Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BENEFISH: A European project to put a cost on fish welfare actions

BENEFISH is a research project funded under the European Commission Sixth Framework initiative. It aims to develop bio-economic models that establish the effects of welfare actions (i.e. measures taken to safeguard welfare) on value chains within the European aquaculture industry, including both production related elements such as growth and feed efficiency, and societal elements such as consumer added value. The project includes wide and integrated scientific competence, which incorporates biological knowledge about fish welfare, industrial knowledge about practical farming, societal knowledge about consumer perception and economical knowledge about bio-economical development. This paper provides an overview of BENEFISH and explains how the project is structured to address its complex multidisciplinary aims. It also outlines how the project consortium plans to achieve its goal of developing bio-economic models relating to fish welfare.
Determinants of foreign direct investment in Vietnamese provinces: a spatial econometric analysis

This article uses spatial econometric models to explore the determinants of the distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows among Vietnamese provinces in the period after the Asian crisis. First tests reveal spatial autocorrelation in the OLS estimated errors, justifying the use of spatial error models estimated using the maximum likelihood estimator. Relations between FDI and its traditional determinants are surprisingly robust to the inclusion of spatial interdependence terms. Results show a dominance of the form of regional trade platform FDI, and of regional agglomeration effects. National and provincial economic policies are also found to be important factors for attracting FDI.
Comparison of the interferon‐tau expression from primary trophectoderm outgrowths derived from IVP, NT, and parthenogenote bovine blastocysts

The expression of interferon‐tau (IFN‐τ) is essential for bovine embryo survival in the uterus. An evaluation of IFN‐τ production from somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT)‐embryo‐derived primary trophectoderm cultures in comparison to trophectoderm cultured from parthenogenote (P) and in vitro matured, fertilized, and cultured (IVP) bovine embryos was performed. In Experiment 1, the success/failure ratio for primary trophectoderm colony formation was similar for IVP and NT blastocysts [IVP = 155/29 (84%); NT 104/25 (81%)], but was decreased (P = .05) for P blastocysts [54/43 (56%)]. Most trophectoderm colonies reached diameters of at least 1 cm within 3–4 weeks, and at this time, 72 hr conditioned cell culture medium was measured for IFN‐τ concentration by antiviral activity assay. The amount of IFN‐τ produced by IVP‐outgrowths [4311 IU/mL (n = 155)] was greater (P < .05) than that from NT‐ [626 IU/mL (n = 104)] and P ‐ [1595 IU/mL (n = 54)] derived trophectoderm. Differential expression of IFN‐τ was confirmed by immunoblotting. In Experiment 2, colony formation was again similar for IVP and NT blastocysts [IVP = 70/5 (93%); NT 67/1 (99%)] and less (P < .05) for P blastocysts [65/27 (70%)]. Analysis of trophectoderm colony size after 23 days in culture showed a similar relationship with P‐derived colonies being significantly smaller in comparison to IVP and NT colonies. A differential expression of IFN‐τ was also observed again, but this time as measured over time in culture. Maximal IFN‐τ production was found at day‐14 of primary culture and diminished to a minimum by the 23rd day. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75: 299–308, 2008. Published 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effects of the Minimum Wage in the Formal and Informal Sectors in Brazil

The minimum wage literature is very limited on empirical evidence for developing countries. This already limited literature is even more limited on the effects of the minimum wage in the informal sector, where most of the poor are. Extending the understanding of minimum wage effects both in developing countries and in particular in the informal sector is crucial if the minimum wage is to be used as a policy to help poor people in poor countries. This paper estimates wage and employment effects, accounting for sorting into the formal and informal sectors. The data used is a monthly Brazilian household survey from 1982 to 2000 at individual and regional levels. The formal and informal sectors employment effects were both found to be negative, consistent with the presence of a large spike, substantial spillover effects, and the associated compression effect in the wage distribution of both sectors. This suggests a downwards sloping labour demand curve in both sectors, challenging the standard Two Sectors Model as inadequate to explain the effect of the minimum wage on the formal and informal sectors in Brazil and in Latin America more generally.
Measuring the value of product characteristics in the UK monthly savings market

This paper seeks to measure the returns to various product characteristics in the UK monthly savings market. Exploiting recently available data from the Financial Services authority, hedonic pricing models and data envelopment techniques are used to estimate the returns to different product characteristics in the UK unit trust and endowment markets. The approach highlights how it is possible to identify important drivers of value and also identify product offerings that are (sub)optimally differentiated.
Sectoral effects of disinflation: Evidence from India

This paper makes an attempt to measure sacrifice ratios for the farm and non-farm sector as disinflation policy is believed to have differential impact on these sectors. Using the non-parametric approach of Ball (1994), five disinflation episodes are identified for India over the period from 1950–51 to 2009–10. These disinflations are largely due to contractionary monetary policy pursued by the Reserve Bank of India. The estimates of the sacrifice ratio and the presence of persistence and hysteresis effects indicate that disinflationary monetary policy is more harmful to output growth in the non-farm sector. In contrast, the negative sacrifice ratio in the farm sector implies that there is output gain during disinflationary periods. This output gain in the farm sector seems to have been driven by those factors which are independent of contractionary monetary shocks. These evidences also suggest that use of aggregate time series data might produce errors in the measurement of sacrifice ratios.
Application development in supplier-customer collaborations: success factors for firms in the process industries

In the process industries, development with the external customer is not confined to the company’s own product development and external customer technical services and support. A substantial part of the innovation activities of a firm lies in the area of helping its customers to use supplied products more effectively. This area is generally designated application development. Since a literature survey turned up few publications, a theoretical framework was developed and an exploratory survey was carried out of Swedish process industries. The importance to the firm of product and process development is never questioned. It is concluded that the area of application development should not be overlooked either, if recognised as relevant to a firm. The study population includes only firms which are based in Sweden, but since they have many customers on a global market it is argued that the research findings to some extent can be generalised to the larger world-wide population of interest.
Coexistence Rules and Regulations in the European Union

The institutional environment for planting GM crops in Europe is heterogeneous. Poland wants to ban the planting of GM crops; Spanish farmers have been growing Bt-maize for several years; 120 communities in Belgium have declared themselves to be GMO-free; a local grain trader in Germany has announced that it will pay the same price for Bt and non-Bt maize. Luxemburg wants to fine farmers up to 750,000 for non-compliance with coexistence rules and in Poland a prison sentence of up to three years may be given; farmers in Upper Austria must apply for authorization for each field intended to be planted with GM crops and farmers in Denmark have to pay a levy of 100 DK per hectare of GM crops. In 2003, the European Commission stated that “no form of agriculture, be it conventional, organic or agriculture using genetically modified organism (GMOs), should be excluded in the European Union” but simultaneously decided to follow the principle of subsidiary that “measures for coexistence should be developed and implemented by the Member States” (CEC 2003a, p. 1). Since then, some Member States have developed, and others are still developing, a diversity of coexistence measures that may have a profound impact on the adoption rate of GM crops. Against this background, we ask the following question: How will the different coexistence policies among EU Member States affect the adoption of GM crops?
Neural substrates for moral judgments of psychological versus physical harm

Abstract While we may think about harm as primarily being about physical injury, harm can also take the form of negative psychological impact. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the extent to which moral judgments of physical and psychological harms are processed similarly, focusing on brain regions implicated in mental state reasoning or theory of mind, a key cognitive process for moral judgment. First, univariate analyses reveal item-specific features that lead to greater recruitment of theory of mind regions for psychological harm versus physical harm. Second, multivariate pattern analyses reveal sensitivity to the psychological/physical distinction in two regions implicated in theory of mind: the right temporoparietal junction and the precuneus. Third, we find no reliable differences between neurotypical adults and adults with autism spectrum disorder with regard to neural activity related to theory of mind during moral evaluations of psychological and physical harm. Altogether, these results reveal neural sensitivity to the distinction between psychological harm and physical harm.
An ultra-broadband robust LNA for defence applications in AlGaN/GaN technology

The design, fabrication and test of a 2–18 GHz monolithic Low Noise Amplifier utilizing 0.25 µm AlGaN/GaN HEMT technology is reported. The measured noise figure of the amplifier is less than 4.7dB over the 2 – 18 GHz frequency range, exhibiting a minimum of 3.3 dB at 3 GHz. The LNA gain is 23dB. Even being a low-noise amplifier, the MMIC can withstand 10W input CW RF power, demonstrating no apparent degradation: to the authors knowledge this is the best RF LNA survivability reported to date in this frequency range using GaN technology.
Avian reovirus-induced apoptosis related to tissue injury

Apoptosis plays an important role in pathogenesis of many viral infections. Infection of chicken with avian reovirus S1133 causes tissue injury related to virus-induced apoptosis. To determine whether avian reovirus (ARV) induced apoptosis in chicken tissues, six 3-week-old specific pathogen free White Leghorn chicks were inoculated with ARV S1133. Tissues were dual-labelled for the simultaneous detection of viral antigen containing and apoptotic cells. DNA laddering was detected in ARV-infected but not mock-infected chicken tissues. Dual-labelling assay revealed that the majority of antigen-expressing cells were not apoptotic. Surprisingly, some apoptotic but non-antigen-expressing cells were frequently located in the vicinity of antigen-expressing cells. Syncytium formation in ARV-infected chicken tissues undergoing apoptosis was apparent, suggesting a correlation between virus replication and apoptosis in chicken tissues.
Optimization using Function Values Only

In this paper, we focus on solving global optimization problems using only the values of the objective function. In particular we explore the Simulated Annealing method, and find improvements using techniques in Derivative Free Optimization methods. The first part of the paper examines the well known Simulated Annealing algorithm. We discuss important theoretical results, and we then demonstrate how each component of Simulated Annealing contributed to solving the global optimization problem invoking only the objective function values. The second part of the paper will be dedicated to techniques from Derivative Free Trust Region method. We discuss how Derivative Free Trust Region determines a second order local optimum. We then propose a method to bypass local optima using Simulated Annealing hill climbing moves. Lastly, we address the shortcomings of Simulated Annealing on continuous optimization problems with strong non-linearity. We present a new method which take into consideration topological information to determine search direction and neighborhood function. We then look at a real life application of the Simulated Annealing method in Appendix A.
InspireMe: Learning Sequence Models for Stories

We present a novel approach to modeling stories using recurrent neural networks. Different story features are extracted using natural language processing techniques and used to encode the stories as sequences. These sequences can be learned by deep neural networks, in order to predict the next story events. The predictions can be used as an inspiration for writers who experience a writer's block. We further assist writers in their creative process by generating visualizations of the character interactions in the story. We show that suggestions from our model are rated as highly as the real scenes from a set of films and that our visualizations can help people in gaining deeper story understanding.
A Model for Addressing Cross - Cultural Ethical Conflicts

As transnational interactions increase, cross-cultural conflict concerning ethical issues is inevitable. This article presents a model for assisting decision makers in selecting appropriate strategies for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflict. A theoretical framework for the model is developed based on the literature on international business ethics and on conflict resolution. The model is illustrated through several case examples. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Can price dispersion be persistent in the Internet markets?

We investigate pricing behaviour and market dynamics for both online branches of Multi-Channel Retailers (MCRs) and online-only retailers (Dotcoms), based on a set of panel data collected for 2 years in the online DVD market. We find that prices of MCRs and Dotcoms both go down with time, but prices of MCRs decrease in a significantly faster speed, implying that difference in the average prices between the two types of retailers is getting smaller with time. We also compare the price dispersion and its dynamics between MCRs and Dotcoms. We find that the price dispersion among MCRs is much bigger than that among Dotcoms at the beginning. But such a difference gets smaller with time as the price dispersion among Dotcoms becomes bigger. Our results suggest that the two types of retailers will not only charge similar average prices in long term, but also have similar price dispersions. But our findings show that price dispersion among all retailers goes up with time, indicating that prices do not converge in the Internet market. Branding makes significant difference on both the price and the price dispersion.
Using farm consumption data to estimate the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and relative risk aversion coefficients

A farm household consumption model based on the life‐cycle permanent income hypothesis (LPIH) has been specified and the Euler equations derived in this analysis. Estimation of the of the Euler equations using farm household consumption data provided estimates for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and the coefficient of relative risk aversion. These parameters differ among the farm enterprises in which the households were engaged. Estimates for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution and the coefficient of relative risk aversion ranged from 0.158 to 0.351 and from 2.849 to 6.329, respectively. Results also provide further evidence that the LPIH is valid for modeling farm household consumption.
Managing climate change vulnerabilities: formal institutions and knowledge use as determinants of adaptive capacity at the local level in Sweden

Though managing vulnerabilities posed by climate change calls for effective strategies and measures, its challenges have hitherto not been fully understood. In Sweden, municipalities have recently started incorporating vulnerability management into their political and administrative agendas. This study discusses such experiences and explores how institutional determinants may influence adaptive capacity within a local case study area, to illustrate emerging challenges and opportunities for Swedish municipalities in managing climate vulnerabilities. Specifically, formal institutional structure and the use of knowledge are analysed, concluding that vulnerability management often is focused on technical and reactive fixes, due to limited co-operation between local sector organisations, lack of local co-ordination, and an absence of methods and traditions to build institutional knowledge. Even so, opportunities, such as a high capacity to examine risks to technical systems and important establishments which in turn facilitates protection of technical infrastructure exposed to climate variability and change, also exist.
Emanating Trends in the Usage of Bio-coagulants in Potable Water Treatment: a Review

---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract In this review, understanding the role of recently discovered new natural coagulants plays a significant role. Though Moringa olifera has maintained its role in water treatment, it cannot be depended whole heartedly because of the followings drawbacks: i) Large amount of seeds required for small water treatment, and ii) Increased settling time. Here, some of the new materials such as Plantago ovata, Rambutan, Cocinia indica, Cyamopsis tetragonobola and others are discussed for under-standing its role in treatment of water and wastewater. For instance, as per the research conducted, the Rambutan seed, results in more than 90% turbidity removal. FCE (FeCl3 induced crude extract) as an eco-friendly biocoagulant was revealed to be a very efficient coagulant for removing turbidity from waters; and the conventional extraction method of the active coagulant agent by blending the seeds in solvents for 2 min alone sufficiently extracts most of the coagulant component from the Jatropha seed and provides up to 99.4% turbidity removal. Likewise, the active components from other natural materials have also been extracted to overcome the difficulties posed by chemical coagulants.
Test of an Educational Intervention for Osteoporosis Prevention With U.S. Adolescents

PURPOSE: To test the effects of an osteoporosis prevention program given to high school students DESIGN: Randomized, multisite field study. SAMPLE: The final sample for analysis was composed of 693 teens from 18 schools. FINDINGS: The average knowledge difference score of the OPTIONS group was 8.4 percentage points higher than that of the control group. Some of the analysis suggested that girls gained more from the intervention than did boys. Students from all types of schools, responded equivalently to the intervention. Health beliefs about barriers to preventive action were not influenced by the intervention. DISCUSSION: This intervention increased students' knowledge about how to build healthy bones; however, the real challenge lies in building on that knowledge gain to influence behaviors. The modest gain in knowledge also suggests that educational interventions of this type should be tested with younger children, who might be more receptive.
A research on SDN-based device-assisted network

With the spread of mobile devices and development of the network, the user can use the data anytime anywhere. Especially, most users have become more sensitive to the quality of communication for the use of real-time video services. In this paper, we propose the SDN-based device-assisted network that improves network environment by device's feedback on the status of the network. When low network performance or loss of communication, the user receive measure for improved network performance by giving feedback to the network. The network can obtain exact information about the status of the network through the device. For example, information that is hard to know is existence and location of the shadow region. Thereby, the network operator can ensure high quality of communication, manage network well. In conclusion, the SDN-based device-assisted network is beneficial to both the user and the network operator.
Implications of a Land Value Tax with Error in Assessed Values

Land value taxation has numerous potential advantages compared to conventional property taxes on capital and land. The models that establish these advantages, however, are grounded in the unlikely assumption that land values are assessed without error. This paper demonstrates that levying taxes based on land values assessed with error is equivalent to the application of one tax rate to the true value of land and a different effective tax rate to capital. The model demonstrates that a land value tax will have at most the distortion effects of a property tax, even with the worst possible land value assessment errors. (JEL H21, H23)
Zinc Transport and Metallothionein Secretion in the Intestinal Human Cell Line Caco-2*

Caco-2, a human cell line, displays several biochemical and morphological characteristics of differentiated enterocytes. Among these is the ability to transport zinc from the apical to the basal compartment. This process was enhanced following exposure by the apical compartment to increasing concentrations of the metal. High pressure liquid chromatography fractionation of the media obtained from cells labeled with radioactive zinc showed that metallothioneins (MTs), small metal-binding, cysteine-rich proteins), were present in the apical and basal media of controls as well as in cells grown in the presence of high concentrations of zinc. Following exposure to the metal, the levels of Zn-MTs in the apical medium increased, while in the basal compartment the greatest part of zinc appeared in a free form with minor changes in the levels of basal MTs. Metabolic labeling experiments with radioactive cysteine confirmed the apical secretion of MTs. A stable transfectant clone of Caco-2 cells (CL11) was selected for its ability to express constitutively high levels of the mouse metallothionein I protein. This cell line showed an enhanced transport of the metal following exposure to high concentrations of zinc and a constitutive secretion of the mouse metallothionein I protein in the apical compartment. Together, these findings strongly support the hypothesis of a functional role between the biosynthesis and secretion of MTs and the transport of zinc in intestinal cells.
Craft Guilds, Apprenticeship, and Technological Change in Preindustrial Europe

This article argues that medieval craft guilds emerged in order to provide transferable skills through apprenticeship. They prospered for more than half a millennium because they sustained interregional specialized labor markets and contributed to technological invention by stimulating technical diffusion through migrant labor and by providing inventors with temporary monopoly rents. They played a leading role in preindustrial manufacture because their main competitor, rural putting out, was a net consumer rather than producer of technological innovation. They finally disappeared not through adaptive failure but because national states abolished them by decree.