Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Political Economy of Protection in a Customs Union: What Drives the Tariff Structure of the EU?

We examine the political economy underpinnings of EU import protection. This includes the relatively standard approach of examining the pattern of tariffs. However, we also introduce the use of general equilibrium estimates of the direct and indirect marginal impacts of protection at the sector level for econometric estimation of the revealed pattern of policy weights. This GE approach yields estimates of political weights based on economic effects. The resulting weights lend insight into relative protection of agriculture and manufacturing. We also find that the strength of downstream linkages matters for policy weights and rates of protection, as does the national posture of industry. JEL Codes: F13, F14, D72
Can Norway be kept free from rubella and measles

ØYSTEIN ROLANDSEN RI ISE E-mail: oysteinrolandsen.riise@fhi.no Øystein Rolandsen Riise (born 1975), specialist in paediatrics, PhD, master of public health and senior consultant at the Department of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He is secretary of the Scandinavian Verification Committee for Measles and Rubella Elimination. The author has completed the ICMJE form and reports no conflicts of interest.
The Effect of Attenuation from Fish Shoals on Long-Range, Wide-Area Acoustic Sensing in the Ocean

Acoustics is the primary means of long-range and wide-area sensing in the ocean due to the severe attenuation of electromagnetic waves in seawater. While it is known that densely packed fish groups can attenuate acoustic signals during long-range propagation in an ocean waveguide, previous experimental demonstrations have been restricted to single line transect measurements of either transmission or backscatter and have not directly investigated wide-area sensing and communication issues. Here we experimentally show with wide-area sensing over 360° in the horizontal and ranges spanning many tens of kilometers that a single large fish shoal can significantly occlude acoustic sensing over entire sectors spanning more than 30° with corresponding decreases in detection ranges by roughly an order of magnitude. Such blockages can comprise significant impediments to underwater acoustic remote sensing and surveillance of underwater vehicles, marine life and geophysical phenomena as well as underwater communication. This makes it important to understand the relevant mechanisms and accurately predict attenuation from fish in long-range underwater acoustic sensing and communication. To do so, we apply an analytical theory derived from first principles for acoustic propagation and scattering through inhomogeneities in an ocean waveguide to model propagation through fish shoals. In previous experiments, either the attenuation from fish in the shoal or the scattering cross sections of fish in the shoal were measured but not both, making it impossible to directly confirm a theoretical prediction on attenuation through the shoal. Here, both measurements have been made and they experimentally confirm the waveguide theory presented. We find experimentally and theoretically that attenuation can be significant when the sensing frequency is near the resonance frequency of the shoaling fish. Negligible attenuation was observed in previous low-frequency ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing (OAWRS) experiments because the sensing frequency was sufficiently far from the swimbladder resonance peak of the shoaling fish or the packing densities of the fish shoals were not sufficiently high. We show that common heuristic approaches that employ free space scattering assumptions for attenuation from fish groups can lead to significant errors for applications involving long-range waveguide propagation and scattering.
The effect of extraction methods on total phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant capacity of Loloh Sembung (Blumea balsamifera)

A Loloh is commonly consumed by Balinese people and often used as a therapeutic herbal drink. Various extraction methods can be employed to produce loloh. The research aims to determine the effect of extraction methods on total phenolic content, flavonoid and antioxidant capacity of loloh sembung (Blumea balsamifera). The concentrations of dried sembung leaves were 1, 3, 5 and 7 grams and 100 mL of water was used as solvent. The extraction methods used were infused and decoction. The analysis was done for determining the total phenolic, total flavonoids, and total antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP). The results showed no significant difference between infuse and decoction methods. Higher total phenolic, flavonoid, and antioxidant capacity were produced by loloh sembung at a concentration of 1%.
DAY CARE SURGERY: COMPARISON OF TWO ANAESTHETIC TECHNIQUES IN OBESE PATIENTS

Obese patients offer a major patient load on hospital setups. Extra stay in hospitals increases morbidity. It also increases financial load to the third party payers. In our study, we compared two techniques for the short procedures less than 30 minutes. A randomised double blind study was done amongst 60 patients, with obesity grade 1 [BMI up to 35Kgm 2 ], scheduled for day care surgery. We conducted surgeries less than 30 minutes, in our institute in 2 years, SRMSIMS, Bareilly. Both group received same techniques for induction inj. Midazolam 1mg, Fentanyl 2mcg/kg, Propofol 2mg/kg, Group P was maintained with Propofol 75-150mcg/kg/minute and second group S was maintained with variable concentration of Sevoflurane 1-4%. Patients of both groups received Oxygen 33% and Nitrous Oxide 67%in spontaneously breathing patients, with LMA in situ. Monitoring was done with BIS, NIBP, ECG, RR and HR. Changes in vital parameters were noted. Time for eye opening, obeying commands, Time to sit up and stand up were noted. Recovery following Modified Aldrete System was noted. 60 patients enrolled in our study, their datas were recorded and analysed according to SPSS analysis. Intraoperative hemodynamic stability was more in group S. Recovery profiles in both groups were almost similar. Group P developed less PONV than group S.
. 1 Elliptic Operators Associated to Generic Metrics 1 . 1

There are hence two constraints on the elements of a non-simple symmetric 2 × 2 matrix, so the non-simple matrices have codimension 2 in the space of symmetric matrices. The codimension of the set of n×n symmetric matrices with given eigenvalue multiplicity is known: see [20]. Self-adjoint elliptic operators are analogous to positive-definite symmetric matrices, so it’s natural to ask whether within a given family of self-adjoint elliptic operators, the non-simple ones have codimension two. The answer is often positive: see Teytel [17] and Arnold [2]. For instance, we can study the question
Rapid Object-Oriented Process for Embedded Systems

Creating software is not truly an engineering activity in which the application of known rules against a problem statement repeatedly results in a highly reliable, cost-effective solution. The creation of good software is notoriously difficult and depends heavily on the skill of individual developers. The current state of the art sees software development as a technological craft rather than an engineering discipline. The creation of software is difficult primarily because software is essentially a real-world or imaginary-world model filled with complexity exceeding the capabilities of any one person to completely comprehend it at any one time.
Developing Model-Based Theories: Improving the Quality of Conversations About How To Implement New Health Innovations

While there are many models of what would constitute effective health practice, the ‘theories’ that people use to implement them are less well articulated. However, those charged with designing the implementation programmes for these models of health practice have internal mental models that comprise their ‘theories of change’ and which guide their actions. System Dynamics is a powerful tool to develop explicit representations of these theories. This study uses in-depth interviews with seven clinical, management and policy leaders within the New Zealand health sector to develop a ‘theory of change’ which is then described using system dynamics. The study uses cognitive mapping to elicit the key components of the ‘expert’ theories by analysing both the individual maps and a composite map developed by combining data from all seven interviews. A thematic analysis is conducted of this composite map and the resulting themes are used to inform the development of a system dynamics model. The system dynamics model highlights the key causal connections within the map, projections of how they evolve over time and the key modifiable variables that affect the future pathway. This paper describes in detail the development of one core component of that model, engagement and is part of a larger research effort which aims to develop a fully quantified system dynamics model that explores the dynamics of change in the implementation of chronic care management programmes. Modelling Theories of Change in Chronic Care Management page 1
EUCLIDEAN ALIGNMENT OF 3D RANGE SCANS AND CALIBRATED IMAGES USING LINEAR STRUCTURES

The integration of multi-sensor payloads has become a standard for many robotic systems where the effective exploitation of multi-sensor data requires a pre-emptive projection on a common reference frame. This work addresses the issue of estimating the geometrical liaisons, denoted as external calibration, existing between a Laser Scanner and a perspective camera, which is needed to achieve the accurate alignment of the 3D range scans on the captured video. The calibration algorithm is based on the detection of a bunch of unordered straight structures, which project as lines onto the images and appears as depth discontinuities on the range maps. The proposed technique does not require the involvement of any intermediary sensor and therefore it is a suitable tool not only for the off-line calibration of the Laser-Camera system but also for the on-line recovery of the calibration parameters, when the robotic system operates in highly structured environments.
Diurnal and seasonal variation of electron heat flux measured with the Poker Flat IncoherentScatter Radar

[1] Measurements made with the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar were used to calculate the average diurnal electron temperature and corresponding vertical heat flux above Poker Flat, Alaska. Our results show that both the electron heat flux and temperature exhibited seasonal variation during 12 consecutive months in 2009 and 2010, a period of exceptionally quiet solar and geomagnetic activity. Both the electron temperature and heat flux varied diurnally, with larger magnitudes observed during the day than night. Contrary to midlatitude measurements from the late 1960s, the downward heat fluxes above Poker Flat were found to vary significantly with season and were typically greater during summer than winter. The time-dependent topside electron heat flux is an important parameter describing magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and it also drives boundary conditions in physics-based ionosphere models. Parameterizations of the average electron thermal flux and temperature sufficient for use in ionosphere models are provided. A physics-based high-latitude ionosphere model is used to demonstrate that a constant heat flux boundary condition leads to an electron temperature increase near local midnight that is not observed in the radar measurements. The resulting inaccuracy in electron temperature calculations leads to more than a 15% overestimate of daytime peak electron number density. Applying a time-varying heat flux boundary condition brings the model electron temperature and peak density to good agreement with measurements.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) From the press to politics and back : When do media set the political agenda and when do parties set the media agenda ?

When do parties take over the media’s issue attention in parliament? Scholarly work has shown that the mass media’s influence over the political agenda is conditional, yet only recently scholars started to consider the active role of parties and their strategic incentives in responding to the media. This chapter argues that parties only respond to media attention if the issue is framed in the party’s terms, as the right framing helps the party attain its policy goals. This argument is supported by pooled time-series analyses of the issue of European integration and the issue of immigration in Sweden and the Netherlands over the period 1995 to 2010. Altogether, the study contributes to our understanding of the strategic incentives and options parties have in responding to the media, as well as to our knowledge of the role of framing in political competition. Media agenda Political parallelism Political agenda Framing proximity Issue ownership Political conflict Challenger status
An Investigation of Stationarity Properties of the Turkish Tourism Income Variable S

Tourism has a significant impact on economic growth as put forth by the tourism-led growth hypothesis. Turkey’s earnings from tourism were 31.5 billion dollars in 2015 according to TURKSTAT. This implies that tourism is an important industry for Turkey and has a significant impact on economy. Therefore, the question whether a policy implementation in tourism is long-lasting or not is critical for both the industry and whole economy. This study researches the persistence of policies in tourism industry, employing tourism income series for period of 2009M1-2015M12 and tests the stationarity of this series using traditional unit root tests as well as a wavelet-based unit root test developed by Fan and Gencay (2010). Both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series have been used. The empirical results point out that the traditional unit root test has a proclivity to report that tourism income series is I(1) or non-stationary. On the other hand, the wavelet-base unit root test indicates that tourism income is stationary. The empirical result of waveletbased test implies that impact of a shock on this sector is transitory. The income in tourism industry will return more or less back to its meaning the following year.
Accounting Information and Managerial Decision Making in the Manufacturing Industry in Nigeria

In the contemporary business world, the role of accounting information in making or marring a business cannot be overemphasized. Recent worldwide advances in manufacturing technologies have brought about a metamorphosis in industry. This paper established the relationship between accounting information and managerial decision making in the manufacturing industry in Nigeria. The study was guided by the following research objectives; to establish the relationship that exists between accounting information and production decisions; to evaluate the relationship that exists between accounting information and human resource management decisions and to assess the relationship that exists between accounting information and marketing decisions in the Nigerian manufacturing sector. The research design adopted for this study is the survey design. The population of the study comprised of the eight companies in beverage sector of the manufacturing industry in Nigeria. The survey research made use of Seven Up Bottling Company Plc, and Nigeria Bottling Company as representatives of the manufacturing industry. Primary data was collected through administering of questionnaire to the staff of the companies. The sample size of the study was 382 derived from the Yaro Yamani’s formula. Based on the findings, it was concluded that accounting information has an effect on managerial decision making in the Nigerian manufacturing industry. The study recommended that due to the importance of human capital in any organisation, promotion, transfer and retrenchment decisions should be handled with utmost sensitivity. Also, accounting information should therefore be inculcated into the taking of such decisions as it will affect the human resource management department and the organisation as a whole if the wrong decision is taken.
OTT_A_205023 8515..8524

*These authors contributed equally to this work Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are well characterized for their important roles in human cancers by influencing various aspects of malignancy. Till now, the function and mechanism of miR-204, a tumor suppressor in several cancers, remain unclear in bladder cancer (BC). Here, we intend to explore its roles in BC progression. Methods: qRT-PCR was applied to determine miR-204 and ROBO4 expression in BC tissues and cell lines. miR-204 expression with clinicopathological features was analyzed. The impacts of miR-204 on BC cell growth and metastasis in vitro were evaluated by both loss-of-function and gain-of-function assays (CCK-8, crystal violet staining, wound healing and transwell assays). Furthermore, qRT-PCR, Western blot and luciferase reporter assays were used to validate the targeting of ROBO4 by miR-204. Finally, linear regression was performed to analyze the correlation of miR-204 and ROBO4 in BC tissues. Results: Expression of miR-204 was markedly decreased in BC tissues and cell lines were compared with respective controls. Low miR-204 expression was associated with positive advanced T stage and lymph node metastasis. Cellular function studies revealed that miR-204 inhibited BC cell growth, migration and invasion. Mechanistic exploration found that miR204 directly targeted ROBO4. Rescue assays indicated that ROBO4 restoration could reverse the antitumor effects of miR-204 in BC. Finally, ROBO4 was significantly correlated with miR-204 levels inversely. Conclusion: miR-204 might serve as a tumor suppressor in BC by targeting ROBO4.
SEISMIC BEHAVIOR OF 2D SEMI-SINE SHAPED HILLS SUBJECTED TO VERTICALLY PROPAGATING INCIDENT SV AND P WAVES

This paper presents the preliminary results of an extensive numerical parametric study on seismic behavior of two-dimensional homogenous semi-sine shaped hills subjected to vertically propagating incident SV and P waves. The medium is assumed to have a linear elastic constitutive behavior. All calculations are executed in time-domain using the direct boundary element method. Clear perspectives of the amplification patterns of the hill are presented by investigation of the frequencydomain responses. It is shown that wave length, site geometry and in a less order of importance, wave type and Poisson’s ratio, are the independent key parameters governing the hill's amplification pattern. Simple formula and tables are proposed for estimating the characteristic site period and also the average amplification factors of the semi-sine shaped hills, which could be applied in site effect microzonation studies of topographic areas.
Use of Cardiac Biomarkers for Monitoring Improvement of Left Ventricular Function by Immunoadsorption Treatment in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Immunoadsorption and subsequent administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) have shown beneficial effects on cardiac function and symptoms in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Biomarkers play an emerging role in disease monitoring and outcome prediction of heart failure (HF) patients. We aimed to analyze cardiac biomarkers as predictor for improvement of left ventricular (LV) function after immunoadsorption treatment in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Thirty-one patients with dilated cardiomyopathy on optimized HF pharmacotherapy received a single cycle of immunoadsorption for five days followed by IVIG administration. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and heart failure biomarkers (hs troponin T, hs troponin I, NT-proBNP and sST2) were evaluated before treatment, after the last cycle of immunoadsorption and during a median follow-up of 30.5 months. We correlated HF biomarkers before immunoadsorption and acute changes of HF biomarkers by immunoadsorption with LV improvement during the long-term follow-up. LV function improved significantly after immunoadsorption from 28.0 to 42.0% during the long-term follow-up (p < 0.0001). Evaluation of biomarker levels showed a significant decrease for hs troponin I (from 9.2 to 5.5 ng/L, p < 0.05) and NT-proBNP (from 789.6 to 281.2 pg/mL, p < 0.005). Correlation of biomarker levels before immunoadsorption and LVEF at the long-term follow-up show good results for hs troponin T (r = −0.40, r2 = 0.16, p < 0.05), hs troponin I (r = −0.41, r2 = 0.17, p < 0.05) and sST2 (r = −0.46, r2 = 0.19, p < 0.05). Correlation of biomarker levels before immunoadsorption and the individual increase in LV function was significant for hs troponin T (r = −0.52, r2 = 0.27, p < 0.005) and hs troponin I (r = −0.53, r2 = 0.29, p < 0.005). To imply a tool for monitoring outcome immediately after immunoadsorption treatment, we investigated the correlation of acute changes of biomarker levels by immunoadsorption treatment and individual increase in LV function. A drop in hs troponin T (r = −0.41, r2 = 0.17, p < 0.05) and hs troponin I (r = −0.53, r2 = 0.28, p < 0.005) levels demonstrate a good correlation to improvement in LVEF during the long-term follow-up. Conclusion: Hs troponin T and I levels correlate with LV function improvement during long-term follow-up. Acute decrease of troponins by immunoadsorption treatment is paralleled by individual improvement of LVEF at the long-term follow-up. Thus, troponins could serve as a monitoring tool for the improvement of LV function after immunoadsorption treatment in dilated cardiomyopathy.
Results Characteristics of Lipid Profile Examination of Acute Ischemia Stroke Patients at RSUP Dr. Soedono Madiun, East Java

Introduction: Dyslipidemia as reflected in the results of lipid profile examination is among the most common abnormalities found in acute ischemic stroke patients. Studies assessing the characteristic of these results may provide a foundation for an effective plan of treatment and prevention to overcome the burden of the disease.Objective: To study the characteristic of the results of lipid profile examination among acute ischemic stroke patients at Dr. Soedono General Hospital, Madiun, East Java.Methods: This research is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional approach using secondary data taken from the medical records of acute ischemic stroke inpatients at the Stroke Unit of Dr. Soedono General Hospital, Madiun, East Java admitted in January-December 2015. Results of lipid profile examination consisting of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides were categorized as high, normal, and low based on their respective levels.Results: There were 72 subjects selected using simple random sampling. Level of total cholesterol was high in 52.78%, normal in 36.11%, and low in 11.11% of the subjects. Level of LDL was high in 54.17%, normal in 22.22%, and low in 23.61% of the subjects. Level of HDL was low in 31.94%, normal in 50.00%, and high in 18.06% of the subjects. Level of triglycerides was high in 26.39%, normal in 33.33%, and low in 40.28% of the subjects.Conclusion: Total cholesterol and LDL are generally high, HDL is generally normal, while triglycerides is generally low among acute ischemic stroke patients in Dr. Soedono General Hospital, Madiun, East Java.
Cooperative Reinforcement Learning

We propose a new framework for studying value alignment problems, Cooperative Reinforcement Learning (CRL), which improves upon existing frameworks by relaxing assumptions about full introspective access to the human’s reward function. A CRL game is a cooperative, partial-information game with two agents, human and robot; both are rewarded according to a reward function unknown to both, and only the human observes the rewards. We show that solving CRL problems can be reduced to solving a POMDP, then propose general CRL game solvers. We demonstrate that our solutions to the CRL problems allow the robot to outperform non-intervention in cases where the human is suboptimal, even when the robot receives no reward signal. In doing so, our solutions learn behaviors such as helping an underexploring human explore or accounting for noise in the human policy.