Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tourism in South Africa. Time series persistence and the nature of shocks. Are they transitory or permament

This paper deals with the analysis of several time series related with the tourism sector in South Africa. We examine the orders of integration of the series in order to determine if they are stationary or non stationary, and, more importantly, if the shocks affecting them are of a permanent or a transitory nature. Policy implications based on the results obtained are derived.
Economic Policy Reforms In South Asia: An Overview And The Remaining Agenda

RSIS Working Paper series presents papers in a preliminary form and serves to stimulate comment and discussion. The views expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author(s), and do not represent the official position of RSIS. This publication may be reproduced electronically or in print with prior written permission obtained from RSIS and due credit given to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email RSISPublications@ntu.edu. sg for further editorial queries. as an autonomous school within the Nanyang Technological University. Known earlier as the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies when it was established in July 1996, RSIS' mission is to be a leading research and graduate teaching institution in strategic and international affairs in the Asia Pacific. To accomplish this mission, it will:  Provide a rigorous professional graduate education with a strong practical emphasis  Conduct policy-relevant research in defence, national security, international relations, strategic studies and diplomacy  Foster a global network of like-minded professional schools Graduate Programmes RSIS offers a challenging graduate education in international affairs, taught by an international faculty of leading thinkers and practitioners. The Master of Science degree programmes in Strategic Studies, International Relations, Asian Studies, and International Political Economy are distinguished by their focus on the Asia Pacific, the professional practice of international affairs, and the cultivation of academic depth. Thus far, students from more than 50 countries have successfully completed one of these programmes. In 2010, a Double Masters Programme with Warwick University was also launched, with students required to spend the first year at Warwick and the second year at RSIS. A select Doctor of Philosophy programme caters to advanced students who are supervised by senior faculty members with matching interests. The focus of research is on issues relating to the security and stability of the Asia Pacific region and their implications for Singapore and other countries in the region. The School has five endowed professorships that bring distinguished scholars and practitioners to teach and to conduct research at the school. International Collaboration Collaboration with other professional schools of international affairs to form a global network of excellence is a RSIS priority. RSIS maintains links with other like-minded schools so as to enrich its research and teaching activities as well as learn from the best practices of successful schools. Abstract In the past few years, the pace of economic growth in South Asia has slowed considerably for two reasons: unfavourable global …
Selecting Best Rice Varieties under Drought Stress and Non-Stress Conditions Using Selection Indices

Grain yield and most of the traits that have economic importance in plants, herited as quantity and using direct selection method have not large progress. So, one of the most effective method's indirect selections as improve grain yield with a trait effective on it, is using of selection index. In this research, 42 Iranian local and improved rice varieties were evaluated in randomized complete block design with three replications under two separate conditions, normal irrigation and drought stress during 2014 and 12 traits were measured. Estimating 10 different selection indices based on optimum and base indices in both conditions indicated that selecting for grain yield per plant, 1000-grain weight, number of filled grain per panicle, canopy temperature and number of panicles per plant in non-stress condition and grain yield per plant, 1000-grain weight and number of total spikelet per panicle in stress condition by using their path direct coefficients as economic weights would be a suitable selection criterion for improving of population. Results distinguished that selected varieties based on optimum and base indices in both conditions are almost similar. Thus, optimum and base indices in non-stress condition are proposed as a criterion for selecting high-yield vrieties to use in stress conditions.
UCD GEARY INSTITUTE SERIES Sheepskin or Prozac: The Causal Effect of Education on Mental Health

: Mental illness is associated with large costs to individuals and society. Education improves various health outcomes but little work has been done on mental illness. To obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of education on mental health, we rely on a rich longitudinal dataset that contains health information from childhood to adulthood and thus allow us to control for fixed effects in mental health.Wemeasure two health outcomes: malaise score and depression and estimate the extensive and intensive margins of education on mental health using various estimators. For all estimators, accounting for the endogeneity of education augments its protecting effect on mental health. We find that the effect of education is greater at mid-level of qualifications, for women and for individuals at greater risk of mental illness. The effects of education are observed at all ages, additionally education also reduces the transition to depression. These results suggest substantial returns to education in term of improved mental health.
Seasonal and geographical impact on human resting periods

We study the influence of seasonally and geographically related daily dynamics of daylight and ambient temperature on human resting or sleeping patterns using mobile phone data of a large number of individuals. We observe two daily inactivity periods in the people’s aggregated mobile phone calling patterns and infer these to represent the resting times of the population. We find that the nocturnal resting period is strongly influenced by the length of daylight, and that its seasonal variation depends on the latitude, such that for people living in two different cities separated by eight latitudinal degrees, the difference in the resting periods of people between the summer and winter in southern cities is almost twice that in the northern cities. We also observe that the duration of the afternoon resting period is influenced by the temperature, and that there is a threshold from which this influence sets in. Finally, we observe that the yearly dynamics of the afternoon and nocturnal resting periods appear to be counterbalancing each other. This also lends support to the notion that the total daily resting time of people is more or less conserved across the year. In modern societies, daily activities are marked by the entrainment of the human circadian clock, which is strongly influenced by two different cues, each one following a 24-hour period but with a different offset. The first cue is related to environmental and sun-based events, and therefore being subjected to seasonal variations due to the yearly movement of earth around the sun. The second cue follows a local civil time, where social and economical factors impose restrictions on the timing and routine of human activities 1 . Regardless of the nature of the external cue participating in the entrainment of the human circadian clock, any change in it has a direct influence on various aspects of human life 2, 3 . For human circadian rhythms,
The Mouseion at the JAXlibrary The Mouseion at the JAXlibrary

Using live microbes as therapeutic candidates is a strategy that has gained traction across multiple therapeutic areas. In the skin, commensal microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining skin barrier function, homeostasis, and cutaneous immunity. Alterations of the homeostatic skin microbiome are associated with a number of skin diseases. Here, we present the design of an engineered commensal organism, Staphylococcus epidermidis , for use as a live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate for skin diseases. The development of novel bacterial strains whose growth can be controlled without the use of antibiotics or genetic elements conferring antibiotic resistance enables modulation of therapeutic exposure and improves safety. We therefore constructed an auxotrophic strain of S. epidermidis that requires exogenously supplied D -alanine. The S. epidermidis NRRL B-4268 Δ alr1 Δ alr2 Δ dat strain (SE ΔΔΔ ) contains deletions of three biosynthetic genes: two alanine racemase genes, alr1 and alr2 (SE1674 and SE1079), and the D -alanine aminotransferase gene, dat (SE1423). These three deletions restricted growth in D -alanine-deﬁcient medium, pooled human blood, and skin. In the presence of D -alanine, SE ΔΔΔ colonized and increased expression of human (cid:2) -defensin 2 in cultured human skin models in vitro. SE ΔΔΔ showed a low propensity to revert to D -alanine prototrophy and did not form bioﬁlms on plastic in vitro. These studies support the potential safety and utility of SE ΔΔΔ as a live biotherapeutic strain whose growth can be controlled by D -alanine. IMPORTANCE The skin microbiome is rich in opportunities for novel therapeutics for skin diseases, and synthetic biology offers the advantage of providing novel functionality or therapeutic beneﬁt to live biotherapeutic products. The development of novel bacterial strains whose growth can be controlled without the use of antibiotics or genetic elements conferring antibiotic resistance enables modulation of therapeutic exposure and improves safety. This study presents the design and in vitro evidence of a skin commensal whose growth can be controlled through D -alanine. The basis of this strain will support future clinical studies of this strain in humans.
Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series Working

: This paper examines the impact of self-reported work-limitation on the employment of the Australian working age population. Five consecutive waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey are used to investigate this relationship. A two-equation dynamic panel data model demonstrates that persistence and unobserved heterogeneity play an important role in the work-limitation reporting and its effect on work. Unobserved factors that jointly drive work-limitation and work are also shown to be crucial, especially for women.
Moving in extreme environments extreme loading; carriage versus distance

This review addresses human capacity for movement in the context of extreme loading and with it the combined effects of metabolic, biomechanical and gravitational stress on the human body. This topic encompasses extreme duration, as occurs in ultra-endurance competitions (e.g. adventure racing and transcontinental races) and expeditions (e.g. polar crossings), to the more gravitationally limited load carriage (e.g. in the military context). Juxtaposed to these circumstances is the extreme metabolic and mechanical unloading associated with space travel, prolonged bedrest and sedentary lifestyle, which may be at least as problematic, and are therefore included as a reference, e.g. when considering exposure, dangers and (mal)adaptations. As per the other reviews in this series, we describe the nature of the stress and the associated consequences; illustrate relevant regulations, including why and how they are set; present the pros and cons for self versus prescribed acute and chronic exposure; describe humans’ (mal)adaptations; and finally suggest future directions for practice and research. In summary, we describe adaptation patterns that are often U or J shaped and that over time minimal or no load carriage decreases the global load carrying capacity and eventually leads to severe adverse effects and manifest disease under minimal absolute but high relative loads. We advocate that further understanding of load carrying capacity and the inherent mechanisms leading to adverse effects may advantageously be studied in this perspective. With improved access to insightful and portable technologies, there are some exciting possibilities to explore these questions in this context.
Allowing for two production periods in the Cournot duopoly

In this study behavior in a Cournot duopoly with two production periods (the market clears only after the second period) is compared to behavior in a standard one-period Cournot duopoly. Theory predicts the endogenous emergence of a Stackelberg outcome in the two-period market. The results of the experiments, however, reveal that in both markets (roughly) symmetric outcomes emerge and that, after a short adaptation phase, average industry output in the two-period markets is the same as in the standard one-period markets.
Time‐dependent thermal convection, mantle differentiation and continental‐crust growth

SUMMARY The thermal evolution of the Earth is controlled by radioactive elements whose heat production rate decays with time and whose spatial distribution depends on chemical segregation processes. We present a 2-D and finite-difference Boussinesq convection model with temperature-dependent viscosity and time- and space-dependent radioactive heat sources. We used Newtonian rheology, boxes of aspect ratio 3, and heating from within. Starting from the geochemical results of Hofmann (1988), it is assumed that the radioactive heat sources of the mantle were initially distributed homogeneously. In a number of calculations, however, higher starting abundances of radioactive sources were assumed in the upper mantle. For the present geological situation, this also results in a depleted upper mantle. It was assumed that, if the viscosity falls below a certain critical value, chemical segregation will take place. In this way, model continental crust develops, leaving behind areas of a depleted mantle. We obtained the heat source, flow line, temperature, viscosity and heat-flow distribution as a function of time with realistic values, especially for the present time. The present viscosity of the upper mantle is approximately at the standard value obtained for postglacial uplift modelling; the deeper-mantle viscosity is considerably higher. The time dependence of the computed mean of the kinetic energy of mantle convection bears a resemblance to that of the magmatic and orogenetic activity of the Earth. We assumed that the 670 km discontinuity cannot be penetrated by the flow.
Reliability and Validity of a Biomechanically Based Analysis Reliability and Validity of a Biomechanically Based Analysis Method for the Tennis Serve Method for the Tennis Serve

Background: An observational tennis serve analysis (OTSA) tool was developed using previously established body positions from three-dimensional kinematic motion analysis studies. These positions, defined as nodes, have been associated with efficient force production and minimal joint loading. However, the tool has yet to be examined scientifically. Purpose: The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the inter-observer reliability for each node between two health care professionals (HCPs) that developed the OTSA, and secondarily to investigate the validity of the OTSA. Methods: Two separate studies were performed to meet these objectives. An inter-observer reliability study preceded the validity study by examining 28 videos of players serving. Two HCPs graded each video and scored the presence or absence of obtaining each node. Discriminant validity was determined in 33 tennis players using video taped records of three first serves. Serve mechanics were graded using the OSTA and categorized players into those with good ( ≥ 5) and poor ( ≤ 4) mechanics. Participants performed a series of field tests to evaluate trunk flexibility, lower extremity and trunk power, and dynamic balance. Results: The group with good mechanics demonstrated greater backward trunk flexibility (p=0.02), greater rotational power (p=0.02), and higher single leg countermovement jump (p=0.05). Reliability of the OTSA ranged from K =0.36-1.0, with the majority of all the nodes displaying substantial reliability (K>0.61). Conclusion: This study provides HCPs with a valid and reliable field tool used to assess serve mechanics. Physical characteristics of trunk mobility and power appear to discriminate serve mechanics between players. Future intervention studies are needed to determine if improvement in physical function contribute to improved serve mechanics. Level of Evidence: 3
Aerosol optical depth retrievals over the Konza Prairie

The aerosol optical depth over the Konza Prairie, near Manhattan, Kansas, was recorded at various locations by five separate teams. These measurements were made in support of the First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) and used to correct imagery from a variety of satellite and aircraft sensors for the effects of atmospheric scattering and absorption. The results from one instrument are reported here for 26 days in 1987 and for 7 days in 1989. Daily averages span a range of 0.05 to 0.28 in the midvisible wavelengths. In addition, diurnal variations are noted in which the afternoon optical depths are greater than those of the morning by as much as 0.07. A comparison between instruments and processing techniques used to determine these aerosol optical depths is provided. The first comparisons are made using summer 1987 data. Differences of as much as 0.05 (midvisible) are observed. Although these data allow reasonable surface reflectance retrievals, they do not agree to within the performance limits typically associated with these types of instruments. With an accuracy goal of 0.02 a preseason calibration/comparison experiment was conducted at a mountain site prior to the final field campaign in 1989. Good calibration data were obtained, and good agreement (0.01, midvisible) was observed in the retrieved optical depth acquired over the Konza. By comparing data from the surface instruments at different locations, spatial inhomogeneities are determined. Then, data from the airborne tracking sunphotometer allow one to determine variations as a function of altitude. Finally, a technique is proposed for using the in situ data to establish an instrument calibration.
Fentanyl induces cerebellar internal granular cell layer apoptosis in healthy newborn pigs

Background: Opioids like fentanyl are regularly used in neonates for analgesia and sedation. So far, they have been reported to be safe and eligible to use. The cerebellum has become a focus of neurodevelopmental research within the last years, as it is known to play an important role in long-lasting motor, cognitive, and other behavioral changes. The cerebellar cortex is
Edinburgh Research Explorer A Simple and Accurate Syntax-Agnostic Neural Model for Dependency-based Semantic Role Labeling

We introduce a simple and accurate neural model for dependency-based semantic role labeling. Our model predicts predicate-argument dependencies relying on states of a bidirectional LSTM encoder. The semantic role labeler achieves competitive performance on English, even without any kind of syntactic information and only using local inference. However, when automatically predicted part-of-speech tags are provided as input, it substantially outperforms all previous lo-cal models and approaches the best re-ported results on the English CoNLL-2009 dataset. We also consider Chinese, Czech and Spanish where our approach also achieves competitive re-sults. Syntactic parsers are unreliable on out-of-domain data, so standard (i.e., syntactically-informed) SRL models are hindered when tested in this setting. Our syntax-agnostic model appears more robust, resulting in the best reported results on standard out-of-domain test sets.
JPEG 2000 and parity bit replenishment for remote video browsing

This thesis is devoted to the study of a compression and transmission framework for video. It exploits the JPEG 2000 standard and the coding with side information principles to enable an efficient interactive browsing of video sequences. During the last decade, we have witnessed an explosion of digital visual information as well as a significant diversification of visualization devices. In terms of viewing experience, many applications now enable users to interact with the content stored on a distant server. Pausing video sequences to observe details by zooming and panning or, at the opposite, browsing low resolutions of high quality HD videos are becoming common tasks. The video distribution framework envisioned in this thesis targets such devices and applications. Based on the conditional replenishment framework, the proposed system combines two complementary coding methods. The first one is JPEG 2000, a scalable and very efficient compression algorithm. The second method is based on the coding with side information paradigm. This technique is relatively novel in a video context, and has been adapted to the particular scalable image representation adopted in this work. Interestingly, it has been improved by integrating an image source model and by exploiting the temporal correlation inherent to the sequence. A particularity of this work is the emphasis on the system scalability as well as on the server complexity. The proposed browsing architecture can scale to handle large volumes of content and serve a possibly very large number of heterogeneous users. This is achieved by defining a scheduler that adapts its decisions to the channel conditions and to user requirements expressed in terms of computational capabilities and spatio-temporal interest. This scheduling is carried out in real-time at low computational cost and in a post-compression way, without re-encoding the sequences.
Adaptation of anatomical structures of the leaves of Saussurea stella Maxim to the alpine environment

The anatomical structures of the leaves of Saussurea stella Maxim in two different populations in Estern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were microscopically observed in this study. The results showed that the leaf types of S.stella in both populations were isolateral,the epidermis were single layer,and the cutide were thicker. The epidermal cells were multiangular,and the anticlinal wall were straight and arched. The leaf thickness of S.stella at altitude 2 850 m was 330.66 μm,stoma density of upper and lower epiderm were 106.75 and 144.79,while in 2 890 m altitude,the leaf thickness was 537.07 μm,stoma density of1upper and lower epiderms were 53.6 and 77.30 respectively. The result indicated that the leaves of S.stella Maxim showed two different ecological types obviously although they both were isolateral leaves,which indicated that the adaptation of the leaves of S.stella Maxim to alpine environment was not single without the protection of epidermal hair.