Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Portfolio Choice and Liquidity Constraints

We study the infinite horizon model of household portfolio choice under liquidity constraints and revisit the portfolio specialization puzzle for impatient consumers with access to riskless and risky assets. We consider a labour income process that allows us to decompose the consumption and portfolio effects of permanent and transitory shocks to labour income and show their interaction with liquidity constraints and their relative importance in producing precautionary effects and the portfolio specialization result. We show why the puzzle has proved robust for a number of model variations attempted in the literature, and argue that positive correlation between earnings shocks and stock returns is unlikely to provide a plausible resolution. We then offer an alternative explanation for observed stock holding patterns and the slow emergence of an equity culture. Specifically, we find that relatively small, fixed, stock market entry costs are sufficient to deter households from participating in the stock market. Such entry costs could arise, for example, from informational considerations, sign-up fees and investor inertia.
Efficient reversible and quantum implementations of symmetric Boolean functions

It is a well-known fact in logic design that synthesis of some special classes of Boolean functions is often easier than the synthesis of a general unrestricted specification. In reversible logic, well-scaled synthesis methods with a reasonably small cost of the associated implementation have been found for only a few classes of functions. This includes synthesis of multiple-output symmetric and reversible linear functions. The author presents an efficient reversible/quantum synthesis method for the class of multiple-output symmetric functions. The method is purely theoretical, therefore its scaling on functions with a large number of inputs/outputs requires minimal resources. The author calculates garbage, i.e. the number of outputs that are not required by the function specification, the number of reversible gates, and the quantum cost of the presented implementations. The proposed approach is then applied to the synthesis of benchmark functions. Comparison of the designs to the previously reported implementations is favourable.
Attentional Focus During Learning Impacts N170 ERP Responses to an Artificial Script

Reading instruction can direct attention to different unit sizes in print-to-speech mapping, ranging from grapheme-phoneme to whole-word relationships. Thus, attentional focus during learning might influence brain mechanisms recruited during reading, as indexed by the N170 response to visual words. To test this, two groups of adults were trained to read an artificial script under instructions directing attention to grapheme-phoneme versus whole-word associations. N170 responses were subsequently contrasted within an active reading task. Grapheme-phoneme focus drove a left-lateralized N170 response relative to the right-lateralized N170 under whole-word focus. These findings suggest a key role for attentional focus in early reading acquisition.
Methodological Considerations in Studies of Musical Similarity

There are many different aspects of musical similarity [7]. Some relate to acoustic properties, such as melodic [5], rhythmic [10], harmonic [9] and timbral [2]. Others are bound up in cultural aspects: artists involved in creation, year of first release, subject matter of lyrics, demographics of listeners, etc. In judgments about musical similarity, the relative importance of each of these aspects will change, not only for different listeners, but also for the same listener in different contexts [11]. Extra care must therefore be taken when designing studies in musical similarity to ensure that the context is an explicit variable. This paper describes the methodology behind our work in context-based musical similarity; introduces a novel system through which users can specify by example the context and focus of their retrieval needs; and details the design of a study to find parameters for our system which can also be adapted to test the system as a whole.
Galaxy growth in the concordance ΛCDM cosmology

We use galaxy and dark halo data from the public database for the Millennium Simulation to study the growth of galaxies in the De Lucia et al. model for galaxy formation. Previous work has shown this model to reproduce many aspects of the systematic properties and the clustering of real galaxies, both in the nearby universe and at high redshift. It assumes the stellar masses of galaxies to increase through three processes, major mergers, the accretion of smaller satellite systems and star formation. We show the relative importance of these three modes to be a strong function of stellar mass and redshift. Galaxy growth through major mergers depends strongly on stellar mass, but only weakly on redshift. Except for massive systems, minor mergers contribute more to galaxy growth than major mergers at all redshifts and stellar masses. For galaxies significantly less massive than the Milky Way, star formation dominates the growth at all epochs. For galaxies significantly more massive than the Milky Way, growth through mergers is the dominant process at all epochs. At a stellar mass of 6 x 10 10 M ⊙ , about that of the Milk Way, star formation dominates at z > 1 and mergers at later times. At every stellar mass, the growth rates through star formation increase rapidly with increasing redshift. Specific star formation rates are the decreasing function of stellar mass not only at z = 0 but also at all higher redshifts. For comparison, we carry out a similar analysis of the growth of dark matter haloes. In contrast to the galaxies, growth rates depend strongly on redshift, but only weakly on mass. They agree qualitatively with analytic predictions for halo growth.
Epididymal Adenomatoid Tumor: A Very Rare Paratesticular Tumor of Childhood

Adenomatoid tumor is an uncommon benign mesothelial neoplasm, usually localized in the epididymis. It is the most common paratesticular tumor of middle-aged patients (average age of clinical presentation: 36 years). However, these tumors in pediatric and pubertal patients are extremely rare. Due to their rarity, we present a case of adenomatoid tumor of the tail of the epididymis in a 16-year-old patient. After systematic research of the current literature, we did not find another case report of epididymal adenomatoid tumor in a male patient aged 16 years old or less. This notice and our concern, as well, about the patient's surveillance protocol during the postoperative period were the motive for this case study.
A comparison of MPCP and MSRP when sharing resources in the Janus multiple-processor on a chip platform

The new generation of embedded systems for automotive applications can take advantage of low-cost multiprocessor system-on a chip architectures. The real-time software applications running on these systems require realtime processor scheduling, and also require the management of the communication and synchronization of tasks executing on different processors with limited blocking time. Conventional real-time technologies, like the Rate Monotonic scheduling algorithm together with the Multiprocessor Priority Ceiling Protocol (MPCP) can be used to this purpose. In earlier work, we proposed the Multiprocessor Stack Resource Policy (MSRP) for scheduling tasks and sharing resources in multiprocessor on a chip architectures. In this paper we present an experimental evaluation that compares the performance of our algorithm with a solution based on Rate Monotonic and MPCP in the con text of the Janus multiple processor architecture. The evaluation of the algorithm has been triggered by our ongoing research in the automotive domain. We report on two sets of experiments: the first addresses a range of generic task configurations to see if one of the algorithms can clearly outperform the other The results show MSRP to be better for random task periods but are probably not conclusive. Later we focus on a more application-specific (also more restrictive) architecture design representing a typical automotive application: a power-train controller In this case, MSRP clearly performs better The performance gap between the two policies can be further increased when considering that MSRP is much simpler to implement, it has a lower overhead, and it allows RAM memory optimization.
Presynaptic Mitochondria in Functionally Different Motor Neurons Exhibit Similar Affinities for Ca2+ But Exert Little Influence as Ca2+ Buffers at Nerve Firing Rates In Situ

Mitochondria accumulate within nerve terminals and support synaptic function, most notably through ATP production. They can also sequester Ca2+ during nerve stimulation, but it is unknown whether this limits presynaptic Ca2+ levels at physiological nerve firing rates. Similarly, it is unclear whether mitochondrial Ca2+ sequestration differs between functionally different nerve terminals. We addressed these questions using a combination of synthetic and genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators to examine cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca2+ levels in presynaptic terminals of tonic (MN13-Ib) and phasic (MNSNb/d-Is) motor neurons in Drosophila, which, as we determined, fire during fictive locomotion at ∼42 Hz and ∼8 Hz, respectively. Mitochondrial Ca2+ sequestration starts in both terminals at ∼250 nm, exhibits a similar Ca2+-uptake affinity (∼410 nm), and does not require Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum. Nonetheless, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in type Is terminals is more responsive to low-frequency nerve stimulation and this is due to higher cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Since type Ib terminals have a higher mitochondrial density than Is terminals, it seemed possible that greater mitochondrial Ca2+ sequestration may be responsible for the lower cytosolic Ca2+ levels in Ib terminals. However, genetic and pharmacological manipulations of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake did not significantly alter nerve-stimulated elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ levels in either terminal type within physiologically relevant rates of stimulation. Our findings indicate that presynaptic mitochondria have a similar affinity for Ca2+ in functionally different nerve terminals, but do not limit cytosolic Ca2+ levels within the range of motor neuron firing rates in situ.
Effect of Geometrical Asymmetry on the Phase Behavior of Rod-Coil Diblock Copolymers

The effect of geometrical asymmetry β (described by the length-diameter ratio of rods) on the rod-coil diblock copolymer phase behavior is studied by implementation of self-consistent field theory (SCFT) in three-dimensional (3D) position space while considering the rod orientation on the spherical surface. The phase diagrams at different geometrical asymmetry show that the aspect ratio of rods β influences not only the order-disorder transition (ODT) but also the order-order transition (OOT). By exploring the phase diagram with interactions between rods and coils plotted against β, the β effect on the phase diagram is similar to the copolymer composition f. This suggests that non-lamellae structures can be obtained by tuning β, besides f. When the rods are slim compared with the isotropic shape of the coil segment (β is relatively large), the phase behavior is quite different from that of coil-coil diblock copolymers. In this case, only hexagonal cylinders with the coil at the convex side of the interface and lamella phases are stable even in the absence of orientational interaction between rods. The phase diagram is no longer symmetrical about the symmetric copolymer composition and cylinder phases occupy the large area of the phase diagram. The ODT is much lower than that of the coil-coil diblock copolymer system and the triple point at which disordered, cylinder and lamella phases coexist in equilibrium is located at rod composition fR = 0.66. In contrast, when the rods are short and stumpy (β is smaller), the stretching entropy cost of coils can be alleviated and the phase behavior is similar to coil-coil diblocks. Therefore, the hexagonal cylinder phase formed by coils is also found beside the former two structures. Moreover, the ODT may even become a little higher than that of the coil-coil diblock copolymers due to the large interfacial area per chain provided by the stumpy rods, thus compensating the stretching entropy loss of the coils.
Cardiac Gene Expression Knockdown Using Small Inhibitory RNA-Loaded Microbubbles and Ultrasound

RNA interference has potential therapeutic value for cardiac disease, but targeted delivery of interfering RNA is a challenge. Custom designed microbubbles, in conjunction with ultrasound, can deliver small inhibitory RNA to target tissues in vivo. The efficacy of cardiac RNA interference using a microbubble-ultrasound theranostic platform has not been demonstrated in vivo. Therefore, our objective was to test the hypothesis that custom designed microbubbles and ultrasound can mediate effective delivery of small inhibitory RNA to the heart. Microbubble and ultrasound mediated cardiac RNA interference was tested in transgenic mice displaying cardiac-restricted luciferase expression. Luciferase expression was assayed in select tissues of untreated mice (n = 14). Mice received intravenous infusion of cationic microbubbles bearing small inhibitory RNA directed against luciferase (n = 9) or control RNA (n = 8) during intermittent cardiac-directed ultrasound at mechanical index of 1.6. Simultaneous echocardiography in a separate group of mice (n = 3) confirmed microbubble destruction and replenishment during treatment. Three days post treatment, cardiac luciferase messenger RNA and protein levels were significantly lower in ultrasound-treated mice receiving microbubbles loaded with small inhibitory RNA directed against luciferase compared to mice receiving microbubbles bearing control RNA (23±7% and 33±7% of control mice, p<0.01 and p = 0.03, respectively). Passive cavitation detection focused on the heart confirmed that insonification resulted in inertial cavitation. In conclusion, small inhibitory RNA-loaded microbubbles and ultrasound directed at the heart significantly reduced the expression of a reporter gene. Ultrasound-targeted destruction of RNA-loaded microbubbles may be an effective image-guided strategy for therapeutic RNA interference in cardiac disease.
A Confidence Interval for the Wallace Coefficient of Concordance and Its Application to Microbial Typing Methods

Very diverse research fields frequently deal with the analysis of multiple clustering results, which should imply an objective detection of overlaps and divergences between the formed groupings. The congruence between these multiple results can be quantified by clustering comparison measures such as the Wallace coefficient (W). Since the measured congruence is dependent on the particular sample taken from the population, there is variability in the estimated values relatively to those of the true population. In the present work we propose the use of a confidence interval (CI) to account for this variability when W is used. The CI analytical formula is derived assuming a Gaussian sampling distribution and recurring to the algebraic relationship between W and the Simpson's index of diversity. This relationship also allows the estimation of the expected Wallace value under the assumption of independence of classifications. We evaluated the CI performance using simulated and published microbial typing data sets. The simulations showed that the CI has the desired 95% coverage when the W is greater than 0.5. This behaviour is robust to changes in cluster number, cluster size distributions and sample size. The analysis of the published data sets demonstrated the usefulness of the new CI by objectively validating some of the previous interpretations, while showing that other conclusions lacked statistical support.
AKARI Infrared Imaging of Reflection Nebulae IC4954 and IC4955

We present the observations of the reflection nebulae IC4954 and IC4955 region with the Infrared Camera (IRC) and the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) on board the infrared astronomical satellite AKARI during its performance verification phase. We obtained 7 band images from 7 to 160μm with higher spatial resolution and higher sensitivities than previous observations. The mid-infrared color of the S9W (9μm) and L18W (18μm) bands shows a systematic variation around the exciting sources. The spatial variation in the mid-infrared color suggests that the star-formation in IC4954/4955 is progressing from south-west to north-east. The FIS data also clearly resolve two nebulae for the first time in the far-infrared. The FIS 4-band data from 65μm to 160μm allow us to correctly estimate the total infrared luminosity from the region, which is about one sixth of the energy emitted from the existing stellar sources. Five candidates for young stellar objects have been detected as point sources for the first time in the 11um image. They are located in the red S9W to L18W color regions, suggesting that current star-formation has been triggered by previous star-formation activities. A wide area map of the size of about 1 x 1 (deg^2) around the IC4954/4955 region was created from the AKARI mid-infrared all-sky survey data. Together with the HI 21cm data, it suggests a large hollow structure of a degree scale, on whose edge the IC4954/4955 region has been created, indicating star formation over three generations in largely different spatial scales.
Mammalian Lysine Histone Demethylase KDM2A Regulates E2F1-Mediated Gene Transcription in Breast Cancer Cells

It is established that histone modifications like acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation and ubiquitination affect chromatin structure and modulate gene expression. Lysine methylation/demethylation on Histone H3 and H4 is known to affect transcription and is mediated by histone methyl transferases and histone demethylases. KDM2A/JHDM1A/FBXL11 is a JmjC-containing histone demethylase that targets mono- and dimethylated Lys36 residues of Histone H3; its function in breast cancer is not fully understood. Here we show that KDM2A is strongly expressed in myoepithelial cells (MEPC) in breast cancer tissues by immunohistochemistry. Ductal cells from ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) show positive staining for KDM2A, the expression decreases with disease progression to metastasis. Since breast MEPCs have tumor-suppressive and anti-angiogenic properties, we hypothesized that KDM2A could be contributing to some of these functions. Silencing KDM2A with small interfering RNAs demonstrated increased invasion and migration of breast cancer cells by suppressing a subset of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2, -9, -14 and -15), as seen by real-time PCR. HUVEC cells showed increased angiogenic tubule formation ability in the absence of KDM2A, with a concomitant increase in the expression of VEGF receptors, FLT-1 and KDR. KDM2A physically bound to both Rb and E2F1 in a cell cycle dependent manner and repressed E2F1 transcriptional activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that KDM2A associates with E2F1-regulated proliferative promoters CDC25A and TS in early G-phase and dissociates in S-phase. Further, KDM2A could also be detected on MMP9, 14 and 15 promoters, as well as promoters of FLT1 and KDR. KDM2A could suppress E2F1-mediated induction of these promoters in transient transfection experiments. These results suggest a regulatory role for KDM2A in breast cancer cell invasion and migration, through the regulation of E2F1 function.
Diagnostic Significance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis T-cell Assays for Active Tuberculosis

Background: Active tuberculosis (TB) with negative results of sputum smear is difficult to be identified. Till now, there is no effective and noninvasive diagnostic method. This study evaluated the diagnostic power of Mycobacterium tuberculosis T-cell (T.SPOT®.TB) assays for active TB. Methods: We retrospectively screened 450 suspected TB patients that were hospitalized in the Respiratory Department of Henan Province People's Hospital from June 2015 to June 2016. The patients were divided into the active, previous, and non-TB groups according to their final diagnosis. We evaluated the diagnostic value of the T-SPOT®. TB assay by constructing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calculating the optimal diagnostic cutoff value. In addition, we compared the levels of A antigen (ESAT-6) and B antigen (CFP-10) in active TB. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of T-SPOT®. TB for active TB were 89.78%, 63.16%, 0.56, 0.92, 2.47, and 0.16, respectively. For active TB, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the A antigen (0.89) was higher than that of the B antigen (0.86). The AUC of the A antigen for active TB was largest at a cutoff value of 13.5 spot-forming cells (SFCs) per 2.5 × 105 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The AUC of the A and B antigens was 0.60 and 0.58 for previous TB. The levels of A and B antigen in the active TB group were significantly different from those in the previous- and non-TB groups (A antigen: &khgr;2 = 105.41, P < 0.01 and B antigen: &khgr;2 = 91.03, P < 0.01; A antigen: &khgr;2 = 12.99, P < 0.01 and B antigen: &khgr;2 = 8.56, P < 0.01, respectively). There were no significant differences in the levels of A and B antigens between the non-TB group and previous TB group (A antigen: &khgr;2 = 1.07, Pw> 0.05 and B antigen: &khgr;2 = 0.77, P> 0.05). Conclusions: T-SPOT®. TB has high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of active TB at a cutoff value of 13.5 SFCs per 2.5 × 105 PBMCs and is not influenced by previous TB.
Particle swarm optimization-based low-complexity three-dimensional UWB localization scheme

To provide a location-based service (LBS), it is needed to obtain an exact location of communication terminals in sensor networks. Because the signal of global positioning system (GPS) cannot be received indoors, a triangulation-based location estimation using ultra-wide band (UWB) signals between more than three reference terminals and the target node is widely used. In particular, a time of arrival (TOA)-based least square (LS) estimation is popular because the balanced performance in terms of calculation complexity and the accuracy is obtained. However, when the height of reference terminals and the target node is close, the three-dimensional LS-based estimation tends to fall into a local-minimum solution and it needs an accurate initial value of search to keep the estimation performance, resulting in the calculation complexity increase. Therefore, in this paper, we adopt a particle swarm optimization (PSO) method which effectively searches in wide-area space and propose an LS-based localization scheme using the combination of PSO and Newton-Raphson method achieving lower calculation complexity. The improved performances are shown by computer simulations.