Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Literature Review on Machine Learning Applications in Financial Forecasting

Analyzing the past trend and predicting the future movement is an important aspect for every business. Knowing the future value makes an organization more efficient in planning specially if it is related to financial factors. This can be achieved by analyzing the historical data of the company. This is called time series analysis. The increased application of computer and information technologies, has made this more effective and accurate which is called machine learning. Methods of Machine Learning (ML) have been proposed as alternative approach to statistical metthods by many researchers in their academic literature. This paper presents a review of the works where the authors have used machine learning techniques in financial forecasting.
Demographic and macro-morphological evidence for common reed dieback in central Italy

Background: Phragmites australis dieback syndrome, recently reported for the Mediterranean basin, features several symptomatic traits among which the clumping habit seems to be one of the most diagnostic. Aims: We evaluated the effect of water depth on the intensity of the clumping habit and evaluated the diagnostic role of other traits. Methods: We investigated patterns of macro-morphological (culm height and diameter, flowering head and dead apical bud rates) and demographic (density) traits of P. australis in function of submersion (PF-permanent vs. NF-temporary) at five Italian wetland sites. We related the occurrence of clumping and its frequency with water depth. Results: There were clear trends, modulated by site-specific effects, for most of the considered traits in function of the duration of submersion. The clumping rate was close to zero in NF-stands, reached high values in PF-stands and was positively correlated with water depth. Conclusions: We have shown that permanent submersion with deep water levels plays a crucial role in the occurrence of reed dieback. As all other considered traits, with the exception of the occurrence of dead apical buds, well correlate with the clumping habit, we propose using clumping as a key indicator for detecting potential reed dieback.
Life Cycle Assessment of pig production systems of the Noir de Bigorre chain.

Outdoor pig production systems relying on local pig breeds may cope with environmental and socio-economic challenges. They produce high quality products with added economic value and rely mainly on local feed resources. Within the European TREASURE project, we conducted the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the Noir de Bigorre (NDB) pig production systems located in South West of France. The environmental impacts were calculated at farm gate and expressed per kg live pig and per ha land use. From surveys on 25 farms of the NDB chain and data collected by the chain, we estimated the flows and average live weights of animals produced as well as the average quantities of feeds distributed to the animals. Formulas of the complete feeds were collected from manufacturers. Climate Change (CC), Acidification (AC), Eutrophication (EU), Cumulative Energy Demand and Land Occupation impacts per kg of pig were in the range of the impacts of traditional systems previously studied. CC impact per kg pig was higher than in intensive systems due to the higher amount of feed needed to reach slaughter weight. AC and EU impacts per ha of land were relatively low. NDB pig farming systems exhibit LCA impacts typical of extensive and outdoor systems. Further studies within the European project TREASURE will also give insights on the economic and societal dimensions of sustainability of these systems.
PERFORMANS AYAM KAMPUNG SUPER PADA PAKAN YANG DISUBTTUSI DEDAK PADI FERMENTASI DENGAN FERMENTOR BERBEDA

Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh dedak padi fermentasi dengan fermentor berbeda terhadap performans ayam kampung super. Penelitian dilaksanakan di kandang Kelompok Permata Kota Kendari. Penelitian menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) yang terdiri dari 4 perlakuan pakan yaitu R0 = ransum kontrol tanpa dedak padi fermentasi (DP), R1 = 10% dedak padi fermentasi cairan rumen (DPFCR), R2 = 10% dedak padi fermentasi ragi tempe (DPFRTe), R3 = 10% dedak padi fermentasi ragi tape (DPFRTa), dengan 4 kali ulangan. Setiap satuan percobaan terdiri dari 5 ekor ayam kampung super. Parameter yang diukur adalah konsumsi pakan, pertambahan bobot badan, konversi pakan, bobot potong, bobot karkas dan persentase karkas. Data dianalisis dengan analysis of variance (ANOVA) sesuai dengan RAL dan bila terdapat perbedaan antar perlakuan akan dilakukan uji lanjut dengan Uji Tukey (Steel and Toriee, 1991). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemberian dedak padi fermentasi dengan fermentor berbeda tidak berpengaruh nyata (P>0,05) terhadap Konsumsi Pakan, PBB, Bobot Potong, Bobot Karkas dan Persentase karkas. Penggunaan dedak padi fermentasi dengan fermentor berbeda berpengaruh nyata (P<0,05) terhadap konversi ransum. Dari hasil penelitian ini, maka dedak padi fermentasi dapat digunakan 10% dalam ransum untuk mensubtitusi pakan basal. Kata kunci : Ayam Kampung Super, Dedak Padi Fermentasi, Konsumsi Pakan, Konversi Pakan.
Polyphony of domestic dog whines and vocal cues to body size

Abstract In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined the frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body mass from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had 3 independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as 2-voice biphonic or 3-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high, and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.
Robust Associative Learning Is Sufficient to Explain the Structural and Dynamical Properties of Local Cortical Circuits

The ability of neural networks to associate successive states of network activity lies at the basis of many cognitive functions. Hence, we hypothesized that many ubiquitous structural and dynamical properties of local cortical networks result from associative learning. To test this hypothesis, we trained recurrent networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons on memories composed of varying numbers of associations and compared the resulting network properties with those observed experimentally. We show that, when the network is robustly loaded with near-maximum amount of associations it can support, it develops properties that are consistent with the observed probabilities of excitatory and inhibitory connections, shapes of connection weight distributions, overexpression of specific 2- and 3-neuron motifs, distributions of connection numbers in clusters of 3–8 neurons, sustained, irregular, and asynchronous firing activity, and balance of excitation and inhibition. In addition, memories loaded into the network can be retrieved, even in the presence of noise that is comparable with the baseline variations in the postsynaptic potential. The confluence of these results suggests that many structural and dynamical properties of local cortical networks are simply a byproduct of associative learning. We predict that overexpression of excitatory–excitatory bidirectional connections observed in many cortical systems must be accompanied with underexpression of bidirectionally connected inhibitory–excitatory neuron pairs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Many structural and dynamical properties of local cortical networks are ubiquitously present across areas and species. Because synaptic connectivity is shaped by experience, we wondered whether continual learning, rather than genetic control, is responsible for producing such features. To answer this question, we developed a biologically constrained recurrent network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons capable of learning predefined sequences of network states. Embedding such associative memories into the network revealed that, when individual neurons are robustly loaded with a near-maximum amount of memories they can support, the network develops many properties that are consistent with experimental observations. Our findings suggest that basic structural and dynamical properties of local networks in the brain are simply a byproduct of learning and memory storage.
The Targeting and Impact of Paycheck Protection Program Loans to Small Businesses

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) aimed to quickly deliver hundreds of billions of dollars of loans to small businesses, with the loans administered via private banks. In this paper, we use firm-level data to document the demand and supply of PPP funds. Using an instrumental variables approach, we find that PPP loans led to a 14 to 30 percentage point increase in a business’s expected survival, and a positive but imprecise effect on employment. Moreover, the effects on survival were heterogeneous and highlight an important tradeoff faced by policymakers: while administering the loans via private banks allowed for rapid delivery of funds, it also limited the government’s ability to target the funding - instead allowing pre-existing connections between businesses and banks to determine which firms would benefit from the program.
Body size of ectotherms constrains thermal requirements for reproductive activity in seasonal environments

Body size may influence ectotherm behaviour by influencing heating and cooling rates, thereby constraining the time of day that some individuals can be active. The time of day at which turtles nest, for instance, is hypothesized to vary with body size at both inter- and intra-specific levels because large individuals have greater thermal inertia, retaining preferred body temperatures for a longer period of time. We use decades of data on thousands of individual nests from Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, to explore how body size is associated with nesting behaviour in Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783); small bodied) and Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758); large bodied). We found that (i) between species, Painted Turtles nest earlier in the evening and at higher mean temperatures than Snapping Turtles, and (ii) within species, relatively large individuals of both species nest at cooler temperatures and that relatively larger Painted Turtles nest later in the evening compared with smaller Painted Turtles. Our data support the thermal inertia hypothesis and may help explain why turtles in general exhibit geographic clines in body size: northern environments experience more daily variation in temperature, and larger size may evolve, in part, for retention of preferred body temperature during terrestrial forays.
Legal Consciousness of the Leftover Woman: Law and Qing in Chinese Family Relations

Abstract This paper analyses how the interaction of law and qing (情) shapes ordinary Chinese people’s legal consciousness. Ordinary Chinese people rely on qing, or the normal feelings, or attitudes of the public, to judge whether a particular law is just and how they should react to the law. By investigating Chinese leftover women’s legal consciousness regarding marriage and childbearing, this article has developed a theory to discuss Chinese people’s different forms of legal consciousness either when the law is in opposition to qing or when it is in alliance with qing. I argue that these variations of legal consciousness result from the dynamic relationship between qing and different types and levels of legality, including state law.
Impact of Macroeconomics Variables on Exports in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand

Exports play an essential role in the world economy. Therefore, it is important to identify the determinants of exports and it is important for policymakers as increased productivity and international trade are important for each country. This paper examines the determinants of exports in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. This study is intended to estimate the impact of import, exchange rate, FDI, inflation and Crude oil on export. Three different econometric techniques such as Levin, Lin and Chu test; also, it has been used three different models for panel data estimation namely Pooled OLS, Random Effect and Fixed Effect. Apart from these techniques, different diagnostic tests have also been applied on the secondary data ranging from 1981-2016 which collected from World Bank. The results of the study show that import and exchange rate are positively and significantly related with export in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand whereas FDI has a significantly negative effect. To sum up, the study concluded that in order to stimulate exports, governments or policymakers should provide peace and political stability between the four countries and the surrounding region in order to obtain more investors.
Utilization of Partially Liquefied Bark for Production of Particleboards

Bark as a sawmilling residue can be used for producing value-added chemicals and materials. This study investigated the use of partially liquefied bark (PLB) for producing particleboard with or without synthetic adhesives. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) bark was partially liquefied in the presence of ethylene glycol and sulfuric acid. Four types of particleboard panels were prepared with a PLB content of 4.7%, 9.1%, 20%, and 33.3%, respectively. Another five types of particleboard panels were manufactured by using similar amounts of PLB and 10 wt. % of melamine–urea–formaldehyde (MUF) adhesives. Characterization of bark and solid residues of PLB was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and automated vapor sorption (AVS). Mechanical and physical properties of the particleboard were tested according to the European standards EN 310 for determining modulus of elasticity and bending strength, EN 317 for determining thickness swelling after immersion in water, and EN 319 for determining internal bond strength. The results showed that the increase in PLB content improved the mechanical strength for the non-MUF boards, and the MUF-bonded boards with up to 20% of PLB met the requirements for interior uses in dry conditions according to EN 312. The non-MUF boards containing 33.3% of PLB and the MUF-bonded boards showed comparable thickness swelling and water absorption levels compared to the reference board.
The Transition Zone Beneath West Argentina‐Central Chile Using P‐to‐S Converted Waves

We investigate the mantle transition zone beneath the Chile‐Argentina flat subduction region by means of P‐to‐S conversions at mantle discontinuities from teleseismic events recorded at 103 seismic stations. From the analysis of receiver functions, we obtain clear converted phases from the 410 and 660 discontinuities, and we identify a robust precursory signal to P660s, of negative amplitude, that we name P590s. We observe little frequency dependence in the amplitude of the P410s converted phase, while the P660s is less visible toward higher frequencies. The 410 is on average deeper than 410 km by 10 ± 1 km in the higher‐frequency bands, and it is relatively sharp, being consistent with a 10% velocity jump over less than 20 km. The observed 660 depth varies with frequency; it is deeper by up to 18 ± 2 km for lower frequencies and close to reference at higher frequencies, being consistent with a 13% broad velocity gradient over 30–40 km, probably caused by a composite of multiple phase transitions. The transition zone thickness is controlled by the frequency‐dependent depth variability of the 660. Our findings of relative depth, width, and velocity jump of the detected discontinuities, combined with tomographic images of the mantle transition zone, cannot be explained by thermal variations alone. Compositional constraints from mineral physics show that a near pyrolitic mantle is consistent with the ratio of the estimated velocity jumps. However, the negative P590s phase in this region could be signal from the velocity reduction due to basalt accumulation at the base of the transition zone.
DNA methylation oscillation defines classes of enhancers

Understanding the regulatory landscape of human cells requires the integration of genomic and epigenomic maps, capturing combinatorial levels of cell type-specific and invariant activity states. Here, we segmented whole-genome bisulfite sequencing-derived methylomes into consecutive blocks of co-methylation (COMETs) to obtain spatial variation patterns of DNA methylation (DNAm oscillations) integrated with histone modifications and promoter-enhancer interactions derived from promoter capture Hi-C (PCHi-C) sequencing of the same purified blood cells. Mapping DNAm oscillations onto regulatory genome annotation revealed that enhancers are enriched for DNAm hyper-oscillations (>30-fold), where multiple machine learning models support DNAm as predictive of enhancer location. Based on this analysis, we report overall predictive power of 99% for DNAm oscillations, 77.3% for DNaseI, 41% for CGIs, 20% for UMRs and 0% for LMRs, demonstrating the power of DNAm oscillations over other methods for enhancer prediction. Methylomes of activated and non-activated CD4+ T cells indicate that DNAm oscillations exist in both states irrespective of activation; hence they can be used to determine the location of latent enhancers. Our approach advances the identification of tissue-specific regulatory elements and outperforms previous approaches defining enhancer classes based on DNA methylation.
Title REPUTATION CONCERNS AND AUTHORITY IN ORGANIZATIONS

The paper studies the optimal allocation of authority in an organization where an agent, who has reputation concerns, strategically transmits his information to the principal. The optimal allocation of authority allows its holder to use more and better information in order to make efficient decisions. The paper identifies the mechanism through which the agentʼs reputation concerns affect his information transmission. It shows that under centralization the agent transmits his information truthfully to the principal only if his reputation concerns are low and therefore that the delegation of authority to the agent can be optimal if the agentʼs reputation concerns are high.
News insights for smoked bacon with different woods from chemical and sensory perspectives

News insights for smoked bacon with different woods from chemical and sensory perspectives Bacon is a cured and smoked pork meat product. The smoking can be performed by the direct burn of wood or by aspersion of liquid smoke. The wood smoking requires the use of reforested woods, to be environmentally friendly, and to promote national native flora preservation. Due to different wood compositions, the smoke compounds vary, producing substances like phenols, carbonyls, organic acids, and aldehydes. These compounds contribute positively to bacon quality, providing good taste, color, and desirable flavor, inhibiting lipid oxidation, and decreasing the development of microorganisms, which improves the chemical quality and increases the shelf life of this product. Thus, the general objective of this work was to analyze the effect of burning different reforested woods on the toxicological, physical-chemical, and sensory quality of bacon. The thesis was divided into three studies; the first chapter of this work aimed to analyze carcinogenic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced by burning wood. The second study aimed to analyze the shelf life of smoked bacon through physical-chemical, microbiological, and sensory analyzes during refrigerated storage. In addition, the last study sought to understand the formation of sensory characteristics through volatile and non-volatile compounds. Finally, as of this study, it was possible to produce smoked bacon with PAHs concentrations within the limits determined by legislation, with appropriate physicochemical and microbiological characteristics, and a sensory profile desired by consumers, that is, a healthy meat product from a sustainable production, contributing to the Brazilian industry.
The Association of Plasma Apelin Levels with Plaque Vulnerability

Objectives: Apelin is a recently discovered peptide that is expressed in many tissues particularly in the cardiovascular system and exerts several actions, most of which are vasodilatory and positive inotropic effects. Based on this, an apelin deficiency is believed to play a significant role in the development of hypertension and heart failure. However, the association of apelin with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and especially plaque vulnerability remains unestablished. Thus, to contribute to the literature, in this study, we sought to determine the association of apelin concerning plaque vulnerability in the setting of the acute coronary syndrome. Methods: In this study, we prospectively enrolled a total of 80 patients; 40 with acute coronary syndrome and 40 patients with stable chronic ischemic heart disease. Plasma apelin levels were measured in all patients along with other routine biochemical parameters, and all patients underwent a transthoracic echocardiographic examination. Results: Plasma apelin levels were significantly lower in patients with the acute coronary syndrome (221.2±66.7 vs 254.3±77.9 p=0.04). However, there was no correlation between plasma apelin levels and serum inflammatory markers or coronary artery disease severity. Conclusion: Low plasma apelin levels may create a tendency towards vulnerable plaque and acute coronary syndrome.
Climate analysis for agricultural improvement of the Economic Community of West African States according to Kppen and Thornthwaite

The Economic Community of West African States (also known as ECOWAS from its name in French: Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest-Africaine) is composed of eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. This study is restricted to ECOWAS because it stems from a survey mission headed by the second author and aims to characterize the climate of the territory as a basis for better land use by improving agricultural activities. The climate classification systems proposed by Koppen (1900) and Thornthwaite (1948) were used to carry out the study. As expected, most of the territory belonging to ECOWAS was classified as arid. With respect to the improvement of agricultural management, the climate classes found for the territory give a gross idea of the potential of each country for agricultural exploitation. The climate diversity over relatively short distances obligates detailed studies on land adaptability for growing food crops, which is in practice not made based on scientific criteria. This study shows that there is still room for an expansion of the area for agricultural purposes, and in this way, increasing food production. Key words: Africa, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), agriculture, crops.