Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Informed Trading, Investment, and Welfare

This paper studies the welfare economics of informed trading in a stock market. We provide a model in which all agents are rational and trade either to exploit information or to hedge risk. We analyze the effect of more informative prices on investment, given that this dependence will itself be reflected in equilibrium prices. Agents understand that asset prices may affect corporate investment decisions, and condition their trades on prices. We present both a general framework, and a parametric version that allows a closed-form solution. We show that in rational expectations equilibrium with price-taking competitive behaviour, and in the presence of risk-neutral uninformed agents, uninformed traders cannot lose money on average to informed traders. However, some agents with superior information may be willing to lose money on average, in order to improve their hedging possibilities. While a higher incidence of informed speculation always increases firm value through a more informative trading process, the effect on agents welfare depends on how revelation of information that agents wish to insure against reduces their hedging opportunities (the Hirshleifer effect). On the other hand, early revelation of information that is uncorrelated with hedging needs allows agents to construct better hedges.
Preparation and exploitation of bilingual texts

A bitext is a merged document composed of two versions of a given text, usually in two different languages. An aligned bitext is produced by an alignment tool or aligner, that automatically aligns or matches the versions of the same text, generally sentence by sentence. A multilingual aligned corpus or collection of aligned bitexts, when consulted with a search tool, can be extremely useful for translation, language teaching and the investigation of literary text. This is all the more true for a pair of languages such as Korean and French, for which few people are bilingual, and many literary translations involve pairs of translators. For such language pairs, retrieving solutions of previously resolved translation problems is an invaluable aid. In addition, multilingual corpora are in the core of some research in natural language processing (NLP), both in theoretical fields, such as contrastive linguistic and lexicography, and in applicative fields, such as translation, term extraction, or translation memories production. The current methods of construction and exploitation of multilingual aligned corpora are essentially based on statistical models of text. In this article, we propose an enhancement of these methods with the use of lexical and grammatical resources. The open-source Unitex system is the main corpus processor that systematically makes use of lexicons and grammars for text exploration. This system can process one language at a time. We outline a project of extension of Unitex to the processing of bitexts.
Self-care strategies for symptom management in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND The troublesome symptoms experienced by patients with chronic heart failure are associated with diminished quality of life, frequent hospitalizations, and mortality. OBJECTIVES To describe the symptoms experienced by patients with heart failure, to detail the self-care strategies used by these patients in managing their symptoms, and to categorize the self-care strategies. METHODS Six focus groups were used with 23 patients who had heart failure, along with six focus groups with 18 family members of the patients. Data analysis was performed by transcription of audiotape recordings of the group sessions and review of field notes. RESULTS The patients reported a large number of troublesome symptoms, many consistent with past empirical findings, but some not reported in previous studies. Self-care strategies to manage the symptoms clustered into 11 categories. CONCLUSIONS Results from this study provided direction for future studies to (a) identify the prevalence, severity, and etiologies of the commonly reported symptoms, particularly cognitive impairment, loss of balance, and depression; (b) evaluate the emotions reported by women with heart failure; and (c) test the strategies as part of an intervention program to improve symptom management in patients with heart failure.
Singularity free dilaton driven cosmologies and pre-little bangs

There are no reasons why the singularity in the growth of the dilaton coupling should not be regularized, in a string cosmological context, by the presence of classical inhomogeneities. We discuss a class of inhomogeneous dilaton-driven models whose curvature invariants are all bounded and regular in time and space. We prove that the non-space-like geodesics of these models are all complete in the sense that none of them reaches infinity for a finite value of the affine parameter. We conclude that our examples represent truly singularity-free solutions of the low-energy beta functions. We discuss some symmetries of the obtained solutions and we clarify their physical interpretation. We also give examples of solutions with spherical symmetry. In our scenario each physical quantity is everywhere defined in time and space, the big-bang singularity is replaced by a maximal curvature phase where the dilaton kinetic energy reaches its maximum. The maximal curvature is always smaller than one ~in string units! The coupling constant is also smaller than one and it grows between two regimes of constant dilaton, implying, together with the symmetries of the solutions, that higher genus and higher curvature corrections are negligible. We argue that our examples describe the occurrence of ‘‘little bangs’’ ~i.e., high curvature phases which never develop physical singularities ! They also suggest the possibility of an unexplored ‘‘pre-little-bang’’ phase. @S0556-2821~99! 06104-4#
Single molecule force spectroscopy of spectrin repeats: low unfolding forces in helix bundles.

Spectrin repeats fold into triple helical coiled-coils comprising approximately 106 amino acid residues. Using an AFM-related technique we measured the force required to mechanically unfold these repeats to be 25 to 35 pN. Under tension, individual spectrin repeats unfold independently and in an all-or-none process. The dependence of the unfolding forces on the pulling speed reveals that the corresponding unfolding potential is shallow with an estimated width of 1.5 nm. When the unfolded polypeptide strand is relaxed, several domains refold within less than a second. The unfolding forces of the alpha-helical spectrin domains are five to ten times lower than those found in domains with beta-fold, like immunoglobulin or fibronectin Ill domains, where the tertiary structure is stabilized by hydrogen bonds between adjacent strands. This shows that the forces stabilizing the coiled-coil lead to a mechanically much weaker structure than multiple hydrogen-bonded beta-sheets.
Integration of multiple genomic imaging data for the study of schizophrenia using joint nonnegative matrix factorization

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex disease caused by a lot genetic variants, epigenetic and brain region abnormalities. In this study, we adopted a joint nonnegative matrix factorization method to integrate three datasets including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), brain activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and DNA Methylation to identify multi-dimensional modules associated with SZ. They are then used to study the coordination between regulatory mechanisms at multiple levels. This method projects multiple types of data onto a common feature space, in which heterogeneous variables with large coefficients on the same projected bases form a multi-dimensional module. The genomic factors in such modules have significant correlations and likely functional associations with brain activities. We applied this method to the real data analysis and identified multi-dimensional modules including SNP, fMRI and DNA methylation sites. These selected biomarkers were finally used to identify genes and voxels, which were confirmed to be significantly associated with SZ.
The Development and Initial Assessment of the Strategy and Leadership Systems Capability Evaluation Survey

Hospital management and leadership systems are associated with organizational success and quality care. The Strategy and Leadership Systems Capability Evaluation (CE) survey was developed by GE Healthcare to assess management and leadership systems at health care institutions, serve as a benchmark for improvement, and measure progress. To assess the psychometric properties of the 29-item CE survey, including the factor structure, scoring algorithm, reliability, and discriminant validity, an online survey was completed by 3450 employees at 15 US hospitals. Of these employees, 609 worked at a hospital where a leadership and management intervention occurred after the initial survey administration. Data were also collected on job level, number of hospital beds, hospital ownership, location, community type, and the implementation of hospital interventions. Item response frequencies showed no floor or ceiling effects and limited missing data. Interitem correlations were strong without obvious redundancies, and factor analysis suggested a unidimensional scale. The resulting scale had strong internal consistency and was able to discriminate among known groups. The CE survey was developed to evaluate management and leadership systems at health care institutions. This study provides psychometric evidence in support of the reliability, validity, and scoring structure of this survey.
Evaluating the Roles of Professional Geriatric Care Managers in Maintaining the Quality of Life for Older Americans

This study examined the roles of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (PGCMs). In-depth telephone surveys were completed with 19 PGCMs. Qualitative data were coded independently by two researchers. PGCMs reported that most clients and/or families seek services in response to a health crisis or because a family member was providing care at a distance. Most emphasized the importance of treating clients as autonomous decision-makers. Services described as most useful were supporting families and caregivers, being an advocate for clients, conducting initial assessments and ongoing follow up, and educating families about community resources and the financing of long term care. Regarding maintaining the quality of life for their older clients, a number of care managers described assisting clients to live independently at home, arranging for transfer to an appropriate level of care, and helping clients die peacefully with dignity. Major challenges PGCMs encountered were family conflicts and obtaining needed services. Recommendations to improve PGCM practice include increasing awareness of services, and establishing minimum professional standards through certification.
Occurrence of Terranova larval types (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Australian marine fish with comments on their specific identities

Pseudoterranovosis is a well-known human disease caused by anisakid larvae belonging to the genus Pseudoterranova. Human infection occurs after consuming infected fish. Hence the presence of Pseudoterranova larvae in the flesh of the fish can cause serious losses and problems for the seafood, fishing and fisheries industries. The accurate identification of Pseudoterranova larvae in fish is important, but challenging because the larval stages of a number of different genera, including Pseudoterranova, Terranova and Pulchrascaris, look similar and cannot be differentiated from each other using morphological criteria, hence they are all referred to as Terranova larval type. Given that Terranova larval types in seafood are not necessarily Pseudoterranova and may not be dangerous, the aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of Terranova larval types in Australian marine fish and to determine their specific identity. A total of 137 fish belonging to 45 species were examined. Terranova larval types were found in 13 species, some of which were popular edible fish in Australia. The sequences of the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2 respectively) of the Terranova larvae in the present study showed a high degree of similarity suggesting that they all belong to the same species. Due to the lack of a comparable sequence data of a well identified adult in the GenBank database the specific identity of Terranova larval type in the present study remains unknown. The sequence of the ITS regions of the Terranova larval type in the present study and those of Pseudoterranova spp. available in GenBank are significantly different, suggesting that larvae found in the present study do not belong to the genus Pseudoterranova, which is zoonotic. This study does not rule out the presence of Pseudoterranova larvae in Australian fish as Pseudoterranova decipiens E has been reported in adult form from seals in Antarctica and it is known that they have seasonal presence in Australian southern coasts. The genetic distinction of Terranova larval type in the present study from Pseudoterranova spp. along with the presence of more species of elasmobranchs in Australian waters (definitive hosts of Terranova spp. and Pulchrascaris spp.) than seals (definitive hosts of Pseudoterranova spp.) suggest that Terranova larval type in the present study belong to either genus Terranova or Pulchrascaris, which are not known to cause disease in humans. The present study provides essential information that could be helpful to identify Australian Terranova larval types in future studies. Examination and characterisation of further specimens, especially adults of Terranova and Pulchrascaris, is necessary to fully elucidate the identity of these larvae.
A Comprehensive Study of CRM through Data Mining Techniques

In today’s competitive scenario in corporate world, “Customer Retention” strategy in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an increasingly pressed issue. Data mining techniques play a vital role in better CRM. This paper attempts to bring a new perspective by focusing the issue of data mining applications, opportunities and challenges in CRM. It covers the topic such as customer retention, customer services, risk assessment, fraud detection and some of the data mining tools which are widely used in CRM.
Simultaneous monitoring of volatile selenium and sulfur species from se accumulating plants (wild type and genetically modified) by GC/MS and GC/ICPMS using solid-phase microextraction for sample introduction.

A sensitive method for determining ultratrace volatile Se species produced from Brassica juncea seedlings is described. The use of a new commercially available GC/ ICPMS interface in conjunction with solid-phase micro-extraction is a promising way to perform these studies. The addition of optional gases (O2 and N2) to the argon discharge proved to increase the sensitivity for Se and S as well as for Xe, which as a trace contaminant gas, was used for ICPMS optimization studies. However, the optimization parameters differ when an optional gas is added. In the best conditions, limits of detection ranging from 1 to 10 ppt can be obtained depending on the Se compound and 30 to 300 ppt for the volatile S species. The use of GC/MS with similar sample introduction permits the characterization of several unknown species produced as artifacts from the standards. The method allows the virtually simultaneous monitoring of S and Se species from the headspace of several plants (e.g., onions, garlic, etc.) although the present work is focused on the B. juncea seedlings grown in closed vials and treated with Se. Dimethyl selenide and dimethyl diselenide were detected as the primary volatile Se components in the headspace. Sulfur species also were present as allyl (2-propenyl) isothiocyanate and 3-butenyl isothiocyanate as characterized by GC/MS.
Feasibility of Assessing Public Health Impacts of Air Pollution Reduction Programs on a Local Scale: New Haven Case Study

Background New approaches to link health surveillance data with environmental and population exposure information are needed to examine the health benefits of risk management decisions. Objective We examined the feasibility of conducting a local assessment of the public health impacts of cumulative air pollution reduction activities from federal, state, local, and voluntary actions in the City of New Haven, Connecticut (USA). Methods Using a hybrid modeling approach that combines regional and local-scale air quality data, we estimated ambient concentrations for multiple air pollutants [e.g., PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter), NOx (nitrogen oxides)] for baseline year 2001 and projected emissions for 2010, 2020, and 2030. We assessed the feasibility of detecting health improvements in relation to reductions in air pollution for 26 different pollutant–health outcome linkages using both sample size and exploratory epidemiological simulations to further inform decision-making needs. Results Model projections suggested decreases (~ 10–60%) in pollutant concentrations, mainly attributable to decreases in pollutants from local sources between 2001 and 2010. Models indicated considerable spatial variability in the concentrations of most pollutants. Sample size analyses supported the feasibility of identifying linkages between reductions in NOx and improvements in all-cause mortality, prevalence of asthma in children and adults, and cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations. Conclusion Substantial reductions in air pollution (e.g., ~ 60% for NOx) are needed to detect health impacts of environmental actions using traditional epidemiological study designs in small communities like New Haven. In contrast, exploratory epidemiological simulations suggest that it may be possible to demonstrate the health impacts of PM reductions by predicting intraurban pollution gradients within New Haven using coupled models.
A better understanding and an improved solution to the specific problems of stereophonic acoustic echo cancellation

Teleconferencing systems employ acoustic echo cancelers to reduce echoes that result from coupling between the loudspeaker and microphone. To enhance the sound realism, two-channel audio is necessary. However, in this case (stereophonic sound) the acoustic echo cancellation problem is more difficult to solve because of the necessity to uniquely identify two acoustic paths. We explain these problems in detail and give an interesting solution which is much better than previously known solutions. The basic idea is to introduce a small nonlinearity into each channel that has the effect of reducing the interchannel coherence while not being noticeable for speech due to self masking.
Comparison of breath-enhanced to breath-actuated nebulizers for rate, consistency, and efficiency.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate differences between three new-generation nebulizers-Pari LC Star (Pari Respiratory Equipment; Mississauga, ON, Canada), AeroEclipse (Trudell Medical International, London, ON, Canada), and Halolite (Medic-Aid Limited, West Sussex, UK)-in terms of rate and amount of expected deposition as well as the consistency of the doses delivered. METHODS The in vitro performance characteristics were determined and then coupled to the respiratory pattern of seven patients with cystic fibrosis (age range, 4 to 18 years) in order to calculate expected deposition. The Pari LC Star and AeroEclipse were characterized while being driven by the Pari ProNeb Ultra compressor (Pari Respiratory Equipment) for home use, and by a 50-psi medical air hospital source. The Halolite has its own self-contained compressor. Algorithms for the rate of output for the inspiratory flow were developed for each device. Patient flow patterns were divided into 5-ms epochs, and the expected deposition for each epoch was calculated from the algorithms. Summed over a breath, this allowed the calculation of the estimated deposition for each patient's particular pattern of breathing. RESULTS The rate of deposition was highest for the Pari LC Star and lowest for the Halolite. Rate of deposition was independent of respiratory pattern for the Pari LC Star and AeroEclipse, but proportional to respiratory rate for the Halolite. The differences between the Pari LC Star and AeroEclipse were less when driven by the 50-psi source. The AeroEclipse had the least amount of drug wastage. As designed, the Halolite delivered a predetermined amount of drug very accurately, whereas expected deposition when run to dryness of the other two devices had significant variations. CONCLUSIONS To minimize treatment time, the Pari LC Star would be best. To minimize drug wastage, the AeroEclipse would be best. To accurately deliver a specific drug dose, the Halolite would be best.
From public to private: the performance of former public workers in the Brazilian labor market

This paper analyzes the placement in the private sector of a subset of Brazilian public-sector employees. This group left public employment in the mid-1990’s through a voluntary severance program. This paper contrasts their earnings before and after quitting the public sector, and compares both sets of wages to public and private sector earnings for similar workers. We find that participants in this voluntary severance program suffered a significant reduction in average earnings wage and an increase in earnings dispersion. We test whether the reduction in average earnings and the increase in earnings dispersion is the expected outcome once one controls for observed characteristics, by means of counterfactual simulations. Several methods of controlling for observed characteristics (parametric and non-parametrically) are used for robustness. The results indicate that this group of workers was paid at levels below what would be expected given their embodied observable characteristics.
The differentiation of oral soft‐ and hard tissues using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy – a prospect for tissue specific laser surgery

Compared to conventional techniques, Laser surgery procedures provide a number of advantages, but may be associated with an increased risk of iatrogenic damage to important anatomical structures. The type of tissue ablated in the focus spot is unknown. Laser‐Induced Breakdown‐Spectroscopy (LIBS) has the potential to gain information about the type of material that is being ablated by the laser beam. This may form the basis for tissue selective laser surgery. In the present study, 7 different porcine tissues (cortical and cancellous bone, nerve, mucosa, enamel, dentine and pulp) from 6 animals were analyzed for their qualitative and semiquantitative molecular composition using LIBS. The so gathered data was used to first differentiate between the soft‐ and hard‐tissues using a Calcium‐Carbon emission based classifier. The tissues were then further classified using emission‐ratio based analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The relatively higher concentration of Calcium in the hard tissues allows for an accurate first differentiation of soft‐ and hard tissues (100% sensitivity and specificity). The ratio based statistical differentiation approach yields results in the range from 65% (enamel‐dentine pair) to 100% (nerve‐pulp, cancellous bone‐dentine, cancellous bone‐enamel pairs) sensitivity and specificity. Experimental LIBS measuring setup