Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sterling Misalignment and British Trade Performance

In the first part of this paper I use a small macroeconomic model to examine the causes of the appreciation of sterling during 1979-81. Oil takes about half of the blame. Contractionary monetary policies alone do not seem sufficient to explain the rest, but when coupled with adverse supply-side developments they seem capable of explaining both the appreciation and the associated increase in unemployment. In the second part of the paper I examine the possibility that temporary fluctuations in the real exchange rate may have a permanent effect on British export performance. Using data from 1900 to the present I find evidence that is consistent with "hysteresis" effects on both the demand and supply side of the export market.
Land Security, Efficiency and Productivity, and Rural Income in China

This thesis consists of three essays which measure land security, estimate agricultural efficiency and farm productivity, and analyze their impacts on farm income in rural China. The work covered in this thesis is motivated by the impressive performance of China s agricultural production since the reform in 1979 and the currently hotly disputed issues on rural land policy reform. With three implicitly connected research topics being proposed, both theoretical discussions and empirical estimations have been comprehensively conducted in the thesis. This study contributes to the literature explaining China s agricultural productivity and efficiency change in the past three decades, the ongoing assessment of land tenure security under China s unique land tenure system, and, specifically, the impact of land tenure insecurity on farm household productive efficiency and thus in farm household income.
A sensitive procedure for the rapid electrochemical determination of Eosin-Y dye using voltammetric techniques onto a mercury electrode surface

A sensitive adsorptive stripping procedure (square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry), was used to check the adsorption property of Eosin-Y dye on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) and its determination in selected samples. In addition, differential pulse polarography and cyclic voltammetry were used to evaluate the electrochemical preliminary studies of Eosin-Y dye. By employing the adsorptive stripping voltammetric method, a sensitive electroanalytical method for the quantitative analysis of this dye was achieved. A welldeveloped voltammetric peak probably related to the cathodic reduction of carbonyl group was obtained in pH (5) acetate buffer at -550 mV. The cyclic voltammetric studies indicated that the reduction process was irreversible and primarily controlled by adsorption. The adsorptive voltammetric current was evaluated with respect to various experimental conditions and the optimal values estimated at electrolyte (acetate buffer), pH (5), 30 s accumulation time, 0.0 V accumulation potential, 400 mVs -1 scan rate, 80 mV pulse amplitude and 60 Hz square wave frequency. Adsorptive voltammetric peak current showed a linear response for Eosin-Y in the concentration range of 5.010 -8 and 5.010 -7 mol L -1 (r = 0.99). A limit of detection of 8.7310 -10 mol L -1 (0.566 ppb) with relative standard deviation of 0.64 RSD% and mean recovery of 107%±1.6 were achieved. Possible interferences with several dyes such as food additive azo dyes (E110, E102) and amaranth, and some metals such as Cu +2 and Zn +2 were also examined. The suggested electrochemical procedure was successfully applied for the analysis (recovery) of this dye in commercially available dirt remover and sea water.
Food security and human development

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of food security and human development inter-relationships for a sample of low-income countries. Design/methodology/approach - The analytical procedure involves the estimation of a reduced form equation utilising cross-country data that relates human development to food security indicators. Findings - Empirical results confirm a positive correlation between food availability, calories and protein supply and human development. Food accessibility, measured by food prices and vulnerability are found to be negatively correlated with human development. Practical implications - The implication of the findings is that poor countries should increase efforts to enhance agricultural production through an operational emphasis on farmers at a risk of food insecurity – especially low-income small holders and women farmers. Originality/value - The paper examines the effect of food security on human well being.
Moraxella catarrhalis Bacterium without Endotoxin, a Potential Vaccine Candidate

ABSTRACT Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is a major surface component of Moraxella catarrhalis and a possible virulence factor in the pathogenesis of human infections caused by this organism. The presence of LOS on the bacterium is an obstacle to the development of vaccines derived from whole cells or outer membrane components of the bacterium. An lpxA gene encoding UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase responsible for the first step of lipid A biosynthesis was identified by the construction and characterization of an isogenic M. catarrhalis lpxA mutant in strain O35E. The resulting mutant was viable despite the complete loss of LOS. The mutant strain showed significantly decreased toxicity by the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay, reduced resistance to normal human serum, reduced adherence to human epithelial cells, and enhanced clearance in lungs and nasopharynx in a mouse aerosol challenge model. Importantly, the mutant elicited high levels of antibodies with bactericidal activity and provided protection against a challenge with the wild-type strain. These data suggest that the null LOS mutant is attenuated and may be a potential vaccine candidate against M. catarrhalis.
Asymptotic properties of integro-differential systems with wideband noise perturbations

Because the class of wideband noise is quite realistic in applications and is a good approximation to white noise, this paper focuses on the asymptotic properties of integro-differential systems with wideband noise perturbations. Using perturbed test function methods combined with the martingale averaging techniques, and weak convergence methods, it is shown that when the small parameter tends to zero, the underlying process converges weakly to a stochastic process satisfying a stochastic integro-differential equation. Inspired by the developments from [3] and [9], the novelty of our paper lies in the treatment of functional differential equations in which differential-integral equations are dealt with. Because of the features of the systems involved, different methods for estimates and proofs from the aforementioned references are developed in this paper. Not only are the results interesting from a mathematical point of view, but also they will be of great utility to a wide range of problems in control and optimization problems.
Profit Measures for Construction Projects

The basic issues related to profit measures of a construction project for the contractor are presented. Specifically, the problem of measuring gross operating profit and financing costs under fluctuating economic environments which has been heretofore inadequately treated in the literature of construction management is addressed. A framework for analyzing financing costs under different financial mechanisms, including the effects of overdraft and other borrowing arrangements, is presented. The general procedure is also applicable to the analysis of the effects of inflation and of work stoppages on profit. Finally, the cost of a project to the owner and the relationship between uncertainty and contract price from the views of both the owner and the contractor are considered.
Momentum Effects and Mean Reversion in Real Estate Securities

This article is the winner of the International Real Estate Investment/ Portfolio Management manuscript prize (sponsored by LaSalle Investment Management) presented at the American Real Estate Society Annual Meeting. This article tests for the presence of both price continuation and price reversals in international real estate securities. The results reveal evidence of performance persistence in international markets over short and medium term horizons, however the evidence on price reversals is less compelling. The empirical analysis tests for mean reversion using Variance Ratio and Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests. In neither case is there consistent evidence of mean reversion in international real estate securities. The portfolio switching tests do reveal some evidence of performance reversals. However, while under-performing markets do outperform over longer horizons, they do not do so at statistically significant levels.
Cardiac preload and venous return in swimming sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

SUMMARY Cardiac preload (central venous pressure, Pcv), mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP), dorsal aortic blood pressure (Pda) and relative cardiac output (Q̇) were measured in sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) at rest and while swimming at 1 and 2 BL s-1. MCFP, an index of venous capacitance and the upstream venous pressure driving the return of venous blood to the heart, was measured as the plateau in Pcv during ventral aortic occlusion. Compared with resting values, swimming at 1 and 2 BL s-1 increased Q̇ (by 15±1.5 and 38±6.5%, respectively), Pcv (from 0.11±0.01 kPa to 0.12±0.01 and 0.16±0.02 kPa, respectively), MCFP (from 0.27±0.02 kPa to 0.31±0.02 and 0.40±0.04 kPa, respectively) and the calculated pressure gradient for venous return (ΔPv, from 0.16±0.01 kPa to 0.18±0.02 and 0.24±0.02 kPa, respectively), but not Pda. In spite of an increased preload, the increase in Q̇ was exclusively mediated by an increased heart rate (fh, from 80±4 beats min-1 to 88±4 and 103±3 beats min-1, respectively), and stroke volume (Vs) remained unchanged. Prazosin treatment (1 mg kg-1 Mb) abolished pressure and flow changes during swimming at 1 BL s-1, but not 2 BL s-1, indicating that other control systems besides an α-adrenoceptor control are involved. This study is the first to address the control of venous capacitance in swimming fish. It questions the generality that increased Q̇ during swimming is regulated primarily through Vs and shows that an increased cardiac filling pressure does not necessarily lead to an increased Vs in fish, but may instead compensate for a reduced cardiac filling time.
Trends in Internal Labour Migration from Rural Limpopo Province, Male Risk Behaviour, and Implications for the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Rural South Africa

Given improvements in the transport infrastructure and the end of travel restrictions characteristic of the apartheid period, there could be a reasonable expectation that male risk behaviour in sexual relations would be reduced as rural–urban connections were enhanced. Using the example of Limpopo Province, South Africa, this research draws on an existing demographic surveillance system and a specialised survey to test the hypothesis. We find that male risk behaviour and lack of awareness of risks have not altered significantly and that there are potentially explosive possibilities for the spread of HIV/AIDS to and from Limpopo Province. There have to be enhanced measures to bring the labour market closer to rural settings to arrest this phenomenon.
Dissecting the roles of VP0 cleavage and RNA packaging in picornavirus capsid stabilization: the structure of empty capsids of foot-and-mouth disease virus

Empty capsids of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) type A22 Iraq 24/64, whose structure has been solved by X-ray crystallography, are unusual for picornaviruses since they contain VP2 and VP4, the cleavage products of the protein precursor VP0. Both the N terminus of VP1 and the C terminus of VP4, which pack together close to the icosahedral threefold symmetry axis where three pentamers associate, are more disordered in the empty capsid than they are in the RNA-containing virus. The ordering of these termini in the presence of RNA strengthens interactions within a single protomer and between protomers belonging to different pentamers. The disorder in the FMDV empty capsid forms a subset of that seen in the poliovirus empty capsid, which has VP0 intact. Thus, VP0 cleavage confers stability on the picornavirus capsid over and above that attributable to RNA encapsidation. In both FMDV and poliovirus empty capsids, the internal disordering uncovers a conserved histidine which has been proposed to be involved in the cleavage of VP0. A comparison of the putative active sites in FMDV and poliovirus suggests a structural explanation for the sequence specificity of the cleavage reaction.
Enalapril protects endothelial cells against induced apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease in which endothelial cell (EC) can be affected. In brain, functional changes in ECs contribute to reductions in resting blood flow. Furthermore, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) have beneficial effects on endothelial dysfunction. This is the first study that presents direct experimental evidence associating endothelial apoptosis as a basis of AD pathogenesis and response to an ACE-I therapy. Materials and Methods: Human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) were treated with sera from AD patients and sera from healthy volunteers (each group, n = 10). Apoptosis was determined by annexin V–propidium iodide staining and cell death detection kit. The effect of 50 μM enalapril on endothelial apoptosis was assessed. Nitrite (NO2−) levels were determined in the culture supernatants. Results: Enalapril suppressed the induction of apoptosis by the serum of patients only when used before treating HUVECs with the sera of AD. Mean ± SD of apoptosis induction in the control group was 6.7 ± 3.69; in the group treated with sera of AD for 24 h was 47.78 ± 0.65; in the group wherein sera from AD was added (pretreatment) after exposure of HUVECs by 50 μM enalapril for 24 h was 26.6 ± 2.63; and in the group wherein HUVECs were exposed in the sera of AD for 24 h and then 50 μM enalapril was added to these cells for another 24 h (post-treatment) was 56.87 ± 5.51. Also, the mean ± SD of NO2− concentration showed significantly greater levels of dissolved NO2/NO3 metabolite in the culture media of untreated HUVECs by enalapril (1.03 ± 0.06) as compared with control (0.26 ± 0.13; P < 0.05), while the rate of nitric oxide (NO) significantly decreased when enalapril was presented in culture both in the pretreatment (0.07 ± 0.003) and in the post-treatment group (0.06 ± 0.005; P < 0.05). Conclusion: It could be concluded that EC treated with sera from AD patients activates apoptosis in HUVECs; this effect was reversed by enalapril pretreatment. This can be proposed as a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's patients.
31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and dissociation constants of lac repressor headpiece.duplex operator complexes: the importance of phosphate backbone flexibility in protein.DNA recognition.

An alkaline phosphatase assay was used to determine the dissociation constants (KD) of the lac repressor N-terminal 56 amino acid fragment of the wild type and of a Y7I mutant complexed to 22 base pair (bp) wild-type and mutant symmetrical operator sequences. KD's in 0.35 M monovalent salt ranged from 5.4 X 10(-8) M for the wild-type repressor.wild-type operator complex to approximately > 1 X 10(-6) M for the wild-type repressor.nonspecific DNA complex. Mutant operators O2 (G5 --> A5 and G16 --> T16) and O4 (G5 --> C5 and C16 --> G16) bind nearly as tightly as the wild-type headpiece, while mutant O3 (A8 --> T8 and T13 --> A13) binds over 5-fold poorer. Operators O1, O2, and O4 bind ca. 10-fold poorer to the Y7I mutant headpiece. Operator O3 binds 2-fold poorer to the mutant headpiece. The temperature and salt dependence on the dissociation constants of wild-type headpiece binding to 22-bp operator support the conclusion that the headpiece contains the major DNA recognition portion of the protein and that electrostatics plays as important a role in the binding of operator to headpiece as it does in the whole repressor. The 31P NMR spectra of shortened 14-bp wild-type and mutant symmetrical operators bound to the N-terminal 56-residue headpiece of the Y7I mutant repressor were compared to the spectra of the same operator bound to the wild-type repressor headpiece. These results are consistent with a recent proposal [Karslake, C. , Botuyan, M. V. , & Gorenstein, D. G. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 1849-1858] that specific, tight-binding operator.protein complexes retain the inherent phosphate ester conformational flexibility of the operator itself, whereas the phosphate esters are conformationally restricted in the weak-binding operator-protein complexes. This retention of backbone torsional freedom in tight complexes is entropically favorable and provides a mechanism for protein discrimination of different operator binding sites.
Broad-band radial slot antenna fed by coplanar waveguide for dual-frequency operation

A novel design of a broad-band radial slot antenna fed by a coplanar waveguide for dual-frequency operation is presented. Various frequency ratios, within the range of about 1.3 to 2.1, of the two operating frequencies can be obtained by varying the included angle between the radial slots and/or by varying the length of the central slot pair. The bandwidth of the lower operating band lies in the range of 2.4% to 9.7%, while that of the upper band is much wider and ranges from 17.4% to 23.2%. Radiation patterns at the two operating frequencies are broadside and bidirectional. Details of the antenna design and the experimental results are presented and discussed.
Utilization of Color-depth Combination Features and Multi-level Refinement CNN for Upper-limb Posture Recognition

Upper-limb posture recognition is of great value to rehabilitation and assessment of stroke patients. In this paper, we propose a novel method for upper-limb posture recognition. Convolutional neural network (CNN) cascade is applied to reduce the training difficulty of the algorithm. Information of depth and color is combined to eliminate the influence of complex background and illumination variation. Kinect is used to automatically acquire a large number of upper limb posture labels. The principle of coarse-to-fine runs through the whole algorithm. The overall network architecture consists of 3 levels with a total of six CNNs. First of all, color and depth images are aligned to obtain a RGB-D quad channels image. The quad-channel image is sent to level-1 cascade network to obtain a bounding box containing the upper limb cropped from the entire body. Then, the resulting bounding box is brought into level-2 cascade network and 4 sets of rough upper-limb joints coordinates are obtained. Finally, zoom in the visual field to local area of 4 key points, 4 sets of accurate coordinate is obtained by level-3 cascade network. Experimental results show that upper-limb posture is calculated by the proposed algorithm that has strong stability to both illumination and background problems.
Effects of continuous versus intermittent exercise, obesity, and gender on growth hormone secretion.

CONTEXT Obesity attenuates spontaneous GH secretion and the GH response to exercise. Obese individuals often have low fitness levels, limiting their ability to complete a typical 30-min bout of continuous exercise. An alternative regimen in obese subjects may be shorter bouts of exercise interspersed throughout the day. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to examine whether intermittent and continuous exercise interventions evoke similar patterns of 24-h GH secretion and whether responses are attenuated in obese subjects or affected by gender. DESIGN This was a repeated-measures design in which each subject served as their own control. SETTING This study was conducted at the University of Virginia General Clinical Research Center. SUBJECTS Subjects were healthy nonobese (n = 15) and obese (n = 14) young adults. INTERVENTIONS Subjects were studied over 24 h at the General Clinical Research Center on three occasions: control, one 30-min bout of exercise, and three 10-min bouts of exercise. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Twenty-four hour GH secretion was measured. RESULTS Compared with unstimulated 24-h GH secretion, both intermittent and continuous exercise, at constant exercise intensity, resulted in severalfold elevation of 24-h integrated serum GH concentrations in young adults. Basal and pulsatile modes of GH secretion were attenuated both at rest and during exercise in obese subjects. CONCLUSIONS The present data suggest that continuous and intermittent exercise training should be comparably effective in increasing 24-h GH secretion.
Two complementary mobile technologies for disaster warning

Purpose – Over 50 percent of the disasters occur in Asia and in the past five year disasters in the region have killed around half million people. Most of these deaths could have been prevented if reliable and effective early warning systems were in place. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of the emerging mobile technology for disaster risk reduction.Design/methodology/approach – LIRNEasia field tested five wireless technologies, including mobile phones, in 32 tsunami affected villages in Sri Lanka; where members in the village were provided training with emergency response planning and given one or more of the technologies for receiving hazard information. Further lessons were learned by sharing knowledge, through a consultation process, on early warning systems with stakeholders in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia.Findings – The evaluation process concluded mobile phones as the reliable, effective, and affordable solutions for alerting last‐mile communities. Disaster risk reducti.
Single Event Induced Double Node Upset Tolerant Latch

This paper presents a construction of a single-event-induced-double-node-upset-tolerant latch. The proposed latch does not tolerate upsets caused by single- and double-node-transients which single-events rarely induce because of single-event-transient occurrence mechanism. This paper also shows an evaluation result indicating the area of the proposed latch is only 0.44 times that of the conventional multiple-node-upset-tolerant latch, which tolerate any double-node-upsets and some limited triple-node-upsets, and is 1.01 times as large as that of the single-node-upset-tolerant latch DICE.