Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New History of Banking Panics in the United States

There are two major problems in identifying the output effects of financial panics of the pre-Great Depression era. First, it is not clear when panics occurred because prior panic series--lists of when panics occurred--combine panics with other developments in financial markets, fail to distinguish among different types of financial panics, and employ unreliable strategies to identify panics. Second, even if the timing of when panics occurred is consistent with panics having real output effects, establishing the direction of causality is tricky: are panics causing downturns or are downturns causing panics? The first chapter of my dissertation address these two problems (1) by developing a new panic series for the 1825-1929 period--one that rectifies many of the problems of earlier series--and (2) by studying the output effects of major banking panics that the reports of contemporary observers suggest were the result of idiosyncratic disturbances, as opposed to declining output conditions. My paper derives four major empirical findings: (1) major banking panics have large and strongly negative effects on both output and prices, (2) panics were a substantial source of economic instability prior to the founding of the Federal Reserve, (3) on average, downturns with major banking panics were more severe than downturns without them and output recoveries were longer for downturns with major banking panics than output recoveries for downturns without them and (4) panics can have persistent level and trend effects. Moreover, using my new series, I find that much of the conventional wisdom on the causes, effects and frequency of panics of the pre-Great Depression era was based on unreliable evidence--and in particular, on biased and inconsistent panic series.The second chapter of my dissertation argues that monetary intervention alleviated banking panics during the early stages of the Great Depression. Throughout the course of the depression, only two Federal Reserve Districts--Atlanta and New York--aggressively intervened to stabilize their banking systems. To assess the effectiveness of these policies, I analyze the performance of banks along counties straddling the borders of the Atlanta and New York Federal Reserve Districts. My results indicate that expansionary initiatives designed to inject liquidity into the banking system reduced the incidence of bank suspensions by 37 to 45% in some regions. Moreover, an analysis of the balance sheets of individual Federal Reserve Districts suggests that liquidity intervention did not expend large resources and that a concerted, system-wide interventionist policy response was feasible during the first half of the depression. Thus, the Federal Reserve System committed a major policy mistake by not acting as a lender of last resort to stabilize the country's banking system in 1929 and 1930.
Formation of voids in the Universe within the Lemaître–Tolman model

We develop models of void formation starting from a small initial fluctuation at recombination and growing to a realistic present-day density profile in agreement with observations of voids. The model construction is an extension of previously developed algorithms for finding a Lemaitre–Tolman metric that evolves between two profiles of either density or velocity specified at two times. Of the four profiles of concern (those of density and velocity at recombination and at the present day), two can be specified and the other two follow from the derived model. We find that, in order to reproduce the present-day void density profiles, the initial velocity profile is more important than the initial density profile. Extrapolation of current cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations to the scales relevant to protovoids is very uncertain. Even so, we find that it is very difficult to make both the initial density and velocity fluctuation amplitudes small enough and still obtain a realistic void by today.
Cancer Metastasis Detection With Neural Conditional Random Field

Breast cancer diagnosis often requires accurate detection of metastasis in lymph nodes through Whole-slide Images (WSIs). Recent advances in deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown significant successes in medical image analysis and particularly in computational histopathology. Because of the outrageous large size of WSIs, most of the methods divide one slide into lots of small image patches and perform classification on each patch independently. However, neighboring patches often share spatial correlations, and ignoring these spatial correlations may result in inconsistent predictions. In this paper, we propose a neural conditional random field (NCRF) deep learning framework to detect cancer metastasis in WSIs. NCRF considers the spatial correlations between neighboring patches through a fully connected CRF which is directly incorporated on top of a CNN feature extractor. The whole deep network can be trained end-to-end with standard back-propagation algorithm with minor computational overhead from the CRF component. The CNN feature extractor can also benefit from considering spatial correlations via the CRF component. Compared to the baseline method without considering spatial correlations, we show that the proposed NCRF framework obtains probability maps of patch predictions with better visual quality. We also demonstrate that our method outperforms the baseline in cancer metastasis detection on the Camelyon16 dataset and achieves an average FROC score of 0.8096 on the test set. NCRF is open sourced at this https URL.
Target following performance in the presence of latency, jitter, and signal dropouts

In this paper we describe how human target following performance changes in the presence of latency, latency variations, and signal dropouts. Many modern games and game systems allow for networked, remote participation. In such networks latency, variations and dropouts are commonly encountered factors. Our user study reveals that all of the investigated factors decrease tracking performance. The errors increase very quickly for latencies of over 110 ms, for latency jitters above 40 ms, and for dropout rates of more than 10%. The effects of target velocity on errors are close to linear, and transverse errors are smaller than longitudinal ones. The results can be used to better quantify the effects of different factors on moving objects in interactive scenarios. They also aid the designers in selecting target sizes and velocities, as well as in adjusting smoothing, prediction and compensation algorithms.
Effects of microinjected photoreactivating enzyme on thymine dimer removal and DNA repair synthesis in normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts.

UV-induced thymine dimers (10 J/m2 of UV-C) were assayed in normal human and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts with a monoclonal antibody against these dimers and quantitative fluorescence microscopy. In repair-proficient cells dimer-specific immunofluorescence gradually decreased with time, reaching about 25% of the initial fluorescence after 27 h. Rapid disappearance of dimers was observed in cells which had been microinjected with yeast photoreactivating enzyme prior to UV irradiation. This photoreactivation (PHR) was light dependent and (virtually) complete within 15 min of PHR illumination. In general, PHR of dimers strongly reduces UV-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS). However, when PHR was applied immediately after UV irradiation, UDS remained unchanged initially; the decrease set in only after 30 min. When PHR was performed 2 h after UV exposure, UDS dropped without delay. An explanation for this difference is preferential removal of some type(s) of nondimer lesions, e.g., (6-4) photoproducts, which is responsible for the PHR-resistant UDS immediately following UV irradiation. After the rapid removal of these photoproducts, the bulk of UDS is due to dimer repair. From the rapid effect of dimer removal by PHR on UDS it can be deduced that the excision of dimers up to the repair synthesis step takes considerably less than 30 min. Also in XP fibroblasts of various complementation groups the effect of PHR was investigated. The immunochemical dimer assay showed rapid PHR-dependent removal comparable to that in normal cells. However, the decrease of (residual) UDS due to PHR was absent (in XP-D) or much delayed (in XP-A and -E) compared to normal cells. This supports the idea that in these XP cells preferential repair of nondimer lesions does occur, but at a much lower rate.
Multi-layer neural networks for image analysis of agricultural products

Neural networks have recently gained popularity as an alternative to regression models to characterize biological processes. Their decision-making capabilities can be best used in image analysis of biological products where the shape and size classification is not governed by any mathematical function. This paper reviews the technique of image analysis of agricultural products with reference to use of neural network classifiers for decision making. A thorough review of published literature reveals that, although many neural network classifiers have been used and evaluated for classifying agricultural products, multi-layer neural network classifiers perform the best for such tasks.
M75, A Globular Cluster with a Trimodal Horizontal Branch. II. BV photometry of the RR Lyrae Variables

We present new BV CCD photometry, light curves, and ephemerides for nine previously known, 29 newly detected RR Lyrae variables, and one newly detected variable of an unknown type in the globular cluster M75. The photometry used for the detection of the additional variables was obtained with the image subtraction package ISIS. The data were acquired on an observing run in 1999 July and range over seven observing nights. Estimates of fundamental photometric parameters are presented including intensity- and magnitude-averaged B and V magnitudes, magnitude-averaged colors, pulsation periods, and pulsation amplitudes. The mean period of the RRab variables, ⟨Pab⟩ = 0.5868 days, and the number fraction of RRc stars, Nc/NRR = 0.342, are both large for an Oosterhoff type I (OoI) globular cluster, suggesting that M75 may be Oosterhoff-intermediate. Possible conflicts between Oosterhoff-type determination based on the AV–log P and AB–log P diagrams are discussed. The physical parameters of the RRc and RRab variables, as obtained from Fourier decomposition of their light curves, do not show any clear deviation from normal OoI behavior.
Clinical profile of Parkinson's disease in the Gumei community of Minhang district, Shanghai

OBJECTIVE: We examined the demographic and clinical profiles of Parkinson's disease in Shanghai, China, to assist in disease management and provide comparative data on Parkinson's disease prevalence, phenotype, and progression among different regions and ethnic groups. METHODS: A door-to-door survey and follow-up clinical examinations identified 180 community-dwelling Han-Chinese Parkinson's disease patients (104 males, 76 females). RESULTS: The average age at onset was 65.16±9.60 years. The most common initial symptom was tremor (112 patients, 62.22%), followed by rigidity (38, 21.11%), bradykinesia (28, 15.56%) and tremor plus rigidity (2, 1.11%). Tremor as the initial symptom usually began in a single limb (83.04% of patients). The average duration from onset to mild Parkinson's disease (Hoehn-Yahr phase 1–2) was 52.74±45.64 months. Progression from mild to moderate/severe Parkinson's disease (phase≥3) was significantly slower (87.07±58.72 months; p<0.001), except for patients presenting initially with bradykinesia (53.83±24.49 months). Most patients (149/180, 82.78%) took levodopa with or without other drugs. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale revealed symptoms of clinical anxiety in 35 patients, and the Hamilton Depression Scale revealed depressive symptoms in 88 patients. The depressed or anxious subgroup (123 patients) demonstrated a significantly younger age at onset (55.54±7.68 years) compared with the overall mean (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Unilateral limb tremor was the most common initial symptom, and motor function deteriorated slowly over ≈4−9 years. Earlier-onset patients experience greater psychiatric dysfunction.
Structural Correlates of Semantic and Phonemic Fluency Ability in First and Second Languages

Category and letter fluency tasks are commonly used clinically to investigate the semantic and phonological processes central to speech production, but the neural correlates of these processes are difficult to establish with functional neuroimaging because of the relatively unconstrained nature of the tasks. This study investigated whether differential performance on semantic (category) and phonemic (letter) fluency in neurologically normal participants was reflected in regional gray matter density. The participants were 59 highly proficient speakers of 2 languages. Our findings corroborate the importance of the left inferior temporal cortex in semantic relative to phonemic fluency and show this effect to be the same in a first language (L1) and second language (L2). Additionally, we show that the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and head of caudate bilaterally are associated with phonemic more than semantic fluency, and this effect is stronger for L2 than L1 in the caudate nuclei. To further validate these structural results, we reanalyzed previously reported functional data and found that pre-SMA and left caudate activation was higher for phonemic than semantic fluency. On the basis of our findings, we also predict that lesions to the pre-SMA and caudate nuclei may have a greater impact on phonemic than semantic fluency, particularly in L2 speakers.
RelaxCor Participation in CoNLL Shared Task on Coreference Resolution

This paper describes the participation of RelaxCor in the CoNLL-2011 shared task: "Modeling Unrestricted Coreference in Ontonotes". RELAXCOR is a constraint-based graph partitioning approach to coreference resolution solved by relaxation labeling. The approach combines the strengths of groupwise classifiers and chain formation methods in one global method.
A fast method for the calculation of foil winding losses

This paper introduces a new two-dimensional (2D) modeling approach for the fast calculation of inductor and transformer foil winding losses. The proposed modeling procedure is derived from the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method, which is originally a full three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic solution technique. With the presented modifications, the PEEC method can take into account the influence of an air gap fringing field and core material boundaries as well as skin- and proximity effect. A comparison to 2D Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations shows that the developed PEEC-based approach exhibits similar accuracy but shorter calculation times than the classical FEM modeling techniques typically employed for the calculation of non-uniform current distribution within foil windings. The new modeling approach is experimentally verified by calorimetric loss measurements of a gapped foil winding E-core inductor. Due to the fast calculation speed of the new approach, optimizations of inductive components with foil windings over a wide design space are finally possible.
The Role of Genetic Variants of Stromal Cell-Derived Factor 1 in Pediatric HIV-1 Infection and Disease Progression

Stromal cell-Derived Factor 1 (SDF1) is the natural ligand of CXCR4, the coreceptor of HIV-1 X4 viruses. This study investigated the role of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1801157 (NM_000609.5:c.*519G>A) of the SDF1 gene in the natural history of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 and disease progression of HIV-1-infected children. The study was conducted in 428 children born to HIV-1-seropositive mothers, who had not undergone antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy, and in 120 HIV-1-infected children for whom the end-point was the onset of AIDS or the initiation of ART; 16 children developed early AIDS (<24 months of life), 13 from 24 to 84 months of age, and 14 had late AIDS (>84 months). The rs1801157 SNP was not associated with risk of perinatal infection in any genetic models tested. By contrast, this SNP influenced disease progression in a time-dependent manner. rs1801157 GA heterozygous children had a higher risk of late AIDS (HR = 6.3, 95%CI 1.9–20.7, p = 0.002) than children with the rs1801157 GG genotype. Children were studied for viral coreceptor usage at birth, after 84 months of age and/or at AIDS onset. While R5 viruses using CCR5 coreceptor were predominant at birth (94%) and at early AIDS (85%), viruses using CXCR4 coreceptor emerged during the course of infection and were detected in 49% of children older than 84 months and in 62% of late AIDS. The rs1801157 SNP did not influence the emergence of R5X4 viruses, but children with the rs1801157 GA genotype and R5X4 viruses were at significantly higher risk of late AIDS than children with rs1801157 GG genotype (OR = 8.0, 95% CI 1.2–52.2, p = 0.029). Our results indicate that the rs1801157 SNP does not influence perinatal infection, but impacts disease progression. This effect is time-dependent and linked to the coreceptor-usage of viral variants that undergo evolution during the course of HIV-1 infection.
Assessing Static and Dynamic Response Variability due to Parametric Uncertainty on Fibre-Reinforced Composites

Composite structures are known for their ability to be tailored according to specific operating requisites. Therefore, when modelling these types of structures or components, it is important to account for their response variability, which is mainly due to significant parametric uncertainty compared to traditional materials. The possibility of manufacturing a material according to certain needs provides greater flexibility in design but it also introduces additional sources of uncertainty. Regardless of the origin of the material and/or geometrical variabilities, they will influence the structural responses. Therefore, it is important to anticipate and quantify these uncertainties as much as possible. With the present work, we intend to assess the influence of uncertain material and geometrical parameters on the responses of composite structures. Behind this characterization, linear static and free vibration analyses are performed considering that several material properties, the thickness of each layer and the fibre orientation angles are deemed to be uncertain. In this study, multivariable linear regression models are used to model the maximum transverse deflection and fundamental frequency for a given set of plates, aiming at characterizing the contribution of each modelling parameter to the explanation of the response variability. A set of simulations and numerical results are presented and discussed.
Association between opium use and metabolic syndrome among an urban population in Southern Iran: Results of the Kerman Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factor Study (KERCADRS)

BACKGROUND Along with the established effects of opium on metabolic parameters, stimulatory or inhibitory effects of opium on metabolic syndrome are also predictable. This study aimed to examine the association of opium use with metabolic syndrome and its components. METHODS This study was conducted on 5332 out of 5900 original sample participants enrolled in a population-based cohort entitled the Kerman Coronary Artery Disease Risk Study in Iran from 2009 to 2011. The subjects were divided into three groups of “non-opium users” (NOUs = 4340 subjects), “former opium users” (FOUs = 176 subjects), and dependent and occasional people named “current opium users” (COUs = 811 subjects). Metabolic syndrome was defined according to two International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) definition criteria. RESULTS The overall prevalence of IDF defined-metabolic syndrome among NOUs, FOUs, and COUs was 36.4%, 27.3%, and 39.0%, respectively; which was significantly higher in the COUs group (P = 0.012). However, no significant difference was revealed across the three groups in prevalence of NCEP defined-metabolic syndrome (NOUs = 37.2%, FOUs = 30.1%, and COUs = 39.6%, P = 0.058). The odds for IDF defined-metabolic syndrome was higher in both COUs [odd ratio (OR) = 1.28, P = 0.028)] and FOUs (OR = 1.57, P = 0.045) compared with NOUs as the reference adjusting gender, age, body mass index, and cigarette smoking. However, the appearance of NCEP defined-metabolic syndrome could not be predicted by opium use. CONCLUSION Opium use can be associated with an increased risk for metabolic syndrome based on IDF criteria and thus preventing the appearance of metabolic syndrome by avoiding opium use can be a certain approach to preventing cardiovascular disease.
Variation of Stratum Corneum Biophysical and Molecular Properties with Anatomic Site

Several serine protease enzymes are known to be involved in both normal desquamation and the inflammatory processes of the skin. Alteration in the activity of these proteases should also affect corneocyte maturity and size as well as stratum corneum thickness. The aim of the present work was to characterise the baseline changes in corneocyte size, corneocyte maturity, selected protease activity (specifically, Kallikreins-5 and 7, tryptase), protein content and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) as a function of anatomic site. The anatomic sites investigated were: cheek, abdomen, wrist and mid-ventral forearm. TEWL values were highest for the cheek (p < 0.05). The TEWL values were also significantly higher (p < 0.05) for cheek and wrist compared with other sites. Protein content was significantly lower for wrist (p < 0.05) compared with other sites. Corneocyte maturity and surface area were significantly (p < 0.05) lower for cheek and wrist compared with other sites. An excellent correlation (r2 = 0.99) was obtained for maturity and surface area measurements. Kallikrein-5 and tryptase activity were significantly higher for the cheek compared with other sites but Kallikrein-7 values were uniform across sites. The findings have significant implications for skin permeability to drugs and other substances such as environmental toxins depending on the anatomic site of delivery or exposure.
Amyloid-like staining property of RADA16-I nanofibers and its potential application in detecting and imaging the nanomaterial

Background Designer self-assembling peptide nanofibers (SAPNFs) as a novel kind of emerging nanomaterial have received more and more attention in the field of nanomedicine in recent years. However, a simple method to monitor and image SAPNFs is still currently absent. Methods RADA16-I, a well-studied ionic complementary peptide was used as a model to check potential amyloid-like staining properties of SAPNFs. Thioflavin-T (ThT) and Congo red (CR) as specific dyes for amyloid-like fibrils were used to stain RADA16-I nanofibers in solution, combined with drugs or cells, or injected in vivo as hydrogels. Fluorescent spectrometry and fluorescent microscopy were used to check ThT-binding property, and polarized light microscopy was used to check CR-staining property. Results ThT binding with the nanofibers showed enhanced and blue-shifted fluorescence, and specific apple-green birefringence could be observed after the nanofibers were stained with CR. Based on these properties we further showed that ThT-binding fluorescence intensity could be used to monitor the forming and changing of nanofibers in solution, while fluorescent microscopy and polarized light microscopy could be used to image the nanofibers as material for drug delivery, 3D cell culture, and tissue regeneration. Conclusion Our results may provide convenient and reliable tools for detecting SAPNFs, which would be helpful for understanding their self-assembling process and exploring their applications.