Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rating, Credit Spread, and Pricing Risky Debt: Empirical Study on Taiwan's Security Market

This paper focuses on evaluating the credit risk of corporate bond in the fixed income market of Taiwan. We apply Vasicek (1977) model into Merton's (1974) option framework and obtain a closed-form solution of the options model. The solution algorithm employs the Newton-Raphson method in combination with the inverse quadratic interpolation and bisection technique of Dekker (1967) to find out the roots and calculate the credit spread. The result shows that the average credit spread is 1.346%, and the credit spread of TSE (Taiwan Stock Exchange) listed firm is higher than that of OTC firms, while the one with bank guarantee is higher than the one without. We find negative correlation between VaR rating, TEJ (Taiwan Economic Journal) rating and credit spread, implying that the higher the market risk is, the lower the required premium is by the bondholders, and credit spread is expected to be lower. Testing the hypothesis of Duffee (1998), we find a negative correlation between the Taiwan Stock weighted index and credit spread. It implies that the term structure of interest rate is an upward type. As firm's equity value rises, the index return follows suit. While the bond default probability decreases, and the credit spread is expected to decrease.
Clinically Relevant Dimer Interface Mutants of STAT1 Transcription Factor Exhibit Differential Gene Expression

A transition from a parallel to an antiparallel dimer configuration of the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) is required for interferon (IFN)-mediated signal transduction. However, the precise molecular mechanisms linking conformational changes to target gene activation by STAT1 are still largely unknown. In the present study, we have characterized, in more detail than before, two disease-associated point mutants with amino acid substitutions at both sites of the dimer interface (F172W and T385A). First, we confirmed that IFNγ-stimulation of transfected cells led to enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of mutant STAT1 as compared to the wild-type protein, which consequently resulted in its prolonged nuclear accumulation. Using an in vitro dephosphorylation assay, we demonstrated that, in contrast to wild-type STAT1 and similar to the F172W mutant, also T385A resisted enzymatic inactivation by the nuclear phosphatase Tc45. Transcriptional activation of IFNγ-driven endogenous target genes differed between wild-type and mutant STAT1. While expression of genes containing a single classical gamma-activated site (GAS), such as irf1, gpb1, and mig1, was virtually unaffected by the presence of either of two amino acid exchanges, induction of the cxcl10 and mcp1 gene was significantly enhanced. The latter two genes both contain an additional TTC/GAA binding motif separated by 10 bp from the palindromic GAS sequence. The transcriptional superiority of the mutants on these genes was reflected by their increased binding affinity to DNA fragments containing the identified “one-and-a-half-GAS” motif. In summary, our data demonstrate that two clinically relevant interface mutants of STAT1 exhibit gene-specific effects and point to the rather complex role of the assumed conformational shift between two different dimer configurations for efficient transcriptional regulation.
Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) Reduces Cell Growth, Lipid Acquisition and Increases Adiponectin Expression in 3T3-L1 Cells

An American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) extract (GE) that contained a quantifiable amount of ginsenosides was investigated for the potential to inhibit proliferation, affect the cell cycle, influence lipid acquisition and adiponectin expression in 3T3-L1 cells. Six fingerprint ginsenosides were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography and the respective molecular weights were confirmed by LC-ESI-MS analysis. The extract contained Rg1 (347.3 ± 99.7 μg g−1, dry weight), Re (8280.4 ± 792.3 μg g−1), Rb1 (1585.8 ± 86.8 μg g−1), Rc (32.9 ± 8 μg g−1), Rb2 (62.6 ± 10.6 μg g−1) and Rd (90.4 ± 3.2 μg g−1). The GE had a dose-dependent effect on 3T3-L1 cell growth, the LC50 value was determined to be 40.3 ± 5 μg ml−1. Cell cycle analysis showed modest changes in the cell cycle. No significant changes observed in both G1 and G2/M phases, however there was a significant decrease (P < .05) in the S phase after 24 and 48 h treatment. Apoptotic cells were modest but significantly (P < .05) increased after 48 h (3.2 ± 1.0%) compared to untreated control cells (1.5 ± 0.1%). Lipid acquisition was significantly reduced (P < .05) by 13 and 22% when treated at concentrations of 20.2 and 40.3 μg ml−1 compared to untreated control cells. In relation to adiponectin activation, western blot analysis showed that the protein expression was significantly (P < .05) increased at concentrations tested. A quantified GE reduced the growth of 3T3-L1 cells, down-regulated the accumulation of lipid and up-regulated the expression of adiponectin in the 3T3-L1 adipocyte cell model.
Transgenic rearranged T cell receptor gene inhibits lymphadenopathy and accumulation of CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells in lpr/lpr mice

The lpr gene in homozygous form induces development of CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells and lymphadenopathy in MRL and C57BL/6 mice. Although the propensity for excessive production of T cells is related to an intrinsic T cell defect, a thymus is also required because neonatal thymectomy eliminates lymphadenopathy. Recent evidence suggests that excessive production and release of autoreactive T cells from the thymus of lpr/lpr mice might lead to downregulation of CD4 and CD8 as a "fail safe" tolerance mechanism that occurs during late thymic or post- thymic development. To test this hypothesis, T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice that produce large numbers of immature thymocytes recognizing the H-2Db and male H-Y antigens were backcrossed with C57BL/6-lpr/lpr mice and MRL-lpr/lpr mice. It was predicted that Db male lpr/lpr mice would produce large numbers of autoreactive T cells during early thymic development that would lead to an accelerated lymphoproliferative disease. In contrast, Db female lpr/lpr mice would produce large numbers of Db H-Y-reactive T cells, but might not develop lymphadenopathy because the male H-Y antigen would not be present. Unexpectedly, there was complete elimination of lymphadenopathy in both male and female TCR transgenic lpr/lpr mice. The elimination of lymphadenopathy was not due to a failure of thymic maturation since the thymus of H-2Db female lpr/lpr mice contained nearly normal numbers of mature thymocytes. Elimination of lymphadenopathy was also not due to a lack of autoreactive T cells in the peripheral lymph nodes (LN) since there was an increased syngeneic mixed lymphocyte proliferative response of LNT cells from transgenic lpr/lpr compared with +/+ mice in vitro. Hypergammaglobulinemia and autoantibody production in the transgenic lpr/lpr was present at levels comparable with or higher than control nontransgenic lpr/lpr mice, suggesting a dissociation of autoantibody production from the lymphoproliferative disease in the TCR transgenic mice. Conversely, the development of lymphadenopathy and production of CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells appear to be intimately linked, as both were completely eliminated in T cells expressing the transgenic TCR. We propose that lymphoproliferation and production of CD4-CD8-6B2+ T cells in lpr/lpr mice is related to decreased expression of the TCR, and providing the T cells with a rearranged TCR transgene overcomes this defect.
A counting tool for RPG

The Halstead and McCabe metrics were evaluated for their usefulness in identifying RPG II and RPG III modules likely to contain a high number of errors. For this evaluation, commercially available RPG modules written within IBM were measured and assigned to low, medium, or high metric value ranges. Conclusions from this evaluation and RPG counting rules that were concomitantly developed were presented at SCORE82 and are summarized in the following report.
A Processing Model for Free Word Order Languages

Like many verb-final languages, Germn displays considerable word-order freedom: there is no syntactic constraint on the ordering of the nominal arguments of a verb, as long as the verb remains in final position. This effect is referred to as ``scrambling'', and is interpreted in transformational frameworks as leftward movement of the arguments. Furthermore, arguments from an embedded clause may move out of their clause; this effect is referred to as ``long-distance scrambling''. While scrambling has recently received considerable attention in the syntactic literature, the status of long-distance scrambling has only rarely been addressed. The reason for this is the problematic status of the data: not only is long-distance scrambling highly dependent on pragmatic context, it also is strongly subject to degradation due to processing constraints. As in the case of center-embedding, it is not immediately clear whether to assume that observed unacceptability of highly complex sentences is due to grammatical restrictions, or whether we should assume that the competence grammar does not place any restrictions on scrambling (and that, therefore, all such sentences are in fact grammatical), and the unacceptability of some (or most) of the grammatically possible word orders is due to processing limitations. In this paper, we will argue for the second view by presenting a processing model for German.
Multilocus Patterns of Nucleotide Diversity, Linkage Disequilibrium and Demographic History of Norway Spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst]

DNA polymorphism at 22 loci was studied in an average of 47 Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst. ] haplotypes sampled in seven populations representative of the natural range. The overall nucleotide variation was limited, being lower than that observed in most plant species so far studied. Linkage disequilibrium was also restricted and did not extend beyond a few hundred base pairs. All populations, with the exception of the Romanian population, could be divided into two main domains, a Baltico–Nordic and an Alpine one. Mean Tajima's D and Fay and Wu's H across loci were both negative, indicating the presence of an excess of both rare and high-frequency-derived variants compared to the expected frequency spectrum in a standard neutral model. Multilocus neutrality tests based on D and H led to the rejection of the standard neutral model and exponential growth in the whole population as well as in the two main domains. On the other hand, in all three cases the data are compatible with a severe bottleneck occurring some hundreds of thousands of years ago. Hence, demographic departures from equilibrium expectations and population structure will have to be accounted for when detecting selection at candidate genes and in association mapping studies, respectively.
Virtual Environments for Sport Analysis: Perception-Action Coupling in Handball Goalkeeping

In sports science, the link between the experimental protocol and the subject’s behaviour in real condition is a key issue. Virtual reality enables to examine this topic because of the reproducibility of situations and the total control of animated humanoids in situations similar to the real world. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the degree of perception-action coupling on the performance of handball goalkeepers in a virtual environment. 8 national handball goalkeepers were asked to react to the actions of a virtual handball thrower in two conditions: a perception-action uncoupled condition (defined as a judgment task) and a perception-action coupled condition (defined as a motor task). In the judgment condition, goalkeepers were asked to make a perceptual judgment with their hand in their own time after the virtual throw; in the motor task condition, goalkeepers had to react in real-time to the virtual throwing motion. Results showed that percentage of successful response was higher in the motor task condition and radial error (distance between the ball and the closest limb when trial was unsuccessful) was lower for the same condition. Implications of our findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for further research.
Exploring Entrepreneurial Intention's Mediating Role in the Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Nascent Behaviour: Evidence from Zambia, Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial intention (EI) in relation to the influence of the five dimensions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) on nascent behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on a quantitative approach where primary data were collected from 294 final year undergraduate students at a public university in Zambia. The data were examined by using correlation, logistic regression and mediation analyses.FindingsThe findings indicate that each of the five dimensions of ESE is positively and significantly related with EI. Additionally, each of the ESE dimensions, except the financial aspect, is positively correlated with nascent behaviour. Finally, the results show that the influence of ESE dimensions on nascent behaviour is significantly mediated by intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study took place in a public university in Zambia; more universities could be involved to improve the generalisability of the study conclusions.Practical implicationsThe study shows that the five ESE dimensions positively influence not only business start-up intention but also nascent behaviour. To motivate graduates’ involvement in business start-up, there is a need to tailor training and practical pedagogical approaches on entrepreneurship that are focussed on developing the five ESE dimensions.Originality/valueThis paper extends an emerging body of knowledge which has not been fully investigated in terms of the mediating role of intention on the relationships between dimensions of ESE and nascent behaviour. The study also makes a valuable contribution to the under-researched context of Zambia and African entrepreneurship.
Metabolic Responses of Bacterial Cells to Immobilization

In recent years immobilized cells have commonly been used for various biotechnological applications, e.g., antibiotic production, soil bioremediation, biodegradation and biotransformation of xenobiotics in wastewater treatment plants. Although the literature data on the physiological changes and behaviour of cells in the immobilized state remain fragmentary, it is well documented that in natural settings microorganisms are mainly found in association with surfaces, which results in biofilm formation. Biofilms are characterized by genetic and physiological heterogeneity and the occurrence of altered microenvironments within the matrix. Microbial cells in communities display a variety of metabolic differences as compared to their free-living counterparts. Immobilization of bacteria can occur either as a natural phenomenon or as an artificial process. The majority of changes observed in immobilized cells result from protection provided by the supports. Knowledge about the main physiological responses occurring in immobilized cells may contribute to improving the efficiency of immobilization techniques. This paper reviews the main metabolic changes exhibited by immobilized bacterial cells, including growth rate, biodegradation capabilities, biocatalytic efficiency and plasmid stability.
Alternative Paradigm of Selective Vagus Nerve Stimulation Tested on an Isolated Porcine Vagus Nerve

Alternative paradigm for spatial and fibre-type selective vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was developed using realistic structural topography and tested in an isolated segment of a porcine cervical left vagus nerve (LVN). A spiral cuff (cuff) containing a matrix of ninety-nine electrodes was developed for selective VNS. A quasitrapezoidal stimulating pulse (stimulus) was applied to the LVN via an appointed group of three electrodes (triplet). The triplet and stimulus were configured to predominantly stimulate the B-fibres, minimizing stimulation of the A-fibres and by-passing the stimulation of the C-fibres. To assess which fibres made the most probable contribution to the neural response (NR) during selective VNS, the distribution of conduction velocity (CV) within the LVN was considered. Experimental testing of the paradigm showed the existence of certain parameters and waveforms of the stimulus, for which the contribution of the A-fibres to the NR was slightly reduced and that of the B-fibres was slightly enlarged. The cuff provided satisfactory fascicle discrimination in selective VNS as well as satisfactory fascicle discrimination during NR recording. However, in the present stage of development, fibre-type VNS remained rather limited.
Fading Multiple Access Channels: A Game Theoretic Perspective

We adopt a game theoretic approach for the design and analysis of distributed resource allocation algorithms in fading multiple access channels, where the users are assumed to be selfish, rational and limited by average power constraints. We show that the sum-rate optimal point on the boundary of the multiple access channel capacity region is the unique Nash equilibrium of the corresponding water-filling game. The base-station is then introduced as a player interested in maximizing a weighted sum of the individual rates. We propose a Stackelberg formulation in which the base-station is the designated game leader. We show that this formulation allows for achieving all the corner points of the capacity region, in addition to the sum-rate optimal point. On the negative side, we prove the non-existence of a base-station strategy in this formulation that achieves the rest of the boundary points. To overcome this limitation, we present a repeated game approach which achieves the capacity region of the fading multiple access channel. Finally, we extend our study to vector channels highlighting interesting differences between this scenario and the scalar channel case
Clinical Analysis of Analgesics and Steroids Use for Extraction of Teeth in Patients with Intellectual Disability Under General Anesthesia

Background: The extraction of lower wisdom teeth is often performed under general anesthesia in patients with intellectual disabilities. However, the choice of analgesics has not yet been investigated. Objective: To analyze the use of analgesics during general anesthesia for extraction including lower wisdom teeth in patients with intellectual disabilities. Methods: This research is a retrospective observational study. The study population was composed of all patients presenting for extraction of lower wisdom teeth under ambulatory general anesthesia in the clinic of Special Needs Dentistry in Okayama University Hospital from April 2011 to March 2016. The distribution of the combination of analgesics and the relationship between the use of analgesics and the type of extraction were investigated. Results: One hundred and twelve cases were enrolled in this study. Intravenous injections of flurbiprofen, acetaminophen and betamethasone were used in 96 (85.7%), 12 (10.7%) and 26 cases (23.2%), respectively. Flurbiprofen is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Acetaminophen is an old analgesic, but an injection of acetaminophen is new, which was released in 2013 in Japan. And betamethasone is not an analgesic, but a steroid. Betamethasone was used in combination with other analgesics, and was used at a higher dose in a case in which four wisdom teeth were extracted. Conclusion: Flurbiprofen was the main analgesic used for extraction of wisdom teeth under general anesthesia in patients with intellectual disabilities. Betamethasone was used to support flurbiprofen or acetaminophen for extractions of multiple wisdom teeth, with the aim of controlling swelling rather than relieving pain.
γ‐Frequency fluctuations of the membrane potential and response selectivity in visual cortical neurons

Fluctuations at frequencies of 25–70 Hz is an inherent property of cortical activity. These rapid, γ‐range fluctuations are apparent in the local field potentials, in spiking of cells and cell groups, and in the membrane potential of neurons. To investigate stimulus dependence of the γ‐frequency fluctuations of the membrane potential, we have recorded intracellularly responses of cells in cat visual cortex to presentation of moving gratings. We found γ‐range fluctuations of the membrane potential in both simple and complex cells. The strength of the γ‐frequency fluctuations correlated with the stimulus optimality. Furthermore, the amplitude of the γ‐frequency fluctuations correlated with the phase of stimulus‐imposed slow changes of the membrane potential. The combination of these features makes cortical neurons capable of encoding the slow changes in the visual world in a kind of amplitude modulation of the high frequency fluctuations. This assures reliable transformation of the membrane potential changes into spike responses without compromising the temporal resolution of visual information encoding in the low frequency range.
The twitterization of journalism: User perceptions of news tweets

Using an experiment and probability sample of Chicago and Los Angeles adults (N = 1211), this study tested how tweet characteristics (tone, space) and participant age (younger, middle, older) affected attitudes about tweets from a local newspaper. Results indicate that non-opinionated tweets were perceived as more useful and credible than opinionated tweets, and local tweets resulted in more engagement than national tweets. Younger participants (19–36 years) reported more positive affect, usefulness, engagement, and credibility related to tweets than did middle/older age groups. Younger participants were generally more negative about opinionated national tweets and preferred opinionated local tweets compared with middle/older groups.
A full-HD 60fps AVS/H.264/VC-1/MPEG-2 video decoder for digital home applications

In this paper, an AVS-embedded multi-format video decoder is presented. It integrates AVS JP@L6.2, H.264 HP@L4.2, VC-1 AP@L3, and MPEG-2 MP@HL in a single chip and features resources sharing, memory management, and early-stage acqusition to facilitate cost and bandwidth efficiency. For the applications of broadcasting, an adaptive error concealment method is proposed. A chip is fabricated and integrates 415K logic gates and 682Kbits embeded SRAM in 65nm single-poly seven-metal CMOS process with area of 2.47mm2. AVS video decoding of full 1920×1088 high-definition sequences at 60 frames per second is achieved at 166MHz clock frequency with power dissipation of 41.3mW at 1.0V supply voltage.