Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating performance capacity of high frequency trading strategies, based on comparative ratios and market inefficiency at Helsinki Stock Exchange

High frequency trading is not only about the speed but also about the effective trading strategies it uses to perform the trade. Performance capacity evaluation of high frequency trading strategies is done using different comparative ratios. Studies find, due to tight spread, it is difficult for high frequency traders to generate significant alpha by trading the highly liquid stocks using market making strategy. But they can still generate positive return with Sharpe ratio almost equal to market. They act more like market makers following this strategy. The capacity of other high frequency trading strategies lies in between (58-75) %. Statistical arbitrage strategy is the best among all the high frequency trading strategies. Sharpe ratio as a main tool of comparison between high frequency and non-high frequency traders, shows multiple times higher Sharpe for high frequency traders in comparison to non-high frequency traders. Value at Risk (VaR) suggests the probability of generating positive return for all the strategies having long and short positions. This thesis takes one month high frequency limit order and tick data from NASDAQ OMX Nordic and select six mostly traded Finnish stocks based on their limit order book activities. Basic limit order book activities of all the selected stocks is analyzed including and excluding non-high frequency activates to make sure all the selected stocks are influenced by high frequency activities, so that the result is more accurate. This thesis follows the high frequency trading strategies and respective holding periods suggested by Aldridge (2009). Sometimes strategies work not because strategies are efficient but due to market inefficiency. This thesis crosschecks the market inefficiency with autoregressive based test. Due to tick data and a very short time interval between the two observations, it finds strong influence of past returns and past price movements in the current return suggesting inefficiency in the market.
Role of N-Acetylcysteine to Prevent Contrast-Induced Nephropathy: A Meta-analysis

It is unclear whether N-acetylcysteine is useful in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Because of different inclusion and exclusion criteria and different definitions of studied parameters, various studies have reported different outcomes. A systematic search was done using PubMed, Ovid, and the Cochrane library, and studies were pooled after strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Separate analysis was conducted for all endpoints including only studies that used an N-acetylcysteine (NAC) dose of 600 mg, and another separate analysis was conducted for all endpoints including only studies that used oral route NAC to study how the dose and route of administration of NAC affect the outcomes. The results of the pooled analysis significantly favored the use of NAC to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing coronary angiography but failed to show any significant benefit in terms of creatinine levels preangiography and postangiography, need for dialysis, and all-cause mortality. The effects of route and dose of NAC did not show any significant difference except in respect to incidence of postcatheterization nephropathy. This study shows that NAC may not have any impact on clinical outcomes after peripheral or coronary artery catheterization and that dose and route do not seem to have any effect on these outcomes.
Nonlinear Evolution of Gaussian ASE Noise in ZMNL Fiber

This paper investigates the evolution of kurtosis of the input Gaussian amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in a nonlinear fiber with negligible dispersion. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) describing propagation in optical fibers is simplified such that the fiber represents a zero memory nonlinear (ZMNL) system, and this approximation allows the development of analytical formulas for the statistical moments of the output noise. It is possible to calculate moments of all integer orders and the explicit expressions for the first four moments are given. The investigations show that the ASE noise does not preserve its Gaussian character when Kerr nonlinearity is significant. This observation proves that the common assumption of the Gaussian output ASE is not necessarily valid. Numerical simulations are provided to support the derivation. Kurtosis deviating significantly from the value typical for Gaussian noise is also an indicator that BER calculation in the coherent systems based on the assumption that ASE is Gaussian is likely to be inaccurate.
Exploring antecedents of attitude toward co-producing a retail checkout service utilizing a self-service technology

Previous research commonly focuses on consumers’ attitudes toward adopting self-service technologies (SSTs) but overlooks their attitudes toward changes in the service delivery system created by having to co-produce their retail service. Thus, the purpose of this research is to address several gaps in the literature by investigating consumers’ attitude toward co-producing a retail service via a SST and its antecedents. Employing a model adapted from innovation adoption and technology acceptance research, the study examines interrelationships among consumers’ attitude toward co-producing a retail service, their individual characteristics (i.e. extrinsic motivation, preparedness to use the SST, previous scanning experience, technology anxiety, need for interaction, belief about retailers’ service-producing responsibilities, perceived risks), and their perceptions of the SST's characteristics. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire conducted on a convenience sample of experienced grocery shoppers (n = 228) and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Results demonstrate that one's attitude toward co-producing the scanning service is a central construct leading to future intent to use the service. In addition, consumers’ extrinsic motivations directly impact attitude toward co-producing the service and mediate the relationship between consumers’ co-production attitude and their perceptions of the SST’s characteristics, beliefs about the retailers’ service-producing responsibilities, and consumers’ preparedness to use the scanning SST. Predictors of consumers’ preparedness to use the SST include both their previous scanning experiences and technology anxiety. Managerial implications are discussed.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in postgermination arrest of development by abscisic acid

Abscisic acid (ABA) mediates plant responses to environmental stress, particularly to water status. During germination, the embryo emerges from dormancy as the ABA concentration declines. Exposure to exogenous ABA during germination arrests development rapidly, but reversibly, enabling seedlings to withstand early water stress without loss of viability. Postgermination proteolytic degradation of the essential ABI5 transcription factor is interrupted by perception of an increase in ABA concentration, leading to ABI5 accumulation and reactivation of embryonic genes. Making use of the ABA-hypersensitive hyl1 mutant of Arabidopsis, we show that the ABA signal is transmitted to the transcriptional apparatus through mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.
Action of ethanol and some alcoholic beverages on gastric acid secretion in anaesthetized rats.

The action of intragastric ethanol in various concentrations equivalent to those found in alcoholic beverages (1.5-40 v/v), ethanol 96% (v/v) and of some commonly ingested alcoholic beverages produced by alcoholic fermentation (beer, wine, champagne, martini and sherry) or by fermentation plus distillation (e.g. whisky, cognac, calvados, armagnac and rum) on gastric acid output (GAO) was studied in anaesthetized Wistar rats. Ethanol concentrations of 1.5%, 4% and 10% v/v did not significantly alter basal GAO, whereas all higher concentrations of ethanol (20%, 40% and 96% v/v) significantly (P < 0.05) and dose-dependently decreased the GAO. All alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation significantly increased GAO by 30-35% of maximal acid output (MAO; 48 micrograms/kg pentagastrin intramuscularly), whereas alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation plus distillation significantly decreased GAO as compared to control (isotonic glucose and distilled water). Glucose solutions to which yeast was added, resulting in fermentation, were as potent stimuli of GAO as beer. Lyophilized fermented glucose at different concentrations (dilution of 1:20 to 1:1) dose-dependently stimulated GAO: the highest dilution (1:20) had no effect, the 1:5 dilution significantly increased gastric acid secretion similarly to that of beer and fermented glucose. The highest concentration of lyophilized fermented glucose (1:1) was as potent as the MAO after pentagastrin (90% of MAO). In conclusion, the present investigation shows for the first time that, in rats: (1) ethanol in a concentration > 10% v/v inhibits GAO; (2) lower ethanol concentrations (< 10% v/v) do not alter GAO; (3) alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation but not those produced by alcoholic fermentation plus distillation are powerful stimulants of GAO; (4) the stimulatory non-alcoholic ingredients of these alcoholic beverages are most likely produced during the process of fermentation of carbohydrates and removed during the following process of distillation.
Ultimate ownership and takeover defences in Spain

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper focuses on analysing the impact that the ownership in the hands of ultimate owner and the degree of divergence between his/her voting and cash flow rights exercise on the takeover defences. The study was undertaken on a sample of non-financial Spanish listed firms in the period from 1999 to 2007, and based on the defence measures set out in their company by-laws. The results show that the level of cash flow rights of the ultimate owner is seen to be an element that determines the relationship between the costs and benefits that the adoption of defence measures in the by-laws entail for those shareholders because it has a negative influence on defence. The results also indicate that the divergence between the ultimate owner's voting and cash flow rights has a negative influence on the level of defence.
Effector Function of Diabetogenic CD4 Th1 T Cell Clones: A Central Role for TNF-α1

Effector function of T cells in autoimmune diabetes has been widely studied with mixed populations of lymphoid T cells stimulated ex vivo, but this approach does not permit evaluation of the contribution by a single T cell clone in the inflammatory site during pathogenesis. We have investigated cytokine production both in vitro and in vivo in a panel of diabetogenic CD4 Th1 T cell clones derived from the NOD mouse. SuperArray analysis showed a common pattern of mRNA expression for inflammatory cytokines and receptors in vitro after TCR stimulation. Ex vivo intracellular cytokine staining demonstrated that two important inflammatory cytokines, IFN-γ and TNF-α, were being made by these T cells recovered from the pancreas 6 days following adoptive transfer. TNF-α produced in the pancreas by pathogenic T cell clones and recruited macrophages was not the membrane-bound form. Secreted TNF-α can lead to production of multiple inflammatory chemokines, as were observed in the pathogenic clones by intracellular cytokine staining. Our results not only define the nature of an inflammatory cytokine response critical to development of diabetes, but also suggest its role in the regulation of other events during pathogenesis induced by CD4 T cells. Similar analyses in other models demonstrated that disease induced by CD4 T cell clones closely resembles spontaneous autoimmune diabetes in which both CD4 and CD8 T cells are required. Thus, cloned T cells in effect amplify effector function of T cells which otherwise may be difficult to detect without ex vivo stimulation.
Optimal Control Problems in Coefficients for Degenerate Equations of Monotone Type: Shape Stability and Attainability Problems

In this paper we study a Dirichlet optimal control problem for a nonlinear monotone equation with degenerate weight function and with the coefficients which we adopt as controls in $L^\infty(\Omega)$. Since these types of equations can exhibit the Lavrentieff phenomenon, we consider the optimal control problem in coefficients in the so-called class of H-admissible solutions. Using the direct method of calculus of variations we discuss the solvability of the above optimal control problem, and prove the attainability of H-optimal pairs via optimal solutions of some nondegenerate perturbed optimal control problems. We also introduce the concept of the Mosco-stability for the above optimal control problem and study the variational properties of Mosco-stable problems with respect to the special type of domain perturbations.
Sodium, potassium, two chloride cotransport in corneal endothelium: characterization and possible role in volume regulation and fluid transport.

PURPOSE To search for membrane transporter proteins that could contribute to volume regulation and fluid transport by corneal endothelium. As an initial step, the authors have focused on Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporters. METHODS Bovine corneal endothelial cells were cultured to confluence. 86Rubidium was used as a tracer for K+ uptake determinations; uptake values were normalized per milligram of cell protein. RESULTS Three components of K+ uptake were characterized: ouabain (1 mM) sensitive, bumetanide (0.1 mM) sensitive, and ouabain-bumetanide insensitive. Both the ouabain-sensitive and bumetanide-sensitive components increased in the presence of 26.2 mM HCO3-; 0.5 mM 4,4'-diisothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid abolished this increase. The bumetanide-sensitive component was completely inhibited in the absence of Na+ or Cl-. This component was increased 33% by a 33% hypertonic solution and was decreased 38% by a 33% hypotonic solution. The protein kinase C activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate decreased the activity of the cotransporter, whereas forskolin, in the presence of isobutylmethylxanthine, decreased it. Calyculin A (100 nM), an inhibitor of phosphatases 1 and 2a, produced a large (97%) activation of this component. CONCLUSIONS These results provided for the first time conclusive evidence for the presence of a Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter in corneal endothelium and of its possible involvement in volume-regulatory processes in these cells. Given the uptake values reported here, such cotransporter could contribute significantly to electrolyte transport and hence to fluid transport across this preparation.
Spastic paraplegia in 'dominant optic atrophy plus' phenotype due to OPA1 mutation.

Sir, We read the papers by Yu-Wai-Man et al. (2010) and Marelli et al. (2011) with much interest. The authors described three families with dominant optic atrophy plus phenotype due to OPA1 mutations presenting spastic paraplegia among the extra-ocular neurological features. Two families, reported by Yu-Wai-Man et al . (2010), harboured a deletion c.876-878del(TGT) and a nonsense GTPase mutation c.899C>T, respectively, both resulting in premature termination codons. The affected members presented neuropathy in addition to spastic paraplegia and dominant optic atrophy. Marelli et al. (2011) described a third family in which a missense mutation c.1652G>A in the dynamin domain was associated with Behr syndrome. We report here, a patient in whom a deletion c. 2708_2711delTTAG of OPA1 was associated with dominant optic atrophy, spastic paraplegia, Duane retraction syndrome, migraine with atypical aura, patent foramen ovale and muscle fibre abnormalities. Considering the previous reports, we extend the mutations of OPA1 as possibly responsible for dominant optic atrophy plus phenotypes presenting spastic paraplegia, and identify some features shared by patients with optic atrophy plus and spastic pyramidal involvement. The proband, a 28-year-old Italian female belonging to a family from Sicily, has suffered from loss of central vision due to optic atrophy since childhood. She was referred to our unit for the onset, appeared a few years earlier, of slowly progressive …
Does Customer Knowledge Affect How Loyalty is Formed?

The authors first propose and test a cognitive-affective-conative baseline model: Perceived service quality (both tangible company-related and employee-related factors) is modeled antecedent to satisfaction and trust, which in turn are antecedents to customer loyalty responses (word of mouth and traditional loyalty). These relationships are then hypothesized to be moderated by high versus low knowledge, a moderation based on central versus peripheral processing. The results show that employee service quality has a greater impact than company service quality on trust and on satisfaction in both knowledge groups. The relationship of trust to word of mouth is both direct and indirect through satisfaction for both knowledge groups, but the relationship of trust to loyalty is both direct and indirect through satisfaction only for the high-knowledge group; for the low-knowledge group, the relationship of trust to loyalty is indirect only, through satisfaction.
Malaysian real estate investment trusts (M-REITs) : a performance and comparative analysis

This study examines the investment performance of conventional and Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed in Malaysia over the 2005–10 time period. Analysis reveals that both conventional and Islamic REITs experienced negative monthly return during 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) period, and positive monthly return post GFC period. Compared to market indices, most REITs are under-performed before GFC. Divergent findings were reported during the GFC and post-GFC, depending on the measurement tools used. Based on Treynor and Sharpe measurements, most REITs under-performed the market portfolio in during and post GFC period. However, according to Jensen measurement, the REITs out-performed market indices during and post GFC period. Despite these seemingly divergent findings, this study can assist investors, regulatory body, fund managers and academics to make a better informed investment decision on Malaysia REITs. This study has provided interesting and important information and insights into the performance of Malaysia REITs.
Agency Theory Versus Managerial Ownership Theories: Understanding the Non-Linear Relationship between Managerial Incentives and Firm Risk

This paper provides new evidence on the relationship between managerial incentives and firm risk using a hand-collected database of 3307 executive year observations. We find that the relation between pay performance sensitivity and firm risk exhibits a nonlinear relationship with firm size: for small to medium-sized quoted companies there is a negative relation between pay performance sensitivity and risk consistent with the standard agency theory model; but for large quoted companies the relationship becomes unstable under different model specifications. We argue that the model of compensation practices advanced by Aggarwal and Samwick (1999) does not apply to all ranges of the company size distribution and, indeed, for all types of directors. Also, the support found for the model advanced by Core and Guay (2001) is not robust to different model specifications. We conclude that neither model can fully explain the relationship between pay performance sensitivity and risk in the UK.
Information Load and Consumer Decision Making

In an experimental investigation of the effects of information load on consumer decision making, respondents experienced information overload when they were provided with 10, 15, 20, or 25 choice alternatives or with information on 15, 20, or 25 attributes. Alternative measures of the dependent variable yielded similar results, thus enhancing confidence in these findings.
Research staff in Australian universities: is there a career path?

As universities in Australia have undergone transformation in the past two decades, the pressure on academics to gain external grant funding for research has increased. In the same time period, the number of research academic staff has increased substantially and they account for one-third of the academic workforce. Despite this expansion, there is limited research on the employment characteristics or career aspirations of the research academic workforce. The Work and Careers in Australian Universities survey of 19 Australian universities revealed that the workforce needs to be differentiated on the basis of employment contract as the overwhelming majority of research staff are on fixed term contracts. There appears to be limited means to transfer from this ‘periphery’ employment to the ‘core’ where a permanent appointment and career path are available.
Exertional heat stroke in a young man with a documented rise in troponin I

Heat stroke is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention to prevent multiorgan dysfunction. It is vital that, as emergency physicians, we aim for early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of this condition to prevent the high morbidity and mortality that is associated with it. The case history is presented of a 21-year-old man who presented with exertional heat stroke with a raised troponin I level 24 h after admission which subsequently normalised. To our knowledge, there are no case reports in the literature of a patient with a raised troponin level following exertional heat stroke.
Synchronous Infra-Slow Bursting in the Mouse Accessory Olfactory Bulb Emerge from Interplay between Intrinsic Neuronal Dynamics and Network Connectivity

Rhythmic neuronal activity of multiple frequency bands has been described in many brain areas and attributed to numerous brain functions. Among these, little is known about the mechanism and role of infra-slow oscillations, which have been demonstrated recently in the mouse accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). Along with prolonged responses to stimuli and distinct network connectivity, they inexplicably affect the AOB processing of social relevant stimuli. Here, we show that assemblies of AOB mitral cells are synchronized by lateral interactions through chemical and electrical synapses. Using a network model, we demonstrate that the synchronous oscillations in these assemblies emerge from interplay between intrinsic membrane properties and network connectivity. As a consequence, the AOB network topology, in which each mitral cell receives input from multiple glomeruli, enables integration of chemosensory stimuli over extended time scales by interglomerular synchrony of infra-slow bursting. These results provide a possible functional significance for the distinct AOB physiology and topology. Beyond the AOB, this study presents a general model for synchronous infra-slow bursting in neuronal networks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Infra-slow rhythmic neuronal activity with a very long (>10 s) duration has been described in many brain areas, but little is known about the role of this activity and the mechanisms that produce it. Here, we combine experimental and computational methods to show that synchronous infra-slow bursting activity in mitral cells of the mouse accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) emerges from interplay between intracellular dynamics and network connectivity. In this novel mechanism, slow intracellular Na+ dynamics endow AOB mitral cells with a weak tendency to burst, which is further enhanced and stabilized by chemical and electrical synapses between them. Combined with the unique topology of the AOB network, infra-slow bursting enables integration and binding of multiple chemosensory stimuli over a prolonged time scale.