Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From the Subprime to the Exotic: Excessive Mortgage Market Risk and Foreclosures

Problem: The recent rapid growth of high-risk mortgage lending raised the financial risk profile facing not only the American homeowner but entire neighborhoods. From the perspective of planners, the problem of increased and geographically concentrated foreclosures is the most critical outcome that has resulted from high-risk mortgage markets. Purpose: This article analyzes recent trends in mortgage finance in order to recommend what local planners can do to reduce the negative consequences of high-risk home lending for their own communities. Methods: I plot public and private data, much of it readily available for little or no cost, to discover where in the nation recent mortgage foreclosures are concentrated, and describe how similar analysis could be used prospectively and at a local scale to anticipate future problems. Results and conclusions: Numbers of subprime, exotic, and zero-down-payment mortgages have all been growing. Where they are spatially concentrated they are linked to rising and geographically concentrated home mortgage foreclosures. I find evidence that subprime lenders achieve greater market penetration in metropolitan areas with less educated residents, and that higher-risk lending is more prevalent where housing prices are high and increasing. I also find that when local housing markets are hot, even high levels of subprime lending are associated with only slightly higher foreclosure filing rates, but foreclosure rates rise quickly when hot markets cool. Takeaway for practice: Although foreclosures are less likely to be a severe problem in very strong real estate markets, when prices in previously hot markets stagnate or decline, foreclosures can quickly follow. This is a serious concern given recent trends in mortgage financing that have extended credit to more economically vulnerable populations and generally weakening housing markets in many metropolitan areas. These foreclosures tend also to be spatially concentrated within metropolitan areas, particularly stressing housing markets in neighborhoods where the higher-risk products are more prevalent. I recommend that planners: (1) track local lending and foreclosure patterns; (2) promote healthier mortgage markets in vulnerable areas; (3) fund targeted foreclosure prevention and counseling; (4) develop refinancing/restructuring programs; (5) redesign programs to promote sustainable homeownership; (6) get foreclosed properties reoccupied quickly; (7) recognize the effect of foreclosure surges on rental housing markets; and (8) be proactive in policy debates on lending regulation and foreclosure processes. Research support: None.
Brand Capital and Entry Order

This paper develops the hypothesis that firms possess a stock of well-established brands, a stock termed brand capital. The firm with the greatest capital is able to introduce new products in response to new information about consumer tastes before rivals. The results using data from the ready-to-eat cereal industry not only support this hypothesis, but also distinguish brand capital from other sources of firm heterogeneity. Copyright 1996 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Economic growth and water use

In recent years the issue of global water scarcity has attracted increasing attention within academia, non-governmental organizations and the media. The aim of this short note is to ascertain whether there is a systematic relationship between water use and income, and particularly whether an inverted U-shaped relationship exists, as has been found for other resources and pollutants. Using a new data set of water use, evidence of such a relationship is provided, suggesting that water use may benefit from composition and technique effects. While this finding appears optimistic, regional forecasts are made that suggest that levels of water use in developing regions will continue to increase for many years to come. The implications of these findings are discussed.
No autonomous public policy without ad hoc instruments

Abstract This article explores the link between policy instrumentation and policy change at the EU level. It is based on a comparative analysis of policy instruments and their development in European urban and environmental policies. The analysis is based on an original dataset, retracing the evolution of European policy instruments in both areas over the past three decades, and asks how and by whom they were chosen and combined. Challenging the existing literature on new policy instruments and new forms of EU governance, our longitudinal analysis indicates that the traditional focus on new or innovative policy instruments is of limited explanatory power. Our approach shows how EU policies and policy-making are informed by the politics of choice and the combination of policy instruments.
A framework for explaining the links between capacity and action in response to global climate change

Although great strides have been made towards a more nuanced understanding of the impacts and causes of global climate change, the ability to design and implement policy responses that engender effective action has remained insufficient. Recent framings of adaptive capacity and mitigative capacity are built upon in this article, and response capacity is introduced as a useful way to integrate adaptation and mitigation within the context of underlying development paths. In tracing the complex and non-linear relationships between response capacity—which represents a broad pool of development-related resources that can be mobilized in the face of any risk—and real policy and behaviour change in response to climate change, the strong influence of manifold socio-cultural factors is revealed. Only through an analysis of these deeper trajectories can the most important barriers to action begin to be addressed. Theories of risk perception are drawn upon to elucidate the complex nature of the relationship between capacity and action. A deeper understanding of these relationships will aid in the design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation policies that more effectively address the multitude of temporally and contextually specific intricacies of human behaviour in response to risks such as climate change. The literatures of institutional genesis and change, sociotechnical systems, social movements, and collective behaviour change theory (to name but a few) are argued to be crucial to an improved understanding of the underlying development paths which influence both capacity and action.
Discriminative Zernike and Pseudo Zernike Moments for Face Recognition

Usually magnitude coefficients of some selected orders of ZMs and PZMs have been used as invariant image features. The careful selection of the set of features, with higher discrimination competence, may increase the recognition performance. In this paper, the authors have used a statistical method to estimate the discrimination strength of all the extracted coefficients of ZMs and PZMs whereas for classification, only the coefficients with estimated higher discrimination strength are used in the feature vector. The performance of these selected Discriminative ZMs DZMs and Discriminative PZMs DPZMs features have been compared to that of their corresponding conventional approaches on YALE, ORL and FERET databases against illumination, expression, scale and pose variations. An extension to these DZMs and DPZMs have been proposed by combining them with PCA and FLD. It has been observed from the exhaustive experimentation that the recognition rate is improved by 2-6%, at reduced dimensions and with less computational complexity, than that of using the successive ZMs and PZMs features.
Does Far Transfer Exist? Negative Evidence From Chess, Music, and Working Memory Training

Chess masters and expert musicians appear to be, on average, more intelligent than the general population. Some researchers have thus claimed that playing chess or learning music enhances children’s cognitive abilities and academic attainment. We here present two meta-analyses assessing the effect of chess and music instruction on children’s cognitive and academic skills. A third meta-analysis evaluated the effects of working memory training—a cognitive skill correlated with music and chess expertise—on the same variables. The results show small to moderate effects. However, the effect sizes are inversely related to the quality of the experimental design (e.g., presence of active control groups). This pattern of results casts serious doubts on the effectiveness of chess, music, and working memory training. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings; extend the debate to other types of training such as spatial training, brain training, and video games; and conclude that far transfer of learning rarely occurs.
Reform, Informal Sector, and Extortion

Informal economy involving unrecorded, unregistered, extra legal activities employs majority of the workforce in the developing world. Such extra legal existence of informal production is facilitated through extortion by agents of political forces in power. Also extortion activities themselves constitute an informal segment. Full scale general equilibrium consequences of such institutions are rarely discussed in the literature. We develop a well specified general equilibrium model to explore the possible consequences of reform. Economic reform may have an expansionary effect on the number of extortionists. Depending on capital mobility and factor intensity assumptions informal output and informal wage may increase.
Egg age and the growth of Salmonella enteritidis PT4 in egg contents

Summary The growth of Salmonella enteritidis PT4 in albumen around an intact yolk was governed by the age of the egg on inoculation. In the majority of eggs, held at 20° C, the bacterium was unable to grow rapidly until eggs had been stored for approximately 3 weeks. The multiplication of S. enteritidis in stored eggs appeared to be associated with alterations to the yolk membrane which allowed the bacterium to either invade the yolk or obtain nutrients from it. The rate at which egg contents change to permit the growth of S. enteritidis would appear to be temperature related and took place more rapidly when eggs were stored under conditions where temperatures fluctuated and, on occasions, reached 30° C.
Factor Analysis Identifying Key Values Held BySouth Australian And Victorian Irrigators In ATime Of Severe Drought

This study uses factor analysis to analyse the results of a telephone survey undertaken in the Riverland, South Australia (n = 324) and the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District of Victoria (n = 300) in 2008–09, a time of severe drought in the southern Murray Darling Basin. It reports the results of 56 different attitudinal questions, covering the dimensions of family, profit, land, water, community, lifestyle, and technology/innovation. Factor analysis was used to identify the underlying value constructs from these questions, with five main factors identified. They were named Succession (variables all related to the dimension of family); Commerce (related to the profitability of the farm business); Tradition (related to the lifestyle of farming); Environment (related to the environment); and Technology (related to adopting new technologies). Our findings were very similar to other typology research conducted with irrigators in different areas of the Murray Darling Basin.
Evaluation of Buspirone as an Antianxiety Agent: Buspirone and Diazepam versus Placebo*

Buspirone has previously been demonstrated to be efficacious in the treatment of anxiety. This four-week double-blind parallel study compared buspirone to diazepam and placebo in the treatment of 119 outpatients diagnosed as having generalized anxiety disorder. After a seven-day placebo washout period, eligible patients were randomized to one of three treatment groups. Buspirone (5 mg) and diazepam (5 mg) were administered BID and individually titrated to an optimal therapeutic dose by the end of week two. Buspirone and diazepam were equally effective in reducing Hamilton Anxiety (HAM-A) total and psychic factor scores from baseline values. Buspirone alone was significantly better than plecebo in reducing the HAM-A somatic factor score. Sixty-seven percent of both active treatment groups who were classified as “ill” on the baseline global psychopathology rating scale achieved a “not ill” status by study end. There were no significant differences between treatment groups at endpoint on the 56-item Symptom Checklist self-rating scale. Buspirone was demonstrated to be as effective as diazepam in relieving anxiety in this outpatient sample.
Has the British Public Depolarized Along With Political Elites? An American Perspective on British Public Opinion

In contrast to the growing elite policy polarization in the United States, the British Labour and Conservative Parties have converged dramatically on economic and social welfare policy over the past two decades. The authors ask the following question: Has there been a parallel depolarization in the British mass public’s policy attitudes and partisan loyalties, pointing to a general mechanism that extends beyond the U.S. case? The authors report analyses of election survey data from 1987 to 2001 that document significant declines in the association between British citizens’ policy positions and their partisanship (partisan sorting). However, they find only modest changes in the dispersion of British respondents’ self-placements on the policy scales (policy extremity) and in mass attitude constraint, defined as the correlations between citizens’ positions across different policy issues. These trends in the British public’s policy preferences and partisan loyalties are mirror images of the trends in the American public’s policy preferences and mass partisanship.
The Effects of Labor Markets and Income Inequality on Crime: Evidence from Panel Data

We estimate a model of crime using panel data for the U.S. We focus on the role of labor markets, income distribution, and demographics on property crime. We find strong evidence that favorable labor market conditions have a significant negative effect on property crime. We further test this result using sector-specific wages and find that crime is most elastic with respect to wages in sectors that use low-skilled labor. We also find that income inequality has no significant effect on crime and that the proportion of young males in the population has a significant positive effect on crime.
Inhibition of interleukin-17, interleukin-23 and the TH17 cell pathway in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis

Purpose of reviewIn recent years, there has been an increasing understanding of the importance of the TH17 lineage of T cells and related cytokines, including interleukin (IL)17 and IL23, not only in the biology of innate host defense but also in the pathogenesis of inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. These diseases include psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, the broader category of spondyloarthritides including ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is postulated that in genetically predisposed individuals, external or internal stimuli such as microbial antigens, alterations in the intestinal microbiome, biomechanical stress and/or immunologic dysregulation may lead to an increased expression of cytokines such as IL23, which in turn stimulate the differentiation and activation of TH17 and other immune cells, which are a part of the innate immune system that trigger adaptive immune processes and chronic inflammatory diseases. Herein, we explore the effect of targeting this pathway therapeutically. Recent findingsNew drugs that are designed to inhibit steps in this pathway, the IL12/IL23 inhibitor, ustekinumab, the IL17A inhibitors secukinumab and ixekizumab, the IL17A receptor inhibitor, brodalumab, and the IL23 inhibitors guselkumab and tildrakizumab, have demonstrated significant effectiveness in treating these diseases, particularly psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. SummaryThis article reviews the relevant biology, efficacy and safety of new medications targeting the TH17 pathway, including inhibition of IL17 and IL23, particularly in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Especially for patients who have not gained benefit from, lost effectiveness to or could not use antitumour necrosis factor (TNF) medications for safety or tolerability reasons, having effective medicines with an alternative mechanism of action will improve our ability to diminish disease activity impact on patient lives.
Diffusion-tensor MR imaging of cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis: initial findings.

PURPOSE To prospectively perform a direct measurement of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in cortical lesions of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was approved by the institutional review board and was HIPAA compliant; informed consent was obtained. Magnetic resonance (MR) images, including double inversion-recovery (DIR), phase-sensitive inversion-recovery (PSIR), and diffusion-tensor images, were acquired from nine MS patients with cortical lesions (five women, four men; median age, 47 years) and nine age- and sex-matched volunteer control subjects. Following nonlinear elastically constrained image registration for aligning diffusion-weighted images to DIR images, maps of FA and MD were computed for each subject. Cortical lesions were identified on DIR images and validated by using PSIR images. The diffusion-tensor imaging maps were then overlaid on the coregistered DIR images, and mean FA and MD values were measured in regions of interest drawn on the cortical lesions. Differences between normal gray matter (GM) and cortical lesions were evaluated by using the generalized estimating equation. FA and MD histograms of whole brain and GM (global analysis) in healthy control subjects and MS patients were also computed for comparison with those in previously published studies. RESULTS FA and MD values were significantly higher in cortical lesions compared with similar regions in healthy control subjects. Histogram peak FA was significantly decreased and peak MD was significantly increased in patients relative to control subjects. CONCLUSION DIR and PSIR combined with nonlinear image registration allowed direct focal measurement of FA and MD in cortical lesions.
Analysis of an 8-hour acetylcysteine infusion protocol for repeated supratherapeutic ingestion (RSTI) of paracetamol

Abstract Objectives: In Australia, the treatment guideline for patients with repeated supratherapeutic ingestion (RSTI) of paracetamol recommends an abbreviated acetylcysteine regimen if the paracetamol concentration is low (<10 mg/L) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is normal or static after 8 hours of infusion. There are currently no studies of this recommendation. Method: A retrospective review of paracetamol overdose presentations from October 2009 to August 2016 in two hospital toxicology networks was performed. All cases of RSTI treated with acetylcysteine were extracted. Results: Of the 2249 paracetamol overdose presentations, 91 cases of RSTI were treated with acetylcysteine. Median time to initial blood tests was 6 hours post-last paracetamol dose (IQR 4–6). Sixty-three (69%) presentations had an initial detectable paracetamol concentration, median 30 mg/L (IQR 18–60). Median ALT on presentation was 48 IU/L (IQR 18–109). After 8 hours of acetylcysteine infusion, median ALT was 34 IU/L (IQR 16–71) in those receiving abbreviated treatment and 74 IU/L (IQR 40–231) in those continuing acetylcysteine. Thirty-nine presentations (43%) had an abbreviated regimen. Nine (10%) patients had an initial ALT ≥50 IU/L and subsequently developed hepatotoxicity (ALT >1000 IU/L). No patients with an initial ALT <50 IU/L developed hepatotoxicity. Median duration of acetylcysteine infusion for those receiving a non-abbreviated regimen was 20 hours (IQR 20–25) vs. 10.4 hours (IQR 4.8–12.0) who received an abbreviated regimen. There were no re-presentations with hepatotoxicity. Conclusions: An 8-hour acetylcysteine infusion regimen for treatment of paracetamol RSTI may be safe and is likely to reduce length of stay for patients at low risk of hepatotoxicity. Larger prospective studies are needed to examine the efficacy of this abbreviated acetylcysteine protocol.
ULTRASTRUCTURAL FINDINGS OF PERIPHERAL NERVE IN A PERCLINICAL CASE OF ADULT METACHROMATIC LEUKODYSTROPHY

In a 13-year-old neurologically healthy boy from a family with adult-onset of metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) showing arylsulfatase A-deficiency in the adult, sural nerve biopsy probably was performed 2–3 decades before clinical manifestation of the disease could be expected. Ultrastructurally 4 basic types of inclusion bodies in Schwann cells could be demonstrated (pleomorphic “zebra body”-like inclusions, double-lamellated inclusions, “tuff-stone”-like inclusions, granular osmiophilic inclusions). Additionally, endo-plasmatic reticulum, mitochondria and lysosomes showed marked alterations. Advanced damage of myelin was only rarely seen, but initial segmental demyelination was a common finding. These early pathological changes in chronic MLD are thought to represent a subcellular metabolic insufficiency of Schwann cells in this disease.
Day-Case Herniotomy Surgery for Children with Inhalational Anaesthesia in Lagos, Nigeria

Day-Case Herniotomy Surgery for Children with Inhalational Anaesthesia in Lagos, Nigeria Introduction: Inguinal herniotomy is a common surgical procedure in Nigeria and may sometimes require hospital admission. In most low-income countries, bed spaces are inadequate and waiting lists for surgery long. We reviewed morbidity and mortality of herniotomy cases operated under inhalational anaesthesia and managed as day-cases in our hospital between 2004 and 2006. Materials and Methods: Relevant data was extracted from the medical records of all the children that had herniotomy surgery under inhalational anaesthesia in our hospital during the period. The data included the demography, side of swelling, post operative complications and time required for full recovery from anaesthesia. Results: A total of 181 patients were operated within the period, with a male to female ratio of 19.1:1. The hernia was right sided in 138, (76.2%) and bilateral in 6.1%. The hemoglobin level was between 10-12g/dL in 168 (73%) of the children. All the children recovered fully from anaesthesia within 4 hours of surgery and tolerated food before going home. Post-operative vomiting occurred in 3 (1.67%) and scrotal swelling in 1.11% cases. Conclusion: Inhalational anaesthesia is safe for day-case herniotomy surgery in selected children, and preoperative preparations carried out on out-patient basis.