Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Similarity of Protein Structures Using Image Compression Algorithms

For measuring the similarity of biological sequences and structures such as DNA sequences, protein sequences, and tertiary structures, several compression-based methods have been developed. However, they are based on compression algorithms only for sequential data. For instance, protein structures can be represented by two-dimensional distance matrices. Therefore, it is expected that image compression is useful for measuring the similarity of protein structures because image compression algorithms compress data horizontally and vertically. This paper proposes series of methods for measuring the similarity of protein structures. In the methods, an original protein structure is transformed into a distance matrix, which is regarded as a two-dimensional image. Then, the similarity of two protein structures is measured by a kind of compression ratio of the concatenated image. We employed several image compression algorithms, JPEG, GIF, PNG, IFS, and SPC. Since SPC often gave better results among the other image compression methods, and it is simple and easy to be modified, we modified SPC and obtained MSPC. We applied the proposed methods to clustering of protein structures, and performed Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The results of computational experiments suggest that MSPC has the best performance among existing compression-based methods. We also present some theoretical results on the time complexity and Kolmogorov complexity of image compression-based protein structure comparison.
Fiscal Consequences of Armed Conflict and Terrorism in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This paper analyses the fiscal effects of armed conflict and terrorism on low- and middle-income countries. An analysis of 22 conflict episodes shows that armed conflict is associated with lower growth and higher inflation and has adverse effects on tax revenues and investment. It also leads to higher government spending on defense but this tends to be at the expense of macroeconomic stability rather than at the cost of lower spending on education and health. Our econometric estimates are consistent with the hypothesis that conflict and terrorism have a significant negative impact on growth through changes in the composition of government spending. On the revenue side the fiscal accounts are affected only through reduced real economic activity. Thus there is potential for a sizable peace dividend for countries that are able to resolve conflict and terrorism.
Military Spending and GDP Growth: Is there a General Causal Relationship?

Abstract The existence of a causal relationship between GDP growth and military spending has been a long-lasting debate. Earlier studies report mixed findings employing cross-sectional, pooled or fixed effects panel data. Recent studies employing causality tests also find mixed results. In this study, it is argued that structural changes in data (i.e. significant economic or military events) play an important role and should not be ignored. Also, treatment of stationarity around mean and around time trends needs special attention. Structural changes, if ignored, have the potential to cause bias in long-run tests through VECM. Mistreatment of trend stationarity may result in spurious results. With a sample of 65 countries, for the 1975–2004 period, a Granger-type causal relationship between military spending and GDP growth is analyzed with special emphasis on structural change and stationarity around time trends. While trend stationarity is a common trait of the variables, there are structural changes in the variables' time trends. Considering the bias towards rejecting stationarity in the presence of structural changes, the Zivot–Andrews unit root test is employed. A causal relationship is reported between military spending and GDP growth for 54 (of the 65) countries. For the overall sample, panel data Granger causality estimations provide evidence for a bi-directional positive causal relationship.
Delineation of T-wave in ECG by wavelet transform using multiscale differential operator

This paper proposes an improved wavelet-based method for the delineation of T wave in the electrocardiogram by using multiscale differential operator (MDO). MDO was employed to automatically categorize the T wave into one of the three categories of T wave morphologies and to improve the precision of T wave delineation for each category. The new algorithm was evaluated on QT database (QTDB) and new annotations of 2160 beats from QTDB were performed by two cardiologists. To evaluate the performance of the wave delineation, the time differences between automatic detection versus cardiologists' annotations and intercardiologist differences were measured. The new algorithm can attain better results than the previous methods by achieving the smallest standard deviation of the differences and qualifying the strict error criterion for T-off measurement. This new algorithm also exhibited excellent T wave categorization agreement with the cardiologists, resulting in kappa values above 0.75.
On the dynamic link between stock prices and exchange rates: evidence from Romania

The theoretical linkages between exchange rates and stock prices are microeconomic as well as macroeconomic in nature and may be observed on the short- and long-run. The paper examines the interactions between the exchange rates and stock prices in Romania, after 1997, taking into account the change in the monetary regime occurred in 2005 – the shift towards inflation targeting. The analysis uses bivariate cointegration and Granger causality tests, applied on daily and monthly exchange rates and stock prices data collected over the 1999 to 2007 period. Three types of exchange rates are used: the nominal effective exchange rates of the Romanian leu, the bilateral nominal exchange rates of the leu against the US dollar and the euro, and the real effective exchange rates of the leu. In terms of stock prices, the BET and BET-C indices of the Bucharest Stock Exchange are used, denominated in the local currency.
Record high saturation power (+22 dBm) and low noise figure (5.7 dB) polarization-insensitive SOA module

A polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) module that achieves both a high saturation output power and a low noise figure (NF) was developed by applying a multiple-quantum-well SOA in a polarization diversity configuration. The compact and low-loss SOA module exhibited a gain of 15 dB, a polarization dependence of 0.5 dB, a record-high saturation output power of +22 dBm, and a low NF of 5.7 dB at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Over the wavelength range covering four coarse wavelength-division-multiplexing channels (1471, 1491, 1511, and 1531 nm), the module gain was greater than 15 dB, the gain variation is less than 2 dB taking into account both its wavelength dependence and polarization dependence, the module saturation output power was greater than +18.7 dBm, and the module NF was less than 7.4 dB.
An Approach to Knowledge Acquisition Based on Verbal Semantics

This work presents an approach to knowledge acquisition based on semantic classification of verbs as a tool to knowledge management. It allows the extraction of propositions, concepts and non-taxonomic relations from a domain. It also allows a systematic understanding of the knowledge construction process, based on systems thinking and energy flows. We argue that this type of extraction may facilitate the understanding of the structure of cognitive processes and contribute to knowledge extraction in several areas that use representation, storage, transfer and flow of knowledge as a resource. Our experiments show that the proposed approach may extract processual knowledge and represent it in a causal concept map, guaranteeing, as much as possible, the accuracy of the acquired knowledge, by minimizing the distance between the knowledge agent's domain and what the knowledge engineer is capable of extracting.
Community integration and quality of life: a comparison of persons with psychiatric disabilities in housing programs and community residents who are neighbors.

Fifty-one persons with psychiatric disabilities in housing programs in the Ottawa-Carleton area were compared with a matched sample of 51 community residents on several aspects of community integration and subjective quality of life. Matching criteria included sex and location (i.e., living within one square block). Results showed persons with psychiatric disabilities reporting lower levels of social contact with neighbours and general life satisfaction than community residents. Both groups showed similar levels of physical presence and sense of community in the neighbourhood. Implications of the findings for planning and improving community mental health services are discussed.
Speculative bubbles in mass and luxury properties: an investigation of the Hong Kong residential market

Fluctuations in housing prices not only affect the financial well-being of corporations and households, but also influence the stability of economies. One of the results derived from such fluctuations is known as price bubbles. We aim to investigate whether such housing price bubbles did exist in two different residential markets of Hong Kong. The results indicate that there are bubbles in the Hong Kong housing markets before 2003, and later within the luxury market by 2008. As to what the government could do to curb speculative activities with regard to housing, the introduction of a capital gains tax on short-term transactions of flats as well as a higher housing supply are regarded as effective means.
Temporal causality and the dynamics of democracy, emigration and real income in Fiji

This study is the first to explore temporal causality between democracy, emigration and real income in Fiji within a multivariate cointegration model. We find three long run relationships between democracy, emigration and real income. In the long run there is evidence that migration and democracy Granger cause real GDP in Fiji; real GDP and democracy Granger cause migration from Fiji and that real GDP and migration Granger cause democracy in Fiji. In the short run we find unidirectional Granger causality running from migration to real GDP and from democracy to real GDP, but neutrality between democracy and migration in the short run. We also extend the analysis to examine the degree of exogeneity of the variables beyond the sample period through considering the decomposition of variance and impulse response functions.
Towards Measurement of Political Pressure on Central Banks in the Emerging Market Economies: The Case of the Central Bank of Egypt

This paper assesses whether the legal independence granted to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) under the latest legislation is factual. I followed Fry’s methodology, which assumes that the level of independence of the central bank is determined by fiscal attributes. In an attempt to develop Fry’s method, I used a simple criterion to assess the central bank’s independence, namely, that the central bank is actually independent if it can fulfill its money supply target. Applying this criterion to the CBE and some other CBs in the developed countries and emerging market economies, we find that: (i) the legal independence granted to the CBE under the latest legislation is not factual; although the final objective of monetary policy is to achieve price stability, the CBE failed to fulfill its money supply target and achieve price stability, because it was responsive to political pressure and did not react to fulfill its money supply target; (ii) such political pressure on the CBE is due to fiscal attributes, as measured by domestic credit to the government; (iii) CBs whose independence is factual, according to our criterion, showed a negative relationship between the legal indices, as measured by the GMT index, and the fiscal attributes measured by DCGY. However, the relationship was anomalous when measured by the rate of inflation.
A Low-Power Level-Converting Double-Edge-Triggered Flip-Flop Design

SUMMARY This paper proposes a new double-edge-triggered implicitly level-converting flip-flop, suitable for a low-power and low-voltage design. The design employs a sense amplifier architecture to reduce the delay and power consumption. Experimentally, when implemented with a 130-nm, single-Vt and 0.84 V VDD process, it achieves 64% power-delay product (PDP) improvement, and moreover, 78% PDP improvement when implemented with a mixed-Vt technology, as compared to that of the classic
An inductive theory of regional development

Regional development tendencies in Western Europe in recent decades are analyzed. They show a mosaic-like pattern of dynamic and declining regions in all parts of Europe, while there is no uniform core/periphery polarization. On this basis, an inductive theory of regional development in economically advanced societies is constructed. It states that the structural composition of the economy of each region plays a role in its development. However, locational shifts occur within all sectors. Whether a region gains or loses depends largely on the local conditions, such as political institutions, regional policy assistance, infrastructure, supply of skilled people, social qualifications, factor prices and population density. This theory fits well into the picture of the emerging service society.
Mean reversion in the US unemployment rate – evidence from bootstrapped out-of-sample forecasts

This article investigates whether the US unemployment rate is best described as a unit-root or mean-reverting process. An out-of-sample forecast exercise is conducted in which the performance of an autoregressive (AR) model with an imposed unit root is compared with that of a mean-reverting AR model. A bootstrap distribution for the relative root mean square forecast error is generated and provides strong support for mean reversion in the US unemployment rate.
Location of the unique integration site on an Escherichia coli chromosome by bacteriophage lambda DNA in vivo

Significance Viral infection and integration is fundamental in the generation of genetic diversity in prokaryotes. After entering an Escherichia coli cell, bacteriophage λ DNA must locate a unique site among ∼5 million possible sites on the bacterial genome, with high efficiency and within physiological times, to integrate and establish lysogeny. How does it do it? We show that λ DNA does not carry out an active search. Instead, it remains confined at its entry point where it undergoes limited diffusion, while the process of bacterial DNA replication conveys the bacterial site close to the λ DNA. This mechanism adds to the list of profligate use of host functions by λ, brought about by coevolution of host−phage processes. The search for specific sequences on long genomes is a key process in many biological contexts. How can specific target sequences be located with high efficiency, within physiologically relevant times? We addressed this question for viral integration, a fundamental mechanism of horizontal gene transfer driving prokaryotic evolution, using the infection of Escherichia coli bacteria with bacteriophage λ and following the establishment of a lysogenic state. Following the targeting process in individual live E. coli cells in real time revealed that λ DNA remains confined near the entry point of a cell following infection. The encounter between the 15-bp-long target sequence on the chromosome and the recombination site on the viral genome is facilitated by the directed motion of bacterial DNA generated during chromosome replication, in conjunction with constrained diffusion of phage DNA. Moving the native bacterial integration site to different locations on the genome and measuring the integration frequency in these strains reveals that the frequencies of the native site and a site symmetric to it relative to the origin are similar, whereas both are significantly higher than when the integration site is moved near the terminus, consistent with the replication-driven mechanism we propose. This novel search mechanism is yet another example of the exquisite coevolution of λ with its host.
Generative leadership: responding to the call for responsibility

Purpose – The responsible leadership movement may be seen as part of the wider sustainability revolution. Sustainability was defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as “economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Since then, guiding principles have been formulated and a growing number of business leaders have issued a call to action. Still one expert, Orr, recently concluded that “virtually no indicator of planetary health is moving in a positive direction, and we should ask why. ” The purpose of this paper, heeding the admonition to “ask why”, is to examine what it means to be responsible as a leader at this time, in this context.Design/methodology/approach – A consensus view of the context and the accountabilities it implies is gleaned from an analysis of sustainability principles. A psychological approach to conceptualizing leader responsibility as a variable in personal development is el.
A fast algorithm for DOA estimation in unknown correlated noise

An efficient method is proposed for DOA estimation in the presence of unknown correlated noise fields. The proposed method first eliminates the noise covariance matrix and gets a new array covariance matrix by employing the covariance differencing technique. The signal subspace can be obtained directly from the elements of the new array covariance matrix. The performance of this method is examined via simulations.
Causality Between Public Expenditure and National Income

This paper deploys the Granger method to determine the directions and patterns of causality between national income and total as well as various components of public expenditure. Empirical results based on the data for India (1950-81) suggest that while at the disaggregate level the causal process is rather diverse, it is essentially "feed back"-type at the aggregate level. It neither confirms the Wagnerian (Income Public Expenditure) nor the Keynesian (Public Expenditure National Income) view. The paper recommends that two variables be treated as jointly-dependent in both the public finance and macroeconometric studies.
Properties of Mitomycin C-sensitive Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12

Strains hypersensitive to mitomycin C (MC) were isolated from Escherichia coli K-12 after treatment with nitrosoguanidine. Of 43 MC-sensitive strains tested for their ultraviolet light (UV) sensitivity and for their ability to reactivate UV-inactivated λ phage, 38 were found to be insensitive to UV irradiation and to be able to reactivate UV-irradiated bacteriophage λ. Some properties of the MC-sensitive, uvr+ mutants were analyzed. Synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in MC-sensitive, uvr+ mutants was inhibited at a lower concentration of MC than in the wild-type strain. Mutant cells, labeled with 3H-thymidine and then exposed to MC, released radioactivity as low molecular weight compounds. The amount of radioactivity released was the same as that from the wild-type strain. MC-sensitive, uvr+ mutants, as well as the corresponding wild-type strain, were equally susceptible to induction of prophage φ80 by UV irradiation. However, MC induction of prophage was achieved in MC-sensitive, uvr+ mutants at a lower concentration of the antibiotic than in the wild-type strain. Genetic experiments indicated that a gene controlling MC sensitivity is located close to that determining lactose fermentation of E. coli. It is situated on episome F′13, and the wild type is dominant to the MC-sensitive allele.
Synergetic use of LiDAR and microwave radiometer observations for boundary-layer height detection

A synergetic approach for estimation of the nocturnal stable boundary-layer (SBL) height is presented. Aerosol backscatter from a lidar ceilometer and potential temperature from a microwave radiometer (MWR) are combined by using an extended Kalman filter (EKF). While height-resolved spatial-variance from the ceilometer backscatter signal provides a signature for the stratification of aerosols in the SBL, temperature data from the MWR helps to correctly incorporate information about the thermodynamic stability of atmosphere. The method is applied to data from a Vaisala CT25K ceilometer and a Humidity-and-Temperature Profiler (HAT-PRO) MWR collected during the HD(CP)2 Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) campaign at Jülich, Germany.
Bid and Ask Prices Tailored to Traders’ Risk-Aversion and Gain-Propension

Bid and ask prices tailored to the traders’ risk-aversion and gain-propension are defined. Risk and gain premia are given by the Extended Gini indices, where the characteristic parameter captures the traders’ perception of the under-performance and over-performance of the asset. Sufficient and necessary conditions for successful trading are set out. The bid-ask price spread and the so-called probability of trading are used to measure the chances of trading. Numerical tables for these measures are given for the most common distributions and different levels of buyer’s risk-aversion and seller’s gain-propension.
The Drosophila Sec7 domain guanine nucleotide exchange factor protein Gartenzwerg localizes at the cis-Golgi and is essential for epithelial tube expansion

Protein trafficking through the secretory pathway plays a key role in epithelial organ development and function. The expansion of tracheal tubes in Drosophila depends on trafficking of coatomer protein complex I (COPI)-coated vesicles between the Golgi complex and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, it is not clear how this pathway is regulated. Here we describe an essential function of the Sec7 domain guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) gartenzwerg (garz) in epithelial tube morphogenesis and protein secretion. garz is essential for the recruitment of COPI components and for normal Golgi organization. A GFP–Garz fusion protein is distributed in the cytoplasm and accumulates at the cis-Golgi. Localization to the Golgi requires the C-terminal part of Garz. Conversely, blocking the GDP–GTP nucleotide exchange reaction leads to constitutive Golgi localization, suggesting that Garz cycles in a GEF-activity-dependent manner between cytoplasmic and Golgi-membrane-localized pools. The related human ARF-GEF protein GBF1 can substitute for garz function in Drosophila tracheal cells, indicating that the relevant functions of these proteins are conserved. We show that garz interacts genetically with the ARF1 homolog ARF79F and with the ARF1-GAP homolog Gap69C, thus placing garz in a regulatory circuit that controls COPI trafficking in Drosophila. Interestingly, overexpression of garz causes accumulation of secreted proteins in the ER, suggesting that excessive garz activity leads to increased retrograde trafficking. Thus, garz might regulate epithelial tube morphogenesis and secretion by controlling the rate of trafficking of COPI vesicles.