Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EU Fiscal Consolidation after the Financial Crisis Lessons from Past Experiences

Summary for non-specialistsThe global financial crisis has led to a sharp deterioration of EU countries' public finances. Views are split regarding the most appropriate consolidation strategy to follow, in particular considering: the timing of fiscal consolidation in relation to the path of economic recovery reflecting (a) the trade-off between consolidation and stabilisation; (b) fiscal consolidation in the context of a distressed banking system where the credit channel is hampered and without which economic recovery can hardly take place, (c) the absence of exchange rate adjustment in the euro area which could make it more difficult for countries with competitiveness problems to achieve successful fiscal consolidation. The existing literature on fiscal consolidations provides only partial evidence on these issues.In this paper our objective is to focus on the above points of discussion drawing on EU (and non-EU OECD) experiences during the period 1970-2008. We estimate econometrically the determinants of successful fiscal consolidations and show that: (i) in presence of a systemic financial crisis, the repair of the banking sector is a pre-condition for a fiscal consolidation to succeed in reducing debt levels (ii) even after the banking sector is repaired, fiscal consolidations are usually less successful than in absence of financial crises, although more vigorous fiscal consolidations (i.e. cold shower) tend to yield higher results (iii) current debt dynamics in the EU are very unfavourable and in some cases, coupled with rising debt servicing costs and much deteriorated growth outlook warranting differentiated consolidation strategies across EU countries (iv) We do not find conclusive evidence in support of exchange rates (including real exchange rate) depreciation/devaluation as enhancing the success of fiscal consolidation as their effect appear to be low and insignificant.
Heart Failure Disease Management Program and the Six Months Readmission Rate

Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and has a significant negative impact on quality of life, health-care costs, and longevity [1-3]. Approximately six million Americans and fifteen million Europeans are living with HF [4]. HF is one of the most common causes of hospitalization and readmission worldwide. HF hospitalization rate in the United States of America (USA) is 23 per 1000 for men over the age 64 years making HF the leading cause of hospitalization in this age group [5,6]. HF is the primary diagnosis in more than 1 million hospitalizations annually in the USA [7]. The average length of stay is 6.3 days and the 6 months readmission rate is roughly 50% [8]. HF costs $39.2 billion annually in the USA with the average cost for each HF hospitalization is $12,000 [4,9]. In Europe, more than 1 million hospitalizations have been attributed to acute episodes of HF each year [10]. The median length of stay in Europe for HF is 9 days and the readmission rate is 44% at 1 year [11-13]. HF disease management programs are common in North America, Europe, and Australia [14]. These services provide care to optimize pharmacological regimen and support medication management and effective self-care. Programs have been widely introduced following recommendations from international clinical guidelines. The goals of the HF disease management programs included optimization of drug therapy, intensive patient education, and vigilant follow-up with early recognition of problems, identification and management of patients’ comorbidities [15-17]. HF patients who were cared for in these programs were shown to have significantly fewer re-hospitalizations, lower healthcare costs, improved functional and symptom status, and better quality of life as compared either with their pre-intervention status or with HF patients being treated with conventional care. However, a number of recent and comparatively large trials have found no or small benefits from these programs [18].
No 667 Chinese aid and local corruption

Considering the mounting criticisms concerning Chinese aid practices, the present paper investigates whether Chinese aid projects fuel local-level corruption in Africa. To this end, we geographically match a new geo-referenced dataset on the subnational allocation of Chinese development finance projects to Africa over the 2000-2012 period with 98,449 respondents from four Afrobarometer survey waves across 29 African countries. By comparing the corruption experiences of individuals who live near a site where a Chinese project is being implemented at the time of the interview to those of individuals living close to a site where a Chinese project will be initiated but where implementation had not yet started at the time of the interview, we control for unobservable time-invariant characteristics that may influence the selection of project sites. The empirical results consistently indicate more widespread local corruption around active Chinese project sites. The effect, which lingers after the project implementation period, is seemingly not driven by an increase in economic activity, but rather seems to signify that the Chinese presence impacts norms. Moreover, China stands out from the World Bank and other bilateral donors in this respect. In particular, whereas the results indicate that Chinese aid projects fuel local corruption but have no observable impact on local economic activity, they suggest that World Bank aid projects stimulate local economic activity without fuelling local corruption. JEL classification: D73, F35, O1, O55
A novel approach in detecting code clones in Java using DFS

Code is the rudimentary element of any software. Code clones may be defined as the segments of the program which are akin to one another. The similarity may be either syntactic or semantic. Cloning is easy to implement but hard to detect. Many researches have been carried out in order to find the methods for detecting these clones of code as problems are encountered at the time of maintenance due to these clones in codes. This further increases the cost of maintenance. The objective of our work is to precisely detect the code clones. Here, an approach is proposed based on the Abstract Syntax Tree method. The purpose for adopting AST is that it gives better detection results as compared to other techniques and is considered to be the best approach for detecting type 3 code clones. Furthermore, AST offers syntactic knowledge which can be leveraged to filter certain types of clones. The results obtained clearly shows that the technique adopted is able to precisely detect the near-miss clones as compared to the tools namely NICAD and CLAN.
Evaluating the Effect of Tourism Marketing Mix on Buying Holiday Homes in Cyprus

Markets around the world, especially those for holiday home, become international. Holiday homes refer to the places that are used on holidays and leisure times and are usually located out of the users’ residence. In this regard, foreign tourists are considered as the main part of holiday home markets in different countries of the world including Cyprus. Given the fact that the Cyprus economy is dependent on tourism activities, it can be expected that a significant percentage of the investments on holiday homes are done by the foreign tourists visiting Cyprus. Literature review of the research suggests that marketing activities is one of the most important factors influencing tourists’ decisions. This study is also an attempt to evaluate the effect of marketing factors including tourism marketing mix on the decisions of tourists in buying holiday homes. In order to collect data, 101 questionnaires were distributed among the foreign tourists in different cities of Cyprus. For data analysis, structural equation model and Lisrel software were used. The results of the study showed that all elements of tourism marketing mix including product, price, promotion, place, physical environment, process and people have had a significant and positive impact on the tourists’ decisions to buy holiday home in Cyprus.
Chapter 1 Nutritional Requirements of Soybean Cyst Nematodes

Soybeans [Glycine max] are the second largest cash crop in US Agriculture, but the soybean yield is compromised by infections from Heterodera glycines, also known as Soybean Cyst Nematodes [SCN]. SCN are the most devastating pathogen or plant disease soybean farmers confront. This obligate pathogen requires nutrients from the plant to complete its life cycle. To date, SCN nutritional requirements are not clearly defined. Growth media supporting SCN still contain soy products. Understanding the SCN nutritional requirements and how host plants meet those requirements should lead to the control of SCN infestations. The nutritional requirements of SCN are reviewed in this chapter and those requirements are compared to those of other nematodes. Carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, lipids, and other nutritional requirements are discussed.
Parameter Identification of the Vortex-Induced Vertical Force Model Using a New Adaptive PSO

The paper proposes a new adaptive PSO (NAPSO) that adaptively adjust the inertial weight of every particle according to its own current fitness. In NAPSO, the searching ability of each particle is controlled by the inertial weight. In pursuit of the optimal solution, if a particle has a rather small value of normalized fitness, it has a small inertia weight so as to increase local searching ability; on the contrary, it has a large inertia weight to increase global searching ability. Simulation results include three parts: the NAPSO shows fast convergence and good stability compared with other PSOs; the NAPSO shows good fit and short run-time compared with GA and GALMA; according to the identified parameters, the time history of predicted vertical displacement is quite in accordance with the time history of measured displacement. As far as the nonlinear VIVF model is concerned, the NAPSO is a simple and effective identification method.
What Is the Allee Effect

W. C. Allee brought attention to the possibility of a positive relationship between aspects of fitness and population size over fifty years ago. This phenomenon, frequently termed the Allee effect, has been the focus of increased interest over the past two decades in the light of concerns over conservation and the problems of rarity. Use of the term suffers from the absence of a clear definition however, with the result that Allee effects are frequently thought to involve only a narrow range of phenomena and are often overlooked altogether. We propose a definition for the effect and attempt to resolve the major issues underlying the confusion surrounding this term.
Advanced numerical tool for composite woven fabric preforming

In this paper, geometrical and mechanical approaches are proposed for the simulation of the draping of woven fabric onto complex parts. The geometrical discrete approach allows to define the ply shapes and fibres orientation in order to optimize the composite structural properties and the continuum meso-structural mechanical approach allows to take into account the mechanical properties of fibres and resin and the various dominating mode of deformation of woven fabrics during the forming process. Some numerical simulations of forming process are proposed and compared with the experimental results in order to demonstrate the efficiency of our approaches.
The food of Norwegian spring-spawning herring in the western Norwegian Sea in relation to the annual cycle of zooplankton

The food of the Norwegian spring-spawning herring ( Clupea harengus ) in the western part of the Norwegian Sea was studied. Herring stomachs and concurrent zooplankton samples were collected on three cruises in 1995 (April, May, June). Further, the seasonal abundance of zooplankton was examined at two stations located near the shelf break east of Iceland between March 1995 and February 1996. A total of 164 stomachs of herring, ranging in length from 24.1 to 40.0 cm, were examined. The feeding activity was higher in May and June than in April, as indicated by both the higher proportion of stomachs with food in May and June (>95%) than in April (∼82%), and much higher average stomach contents in May and June than in April. Copepods (mainly Calanus finmarchicus, Metridia longa and C. hyperboreus ) were the most important prey, both in terms of numbers (∼25->98%) and biomass (∼50-90%). In June, amphipods (mainly Themisto libellula ) were also important in the diet, both in numbers (∼10-50%) and biomass (∼10-30%). Euphausiids (mainly Meganyctiphanes norvegica ) were the most important as prey in June (∼0-25% and ∼0-10% by numbers and dry weight, respectively). The relationships between herring migrations and the seasonal development of zooplankton are discussed.
On Convergence of Inexact Augmented Lagrangians for Separable and Equality Convex QCQP Problems without Constraint Qualification

The classical convergence theory of the augmented Lagrangian method has been developed under the assumption that the solutions satisfy a constraint qualification. The point of this note is to show that the constraint qualification can be limited to the constraints that are not enforced by the Lagrange multipliers. In particular, it follows that if the feasible set is non-empty and the inequality constraints are convex and separable, then the convergence of the algorithm is guaranteed without any additional assumptions. If the feasible set is empty and the projected gradients of the Lagrangians are forced to go to zero, then the iterates are shown to converge to the nearest well posed problem.
Methodologies for the Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

The development of organic farming inmany parts of the world has depended upon a critical comparison with other, largely conventional, production systems. This paper attempts to review the methods used for such comparisons and to highlight their advantages and disadvantages. Conclusions are that classic experimentation has a valuable part to play but that more qualitative assessment can also be useful and should be encouraged. Careful allowance should bemade formajor background differences in farm management when making comparisons. Longer-term case studies, which try to monitor organic systems in their own right, should also be considered and which utilise models to help rationalise complex data where appropriate.
Windmill Power Generation Using Mult-Generator and Single Rotor (Horizontal and Vertical Blade)

Wind energy is the environmental pollution free, hazardless and one of the best renewable energy for generation of electric power. The main aim of the paper is “to produce current using multi generator and single rotor”. This paper proposes multi-generator to address potential challenges: dimension, cost and reliability. The two electromagnetic induction generators are desired to share the single shaft through straight bevel gears. These poles of the two generators will be changed as alternate to parallel. This paper discussed about the design procedure of gears, gear life and wind turbine rotors. The output current is stored in series of battery to appliances through converter and step up transformer. The Construction, working, parts of windmill, materials are discussed detailed in this paper. Keywords: Electromagnetic Induction Generator, Wind Turbine, Straight Bevel Gear, Poles of Generator.
EXCHANGE RATE MOVEMENTS AND MANUFACTURINGCAPACITY UTILIZATION IN NIGERIA

The study examines the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on the performance of the manufacturing sub-sector in Nigeria. To achieve this objective, changes in exchange rate and its key determinants were analyzed to ascertain the extent to which they impact on capacity utilization in the sub-sector. Key determinants of exchange rate behavior selected for analysis are interest rate, inflation rate and trade openness. Empirical studies related to the subject area have basically focused on the response of aggregate output (GDP) to changes in these economic indicators. Studies on sector-specific responses to changes in these economic indicators, particularly in developing economies like Nigeria, have not only been dearth but have produced mixed results. Quantitative research technique based on ex-post facto design was adopted for the study. Econometric method based on vector error correction mechanism was adopted in estimating the parameters of the model. Model estimates show that, in the long-run, all the exogenous variables (exchange rate, interest rate, inflation rate and trade openness) have significant positive impact on manufacturing capacity utilization. The study also shows significant positive effect of exchange rate and trade openness on manufacturing capacity utilization in the short-run. Inflation and interest rates were observed to exert non-significant impact on manufacturing capacity utilization during the period covered by the study. Diversification of the economy away from oil is strongly recommended in order to achieve enhanced foreign exchange inflow necessary for rapid development of domestic manufacturing
The development of IEC 61850 generic object oriented substation event monitoring application for Tenaga Nasional Berhad Smart Substation

Seamless information exchange in smart substations is vital to ensure the successful operation of functions in a smart grid domain. IEC 61850 is an international standard that enables interoperability between devices in smart substations through standardized data model and communication services. One of the communication services defined in IEC 61850 is the generic object oriented substation event (GOOSE). The communication using IEC 61850 GOOSE replaces point to point copper wiring between intelligent electronic devices (IED) in conventional substations with high speed communication over Ethernet technology. However, the implementation of GOOSE has posed new challenges, mainly in monitoring and managing signals that carry specific substation functions. This is because with GOOSE, these signals are transmitted using single Ethernet connection which carries significant amount of information in a form of network packets at any point of time. Therefore, there is a need for power utilities who implement IEC 61850 standard in substations, such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to develop tools which are able capable in administrating and maintaining the features of IEC 61850 in substations. This paper will discuss the development of a prototype IEC 61850 GOOSE monitoring application which is a part of TNB IEC 61850 Substation Intelligent and Management System (61850 SIMS). This paper will also elaborate on the application development process, which is according to the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The application is designed to represent IEC 61850 GOOSE information in terms and expressions that can be appreciated by conventional protection and maintenance engineers. The prototype application was successfully developed and tested at TNB IEC 61850 System Verification and Simulation (SVS) laboratory. This paper will also discuss on the application capabilities and new features that are planned to be included for future improvements.
Impacts of the Emotional Intelligence in the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and Job Satisfactions

This study aimed at investigates the labor's emotional intelligence and their job satisfaction in the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), determine the level of emotional intelligence and the job satisfaction in this company. The questionnaire that is developed and distributed to 350 employees, (314) questionnaire were suitable for the analysis. The results showed that employees‟ emotional intelligence was positively correlated with job satisfaction and there was a significant relationship between the labor's emotional intelligence and their job satisfaction in the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). This result is along with other studies.
Predictive Regressions Based on Ex Ante Index Futures Market Information

The index futures market allows for accurate measure of expected dividends from the aggregate stock market. This paper uses the dividend information exclusively extracted from the S&P 500 futures market to construct the implied dividend yield, implied capital gains and novel measures of cash flow characteristics such as equity duration and convexity as improved predictors for excess market returns. For the period from April 1982 to December 2008, the implied dividend yield, equity duration and convexity have substantial predictive power for equity premium, both in-sample and out-of-sample, over both short- and long-horizon. The implied dividend yield outperforms the historical dividend yield which has severe limitations in forecasting returns. The equity duration and convexity negatively predict the excess returns, which is in line with the findings of a downward sloping term structure of equity premium documented in Binsbergen, Brandt and Koijen (2012). Given the insight that implied dividend yield and implied duration are actually the two different versions of the same type of measure, this paper highlights the important role of cash flow characteristics in the determination of time-varying expected returns.
A Multisensory Perspective

Perception may be defined as the cognitive process that lets us know what is out there, based on incoming sensory signals. Standard textbook accounts often emphasize five modular ‘senses’ encoding such signals. In the perspective presented in this book, instead, perception is inherently multisensory and linked to exploratory action. Perceptual processes do not merely encode incoming sensory signals, they actively explore the environment, seeking informative stimulation from potential multisensory sources and they combine available signals through several multisensory interactions. Studying perception within a multisensory, rather than modular perspective, requires a systemic approach, and this book illustrates how this notion can be successfully applied to eight domains of perception in natural conditions: knowing our own body, controlling its movements, perceiving inanimate objects, perceiving edible objects, understanding the intriguing phenomenon known as synaesthesia, attending to objects in multisensory conditions, perceiving space, and perceiving time.
Superuniversality in phase-ordering disordered ferromagnets

The phase-ordering kinetics of the ferromagnetic two-dimensional Ising model with uniform bond disorder is investigated by intensive Monte Carlo simulations. Simple ageing behaviour is observed in the single-time correlator and the two-time responses and correlators. The dynamical exponent z and the autocorrelation exponent lambda_C only depend on the ratio eps/T, where eps describes the width of the distribution of the disorder, whereas a more complicated behaviour is found for the non-equilibrium exponent a of the two-time response as well as for the autoresponse exponent lambda_R. The scaling functions are observed to depend only on the dimensionless ratio eps/T. If the length scales are measured in terms of the time-dependent domain size L(t), the form of the scaling functions is in general independent of both eps and T. Conditions limiting the validity of this `superuniversality' are discussed.