Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are the Gains from Foreign Diversification Diminishing? Assessing the Impact with Cross-Listed Stocks

How important is foreign diversification? In this paper, we re-examine this question motivated by findings from the literature about foreign companies that are listed on US exchanges. Specifically, domestic portfolios including cross-listed stocks can provide the same diversification as foreign market returns without the need for US investors to go abroad. At the same time, the betas of these foreign stock returns against the US market increase after cross-listing, suggesting diversification worsens over time. In this paper, we assess the impact of these changes on foreign diversification for a US investor. We test for and estimate breaks in the sensitivity of individual foreign stocks listed on US exchanges. We find that roughly half of the changes in betas arise from greater integration between the U.S. and the companies' home markets, not in the companies betas themselves. Moreover, the gains from diversifying into these stocks has declined over time.
Oxidation Kinetics of Calcium Films by Water Vapor and Their Effect on Water Vapor Transmission Rate Measurements

The oxidation of calcium films by water vapor is the basis of the “Ca test” used to measure low water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) through gas diffusion barriers. The Ca test assumes that the Ca film oxidation rate is linear with H2O flux transmitted through the barrier. However, lag times are often observed during WVTR measurements that could indicate that the Ca film oxidation rate is not linear with H2O flux. To explore the oxidation kinetics of Ca films by H2O vapor, a new Ca test was developed based on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. The QCM measures the mass gain that occurs as the Ca film oxidizes according to the reaction: Ca + 2H2O → Ca(OH)2 + H2. The QCM measurements observed a long lag time before the Ca films began to oxidize. The Ca film oxidation was studied using a number of experimental configurations. In all cases, the Ca film oxidation was not linear with H2O flux to the Ca film. These results suggest that the nonlinearity of Ca film oxidation in many WVTR experiments.
Estimate of genetic parameters for carcass traits and visual scores inmeat sheep using Bayesian inference via threshold and linear models

The aim of this study was to estimate the variance components and genetic parameters for marbling in the ribeye area (MRA) and body condition score (BCS) using Bayesian inference via mixed linear and threshold animal models. Data were obtained from Santa Ines breed sheep reared in the Brazilian Mid-North region. Analyses considering the Monte Carlo methods were performed with Markov chains from 500000 cycles onward. A 200000-cycle initial burn-in was considered with values taken at every 250 cycles, in a total of 1200 samples. The Monte Carlo Error deviations were low for the means heritability in all chains by both linear and threshold models. Additive variances estimated by threshold model were higher than those estimated by the linear model. Marble meat from the ribeye area and body condition score can be used as selection criteria to obtain genetic progress in Santa Ines sheep.
Technological Configuration Capability, Strategic Flexibility, and Organizational Performance in Chinese High-Tech Organizations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of corporate technology configuration capability on the relationship between strategic flexibility and organizational performance throughout the different stages of the technological life cycle. By empirically examining 439 Chinese high-tech organizations, we found that technological configuration capability enhances the effect of strategic flexibility on organizational performance in a complex dynamic environment. However, different impacts were observed on the different stages of the technological life cycle. In addition, we explored the strategic flexibility during the different stages of the technological life cycle based on our empirical study.
Boosted Trees for Risk Prognosis

We present a new approach to ensemble learning for risk prognosis in heterogeneous medical populations. Our aim is to improve overall prognosis by focusing on under-represented patient subgroups with an atypical disease presentation; with current prognostic tools, these subgroups are being consistently mis-estimated. Our method proceeds sequentially by learning nonparametric survival estimators which iteratively learn to improve predictions of previously misdiagnosed patients - a process called boosting . This results in fully nonparametric survival estimates, that is, constrained neither by assumptions regarding the baseline hazard nor assumptions regarding the underlying covariate interactions - and thus diﬀerentiating our approach from existing boosting methods for survival analysis. In addition, our approach yields a measure of the relative covariate importance that accurately identiﬁes relevant covariates within complex survival dynamics, thereby informing further medical understanding of disease interactions. We study the properties of our approach on a variety of heterogeneous medical datasets, demonstrating signiﬁcant performance improvements over existing survival and ensemble methods.
I. On the theory of lubrication and its application to Mr. Beauchamp tower’s experiments, including an experimental determination of the viscosity of olive oil

Lubrication, or the action of oils and other viscous fluids to diminish friction and wear between solid surfaces, does not appear to have hitherto formed a subject for theoretical treatment. Such treatment may have been prevented by the obscurity of the physical actions involved, which belong to a class as yet but little known, namely, the boundary or surface actions of fluids; but the absence of such treatment has also been owing to the want of any general laws revealed by experiment. The subject is of such fundamental importance in practical mechanics, and the opportunities of observation so frequent, that it may well be a matter of surprise that any general laws should have for so long escaped detection.
Fundamentals or Market Movements: What Drives the Dividend Decision?

This paper investigates the determinants of the dividend decision. We examine the impact of fundamental variables like earnings, size, or leverage, as well as the effect of stock price movements. Using a sample of German companies, we find a negative relation between the probability for dividend increases and the performance of the firm's shares. Dividend increasing companies performed worse than the overall stock market or corporations that keep dividends constant. In addition, we demonstrate that the documented pattern cannot be explained by models of asymmetric information or catering considerations. Thus, our results suggest that in Germany, where share repurchases were highly restricted, dividends are increased as a compensation for the poor returns of the current shareholders.
Appropriate Needle Lengths Determined Using Ultrasonic Echograms for Intramuscular Injections in Japanese Infants

Adjuvanted vaccines are recommended for administration through an intramuscular route. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the anterolateral thigh using a 22 - 25-G 25-mm (1 inch) needle for infants, injected at a 90° into the skin surface, and using a 16 mm (5/8 inch) for newborns. Appropriate needle lengths may differ depending on racial backgrounds. In the present study, the thickness of the epidermis and lengths from the skin surface to the muscle fascia and bone were measured using ultrasonic echograms in order to determine suitable needle lengths for Japanese infants aged 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12 - 15 months old. The thickness of the epidermis was 1.44 - 1.54 mm (95% CI), and the lengths from the skin surface to the muscle fascia and bone were 11.52 - 12.28 mm (95% CI), and 25.66 - 26.93 mm (95% CI), respectively, at the anterolateral thigh. At the center of the deltoid muscle, skin thickness was similar to that at the thigh, furthermore the lengths from the skin surface to the muscle fascia and bone were 8.49 - 9.10 mm (95% CI), and 17.38 - 18.31 mm (95% CI), respectively. The lengths from the skin surface to the muscle fascia and bone were 1 - 2 mm shorter in 2-month-old infants than those in older generations. Therefore, the appropriate needle length for intramuscular injections in Japanese infants was 16 mm (5/8 inch) at any age and sites, and with 25 mm (1 inch) needles at a 90° angle being associated with the risk of over-penetration.
Investigating water budget dynamics in 18 river basins across the Tibetan Plateau through multiple datasets

Abstract. The dynamics of basin-scale water budgets over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are not well understood nowadays due to the lack of in situ hydro-climatic observations. In this study, we investigate the seasonal cycles and trends of water budget components (e.g. precipitation P, evapotranspiration ET and runoff Q) in 18 TP river basins during the period 1982–2011 through the use of multi-source datasets (e.g. in situ observations, satellite retrievals, reanalysis outputs and land surface model simulations). A water balance-based two-step procedure, which considers the changes in basin-scale water storage on the annual scale, is also adopted to calculate actual ET. The results indicated that precipitation (mainly snowfall from mid-autumn to next spring), which are mainly concentrated during June–October (varied among different monsoons-impacted basins), was the major contributor to the runoff in TP basins. The P, ET and Q were found to marginally increase in most TP basins during the past 30 years except for the upper Yellow River basin and some sub-basins of Yalong River, which were mainly affected by the weakening east Asian monsoon. Moreover, the aridity index (PET/P) and runoff coefficient (Q/P) decreased slightly in most basins, which were in agreement with the warming and moistening climate in the Tibetan Plateau. The results obtained demonstrated the usefulness of integrating multi-source datasets to hydrological applications in the data-sparse regions. More generally, such an approach might offer helpful insights into understanding the water and energy budgets and sustainability of water resource management practices of data-sparse regions in a changing environment.
A Type of Combination Forecasting Method Based on Time Series Method and PLS

This paper depends on the panel data of Anhui province and its 17 cities’ cigarette sales. First we established three single forecasting models (Holter-Wintel Season product model, Time series model decomposing model and Partial least square regression model), after getting the predicted value of cigarette sales from these single models, we then employ the combination forecasting method based on Time Series method and PLS to predict the province and its 17 cities’ cigarette sales of the next year. The results show that the accuracy of prediction is good which could provide a reliable reference to cigarette sales forecasting in Anhui province and its 17 cities.
Subsampled Stochastic Variance-Reduced Gradient Langevin Dynamics

Stochastic variance-reduced gradient Langevin dynamics (SVRG-LD) was recently proposed to improve the performance of stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (SGLD) by reducing the variance of the stochastic gradient. In this paper, we propose a variant of SVRG-LD, namely SVRG-LD, which replaces the full gradient in each epoch with a subsampled one. We provide a nonasymptotic analysis of the convergence of SVRG-LD in 2-Wasserstein distance, and show that SVRG-LD enjoys a lower gradient complexity1 than SVRG-LD, when the sample size is large or the target accuracy requirement is moderate. Our analysis directly implies a sharper convergence rate for SVRG-LD, which improves the existing convergence rate by a factor of κn, where κ is the condition number of the log-density function and n is the sample size. Experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets validate our theoretical results.
Students' Experiences in Learning Physics: Active Learning Methods and Traditional Teaching.

In this research we have used a specially prepared survey in order to assess the relative efficiency of two different designs of students’ learning activities (active learning methods), called Reading, Presenting, and Questioning (RPQ) and Experimenting and Discussion (ED), in relation to traditional teaching of physics. The survey has been conducted on a sample of 176 students who attend the final year of a high school in Split (Republic of Croatia). The data of a onesemester-long high school project indicate that 36% of students of RPQ group choose the new method, the traditional method is the choice of 41% and the combination of the two methods is chosen by 23%. On the other hand, 91% of ED group students choose the new method, 1% choose the traditional one and 8% the combination of the two methods. It is important to emphasize that all concrete thinkers of the ED group choose the new method of learning physics as the one that should be carried out in the entire physics teaching.
Development of Small Holder Plantation Forests: An Analysis from Policy Process Perspective

This research was conducted to learn the inhibiting factors for renewal of forest utilization policy, particularly the policy of small holder plantation forests/HTR), by government. To achieve the objective of this research, there were studies on contents of law and regulations, respond of stakeholders toward those law-regulations, and problem of contents and constraints of law and regulations improvement through analysis approach of policy making process. It was found that technical constraints in HTR development were weak provision of forest territory and poor institutional strengthening of the participant community to be ready to receive permit or fund for HTR development. Such phenomena were due to contents of HTR policy which have more tendencies to answer the problem of absence of bureaucracy and administration procedure which should be determined on the basis of authorities of agencies of central and local government, rather than answering the problem faced by HTR participant community. Policy narrative in the past period in implementing large business policy of natural forest utilization were still dominant, accompanied with weak consideration in making and implementing policy toward forest territory conflict and weak socio-economic and bargaining position of the community, resulting in expensive public service which could not fulfill the community's need.
Unlocking the therapeutic and commercial potential of CAR-T technology

The striking clinical results of CAR-T therapies in blood cancers have shifted the cell therapy field from one that has future potential, to one offering hope of a future to those living with cancer. Since 2012 the field has expanded beyond investigators to investment and initial public offerings, individual ‘cures’ and industry growth. Here, we review the current state of CAR-T therapeutics, from improvements in CAR-T technology to clinical results, business growth and future applications. Finally, we discuss the remaining barriers to successful commercialization of CAR-T technology identified by key investors within this rapidly expanding field.
Stress in Aging – Its Importance and Biological Implications in NF-κ B Signaling

The free radical theory of aging is supported by the findings that overexpression of CuZn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase or the enhancement of reductive capacity by overexpression of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase extends the life span of Drosophila melanogaster. Furthermore, treatment with small-molecule antioxidant SOD mimetics, which successfully increases the life span in multicellular models of aging such as Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, gave additional needed credibility to the free radical theory of aging. Also, nitration of proteins by reactive nitrogen species and 4-hydroxy-2nonenal production by lipid peroxidation were found to increase with age, lending additional support to the oxidative stress hypothesis of aging. A number of research groups have reported alterations in transcriptional activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) outside the immune system that was characterized by striking increases in constitutive NF-κB activity in different tissues of aging humans and animals. On the other hand, reactive nitrogen species are signaling molecules that modulate NF-κB activity. In this way, the concept of nitrosative stress has emerged from an understanding that interactions between nitrosants and oxidants may produce products that are more toxic than either reactants alone. Thus, the proinflammatory peroxynitrite molecule presents such a unifying link between reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species by virtue of its generation from the reaction between superoxide, a reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide, a reactive nitrogen species. Importantly, peroxynitrite effects on NF-κB signaling can be considered in light of the relation that exists between molecular inflammation and nitrosative stress and with the aging process itself. This will reflect on the pro-aging signaling of redox-sensitive NF-κB and on the development of age-related diseases.
The combined effect of salinity and ascorbic acid on anatomical and physiological aspects of Jatropha plants.

s: At greenhouse of National Research Centre, Egypt. The present work was designed in order to investigate the behavior of Jatropha curcus seedlings grown under different salt concentration 4000, 8000 and 12000 ppm, and their interaction with ascorbic acid. Results can be summarized as fallowing: a- Jatropha plants increased relative water content and osmotic pressure and perform osmotic adjustment under saline conditions. b- Photosynthetic pigments, Na + , Ca ++ and Mg ++ percentage increased till 8000 ppm salinity, while protein and phosphors decreased significantly. c- The interaction between salinity and ascorbic acid had promotive effect on relative water content, osmotic pressure and some selective ions. d- Ascorbic acid interacted with salinity and caused increments in number of xylem row and number of vessels/bundle but had no effect on the number of bundles of the stem.
Vitamin D Intervention in Children with Allergic rhinitis:A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The prevalence of allergic diseases has continued to rise in recent years, in children as in adults. Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common allergic conditions (Meltzer, 1997). Mortality is not associated with AR, but significant morbidity occurs, in USA, annually an estimated 824,000 school days are missed, and an estimated 4,230.000 days of reduced quality –oflife functions are reported (Christakos et al., 2013).
In-Vitro Evaluation of Anti Proliferative and Haemolysis Activity of Selected Plant Extracts on Lung Carcinoma ( A 549 )

Plants are important source for screening and development of herbal medicines, herbs have been on the forefront whenever we talk about cancer cure and herbal medicines have a vital role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to exploit bioactive compounds of three medicinal plants viz. Curcuma longa L. , Clitoria ternatea L. and Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. , investigated their anti-proliferative properties in-vitro on lung carcinoma and evaluated the haemolytic activity. Methanolic extract of Curcuma longa L. showed inhibition (IC 50=207.3 μg/ml) of growth against human lung carcinoma cell line (A549) and inhibition was not observed for Clitoria ternatea L. and aqueous extract of Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. while all three plants found to be non haemolytic. Our studies infer that the bioactive compounds of Curcuma longa L. are a potent medicinal source for human lung cancer as it showed a significant inhibition of growth of cancer cells and non haemolytic in nature.
Range-wide mtDNA phylogeography yields insights into the origins of Asian elephants

In Vidya et al. [1], the last paragraph on page 896 (con tinuing to page 897; Results section) provided the rate of sequence divergence incorrectly as the mutation rate, which was used for the calculation of mean times of expansion and effective population sizes. We provide the correct values in the two paragraphs below. However, these changes do not make any difference to the inferences drawn or to the conclusions of the paper. The last paragraph on page 896 should read as follows:
Enhancement of SnowScat for tomographic observation capabilities

The SnowScat device, a tower-mounted fully polarimetric scatterometer for measurements of the radar crosssection of snow at X-band up to Ku-band, has recently been enhanced to also support a tomographic profiling mode. The new tomographic profiling capability of SnowScat allows for performing high-resolution observations providing further insights into the complex electromagnetic interaction within snowpacks. In this paper, we present first results obtained from a series of tomographic profiles of a snowpack acquired with the enhanced SnowScat device at a test site of SLF in Davos, Switzerland, between Dec. 2014 and March 2015.
Molecular and catalytic properties of phytate‐degrading enzymes (phytases)

Summary Phytate-degrading enzymes catalyse the step-wise release of phosphate from phytate, the principle storage form of phosphorus in plant seeds and pollen.They are widespread in nature, occurring in plants and micro-organisms, as well as in some animal tissues. Phytate-degrading enzymes have been studied intensively in recent years because of the great interest in such enzymes for reducing phytate content in animal feed and food for human consumption.Phytate-degrading enzymes are also of interest for producing defined breakdown products of phytate for kinetic and physiological studies.Certain myo-inositol phosphates have been proposed to have novel metabolic effects and therefore, the physiological role of different myo-inositol phosphates is presently undergoing extensive research.Generally, phytase behaves like a monomeric enzyme with molecular masses between 40 and 70 kDa.Up to now, two main types of phytate-degrading enzymes have been identified; acid phytate-degrading enzymes with an pH optimum around pH 5 and alkaline phytate-degrading enzymes with an pH optimum around pH 8.Most of the so far described phytate-degrading enzymes belong to the acidic type, and their optimal pH ranges from 4.5 to 6.0. This review summarises the molecular features as well as catalytic properties of phytate-degrading enzymes and also discusses enzymatic phytate degradation.
Spatio-Temporal Variation Analysis of Precipitation during 1960-2008 in the Poyang Lake Basin, China

Long-term monthly precipitation data from 1960 to 2008 at 17 rain stations are analyzed to explore spatio-temporal variation of the seasonal and annual precipitation in the Poyang Lake basin, China, using anomaly analysis, simple linear regressive technique, Mann-Kendall trend test and Continuous Wavelet Transform. The results indicate that: (1) increasing precipitation trend is observed in summer and winter, while decreasing precipitation trend is identified in spring and autumn, and the above mentioned precipitation trends are not statistically significant; (2) changing trend of the areal average annual precipitation is non-significantly increasing, and increasing trend happens in almost the whole basin except in western and south-eastern small parts; (3) the spatial distribution of the seasonal and annual precipitation anomalies between 1991-2008 and 1960-2008 is similar to that of seasonal and annual precipitation trend during 1960-2008; (4) three main time-frequency distributions are observed in annual precipitation series during 1960- 2008, and they are 18 - 26 years, 8 - 14 years and 2 - 8 years, respectively; accordingly, there are three main periods in annual precipitation series, and they are 11-year, 22-year and 5-year respectively. This result will be helpful for further research on availability, scientific management and assessment of the water resources of the Poyang Lake basin.