Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The America COMPETES Acts: The Future of US Physical Science and Engineering Research?

The America COMPETES legislation, including the initial America COMPETES Act of 2007 (ACA 2007) and America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (ACA 2010), was one of the most prominent bipartisan legislative achievements of the past decade and was seen as having the potential to be the most notable science and innovation policy initiative of the new millennium. The aims of the COMPETES acts were to substantially increase the extent of federal funding for physical science and engineering research in the United States and to improve the country’s research infrastructure and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education capabilities in these areas. This paper contributes to early evaluation of the ACA by providing an overview of the history and goals of these acts and by tracking the subsequent federal funding and implementation of the associated ACA programs. The analysis documents that the tangible outputs of the acts are modest relative to the expectations expressed at the time of each act’s signing. Indeed, a substantial fraction of the funds authorized by the 2007 and 2010 acts was not appropriated by Congress, and many of the programs specified by the acts either have failed to materialize or have done so at funding levels much lower than those initially authorized by Congress. That said, the legislation demonstrates a clear federal commitment to support physical science and engineering and evidences a number of key achievements. A number of notable programs and initiatives have been created with the support of the ACA (including the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy and the federal prize authority), and some of the agencies affected have been able to implement programs consistent with the spirit of the acts, even in the face of funding limitations. In addition, a tenuous but consistent bipartisan consensus that may have been energized by the COMPETES legislation has enabled such programs to avoid the spending cuts experienced by many non-defense-related federal programs.
MONEY AND INCOME: THE VIEW FROM THE GOVERNMENT BUDGET RESTRAINT

IT IS WIDELY HELD that an increase in the money supply, resulting say from an open-market purchase, causes income to rise. The purpose of this paper is to question this apparently incontrovertible result. In particular, it is argued that in the widely analyzed case of an open-market purchase generating a short-run increase in money income, the long-run effect of the increase in the money stock is a reduction in income. The basic relation for the analysis is the government budget restraint.
America's Historical Experience with Low Inflation

The inflation of the 1970s was a marked deviation from America's typical peacetime historical pattern as a hard-money country. We should expect America to continue to be a hard-money--low inflation--country in the future, at least in peacetime. The low rate of future inflation that we thus forecast changes the balance of macroeconomic risks and opportunities. The risk of debt-deflation-mediated recessions is somewhat higher because a low trend rate of goods-and-services price index inflation somewhat increases the chances of deflation. But it does not raise such risks as much as one might think. The failure of the Fisher effect to hold empirically means that a low-inflation era will in all likelihood be a high real interest rate era. But such high real interest rates do not appear to significantly discourage investment or growth.
A Real-Time Scheduler Design for a Class of Embedded Systems

We consider here the design aspect of a real-time scheduler for a class of embedded systems. For this purpose, we design a feedback controller for a reservation-based CPU scheduler for soft real-time systems. The execution time of soft real-time systems, such as multimedia systems, portable MP3 players, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, and embedded Web servers is highly variable. Hence, it is crucial to assign an adequate amount of CPU resources for the running tasks to guarantee the quality of service. On the other hand, it is also important not to allocate the large amount of resources to avoid waste. The purpose of this paper is to attain the aforementioned crucial objectives for a class of embedded systems under real-time computing constraints. Specifically, we provide an analytical model for a real-time scheduler in terms of a switched system with time-varying uncertainty. Moreover, by using Lyapunov stability in a linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) framework, we design a state feedback controller that stabilizes the switched system. This, in fact, achieves the regulation of scheduling errors caused by time-varying uncertainty to a desired level. We extend an LMI-framework-based control scheme to a relatively new control application domain, i.e., a soft realtime scheduling domain. We provide performance analysis under scheduler simulation environments and implement a feedback bandwidth server scheduler under a real-time kernel simulator. In the simulation studies, the advantages of the controller design scheme are clearly highlighted in comparison with some conventional existing open-loop systems.
HETEROGENEOUS SUBSCRIBERS AND THE OPTIMAL TWO-PART TARIFF OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE

In this article, optimal two-part tariffs of a bi-directional telecommunications service are exam­ ined. Heterogeneous users are assumed to formulate social demand for the service. Two regimes of supplier are considered: monopoly and non-monopoly. In the latter, the supplier which enjoyed monopoly is faced with the entry of a competitive mpplier. Demand externalities which are conspicuous in telecommunications service are introduced into the model. The supplier is assumed to maximize the profit or to be forced to maximize the social benefit derived from the service. A nonlinear optimization method is applied to derive the optimal tariff. It is shown that the tariff diverges from conventional rules for public utility pricing.
Effects of zinc supplementation on serum zinc and C-reactive protein concentrations in hemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE We examined the effects of zinc supplementation on serum zinc and C-reactive protein concentrations in hemodialysis patients. DESIGN This was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING This study was conducted at the Shahid Faghihi and Namazi Dialysis Centers in Shiraz, Iran. PATIENTS Fifty-five hemodialysis patients (32 men and 23 women) participated after meeting the following criteria: zinc deficiency, treated for a minimum of 6 months; no record of hospitalizations in the preceding 3 months; and hemodialysis treatment 2 to 3 times per week. INTERVENTION Patients were randomly divided into two groups. The zinc supplementation group (n=28) received a 220-mg zinc sulfate capsule, and the control group (n=27) received a placebo capsule (220 mg corn starch), for 42 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Fasting, predialysis serum samples were collected on days 0 and 42 to determine serum zinc and C-reactive protein levels. RESULTS After supplementation, subjects in the zinc-supplemented group showed significant increases in serum zinc concentrations, from 57.4+/-2.4 microg/dL SEM on day 0 to 88.4+/-4.8 microg/dL SEM on day 42. Serum C-reactive protein concentrations were initially high among subjects in the control (15.1+/-3.9 mg/L SEM) and zinc-supplemented (13.5+/-3.8 mg/L SEM) groups. Serum C-reactive protein concentrations in the control group increased throughout the study period, but did not reach statistical significance. A progressive decrease in serum C-reactive protein concentrations was observed in the zinc-supplemented group from the beginning (13.5+/-3.8mg/L SEM) to the end (10.5+/-3.5mg/L SEM) of the study, but this event was not significant. CONCLUSION Zinc supplementation intake may cause an increase in serum zinc concentrations, leading to a decrease of inflammation in hemodialysis patients.
Dimensionality Reduction on Grassmannian via Riemannian Optimization: A Generalized Perspective

This paper proposes a generalized framework with joint normalization which learns lower-dimensional subspaces with maximum discriminative power by making use of the Riemannian geometry. In particular, we model the similarity/dissimilarity between subspaces using various metrics defined on Grassmannian and formulate dimen-sionality reduction as a non-linear constraint optimization problem considering the orthogonalization. To obtain the linear mapping, we derive the components required to per-form Riemannian optimization (e.g., Riemannian conju-gate gradient) from the original Grassmannian through an orthonormal projection. We respect the Riemannian ge-ometry of the Grassmann manifold and search for this projection directly from one Grassmann manifold to an-other face-to-face without any additional transformations. In this natural geometry-aware way, any metric on the Grassmann manifold can be resided in our model theoreti-cally. We have combined five metrics with our model and the learning process can be treated as an unconstrained optimization problem on a Grassmann manifold. Exper-iments on several datasets demonstrate that our approach leads to a significant accuracy gain over state-of-the-art methods.
An empirical study of human resource management policies and practices in foreign-invested enterprises in China: the case of Shenzen Special Economic Zone

Information about human resource management (HRM) practices in foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in China has been limited to studies involving a small number of cases. This study provides an empirical assessment of HRM practices used in 158 FIEs operating in Shenzen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of the Guangdong Province in southern China. Results suggest that FIEs have moved away from centrally planned job allocation, life-time employment and egalitarian pay towards open job markets at management and non-management levels, contractual employment where pay and longevity are based on individual worker and company performance and compensation plans that recognize differences in skills, training and job demands. These practices seem to reflect the influence of the economic reform in China. Other aspects of HRM practices used by FIEs, such as approximate equality of pay for men and women, limited differences between management and non-management salaries and widespread provision of housing and other benefits.
The challenge of measuring audit quality: some evidence

Recent proposals on audit regulation, whether in the EU or by the PCAOB, have been motivated by efforts to increase audit quality. However, there does not exist any generally agreed upon definition of audit quality. This paper aims to critically assess the status quo of the discussion regarding audit quality and its operationalisation in empirical research. We show that the applied audit quality surrogate is able to drive research findings. Conducting a correlation analysis, we find that some of the proxies are not positively correlated at statistically significant levels and thus seem not to be fully consistent with each other. Moreover, we find that significance levels of various influence factors on audit quality vary depending on the applied audit quality surrogate. Therefore, we point to the fact that researchers as well as practitioners and policymakers have to be careful when using and interpreting research findings that apply different audit quality.
Integrating Markov Model with clustering for predicting web page accesses

[Abstract]: Predicting the next page to be accessed by Web users has attracted a large amount of research work lately due to the positive impact of such prediction on different areas of Web based applications. One major technique applied for this intention is Markov model. Low order Markov models are coupled with low accuracy, whereas high order Markov models are associated with high state space complexity. This paper involves incorporating clustering techniques by dividing pre-processed data into meaningful clusters then performing low order Markov models to each cluster instead of the whole data sets. Different distance measures of k-means clustering algorithm are examined in order to find an optimal one. Experiments reveal that clustering of Web documents according to Web services improves the low order Markov models accuracy.
COBERTURA CON CONTRATOS DE FUTURO

En este trabajo se estudia el dinamismo del ratio de cobertura de minima varianza (RCMV) con contratos de futuros sobre el indice bursatil IBEX-35. Con objeto de considerar la existencia de heterocedasticidad condicional, se propone la utilizacion de modelos GARCH Bivariantes donde, adicionalmente, se considera la existencia de relaciones de cointegracion entre las series de contado y futuro. Como principal aportacion del trabajo destaca que se comparan la efectividad, tanto desde el punto de vista ex-post como ex-ante, de esta aproximacion frente a otras menos sofisticadas en las que no se consideran la existencia de problemas de heterocedasticidad o de relaciones de cointegracion, utilizandose como medida de efectividad, tanto los efectos de la cobertura sobre la varianza del rendimiento de la posicion cubierta como sobre el nivel de utilidad esperado del inversor. Los resultados obtenidos en el analisis exante muestran que, si se consideran los costes de transaccion, la realizacion de coberturas dinamicas no suponen una apreciable mejora de la utilidad del coberturista respecto al modelo estatico.
Structure, properties, and functions of the human small heat‐shock protein HSP22 (HspB8, H11, E2IG1): A critical review

The recently described human HSP22 belongs to the superfamily of small heat‐shock proteins containing a conservative α‐crystallin domain. HSP22 seems to be involved in regulation of cell proliferation, cardiac hypertrophy, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis, and expression of point mutants of HSP22 correlates with development of different neuromuscular diseases. Therefore, an investigation of the structure and properties of HSP22 is desirable for understanding its multiple functions. HSP22 seems to belong to the group of so‐called intrinsically disordered proteins and possesses a highly flexible structure. HSP22 tends to form small‐molecular‐mass oligomers and interacts with biological membranes and many different proteins, among them glycolytic enzymes and different protein kinases. HSP22 possesses chaperonelike activity and prevents aggregation of denatured proteins both in vitro and in vivo. Depending on the cell type and its expression, HSP22 might have either pro‐ or anti‐apoptotic effects. Chaperonelike activity seems to be important for antiapoptotic effects, whereas interaction with and regulation of certain protein kinases might be important for the proapoptotic effects of HSP22. Expression of K141N or K141E mutants of HSP22 correlates with development of distal hereditary motor neuropathy and/or Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease. These mutations destabilize the structure of HSP22, affect its interaction with other small heat‐shock proteins, and decrease its chaperonelike activity. HSP22 decreases or prevents aggregation of Huntingtin fragments and amyloid‐β peptide 1–40 of the Dutch type. Thus, HSP22 seems to play an important role in the nervous system, and further investigations are needed to understand the molecular mechanisms of its functioning. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
VR Enhanced Upper Extremity Motor Training for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: Task Design, Clinical Experiment and Visualization on Performance and Progress

Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability among American adults. Each year over 700,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke, and nearly 500,000 (71%) survive with some form of enduring neurological disability. Upper extremity (UE) motor impairment is a common consequence of stroke and often produces significant challenges for patients as they engage in everyday instrumental activities of daily living [1][2]. Fortunately, research has shown that such lost UE function can be recovered or improved via systematic, repetitive and task-oriented motor training. However, motor-training tasks used for conventional therapy are questionable due to limited capacity to systematically control stimulus presentations and to precisely capture motor response performance in real time. Virtual reality (VR) enhanced motor training is an emerging therapeutic modality that can serve to deliver UE motor training tasks within consistent, yet modifiable simulated functional environments that mimic real world challenges [3][4]. Further, with the use of advanced sensing systems in VR, a large quantity and wide variety of high quality data can be captured to serve the rehabilitation process. As well, game features can be integrated into the VR training to enhance motivation and promote therapeutic focus and adherence.
Sensitization of regulated exocytosis by protein kinase C

Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) increases vesicular secretion in many cell types. We determined the calcium dependence of secretion and the size of the readily releasable pool of secretory granules in pituitary gonadotropes by photorelease of caged-calcium. The calcium affinity for exocytosis was roughly doubled by activation of PKC by a phorbol ester, whereas the size of the readily releasable pool was not greatly increased. The effect was due to activation of PKC, because it was blocked by a PKC inhibitor and was not mimicked by an inactive phorbol ester analogue. A similar increase in calcium sensitivity was induced by preincubation with gonadotropin-releasing hormone, the physiological releasing hormone. These findings provide direct evidence for physiological regulation of secretion by enhancement of Ca2+-sensing steps. Because exocytosis depends on the third- to fourth-power of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, this mechanism ensures a powerful up-regulation of hormone release and may explain how PKC can stimulate exocytosis without an increase of Ca2+ above the resting level.
Enhanced Numerical Methods for Options with Barriers

Most real-world barrier option values have no analytic solutions, either because the barrier structure is complex or because of volatility skews in the market. Numerical solutions are therefore a necessity, but options with barriers are notoriously difficult to value numerically on binomial or multinomial trees or on finite-difference lattices. Their values converge very slowly as the number of tree or lattice levels increases, often requiring unattainably large computing times for even modest accuracy. This article analyzes the biases implicit in valuing options with barriers on a lattice and suggests a method for enhancing their numerical solution. This method helps to correct these biases and works well in practice.
FBP WW domains and the Abl SH3 domain bind to a specific class of proline‐rich ligands

WW domains are conserved protein motifs of 38–40 amino acids found in a broad spectrum of proteins. They mediate protein–protein interactions by binding proline‐rich modules in ligands. A 10 amino acid proline‐rich portion of the morphogenic protein, formin, is bound in vitro by both the WW domain of the formin‐binding protein 11 (FBP11) and the SH3 domain of Abl. To explore whether the FBP11 WW domain and Abl SH3 domain bind to similar ligands, we screened a mouse limb bud expression library for putative ligands of the FBP11 WW domain. In so doing, we identified eight ligands (WBP3 through WBP10), each of which contains a proline‐rich region or regions. Peptide sequence comparisons of the ligands revealed a conserved motif of 10 amino acids that acts as a modular sequence binding the FBP11 WW domain, but not the WW domain of the putative signal transducing factor, hYAP65. Interestingly, the consensus ligand for the FBP11 WW domain contains residues that are also required for binding by the Abl SH3 domain. These findings support the notion that the FBP11 WW domain and the Abl SH3 domain can compete for the same proline‐rich ligands and suggest that at least two subclasses of WW domains exist, namely those that bind a PPLP motif, and those that bind a PPXY motif.
Multiple Cancer Foci in the Colon of a Man with Operated Rectum Carcinoma

Letters to the Editor should be submitted online to www.editorialmanager. com/ amsurg. (See details online under ‘‘Instructions for Authors’’.) They should be no more than 3 double-spaced pages excluding an Abstract and sub-headings with a maximum of four (4) references. If figures are included, they should be limited to two (2). The cost of printing color figures is the responsibility of the author.
Measuring the Sense of Presence and its Relations to Fear of Heights in Virtual Environments

This article describes a study in which a genuine effect of presence--the development of fear of virtual stimuli--was provoked. Using a self-report questionnaire, the sense of presence within this situation was measured. It was shown that fear increased with higher presence. The method, which involved 37 participants, was tested and validated with user tests at the Bauhaus University. A growing body of research in human-computer interface design for virtual environments (VE) concentrates on the problem of how to involve the user in the VE. This effect, usually called immersion or the sense of presence, has been the subject of much research activity. This research focuses on the influence of technical and technological parameters on the sense of presence. However, little work has been done on the effects of experienced sense of presence. One field in which a sense of presence is necessary for the successful application of VEs is the treatment of acrophobic patients. Our goals are to (a) create a theory-bas.
A systematic review of 3-D printing in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Objective: The application of 3-D printing has been increasingly used in medicine, with research showing many applications in cardiovascular disease. This systematic review analyzes those studies published about the applications of 3-D printed, patient-specific models in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods: A search of PubMed/Medline and Scopus databases was performed to identify studies investigating the 3-D printing in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Only studies based on patient’s medical images were eligible for review, while reports on in vitro phantom or review articles were excluded. Results: A total of 48 studies met selection criteria for inclusion in the review. A range of patient-specific 3-D printed models of different cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were generated in these studies with most of them being developed using cardiac CT and MRI data, less commonly with 3-D invasive angiographic or echocardiographic images. The review of these studies showed high accuracy of 3-D printed, patient-specific models to represent complex anatomy of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system and depict various abnormalities, especially congenital heart diseases and valvular pathologies. Further, 3-D printing can serve as a useful education tool for both parents and clinicians, and a valuable tool for pre-surgical planning and simulation. Conclusion: This systematic review shows that 3-D printed models based on medical imaging modalities can accurately replicate complex anatomical structures and pathologies of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system. 3-D printing is a useful tool for both education and surgical planning in these diseases.