Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelos fundamentalista e de risco aplicados ao Índice Brasileiro de Sustentabilidade Empresarial: uma abordagem pela análise envoltória de dados

Este trabalho investigou a associacao entre medidas de analise fundamentalista e de risco no comportamento dos retornos das acoes que integram o indice de sustentabilidade empresarial (ISE) quando da divulgacao de sua composicao. Este indicador e considerado referencia de boas praticas de sustentabilidade corporativa no Brasil. No entanto, a inclusao de uma empresa em indicadores de sustentabilidade nao garante, necessariamente, um melhor desempenho de suas acoes. Neste contexto, foi utilizada a tecnica analise envoltoria de dados (DEA) no calculo de escores de eficiencia tecnica das empresas participantes do ISE considerando variaveis proxy para as dimensoes: porte, liquidez, alavancagem financeira, geracao de caixa, rentabilidade e risco. Foram analisadas as acoes pertencentes as carteiras teoricas no periodo de 2005 a 2010. Os resultados indicam que, em media, houve uma valorizacao das acoes que integram o ISE na divulgacao das carteiras teoricas, em que as variaveis fundamentalistas, retorno sobre o ativo (ROA) e retorno sobre o patrimonio liquido medio (ROE), alem das variaveis de risco, Volatilidade e Retorno Anormal ao Value at Risk (VaR), apresentaram uma associacao, estatisticamente significante, com o fenomeno sob estudo. Os resultados mostraram ainda evidencias de um melhor ajustamento das variaveis de risco em relacao aos retornos analisados do que medidas fundamentalistas.
Opponent Modeling in Real-Time Strategy Games

Real-time strategy games present an environment in which game AI is expected to behave realistically. One feature of realistic behaviour in game AI is the ability to recognise the strategy of the opponent player. This is known as opponent modeling. In this paper, we propose an approach of opponent modeling based on hierarchically structured models. The top-level of the hierarchy can classify the general play style of the opponent. The bottom-level of the hierarchy can classify specific strategies that further define the opponent’s behaviour. Experiments that test the approach are performed in the RTS game Spring. From our results we may conclude that the approach can be successfully used to classify the strategy of an opponent in the Spring game.
Dexmedetomidine attenuates repeated propofol exposure-induced hippocampal apoptosis, PI3K/Akt/Gsk-3β signaling disruption, and juvenile cognitive deficits in neonatal rats

Propofol is one of the most widely used intravenous anesthetics. However, repeated exposure to propofol may cause neurodegeneration in the developing brain. Dexmedetomidine (Dex), an α2 adrenoceptor agonist, has been previously demonstrated to provide neuroprotection against neuroapoptosis and neurocognitive impairments induced by several anesthetics. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the effect of Dex on neonatal propofol-induced neuroapoptosis and juvenile spatial learning/memory deficits. Propofol (30 mg/kg) was intraperiotoneally administered to 7-day-old Sprague Dawley rats (n=75) three times each day at 90 min intervals for seven consecutive days with or without Dex (75 µg/kg) treatment 20 min prior to propofol injection. Following repeated propofol exposure, reduced Akt and GSK-3β phosphorylation, increased cleaved caspase-3 expression levels, an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and increased terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells in the CA1 hippocampal subregion were observed. Morris Water Maze testing at postnatal day 29 also demonstrated spatial learning and memory deficits following propofol treatment compared with the control group. Notably, these changes were significantly attenuated by Dex pretreatment. The results of the current study demonstrated that Dex ameliorates the neurocognitive impairment induced by repeated neonatal propofol challenge in rats, partially via its anti-apoptotic action and normalization of the disruption to the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway. The present study provides preliminary evidence demonstrating the safety of propofol on the neonatal brain and the potential use of dexmedetomidine pretreatment in pediatric patients.
Constraints on σ8 from galaxy clustering in N-body simulations and semi-analytic models

We generate mock galaxy catalogues for a grid of different cosmologies, using rescaled N-body simulations in tandem with a semi-analytic model run using consistent parameters. Because we predict the galaxy bias, rather than fitting it as a nuisance parameter, we obtain an almost pure constraint on sigma(8) by comparing the projected two-point correlation function we obtain to that from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). A systematic error arises because different semi-analytic modelling assumptions allow us to fit the r-band luminosity function equally well. Combining our estimate of the error from this source with the statistical error, we find sigma(8) = 0.97 +/- 0.06. We obtain consistent results if we use galaxy samples with a different magnitude threshold, or if we select galaxies by b(J)-band rather than r-band luminosity and compare to data from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). Our estimate for sigma(8) is higher than that obtained for other analyses of galaxy data alone, and we attempt to find the source of this difference. We note that in any case, galaxy clustering data provide a very stringent constraint on galaxy formation models.
Airborne copper exposure in school environments associated with poorer motor performance and altered basal ganglia

Children are more vulnerable to the effects of environmental elements. A variety of air pollutants are among the identified factors causing neural damage at toxic concentrations. It is not obvious, however, to what extent the tolerated high levels of air pollutants are able to alter brain development. We have specifically investigated the neurotoxic effects of airborne copper exposure in school environments.
An EEG-Based Biometric System Using Eigenvector Centrality in Resting State Brain Networks

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of brain activity for biometric systems. However, so far these studies have focused mainly on basic features of the Electroencephalography. In this study we propose an approach based on phase synchronization, to investigate personal distinctive brain network organization. To this end, the importance, in terms of centrality, of different regions was determined on the basis of EEG recordings. We hypothesized that nodal centrality enables the accurate identification of individuals. EEG signals from a cohort of 109 64-channels EEGs were band-pass filtered in the classical frequency bands and functional connectivity between the sensors was estimated using the Phase Lag Index. The resulting connectivity matrix was used to construct a weighted network, from which the nodal Eigenvector Centrality was computed. Nodal centrality was successively used as feature vector. Highest recognition rates were observed in the gamma band (equal error rate ( EER) = 0.044) and high beta band ( EER = 0.102). Slightly lower recognition rate was observed in the low beta band ( EER = 0.144), while poor recognition rates were observed for the others frequency bands. The reported results show that resting-state functional brain network topology provides better classification performance than using only a measure of functional connectivity, and may represent an optimal solution for the design of next generation EEG based biometric systems. This study also suggests that results from biometric systems based on high-frequency scalp EEG features should be interpreted with caution.
Calibration of Strapdown Magnetometers in Magnetic Field Domain

This paper presents an algorithm for calibrating strapdown magnetometers in the magnetic field domain. In contrast to the traditional method of compass swinging, which computes a series of heading correction parameters and thus is limited to use with two-axis systems, this algorithm estimates magnetometer output errors directly. Therefore, this new algorithm can be used to calibrate a full three-axis magnetometer triad. The calibration algorithm uses an iterated, batch least-squares estimator that is initialized using a two-step nonlinear estimator. The algorithm is simulated to validate convergence characteristics and further validated on experimental data collected using a magnetometer triad. It is shown that the postcalibration residuals are small and result in a system with heading errors on the order of 1 to 2 degrees.
Affective Balance, Team Prosocial Efficacy and Team Trust: A Multilevel Analysis of Prosocial Behavior in Small Groups

Little research has focused on how individual- and team-level characteristics jointly influence, via interaction, how prosocially individuals behave in teams and few studies have considered the potential influence of team context on prosocial behavior. Using a multilevel perspective, we examined the relationships between individual (affective balance) and group (team prosocial efficacy and team trust) level variables and prosocial behavior towards team members. The participants were 123 students nested in 45 small teams. A series of multilevel random models was estimated using hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling. Individuals were more likely to behave prosocially towards in-group members when they were feeling good. Furthermore, the relationship between positive affective balance and prosocial behavior was stronger in teams with higher team prosocial efficacy levels as well as in teams with higher team trust levels. Finally, the relevance of team trust had a stronger influence on behavior than team prosocial efficacy.
Trace Metal Inventories and Lead Isotopic Composition Chronicle a Forest Fire’s Remobilization of Industrial Contaminants Deposited in the Angeles National Forest

The amounts of labile trace metals: [Co] (3 to 11 µg g−1), [Cu] (15 to 69 µg g−1), [Ni] (6 to 15 µg g−1), [Pb] (7 to 42 µg g−1), and [Zn] (65 to 500 µg g−1) in ash collected from the 2012 Williams Fire in Los Angeles, California attest to the role of fires in remobilizing industrial metals deposited in forests. These remobilized trace metals may be dispersed by winds, increasing human exposures, and they may be deposited in water bodies, increasing exposures in aquatic ecosystems. Correlations between the concentrations of these trace metals, normalized to Fe, in ash from the fire suggest that Co, Cu, and Ni in most of those samples were predominantly from natural sources, whereas Pb and Zn were enriched in some ash samples. The predominantly anthropogenic source of excess Pb in the ash was further demonstrated by its isotopic ratios (208Pb/207Pb: 206Pb/207Pb) that fell between those of natural Pb and leaded gasoline sold in California during the previous century. These analyses substantiate current human and environmental health concerns with the pyrogenic remobilization of toxic metals, which are compounded by projections of increases in the intensity and frequency of wildfires associated with climate change.
Caching in Large Databases and Timeshared Systems 1 Disk Caching in Large Databases and Timeshared Systems 1

We present the results of a variety of trace-driven simulations of disk cache design. Our traces come from a variety of mainframe timesharing and database systems in production use. We compute miss ratios, run lengths, traffic ratios, cache residency times, degree of memory pollution and other statistics for a variety of designs, varying block size, prefetching algorithm and write algorithm. We find that for this workload, sequential prefetching produces a significant (about 20%) but still limited improvement in the miss ratio, even using a powerful technique for detecting sequentiality. Copy-back writing decreased write traffic relative to write-through; periodic flushing of the dirty blocks increased write traffic only slightly compared to pure write-back, and then only for large cache sizes. Write-allocate had little effect compared to no-write-allocate. Block sizes of over a track don't appear to be useful. Limiting cache occupancy by a single processor transaction appears to have little effect. This study is unique in the variety and quality of the data used in the studies.
FMRI reveals brain regions mediating slow prosodic modulations in spoken sentences

By means of fMRI measurements, the present study identifies brain regions in left and right peri‐sylvian areas that subserve grammatical or prosodic processing. Normal volunteers heard 1) normal sentences; 2) so‐called syntactic sentences comprising syntactic, but no lexical‐semantic information; and 3) manipulated speech signals comprising only prosodic information, i.e., speech melody. For all conditions, significant blood oxygenation signals were recorded from the supratemporal plane bilaterally. Left hemisphere areas that surround Heschl gyrus responded more strongly during the two sentence conditions than to speech melody. This finding suggests that the anterior and posterior portions of the superior temporal region (STR) support lexical‐semantic and syntactic aspects of sentence processing. In contrast, the right superior temporal region, in especially the planum temporale, responded more strongly to speech melody. Significant brain activation in the fronto‐opercular cortices was observed when participants heard pseudo sentences and was strongest during the speech melody condition. In contrast, the fronto‐opercular area is not prominently involved in listening to normal sentences. Thus, the functional activation in fronto‐opercular regions increases as the grammatical information available in the sentence decreases. Generally, brain responses to speech melody were stronger in right than left hemisphere sites, suggesting a particular role of right cortical areas in the processing of slow prosodic modulations. Hum. Brain Mapping 17:73–88, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of Platelet Indices in Patients with Neurodegenerative Diseases: Mean Platelet Volume Was Increased in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Platelets induce chronic inflammation which is a key step in atherosclerosis and may be involved in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD). We aimed to measure the mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet count (PLC) in NDD patients. The present study was designed to investigate the platelet function by measuring MPV and PLC in NDD. A total of 182 outpatients with Alzheimer's (AD) or Parkinson's diseases (PD) were included. The control group consisted of 104 healthy subjects. Platelet count was similar between groups. MPV values of PD patients were higher than those of AD patients and controls (P < 0.001). MPV correlated negatively with Heohn and Yahr scale (HYS) score (P < 0.001). Increased MPV in patients with PD may point to a platelet dysfunction. High-grade inflammation presents with low levels of MPV as seen in PD patients with high HYS scores.
Lifetime Multiple Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Associated with Cognitive and Mood Symptoms in Young Healthy College Students

Background/objectives Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI, also known as concussion) has been associated with a range of long-term mood and cognitive deficits, including executive dysfunction. Previous research in athletes suggests that cognitive and mood problems are associated with a history of repetitive mTBI. However, to date, no studies have examined the impact of a lifetime accumulation of repetitive mTBIs on cognition, particularly executive functioning, and mood in a sample of young adults who were not athletes. Therefore, the present study looked at potential effects of repetitive mTBIs on self-reported cognitive complaints, executive functioning, and mood in young adults. Methods Eighty-four total students responded, and 26 of those were excluded from analyses due to reporting only 1 mTBI. The final sample consisted of 58 healthy young adults (mean age = 22.84, STD = 4.88) who completed the Cognitive Complaint Index (CCI), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, adult version (BRIEF-A), and the Beck Depression Inventory, second edition (BDI-II). Twenty-nine participants denied having an mTBI history, and 29 reported 2 or more lifetime mTBIs (range 2–7). Results Young otherwise healthy adults with a lifetime history of repetitive mTBI compared to those that reported no history of mTBI reported more change in cognitive functioning over the past 5 years, worse executive functioning, and more symptoms of depression. As the number of lifetime mTBIs increased, scores on the CCI, BRIEF-A, and BDI-II also increased, indicating worse functioning. Conclusion These findings suggest that a lifetime accumulation of two or more mTBIs as compared to a history of no reported mTBIs may result in worse cognitive functioning and symptoms of depression in young adults.
Reconstructing SALMFamide Neuropeptide Precursor Evolution in the Phylum Echinodermata: Ophiuroid and Crinoid Sequence Data Provide New Insights

The SALMFamides are a family of neuropeptides that act as muscle relaxants in echinoderms. Analysis of genome/transcriptome sequence data from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Echinoidea), the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Holothuroidea), and the starfish Patiria miniata (Asteroidea) reveals that in each species there are two types of SALMFamide precursor: an L-type precursor comprising peptides with a C-terminal LxFamide-type motif and an F-type precursor solely or largely comprising peptides with a C-terminal FxFamide-type motif. Here, we have identified transcripts encoding SALMFamide precursors in the brittle star Ophionotus victoriae (Ophiuroidea) and the feather star Antedon mediterranea (Crinoidea). We have also identified SALMFamide precursors in other species belonging to each of the five echinoderm classes. As in S. purpuratus, A. japonicus, and P. miniata, in O. victoriae there is one L-type precursor and one F-type precursor. However, in A. mediterranea only a single SALMFamide precursor was found, comprising two peptides with a LxFamide-type motif, one with a FxFamide-type motif, five with a FxLamide-type motif, and four with a LxLamide-type motif. As crinoids are basal to the Echinozoa (Holothuroidea + Echinoidea) and Asterozoa (Asteroidea + Ophiuroidea) in echinoderm phylogeny, one model of SALMFamide precursor evolution would be that ancestrally there was a single SALMFamide gene encoding a variety of SALMFamides (as in crinoids), which duplicated in a common ancestor of the Echinozoa and Asterozoa and then specialized to encode L-type SALMFamides or F-type SALMFamides. Alternatively, a second SALMFamide precursor may remain to be discovered or may have been lost in crinoids. Further insights will be obtained if SALMFamide receptors are identified, which would provide a molecular basis for experimental analysis of the functional significance of the “cocktails” of SALMFamides that exist in echinoderms.
Echo-Planar Cardiac MRI using Parallel Imaging

Since it’s original proposal by Mansfield et al. in 1977 [1], echo-planar imaging (EPI) has had a key role in the evolution of cardiac MRI. EPI involves the rapid acqusition of k-space data in a raster-like fashion, requiring a fewer number of excitations compared to conventional 2DFT imaging. This is crucial in cardiac imaging as respiratory and cardiac motion places high demands on imaging speed. EPI has been used for a wide array of cardiac applications including the imaging of myocardial function, perfusion, and coronary arteries, and real-time localization. EPI can be used as a single-shot technique or can be used with multiple excitations with a variety of ordering schemes (e.g. sequential, interleaved, center-out, top-down). It can also be used in a ’fly-back’ mode which involves traversing k-space in the same direction during each echo [2]. There are many subtle variations of EPI, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Limitations of EPI are well-known [3–6] and include:
Lagrangian analysis of the laminar flat plate boundary layer

The flow properties at the leading edge of a flat plate represent a singularity to the Blasius laminar boundary layer equations; by applying the Lagrangian approach, the leading edge velocity profiles of the laminar boundary layer over a flat plate are studied. Experimental observations as well as the theoretical analysis show an exact Gaussian distribution curve as the original starting profile of the laminar flow. Comparisons between the Blasius solution and the Gaussian curve solution are carried out providing a new insight into the physics of the laminar flow.
Nonlinear time-dependent response of isotactic polypropylene

Tensile creep tests, tensile relaxation tests and a tensile test with a constant strain rate are performed on injection-molded isotactic polypropylene at room temperature. A constitutive model is derived for the time-dependent behavior of semicrystalline polymers. A polymer is treated as an equivalent network of chains bridged by permanent junctions. The network is modeled as an ensemble of passive mesoregions (with affine junctions) and active mesodomains (where junctions slide with respect to their reference positions with various rates). The distribution of activation energies for sliding of junctions in active mesoregions is described by a random energy model. Adjustable parameters in the stress–strain relations are found by fitting the experimental data. It is demonstrated that the concentration of active mesodomains monotonically grows with strain, whereas the average activation energy for sliding of junctions and the standard deviation of energies suffer substantial down jumps in the vicinity of the yield point. With reference to the concept of dual population of lamellae, these changes in material parameters are attributed to transition from breakage of subsidiary (thin) lamellae in the subyield region to fragmentation of dominant (thick) lamellae in the postyield region of deformations.Tensile creep tests, tensile relaxation tests and a tensile test with a constant strain rate are performed on injection-molded isotactic polypropylene at room temperature. A constitutive model is derived for the time-dependent behavior of semicrystalline polymers. A polymer is treated as an equivalent network of chains bridged by permanent junctions. The network is modeled as an ensemble of passive mesoregions (with affine junctions) and active mesodomains (where junctions slide with respect to their reference positions with various rates). The distribution of activation energies for sliding of junctions in active mesoregions is described by a random energy model. Adjustable parameters in the stress–strain relations are found by fitting the experimental data. It is demonstrated that the concentration of active mesodomains monotonically grows with strain, whereas the average activation energy for sliding of junctions and the standard deviation of energies suffer substantial down jumps in the vicinity of th.
Attentional breadth and trade-offs in spatial and temporal acuity

ABSTRACT Various manipulations have been shown to induce trade-offs in spatial and temporal acuity. Two experiments examine the role of the breadth of the attentional focus in such trade-offs. In the first experiment, exogenous attentional cues indicated 1, 2, 3, or 4 possible (contiguous) target locations. Half of the subjects performed a perceptual task on the target requiring spatial acuity – detecting spatial gaps in a ring; the other half of the subjects performed a task requiring temporal acuity – detecting a temporal gap in the presentation of the target ring. The results revealed a trade-off in spatial and temporal acuity: as the cue size increased, performance on the spatial task declined and performance on the temporal task improved. A second experiment replicated this pattern using two different tasks: a temporal order judgment task that assessed temporal acuity, and a task requiring the localization of a thin line that assessed spatial acuity.