LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and Trading the EUR / USD Exchange Rate : Do Neural Network Models Perform Better ?

This research examines and analyses the use of Neural Network Regression (NNR) models in foreign exchange (FX) forecasting and trading models. The NNR models are benchmarked against traditional forecasting techniques to ascertain their potential added value as a forecasting and quantitative trading tool. In addition to evaluating the various models using traditional forecasting accuracy measures, such as root mean squared errors, they are also assessed using financial criteria, such as risk-adjusted measures of return. Having constructed a synthetic EUR/USD series for the period up to 4 January 1999, the models were developed using the same in-sample data, leaving the remainder for out-of-sample forecasting, October 1994 to May 2000, and May 2000 to July 2001, respectively. The out-of-sample period results were tested in terms of forecasting accuracy, and in terms of trading performance via a simulated trading strategy. Transaction costs are also taken into account. It is concluded that NNR models do have the ability to forecast EUR/USD returns for the period investigated, and add value as a forecasting and quantitative trading tool. * Christian Dunis is Girobank Professor of Banking and Finance at Liverpool Business School and Director of CIBEF (E-mail: cdunis@totalise.co.uk). The opinions expressed herein are not those of Girobank. ** Mark Williams is an Associate Researcher with CIBEF (E-mail: markpickfordwilliams@hotmail.com). *** CIBEF – Centre for International Banking, Economics and Finance, JMU, John Foster Building, 98 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool L3 5UZ.
Nascap-2k Spacecraft Charging Code Overview

Nascap-2k is a modern spacecraft charging code, replacing the older codes NASA Charging Analyzer Program for GEosynchronous Orbit (NASCAP/GEO), NASA Charging Analyzer Program for Low-Earth Orbit (NASCAP/LEO), Potentials Of Large objects in the Auroral Region (POLAR), and Dynamic Plasma Analysis Code (DynaPAC). The code builds on the physical principles, mathematical algorithms, and user experience developed over three decades of spacecraft charging research. Capabilities include surface charging in geosynchronous and interplanetary orbits, sheath, and wake structure, and current collection in low-Earth orbits, and auroral charging. External potential structure and particle trajectories are computed using a finite element method on a nested grid structure and may be visualized within the Nascap-2k interface. Space charge can be treated either analytically, self-consistently with particle trajectories, or consistent with imported plume densities. Particle-in-cell (PIC) capabilities are available to study dynamic plasma effects. Auxiliary programs to Nascap-2k include Object Toolkit (for developing spacecraft surface models) and GridTool (for constructing nested grid structures around spacecraft models). The capabilities of the code are illustrated by way of four examples: charging of a geostationary satellite, self-consistent potentials for a negative probe in a low-Earth orbit spacecraft wake, potentials associated with thruster plumes, and PIC calculations of plasma effects on a very low frequency (about 1 to 20 kHz) antenna
Paraphrasing 4 Microblog Normalization

Compared to the edited genres that have played a central role in NLP research, microblog texts use a more informal register with nonstandard lexical items, abbreviations, and free orthographic variation. When confronted with such input, conventional text analysis tools often perform poorly. Normalization — replacing orthographically or lexically idiosyncratic forms with more standard variants — can improve performance. We propose a method for learning normalization rules from machine translations of a parallel corpus of microblog messages. To validate the utility of our approach, we evaluate extrinsically, showing that normalizing English tweets and then translating improves translation quality (compared to translating unnormalized text) using three standard web translation services as well as a phrase-based translation system trained on parallel microblog data.
Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the superior vena cava: electrophysiological characteristics and results of radiofrequency ablation.

BACKGROUND
The superior vena cava (SVC) has cardiac musculature extending from the right atrium. However, no previous study in humans has given details regarding the ectopic foci that initiate paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), which may originate from the SVC.


METHODS AND RESULTS
A total of 130 patients with frequent attacks of PAF initiated by ectopic beats were included. Eight patients (6%) had spontaneous AF initiated by a burst of rapid ectopic beats from the SVC (located 19+/-7 mm above the junction of the SVC and right atrium), which was confirmed by multiplane angiographic and intracardiac echocardiographic visualization and was marked by a sharp SVC potential preceding atrial activity. During initial repetitive discharges, the group with SVC ectopy had a higher incidence of intravenous conduction block than the group with pulmonary vein ectopy (75% versus 37%; P=0.03). The activation time of the earliest intracardiac ectopic activities relative to ectopic P wave onset was significantly shorter in the SVC ectopy than the pulmonary vein ectopy group (37+/-15 versus 84+/-32 ms; P<0. 001). After 5+/-3 applications of radiofrequency energy, AF was eliminated. SVC angiography after ablation revealed a local indentation of the venous wall in one patient. Two patients manifested coexisting sinus rhythm and a "focal" fibrillating activity confined inside the SVC after radiofrequency ablation. During a follow-up period of 9+/-3 months, all 8 patients were free of antiarrhythmic drugs, without tachycardia recurrence or symptoms of SVC obstruction.


CONCLUSIONS
Ectopic beats initiating PAF can originate from the SVC. A radiofrequency current delivered to eliminate these ectopies is a highly effective and safe way to prevent PAF.
Requirements for Internet Hosts - Communication Layers

This RFC is an official specification for the Internet community. It incorporates by reference, amends, corrects, and supplements the primary protocol standards documents relating to hosts. Distribution of this document is unlimited. Summary This is one RFC of a pair that defines and discusses the requirements for Internet host software. This RFC covers the communications protocol layers: link layer, IP layer, and transport layer; its companion RFC-1123 covers the application and support protocols.
Dynamic classifier selection: Recent advances and perspectives

Multiple Classifier Systems (MCS) have been widely studied as an alternative for increasing accuracy in pattern recognition. One of the most promising MCS approaches is Dynamic Selection (DS), in which the base classifiers are selected on the fly, according to each new sample to be classified. This paper provides a review of the DS techniques proposed in the literature from a theoretical and empirical point of view. We propose an updated taxonomy based on the main characteristics found in a dynamic selection system: (1) The methodology used to define a local region for the estimation of the local competence of the base classifiers; (2) The source of information used to estimate the level of competence of the base classifiers, such as local accuracy, oracle, ranking and probabilistic models, and (3) The selection approach, which determines whether a single or an ensemble of classifiers is selected. We categorize the main dynamic selection techniques in the DS literature based on the proposed taxonomy. We also conduct an extensive experimental analysis, considering a total of 18 state-of-the-art dynamic selection techniques, as well as static ensemble combination and single classification models. To date, this is the first analysis comparing all the key DS techniques under the same experimental protocol. Furthermore, we also present several perspectives and open research questions that can be used as a guide for future works in this domain. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Efficacy of tramadol-acetaminophen tablets in low back pain patients with depression.

BACKGROUND
Tramadol-acetaminophen tablets are currently used to treat pain, including that of degenerative lumbar disease. Although there are many reports on tramadol-acetaminophen tablets, treatment outcomes in low back pain (LBP) patients with depression remain uncertain. This study investigated the outcomes of LBP patients with depression treated with tramadol-acetaminophen tablets.


METHODS
Of 95 patients with chronic LBP, 70 (26 men, 44 women; mean age 64 years) who were judged as having depression by the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were included in this study. In this trial, patients received one of two randomly assigned 8-week treatment regimes: tramadol-acetaminophen (Tramadol group, n = 35) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (NSAID group, n = 35). In addition to completing self-report questionnaires, patients provided demographic and clinical information. All patients were assessed using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Pain Disability Assessment Scale (PDAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), SDS, and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS).


RESULTS
After 8 weeks' treatment, the NRS and SDS scores were lower in the Tramadol group than in the NSAID group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the ODI, PDAS, and PCS scores between the groups (p = 0.47, 0.09, 0.47). Although there was no difference in the anxiety component of the HADS between the groups (p = 0.36), the depression component was lower in the Tramadol group than in the NSAID group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between groups in the percentage of patients with treatment-associated adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
This investigation found that tramadol-acetaminophen is effective for reducing LBP and provided a prophylactic antidepressant effect in chronic LBP patients with depression.
Packet aggregation based network I/O virtualization for cloud computing

Virtualization is a key technology to enable cloud computing. Driver domain based model for network virtualization offers isolation and high levels of flexibility. However, it suffers from poor performance and lacks scalability. In this paper, we evaluate networking performance of virtual machines within Xen. The I/O channel transferring packets between the driver domain and the virtual machines is shown to be the bottleneck. To overcome this limitation, we proposed a packet aggregation based mechanism to transfer packets from the driver domain to the virtual machines. Packet aggregation, combined with an efficient core allocation, allows virtual machines throughput to scale up by 700%, while minimizing both memory and CPU consumption. Besides, aggregation impact on packets delay and jitter remains acceptable. Hence, the proposed I/O virtualization model satisfies infrastructure providers to offer Cloud com-
Dissofilm: A Novel Approach for Delivery of Phenobarbital; Design and Characterization

An attempt to develop and evaluate mouth-dissolving film of phenobarbital for quick effect in treatment of epilepsy occurring in pediatric population has been made in the present study. Suitable film formers and plasticizers are selected based on optimization studies. Effect of superdisintegrants in formulation of mouth dissolving films at different concentrations has been investigated. Films were prepared by solvent casting method. The prepared films were evaluated for physicochemical parameters, in vitro disintegration and dissolution time, in vitro release rate study, stability study, and in vivo animal safety study. The best formulation was found to be F3 showing 96.57% drug release in 14 min, following first-order kinetics. X-Ray diffraction studies show change in crystalline nature of drug in formulation. In vivo studies in hamster reports effective and safe use of formulation in animals.
Isolation and Growth Characteristics of Chromium(VI) and Pentachlorophenol Tolerant Bacterial Isolate from Treated Tannery Effluent for its Possible Use in Simultaneous Bioremediation

The bacterial strains resistant to pentachlorophenol (PCP) and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] were isolated from treated tannery effluent of a common effluent treatment plant. Most of the physico-chemical parameters analyzed were above permissible limits. Thirty-eight and four bacterial isolates, respectively were found resistant to >50 μg/ml concentration of [Cr(VI)] and the same level of PCP. Out of the above 42 isolates, only one was found simultaneously tolerant to higher levels of both PCP (500 μg/ml) and Cr(VI) (200 μg/ml), and hence was selected for further studies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which a native bacterial isolate simultaneously tolerant to such a high concentrations of Cr(VI) and PCP has been reported. The culture growth was best at 0.4% (w/v) glucose as an additional carbon source and 0.2% (w/v) ammonium chloride as a nitrogen source. The growth results with cow urine as a nitrogen source were comparable with the best nitrogen source ammonium chloride. The isolate exhibited resistance to multiple heavy metals (Pb, As, Hg, Zn, Co & Ni) and to antibiotics nalidixic acid and polymixin-B. The efficacy of bacterial isolate for growth, PCP degradation (56.5%) and Cr(VI) bioremediation (74.5%) was best at 48 h incubation. The isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. by morphological and biochemical tests. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed 98% homology with Bacillus cereus. However, further molecular analysis is underway to ascertain its likelyhood of a novel species.
Famous first jobs: Seven leading engineers tell about their first professional jobs, their reasons for choosing them, and how those choices affected their careers

It's a long journey from college graduation to being head of a major corporation or dean of an engineering school. But that long journey begins with just one step — the engineer's first job.
Improved Phishing Detection using Model-Based Features

Phishing emails are a real threat to internet communication and web economy. Criminals are trying to convince unsuspecting online users to reveal passwords, account numbers, social security numbers or other personal information. Filtering approaches using blacklists are not completely effective as about every minute a new phishing scam is created. We investigate the statistical filtering of phishing emails, where a classifier is trained on characteristic features of existing emails and subsequently is able to identify new phishing emails with different contents. We propose advanced email features generated by adaptively trained Dynamic Markov Chains and by novel latent Class-Topic Models. On a publicly available test corpus classifiers using these features are able to reduce the number of misclassified emails by two thirds compared to previous work. Using a recently proposed more expressive evaluation method we show that these results are statistically significant. In addition we successfully tested our approach on a non-public email corpus with a real-life composition.
An Evaluation of the Proposed Framework for Access Control in the Cloud and BYOD Environment

As the bring your own device (BYOD) to work trend grows, so do the network security risks. This fast-growing trend has huge benefits for both employees and employers. With malware, spyware and other malicious downloads, tricking their way onto personal devices, organizations need to consider their information security policies. Malicious programs can download onto a personal device without a user even knowing. This can have disastrous results for both an organization and the personal device. When this happens, it risks BYODs making unauthorized changes to policies and leaking sensitive information into the public domain. A privacy breach can cause a domino effect with huge financial and legal implications, and loss of productivity for organizations. This is a difficult challenge. Organizations need to consider user privacy and rights together with protecting networks from attacks. This paper evaluates a new architectural framework to control the risks that challenge organizations and the use of BYODs. After analysis of large volumes of research, the previous studies addressed single issues. We integrated parts of these single solutions into a new framework to develop a complete solution for access control. With too many organizations failing to implement and enforce adequate security policies, the process needs to be simpler. This framework reduces system restrictions while enforcing access control policies for BYOD and cloud environments using an independent platform. Primary results of the study are positive with the framework reducing access control issues. Keywords—Bring your own device; access control; policy; security
Investigating vulnerable atheroma using combined (18)F-FDG PET/CT angiography of carotid plaque with immunohistochemical validation.

UNLABELLED
Inflammation and angiogenesis are hypothesized to be important factors contributing to plaque vulnerability, whereas calcification is suggested to confer stability. To investigate this in vivo, we combined CT angiography and PET and compared the findings with immunohistochemistry for patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy.


METHODS
Twenty-one consecutive patients (18 men, 3 women; mean age ± SD, 68.3 ± 7.3) undergoing carotid endarterectomy were recruited for combined carotid (18)F-FDG PET/CT angiography. Plaque (18)F-FDG uptake was quantified with maximum standardized uptake value, and CT angiography quantified percentage plaque composition (calcium and lipid). Surgical specimens underwent ex vivo CT aiding image registration, followed by immunohistochemical staining for CD68 (macrophage density) and vascular endothelial growth factor (angiogenesis). Relationships between imaging and immunohistochemistry were assessed with Spearman rank correlation and multivariable regression.


RESULTS
The mean (±SD) surgically excised carotid plaque (18)F-FDG metabolism was 2.4 (±0.5) versus 2.2 (±0.3) contralaterally (P = 0.027). There were positive correlations between plaque (18)F-FDG metabolism and immunohistochemistry with CD68 (ρ = 0.55; P = 0.011) and vascular endothelial growth factor (ρ = 0.47; P = 0.031). There was an inverse relationship between plaque (18)F-FDG metabolism and plaque percentage calcium composition on CT (ρ = -0.51; P = 0.018) and between calcium composition and immunohistochemistry with CD68 (ρ = -0.57; P = 0.007). Regression showed that maximum standardized uptake value and calcium composition were independently significant predictors of angiogenesis, and calcium composition was a predictor of macrophage density.


CONCLUSION
We provide in vivo evidence that increased plaque metabolism is associated with increased biomarkers of angiogenesis and inflammation, whereas plaque calcification is inversely related to PET and histologic biomarkers of inflammation.
Morpheme Based Factored Language Models for German LVCSR

German is a highly inflectional language, where a large number of words can be generated from the same root. It makes a liberal use of compounding leading to high Out-of-vocabulary (OOV) rates, and poor Language Model (LM) probability estimates. Therefore, the use of morphemes for language modeling is considered a better choice for Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition (LVCSR) than the full-words. Thereby, better lexical coverage and less LM perplexities are achieved. On the other side, the use of Factored Language Models (FLMs) is considered a successful approach that allows the integration of many information sources to get better LM probability estimates. In this paper, we try a combined methodology for language modeling where both morphological decomposition and factored language modeling are used in one model called morpheme based FLM. Finally, we obtain around 2.5% relative reduction in Word Error Rate (WER) with respect to a traditional full-words system.
Monolithic DC-DC Converter Analysis And Mosfet Gate Voltage Optimization

 The design of an efficient monolithic buck converter is presented in this paper. A low swing MOSFET gate drive technique is proposed that improves the efficiency characteristics of a DC-DC converter. A model of the parasitic impedances of a buck converter is developed. With this model, a design space is described which characterizes the integration of both active and passive devices of a buck converter onto the same die based on a 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The optimum gate voltage swing of a power MOSFET that maximizes efficiency is shown to be lower than a standard full voltage swing. An efficiency of 88% at a switching frequency of 102 MHz is achieved for a voltage conversion from 1.8 volts to 0.9 volts with a low swing DC-DC converter. The power dissipation of a low swing DC-DC converter is reduced by 24.5%, improving the efficiency by 3.9% as compared to a full swing DC-DC converter.
A miniature concentrating photovoltaic and thermal system

A novel miniature concentrating PV (MCPV) system is presented and analyzed. The system is producing both electrical and thermal energy, which is supplied to a nearby consumer. In contrast to PV/thermal (PV/T) flat collectors, the heat from an MCPV collector is not limited to low-temperature applications. The work reported here refers to the evaluation and preliminary design of the MCPV approach. The heat transport system, the electric and thermal performance, the manufacturing cost, and the resulting cost of energy in case of domestic water heating have been analyzed. The results show that the new approach has promising prospects. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Effect of Modic changes on spinal canal stenosis and segmental motion in cervical spine

Few studies have reported the characteristics of Modic changes (MCs) in the cervical spine in contrast to the lumbar spine. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of MCs in the cervical spine and to elucidate the relationship of MCs with spinal canal stenosis and angular motion. 437 consecutive, symptomatic patients with neck pain with or without neurogenic symptoms were included in this study. MRI in multiple positions was performed with dynamic motion of the cervical spine in upright, weight-bearing neutral, flexion and extension positions. Type of MC, intervertebral disc degeneration grade, spinal cord compression grade and sagittal angular motion between flexion and extension for each segment from C2–3 to C6–7 were evaluated. MCs were observed in 84 out of 437 patients (19.2 %) and in 109 out of 2,185 motion segments (5.0 %) with type 2 changes predominating. Disc degeneration grades and spinal cord compression grades of segments with MCs were significantly higher than those without MCs. Sagittal angular motion of segments with MCs were significantly lower than those without MCs. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that significantly elevated odds ratios for MCs were observed in segments with severe disc degeneration, severe spinal canal compression and less angular motion. The cervical segments with MCs were significantly more likely to have disc degeneration and spinal canal stenosis. In addition, the segments with MCs had significantly less angular motion, which suggests MCs may correlate with loss of mobility.