Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chameleon pluralism in the EU: an empirical study of the European Commission interest group density and diversity across policy domains

This paper contributes to the discussion surrounding interest groups in the European Commission. We inspect the Commission's lobbying register and assess the density and diversity of the interest group population per policy domain. The results suggest that while at the system level élite pluralism with its preponderance of business interests is a credible hypothesis, this is not the case at the sub-system level, where chameleon pluralism better conceptualizes variation of the interest group populations as a function of the age of the Directorate General (DG), capacity of the DG, nature of the policy domain, and involvement of member states. Bridging theoretical considerations on input/output legitimacy with informational approaches, we argue that different policy domains demand different types of legitimacy that are supported by the provision of different types of information (technical/political).
Gender and the Development of Welfare Regimes

This paper builds on the idea that any further development of the concept of 'welfare regime' must incorporate the relationship between unpaid as well as paid work and welfare. Consideration of the privateldomestic is crucial to a gendered understanding of welfare because historically women have typically gained entitlements by virtue of their dependent status within the family as wives and mothers. The paper suggests that the idea of the male-breadwinner family model has served historically to cut across established typologies of welfare regimes, and further that the model has been modified in different ways and to different degrees in particular countries.
Research Subsidies, Population Control Policies, and Growth

Several R&D-based growth models without scale effects claim that subsidies to R&D are not conductive for economic growth while a faster growing population is. Yet, in an effort to maintain high growth rates, most OECD countries continue to subsidize R&D, while several developing countries are trying to control the size of their population. Are these countries misguided? This study introduces an R&D-based growth model that is characterized by complementarities between technology and human capital. The model is free of scale effects and consistent with the above-mentioned policies. By applying the model to US data the study uncovers a possible explanation for the productivity slowdown.
The mRNA of Human Cytoplasmic Arginyl-tRNA Synthetase Recruits Prokaryotic Ribosomes Independently*

Background: Two isoforms of human cytoplasmic arginyl-tRNA synthetase (hcArgRS) are produced from a single mRNA. Results: Two isoforms were found when hcArgRS was overexpressed in E. coli. Conclusion: The mRNA encoding the N-terminal extension of hcArgRS can recruit E. coli ribosomes independently. Significance: This study may provide a mechanism of alternative translational initiation of hcArgRS mRNA in human cells. There are two isoforms of cytoplasmic arginyl-tRNA synthetase (hcArgRS) in human cells. The long form is a component of the multiple aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex, and the other is an N-terminal truncated form (ΔNhcArgRS), free in the cytoplasm. It has been shown that the two forms of ArgRS arise from alternative translational initiation in a single mRNA. The short form is produced from the initiation at a downstream, in-frame AUG start codon. Interestingly, our data suggest that the alternative translational initiation of hcArgRS mRNA also takes place in Escherichia coli transformants. When the gene encoding full-length hcArgRS was overexpressed in E. coli, two forms of hcArgRS were observed. The N-terminal sequencing experiment identified that the short form was identical to the ΔNhcArgRS in human cytoplasm. By constructing a bicistronic system, our data support that the mRNA encoding the N-terminal extension of hcArgRS has the capacity of independently recruiting E. coli ribosomes. Furthermore, two critical elements for recruiting prokaryotic ribosomes were identified, the “AGGA” core of the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and the “A-rich” sequence located just proximal to the alternative in-frame initiation site. Although the mechanisms of prokaryotic and eukaryotic translational initiation are distinct, they share some common features. The ability of the hcArgRS mRNA to recruit the prokaryotic ribosome may provide clues for shedding light on the mechanism of alternative translational initiation of hcArgRS mRNA in eukaryotic cells.
The relationship of pulmonary vascular resistance and compliance to pulmonary artery wedge pressure during submaximal exercise in healthy older adults

A consistent inverse hyperbolic relationship has been observed between pulmonary vascular resistance and compliance, although changes in pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) may modify this relationship. This relationship predicts that pulmonary artery systolic, diastolic and mean pressure maintain a consistent relationship relative to the PAWP. We show that, in healthy exercising human adults, both pulmonary vascular resistance and compliance decrease in relation to exercise‐associated increases in PAWP. Pulmonary artery systolic, diastolic and mean pressures maintain a consistent relationship with one another, increasing linearly with increasing PAWP. Increases in PAWP in the setting of exercise are directly related to a decrease in pulmonary vascular compliance, despite small decreases in pulmonary vascular resistance, thereby increasing the pulsatile afterload to the right ventricle.
Family Policies, Wage Structures, and Gender Gaps: Sources of Earnings Inequality in 20 Countries

This study uncovers an unexpected effect of family-friendly policies on women's economic attainments. Using hierarchical linear models, the analysis combines individual-level data (obtained from the Luxembourg Income Study) with country-level data (obtained from secondary sources) to evaluate the effects of family policies on gender earnings inequality across 20 advanced societies. The analysis shows that gender earnings disparities are less pronounced in countries with developed family policies. However, the findings also show that if cross-country differences in the wage structure are controlled, the underlying effect of family policy on the gender gap is exposed. Although “mother-friendly” policies enable more women to become economically active, they exacerbate gender occupational inequality. The authors therefore conclude that the lower earnings differentials between men and women in developed welfare states should be attributed to their more egalitarian wage structures rather than to their family policies. The paradoxical implications of policies intended to reconcile paid and unpaid work as well as the mechanisms that cause these policies to widen the gender earnings gap are discussed and evaluated in light of sociological theories on the role of family policy and wage determination institutions in contemporary societies.
Demographic and Socio-Economic Conditions of the Restructuring of Family Policy in Poland

Contemporary changes of the family imply the need to seek new perspectives in family policy. In Poland, successive reforms and the proposed changes in this area have not yielded the expected results, either in terms of demographic balance, society or the economy of the country. They do not include in full many important aspects, among them the transformation of the family as well as other aspects such as the principle of subsidiarity, the empowerment of families, economic changes (especially in the labor market) and the mutual implications of family policy and the economy. The main objective of the article is to present changes of the family policy model, the dilemmas and the possibility of rebuilding this policy in Poland taking into consideration both the still unresolved problems and risks of family change (de-institutionalization), as well as the new challenges resulting from this state of affairs in demographic as well as social and economic aspects. The background considerations are the models of family policy in other European countries.
The Impact of Financial Restructuring on the Performance of Pakistani Banks: A DEA Approach

Privatization is considered one of the most sophisticated techniques to improve the financial position of the banking sector and has been empirically tested by many researchers through different methods; and still, many studies are under way to assess its implications on the economy. Prior research has shown a significant positive effect of privatization on the financial institutions’ profitability. The present study is conducted to evaluate the operating efficiency of 28 Pakistani commercial banks over a five-year period, i.e., 2003-2007, through the traditional method and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. The results of the traditional approach suggest that privatization cannot help banks in improving their operating income. These results add further robustness to the findings of the DEA approach of measuring efficiency, which show that public banks are better able to cover their interest and non-interest expenses from their corresponding revenues.
Detection of apoptotic tumor response in vivo after a single dose of chemotherapy with 99mTc-annexin V.

UNLABELLED Annexin V, a human protein with a high affinity for phosphatidylserine, has been labeled with (99m)Tc to detect apoptosis in vivo. To determine the effectiveness of imaging with this agent as a reflection of the degree of apoptosis after the first dose of chemotherapy, we studied rats with an engrafted hepatoma. METHODS Annexin V was labeled with (99m)Tc (specific activity, 3.0 MBq/ micro g protein). Eleven days after being inoculated with allogenic hepatoma cells (KDH-8) in the left calf muscle, the rats were randomized to receive a single dose of cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg intraperitoneally) or to serve as controls. (99m)Tc-annexin V was injected 20 h later. Radioactivity in tissues was determined 6 h after injection of (99m)Tc-annexin V. Tumor uptake of (14)C-iodoanitpyrine was determined as a marker of tumor blood flow. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) of tissue harvested at necropsy was performed to detect apoptosis in the tumor. RESULTS Cyclophosphamide treatment significantly increased the tumor uptake (percentage activity of injected dose per gram of tissue after normalization to the animal's weight [%ID/g/kg]) of (99m)Tc-annexin V (0.070 +/- 0.007 %ID/g/kg for treated rats and 0.046 +/- 0.009 %ID/g/kg for controls, P < 0.001). (14)C-iodoantipyrine uptake was similar in the treated and untreated groups. The number of TUNEL-positive cells in the tumor was significantly larger in the treated rats (297.70 +/- 50.34 cells/mm(2)) than in the control rats (168.45 +/- 23.60 cells/mm(2), P < 0.001). Tumor uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V correlated with the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the tumor (r = 0.712; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Tumor uptake of (99m)Tc-annexin V was significantly increased by a single dose of cyclophosphamide treatment, and the increase was concordant with the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the tumor. The current results are suggestive of the utility of (99m)Tc-annexin V as a noninvasive means to assess tumor response, although further testing, including clinical evaluation, is required.
A Comparative Analysis of Payday Loan Customers

"One of the most rapidly growing and controversial forms of consumer lending to recently emerge in the marketplace has been payday advances. This form of credit allows the borrower to obtain a small amount of cash for a short period of time. Claims of predatory lending often arise due to the high annual percentage rates that result from the fees for borrowing small amounts of money for 2 wk or less. By analyzing the data collected in a national survey of payday customers, this research allows policymakers to better understand what type of consumer borrows from payday lenders, for what purpose, and what the true benefits and costs are. The results confirm a strong demand for payday loans that satisfy a real financial need within a certain segment of the population. "("JEL "D12, D18, G20) Copyright (c) 2007 Western Economic Association International.
Cursed Equilibrium Revisited

Empirical as well as experimental evidence strongly suggests that bidders in common value auctions typically do not conform to the requirements of perfect rationality. Eyster and Rabin (2005) develop a theory and an equilibrium concept - x-cursed equilibrium - for bounded rational bidding in common value auctions (among other situations), and also present some experimental evidence supporting the theory. This paper comments on these findings of an experiment conducted at the University of Bergen. In the experiment, participants often demonstrate behaviour that is beyond the bounds set by the x-cursed equilibrium theory, and I present an alternative theory that better explains the experimental findings.
Why Not Share Rather Than Own?

Sharing is an alternative form of distribution to commodity exchange and gift giving. Compared to these alternative modes, sharing can foster community, save resources, and create certain synergies. Yet outside of our immediate families, we do little sharing. Even within the family, there is increased privatization. This article addresses impediments to sharing as well as incentives that may encourage more sharing of both tangible and intangible goods. Two recent developments, the Internet and intellectual property rights doctrines, are locked in a battle that will do much to determine the future of sharing. Businesses may lead the way with virtual corporations outsourcing the bulk of their operations. Whether virtual consumers sharing some of their major possessions are a viable counterpart remains an open question.
The role of strategic groups in understanding strategic human resource management

Purpose – This article aims to explore how understanding the challenges faced by companies' attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry, this study identifies how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on firm and industry level analyses.Design/methodology/approach – Senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews.Findings – The findings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international ho.
Estimating NAA in cortical gray matter with applications for measuring changes due to aging

N‐acetylaspartic acid (NAA), a prominent peak in the proton spectrum, is an amino acid thought to be present almost exclusively in neurons and their dendritic and axonal extensions. While 1H MRS studies are showing promise in identifying NAA deficits in different patient groups, unwanted lipid signal from subcutaneous fat surrounding the skull, and necessarily large voxels have limited investigators' ability to assess NAA in cortical gray matter. Here we report a technique developed to derive estimates of NAA signal from cortical gray matter. This approach uses an inversion recovery imaging pulse sequence with a long TE to suppress lipid signal from the scalp and information from concurrently obtained structural MR images to determine the CSF, white and gray matter composition of each spectroscopic voxel. A regression analysis is then used to estimate what NAA levels would be in “pure” white and gray matter voxels. This technique has been applied to demonstrate reduced NAA gray/white levels in the brains of five healthy older compared with five healthy younger women.
Wireless ESD Event Locator Systems in Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing Environments

This paper presents two wireless systems, namely, an electromagnetic interference (EMI)-strength-based system and a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)-based system, that locate electrostatic discharge (ESD) events in hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturing environments. The EMI-strength-based system is composed of four EMI detectors and estimates an ESD event position using an enhanced trilateration method. The RSSI-based system consists of three stationary wireless sensor nodes and one mobile wireless sensor node. The stationary nodes provide reference positions, whereas the mobile node is equipped with an EMI detector, which is used to detect an ESD event throughout the manufacturing line. Subsequently, the ESD event position is estimated by an RSSI-based localization method. In this RSSI-based system, a new method is also introduced to compensate the attenuated RSSI values by using a neural network and various transmission powers. Both systems were evaluated in a real HDD setting, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed here. The evaluation results indicate that both systems worked well. However, the RSSI-based system can support a larger area compared with the EMI-strength-based system.
HIV/AIDS risk behaviors and correlates of injection drug use among drug users in Pakistan

We studied prevalence and correlates of injection drug use, awareness of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and risky behaviors among drug users serviced by a nongovernmental organization catering to drug users in three Pakistani cities (Quetta, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify correlates of injection drug use. Of 608 drug users, 99.8% were male; median age was 32 years, and 44% were married. Most (79.8%) were Pakistani; 15.3% were Afghani. The majority used heroin (98.7%), mostly by inhalation; 15.2% injected drugs. Only 41% had heard of HIV/AIDS, and 30% had been paid for donating blood. Injection drug use and needle sharing were highest in Quetta. Injecting drug users (IDUs) were nearly twice as likely to have donated blood and to have heard about HIV/AIDS compared to other drug users. Interventions to discourage transitions to injection, increase HIV testing, and safeguard the blood supply in Pakistan are urgently needed.
Review of recent systems for automatic assessment of programming assignments

This paper presents a systematic literature review of the recent (2006--2010) development of automatic assessment tools for programming exercises. We discuss the major features that the tools support and the different approaches they are using both from the pedagogical and the technical point of view. Examples of these features are ways for the teacher to define tests, resubmission policies, security issues, and so forth. We have also identified a list of novel features, like assessing web software, that are likely to get more research attention in the future. As a conclusion, we state that too many new systems are developed, but also acknowledge the current reasons for the phenomenon. As one solution we encourage opening up the existing systems and joining efforts on developing those further. Selected systems from our survey are briefly described in Appendix A.
How Much Can Financial Literacy Help?

We merge survey data on a sample of individual investors containing test-based measures of financial literacy with administrative records on their assets holding and trades before, during and after the financial crisis of September 2008. This dataset allows us to design three tests of the benefits of financial literacy by comparing the decisions actually taken by individuals with a dominated alternative. We find that high-literacy investors are better at timing the market, since conditional on exiting the stock market they are more likely to exit before rather than after the crash following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. High-literacy investors are also more likely to trade according to the prescriptions of normative models and to detect intermediaries’ potential conflicts of interest. However, though statistically significant these effects are economically small. In fact, far too many investors, even among those with high literacy, tend to choose the dominated alternative along all dimensions of choice examined. This suggests that literacy may be a poor edge against financial mistakes.
Sequential cardiopulmonary variables of infants and children in septic shock

Sequential cardiopulmonary variables were analyzed in 32 infants and children with septic shock. Variables were staged by a system based on therapeutic efforts to control blood pressure. There were 14 survivors and 18 nonsurvivors. Systemic circulation variables (MAP, cardiac index [CI], systemic vascular resistance index [SVRI], wedge pressure [WP], left cardiac work index [LCWI]) and pulmonary circulation variables (mean pulmonary artery pressure [MPAP], pulmonary vascular resistance index [PVRI], CVP, right cardiac work index [RCWI]) were similar in survivors and nonsurvivors. Pulmonary variables (intrapulmonary shunt [Qsp/Qt], fraction of inspired oxygen [FiO2), Pao2, Paco2) revealed significantly more dysfunction in nonsurvivors than survivors during the postresuscitation (PR) and middle (M) shock stages. Even though oxygen delivery was equivalent in survivors and nonsurvivors, nonsurvivors demonstrated decreased oxygen utilization variables (oxygen consumption [Vo2], arteriovenous oxygen content difference [C(a-v)o2], O2 extraction index, core temperature) during the resuscitation (RS) and PR stages.
Regulation of Fibroblast Growth Factor-23 Signaling by Klotho*

The aging suppressor gene Klotho encodes a single-pass transmembrane protein. Klotho-deficient mice exhibit a variety of aging-like phenotypes, many of which are similar to those observed in fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23)-deficient mice. To test the possibility that Klotho and FGF23 may function in a common signal transduction pathway(s), we investigated whether Klotho is involved in FGF signaling. Here we show that Klotho protein directly binds to multiple FGF receptors (FGFRs). The Klotho-FGFR complex binds to FGF23 with higher affinity than FGFR or Klotho alone. In addition, Klotho significantly enhanced the ability of FGF23 to induce phosphorylation of FGF receptor substrate and ERK in various types of cells. Thus, Klotho functions as a cofactor essential for activation of FGF signaling by FGF23.
SDF-based estimation of linear factor models with alternative loss functions

Hansen and Jagannathan (1997) introduce a measure of model misspecification which is based on the L2-norm and which has been wildly used in recent years in order to estimate the parameters of linear factor models. Given the observed asymmetry and excess kurtosis of financial returns, this paper introduces two alternative estimation methods which follow the same approach but replace its loss function. The first one is based on the absolute value of the corresponding deviations while the second one uses a gain-loss ratio-based loss function. We show how these two estimation methods can be implemented by means of simple linear programming and Monte Carlo simulations are undertaken to assess the relative performance of all three methods under varying distributional assumptions. Our results show a promising behaviour of the gain-loss ratio-based estimates and they also emphasise the important gains that may be accomplished by using positivity constraints on the model's associated stochastic discount factor.