Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Index for Transparency for Inflation-Targeting Central Banks: Application to the Czech National Bank

This paper develops a new central bank transparency index for inflation-targeting central banks (CBT-IT index). It applies the CBT-IT index to the Czech National Bank (CNB), one of the most transparent inflation-targeting central banks. The CNB has invested heavily in developing a Forecasting and Policy Analysis System (FPAS) to implement a full-fledged inflation-forecast-targeting (IFT) regime. The components of CBT-IT index include measures of transparency about monetary policy objectives, the FPAS designed to support IFT, and the monetary policymaking process. For the CNB, all three components have shown substantial improvements over time but a few gaps remain. The CNB is currently working on eliminating some of these gaps.
The Balance Between CD45RChigh and CD45RClow CD4 T Cells in Rats Is Intrinsic to Bone Marrow-Derived Cells and Is Genetically Controlled1

The level of CD45RC expression differentiates rat CD4 T cells in two subpopulations, CD45RChigh and CD45RClow, that have different cytokine profiles and functions. Interestingly, Lewis (LEW) and Brown Norway (BN) rats, two strains that differ in their ability to mount type 1 and type 2 immune responses and in their susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, exhibit distinct CD45RChigh/CD45RClow CD4 T cell ratios. The CD45RChigh subpopulation predominates in LEW rats, and the CD45RClow subpopulation in BN rats. In this study, we found that the antiinflammatory cytokines, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13, are exclusively produced by the CD45RClow CD4 T cells. Using bone marrow chimeras, we showed that the difference in the CD45RChigh/CD45RClow CD4 T cell ratio between naive LEW and BN rats is intrinsic to hemopoietic cells. Furthermore, a genome-wide search for loci controlling the balance between T cell subpopulations was conducted in a (LEW × BN) F2 intercross. Genome scanning identified one quantitative trait locus on chromosome 9 (∼17 centiMorgan (cM); log of the odds ratio (LOD) score 3.9). In addition, two regions on chromosomes 10 (∼28 cM; LOD score 3.1) and 20 (∼40 cM; LOD ratio score 3) that contain, respectively, a cytokine gene cluster and the MHC region were suggestive for linkage. Interestingly, overlapping regions on these chromosomes have been implicated in the susceptibility to various immune-mediated disorders. The identification and functional characterization of genes in these regions controlling the CD45RChigh/CD45RClow Th cell subpopulations may shed light on key regulatory mechanisms of pathogenic immune responses.
Multiobjective Predictive Control of a three-phase seven-level cascaded H-bridge converter for grid-connected photovoltaic systems

This paper presents a grid-connected seven-level cascaded H-bridge converter operating as photovoltaic inverter. The main issue with this topology are the natural power imbalances between the power cells and the phases of the converter. The control problem is addressed with a Multiobjective Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control, where a dc-link voltage balance among the cells and good tracking of the active and reactive power references injected to the grid are achieved. Furthermore, an average switching frequency control per cell has been included. The proposed control scheme is validated trough simulation results and tested under dynamic conditions.
Modulation of extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor promoter selectivity by spacer region sequence

Abstract The ability of bacteria to adapt to stress depends on the conditional expression of specific sets of genes. Bacillus subtilis encodes seven extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma (σ) factors that regulate functions important for survival under conditions eliciting cell envelope stress. Of these, four have been studied in detail: σM, σW, σX and σV. These four σ factors recognize overlapping sets of promoters, although the sequences that determine this overlapping recognition are incompletely understood. A major role in promoter selectivity has been ascribed to the core −10 and −35 promoter elements. Here, we demonstrate that a homopolymeric T-tract motif, proximal to the −35 element, functions in combination with the core promoter sequences to determine selectivity for ECF sigma factors. This motif is most critical for promoter activation by σV, and contributes variably to activation by σM, σX and σW. We propose that this motif, which is a feature of the deduced promoter consensus for a subset of ECF σ factors from many species, imparts intrinsic DNA curvature to influence promoter activity. The differential effect of this region among ECF σ factors thereby provides a mechanism to modulate the nature and extent of regulon overlap.
PENGARUH DIVIDEND PER SHARE (DPS) DAN EARNING PER SHARE (EPS) TERHADAP HARGA SAHAM PADA PERUSAHAAN SUB SEKTOR FARMASI DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA (BEI)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh Dividend Per Share (DPS) dan Earning Per Share (EPS) terhadap harga saham pada perusahaan sub sektor Farmasi di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI). Permasalahan dalam penelitian ini bagaimana pengaruh Dividend Per Share dan Earning Per Share terhadap harga saham pada perusahaan subsektor Farmasi di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI)? Model analisis data dengan multiple regresion melalui uji asumsi klasik yaitu uji normalitas data, autokorelasi, multikolinearitas dan uji heterokedastisitas. Populasi yaitu seluruh perusahaan subsektor Farmasi di BEI sebanyak 10 perusahaan, dengan sampel terpilih sebanyak 9 perusahaan melalui purposive sampling. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Dividend Per Share (DPS) dan Earning Per Share (EPS) mempunyai pengaruh terhadap harga saham pada perusahaan sub sektor Farmasi di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI). Kata Kunci; Dividend Per Share (DPS), Earning Per Share (EPS) dan Bursa Efek Indonesia
The V3 Loop of HIV-1 Env Determines Viral Susceptibility to IFITM3 Impairment of Viral Infectivity

ABSTRACT Interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) inhibit a broad spectrum of viruses, including HIV-1. IFITM proteins deter HIV-1 entry when expressed in target cells and also impair HIV-1 infectivity when expressed in virus producer cells. However, little is known about how viruses resist IFITM inhibition. In this study, we have investigated the susceptibilities of different primary isolates of HIV-1 to the inhibition of viral infectivity by IFITMs. Our results demonstrate that the infectivity of different HIV-1 primary isolates, including transmitted founder viruses, is diminished by IFITM3 to various levels, with strain AD8-1 exhibiting strong resistance. Further mutagenesis studies revealed that HIV-1 Env, and the V3 loop sequence in particular, determines the extent of inhibition of viral infectivity by IFITM3. IFITM3-sensitive Env proteins are also more susceptible to neutralization by soluble CD4 or the 17b antibody than are IFITM3-resistant Env proteins. Together, data from our study suggest that the propensity of HIV-1 Env to sample CD4-bound-like conformations modulates viral sensitivity to IFITM3 inhibition. IMPORTANCE Results of our study have revealed the key features of the HIV-1 envelope protein that are associated with viral resistance to the IFITM3 protein. IFITM proteins are important effectors in interferon-mediated antiviral defense. A variety of viruses are inhibited by IFITMs at the virus entry step. Although it is known that envelope proteins of several different viruses resist IFITM inhibition, the detailed mechanisms are not fully understood. Taking advantage of the fact that envelope proteins of different HIV-1 strains exhibit different degrees of resistance to IFITM3 and that these HIV-1 envelope proteins share the same domain structure and similar sequences, we performed mutagenesis studies and determined the key role of the V3 loop in this viral resistance phenotype. We were also able to associate viral resistance to IFITM3 inhibition with the susceptibility of HIV-1 to inhibition by soluble CD4 and the 17b antibody that recognizes CD4-binding-induced epitopes.
Application des marches aleatoires a l'etude des sous-groupes des groupes lineaires

Dans cette these, nous utilisons et contribuons a la theorie des produits de matrices aleatoires afin d'etudier des proprietes generiques des elements et des sous-groupes des groupes lineaires. Notre premier resultat donne une version probabiliste de l'alternative de Tits : nous montrons que si M_n et M'_n sont deux marches aleatoires independantes sur un groupe lineaire de type fini non virtuellement resoluble alors presque surement les deux marches finiront par engendrer un sous-groupe libre non abelien a deux generateurs. Cela repond par l'affirmative a une question de Guivarc'h et de Gilman, Miasnikov et Osin. Plus precisement, nous montrons que la probabilite que M_n et M'_n n'engendrent pas un sous-groupe libre decroit exponentiellement vite vers zero. Notre outil principal est la theorie des produits de matrices aleatoires. Durant la preuve, nous etablissons de nouveaux theoremes limites dans cette theorie, d'une part en generalisant des resultats connus dans le cadre des produits de matrices a valeurs dans les corps archimediens a tout corps local, d'autre part en donnant des resultats qui sont nouveaux meme sur R. Par exemple, nous montrons que sous des hypotheses naturelles sur la marche aleatoire, les composantes suivant K de M_n dans la decomposition KAK deviennent asymptotiquement independantes avec vitesse exponentielle. Dans la deuxieme partie de la these, nous utilisons ces resultats pour etudier la transience des sous-varietes des groupes algebriques. Un de nos resultats peut etre formule comme suit: soient H un sous-groupe non elementaire de SL_2(R), une probabilite adaptee sur H ayant un moment exponentiel, alors pour toute sous-variete algebrique propre V de SL_2(R), la probabilite que la marche aleatoire appartienne a V decroit exponentiellement vite vers zero. Par consequent, la sous-variete algebrique V est transiente pour la marche aleatoire. Nous generalisons cet enonce au cas ou la marche aleatoire est adaptee sur un groupe Zariski dense des points reels d'un groupe algebrique defini et deploye sur R. Ces resultats sont a comparer avec des travaux recents de Kowalski et de Rivin.
Trance Possession Disorder in Judaism: Sixteenth-Century Dybbuks in the Near East

ABSTRCT This article describes constructions of dybbuk, the Jewish variant of spirit possession, and its roots in sixteenth-century Kabbalist thought. Based on the analysis of documented early cases, this paper examines the possession idioms from psychological and socio-cultural perspectives by describing two case reports herein conceptualized as trance possession disorders. A comparison with the phenomenology of Dissociative Identity Disorder shows a striking resemblance between the syndromes. This culture-bound condition is discussed both in terms of its intra-psychic dynamics and its societal functions.
Effect of single vs multiple ovulations on oestrous behaviour and pregnancy rate in Thoroughbred mares

A relatively high rate of multiple ovulation and resulting multiple pregnancies are one of main problems in Thoroughbred reproduction. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between the intensity of oestrous behaviour and incidence of multiple (MO) vs single (SO) ovulations in 47 Thoroughbred mares. The frequency of five distinct receptive and 12 non-receptive behavioural traits was analysed. For quantitative analysis of sexual behaviour an 8-point behavioural score (BS) expressing increasing mare’s sexual receptivity was used. MO occurred in 48.9% of ovarian cycles observed. Neither frequencies of receptive behaviours, nor BS differed significantly between MO and SO mares. Overall pregnancy rate per one ovulatory cycle was estimated as 40.4%. Pregnancy rate was higher in MO mares (52.2%) as compared to SO mares (29.2%); however, the difference was not proved significant.
Experimental pneumococcal meningitis. Permeability changes influencing the concentration of sugars and macromolecules in cerebrospinal fluid.

THE cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes characteristically associated with bacterial meningitis include an increase in protein and a decrease in glucose content. The former change is usually attributed to inflammatory changes in the meninges in association with a generalized increase in the permeability of the membranes which comprise the "blood-CSF barrier. " 1 This permeability change presumably results in the greater diffusion of plasma proteins into CSF. The decrease in glucose content has been attributed to glycolysis by phagocyting polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the presence of bacteria, 2 as evidenced by increased concentrations of lactic acid in purulent fluids. 3 Another factor has been suggested, namely, that a variety of meningeal disorders may be associated with an alteration in the transfer of glucose between blood and CSF. 4-6 Glucose transfer has been shown to be dependent upon a membrane carrier system, which has the characteristics of facilitated diffusion. 7 These studies were
Intracellular redox state revealed by in vivo 31P MRS measurement of NAD+ and NADH contents in brains

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), in oxidized (NAD+) or reduced (NADH) form, plays key roles in cellular metabolism. Intracellular NAD+/NADH ratio represents the cellular redox state; however, it is difficult to measure in vivo. We report here a novel in vivo 31P MRS method for noninvasive measurement of intracellular NAD concentrations and NAD+/NADH ratio in the brain.
beta-catenin in epithelial morphogenesis: conversion of part of avian foot scales into feather buds with a mutated beta-catenin.

We explored the role of beta-catenin in chicken skin morphogenesis. Initially beta-catenin mRNA was expressed at homogeneous levels in the epithelia over a skin appendage tract field which became transformed into a periodic pattern corresponding to individual primordia. The importance of periodic patterning was shown in scaleless mutants, in which beta-catenin was initially expressed normally, but failed to make a punctuated pattern. To test beta-catenin function, a truncated armadillo fragment was expressed in developing chicken skin from the RCAS retrovirus. This produced a variety of phenotypic changes during epithelial appendage morphogenesis. In apteric and scale-producing regions, new feather buds with normal-appearing follicle sheaths, dermal papillae, and barb ridges were induced. In feather tracts, short, wide, and curled feather buds with abnormal morphology and random orientation formed. Epidermal invaginations and placode-like structures formed in the scale epidermis. PCNA staining and the distribution of molecular markers (SHH, NCAM, Tenascin-C) were characteristic of feather buds. These results suggest that the beta-catenin pathway is involved in modulating epithelial morphogenesis and that increased beta-catenin pathway activity can increase the activity of skin appendage phenotypes. Analogies between regulated and deregulated new growths are discussed.
Evaluation of Major Types of Shiga Toxin 2e-Producing Escherichia coli Bacteria Present in Food, Pigs, and the Environment as Potential Pathogens for Humans

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin 2e (Stx2e)-producing strains from food (n = 36), slaughtered pigs (n = 25), the environment (n = 21), diseased pigs (n = 19), and humans (n = 9) were investigated for production of Stx2e by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, for virulence markers by PCR, and for their serotypes to evaluate their role as potential human pathogens. Stx2e production was low in 64% of all 110 strains. Stx2e production was inducible by mitomycin C but differed considerably between strains. Analysis by nucleotide sequencing and transcription of stx2e genes in high- and low-Stx2e-producing strains showed that toxin production correlated with transcription rates of stx2e genes. DNA sequences specific for the int, Q, dam, and S genes of the stx2e bacteriophage P27 were found in 109 strains, indicating cryptic P27-like prophages, although 102 of these were not complete for all genes tested. Genes encoding intimin (eae), enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli hemolysin (ehx), or other stx1 or stx2 variants were not found, whereas genes for heat-stable enterotoxins STI, STII, or EAST1 were present in 54.5% of the strains. Seven major serotypes that were associated with diseased pigs (O138:H14, O139:H1, and O141:H4) or with slaughter pigs, food, and the environment (O8:H4, O8:H9, O100:H30, and O101:H9) accounted for 60% of all Stx2e strains. The human Stx2e isolates did not belong to these major serotypes of Stx2e strains, and high production of Stx2e in human strains was not related to diarrheal disease. The results from this study and other studies do not point to Stx2e as a pathogenicity factor for diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans.
Convergence results for the ( 1 , )-SA-ES using the theory of-irreducible Markov chains

This paper investigates theoretically the (1, )-SA-ES on the well known sphere function. We prove sufficient conditions on the parameters of the algorithm ensuring the convergence of 1 /n ln(||Xn||), whereXn is the parent at generation n. This in turn guarantees the asymptotic log-linear convergence or divergence of the algorithm. The technique used for this analysis calls upon the theory of Markov chains on a continuous state space and on the so-called Foster–Lyapunovdrift conditions. Those conditions enable us to derive practical conditions that prove stability properties of Markov chains. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorders with naso‐ and oropharyngeal manifestation

The nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal lymphatic tissues represent the anatomical site of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) entry. Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are often associated with EBV, but little is known about the characteristics of nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal mass‐forming PTLD. Retrospective evaluation of our own PTLD database (n = 79) and the PubMed® database (n = 61) has been performed. Sinonasal/oro‐/nasopharyngeal lymphatic masses were early lesions (n = 54/140, 38.5%), polymorphic PTLD (n = 32/140, 23%), monomorphic B‐PTLD (n = 47/140, 33.5%) and T‐PTLD (n = 7/140, 5%). One‐fourth of lesions manifested as masses in the Waldeyer's ring, and in two‐thirds of cases, swelling of tonsils was related to manifestation of benign early lesions. Tonsil infiltration by polymorphic PTLD and monomorphic PTLD was present in one‐third of cases. Extratonsillar masses were mainly monomorphic PTLD. Meta‐analysis of our data in combination with previously published data revealed that lung transplantation and young patients are at a higher risk for earlier manifestation of monomorphic PTLD. Therapy is similar to PTLD therapy strategies, in general reduced immunosuppression and chemotherapy for polymorphic and monomorphic PTLD, and diagnostic and therapeutic surgical gross tumour resection of tonsillar/adenoid lesions. In summary, it is relevant for the clinical differential diagnosis that oro‐/nasopharyngeal aggressive PTLD manifested in ~30% as tonsillar masses and >90% at extratonsillar sites.
Psycho-Lexically Based Virtue Factors in Spain and Their Relation With Personality Traits

ABSTRACT. The psycho-lexical approach was used to identify virtues in a Spanish population. A total of 209 descriptors were identified as virtues and administered to 485 participants, who were instructed to indicate the extent to which each virtue term applied to them. Principal Components Analysis revealed seven factors: Self-confidence, Reflection, Serenity, Rectitude, Perseverance & Effort, Compassion, and Sociability. The results showed that there was no simple one-to-one correspondence between these factors and those obtained in previous studies. However, the results are congruent with those obtained in other studies as far as the relation between virtues and personality traits is concerned.
Emotion Detection on Twitter Data using Knowledge Base Approach

Emotional states of individuals, also known as moods, are central to the expression of thoughts, ideas and opinions, and in turn impact attitudes and behavior. Social media tools like twitter is increasingly used by individuals to broadcast their day-to-day happenings or to report on an external event of interest, understanding the rich „landscape‟ of moods will help us better to interpret millions of individuals. This paper describes a Rule Based approach, which detects the emotion or mood of the tweet and classifies the twitter message under appropriate emotional category. The accuracy with the system is 85%. With the proposed system it is possible to understand the deeper levels of emotions i.e., finer grained instead of sentiment i.e., coarse grained. Sentiment says whether the tweet is positive or negative but the proposed system gives the deeper information of tweet which has adverse uses in the field of Psychology, Intelligence Bureau, Social and Economic trends.
The Acute Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Finger Tapping With and Without Word Repetition

This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) on the performance of a finger tapping and word repetition dual task in order to determine working memory impairment in mTBI. Sixty-four (50 male, 14 female) right-handed cases of mTBI and 26 (18 male and 8 female) right-handed cases of orthopaedic injur-ies were tested within 24 hours of injury. Patients with mTBI completed fewer correct taps in 10 seconds than patients with orthopaedic injuries, and female mTBI cases repeated fewer words. The size of the dual task decrement did not vary between groups. When added to a test battery including the Rapid Screen of Concussion (RSC; Comerford, Geffen, May, Medland & Geffen, 2002) and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, finger tapping speed accounted for 1% of between groups variance and did not improve classification rates of male participants. While the addition of tapping rate did not improve the sensitivity and specificity of the RSC and DSST to mTBI in males, univariate analysis of motor performance in females indicated that dual task performance might be diagnostic. An increase in female sample size is warranted. These results confirm the view that there is a generalized slowing of processing ability following mTBI.
Predicting mortality in the institutionalized aged. A seven-year follow-up.

INFORMATION about the course of aged persons in a variety of settings is of value in planning for their care and in comparing the effectiveness of protective programs or types of institutions. For this reason the Office of the Consultant on Services for the Aged of the Department of Mental Hygiene, State of New York, as part of its work in the past ten years collected information on the death rate of aged persons in three types of institutions: old age homes, nursing homes, and state hospitals. Most persons who work with the institutionalized aged recognize that they are, in large part, caring for slowly dying patients. The question is often raised about the aims and goals of such service: Are we attempting to prolong a terminal state? Are we contributing to longevity? Who of these declining can emotionally or psychologically benefit from special programs?