Jak2 is required for the maintenance of PRL-responsive, differentiating alveolar cells, we utilized a transgenic strain that expresses Cre recombinase under regulatory elements of the whey acidic protein gene (Wap). The Wap-Cre-mediated excision of Jak2 resulted in a negative selection of differentiated alveolar cells, suggesting that Jak2 is required not only for the proliferation and differentiation of alveolar cells but also for their maintenance during lactation.
‘Making sense’ of HRM in China: setting the scene1

This contribution, as a part of a wider symposium, sets out to ‘make sense’ of Chinese human resource management (HRM) as it has evolved over the past three decades, by discussing seven paradoxes of its emergence over the past decades. The paradox categories discussed include: Western/Eastern; capitalist/socialist; ideological/non-ideological; advanced/transitional; global/glocal; multinational/national; and last, individualistic/collectivistic. The essay concludes that a number of the paradoxes appear to be stronger than others – even if there is more convergence in some categories than in others, due to the ongoing dynamic changes which are occurring in China's economy and society. But it is clear that their characteristics are still in flux, some relatively, some absolutely.
Comparative Statics of a Monopolistic Firm Facing Rate‐of‐Return and Command‐and‐Control Pollution Constraints

The intrinsic comparative statics properties of a general rate-of-return regulated, profitmaximizing model of a monopolist facing a command-and-control pollution constraint are derived. Recent advances in the theory of comparative statics are used to derive the basic comparative statics of the model, which are contained in an observable negative semidefinite matrix and possess the form of Slutsky-like expressions. We consider several command-and-control pollution constraints that are commonly implemented in practice, and conclude that the intrinsic comparative statics properties of the model are qualitatively invariant to the type of command-andcontrol pollution constraint imposed. We compare our results with those extant, and find that several basic results from the standard A-J model no longer hold in our model.
The diffusion of political memes in social media: keynote abstract

This talk presents ongoing work on the study of information diffusion in social media, focusing in particular on political communication in the Twitter microblogging network. Social media platforms play an important role in shaping political discourse in the US and around the world. The truthy.indiana. edu infrastructure allows us to mine and visualize a large stream of social media data related to political themes. The analyses in this keynote address polarization and cross-ideological communication, and partisan asymmetries in the online political activities of social media users. Machine learning efforts can successfully leverage the structure of meme diffusion networks to detect orchestrated astroturf attacks that simulate grassroots campaigns, and to predict the political affiliation of active users. The retweet network segregates individuals into two distinct, homogenous communities of left- and right-leaning users. The mention network does not exhibit this kind of segregation, instead forming a communication bridge across which information flows between these two partisan communities. We propose a mechanism of action to explain these divergent topologies and provide statistical evidence in support of this hypothesis. Related to political communication are questions about the birth of online social movements. Social media data provides an opportunity to look for signatures that capture these seminal events. Finally, I will introduce a model of the competition for attention in social media. A dynamic of information diffusion emerges from this process, where a few ideas go viral while most do not. I will show that the relative popularity of different topics, the diversity of information to which we are exposed, and the fading of our collective interests for specific memes, can all be explained as deriving from a combination between the competition for limited attention and the structure of social networks. Surprisingly, one can reproduce the massive heterogeneity in the popularity and persistence of ideas without the need to assume different intrinsic values among those ideas.
Money Supply and Greek Historical Monetary Statistics: Definition, Construction, Sources and Data

This paper attempts to provide, for the first time, a survey of the construction of estimates of the quantity of money in Greece since the inception of the National Bank of Greece in 1842 until the eve of WWII. Specifically, we describe in detail the methods of construction and the sources of data used in building these aggregates. We discuss the data collection procedure and publication practices. The end product is presented in a data appendix.
Fabrication and electrical characterization of 3D vertical interconnects

3D die-stacking (Tanida et al, 2003; Hara et al, 2005) and wafer-stacking (Morrow et al, 2004) integration have recently been demonstrated using copper (Cu) interconnections and through silicon via technology. In 3D die-stacking approach, the Cu vertical interconnections are fabricated on the front-side of the silicon wafer along with the active circuitry followed by wafer thinning and die-stacking. The limitation of this approach is the impact to active circuitry from vertical interconnects processing. With the 3D wafer stacking approach, the wafers are bonded with the prefabricated active circuitry face-to-face prior to wafer thinning and Cu interconnects fabrication and inherently limit stack die configuration to matched die sizes. This approach has inherent benefits and limitations depend to a large extent on the targeted applications. In this paper, we present an alternate 3D die-stacking approach which involves wafer thinning prior to Cu interconnect fabrication in a silicon wafer consisting of pre-fabricated active circuitry. This approach allows for mixed die size and technology node integration in multi-chip packages while maximizing known good die yields. In this approach the electrical connection to the active circuitry is made through the Cu plated through-silicon via to large arrays of tungsten (W) contacts at the bulk silicon interface. The challenges in through-silicon via processing using this 3D die-stacking approach will be discussed. Backside processing impact to pre-fabricated transistors and fundamental RC performance of the through silicon via landing on contact will be presented
DEFENCE SPENDING, ECONOMIC GROWTH, CORRUPTION AND INEQUALITY

This special issue includes papers that stem from the 13th Annual International Conference on Economics and Security that was held at CITY College in Thessaloniki, Greece from 24 to 26 June 2009. The conference was organised by the Business Administration and Economics Department of CITY College and had the support of the University of the West of England, Economists for Peace and Security (UK), Economists for Peace and Security (US), The British University in Egypt (BUE) and the South-East European Research Center (SEERC) in Thessaloniki, Greece. The Conference covered a wide range of topics – both theoretical and applied in nature – on economics and security. Participants included scholars and researchers from academic institutions and research centres in Greece, Turkey, the UK, the USA, Israel, Portugal, Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt, Australia, South Africa, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, China, Colombia and Sweden. Among defence and peace economists, an issue that remains unresolved and as such still attracts a lot of research interest is the economic effects of defence spending and the potential corruption and inequality that are associated with military spending. Drawing on this, this special issue includes five papers that attempt to give answers to questions like: does defence spending promote or hinder economic growth? Is there a trade-off between defence spending and other forms of public expenditure (i.e. education, health)? Is the impact of military spending different in developed and non-developed countries and countries that face various conflicts? And finally, is defence spending associated with corruption, and if so, what is the impact on the countries’ economic growth? Specifically, the first paper by Dunne and Nikolaidou provides empirical evidence on the defence–growth relationship by focusing on the 15 core European Union countries (EU15). The paper argues that despite the importance of this region in the global economic scene and despite the continuous discussions for a common European defence policy, the issue of the economic effects of defence spending has been under-researched for this region. The authors following Dunne et al. (2005) and Knight et al. (1996) estimate an augmented Solow growth model with Harrod-neutral technical progress over the period 1961–2007. They highlight the degree of heterogeneity among the 15 countries in terms of economic development, military spending and defence industries, and as such, they do not consider a simple pooling of the data appropriate. Instead, in order to allow for unobserved heterogeneity across countries, they use fixed and random effects methods and they also provide individual time series estimates for each of the 15 countries where the possibility of country-specific dummies is taken into consideration. Their results are relatively consisDefence and Peace Economics, 2012 Vol. 23(6), December, pp. 533–535
TFIIH controls developmentally‐regulated cell cycle progression as a holocomplex

Basal transcription factor, TFIIH, is a multifunctional complex that carries out not only transcription but also DNA repair and cell cycle control. TFIIH is composed of two sub‐complexes: core TFIIH and Cdk‐activating kinase (CAK). In vitro studies suggest that CAK is sufficient for cell cycle regulation, whereas core TFIIH is required for DNA repair. However, the TFIIH complexes that perform these functions in vivo have yet to be identified. Here, we perform an in vivo dissection of TFIIH activity by characterizing mutations in a core subunit p52 in Drosophila. p52 mutants are hypersensitive to UV, suggesting a defect in DNA repair. Nonetheless, mutant cells are able to divide and express a variety of differentiation markers. Although p52 is not essential for cell cycle progression itself, p52 mutant cells in the eye imaginal disc are unable to synchronize their cell cycles and remain arrested at G1. Similar cell cycle phenotypes are observed in mutations in another core subunit XPB and a CAK‐component CDK7, suggesting that defects in core TFIIH affect the G1/S transition through modification of CAK activity. We propose that during development the function of TFIIH as a cell cycle regulator is carried out by holo‐TFIIH.