Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tying, Foreclosure, and Exclusion

Tied sales have a long history of scrutiny under the antitrust laws of the United States. The primary basis for the condemnation of this practice has been the court's belief in what has come to be known as the "leverage theory" of tying: that is, that tying provides a mechanism whereby a firm with monopoly power in one market can use the leverage provided by this power to foreclose sales in, and thereby monopolize, a second market. In recent years, however, the leverage theory has come under heavy attack. In this paper, I reconsider the leverage hypothesis. I argue that, in an important sense, the models used by the critics of the leverage theory which all assume that the tied good market has a competitive, constant returns-to-scale structure- are incapable of addressing the central concern of the leverage theory, that tying can be profitably used to change the market structure of the tied good market. I then demonstrate that when the tied good market has an oligopolistic structure, tying can indeed serve as a mechanism for leveraging market power through the foreclosure of tied market rivals sales. The mechanism through which this foreclosure occurs, its profitability for the monopolist, and its welfare implications are discussed in detail.
Decomposing Inflation

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta E C O N O M I C R E V I E W First Quarter 2004 R ecent declines in U.S. core inflation measures have prompted a renewed effort to understand inflation dynamics. Since late 2001, core consumer inflation rates have declined to levels not seen since the early 1960s. Core inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) declined to 1.1 percent (year-over-year) by the end of 2003 while the core personal consumption expenditures price index (PCEPI) moved below 1 percent. This decline in measured inflation rates, coupled with uncertainty about future demand conditions, generated concern and debate among analysts and policymakers about near-term inflation prospects. That concern was reflected in the May 2003 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement: “The probability of an unwelcome substantial fall in inflation, though minor, exceeds that of a pickup in inflation from its already low level. ” As core consumer inflation rates have edged lower, an increasing and probably undue amount of attention is being placed on the most recent observation. An aggregate inflation rate is limited in the information it provides, especially with regard to the sources of its movements. It is generally difficult to know whether changes in aggregate inflation result from broad-based price changes or from price changes in only a few components. There may be instances in which significant but otherwise idiosyncratic relative price changes among a few underlying components drive movements in the aggregate inflation rate for a sustained period of time. Analysts often attempt to confront this issue by looking at price changes of major components and making inferences about the impact of those changes on the aggregate inflation rate. However, these inferences are imprecise and do not provide a complete accounting of aggregate inflation. A more rigorous approach is to provide a precise decomposition of the inflation rate. In this article we take the latter, more rigorous approach.1 We calculate and plot the percentage point contributions of major consumer expenditure categories to core inflation measures over time. This technique provides a wealth of information concerning aggregate inflation behavior in a concise way, enabling us to describe the composition of inflation at any point in time. By highlighting the composition of aggregate inflation, we gain greater insight into the underlying trends in inflation and are able to make more informed inferences about the direction of inflation in the near term. A particularly important benefit of this method is that it allows us to distinguish broad-based changes in inflation from changes due to relative price movements of a few components. Using this approach to examine long-run trends in core inflation, our analysis finds that the primary contributor to core inflation over the last two Decomposing Inflation
Tunable Optical Filter With Cascaded Waveguide Fabry–Pérot Resonators Featuring Liquid Crystal Cladding

We developed and fabricated a tunable optical filter using Si-waveguide multiple-cavity Fabry-Pérot resonators with ferro-electric liquid crystal cladding. The proposed filter can be monolithically integrated with other Si photonics devices because no cleaved facets are required. Also, the bistable characteristic of ferro-electric liquid crystal cladding means the power consumption is low. We tested wavelength operation in the fabricated device and determined that it was able to obtain a phase shift of 0.38 π. It also had improved resonant wavelength characteristics.
Rumination and cognitive inhibition

The focus of the thesis is the investigation of the causal nature of the established association between rumination and that ability to resolve interference from taskirrelevant information, and prepotent responses. Rumination is a term used to refer to both unhelpful dwelling on negative moods and depressive symptoms (e.g., NolenHoeksema, 1991), and repetitive intrusive thoughts around the theme of unresolved personal goals (Martin & Tesser, 1996). It has been proposed that rumination occupies working memory resources, thereby depleting cognitive control capabilities necessary for the performance of concurrent effortful tasks (Hartlage, Alloy, Vasquez, & Dykman, 1993; Hertel, 2004; Watkins & Brown, 2002). This model constitutes one possible account of the considerable data demonstrating an association between depressive rumination and deficits on tasks invoking inhibitory processes (Joormann, Yoon, & Gotlib, 2007). An inhibition construct is invoked to account for the empirical observation of interference; however there are few instances where inhibition is unambiguously driving interference (MacLeod, 2007). Moreover, there is evidence that inhibition is not a unitary construct (Friedman & Miyake, 2004). Five experiments manipulated rumination on depressive symptoms and on personal goals in dysphoric and unselected samples in order to test Watkins and Brown’s (2002) hypothesis that state rumination impairs interference control capabilities. The causal impact of state rumination was examined on interference control tasks that implicate different inhibitory sub-types: resistance to proactive interference from positive and negative material (Studies One, Two, and Five), and prepotent response inhibition on a go/no-go paradigm (Studies Three and Four).
Identification of a three-amino-acid region in G protein gamma 1 as a determinant of selective beta gamma heterodimerization.

Guanine-nucleotide-binding protein beta and gamma subunits belong to large protein families encompassing at least five and ten members, respectively, from mammalian cells. The formation of stable beta gamma heterodimers is a selective process determined by the primary sequences of both the beta and gamma subunit. For example, gamma 2 dimerizes with both beta 1 and beta 2, gamma 1 with beta 1, but not with beta 2. To identify the structural elements of gamma subunits relevant to the selectivity of beta gamma dimerization, we have used the baculovirus-insect cell-expression system to produce chimeric beta and gamma subunits and have studied their dimerization using an assay based on the ability of isoprenylation-resistant gamma subunit mutants to draw beta subunits into the cytosol and including sucrose density gradient analysis of soluble recombinant beta gamma dimers. The results show that replacement of three consecutive residues of gamma 1, Cys36-Cys37-Glu38, by the corresponding residues of gamma 2, Ala33-Ala34-Ala35, suffices to render the mutant gamma 1 subunit capable of forming heterodimers with beta 2. The ability of mutant gamma 1 subunits to dimerize with beta 2 does not correlate with the probability of the mutated region to participate in coiled-coil structures. The tripeptide region identified here as a critical determinant of the selectivity of beta gamma dimer formation is distinct from, but partially overlaps with, the region reported by Lee et al. [Lee, C. , Murakami, T. & Simonds, W. F. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 8779-8784]. The results of this study, therefore, not only extend the region of gamma 1 selecting between beta 1 and beta 2 to the five-residue sequence between Cys36 and Phe40, but also argue against the notion that the hydrophobic terminal residue of this motif represents the key determinant of selective beta gamma interaction.
Updated consensus statement on the use of rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background Since initial approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), rituximab has been evaluated in clinical trials involving various populations with RA. Information has also been gathered from registries. This report therefore updates the 2007 consensus document on the use of rituximab in the treatment of RA. Methods Preparation of this new document involved many international experts experienced in the treatment of RA. Following a meeting to agree upon the core agenda, a systematic literature review was undertaken to identify all relevant data. Data were then interrogated by a drafting committee, with subsequent review and discussion by a wider expert committee leading to the formulation of an updated consensus statement. These committees also included patients with RA. Results The new statement covers wide-ranging issues including the use of rituximab in earlier RA and impact on structural progression, and aspects particularly pertinent to rituximab such as co-medication, optimal dosage regimens, repeat treatment cycles and how to manage non-response. Biological therapy following rituximab usage is also addressed, and safety concerns including appropriate screening for hepatitis, immunoglobulin levels and infection risk. This consensus statement will support clinicians and inform patients when using B-cell depletion in the management of RA, providing up-to-date information and highlighting areas for further research. Conclusion New therapeutic strategies and treatment options for RA, a chronic destructive and disabling disease, have expanded over recent years. These have been summarised in general strategic suggestions and specific management recommendations, emphasising the importance of expedient disease-modifying antirheumatic drug implementation and tight disease control. This consensus statement is in line with these fundamental principles of management.
A Compact Representation of Spatio-Temporal Data

As technology advances we encounter more available data on moving objects, which can be mined to our benefit. In order to efficiently mine this large amount of data we propose an enhanced segmentation algorithm for representing a periodic spatio-temporal trajectory, as a compact set of minimal bounding boxes (MBBs). We also introduce a new, "data-amount-based" similarity measure between mobile trajectories which is compared empirically to an existing similarity measure by clustering spatio-temporal data and evaluating the quality of clusters and the execution times. Finally, we evaluate the values of segmentation thresholds used by the proposed segmentation algorithm through studying the tradeoff between running times and clustering validity as the segmentation resolution increases.
Bone Penetration of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid Evaluated by Population Pharmacokinetics and Monte Carlo Simulation

ABSTRACT Amoxicillin (amoxicilline)-clavulanic acid has promising activity against pathogens that cause bone infections. We present the first evaluation of the bone penetration of a beta-lactam by population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic profiling via Monte Carlo simulations. Twenty uninfected patients undergoing total hip replacement received a single intravenous infusion of 2,000 mg/200 mg amoxicillin-clavulanic acid before surgery. Blood and bone specimens were collected. Bone samples were pulverized under liquid nitrogen with a cryogenic mill, including an internal standard. The drug concentrations in serum and total bone were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We used NONMEM and S-ADAPT for population pharmacokinetic analysis and a target time of the non-protein-bound drug concentration above the MIC for ≥50% of the dosing interval for near-maximal bactericidal activity in serum. The median of the ratio of the area under the curve (AUC) for bone/AUC for serum was 20% (10th to 90th percentile for between-subject variability [variability], 16 to 25%) in cortical bone and 18% (variability, 11 to 29%) in cancellous bone for amoxicillin and 15% (variability, 11 to 21%) in cortical bone and 10% (variability, 5.1 to 21%) in cancellous bone for clavulanic acid. Analysis in S-ADAPT yielded similar results. The equilibration half-lives between serum and bone were 12 min for amoxicillin and 14 min for clavulanic acid. For a 30-min infusion of 2,000 mg/200 mg amoxicillin-clavulanic acid every 4 h, amoxicillin achieved robust (≥90%) probabilities of target attainment (PTAs) for MICs of ≤12 mg/liter in serum and 2 to 3 mg/liter in bone and population PTAs above 95% against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in bone and serum. The AUC of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was 5 to 10 times lower in bone than in serum, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid achieved a rapid equilibrium and favorable population PTAs against pathogens commonly encountered in bone infections.
How do AV fistulae lose function? The roles of haemodynamics, vascular remodelling, and intimal hyperplasia.

demonstrated a time-dependent fall in proximal tubular sodium transport during insulin infusion in healthy subjects which may represent a counterregulatory mechanism. Moreover, in glucose-clamped dogs, the antinatriuretic effect of insulin is of short duration and, after a decrease in sodium excretion during the first 2-3 days, natriuresis returns to normal suggesting that counterregulatory mechanism (s) must be operative [2]. In order to elucidate by what mechanism(s) insulinstimulated sodium retention is counteracted we have conducted glucose-clamp studies in healthy subjects. Our studies indicate no contributory counterregulatory role of natriuretic hormones, whereas renal vasodilatation may be a mechanism counterregulating the distal antinatriuretic effect of insulin [3]. Indeed, insulin has well-documented vasodilatory actions both in skeletal muscle and the kidney [6]. Recent results have also shown that insulin-resistant humans have impaired vasodilator responses to insulin [6]. A blunted renal vasodilatory action of insulin in insulin resistant states may therefore offset the counterregulatory fall in proximal tubular sodium reabsorption during hyperinsulinaemia and thus predispose to sodium retention [7],
Sugar Sensing and Signaling

Abstract Plants, restricted by their environment, need to integrate a wide variety of stimuli with their metabolic activity, growth and development. Sugars, generated by photosynthetic carbon fixation, are central in coordinating metabolic fluxes in response to the changing environment and in providing cells and tissues with the necessary energy for continued growth and survival. A complex network of metabolic and hormone signaling pathways are intimately linked to diverse sugar responses. A combination of genetic, cellular and systems analyses have uncovered nuclear HXK1 (hexokinase1) as a pivotal and conserved glucose sensor, directly mediating transcription regulation, while the KIN10/11 energy sensor protein kinases function as master regulators of transcription networks under sugar and energy deprivation conditions. The involvement of disaccharide signals in the regulation of specific cellular processes and the potential role of cell surface receptors in mediating sugar signals add to the complexity. This chapter gives an overview of our current insight in the sugar sensing and signaling network and describes some of the molecular mechanisms involved.
Semianalytical Integration Method for Macromolecular Simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, in which the classical equations of motion for all particles of a system are integrated over finite period of time, is one of the theoretical methods to investigate dynamical properties of molecular systems [1]. The problem which arises in performing MD simulations of such systems is that only short simulations can be performed due to the high-frequency motion which requires the use of a small integration steps in MD simulations. The efficiency and thus the scope of MD is increased if methods which permit the MD integration over larger time steps are developed [2, 3, 4, 5].
The death of costly signalling

How do organisms communicate honestly despite conflicts of interest? Over the past quarter-century, the "costly signalling" hypothesis -- that signal honesty can be ensured by appropriate signal cost -- has emerged as the dominant explanation for this puzzle. First proposed by Zahavi [1, 2] and formalized by Grafen [3] and Godfray [4], this hypothesis has led to a proliferation of theoretical models [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14] and empirical tests (reviewed in [15, 16, 17, 18]). Unfortunately, these empirical studies suggest that honest signalling is not always accompanied by the predicted signal costs (reviewed in [12]), and some signalling systems (including human language) appear not to require signal cost at all. In response to these difficulties, researchers have attempted to identify special mechanisms by which signalling can be honest even with low or zero signal cost (also reviewed in [12]). Here, we show that no special mechanism is necessary. While the cost of out-of-equilibrium signals plays an important role in stabilizing honest signalling, the signals actually employed at equilibrium need not be costly. Therefore, even unrelated individuals with conflicting interests can communicate honestly using cost-free or very cheap signals; contrary to the "handicap principle," waste is not required to ensure honest signals. We illustrate this by constructing examples of cost-free signalling equilibria for the two paradigmatic signalling games of Grafen [3] and Godfray [4]. Our findings (1) significantly revise previous theoretical conclusions regarding the requirement for signal cost in honest signalling systems, (2) explain the discrepancy between empirical signalling studies and theoretical predictions, (3) suggest why some animal signals use cost to ensure honesty while others do not, and (4) provide ways in which signalling theory can be used to address the "problem of deception" in the evolution of human language.
Multi-class Image Classification Based on Fast Stochastic Gradient Boosting

Nowadays, image classification is one of the hottest and most difficult research domains. It involves two aspects of problem. One is image feature representation and coding, the other is the usage of classifier. For better accuracy and running efficiency of high dimension characteristics circumstance in image classification, this paper proposes a novel framework for multi-class image classification based on fast stochastic gradient boosting. We produce the image feature representation by extracting PHOW descriptor of image, then map the descriptor though additive kernels, finally classify image though fast stochastic gradient boosting. In order to further boost the running efficiency, We propose method of local parallelism and an error control mechanism for simplifying the iterating process. Experiments are tested on two data sets: Optdigits, 15-Scenes. The experiments compare decision tree, random forest, extremely random trees, stochastic gradient boosting and its fast versions. The experiment justifies that (1) stochastic gradient boosting and its extensions are apparent superior to other algorithms on overall accuracy; (2) our fast stochastic gradient boosting algorithm greatly saves time while keeping high overall accuracy.
Is glycemia control in Canadians with diabetes individualized? A cross-sectional observational study

Objective Diabetes guidelines recommend individualized glycemic targets: tighter control in younger, healthier patients and consideration of more moderate control in the elderly and those with coexisting illnesses. Our objective was to examine whether glycemic control varied by age and comorbidities in Canadian primary care. Research design and methods Cross-sectional study using data from the electronic medical records of 537 primary care providers across Canada; 30 416 patients with diabetes, aged 40 or above, with at least one encounter and one hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2013. The outcome was the most recent HbA1c, categorized into three levels of control: tight (<7.0% or <53 mmol/mol), moderate (7.0%–8.5%, 53 mmol/mol–69.5 mmol/mol) and uncontrolled (>8.5% or >69.5 mmol/mol). We adjusted for several factors associated with glycemic control including treatment intensity. Results Younger patients (aged 40–49) were more likely to have moderate as opposed to tight control than the older patients (aged 80+) (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.49, p=0.001). The youngest were also more likely to have uncontrolled as opposed to moderately controlled glycemia (OR 3.39; 95% CI 2.75 to 4.17, p<0.0001). Patients with no or only one comorbidity were more likely to have moderate as opposed to tight control than those with three or more comorbidities (OR 1.66;95% CI 1.46 to 1.90, p<0.0001). Conclusions Levels of glycemic control, given age and comorbidities appear to differ from guideline recommendations. Research is needed to understand these discrepancies and develop methods to assist providers in personalizing glycemic targets.
Discovery, Retrieval, and Analysis of the 'Star Wars' Botnet in Twitter

It is known that many Twitter users are bots, which are accounts controlled and sometimes created by computers. Twitter bots can send spam tweets, manipulate public opinion and be used for online fraud. Here we report the discovery, retrieval, and analysis of the 'Star Wars' botnet in Twitter, which consists of more than 350,000 bots tweeting random quotations exclusively from Star Wars novels. The botnet contains a single type of bot, showing exactly the same properties throughout the botnet. It is unusually large, many times larger than other available datasets. It provides a valuable source of ground truth for research on Twitter bots. We analysed and revealed rich details on how the botnet was designed and created. As of this writing, the Star Wars bots are still alive in Twitter. They have survived since their creation in 2013, despite the increasing efforts in recent years to detect and remove Twitter bots. We also reflect on the 'unconventional' way in which we discovered the Star Wars bots, and discuss the current problems and future challenges of Twitter bot detection.