Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bureaucratic corruption and macroeconomic performance

The objective of this paper is to analyze the welfare impact of corrupt bureaucratic behavior within the framework of a growth model. This allows to disentangle the interaction between static and dynamic bureaucratic efficiency. The economy is described by the following conditions: (i) The bureaucracy determines the provision of an input to individual production. This input might be congested. (ii) There are distortionary and non--distortionary taxes to finance the public input. Corruption is introduced as the bureaucrat maximizes its own utility at the cost of the utility of the individuals. (iii) The tax system is exogenous to the bureaucracy and might be interpreted as attempt to discipline the bureaucracy as argued within the Leviathan models. (iv) The bureaucracy maximizes the available budget. As the formal frame is a dynamic model the budget may be maximized either in the short, intermediate or the long run. It turns out that there is a trade--off between short--run and long--run budget that is crucially influenced by the design of the tax system and the bureaucratic preferences but not by congestion. The feature of congestion gains importance with respect to the welfare implications of corrupt bureaucratic behavior
P4.9 - Simulationsgestützte Konfiguration von piezoelektrischen Energy-Harvesting-Generatoren für die Versorgung von energieautarken Sensoren im Schienengüterverkehr und anderen Anwendungen

Energy Harvesting ermoglicht die Versorgung messtechnischer Systeme durch Wandlung der vor Ort vorhandenen, zumeist erneuerbaren Umgebungsenergie. Obwohl eine Vielzahl interessanter potentieller Anwendungen wie zum Beispiel autonome drahtlose Sensoren fur den Schienenguterverkehr erforscht wurden, haben bisher nur wenige Energy-Harvesting-Systeme Marktreife erlangt. Ein Grund hierfur ist, dass die Energiebilanz eines durch Energy-Harvesting statt mit Batterien versorgten Systems in vielen Fallen nur schwierig vorhersagbar ist, was aber die Voraussetzung fur die Beurteilung der Anwendbarkeit der Technologie in der Praxis darstellt. Bei der Auslegung zuverlassiger EnergyHarvesting-Systeme sollten daher die Charakteristika der Energiequelle und des Verbrauchers Berucksichtigung finden. Zur Steigerung der Marktrelevanz und Verwertbarkeit von Energy-HarvestingSensoren sind hierfur praxistaugliche Ansatze notwendig, die es ermoglichen, die Systeme einfach und anwendungsspezifisch zu konfigurieren. Diese Veroffentlichung stellt eine simulationsgestutzte Methode vor, mit der sich vibrationsbasierte Energy-Harvesting-Sensoren auf verschiedene Befestigungspunkte mit stark schwankenden Vibrationseigenschaften konfigurieren lassen. Ziel ist die einfache Auswahl eines geeigneten Energiewandlers unter Berucksichtigung der realen Vibration, sodass eine festgelegte messtechnische Aufgabe energieautark und zuverlassig im spateren Betrieb ablauft. Die Umsetzung erfolgt mit einem leicht handhabbaren Werkzeug, um so den Einsatz von EnergyHarvesting-Sensoren in der industriellen Anwendung zu erleichtern.
Individual cow identification in a commercial herd using 3D camera technology

Automatic cow identification becomes increasingly important for individual real time monitoring of production, health, behaviour etc., in modern dairy cattle production systems with large herd sizes. Examples of camera based classification of lameness (Viazzi et al., 2013) and conformation traits (Salau et al., 2017) have already been presented. The aim of this study was to identify cows individually at the feeding table using a 3D camera system (Patent no: WO 2017/001538). The purpose of this identification was, with use of the same 3D camera system, to measure the feed intake for the identified cow (Lassen et al., 2017). However, the cow-id identification can also be used in combination with other features. A 3D geometric cow model with corresponding cow-id was used as reference. All cows in this study were labelled with unique cow-id, making it possible to calculate the success rate for 3D cow-id identification system.
The Clinical Utility of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Program in Reducing Problematic Behaviors and the Manifestation of Psychological Symptoms in Adolescents

This study examined whether the implementation of a mindfulness-based group intervention program would lead to a reduction in self-reported psychological symptoms and problematic behaviors for adolescents in a residential treatment facility. Thirteen adolescent residents participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based group intervention program. Participants were divided into two groups based upon pre-treatment scores on measures of anxiety and anger. The group intervention sessions included discussion and practice of the concepts and teachings of mindfulness. An analysis of post-treatment data showed a decrease in anxiety for more symptomatic participants and an increase in anxiety for less symptomatic participants. Changes regarding anger and a program compliance were not significant and inconclusive respectively. Generally, the more symptomatic participants received the greatest benefit from the group. However, large individual variations in the data suggest the need for future research in this area. Degree Type Dissertation Rights Terms of use for work posted in CommonKnowledge. Comments Library Use: LIH This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/179 Copyright and terms of use If you have downloaded this document directly from the web or from CommonKnowledge, see the “Rights” section on the previous page for the terms of use. If you have received this document through an interlibrary loan/document delivery service, the following terms of use apply: Copyright in this work is held by the author(s). You may download or print any portion of this document for personal use only, or for any use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.). Except for personal or fair use, you or your borrowing library may not reproduce, remix, republish, post, transmit, or distribute this document, or any portion thereof, without the permission of the copyright owner. [Note: If this document is licensed under a Creative Commons license (see “Rights” on the previous page) which allows broader usage rights, your use is governed by the terms of that license. ] Inquiries regarding further use of these materials should be addressed to: CommonKnowledge Rights, Pacific University Library, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, OR 97116, (503) 352-7209. Email inquiries may be directed to:. copyright@pacificu.edu This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/179 THE CLINICAL UTILITY OF A MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION PROGRAM IN REDUCING PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIORS AND THE MANIFESTATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN ADOLESCENTS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY PACIFIC UNIVERSITY HILLSBORO, OREGON BY BRIE PETRIE, M.S. IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
Ecology of amorphous aggregations (marine snow) in the Northern Adriatic Sea. II. Microbial density and activity in marine snow and its implication to overall pelagic processes

In the Northern Adriatic Sea, marine snow dry mass varied between 3.4 and 9.1 mg 1-' during summer. In situ measurements of 02-fluxes mediated by marine snow revealed a gross primary production (GPP) ranging from 3 to 23 pg 0 2 mg-' (marine snow ash-free dry wt, AFDW) h-' 0 2 consumption rates ranged from 1.35 to 3.7 pg O2 mg-' (marine snow AFDW) h-' and were ca 5 times the mean consumption obtained under laboratory conditions. Based on these 02-flux measurements, we eshmate that more than 90 % of the pelagic GPP is bound to marine snow aggregations and ca 70 % of the mineralization activity is mediated by marine snow associated microbes during summer. Total carbohydrate (TCHO) content in marine snow was found to be enriched by a factor of 304 as compared to the surrounding water (F = 0.82 &g TCHO ml-l). Batch cultures with marine snow were designed to investigate the influence of marine snow on the free-living microbial community. In the chambers containing marine snow, growth rates (v) of the bacterial community were 3 times the rates obtained for unenriched media (containing 1 pm filtered seawater only). Based on the batch culture experiment, it is concluded that marine snow enhances not only microbial growth on/in the organic matrix of the aggregations but also favors microbial activity of the surrounding water The degree of development of the microheterotrophic food chain was quantified using the ratio (nanoflagellate biomass/bacterial biomass) X 100. In the incubation media containing marine snow, ratios o! >l00 were maintained most of the time, indicating that additional food sources other than free-living bacteria were exploited by the nanoflagellate population. I t is suggested that more sensit~ve sampling methods should be used to resolve such nutrient patches which cause heterogeneity of the pelagic environment.
through fault-array evolution A mechanism to explain rift-basin subsidence and stratigraphic patterns

Rift-basin stratigraphy commonly records an early stage of slow subsidence followed by an abrupt increase in subsidence rate. The physical basis for this transition is not well understood, although an increase in extension rate is commonly implied. Here, a numerical fault-growth model is used to investigate the influence of segment linkage on fault-displacement-rate patterns along an evolving normal fault array. The linkage process we describe is controlled by a stress feedback mechanism, which leads to enhanced growth of optimally positioned faults. Model results indicate that, even with constant extension rates, slow displacement rates prevail during an initial phase of distributed extension, followed by an increase in displacement rates as strain becomes localized on linked fault arrays. This is due to the dynamics of fault interactions rather than mechanical weakening. Comparison of model simulations with rift-basin subsidence and stratigraphic patterns in the Gulf of Suez and North Sea suggests that the occurrence and timing of rapid basin deepening can be explained by the mechanics of fault-zone evolution, without invoking a change in regional extension rates. *E-mail: sgupta@glg.ed.ac.uk. -30 Age (Ma)
Pursuing Social Justice in Public Health

Rich people live longer and healthier lives than the poor. In the past several decades, researchers have gained increasing insight into the robust and persistent relationship between social position and health, a pattern referred to as the social gradient in health. This gradient, and the inequalities it represents, holds across all fourteen major causes of death and most forms of mental disorder, persists into the upper reaches of socioeconomic strata, and is foreshadowed by social inequalities in children’s health and development. Differences in health between advantaged and disadvantaged groups are significant and growing. For many in public health, elucidating the causes of these health inequalities constitutes the field’s signal problem; remedying them, its moral purpose. Public action to eliminate health inequalities commonly is justified on grounds of social justice. The recent report from the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health claims that ‘‘social injustice is killing people on a grand scale. ’’ Against this backdrop of moral clarity, moral philosophers and bioethicists have begun to analyze the grounds on which health inequalities related to socioeconomic class and race/ethnicity might be deemed unjust and to articulate the goals of social justice in public health. Considerable attention has been devoted to examining why health should be subject to principles of justice and to determining when health inequalities are unjust. Such analyses address the ‘‘distributive’’ demands of justice in their attempts to answer two questions that preoccupy modern conceptions of distributive justice: Which goods should be subject to justice? How much of them should everyone have? In this article, I examine a separate demand of justice that concerns the respect owed to socially disadvantaged groups and communities targeted by public health research and action for health promotion. Although some theories of justice incorporate respect for persons among their distributive goals or interpret distributive justice as an expression of equal respect, critics question whether distributive theories can secure this nonmaterial good. They argue that such theories neglect the social relations and institutional processes by which redistribution occurs and, in doing so, reproduce and reinforce the marginalized status of nondominant groups. Justice must, these critics contend, be concerned with not only distributing goods but also, and more fundamentally, ending relations of domination and establishing relations of equality. This critique of distributive justice has particular salience for those engaged in the pursuit of a more equitable distribution of health. I explain why in the first section of the article, in which I show how redistributive policies to reduce health inequalities can reinforce nondominant groups’ subordinate status, inflicting
A Vehicle Haptic Steering by Wire System Based on High Gain GPI Observers

A vehicle steering by wire (SBW) haptic system based on high gain generalized proportional integral (GPI) observers is introduced. The observers are considered for the estimation of dynamic perturbations that are present at the tire and steering wheel. To ensure efficient tracking between the commanded steering wheel angle and the tire orientation angle, the estimated perturbations are on line canceled. As to provide a haptic interface with the driver, the estimated dynamic effects at the steering rack are fed back to the steering wheel, yielding a master-slave haptic system with bilateral communication. For implementation purposes few sensors and minimum knowledge of the dynamic model are required, which is a major advantage compared to other approaches. Only position tracking errors are fed back, while all other signals are estimated by the high gain GPI observers. The scheme is robust to uncertainty on the input gain and cancels dynamic perturbation effects such as friction and aligning forces on the tire. Experimental results are presented on a prototype platform.
A REPORT ON DIABETES AND RISK FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Patients with diabetes mellitus are at high risk of cardiovascular disease and the risk is further increased when they are complicated with nephropathy, neuropathy or Retinopathy. 33 patients were recruited into the study (patient group) along with 33 healthy individuals (control group). The control group was recruited from the people attending the master health checkup program of the hospital and staff of the department. In the present study we have evaluated the diabetes and risk for CVD in rural population of India. We found increased fasting glucose and total cholesterol in test subjects compared to control, but these are statistically not significant. An increase in glucose and lipid profile they are well with in the normal range. But these finding are crucial because they are at the higher normal range. This could be due to due to small number of population and age factor of the participants. Further studies which include more number of subjects from rural area will through more light on Prevalence of diabetes and risk for cardiovascular disease.
Randomised Controlled Trials and ‘Unexpected’ Adverse Events Associated with Newly Released Drugs: Improvements in Pharmacovigilance Systems are Necessary for Real-Time Identification of Patient Safety Risks

Adverse drug events are one of the major causes of morbidity in developed countries, yet the drugs involved in these events have been trialled and approved on the basis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), regarded as the study design that will produce the best evidence. Though the focus on adverse drug events has been primarily on processes and outcomes associated with the use of these approved drugs, attention needs to be directed to the way in which the RCT study design is structured. The implementation of controls to achieve internal validity in RCTs may be the very controls that reduce external validity, and contribute to the levels of adverse drug events associated with the release of a new drug to the wider patient population. An examination of these controls, and the effects they can have on patient safety, underscore the importance of knowing about how the clinical trials of a drug are undertaken, rather than relying only on the recorded outcomes. As the majority of new drugs are likely to be prescribed to older patients who have one or more comorbidities in addition to that targeted by a new drug, and as the RCTs of those drugs typically under-represent the elderly and exclude patients with multiple comorbidities, timely assessment of drug safety signals is essential. It is unlikely that regulatory jurisdictions will undertake a reassessment of safety issues for drugs that are already approved. Instead, reliance has been placed on adverse drug event reporting systems. Such systems have a very low reporting rate, and most adverse drug events remain unreported, to the eventual cost to patients and healthcare systems. This makes it essential for near real-time systems that can pick up safety signals as they occur, so that modifications to the product information (or removal of the drug) can be implemented.
Theory of Pollution Certificates: Policy Developments and Industrial Applications

A mathematical applicability test is carried out in this paper. The Pollution Certificate Theory is evaluated for an industrial cluster in Brazil. The purpose here is to discuss the contributions made by environmental agencies in controlling water pollutant emissions. This is considered by means of an instrument associated with economic regulatory instruments (as used in Brazil). A scenario is designed for an Industry Cluster with five industries and a potential to cause water pollution by the release of organic waste. In the test it is considered that the effluent is released in a Class II river, according to Brazilian CONAMA Resolution (no. 357). The marginal costs of abatement are arbitrated, whilst the reductions necessary to achieve the environmental targets were calculated. The control costs comparison and the use of standard emissions with the utilization of Pollution Certificates led to the conclusion that the Pollution Certificate Theory is a beneficial tool for water management issues, as it meets the environmental requirements at a lower abatement cost in industrial activities.
Risk Evaluation of Spatial Distribution of Faecal Mice Contaminants in Simulated Agricultural and Food Store

We studied spatial distribution of faeces of a wild strain of house mice after invasion into a new environment. In a simulated small store room, we evaluated the density of faeces and their relative allocation in the following three sectors: shelter, food + water and remaining area. Individual positions of a total of 9, 809 deposited faeces were recorded. The spatial distribution of faeces was not random but aggregated.
Charting a tissue from single-cell transcriptomes

Massively multiplexed sequencing of RNA in individual cells is transforming basic and clinical life sciences. However, in standard experiments, tissues must first be dissociated. Thus, after sequencing, information about the spatial relationships between cells is lost although this knowledge is crucial for understanding cellular and tissue-level function. Recent attempts to overcome this fundamental challenge rely on employing additional in situ gene expression imaging data which can guide spatial mapping of sequenced cells. Here we present a conceptually different approach that allows to reconstruct spatial positions of cells in a variety of tissues without using reference imaging data. We first show for several complex biological systems that distances of single cells in expression space monotonically increase with their physical distances across tissues. We therefore seek to map cells to tissue space such that this principle is optimally preserved, while matching existing imaging data when available. We show that this optimization problem can be cast as a generalized optimal transport problem and solved efficiently. We apply our approach successfully to reconstruct the mammalian liver and intestinal epithelium as well as fly and zebrafish embryos. Our results demonstrate a simple spatial expression organization principle and that this principle (or future refined principles) can be used to infer, for individual cells, meaningful spatial position probabilities from the sequencing data alone.
Response of Test-Organisms to Different Na and Cu Salts

Abstract The scope of this research involves the evaluation of biological impact of different Na and Cu salts (nitrates, sulphates and chlorides) on test-organisms. The toxic impact of Na and Cu salts on seed germination and root growth of Lepidium sativum (garden-cress) as well as mortality, growth and physiological parameters of On-corhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) in early development stages (embryos and larvae) were determined. Among Na salts, nitrate was the most toxic to both test-organisms. Among tested Cu salts, sulphate caused the strongest toxic impact on L. sativum and nitrate - on embryos and larvae of O. mykiss. The accumulation of all tested anions and cations from the solutions of tested salts was higher in roots than in shoots ofL. sativum. The highest transfer of Na+ and Cu2+ from roots to shoots was determined for plants cultivated in sulphate salt. The transfer of SO4 2” was the highest among tested anions of sodium salts and the transfer of NO3” was higher among tested anions of copper salts. The rather high correlation was found between root length and amount of Na+, NO3” and SO4 2” ions in plant roots and rather low correlation coefficient was calculated between root length and the amount of Na+ and Cl” ions in roots.
The LNX Family of Multi-PDZ E3 Ligases: Using a Mutagenesis-based Approach to Establish the Role of PDZ Domains in LNX1 Function

LNX1 belongs to a family of multi-PDZ domain containing RING-type E3 ligases. Several interactions have been mapped to its PDZ domains, but the role of each domain in LNX function has not yet been determined. To study individual PDZ domain function in the context of full length protein I generated point mutations in peptide binding sites of each PDZ domain, and in a putative phosphoinositide binding site of LNX1 PDZ4. Peptide binding was successfully disrupted by an arginine or lysine to alanine mutation in the peptide binding cleft. A LNX1 PDZ4 mutant with lysine residues in a putative phosphoinositide binding site mutated to glutamate displayed decreased membrane localization. The impact of each PDZ mutation on cell morphology and substrate ubiquitination was also investigated. I identified a potential role for PDZ binding in auto-inhibition of RING function. Additionally, novel interactions between LNX1 and Frizzled family members were identified and characterized.