Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University Cowles Foundation Discussion Paper No . 1877 R LEVERAGE AND DEFAULT IN BINOMIAL ECONOMIES : A COMPLETE CHARACTERIZATION

Our paper provides a complete characterization of leverage and default in binomial economies with financial assets serving as collateral. First, our Binomial No-Default Theorem states that any equilibrium is equivalent (in real allocations and prices) to another equilibrium in which there is no default. Thus actual default is irrelevant, though the potential for default drives the equilibrium and limits borrowing. This result is valid with arbitrary preferences and endowments, arbitrary promises, many assets and consumption goods, production, and multiple periods. We also show that the no-default equilibrium would be selected if there were the slightest cost of using collateral or handling default. Second, our Binomial Leverage Theorem shows that equilibrium LTV for non-contingent debt contracts is the ratio of the worst-case return of the asset to the riskless rate of interest. Finally, our Binomial Leverage-Volatility theorem provides a precise link between leverage and volatility.
The Diabetes Quality Improvement Project: moving science into health policy to gain an edge on the diabetes epidemic.

As the worldwide diabetes epidemic continues to unfold, some experts have asked whether the war against it is being lost (1,2,3). In the U.S., blindness, kidney failure, amputations, and cardiovascular disease resulting from diabetes not only markedly reduce quality and length of life but also cost nearly $100 billion annually (4,5,6,7). Fortunately, a vast body of research has clearly established that several effective treatments and practices may substantially reduce or prevent this burden (8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19). These interventions, if broadly implemented, can allow us to use our health efforts and resources more effectively and efficiently to minimize the diabetes burden. Judging from the scant data available, however, the level of care currently delivered to populations with diabetes often may not produce the possible health-related gains (20,21). To assess more completely the level of diabetes care delivered in the U.S., we need standardized uniform performance measures that can assess quality of care accurately and reliably. These measures will enhance uptake of research into practice and may ultimately improve diabetes care and clinical outcomes. In the early to mid-1990s, many organizations developed performance measures for diabetes care, but the result was that providers were often required to collect and report many different, sometimes conflicting, measures, depending on their care delivery system. It was recognized that a national consensus on measures could enhance this process and provide a method for assessing care within and across health care settings while providing a meaningful mechanism for quality improvement (QI). In this review, we describe the Diabetes Quality Improvement Project (DQIP), which has developed and implemented a comprehensive set of national measures for evaluation …
Leaf Classification Using Shape, Color, and Texture Features

Several methods to identify plants have been proposed by several researchers. Commonly, the methods did not capture color information, because color was not recognized as an important aspect to the identification. In this research, shape and vein, color, and texture features were incorporated to classify a leaf. In this case, a neural network called Probabilistic Neural network (PNN) was used as a classifier. The experimental result shows that the method for classification gives average accuracy of 93.75% when it was tested on Flavia dataset, that contains 32 kinds of plant leaves. It means that the method gives better performance compared to the original work.
Prognostic value of ferritin, neuron-specific enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, and urinary and plasmatic catecholamine metabolites in children with neuroblastoma

Different plasma and urinary parameters have been tested as valuable prognostic markers for children with neuroblastoma (NB), but conclusive results from multivariate analyses are still lacking. Samples collected at diagnosis from 505 patients diagnosed in Italy between June 1994 and November 2010 were analyzed at the Italian reference laboratory according to standard methodologies. Patient clinical data were retrieved from the Italian NB Registry. For statistical analysis, patients were grouped according to stage, age, MYCN status, and outcome. Cumulative survival was calculated by the Kaplan–Meier procedure using the first quartile of the marker distribution as a cut-off value to stratify the patients. Multivariate analysis was performed by the Cox regression model by considering only the significant variables. When the entire cohort of patients was considered, none of the different parameters had an independent prognostic value. However, in patients with localized disease without MYCN amplification the significant positive associations between urinary and plasmatic vanillylmandelic acid (VMA)/homovanillic acid (HVA) ratio and a better prognosis remained significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively), as well as, the positive association between high lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) values and a worse prognosis (P < 0.001). Moreover, in stage 4 patients without MYCN amplification, neuron-specific enolase levels above 200 ng/mL and LDH levels above 2500 IU/mL maintained their significant association with a worse outcome (P = 0.01 and P = 0.0001, respectively). In conclusion, LDH had an independent prognostic value in patients of all stages without MYCN amplification. Moreover, the urinary and plasmatic VMA/HVA ratio was an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with localized disease without MYCN amplification. Since LDH and catecholamine metabolites are measured in all patients at diagnosis, these findings may be helpful for an easy, cost-effective, patient risk stratification.
The Evaluation of the Lower Extremity Joint Moments and Muscle Force during Various High-Heel Walking

In this study, we determined joint moments and muscle forces in the lower extremity during walking with different heel-height shoes using the 3D motion analysis and the corresponding musculoskeletal modeling. Totally fifteen healthy women participated in the 3D motion analysis for various walking with barefoot, flat shoe, 3cm, 6cm and 9cm high heels. Inverse dynamic simulations were also performed using a musculoskeletal model in order to calculate joint moments and muscle forces in the lower extremity. As for the hip, joint angles, joint moments and corresponding muscle forces did not show significant differences. Rectus femoris, a biarticular muscle for hip flexor and knee extensor, revealed stronger effect on the knee than the hip. Soleus, playing the most important role for ankle plantarflexor, showed decreases in the maximum muscle force at pre-swing, as heel height increased. Tibialis anterior produced larger dorsiflexion moments for foot clearance with higher-heeled shoes.
Selecting keywords to represent web pages using Wikipedia information

In this paper we present three new methods to extract keywords from web pages using Wikipedia as an external source of information. The information used from Wikipedia includes the titles of articles, co-occurrence of keywords and categories associated with each Wikipedia definition. We compare our methods with three keyword extraction methods used as baselines: (i) all the terms of a web page, (ii) a TF-IDF implementation that extracts single weighted words of a web page and (iii) a previously proposed Wikipedia-based keyword extraction method presented in the literature. We compare our three keyword extraction methods with the baseline methods in three distinct scenarios, all related to our target application, which is the selection of ads in a context-based advertising system. In the first scenario, the target pages to place ads were extracted from Wikipedia articles, whereas the target pages in the other two scenarios were extracted from a news web site. Experimental results show that our methods are quite competitive solutions for the task of selecting good keywords to represent target web pages, albeit being simple, effective and time efficient. For instance, in the first scenario our best method used to extract keywords from Wikipedia articles achieved an improvement of 33% when compared to the second best baseline, and a gain of 26% when considering all the terms.
Learners' Perspective on Critical Factors to LMS Success in Blended Learning: An Empirical Investigation

The use of Learning Management System (LMS) in academic institutions is becoming an imperative for many institutions. The success of LMS in academic institutions may be initiated by instructors’ adoption; however, LMS survives in the long run by learners’ continuous adoption and use. Consequently, the objective of this article is to examine the critical factors that influence the success of LMS in blended learning in terms of actual usage, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user satisfaction from the learners’ perspective. The study also examines how these success measures impact learners’ continuous intention to use LMS in blended learning. These critical factors are related to the major entities of LMS adoption: learner characteristics (computer anxiety, technology experience, self-efficacy, and personal innovativeness), instructor characteristics (attitude, teaching style, control, and responsiveness), LMS characteristics (system quality, information quality, and service quality), classmates characteristics (attitude and interaction), course characteristics (quality and flexibility), and organization characteristics (management support and training). Based on 512 learners, the results showed that all of these factors are critical to one or several success measures, except for learner self-efficacy, instructor online responsiveness, and management support. The results also showed that all success measures are critical to learners’ continuous intention to use LMS in blended learning.
The Werner syndrome protein limits the error-prone 8-oxo-dG lesion bypass activity of human DNA polymerase kappa

Human DNA polymerase kappa (hpol κ) is the only Y-family member to preferentially insert dAMP opposite 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) during translesion DNA synthesis. We have studied the mechanism of action by which hpol κ activity is modulated by the Werner syndrome protein (WRN), a RecQ helicase known to influence repair of 8-oxo-dG. Here we show that WRN stimulates the 8-oxo-dG bypass activity of hpol κ in vitro by enhancing the correct base insertion opposite the lesion, as well as extension from dC:8-oxo-dG base pairs. Steady-state kinetic analysis reveals that WRN improves hpol κ-catalyzed dCMP insertion opposite 8-oxo-dG ∼10-fold and extension from dC:8-oxo-dG by 2.4-fold. Stimulation is primarily due to an increase in the rate constant for polymerization (kpol), as assessed by pre-steady-state kinetics, and it requires the RecQ C-terminal (RQC) domain. In support of the functional data, recombinant WRN and hpol κ were found to physically interact through the exo and RQC domains of WRN, and co-localization of WRN and hpol κ was observed in human cells treated with hydrogen peroxide. Thus, WRN limits the error-prone bypass of 8-oxo-dG by hpol κ, which could influence the sensitivity to oxidative damage that has previously been observed for Werner's syndrome cells.
Determination of all stabilizing fractional-order PID controllers

A new method for finding all fractional-order (FO) proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers that stabilize a given system of integer or non-integer order is proposed. The stability boundaries of such FO PID controllers are calculated in the frequency domain and are given in terms of the proportional gain Kp, integral gain Kh and derivative gain Kd. In this paper, they will be plotted on the (Kp, Ki), (Kp, Kd), and (Ki, Kd) planes. A key advantage of this approach is that it provides the stability boundaries even when the transfer function of a system is not available, as long as the frequency response of the system can be obtained. Moreover, the method does not require complicated mathematical calculations. An example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this method. The results are compared with those of conventional integer-order (IO) PID controllers for a sample example.
Activation of the Unfolded Protein Response in Infarcted Mouse Heart and Hypoxic Cultured Cardiac Myocytes

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stresses that reduce ER protein folding activate the unfolded protein response (UPR). One effector of the UPR is the transcription factor X-box binding protein-1 (XBP1), which is expressed on ER stress–mediated splicing of the XBP1 mRNA. XBP1 induces certain ER-targeted proteins, eg, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), that help resolve the ER stress and foster cell survival. In this study, we determined whether hypoxia can activate the UPR in the cardiac context. Neonatal rat ventricular myocyte cultures subjected to hypoxia (16 hours) exhibited increased XBP1 mRNA splicing, XBP1 protein expression, GRP78 promoter activation, and GRP78 protein levels; however, the levels of these UPR markers declined during reoxygenation, suggesting that the UPR is activated during hypoxia but not during reoxygenation. When cells were infected with a recombinant adenovirus (AdV) encoding dominant-negative XBP1 (AdV-XBP1dn), UPR markers were reduced; however, hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis increased. Confocal immunocytofluorescence demonstrated that hypoxia induced GRP78 in neonatal rat and isolated adult mouse ventricular myocytes. Moreover, mouse hearts subjected to in vivo myocardial infarction exhibited increased GRP78 expression in cardiac myocytes near the infarct, but not in healthy cells distal to the infarct. These results indicate that hypoxia activates the UPR in cardiac myocytes and that XBP1-inducible proteins may contribute to protecting the myocardium during hypoxic stress.
Abnormal Functional Activation During a Simple Word Repetition Task: A PET Study of Adult Dyslexics

Abstract Eight dyslexic subjects, impaired on a range of tasks requiring phonological processing, were matched for age and general ability with six control subjects. Participants were scanned using positron emission tomography (PET) during three conditions: repeating real words, repeating pseudowords, and rest. In both groups, speech repetition relative to rest elicited widespread bilateral activation in areas associated with auditory processing of speech; there were no significant differences between words and pseudowords. However, irrespective of word type, the dyslexic group showed less activation than the control group in the right superior temporal and right post-central gyri and also in the left cerebellum. Notably, the right anterior superior temporal cortex (Brodmann's area 22 [BA 22]) was less activated in each of the eight dyslexic subjects, compared to each of the six control subjects. This deficit appears to be specific to auditory repetition as it was not detected in a previous study of reading which used the same sets of stimuli (Brunswick, N., McCrory, E., Price, C., Frith, C.D., & Frith, U. [1999]. Explicit and implicit processing of words and pseudowords by adult developmental dyslexics: A search for Wernicke's Wortschatz? Brain, 122, 1901-1917). This implies that the observed neural manifestation of developmental dyslexia is task-specific (i.e., functional rather than structural). Other studies of normal subjects indicate that attending to the phonetic structure of speech leads to a decrease in right-hemisphere processing. Lower right hemisphere activation in the dyslexic group may therefore indicate less processing of non-phonetic aspects of speech, allowing greater salience to be accorded to phonological aspects of attended speech.
Effect of Number of Touches and Exercise Duration on the Kinematic Profile and Heart Rate Response During Small-Sided Games in Soccer

Abstract This study aimed to examine the effect of exercise duration and the number of touches allowed during possession on time-motion characteristics and the physiological responses of soccer players in 6 vs. 6 small-sided games (SSGs) lasting 12 minutes. The analysis divided each game into two 6-min periods and we compared two formats: free play (SSGfp) vs. a maximum of two touches per individual possession (SSG 2T). Participants were 12 semi-professional players (age: 22.7±4.3 years; body height: 177.5+4.9 cm; body mass: 74.9±6.3 kg) and the following variables were measured by means of heart rate monitors and GPS devices: mean heart rate (HRmean), time spent in each exercise intensity zone, total distance covered, total distance covered in different speed zones, number of accelerations at different intensities, maximum speed reached, player load, and the work-to-rest ratio. The results showed that in SSGFP there was a decrease in the intensity of physical parameters during the second 6-min period (6-12 min), whereas this decrease was not observed when a maximum of two touches per individual possession was allowed. During the second period (6-12 min) of SSG2T there was an increase in HRmean and in the time spent in high exercise intensity zones, but these differences were not observed in SSGFP. The value of these findings for soccer coaches is that they illustrate how different technical, tactical or conditioning objectives could be addressed by altering the length and format of the SSG used in training.
Not All Nutrition Claims Are Perceived Equal: Anchoring Effects and Moderating Mechanisms in Food Advertising

Despite the increased use of health claims in food advertising, few studies have investigated how specific nutrition claims have differential effects depending on how they are presented. In this context, the current study tests the anchoring hypothesis. Anchoring refers to a common human tendency to evaluate information differently depending on the presence or absence of a numerical “anchor” or reference point. Two (pilot and main) experimental studies explore anchoring effects on audience response to food advertising both directly and moderated by cognitive, motivational, and message factors. The pilot study finds that food product ads employing nutrition claims with an anchor rather than without an anchor generate two results: First, participants perceive the product to have lower fat/lower calorie contents (anchoring hypothesis); second, they prefer the messages with an anchor over those without an anchor. The main study reports that when anchoring is successfully evoked, it produces favorable attitudes toward the ad, favorable attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention—but only when moderated by health orientation, claim believability, and nutrition knowledge. Practical implications are provided with respect to regulatory guidelines and effective communication strategies for promoting low-fat and low-calorie products in food advertising.
Frequency domain equalization with tomlinson-harashima precoding for single carrier broadband MIMO systems

In this paper, we combine the transmit Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) technique with single carrier frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) and propose two new FDE multi-input multi-output (MIMO) schemes, which we refer to as parallel THP-FDE and successive THP-FDE, based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. For the successive THP-FDE scheme, where all transmit streams are subsequently preceded, we propose an optimal MMSE ordering algorithm. Since the feedback processing is performed at the transmitter, no error propagation problem exists in the proposed THP-FDE MEMO schemes. Numerical results will demonstrate the significant performance improvement of our proposed schemes compared to the conventional FDE MIMO schemes. We will also analyze the error probability, and investigate the channel estimation errors and channel variation effects on the proposed THP-FDE MIMO systems. It will be shown that by applying channel prediction and THP compensation techniques such detrimental effects can be greatly reduced.
Forces in play: the business and culture of videogame production

This paper is a cultural analysis of the business of videogame production, the industry's personalities, its development practices and market influences. It is a critique of the 'I' methodology of game design and its influence on game content, especially characterization. It provides insight into the impact of US publishers and markets on Australian game development 2004--2009. Results of related studies and literature are reviewed and supplemented with anecdotal reports to construct a picture of the current forces in play in videogame production. While it may be fun to play games, it is often far from fun to make them.
Evaluation of false negativity of the Widal test among culture proven typhoid fever cases.

BACKGROUND The Widal test is the most common, specific and quick diagnostic method available in the world for diagnosis of typhoid fever; however, false negativity is one of the obstructive features of the test. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associated factors with Widal test negativity in an endemic area. METHODS Widal test negativity was retrospectively analyzed among culture-proven typhoid fever cases. The potential features including age, gender, previous antibiotic usage, duration of symptoms, leucopoenia, hematocrit value, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were evaluated for association with Widal test negativity. RESULTS A total of 166 culture-proven typhoid fever cases (93 or 56.0% males) were included in the study. The mean age +/- SD was 23.3 +/- 10.6 years. Mean time of interval between first symptom and test performance time was 10.6 +/- 7.8 days. The Widal test (STO and/or STH) was found positive in 75 cases (45.2%). The statistical analyses revealed that none of these variables were significant for false negativity of the Widal test. Age was found to be a possible factor for a false negative Widal test (p=0.06). CONCLUSION Of existing compatible clinical findings, age should be considered in cases of Widal test negativity.
On Necessity and Robustness of Dissipativity in Economic Model Predictive Control

In this paper, we study a dissipativity property which was recently used in several results on economic model predictive control to ensure optimal operation of a system at steady-state as well as stability. In particular, we first investigate whether this dissipativity property is not only sufficient, but also necessary for optimal steady-state operation. In the most general case, this is not true; nevertheless, under an additional controllability assumption, we show that dissipativity is in fact necessary. Second, we provide a robustness analysis of the dissipativity property with respect to changes in the constraint set, which can result in a change in the considered supply rate.