Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative models of security price equilibrium

The major determinant of the performance of financial markets is the nature of the information available, both in terms of the overall quality of the information held by investors, and the distribution of information amongst investors. The nature of this issue makes it difficult to model realistically. This thesis marks an attempt to gain insights to the behaviour of securitiesm arkets by investigating the consequences of relaxing, in a realistic way, some of the restrictions on information in existing models. The core of the thesis consists of formal models of the stock market. The first of these is a development of the information aggregation literature, and in particular the model of Hellwig (1980). It looks at the ability of prices to aggregate information that is dispersed among agents who specialise in acquiring information about particular components of the factors that determine the future stock value. We find that narrowing the extent of specialisation beyond a certain point will inevitably lead to a reduction in the informativeness of the market price. The second model is also a development of the information aggregation literature, and looks at the implications of investors obtaining private information about the extent of liquidity trading. We find that such a framework gives rise to the possibility of multiple equilibria and price 'crashes'. The third model is an extension of the second in which the acquisition of information is made endogenousa, nd shows that the main results of that model are retained. It also shows up the dominance of the cost of information about value, rather than about liquidity trading, in determining the overall informativeness of the price. After investigating the possible consequences of, and providing evidence for, the existence of positive feedback trading we investigate the behaviour of a market in which investors exhibiting such behaviour are combined with investors who trade on the basis of value in a form as in De Long, Shleifer, Summers & Waldmann (1989, 1990a). We then apply results from Hart (1977) to determine the conditions under which manipulation can be possible. A number of model characteristics are shown to be possible depending on the specific form of the feedback trading. We finish by adding shocks to the system, as in De Long et. al., and look at the effect of both competitive and monopolistic speculation. We find that competitive speculation may be more destabilising than monopolistic speculation, and that positive feedback trading is more destabilising when it acts after a delay.
A comparative study on application of data mining technique in human shape clustering: Principal component analysis vs. Factor analysis

Traditional human shape classification usually adopted some key measurements, leading several problems to product ergonomic design. Multivariate analysis is able to supplement the disadvantages of traditional method. Among methods of multivariate analysis, Principal component analysis (PCA) and Factor analysis (FA) have enjoyed widespread popularity. Though both of them are to reduce the dimensions of variances in the sample, there are differences between PCA and FA worth further investigation. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the differences between PCA and FA by analyzing the multivariate anthropometric data. K-means cluster analysis was developed to divide samples into groups with homogenous characteristics according to the PCA scores (or FA scores). ANOVA (analysis of variance) was adopted to compare the dimensions in corresponding clusters between PCA and FA. For all the dimensions, the p-value equals to 0.000, indicating there is significant difference for the samples between PCA and FA at the significance level of 0.005. Finally, the regression models of the reference dimensions based on the key dimensions, i.e., stature and waist girth, were investigated for the ease of utilization the FA (or PCA) results into applications such as building a family of digital manikin. In conclusion, the techniques have similarities and differences, and should not be abused. PCA analyzes all variance of the data set, while FA analyzes only common variances. A priori decision on the techniques depends on the domain expertise, and the statistic characteristics of the sample.
Proto-Oncogene Expression in Mesothelial Cells jun and c-fos Inhibition of Protein Kinase C Prevents Asbestos-induced c-Updated Version

Asbestos and the phorbol ester tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), increase c-los and c-jun mRNA levels and AP-1 DNA binding activity in rat pleural mesothelial (RPM) cells, a target cell of asbestos-induced mesothellomas (N. H. Heintz et aL, Proc. NatI. Acad. Sci. USA, 90: 3299â€”3303, 1993). Because protein kinase C (PKC) is the Intracellular receptor of phorbol ester tumor promoters and asbestos Is a putative tumor promoter in the respiratory tract, we hypothesizedthat PKC might play a critical role Inasbestos-Inducedcell signaling pathways associated with regulation of proto-oncogenes. Using a panel of PKC antibodies, we identified PKCa as the major PKC isozyme In RPM cells. We then pretreated cells with phorbol ester dibutyrate to down-modulate PKC or with calphostin C, a specific PKC inhibitor, to determine if depletion of PKCa could block asbestos-Induced c-fosk-jun expression. Quantitation of Northern blots showed that fiber-associated c-fosk-jun mRNA levelswere significantlylower either after PKCa down-modula tion or pretreatment with caiphostin C. In addition, to determine whether tyrosine kinases also were involved in proto-oncogene activation by as bestos, tyrphostin AG82 or herbimycin A was added to RPM cells before exposure to asbestos.These inhibitors decreased crocidolite-Inducedc-los but not c-jun levels, suggesting that tyrosine kinases have different regis latory roles In asbestos-induced c-los versus c-jun signaling pathways The ability to block induction of asbestos-Induced proto-oncogene expression using pharmacological intervention may be important In prevention and treatment of asbestos-induced proliferative diseases Including lung can cers, mesothelioma, and pulmonary fibrosis.
Sensitivity of human, murine, and rat cells to 5-fluorouracil and 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine in relation to drug-metabolizing enzymes.

Six cell lines differing in histological origin were studied regarding the growth inhibitory effect of fluoropyrimidines in relation to their metabolism. The human colon carcinoma cell line WiDr was most sensitive to 5-fluorouracil (FUra) (50% growth inhibitory concentration, 0.7 microM) and to its analogue 5'deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'dFUR) (50% growth inhibitory concentration, 18 microM). The murine B16 melanoma cell line was moderately sensitive to FUra but least sensitive to 5'dFUR. The 50% growth inhibitory concentration values in the human melanoma cell lines IGR3 and M5, the transformed human intestine cell line intestine 407 and the rat hepatoma cell line H35 varied for FUra between 1.7 and 5.0 microM, and for 5'dFUR between 54 and 160 microM. Several enzymes from pyrimidine metabolism responsible for FUra metabolism were measured with FUra as a substrate. The activity of uridine phosphorylase, which catalyzes the conversion of 5'dFUR to FUra, was lowest in B16 cells correlating with the low sensitivity to 5'dFUR. When adenosine 5'-triphosphate was included in the reaction mixture for uridine phosphorylase, FUra was rapidly channeled into FUra nucleotides via its nucleoside. The rate of channeling appeared to correlate with the nucleoside phosphorylase activity in the various cell lines. In several cell lines activities of nucleotide-degrading enzymes were rather high and interfered with the measurement of orotate phosphoribosyl transferase (OPRT) with FUra as substrate. Addition of the phosphatase inhibitor glycerol-2-phosphate partly prevented breakdown of the newly formed 5-fluorouridine 5'-monophosphate and enabled measurement of OPRT. The WiDr cell line had a relatively high OPRT activity which could explain its sensitivity to FUra. The activity of thymidylate synthase was measured at a suboptimal concentration of 1 microM and at the optimal concentration of 10 microM deoxyuridine 5'-phosphate. With all cell lines the ratio between the activities at 10 and 1 microM was between 2.3 and 3.6. The activity of thymidylate synthase was lowest in WiDr and IGR3 cells and 3-4 times higher in M5 and Intestine 407 cells. The inhibition of 0.01 microM 5-fluorodeoxyuridine 5'-monophosphate was 80-90% at 1 microM deoxyuridine 5'-phosphate and 50-70% at 10 microM deoxyuridine 5'-phosphate with all cell lines. At 0.1 microM 5-fluorodeoxyuridine 5'-monophosphate enzyme activity was inhibited by 95-100%. The incorporation of FUra into RNA was relatively low in IGR3 cells and 3-5 times higher in all other cell lines. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Effects of Trade Liberalization on Agriculture in Thailand: Institutional and Structural Aspects

This book analyzes institutional and structural aspects of the effects of trade liberalization on agriculture in Thailand. The study stresses the analysis of trade-related policies, physical infrastructure, institutions in the public sector and various economic indicators. It discusses such commodities as rice, maize, rubber, cassava, shrimp, chicken, soybean products, dairy products and fertilizers. This book gives readers a general view of trade liberalization in Thailand.
Genetic Analysis of Type E Botulinum Toxin-Producing Clostridium butyricum Strains

ABSTRACT Type E botulinum toxin (BoNT/E)-producing Clostridium butyricum strains isolated from botulism cases or soil specimens in Italy and China were analyzed by using nucleotide sequencing of thebont/E gene, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and Southern blot hybridization for the bont/E gene. Nucleotide sequences of the bont/E genes of 11 Chinese isolates and of the Italian strain BL 6340 were determined. The nucleotide sequences of thebont/E genes of 11 C. butyricum isolates from China were identical. The deduced amino acid sequence of BoNT/E from the Chinese isolates showed 95.0 and 96.9% identity with those of BoNT/E from C. butyricum BL 6340 and Clostridium botulinum type E, respectively. The BoNT/E-producing C. butyricum strains were divided into the following three clusters based on the results of RAPD assay, PFGE profiles of genomic DNA digested with SmaI or XhoI, and Southern blot hybridization: strains associated with infant botulism in Italy, strains associated with food-borne botulism in China, and isolates from soil specimens of the Weishan lake area in China. A DNA probe for thebont/E gene hybridized with the nondigested chromosomal DNA of all toxigenic strains tested, indicating chromosomal localization of the bont/E gene in C. butyricum. The present results suggest that BoNT/E-producing C. butyricum is clonally distributed over a vast area.
Adaptive Channel Feedback for Coordinated Beamforming in Heterogeneous Networks

In this paper, a channel direction information (CDI) feedback strategy is proposed to assist coordinated multi-point beamforming (CoMP-CB) between a macro base station (MBS) and multiple pico BSs (PBSs) in heterogeneous networks, where the numbers of bits for feedback are adaptive to the average channel gains of multiple users. To maximize the average sum rate achieved by the users with given feedback resource, we optimize the overall number of feedback bits for each user and the codebook sizes for quantizing the per-cell CDIs of each user. To provide feasible feedback scheme for practice use, a low complexity two-step solution is developed from deriving the lower bounds of the per-user average rate. In the first step, we optimize the number of overall feedback bits for each user, which provides a tradeoff between the accuracy of CDI quantization and the reliability of feedback transmission. In the second step, we optimize the bit allocation for quantizing the per-cell CDIs, which accommodates the difference in transmit powers and antennas of the MBS and PBSs and in the channels of macro and pico cells. Two adaptive feedback schemes are developed from two lower bounds. By characterizing the degree of freedom (DoF) achieved by each user, we show that the systems using the proposed adaptive feedback schemes are no longer interference-limited. The maximum per-user DoFs achieved by the proposed schemes depend on the per-antenna feedback resource constraint for each user. Simulation results show significant performance gain of the proposed scheme over NonCoMP and CoMP-CB with fixed codebook size.
Improving Bandwidth Utilization With Deterministic Delivery Guarantees in AFDX through Traffic Phase-Shifting

The Avionic Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) is a data network certified for avionic operations. AFDX closely follows the IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) standard for packet forwarding. On top of that, bandwidth enforcement using traffic shaping is performed to provide deterministic delivery guarantees. The design of an AFDX network, however, imposes that bandwidth enforcement is performed at a coarse granularity. This, together with the tight requirements on transmission jitter, determines a low utilization of the physical links. In this work, we propose traffic phase shifting (TPS) as a way to increase the granularity of bandwidth assignment to nodes of an AFDX network using logic time synchronization among traffic sources. Specifically, we leverage the periodic nature of real-time traffic and use phase-shifing to prevent link congestion. This in turns allows a more fine-grained bandwidth control via the AFDX protocol. We show that TPS leads to significant improvements in terms of per-link utilization without violating predictability.
An Efficient Location Tracking Algorithm for MANET using Directional Antennas

In order to implement effective directional medium access control (DMAC) protocol and routing protocol in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), each node in the network should know how to set its transmission direction to transmit a packet to its neighbors. So, it becomes imperative to have a mechanism at each node to track the locations of its neighbors under mobility condition. In this paper, an efficient location tracking algorithm for MANET using directional antennas with fixed beams is proposed to maintain communication between two communicating nodes. The proposed algorithm works in conjunction with the DMAC protocol. The transmitting node will monitor its received power level from the neighboring node's acknowledgement packet transmission. If the received power falls below the threshold, the node indicates the need to switch the antenna element to its data link layer. The DMAC protocol in the data link layer will switch the transmitting antenna either in the clockwise or anticlockwise direction of the active antenna and check for the induced power. Whichever antenna has picked up the signal with sufficient signal strength, handoff takes place from the active antenna to the new antenna. We have shown through simulations, that the mechanism is suitable in highly mobile scenarios. The throughput falls regularly as nodes lose their connection without location tracking. But, the throughput remains a constant or there is a slight dip at the switching time interval when the location tracking is implemented with DMAC
Variable selection with error control: another look at stability selection

Summary. Stability selection was recently introduced by Meinshausen and Bühlmann as a very general technique designed to improve the performance of a variable selection algorithm. It is based on aggregating the results of applying a selection procedure to subsamples of the data. We introduce a variant, called complementary pairs stability selection, and derive bounds both on the expected number of variables included by complementary pairs stability selection that have low selection probability under the original procedure, and on the expected number of high selection probability variables that are excluded. These results require no (e.g. exchangeability) assumptions on the underlying model or on the quality of the original selection procedure. Under reasonable shape restrictions, the bounds can be further tightened, yielding improved error control, and therefore increasing the applicability of the methodology.
Macular Hole Surgery with Internal Limiting Membrane Peeling Facilitated by Membrane-Blue® versus Membrane-Blue-Dual®: A Retrospective Comparative Study

Background. This study aims to compare the outcome of macular hole (MH) surgery with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling facilitated by two different vital dyes. Methods. This was a retrospective chart review. The group designated “group-MB” underwent pars plana vitrectomy with ILM peeling facilitated by Membrane-Blue (MB), whereas in “group-MBD,” the vital dye used was Membrane-Blue-Dual (MBD). Results. Seventy-four eyes comprised the study population: 53 in group-MB and 21 in group-MBD. There was no difference in the rate of macular hole closure in group-MB or group-MBD: 71.2% closed MHs compared to 66.7%, respectively (p = 0.7). Postoperative visual improvement was of a higher magnitude in the MBD group compared to the MB group: −0.34 ± 0.81 logMAR versus 0.01 ± 0.06 logMAR, respectively (p = 0.003). Conclusions. In this study, MBD led to better visual results that may be related to better staining characteristics or lesser toxicity compared to MB.
Design of discrete-time finite-gain resonators in AFC control

The control technique based on infinite-gain resonators also called Adaptive Feedforward Cancellation (AFC) has been used for some years, mainly in continuous time. In this article, finite-gain resonators in discrete time are analyzed and the advantages for their use in practical applications are discussed, from the perspectives of dynamical behavior and computational implementation. The existing design rules for optimizing system robustness are generalized to any kind of resonator, whether of infinite or finite gain. Nowadays, because most practical implementations are carried out by means of digital systems, such as Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), working directly in discrete time is justified, avoiding any problems that may appear when the resonant controllers are discretized by means of approximations from continuous time.
Direction of arrival estimation based on smooth support vector regression

In this paper, we propose a new approach on direction of arrival (DOA) estimation based on smooth support vector regression. The proposed method can achieve higher accurate estimates for DOA while avoiding the all-direction peak value searching technique used in other traditional DOA estimation methods. Meanwhile, this approach reduces the extensive computations required by conventional super resolution algorithms such as MUSIC and is easier to implement in real-time applications. The proposed method map among the outputs of the array and the DOAs by means of a family of support vector machines. Computer simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Recognition of hand movements in a trans-radial amputated subject by sEMG

Trans-radially amputated persons who own a my-olectric prosthesis have currently some control via surface elec-tromyography (sEMG). However, the control systems are still limited (as they include very few movements) and not always natural (as the subject has to learn to associate movements of the muscles with the movements of the prosthesis). The Ninapro project tries helping the scientific community to overcome these limits through the creation of electromyography data sources to test machine learning algorithms. In this paper the results gained from first tests made on an amputated subject with the Ninapro acquisition protocol are detailed. In agreement with neurological studies on cortical plasticity and on the anatomy of the forearm, the amputee produced stable signals for each movement in the test. Using a k-NN classification algorithm, we obtain an average classification rate of 61.5% on all 53 movements. Successively, we simplify the task reducing the number of movements to 13, resulting in no misclassified movements. This shows that for fewer movements a very high classification accuracy is possible without the subject having to learn the movements specifically.
HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY OF THE GALACTIC ULTRACOMPACT H ii REGION K3–50A

Gemini North adaptive optics (AO) imaging spectroscopy is presented for the Galactic ultracompact H ii (UCH ii) region K3 − 50A. Data were obtained in the K band using the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) behind the facility AO module ALTAIR in natural guide star mode. The NIFS data cube reveals a complex spatial morphology across the 0.1 pc scale of the 3″ UCH ii region. Comparison of the nebular emission to Cloudy ionization models shows that the central source must have an effective temperature between about 37,000 K and 45,000 K with preferred values near 40,000 K. Evidence is presented for sharp density variations in the nebula which are interpreted as a clearing of material nearest the central source. High excitation lines of Fe iii and Se iv show that the ionization of the nebula clearly changes with distance from the central source. A double lobed kinematic signature (± 25 km s−1) is evident in the Brγ line map which may be related to the larger scale ionized flow detailed in earlier investigations. This signature and the large-scale flow are not co-aligned, but they may still be related. Though clearly resolved from the nebula, the central source itself remains buried, and the NIFS spectrum shows no evidence of photospheric lines.
Task-aware based co-scheduling for virtual machine system

Today, virtualization technique is increasingly mature and prevalent in server consolidation and HPC. Virtual machine monitor plays a significant role in the resource management by dynamically mapping the virtual CPUs of virtual machines to physical CPUs according to chosen scheduling policy. However, since a virtual machine monitor lacks the insight into each virtual machine, the unpredictability of each workload makes effective resource allocation difficult. Particularly, current virtual machine scheduling policy has a critical impact on the performance of concurrent workload due to the non-synchronization of virtual CPUs. This paper presents a task-aware co-scheduling scheduler for virtual machine system. The task-aware mechanism is based on inference techniques using gray-box knowledge which can infer the concurrency and synchronization of guest OS level tasks. With this inference, proposed scheduler schedules the designated virtual machine to make it possible that corresponding virtual CPUs in this virtual machine can run on the physical CPUs synchronously in order to reduce the cost of synchronization between processes or threads. All implementation is confined to the virtualization layer based on Xen virtual machine monitor and the Credit scheduler. We evaluated our prototype in terms of synchronization performance and CPU fairness over synthetic mixed workloads and realistic applications. The experiment results indicate that task-aware based co-scheduling policy is feasible to improve the performance of virtual machine system for concurrent tasks.