Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond Competitive Devaluations: The Monetary Dimensions of Comparative Advantage

Motivated by the long-standing debate on competitive devaluation, we propose a new perspective on how monetary and exchange rate policies can contribute to a country’s international competitiveness. We refocus the analysis on the implications of monetary stabilization for a country’s comparative advantage. We develop a two-country New Keynesian model with two tradable sectors in each country: one perfectly competitive, the other producing differentiated goods under monopolistic competition subject to sunk entry costs and nominal rigidities and hence more sensitive to macroeconomic uncertainty. Monetary policy can disproportionately foster competitiveness of differentiated goods firms, ultimately affecting the composition of domestic output and exports. (JEL E12, E23, E52, F11, F31)
Agent Architecture Modelling at the Knowledge Level

The definition of an agent architecture at the knowledge level makes emphasis on the knowledge role played by the data interchanged between the agent components and makes explicit this data interchange this makes easier the reuse of these knowledge structures independently of the implementation This article defines a generic task model of an agent architecture and refines some of these tasks using the interference diagrams. Finally, a operationalisation of this conceptual model using the rule-oriented language Jess is shown. knowledge level,
Migrating adult steelhead utilize a thermal refuge during summer periods with high water temperatures

Maureen A. Hess*, Jon E. Hess, Andrew P. Matala, Rod A. French, Craig A. Steele, Jens C. Lovtang and Shawn R. Narum Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station, Hagerman, ID, USA Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Portland, OR, USA Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, The Dalles, OR, USA Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Eagle Fish Genetics Lab, Eagle, ID, USA Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Warm Springs, OR, USA *Corresponding author: tel: þ1 503 238 0667; e-mail: hesm@critfc.org
Species and functional trait turnover in response to broad‐scale change and an invasive species

While beta diversity has been implicated as a key factor in controlling resilience of communities to stressors, lack of longterm data sets has limited the study of temporal dynamics of beta diversity. With a time series at two sites in excess of 40 yr, we investigated turnover of both species and functional traits in a system stressed by eutrophication and overfishing and undergoing climate change and invasion. The two sites, although located near to each other, differ in water depth (20 cf. 35 m), but both sites have displayed increased abundances of an invasive polychaete since 1990. We tested two hypotheses related to the effect of an invasive species; that taxa richness and turnover would decrease, and trait richness would increase post invasion and that trait turnover would increase between arrival and establishment of the invasive. Generally, we observed different dynamics at the two sites and responses not consistent with our hypotheses. We detected an increase in taxa richness at both sites and an increase in taxa turnover and number of traits at one site only. Trait turnover was higher prior to the invasion, although again only at one site. Disjunctive responses between species and trait turnover occurred, with the invader contributing in a nonrandom fashion to trait turnover. The lack of strong, consistent responses to the arrival and establishment of the invasive, and the decrease in trait turnover, suggests that effects of invasives are not only systemand speciesdependent, but also depend on community dynamics of the invaded site, in particular the assembly processes, and historical context.
INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTS OF TELECOMMUTING: A LONGITUDINAL FIELD EXPERIMENT USING THE EXPERIENCE SAMPLING METHOD

The purpose of this study is to examine individual and organizational effects of telecommuting. The research design involves a longitudinal (12 months), between-subjects, randomized field experiment with two manipulated factors: satellite office space available (no, yes) and downtown office space available (no, yes). In all four treatment conditions, participants are allowed to work at home. The experimental design incorporates a fifth (control) condition where no telecommuting is allowed, which reflects the current company policy. The experience sampling method (ESM) is used to randomly measure psychological and behavioral variables throughout a seven month period. A total of 160 medical coders who work for a large health care company with hospitals and clinics located throughout the United States take part in the experiment. A descriptive telecommuting behavior model (TBM) developed for this study illustrates the relationships among telecommuting policies, location choices, psychological factors, individual performance, and organizational outcomes. Preliminary analyses of employee retention, task interruption, and task performance data indicate that the best telecommuting options are “home and/or satellite office” and “home, satellite office and/or downtown office”; the next best options are “home and/or downtown office” and “downtown only”; the least effective policy is “home only. ” Further analysis of ESM responses is expected to shed light on why the participants exhibit different psychological, behavioral, and organizational responses across the telecommuting conditions.
KSE: A Look at Sub-Variants of Price Momentum Strategy

The objective of this paper is to examine the impacts and profitability in great detail of sub-variants of price momentum strategies on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) which is an emerging stock market. The sub-variants are price momentum strategies, trading volume based momentum strategies and weekly momentum strategies. It is found out that KSE is an emerging stock market which is fully integrated with existing financial global system and offers positive returns. It is also found out that price momentum strategies give positive above average statistically significant returns. Trading volume based momentum strategies and weekly momentum strategies with shorter time period gives average or below average return. Though most of weekly and trading volume momentum strategies are profitable but they should be used in combination with price momentum strategies and should have shortest formation period. Future research should focus on intra-day trading volume and emerging stock markets.
Activity of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil and ethanolic extract against extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing bacteria

The antibacterial effects of Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum ) essential oil and ethanolic extract against extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were studied in the present study. The essential oil and ethanolic fraction of C. zeylanicum showed significant activities against all tested microorganisms and minimal inhibitory concentration values (MIC) of the essential oil ranged from 0.8 to 20.2 μg/ml. The MIC of ethanolic fraction at 60°C were in the range from 8 to 62.12 μg/ml, although at room temperature showed the highest and lowest activity at 14.5 and 64.11 μg/ml, respectively. The results show by these extracts recommends their potential use against multidrug resistant microorganisms. This study also shows that C. zeylanicum could be a potential source of new antimicrobial agents. PCR amplification reaction showed the presence of CTX-M β lactamases gene in all tested organisms. Key words: Cinnamon , CTX-Mβ-lactam-resistant bacteria, Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Investigating the human hemoglobin fructation in the presence of propolis in vitro

Background: Propolis is a complex resinous mixture that is gathered and processed by honeybees from resin they collect from trees and plants. This substance has various biological properties. Glycation is a reaction, which occurs between a protein and a reducing sugar and finally causes structural alterations and destruction of proteins. The role of glycation has been approved in the development and aggravation of diabetic complications. This study aimed to examine the effect of ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) on fructation and destruction of hemoglobin protein structure. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, purified hemoglobin was incubated alone and with fructose in the presence and absence of different concentrations of EEP (10, 20 and 40µg/ml) for 5 weeks. The extent of hemoglobin fructation was determined by measuring the amount of heme release, blue shift in soret band, releasing the products of heme destruction and assessing the amyloid structures using the UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. Results: Incubation of hemoglobin with fructose was led to the hemoglobin destruction and heme release. Hemoglobin fructation was inhibited up to 45% in the presence of EEP with a concentration of 40µg/ml. The two lower concentrations of EEP showed the lower degrees of inhibition. Moreover, fluorescence studies of products resulting from heme degradation and fibrillar structures are indicative of the reduction in hemoglobin fructation in the presence of EEP. Conclusion: Hemoglobin is drastically glycated in the presence of fructose and EEP can decrease the hemoglobin fructation in a concentration-dependent manner.
A NEW FORM-FINDING METHOD BASED ON MEAN CURVATURE FLOW OF SURFACES

In this paper, we present a new form-nding method for freeform shell structures. For a given boundary curve, we design a construction that is an approximation of the corresponding minimal surface. The surface is represented by a triangular network of curves and its initial shape can be an arbitrary smooth surface with the given boundary. In order to satisfy the minimal surface condition, we apply the mean curvature ow model to the given initial shape and we let it evolve until it reaches the equilibrium. Since it is desirable in practice to have the structure as uniform as possible, we propose a method for tangential redistribution of nodes on the individual curves. The mathematical model is discretized by a owing control volume scheme and the paper also provides the details of the discretization technique.
T HE P ERTINENCE OF I NCONTINENCE

In this paper I suggest a reconstruction of the traditional concepts of continent and incontinent action. This reconstruction proceeds along the lines of a standpoint of bounded rationality. My suggestion agrees with some relevant aspects of Davidson’s treatment of this topic. One of these aspects is that incontinent action is typically signalled by the following two subjective experiences: a feeling of surprise towards one’s own action and a difficulty in understanding oneself; another is that incontinence cannot simply be disposed of in terms of some inability of the agent to avoid “succumbing to temptation”; still another is the view that incontinent action is common in real human affairs. But my suggestion disagrees with other relevant aspects of Davidson’s treatment of incontinence too. In particular, it avoids what I take to be its two major drawbacks. These are a view of continent action that falls prey to a completely unrealistic concept of psychological rationality and the idea that incontinence necessarily involves a dimension of essential irrationality.
Response of Seed Dressing With Boron Dust and Slurry on Wheat Variety WK- 1204 For Grain Yield and Agronomic Traits under Poly Bag and Field Study At Khumaltar, Nepal

Field and poly bag experiments were carried out at Khumaltar on wheat variety WK-1204 by dressing seed with sodium borate decahydrate dust (containing 11.34% elemental boron) and slurry per 100 g wheat seed. A total of nine treatments of Boron (B) dust and slurry to treat wheat seed at 2.2, 4.4, 6.4 and 8.8 gram per 100 g seed and basal application of B at 1.0 kg a.i./ha was in three replications for both field and poly bag experiments in randomized complete block design. The objective of the study was to find out the effect of boron seed dressing on grain yield and agronomic attributes of wheat variety under study. The result of the study revealed that grain yield and agronomic traits were highly and significantly correlated with seed dressing with boron dust at 2.2 to 8.8 g boron /100 g seed of wheat. This finding was consistent with field and poly bag experiments which were coherent with the findings of lab analysis for attributes of root and shoot length, and percentage of germination. However, seed dressing with boron slurry at 2.2 to 8.8 g/ 100 g wheat seed inhibited grain yield and agronomic attributes of wheat in the study. Therefore, seed dressing with boron dust at different level was superior over seed dressing with boron slurry for higher grain yield and yield related traits of wheat variety WK-1204 at Khumaltar condition. Boron deficiency for wheat could be corrected by seed dressing with boron dust at 2.2 to 8.6 g boron /100g wheat seed. This could be very economical and practical way of enhancing wheat production in hilly terrain areas of Nepal where one of the reasons of yield limitations is due to deficiency of boron. Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN), Vol.4, 2016, page: 64-74
Chaotic characteristics analysis of simulation signal of second harmonic generation effect

In order to deepen the understanding of nonlinear properties of specimen in the process of fatigue crack extension, the chaos and fractal theory are presented to analyze the second harmonic generation (SHG) signal of receiver in nonlinear ultrasonic system. Firstly the usefulness of chaos and fractal theory to analyze the SHG signal should be verified theoretically. By constructed the simulation signal of SHG effect, simulation signals with the character of chaotic was found, and it showed that the Lyapunov exponent was sensitive to weaker nonlinearity and unsusceptible to noise, and chaotic characteristic values could make up for inadequacies of the relative nonlinear coefficient.
Simulation of Isotropic Acoustic Metamaterials

The model use to study electromagnetic metamaterials in transverse electric mode was modified to study the pressure distribution in an acoustic metamaterial in a two dimensional geometry. An electromagnetic wave of 30 GHz in transverse magnetic mode at normal incidence propagating through a two dimensional isotropic semi infinite double negative metamaterial slab of 640×830 cells embedded in free space with low loss damping frequency 108s-1 was studied by finite difference time dependent method with Yee’s algorithm with an explicit leapfrog scheme. The multiple cycle m-n-m pulses generating beams were used as sources. The simulations for refractive indices n=-1 and n=-16 at different time steps are presented. For n=-1, the sub-wavelength imaging is apparent, diverging the waves from source into two sources, one inside and the other outside the slab. The reverse propagation is much more significant for showing that the group velocity is much larger inside the metamaterial by the closely packed wave front, making the continuation of the wave pattern much more significant through the metamaterial into the normal space.
Factors Controlling Sediment Denitrification Rates in Grassland and Forest Streams

Sediment denitrification is an important nitrate (NO3) removal process from agricultural streams. The direct and indirect factors that control denitrification rates in tributary sediments can vary depending on the types of agricultural activities and vegetation. Our research investigated (1) tributary sediment denitrification rates in a grassland stream affected by pasture ecosystems and a forest stream affected by N fertilization; and (2) the environmental factors that determine denitrification rates in tributary sediments. The denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) in grassland stream sediments is positively correlated with precipitation likely due to the increased nutrient exchange rates between stream water and sediments, and was higher than in forest stream sediments, leading to a decrease in NO3 concentration ([NO3]) in stream sediments. The DEA in riparian sediments was regulated by carbon concentrations and did not contribute to NO3 removal from the riparian sediment in grassland and forest streams. Thus, environmental factors affected by different types of agricultural activities and vegetation might regulate denitrification rates and [NO3] in agricultural stream ecosystems.
A theoretical analysis of trading rules: an application to the moving average case with Markovian returns

A general framework for analysing trading rules is presented. We discuss different return concepts and different statistical processes for returns. We then concentrate on moving average trading rules and show, in the case of moving average models of length two, closed form expressions for the characteristic function of realized returns when the underlying return process follows a switching Markovian Gaussian process. An example is included which illustrates the technique.
Classification of Four-Component Rotationally Symmetric Rose Links

A rose link is a disjoint union of a finite number of unknots. Each unknot is considered a component of the link. We study rotationally symmetric rose links, those that can be rotated in a way that does not change their appearance or true form. Brown used link invariants to classify 3-component rose links; we categorize 4-component rose links using the HOMFLY polynomial. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Dr. Morwen Thistlethwaite, for his help with the cube octahedron and HPOLY program, Dr. Chuck Livingston at Indiana University, and Dr. Maria Stadnik at Birmingham-Southern College. RHIT Undergrad. Math. J., Vol. 18, No. 1 Page 157
Collision rate of spheroids in turbulence

Collisions of particles are of great importance in different processes in fluid flows, like water droplets colliding in cumulus clouds forming rain, but also dust grains that eventually form a planet. As a continuation of work that was done on spherical particles I studied the collision rate of small spheroids in three qualitatively different flows, namely in the kinetic limit, where particles move ballistically, in the shear flow, where particles move uniformly, but can overtake each other, and in a smooth random flow, which is a model for the small scales in turbulence. A corresponding theoretical model that describes the two-dimensional collision rate was presented and compared to simulation results. It was found that the particle shape has a great influence on the collision rate in all cases. In general an increasing elongation leads to a higher collision rate, while the two-dimensional shear flow was found to be an exception in the sense that the collision rate approaches zero instead. Threedimensional systems were investigated by simulations but not supported by a theory.
The Effect of Online Adaptation on Conflicts in Haptic Shared Control for Free-Air Teleoperation Tasks

Haptic shared control provides artificial guiding forces on a control interface that support operators to perform tasks. Research has shown that this can improve task performance and reduce control effort. However conflicts between the human operator and support system are often reported which deteriorate performance and increase control effort. Conflicts solutions have been proposed for unexpected avoidance of obstacle on the supported trajectory, but solving conflicts due to trajectory negotiation mismatches have not been proposed. One way of minimizing those conflicts is to base support on individual preferred trajectories. Another way propose in literature is by online adapting the supporting trajectory. The goal of this study is to provide evidence for the hypotheses that 1) an individualized support trajectory yields less conflict between operator and support system than convention general trajectory and 2) online adaptation of the supported trajectory will also reduce conflicts, regardless of the initially chosen support trajectory. In a human factors experiment, subjects (n=12) conducted a repetitive two degrees of freedom task in which they were provided with four different types of support. Both the recorded individual trajectories and the conventional centerline of the environment trajectory were provided both with and without adaptation. The results show no effect of adaptation or support path on performance. Adaptation reduces support forces and control activity. The individual recorded trajectory reduces control activity compared to conventional centerline of environment support. Those results provide evidence that recorded individual trajectory support reduces control effort for non-adaptive support, albeit only in control activity. The results furthermore provide evidence that adaptation of both types of initial support path reduce support forces and control effort. In conclusion, online adaptation of haptic shared control reduces trajectory negotiation conflicts and the associated increased forces. It adapts to subject-specific preferences in trajectory, regardless of initially chosen supported trajectories.
The Influence of Juvenile Fish (Oreochromis niloticus) on Population Density of Pond Breeding Mosquitoes in the Degraded Wetlands of Yala Swamp, Western Kenya

The study whose findings are presented in this paper aimed to assess the potential of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juveniles to cause a significant reduction in larval population of mosquitoes breeding in the ponds. Mosquitoes always raise a concern for public health where they occur, as in Yala swamp. Edible fish can be an incentive for promoting both socioeconomic and ecologically appropriate mosquito management practice, in a setting where resource poor communities can be proactively involved. Field experiments were conducted from April to August 2006 in three habitats (transient pools, control and experimental ponds) located within a disturbed wetland of Yala swamp. Fingerlings of Nile tilapia were introduced into one of the ponds and mosquito sampling commenced in both control and experimental ponds a week after the introduction of fish. We analyzed data for mosquito larval population mean differences in three habitats between two periods (long rains and dry spell). The results show that Anopheles gambiae ssp was the most abundant in transient pools followed by control Pond, while fish stocked Pond had significantly lower abundance. Unlike transient pools, the association (r = 0.466) between increased larval density and dry season in ponds was highly significant (P = 0.02). These results suggest that effective use of fish for mosquito control in ponds should be limited to a period immediately following heavy rains.
Bayesian Geostatistical Design

Abstract. This paper describes the use of model‐based geostatistics for choosing the set of sampling locations, collectively called the design, to be used in a geostatistical analysis. Two types of design situation are considered. These are retrospective design, which concerns the addition of sampling locations to, or deletion of locations from, an existing design, and prospective design, which consists of choosing positions for a new set of sampling locations. We propose a Bayesian design criterion which focuses on the goal of efficient spatial prediction whilst allowing for the fact that model parameter values are unknown. The results show that in this situation a wide range of inter‐point distances should be included in the design, and the widely used regular design is often not the best choice.