Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma and Liver Lipidomics Response to an Intervention of Rimonabant in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP Transgenic Mice

Background Lipids are known to play crucial roles in the development of life-style related risk factors such as obesity, dyslipoproteinemia, hypertension and diabetes. The first selective cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonabant, an anorectic anti-obesity drug, was frequently used in conjunction with diet and exercise for patients with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 with associated risk factors such as type II diabetes and dyslipidaemia in the past. Less is known about the impact of this drug on the regulation of lipid metabolism in plasma and liver in the early stage of obesity. Methodology/Principal Findings We designed a four-week parallel controlled intervention on apolipoprotein E3 Leiden cholesteryl ester transfer protein (ApoE*3Leiden.CETP) transgenic mice with mild overweight and hypercholesterolemia. A liquid chromatography–linear ion trap-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometric approach was employed to investigate plasma and liver lipid responses to the rimonabant intervention. Rimonabant was found to induce a significant body weight loss (9.4%, p<0.05) and a significant plasma total cholesterol reduction (24%, p<0.05). Six plasma and three liver lipids in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP transgenic mice were detected to most significantly respond to rimonabant treatment. Distinct lipid patterns between the mice were observed for both plasma and liver samples in rimonabant treatment vs. non-treated controls. This study successfully applied, for the first time, systems biology based lipidomics approaches to evaluate treatment effects of rimonabant in the early stage of obesity. Conclusion The effects of rimonabant on lipid metabolism and body weight reduction in the early stage obesity were shown to be moderate in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP mice on high-fat diet.
1-1-2012 Financial Inclusion : Lessons From Rural South India

Financial inclusion/exclusion has recently been emphasised as an important policy option aimed at alleviating poverty, minimising social exclusion and enhancing economic growth. In this article, we review the growing interest in financial exclusion and inclusion, define them and demonstrate their existence in developing and developed countries. Our empirical focus is on whether financial inclusion has been successfully implemented in four sites in rural South India where banks claimed that financial inclusion is complete. Although many rural people in South India are financially included, the concept of financial inclusion is more complex than usually portrayed. Our findings show that social and personal deprivation contributes to financial exclusion and should be viewed as key barriers to financial inclusion. We also suggest that financial inclusion is not a monolithic phenomenon and should be studied in a multi-layered fashion, ranging from having a bank account to making full use of modern financial instruments. Disciplines Economic Policy | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Comments Cnaan, R. A. , Moodithaya, M. S. , & Handy, F. (2012). Financial inclusion: Lessons from rural South India. Journal of Social Policy, 41(1), 183-205. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.1017/S0047279411000377 © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2012. The Journal of Social Policy is online at http://journals.cambridge. org/action/displayJournal? jid=JSP This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/spp_papers/164 http://journals.cambridge. org Downloaded: 28 Aug 2013 IP address: 130.91. 117.41 Jnl Soc. Pol. (2012), 41, 1, 183–205 C © Cambridge University Press 2011 doi:10.1017/S0047279411000377 Financial Inclusion: Lessons from Rural South India RAM A. CNAAN∗, M. S. MOODITHAYA∗∗ and FEMIDA HANDY∗∗∗ ∗[corresponding author] School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA email: cnaan@sp2.upenn. edu ∗∗Nitte Education Trust, 7th Floor, Rambhavan Complex Kodialbail, Mangalore, India email: jkshim2@hotmail.com ∗∗∗School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA email: fhandy@sp2.upenn. edu
Agglomeration, Accessibility, and Productivity: Evidence for Urbanized Areas in the US

This paper undertakes an empirical analysis with the aim of improving the current understanding of the relationship between labor productivity and urban agglomeration economies across a sample of urbanized areas in the US. Agglomeration economies are represented with driving time measures of employment accessibility to establish a direct account for the link between transport and agglomeration economies. The paper investigates the presence of nonlinearities in the relationship between labor productivity and agglomeration economies, and examines the spatial decay pattern of the effects arising from this relationship. The findings indicate that there is considerable nonlinearity in the relation between productivity and transport induced agglomeration effects, implying that the estimation of country-level aggregate elasticities is likely to misrepresent the actual magnitude of any productivity gains from urban agglomeration. The results also suggest that the magnitude of the productivity-agglomeration effects decays very rapidly with time and is very strong within 20 minutes driving time. This suggests that knowledge spillover externalities are likely to be a very important Marshallian source of agglomeration economies.
Multiple Versus Single Banking Relationships in an Emerging Market: Some Taiwanese Evidence

This study examines the relationship between how firms borrow from banks and various corporate financial characteristics in an emerging economy. Using Taiwanese listed firms over the 1990-2002 period, we find, on the one hand, that older firms tend to maintain a close relationship with a single bank without private information disclosure (i.e. without public debt), in order to benefit from efficient monitoring and avoid information leakage. Larger firms, on the other hand, tend to maintain multiple relationships with banks (requiring duplicate or inefficient monitoring and higher agency costs) with public debt (i.e. private information disclosure). Furthermore, older firms seem to exhibit higher profitability than larger firms. Firms with multiple banking relationships appear to have higher leverage, lower performance (Tobin's Q), higher bank debt ratios, lower fixed assets ratios, and higher collateral requirements than those firms with close single banking relationships. Firms with single banking relationships seem to have stronger financial structures and better loan terms than firms with multiple banking relationships. When firms choose to issue public debt, those with single banking relationships will suffer as a result of severely unfavorable loan terms such as higher collateral required and higher earnings volatility. However, on the other hand, they will exhibit a better financial structure, such as a higher Tobin's Q, lower financial risk (leverage) and lower bank debt ratios among all of the sub-groups. Hence, efficient monitoring associated with private information disclosure to the public will lead to better financial characteristics of firms. However, once this close relationship is broken due to the issue of public debt, unfavorable collateral requirements will follow. Interestingly, when firms that maintain multiple banking relationships choose to issue public debt, this sub-group will appear to have the worst financial structure, such as the lowest Tobin's Q, highest financial risk (leverage) and highest bank debt ratios among all the sub-groups. Hence, inefficient monitoring associated with the disclosure of private information to competitors will result in the worst financial characteristics of firms.
THE MOTION OF A SECOND CLASS PARTICLE FOR THE TASEP STARTING FROM A DECREASING SHOCK PROFILE

We prove a strong law of large numbers for the location of the second class particle in a totally asymmetric exclusion process when the process is started initially from a decreasing shock. This completes a study initiated in Ferrari and Kipnis [Ann. Inst. H. Poincare Probab. Statist. 13 (1995) 143–154].
IPSO: An immune based PSO supervised learning system for incremental learning

PSO has been proved as an effective supervised learning system in recent years, but it's not an effective method for incremental learning problems. Aiming at the incremental learning target for classification, a hybrid algorithm of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Immune System (AIS) called Immune based PSO (IPSO) is presented in this paper. IPSO inherits the incremental learning ability of AIS. In IPSO, training data is presented to the algorithm one by one, and the training proceed is a one-shot incremental algorithm. Besides, the swarm does not converge to a single solution; instead, each particle is a part of the classifier, and the whole memory population is taken as the integral classifier to the problem. Compared the results of standard PSO and IPSO in several benchmark problems from the UCI data sets, we found that IPSO achieved a better classification accuracy than standard PSO in most cases. It is also competitive with some of the algorithms most commonly used for classification.
Chemical abundances of Planetary Nebulae in M 33

Using spectroscopic data presented in Magrini et al. (2003), we have analyzed with the photoionization code CLOUDY 94.00 (Ferland et al. 1998) 11 Planetary Nebulae belonging to the spiral galaxy M 33. Central star temperatures and nebular parameters have been determined. In particular the chemical abundances of He/H, O/H, N/H, Ar/H, and S/H have been measured and compared with values obtained via the Ionization Correction Factors (ICF) method, when available. Chemical abundance relationships have been investigated; in particular, a correlation between N/ Ha nd N/O similar to the Galactic one (Henry 1990), and a feeble anti-correlation between O/ Ha nd N/O have been found. A gradient in O/H across the disc of M 33 is consistent with the one found from H  regions in this galaxy (Vilchez et al. 1988). Further studies in the outer parts of M 33 are however needed to ascertain this point. The present result shows that oxygen and helium abundances (with lower accuracy also nitrogen, argon and sulphur) can be actually estimated from the brightest PNe of a galaxy, even if the electron temperature cannot be measured. We also found that the oxygen abundance is quite independent of the absolute magnitude of the PN and consequently the brightest PNe are representative of the whole PN population. This represents an important tool for measuring the metallicity of galaxies at the time of the formation of PNe progenitors.
Differences in protein mobility between pioneer versus follower growth cones

Navigating growth cones need to integrate, process and respond to guidance signals, requiring dynamic information transfer within and between different compartments. Studies have shown that, faced with different navigation challenges, growth cones display dynamic changes in growth kinetics and morphologies. However, it remains unknown whether these are paralleled by differences in their internal molecular dynamics. To examine whether there are protein mobility differences during guidance, we developed multiphoton fluorescence recovery after photobleaching methods to determine molecular diffusion rates in pathfinding growth cones in vivo. Actively navigating growth cones (leaders) have consistently longer recovery times than growth cones that are fasciculated and less actively navigating (followers). Pharmacological perturbations of the cytoskeleton point to actin as the primary modulator of diffusion in differently behaving growth cones. This approach provides a powerful means to quantify mobility of specific proteins in neurons in vivo and reveals that diffusion is important during axon navigation.
A VLT/NACO survey for triple and quadruple systems among visual pre-main sequence binaries ,

Aims. This paper describes a systematic search for high-order multiplicity among wide visual Pre-Main Sequence (PMS) binaries. Methods. We conducted an Adaptive Optics survey of a sample of 58 PMS wide binaries from various star-forming regions, which include 52 T Tauri systems with mostly K- and M-type primaries, with the NIR instrument NACO at the VLT. Results. Of these 52 systems, 7 are found to be triple (2 new) and 7 quadruple (1 new). The new close companions are most likely physically bound based on their probability of chance projection and, for some of them, on their position on a color–color diagram. The corresponding degree of multiplicity among wide binaries (number of triples and quadruples divided by the number of systems) is 26.9 ± 7.2% in the projected separation range ∼0. 07–12 �� , with the largest contribution from the Taurus-Auriga cloud. We also found that this degree of multiplicity is twice in Taurus compared to Ophiuchus and Chamaeleon for which the same number of sources are present in our sample. Considering a restricted sample composed of systems at distance 140–190 pc, the degree of multiplicity is 26.8 ± 8.1%, in the separation range 10/14 AU–1700/2300 AU (30 binaries, 5 triples, 6 quadruples). The observed frequency agrees with results from previous multiplicity surveys within the uncertainties, although a significant overabundance of quadruple systems compared to triple systems is apparent. Tentatively including the spectroscopic pairs in our restricted sample and comparing the multiplicity fractions to those measured for solar-type main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood leads to the conclusion that both the ratio of triples to binaries and the ratio of quadruples to triples seems to be in excess among young stars. Most of the current numerical simulations of multiple star formation, and especially smoothed particles hydrodynamics simulations, over-predict the fraction of high-order multiplicity when compared to our results. The circumstellar properties around the individual components of our high-order multiple systems tend to favor mixed systems (i.e. systems including components of wTTS and cTTS type), which is in general agreement with previous studies of disks in binaries, with the exception of Taurus, where we find a preponderance of similar type of components among the multiples studied.
Does Shareholder Litigation Deter Insider Trading

While prior literature focuses on the effect of ex ante litigation occurrence risk on insider trading, this paper examines how the merits and rigorousness of actual litigation affect insider trading behavior for both defendant firms and their industry peers. Using a large litigation sample from 1996 to 2009, we find a significant decrease in the intensity of the insider stock sales for defendant firms following lawsuits that score high in a composite strength index that captures the merits and rigorousness of the litigation. Further analyses indicate that the decrease is mainly driven by the decline in opportunistic insider selling. We also find the decrease to be more pronounced for the defendant firms with lower levels of ex ante litigation risk. Finally, we find a significant decrease in opportunistic insider selling for industry peers of defendant firms following lawsuits, especially when the lawsuits are strong, suggesting a positive externality of shareholder litigation. This paper provides the first evidence on the existence of and variations in the deterrent effect of actual class action lawsuits on insider trading.
Predicting Perceptual Decision Biases from Early Brain Activity

Perceptual decision making is believed to be driven by the accumulation of sensory evidence following stimulus encoding. More controversially, some studies report that neural activity preceding the stimulus also affects the decision process. We used a multivariate pattern classification approach for the analysis of the human electroencephalogram (EEG) to decode choice outcomes in a perceptual decision task from spatially and temporally distributed patterns of brain signals. When stimuli provided discriminative information, choice outcomes were predicted by neural activity following stimulus encoding; when stimuli provided no discriminative information, choice outcomes were predicted by neural activity preceding the stimulus. Moreover, in the absence of discriminative information, the recent choice history primed the choices on subsequent trials. A diffusion model fitted to the choice probabilities and response time distributions showed that the starting point of the evidence accumulation process was shifted toward the previous choice, consistent with the hypothesis that choice priming biases the accumulation process toward a decision boundary. This bias is reflected in prestimulus brain activity, which, in turn, becomes predictive of future decisions. Our results provide a model of how non-stimulus-driven decision making in humans could be accomplished on a neural level.
Designing For The Deaf: The Potential Of Technology Supported Social Skills Training Interventions For D/Deaf and Hard Of Hearing Students.

Technology-supported social communication and pragmatics training for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students is an important avenue of research. In this paper we describe some key challenges that DHH students face, the human centered design process used to uncover insights with stakeholders, and the potential of technology-based interventions to support development of social pragmatic skills. We further describe user experience considerations for DHH students, identified through discussions with subject matter experts, from a review of the literature, and identified through ongoing interviews with educators and parents, in addition to focus groups with teachers of the deaf.
Improved Secure Network Authentication Protocol (ISNAP) for IEEE 802.16

Security is amongst one of the major issues in Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Networks. After the launch of the IEEE 802.16 standard (WiMAX), a number of security issues were reported in several articles. Ever since the beginning, work has been in progress for the neutralization of these identified threats. In this paper, the analysis of the authentication protocols implemented in WiMAX has been presented along with the description of the threats posed to them. The paper also describes security sub-layer and limitations of the existing architecture. An approach has also been presented for the prevention of these threats like the avoidance of replay; suppress replay and man-in-the-middle attacks. The proposed approach enhances the network security and strengthens it by resynchronization of the Subscriber Station with the Base Station.
An experimental study of gender specific saving decisions by couples ∗

We investigate the gender specific intertemporal allocation behavior of spouses with different deterministic life expectations in an experiment where the gender of one’s partner is known. In each period of their life both partners propose a consumption level one of which is then randomly implemented. To allow for learning one experiences many “lives”. Participants achieve a rather high degree of optimality that does not change over time. Independent of the own gender a participant is nicer to women and acts more selfishly if the partner is a man. Participants are not aware of their discriminating behavior.
Development of Country-Wide Strategies to Reduce the Alcohol Abuse

Background: Evidence shows that in Iran alcohol abuse rate may be of concern, especially among the youth. The mental and social health and addiction Department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education has designed a plan to prevent, treat, and rehabilitate the patients abusing alcohol in a time period of 2011-2015. Methods: In a 6-month period, three guiding committees of experts in the field of alcohol abuse reviewed the literature. The meetings of the steering committee were held in order to collect the comments of the policy-makers in recognition of the problem, orientation, and administration procedures for the suggested strategies. The first input was discussed in the committee meeting. In the orientation phase, intervention strategies were suggested whose base was the evaluation of the previous international guidelines. In the final phase, the suggested strategies and challenges and their possible solutions were criticized. Finally, using these strategies, appropriate interventions were defined. Results: Preventing alcohol supply, school- and community-based prevention efforts, monitoring and vigilance were defined as primary prevention. While secondary and tertiary prevention are defined to be the treating and rehabilitating services for the alcohol abusers. Conclusions: We hope by using this strategy we will be able to control alcohol abuse in our country. The first step to reach this aim is done by breaking the taboo of giving alcohol-related information and news using media and educational programs especially to the young population.
Bak's work on the K-theory of rings

This paper studies the work of Bak in Algebra and (lower) Algebraic Ktheory and some later developments stimulated by them. We present an overview of his work in these areas, describe the setup and problems as well as the methods he introduced to attack these problems and state some of the crucial theorems. The aim is to analyse in detail some of his methods which are important and promising for further work in the subject. Among the topics covered are, unitary/general quadratic groups over form rings, structure theory and stability for such groups, quadratic K2 and the quadratic Steinberg groups, nonstable K-theory and localisation-completion, intermediate subgroups, congruence subgroup problem, dimension theory and surgery theory. The appendix by Max Karoubi states some periodicity theorems and conjectures in an algebraic context which are related to Bak’s work.
Divergent preferences and legislative speeches on Brexit

ABSTRACT How do legislators deal with having preferences that go against those of the principals that they represent in parliament? This article analyzes the debate in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum in the House of Commons to explore the relationship between divergent preferences and legislative speeches. It finds that legislators who defy the will of their country or constituency are rather communicative, and their speeches reveal higher levels of negativity. In contrast, those defying their party refrain from speaking in parliament, but if they speak, they use a significantly less negative language. These findings suggest that legislators behave strategically in deciding whether and how to justify their positions publicly when in conflict with their various principals.