Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Institutional Factors in the Economic Growth of the Mexican Regions 1970 - 2000

This paper examines the role of institutional factors in the economic growth of Mexican regions. Assuming an institutional dimension of growth, we will assess the relationships between informal and formal institutional features, infrastructure conditions and growth. Following the approach of the document presented at the ERSA Conference (2003), we introduce the results obtained in the process of measuring the institutional factors for three different periods 1970-1985, 1985-1994 and 1994-2000. Cluster Analysis techniques were applied to a database of 13-14 variables; from we identified patterns of institutional characteristics for the Mexican regions and groups of states that share some features. The results are confronted with the evidence of growth for these periods, in order to identify if a particular regional institutional structure has led to higher or lower rates of growth. Keywords: Institutions, Regional Growth, Mexico, Cluster Analysis.
A forward approach to the problem of nonlinear viscoelasticity and the thickness of the mechanical lithosphere

The physical significance of the mechanical lithosphere is clarified using a nonlinear Maxwell flexure model. This model reconciles high-temperature creep data for rock with the observed long-term strength of the mechanical lithosphere. An approximate correspondence is established between the nonisothermal Maxwell model and an elastic flexure model to define an effective lithosphere thickness he. The model calculations are essentially forward, since he does not depend in a significant way upon the nominal or prescribed value of beam thickness, depending rather upon such variables as temperature and creep activation energy. The effective thickness of the Maxwell model, though a function of time, is stable enough over appropriate time scales to explain the long-term integrated strength of the lithosphere. The strength index Σ is defined as the ratio of axial stress to the axial stress that would be present in a purely elastic fiber suffering the same strain. The base of the effective lithosphere is marked by a critical isopleth of strength, Σc ≅ 0.3. This critical level (though not its position) is independent of time since loading. The strength index also maps out zones of predominant rheology. The narrowness of the transition zone between the elastic lithosphere and the viscous asthenosphere explains the success of the elastic plate in modeling many examples of lithosphere flexure. The elastic plate approximation may apply best where the lithosphere is relatively young and hot. Isolated, weak zones in the continental crust may or may not weaken the lithosphere as a whole, depending upon the distribution of these zones and the manner in which they deform. In general, such weakening is likely to be most effective when the base of the crust occurs at midlithospheric depths.
Landscape Management: Is it the Future?

As a Keynote Address at the 2004 Nature Conservation Council Conference, Bushfire in a Changing Environment New Directions in Management, this paper argues that the landscape is a template with biodiversity assets, and human assets and bushfires overlaid. Two case studies, the Greater Glider and Eastern Bristlebird, are used to illustrate how the impact of bushfire on a species is contingent on it is distributed in the landscape, relative to the locations of its remnant habitat. Mitigation of bushfire effects, using fuelreduction programs, is a process that also needs to be considered at a landscape scale, and has the potential to threaten biodiersity assets if not considered carefully.
Intelligence artificielle et agents collectifs : le modèle EUROSIM

EUROSIM est un modele multi-agents concu pour simuler l'evolution a moyen terme du systeme des villes europeennes. Les agents sont des entites collectives, les grandes villes caracterisees par leur taille et leur fonction dans le systeme des villes. Le succes de leurs interactions (echanges economiques modules par des relations de proximite ou de reseau) determine leur dynamique relative. Des outils d'analyse multiscalaire sont presentes en aide au calibrage et pour interpreter les sorties du modele.
CLIP-Driven Universal Model for Partially Labeled Organ and Pan-cancer Segmentation

Automatic multi-organ segmentation in medical image analysis is a crucial task with various applications in computer-aided diagnosis and treatment. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown success in segmenting abdominal organs in CT images, but challenges arise due to complex morphology, low tissue contrast, and limited fully labeled datasets. Learning from partially labeled datasets has emerged as a promising solution. However, assembling partially annotated datasets presents formidable challenges, including background inconsistency and label orthogonality. To address these challenges, this study introduces the Universal Model, which incorporates text embedding and a masked back-propagation mechanism with binary segmentation masks. A revised label taxonomy is maintained, and binary segmentation masks are generated for each class during image pre-processing. The CLIP-based label encoding enhances the anatomical structure of the universal model’s feature embedding, and loss is only computed for classes with available labels.
Modelling the rapid near-surface expansion of gas slugs in low-viscosity magmas

Abstract The ascent of large gas bubbles (slugs) in vertical cylindrical conduits and low-viscosity magmas is simulated using 1D mathematical and 3D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models. Following laboratory evidence, the 1D model defines a constant rise velocity for the slug base and allows gas expansion to accelerate the slug nose through the overlying fluid during ascent. The evolution of rapidly expanding gas slugs observed in laboratory experiments is reproduced well and, at volcano scales, predicts at-surface overpressures of several atmospheres without requiring any initial overpressure at depth. The near-surface dynamics increase slug nose velocities through the overlying magma by a factor of c. 2.5 and the gas expansion results in pre-burst magma surface velocities of c. 35 m s−1. To examine pressure distributions and the forces exerted on a conduit, 3D CFD simulations were carried out. At volcano scales, the vertical single forces during final slug ascent to the surface are c. 106 N, two orders of magnitude smaller than those associated with very-long-period seismic events at Stromboli. This supports a previous interpretation of these events in which they are generated by gas slugs flowing through changes in conduit geometry, rather than being the direct result of slug eruption processes.
CEO Compensation, Change, and Corporate Strategy

CEO compensation can influence the kinds of strategies that firms adopt. We argue that performance-related compensation creates an incentive to look for overly ambitious, hard to implement strategies. At a cost, shareholders can curb this tendency by precommitting to a regime of CEO overcompensation in highly changeable environments. Alternatively shareholders can commit to low CEO pay, although this requires a commitment mechanism (either by the board of the individual company, or by the society as a whole) to counter the incentive to renegotiate upwards. We study the conditions under which the different policies for CEO compensation are preferred by shareholders.
Entrepreneurial Incentives in Stock Market Economies

A Capital Asset Pricing Model of a stock market economy is examined under different corporate governance structures in which the objectives of managers and entrepreneurs in choosing the risk composition of their firms' returns are not aligned with those of shareholders and investors because of moral hazard. It is shown that incentive compensation, by exposing managers and entrepreneurs to unhedgeable firm-specific risk, induces them to change the stochastic properties of firm cash flows. Since they can trade in markets for aggregate risk but not for firm-specific risk, managers and entrepreneurs produce excessive aggregate risk compared to the first-best allocation. This results in a diversification externality for the stock market investors who cannot share the aggregate risks amongst each other as well as they can the firm-specific risks. The optimal incentive compensation designed to address such diversification externality is fully characterized and it is demonstrated that financial markets interact with the stock market in important ways in determining the effectiveness of incentive contracts in controlling the negative welfare effects of diversification externality.
New additions as of OUwie 2.1

It’s been quite a while since we’ve done any active development of OUwie. It was recently brought to our attention that the likelihoods between OUwie and ouch are not the same when the model assumes different OU means (what we refer to here as “OUM”). We would like to thank and credit Clay Cressler for working through our code to identify the specific causes. In doing so, we have taken this opportunity to release a new version of OUwie that provides cleaner output and a number of new capabilities. Some of these new functions were implemented at the request of users, for our own research, and as part of tutorials for various workshops.
Corticosteroids in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic and progressive disease that affects an estimated 10% of the world’s population over the age of 40 years. Worldwide, COPD ranks in the top ten for causes of disability and death. Given the significant impact of this disease, it is important to note that acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are by far the most costly and devastating aspect of disease management. Systemic steroids have long been a standard for the treatment of AECOPD; however, the optimal strategy for dosing and administration of these medications continues to be debated. Objective: To review the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of acute exacerbations of COPD. Materials and methods: Literature was identified through PubMed Medline (1950–February 2014) and Embase (1950–February 2014) utilizing the search terms corticosteroids, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and exacerbation. All reference citations from identified publications were reviewed for possible inclusion. All identified randomized, placebo-controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews evaluating the efficacy of systemic corticosteroids in the treatment of AECOPD were reviewed and summarized. Results: The administration of corticosteroids in the treatment of AECOPD was assessed. In comparison to placebo, systemic corticosteroids improve airflow, decrease the rate of treatment failure and risk of relapse, and may improve symptoms and decrease the length of hospital stay. Therefore, corticosteroids are recommended by all major guidelines in the treatment of AECOPD. Existing literature suggests that low-dose oral corticosteroids are as efficacious as high-dose, intravenous corticosteroid regimens, while minimizing adverse effects. Recent data suggest that shorter durations of corticosteroid therapy are as efficacious as the traditional treatment durations currently recommended by guidelines. Conclusion: Systemic corticosteroids are efficacious in the treatment of AECOPD and considered a standard of care for patients experiencing an AECOPD. Therefore, systemic corticosteroids should be administered to all patients experiencing AECOPD severe enough to seek emergent medical care. The lowest effective dose and shortest duration of therapy should be considered.
Financial Inclusion and Its In�uence on Renewable Energy Consumption-Environmental Performance: The Role of ICTs in China

16 Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses can easily avail financial goods and services at an 17 affordable cost. It is widely recognized that financial inclusion can help preserve the environment by increasing 18 the consumption of renewable energy sources. Hence, our aim is to investigate whether financial inclusion has 19 any effect on renewable energy consumption and environmental quality in China. To get the estimates of the 20 variables, we have preferred the ARDL model. The estimates of the model confirm that a rise in the number of 21 ATMs and total insurance has a positive impact on renewable energy consumption in China in long-run. 22 Conversely, an increase in the number of ATMs and total insurance negatively affects CO2 emissions in China. 23 In general, we can say that financial inclusion increases renewable energy consumption and reduces CO2
Xml Schema Refinement through Redundancy Detection and Normalization

As XML becomes increasingly popular, XML schema design has become an increasingly important issue. One of the central objectives of good schema design is to avoid data redundancies: redundantly stored information can lead not just only to a higher data storage cost but also to increased costs for data transfer and data manipulation. Furthermore , such data redundancies can lead to potential update anomalies, rendering the database inconsistent. One strategy to avoid data redundancies is to design redundancy-free schema from the start on the basis of known functional dependencies. We observe that XML databases are often " casually designed " and XML FDs may not be determined in advance. Under such circumstances, discovering XML data redundancies from the data itself becomes necessary and is an integral part of the schema refinement (or redesign) process. We present the design and implementation of the first system, DiscoverXFD, for efficient discovery of XML data redundancies. It employs a novel XML data structure and introduces a new class of partition-based algorithms. The XML data redundancies are defined on the basis of a new notion of XML functional dependency (XML FD) that (1) extends previous notions by incorporating set elements into the XML FD specification, and (2) maintains tuple-based semantics through the novel concept of Generalized Tree Tuple (GTT). Using this comprehensive XML FD notion, we introduce a new normal form (GTT-XNF) for XML documents, and provide comprehensive comparisons with previous studies. Given the set of data redundancies (in the form of redundancy indicating XML FDs) discovered by DiscoverXFD, we describe a normalization algorithm for converting any original XML schema into one in GTT-XNF.
Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient

Forest soil respiration is a major carbon (C) flux that is characterized by significant variability in space and time. We quantified growing season soil respiration during both a drought year and a nondrought year across a complex landscape to identify how landscape and climate interact to control soil respiration. We asked the following questions: (1) How does soil respiration vary across the catchments due to terrain‐induced variability in moisture availability and temperature? (2) Does the relative importance of moisture versus temperature limitation of respiration vary across space and time? And (3) what terrain elements are important for dictating the pattern of soil respiration and its controls? Moisture superseded temperature in explaining watershed respiration patterns, with wetter yet cooler areas higher up and on north facing slopes yielding greater soil respiration than lower and south facing areas. Wetter subalpine forests had reduced moisture limitation in favor of greater seasonal temperature limitation, and the reverse was true for low‐elevation semiarid forests. Coincident climate poorly predicted soil respiration in the montane transition zone; however, antecedent precipitation from the prior 10 days provided additional explanatory power. A seasonal trend in respiration remained after accounting for microclimate effects, suggesting that local climate alone may not adequately predict seasonal variability in soil respiration in montane forests. Soil respiration climate controls were more strongly related to topography during the drought year highlighting the importance of landscape complexity in ecosystem response to drought.
A Framework for Automatic Personality Recognition in Dyadic Interactions

Research has shown that the way in which an individual interacts with others contains vital cues for recognising their real personality traits. The ability to recognise and adapt to the personality of users is key to developing more intelligent social robots, especially in real-world scenarios. However, most methods for personality recognition focus on apparent personality recognition of individuals in isolated settings. In this work, we propose the first multi-modal framework for human behaviour primitives-based automatic real personality recognition in dyadic interactions. It leverages the use of the spectral representations of behavioural primitives to exploit the temporal nature of the data whilst retaining as much vital information pertaining to personality as possible. We experiment on a range of standard fusion methods to evaluate their effectiveness at combining information from multiple modalities and both interactants in a dyadic interaction. At the multi-subject level, our attention-based fusion approach using a multimodal transformer enabled with cross-subject attention was the most successful. The experimental results show that our approach improved on the previous state-of-the-art on the UDIVA dataset by up to 46%.
Antimicrobial properties and metabolite profiling of the ethyl acetate fractions of Sinularia polydactyla and Cespitularia simplex surrounding Mauritius Island

Abstract. Jahajeeah D, Bhoyroo V, Ranghoo-Sanmukhiya M. 2023. Antimicrobial properties and metabolite profiling of the ethyl acetate fractions of Sinularia polydactyla and Cespitularia simplex surrounding Mauritius Island. Indo Pac J Ocean Life 7: 133-142. Soft corals form an integral part of the reef ecosystem. This study assessed the antibacterial activities of Mauritius Island's soft corals and their different natural compounds having important biological properties. Antimicrobial assays and GCMS-MS analysis were performed using ethyl acetate extracts of Sinularia polydactyla and Cespitularia simplex. The results for both species indicated significant activity against most clinically pathogenic bacterial strains tested. In addition, S. polydactyla and C. simplex extracts gave the most potent action spectra yielding the largest inhibition zone diameter, especially against the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (8.73 ± 2.87 and 6.00 ± 1.20 mm), respectively. The MIC also confirmed that the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and S. aureus strains were the most susceptible bacteria when exposed to the soft coral extracts, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli were the most resistant Gram-negative strains. The biochemical profile of the extracts showed the presence of terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, coumarins, and quinones. GCMS-MS analysis also identified 151 compounds in S. polydactyla and 91 compounds in C. simplex. Several previously published studies have shown the biological activities of different species of Cespitularia; however, this is the first study to demonstrate the antibacterial activity and compound profiling of C. simplex. Although studies have been carried out on S. polydactyla extracts, compounds such as 25-Hydroxycholesterol and spathulenol have not yet been reported. The results from the study suggest that both S. polydactyla and C. simplex are potential sources of novel antibiotics and possess a myriad of chemical compounds which may lend themselves to bioprospecting.
Neural correlates of online action preparation

When performing movements in rapid succession, the brain needs to coordinate preparation of an upcoming action with ongoing execution. Here we identify the processes and brain areas involved in this ability. Human participants performed pairs of single-finger presses or three-finger chords in settings where they had to prepare the second movement before or after the first response. Despite matched perceptual and movement requirements, 7T functional MRI revealed increased brain activity in regions along the intra-parietal sulcus and ventral visual stream when actions overlapped. Multivariate analyses suggested that these areas were involved in stimulus identification and action selection. In contrast, the dorsal premotor cortex, known to be involved in planning upcoming movements, showed no discernible signs of heightened activity. This observation suggests that the bottleneck during simultaneous action control and preparation arises at the level of stimulus identification and action selection, whereas movement planning in the premotor cortex can unfold concurrently with execution without interference between the two processes. Summary The brain’s ability to prepare for upcoming actions while controlling ongoing movements is a crucial evolutionary adaptation of the action system. However, the neural basis of online action preparation remains largely unknown. We found that superior-parietal and occipito-temporal areas exhibited heightened activation during online preparation. Surprisingly, the dorsal premotor cortex, known to be a crucial structure in motor planning, did not display additional activation for overlapping actions. These findings imply that while motor planning within the premotor cortex can occur in parallel with the execution of ongoing movement, the parallel stimulus identification and action selection in the posterior parietal cortex requires additional neural processes. Highlights Individuals prepare upcoming actions while simultaneously controlling ongoing movement When these two processes overlap, superior-parietal and occipito-temporal areas show increased activation Multivariate analysis suggests that increased activation arises to resolve simultaneous stimulus identification and action selection The premotor cortex, known to be involved in motor planning, coordinates simultaneous planning and execution without extra neural engagement
Nucleoside analogues and tuberculosis: new weapons against an old enemy

Purine and pyrimidine nucleoside and nucleotide analogues have been extensively studied as anticancer and antiviral agents. In addition to this, they have recently shown great potential against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, the causative agent of Tuberculosis (TB). TB ranks as the tenth most common cause of death in the world. The current treatment for TB infection is limited by side effects and cost of the drugs and most importantly by the development of resistance to the therapy. Therefore the development of novel drugs, capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the existing treatments, has become the focus of many research programs. In parallel to that, a tremendous effort has been made to elucidate the unique metabolism of this pathogen with the aim to identify new possible targets. This review presents the state of the art in nucleoside and nucleotide analogues in the treatment of TB. In particular, we report on the inhibitory activity of this class of compounds, both in enzymatic and whole-cell assays, providing a brief insight to which reported target these novel compounds are hitting.