Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fair Value Accounting and Financial Stability

Over the past decade, accounting standards for the valuation of financial instruments have evolved to better reflect the economic reality facing publicly accountable companies. An important change is the measurement of an increasing array of financial assets and liabilities at “fair value,” i.e., at the price that knowledgeable and willing parties would pay in an arm’slength transaction at the date of the financial statement.
Cytokine detection for the diagnosis of chromium allergy*

BACKGROUND Patch testing remains the gold standard method for the identification of the etiologic agent of allergic contact dermatitis. However, it is a subjective, time-consuming exam whose technique demands special care and which presents some contraindications, which hamper its use. In a recent study, we showed that the proliferation assay can suitably replace patch testing for the diagnosis of chromium allergy, which had been previously demonstrated only for nickel allergy. In this study, we try to refine the method by reducing the incubation period of cultures for lymphocyte proliferation assays in response to chromium. OBJECTIVE Develop an alternative or complementary diagnostic test for chromium allergic contact dermatitis. METHODS We compared the production of 9 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17 and RANTES) between 18 chromium-allergic patients and 19 controls. RESULTS Chromium increased the production of IFN-y, IL-5, IL-2 and IL-13 in allergic patients, but only IL-2 and especially IL-13 helped discriminate allergic patients from controls. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy found with IL-13 were about 80%. CONCLUSIONS IL-13 and IL-2 detection may be used to diagnose chromium allergy in 2-day cultures. However, in general, the 6-day cultures seem to be superior for this purpose.
Implementation of high-speed SHA-1 architecture

This paper proposes a new SHA-1 architecture to exploit higher parallelism and to shorten the critical path for Hash operations. It enhances a performance without significant area penalty. We implemented the proposed SHA-1 architecture on FPGA that showed the maximum clock frequency of 118MHz allows a data throughput rate of 5.9Gbps. The throughput is about 26% higher, compared to other counterparts. It supports cryptography of high-speed multimedia data.
Revised Definition of Optical Flow: Integration of Radiometric and Geometric Cues for Dynamic Scene Analysis

Optical flow has been commonly defined as the apparent motion of image brightness patterns in an image sequence. In this paper, we propose a revised definition to overcome shortcomings in interpreting optical flow merely as a geometric transformation field. The new definition is a complete representation of geometric and radiometric variations in dynamic imagery. We argue that this is more consistent with the common interpretation of optical flow induced by various scene events. This leads to a general framework for the investigation of problems in dynamic scene analysis, based on the integration and unified treatment of both geometric and radiometric cues in time-varying imagery. We discuss selected models, including the generalized dynamic image model, for the estimation of optical flow. We show how various 3D scene information are encoded in, and thus may be extracted from, the geometric and radiometric components of optical flow. We provide selected examples based on experiments with real images.
Methyl-CpG Binding Domain 1 Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Primary Lung Cancer

The methyl-CpG binding domain 1 (MBD1) protein plays an important role for transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Polymorphisms and haplotypes of the MBD1 gene may have an influence on MBD1 activity on gene expression profiles, thereby modulating an individual's susceptibility to lung cancer. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the association of MBD1 −634G>A, −501delT (−501 T/T, T/−, −/−), and Pro401Ala genotypes and their haplotypes with the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population. The MBD1 genotype was determined in 432 lung cancer patients and in 432 healthy control subjects who were frequency matched for age and gender. The −634GG genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of overall lung cancer compared with the −634AA genotype [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 3.10; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.24-7.75; P = 0.016]. When analyses were stratified according to the tumor histology, the −634GG genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of adenocarcinoma compared with the −634AA genotype (adjusted OR, 4.72; 95% CI, 1.61-13.82; P = 0.005). For the MBD1 −501delT and Pro401Ala polymorphisms, the −501 T/T genotype was associated with a marginal significantly increased risk of adenocarcinoma compared with the −501−/− genotype (adjusted OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.02-4.20; P = 0.045), and the Pro/Pro genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of adenocarcinoma compared with the Ala/Ala genotype (adjusted OR, 3.41; 95% CI, 1.21-9.60; P = 0.02). Consistent with the genotyping analyses, the −634G/−501T/401Pro haplotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of overall lung cancer and adenocarcinoma compared with the −634A/−501−/401Ala haplotype (adjusted OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.08-1.91; P = 0.012 and Pc = 0.048; adjusted OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.20-2.56; P = 0.004 and Pc = 0.016, respectively). On a promoter assay, the −634A allele had significantly higher promoter activity compared with the −634G allele in the Chinese hamster ovary cells and A549 cells (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively), but the −501delT polymorphism did not have an effect on the promoter activity. When comparing the promoter activity of the MBD1 haplotypes, the −634A/−501− haplotype had a significantly higher promoter activity than the −634G/−501T haplotype (P < 0.001). These results suggest that the MBD1 −634G>A, −501delT, and Pro401Ala polymorphisms and their haplotypes contribute to the genetic susceptibility for lung cancer and particularly for adenocarcinoma.
Cross-Layer Design for Energy Conservation in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) require energy-efficient protocols to improve the network lifetime. In this work, we adopt a cross-layer strategy that considers routing and MAC layers jointly. At the routing layer, we propose balancing the traffic through the WSN. We show that sending the traffic generated by each sensor node through multiple paths instead of using a single path allows significant energy conservation. On the other hand, at the MAC layer, we propose to control the retry limit of retransmissions over each wireless link. We show that by efficiently adjusting the retry limit for each link, further energy conservation can be achieved, improving thus the network lifetime. A new analytical model for the joint optimization system is complemented by simulations in order to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of our proposal.
CAMBRIDGE WORKING PAPERS IN ECONOMICS CAMBRIDGE-INET WORKING PAPERS Asymptotics of the principal components estimator of large factor models with weak factors and i.i.d. Gaussian noise

We consider large factor models where factors' explanatory power does not strongly dominate the explanatory power of the idiosyncratic terms asymptotically. We find the first and second order asymptotics of the principal components estimator of such a weak factors as the dimensionality of the data and the number of observations tend to infinity proportionally. The principal components estimator is inconsistent but asymptotically normal. Reference Details 1808 Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2018/23 Cambridge-INET Working Paper Series Published 25 January 2018
Genetic Polymorphisms of Functional Candidate Genes and Recurrent Acute Otitis Media With or Without Tympanic Membrane Perforation

Abstract Evaluation of the genetic contribution to the development of recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) remains challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the potential association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in selected genes and rAOM and to analyze whether genetic variations might predispose to the development of complicated recurrent cases, such as those with tympanic membrane perforation (TMP). A total of 33 candidate genes and 47 SNPs were genotyped in 200 children with rAOM (116 with a history of TMP) and in 200 healthy controls. INF&ggr; rs 12369470CT was significantly less common in the children with rAOM than in healthy controls (odds ratio [OR] 0.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25–1, P = 0.04). Although not significant, interleukin (IL)-1&bgr; rs 1143627G and toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 rs2737191AG were less frequently detected in the children with rAOM than in controls. The opposite was true for IL-8 rs2227306CT, which was found more frequently in the children with rAOM than in healthy controls. The IL-10 rs1800896TC SNP and the IL-1&agr; rs6746923A and AG SNPs were significantly more and less common, respectively, among children without a history of TMP than among those who suffered from this complication (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.09–4.41, P = 0.02, and OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21–0.84, P = 0.01). This study is the first report suggesting an association between variants in genes encoding for factors of innate or adaptive immunity and the occurrence of rAOM with or without TMP, which confirms the role of genetics in conditioning susceptibility to AOM.
The factor structure of the GHQ-60 in a community sample

Synopsis The factor structure of the 60-item version of the General Health Questionnaire was explored, using data collected in a community study in a rural area of northern Spain. Six principal components, similar to those previously reported with this instrument, were found to provide a good description of the data structure. The 30-item and 12-item versions of the GHQ were then disembedded from the parent version, and further principal components analyses carried out. Again, the results were similar to previous studies: in each of the three versions analysed here, the two most important components represented a disturbance of mood (‘general dysphoria’)– including aspects of anxiety, depression and irritability– and a disturbance of social performance (‘social function/optimism’). The principal component structure of the GHQ-60 was then utilized to calculate factor scores, and these were compared with PSE ratings using Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. While four of the six factors discriminated well (area under the ROC curve 0–75 or more) between PSE ‘cases’ and ‘non-cases’, only one, depressive thoughts, was a good discriminator between depressed and non-depressed PSE ‘cases’.
Use of prostaglandin E1 for prevention of liver veno‐occlusive disease in leukaemic patients treated by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) was used to prevent veno‐occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for leukaemia. It was given in continuous i.v. infusion from day – 8 to day 30 after BMT at a dose of 0.3 μg/kg/h. The patients were studied according to the risk factors for VOD: diagnosis, intensification of the conditioning and previous liver abnormalities. The diagnosis of VOD was made on at least two of the following factors: weight gain, hepatomegaly, jaundice, ascitis, pain of the right upper quadrant, increased platelet consumption. 109 patients were studied, 50 were treated by PGE1 and 59 did not receive it. The actuarial incidence of VOD was 12.2% in the PGE1 group and 25.5% in the non PGE1 group (P=0.05). In acute leukaemia, the incidence was 39.1% in the non‐treated group and 12.8% in the PGE1 treated group (P=0.02). Patients with previous hepatitis had an incidence of 62.5% in the non treated group and 15.5% in the treated group (P=0.05). A positive cytomegalovirus (CMV) serology seemed to increase the risk of VOD: the incidence of VOD was 31.4% in non‐treated patients and 22% in PGE1 treated patients. The multivariate analysis of the risk factors for VOD shows that unfavourable factors were: recipient positive CMV serology (P=0.06), hepatic disease prior to transplant (P=0.02) and the absence of PGE1 treatment (P=0.02). This study suggests that prophylactic PGE1 treatment may decrease the incidence of VOD in patients treated for leukaemia by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Evaluation of TEE Training for Chinese Anesthesiology Residents Using Two Various Simulation Systems

Objective: This study was designed to compare the efficacy of simulator-based VRSim TEE training system and web-based virtual TEE program in training anesthetic residents. Methods: 28 second-year anesthetic trainees with no record of TEE experience were randomly assigned to two groups: simulator group and e-learning group. The simulator group undertaken training via simulator-based VRSim TEE training system. In contrast, e-learning group received training via web-based virtual TEE training program. At the end of the training, all participants were examined aiming to find if there is a difference between these two training systems and which is better for use in training future anesthetic Resident. Results: Average scores in the final exam were compared for the two groups using two independent samples ttest accepting a p<0.05. Anesthetic resident in simulation group received scores an average of 63.75 ± 3.96, which was significant high comparing to the e-learning group (46.61 ± 2.67). Conclusion: This study suggests that simulator-based VRSim TEE training is more effective in training anesthetic residents in understanding TEE imaging and manipulation of the TEE probe compared to the web-based TEE modules alone.
Retroviral Diversity and Distribution in Vertebrates

ABSTRACT We used the PCR to screen for the presence of endogenous retroviruses within the genomes of 18 vertebrate orders across eight classes, concentrating on reptilian, amphibian, and piscine hosts. Thirty novel retroviral sequences were isolated and characterized by sequencing approximately 1 kb of their encoded protease and reverse transcriptase genes. Isolation of novel viruses from so many disparate hosts suggests that retroviruses are likely to be ubiquitous within all but the most basal vertebrate classes and, furthermore, gives a good indication of the overall retroviral diversity within vertebrates. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that viruses clustering with (but not necessarily closely related to) the spumaviruses and murine leukemia viruses are widespread and abundant in vertebrate genomes. In contrast, we were unable to identify any viruses from hosts outside of mammals and birds which grouped with the other five currently recognized retroviral genera: the lentiviruses, human T-cell leukemia-related viruses, avian leukemia virus-related retroviruses, type D retroviruses, and mammalian type B retroviruses. There was also some indication that viruses isolated from individual vertebrate classes tended to cluster together in phylogenetic reconstructions. This implies that the horizontal transmission of at least some retroviruses, between some vertebrate classes, occurs relatively infrequently. It is likely that many of the retroviral sequences described here are distinct enough from those of previously characterized viruses to represent novel retroviral genera.
Edge Detection in Satellite Image Using Cellular Neural Network

The present paper proposes a novel approach for edge detection in satellite images based on cellular neural networks. CNN based edge detector in used conjunction with image enhancement and noise removal techniques, in order to deliver accurate edge detection results, compared with state of the art approaches. Thus, considering the obtained results, a comparison with optimal Canny edge detector is performed. The proposed image processing chain deliver more details regarding edges than canny edge detector. The proposed method aims to preserve salient information, due to its importance in all satellite image processing applications.
Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry for Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Proteomics is a rapidly advancing field not only in the field of biology but also in translational cancer research. In recent years, mass spectrometry and associated technologies have been explored to identify proteins or a set of proteins specific to a given disease, for the purpose of disease detection and diagnosis. Such biomarkers are being investigated in samples including cells, tissues, serum/plasma, and other types of body fluids. When sufficiently refined, proteomic technologies may pave the way for early detection of cancer or individualized therapy for cancer. Mass spectrometry approaches coupled with bioinformatic tools are being developed for biomarker discovery and validation. Understanding basic concepts and application of such technology by investigators in the field may accelerate the clinical application of protein biomarkers in disease management.
Knowledge and Information Systems REGULAR PAPER

Mining data streams poses great challenges due to the limited memory availability and real-time query response requirement. Clustering an evolving data stream is especially interesting because it captures not only the changing distribution of clusters but also the evolving behaviors of individual clusters. In this paper, we present a novel method for tracking the evolution of clusters over sliding windows. In our SWClustering algorithm, we combine the exponential histogram with the temporal cluster features, propose a novel data structure, the Exponential Histogram of Cluster Features (EHCF). The exponential histogram is used to handle the in-cluster evolution, and the temporal cluster features represent the change of the cluster distribution. Our approach has several advantages over existing methods: (1) the quality of the clusters is improved because the EHCF captures the distribution of recent records precisely; (2) compared with previous methods, the mechanism employed to adaptively maintain the in-cluster synopsis can track the cluster evolution better, while consuming much less memory; (3) the EHCF provides a flexible framework for analyzing the cluster evolution and tracking a specific cluster efficiently without interfering with other clusters, thus reducing the consumption of computing resources for data stream clustering. Both the theoretical analysis and extensive experiments show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.
Intact Visual Perception in Memory-Impaired Patients with Medial Temporal Lobe Lesions

A recent proposal that structures of the medial temporal lobe support visual perception in addition to memory challenges the long-standing idea that the ability to acquire new memories is separable from other cognitive and perceptual functions. In four experiments, we have put this proposal to a rigorous test. Six memory-impaired patients with well characterized lesions of either the hippocampal region or the hippocampal region plus additional medial temporal lobe structures were assessed on difficult tests of visual perceptual discrimination. Across all four experiments, the patients performed as well as controls. The results show that visual perception is intact in memory-impaired patients with damage to the medial temporal lobe even when perception is assessed with challenging tasks. Furthermore, the results support the principle that the ability to acquire new memories is a distinct cerebral function, dissociable from other perceptual and cognitive functions.
Efficacy of Artesunate + Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AS + SP) and Amodiaquine + Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (AQ + SP) for Uncomplicated falciparum Malaria in Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa)

Objectives. The objectives of the study were (i) to evaluate the efficacy of combination drugs, such as artesunate + sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (AS + SP) and amodiaquine + sulphadoxine-pyripethamine (AQ + SP) in treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria (ii) to differentiate recrudescence from reinfection by analysing msp-1 and msp-2 genes of Plasmodium falciparum in treatment failure cases. Methods. We carried out an in vivo study in the year 2005 in 206 children between 6 to 59 months age groups. Of the 206, 120 received AQ + SP, and 86 received AS + SP. A clinical and parasitological followup during 14 days was undertaken. Finger-prick blood sample from each patient was taken on Whatman filter paper (no. 3) on days 0, 7, 14 and also the day when the parasite and symptoms reappeared for PCR analysis. Results. Late treatment failure was observed in 3.5% (4/114) with AQ + SP, and 2.5% (2/79) with AS + SP. The success rate was 96.5% with AQ + SP and 97.5% with AS + SP. No deaths and severe reactions were recorded. Out of the 6 treatment failure cases, one was reinfection as observed by PCR analysis of msp-1 and msp-2 genes on day 14. Discussion. Both the combinations found to be efficacious and safe and could be used as a first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Equatorial Guinea.
ASYMPTOTIC ARBITRAGE IN NONCOMPLETE LARGE FINANCIAL MARKETS

Kabanov and Kramkov introduced the notion of "large nancial markets". Instead of considering{as usual in mathematical nance{a stochastic stock price process S based on a ltered probability space ( ;F ; (Ft)t2I ;P) one considers a sequence (Sn)n 1 of such processes based on a sequence ( ;F; (F t )t2In ;P n)n 1 of ltered probability spaces. The interpretation is that an investor can invest not only in one stock exchange but in several (in the model countably many) stock exchanges. The usual notion of arbitrage then may be interpreted by "asymptotic" arbitrage concepts, where it is essential to distinguish between two di erent kinds introduced by Kabanov and Kramkov. If for each n 2 N the market is complete i.e., there is exactly one local martingale measure Q for the process S on F which is equivalent to P, then Kabanov and Kramkov showed that contiguity of (Pn)n 1 with respect to (Qn)n 1 (respectively vice versa) is equivalent to the absence of asymptotic arbitrage of rst (respectively second) kind. In the present paper we extend this result to the non-complete case i.e., where for each n 2 N the set of equivalent local martingale measures for the process S is nonempty but not necessarily a singleton. The question arises whether we can extend the theorem of Kabanov and Kramkov to this situation by selecting a proper sequence (Qn)n 1 of equivalent local martingale measures. It turns out that the theorem characterising asymptotic arbitrage of rst kind may be directly extended to this setting while for the theorem characterising asymptotic arbitrage of second kind some modi cations are needed. We also provide an example showing that these modi cations cannot be avoided.
Logistic Matrix Factorization for Implicit Feedback Data

Collaborative filtering with implicit feedback data involves recommender system techniques for analyzing relationships betweens users and items using implicit signals such as click through data or music streaming play counts to provide users with personalized recommendations. This is in contrast to collaborative filtering with explicit feedback data which aims to model these relationships using explicit signals such as user-item ratings. Since most data on the web comes in the form of implicit feedback data there is an increasing demand for collaborative filtering methods that are designed for the implicit case. In this paper we present Logistic Matrix Factorization (Logistic MF), a new probabilistic model for matrix factorization with implicit feedback. The model is simple to implement, highly parallelizable, and has the added benefit that it can model the probability that a user will prefer a specific item. Additionally, we show it to experimentally outperform the widely adopted Implicit Matrix Factorization method using a dataset composed of music listening behavior from streaming music company Spotify.