Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Order Size on Stock Liquidity - A Representative Study

Liquidity, the ease of trading an asset, strongly varies between different sizes of stock positions. We analyze this aspect using the Xetra Liquidity Measure (XLM), which calculates daily, weighted spread for impatient traders transacting against the limit order book. For this measure, we have data for 160 German stocks over 5.5 years, which allows us a representative analysis of the order-size impact on liquidity cost and its main statistical characteristics. We find that in the sample period average liquidity costs rose to over 100bp in large DAX and to 460bp in large SDAX positions. Over the last 5.5 years, liquidity has equally improved across all order sizes. Liquid position sizes, however, suffered less badly during the recent sub-prime crises, which represents another type of the flight-to-liquidity. As the basis for further theoretical analysis, we find that trends in liquidity levels and inefficiencies in liquidity prices of large positions generate non-normality in the liquidity distribution. We also show that - as a rule of thumb - liquidity of an order size relative to market value and transaction volume is constant across stocks and time. While order size is not the most important liquidity determinant, doubling order size increases liquidity cost by 5-10% on average when accounting for other differences in stocks.
Six new subterranean freshwater gastropod species from northern Albania and some new records from Albania and Kosovo (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Moitessieriidae and Hydrobiidae)

During a field trip to the western part of the Balkan Peninsula in 2016, investigations of several caves and karstic springs revealed six new gastropod species living in subterranean waters and resulted in some note-worthy faunistic records. Five of the new species are assigned to the genus Paladilhiopsis Pavlović, 1913, namely P. prekalensis sp. n. , P. lozeki sp. n. , P. szekeresi sp. n. , P. wohlberedti sp. n. , P. falniowskii sp. n. and one to the genus Plagigeyeria Tomlin, 1930, namely P. steffeki sp. n. New Albania and Kosovo distribution records are given for Iglica illyrica Schütt, 1975, Plagigeyeria zetaprotogona Schütt, 1960, Vinodolia matjasici (Bole, 1961), and the first georeferenced record is given for Saxurinator schlickumi Schütt, 1960. The most important environmental factors influencing habitat selection of these subterranean freshwater gastropods are briefly discussed.
Interlaboratory Comparison of Different Analytical Techniques for the Determination of Oxygen-18 Abundance

R. Speakman.r-! K. A. Nagy,2 D. Masman.t W. G. Mook,3 S. D. Poppitt,' G. E. Strathearn," and P. A. Racey' Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, U'K. AB9 2TN, Laboratory of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 900 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90024, and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Centrum voor Isotopen Onderzoek, Westersingel 34, 9718 CM Groningen, The Netherlands
Extending 1kb RRAM array from weak PUF to strong PUF by employment of SHA module

Recently, the resistance variability of Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) based array has been exploited to design a weak Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) for the cryptographic key generation. Generally, memory-based PUF is weak PUF as the challenge-response pair (CRP) space is limited by the memory capacity. In this work, we propose a design of RRAM based strong PUF for device authentication by employing Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA). The key idea is to split the challenge bits into two segments. The first segment is fed into the RRAM array and the output of the RRAM array is mixed with the second segment as the input to the SHA module, thereby significantly increasing the CRP space. To analyze the properties of the proposed strong PUF such as uniqueness and reliability, the resistance variability is experimentally measured from the fabricated 1 kb HfO2 based RRAM arrays, and the read current distribution is then modeled. The simulation shows that when the number of bits from RRAM is larger than 8 bits, the proposed PUF can present good uniqueness. In order to achieve higher security against PUF modeling attack, however, more bits from RRAM array should be feed into SHA module. With 32-bit from RRAM array, it could achieve average uniqueness ∼49.95%, uniformity of ‘1’s ∼49.81%, diffusiveness ∼49.97% with tight distributions. The use of SHA imposes a strict requirement on the reliability, thus multiple RRAM cells are grouped and used to statistically minimize the risk of early retention failure of a single cell. On the other hand, the use of SHA provides a strong resistance against the machine learning attack as demonstrated through 3-layer multi-layer perceptron (MLP) modeling.
The Relationship between Organizational Stressors and Athlete Burnout in Soccer Players

This study investigated the relationship between organizational stressors in sport and athlete burnout and involved a cross-cultural comparison of English and Japanese soccer players. Ninety-eight male players completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) to determine levels of perceived burnout. Based on data reported in previous research, and the thresholds developed by Hodge, Lonsdale, and Ng (2008), 22 of the players were identified as exhibiting higher levels of perceived burnout. Nine members of this subsample (4 English and 5 Japanese players) were subsequently interviewed to explore the relationship between their experiences of burnout and the organizational stressors they encountered. Results revealed multiple demands linked to the dimensions of athlete burnout and identified specific organizational-related issues that players associated with the incidence of burnout. Cultural differences between English and Japanese players in terms of the prevalence and organizational stressors associated with burnout were also identified, with the main differences being the relationship with senior teammates and the coaching style.
Case report of the fourth laparoscopic liver resection and review of repeat laparoscopic resection for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic liver

Prof. Zenichi Morise graduated from Keio University and got his M.D. in 1987, and obtained Ph.D. in Medicine in the same university in 1995. He was post-doctoral research fellow of Louisiana State University Medical Center between 1995 and 1998. He has been professor in the Department of Surgery, Fujita Health University School of Medicine since 2010. He is certified from Japanese Board of Cancer Therapy, Japanese Surgical Society, Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, Japanese Society of Hepato-BiliaryPancreatic Surgery and Japanese Society for Surgical Metabolism and Nutrition. Besides, he is editorial board member of World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, World Journal of Gastroenterology, Frontiers in Surgery, Hepatoma Research, and Fujita Medical Journal. He is also member of American College of Surgeons, American Gastroenterological Association, Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (USA), International Society of Surgery, International Society of Digestive Surgery, International Hepato-PancreatoBiliary Association, etc.
High-Frame Rate Thermal Imagery of Strombolian Explosions: Implications for Explosive and Infrasonic Source Dynamics

[1] Explosive activity at Stromboli volcano is analyzed using a high-frame rate (50 Hz) thermal camera and differential pressure transducers. We develop a thermal image-based decomposition method to derive vertical and horizontal exit velocities of the explosive cloud. Peak vertical velocity ranges between 23 and 203 m/s, slightly higher than previous estimates and rapidly decreasing to a constant value of 30–50 m/s within the first ∼0.1 s. Plume velocities are consistent with an elongated cloud expanding much faster vertically than horizontally and indicating the interaction with the conduit wall. Considering a vent radius of ∼2 m we estimate a volumetric flux of 200–600 m3/s, which converts to total volumes of gas-particles of 103–104 m3 for a single eruption. These volumes are proportional to the thermal energy recorded by the camera, providing a means to convert thermal radiance to volumes. Comparing the thermal onset of the explosions with the arrival time of the acoustic pressure, we demonstrate that infrasound is propagating 0.14−1.7 s ahead of the explosive front. The time difference between thermal and acoustic onsets constrains the infrasonic source within the conduit at 15–35 m below the crater rim. Peak amplitudes of acoustic pressure show a power law relationship (p ∼ U2) with the exit vertical velocities consistent with the energy balance of a two-phase flow rapidly accelerated in the conduit by gas decompression. Our results support monopole isotropic acoustic radiation of a source embedded within the conduit walls and indicate that explosive dynamics undergo strong accelerations of 103–104 m/s2.
Meeting the needs of critical care patients after discharge home: a qualitative exploratory study of patient perspectives

BACKGROUND With improved survival rates in critical care, increasing focus is being placed on survivorship and how best to support patients in returning to their former activity. Little is known about what support patients themselves view as important, and this has implications for the efficacy and acceptability of services provided. OBJECTIVES To describe former critical care patients' perspectives on the support needed to optimize recovery. STUDY DESIGN This is a qualitative exploratory study of the experiences of support received by critical care survivors. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 12 critical care survivors recruited from a charity and a patient and public involvement group. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis to describe patterns in the participants' experiences. FINDINGS Four themes of support were described: effective management of transfer anxiety, tailored information provision, timely access to services and a supportive social network. CONCLUSION Survivors of critical care should be equipped with information about their critical care stay, ongoing health issues and recovery and should be provided with holistic care at home. Critical care follow up was an effective way of meeting many of these needs, but this needs to be flexible to be useful to attendees. Peer support groups (face-to-face and online) provided information, reassurance, a social network and an avenue for those who had longer-lasting problems than current services provide for. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Whilst there are commonalities in the problems faced by critical care survivors, recovery is highly individualized, and current support services do not have sufficient flexibility to cater for this. This study shows that many survivors experience after-effects of critical care that outlast the support they are given. These longer-term survivors are often excluded from research studies because of fears of recall bias, resulting in poor understanding of their experiences.
Solitary and Multiple Meningiomas: an Immunohistochemical Comparison

Summary Introduction. Meningiomas are common primary tumors of brain meninges. These neoplasms develop from arachnoid cap cells and are multiple in 1 – 10% cases. Occasionally, significantly higher multiplicity rates have been reported, at least partially due to the increased application of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnostics of intracranial pathologies. Meningiomas generally express progesterone receptors, but only few studies have focused on sex hormone receptor differences between solitary and multiple meningiomas. Similarly, there is limited information on cell proliferation and adhesion factors in solitary and multiple meningiomas. Aim of the study. Was to evaluate the immunohistochemical differences in sex hormone receptor expression, cell proliferation and adhesion within solitary and multiple meningiomas. Material and methods. In a retrospective study, 11 consecutive multiple meningiomas and 20 grade-matched solitary meningiomas were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), Ki-67 and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). IHC was followed by quantitative microscopic evaluation. Descriptive and inferential statistics was applied including confidence interval (CI) analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearmen correlation by IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 software; p values less than 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. Results. Although PR were found in all samples, the mean expression was significantly lower in multiple meningiomas (p = 0.03): 30.0% (95% CI: 10.4 – 49.8) versus 70.6% (95% CI: 56.6 – 84.7) in solitary meningiomas. ER were invariably absent in both groups. The proliferation index did not differ in solitary and multiple tumors. There was a trend (p = 0.07) to higher mean expression of NCAM in multiple meningiomas than in control group: 48.3% (95% CI: 25.8 – 70.8) versus 24.6% (95% CI: 13.2 – 36.0), respectively. The multiple meningiomas showed diverse histological types and immunophenotypes in up to 33.3% patients. Conclusions. Multiple meningiomas are characterized by significant down-regulation of PR and up-regulation of NCAM. The last finding can indicate neural differentiation and/or peculiarities of cell adhesion and signaling that facilitate multifocal proliferation. Diverse histological types as well as PR and NCAM expression in separate meningiomas within same patient indicate independent multicentric origin.
Biological control of potato common scab by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Ba01

Potato common scab, which is caused by soil-borne Streptomyces species, is a severe plant disease that results in a significant reduction in the economic value of potatoes worldwide. Due to the lack of efficacious pesticides, crop rotations, and resistant potato cultivars against the disease, we investigated whether biological control can serve as an alternative approach. In this study, multiple Bacillus species were isolated from healthy potato tubers, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Ba01 was chosen for further analyses based on its potency against the potato common scab pathogen Streptomyces scabies. Ba01 inhibited the growth and sporulation of S. scabies and secreted secondary metabolites such as surfactin, iturin A, and fengycin with potential activity against S. scabies as determined by imaging mass spectrometry. In pot assays, the disease severity of potato common scab decreased from 55.6 ± 11.1% (inoculated with S. scabies only) to 4.2 ± 1.4% (inoculated with S. scabies and Ba01). In the field trial, the disease severity of potato common scab was reduced from 14.4 ± 2.9% (naturally occurring) to 5.6 ± 1.1% after Ba01 treatment, representing evidence that Bacillus species control potato common scab in nature.
Development and Initial Validation of the Performance Perfectionism Scale for Sport (PPS-S)

Valid and reliable instruments are required to appropriately study perfectionism. With this in mind, three studies are presented that describe the development and initial validation of a new instrument designed to measure multidimensional performance perfectionism for use in sport (Performance Perfectionism Scale–Sport [PPS-S]). The instrument is based on Hewitt and Flett’s (1991) model of perfectionism and includes self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented performance perfectionism. These dimensions encapsulate the features of Hewitt and Flett’s dimensions but are focused on athletic performance rather than life generally. The three studies outline item generation and refinement, exploratory, confirmatory, and exploratory-confirmatory examination of factor structure, and initial assessment of construct validity in multiple samples of adolescent and young adult athletes. Findings suggest that the PPS-S is likely to be a reliable and valid measure of performance perfectionism in youth sport. As validation continues, we expect the instrument to have wider applicability for use in adults and other performance contexts (e.g., education and work).
Ensemble Soft-Margin Softmax Loss for Image Classification

Softmax loss is arguably one of the most popular losses to train CNN models for image classification. However, recent works have exposed its limitation on feature discriminability. This paper casts a new viewpoint on the weakness of softmax loss. On the one hand, the CNN features learned using the softmax loss are often inadequately discriminative. We hence introduce a soft-margin softmax function to explicitly encourage the discrmination between different classes. On the other hand, the learned classifier of softmax loss is weak. We propose to assemble multiple these weak classifiers to a strong one, inspired by the recognition that the diversity among weak classifiers is critical to a good ensemble. To achieve the diversity, we adopt the Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC). Considering these two aspects in one framework, we design a novel loss, named as Ensemble Soft-Margin Softmax (EM-Softmax). Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets are conducted to show the superiority of our design over the baseline softmax loss and several state-of-the-art alternatives.
MCU-knockdown attenuates high glucose-induced inflammation through regulating MAPKs/NF-κB pathways and ROS production in HepG2 cells

Mitochondrial Ca2+ is a key regulator of organelle physiology and the excessive increase in mitochondrial calcium is associated with the oxidative stress. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms linking mitochondrial calcium to inflammatory and coagulative responses in hepatocytes exposed to high glucose (HG) (33mM glucose). Treatment of HepG2 cells with HG for 24 h induced insulin resistance, as demonstrated by an impairment of insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. HepG2 treatment with HG led to an increase in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, while cytosolic calcium remained unchanged. Inhibition of MCU by lentiviral-mediated shRNA prevented mitochondrial calcium uptake and downregulated the inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6) and coagulative (PAI-1 and FGA) mRNA expression in HepG2 cells exposed to HG. The protection from HG-induced inflammation by MCU inhibition was accompanied by a decrease in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, MCU inhibition in HepG2 cells abrogated the phosphorylation of p38, JNK and IKKα/IKKβ in HG treated cells. Taken together, these data suggest that MCU inhibition may represent a promising therapy for prevention of deleterious effects of obesity and metabolic diseases.
Ancient genomes reveal a high diversity of Mycobacterium leprae in medieval Europe

Studying ancient DNA allows us to retrace the evolutionary history of human pathogens, such as Mycobacterium leprae, the main causative agent of leprosy. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded and most stigmatizing diseases in human history. The disease was prevalent in Europe until the 16th century and is still endemic in many countries with over 200,000 new cases reported annually. Previous worldwide studies on modern and European medieval M. leprae genomes revealed that they cluster into several distinct branches of which two were present in medieval Northwestern Europe. In this study, we analyzed 10 new medieval M. leprae genomes including the so far oldest M. leprae genome from one of the earliest known cases of leprosy in the United Kingdom—a skeleton from the Great Chesterford cemetery with a calibrated age of 415–545 C.E. This dataset provides a genetic time transect of M. leprae diversity in Europe over the past 1500 years. We find M. leprae strains from four distinct branches to be present in the Early Medieval Period, and strains from three different branches were detected within a single cemetery from the High Medieval Period. Altogether these findings suggest a higher genetic diversity of M. leprae strains in medieval Europe at various time points than previously assumed. The resulting more complex picture of the past phylogeography of leprosy in Europe impacts current phylogeographical models of M. leprae dissemination. It suggests alternative models for the past spread of leprosy such as a wide spread prevalence of strains from different branches in Eurasia already in Antiquity or maybe even an origin in Western Eurasia. Furthermore, these results highlight how studying ancient M. leprae strains improves understanding the history of leprosy worldwide.
Vibration in phase-shifting interferometry

Unexpected mechanical vibrations can significantly degrade the otherwise high accuracy of phase-shifting interferometry. Fourier analysis of phase-shift algorithms is shown to provide the analytical means of predicting measurement errors as a function of the frequency, the phase, and the amplitude of vibrations. The results of this analysis are concisely represented by a phase-error transfer function, which may be multiplied by the noise spectrum to predict the response of an interferometer to various forms of vibration. Analytical forms for the phase error are derived for several well-known algorithms, and the results are supported by numerical simulations and experiments with an interference microscope.
Dynamic CEO Compensation

We study optimal compensation in a fully dynamic framework where the CEO consumes in multiple periods, can undo the contract by privately saving, and can temporarily inflate earnings. We obtain a simple closed-form contract that yields clear predictions for how the level and performance-sensitivity of pay varies over time and across firms. The contract can be implemented by a "Dynamic Incentive Account": the CEO's expected pay is escrowed into an account that comprises cash and the firm's equity. The account features state-dependent rebalancing to ensure its equity proportion is always sufficient to induce effort, and time-dependent vesting to deter short-termism.
Spatio-temporal variation in bird assemblages is associated with fluctuations in temperature and precipitation along a tropical elevational gradient

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of species assemblages is a main challenge in ecology. The mechanisms that shape species assemblages and their temporal fluctuations along tropical elevational gradients are particularly poorly understood. Here, we examined the spatio-temporal dynamics of bird assemblages along an elevational gradient in Ecuador. We conducted bird point counts at three elevations (1000, 2000 and 3000 m) on 18 1-ha plots and repeated the sampling eight times over two years (216 hours in total). For each plot, we obtained data of monthly temperatures and precipitation and recorded the overall resource availability (i.e., the sum of flower, fruit, and invertebrate resources). As expected, bird richness decreased from low to high elevations. Moreover, we found a significant decrease in bird abundance and richness and an increase in evenness between the most and least humid season at each of the three elevations. Climatic factors were more closely related to these temporal fluctuations than local resource availability. While temperature had significant positive effects on the abundance of birds at mid and high elevations, precipitation negatively affected bird abundance at low and mid elevations. Our study highlights that bird assemblages along tropical elevational gradients can show pronounced seasonal fluctuations. In particular, low temperatures and high precipitation seem to impose important constraints on birds. We conclude that potential changes in climate, due to global warming, are likely to affect the spatio-temporal dynamics of bird assemblages along tropical elevational gradients.