Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recent Developments in Life Office Financial Reporting

ABSTRACT The European Community 3rd Life and Insurance Accounts Directives have necessitated changes to United Kingdom life insurers' statutory solvency valuations and published accounts. This paper details these, together with associated guidance. It also describes certain other developments in U.K. life office financial reporting and discusses some inter-professional issues.
Research and simulation on constant switching frequency of direct torque control(DTC)

Direct torque control (DTC) used in AC-drive locomotive control system, which has been developed in the recent decade, is a control strategies with high dynamic and static performance, and it directly generate the inverter gate control signal by judging the output of the stator flux, torque hysteresis comparator and the position information of the stator flux that cause the switching frequency unfixed. While now the highest switching frequency of the IGBT used in AC-drive locmotive is 1000 HZ. If the switching frequency could be fixed, the precious switching resources will be used fully and the cost of IGBT will be reduced greatly. A method of fixing the switching frequency is presented in this paper, and the Matlab\Simulink model have been made to verify the accuracy of it.
Going Public: The Theory and Evidence on How Companies Raise Equity Finance

In recent years there has been an enormous amount of research into the way companies raise finance from stock markets. There are many reasons for this interest in 'initial public offerings' (IPOs): DT the capital-raising function of stock markets is particularly important in financing firms and encouraging entrepreneurship and growth DT the late 1990s witnessed an IPO boom in many countries, with unprecedented numbers of companies going public DT two stylized facts appear to be valid in many countries: IPOs are initially systematically underpriced, often by dramatic amounts, and over the longer term they seem to under-perform other companies. The attempt to explain these phenomena has resulted in a burgeoning theoretical literature DT there is a continuing policy debate over the most appropriate institutional arrangements to enable firms to access the stock market in an efficient manner, including the roles of financial intermediaries, institutional investors, and the rules laid down by stock exchanges DT privatizations are a particular type of IPO, and the world-wide trend towards privatization has raised many questions regarding the most appropriate ways to sell companies to the public. "Going Public" is the first book to investigate the issues in a non-technical manner, drawing upon international evidence from private sector companies and privatizations. Building on the success of the first edition, this second edition of "Going Public" has been comprehensively revised and updated throughout.
The PROactive trial (PROspective pioglitAzone Clinical Trial In macroVascular Events): what does it mean for primary care physicians?

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This complication accounts for much of the increased morbidity, mortality and costs of care associated with diabetes. Hypertension, dyslipidaemia, a pro-inflammatory phenotype, abnormal fibrinolysis and platelet activation, insulin resistance and high blood glucose concentrations all contribute to the increased risk of macrovascular disease in diabetes. Although reducing low-density lipopro-tein (LDL)-cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and aspirin have been shown to decrease CVD in diabetes, it is less clear that lowering glucose levels decreases risk. The PROactive trial was undertaken to test whether treatment with the thiazolidinedione pioglitazone could decrease the number of CVD events in high-risk patients with T2DM.
Central and Peripheral Regions in the Wider Europe

Abstract The linkage between tax competition and foreign capital inflow in Europe is unambiguous for the majority of economists, yet its long-term rationale is not when modeling Western and Eastern Europe as a central versus periphery tax rivalry case. Tax competition might benefit peripheral regions versus central regions in the short term. However, peripheral regions' decision makers have incomplete information on long-term optimal taxes, and this fact routed them to engage in methodical tax rivalry among themselves and against central regions. This reality would make short-term tax advantages in the peripheral Europe either disappear in the long-term or exert negligible weight on investment decision at best.
Coordinated beamforming and power allocation for multicell NOMA systems

In this work, coordinated beamforming and power allocation schemes are proposed for multicell downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems. Beamforming is adopted at the base-station to mitigate both intercell and intracell interference whereas power-domain multiplexing between a pair of users is considered in each spatial dimension. Given the beamforming vectors, intra-pair power allocation is first determined by maximizing the weighted sum rate under worst-case interference. Then, two coordinated beamforming schemes that take into consideration the effect of power-domain multiplexing are proposed, namely, the coordinated scheduling with pair-wise zero-forcing (CSPZF) and the maximum pair-wise signal-to-leakage-plus-noise ratio (PSLNR) beamforming schemes. CSPZF beamforming utilizes the available spatial degrees of freedom at each base-station to separate signals intended for intracell user pairs as well as to eliminate strong out-of-cell interference. PSLNR beamforming, on the other hand, enhances the signal intended for each user pair while suppressing its leakage towards other users (including those in other cells). CSPZF is shown to outperform PSLNR beamforming in the high SNR regime where the performance is interference-limited and, vice versa.
Heme oxygenase 1 attenuates interleukin-1β-induced cytosolic phospholipase A2 expression via a decrease in NADPH oxidase/reactive oxygen species/activator protein 1 activation in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by cytokines induce the expression of inflammatory mediators in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) exerts an antiinflammatory effect. The aim of this study was to examine the mechanisms underlying interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) expression through ROS generation as modulated by HO-1 in RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFs). METHODS IL-1β-induced ROS generation was determined by flow cytometry. The involvement of MAPKs and NADPH oxidase (NOX)/ROS in IL-1β-induced cPLA2 expression was investigated using pharmacologic inhibitors and transfection with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and was analyzed by Western blotting and promoter assay. Overexpression of HO-1 was performed by transfection of RASFs with a recombinant adenovirus containing human HO-1 plasmid. SCID mice with inflammation caused by IL-1β were infected with adenovirus containing HO-1. Histologic characterization of joint inflammation and local expression of cPLA2 were evaluated after treatment. RESULTS IL-1β-induced cPLA2 expression was mediated through NOX activation/ROS production, which was attenuated by N-acetylcysteine (NAC; a scavenger of ROS), the inhibitors of NOX (diphenyleneiodonium chloride and apocynin), MEK-1/2 (U0126), and JNK-1/2 (SP600125), transfection with the respective siRNAs, and the overexpression of HO-1 in RASFs. IL-1β-induced cPLA2 expression was mediated through recruitment of activator protein 1 (AP-1) to the cPLA2 promoter region, which was attenuated by NAC and overexpression of HO-1. Furthermore, HO-1 overexpression inhibited IL-1β-mediated cPLA2 expression in SCID mice. CONCLUSION In RASFs, IL-1β induced cPLA2 expression via activation of p42/p44 MAPK and JNK-1/2, leading to p47phox phosphorylation, ROS production, and AP-1 activation. The induction of HO-1 exerted protective effects on the pathogenesis of RA.
Does Repeat Play Elicit Cooperation? Evidence from Federal Civil Litigation

While some litigants frequently file cases, very few opposing pairs of litigants appear together frequently. Thus, there is little opportunity for litigants to develop trust or reputation. Lawyers, on the other hand, face each other frequently and participate in a community of lawyers that shares information. Lawyers may therefore foster efficient dispute resolution by turning one‐shot client interaction into a repeated game. This suggests the following empirical question: are disputes resolved more quickly by agents (lawyers) who interact frequently, either as individuals or through their firms? We have assembled a data set on roughly 2,000 federal civil cases filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1994, supplementing the Inter‐university Consortium for Political and Social Research data with attorney, and firm, identity. After accounting for individual attorney speed, we find that cases that involve attorney pairs who interact repeatedly in our data are resolved more quickly and are more likely to settle.
Determinants of endogenous price risk in corn and wheat futures markets

This analysis evaluates determinants of price variability in U.S. corn and wheat futures markets. The analysis is conducted in two segments. In the first segment, conditional heteroscedasticity models of price variability are estimated and used to examine the extent to which market conditions influence price variability. The second component of the analysis uses nonstructural vector autoregressive models to evaluate factors related to implied volatilities calculated from options premia. Our results indicate that corn and wheat price variability is significantly related to the ratio of use to stocks, futures market activity, and growing conditions. In addition, important seasonal and autoregressive effects are revealed. Our results provide an intuitive interpretation for GARCH and ARCH effects, which are often demonstrated for futures price data. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 20:753–774, 2000
Function of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR in the Alloimmune Response In Vivo

Background. We have recently reported that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) functions as a proinflammatory cytokine to regulate the trafficking of leukocytes into allografts in the early posttransplant period. VEGF binds two major VEGF receptors: VEGFR-1 (flt-1) and VEGFR-2 (flk-1/KDR). Here, we wished to investigate the expression and function of VEGF receptors in the process of acute allograft rejection in vivo. Methods. We performed fully MHC-mismatched C57BL/6 (H-2b) into BALB/c (H-2d) vascularized heterotopic murine cardiac transplants and we examined the expression of VEGF and VEGF receptors by immunohistochemistry during acute allograft rejection. Next, we treated mice with specific neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against murine VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 and examined their effect on the development of acute allograft rejection by histology and by analysis of graft survival. The intragraft expression of cytokines and chemokines were also evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Results. The expression of VEGF, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 were significantly up-regulated during allograft rejection as compared to isografts. Administration of either anti-VEGFR-1 or anti-VEGFR-2 alone failed to inhibit allograft rejection. However, coadministration of both antibodies together inhibited leukocyte infiltration of allografts and prolonged allograft survival. Furthermore, the effect of VEGFR blockade was associated with the downregulation of intragraft cytokine and chemokine expression. Conclusions. Our data suggest that VEGF-VEGFR interactions function in the alloimmune response in vivo. Targeting VEGFRs may represent a novel therapy to protect allografts following clinical transplantation.
YKL‐40 and mast cells are associated with detrusor fibrosis in patients diagnosed with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis according to the 2008 criteria of the European Society for the Study of Interstitial Cystitis

Richter B, Roslind A, Hesse U, Nordling J, Johansen J S, Horn T & Hansen A B (2010) Histopathology 57, 371–383 YKL‐40 and mast cells are associated with detrusor fibrosis in patients diagnosed with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis according to the 2008 criteria of the European Society for the Study of Interstitial Cystitis
Agency of Fear: Opiates and Political Power in America

President Bush has made the war against drugs the number one issue on the contemporary American political agenda. In this revised edition of his classic book, available for the first time in paperback, Edward Jay Epstein argues that the president has adopted the strategy of his forbear, Richard Nixon, in using the drugs war to blame foreigners for the crisis in America's cities, and to provide a smokescreen for unrelated political activity designed to bolster executive power. The drugs crackdown has seen an almost hundredfold increase in the federal budget for narco-politics in the fifteen years since Agency of Fear was first published, while statistics on drug-running have been massaged. Epstein points out that, despite the massive budgets and public relations brouhaha, drug importation, as measured against wholesale price, has in fact grown.
Investigating Motivational Factors that Influence Football Match Attendance in the South African Premier Soccer League Post the 2010 FIFA World Cup

South Africa has a strong sporting culture and has successfully hosted big international sport events including the rugby, cricket, and soccer world cups. Spectators are an important factor in the success of such events. Using social exchange theory as the theoretical basis and employing motivational factors drawn from the literature on sport motivation, this study investigates the motivational factors that influence match attendance in the South African Premier Soccer League post the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The survey-based study employed a 26-item data collection instrument and a convenience sample of 70 respondents. Factor analysis was used to identifying six underlying motivational factors that influence match attendance. The findings show that the top three a priori motivational factors were entertainment, family appeal, and socialisation. These were supported by the factors extracted in the present study namely soccer subculture, family appeal, excitement seeking supporters, brand leisure seekers, entertainment, and vicarious achievers. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n20p563
The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good, by Robert H. Frank

In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Robert Frank is a pioneering two-eyed economist working to lead economics out of the valley. He discards the silly, atheoretic, Homo economicus, who skillfully maximizes utility while making the world a better place. In the Frankian world, we are Darwinian survival machines, whose selfish efforts redound to the greater good only if channeled by social engineering. Economics is a lost field because its assumptions about human nature are wrong. We are not selfish, rational maximizers. Over the years, in papers and books such as Passions within Reasons, and Luxury Fever, Robert Frank has argued eloquently that economics needs to start over with a version of human nature based in evolutionary biology. In The Darwin Economy, Professor Frank argues that Charles Darwin will eventually be recognized as a more important economist than Adam Smith. What difference does the Darwinian perspective make? A central organizing concept of The Darwin Economy is the notion of ‘positional arms races,’ situations where organisms expend effort and resources to attain relative, not absolute, outcomes. Because people care about relative outcomes, we engage in wasteful competition and consumption. Consider, for example, car speed. Professor Frank’s first sports car was a ’55 Thunderbird, which gave him great enjoyment. Now he drives a Mazda Miata that is actually faster than the old T-bird, but does not feel good. Why? Because all cars have gotten faster, and pleasure is derived, in some areas, from relative not absolute
The Welfare Economics of Public Policy: A Practical Approach to Project and Policy Evaluation

This outstanding text, a follow-up to the authors' award-winning 1982 text, provides a thorough treatment of economic welfare theory and develops a complete theoretical and empirical framework for applied project and policy evaluation. The authors illustrate how this theory can be used to develop policy analysis from both theory and estimation in a variety of areas including: international trade, the economics of technological change, agricultural economics, the economics of information, environmental economics, and the economics of extractive and renewable natural resources. Building on willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures as the foundation for applied welfare economics, the authors develop measures for firms and households where households are viewed as both consumers and owner/sellers of resources. Possibilities are presented for approximating WTP with consumer surplus, measuring WTP exactly subject to errors in existing econometric work, and using duality theory to specify econometric equations consistent with theory.
Acute exercise reduces hepatic glucose production through inhibition of the Foxo1/HNF‐4α pathway in insulin resistant mice

Protein hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF‐4α) is atypically activated in the liver of diabetic rodents and contributes to hepatic glucose production. HNF‐4α and Foxo1 can physically interact with each other and represent an important signal transduction pathway that regulates the synthesis of glucose in the liver. Foxo1 and HNF‐4α interact with their own binding sites in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase) promoters, and this binding is required for their effects on those promoters. However, the effect of physical activity on the HNF‐4α/Foxo1 pathway is currently unknown. Here, we investigate the protein levels of HNF‐4α and the HNF‐4α/Foxo1 pathway in the liver of leptin‐deficient (ob/ob) and diet‐induced obese Swiss (DIO) mice after acute exercise. The ob/ob and DIO mice swam for four 30 min periods, with 5 min rest intervals for a total swimming time of 2 h. Eight hours after the acute exercise protocol, the mice were submitted to an insulin tolerance test (ITT) and determination of biochemical and molecular parameters. Acute exercise improved insulin signalling, increasing insulin‐stimulated Akt and Foxo1 phosphorylation and decreasing HNF‐4α protein levels in the liver of DIO and ob/ob mice under fasting conditions. These phenomena were accompanied by a reduction in the expression of gluconeogenesis genes, such as PEPCK and G6Pase. Importantly, the PI3K inhibitor LY292004 reversed the acute effect of exercise on fasting hyperglycaemia, confirming the involvement of the PI3K pathway. The present study shows that exercise acutely improves the action of insulin in the liver of animal models of obesity and diabetes, resulting in increased phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion of Foxo1, and a reduction in the Foxo1/HNF‐4α pathway. Since nuclear localization and the association of these proteins is involved in the activation of PEPCK and G6Pase, we believe that the regulation of Foxo1 and HNF‐4α activities are important mechanisms involved in exercise‐induced improvement of glucose homeostasis in insulin resistant states.
Soaring food prices and food security: Does the income effect matter?

While the existing literature on rising food prices in recent years has mainly focused on the causes and calculating the number of people falling below the poverty line in developing countries, less attention has been paid to rising food prices and food security in terms of calorie intake. The main objective of this study is to fill this gap using a case study of a developing country, Sri Lanka. In this study, we estimate the change in individual calorie intake associated with food inflation using the Stone–Geary utility function. The impact at national level is assessed using a calorie intake distribution curve. The results demonstrate that the percentage of undernourished population in Sri Lanka is expected to rise rapidly with food inflation on the basis that there is no income increase during the period under consideration. However, the rise in undernourished population is remarkably low when the income effect is taken into consideration.
Probabilistic Optimal Power Flow with wind energy penetration and integration of storage system

This paper Proposes Probabilistic optimal power flow to analyse the variation of Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) with penetration of wind energy. The uncertainty of wind speed and load is modelled using probability distribution functions based on their historical data. Integration of storage unit with wind is proposed to assess economic advantages. In this paper Two Point Estimation Method (2PEM) is used to develop Probabilistic Optimal Power Flow. IEEE-24 bus reliable test system is used to carry out the analysis with uncertainty of wind and load using MATPOWER. The output of 2PEM is compared with Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) results.
Economic Policy and Special Interest Politics

A great deal of research has been done on the boundary between economics and political science in the last five to ten years. This research in 'political economics' spans many subfields, such as macroeconomics, trade, public finance, regulation, rational choice politics, and game theory. A common denominator has been to study structural models of the political process: agents behave rationally within well-specified economic and political institutions, where the policymaking process is formulated as an extensive form game. Methodologically, much progress has been made relative to traditional approaches, which were often based on inconsistent or irrational political and economic behaviour, relying on non-derived influence functions, political support functions, or vote functions. Yet, the modem work has largely developed separately in each subfield, without much contact with other subfields. And each of the resulting literatures tends to focus on a distinct, but partial, aspect of the political process. In this lecture, I shall argue that even though the progress to date has been substantial, we can gain a better understanding of policymaking in democracies by combining the insights from different strands of thinking. On some economic policy issues the conflicting views, both among citizens and politicians, basically reduce to a single left-to-right dimension. Examples may include the politics of inflation vs. unemployment, capital taxation, or the size of government. We can think about policy issues, within this domain of 'general interest politics', as being resolved via traditional Downsian electoral competition, at least to a first approximation. But the economic policy process also allows narrow interest groups ample opportunities to concentrate benefits to their own group at the expense of the population as a whole. The resulting policy conflict is generically multi-dimensional; resolving it by voting alone would thus result in Condorcet cycles. We therefore need to go beyond the simplest electoral models to understand policy determination within this domain of 'special interest politics'. This lecture deals with special interest politics. To make my point about fruitful analytical arbitrage, I will stick to the same underlying policy example throughout: this will be a simple model of a society where the government uses