Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Commodity Dynamics: A Sparse Multi-Class Approach

The correct understanding of commodity price dynamics can bring relevant improvements in terms of policy formulation both for developing and developed countries. Agricultural, metal and energy commodity prices might depend on each other: although we expect few important effects among the total number of possible ones, some price effects among different commodities might still be substantial. Moreover, the increasing integration of the world economy suggests that these effects should be comparable for different markets. This paper introduces a sparse estimator of the Multi-class Vector AutoRegressive model to detect common price effects between a large number of commodities, for different markets or investment portfolios. In a first application, we consider agricultural, metal and energy commodities for three different markets. We show a large prevalence of effects involving metal commodities in the Chinese and Indian markets, and the existence of asymmetric price effects. In a second application, we analyze commodity prices for five different investment portfolios, and highlight the existence of important effects from energy to agricultural commodities. The relevance of biofuels is hereby confirmed. Overall, we find stronger similarities in commodity price effects among portfolios than among markets.
Geovisual interfaces to find suitable urban regions for citizens: a user-centered requirement study

Geographic retrieval and visualization systems are essential to satisfy user's spatial information needs. However, the end users spatial information need is much more diverse and demanding in complex decision making scenarios such as: Persons moving to a new area need information about which place meets their individual demands. To analyze such requirements, we conducted a study with 18 users of different age group, knowledge, and expertise. In this paper we report the study methods, results, analysis and insights to build an end user-friendly geospatial decision support system.
Mice Deficient in Sphingosine Kinase 1 Are Rendered Lymphopenic by FTY720*

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a lipid signaling molecule that regulates many cellular functions, is synthesized from sphingosine and ATP by the action of sphingosine kinase. Two such kinases have been identified, SPHK1 and SPHK2. To begin to investigate the physiological functions of sphingosine kinase and S1P signaling, we generated mice deficient in SPHK1. Sphk1 null mice were viable, fertile, and without any obvious abnormalities. Total SPHK activity in most Sphk1-/-tissues was substantially, but not completely, reduced indicating the presence of multiple sphingosine kinases. S1P levels in most tissues from the Sphk1-/- mice were not markedly decreased. In serum, however, there was a significant decrease in the S1P level. Although S1P signaling regulates lymphocyte trafficking, lymphocyte distribution was unaffected in lymphoid organs of Sphk1-/- mice. The immunosuppressant FTY720 was phosphorylated and elicited lymphopenia in the Sphk1 null mice showing that SPHK1 is not required for the functional activation of this sphingosine analogue prodrug. The results with these Sphk1 null mice reveal that some key physiologic processes that require S1P receptor signaling, such as vascular development and proper lymphocyte distribution, can occur in the absence of SPHK1.
The influence of visual salience on video consumption behavior: A survival analysis approach

In an increasingly competitive media environment, producers of online content need analytics that can predict the success of a video. In recent years the field of visual computation has produced a variety of mathematical models that quantify an image's salience, that is, its potential to capture attention. To test how a video's content might predict its success, we applied the standard saliency model of Itti, Koch, and Niebur [1] to more than 1000 video clips that were broadcast on a large video streaming website. We also obtained fine-grained data on the viewership of these clips. Based on a survival analysis, we find that people prefer more salient videos. The results were robust towards the inclusion of other predictors such as the genre of the video, but not to video length, which remains correlated with salience even after comparing videos only within show and genre. Our analyses suggest that visual salience provides an objective and easy-to-compute supplement to previously suggested predictors of video consumption behavior.
Transcriptional responses associated with sulfur mustard and thermal burns in porcine skin

In military and civilian environments, serious cutaneous damage can result from thermal burns or exposure to the blistering agent sulfur mustard [bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide; HD]. Similar therapies have historically been used to treat cutaneous thermal and HD injuries; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms of tissue damage and wound healing may differ between the types of burns. Using microarray analysis, this study assessed the transcriptional responses to cutaneous HD and thermal injury at 48 hours post-exposure to identify molecular networks and genes associated with each type of skin injury. Ventral abdominal sites on each of 4 weanling swine were exposed to 400 μl of undiluted HD or a heated brass rod (70°C) for 8 minutes and 45–60 seconds, respectively. At 48 hours post-exposure, total RNA was isolated from excised skin samples and hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip Porcine Genome Arrays (containing 20,201 genes). Both HD and thermal exposure promoted significant transcriptional changes where 290 and 267 transcripts were increased and 197 and 707 transcripts were decreased with HD and thermal exposure, respectively. HD- and thermal-injured skin expressed 149 increased and 148 decreased common transcripts. Comparison of the 10 most significantly changed biological functions for HD and thermal exposures identified 7 overlapping functional groups. Canonical pathways analysis revealed 15 separate signaling pathways containing transcripts associated with both HD and thermal exposure. Within these pathways, 5 transcripts (CXCR4, FGFR2, HMOX1, IL1R1, and TLR4) were identified as known targets for existing phase II/III clinical trial or Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs. This study is the first to directly assess transcriptional changes in porcine skin subjected to HD or thermal injury over the same time period.
Paternal half-sib heritabilities and genetic, environmental, and phenotypic correlation estimates from randomly selected Hereford cattle.

Growth and carcass data were collected during 10 yr at the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, MT from a Hereford herd selected at random. The objective was to compare genetic parameter estimates from this randomly selected herd with estimates from published selection studies. Only bulls were included in the data set. Bulls were slaughtered between 14 and 17 mo of age. Genetic parameters were estimated by the paternal half-sib procedure. Data were subdivided into three subgroups: 1) all bulls that had birth weights, 2) bulls with complete records for growth traits, and 3) bulls with complete carcass and growth records. The heritability estimate for birth weight on 736 progeny from 86 sires was . 18. The second group included 616 progeny representing 85 sires and heritability estimates were weaning weight, . 17; daily gain from birth to weaning, . 20; final test weight, . 42; and daily gain on test, . 47. The third group included 401 progeny from 75 sires and heritability estimates were carcass weight, . 38; longissimus muscle area, . 51; marbling, . 31; slaughter weight, . 42; and dressing percentage, . 25. Thus, these estimates of heritability were in quite good agreement with previously published values, with a tendency for these estimates to be lower for early growth weights. Phenotypic and environmental correlations were in good agreement and genetic correlations were in general agreement with the data reviewed. Estimates of heritabilities from this herd selected at random were not larger than previous estimates from selected herds.
Global uniform asymptotic stabilization of an underactuated surface vessel: experimental results

In a recent work, explicit formulas of smooth time-varying state feedbacks which make the origin of a model of an underactuated surface vessel globally uniformly asymptotically stable are proposed. In the present work experimental results are presented where these control laws are implemented for control of a model of an offshore supply vessel in order to investigate the values and limitations of the theoretical results. In the experiments the ship is exposed to perturbations including unmodeled dynamics, waves, currents and measurement noise. The experiments indicate that the control system possesses some robustness to these perturbations, something which complies with theory. The experimental results suggest that unmodeled ship dynamics and environmental disturbances should be taken into account in the controller design for practical implementation.
New modified fourier algorithm to eliminate the effect of the DC offset on phasor estimation using DFT

This paper proposes a new modified Fourier algorithm to eliminate the adverse influence of a decaying dc offset when Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is used to estimate the phasor of the fundamental frequency component. The proposed algorithm decomposes the DFT process into even sample set DFT and odd sample set DFT. The effect of the dc offset is eliminated by using the recursive relationship between the outputs of even sample set DFT and odd sample set DFT. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by using computer- simulated signals and EMTP-generated signals. The evaluation results indicate that the proposed algorithm can estimate the accurate phasor of the fundamental frequency component regardless of not only the primary decaying dc offset but also the secondary decaying dc offset caused by CT circuit itself including its burden.
Time domain dielectric spectroscopy of biological cells after pulsed electric field exposure

Dielectric characteristics determine the initial response of a biological cell to pulsed electric field exposure. Conversely, pulsed electric field-induced membrane poration and electric field-triggered biological changes will affect these parameters. Accordingly, the time-resolved measurement of cellular dielectric properties allows us to assess conformational and functional changes of cells after exposure in real time, and in turn, evaluate and compare the efficacy of chosen pulse parameters. Moreover, cell specific differences might eventually permit us to design exposure conditions to preferentially target cells, such as cancer. To this end, we have investigated the dielectric properties of Jurkat cells, a malignant human T-cell line, before and after application of microsecond and nanosecond pulsed electric fields by means of time domain dielectric spectroscopy. We modeled electrode polarization by a constant-phase-angle element in series with the cell suspension and identified the dielectric spectrum of each element successfully. Further analysis, based on the combination of a Maxwell-Wagner mixture model and a singleshell cell model, shows increases in the plasma membrane conductivity, indicating that membrane poration has occurred. The induced changes were more significant for the nanosecond exposure, suggesting different membrane charging and pore-forming mechanisms. Using a double-shell model, we could also obtain the nuclear envelope conductivity. Significant changes in conductivity after nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure, indicate that ultrashort pulses had also affected intracellular structures, while microsecond pulses had no significant effect on these parameters.
A survey of job satisfaction, sources of stress and psychological symptoms among New Zealand health professionals.

AIM To assess job satisfaction, job-related stress and psychological morbidity among New Zealand physicians, surgeons and community pharmacists and provide a comparison with New Zealand general practitioners (GPs). METHODS 411 physicians, 330 surgeons and 400 randomly sampled community pharmacists, were surveyed. Psychological morbidity was assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and job satisfaction by the Warr Cook Wall scale. RESULTS Response rates were 70.5% for physicians, 69% for surgeons and 76% for community pharmacists. Job satisfaction scores for surgeons were similar to scores for GPs. Pharmacist and physicians scores were lower. Job satisfaction varied according to gender, the relative amount of time spent in public practice and the perceived ill effects of work on health. Pharmacists had the highest number of cases with significant scores on the GHQ-12 scale, with physicians and surgeons scoring similar to GPs. In each of these health professional groups approximately 10% described a level of symptoms that is associated with more severe psychological disturbance. CONCLUSIONS All three groups were generally satisfied with their jobs. Pharmacists were significantly less so. Physicians and surgeons reported similar levels of psychological morbidity to GPs, which have been previously reported as a cause for concern.
Holmes‐Adie syndrome with segmental hypohidrosis

THE ASSOCIATION of the Holmes-Adie syndrome and hypohidrosis was described by Ross1 in 1958. His patient displayed a remarkable, progressive hypohidrosis with preservation of sweating in a segmental distribution. This coexisted with a tonic pupil and hyporeflexia typical of the Holmes-Adie syndrome. Three other cases similar to that of Ross have since been r e p ~ r t e d . ~ ~ Lowenstein and Loewenfeld5 reviewed the history behind the eponymic titles given this syndrome and discussed the pathophysiology of the condition. They believed the lesion underlying the pupillary abnormality was in the final parasympathetic neuron. They pointed out the apparently coincidental coexistence of this pupillary abnormality with many disease states. However, only very infrequently has other evidence of autonomic dysfunction been documented in case reports. The type of sweating abnormality described by Ross1 and others and documented again in our case is in itself a most interesting and uncommon circumstance. Its association with another less rare but still incompletely explained abnormality in the nervous system is reported and discussed in the belief that this association is not a coincidence and that analysis of the two abnormalities may lead eventually to a better understanding of both.
Asthma from plexiglas powders

A patient with severe asthma induced by the inhalation of plexiglas dusts is reported. Inhalation testing against various industrial products to which he was exposed at work, showed a specific and reproducible asthmatic reaction to plexiglas dusts. Complete pulmonary investigations after positive challenge excluded associated alveolitis and demonstrated an immediate and a late obstructive response. The patient was not atopic and his clinical history did not suggest occupational disease due to chronic exposure. Reduction of the plexiglas dust exposure resulted in progressive improvement.
Contribution of 5-Hydroxytryptamine1B Receptors and 20-Hydroxyeiscosatetraenoic Acid to Fall in Cerebral Blood Flow After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— This study examined the interaction between 5-hydroxytryptamine1B (5-HT1B) receptors and 20-hydroxyeiscosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) in contributing to the acute fall in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in rats. Methods— The effects of intracisternal injection of 0.3 mL of arterial blood, artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and 5-HT on rCBF and the levels of 20-HETE and 5-HT in cerebrospinal fluid were measured in rats pretreated with vehicle, a 5-HT1B receptor antagonist (isamoltane hemifumarate), or an inhibitor of the synthesis of 20-HETE (HET0016). The effects of HET0016 and isamoltane on the vasoconstrictor response and changes in [Ca2+]i to 5-HT were also studied in middle cerebral arteries and vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from these vessels. Results— 20-HETE and 5-HT levels in cerebrospinal fluid rose from 172±10 to 629±44 ng/mL and from 6±4 to 1163±200 nmol/mL, respectively, after SAH. rCBF fell by 30% 10 minutes after SAH, and it remained at this level for the next 2 hours. Blockade of 5-HT1B receptors prevented the sustained fall in rCBF seen after SAH. Intracisternal injection of 5-HT mimicked SAH by increasing 20-HETE levels in cerebrospinal fluid to 475±94 ng/mL and reducing rCBF by 30%. Blockade of the synthesis of 20-HETE with HET0016 prevented the fall in rCBF produced by 5-HT. Isamoltane and HET0016 reduced the vasoconstrictor response of isolated MCA to 5-HT by >60% and diminished the rise in [Ca2+]i produced by 5-HT in vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from these arteries. Conclusions— These results suggest that the release of 5-HT after SAH activates 5-HT1B receptors and the synthesis of 20-HETE and that 20-HETE contributes to the acute fall in rCBF by potentiating the vasoconstrictor response of cerebral vessels to 5-HT.
Very small embryonic‐like cells: Biology and function of these potential endogenous pluripotent stem cells in adult tissues

Very small embryonic‐like cells (VSELs), found in murine bone marrow and other adult tissues, are small, non‐hematopoietic cells expressing markers of pluripotent embryonic and primordial germ cells. A similar cell type in humans has begun to be characterized, though with a slightly different phenotype and surface markers. Consistent with expression of pluripotency genes, murine VSELs differentiate into cell types from three germ‐layer lineages in vitro, though pluripotency has yet to be shown at the single‐cell level or in vivo. VSELs appear to be quiescent under steady state conditions, apparently due to partially erased imprinting and overexpression of cell cycle inhibitory genes. In vivo, VSELs can enter the cell cycle under stress conditions, but which factors regulate quiescence versus proliferation and self‐renewal versus differentiation are as yet unknown, and in vitro conditions that induce proliferation and self‐renewal have yet to be defined. Future experiments are needed to address whether a VSEL niche actively regulates quiescence in vivo or quiescence is cell autonomous under steady state conditions. Insights into these mechanisms may help to address whether or not VSELs could play a role in regenerative medicine in the future. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80:677–690, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Effect of Earnings Recognition on Firm-Specific Information Variation

We examine the relation between earnings recognition practices and firms’ information environment. Using a sample of U.S. firms over the period 2000-2012, we investigate how earnings timeliness and smoothness affect firm information environment. To measure firms’ information environment, we adopt stock return synchronicity. The timeliness of earnings recognition measures the extent to which current earnings reflect value-relevant information into stock prices. As managers use earnings smoothing as a vehicle to reveal their private information, we expect earnings smoothing improves earnings informativeness and enables the market to incorporate more firm-specific information. Our study shows that as earnings timeliness increases, the market incorporates more firm-specific information into stock prices. In addition, as a firm's earnings become more volatile (less smooth), such a firm's stock return reflects more market-wide variation relative to firm-specific information. Keywords: Earnings smoothing, Timeliness, Stock return synchronicity, U.S.A. JEL Classifications: G14, M41
EphA2 as a target for ovarian cancer therapy

EphA2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed by many human cancers, and is often associated with poor prognostic features. It is involved in many processes crucial to malignant progression, such as migration, invasion, metastasis, proliferation, survival and angiogenesis. Inducing EphA2 downregulation by any one of several mechanisms (antibody-mediated inhibition of signalling, antibody-mediated downregulation of total EphA2 expression and siRNA-mediated inhibition of expression) has been shown to decrease tumour growth, prolong survival and inhibit angiogenesis in multiple preclinical models of ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancer. Targeting EphA2 is especially attractive in ovarian cancer, in which overexpression is present in > 75% of cases. This disease is highly responsive to chemotherapy, and EphA2 inhibition is especially effective in combination with taxanes. This demonstrated efficacy, along with the low expression of EphA2 by normal adult tissues and lack of demonstrable toxicities in preclinical models, suggest that long-term treatment with EphA2-targeting agents is an attractive approach for ovarian cancer therapy.
Intergrating a gesture interface to a commercial online dance game

We demonstrate a method in which gesture control is enabled through use of a stereo camera. Hard to use keyboard commands are effectively emulated using positional gestures. We describe the implementation and some results from user surveys based on user's trying the application at a public exposition. Along with outlining the implementation, we report the initial findings and show evidence as to why such a gesture interface is more effective as an interface as opposed to traditional gaming interfaces.
An evaluation of non-standard features for grapheme-to-phoneme conversion

Machine learning methods for grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) conversion are popular, but the features used in the literature are most often simply a window of context letters, despite the availability of other features. In this paper, a set of features beyond the seven-letter window, termed non-standard features, are systematically evaluated for American English, using decision trees. The results show that adding nonstandard features to a seven-letter window gives clear improvements for English, with the most important features being the previous three phone sequences predicted, an initial prediction of lexical stress location, and a window of vowel letters around the current letter.
Genetic engineering approach for the production of rhamnosyl and allosyl flavonoids from Escherichia coli

The main functions of glycosylation are stabilization, detoxification and solubilization of substrates and products. To produce glycosylated products, Escherichia coli was engineered by overexpression of TDP‐L‐rhamnose and TDP‐6‐deoxy‐D‐allose biosynthetic gene clusters, and flavonoids were glycosylated by the overexpression of the glycosyltransferase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana. For the glycosylation, these flavonoids (quercetin and kaempferol) were exogenously fed to the host in a biotransformation system. The products were isolated, analyzed and confirmed by HPLC, LC/MS, and ESI‐MS/MS analyses. Several conditions (arabinose, IPTG concentration, OD600, substrate concentration, incubation time) were optimized to increase the production level. We successfully isolated approximately 24 mg/L 3‐O‐rhamnosyl quercetin and 12.9 mg/L 3‐O‐rhamnosyl kaempferol upon feeding of 0.2 mM of the respective flavonoids and were also able to isolate 3‐O‐allosyl quercetin. Thus, this study reveals a method that might be useful for the biosynthesis of rhamnosyl and allosyl flavonoids and for the glycosylation of related compounds. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107: 154–162. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.