Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Technical Progress, Nearly Smooth Trends and Distinct Business Cycles

This paper investigates whether it is possible to entertain simultaneously two attractive views about US GDP. The first is that long term growth in US GDP is attributable to an empirically plausible specification of random technical progress. The second is that deviations of GDP from a fitted smooth 'trend' are mostly attributable to shocks that have only temporary effects, so that they are unrelated to the shocks to technical progress that lead to long term growth. The paper shows that these two views are not incompatible by constructing a model where stochastic technical progress (whose properties are calibrated to fit some features of US data) has essentially no effect on suitably detrended time series of GDP. The paper also studies variations in wedges between price and marginal cost that are capable of giving rise to these transitory movements.
Channel adapted scan-based multiple description video coding

In Pereira et al. (2002) we proposed a balanced multiple description coding (MDC) scheme based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). This MDC includes an efficient bit allocation procedure that dispatches the source image redundancy between different channels. The amount of redundancy is controlled according to the bit error rate of the different channels. Here, we propose to extend this approach for low bit rate video transmission. The proposed method uses the 3D scan-based DWT of Parisot et al. (2000) and involves scan-based MDC with rate or quality control.
Commodities: an asset class in their own right?

Investor interest in commodities has risen in recent years in line with the spectacular surge in most commodity prices. Some institutional investors, for instance Dutch or Californian pension funds, have confirmed that they have gained or intend to gain moderate exposure (less than 5% of their assets) to commodities. In parallel, the development of new investment vehicles has enabled individual investors also to gain commodity exposure. Expectations of continued strong economic growth in Asia, which should result in Asian countries’ sustained demand for commodities, may be the driver of the increased appetite for these assets. Interest also seems to be spurred by studies by academics and market analysts that highlight commodities as an effective way of diversifying portfolio risk. This assessment and interpretation suggest that investors are slowly but sustainably including commodities in their portfolios. Can we however assert that commodities constitute an asset class in their own right? This study suggests they do, given that over the long term, returns on commodity-related investments appear to outperform risk-free returns, seem to have a low or negative correlation with other asset classes and can apparently not be replicated with a simple linear combination of assets.
Can correct protein models be identified?

The ability to separate correct models of protein structures from less correct models is of the greatest importance for protein structure prediction methods. Several studies have examined the ability of different types of energy function to detect the native, or native‐like, protein structure from a large set of decoys. In contrast to earlier studies, we examine here the ability to detect models that only show limited structural similarity to the native structure. These correct models are defined by the existence of a fragment that shows significant similarity between this model and the native structure. It has been shown that the existence of such fragments is useful for comparing the performance between different fold recognition methods and that this performance correlates well with performance in fold recognition. We have developed ProQ, a neural‐network‐based method to predict the quality of a protein model that extracts structural features, such as frequency of atom–atom contacts, and predicts the quality of a model, as measured either by LGscore or MaxSub. We show that ProQ performs at least as well as other measures when identifying the native structure and is better at the detection of correct models. This performance is maintained over several different test sets. ProQ can also be combined with the Pcons fold recognition predictor (Pmodeller) to increase its performance, with the main advantage being the elimination of a few high‐scoring incorrect models. Pmodeller was successful in CASP5 and results from the latest LiveBench, LiveBench‐6, indicating that Pmodeller has a higher specificity than Pcons alone.
Author detection by using different term weighting schemes

In this study, the impact of term weighting on author detection as a type of text classification is investigated. The feature vector being used to represent texts, consists of stem words as features and their weight values, which are obtained by applying 14 different term weighting schemes. The performances of these feature vectors for 3 different datasets in the author detection are tested with some classification methods such as Naïve Bayes Multinominal (NBM), and Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree (C4.5), and Random Forrest (RF), and are compared with each other. As a result of that, the most successful classifier, which can predict the author of an article, is found as SVM classifier with 98.75% mean accuracy; the most successful term weighting scheme is found as ACTF.IDF. (ICF+1) with 91.54% general mean accuracy.
Exoskeleton Design of an Intelligent Haptic Robotic Glove

This paper is based on the results of a research project regarding the design and development of an Intelligent Haptic Robot-Glove (IHRG) for the rehabilitation of the patients that have a diagnosis of a cerebrovascular accident. The IHRG is an exoskeleton that supports the human hand and hand activities by using a control architecture for dexterous grasping and manipulation. The five-fingered assistive robotic glove is designed with mechanical compliance of human finger. The biomechanical elements of the exoskeleton assistive hand are designed considering: motion in different planes, adapted to patient's hand, possible to train pinch and grasp, opening/closing game. The actuation system is also studied and designed. The paper provides an overview of hand rehabilitation and evaluation techniques.
A Study of Imitation Learning Methods for Semantic Role Labeling

Global features have proven effective in a wide range of structured prediction problems but come with high inference costs. Imitation learning is a common method for training models when exact inference isn’t feasible. We study imitation learning for Semantic Role Labeling (SRL) and analyze the effectiveness of the Violation Fixing Perceptron (VFP) (Huang et al., 2012) and Locally Optimal Learning to Search (LOLS) (Chang et al., 2015) frameworks with respect to SRL global features. We describe problems in applying each framework to SRL and evaluate the effectiveness of some solutions. We also show that action ordering, including easy first inference, has a large impact on the quality of greedy global models.
The St. Louis equation and monthly data

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Joint Grassmann-Stiefel Quantization for MIMO Product Codebooks

We consider product codebook strategy where a single small codebook is implemented at the receiver to quantize larger multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channels, e.g. aggregate channels of cooperative MIMO base stations. The present work focuses on the codebook design, codebook construction, and codeword selection under this scenario, for single- or multistream MIMO transmission. Designing point-to-point unitary precoding codebook is related to a discretization problem on the Grassmann manifold, where a Grassmannian codeword is an equivalence class of rectangular-unitary/Stiefel matrices. For practical needs, one has to choose the rectangular unitary matrix to represent each Grassmann codeword. In this paper, we choose appropriate representatives so that product codebook quantization becomes competitive with global Grassmannian quantization. For this, we propose a novel joint Grassmann-Stiefel codebook design aiming at good quantization/discretization of Grassmann and Stiefel manifolds with a single codebook. To find low-distortion codebooks, we present a vector quantizer generating a Stiefel codebook conditioned on a fixed Grassmann codebook. For this purpose, we provide an exact solution for computing centroids in the Stiefel manifold with chordal distance. Furthermore, concrete examples of analytical joint Grassmann-Stiefel packings are given. Finally, we discuss low-complexity codeword selection methods.
The Small GTPase Rap1b: A Bidirectional Regulator of Platelet Adhesion Receptors

Integrins and other families of cell adhesion receptors are responsible for platelet adhesion and aggregation, which are essential steps for physiological haemostasis, as well as for the development of thrombosis. The modulation of platelet adhesive properties is the result of a complex pattern of inside-out and outside-in signaling pathways, in which the members of the Rap family of small GTPases are bidirectionally involved. This paper focuses on the regulation of the main Rap GTPase expressed in circulating platelets, Rap1b, downstream of adhesion receptors, and summarizes the most recent achievements in the investigation of the function of this protein as regulator of platelet adhesion and thrombus formation.
A KEY MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL FOR HIERACHICAL WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are deployed in hostile environments in many applications. In order to resist security threats, sensor nodes of WSNs often use pre-shared secret keys to encrypt and exchange confidential data. Accordingly, designing key management protocols that can securely distribute secret keys among sensor nodes becomes an important issue for WSNs. This paper proposes a novel key management protocol for hierarchical WSNs based on hypergraph. In the proposed protocol, a WSN is viewed as a hypergraph. That is, a sensor node is represented as a vertex and a cluster is represented as a hyperedge. Compared to previous investigations, the proposed protocol possesses the following features. (1) Scalability. No matter how many sensor nodes and how many clusters are in a WSN, the proposed protocol can use constant communication rounds to establish all cluster keys. Therefore, it is especially suitable for resource-constrained large-scale WSNs. (2) Applicability. In the proposed protocol, all sensor nodes can be deployed randomly and establish cluster keys without knowing the topology of the whole network in advance. (3) Flexibility. This paper also presents dynamic insert and remove protocols. The dynamic insert protocol allows newly deployed sensor nodes to join an existing WSN while the dynamic remove protocol can delete compromised sensor nodes from a WSN. (4) Robustness. The proposed protocol can resist node capture attacks, node cloning attacks, wormhole attacks and energy consumption attacks. KeywordHypergraph, Wireless Sensor Network, Key Management
Optimal reference trajectories for walking and running of a biped robot

The objective of this study is to obtain optimal cyclic gaits for a biped robot without actuated ankles. Two types of motion are studied: walking and running. For walking, the gait is composed uniquely of successive single support phases and instantaneous double support phases that are modelled by passive impact equations. The legs swap their roles from one single support phase to the next one. For running, the gait is composed of stance phases and flight phases. A passive impact with the ground exists at the end of flight. During each phase the evolution of m joints variables is assumed to be polynomial functions, m is the number of actuators. The evolution of the other variables is deduced from the dynamic model of the biped. The coefficients of the polynomial functions are chosen to optimise criteria and to insure cyclic motion of the biped. The chosen criteria are: maximal advance velocity, minimal torque, and minimal energy. Furthermore, the optimal gait is defined with respect to given performances of actuators: The torques and velocities at the output of the gear box are bounded. For this study, the physical parameters of a prototype, which is under construction, are used. Optimal walking and running are defined. The running is more efficient for high velocities than the walking with respect to the studied criteria.
Toward a Commodity Enterprise Middleware

AMQP was born out of my own experience and frustrations in developing front- and back-office processing systems at investment banks. It seemed to me that we were living in integration Groundhog Day - the same problems of connecting systems together would crop up with depressing regularity. Each time the same discussions about which products to use would happen, and each time the architecture of some system would be curtailed to allow for the fact that the chosen middleware was reassuringly expensive. From 1996 through to 2003 I was waiting for the solution to this obvious requirement to materialize as a standard, and thereby become a commodity. But that failed to happen, and I grew tired of waiting.
Neural correlates of fatigue in granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the neurophysiological effects of fatigue among patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). METHODS A case-control functional MRI (fMRI) study was conducted. Stable GPA subjects were recruited according to fatigue status, with those reporting fatigue defined as cases and those not defined as controls. In addition, a control group of general population subjects with idiopathic fatigue were studied. During fMRI, all participants performed a fatigue-inducing cognitive task. Functional data were acquired with a 3 T MRI scanner during periods of task activity and rest. Analyses of the differences in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal were then performed using SPM8 software and comparisons were made between case and control groups. RESULTS GPA cases (n = 12) were demographically matched to GPA controls (n = 14) and were clinically similar apart from the higher reporting of fatigue, by design, and depressive symptoms (P = 0.0007). After adjusting for depressive symptoms, comparison of BOLD signals revealed significantly greater activation in the right thalamus, left paracentral lobule, left medial frontal gyrus and right medial globus pallidus among GPA cases. When compared with the similarly fatigued population control group (n = 13), GPA cases shared many overlapping areas of activation. However, in addition, the population control group revealed significantly greater activation elsewhere, principally the left precentral gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus and right cingulate gyrus. CONCLUSION fMRI has identified specific differences in the neurophysiology of fatigued GPA subjects. Future application of this promising biomarker may inform the precise mechanisms of this clinically important symptom.
OF OREXIN A AND B IN THE PORCINE HYPOTHALAMUS DURING THE OESTROUS CYCLE

Orexins A and B, also known as hypocretin 1 and 2, are neuropeptides derived from a common 130-amino acid precursor peptide, prepro-orexin (PPO), by proteolytic cleavage. They were simultaneously discovered by two independent research groups (1, 2). Orexin A is a 33-amino acid residue peptide with two intramolecular disulphide bonds in the N-terminal region, whereas orexin B is a linear 28-amino acid residue peptide. The discussed peptides have a 46% sequence identity (1). In the investigated vertebrates, the main source of orexins is the lateral hypothalamic area (1, 2), the brain structure that controls energy homeostasis (3). Both orexins act via two closely related G-protein coupled receptors, orexin type 1 receptor (OX1R) and orexin type 2 receptor (OX2R). OX1R appears to be selective for orexin A, while OX2R binds both orexin A and orexin B (2). Neurons containing orexins project to multiple neuronal systems (4). Those hypothalamic peptides and their receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system and peripheral organs, which suggests their pleiotropic effects. Those proteins are important factors in the regulation of food intake, metabolic rate, cardiovascular function, body temperature, locomotor activity, sleep-wake cycle and stress response (2, 5-11). Orexins have also been found to affect the reproductive neuroendocrine system, mainly in rats (12-15). Considerable body of evidence has implicated the existence of a common endocrine system that controls metabolism and reproductive functions. The effect of leptin and ghrelin on the organism’s metabolic status and reproductive function has been observed (16, 17). Orexins seem to belong to the above group of hormones which regulate metabolic status and reproduction but our knowledge of orexins’ involvement in the control of the female reproductive system is fragmentary and focused mainly on their direct effects on the reproductive system, including the ovaries (18, 19) and the uterus (20). Several studies discussed orexins’ influence on pituitary function (21-23). Further work is needed to investigate the presence of orexins in the highest branch of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in sexually mature pigs. To our best knowledge, there is a general scarcity of reports describing orexins at the gene and protein level in the porcine hypothalamus. Fabris et al. (24) demonstrated orexinergic neurons within the hypothalamus of sexually immature female pigs. In other studies, orexin A protein was immunohistochemically detected within the hypothalamus of Suzhong pigs (25). In particular, there is scarcity of data, that focus on hypothalamic structures involved in GnRH production and secretion: the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), with the JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY 2013, 64, 1, 55-63 www.jpp. krakow.pl
Bogoliubov approach to superfluidity of atoms in an optical lattice

We use the Bogoliubov theory of atoms in an optical lattice to study the approach to the Mott-insulator transition. We derive an explicit expression for the superfluid density based on the rigidity of the system under phase variations. This enables us to explore the connection between the quantum depletion of the condensate and the quasi-momentum distribution on the one hand and the superfluid fraction on the other. The approach to the insulator phase may be characterized through the filling of the band by quantum depletion, which should be directly observable via the matter–wave interference patterns. We complement these findings by self-consistent Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov–Popov calculations for one-dimensional lattices, including the effects of a parabolic trapping potential.
Power and Subcarrier Allocation for Physical-Layer Security in OFDMA-Based Broadband Wireless Networks

Providing physical-layer security for mobile users in future broadband wireless networks is of both theoretical and practical importance. In this paper, we formulate an analytical framework for resource allocation in a downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)-based broadband network with coexistence of secure users (SUs) and normal users (NUs). The SUs require secure data transmission at the physical layer while the NUs are served with conventional best-effort data traffic. The problem is formulated as joint power and subcarrier allocation with the objective of maximizing average aggregate information rate of all NUs while maintaining an average secrecy rate for each individual SU under a total transmit power constraint for the base station. We solve this problem in an asymptotically optimal manner using dual decomposition. Our analysis shows that an SU becomes a candidate competing for a subcarrier only if its channel gain on this subcarrier is the largest among all and exceeds the second largest by a certain threshold. Furthermore, while the power allocation for NUs follows the conventional water-filling principle, the power allocation for SUs depends on both its own channel gain and the largest channel gain among others. We also develop a suboptimal algorithm to reduce the computational cost. Numerical studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms in terms of the achievable pair of information rate for NU and secrecy rate for SU at different power consumptions.
Rothamsted Repository Download

Various methods, including random regression, structured antedependence models, and character process models, have been proposed for the genetic analysis of longitudinal data and other function-valued traits. For univariate problems, the character process models have been shown to perform well in comparison to alternative methods. The aim of this article is to present an extension of these models to the simultaneous analysis of two or more correlated function-valued traits. Analytical forms for stationary and nonstationary cross-covariance functions are studied. Comparisons with the other approaches are presented in a simulation study and in an example of a bivariate analysis of genetic covariance in age-speciﬁc fecundity and mortality in Drosophila. As in the univariate case, bivariate character process models with an exponential correlation were found to be quite close to ﬁrst-order structured antedependence models. The simulation study showed that the choice of the most appropriate methodology is highly dependent on the covariance structure of the data. The bivariate character process approach proved to be able to deal with quite complex nonstationary and nonsymmetric cross-correlation structures and was found to be the most appropriate for the real data example of the fruit ﬂy Drosophila melanogaster .
Building virtual teams: perspectives on communication, flexibility and trust

As organizations become more globally distributed, and as the fast growth of the Internet, multimedia, and collaborative software environments enable more opportunities for virtual groups to form and conduct business, it is important to understand how the technology affects group interaction. One such company interested in implementing virtual collocation technologies, The Boeing Company, has recently begun to seriously investigate the technology requirements for virtually collocated teams [4]. This paper reports on an empirical study of four virtual teams at The Boeing Company conducted over a three-month period in Spring of 1998. The goal of this research was to gain an understanding of the behavioral effects on work teams who are using such technologies.
State Versus Private Ownership

Private ownership should generally be preferred to public ownership when the incentives to innovate and to contain costs must be strong. In essence, this is the case for capitalism over socialism, explaining the dynamic vitality' of free enterprise. The great economists of the 1930s and 1940s failed to see the dangers of socialism in part because they focused on the role of prices under socialism and capitalism and ignored the enormous importance of ownership as the source of capitalist incentives to innovate. Moreover, many of the concerns that private firms fail to address social goals' can be addressed through government contacting and regulation without resort to government ownership. The case for private provision only becomes stronger when competition between suppliers, reputational mechanisms, and the possibility of provision by private not-for-profit firms, as well as political patronage and corruption, are brought into play.