Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Government Procurement with Strings Attached: The Uneven Control of Offsets by the World Trade Organization and Regional Trade Agreements

Abstract This paper explores the practice of governments imposing domestic content-based requirements known as “offsets” on suppliers in order to secure public procurement contracts. Known to cause distortions in international trade, offsets are forbidden under the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement and in the procurement chapters of several RTAs, although these restrictions have severe limitations with full offset prohibitions only accepted by a handful of developed countries. Given the sensitivity of procurement policy and the need to stimulate local economies, Asian countries in particular show an unwillingness to address offsets in their international agreements. While other WTO agreements restrain the use of local content rules, these regimes are ill-suited to control the harmful effects of offsets in a procurement context because of their focus on traditional commercial markets. The paper suggests that an enlargement of offset prohibitions would be advisable given the expected expansion of global procurement markets commensurate with economic development.
Factors influencing operator interaction with virtual objects viewed via head-mounted see-through displays: viewing conditions and rendering latency

A head mounted visual display was used in a see through format to present computer generated, space stabilized, nearby wire like virtual objects to 14 subjects. The visual requirements of their experimental tasks were similar to those needed for visually guided manual assembly of aircraft wire harnesses. In the first experiment subjects visually traced wire paths with a head referenced cursor, subjectively rated aspects of viewing, and had their vision tested before and after monocular, biocular, or stereo viewing. Only the viewing difficulty with the biocular display was adversely effected by the visual task. This viewing difficulty is likely due to conflict between looming and stereo disparity cues. A second experiment examined the precision with which operators could manually move ring shaped virtual objects over virtual paths without collision. Accuracy of performance was studied as a function of required precision, path complexity, and system response latency. Results show that high precision tracing is most sensitive to increasing latency. Ring placement with less than 1.8 cm precision will require system latency less than 50 msec before asymptotic performance is found.
Effect of a Particulate and a Putty-Like Tricalcium Phosphate-Based Bone-grafting Material on Bone Formation, Volume Stability and Osteogenic Marker Expression after Bilateral Sinus Floor Augmentation in Humans

This study examines the effect of a hyaluronic acid (HyAc) containing tricalcium phosphate putty scaffold material (TCP-P) and of a particulate tricalcium phosphate (TCP-G) graft on bone formation, volume stability and osteogenic marker expression in biopsies sampled 6 months after bilateral sinus floor augmentation (SFA) in 7 patients applying a split-mouth design. 10% autogenous bone chips were added to the grafting material during surgery. The grain size of the TCP granules was 700 to 1400 µm for TCP-G and 125 to 250 µm and 500 to 700 µm (ratio 1:1) for TCP-P. Biopsies were processed for immunohistochemical analysis of resin-embedded sections. Sections were stained for collagen type I (Col I), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OC) and bone sialoprotein (BSP). Furthermore, the bone area and biomaterial area fraction were determined histomorphometrically. Cone-beam CT data recorded after SFA and 6 months later were used for calculating the graft volume at these two time points. TCP-P displayed more advantageous surgical handling properties and a significantly greater bone area fraction and smaller biomaterial area fraction. This was accompanied by significantly greater expression of Col I and BSP and in osteoblasts and osteoid and a less pronounced reduction in grafting volume with TCP-P. SFA using both types of materials resulted in formation of sufficient bone volume for facilitating stable dental implant placement with all dental implants having been in function without any complications for 6 years. Since TCP-P displayed superior surgical handling properties and greater bone formation than TCP-G, without the HyAc hydrogel matrix having any adverse effect on bone formation or graft volume stability, TCP-P can be regarded as excellent grafting material for SFA in a clinical setting. The greater bone formation observed with TCP-P may be related to the difference in grain size of the TCP granules and/or the addition of the HyAc.
Amateur Legislators -- Professional Politicians: The Consequences of Party-Centered Electoral Rules in a Federal System

The Argentine Congress plays a limited role in the production of public policy and is a relatively ineffective check on the Argentine Executive Branch. We argue this is the combined result of incentives created by several features of Argentine political institutions. In this article we emphasize the role of the country's electoral rules, which place the legislator re? election decision not in the hands of the voters, but rather in the hands of the provincial govemor/party boss(es). These rules limit legislators' ability to develop a professional legis? lative career and reduce their incen?
Cooperatives As Governance Mechanisms

This article seeks to reestablish academic interest in cooperative law. It is driven by the motive to narrow the gap between the importance of cooperatives in practice and their relatively benign place in legal research. In order to kick-start a comparative and interdisciplinary debate on the subject, some fundamental points are made that are indispensible for any discussion. First and foremost, the notion of the cooperative is explained in order to differentiate it from other phenomena. The contribution criticizes any understanding that is linked to a peculiar societal model. In particular, it is shown that cooperatives can neither be claimed as fiefdoms by the socialist or anti-globalisation movements nor should be considered as a panacea for the shortcomings of the capitalist world. Instead, it suggests to adopt an economic viewpoint and to consider the cooperative as a particular type of governance mechanism that is appropriate in some instances because it is apt to solve specific problems. The article discusses what these problems are and how this governance mechanism is used to solve them. Starting on the basis of the Rochdale Principles, some important features of cooperative governance are highlighted. Finally, a research agenda is set out. It is hoped that academics as well as practitioners will be inspired by this contribution to endeavor their own studies on cooperatives.
Non‐syndromic X‐linked mental retardation: From a molecular to a clinical point of view

This review focuses on the 19 identified genes involved in X‐linked “non‐syndromic” mental retardation (MR) and defines the signaling pathways in which they are involved, focusing on emerging common mechanisms. The majority of proteins are involved in three distinct pathways: (1) Rho GTPases pathway modulating neuronal differentiation and synaptic plasticity; (2) Rab GTPases pathway regulating synaptic vesicle cycling; (3) gene expression regulation. The function of four proteins (ACSL4, AT2, SLC6A8, and SAP102) could not be reconciled to a common pathway. From a clinical point of view, the review discusses whether some common dysmorphic features can be identified even in non‐syndromic MR patients and whether it is correct to maintain the distinction between “non‐syndromic” and “syndromic” MR. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Determinants of Return Migration: Canadian Professionals in the U. S.

Economists now know something about why people migrate. Adequate models have been developed to analyze migration as an investment in human capital and as a result of maximizing behaviour [11]. We still have little to say about a significant portion of geographic mobility, namely return migration.1 And yet, if migration is explainable for example in terms of income differentials, it is clear that people also climb down the income differential ladder and return to their region of origin. Our lack of knowledge in this area becomes more pressing the greater the quantitative and qualitative importance of return migration. Both conditions hold for homeward migration of Canadians in the U.S. Reverse migration of Canadians who migrated to the U.S. has been estimated at anywhere between one in eight to seven in eight, certainly a wide knowledge gap [10, 57]. There also appears to be a tendency for the more highly trained to remain in the U.S.; in other words, the return flow has a lower skill composition [10, 57]. In what follows, we analyze some data on Canadian scientists, engineers and economists in the U.S. to see if any light can be shed on determinants of return migration.
Correlation between body mass index and ocular parameters

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between BMI and selected ocular parameters. Subjects and methods: Fifty-three left eyes of normal weight subjects and 67 age-sex matched overweight subjects were studied. Inclusion criteria for the normal weight and overweight groups included BMI between 18.5–22.9 and 23.0–29.9 kg/m2, respectively. Subjects with a history of systemic disease, ocular disease or surgery, or disability were excluded. All subjects underwent a medical history interview, arterial blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference measurements, and BMI and waist-hip ratio calculation. The intraocular pressure (IOP) and anterior corneal curvature were measured by non-contact tonometry and corneal topography, respectively. Measurement of anterior and posterior segment parameters of the eye, including central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber angle, macular thickness (MT), ganglion cell thickness (GCT), retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, cup to disc ratio, and choroidal thickness was performed by enhanced depth-imaging optical coherence tomography. Results: There was a positive correlation between ACD and BMI (Univariate analysis; β =0.198, P=0.030, Multivariate analysis; β =0.410, P=0.005) and between BMI and IOP (Univariate analysis; β =0.269, P=0.003). The IOP of the overweight group was found to be significantly higher than of the normal weight group (12.80±3.40 and 11.86±2.12 mm Hg, respectively, P=0.002). Also, there was a significant difference found between the GCT and the MT of the two groups (P=0.036 and 0.009, respectively). Conclusion: It was found that BMI strongly correlated with ACD and IOP. Also, the degree of obesity was found to be a significant factor; therefore, the relationship between these ocular parameters and the severity of obesity should be further investigated.
A Novel Fourier Series Simulation Tool for Pulsewidth Modulation (PWM) in Pulsed Power Systems

PWM is an efficient power transfer mechanism in switch mode power supply units (PSUs) and in speed and torque control of electric motors. Power dispatch is effected by PWM regulators in PSUs while variable voltage and frequency control of motors is achieved with sinusoidal reference PWM inverter amplifiers. Hence this pulse strategy can be used in power supply control of magnetic field currents for improved tokamak plasma confinement. Wide bandwidth current control is achieved in motor drives by natural sampled PWM because of its inherent simplicity and ease of implementation using analog comparator circuitry. For this reason a tractable mathematical model of the natural sampled PWM process is required for accurate simulation of such devices before hardware construction for performance related prediction and evaluation of plasma confinement control. In this paper a novel description of PWM is presented using a modulated Fourier series (MFS) for modelling, spectral analysis and rapid PWM inverter simulation in pulsed power applications. The MFS time function consists of a sum of sinusoidal carrier basis functions with time dependent amplitudes incorporating the modulated pulsewidth determined by the control current reference signals. Arbitrary non periodic signals are easily accommodated for rapid device simulation and performance evaluation. The MFS eliminates the need for accurate pulse edge transition searches during PWM inverter simulation because of the analytical expression for the time dependent modulated amplitudes, which contain the encoded signal information. Elimination of iterative searches for modulated pulse transitions, currently employed in simulation packages, results is substantial savings in simulation runtime during accurate PWM waveform synthesis. The accuracy of the MFS strategy can be easily controlled by adjusting the number of carrier harmonics during simulation. PWM simulation results are presented for MFS model validation, which are indistinguishable from those for an analog comparator modulator employing arbitrary non-periodic signals. A software algorithm with additional simulation traces are presented of MFS fidelity in replicating high frequency harmonic current ripple when compared with experimental test data. Substantial savings of up to fiftyfold in motor drive simulation time are presented without loss of simulation accuracy.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is a therapeutic target in treatment of non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Here, we investigated the role of MIF in the pathogenesis of non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) using MIF−/− mice and a mouse model of streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced NIDDM. Following single injection of STZ, MIF+/+ BALB/c mice showed a significant increase in blood glucose levels, developed polyuria, and succumbed to disease. In contrast, no such increase in blood glucose was observed in MIF −/− BALB/c mice treated with STZ. These mice produced significantly less inflammatory cytokines and resistin as compared with MIF+/+ mice and failed to develop clinical disease. Finally, oral administration of a smallmolecule MIF antagonist, CPSI‐1306, to outbred ICR mice following induction of NIDDM significantly lowered blood glucose levels in the majority of animals, which was also associated with a significant reduction in the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL‐6 and TNF‐α in the sera. Taken together, these results demonstrate that MIF is involved in the pathogenesis of NIDDM and is a therapeutic target to treat this disease. —Sanchez‐Zamora, Y. , Terrazas, L. I. , Vilches‐Flores, A, Leal, E. , Jua´rez, I. , Whitacre, C, Kithcart, A. , Pruitt, J., Sielecki, T. , Satoskar, A. R, Rodriguez‐Sosa, M. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is a therapeutic target in treatment of non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus. FASEB J. 24, 2583–2590 (2010). www.fasebj. org
The erosion of personal norms and cognitive dissonance

ABSTRACT In this article, we study how personal norms and behaviour interact and evolve when agents try to reduce cognitive dissonance, and how this dynamic relates to Nash equilibrium. We find that in long run, agents play, and norms prescribe, Nash equilibrium in material payoffs (in the absence of norms). Our model captures two main facts: (i) norms erode along the play of the game; (ii) the erosion of norms depends on the set of possible economic choices, so that the policy maker can potentially influence them.
Individual Privacy and Organizational Privacy in Business Analytics

The use of business analytics to reveal useful information from transactional and operational databases involves accessing private information of both individuals and organizations. This practice has raised the privacy concern of individuals and policy makers. In this paper, we propose a privacy preserving approach for business analytics based on keyed bloom filters. We illustrate this approach using market basket analysis, and then evaluate its performance using real datasets from a point-of-sale and Web clickstream. The major advantage of this approach is the positive relationship for the level of privacy security and analysis precision. In other words, the tradeoff of the level of privacy protection for our solution is data storage space; whereas for other existing methods, there is always a tradeoff between analysis precision and the level of privacy protection
An architecture for implementing private local automation clouds built by CPS

The connectivity of industrial automation domain systems has been enhanced by the employment of information and communication technologies. This permits the implementation of systems that are aligned with the vision of the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0. In this scope, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), i.e., integration of cyber and physical systems, enables the control and monitoring of modern production lines. Previous research work has proposed the implementation of a Private Local Automation Cloud (PLAC) that is composed by a set of networked embedded devices that are connected to industrial equipment. Such devices implement the service oriented architecture paradigm within the encapsulation of a knowledge model that describe the industrial system and the web service operations to be physically executed at the factory shop floor level. Aspects of such approach as the collaborative behavior of devices, decentralization of system knowledge or the interface between industrial equipment and devices have been already proved. However, a common architecture for implementing similar solutions is still missing. This paper aims to present an architecture for implementing PLACs which are built by CPS. In order to provide a formal design, the architecture is shown and discussed through a set of different and concurrent views following the known “4+1” view model. In addition, the manuscript reviews relevant qualitative attributes of several CPS-based architectures, research works and solutions that have been published during the last years.
Human papillomavirus infection in women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND Among women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there is a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. However, little is known about the natural history of HPV infections in HIV-seropositive women, and persistent HPV infections may explain the increased risk of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive cervical cancer in HIV-seropositive women. METHODS A total of 220 HIV-seropositive and 231 HIV-seronegative women in the New York City area were evaluated at two or more semiannual gynecologic examinations that included a Pap test, a test for HPV DNA, and colposcopy. RESULTS HPV DNA was detected at the initial examination in 56 percent of the HIV-seropositive and 31 percent of the HIV-seronegative women. After four examinations, the cumulative prevalence of HPV infection was 83 percent in the seropositive women and 62 percent in the seronegative women (P<0.001). Persistent HPV infections were found in 24 percent of the seropositive women but in only 4 percent of the seronegative women (P<0.001). Twenty percent of the seropositive women and 3 percent of the seronegative women had persistent infections with HPV-16-associated viral types (16, 31, 33, 35, or 58) or HPV-18-associated types (18 or 45) (P<0.001), which are most strongly associated with cervical cancer. The detection of HPV DNA in women with previously negative tests was not associated with sexual activity during the interval since the preceding examination. CONCLUSIONS HIV-seropositive women have a high rate of persistent HPV infections with the types of HPV that are strongly associated with the development of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive cervical cancer. These persistent infections may explain the increased incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions in HIV-seropositive women.
Optimal Layout to Avoid CMOS Stuck-Open Faults

A set of layout rules is presented to cope with CMOS stuck-open faults by a design for testability at the layout-level. In applying these rules, open connections may either be avoided or their effects can be described by an easily detectable type of open faults known from CMOS inverters and NMOS logic. Hence, remaining open faults are usually covered by a complete stuck-at test pattern set.
Sensory organisation and reactive balance control of amateur rugby players: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Purpose: This study compared the sensory organisation and reactive balance control of amateur rugby players and a control group. Methods: Forty-one amateur rugby players (22 males: 19 females; mean height ± SD = 168.8 ± 8.8 cm; mean weight ± SD = 63.9 ± 12.5 kg) and 31 control participants (22 males: 9 females; mean height ± SD = 171.5 ± 10.3 cm; mean weight ± SD = 63.8 ± 10.3 kg) completed the study. Their sensory organisation and standing balance performance were evaluated using a sensory organisation test (SOT), and their reactive balance performance was quantified using a motor control test (MCT). The SOT equilibrium scores (ES) and sensory ratios and the MCT motor response latencies were the major outcome measures. Results: The results revealed that compared to the controls, amateur rugby players had lower SOT ESs under different sensory environments (P < .001, = 0.142–0.254) and prolonged reactive motor response times in the MCT (P < .001, d = 0.890). The vestibular and visual ratios were also lower in the rugby group (P = .005, = 0.107 and 0.108, respectively). No significant difference was found in the somatosensory ratio (P = .853, < 0.001) between the two groups. Conclusions: Amateur rugby players demonstrated inferior standing balance performance compared to their non-trained counterparts. They relied less heavily on vestibular and visual inputs to maintain standing balance under different sensory environments. In addition, they reacted more slowly to postural disturbance, reflecting their suboptimal reactive balance ability in standing.