Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Application of Structural Electricity Models for Dynamic Hedging

We formulate a general structural model for an energy market in order to analyze the dynamic hedging of contingent claims on spot electricity prices. The electricity price is modeled endogenously using a deterministic function depending on a joint fuels and demand process. We state conditions on the fuels/demand dynamics and the bid stack function under which the electricity forwards are martingales. The martingale property allows us to derive hedging strategies. We find that for liquid power forward contracts our model implies cointegrated forwards. As power forward contracts are not always liquid, we construct an alternative hedging strategy where fuels are used to hedge power based on the marginal fuel according to the merit order of the market. As an example, we use the structural model of Carmona, Coulon and Schwarz and test the performance of our hedging strategies in case of a virtual power plant. Based on an hourly hedging profile, we state a result on how to come from an hourly forwards hedging strategy to a hedging strategy using exchange-traded futures (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc).
Empirical Analysis of Determinants of Economic Growth: Evidence from SAARC Countries

This study investigates the factors that determine and enhance economic growth. The factors to determine the economic growth of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are foreign direct investment, total debt, gross domestic investment and inflation. Simple ordinary least square is applied to analyze the determinates of economic growth with the help of panel data for 39 years with annual frequency from 1971 to 2009. The economic growth may gain boost by the factors not only by these but also many others. In this study foreign direct investment and inflation are found having inverse relationship with economic growth while gross domestic investment and total debt are found positively associated with economic growth. This study may prove useful contribution for policy making for South Asian countries.
Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity of the S Cone Pathway: Preliminary Measures with Letter Charts

Letter charts were used to measure visual acuity and peak contrast sensitivity of the short wavelength sensitive (S cone)-pathway. The accommodative response was monitored retinoscopically. The mean visual acuity (0.92 logMAR) and spatial contrast threshold (8.7%) were comparable to values reported elsewhere, and variability was relatively low. Both S-pathway acuity and contrast sensitivity were selectively reduced in one patient with central serous retinopathy and in another with retinitis pigmentosa. These simple spatial tests offer an additional index of S-pathway integrity which will be useful for detection and evaluation of ocular disease.
A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, crossover trial comparing the safety and efficacy of oral sustained-release hydromorphone with immediate-release hydromorphone in patients with cancer pain. Canadian Palliative Care Clinical Trials Group.

PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new slow-release preparation of hydromorphone (SRH) in the treatment of cancer pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ninety-five adult patients from three Canadian Palliative Care Centers with no evidence of mental impairment received treatment for cancer pain with an oral opioid analgesic. After informed consent was obtained, patients underwent titration to a stable dose of immediate-release hydromorphone (IRH) for 48 hours, and were then randomized to receive IRH or SRH for 5 days in a double-blind basis. During day 6, a crossover took place, and patients received the alternate drug for 5 days. Pain intensity was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) and ordinal scale (OS). Side effects were assessed using VAS. Patients and investigators made a blinded global rating of efficacy a blinded final choice between SRH and IRH. RESULTS In 75 assessable patients, pain intensity of the VAS and OS were (mean +/- SD) 27 +/- 21 and 1.3 +/- 0.6 on IRH, versus 29 +/- 21 (P = .13) and 1.3 +/- 0.6 (P = .19) on SRH, respectively. The total number of extra doses of opioids, global rating, and final blinded choice by both patients and investigators were not significantly different between IRH and SRH. Differences in side effects were not significant. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that SRH is as safe and effective as IRH in the treatment of cancer pain.
Parent‐Child Life Events: Relation to Treatment in Asthma

Children and adolescents with asthma were divided into groups of responders (N = 22) and nonresponders (N=22) on the basis of their response to medical management. The mothers and children from both groups were given scales to measure life events and perceptions of behavior style. The effects of life event stresses and parent-child relations on the response to medical treatment were evaluated for each patient. Comparisons were made on the basis of response-nonresponse, sex, and age. Several patterns of relationship to treatment outcome were identified. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of coping skills, psychological defenses, and the availability of social support systems. A conceptual scheme for treatment approaches is presented.
Revisiting uncertainty and price forecast indicators in corn and wheat markets

The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, we look at the fundamentals of spot prices of corn and wheat and analyse several measures of dispersion, arguing that the use of the standard deviation of prices is more instructive for regulators and world food organisations than volatility, that is, standard deviation of returns. Second, we look at alternative predictors of corn and wheat spot prices and exhibit that the average value of the forward curve introduced by Borovkova and Geman (2006) performs better than individual forward prices to forecast spot prices at future dates.
Willingness to pay for innovations

Whereas the impact of national culture on consumer innovativeness is widely discussed in the innovation literature, studies are scarce on consumer value and the related consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for innovations. Yet, innovative high-tech companies compete by enhancing their products with new attributes, and assessing consumer WTP for these innovative attributes in different countries is crucial to adapting the launching price and optimizing profits during the critical launch stage. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of national culture and globalization on consumer value and the related WTP for technological innovations. ,Data were collected in two culturally distinct but economically similar countries (France and Germany), using large representative and comparable consumer samples (n=642). Choice-based conjoint analysis was used as the principal method of data analysis. ,This study reveals the significant impact of national culture on consumer value and the related WTP for technological innovations and the moderating effect of household income on this relationship. ,This study is the first to reveal and provide strong empirical evidence of the impact of national culture on WTP for innovations. In addition, this study is the first to reveal the moderating effect of income on this relationship and to highlight an emerging European innovation adoption behavior.
A New Guidance Law for the Defense Missile of Nonmaneuverable Aircraft

In this brief, a new guidance law for the defense missile of nonmaneuverable aircraft is formulated based on dynamic game considerations. First, a simple differential game of protecting a static target in 2-D, involving simple motions for the attacker and defender, is introduced. The analysis is then extended to a moving noncooperative target in 2-D, in view of the fact that a nonmaneuverable aircraft would not be able to cooperate with the defender. A heuristic solution for the game is proposed and tested, and the results of the 2-D analysis are then extended to 3-D to formulate a new guidance law for the defense missile called the command to optimal interception point (COIP) guidance law. The validity of the new guidance law is checked using trajectory and envelope simulations, built with high-fidelity 6-DOF models using the computer-aided design of aerospace concepts in C++ framework. Performance comparisons are shown between the COIP guidance law and the recently proposed airborne command to line-of-sight (A-CLOS) guidance law. The results show that the performances of COIP and A-CLOS guidance laws are almost identical in a coplanar engagement scenario, but the COIP law has the additional advantage of working with only position information, without the knowledge of motion of the players. In addition, in a noncoplanar engagement case studied, the defense missile is shown to achieve intercept using the COIP guidance law, but fails when using the A-CLOS guidance law.
The business cycle, labor market transitions by age, and the great recession

ABSTRACT Using matched monthly CPS data, this article studies differences in labour force transitions across age groups focusing on periods prior to and after the start of the Great Recession. Monthly transitions between employment, unemployment, and nonparticipation of 25–55-year-old males are examined from 1996 through 2013. Prior to the Great Recession (1996–2007), younger groups of workers are more likely to move from employment to unemployment and face an increased risk beyond that of other workers of making this transition as the economy worsens; however, this differential responsiveness no longer appears after the start of the Great Recession. Before and after the start of the Great Recession, younger groups of workers are more likely to move from unemployment to employment; however, there is no extra responsiveness among younger workers to the business cycle. Transitions into and out of the labour force nuance these findings; however, there is no evidence of differential responsiveness among younger workers since the start of the Great Recession. These findings challenge interpretation of the movements of unemployment rates by age group over the business cycle as being driven by differential hiring and firing particularly since the start of the Great Recession.
Skeptical but adapting: What Midwestern farmers say about climate change

AbstractFarmers stand to be greatly affected by changes in the climate, necessitating adaptive responses, yet little is documented on how U.S. Midwestern farmers understand and perceive climate change adaptation. Eight focus groups with 53 Michigan farmers were conducted in 2011–12 to better understand the following: 1) what do farmers think about the relationship between climate change and agriculture, 2) what differentiates normal weather-related management from climate change adaptation actions, and 3) how do farmers understand the term “climate change adaptation. ” Farmers expressed skepticism at global climate change yet conveyed specific details about the local changes in climate they are experiencing on their farms. They were not able to clearly define the term “climate change adaptation” but did note specific adaptive actions they have already implemented. The farmers explained that nonclimate factors were of more concern to them when making management decisions, and they showed reactive (not proac.
Nuclear Autoantigen Translocation and Autoantibody Opsonization Lead to Increased Dendritic Cell Phagocytosis and Presentation of Nuclear Antigens: A Novel Pathogenic Pathway for Autoimmunity? 1

Autoreactivity in lupus requires the delivery of autoantigens to APCs in a proinflammatory context. It has been proposed that apoptotic cells are a source of lupus autoantigens and targets for autoantibodies. Using a histone H2B-GFP fusion protein as traceable Ag, we show here that lupus autoantibodies, directed against nuclear autoantigens, can opsonize apoptotic cells, enhance their uptake through induction of proinflammatory FcγR-mediated phagocytosis, and augment Ag-specific T cell proliferation by increasing Ag loading. Apoptotic blebs and bodies seemed to be a preferred target of DC phagocytosis, via both “eat-me signals” and FcγR-mediated mechanisms; furthermore, inhibition of nuclear Ag redistribution, by blockade of chromatin fragmentation, could stop binding and opsonization of apoptotic cells by autoantibodies, and inhibited Fcγ-R-mediated enhancement of phagocytosis. Our results suggest that DC uptake of opsonized histones and other nuclear Ags from apoptotic cells is a novel pathway for the presentation of nuclear Ags in a highly inflammatory context. Blockade of chromatin fragmentation in lupus is a potential therapeutic approach, which could theoretically limit DC access to autoantigens delivered in proinflammatory context, while leaving available for tolerization those delivered in a noninflammatory context.
The Effect of Low-Pass Filtering on Identification of Nonsense Syllables in Quiet by School-Age Children With and Without Cochlear Dead Regions

Objectives: The presence of cochlear dead regions (DRs) can have a significant effect on speech perception. Some studies have reported that adults do not benefit from amplification of frequencies well inside an extensive DR. However, the importance of high-frequency amplification for hearing-impaired children has been emphasized by many researchers. This study investigates the benefit of high-frequency amplification for children with various degrees of high-frequency hearing impairment, with and without DRs. Design: The children, aged 8 to 13 years, were divided into two groups according to the severity of their hearing impairment. Group MS had moderate to severe impairment (9 ears without DRs and 3 ears with restricted DRs). Group SP had severe to profound hearing impairment (7 ears with DRs and 1 ear without a DR). The vowel-consonant-vowel stimuli were subjected to the frequency-gain characteristics prescribed by the desired sensation level fitting method and presented via headphones broadband and under various low-pass filtering conditions. Results: Group MS benefited from high-frequency amplification whether or not a restricted DR was present. In contrast, ears in group SP with continuous extensive DRs showed limited benefit from high-frequency amplification. For the latter, performance improved with increasing cutoff frequency up to approximately 1 octave above the edge frequency of the DR and generally stayed the same, or deteriorated, with further increases in bandwidth. In one case of severe to profound hearing impairment without evidence of DRs, performance increased with increasing cutoff frequency up to 2 kHz and remained almost constant with further increases in bandwidth. Conclusions: For children with severe to profound hearing impairment and continuous high-frequency DRs commencing from approximately 1 kHz, applying amplification only for frequencies up to approximately 1 octave above the edge frequency of the DR may be of benefit. Tests with more participants are needed to confirm this finding.
A General Equilibrium Cost-Benefit Rule for Green Certificates

I embed a electricity certificate system, mandating that a certain fraction of total electricity production must come from renewable sources, in a stylized competitive economy and derive a general equilibrium cost-benefit rule from perturbing the regulation. The welfare consequences (ignoring distributional effects) of the perturbation are compactly summarized in a simple formula.
Progressive Band Processing of Linear Spectral Unmixing for Hyperspectral Imagery

This paper develops a new approach, called progressive band processing (PBP) of linear spectral unmixing (LSU) which can process data unmixing according to band sequential (BSQ) format. This new concept is quite different from band selection (BS) which must select bands from a fully collected band set based on a band optimization criterion. There are several advantages of using PBP-LSU over BS. In particular, it allows users to perform LSU using available bands without waiting for a complete collection of full bands. In doing so, an innovations information update equation is further derived and can process LSU as its band process is ongoing. To be more specific, LSU can be carried out by PBP by updating unmixed data recursively band by band in the same way that a Kalman filter does for updating data information in a recursive fashion. With such a recursion in nature, PBP is able to process bands of interest which may vary with different applications.
Generation, Release, and Uptake of the NAD Precursor Nicotinic Acid Riboside by Human Cells*

Background: Nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinic acid riboside (NAR) can serve as precursors of NAD in human cells. Results: Human cells generate and release NR and NAR. Conclusion: NR and NAR are authentic intermediates of human NAD metabolism. Significance: Different cell populations might support each other's NAD pools by providing ribosides as NAD precursors. NAD is essential for cellular metabolism and has a key role in various signaling pathways in human cells. To ensure proper control of vital reactions, NAD must be permanently resynthesized. Nicotinamide and nicotinic acid as well as nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinic acid riboside (NAR) are the major precursors for NAD biosynthesis in humans. In this study, we explored whether the ribosides NR and NAR can be generated in human cells. We demonstrate that purified, recombinant human cytosolic 5′-nucleotidases (5′-NTs) CN-II and CN-III, but not CN-IA, can dephosphorylate the mononucleotides nicotinamide mononucleotide and nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NAMN) and thus catalyze NR and NAR formation in vitro. Similar to their counterpart from yeast, Sdt1, the human 5′-NTs require high (millimolar) concentrations of nicotinamide mononucleotide or NAMN for efficient catalysis. Overexpression of FLAG-tagged CN-II and CN-III in HEK293 and HepG2 cells resulted in the formation and release of NAR. However, NAR accumulation in the culture medium of these cells was only detectable under conditions that led to increased NAMN production from nicotinic acid. The amount of NAR released from cells engineered for increased NAMN production was sufficient to maintain viability of surrounding cells unable to use any other NAD precursor. Moreover, we found that untransfected HeLa cells produce and release sufficient amounts of NAR and NR under normal culture conditions. Collectively, our results indicate that cytosolic 5′-NTs participate in the conversion of NAD precursors and establish NR and NAR as integral constituents of human NAD metabolism. In addition, they point to the possibility that different cell types might facilitate each other's NAD supply by providing alternative precursors.
Site-Specific N-Glycosylation of Caprine Lysostaphin Restricts its Bacteriolytic Activity Toward Staphylococcus Aureus

Lysostaphin (LYS) is an anti-staphylococcal prokaryotic polypeptide that has been used to avoid Staphylococcus aureus mastitis through transgenic or viral vector approaches exogenously expressed in dairy animals. However, glycosylation of lysostaphin expressed in mammalian cells results in a loss of bioactivity. Until now, the mechanism of site-specific glycosylation of lysostaphin causing this loss of bioactivity remains unknown. An immortalized caprine mammary epithelial cell line (CMEC-08-D) was used to study recombinant lysostaphin fused with goat β-casein, goat lactoferrin (LF) or prokaryotic signal peptides. These constructs were separately ectopically expressed in CMEC-08-D. Results of site-directed mutagenesis show that Asn125 but not Asn232 is the exact glycosylation site of lysostaphin expressed in CMEC-08-D. In addition, the effect of glycosylation of lysostaphin on its staphylolytic activity was identified through bacterial plate assay. The data indicated that wild type and mutated N232Q-lysostaphin (Asn232 to Gln232 substitution) lacked staphylolytic activity. In contrast, mutated N125Q (Asn125 to Gln125 substitution) and N125Q/N232Q-lysostaphin possessed staphylolytic activity. On the other hand, all mutated lysostaphin showed no change in binding ability to S. aureus. This reveals that N-glycosylation at Asn125 of lysostaphin expressed in a eukaryotic system greatly decreases lysostaphin bacteriolytic activity but does not affect its binding ability to S. aureus.
Learning and memory of factual content from narrative and expository text.

BACKGROUND Research on the presentation of information in narrative versus expository text genres is inconclusive with respect to the question of which is more beneficial for student learning. AIMS We examine the effect of presenting factual content in either narrative or expository genres on student learning. We also consider relevant prior knowledge and working memory capacity (WMC) as potential mediating variables. SAMPLE Ninety university undergraduate students. METHODS Subjects studied circulatory system content embedded in either narrative or expository texts. Prior circulatory system knowledge, knowledge improvement (learning) and free recall were assessed. RESULTS Learning and recall did not differ as a function of text genre overall, but did interact with prior knowledge. Learning from the narrative and one expository text was optimal at intermediate levels of prior knowledge, with higher knowledge readers benefiting more from the expository text compared with the narrative text. Prior knowledge was positively related to recall for the expository texts, but unrelated for the narrative text. Subjects' WMC did not predict learning or recall. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that narrative and expository processing differ with respect to integration of text content with prior knowledge.
Visuospatial declarative learning despite profound verbal declarative amnesia in Korsakoff’s syndrome

ABSTRACT Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterised by severe amnesia. Although the presence of impairments in memory has long been acknowledged, there is a lack of knowledge about the precise characteristics of declarative memory capacities in order to implement memory rehabilitation. In this study, we investigated the extent to which patients diagnosed with KS have preserved declarative memory capacities in working memory, long-term memory encoding or long-term memory recall operations, and whether these capacities are most preserved for verbal or visuospatial content. The results of this study demonstrate that patients with KS have compromised declarative memory functioning on all memory indices. Performance was lowest for the encoding operation compared to the working memory and delayed recall operation. With respect to the content, visuospatial memory was relatively better preserved than verbal memory. All memory operations functioned suboptimally, although the most pronounced disturbance was found in verbal memory encoding. Based on the preserved declarative memory capacities in patients, visuospatial memory can form a more promising target for compensatory memory rehabilitation than verbal memory. It is therefore relevant to increase the number of spatial cues in memory rehabilitation for KS patients.
Orchestration of ErbB3 signaling through heterointeractions and homointeractions

ErbB receptors form homodimers and heterodimers between family members. To model ErbB2/ErbB3 signaling, single-particle tracking data are used to create a simulation space with overlapping receptor domains. Stochastic modeling of receptor dimerization and phosphorylation reveals the complexity of ErbB2-3 interactions.