Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factor Model Forecasts for New Zealand

This paper focuses on forecasting four key New Zealand macroeconomic variables using a dynamic factor model and a large number of predictors. We compare the (simulated) real-time forecasting performance of the factor model with a variety of other time-series models (including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s published forecasts), and we gauge the sensitivity of our results to alternative variable-selection algorithms. We find that the factor model performs particularly well at longer horizons.
The relationship between uncertainty and the market reaction to information: Is it influenced by stock-specific characteristics?

In recent times we have seen an increased interest in separating information signals into good and bad news in order to gain improved insight into the reaction of investors. When we make this separation we find that the behaviour of investors oscillates between being optimistic and pessimistic in their interpretation of information somewhat driven by the prevailing level of uncertainty at the time of the information release. We go on to show that investors' reaction to information is not only conditioned by uncertainty but also a significant number of firm-specific characteristics. The reaction to bad news is greatest when it is released at times of high uncertainty by large, less liquid, low idiosyncratic risk, low leveraged, value stocks that are experiencing abnormally high trading volume. The reaction to good news is greatest when it is released at time of low market uncertainty by large, less liquid, high idiosyncratic risk, low leveraged, value stocks that are experiencing abnormally high trading.
O Comércio Internacional do Café Brasileiro: a influência dos custos de transporte

O objetivo principal deste estudo foi avaliar os fatores determinantes dos custos de transporte das exportacoes brasileiras de cafe verde, que e um dos principais produtos da pauta de exportacao do Brasil. Adicionalmente, pretendeu-se avaliar os impactos que esses fatores tem sobre as exportacoes dessa commodity. Primeiramente, utilizou-se um modelo “tipo-gravidade”, que considerou, entre outras variaveis, distintas medidas da variavel distância, para averiguar os determinantes dos custos de transporte do cafe. A segunda analise foi realizada por meio de uma equacao que utiliza variaveis de modelos de gravidade basicos, acrescido das variaveis utilizadas como determinantes dos custos de transporte. Em ambas as estimativas utilizou-se o metodo Tobit com dados em painel, de 2000 a 2006. Os resultados, como esperado, indicaram que os gastos com transporte, nas exportacoes do cafe brasileiro, sao sensiveis a distância entre o Brasil e seus parceiros comerciais, ou seja, quanto maior a distância, maiores os custos de transporte. Na analise das exportacoes, a distância entre os paises e a ausencia de litoral nos paises importadores foram os fatores que mais afetaram os custos de transporte, apresentando-se como barreiras as exportacoes do cafe.The main objective of this study is to evaluate which factors are the determinants of the transportation costs of the Brazilian exports of green coffee, one of the major export products of Brazil. Additionally, it intended to evaluate the impacts that these factors have over the exports of this commodity. First of all, a “type-gravity” model was used, which considered, among other variables, different measures of the variable distance, to find the determinants of the costs of transports of green coffee. In second place, an analysis was accomplished adding to the basic gravity model those variables used to determinate transportation costs. For both estimates, the Tobit method was used with panel data, from 2000 to 2006. Results, as expected, indicated that the expenses with transportation in the green coffee exports are sensitive to distance between Brazil and their commercial partners. In other words, the higher the distance, the higher the transportation costs. In the analysis of green coffee exports, the distance between countries and the absence of a coast in importing countries have affected more the transportation costs, becoming barriers to green coffee exports.
Efficient content locating in peer-to-peer systems

A group-based semantic search method - GBSS is introduced to improve the efficiency and scalability of search in P2P systems. GBSS introduces a hybrid architecture in which the storage and search of raw data is based on DHT network, but the storage and search of meta-data are based on unstructured P2P network. With regard to search algorithm, GBSS introduces a new file grouping method requiring no users' descriptions and constructs friend group relations between nodes based on interest similarity between file groups. The forwarding of users' requests makes use of friend group relations. Simulation tests show that compared with traditional flooding algorithms, GBSS is both efficient and scalable
UK Work/Family Balance Policies and Gender Equality, 1997–2005

Since 1997, the UK has developed policies to address the issue of work/family balance in the form of childcare services, leaves for childcare, and the right to request flexible working patterns. We examine the policy aims and nature of these different approaches and assess how far they promote gender equality, which we define in terms of the possibility of making a "real" or "genuine" choice for men and women to "work and care. "
Financing Transport Infrastructure: The Effects of Institutional Durability in French and American Policymaking

This article compares the finance of transportation infrastructure in France and the United States in order to test the concept of institutional durability as an intervening variable that can account for different patterns of industrial development. Institutional durability is defined as the degree to which the fiscal norms and principles established in agreements between government, industry, and financial investors go on to exert influence over subsequent attempts to reorder the allocation of collective economic burdens and benefits. Two historical episodes of infrastructure development, mid-19th century railroad construction and the creation of inter-city highways between the First and Second World Wars, will be evaluated to identify and differentiate the effect of institutional durability upon American and French transportation policy. French infrastructure finance is shown to exhibit a limited institutional durability which has facilitated the historical adjustment of both rail and road infrastructure along convergent fiscal terms. US infrastructure development is seen to possess a much greater institutional durability which has encouraged the divergence of fiscal arrangements set up at different periods of time. The resulting accumulation of incompatible and often competitive arrangements appears to have locked the US into conflicting means of transport development that make a fiscally coherent transportation policy very difficult to achieve. No such institutional obstacle emerges in French transport policy where the terms of macroeconomic decision-making are seen to be integrated.
The Determinants of Queues for Federal Jobs

This paper examines the determinants of the number and quality of outside applicants for federal job openings, using a variety of time-series, cross-sectional, and panel data sets. The main finding is that the application rate for government jobs increases as the ratio of federal to private sector earnings increases, but the rate does not appear to be related to the relative level of fringe benefits. Furthermore, an increase in the federal-private sector earnings differential is associated with an increase in the average quality of applicants for federal jobs. The author discusses the implications of these findings for wage determination and recruitment in the federal government.
Management of perioperative low cardiac output state without extracorporeal life support: What is feasible?

A transient and reversible reduction in cardiac output–low cardiac output state (LCOS) often occurs following surgery for congenital heart disease. Inappropriately managed LCOS is a risk factor for increased morbidity and death. LCOS may occasionally be progressive and refractory needing a period of “myocardial rest” with extracorporeal life support (ECLS). ECLS is currently considered a routine tool available for rapid deployment in most industrialized countries. Accumulated experience and refinements in technology have led to improving survivals – discharge survivals of 35%–50%, with almost 100% survival in select groups on elective left ventricular assist device. Thus, there is an increasing trend to initiate ECLS “early or electively in the operating room” in high-risk patients. India has a huge potential need for ECLS given the large number of infants presenting late with preexisting ventricular dysfunction or in circulatory collapse. ECLS is an expensive and resource consuming treatment modality and is not a viable therapeutic option in our country. The purpose of this paper is to reiterate an anticipatory, proactive approach to LCOS: (1) methods for early detection of evolving LCOS and (2) timely initiation of individualized therapy. This paper also explores what is feasible with the refinement of “simple, conventional, inexpensive strategies” for the management of LCOS. Therapy for LCOS should be multimodal based on the type of circulation and physiology. Our approach to LCOS includes: (1) intraoperative strategies, (2) aggressive afterload reduction, (3) lusitropy, (4) exclusion of structural defects, (5) harnessing cardiopulmonary interactions, and (6) addressing metabolic and endocrine abnormalities. We have achieved a discharge survival rate of greater than 97% with these simple methods.
Use of the overdrive voltage in the design of an internally matched MMIC low noise amplifier

A method of biasing low noise amplifiers using the concept of overdrive voltage, Vod is introduced. The RF parameters of different FET sizes are measured against Vod to determine the optimum biasing points for good noise figure and OIP3. It was determined that the best biasing for low noise figures is between 0.15 to 0.25V and for OIP3 is 0.28 to 0.32V. Through careful selection of the biasing architecture, this concept is then applied to the design of a low noise amplifier employing a source degeneration technique. This resulted in the design of Mini-Circuit's PSA4-5043+ broadband low noise MMIC amplifier which is internally matched and having a typical noise figure of 0.65dB at 1 GHz and 0.9dB at 4GHz using a 0.5um pHEMT process.
Price linkages between the GCC stock markets: a bounds test using an Auto Regressive-Distributed Lag model

This paper examined the linkages between the equity markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) region. Specifically, we applied a bounded test using an Auto Regressive-Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to determine if the markets are co-integrated. In contrast to traditional co-integration analysis, the ARDL procedure does not require the prior determination of the order of integration of the variables. The co-integration tests showed that the GCC markets are segmented. However, the subset of the markets comprising the oil and gas economies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, along with Oman and Dubai share a common trend.
Bifurcation Analysis of Attractors of Complex Systems Based on Matrix Decomposition Theory

A new method of bifurcation analysis of chaotic attractors on the basis of the proposed matrix decomposition theory of vector functions in state space of complex systems is developed. Decomposition relationships for attractors of complex nonlinear dynamical system based on matrix series are considered. Bifurcation analysis of attractors of complex dynamical systems using the obtained decomposition relationships is carried out.
Urban usurpation : from friar estates to industrial estates in a Philippine hinterland

entries for Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore and Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma may be previews of future leaders. The balance and thoroughness of this volume are most impressive. Controversial topics like Freitlin in East Timor, the Bumiputera program in Malaysia, and the Doi Moi policy in Vietnam are covered in a fair, yet revealing manner. Hence, this is an outstanding reference work. Hopefully, Leifer will update this volume over time and give us revised editions. If that were done, it might be useful to consider supplementary entries in three areas: (1) more discussion of the political significance of minorities like the outer-islanders in Indonesia and the Moros in the Philippines; (2) further elaboration of how economic factors may shape political choices, including future developments regarding the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); and (3) coverage of how more distant actors (India and South Korea, for example) are beginning to play a larger role in Southeast Asia. In sum, this volume will be of use to a broad range of individuals and sets an important standard in addressing complex and controversial topics.
"Generic Entry and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals"

During the 1980s the share of prescriptions sold by retail pharmacies that was accounted for by generic products roughly doubled. The price response to generic entry of brand-name products has been a source of controversy. In this paper we estimate models of price responses to generic entry in the market for brand-name and generic drugs. We study a sample of 32 drugs that lost patent protection during the early to mid-1980s. Our results provide evidence that brand-name prices increase after generic entry and are accompanied by large decreases in the price of generic drugs. Copyright (c) 1997 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Early Events in Herpes Simplex Virus Infection: a Radioautographic Study

The early events in herpes simplex virus infection were studied by means of radio-autography. The virus was rapidly taken up by the host cells and uncoated. Viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reached the nuclear sites of replication in 15 to 30 min after infection. The viral DNA occasionally associated with chromosomes or condensed chromatin but was more frequently found to be randomly distributed. Viral progeny appeared 3 hr after infection. These particles did not show any particular spatial relationship to the parental DNA. The morphological latent period lasted 2.5 hr.
Digging Deeper into Hardin's Pasture: The Complex Institutional Structure of 'The Tragedy of the Commons'

The institutional and ecological structure of Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” appears deceptively simple: the open-access pasture eventually will be overexploited and degraded unless (i) it is privatized, (ii) the government regulates access and use, or (iii) the users themselves impose a common-property regime to regulate their own access and use. In this paper, we argue that the institutional structure of the “Herder Problem” (as it is known to game theorists) is far more complicated than it is usually portrayed. Specifically, it is not just about the pasture. It is equally about the grass that grows on the pasture and the cattle that consume the grass. Even Elinor Ostrom — a scholar known for embracing complexity — presented an overly simplistic portrayal of Hardin’s open-access pasture when she described its governance system as a null set of institutions. A more careful assessment of the situation, employing Ostrom’s Social-Ecological System (SES) framework, broadens the focus from the res communes omnium pasture to incorporate the res nullius grass that grows upon it and the res private cattle grazing there. The “tragedy” arises from the combination and interactions of the resources and their governing institutions, not just from the absence of property in the pasture. If the grass was not subject to appropriation, the cattle were not privately owned, or if property- and contract-enforcement institutions supporting market exchange were absent, the “tragedy of the commons” probably would not arise regardless of the pasture’s open-access status.
Tenuous link: labour market institutions and unemployment in advanced and new market economies

International organizations and mainstream economists have consistently promoted the view that labour market rigidities are responsible for high unemployment, and that wide-ranging institutional deregulation is an appropriate policy response. Yet, as demonstrated by recent literature, the empirical support for the deregulatory view is ambiguous. This paper re-assesses this debate by bringing in new evidence from a larger group of countries, which includes advanced and new market economies. Using new data and paying special attention to the robustness of estimation results, we find rather thin support for the deregulatory view. The sensitivity analysis demonstrates that in most cases the adverse effects of institutions disappear with small changes in the sample or the use of alternative estimators and specifications. The impact of institutions is particularly weak in new market economies, where unemployment is related primarily to macroeconomic factors. Overall, our findings challenge the policy orthodoxy that comprehensive deregulation is the universal solution to unemployment.
Vocational Education as a Career Pathway for Students with Learning Disabilities: Issues and Obstacles in the Implementation

The special vocational education curriculum is an alternative curriculum to provide fresh opportunities for students with special needs. Hence, this study was done to explore the issues and challenges of vocational education for students with learning disabilities towards their career preparation. This study used a qualitative approach with case study design. Data were collected using interviews involving six vocational teachers from six Special Education Program Integration with Learning Disabilities (SEPILD). The data is analyzed using Atlas.ti 7.5. 2 software. The results showed that there are three major challenges, namely the difficulty in implementing teaching and learning in vocational education curriculum, in collaboration challenges and challenges in the provision of career experience for students. It is hoped that this study will identify problems in the implementation of vocational education for students with learning disabilities to be in line with their abilities and meet the needs of employers.
The pool effect of dyad‐based capabilities on seller firms' innovativeness

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to analyze which relational resources and capabilities are determinant in fostering innovations and to what extent these innovations are relevant in achieving superior business results.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed hypotheses are tested in an empirical study carried out on a sample group of 106 Spanish companies from the sub‐industries of machine tool manufacture and manufacturers of machinery for specific industries, operating in a business‐to‐business context. Information was gathered by means of telephone interviews with sales, production or management representatives of machinery suppliers. Analysis of data was performed by means of partial least squares regression. The exchange of knowledge leading to shared learning, investments in idiosyncratic or relation‐specific assets, non‐specific complementary resources and capabilities, and dyad governance mechanisms are the analyzed factors.Findings – The results confirm that the existence of customer.
Insight into Oral Biofilm: Primary, Secondary and Residual Caries and Phyto-Challenged Solutions

Introduction: Dental caries is known to be one of the most widespread, chronic infections affecting all ages and populations worldwide. The plethora of oral microbial population paves way for various endogenous infections and plays a crucial role in polymicrobial interactions contributing to biofilm-mediated diseases like caries and periodontal diseases. Methods: Extensive literature survey was conducted using the scientific databases like PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct, etc. using the key words like dental caries, orodental infections, dental microbes, dental biofilm, secondary caries, phytotherapy, etc. The literature was analyzed thoroughly and critical review was performed. Results: The risk of development of secondary caries and residual caries further results in treatment failure. Drug resistance developed by oral microbes and further side effects pose serious hurdles in the current therapeutic strategies. The hyperactivities of various MMPs and the resulting massive ECM degradation are the challenging part in the design of effective therapeutic approaches. Anticariogenic phytotherapy is well appreciated owing to lesser side effects and versatility of their action. But appreciable outcomes regarding the phytochemical bioavailability and bioretention are still challenging. Site-specific delivery of phytoagents at the infected site may enhance the efficiency of these drugs. Accordingly emerging phytodentistry can be promising for the management of secondary and residual caries. Conclusion: This article presents major cariogens and their mechanisms in initiating and aggravating dental caries. Effectiveness of phytotherapy and different mode of action of phytochemicals against cariogens are outlined. The article also raises major concerns and possibilities of phytochemical based therapeutics to be applied in the clinical arena of caries management.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation by chest compression alone or with mouth-to-mouth ventilation.

BACKGROUND Despite extensive training of citizens of Seattle in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bystanders do not perform CPR in almost half of witnessed cardiac arrests. Instructions in chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation given by dispatchers over the telephone can require 2.4 minutes. In experimental studies, chest compression alone is associated with survival rates similar to those with chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation. We conducted a randomized study to compare CPR by chest compression alone with CPR by chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation. METHODS The setting of the trial was an urban, fire-department-based, emergency-medical-care system with central dispatching. In a randomized manner, telephone dispatchers gave bystanders at the scene of apparent cardiac arrest instructions in either chest compression alone or chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation. The primary end point was survival to hospital discharge. RESULTS Data were analyzed for 241 patients randomly assigned to receive chest compression alone and 279 assigned to chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation. Complete instructions were delivered in 62 percent of episodes for the group receiving chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation and 81 percent of episodes for the group receiving chest compression alone (P=0.005). Instructions for compression required 1.4 minutes less to complete than instructions for compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation. Survival to hospital discharge was better among patients assigned to chest compression alone than among those assigned to chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation (14.6 percent vs. 10.4 percent), but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.18). CONCLUSIONS The outcome after CPR with chest compression alone is similar to that after chest compression with mouth-to-mouth ventilation, and chest compression alone may be the preferred approach for bystanders inexperienced in CPR.