Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bilateral cerebellorubrothalamic fibers stimulation for essential tremor?

We have read with interest the study by Santangelo et al., reporting the role of vascular pathology in the neuropsychological profile of parkinsonian patients. The authors evaluated whether the brain’s vascular lesion load is associated with neuropsychological variables. They compared the neuropsychological profile of patients affected by Parkinsonism and vascular lesions to that of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) without vascular lesions. The conclusion was that ‘‘regardless of the presence of dopaminergic denervation, cerebrovascular lesions . have an important effect in determining early onset and severity of cognitive impairment in patients with parkinsonism’’. We agree with the authors that a comorbid cerebrovascular disease (CVD) may have an important impact on impairment of cognitive functions in patients with PD. In this aspect, the PD patients are not fundamentally different from patients without Parkinsonism. We have recently demonstrated that the pathology of vessels supplying the brain contribute to the disease severity in PD patients even without a CVD. In 57 consecutive PD patients, we measured ultrasound parameters indicating an atherosclerotic disease of the large and small brain vessels. The occurrence of the MRI and clinically manifested CVD was rare (stroke or transient ischemic attack in five patients, only small volume white matter lesions), concurring with results of large epidemiological studies. The ultrasonographic examination of extracranial vessels comprised the measurement of the intima-medial thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery, and the carotid arteries were evaluated for the presence of atherosclerotic plaques. IMT is considered to be a useful sonographic marker of early atherosclerotic affection. Regarding the ultrasonographic examination of intracranial vessels, the resistance and pulsatility indexes (RI, PI) were calculated. These indexes are not just functions of flow resistance; they are also influenced by vascular compliance. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed a significant association between the IMT and motor, functional, and cognitive impairment (as measured by the Hoehn-Yahr score, Lawton’s Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Barthel Index, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Clock Drawing Test – for details see Rektor et al.). Several cognitive tests (Benton Temporal Orientation Test and the Recognition subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale III) were significantly associated with the PI. Our results suggest a possible link between a comorbid and otherwise subclinical atherosclerotic involvement and the degree of motor and cognitive decline caused primarily by disease-related degenerative brain changes. This subclinical brain hypoperfusion may affect the severity of clinical symptoms of PD even prior to the development of CVD.
Bent Four-Leaf Antenna

A bent four-leaf antenna (BeFoL) is considered to generate four reconfigurable beams. For this, one end of the four leaves is excited with the others shorted to the ground plane. The beam direction in the elevation plane is controlled by the size of the ground plane. One technique of directing the beam in the horizontal direction is also presented, where the finite square ground plane is bent. It is found that the front-to-back ratio frequency bandwidth for a 10-dB criterion is approximately 43%. Within this frequency band, the VSWR is less than 2, as desired.
Resource Abundance and Economic Development

Since the 1960s the per capita incomes of the resource-poor countries have grown significantly faster than those of the resource-abundant countries. In fact, in recent years economic growth has been inversely proportional to the share of natural resource rents in GDP, so that the small mineral-driven economies have performed least well and the oil-driven economies worst of all. Yet the mineral-driven resource-rich economies have high growth potential because the mineral exports boost their capacity to invest and to import. "Resource Abundance and Economic Development" explains the disappointing performance of resource-abundant countries by extending the growth accounting framework to include natural and social capital. The resulting synthesis identifies two contrasting development trajectories: the competitive industrialization of the resource-poor countries and the staple trap of many resource-abundant countries. The resource-poor countries are less prone to policy failure than the resource-abundant countries because social pressures force the political state to align its interests with the majority poor and follow relatively prudent policies. Resource-abundant countries are more likely to engender political states in which vested interests vie to capture resource surpluses (rents) at the expense of policy coherence. A longer dependence on primary product exports also delays industrialization, heightens income inequality, and retards skill accumulation. Fears of 'Dutch disease' encourage efforts to force industrialization through trade policy to protect infant industry. The resulting slow-maturing manufacturing sector demands transfers from the primary sector that outstrip the natural resource rents and sap the competitiveness of the economy. The chapters in this collection draw upon historical analysis and models to show that a growth collapse is not the inevitable outcome of resource abundance and that policy counts. Malaysia, a rare example of successful resource-abundant development, is contrasted with Ghana, Bolivia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Argentina, which all experienced a growth collapse. The book also explores policies for reviving collapsed economies with reference to Costa Rica, South Africa, Russia and Central Asia. It demonstrates the importance of initial conditions to successful economic reform. Contributors to this volume - Richard M. Auty Richard M. Auty and Sampsa Kiiski Kirk Hamilton Nancy Birdsall, Thomas Pinckney, and Richard Sabot Michael Woolcock, Lant Pritchett, and Jonathan Isham Ronald Findlay and Mats Lundahl S. Mansoob Murshed Richard M. Auty and Alan H. Gelb Mahani Zainal Abidin Robert Osei Richard M. Auty and J. L. Evia Richard M. Auty Richard M. Auty Gustavo Barboza and Jose Cordero Carolyn Jenkins Richard M. Auty Anil Markandya and Alina Averchenkova Thorvaldur Gylfason Richard M. Auty
SiC-based unidirectional solid-state transformer concepts for directly interfacing 400V DC to Medium-Voltage AC distribution systems

400 V DC distribution networks present a promising solution for supplying high-power DC loads such as information processing systems, transportation battery charging facilities and DC micro grids, among others. For these applications, high transmission efficiency, reliability and controllability are mandatory. With the current technology, these loads are fed from PWM rectifiers which are connected to the three-phase Low-Voltage (LV) distribution grid (400 V AC in Europe). The LV grid itself is supplied via Low-Frequency Transformers (LFT) from the Medium-Voltage (MV) grid, providing galvanic isolation and the required voltage step down. This paper presents three unidirectional AC/DC SiC-based Solid-State Transformer (SST) topologies with direct connection to the MV grid, which avoid the utilization of the aforementioned LFT by integrating a Medium-Frequency (MF) conversion stage, thus increasing the efficiency and power density of this supply system. The SST topologies are compared by means of a chip area-based comparative evaluation. Finally, the most suited among the presented topologies is Pareto-optimized, achieving a total MV AC to 400 V DC efficiency of 98.3 %. It is shown that the optimized SST features 40 % less overall losses compared to state-of-the-art solutions.
Making sense out of spinal cord somatosensory development

The spinal cord integrates and relays somatosensory input, leading to complex motor responses. Research over the past couple of decades has identified transcription factor networks that function during development to define and instruct the generation of diverse neuronal populations within the spinal cord. A number of studies have now started to connect these developmentally defined populations with their roles in somatosensory circuits. Here, we review our current understanding of how neuronal diversity in the dorsal spinal cord is generated and we discuss the logic underlying how these neurons form the basis of somatosensory circuits. Summary: This review discusses the mechanisms that generate neuronal diversity in the spinal cord, highlighting how different developmental populations produce neurons with distinct somatosensory functions.
Asian Exchange Rate Options under Stochastic Interest Rates: Pricing as a Sum of Delayed Payment Options

The aim of the paper is to develop pricing formulas for European type Asian options written on the exchange rate in a two currency economy. The exchange rate as well as the foreign and domestic zero coupon bond prices are assumed to follow geometric Brownian motions. As a special case of a discrete Asian option we analyse the delayed payment currency option and develop closed form pricing and hedging formulas. The main emphasis is devoted to the discretely sampled Asian option. It is shown how the value of this option can be approximated as the sum of Black-Scholes options. The formula is obtained under the application of results developed by Rogers and Shi (1995) and Jamshidian (1991). In addition bounds for the pricing error are determined. distribution of information. This criterion allows, not only,
Agregados monetarios, inflación y actividad económica en México

This paper analyzes the relationships of monetary aggregates with inflation and economic activity in Mexico from 1980 to 2000. The stability of the long-run and short-run demands for each aggregate is examined and the exogeneity properties of the variables involved are discussed. Among all the definitions of money, currency is the one that helps to forecast inflation and economic activity better although, even in this case, the usefulness of monetary aggregates for this purpose seems to be rather modest
The Study of APOA1, APOC3 and APOA4 Variability in Healthy Ageing People Reveals Another Paradox   in the Oldest Old Subjects

The genes coding for apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1), apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) and apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4) are tandemly organised within a short region on chromosome 11q23‐q24. Polymorphisms of these genes have been extensively investigated in lipoprotein disorders and cardiovascular diseases, but poorly investigated in healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to describe possible modifications of the APOA1, APOC3, and APOA4 gene pool by cross‐sectional studies carried out in a healthy ageing population whose ages ranged from 18 to 109 years (800 subjects, 327 males and 473 females, free of clinically manifested disease, and with emato‐chemical parameters in the norm). APOA1‐MspI‐RFLP (−75 nt from the transcription starting site), APOC3‐SstI‐RFLP (3′UTR, 3238 nt), and APOA4‐HincII‐RFLP (Asp127/Ser127) were analysed according to age and sex. A significant age‐related variation of the APOA1 gene pool was observed in males. An analysis of the allele average effect exerted by APOA1‐MspI‐RFLP A/P alleles (Absence/Presence of the restriction site) on lipidemic parameters in 46–80 year old males showed that allele A decreased, while allele P significantly increased, serum LDL‐cholesterol. Unexpectedly, the P allele was over‐represented in the group of the oldest old subjects, thus giving evidence of another “genetic paradox of centenarians”.
Evaluation of the proliferative activity of methanol extracts from six medicinal plants in murine spleen cells

A number of natural compounds have been used as immunomodulatory agents, enabling the function of the immune system to be modified by stimulating or suppressing it. There has been increasing interest in the study of therapeutic action of plant extracts regarding their immunomodulatory activity. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the action of extracts of the medicinal plants Calophyllum brasiliense, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Matayba elaeagnoides, Maytenus robusta, Rubus imperialis and Vernonia scorpioides on the development of spleen cells from mice, using the in vitro cellular proliferation assay. The cells, obtained by mechanical rupture of mice spleen (5x104 cells/mL), were incubated with methanol extracts (10, 50, 100 and 200 µg/mL) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA, 5 µg/mL). The basal control for proliferation consisted of cells alone, while the positive control consisted of cells and PHA. The cell culture was kept at 37 oC in 5% CO2 for 72 hours, and cell proliferation was revealed by the blue tetrazolium reduction assay (MTT). The results were expressed as percentage of growth and were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. The C. brasiliense, I. pes-caprae and M. elaeagnoides extracts showed dose-dependent induction of cell proliferation, with a significant increase in cell proliferation (p<0.03) and percentage growth of 88.2%, 73.1% and 52.7%, respectively, suggesting T lymphocyte stimulation. By contrast, M. robusta, R. imperialis and V. scorpioides extracts showed significance only with a negative percentage of growth, suggesting inhibition of cell proliferation (p<0.04). Further biomonitoring studies will enable the fractions and isolated substances responsible for the immunomodulatory activities to be identified.
A Service Conundrum

Neither service employees nor customers generally focus on what makes a service transaction exceptional, if the results of an exploratory study can be generalized. Indeed, a study of a full-service hotel in a large city found that guests could not recall the specifics of a check-in transaction only moments after it occurred, unless that transaction was exceptionally good (or particularly bad). In contrast, restaurant customers were better able to assess service transactions, although they, too, were likely to remember only outstandingly good or poor service. In general, employees in the front office and in the restaurant used their own personal philosophies or specific approaches to service delivery. Four individuals who were identified as outstanding servers considered service to be a sort of calling. Their approach to service was to create a sense of relationship even in a momentary encounter by attempting to determine in advance what the guest wants and fulfilling that desire before the guest even articulates that need. On the other hand, employees who provided good or average service focused chiefly on making the encounter pleasant and efficient.
Secure decentralized IoT Infrastructure

Despite many Internet of Things (IoT) Infrastructures having been implemented in recent years, none of them is truly prepared for a global deployment, where failure tolerance and scalability are an essential requirement. This article presents an alternative concept for IoT Infrastructures, which focuses on enhancing the traditional centralized architecture, usually operated by a single entity, into a decentralized architecture featuring multiple business roles. We propose a dynamic and self-configurable infrastructure on top of a structured Peer-to-Peer network. In addition, a set of communication protocols are provided in order to support heterogeneous devices, as well as data access, streaming and persistence. It is also an important focus of our proposal to have mechanisms that guarantee the privacy and security of the information flow and storage.
Des outils pour la simulation économique : Jan Tinbergen et l'émergence des modèles structurels (1935–1940)

Nous proposons d'analyser l'un des premiers outils de simulation en économie au travers les travaux de Tinbergen entre 1935 et 1940 au sein de la Société des Nations. Précisément, Tinbergen développe l'utilisation des modèles structurels destinés à la simulation économique. Nous constaterons dans une première partie la volonté de Tinbergen de simuler le mouvement économique en testant statistiquement les théories économiques des cycles. Ainsi, Tinbergen est à la recherche d'un système de fonctions dont la structure est basée sur des théories économiques. Ce système est considéré par Tinbergen comme faisant office de machine permettant alors un second niveau de simulation développée dans la deuxième partie de l'article. Précisément, la machine ainsi constituée permet des simulations de scénarios de politiques économiques. Tinbergen élabore une machine expérimentale qui lui permet de considérer à la fois des scénarios de politiques conjoncturelles et structurelles.
Motor activity and gene expression in rats with neonatal 6‐hydroxydopamine lesions

A rat model of a hyperkinetic disorder was used to investigate the mechanisms underlying motor hyperactivity. Rats received an intracisternal injection of 6‐hydroxydopamine on post‐natal day 5. At 4 weeks of age, the animals showed significant motor hyperactivity during the dark phase, which was attenuated by methamphetamine injection. Gene expression profiling was carried out in the striatum and midbrain using a DNA macroarray. In the striatum at 4 weeks, there was increased gene expression of the NMDA receptor 1 and tachykinins, and decreased expression of a GABA transporter. At 8 weeks, expression of the NMDA receptor 1 in the striatum was attenuated, with enhanced expression of the glial glutamate/aspartate transporter. In the midbrain, a number of genes, including the GABA transporter gene, showed decreased expression at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, gene expression was augmented for the dopamine transporter, D4 receptor, and several genes encoding peptides, such as tachykinins and their receptors. These results suggest that in the striatum the neurotransmitters glutamate, GABA and tachykinin may play crucial roles in motor hyperactivity during the juvenile period. Several classes of neurotransmitters, including dopamine and peptides, may be involved in compensatory mechanisms during early adulthood. These data may prompt further neurochemical investigations in hyperkinetic disorders.
Choice of School in Australia: Determinants and Consequences

This article examines the determinants of school choice (government, Catholic or other independent schools) as well as the success in completing year 12 for cohorts of students born in 1961 and 1970. The results show that those attending Catholic and other independent schools have favourable socio‐economic backgrounds. Ability has a significant and positive effect on the probability of completing year 12. There is no evidence of unobserved selection effects on the probability of completing year 12 for the 1961 cohort. For the 1970 cohort, there is negative selection into other independent schools and positive selection into Catholic schools. Decomposition results further reveal that selection on the basis of observed characteristics accounts for only a small part of the observed differences in year 12 completion rates across the three school systems. In comparison, selection on the basis of unobserved factors is an important part of the difference in year 12 completion rates. The school effects for both cohorts are much larger than those reported in previous studies.
In a Double Bind: Conflicts over Education and Mayoral Election Outcomes

Many European countries have decentralised governance structures to local communities with the direct election of mayors by local residents. This article provides a case study from Israel to assess the interplay between education and local politics. It investigates election outcomes for 75 locales, with a focus on the unique tensions involved in the dual loyalties of mayors to local parents, on the one hand, and state officials, on the other. Mayors who developed conflict relationships with both the local parents and state officials were found most likely to leave office. Conflicts over education are a clear indicator of impending political defeat, but amicable relations with parents and state officials are no automatic guarantee for re-election.
Democratization and Child Mortality

The Millennium Development Goals call for a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality rate. Can democratic reforms contribute to this goal? The focus of previous studies has mainly been on verifying the existence of a relationship between democracy and child mortality and not on the dynamics of the relationship. This paper addresses this question by empirically testing the dynamic effects of important changes in the level of democracy on the percentage change in child mortality using a distributed lag model. The findings are that during the 5 to 25 years following a democratic transition child mortality decreases significantly. Following this decrease, child mortality stabilizes at a new, lower level. Disaggregating democratic transitions into different subcomponents the finding is that the single most important aspect for child mortality is the competitiveness of executive recruitment. The results on the effects of an autocratic experience mirror those of a democratic transition, child mortality increases for a number of years but the results are not as stable as for positive democratic changes.
Editorial. What is the role of the WFITN with regards to the worldwide clinical practice of Interventional and Therapeutic NeuroRadiology, its world meeting and scientific challenges (research)?

Dear Friends, We are pleased to announce a new electronic submission and peer review system that will be implemented for Interventional Neuroradiology starting in January 2008. The new system should improve and facilitate cooperation with our authors. It is a web-based system with full online submission, review and status update capabilities allowing you to upload files directly from your computer. We strongly encourage authors to use the system at the following URL: http://www.editorialmanager. com/in, http://in.edmgr. com Prior to submitting your paper, please follow the instructions for authors published in the journal. Please note that you must have an e-mail address to use the online submission system. In addition, all articles published in Interventional Neuroradiology will be available on the journal's website http://www.centauro. it and can be downloaded a year after publication in the hard copy edition. Authors are encouraged to submit their papers via the website but manuscripts can be sent by e-mail or post if electronic submission is not possible. We believe that these technical improvements will boost access to Interventional Neuroradiology further developing the journal's activity. Thank you for your kind attention, with our best wishes for the new year.
Evaluating Small-Cap Active

Conventional wisdom maintains that small-cap active equity funds have had higher excess returns than their larger-cap counterparts because the small-cap market is less efficient and provides greater stock-selection opportunities. This article reexamines the widely touted historical out-performance of small-cap funds through formal returns-based style analysis under alternative benchmarks using a large survivorship-bias-free mutual fund database. The authors find that small-cap alpha is not robust across equity style benchmarks, is concentrated among small-cap growth funds in the years surrounding the U.S. equity market bubble, and is strongly associated with a “buy-past-winners” momentum factor that primarily reflects a Russell reconstitution effect. Under MSCI benchmarks, the relative performance of the median small-cap fund manager is zero before costs, and is economically and statistically negative after costs. Finally, the authors show that the historical probability of an active small-cap fund achieving positive alpha is equivalent to a coin toss before costs, even if the fund outperformed in the previous year. This lack of persistence demonstrates that indexing is a powerful strategy among small-cap stocks.