Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linkages Between International Securitized Real Estate Markets: Further Evidence from Time-Varying and Stochastic Cointegration

This paper analyzes long-run co-movements between international real estate stock markets and between regions based on bivariate and multivariate tests for cointegration. While the topic has been analyzed in previous studies such as Gallo and Zhang (2009) and Yunus (2009) among others, this paper is of significant contribution to existing studies since we compare results from different cointegration methodologies and explicitly control for instability in cointegration relationships and deviations from normality. Furthermore, the analyzed time period is longer than in previous studies and ranges from 1990 to 2009 covering 20 years. In line with previous studies, the empirical results indicate several cointegration relationships between national real estate stock markets. However, it is also shown that most cointegration relationships are unstable and that the results from cointegration methodologies suggested by Engle and Granger (1987) and Johansen (1988) might be misleading in that common long-run comovements appear to be stronger when structural breaks are considered. Thus, the results indicate that investors would benefit from broadening their investment horizon from their domestic continent to international markets. This particularly applies for the European securitized real estate markets.
Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus subtilis GXA-28, a Thermophilic Strain with High Productivity of Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis GXA-28 is a thermophilic strain that can produce high yield and high molecular weight of poly-γ-glutamic acid under high temperature. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this strain, which may provide the genomic basis for the high productivity of poly-γ-glutamic acid.
M2D2TF: A Multi-dimensional and Multi-directional Trust Model for Federated Identity Management

Since the requirements of task cooperation become more complicated and dynamic, the Federated Identity Management (FIdM) should be more safe and flexible to allow and facilitate participating federated organizations, to share information and grant or deny service access requests. Trust is the base of forming federation, and it's a novel idea to establish a security mechanism based on trust for a fair interacting environment. This paper analyzes the various trust needs in the context of FIdM, and designs a common trust model based on multi-dimensional vector which can apply to quantify multi-directional trust. At the end of essay, we present the calculation process of an example and analyze the results.
Ascorbic acid attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury*

Objective: Sepsis-induced lung injury is a persisting clinical problem with no direct therapy. Recent work suggests that intravenously infused ascorbic acid improves the circulatory dysfunction of sepsis. We used a model of endotoxin-induced acute lung injury to determine whether parenteral ascorbic acid modulates the dysregulated proinflammatory, procoagulant state that leads to lung injury. Design: C57BL/6 mice were exposed to lethal lipopolysaccharide doses (10 &mgr;g/g of body weight) to induce acute lung injury. Setting: Laboratory investigation. Subjects: Wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Interventions: Ascorbic acid or its oxidized form (dehydroascorbic acid) was administered intraperitoneally at 200 mg/kg 30 mins after the lethal lipopolysaccharide dose. Measurements and Main Results: We quantified survival, lung capillary leak, proinflammatory chemokine expression, and lung microvascular thrombosis. Lipopolysaccharide induced 100% lethality in mice within 28 hrs of exposure and in lung we observed intense neutrophil sequestration, loss of capillary barrier function, exuberant pulmonary inflammation, and extensive microthrombus formation. A time-delayed infusion protocol of both ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid significantly prolonged survival. Both ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid preserved lung architecture and barrier function while attenuating proinflammatory chemokine expression and microvascular thrombosis. Ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid attenuated nuclear factor kappa B activation and normalized coagulation parameters. Conclusions: Ascorbic acid administered in an interventional manner following lipopolysaccharide infusion attenuates proinflammatory, procoagulant states that induce lung vascular injury in an animal model of sepsis.
Maintaining Efficiency While Integrating Entrants from Lower Performing Groups: An Experimental Study

Efficiently growing a group or firm often requires integration of individuals from lower-performing entities. We explore the effectiveness of two policies intended to facilitate such integration, using a laboratory experiment that models production as a coordination game with Pareto-ranked equilibria. We initially create an efficient group and an inefficient one. We then allow individuals to move into the high-performing group and vary by treatment whether movement is unrestricted, limited to one entrant per period, or subject to an entry exam. We include two additional treatments that combine the two restrictions in different ways to help understand why the institutions are effective in maintaining coordination. We find that both restrictions work to maintain efficient coordination but they are effective for different reasons.
Risk factors for low birth weight infants of Hispanic, African American, and White women in Bexar County, Texas.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the risk factors in women who delivered an infant of low birth weight (LBW, <2,500 g) versus women who delivered an infant weighing >2,500 g in a large metropolitan county (Bexar) in South Texas. DESIGN An exploratory case comparison design was used to identify factors related to LBW outcomes in women receiving prenatal care. SAMPLE The cases were obtained from community hospitals. A stratified random sample was selected from a population of 38,064 infant births, of which 2,910 were identified as LBW. The final sample size was N=321 (<2,500 g, n=151; >or=2,500 g, n=170). MEASUREMENTS Dependent variable of infant birth weight; independent variables of maternal age, maternal race/ethnicity, education, smoking, prior pregnancy history, timing of and number of prenatal visits, prepregnancy body mass index and weight gain during pregnancy, and past medical history and medical problems during pregnancy. RESULTS Independent variables found to be predictive of LBW in this study included maternal race/ethnicity, timing of first prenatal visit, number of prenatal visits, prior pregnancy history, and maternal weight gain. CONCLUSIONS This study confirmed previous findings that African American women are at a higher risk for LBW deliveries and demonstrated that Anglo and Hispanic women have similar rates of LBW deliveries.
A picture reference system with visual interface for cyber art gallery

This paper proposes a picture reference system for a cyber art gallery. The picture reference system is a client-server system on the Internet and consists of the associative picture database (server) and the visual user interface (client). The implementation by client-server system enables us to implement a distributed cyber art gallery. The associative picture database searches pictures by using conceptual fuzzy sets. The conceptual fuzzy sets are implemented by bidirectional associative memory and Hopfield neural network. The visual user interface without keyboard and mouse, captures user's movement and informs it to the system as a command. To show pictures attractively, the visual user interface provides some visual-effect functions. We implement and evaluate the picture reference system.
Cladosporium : Causal agent of scab in purple passion fruit or gulupa ( Passiflora edulis Sims.)

The Scab of purple passion fruit or gulupa (Passiflora edulis Sims.) is a serious disease, affecting all aerial organs of the plant, but also to reducing the visual quality of the fruits, which reduces export production. To determine the primary causal agent of disease in Colombia, associated microorganisms were isolated from scab lesions on stems, leaves, flowers and fruits, recovering in PDA. Obtaining Cladosporium, Colletotrichum and Botrytis. Cladosporium had the highest frequency of fungal isolates. 15 strains were evaluated for their pathogenicity on fruits and leaves of gulupa in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. 9 strains caused symptom expression at 95% humidity and 17°C - 20°C, validating Cladosporium as causal agent of gulupa scab. For those pathogenic strains, were determinate incubation and latency periodsin leaves (7 - 11 and 8 - 12 DPI) and fruits (6 - 10 and 8 - 12 DPI) revealing differences or virulence levels in the pathogen populations.
C‐reactive protein is an informative predictor of renal cell carcinoma‐specific mortality

C‐reactive protein (CRP) represents a promising prognostic variable in patients with sporadic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). It was hypothesized that CRP can improve the prognostic ability of standard RCC‐specific mortality (RCC‐SM) predictors in patients treated with nephrectomy for all stages of RCC.
A node‐positioning algorithm for general trees

Drawing a tree consists of two stages: determining the position of each node, and actually rendering the individuals nodes and interconnecting branches. The algorithm described in this paper is concerned with the first stage: given a list of nodes, an indication of the hierarchical relationship among them, and their shape and size, where should each node be positioned for optimal aesthetic effect?
The metabolism of benomyl fungicide in mammals.

Abstract1. The metabolism of Benomyl (methyl 1-(butylcarbamoyl)-benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate) has been studied in mice, rabbits and sheep, and in enzyme preparations from these species.2. In all three species two metabolites were formed by hydroxylation, and two by ester hydrolysis. The hydroxylated metabolites were excreted from all species as the sulphate and glucuronide conjugates. Conjugates with acetic acid were not detected.3. About 20% of the dose administered to each species was eliminated as conjugates of hydroxylated metabolites. Formation of hydroxylated metabolites was inhibited by SKF 525A in vitro.4. In liver enzyme preparations from all three species, 2-amino-benzimidazole was hydroxylated to give 5-hydroxy-2-aminobenzimidazole.
Expression of Distinct ERG Proteins in Rat, Mouse, and Human Heart

One form of inherited long QT syndrome, LQT2, results from mutations in HERG1, the humanether-a-go-go-related gene, which encodes a voltage-gated K+ channel α subunit. Heterologous expression of HERG1 gives rise to K+ currents that are similar (but not identical) to the rapid component of delayed rectification, I Kr, in cardiac myocytes. In addition, N-terminal splice variants of HERG1 and MERG1 (mouse ERG1) referred to as HERG1b and MERG1b have been cloned and suggested to play roles in the generation of functional I Krchannels. In the experiments here, antibodies generated against HERG1 were used to examine ERG1 protein expression in heart and in brain. In Western blots of extracts of QT-6 cells expressing HERG1, MERG1, or RERG1 (rat ERG1) probed with antibodies targeted against the C terminus of HERG1, a single 155-kDa protein is identified, whereas a 95-kDa band is evident in blots of extracts from cells expressing MERG1b or HERG1b. In immunoblots of fractionated rat (and mouse) brain and heart membrane proteins, however, two prominent high molecular mass proteins of 165 and 205 kDa were detected. Following treatment with glycopeptidase F, the 165- and 205-kDa proteins were replaced by two new bands at 175 and 130 kDa, suggesting that ERG1 is differentially glycosylated in rat/mouse brain and heart. In human heart, a single HERG1 protein with an apparent molecular mass of 145 kDa is evident. In rats, ERG1 protein (and I Kr) expression is higher in atria than ventricles, whereas in humans, HERG1 expression is higher in ventricular, than atrial, tissue. Taken together, these results suggest that the N-terminal alternatively spliced variants of ERG1 (i.e. ERG1b) are not expressed at the protein level in rat, mouse, or human heart and that these variants do not, therefore, play roles in the generation of functional cardiacI Kr channels.
SJClust: Towards a Framework for Integrating Similarity Join Algorithms and Clustering

A critical task in data cleaning and integration is the identification of duplicate records representing the same real-world entity. A popular approach to duplicate identification employs similarity join to find pairs of similar records followed by a clustering algorithm to group together records that refer to the same entity. However, the clustering algorithm is strictly used as a post-processing step, which slows down the overall performance and only produces results at the end of the whole process. In this paper, we propose SjClust, a framework to integrate similarity join and clustering into a single operation. Our approach allows to smoothly accommodating a variety of cluster representation and merging strategies into set similarity join algorithms, while fully leveraging state-of-the-art optimization techniques.
Differential regulation of the two glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes during Drosophila development

Drosophila melanogaster contains two genes encoding glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, Gapdh-1 and Gapdh-2. The two genes are highly conserved in their coding sequences but not in their noncoding and flanking sequences. We report that both genes are expressed at higher levels in larval, late pupal, and adult stages than in embryonic, early, and midpupal stages. However, a major difference in the expression of the two genes is observed in the adult stage, during which the level of the Gapdh-1 transcript decreases over fourfold, while that of the Gapdh-2 transcript remains at a constant high level. In addition, the Gapdh-1 transcript appears highly enriched in the thorax section compared with the head and abdomen sections, while the Gapdh-2 transcript is evenly distributed. Analyses of the expression patterns of the two Gapdh hybrid genes, GAP1/2 and GAP2/1, revealed that the two genes have a distinct organization of their regulatory sequences. The principle regulatory sequences of Gapdh-2 reside upstream of the translation start, while the principle sequences specifying the level and developmental pattern of Gapdh-1 expression reside downstream of the translation start.
4-Methylene-2-octyl-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-carboxylic Acid (C75), an Inhibitor of Fatty-acid Synthase, Suppresses the Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Synthesis Pathway and Impairs Mitochondrial Function*

Background: C75 is a fatty-acid synthase inhibitor and potential anticancer drug. Results: C75 treatment leads to mitochondrial dysfunction that is rescued by overexpression of β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase or lipoic acid. Conclusion: The effect of C75 on mitochondria is caused by inhibition of β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase. Significance: The mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis pathway plays an important role in mitochondrial function. 4-Methylene-2-octyl-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-carboxylic acid (C75) is a synthetic fatty-acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor with potential therapeutic effects in several cancer models. Human mitochondrial β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase (HsmtKAS) is a key enzyme in the newly discovered mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis pathway that can produce the substrate for lipoic acid (LA) synthesis. HsmtKAS shares conserved catalytic domains with FASN, which are responsible for binding to C75. In our study, we explored the possible effect of C75 on HsmtKAS and mitochondrial function. C75 treatment decreased LA content, impaired mitochondrial function, increased reactive oxygen species content, and reduced cell viability. HsmtKAS but not FASN knockdown had an effect that was similar to C75 treatment. In addition, an LA supplement efficiently inhibited C75-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Overexpression of HsmtKAS showed cellular protection against low dose C75 addition, whereas there was no protective effect upon high dose C75 addition. In summary, the mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis pathway has a vital role in mitochondrial function. Besides FASN, C75 might also inhibit HsmtKAS, thereby reducing LA production, impairing mitochondrial function, and potentially having toxic effects. LA supplements sufficiently ameliorated the toxicity of C75, showing that a combination of C75 and LA may be a reliable cancer treatment.
SNP analysis of Rac1 For personalized ligand interaction

This paper addresses mutational events that give rise to differing response to drugs focusing on Rac1, a protein that has been recognized as a target for drug design for cardiovascular disease due its regulatory role of angiogenesis. Rac1 has been considered with reference to Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), which has become of great value for personalized medicine. We have considered four variation of Rac1 registered in UNIPROTKB. Two of these variations are due to the environmental or population factors and two are mutation that we have selected because they are located near the binding sites of Rac1. Rac1 has been modelled by Rosetta software and by i-Tasser web server. We have chosen i-Tasser based modelling because the Rac1 structure obtained was more closely resembling crystallography data. In silico model have been used as receptors for docking with a set of 20 morpholines. The results that have been obtained on SNPs shows that a single ligand can react very differently with a mutated structure. Our analysis shows that all mutations that have been considered change Rac1 conformation and increase the accessible surface of Rac1. Our analysis highlights the effect of two sources of genetic variability: single base variation and alternative splicing.
Gender differences in natural language factors of subjective intoxication in college students: an experimental vignette study.

BACKGROUND Examining the natural language college students use to describe various levels of intoxication can provide important insight into subjective perceptions of college alcohol use. Previous research (Levitt et al., Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2009; 33: 448) has shown that intoxication terms reflect moderate and heavy levels of intoxication and that self-use of these terms differs by gender among college students. However, it is still unknown whether these terms similarly apply to other individuals and, if so, whether similar gender differences exist. METHODS To address these issues, the current study examined the application of intoxication terms to characters in experimentally manipulated vignettes of naturalistic drinking situations within a sample of university undergraduates (n = 145). RESULTS Findings supported and extended previous research by showing that other-directed applications of intoxication terms are similar to self-directed applications and depend on the gender of both the target and the user. Specifically, moderate intoxication terms were applied to and from women more than men, even when the character was heavily intoxicated, whereas heavy intoxication terms were applied to and from men more than women. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that gender differences in the application of intoxication terms are other-directed as well as self-directed and that intoxication language can inform gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts targeting problematic alcohol use among college students.
Implementation of SHA-2 hash function for a digital signature System-on-Chip in FPGA

The widespread adoption of Internet as a secure medium for communication and e-commerce has made cryptography a vital part of today's information systems. However, to achieve a more pervasive deployment, the supporting cryptographic (crypto) systems should exhibit processing power of high performance and efficiency. These demanding requirements can be achieved by integrating the cryptosystems into designs based on System-on-Chip (SoC). In this paper, the design and implementation of a crypto hash SHA-2 logic core in reconfigurable hardware is presented. We also discuss a public-key crypto SoC, which uses the SHA-2 hash core in conjunction with a 2048-bit RSA co-processor to perform a digital signature security scheme. We use Verilog to model the hardware, and C to code the embedded software. With the crypto SoC implemented in an Altera Nios II Stratix FPGA-based prototyping system running on a 50 MHz system clock, we obtained a throughput of 644 Mbits/sec for our SHA-512 hardware core.
MACROECONOMETRIC MODELLING IN AN OIL EXPORTING COUNTRY : THE CASE OF IRAN

The critical review undertaken in this paper pinpoints some of the major deficiencies and the strength of the earlier macroeconometric models (MEMs) constructed for Iran as a major oil exporting country. In constructing a new MEM, the flaws of past MEMs should be rectified and their strengths need to be retained. Most of the equations in these models are directly and indirectly affected by oil and gas exports and/or value added in the oil sector. Two dualities are observed in most models, viz. the traditional duality of the agriculture sector and industrial modern sector, and the oil duality featured by an enclave modern oil sector with negligible links to the rest of the economy. Similar to the MEMs constructed for other developing countries, only a few models have been subject to various parametric and diagnostic tests prior to their release. Not all model-builders tested for a simultaneity problem in determining the estimation method. In future MEMs substantial attention should be placed on the equations for capital formation, price, wage, investment, exchange rate, unemployment, channels of distribution and demographic characteristics. It appears that the majority of the earlier models suffered from excessive "Keynesianism", which means the modellers gave insufficient attention to the role of the supply side in the long run. JEL classifications: B23; C52; C51
Automatic photographic composition based on Convolutional Neural Network

This paper presents an automatic photographic composition method based on convolutional neural network. Firstly, photographic composition rules are adopted for photographic composition assessment, including the rule of third, horizontal line, leading line, scale and texture information. Then, the scores obtained by the aforementioned rules are used to train the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). To further improve the photographic composition CNN model, a dual-channel CNN model is proposed. The top channel contains the network of scores of composition rules, whereas the bottom channel is trained by the image scores rated by the crowd. The experimental results show that the CNN model is very effective for automatic photographic composition suggestion.
Contention window optimization for ieee 802.11 DCF access control

According to the latest version of the IEEE 802.11 standard, the backoff parameters of its collision avoidance mechanism are far from optimal, especially in a heavy load or error-prone WLAN environment. This strategy has a high collision probability and channel utilization is degraded in bursty arrivals or congested scenarios. Besides, the standard backoff mechanism may treat noise corruption as packet collisions. In this paper, we identify the relationship between backoff parameters, contention level, and channel BER in order to propose a simple, but yet well-performing distributed algorithm that allows a station to dynamically adjust its contention window size based on turn-around-time measurement of channel status. In addition to theoretical analysis, simulations are conducted to evaluate its performance. The proposed scheme works very well in providing a substantial performance improvement in heavy loaded and error-prone WLAN environments.