Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voting over Composition of Government Expenditure in an Overlapping Generations General Equilibrium Model

This paper investigates the choice of the composition of government expenditure as the outcome of simple majority voting. The structure examined includes the division between a transfer payment, pension, and a pure public good for given tax rate in an overlapping generation general equilibrium framework. The share of redistributive expenditure to total expenditure is shown to depend on measures of pre-tax inequality, the tax rate, the weight attached to public goods in the utility function, and the share of capital in production. A cross-sectional dataset for pre-tax inequality, tax rate and share of re-distributive expenditure is constructed. The simple correlation for the small sample of democratic countries suggests that there is a negative relationship between the pre-tax equality and the share of redistribu-tive expenditure. In addition, there is a positive relationship between the tax rate and the share of redistributive expenditure. I am grateful to John Creedy and Shuyun May Li for helpful discussions and comments on an earlier draft of the paper.
Productivity and Quality in the Post-editing of Outputs from Translation Memories and Machine Translation

This study presents empirical research on no-match, machine-translated and translation-memory segments, analyzed in terms of translators’ productivity, final quality and prior professional experience. The findings suggest that translators have higher productivity and quality when using machine-translated output than when translating on their own, and that the productivity and quality gained with machine translation are not significantly different from the values obtained when processing fuzzy matches from a translation memory in the 85-94 percent range. The translators’ prior experience impacts on the quality they deliver but not on their productivity. These quantitative findings are triangulatedwith qualitative data from an online questionnaire and from one-to-one debriefings with the translators. Este estudio presenta una investigacion empirica sobre la traduccion de segmentos nuevos y aquellos procesados con traduccion automatica y memorias de traduccion analizados en relacion a la productividad, calidad final y experiencia profesional de un grupo de traductores. Los resultados sugieren que los traductores obtienen una productividad y calidad mas altas cuando procesan segmentos de traduccion automatica que cuando traducen sin ninguna ayuda y que dicha productividad y calidad no son significativamente diferentes a la que se obtiene cuando procesan coincidencias parciales de una memoria de traduccion (del 85 al 94 por ciento). La experiencia profesional previa de los traductores influye en la calidad pero no asi en la productividad obtenidas. Los resultados cuantitativos se triangulan, ademas, con datos cualitativos obtenidos a traves de un cuestionario en linea y de entrevistas individuales realizadas a los trad
THE LEVI PROBLEM IN THE THEORY OF FUNCTIONS OF SEVERAL COMPLEX VARIABLES

The history of the Levi problem is described in the lecture of H. Grauert in this Congress and I shall not repeat it. We shall rather analyze the work of Oka [6] on this problem, and see how the underlying ideas are susceptible of generalization. Let D be an unramified domain over C, i.e. a connected complex manifold of dimension n together with a holomorphic map cp:D->C whose jacobian is nowhere zero. We say that D "satisfies the Hartogs continuity condition" if the following holds. Every point of the relative boundary of D over C (which depends on cp) has a neighbourhood U such that if crt, 0 < £ < 1 is a continuous family of complex 1-dimensional discs in U and U (dat)<U, then Ua t<U. Here A^X means that A is relatively compact in X. A complex space X is holomorph-convex if for any infinite discrete set {xv}, there is a holomorphic function / on x for which f(xv) is unbounded. If in addition holomorphic functions separate points, X is called a Stein space, (and we say that X is Stein). The main theorem of Oka is then as follows.
The Felt Sense of Interconnectedness: A qualitative analysis of perceptions on finding resilience in the aftermath of trauma using the mind-body connections of Yoga

Members and veterans of the military are at an increased risk of exposure to traumatic experiences due to the very nature of their occupation. The most recent statistics on Canada’s deployment to Afghanistan show that 13.2% of the (Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members deployed have been diagnosed with a mental injury within a five year follow up period of redeployment from the theatre of operations. The present preliminary study was designed to examine Yoga as a therapeutic intervention for trauma in a population of CAF members and veterans. The author interviewed 4 service providers and 2 service users of Yoga-based therapeutic interventions specifically designed for members/veterans with a diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The participants discussed the importance of connection to something greater than the Self as an absolute in building posttraumatic resilience, and both groups offered the mind-body connection as paramount in healing trauma and as the vehicle for the individual practitioner to come to know the felt sense of spirit and connection. These findings have implications for possible therapeutic interventions for CAF members, as well as for future research possibilities in the field of posttraumatic resilience and growth.
Experience with Rule Induction and k-Nearest Neighbor Methods for Interface Agents that Learn

Interface agents are being developed to assist users with a variety of tasks. To perform effectively, such agents need knowledge of user preferences. An agent architecture has been developed which observes a user performing tasks, and identifies features which can be used as training data by a learning algorithm. Using the learned profile, an agent can give advice to the user on dealing with new situations. The architecture has been applied to two different information filtering domains: classifying incoming mail messages (Magi) and identifying interesting USENet news articles (UNA). This paper describes the architecture and examines the results of experimentation with different learning algorithms and different feature extraction strategies within these domains.
Some Limits Using Random Slope Models to Measure Academic Growth

Academic growth is often estimated using a random slope multilevel model with several years of data. However, if there are few time points, the estimates can be unreliable. While using random slope multilevel models can lower the variance of the estimates, these procedures can produce more highly erroneous estimates--zero and negative correlations with the true underlying growth--than using ordinary least squares estimates calculated for each student or school individually. An example is provided where schools with increasing graduation rates are estimated to have negative growth and vice versa. The estimation is worse when the underlying data are skewed. It is recommended that there are at least six time points for estimating growth if using a random slope model. A combination of methods can be used to avoid some of the aberrant results if it is not possible to have six or more time points.
Targeted homozygous deletion of M-band titin in cardiomyocytes prevents sarcomere formation

Titin, a multifunctional protein that stretches from the Z-disk to the M-band in heart and skeletal muscle, contains a kinase domain, phosphorylation sites and multiple binding sites for structural and signalling proteins in the M-band. To determine whether this region is crucial for normal sarcomere development, we created mouse embryonic stem cell (ES) lines in which either one or both alleles contained a targeted deletion of the entire M-band-coding region, leaving Z-disk-binding and myosin-filament-binding sites intact. ES cells were differentiated into cardiomyocytes, and myofibrillogenesis investigated by immunofluorescence microscopy. Surprisingly, deletion of one allele did not markedly affect differentiation into cardiomyocytes, suggesting that a single intact copy of the titin gene is sufficient for normal myofibrillogenesis. By contrast, deletion of both alleles resulted in a failure of differentiation beyond an early stage of myofibrillogenesis. Sarcomeric myosin remained in non-striated structures, Z-disk proteins, such as α-actinin, were mainly found in primitive dot-like structures on actin stress fibres, M-band-associated proteins (myomesin, obscurin, Nbr1, p62 and MURF2) remained punctate. These results show that integration of the M-band region of titin is required for myosin filament assembly, M-band formation and maturation of the Z-disk.
A method to determine osmotically effective albumin and gammaglobulin concentrations in tissue fluids, its application to the uvea and a note on the effects of capillary "leaks" on tissue fluid dynamics.

Choroids and ciliary processes from rabbits were incubated with labelled myoglobin, albumin and gammaglobulin and the equilibrium spaces were determined. Using experimental data for the in vivo steady state myoglobin space in each tissue an approximate value for the in vivo equilibrium space could be calculated. The in vivo albumin and gammaglobulin equilibrium spaces were calculated using the data for in vivo equilibrium myoglobin spaces and the differences in spaces determined in vitro. Values for the effective albumin and gammaglobulin concentrations in the tissues were calculated by dividing the in vivo steady state spaces by the calculated in vivo equilibrium spaces. In the choroid the effective albumin and gammaglobulin concentrations were 68 and 48 per cent of those in plasma respectively. In the ciliary processes the corresponding figures were 74 and 67 per cent. Model experiments showed that in membranes with 500 A pores the apparent colloid osmotic pressure of rabbit plasma, 3 % albumin and 3 % gammaglobulin is less than 1 cm H2O. The results indicate that in the choroid and the ciliary processes there is a net outflow of water in the semipermeable parts of the blood vessels having a transmural hydrostatic pressure difference of more than 7 mmHg. In pores permitting protein passage still less is required to give net outward filtration.
In‐vitro anti‐inflammatory effect of Eucalyptus globulus and Thymus vulgaris: nitric oxide inhibition in J774A.1 murine macrophages

It is well known that nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Thymus vulgaris L. have been used in traditional medicine in the treatment of bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory diseases. The present study focuses on the effects of these two extracts on NO production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) in the murine macrophage cell line J774A.1. In addition, cell viability, scavenging activity and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA expression were evaluated. E. globulus and T. vulgaris extracts significantly inhibited the enhanced production of NO induced by LPS and IFN‐γ in a dose‐dependent manner. Treatment with these two extracts did not reduce cell viability at any dose used. Both plant extracts showed significant scavenging of NO radicals released by an NO donor, PAPANONOate. Results also show that pre‐treatment with E. globulus and T. vulgaris extracts significantly inhibits iNOS mRNA expression. This study thus suggests that the inhibition of net NO production by these two extracts may be due to their NO scavenging activity and/or their inhibitory effects on iNOS gene expression.
Adults with congenital heart disease: patient knowledge of endocarditis prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether adults with congenital heart disease have adequate knowledge of infective endocarditis and endocarditis prophylaxis and to ascertain whether an educational program effectively improves patient knowledge and compliance. MATERIAL AND METHODS We asked 102 consecutive patients to complete a 12-question survey to assess their knowledge of heart disease, infective endocarditis, and endocarditis prophylaxis. RESULTS Of 102 patients, 100 (98%) completed the questionnaire. Sixty-eight patients knew the name of their heart disease. Fifty patients correctly defined endocarditis, but only 43 knew hygiene measures that could prevent endocarditis. Ninety-six patients knew that they needed to take "a medicine" before dental procedures, and 76 of those patients (79%) knew that an antibiotic was necessary. Patient use of cardiac medications and a history of endocarditis correlated significantly with knowledge of endocarditis. Patients who had been to the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at least once knew endocarditis prevention measures and the importance of regular dental and cardiology follow-up significantly more frequently than did first-time attendees. Despite educational counseling, however, patient recall of endocarditis and its prevention is disappointing. CONCLUSION Many adults with congenital heart disease have inadequate knowledge of their cardiac lesion, endocarditis, and endocarditis prophylaxis. Educational efforts for adults with congenital heart disease need to be updated and reinforced regularly.
PEPSC: A Power-Efficient Processor for Scientific Computing

The rapid advancements in the computational capabilities of the graphics processing unit (GPU) as well as the deployment of general programming models for these devices have made the vision of a desktop supercomputer a reality. It is now possible to assemble a system that provides several TFLOPs of performance on scientific applications for the cost of a high-end laptop computer. While these devices have clearly changed the landscape of computing, there are two central problems that arise. First, GPUs are designed and optimized for graphics applications resulting in delivered performance that is far below peak for more general scientific and mathematical applications. Second, GPUs are power hungry devices that often consume 100-300 watts, which restricts the scalability of the solution and requires expensive cooling. To combat these challenges, this paper presents the PEPSC architecture -- an architecture customized for the domain of data parallel scientific applications where power-efficiency is the central focus. PEPSC utilizes a combination of a two-dimensional single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) data path, an intelligent dynamic prefetching mechanism, and a configurable SIMD control approach to increase execution efficiency over conventional GPUs. A single PEPSC core has a peak performance of 120 GFLOPs while consuming 2W of power when executing modern scientific applications, which represents an increase in computation efficiency of more than 10X over existing GPUs.
Does the Social Safety Net Improve Welfare? A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis

Does the social safety net improve welfare? Conventional wisdom says that means-tested social safety net programs improve welfare because they provide partial insurance against large negative shocks by guaranteeing a minimum consumption floor, but some economists have argued that they may also discourage labor supply and reduce capital accumulation (e.g. Hubbard, Skinner, and Zeldes (1995), Moffitt (2002)). Furthermore, recent research suggests that the welfare gain from the insurance channel may be small since the social safety net significantly crowds out private insurance decisions (e.g. Brown and Finkelstein (2008)). In this paper, I quantitatively assess the tradeoff between these channels in a dynamic general equilibrium model with incomplete markets and endogenous health insurance decision. I find that the social safety net generates a significant welfare loss, suggesting that the insurance channel is dominated by the other channels. I then show that the social safety net has a large crowding out effect on private health insurance, and this crowding out is important for obtaining the welfare loss result. I show that in a model with exogenous health insurance, the social safety net can generate a small welfare gain. I also find that the model can account for a puzzling fact about the US health insurance markets, that is, a large number of Americans do not have any health insurance. Since many Americans (who are currently not qualified for means-tested programs) would become qualified after being hit by large health expense shocks, they are better off not buying any health insurance. This finding challenges the popular view that policy makers should force the currently uninsured to buy private health insurance. A policy experiment in the calibrated model shows that the health insurance mandate, a central component of the recent US health care reform, reduces welfare.
Diclofenac in fish: Blood plasma levels similar to human therapeutic levels affect global hepatic gene expression

Diclofenac is a nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug frequently found in the aquatic environment. Previous studies have reported histological changes in the liver, kidney, and gills of fish at concentrations similar to those measured in treated sewage effluents (approximately 1 µg/L). Analyses or predictions of blood plasma levels in fish allow a direct comparison with human therapeutic plasma levels and may therefore be used to indicate a risk for pharmacological effects in fish. To relate internal exposure to a pharmacological interaction, we investigated global hepatic gene expression together with bioconcentration in blood plasma and liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to waterborne diclofenac. At the highest exposure concentration (81.5 µg/L), the fish plasma concentration reached approximately 88% of the human therapeutic levels (Cmax) after two weeks. Using an oligonucleotide microarray followed by quantitative PCR, we found extensive effects on hepatic gene expression at this concentration, and some genes were found to be regulated down to the lowest exposure concentration tested (1.6 µg/L), corresponding to a plasma concentration approximately 1.5% of the human Cmax. Thus, at concentrations detected in European surface waters, diclofenac can affect the expression of multiple genes in exposed fish. Functional analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed effects on biological processes such as inflammation and the immune response, in agreement with the mode of action of diclofenac in mammals. In contrast to some previously reported results, the bioconcentration factor was found to be stable (4.02 ± 0.75 for blood plasma and 2.54 ± 0.36 for liver) regardless of the water concentration. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2126–2134. © 2011 SETAC
Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence of Motor Cortex Activation Related to an Amputated Limb: A Multisensorial Approach

Phantom limb sensations may be linked to motor activities in the deafferented cortices of amputees, with artificial visual feedback of an amputated limb leading to enhanced phantom sensations. The present study was designed to verify if cortical motor activity related to an amputated limb can be triggered by visual input using an objective behavioral measure and with a neurophysiological correlate. Trauma amputees and normally limbed subjects showed superior performance in a mirror-drawing task when the mirror was placed sagittally (giving visual feedback of the amputated/inactive limb) compared with when it was placed frontally. Measurement of lateralized movement-related brain potentials showed that, under the lateral mirror condition, contralateral motor activity of the viewed hand was observed in both normal subjects and trauma amputees. In contrast, this activity was not observed in subjects with congenital limb absence. These findings suggest that, in traumatic amputees, motor enhancement due to visualization of the movements of the missing limb reflects the effectiveness of motor commands to the missing limb, strengthening the hypothesis of the functional survival of deafferented cortical motor areas.
LARYNGOSCOPIC (ARTICULATORY) AND ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE OF A PREVAILING EMPHATIC FEATURE OVER THE WORD IN ARABIC

The secondary place of articulation for Arabic ‘emphatic’ consonants varies across dialects. This study examines two speakers of Iraqi Arabic, using acoustic evidence, and one speaker of Iraqi Arabic, using direct visual laryngoscopic (articulatory) evidence, to determine the phonetic nature of the secondary feature and the prosodic effect of an emphatic consonant over multisyllabic words. The acoustic and laryngoscopic evidence indicates that the prevailing nature of emphatics in Iraqi Arabic is pharyngealization. Furthermore, the effect of an emphatic spreads to all syllables, forwards or backwards, regardless of its position in the word, although the effect is modified or blocked in certain phonotactic conditions.
Practical design of double-clad ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers using Giles parameters

We present a simple and accurate method for measuring the Giles parameters of a double-clad ytterbium-doped fiber. The characterization is performed by cut-back on the doped fiber under constant pumping. Using nonlinear curve-fitting of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) power-density spectra, along with iterative solution of the photon balance model, we compute both the small-signal gain at complete population inversion and the small-signal absorption of the fiber. The method successfully predicts the extraction efficiency of an amplifier operating at 1064 nm. The ratio between the signal power and the out-of-band ASE power at the output of the amplifier is also accurately predicted by introducing spurious feedback from the fiber facets in the photon balance model. This work shows that a fiber facet reflectivity of a few thousandths of a percent (-40 to -50) dB can significantly enhance the out-of-band ASE power.
Analysis of modified ShiftRows and MixColumns transformations in Rijndael algorithm

In this paper a personalized version of the Rijndael algorithm is analyzed (i.e. namely, from ASCII characters frequencies and ciphertext correlations point of view). The aforementioned personalization consists in pseudo-randomly modifying ShiftRows & MixColumns transformations, using two multiply-with-carry PRNGs designed by George Marsaglia.