Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean The Political Economy of Redistributive Policies

Document prepared for UNDP Project on “Markets, the State and the Dynamics of Inequality: How to Advance Inclusive Growth” (Co-funded by RBLAC and BDP-Poverty Group). * Department of Government and Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University. The opinions expressed in this document are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the United Nations Development Programme, or those of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. Please cite this document as: Robinson, J. A. (2009) “The Political Economy of Redistributive Policies”, Research for Public Policy, Inclusive Development, ID-09-2009, RBLAC-UNDP, New York Research for Public Policy Inclusive Development
Preparation of subradiant states using local qubit control in circuit QED

Transitions between quantum states by photon absorption or emission are intimately related to the symmetries of the system which lead to selection rules and the formation of dark states. In a circuit quantum electrodynamics setup, in which two resonant superconducting qubits are coupled through an on-chip cavity and driven via the common cavity field, one single-excitation state remains dark. Here, we demonstrate that this dark state can be excited using local phase control of individual qubit drives to change the symmetry of the excitation field. We observe that the dark state decay via spontaneous emission into the cavity is suppressed, a characteristic signature of subradiance. This local control technique could be used to prepare and study highly correlated quantum states of cavity-coupled qubits.
Economic Growth and Infrastructure Gap in Latin America

This paper analyses the recent trends in infrastructures of Latin American, with the aim of addressing the problem of measuring and evaluating the infrastructural gap. Departing from the recent literature on economic growth and public finance, we defined the infrastructure need of a country through a model of demand. The use of a large dataset (121 countries spanned over 1960-1999) made it possible to estimate the optimal level of infrastructure provision. To conclude, a comparative inter-regional analysis of the infrastructural gap between the Latin American, East Asian, OECD and middle income countries was conducted to check if the reduction in infrastructural investment was caused by the evolution of infrastructure needs, or if it was due to a widespread inefficiency caused by the underestimation of actual needs.
Indigenous Technical Knowledge for Resource Monitoring in Northern Kenya

Abstract This study, which was undertaken in the Northern Kenya pastoral community, was aimed at documenting the various indicators the community use in monitoring the quality of range resources, especially vegetation. It should be noted that livestock production is the main livelihood system in this communities. Data was captured using interviews and focused group discussions with a section of the community members. The study revealed a wealth of knowledge in monitoring of the range resources quality within these communities. Among the two communities, it was evident that they observe livestock behavior, livestock attributes and physical phenomena, as indicators of vegetation quality. Livestock behavior observed could tell when the range conditions were suitable for livestock and when the conditions were unsuitable. Goats’ being playful is a common characteristic that indicates that the range conditions are suitable for livestock. Other observable livestock behavior or attributes indicating good range conditions are livestock responding to their names when called; increase on milk out put; increased mating. Indicators of bad range conditions include: - rough hair on camels; livestock grinding teeth at night; high mice populations; increase in camel flies. Some specific observations are specific to few individuals. This is in the case of judging the suitability of forage by smelling livestock urine. However these indicators are used to make decisions always when the community migrates from one region to another in search of pastures. Documenting this indigenous knowledge aids in better understanding the reasons behind the decisions made for livestock migration.
Product Differentiation Alternatives: Identity Preservation, Segregation, and Traceability

The global agricultural commodity system is being revolutionized as an increasing number of cereals and oilseeds are being differentiated to ensure that their value or uniqueness is captured and maintained throughout the supply chain. The definition of product differentiation can have several nuances, depending on the justification for the differentiation. Frequently the terms identity preserved production and marketing (IPPM), segregation and traceability are used interchangeably in biotechnology and supply chain literature. This is misleading. The misconceptions are about the distinct role that each of these systems has in the supply of agrifood products. This paper offers working definitions and a practical taxonomy for identity preservation, segregation, and traceability. Section 2 examines the literature on product differentiation and provides definitions for each system. A detailed examination of the features that are unique to each form of product differentiation is offered in Section 3. Product differentiation methodology is examined in Section 4. Three product differentiation cases in Canadian agriculture are examined in Section 5 and the papers conclusions are discussed in Section 6.
On the Automated Drawing of Graphs

The author has designed a computer system for the adrawing of graphs. This transforms a graph from its algebraic description t o a visual representation in the plane, displaying a selected property. This paper consider s some aspects of that work, outlining the procedure for the automatic drawing of trees, a nd graphs displaying symmetry properties
Creating Weed-Resistant Plant Communities Using Niche-Differentiated Nonnative Species

Abstract Enhancing desired species establishment and persistence is central to rehabilitating invasive plant–infested rangeland. We hypothesized that nonnative desired species (alfalfa [Medicago sativa L., var. Arrow], intermediate wheatgrass [Thinopyrum intermedium {Host} Barkworth & D.R. Dewey], and crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum {L.} Gaertn., var. Hycrest]) increase as desired species richness within seeding mixture increases, and spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa Lam.) decrease as desirable species richness increases. We simultaneously tested the degree of niche differentiation among desired species. Experiments consisted of 7 seeding monocultures and combinations. Treatments were monocultures of each desired species (3 plots), all combinations of 2 desirable species (2 250 seeds·m−2 per species; 3 plots), and 1 plot containing all 3 desirable species (1 500 seeds·m−2 per species). Monocultures or mixtures were replicated 4 times by seeding each treatment with four background densities of spotted knapweed (1 250, 2 500, 3 750, and 7 500 seeds·m−2; 7 treatments × 4 background densities = 28 plots). Analysis included regression with the 7 desired species monocultures or mixtures as a fixed effect and spotted knapweed sowing density as a continuous effect. All desired species established had either low or no negative influence on their neighbor, and differed in niche after 7 years of growing in association. Increasing richness of desired species led to increased productivity. Spotted knapweed density and biomass were low across all monocultures and mixtures at the productive site because shade and litter of desired species reduced light availability to the rosette-forming invasive weed. Combining crested wheatgrass and alfalfa provided lower spotted knapweed density and biomass more than did monocultures or grass mixtures because these 2 species appeared to occupy complementary niches. Increased niche occupation by nonnative desirable species may increase resource use and productivity, thus minimizing establishment and dominance of unwanted invasive plants during rehabilitation on arid, marginally productive rangeland sites.
Remember-All Based Frontier Allocation for Multi-Robot Coverage in Unknown Environments

Robots are being increasingly used for coverage tasks which were earlier considered too dangerous or monotonous to be performed by humans such as interplanetary exploration, search & rescue missions, etc. Out of all the multi-robot coverage approaches, the frontier based approach is one of the most widely used. Most of the coverage approaches developed so far face the issue of frontier duplication and require access to maps of the environments prior to coverage. In this work, a new frontier based strategy for multi-robot coverage in unknown environments is developed. This new strategy tries to remember and manage all the frontiers discovered so far. It is scalable to multiple robots and does not require prior access to the maps. It also uses a new frontier allocation and coordination strategy, which reduces the frontier duplication and improves the efficiency of coverage. Keywords-robot coverage; autonomous robots; frontier coverage; unknown environments; ROS
Size-selective grazing by a microflagellate on pelagic bacteria

The effect of rnicroflagellate grazing on the size distribution of bacterial cells was studied using a heterotrophic microflagellate, Ochromonas sp. , and mixed seawater bacteria in a 2-stage continuous culture. The flagellate grazed bacteria selectively, preferring cells larger than 0.2 pm3. Median bacterial cell volume was reduced by 47 %, median cell length by 36 O/O and median cell width by 8 % compared to ungrazed control bacteria. An unexpected result was a drastic increase in numbers of bactena in the 3 smallest size classes in the chemostat with flagellates. The size distribution of natural pelagic bacteria in the northern Baltic Sea was studied in spring and summer during 3 consecutive yr, 1982 to 1984. Median bacterial cell volun~e decreased during summer, while phagotrophic microflagellates increased in abundance. We conclude that bacterial size distribution in the sea can be affected by size-selective grazing of heterotrophic microflagellates, and suggest that this explains the decrease in median bacterial volume during the summer.
Gender-role Expectations and Fertility Rates in EU Member States

The author uses data from the European Values Study 2008 to investigate possible links between gender-related attitudes and fertility rates in EU member states. Countries with higher income levels and female employment rates were found to have higher fertility rates, and countries with higher fertility rates tended to have higher percentages of live births outside of marriage, suggesting a significant change in traditional family structure. A positive correlation between gender equity and reduced traditional gender role expectations was observed in wealthier countries, which also had greater female labor force participation and higher fertility rates. In wealthy Western societies, couples no longer have children for purposes of extending family lines or providing support in old age. For many women, children and careers now go hand-in-hand.
Relation between abnormalities of heamostasis and neoangiogenesis in breast cancer patients

układu krzepnięcia i fibrynolizy w chorobie nowotworowej jest od wielu lat przedmiotem badań. Zgromadzono dowody na to, że nie jest to tylko zjawisko towarzyszące i przyczyna powikłań, ale integralny mechanizm w rozwoju choroby. Te same mechanizmy, które powodują stan nadkrzepliwości, biorą udział w promocji wzrostu guza, tworzeniu nowych naczyń i powstawaniu przerzutów. W patogenezie nowotworu procesy hemostazy, angiogenezy i wzrostu guza są ściśle ze sobą powiązane. Wydaje się, że najważniejszym łącznikiem pomiędzy tymi procesami jest naczyniowo-śródbłonkowy czynnik wzrostu (VEGF), główny czynnik regulujący fizjologiczną i patologiczną angiogenezę. Celem pracy było zbadanie zależności pomiędzy zaburzeniami w układzie krzepnięcia i fibrynolizy a nasileniem angiogenezy w przebiegu raku piersi. W grupie badanej było 79 kobiet chorych na raka piersi w stopniu zaawansowania klinicznego od I do IV. Grupa kontrolna obejmowała 25 zdrowych kobiet. Materiał do badań stanowiło osocze pobrane przed rozpoczęciem leczenia. Oznaczono następujące parametry: liczbę płytek, czas częściowej tromboplastyny po aktywacji, czas protrombinowy, aktywność α2-antyplazminy (α2-AP), stężenie fibrynogenu, dimerów D (DD) i VEGF. Stwierdzono dodatnią korelację pomiędzy stężeniem VEGF a stężeniem DD i fibrynogenu, najsilniej wyrażoną w grupie z rozsianym rakiem piersi. U osób z chorobą nowotworową występowały istotnie wyższe stężenia fibrynogenu, DD i VEGF oraz istotnie niższe aktywności α2-AP w porównaniu z grupą kontrolną. Największe odchylenia stwierdzono w grupie z przerzutami odległymi. Na podstawie uzyskanych wyników wysunięto wnioski, że w przebiegu raka piersi dochodzi do występowania przewlekłego procesu wewnątrznaczyniowego wykrzepiania o niewielkim nasileniu, z wtórną fibrynolizą, a stopień nasilenia i częstość tych procesów koreluje z nasileniem angiogenezy i z zaawansowaniem choroby.
Characterization of glycine release from mouse hippocampal slices.

Glycine release from the mouse hippocampus was studied with a superfusion system in which freely floating slices were exposed to a continuous flow of medium. The slices were exposed to K+ stimulation and ischemic conditions in addition to a great number of synaptic effectors and second messengers. The release was markedly increased by K+ stimulation and under ischemic conditions. Many of the synaptic effectors and second messengers did not regulate the release, but nitric oxide was strongly stimulatory. The release was apparently inhibited by adenosine receptors and inhibition of phosphodiesterases.
RATING DECISION ANALYSIS BASED ON IOS APP STORE DATA

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to describe the specific aspects of the e-commerce model business-to-consumer as a constantly developing field of an economic life in the Central European countries according to their customers. The current state of e-business and business-to-consumer e-commerce issue was identified by the research in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Methodology/Approach: For the purposes of collecting primary data the crucial factor for the selection of e-shops was identification of the suitable online portals focused on post-purchase evaluation of e-shops in Visegrad group countries. Automatic data collection method was used for the observed variables (evaluations) within selected online portals of the identified e-shops. The total of 5,228,127 evaluations of 9,260 e-shops were analysed. The main focus was given to customer overall satisfaction with an e-shop in relation to communication with a customer or overall satisfaction with an e-shop and delivery quality. Findings: The results of the research showed that there exists a direct relation between overall satisfaction with an e-shop and communication with customers or overall satisfaction with an e-shop and delivery quality. Originality/Value of paper: The ambition of this paper through the findings is to help subjects of e-commerce in their marketing decisions in order to even better understand the factors that influence customers’ satisfaction.
Some evidence on inflation targeting in Poland

In this study we analyse the transparency and the credibility of the National Bank of Poland’s monetary policy under the 1998-2004 inflation targeting regime on the basis of survey-based evidence. To verify monetary policy transparency we separately inspect the transparency of monetary policy frameworks and of monetary policy decisions. With respect to the former, we present some indicators as suggested in the literature and make crosscountry comparisons, while with respect to the latter we analyse in detail the formation of interest rate expectations by commercial bank analysts. As far as monetary policy credibility is concerned, we focus our study on the way in which inflation expectations of consumers and commercial bank analysts are formed and how they are related to the NBP inflation target. † National Bank of Poland, Bureau of Macroeconomic Research; Tomasz.Lyziak@mail.nbp. pl. ‡ Warsaw University, Department of Economics; JMackiewicz@wne.uw. edu.pl. * National Bank of Poland, Bureau of Macroeconomic Research; Ewa.Stanislawska@mail.nbp. pl. Opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the institutions they work for. The authors wish to thank Professor Ryszard Kokoszczyński and Dr Lavan Mahadeva for their inspiring comments and discussions. All errors are of the authors.
An Approach for Optimized Feature Selection in Software Product Lines using Union-Find and Genetic Algorithms

In Software Product Line (SPL), feature model is highly recommended to manage the commonalities and variability of features under resource constraints of mandatory, optional and alternative. Features with mandatory constraints and high in dependency with other features are identified as crosscutting concerns; reduce the reusability of resources. It is important to find and modularize these concerns at modeling level. With this practice, these concerns do not effect if deletion or addition is required from entire system. In this paper we have applied Union-find algorithm to find crosscutting concerns in feature model. We evaluated our approach by applying on an automobile feature model with various dependencies between features, and found required crosscutting concerns. By this approach, identification of crosscutting concerns and their modularization made easier. Further, we have also applied genetic algorithm to get optimized feature selection under cost constraint with high performance. In SPL, as crosscutting concerns are mandatory features with fix cost and performance, optimization on feature model is necessary under consideration of crosscutting concerns. Our approach found all possible products according to crosscutting concerns, cost and performance at modeling level of an automobile feature model. At last, we found all products from minimum to maximum cost with respect to least maximum performance by using GA optimization technique.
Labor Market Efficiency in Poland:A Stochastic Wage Frontier Analysis

In this paper, we apply a stochastic frontier approach in order to analyze labor market efficiency in Poland â€“ a transition economy and a new entrant to the European Union. Wage efficiency is defined as the ratio of a workerâ€™s actual and potential (maximum) wage, given his or her demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Our findings indicate that, on average, in 2001 the full-time hired Polish workers realized 86 percent of their potential earnings. It implies inefficiency in acquiring and processing job market information. At the same time, an international comparison shows that the degree of wage efficiency in Poland was similar to or higher than that in other developed countries. Our attempt to identify the determinants of wage efficiency in Poland produced mixed results. However, in sum, worker performance in the Polish labor market seems to be rewarded appropriately, with some typical-for-Europe degrees of inefficiency in acquiring information, by a standard of wage efficiency and proximity to the wage frontier.
Welfare Benefits and Unemployment in Affluent Democracies: The Moderating Role of the Institutional Insider/Outsider Divide

The effect of generous welfare benefits on unemployment is highly contested. The dominant perspective contends that benefits provide disincentive to work, whereas others portray benefits as job-search subsidies that facilitate better job matches. Despite many studies of welfare benefits and unemployment, the literature has neglected how this relationship might vary across institutional contexts. This article investigates how unemployment benefits and minimum income benefits affect unemployment across levels of the institutional insider/outsider divide. I analyze the moderating role of the disparity in employment protection for holders of permanent and temporary contracts and of the configuration of wage bargaining. The analysis combines data from 20 European countries and the United States using the European Union Labour Force Survey and the Current Population Survey 1992–2009. I use a pseudo-panel approach, including fixed effects for sociodemographic groups within countries and interactions between benefits and institutions. The results indicate that unemployment benefits and minimum income benefits successfully subsidize job search and reduce unemployment in labor markets with a moderate institutional insider/outsider divide. However, when there is greater disparity in employment protection and when bargaining either combines low unionization with high centralization or high unionization with low centralization, generous benefits create a disincentive to work, plausibly because attractive job opportunities are scarce.
The Impact Factors of Production and Operation Efficiency , Product Cost , and Customer Profitability-- Multiple Research Methods

This study documents how capacity is used within manufacturing organizations. We document how much of the capacity is used for productive tasks and how much is wasted on non-productive activities and idle time. Using field data from a Taiwanese printing firm, we examine how job complexity and variations affect capacity utilization, and how capacity utilization, work pressure and task complexity affect manufacturing productivity. And, how capacity utilization, job complexity, and job variability affect job cost and profitability. The results of our study find that less than 35% of the capacity is utilized for actual production output with the remaining lost on setups, maintenance, wait, idle time, balancing or shutdown. We also find that manufacturing productivity reduces at
Synergistic antineoplastic action of 5-aza-2'deoxycytidine (decitabine) in combination with different inhibitors of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) on human lung carcinoma cells

Patients with metastatic lung cancer have a very poor prognosis indicating an urgent need to develop more effective chemotherapy. Aberrant promoter DNA methylation can result in the epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) in lung cancer. 5-Aza2’deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR, decitabine), an inhibitor of DNA methylation, is able to reactivate silent TSGs. Trimethylation of histone H3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me3) by enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) histone methyltransferase can also silence TSGs in lung cancer. 3-Deazaneplanocin-A (DZNep), an inhibitor of EZH2, up-regulates the expression of genes silenced by H3K27me3. In this study we compared the in vitro antineoplastic activity of different inhibitors of EZH2; DZNep, U-4149 and Gsk-126, alone and in combination with 5-Aza-CdR, on the human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. U-4149, an analogue of DZNep, was more potent than either DZNep or Gsk126. The reduction in colony formation was doseand time-dependent for each EZH2 inhibitors. Combination treatment of 5-Aza-CdR with the EZH2 inhibitors showed a synergistic antineoplastic activity. 5-Aza-CdR and U-4149 was the most potent combination. The in vitro antineoplastic activity of these agents was evaluated by inhibition of growth, colony formation, induction of senescence and apoptosis. All the drug combinations induced signs of senescence and apoptosis. Analysis by gene expression by qRT-PCR showed that the combinations increased the expression of several TSGs to a greater extent that either agent alone. In conclusion, epigenetic therapy that specifically targets DNA and histone methylation has interesting potential for the treatment of lung cancer and merits further investigation.