Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exchange Rates and Adjustment: Perspectives from the New Open Economy Macroeconomics

The New Open Economy Macroeconomics has allowed economists to tackle classical problems with new tools, while also generating new ideas and questions. In their attempts to make the new models capture empirical regularities, researchers have entertained a variety of assumptions about the international pricing of goods, notably, models of pricing to market and destination-currency pricing of exports. Some of the resulting models imply that exchange-rate changes lack international expenditure-switching effects, and they thus appear to call for a radical rethinking of the role of exchange rates in international adjustment. This paper argues that the recent resurgence of exchange-rate pessimism stems from oversimplified modeling strategies rather than from evidence. Like earlier episodes starting with the extreme 'elasticity pessimism' of the early postwar era, it is based on a misinterpretation of the empirical record.
Observations of SST diurnal variability in the South China Sea

In this study, a 3-hourly time resolution gap free sea surface temperature (SST) analysis is generated to resolve the diurnal cycle in the South China Sea (SCS, 0°–25°N, 100°–125°E). It takes advantage of hourly geostationary satellite MTSAT observations and combines three infrared and two microwave polar satellite observations at different local times. First, all the data are classified into eight SST datasets at 3 hour intervals and then remapped to 0.05°resolution grids. A series of critical quality control is done to remove the outliers.Then bias adjustment is applied to the polar satellite observations with reference to the MTSAT data. Finally, the six satellites SST data are blended by using the optimal interpolated algorithm. The 3-hourly blended SST is compared against buoy measurements. It shows a good agreement that the biases do not exceed 0.2 °C and root mean square errors range from 0.5 to 0.65 °C. A typical diurnal cycle similar to sine wave is observed. The minimum SST occurs at around 0600h and warming peak occurring between 1300h and 1500h local solar time and then decrease in the late afternoon, tapering off at night on March 13, 2008 for example. The frequency of diurnal warming events derived from four years of the blended SST provides solid statistics to investigate the seasonal and spatial distributions of the diurnal warming in the SCS. The sea surface diurnal warming tends to appear more easily in spring, especially in the coastal regions than other seasons and the central regions.
Emergence of heat extremes attributable to anthropogenic influences

Climate scientists have demonstrated that a substantial fraction of the probability of numerous recent extreme events may be attributed to human‐induced climate change. However, it is likely that for temperature extremes occurring over previous decades a fraction of their probability was attributable to anthropogenic influences. We identify the first record‐breaking warm summers and years for which a discernible contribution can be attributed to human influence. We find a significant human contribution to the probability of record‐breaking global temperature events as early as the 1930s. Since then, all the last 16 record‐breaking hot years globally had an anthropogenic contribution to their probability of occurrence. Aerosol‐induced cooling delays the timing of a significant human contribution to record‐breaking events in some regions. Without human‐induced climate change recent hot summers and years would be very unlikely to have occurred.
An experimental study on oil spill characterization by multi-polarization SAR

During the Norwegian oil-on-water exercise in June 2011, a unique and comprehensive data set was acquired, containing multi-sensor data of oil slicks on the sea surface and corresponding ground truth information. The data set includes multi-polarization SAR data from Radarsat-2 and TerraSAR-X, acquired under calm to moderate sea and wind conditions. Two of the scenes each contain slicks from three different oil types, i.e. plant oil, crude oil and oil emulsion. Several polarimetric quantities are extracted from the multi-channel SAR data set, and many of the studied features show good detection performance. Some internal variations in the power of the features within the individual slicks and between the various types of oil are seen. These variations indicate that some of the features, alone or in combination with others, may allow discrimination between the different types of slicks, and hence confirm the added value of utilizing multi-polarization measurements in oil spill monitoring.
Waste Reduction in the Metal Finishing Industry

The metal fmishing industry uses over 40 production processes to produce a wide range of metal products. Waste streams generated include wastewater, waste oils, spent solvents, and spent process solutions. Current1,v a wide variety of techniques which minimize waste are available. Cost-effective methods to reduce electroplating wastewater contamination include water conserv&ion and drag-out reduction, recovery and management. Ways to cost-effectively reduce the generation of spent metal-working fluids include establishing a fluid management program and installing a fluid recovery system. However, before any techniques are selected, a waste reduction survey should f m t be conducted.
Analyzing Potential Spatial Access to Primary Care Services with an Enhanced Floating Catchment Area Method

Floating catchment area methods have been noticeable in the analyses of spatial access to primary care. This paper enhances the existing floating catchment area methods by incorporating a modified Huff Model to articulate population demand on primary care services. The proposed method modifies the Huff Model with a Gaussian distance impedance function, and applies the modified Huff Model in calculating selection probability of floating catchment area method. The Huff Model-based selection probability considers both travel cost and capacity of service sites and therefore can better adjust population demand on primary care services. Furthermore, the proposed method uses the continuous Gaussian function instead of the predefined subzones in previous studies. A case study of the Springfield, MO, metro politan area is conducted by applying the proposed method and previous methods. Results show that the proposed method has moderating effects on measuring spatial access and can overcome the problems of over- and underestimating population demand.On observe, dans les analyses portant sur l’accès spatial aux soins primaires, le recours à des méthodes par zones de desserte flottantes. Cet article propose une amélioration des méthodes existantes par zones de desserte flottantes au moyen d’un modèle de Huff modifié afin d’articuler la demande de la population pour les services de soins primaires. La méthode proposée modifie le modèle de Huff en introduisant une fonction gaussienne d’impédance de distance; le modèle de Huff ainsi modifié est appliqué en calculant la probabilité de sélection de la méthode par zones de desserte flottantes. La probabilité de sélection selon le modèle de Huff tient compte à la fois des coûts de transport et de la capacité de desserte des établissements, et aide donc à mieux ajuster la demande de la population pour les services de soins primaires. En outre, la méthode proposée utilise une fonction gaussienne continue plutôt que des sous-zones préétablies comme dans les études précédentes. La méthode proposée et les méthodes précédentes sont appliquées à une étude de cas portant sur la région métropolitaine de Springfield, au Missouri. Les résultats montrent que la méthode proposée tempère la mesure d’accès spatial, atténuant ainsi les problèmes de surestimation ou de sous-estimation de la demande de la population.
The Role of Adenosine in Response to Vascular Inflammation Series

Adenosine is an endogenously released purine nucleoside that signals via 4 widely expressed G protein-coupled receptors: A1, A2A, A2B, and A3. In the setting of inflammation, the generation and release of adenosine is greatly enhanced. Neutrophils play an important role in host defense against invading pathogens and are the cellular hallmark of acute inflammation. Neutrophils both release adenosine and can respond to it via expression of all 4 adenosine receptor subtypes. At low concentrations, adenosine can act via the A1 and A3 adenosine receptor subtypes to promote neutrophil chemotaxis and phagocytosis. At higher concentrations, adenosine acts at the lower-affinity A2A and A2B receptors to inhibit neutrophil trafficking and effector functions such as oxidative burst, inflammatory mediator production, and granule release. Modulation of neutrophil function by adenosine is relevant in a broad array of disease models, including ischemia reperfusion injury, sepsis, and noninfectious acute lung injury. This review will summarize relevant research in order to provide a framework for understanding how adenosine directly regulates various elements of neutrophil function. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012;32:856-864.)
Monetary Policy Strategies for Latin America

The authors examine possible monetary policy strategies for Latin America that may help lock in the gains the region attained in the fight against inflation in the 1990s. Instead of focusing the debate about the conduct of monetary policy on whether the nominal exchange rate should be fixed or flexible, the focus should be on whether the monetary policy regime appropriately constrains discretion in monetary policymaking. Three basic frameworks deserve serious discussion as possible long-run strategies for monetary policy in Latin America. The authors examine the advantages and disadvantages of a hard exchange-rate peg, monetary targeting, and inflation targeting, in light of monetary policy's recent track record in several Latin American countries, looking for clues about which of the strategies might be best suited to economies in the region. The answer: It depends on the country's institutional environment. Some countries appear not to have the institutions to constrain monetary policy if discretion is allowed. In those countries, there is a strong argument for hard pegs, including full dollarization, that allow little or no discretion to monetary authorities. In countries such as Chile, which can constrain discretion, inflation targeting is likely to produce a monetary policy that keeps inflation low yet appropriately copes with domestic and foreign shocks. Monetary targeting as a strategy for Latin America is not viable because of the likely instability of the relationship between inflation and monetary aggregates, of which there is ample international evidence. No monetary strategy can solve the basic problems that have existed in Latin American economies for a long time. The authors welcome the recent move in Latin American countries toward inflation targeting, but say no policy will succeed unless government policies also create the right institutional environment.
The new IPSL climate system model: IPSL-CM4

The estimate of future climate change and of its impact on the environment requires to increase our knowledge of the complex interactions between the atmosphere, the ocean, sea-ice, land surfaces and glaciers. These components are coupled through the cycles of energy and water, but also through biogeochemical cycles such as the carbon or the ozone cycles. One of the goals of the IPSL modeling community is to study how these different couplings can modulate climate and climate variability, and to determine how feedbacks in the Earth system control the response of climate to a perturbation such as the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. For this purpose, the Earth system model of the IPSL is developed as a modular suite of model components of the Earth system that can be use either as stand alone models or coupled to each other. This note presents the new features and results of the last version of the global IPSL coupled model that will be used to run the set of simulations planned for the next IPCC assessment. In particular, chapter 2 presents the model components of the coupled system, highlighting important features for the coupling or the quality of model simulations. Chapter 3 synthesise all the coupling procedures and the coupling environment, and chapter 4 discussed the major characteristics of the model climatology.
PubMed-EX: a web browser extension to enhance PubMed search with text mining features

UNLABELLED PubMed-EX is a browser extension that marks up PubMed search results with additional text-mining information. PubMed-EX's page mark-up, which includes section categorization and gene/disease and relation mark-up, can help researchers to quickly focus on key terms and provide additional information on them. All text processing is performed server-side, freeing up user resources. AVAILABILITY PubMed-EX is freely available at http://bws.iis. sinica.edu. tw/PubMed-EX and http://iisr.cse. yzu.edu. tw:8000/PubMed-EX/.
The central bank's dilemma, the inflation-deflation paradox and a new interpretation of the Kondratieff waves El dilema del Banco Central, la paradoja inflación-deflación y una nueva interpretación de las ondas de Kondratieff

The article tries to contribute to a new understanding of how money is created by commercial banks and to describe the dilemma, which after some time, every Central Bank within the fractional reserve banking system faces. This dilemma provides an explication for the politics of “cheap money” that has been applied by Central Banks of almost every industrialized economy during the last years, despite the fact that the money supply has reached unprecedented levels. This context is then used to describe what might be called the “Inflation-Deflation Paradox” and to offer a new interpretation of the long economic cycles, the so-called Kondratieff waves.
Emergence of Oseltamivir-Resistant Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus within 48 Hours

An oseltamivir-resistant influenza A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus evolved and emerged from zero to 52% of detectable virus within 48 hours of a patient’s exposure to oseltamivir. Phylogenetic analysis and data gathered by pyrosequencing and cloning directly on clinical samples suggest that the mutant emerged de novo.
Structural analysis of a signal peptide inside the ribosome tunnel by DNP MAS NMR

DNP-enhanced MAS NMR reveals extended conformations for the DsbA signal peptide within the ribosome exit tunnel. Proteins are synthesized in cells by ribosomes and, in parallel, prepared for folding or targeting. While ribosomal protein synthesis is progressing, the nascent chain exposes amino-terminal signal sequences or transmembrane domains that mediate interactions with specific interaction partners, such as the signal recognition particle (SRP), the SecA–adenosine triphosphatase, or the trigger factor. These binding events can set the course for folding in the cytoplasm and translocation across or insertion into membranes. A distinction of the respective pathways depends largely on the hydrophobicity of the recognition sequence. Hydrophobic transmembrane domains stabilize SRP binding, whereas less hydrophobic signal sequences, typical for periplasmic and outer membrane proteins, stimulate SecA binding and disfavor SRP interactions. In this context, the formation of helical structures of signal peptides within the ribosome was considered to be an important factor. We applied dynamic nuclear polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance to investigate the conformational states of the disulfide oxidoreductase A (DsbA) signal peptide stalled within the exit tunnel of the ribosome. Our results suggest that the nascent chain comprising the DsbA signal sequence adopts an extended structure in the ribosome with only minor populations of helical structure.
International Journal of

This exploratory study examines the use of agent-based modeling for the dynamic assessment of the hazards associated with flooding responses. While flooding is the specific agent used, the techniques are applicable to any type of hazard. The equation upon which the model is built considers four components: geophysical, built, social environments and response organization capabilities. The development of the agent characteristics requires the quantification of the interdependencies of the environment as well as the interaction among the response agencies in a complex adaptive system. This study will develop a realistic model of the hazards and the ability of the response organizations to mitigate the incident.
Extending the Calibrated Radiocarbon Record

The radiocarbon record is an important tool for accurate dating of climatic records, archaeological artifacts, and other records of past events. A calibrated record exists up to 24,000 years ago, but as [Bard][1] explains in his Perspective, extending the record beyond this time has been difficult. He highlights the record by [ Beck et al . ][2], which covers 24,000 to 45,000 years before present. The record shows large fluctuations in the radiocarbon ratio and is an important step toward an extended calibrated record. [1]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/292/5526/2443 [2]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/short/292/5526/2453
Rapid communications Low coverage of seasonal influenza vaccination in the elderly in many European countries

In May 2003, the 56th World Health Assembly (WHA) recommended influenza vaccination for all people at high risk defined as the elderly and persons with underlying diseases [1]. The WHA countries, including all European Union (EU) Member States, also committed to the goal of attaining vaccination coverage of the elderly population of at least 50% by 2006 and 75% by 2010 and to having mechanisms for monitoring the uptake [1]. To date there has been no published survey on how successful European countries have been in implementing this WHA resolution. are currently aged 65 years or older. It is estimated that by 2010 as many as 86.7 million people will be in this age group. If EU countries are to achieve the 75% vaccination coverage rate, this will correspond to vaccinating approximately 65 million people [2]. and Control (ECDC) it has established a network of experts who work with national immunisation programmes as national 'gatekeepers' in every EU country plus Iceland and Norway. The project carries out several activities, including performing surveys and undertaking scientific research in the field of public health regarding vaccination policies and performance for a number of infections [3]. In late 2007 at the request of ECDC the project members undertook a survey of national influenza immunisation programmes, policies and performance in Europe. This was a collaborative study between the ECDC, the VENICE project and the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Each country had previously identified and enrolled gatekeepers responsible for conducting all VENICE surveys internally within the countries and for liaising with the ministries of health. Data presented in this paper is released ahead of the main reports because the results are relevant to the annual vaccination campaigns in Europe which are presently underway ahead of the 2008-9 winter epidemics with elderly people being the largest target group. * Methods A standardised questionnaire was used to collect information describing seasonal influenza vaccination policies and performance during the 2006-7 influenza season in Europe. The various objectives of the study, the methods and the results are described in detail in an article submitted to Eurosurveillance and in a formal report to be published on the website of the European surveillance network for vigilance against viral resistance (VIRGIL) [4,5]. Some of the data items were collected to obtain the most recent estimates of the levels of seasonal influenza immunisation among the elderly.
WSASW Application for Soil Dynamic Properties in Soft Soil Investigation at Kelang, Malaysia

In seismic wave measurements, soil dynamic parameters, i.e., shear wave velocity and shear modulus are determined from a dispersion curve of phase velocity with employing the theory of elasticity of soils. In this paper, a developed technique from Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW), namely as the Wavelet Spectrogram Analysis of Surface Waves (WSASW) is introduced for measurement of the soil dynamic properties at soft marine clay soils sites. This technique has capability to localize the interested response spectrum of surface waves, to reconstructed spectrograms of noisy seismic waves and produces the enhanced phase data to develop the phase velocity dispersion curve. A filtration procedure is also proposed in order to remove the noisy signals from the seismic records received during field measurement. The identification, denoising and reconstruction of the wave response spectrum from seismic surface wave propagation on a soft soil were carried out by using time-frequency analysis of continuous wavelet transforms. The wavelet analysis was used for providing good resolution of spectrogram at low frequency and their spectrograms could be used to clearly identify the various events of interest of the seismic surface waves and noisy signals. Good agreements were obtained between the measured shear wave velocities and the corresponding dynamic shear modulus by the WSASW technique compared to Continuous Surface Wave (CSW), SASW and conventional soil testing method that performed in the same site location. Some good empirical correlations were also obtained as study case for soft soil site.
Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment of the Prince Creek and Cantwell formations, Alaska: Terrestrial evidence of middle Maastrichtian Greenhouse Event

I studied the paleoclimate and paleonvironmental conditions of the Prince Creek Formation, North Slope Alaska, and the lower Cantwell Formation in Denali National Park, Alaska. I used data from pollen analysis, clay mineral analysis and stable isotope analysis of clay minerals and organic matter applied to paleosols of the Prince Creek Formation. In the lower Cantwell Formation, I reconstructed the sedimentary environment, produced a terrestrial carbon stable isotope record and obtained a ~ 69.5 Ma radiometric age for the lower Cantwell Formation. Clay analysis in the Prince Creek Formation indicates that the genesis of the paleosols was strongly influenced by the properties of the parent material and that an epiclastic bentonitic source contributed to the development of non-allophanic properties which suggests the presence of Andept-like paleosols. Paleosols formed on the floodplains of the Prince Creek Formation reveal features attributed to wet-dry cycles as a result of seasonal flooding, perhaps due to snow melt in the ancestral Brooks Range. Carbon and oxygen isotope analyses, and the geochemistry of paleosol Bw/Bt horizons indicate mean annual precipitation values between 745.56 and 1426.88 ±221.38 mm/yr and mean annual temperatures of 12 ±4.4 °C. The meteoric water  18 O value calculated from smectite at a 6.3 °C mean annual temperature is ~ -24 ‰. The calculated value is  18 Odepleted as is expected for high latitudes during the Late Cretaceous. Sedimentary facies analysis suggests that The East Fork measured section of the lower Cantwell Formation was likely deposited in the distal part of an alluvial fan. A new U-Pb age of 69.5 ±0.7 Ma from bentonites and carbon isotope values of bulk sedimentary organic matter and wood fragments indicates that a greenhouse event, known as the midMaastrichtian Event (MME), is recorded at the East Fork of the Toklat River Section. A mean annual precipitation value of ~ 517.92 ±134.44 mm/yr was obtained from δ 13 C terrestrial organic matter.