Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Momentum Due to Data-snooping?

Abstract This paper explores the profitability of momentum strategies, by investigating if a momentum strategy is superior to a benchmark model once the effects of data-snooping have been accounted for. Two data sets are considered. The first set of data consists of US stocks and the second one consists of Swedish stocks. For the US data strong evidence is found of a momentum effect and hence the hypothesis of weak market efficiency is rejected. Splitting the sample in two parts, it is found that the overall significance is driven by events in the earlier part of the sample. The results for the Swedish data indicate that momentum strategies based on individual stocks generate significant profits. A very weak or no momentum effect can be found when stocks are sorted into portfolios. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, results show that data-snooping bias can be very substantial. Neglecting the problem would lead to very different conclusions.
Path coupling: A technique for proving rapid mixing in Markov chains

The main technique used in algorithm design for approximating #P-hard counting problems is the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. At the heart of the method is the study of the convergence (mixing) rates of particular Markov chains of interest. In this paper we illustrate a new approach to the coupling technique, which we call path coupling, for bounding mixing rates. Previous applications of coupling have required detailed insights into the combinatorics of the problem at hand, and this complexity can make the technique extremely difficult to apply successfully. Path coupling helps to minimize the combinatorial difficulty and in all cases provides simpler convergence proofs than does the standard coupling method. However the true power of the method is that the simplification obtained may allow coupling proofs which were previously unknown, or provide significantly better bounds than those obtained using the standard method. We apply the path coupling method to several hard combinatorial problems, obtaining new or improved results. We examine combinatorial problems such as graph colouring and TWICE-SAT, and problems from statistical physics, such as the antiferromagnetic Potts model and the hard-core lattice gas model. In each case we provide either a proof of rapid mixing where none was known previously, or substantial simplification of existing proofs with consequent gains in the performance of the resulting algorithms.
Improving High School English Language Learners' Second Language Listening Through Strategy Instruction

Abstract High school English language learners need strong oral comprehension skills for access to oral content in their academic classes. Unfortunately, instruction in effective listening strategies is often not part of their English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum. This study tested the hypothesis that targeted listening strategy instruction in the ESL classroom results in improved listening comprehension that can be useful in English language learners' academic content classes. After receiving 15 listening strategy training sessions, participants showed a statistically significant improvement in discrete and video listening ability, as well as note-taking ability. This study suggests that targeted listening strategy instruction should be part of the ESL curriculum. Sources for designing and implementing effective listening strategy instruction are provided, and research needs and designs are suggested.
Quisqualate‐ and NMDA‐sensitive [3H]glutamate binding in primate brain

Excitatory amino acids (EAA) such as glutamate and aspartate are probably the neurotransmitters of a majority of mammalian neurons. Only a few previous studies have been concerned with the distribution of the subtypes of EAA receptor binding in the primate brain. We examined NMDA‐ and quisqualate‐sensitive [3H]glutamate binding using quantitative autoradiography in monkey brain (Macaca fascicularis). The two types of binding were differentially distributed. NMDA‐sensitive binding was most dense in dentate gyrus of hippocampus, stratum pyramidale of hippocampus, and outer layers of cerebral cortex. Quisqualate‐sensitive binding was most dense in dentate gyrus of hippocampus, inner and outer layers of cerebral cortex, and molecular layer of cerebellum. In caudate nucleus and putamen, quisqualate‐ and NMDA‐sensitive binding sites were nearly equal in density. However, in globus pallidus, substantia nigra, and subthalamic nucleus, quisqualate‐sensitive binding was several‐fold greater than NMDA‐sensitive binding. In thalamus, [3H]glutamate binding was generally low for both subtypes of binding except for the anterior ventral, lateral dorsal, and pulvinar nuclei. In the brainstem, low levels of binding were found, and strikingly the red nucleus and pons, which are thought to receive glutamatergic projections, had approximately 1/20 the binding observed in cerebral cortex.
First findings on the controller's mental model in sectorless air traffic management

In sectorless air traffic management the airspace is considered as one piece instead of partitioning it into sectors. The air traffic controllers are no longer in charge of sectors but are given responsibility for a certain number of aircraft during their entire flight. This entails that the controller has to keep track of several different traffic situations geographically spread out over a potentially large area. Of course, such a considerable change of concept has implications on the controllers' mental model and the way conflicts are solved. This paper describes the shift of the controller's mental model away from one geographically limited view with long-term planning to several global views with short-term planning. It is illustrated how this altered mental model also implies changes of the controller's tasks and conflict solving. Real-time simulations within DLR's LRM2020 project have shown that working with a sectorless concept is possible and feasible if the controller is supported by suitable conflict detection. The details and results of these simulations are given and the effects of the altered mental model are analyzed. It is furthermore explained how a sectorless concept could change controller work away from controller teams consisting of executive and planner to a one-person workplace supported by a conflict detection. At the same time the principle that two pairs of eyes are better than one is retained. The controller's tasks are not reduced to monitoring jobs but the essential conflict avoidance task remains.
Composition Influence on Pulmonary Delivery of Rifampicin Liposomes

The effects of lipid concentration and composition on the physicochemical properties, aerosol performance and in vitro toxicity activity of several rifampicin-loaded liposomes were investigated. To this purpose, six liposome formulations containing different amounts of soy phosphatidylcholine and hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine, with and without cholesterol and oleic acid, were prepared and fully characterized. Uni- or oligo-lamellar, small (~100 nm), negatively charged (~60 mV) vesicles were obtained. Lipid composition affected aerosol delivery features of liposomal rifampicin; in particular, the highest phospholipid concentration led to a better packing of the vesicular bilayers with a consequent higher nebulization stability. The retention of drug in nebulized vesicles (NER%) was higher for oleic acid containing vesicles (55% ± 1.4%) than for the other samples (~47%). A549 cells were used to evaluate intracellular drug uptake and in vitro toxicity activity of rifampicin-loaded liposomes in comparison with the free drug. Cell toxicity was more evident when oleic acid containing liposomes were used.
Effect of Climate Change Projections on Forest Fire Behavior and Values-at-Risk in Southwestern Greece

Climate change has the potential to influence many aspects of wildfire behavior and risk. During the last decade, Greece has experienced large-scale wildfire phenomena with unprecedented fire behavior and impacts. In this study, thousands of wildfire events were simulated with the Minimum Travel Time (MTT) fire growth algorithm (called Randig) and resulted in spatial data that describe conditional burn probabilities, potential fire spread and intensity in Messinia, Greece. Present (1961–1990) and future (2071–2100) climate projections were derived from simulations of the KNMI regional climate model RACMO2, under the SRES A1B emission scenario. Data regarding fuel moisture content, wind speed and direction were modified for the different projection time periods to be used as inputs in Randig. Results were used to assess the vulnerability changes for certain values-at-risk of the natural and human-made environment. Differences in wildfire risk were calculated and results revealed that larger wildfires that resist initial control are to be expected in the future, with higher conditional burn probabilities and intensities for extensive parts of the study area. The degree of change in the modeled Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index for the two time periods also revealed an increasing trend in frequencies of higher values for the future.
80 Days : Melding Adaptive Educational Technology and Adaptive and Interactive Storytelling in Digital Educational Games

The present paper introduces the 80Days project, an interdisciplinary European research project endeavoring after pushing the state-ofthe-art in digital educational games. The main objectives of the project are enabling curriculum-related education with competitive computer games, realizing non-invasive and educationally meaningful support of the learner, and combining adaptive tutoring with interactive digital storytelling. 80Days’ solution to those challenges is an ontology-based linkage between so-called knowledge spaces and atomic narrative elements. On this basis, an intelligent adaptation of storyline, story pace, and game play to the learning progress and the preferences of the learner can be achieved.
Beam-beam simulations for separated beams

We present beam-beam simulation results from a strong-strong gaussian code for separated beams for the LHC and RHIC. The frequency spectrum produced by the beam-beam collisions is readily obtained and offers a good opportunity for experimental comparisons. Although our results for the emittance blowup are preliminary, we conclude that, for nominal parameter values, there is no significant difference between separated beams and center-on-center collisions.
Establishment of human double-positive thymocyte clones

Human thymocytes were sorted according to the expression of CD4 and CD8 molecules and clones representing the four subpopulations (DP, DN, and single CD4 or CD8 positive) were established. DP clones can be maintained for long periods in tissue culture and give rise to a variable percentage of SP variants. These variants, when isolated and further expanded, do not revert to a DP phenotype. DP clones express a functional TCR-CD3 complex, suggesting that this molecule can interact with the thymic microenvironment during T cell differentiation.
Reduced levels of Ago2 expression result in increased siRNA competition in mammalian cells

Administration of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) leads to degradation of specific mRNAs utilizing the cellular RNA interference (RNAi) machinery. It has been demonstrated that co-administration of siRNAs may lead to attenuation of activity of one of the siRNAs. Utilizing antisense and siRNA-mediated RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) gene reduction we show that siRNA competition is correlated with differences in the cellular expression levels of Ago2, while levels of other RISC proteins have no effect on competition. We also show that under certain conditions siRNA competition rather than reduction of cellular RISC levels may be responsible for apparent reduction in siRNA activity. Furthermore, exploiting siRNA competition, we show that the RISC pathway loads and results in detectable cleavage of the target RNA in ∼2 h after transfection. The RISC pathway is also capable of being reloaded even in the absence of new protein synthesis. RISC reloading and subsequent induction of detectable cleavage of a new target RNA, requires about 9–12 h following the initial transfection.
Delayed Abscission and Shorter Internodes Correlate with a Reduction in the Ethylene Receptor LeETR1 Transcript in Transgenic Tomato

Stable transformation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv Ailsa Craig) plants with a construct containing the antisense sequence for the receiver domain and 3′-untranslated portion of the tomato ethylene receptor (LeETR1) under the control of an enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter resulted in some expected and unexpected phenotypes. In addition to reduced LeETR1 transcript levels, the two most consistently observed phenotypes in the transgenic lines were delayed abscission and reduced plant size. Fruit coloration and softening were essentially unaffected, and all the seedlings from first generation seed displayed a normal triple response to ethylene. Two independent lines with a single copy of the transgene and reducedLeETR1 transcript accumulation were selected for detailed phenotypic analysis of second generation (R1) plants. Delayed abscission, shorter internode length, and reduced auxin movement all correlated with the presence of the transgene and the degree of reducedLeETR1 transcript accumulation. No significant differences were noted for fruit coloration or fruit softening on R1 plants and all seedlings from R1 and R2 seed displayed a normal triple response. LeETR2 transcript accumulation was only slightly reduced in the R1 plants compared with azygous plants, andLeETR3 (NR) transcript levels appeared to be unaffected by the transgene. We propose that ethylene signal transduction occurs through parallel paths that partially intersect to regulate shared ethylene responses.
The Cost of Nominal Inertia in Nns Models

We calculate the welfare cost of nominal inertia in a New Neoclassical Synthesis model with wage and price stickiness, capital formation, and empirically estimated rules for government spending and the cental bank's interest rate policy. We calibrate our model to U.S. data, and we show that it captures many aspects of the U.S. business cycle. Moreover, our model is capable of generating the kind of volatility that has been observed in the efficiency gaps emphasized by Erceg, Henderson and Levin (2000) and Gali, Gertler and Lopez-Salido (2002). We also highlight some of the empirical shortcomings of the model; in particular, demand side shocks appear to be either missing or improperly modeled. We calculate the cost of nominal inertia under two specifications of monetary policy. The bottom line is that, under our preferred specification of monetary policy, the model implies a conservative estimate of the cost that is twenty to sixty times larger than Lucas's (2003) estimate: the "average" household in our model would be willing to give up one to three percent of consumption each period to be free of the effects of wage and price stickiness. Wage inertia appears to be the major source of these welfare costs.
Robust Output Feedback Disturbance Attenuation of Nonlinear Uncertain Dynamic Systems via State-Dependent Scaling ¶§

: This paper presents a novel approach to the problem of output feedback stabilization with L 2 disturbance attenuation for nonlinear uncertain systems. A new method of state-dependent scaling is introduced into the output feedback design, which uniﬁes treatment of nonlinear and linear gains. The eﬀect of disturbance on the controlled output, which is allowed to be any function of measurement output, can be attenuated to an arbitrarily small level with global asymptotic stability if the plant belongs to a wide class of interconnected systems whose uncertain components unnecessarily have ﬁnite linear-gain. The uncertain dynamics is not limited to input-to-state stable systems either. The approach is not only a natural extension of popular ap-proaches in robust linear control, but also advantageous to numerical computation. The design procedure proposed in this paper consists of novel recursive calculation of robust observer gain as well as feedback gain.
Empirical Analysis of China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation for Good or Bad: A Case of Tanzania

This study investigated China-Africa Economic and Trade ties taking Tanzania as the case study and the prime objective was to identify the main drivers for the bilateral trade and the benefits of the ties. The study draws theoretical framework from Realism, Dependency and Marxist theories of Imperialism. The dependency theory explains underdevelopment while the Marxist explains dominant state expansion. This study mainly employs descriptive research approach to asses China-Tanzania economic and trade ties. Data is drawn from industrial annual reports, previous research, journals, magazines, documentation and websites. Other sources are Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) and Business Registration and Licensing Agency of Tanzania (BRELA). The scope of the study is limited to 1990-2010. The findings of the study show that engagement of China in Tanzania poses both opportunities and challenges. The
Design and development of remote load monitoring suitable for non-residential loads through wireless data transmission

In this paper, communication strategy of dynamic data transmission from a sensor to the cloud storage is discussed. Simulation will be done in arduino platform and net connectivity will be done through GSM module interfacing. The work was inspired by the idea of the approach on Internet of things and to develop a solution to minimize the excessive power usage and thereby minimizing the power consumption cost. Solution is been proposed for monitoring the power utilization. The solution can be collaborated in transmission of any sensor data. Currently, in this implementation, dynamic data is being received by Arduino from a delphino DSP, and GSM module is used as the gateway to transmit the data into cloud storage. This data in cloud storage is been analysed using user interfaces and thus excessive power consumption can be monitored. Brief overview of the proposed solution at the stage of communication is also discussed.
The treatment of hypertension in adult patients with diabetes.

Hypertension is an extremely common comorbidity of diabetes, affecting 20–60% of people with diabetes. Hypertension is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, as well as for microvascular complications, such as retinopathy and nephropathy. Cardiovascular disease is the most costly complication of diabetes and is the cause of 86% of deaths in persons with diabetes (1). However, until recently, little research had been done specifically in patients with diabetes and hypertension. In reviewing the literature on diabetes and hypertension, the authors searched MEDLINE for English language articles using keywords “hypertension,” “diabetes mellitus,” “diabetic nephropathy,” and “coronary artery disease/prevention” starting from 1966. Before 1996, most available data come from secondary analysis from studies done in the general population of people with hypertension, observing a subset with diabetes. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of blood pressure treatment versus placebo in reducing complications of diabetes (2,3), helped to define the optimal level of blood pressure control (4,5,6), and compared treatment strategies based on different drug classes (7,8,9,10,11,12,13). The results of these studies support an aggressive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in patients with diabetes in order to substantially reduce the incidence of both macrovascular and microvascular complications. ### Definition of hypertension in diabetic populations Epidemiological studies and therapeutic trials have often used different criteria to define hypertension in diabetic patients. Studies in the general population indicate an increased risk of cardiovascular disease with an increase in the level of blood pressure. Thus, an increase in diastolic or systolic blood pressure of 5 mmHg is associated with a concomitant increase in cardiovascular disease of 20–30% (14). Studies in diabetic populations have shown a markedly higher frequency of the progression of diabetic retinopathy …
Phylogeny and Disease Association of Shiga Toxin–producing Escherichia coli O91

The diversity and relatedness of 100 Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli O91 isolates from different patients were examined by multilocus sequence typing. We identified 10 specific sequence types (ST) and 4 distinct clonal groups. ST442 was significantly associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Signaling Organizational Virtue: an Examination of Virtue Rhetoric, Country‐Level Corruption, and Performance of Foreign IPOs from Emerging and Developed Economies

Extending signaling theory by discussing rhetoric in terms of cost and observability, we examine the relationship between organizational virtue rhetoric in prospectuses and the performance of foreign IPOs from 35 different countries. We also explore how the nature of this relationship is contingent upon the level of perceived corruption for each IPO firm's home country, a pervasive and costly problem for emerging economy countries due to its impact on economic growth and national governance. Our results indicate that signaling organizational virtue in prospectuses leads to higher levels of foreign IPO performance, which is positively moderated by perceived home country corruption. Copyright © 2013 Strategic Management Society.
Indigenous institutions, traditional leaders and elite coalitions for development: the case of Greater Durban, South Africa

South Africa was not atypical in having to accommodate indigenous institutions in its new political order when the country made its transition from minority rule to a non-racial democracy in 1994. In many parts of the world, and especially post-colonial states, customary forms of governance remain salient, being deeply rooted in local institutions. Indigenous institutions are not immutable and have connected with, and been engaged by, colonial powers and western states in a range of ways and to varying effect over many decades. Yet it is increasingly recognised that institutional multiplicity and competing claims to social and political legitimacy need to be taken seriously within hybrid political orders. State making and peace building in post-apartheid South Africa was made possible by the creation of an administrative machinery that could contain customary authority structures within a broader polity, political structures and processes that channelled the ambitions and grievances of traditional leaders, and a system of local government that drew on the presence and experience of chieftaincies to bring development to hard-to-reach areas. This was a contested process that is by no means over and it has had mixed results. Yet pockets of success have emerged out of the transitional period, especially in the city of Durban, where inclusive elite coalitions have promoted developmental outcomes. The key ingredient for success was the commitment to development of influential political leaders with local links into ubukhosi, the institution of chieftaincy, as well as strong connections to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) both locally and nationally. From this core they were able to forge broader coalitions that included traditional leaders, elected councillors, businessmen, social activists and the church. In some instances they were successful in breaking down political boundaries and antagonisms in the interest of inclusive developmental strategies.