Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Widening Deviation among East Asian Currencies

This paper investigates recent diverging trends among East Asian currencies as well as recent movements of the weighted average value of East Asian currencies (Asian Monetary Unit: AMU) and deviations (AMU Deviation Indicators) of the East Asian currencies from the average values. Our empirical analysis shows that linkages with the US dollar have been weakening since 2001 or 2002 for some of the East Asian countries. On the other hand, the monetary authority of China continues stabilizing the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar even though it announced its adoption of a currency basket system. It is found that the weighted average of East Asian currencies has been appreciating against the US dollar in recent years while depreciating against the currency basket of the US dollar and the euro. Also, deviations among the East Asian currencies have been widening in recent years, reflecting the fact that these countries' monetary authorities are adopting a variety of exchange rate systems. In other words, a coordination failure in adopting exchange rate systems among these monetary authorities increases volatility and misalignment of intra-regional exchange rates in East Asia.
Context-aware cardiac monitoring for early detection of heart diseases

The aim of this paper is to propose a scalable context-aware framework for early detection of several cardiovascular diseases by continuous monitoring using smart sensors and utilizing the strength of cloud computing. By constant sampling of ECG signal, vital signs, and activities our system detects possible symptoms of heart disease and alerts user by delivering context-aware service using flexible output modalities. A non-context-aware system that makes a decision based only on abnormal ECG signal can generate false alerts at high rate. Our proposed solution aims to reduce that rate by bringing different contexts in decision making process. As a proof of concept, we developed a simulated prototype to detect long term health risk of Premature Atrial Contraction (PAC), a common form of cardiac arrhythmia. The system can classify ECG signals as PAC using appropriate feature selection and learning algorithm. By tracking the stored context history and personal profile in the cloud database, our system detects smoking habit, alcohol consumption, caffeine intake of the user. It can also detect activities like stress, hypertension, and anxiety using different physiological parameters of the user and capable of sending situational warning notifications. Thus, this model can be a new mechanism for heart disease detection.
Weak Proinsulin Peptide–Major Histocompatibility Complexes Are Targeted in Autoimmune Diabetes in Mice

OBJECTIVE—Weak major histocompatibility complex (MHC) binding of self-peptides has been proposed as a mechanism that may contribute to autoimmunity by allowing for escape of autoreactive T-cells from the thymus. We examined the relationship between the MHC-binding characteristics of a β-cell antigen epitope and T-cell autoreactivity in a model of autoimmune diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The binding of a proinsulin epitope, proinsulin-1(47–64) (PI-1[47–64]), to the MHC class II molecules I-Ag7 and I-Ak was measured using purified class II molecules. T-cell reactivity to the proinsulin epitope was examined in I-Ag7+ and I-Ak+ mice. RESULTS—C-peptide epitopes bound very weakly to I-Ag7 molecules. However, C-peptide–reactive T-cells were induced after immunization in I-Ag7–bearing mice (NOD and B6.g7) but not in I-Ak–bearing mice (B10.BR and NOD.h4). T-cells reactive with the PI-1(47–64) peptide were found spontaneously in the peripancreatic lymph nodes of pre-diabetic NOD mice. These T-cells were activated by freshly isolated β-cells in the presence of antigen-presenting cells and caused diabetes when transferred into NOD.scid mice. CONCLUSIONS—These data demonstrate an inverse relationship between self-peptide–MHC binding and T-cell autoreactivity for the PI-1(47–64) epitope in autoimmune diabetes.
Storage and computation in the mental lexicon

This chapter shows that the pocket calculator provides a fundamentally flawed metaphor for understanding morphological structure and processing in the mental lexicon. To this end, it surveys the evidence from experimental studies of lexical processing, and then considers the fine phonetic detail that is present in the acoustic signal. The chapter provides an indication of the kind of formal mathematical model that may help to understand the process and representation better in the mental lexicon. It also discusses theory of speech production, WEAVER models, phonetic evidence, and Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM). Whereas the mathematics of formal languages has been a key source of inspiration for morphological theory and models of the mental lexicon, new advances at the intersection of statistics, information science and the neurosciences such as HTM can constitute an important source of inspiration for research on the mental lexicon during the coming years.Keywords: acoustic signal; Lieber; mathematical model; mental lexicon; pocket calculator; Selkirk
A note on the representation and definition of semiseparable matrices

In this paper the definition of semiseparable matrices is investigated. Properties of the frequently used definition and the corresponding representation by generators are deduced. Corresponding to the class of tridiagonal matrices another definition of semiseparable matrices is introduced preserving the nice properties dual to the class of tridiagonal matrices. Several theorems and properties are included showing the viability of this alternative definition.
Phylogenetic and In Silico Functional Analyses of Thermostable-Direct Hemolysin and tdh-Related Encoding Genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Other Gram-Negative Bacteria

Emergence and spread of pandemic strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus have drawn attention to make detailed study on their genomes. The pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus has been associated with thermostable-direct hemolysin (TDH) and/or TDH-related hemolysin (TRH). The present study evaluated characteristics of tdh and trh genes, considering the phylogenetic and in silico functional features of V. parahaemolyticus and other bacteria. Fifty-two tdh and trh genes submitted to the GenBank were analyzed for sequence similarity. The promoter sequences of these genes were also analyzed from transcription start point to −35 regions and correlated with amino acid substitution within the coding regions. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that tdh and trh are highly distinct and also differ within the V. parahaemolyticus strains that were isolated from different geographical regions. Promoter sequence analysis revealed nucleotide substitutions and deletions at −18 and −19 positions among the pandemic, prepandemic, and nonpandemic tdh sequences. Many amino acid substitutions were also found within the signal peptide and also in the matured protein region of several TDH proteins as compared to TDH-S protein of pandemic V. parahaemolyticus. Experimental evidences are needed to recognize the importance of substitutions and deletions in the tdh and trh genes.
Free Education: For Whom, Where and When?

This article analyzes the effect of free public education on fertility, private educational investments and human capital accumulation at different stages of economic development. The model shows that when fertility is endogenous parental human capital levels are crucial for implications of free education. At early stages of development, if parental human capital is low, free access to basic education may provide the only chance to leave poverty. In contrast, at advanced stages of development, if parental human capital is high, the availability of free education crowds out private educational investments, increases fertility and may be detrimental for growth.
Monthly Seasonality in Emerging Market: Evidence from Bangladesh

The presence of the seasonal anomaly in stock returns has been reported extensively in finance literature. This paper examines the presence of monthly anomaly in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the premier stock exchange of Bangladesh. Data used in the study include daily closing prices of DSE indices such as DSE all share prices index (DSI), DSE general index (DGEN) and DSE 20 index for a period of 01.01. 2001-30.06. 2010. Several hypotheses have been formulated; those hypotheses have been tested and dummy variable regression was used in the study. The result indicates that May and June returns are positive and statistically significant. Result also reveals that the mean daily returns between two consecutive months differ significantly for the pairs April-May, June-July and December-January. Result also shows that the average monthly returns of every month of the year are not statistically equal. Dummy variable regression result shows that only May have positive and statistically significant coefficient. The conclusion of all the findings is that significant monthly seasonality is present in DSE which is a denial of efficient market hypothesis.
Environmental drivers of mast‐seeding in Mediterranean oak species: does leaf habit matter?

Understanding the proximate factors that govern the widespread mast‐seeding process is a question of considerable interest that remains poorly understood. The identity and effect of these factors may vary among coexisting species that differ in leaf habit, potentially resulting in temporally asynchronous patterns of seed production. In this study, we aim to identify the proximate causes of mast‐seeding using two oak species with contrasting leaf habit that coexist in southern Spain, the deciduous Quercus canariensis and the evergreen Q. suber. Simultaneously, we review the literature on environmental drivers of mast‐seeding in Mediterranean oaks, distinguishing between evergreen and deciduous species. Our results indicate that Mediterranean oaks are primarily sensitive to weather, mast‐seeding being strongly correlated with water availability and air temperature, mainly in the spring and summer. The two study oak species were affected by weather in quite different ways, most likely because of different abiotic requirements as well as contrasting functional strategies of resource use and biomass allocation. Specifically, annual seed production in Q. canariensis was more severely limited by drought than in Q. suber, but responded positively to warmer spring temperatures. Q. canariensis showed a large interannual variability, whereas Q. suber exhibited much more constant seed production. These two species also exhibited a very low level of synchrony in their temporal patterns of seed crop size, most likely due to phenological differences in the processes of flowering and seed maturation. Synthesis. Our results indicate that weather plays a crucial role as a proximate driver of mast‐seeding in Mediterranean oaks. We hypothesize that the current abundance of co‐occurring species that differ in leaf habit could be altered under future climate change scenarios. The decline of seed production with drier conditions will be potentially greater in deciduous species, particularly those inhabiting wetter sites. Alternatively, the expected warmer temperatures could negatively affect evergreen species as a consequence of their more conservative strategy of biomass allocation. Our findings suggest that understanding how species with different functional or phenological attributes adjust their reproductive abilities to weather may enable us to infer the effects of ongoing environmental changes on population recruitment and dynamics.
Triphasic Dynamics of Stimulus-Dependent Information Flow between Single Neurons in Macaque Inferior Temporal Cortex

The functional connectivity between cortical neurons is not static and is known to exhibit contextual modulations in terms of the coupling strength. Here we hypothesized that the information flow in a cortical local circuit exhibits complex forward-and-back dynamics, and conducted Granger causality analysis between the neuronal spike trains that were simultaneously recorded from macaque inferior temporal (IT) cortex while the animals performed a visual object discrimination task. Spikes from neuron pairs with a displaced peak on the cross-correlogram (CCG) showed Granger causality in the gamma-frequency range (30–80 Hz) with the dominance in the direction consistent with the CCG peak (forward direction). Although, in a classical view, the displaced CCG peak has been interpreted as an indicative of a pauci-synaptic serial linkage, temporal dynamics of the gamma Granger causality after stimulus onset exhibited a more complex triphasic pattern, with a transient forward component followed by a slowly developing backward component and subsequent reappearance of the forward component. These triphasic dynamics of causality were not explained by the firing rate dynamics and were not observed for cell pairs that exhibited a center peak on the CCG. Furthermore, temporal dynamics of Granger causality depended on the feature configuration within the presented object. Together, these results demonstrate that the classical view of functional connectivity could be expanded to incorporate more complex forward-and-back dynamics and also imply that multistage processing in the recognition of visual objects might be implemented by multiphasic dynamics of directional information flow between single neurons in a local circuit in the IT cortex.
Broadband videoconferencing as a knowledge management tool

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to augment evaluation of the effectiveness of broadband videoconferencing among distributed research teams.Design/methodology/approach – Textual output from informal interaction in videoconferencing and chat room sessions was recorded and analyzed using qualitative and content analysis methods to test for knowledge processes thought to be embedded in informal collaborative interaction. An exit survey used nominal and ordinal data categories to measure participant perceptions of using videoconferencing technologies to enhance knowledge‐based collaboration. Indicators of informal interaction and knowledge processes were drawn from the knowledge management (KM) and videoconferencing literatures.Findings – Analysis confirms communication and informal interaction dynamics supportive of knowledge creation and transfer. A summary assessment of the research addresses barriers identified in the study and suggests approaches for future KM research in video‐mediated research .
A crystallographic study of Cys69Ala flavodoxin II from Azotobacter vinelandii: Structural determinants of redox potential

Flavodoxin II from Azotobacter vinelandii is a “long‐chain” flavodoxin and has one of the lowest E1 midpoint potentials found within the flavodoxin family. To better understand the relationship between structural features and redox potentials, the oxidized form of the C69A mutant of this flavodoxin was crystallized and its three‐dimensional structure determined to a resolution of 2.25 Å by molecular replacement. Its overall fold is similar to that of other flavodoxins, with a central five‐stranded parallel β‐sheet flanked on either side by α‐helices. An eight‐residue insertion, compared with other long‐chain flavodoxins, forms a short 310 helix preceding the start of the α3 helix. The flavin mononucleotide (FMN) cofactor is flanked by a leucine on its re face instead of the more conserved tryptophan, resulting in a more solvent‐accessible FMN binding site and stabilization of the hydroquinone (hq) state. In particular the absence of a hydrogen bond to the N5 atom of the oxidized FMN was identified, which destabilizes the ox form, as well as an exceptionally large patch of acidic residues in the vicinity of the FMN N1 atom, which destabilizes the hq form. It is also argued that the presence of a Gly at position 58 in the sequence stabilizes the semiquinone (sq) form, as a result, raising the E2 value in particular.
Slowing down or seizing up? Social work practice in a call centre environment

The Labour government modernisation agenda has embraced and promoted the use of information and communications technology (ICT) via ‘electronic’ or ‘e’-government. The target set for e-government for all services to be e-accessible by 2005 put pressure on local authorities for their services to be ‘open all hours’ and encouraged them to utilise call centre technology to achieve this. Call (or ‘contact’) centres are now in widespread use by local authorities in the UK to deliver a diverse range of services including social services. Despite this, as Bain et al. (2005) note, there has been a dearth of research into the use of such technology in the public sector, with the extensive studies that have been undertaken being almost exclusively confined to the commercial sector. This omission is even more pronounced in relation to social work settings. The paper aims to shed some light on the social care call centre as a relatively new form. It is based on an in-depth case study of a social services contact centre in the North East of England where qualified social workers work alongside unqualified ‘First Contact Officers’. It documents the experience of social workers in relation to their motivation for working in this type of environment, their coping strategies, perceptions of stress and the potential impact of the call centre on social work practice and skill levels.
Preparation and Characterization of Fenofibrate-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for Oral Bioavailability Enhancement

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) in improving the oral bioavailability of a lipid lowering agent, fenofibrate (FEN). FEN-loaded NLCs (FEN-NLCs) were prepared by hot homogenization followed by an ultrasonication method using Compritol 888 ATO as a solid lipid, Labrafil M 1944CS as a liquid lipid, and soya lecithin and Tween 80 as emulsifiers. NLCs were characterized in terms of particle size and zeta pote\ntial, surface morphology, encapsulation efficiency, and physical state properties. Bioavailability studies were carried out in rats by oral administration of FEN-NLC. NLCs exhibited a spherical shape with a small particle size (84.9 ± 4.9 nm). The drug entrapment efficiency was 99% with a loading capacity of 9.93 ± 0.01% (w/w). Biphasic drug release manner with a burst release initially, followed by prolonged release was depicted for in vitro drug release studies. After oral administration of the FEN-NLC, drug concentration in plasma and AUCt-∞ was fourfold higher, respectively, compared to the free FEN suspension. According to these results, FEN-NLC could be a potential delivery system for improvement of loading capacity and control of drug release, thus prolonging drug action time in the body and enhancing the bioavailability.
Positive Technology: Using Interactive Technologies to Promote Positive Functioning

It is generally assumed that technology assists individuals in improving the quality of their lives. However, the impact of new technologies and media on well-being and positive functioning is still somewhat controversial. In this paper, we contend that the quality of experience should become the guiding principle in the design and development of new technologies, as well as a primary metric for the evaluation of their applications. The emerging discipline of Positive Psychology provides a useful framework to address this challenge. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and flourishing. Instead of drawing on a "disease model" of human behavior, it focuses on factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive and build the best in life. In this paper, we propose the "Positive Technology" approach--the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience through its structuring, augmentation, and/or replacement--as a way of framing a suitable object of study in the field of cyberpsychology and human-computer interaction. Specifically, we suggest that it is possible to use technology to influence three specific features of our experience--affective quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness--that serve to promote adaptive behaviors and positive functioning. In this framework, positive technologies are classified according to their effects on a specific feature of personal experience. Moreover, for each level, we have identified critical variables that can be manipulated to guide the design and development of positive technologies.
Abstract types have existential types

data type declarations appear in typed programming languages like Ada, Alphard, CLU and ML. This form of declaration binds a list of identifiers to a type with associated operations, a composite "value" we call a data algebra. We use a second-order typed lambda calculus SOL to show how data algebras may be given types, passed as parameters, and returned as results of function calls. In the process, we discuss the semantics of abstract data type declarations and review a connection between typed programming languages and constructive logic.
Demographic Change, and the Equity Premium

This papers presents an analysis of the financial market effects of demographic change. We first develop a stylized overlapping generations model to derive qualitative general equilibrium predictions on the effects of demographic change on the equity premium, the return differential between a risky and a risk-free investment. As our key insight, we show that the exante equity premium increases when a smaller cohort enters the economy. We then develop a large scale overlapping generations model to provide a realistic quantitative assessment of the effects of demographic change on the equity premium for the U.S. economy. Our simulation model predicts that the expected rate of return to risky physical capital decreases by roughly 1.2 percentage points until 2030 and that the equity premium increases by about 0.28 percentage points. JEL classification: E17, C68, G12
Educators Learning Together: Promoting Meaningful and Motivating Professional Development in Christian Schools

Each year, nearly all teachers in the United States participate in some form of professional development (Andree, Chung Wei, & Darling-Hammond, 2009). Much research is available outlining best practices related to professional development in an effort to provide teachers with a positive learning experience so that they can use their expertise and acquired knowledge and skills to ensure that students learn. Schools are not implementing these best practices. As a result, many teachers express a sense of dread when they think about entering a professional development session. There are several reasons for this sense of dread, but there are also several components and strategies that align with Reformed principles that can be employed to provide teachers motivating and meaningful site-based professional development. Document Type Thesis Degree Name Master of Education (MEd) Department Graduate Education First Advisor Pat Kornelis Second Advisor Timothy Van Soelen