Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vietnam's Thrust into Globalization: Doi Moi's Long Road

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has recovered substantially from the tragedy of the Second Indochina War and Hanoi's punishing retribution on the south following "liberation" in 1975. Hanoi's subsequent economic liberalization (doi moi) of the late 1980s took hold in the early 1990s and has helped transform Vietnam into a vibrant trading nation with a foreign trade level nearly equal to the size of the GDP (measured in exchange rate formulas). However, Vietnam's political system, still under firm Communist Party control, has not experienced a similar renovation and likely will not until a third or fourth generation of leaders comes to power. Even then, Vietnam's politics are likely to remain patriarchical, substantially collectivist, and imbued with the Sinic legacy.
Organic farming enhances soil microbial abundance and activity—A meta-analysis and meta-regression

Population growth and climate change challenge our food and farming systems and provide arguments for an increased intensification of agriculture. A promising option is eco-functional intensification through organic farming, an approach based on using and enhancing internal natural resources and processes to secure and improve agricultural productivity, while minimizing negative environmental impacts. In this concept an active soil microbiota plays an important role for various soil based ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, erosion control and pest and disease regulation. Several studies have reported a positive effect of organic farming on soil health and quality including microbial community traits. However, so far no systematic quantification of whether organic farming systems comprise larger and more active soil microbial communities compared to conventional farming systems was performed on a global scale. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis on current literature to quantify possible differences in key indicators for soil microbial abundance and activity in organic and conventional cropping systems. All together we integrated data from 56 mainly peer-reviewed papers into our analysis, including 149 pairwise comparisons originating from different climatic zones and experimental duration ranging from 3 to more than 100 years. Overall, we found that organic systems had 32% to 84% greater microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, total phospholipid fatty-acids, and dehydrogenase, urease and protease activities than conventional systems. Exclusively the metabolic quotient as an indicator for stresses on microbial communities remained unaffected by the farming systems. Categorical subgroup analysis revealed that crop rotation, the inclusion of legumes in the crop rotation and organic inputs are important farming practices affecting soil microbial community size and activity. Furthermore, we show that differences in microbial size and activity between organic and conventional farming systems vary as a function of land use (arable, orchards, and grassland), plant life cycle (annual and perennial) and climatic zone. In summary, this study shows that overall organic farming enhances total microbial abundance and activity in agricultural soils on a global scale.
A Conceptual Analysis of 'Rights' In the International and Islamic Human Rights Instruments

This paper examines the jurisdictional background and conceptual analysis of the term ‘rights’ in international and Islamic human rights in an attempt to explore wider understanding of rights and its concept, their convergences and divergences. Here, I examine how rights inform the international and Islamic human rights of women underpinned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (UIDHR) and the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights (CDHRI). The purpose of initiating this exploration is to critically review existing formulations of rights in these instruments as it has important implications when applied to human rights laws of both traditions. I contend that the jurisdiction of international and Islamic human rights shares the meaning of rights and the principles of rights underpinning the UIDHR and CDHRI are not entirely irreconcilable with the UDHR.Since I take the view that the UDHR is harmonious with the UIDHR and CDHRI pertaining to the principles of rights, my further concern is to show how they correspond. I explore the existing data of the works of leading scholars, their conceptual implications and often their reinterpretation as a method of getting the answer to the above questions.
Cultural Differences in Cognitive Processing Style : Evidence from Eye Movements During Scene Processing

The present study provided a partial replication of an influential study by Chua, Boland, and Nisbett (2005). By tracking the eye movements of North American and Chinese students when viewing pictures of naturalistic scenes, both studies demonstrated that the North American students fixated more on the focal object in the scene, whereas the Chinese students fixated more on the background. However, these cultural biases in viewing patterns did not appear to be related to later object-recognition performance in the present study, whereas they were in the Chua et al. study.
Why Is Trehalose an Exceptional Protein Stabilizer?

Trehalose, a naturally occurring osmolyte, is known to be an exceptional stabilizer of proteins and helps retain the activity of enzymes in solution as well as in the freeze-dried state. To understand the mechanism of action of trehalose in detail, we have conducted a thorough investigation of its effect on the thermal stability in aqueous solutions of five well characterized proteins differing in their various physico-chemical properties. Among them, RNase A has been used as a model enzyme to investigate the effect of trehalose on the retention of enzymatic activity upon incubation at high temperatures. 2 m trehalose was observed to raise the transition temperature, Tm of RNase A by as much as 18 °C and Gibbs free energy by 4.8 kcal mol–1 at pH 2.5. There is a decrease in the heat capacity of protein denaturation (ΔCp) in trehalose solutions for all the studied proteins. An increase in the ΔG and a decrease in the ΔCp values for all the proteins points toward a general mechanism of stabilization due to the elevation and broadening of the stability curve (ΔG versus T). A direct correlation of the surface tension of trehalose solutions and the thermal stability of various proteins has been observed. Wyman linkage analysis indicates that at 1.5 m concentration 4–7 molecules of trehalose are excluded from the vicinity of protein molecules upon denaturation. We further show that an increase in the stability of proteins in the presence of trehalose depends upon the length of the polypeptide chain. The pH dependence data suggest that even though the charge status of a protein contributes significantly, trehalose can be expected to work as a universal stabilizer of protein conformation due to its exceptional effect on the structure and properties of solvent water compared with other sugars and polyols.
A Measurement Instrument For Tqm Implementation In The Thai Manufacturing Industry

It is particularly important for developing countries to define useful TQM constructs to measure these principles, and their effect on improvement of performance. This research is aimed at measuring TQM constructs in the Thai manufacturing industry and Thai culture. The research identifies nine TQM implementation constructs and one outcome construct. A measurement instrument is developed based on a survey of some 275 ISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies in Thailand. A stepwise regression model is then used to identify the primary implementation construct regressors that significantly influence the outcome construct. The results show that customer focus, continuous improvement, top management commitment, employee involvement and product innovation are significantly and positively related to product quality. The findings are useful for practitioners and academia in developing countries.
Automatic diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases from electromyographic (EMG) records

In this study, we proposed an analysis method of ElectroMyoGraphic (EMG) signals in order to diagnose and to identify neuromuscular pathologies (i.e.; myopathy and neuropathy). Analysis is performed fully automatically without expert assistance and without prior segmentation of muscle contractions. The method is based on Huang-Hilbert transform (HHT) which is a data-driven algorithm that decomposes the signal in a natural way without prior knowledge. From real EMG records of both healthy and pathological subjects, the proposed method selected relevant intrinsic mode functions (IMF) and then extracted the most relevant features from their HHT. Thus, EMG signals were classified with support vector machine (SVM) basing on these selected features. Mean accuracy rate of 96.08% was obtained for classification of healthy and pathological EMG signals. However, myopathic and neuropathic pathologies were discriminated with a mean classification accuracy rate of 100%. These results proved efficiency of our features selection procedure and its adequacy to recognize the pathology origin automatically.
Cecal Colonization of Chicks by Porcine Strains of Campylobacter coli

SUMMARY. Ten genotypically distinct strains of Campylobacter coli were isolated from a swine production facility. These porcine isolates were then orally inoculated into day-of-hatch leghorn chicks and were excellent colonizers of the chick cecum. Campylobacter coli recovered from inoculated chickens were genotypically identical to the challenge strain. The absence of host specificity suggests a possible movement of strains among swine, field animals and birds, and poultry houses.
Degenerative Encephalopathy in a Coastal Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata multifasciata) due to Adenoviral-like Infection

In March 2000, an approximately 30-yr-old, male coastal mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata multifasciata) presented with disequilibrium and unresponsiveness to stimuli that ultimately lead to euthanasia. Histologically, there were foci of gliosis primarily within the caudal cerebrum, brainstem, and cervical spinal cord. Several glial cells and endothelial cells contained magenta, intranuclear inclusion bodies. Electron microscopy of the inclusions revealed paracrystalline arrays of 79–82 nm, viral-like particles. DNA in situ hybridization of sections of formalin-fixed brain using a mixture of two digoxigenin-end-labeled, adenovirus specific, oligonucleotide probes at low and high stringency was positive for adenovirus.
Welfare Reform and Neighborhoods: Race and Civic Participation

Welfare reform is weakening the social and institutional fabric of neighborhoods with relatively high levels of poverty and is, therefore, antiurban and antineighborhood policy. This article is based on an in-depth study of three Massachusetts communities that finds that welfare reform is increasing regulatory and service demand pressures in inner-city neighborhoods, thereby altering the mission, organizational capacities, and planning activities of community-based organizations. These findings support recent research that examines the problematic connections between welfare reform and race, neighborhood development, and civic participation. The emerging lesson is that the building of civic consciousness and the strengthening of institutional capacities to pursue community and economic development are ignored in the push of welfare reforms to change individual behavior. Neighborhood revitalization initiatives, as well as the call for increasing citizen participation and self-help strategies, are similarly being weakened or ignored.
Fiscal Decentralisation and Economic Growth in High‐Income OECD Countries

Among the majority of high-income OECD countries, the degree of fiscal decentralisation has converged over the last 30 years towards an intermediate level. The theoretical arguments for and against fiscal decentralisation point to explanations for this tendency, because both extreme decentralisation and extreme centralisation are associated with disadvantages for economic growth. Hence, the observed trend of convergence would be growth-promoting. The paper analyses the long-run empirical relationship between per capita economic growth, capital formation and total factor productivity growth, and fiscal decentralisation for the high-income OECD countries. The evidence supports the view that the relationship is positive when fiscal decentralisation is increasing from low levels, but then reaches a peak and turns negative. A policy implication is that policy-makers in several countries with relatively low degrees of fiscal decentralisation could possibly mobilise growth reserves by increasing it.
Combined Training Improves Walking Mobility in Persons With Significant Disability From Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study

Background and Purpose: The disabling consequences of multiple sclerosis (MS) emphasize the significance of developing physiologically relevant strategies for rehabilitation of function. This pilot study examined changes in walking function associated with combined exercise training consisting of aerobic, resistance, and balance activities in persons with MS who had recent onset of gait impairment. Methods: Thirteen participants with significant disability due to MS (Expanded Disability Status Scale range = 4.0–6.0) completed the Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale–12, 2 trials of the Timed 25-Foot Walk, the Timed Up & Go, and functional ambulation profile score derived from 4 walking trials on an instrumented walkway (GaitRite) before and after an 8-week training period. The training program was designed by a physical therapist and was performed 3 days per week under the supervision of an exercise specialist. In week 1, the session was 15 minutes in duration (ie, 5 minutes of each mode of exercise), session durations were increased by approximately 5 minutes per week up to a maximum of 60 minutes in week 8 (ie, 20 minutes of each mode of exercise). Results: There were significant improvements in Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale–12 scores (Mpre = 56.0, Mpost = 46.7, P = 0.03, d = 0.56), Timed 25-Foot Walk (Mpre = 11.7, Mpost = 9.8, P = 0.004, d = 0.90) and Timed Up & Go (Mpre = 16.0, Mpost = 13.0, P = 0.01, d = 0.72) performance, and functional ambulation profile score (Mpre = 72.8, Mpost = 77.6, P = 0.02, d = 0.65). Discussion and Conclusion: These results suggest that a moderately intense, comprehensive, combined exercise training program represents a rehabilitation strategy that is associated with improved walking mobility in a small sample of persons with MS who have recent onset of gait impairment.
The Intrametropolitan Geography of Poverty and the Nonprofit Sector in Southern California

This article investigates the geographic distribution of nonprofit social service providers across southern California cities in an attempt to see whether they reach people in poverty. Using 1996 Internal Revenue Service data from the National Center on Charitable Statistics, combined with 1990 census data, the authors find that the number of antipoverty nonprofits and their level of expenditure are higher in poorer cities. Nevertheless, given poverty concentration patterns, these activities are insufficient to guarantee equal services to poor persons in the poorest areas compared with those in wealthier cities. Regression analyses indicate that higher levels of nonprofit antipoverty activity are likely to be found in older and centrally located cities with higher socioeconomic status and significant government contribution to the provision of social services. These findings suggest that nonprofits and governments ought to be seen as complements rather than substitutes in efforts to alleviate intrametropolitan poverty disparities.
Four Essays on Using Economic Analysis to Evaluate Canadian Public Policy

The first essay shows the presence of discrimination in the allocation of doctoral scholarships using a unique dataset containing the 1901 recipients of 2004-2005 doctoral awards from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). I provide evidence that evaluators give higher scores to candidates in their own discipline and then proceed to distinguish between two types of discrimination: taste-based and screening. This paper is the first to find support for screening discrimination: better candidates have higher scores when they are assessed by evaluators from their discipline, while there is no significant effect for weaker candidates. Moreover, the weakest candidates, those close to the funding threshold, actually have a lower probability of receiving a large award when there is an evaluator from their discipline in their evaluation committee. The second essay models the optimal distribution of government spending when the electoral benefit accrues to the district incumbent and not to the party in power. The model shows that, under certain parameters, more money is spent in core support districts. I test this prediction using the distribution of projects undertaken in the scope of the 2009-2010 Canada Economic Action Plan. The third essay assesses the deterrence of demerit points on the behavior of drivers. To address driver heterogeneity, I use the expiration of points as quasi-exogenous variation in the number of points. I can then compare the probability of a traffic violation for drivers who had the same number of points but now have a different number of demerit points. I find that a 3-point decrease in the number of demerit points through the expiration process increases the probability of a violation in the following two months by 40 to 50 percent, but only for drivers close to the threshold. The last essay studies the impact of a non-refundable tax credit for public transit introduced in July 2006 in Canada. I find no evidence that this tax credit increased the number of trips done using public transit. There is, however, some suggestive evidence that it did induce commuters to purchase monthly passes.
Relation between the minimum RR interval during atrial fibrillation and the functional refractory period of the AV junction.

The relation between the minimum RR interval during atrial fibrillation and the functional refractory period of the AV junctional tissues was studied in isolated perfused dog hearts. In each heart, the functional refractory period, the minimum ventricular interval obtained by regular pacing of the atria at increasing frequencies, and the minimum RR interval during atrial fibrillation were compared. It appears that the length of the minimum RR interval during atrial fibrillation is proportional to both the functional refractory period and the minimum RR interval obtained by atrial pacing. These values are nearly equal in preparations where the functional refractory period is short. However, in cases where the functional refractory period is long, the minimum RR interval during atrial fibrillation is appreciably longer than the two other parameters. It is suggested that this difference may be explained in terms of a decreased safety factor between the efficiency of the incoming atrial wavefront as a stimulus and the level of excitability of the atrioventricular junctional tissues. Alternatively, these results may also imply that the conduction velocity of a propagated impulse across the AV junction is prolonged in hearts with longer functional refractory periods.
Topics in Empirical Market Microstructure

Market microstructure is a relatively young sub-field of finance that is the study of trading mechanisms. Its focus on how markets actually work and market participants really behave. In the past few years it has grown rapidly into an important subdiscipline in financial economics. One of the goals for this PhD-level seminar is to allow students develop a fundamental knowledge of market microstructure through exposing them to selected papers in the field. The focus of the seminar course is on empirical work, but some theory will be reviewed. Another main goal is to strengthen students’ ability to dissect, digest, and critique academic research. It also introduces students to the process of conducting original research.
Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights: Causes and Consequences

A game-theoretic model of heterogeneous producers is developed to examine the economic causes and consequences of intellectual property right (IPR) infringement in the context of a small open developing economy. Analytical results show that complete deterrence of IPR infringement is not always economically optimal. IPR infringement affects economic welfare and has important ramifications for the pricing and adoption of the new technology (biotechnology). The quantitative nature of results depends on the labeling regime. If the TRIPs agreement follows the custom of retaliatory sanctions under GATT, IPR enforcement will remain imperfect and innovators' ability to obtain value for their biotech traits will be limited. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.
Oil and Petroleum Product Armington Elasticities: A New-Geography-of-Trade Approach to Estimation

Exploiting the structural developments suggested by the geography-of-trade literature, we estimate the elasticity of substitution across regional varieties for six crude grades and seven refined products using fixed-effects gravity regressions. We use unique data, compiled by Al-Qahtani (2008), that include global coverage of bilateral trade and transport costs for the crude grades and refined products. We find that the point estimates of elasticities of substitution across import varieties exceed those commonly reported in the literature and those adopted in simulation analysis. Our estimates indicate that there may be far less hysteresis in the pattern of petroleum trade than previously forecast.
Orientation‐independent diffusion imaging without tensor diagonalization: Anisotropy definitions based on physical attributes of the diffusion ellipsoid

Diffusion tensor imaging can provide a complete description of the diffusion process in tissue. However, this description is not unique but is orientation dependent, and, to quantify properly the intrinsic orientation‐independent diffusion properties of the tissue, a set of three rotationally invariant quantities is needed. Instead of using the tensor eigenvalues for this, we define a new set consisting of scaled invariants that have the proper magnitude of actual diffusion constants and that are directly related to the physical attributes of the diffusion ellipsoid, namely, its average radius, surface, and volume. Using these three physical invariants, a new family of anisotropy measures is defined that are normalized between zero (isotropic) and one (completely anisotropic). Because rotational invariants are used, this approach does not require tensor diagonalization and eigenvalue determination and is therefore not susceptible to potential artifacts induced during these number manipulations. The relationship between the new anisotropy definitions and existing orientation‐independent anisotropy indices obtained from eigenvalues is discussed, after which the new approach is evaluated for a group of healthy volunteers. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;9:804–813. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Statistical Write Stability Characterization in SRAM Cells at Low Supply Voltage

Four write stability metrics for the characterization of six-transistor SRAM cells were experimentally evaluated and compared at low supply voltage (VDD). A silicon-on-thin-BOX technology with reduced body doping was used to achieve low voltage operation. It was confirmed that both bitline and wordline methods are preferable in that they yield metrics that follow normal distributions, which is practically beneficial for the yield estimation. On the contrary, different from at high VDD, both write static noise margin from write butterfly curve and write N-curve current (IW) exhibit non-normal probability distributions. The origins of the non-normality are analyzed in detail.