Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic Growth and Social Capital

Recent interdisciplinary theoretical work has suggested that social capital, or the interpersonal trust of citizens, plays an important role in explaining both the efficiency of political institutions, and in the economic performance of contemporary societies. This paper examines the relationship between social capital and economic growth in a sample of thirty-four countries over the period 1970 to 1992, within the framework of a modified neo-classical model of economic growth. The findings suggest that social capital has an impact on growth which is at least as strong as that of human capital or education, which has been the focus of much of the recent work on endogenous growth theory. It appears to have about the same impact on growth as catch-up or the ability of poorer nations to adopt technological innovations pioneered by their richer counterparts.
Expiration day effects of index futures and options: evidence from a market with a long settlement period

This study examines index futures and options expiration day effects on the Swedish market. While the results for the period 1988–1998 indicate that trading volumes on the cash market were significantly higher on expiration days than on other days, no evidence suggesting that price distortions occurred is found. This could be due to the longer settlement period on the Swedish market, compared with that on the Canadian, German, and the US markets, where price distortions have been documented. However, some price distortion may have been experienced for the first half of the sample period, a finding which the cause for is discussed.
The Relationship Between Akathisia and Subjective Tolerability in Patients With Schizophrenia

ABSTRACT Akathisia remains a significant issue even in the era of atypical antipsychotics. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of akathisia with various domains of subjective tolerability in order to contribute to the renewed interest in akathisia and the subjective experience of antipsychotic treatment. Fifty schizophrenic outpatients receiving stable doses of risperidone were evaluated for akathisia, schizophrenic symptoms, and subjective tolerability. Subjective tolerability was comprehensively assessed using the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale. Analysis of covariance revealed that the akathisia group had a significantly higher total score as well as higher subscale scores of extrapyramidal side effect, psychic side effect, and autonomic side effect on the Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale. Further analysis using binary logistic regression analysis revealed that these variables were significantly associated with akathisia. The results of our study suggest that akathisia is significantly associated with a wide range of subjective tolerability profiles, implying the necessity to effectively manage akathisia even its mild forms considering its strong association with subjective tolerability in general.
An Algorithm for Portfolio Trades with Transaction Costs

Optimal portfolio weights must be computed against the total committed wealth net of all transaction costs. Consequently, portfolio weights normally computed without regard to transaction costs may not be optimal and result in wrong trade recommendations. In particular, when portfolios are rebalanced, an increase (decrease) in portfolio weights may not necessarily mean that a security ought to be bought or sold. This would be so, especially if one considers the investors’ desire to hold a certain amount of cash in their portfolio. This article considers explicitly the trading costs of the portfolio and develops a simple trading rule consistent with the investors’ desired cash requirement.
Cross‐Jurisdictional Income Shifting by U.S. Multinationals: Evidence from International Bond Offerings

type="main" xml:lang="en"> We examine whether tax incentives influence where U.S. multinationals locate their interest deductions worldwide. Our sample includes international bond offerings by U.S. multinationals during 1987–1997 denominated in the currencies of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, or the United Kingdom. Our results suggest that U.S. multinationals’ debt location decisions take into account the effect of jurisdiction-specific tax-loss carryforwards and binding foreign tax credit limitations on the value of debt tax shields. Our results are also consistent with U.S. multinationals locating interest deductions in different tax jurisdictions as a mechanism to achieve tax-motivated income shifting.
Is Income Inequality Harmful for Regional Growth? Evidence from the European Union

This article examines the relationship between income inequality and economic growth in the regions of several European Union countries over the period 1993—2002, using the information provided by the European Community Household Panel. Taking into consideration the relevance of spatial effects in this context, different versions of a spatial econometric model are estimated. The results indicate that the degree of income dispersion is negatively associated with regional growth. This finding is in fact robust to various alternative specifications including a number of additional explanatory variables, such as initial per capita GDP, the sectoral composition of economic activity, human capital stock, population density and market potential. Furthermore, the observed negative correlation between income inequality and economic performance does not depend on the specific measure used to quantify the degree of income dispersion.
Was Japan's level of investment in the 1990's excessive?

In this paper a method for calculating the socially optimal level of aggregate investment is developed. That method is then applied to Japan. It is found that in the 1990's the level of investment in Japan was excessive, in the sense that it exceeded the socially optimal level. The degree of over-investment in Japan in the 1990's has averaged about 5.5 per cent of GDP per year according to the calculations in this paper.
The Relationship Between Low-Skilled Unemployment Rates and SNAP Participation

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to operate counter-cyclically, with participation rising as the economy contracts. The growth in program costs and participation has raised political concerns over whether the program serves truly needy individuals. This study tests the sensitivity of SNAP participation to the unemployment rates of low-skilled individuals, and shows a statistically significant, positive, yet reasonably small correlation. This analysis also finds that the increase in participation becomes larger as unemployment rises and lags behind unemployment. These results suggest the need for caution among policymakers in reaching hasty conclusions about the utility of the program. Catlin Nchako completed his Master of Public Policy at the McCourt School of Public Policy in 2013. Adam Thomas, PhD, served as his thesis advisor. Currently, he works as a Research Associate for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a national policy organization that works on programs that affect lowincome families.
SAVING AND RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS: EVIDENCE FOR THE U.K.

Macdonald and Speight (I989), hereafter MS, report tests of the rational expectations-permanent income hypothesis, hereafter REPI, based on quarterly UK data from I966. I-I986.3. They find that the formal restrictions implied by REPI can be rejected. Moreover, in striking contrast to the predictions of REPI and the results presented in Campbell (I987) for the United States and Campbell and Clarida (1987) for Canada and the United Kingdom, they find that saving positively Granger-causes the change in labour income. MS's results are, however, based on a seriously miscalculated real labour income series. In this paper we present tests of REPI based on a measure of labour income corrected for both this error and for a conceptual flaw in their definition. Our main findings are that, in accordance with REPI, saving negatively Granger-causes the change in labour income, but that the restrictions implied by REPI can be strongly rejected whether or not allowance is made for transitory consumption.
Student’s engagement in school: A literature review

This work is financed by National Founds through FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, in the context of the project PTDC/CPE-CED/114362/2009- Students Engagement in Schools: Differentiation and Promotion, coordinated by Prof. Feliciano H. Veiga.
The Cosmopolitanization of Trade Regions: Global Trends and Implications, 1965–1990

: Postwar international trade relations are built on multilateral free trade principles that regard regional trade coalitions as suboptimal arrangements. A rising share of international trade, however, appears to be occurring within regions, raising the fear that the world economy is disintegrating into inward-looking trading blocs. Such fears are now being challenged because the regionalization of world trade is said to be a “natural” process strongly influenced by geographic proximity. Furthermore, prevailing regionalization is taking place in a context of stronger global linkages. This paper examines global regionalization tendencies by tracing trade interactions from 1965 to 1990 and finds a trend toward a less spatially fragmented world economy. Five dominant trade regions may be identified in 1990 as compared to eight smaller regions in 1965. The regions have become more geographically oriented, with the majority of members associated with the regional cores of Japan, Germany, and the United States. Greater regionalization, however, need not contradict multilateralism. By examining the time-trends of each region's propensity to trade extraregionally, I show that regions have also increased their inclination to trade a larger share of their gross domestic product with the rest of the world. This suggests that the world economy is increasingly characterized by regional cosmopolitanism and may not disintegrate into isolated trading blocs.
Pleuropulmonary blastoma: A report on 350 central pathology–confirmed pleuropulmonary blastoma cases by the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry

Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) has 3 subtypes on a tumor progression pathway ranging from type I (cystic) to type II (cystic/solid) and type III (completely solid). A germline mutation in DICER1 is the genetic cause in the majority of PPB cases.
Understanding Consumers' Health Information Preferences Development and Validation of a Brief Screening Instrument

The impact of health communication is generally enhanced when it is targeted or tailored to the needs of a specific population or individual. In a segmentation analysis of the U.S adult population—using data from 2,636 respondents to a mail panel survey—we identified four segments of the adult population that vary significantly with regard to health information preferences based on their degree of engagement in health enhancement, and their degree of independence in health decision making. We also created a brief (10 item), easy-to-administer screening instrument that indicates into which segment people fall. The purpose of this article is to describe the segments, and the screening instrument, and to present initial tests of its validity. We believe this instrument offers a practical tool for differentiating motivationally coherent subgroups of the adult population with regard to their health information preferences, and therefore may have practical value in improving health communication and health services provision efforts. Additional research is needed to further validate the tool and test its utility in guiding the creation of targeted health messages and programs.
Viewing preferences, symptoms of psychological trauma, and violent behaviors among children who watch television.

OBJECTIVE To examine the extent to which children's television-viewing practices are associated with symptoms of psychological trauma and aggressive behaviors. The following three hypotheses were tested: (1) children who report watching greater amounts of television per day will report higher levels of trauma symptoms than children who report lesser amounts of television viewing; (2) children who report watching greater amounts of television per day will report higher levels of violent behaviors than children who report watching lesser amounts of television per day; and (3) children who report a preference for action and fighting programs will report higher levels of violent behaviors than children who report a preference for other types of television programs. METHOD The study used a survey design in which an anonymous self-report questionnaire was administered to students in grades 3 through 8 in 11 Ohio public schools during the 1995-1996 school year (N = 2,245). RESULTS All three hypotheses were supported. CONCLUSION Heavy television viewing by children may indicate the presence of problems such as depression, anxiety, and violent behaviors; such viewing should be screened for by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals working with children.
In Search of Structure: The Nonlinear Dynamics of Power Transitions

Power Transitions (PT) anticipates interstate conflict or cooperation by examining dynamic changes in the distribution of power across the international system, as well as each nation's (or politically “relevant” nation's) satisfaction with the current international status quo. Using a system of symmetric, coupled nonlinear differential equations, we formalize and test a dynamic PT model to identify to what extent and degree policy makers can maintain stability in rival dyads, such as the US-China case currently. Our formalized dynamic PT model explores some of the structural conditions of how conflict or cooperation affects growth and transition from the PT literature. These formal results are consistent both with theoretical expectations and empirical results. Our results not only suggest specific, strategic policy prescriptions for dyads in hopes of avoiding war, but more importantly highlight the nonlinear and non-monotonic effects of foreign policy actions.
Sex chromosomes and speciation

Studies of reproductive isolation between animal species have shown (i) that if one sex of the hybrids between two species is sterile or inviable, it is usually the heterogametic sex (Haldane’s rule), and (ii) the genes on the sex chromosomes play a particularly large role in hybrid sterility and inviability. We propose an explanation for these two observations which is based on the changes in chromosome conformation which take place during gametogenesis. These changes are far greater in sex chromosomes than in autosomes. They are also greater in the heterogametic than in the homogametic sex. We suggest that the sensitivity of hybrids of the heterogametic sex to the genetic divergence that occurs during periods of population isolation is partly the result of the failure of their sex chromosomes to undergo appropriate conformational changes. This hypothesis explains why the sex chromosomes play a disproportionate role in post-zygotic, but not in pre-zygotic, isolation, and why often only the germ line is sensitive to hybridization.
Autoscan: A Flexible and Portable 3D Scanner

Quantifying physical abnormalities, guiding corrective and plastic surgery, manufacturing clothing, three-dimensional CAD, and other related fields all benefit from the increasing use of 3D scanners. These scanning systems reconstruct a 3D surface as a large set of polygonal meshes. Although Cyberware scanning systems have become a commercial standard, they have two main drawbacks. First, for large objects they require a mechanical structure that cannot be installed or moved easily. Second, they only allow the scanning of objects within limited size ranges. The paper considers a portable 3D scanning system called Autoscan which provides flexibility, reliability and accuracy for scanning 3D surfaces. Autoscan consists of a pair of video cameras, a real-time image processor and a computer host.
An Efficient Fog-Assisted Unstable Sensor Detection Scheme with Privacy Preserved

The Internet of Thing (IoT) has been a hot topic in both research community and industry. It is anticipated that in future IoT, an enormous number of sensors will collect the physical information every moment to enable the control center making better decisions to improve the quality of service (QoS). However, the sensors maybe faulty and thus generate inaccurate data which would compromise the decision making. To guarantee the QoS, the system should be able to detect faulty sensors so as to eliminate the damages of inaccurate data. Various faulty sensor detection mechanisms have been developed in the context of wireless sensor network (WSN). Some of them are only fit for WSN while the others would bring a communication burden to control center. To detect the faulty sensors for general IoT applications and save the communication resource at the same time, an efficient faulty sensor detection scheme is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme takes advantage of fog computing to save the computation and communication resource of control center. To preserve the privacy of sensor data, the Paillier Cryptosystem is adopted in the fog computing. The batch verification technique is applied to achieve efficient authentication. The performance analyses are presented to demonstrate that the proposed detection scheme is able to conserve the communication resource of control center and achieve a high true positive ratio while maintaining an acceptable false positive ratio. The scheme could also withstand various security attacks and preserve data privacy.
Effect of 1,25‐(OH)2D3 (a vitamin D analogue) on passively sensitized human airway smooth muscle cells

Background and objectives: In asthma, airway smooth muscle cell (ASMC) hyperplasia plays an important role in airway remodelling. Increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases‐9 (MMP‐9), a disintegrin and metalloprotease 33 (ADAM33) in ASMCs are also relevant to asthmatic airway remodelling. 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25‐(OH)2D3) has potent antiproliferative properties in vitro in various cell types; however, its role in ASMCs is not well understood. This study investigated the effect of 1,25‐(OH)2D3 on passively sensitized human bronchial (airway) smooth muscle cell (HASMC) proliferation and MMP‐9 and ADAM33 expressions.
Stakeholders’ Information Needs, Cost System Design, and Cost System Effectiveness in Dutch Local Government

This study examines the relationships between stakeholders’ information needs, cost system design, and cost system effectiveness in local government, using a dataset of survey responses from 71 Dutch municipalities. Three cost system design characteristics are examined: the (a) complexity and (b) inclusiveness of cost systems, and their (c) understandability for non-financial internal users. These characteristics are shown to be only partly related to each other, and to differ in the extent to which they are related to the information needs of internal and external stakeholders, as well as to three cost system effectiveness characteristics.
Research and application of noise stability providing methods at information and control systems

This article is described to research of noise stability providing different methods of data communication net-works as a part of control systems. Importance and significance of redundancy encoding and feedback for pro-viding reliable information transfer between elements and devised of control systems are showing. The analytic methods of redundancy codes (Reed-Solomon and convolution) construction, encoding and decoding procedures are analyzed. The classification of noise stability providing structural methods is executed, for each of them an advantages, shortcomings and area of expedient application are defined. The methods of symbols and messages repeating and feedback organization for information transmit process control are analyzed. A program models of control systems, using a different methods of noise stability providing, in MathWorks MatLab, extended soft-ware Simulink, is developed. The recommendations for using an offered methods to organization of control systems with different configuration and purpose.
THE EFFECTS OF ACCOUNTING DIVERSITY - EVIDENCE FROM THE EUROPEAN-UNION

In this paper, we investigate the financial statement effects of differences in accounting measurement practice in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (U.K.). We find evidence of significant differences in financial ratios and the stock market valuation of accounting data. The differences do not appear to be explained by the composition of the sample or by macroeconomic factors; they are predictable, given crosscountry differences in reporting philosophies, and they are present for the components of net income which one would expect based on differences in accounting practice. The differences across countries appear largely unaffected by legislation enacted in response to the European Union (EU) directives, which were intended to create an integrated set of reporting standards to serve as a basis for cross-listing and facilitate cross-border investment.1 This research provides descriptive evidence, from a capital markets perspective, on how cross-country differences in measurement practices affect the comparability of the resulting accounting data. Europe provides a relevant context to examine this issue for several reasons. First,
Modeling and Forecasting the Yield Curve by an Extended Nelson-Siegel Class of Models: A Quantile Autoregression Approach

This paper compares the in sample fitting and the out of sample forecasting performances of four distinct Nelson-Siegel class models: Nelson-Siegel, Bliss, Svensson, and a five factor model we propose in order to enhance the fitting flexibility. The introduction of the fifth factor resulted in superior adjustment to the data. For the forecasting exercise the paper contrasts the performances of the term structure models in association to the following econometric methods: quantile autoregression evaluated at the median, VAR, AR, and a random walk. As a pattern, the quantile procedure delivered the best results for longer forecasting horizons.
Passive localization with inaccurate receivers based on Gaussian belief propagation on factor graph

Location awareness is now becoming vital requirement for many practical applications. In this paper, we consider a wireless network where there is one transmitter and multiple receivers and they aim to locate a passive target. Existing studies on passive localization assume receivers' positions are perfectly known. However, receivers' positions are generally inaccurate in actual scenarios. A factor graph based message passing algorithm is proposed to locate the passive target with inaccurate receivers. The nonlinear term in likelihood function is linearized to solve the intractable integrals. Accordingly, all messages on factor graph are obtained in Gaussian closed forms which reduce the computational complexity significantly. Simulation results show the proposed algorithm can not only estimate the target's position accurately but also determine the receivers' positions simultaneously with low complexity.