Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selection of a Portfolio of Pairs Based on Cointegration: A Statistical Arbitrage Strategy

Statistical arbitrage strategies, such as pairs trading and its generalizations, rely on the construction of mean- reverting spreads with a certain degree of predictability. This paper applies cointegration tests to identify stocks to be used in pairs trading strategies. In addition to estimating long-term equilibrium and to model the resulting residuals, we select stock pairs to compose a pairs trading portfolio based on an indicator of profitability evaluated in-sample. The profitability of the strategy is assessed with data from the Sao Paulo stock exchange ranging from January 2005 to October 2012. Empirical analysis shows that the proposed strategy exhibit excess returns of 16.38% per year, Sharpe Ratio of 1.34 and low correlation with the market.
Track Groups (II)

Introduction IN a previous paper ((1), hereafter referred to as I) we defined the Track Groups (P, Q){X, x0; x0) of a pair [P, Q], where Q is closed in P, and x0 is a point of X, for ra ^ 1. If K is an (w+l)-dimensional CW-complex with but one vertex, and K~ is its (n—l)th skeleton, we showed that the group (K,K-){X,XQ,xQ), written (n-\-l,n— l) , is a central extension of J^+Vm+n+i) by H"(7Tm+n), where H*{G) = H*{K,Z«-i; 0), and
Smoothness in Banach spaces. Selected problems

Este articulo dibuja un breve panorama sobre algunos problemas recientes y otros clasicos en la teoria de diferenciabilidad y renormamiento en espacios de Banach. Se consideran aplicaciones a la topologia general y al analisis no lineal. Se incluyen algunos resultados nuevos asi como nuevas pruebas de resultados anteriores. Se ha intentado realizar un esfuerzo para que un investigador joven pueda apreciar el articulo sin prerrequisitos especiales y perciba la situacion de esta area de la teoria de los espacios de Banach. Se discuten muchos problemas abiertos de variada dificultad. Para conveniencia del lector, se incluye una amplia lista de referencias.
Investing into the Abyss: The Continued Misclassification of Multi-sector Managed Funds

The objective of this paper is to assess whether Australian multi-sector managed funds are misclassified, and then, having found this to be the case, determine if this misclassification has any impact on fund performance. In this research we adopt a strong form of returns based style analysis to investigate a monthly sample of Australian multi-sector funds over the five-year sample period 2003:04-2008:03. The evidence provided demonstrates that insufficient attention has been paid as to whether fund managers are able to keep within their tactical asset allocation ranges and presents that misclassification exist for Australian multi-sector managed funds but that the effect on fund performance is not significant. Additional areas of interest worthy of further attention but not investigated within this paper include extending the work to investigate additional fund types (including superannuation) to determine if the results hold once funds are overexposed to certain asset classes in bullish and bearish market conditions. We find the current system of classification of managed funds on the basis of their stated objectives has significant room for improvement. Our findings demonstrate a lack of association, and the implication to investors is that, misclassification may not be a significant reason for fund underperformance. The paper adds to the literature by demonstrating that no association exists between misclassification and fund performance.
Selection of Actuators and Sensors for Surge Control

For surge control in compression systems, a suitable combination of actuators and sensors must be selected. The goal is to identify the combinations for which there exists a controller that locally stabilizes the linearized compression system model and meet additional control objectives. The latter are quantified in terms of a bound on an H-infinity norm. With this we aim to stay close to the nominal operating point in the face of disturbances, noise, and actuator limitations. The considered selection method is more rigorous than previously found in literature, in the sense that multivariable, dynamic output feedback is the focus and that different performance specifications are handled simultaneously. Though the method was originally developed fot linear systems, it can be used for the nonlinear compression system model by linearizing the model on a grid of nominal operating points. Among the proposed actuators and sensors, the close-coupled valve and mass flow sensor are identified as the most promising. The results are sustained by the physics of the problem.
A model study of Saharan dust emissions and distributions during the SAMUM-1 campaign

[1] Simulations of Saharan dust emission, transport, and deposition are performed using new developments of the regional model COSMO-MUSCAT for the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-1), which took place in May–June 2006. Up-to-date surface soil data sets developed especially to model dust emissions are used, and a new representation of the dust size distribution is proposed. Compared with previous model studies performed with COSMO-MUSCAT, the advantage of our approach is that no tuning factor on the erosion threshold is needed for the whole Sahara. The performances and limitations of COSMO-MUSCAT to model the regional dust cycle are discussed. The spatiotemporal variability of simulated Saharan emissions is evaluated using a backtracking approach to locate dust sources with Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) infrared difference images and using dust observations of North African meteorological stations. The Saharan dust emissions are estimated to be 78 Tg during the studied period. The model dust size distributions agree well with SAMUM-1 airborne measurements, previous model simulations, and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) inversion products. Our ability to simulate the vertical cross section of a dust plume is also discussed with regard to airborne lidar measurements and former simulations. The horizontal distribution of model-derived aerosol optical thicknesses (AOT) is compared with Aqua-MODIS Deep Blue AOT and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol indexes. Dry and wet deposition rates are simulated. About 67% of the emitted dust is deposited in the vicinity of the emitted source areas over North Africa and close marine areas, and 33% is transported out of the studied area toward other continents and remote ocean areas.
Credit Constraints, Political Instability, and Capital Accumulation

We investigate the complex interactions between credit constraints, political instability, and capital accumulation using a novel approach based on Kiyotaki and Moore’s (1997) theoretical framework. Drawing on a unique firm-level data set from Middle-East and North Africa (MENA), empirical findings point to a large and significant effect of credit conditions on capital accumulation and suggest that continued political unrest worsens credit constraints. The results support the view that financial development measured by a relaxing of financial constraints is key to macroeconomic development.
Supercontinuum Generation for Ultrahigh-Resolution OCT via Selective Liquid Infiltration Approach

In this paper, we apply liquid infiltration approach for supercontinuum generation (SCG) in photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in which by selectively infiltrating three air holes of PCF, a near zero dispersion is obtained that is a key parameter for SCG. Our numerical results show that by launching a very short input optical pulse of 50 fs in normal dispersion regime with wavelength centered about 700 nm, into 50 mm PCF infiltrated by ethanol, broadband, coherent and ripple free SC as wide as 1000 nm will be achieved that covers the visible light and a part of near infrared spectra used for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography.
Biomechanical Testing of Charité Disc Replacements versus Fusion Using Hybrid Testing Protocol and Follower Load

Statement of Purpose: To quantify adjacent level effects following Charité disc replacement compared to fusion, using the follower load and the new standard hybrid testing method in flexion, extension, and torsion. Summary of Background Data: As opposed to fusion, artificial discs not only preserve motion, but may diminish adjacent level effects and thus slow adjacent disc degeneration. This study aims to use hybrid test protocol and follower load to perform in vitro multidirectional testing and quantify adjacent- and other- level (AOL) effects following one- and two-level disc implants compared to fusion. Methods: Five intact human cadaveric lumbar specimens underwent multidirectional testing in flexion, extension, and bilateral torsion loading with ±10Nm unconstrained pure moments under 400N follower load. Intact specimen (T12-S1) total ranges of motion were first determined for each loading direction and then used as input for the 5 subsequent hybrid tests: 1) one-level Charité disc implant at L5-S1; 2) one-level simulated 360 0 fusion at L5-S1; 3) two-level Charité disc implants at levels L4-L5 and L5-S1; 4) combined one-level Charité disc implant at L4-L5 and one-level simulated 360 0 fusion at L5-S1; and 5) two-level simulated 360 0 fusion at L4-S1. Using repeated measures single factor ANOVA and Bonferroni statistical tests (p < 0.05), intersegmental motion redistribution was compared between intact and testing conditions. Results: One- and two- level Charité disc preserved physiological motion, whereas one-level L5-S1 fusion increased intersegmental motions at proximal levels. Two-level fusion at L4-L5-S1 produced markedly increased motions at proximal levels, but converting the L4-L5 fusion to a Charité produced results equivalent to a one-level L5-S1 fusion. In axial torsion, both one- and two-level disc implants preserved motions at all levels. Although the one-level fusion did not produce significant changes, the two-level fusion did result in significant increases in motion at proximal levels. Conclusions: The fusion simulations did not only affect motion re-distribution at adjacent-levels, but also at other-levels cephalic to the fusion. A prosthetic disc placed above a fusion could not buffer the proximal levels from increased motion from the fusion.
Modelling fibre laydown and web uniformity in nonwoven fabric

The mechanical and functional performance of nonwoven fabric critically depends on the fibre architecture. The fibre laydown process plays a key role in controlling this architecture. The fibre dynamic behaviour during laydown is studied through a finite element model which describes the role of the parameters in defining the area covered by a single fibre when deposited on the conveyor belt. The path taken by a fibre is described in terms of the radius of gyration, which characterises the area covered by the fibre in the textile, and the spectrum of curvature, which describes the degree of fibre looping as a function of the arc length. Starting from deterministic and idealised fibre curvature spectra, stochastic Monte Carlo simulations are undertaken to generate full nonwoven web samples and reproduce the uniformity of fibre density. A novel image analysis technique that allows measurement of the uniformity of real spunbonded nonwoven samples from images of textiles is used to confirm the validity of the model. It is shown that the main parameter that governs the fibre density uniformity is the ratio of the fibre spinning velocity to the velocity of conveyor belt, while fibre oscillations prior to deposition play a secondary role.
Early Cenomanian "hot greenhouse" revealed by oxygen isotope record of exceptionally well-preserved foraminifera from Tanzania

The search into Earth’s mid-Cretaceous greenhouse conditions has recently been stimulated by the Tanzania Drilling Project (TDP) which has recovered exceptionally well-preserved biogenic carbonates from subsurface pre-Neogene marine sediments in the eastern margin of central Africa. Published Tanzanian oxygen isotope records measured on exquisitely preserved foraminiferal tests, dating to as old as ~93Ma, provided evidence for a Turonian “hot greenhouse” with very high and stable water-column temperatures. We have generated a comparable data set of exceptionally well-preserved foraminifera from a lower Cenomanian interval of TDP Site 24 spanning 99.9–95.9Ma (planktonic foraminiferal Thalmanninella globotruncanoides Zone; nannofossil Corollithion kennedyi to Lithraphidites eccentricus Zones), thereby extending the age coverage of the Tanzanian foraminiferal δO record back by ~7 million years. Throughout the interval analyzed, the new foraminiferal δO data are consistently around 4.3‰ for surface-dwelling planktonic taxa and 1.9‰ for benthic Lenticulina spp. , which translate to conservative paleotemperature estimates of >31°C at the surface and >17°C at the sea floor (upper bathyal depths). Considering the ~40°S Cenomanian paleolatitude of TDP Site 24, these estimates are higher than computer simulation results for accepted “normal” greenhouse conditions (those with up to 4X preindustrial pCO2 level) and suggest that the climate mode of the early Cenomanian was very similar to the Turonian hot greenhouse. Taking account of other comparable data sources from different regions, the hot greenhouse mode within the normal mid-Cretaceous greenhouse may have begun by the latest Albian, but the precise timing of the critical transition remains uncertain.
Salinity effects on germination and seedlings biomass of Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum: an endangered species

Cacti are particularly sensitive to habitat disturbance since they have slow growth and a longlife cycle. Their development and establishment depend on several factors, includingenvironmental requirements for germination and establishment of seedlings. Two of the mostinfluential factors are soil and water salinity. The objective of this study was to quantify seedsgermination and seedling biomass production of the Aborigine’s comb cactus (Pachyceruspecten-aboriginum) in salt stress using sodium chloride (NaCl) as the main salt source. Theexperiment was arranged in a completely randomized design using six salt levels (0.11, 2.03,4.00, 6.03, 8.03 and 10.07 dS m-1) with five replicates of 20 seeds each one. The seeds werecollected in a wild population of P. pecten-aboriginum in Ejido Álvaro Obregón, BajaCalifornia Sur, Mexico in June 2011. The results showed that germination and seedlingbiomass were significantly affected by salt stress, which was higher at 2.03 and 0.11 dS m-1,followed by 6.03 and 4.00 dS m-1, lower at 8.03 dS m-1, and no growth at 10.07 dS m-1. It isconcluded that saline levels using sodium chloride as the main source of salt, affect seedgermination and seedling biomass production of P. pecten-aboriginum significantly.
Labini and the barriers to entry As highlighted by Bharadwaj, 1993, Sylos Labini’s major contribution has been the comprehensive view of the general process of economic growth in terms of a dynamic interaction of market

Between December 2015 and June 2016, on the tenth anniversary of Paolo Sylos Labini’s passing away, Moneta e Credito (the Italian sister of PSL Quarterly Review) published three issues reporting the proceedings of two conferences held in his memory in Rome: on 18 November 2015 at the Lincean Academy, and on 4 December 2015 at Sapienza University (D’Ippoliti, 2015). Both conferences were inspired by the proceedings of a 1962 Italian Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on competition, whose task was to examine the Italian economic situation at the time, the impact of different market structures, and the prospects for reform. Sylos Labini’s testimony in front of the Commission has been crucial to the subsequent approval of many important reforms in Italy. Notable examples include, as reported in Libertini, 2015, the development of antitrust legislation, or, as underlined by Cavazzuti, 2015, the creation of Italy’s stock exchange supervisory commission (the Consob), and the privatization of the Italian Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI; see Ciocca, 2016). Sylos Labini also introduced many ideas that could inspire economic policy reforms today (see Malaguti, 2015, for a review of the evolution of the concepts of ‘market’ and ‘competition’ in EU law and practice, in particular concerning antitrust law and its future developments). We wish to review here some of these contributions, in accordance with the decalogue of Sylos Labini’s thinking put forward by Corsi, 2007.1
The relationship between family environment, self-esteem, and classroom behavior of school-age children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between children’s perception of conflict and control in their family environment, children’s self-report of their self-esteem, and their classroom behavior. These variables were examined to investigate the possible association of conflict and control in the family environment and low self-esteem, and disruptive classroom behavior. Conflict and control were assessed by the Children’s Version of the Family Environment Scale (GV/FES); self-esteem was measured by the Self-Esteem Inventory-(SEi). Disruptive . classroom behavior was assessed by the Work Habits and Social Development Checklist routinely used by classroom teachers in the school. Students from Monforton Elementary School (N=88) completed the CV/FES and the SE! , and their classroom behavior was assessed by their teacher. The results indicated a significant (p < .05) negative association between self-esteem and classroom behavior and between self-esteem and conflict and control in the family environment. Significant (p < .05) results were not obtained in the positive association of conflict and control in the family environment and disruptive classroom behavior. Self-esteem appeared to be the link between all of the variables. Although conflict and control in the family environment were not found to be positively associated with disruptive classroom behavior, these factors were found to be negatively associated with self-esteem, and self-esteem was found to be significantly (p < .05) negatively associated with disruptive classroom behavior. Recommendations resulting from this study include further research in the area of factors associated with disruptive classroom behavior. Also, the study provides information for parents, teachers, and social service agencies concerning the association of poor self-esteem with conflict and control in the family environment and classroom behavior.
Seen But Not Heard? Parallels and Dissonances in the Treatment of Rape Narratives Across the Asylum and Criminal Justice Contexts

A significant proportion of women seeking refugee status in the United Kingdom will claim to have been raped in their country of origin. Even where this is not the sole basis of an asylum claim, it may be relevant to its determination. While criminal justice responses to rape have been the subject of extensive academic criticism and legislative reform, the processes of disclosure and credibility assessment in the asylum context have received little attention. This article explores possible parallels and dissonances in the treatment of rape across the asylum and criminal justice contexts, drawing in particular on the findings of a 2007 pilot study. It considers how problems such as the underreporting of rape, the inability of the victim to ‘tell the story’ in her own words, a hostile adjudicative environment, and the tendency to regard factors such as late disclosure, narrative inconsistency, and calm demeanour with suspicion – may be replicated and compounded in asylum cases. It also acknowledges the complex intersection of race, gender, culture, and nationality in this context.
Trauma in Elderly People Attended by a Mobile Emergency Service

Introduction: The process of aging causes bio-psychosocial changes, that commonly, make the elderly more likely to be affected by chronic diseases and disorders due to external causes. Objective: Analize the occurrence of trauma and demographic characteristics of elderly people attended by a mobile emergency service. Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the city of Sousa, in northeast region of Brazil, using data from 190 records of elderly victims of trauma attended by the MES from January 1 St to December 31 St of 2011. The Pearson’s chi-square test (χ2) or Fisher’s exact test with Freeman-Halton extension, were used to observe possible associations between variables. A significance level of α<5% was considered. Results: From the total of 190 elderly, 51.1% were male, aged between 60 and 104 years, mean age of 75.3 years (SD 10.44 years) and median of 74.0 years. Regarding the occurrence of trauma, 91.6% occurred in urban areas, 35.8% in the morning, 46.3% at weekend and 42.1% in the months from May to August. Falls stood out with 65.3% of cases and 87.9% had no alcohol on their breath during first-aid care. Among the injuries, wounds were predominant (62.3%) and 87.4% were referred to hospital. A significant association was observed between the presence of alcohol on the breath and sex (p<0.001) and age group (p=0.004) and between trauma mechanism and sex (p<0.001). Higher susceptibility was observed among males in the most advanced age group. Among the types of trauma, falls occurred mainly among women and traffic accidents among men. The presence of alcohol on the breath was verified especially among men and the majority of them were referred to hospitals. Conclusion: Knowledge of the characteristics of the demographics and occurrences of trauma in elderly people is necessary for the early identification of those individuals more exposed to this risk. Thus, it is considered that this research was relevant to characterize the elderly people requiring first-aid assistance and the occurrences of trauma, furthermore it is hoped that educational measures should be implemented in the community in order to prevent such traumas.
EFFECTS OF DEAD EGG REMOVAL FREQUENCY ON STAGE 2 JUVENILE PRODUCTION IN ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION OF AUSTROPOTAMOBIUS PALLIPES LEREBOULLET

In artificial incubation (AI) of astacid species, which have a long embryonic development, eggs have to remain during long periods without maternal care and it is recommended to remove the dead ones. With the aim to test the effect on final stage 2 juvenile production of different removal frequencies, four treatments were tested: removal every 4 days, every 7 days, every 10 days and no removal. Using an egg density of 2.2 eggs/cm 2 , stage 2 juvenile production rate was significantly better (70.3%) with removal every four days than with less frequent removals. However there were not detected statistical differences between the control (no egg removal) and the other treatments. The relatively low incubation density (2.2 eggs/cm 2 ) could partially explain the general good
The role of environmental policies in the eco-innovation process: evidences from the European Union Emission Trading Scheme

This paper discusses the innovative potential and outcomes of a specific policy instrument, the European Union Emission trading Scheme (EU ETS). EU ETS is the cornerstone of the European climate policy and it was introduced in 2005 with Directive 2003/87. It can be considered the biggest example of an emissions permit scheme compared to previous experiences. The focus is set on the design of the scheme and on cap-stringency. EU ETS design aspects have been scrutinized with respect to their influence on the development and