Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tikhonov regularization applied to the inverse problem of option pricing: convergence analysis and rates

This paper investigates the stable identification of local volatility surfaces σ(S, t) in the Black–Scholes/Dupire equation from market prices of European Vanilla options. Based on the properties of the parameter-to-solution mapping, which assigns option prices to given volatilities, we show stability and convergence of approximations gained by Tikhonov regularization. In the case of a known term-structure of the volatility surface, in particular, if the volatility is assumed to be constant in time, we prove convergence rates under simple smoothness and decay conditions on the true volatility. The convergence rate analysis sheds light onto the importance of an appropriate a priori guess for the unknown volatility and the nature of the ill-posedness of the inverse problem, caused by smoothing properties and the nonlinearity of the direct problem. Finally, the theoretical results are illustrated by numerical experiments.
Renin angiotensin system inhibitors for patients with stable coronary artery disease without heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

Objective To critically evaluate the efficacy of renin angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) in patients with coronary artery disease without heart failure, compared with active controls or placebo. Design Meta-analysis of randomized trials. Data sources PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases until 1 May 2016. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Randomized trials of RASi versus placebo or active controls in patients with stable coronary artery disease without heart failure (defined as left ventricular ejection fraction ≥40% or without clinical heart failure). Each trial had to enroll at least 100 patients with coronary artery disease without heart failure, with at least one year’s follow-up. Studies were excluded if they were redacted or compared use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors with angiotensin receptor blockers. Outcomes were death, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, angina, stroke, heart failure, revascularization, incident diabetes, and drug withdrawal due to adverse effects. Results 24 trials with 198 275 patient years of follow-up were included. RASi reduced the risk of all cause mortality (rate ratio 0.84, 95% confidence interval 0.72 to 0.98), cardiovascular mortality (0.74, 0.59 to 0.94), myocardial infarction (0.82, 0.76 to 0.88), stroke (0.79, 0.70 to 0.89), angina, heart failure, and revascularization when compared with placebo but not when compared with active controls (all cause mortality, 1.05, 0.94 to 1.17; Pinteraction=0.006; cardiovascular mortality, 1.08, 0.93 to 1.25, Pinteraction<0.001; myocardial infarction, 0.99, 0.87 to 1.12, Pinteraction=0.01; stroke, 1.10, 0.93 to 1.31; Pinteraction=0.002). Bayesian meta-regression analysis showed that the effect of RASi when compared with placebo on all cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality was dependent on the control event rate, such that RASi was only beneficial in trials with high control event rates (>14.10 deaths and >7.65 cardiovascular deaths per 1000 patient years) but not in those with low control event rates. Conclusions In patients with stable coronary artery disease without heart failure, RASi reduced cardiovascular events and death only when compared with placebo but not when compared with active controls. Even among placebo controlled trials in this study, the benefit of RASi was mainly seen in trials with higher control event rates but not in those with lower control event rates. Evidence does not support a preferred status of RASi over other active controls.
Verbal overshadowing in a multiple face presentation paradigm: effects of description instruction

‘Verbal overshadowing’, the phenomenon whereby the verbal reporting of a visual memory of a face interferes with subsequent recognition of that face, arises for the presentation of multiple faces following a single face description (Brown and Lloyd-Jones, 2002). We examine the influence of description instructions on verbal overshadowing using the new multiple presentation paradigm. Participants were exposed to 12 to-be-remembered faces and then described (or not, in the control condition) another face. Half the participants received ‘piecemeal’ description instructions, encouraging veridical recall of particular features of the face, and half received ‘elaborative’ instructions which did not explicitly focus on particular facial features, and encouraged erroneous recall of the face. Subsequently, participants discriminated the original 12 faces from 12 distracters in a ‘yes/no’ recognition decision. Verbal overshadowing was evident for piecemeal, but not elaborative recall instructions. We interpret these findings within a ‘transfer-inappropriate retrieval’ framework (Schooler et al., 1997). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Indigenous knowledge in environmental education processes: Perspectives on a growing research arena

What, then, is the problem? Indigenous knowledge has not, or not entirely disappeared from the collective memory. It has not lost any parcel of its age old efficiency either. Besides, it should not be considered a problem that it coexists today with so called modern science (i.e. an imported, supposedly rational system of knowledge and know-how). The real problem is elsewhere: about the very form of this coexistence. (Hountondji, 2002, p. 24, emphasis original)
Differential effects of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor NU1025 on topoisomerase I and II inhibitor cytotoxicity in L1210 cells in vitro

The potent novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, NU1025, enhances the cytotoxicity of DNA-methylating agents and ionizing radiation by inhibiting DNA repair. We report here an investigation of the role of PARP in the cellular responses to inhibitors of topoisomerase I and II using NU1025. The cytotoxicity of the topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin, was increased 2.6-fold in L1210 cells by co-incubation with NU1025. Camptothecin-induced DNA strand breaks were also increased 2.5-fold by NU1025 and exposure to camptothecin-activated PARP. In contrast, NU1025 did not increase the DNA strand breakage or cytotoxicity caused by the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide. Exposure to etoposide did not activate PARP even at concentrations that caused significant levels of apoptosis. Taken together, these data suggest that potentiation of camptothecin cytotoxicity by NU1025 is a direct result of increased DNA strand breakage, and that activation of PARP by camptothecin-induced DNA damage contributes to its repair and consequently cell survival. However, in L1210 cells at least, it would appear that PARP is not involved in the cellular response to etoposide-mediated DNA damage. On the basis of these data, PARP inhibitors may be potentially useful in combination with topoisomerase I inhibitor anticancer chemotherapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign
Prolonged Minocycline Treatment Impairs Motor Neuronal Survival and Glial Function in Organotypic Rat Spinal Cord Cultures

Background Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline antibiotic, exhibits anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in various experimental models of neurological diseases, such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal cord injury. However, conflicting results have prompted a debate regarding the beneficial effects of minocycline. Methods In this study, we analyzed minocycline treatment in organotypic spinal cord cultures of neonatal rats as a model of motor neuron survival and regeneration after injury. Minocycline was administered in 2 different concentrations (10 and 100 µM) at various time points in culture and fixed after 1 week. Results Prolonged minocycline administration decreased the survival of motor neurons in the organotypic cultures. This effect was strongly enhanced with higher concentrations of minocycline. High concentrations of minocycline reduced the number of DAPI-positive cell nuclei in organotypic cultures and simultaneously inhibited microglial activation. Astrocytes, which covered the surface of the control organotypic cultures, revealed a peripheral distribution after early minocycline treatment. Thus, we further analyzed the effects of 100 µM minocycline on the viability and migration ability of dispersed primary glial cell cultures. We found that minocycline reduced cell viability, delayed wound closure in a scratch migration assay and increased connexin 43 protein levels in these cultures. Conclusions The administration of high doses of minocycline was deleterious for motor neuron survival. In addition, it inhibited microglial activation and impaired glial viability and migration. These data suggest that especially high doses of minocycline might have undesired affects in treatment of spinal cord injury. Further experiments are required to determine the conditions for the safe clinical administration of minocycline in spinal cord injured patients.
Powering up Companies' crystal Balls: Analysis of a Multi-Case Study towards More Applicable Environmental Scanning Systems

The increasing volatility of their companies' environment is a growing concern for executives. ISbased environmental scanning that complements the accounting information system domain can help to manage this challenge. A substantial body of knowledge on such information systems exists, but these concepts often go unused in practice. This article develops five design guidelines for environmental scanning systems that are more applicable than those outlined in previous research. In doing so, we first compile a set of requirements based on the principle of economic efficiency, and then use findings from the absorptive capacity theory to specify them. Challenging several implementations against these requirements in a multicase study generates findings that we synthesize into design guidelines. They address diverse areas: designing a more comprehensive model for information gathering, setting up a collective learning process for interpreting information, using IS to enable management techniques familiar to executives, designing processes for more interorganizational integration of environmental scanning systems, and accelerating prototyping.
A two-level loan portfolio optimization problem

In this paper, we study a two-level loan portfolio optimization problem, a problem motivated by our work for some commercial banks in China. In this problem, there are two levels of decisions: at the higher level, the headquarter of the bank needs to decide how to allocate its overall capital among its branches based on its risk preference, and at the lower level, each branch of the bank needs to decide its loan portfolio based on its own risk preference and allocated capital budget. We formulate this problem as a two-level portfolio optimization problem and then propose a Monte Carlo based method to solve it. Numerical results are included to validate the method.
Self-disclosure mediates the effects of gender orientation and homophobia on the relationship quality of male same-sex friendships

This study tested the degree to which self-disclosure mediates the effects of gender orientation and homophobia on relational satisfaction, closeness, and commitment in men’s same-sex friendships. Participants included 211 men from the southwest region of the US, who reported on either geographically close (n = 107) or long distance same-sex friendships (n = 104). Results indicated that self-disclosure mediates the positive effect of femininity on satisfaction, closeness, and commitment in men’s same-sex friendships. Self-disclosure also mediates the negative, indirect effects of homophobia on all three relational outcomes. Tests of structural invariance provided no evidence to suggest that the indirect effects of femininity and homophobia on all three relational outcomes vary as a function of geographic distance.
From micro to nano contacts in biological attachment devices

Animals with widely varying body weight, such as flies, spiders, and geckos, can adhere to and move along vertical walls and even ceilings. This ability is caused by very efficient attachment mechanisms in which patterned surface structures interact with the profile of the substrate. An extensive microscopic study has shown a strong inverse scaling effect in these attachment devices. Whereas μm dimensions of the terminal elements of the setae are sufficient for flies and beetles, geckos must resort to sub-μm devices to ensure adhesion. This general trend is quantitatively explained by applying the principles of contact mechanics, according to which splitting up the contact into finer subcontacts increases adhesion. This principle is widely spread in design of natural adhesive systems and may also be transferred into practical applications.
Identification of Nascent Chain Interaction Sites on Trigger Factor*

The role of ribosome-binding molecular chaperones in protein folding is not yet well understood. Trigger factor (TF) is the first chaperone to interact with nascent polypeptides as they emerge from the bacterial ribosome. It binds to the ribosome as a monomer but forms dimers in free solution. Based on recent crystal structures, TF has an elongated shape, with the peptidyl-prolyl-cis/trans-isomerase (PPIase) domain and the N-terminal ribosome binding domain positioned at opposite ends of the molecule and the C-terminal domain, which forms two arms, positioned in between. By using site specifically labeled TF proteins, we have demonstrated that all three domains of TF interact with nascent chains during translation. Interactions with the PPIase domain were length-dependent but independent of PPIase activity. Interestingly, with free TF, these same sites were found to be involved in forming the dimer interface, suggesting that dimerization partially occludes TF-nascent chain binding sites. Our data indicate the existence of two regions on TF along which nascent chains can interact, the NC-domains as the main site and the PPIase domain as an auxiliary site.
- 1-Algorithms and Applications for Spatial Data Mining

Due to the computerization and the advances in scientific data collection we are faced with a large and continuously growing amount of data which makes it impossible to interpret all this data manually. Therefore, the development of new techniques and tools that support the human in transforming data into useful knowledge has been the focus of the relatively new and interdisciplinary research area “knowledge discovery in databases”. Knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) has been defined as the non-trivial process of discovering valid, novel, potentially useful and ultimately understandable patterns from data, a pattern is an expression in some language describing a subset of the data or a model applicable to that subset (Fayyad et al., 1996). The process of KDD is interactive and iterative, involving several steps such as data selection, data reduction, data mining, and the evaluation of the data mining results. The heart of the process, however, is the data mining step which consists of the application of data analysis and discovery algorithms that, under acceptable computational efficiency limitations, produce a particular enumeration of patterns over the data (Fayyad et al., 1996).
Segmentation of the Outer Vessel Wall of the Common Carotid Artery in CTA

A novel method is presented for carotid artery vessel wall segmentation in computed tomography angiography (CTA) data. First the carotid lumen is semi-automatically segmented using a level set approach initialized with three seed points. Subsequently, calcium regions located within the vessel wall are automatically detected and classified using multiple features in a GentleBoost framework. Calcium regions segmentation is used to improve localization of the outer vessel wall because it is an easier task than direct outer vessel wall segmentation. In a third step, pixels outside the lumen area are classified as vessel wall or background, using the same GentleBoost framework with a different set of image features. Finally, a 2-D ellipse shape deformable model is fitted to a cost image derived from both the calcium and vessel wall classifications. The method has been validated on a dataset of 60 CTA images. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the method is comparable to the interobserver variability.
Rhetoric and realities of London 2012 Olympic education and participation ‘legacies’: voices from the core and periphery

A legacy emphasis was one of the fundamental pillars of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The notion of an Olympic legacy was predicated on assumptions that the event's value would not purely derive from the sporting spectacle, but rather from the ‘success’ of enduring effects met out in London and across the country. For physical education students and practitioners, Olympic legacy agendas translated into persistent pressure to increase inspiration, engagement, participation and performance in the subject, sport and physical activity. Responding to this context, and cognizant of significant disciplinary scholarship, this paper reports initial data from the first phase of a longitudinal study involving Key Stage Three (students aged 11–13) cohorts in two comparable United Kingdom schools: the first an inner-city (core) London school adjacent to the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London (n = 150); the second a (peripheral) school in the Midlands (n = 198). The research involved the use of themed questionnaires focusing on self-reported attitudes towards the Olympic Games and experiences of physical education, sport and physical activity. Students from both schools demonstrated a wide variety of attitudes towards physical education and sport; yet, minor variances emerged regarding extreme enthusiasm levels. Both cohorts also expressed considerably mixed feelings towards the impending Olympic Games. Strong and variable responses were also reported regarding inspiration levels, ticketing acquisition and engagement levels. Consequently, this investigation can be read within the broader context of legacy debates and aligns well with physical educationalists' ongoing discomfort regarding legacy imperatives being enforced upon the discipline and its practitioners. Our work reiterates a shared disciplinary scepticism that while an Olympic Games may temporarily affect young peoples' affectations for sport (and maybe physical education and physical activity), it may not provide the best, or most appropriate, mechanism for sustained attitudinal and/or social changes en masse.
Implementation and Comparison of Feature Detection Methods in Image Mosaicing

The method of joining two images to make a panorama is image mosaicing. Accuracy of registered image is based on accurate feature detection and matching. Feature extraction is one of the most important step for image processing. Feature detection is a low-level image processing operation. According to proposed method different feature extraction techniques can be used for image mosaicing. The work compares two robust methods Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF). It also gives a way to extract distinctive invariant features from images that can be used to perform matching between different views of a scene or object.
Reverse enGENEering of Regulatory Networks from Big Data: A Roadmap for Biologists

Omics technologies enable unbiased investigation of biological systems through massively parallel sequence acquisition or molecular measurements, bringing the life sciences into the era of Big Data. A central challenge posed by such omics datasets is how to transform these data into biological knowledge, for example, how to use these data to answer questions such as: Which functional pathways are involved in cell differentiation? Which genes should we target to stop cancer? Network analysis is a powerful and general approach to solve this problem consisting of two fundamental stages, network reconstruction, and network interrogation. Here we provide an overview of network analysis including a step-by-step guide on how to perform and use this approach to investigate a biological question. In this guide, we also include the software packages that we and others employ for each of the steps of a network analysis workflow.
Directional and single-driver wires in FPGA interconnect

Modern FPGA architectures from Altera and Xilinx have shifted away from allowing multiple drivers to connect to each interconnect wire. This work advocates the need for this shift to single-driver wiring by investigating the necessary architectural and circuit design changes. When single-driver wiring is used, area improves by 25%, delay improves by 9%, and area-delay improves by 32% compared to bidirectional wiring. Wiring capacitance is reduced by 37% due to reduced switch loading and physical wire length shrinkage. Furthermore, it is shown that larger circuits tend to realize larger savings. No significant CAD tool changes are needed.
Mentoring in the Careers of African American Women in Social Work Education

This article reports the findings of a study that examined the role of mentoring in thecareers of African American women in the administration of social work education.A focus of the study was the ways in which race and gender influence mentoringexperiences. The findings suggest that although the participants were successful intheir careers, mentoring opportunities were not a part of their early careerexperiences. They also indicate that race and gender play important roles in the type ofmentoring experienced by African American women in social work academia.
Multi-core on-the-fly SCC decomposition

The main advantages of Tarjan's strongly connected component (SCC) algorithm are its linear time complexity and ability to return SCCs on-the-fly, while traversing or even generating the graph. Until now, most parallel SCC algorithms sacrifice both: they run in quadratic worst-case time and/or require the full graph in advance. The current paper presents a novel parallel, on-the-fly SCC algorithm. It preserves the linear-time property by letting workers explore the graph randomly while carefully communicating partially completed SCCs. We prove that this strategy is correct. For efficiently communicating partial SCCs, we develop a concurrent, iterable disjoint set structure (combining the union-find data structure with a cyclic list). We demonstrate scalability on a 64-core machine using 75 real-world graphs (from model checking and explicit data graphs), synthetic graphs (combinations of trees, cycles and linear graphs), and random graphs. Previous work did not show speedups for graphs containing a large SCC. We observe that our parallel algorithm is typically 10-30× faster compared to Tarjan's algorithm for graphs containing a large SCC. Comparable performance (with respect to the current state-of-the-art) is obtained for graphs containing many small SCCs.
Auditory Context Recognition Using SVMs

We study auditory context recognition for context-aware mobile computing systems. Auditory contexts are recordings of a mixture of sounds, or ambient audio, from mobile users' everyday environments. Fortraining a classifier, a set of recordings from different environments are segmented and labeled. The segments are windowed into overlapping frames for feature extraction. While previous work in auditory context recognition has often treated the problem as a sequence classification task and used HMM-based classifiers to recognize a sequence of consecutive MFCCs of frames, we compute averaged Mel-spectrum over the segments and train a SVM-based classifier. Our scheme outperforms an already reported HMM-based scheme. This result is achieved using the same dataset. We also show that often the feature sets used by previous work are affected by attenuation, limiting their applicability in practice. Furthermore, we study the impact of segment duration on recognition accuracy.