Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Calibration and Minimum-Variance Delta Under Log-Normal Stochastic Volatility Dynamics

We consider calibration of log-normal stochastic volatility model and computation of option delta consistently with statistical dynamics of the asset price and its implied volatility surface. We introduce the concept of volatility skew-beta which serves as an empirical adjustment for empirical option delta. We show how to calibrate the model and make it consistent with any dynamics of implied volatility under the statistical measure and reproduce empirical option delta. The calibrated model minimizes realized volatility of delta-hedging P&L-s, especially so for non-vanilla options. We present empirical investigation using implied and realized volatilities of four major stock indices (S&P 500, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, and STOXX 50) to validate the assumption about log-normality of both implied and realized volatilities 2 .
Presynaptic Membrane Receptors Modulate ACh Release, Axonal Competition and Synapse Elimination during Neuromuscular Junction Development

During the histogenesis of the nervous system a lush production of neurons, which establish an excessive number of synapses, is followed by a drop in both neurons and synaptic contacts as maturation proceeds. Hebbian competition between axons with different activities leads to the loss of roughly half of the neurons initially produced so connectivity is refined and specificity gained. The skeletal muscle fibers in the newborn neuromuscular junction (NMJ) are polyinnervated but by the end of the competition, 2 weeks later, the NMJ are innervated by only one axon. This peripheral synapse has long been used as a convenient model for synapse development. In the last few years, we have studied transmitter release and the local involvement of the presynaptic muscarinic acetylcholine autoreceptors (mAChR), adenosine autoreceptors (AR) and trophic factor receptors (TFR, for neurotrophins and trophic cytokines) during the development of NMJ and in the adult. This review article brings together previously published data and proposes a molecular background for developmental axonal competition and loss. At the end of the first week postnatal, these receptors modulate transmitter release in the various nerve terminals on polyinnervated NMJ and contribute to axonal competition and synapse elimination.
A survey on various cluster head election algorithms for MANET

In large Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET), forming clusters of nodes has been verified to be a promising approach in high mobility network. The characteristics of MANETs are dynamic topology, bandwidth and link capacity, nodes are energy constrained. Clustering methods allow fast connection and topology management, better routing and also improve network performance parameters like routing delay, bandwidth consumption and throughput. In MANET, topology changes dynamically, so to achieve good performance any clustering algorithm should operate with minimum overhead of cluster maintenance and try to preserve its structure as much as possible when nodes are moving and/or the topology is slowly changing. A large variety of approaches for ad hoc clustering have been developed by researchers which focuses on different performance metrics. This paper presents a survey of different clustering schemes. A comparative analysis of various techniques also have been covered in this paper.
Mite species identification in the production of allergenic extracts for clinical use and in environmental samples by ribosomal DNA amplification

The identification of allergy‐causing mites is conventionally based on morphological characters. However, molecular taxonomy using ribosomal DNA (rDNA) may be particularly useful in the analysis of mite cultures and purified mite fractions in the production of allergenic extracts. Full‐length internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) were obtained from Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides microceras and Euroglyphus maynei (Astigmata: Pyroglyphidae), Glycyphagus domesticus and Lepidoglyphus destructor (Astigmata: Glycyphagidae), Tyrophagus fanetzhangorum, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Tyrophagus longior, Tyrophagus neiswanderi, Acarus farris and Acarus siro (Astigmata: Acaridae), and Blomia tropicalis (Astigmata: Echymopodidae), using mite‐specific primers. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products were digested with HpaII and RsaI restriction enzymes in order to produce species‐specific PCR restricted fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profiles. A semi‐nested re‐amplification step was introduced before the RFLP in order to apply the method to environmental samples. Results demonstrate that rDNA sequences can be used for the unambiguous identification of mite species. The PCR–RFLP system allows the identification of species in purified mite fractions when the availability of intact adult mite bodies for morphological identification is limited. This reliable and straightforward PCR–RFLP system and the rDNA sequences obtained can be of use in the identification of allergy‐causing mite species.
Deletions in the Gibberellin Biosynthesis Gene Cluster ofGibberella fujikuroi by Restriction Enzyme-Mediated Integration and Conventional Transformation-Mediated Mutagenesis

ABSTRACT We induced mutants of Gibberella fujikuroi deficient in gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis by transformation-mediated mutagenesis with the vector pAN7-1. We recovered 24 GA-defective mutants in one of nine transformation experiments performed without the addition of a restriction enzyme. Each mutant had a similar Southern blot pattern, suggesting the integration of the vector into the same site. The addition of a restriction enzyme by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) significantly increased the transformation rate and the rate of single-copy integration events. Of 1,600 REMI transformants, two produced no GAs. Both mutants had multiple copies of the vector pAN7-1 and one had a Southern blot pattern similar to those of the 24 conventionally transformed GA-deficient mutants. Biochemical analysis of the two REMI mutants confirmed that they cannot produceent-kaurene, the first specific intermediate of the GA pathway. Feeding the radioactively labelled precursorsent-kaurene and GA12-aldehyde followed by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that neither of these intermediates was converted to GAs in the mutants. Southern blot analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the transformants using the bifunctional ent-copalyl diphosphate/ent-kaurene synthase gene (cps/ks) and the flanking regions as probes revealed a large deletion in the GA-deficient REMI transformants and in the GA-deficient transformants obtained by conventional insertional transformation. We conclude that transformation procedures with and without the addition of restriction enzymes can lead to insertion-mediated mutations and to deletions and chromosome translocations.
How BMC is scaling agile development

This report examines the large-scale deployment of agile software development in the Infrastructure Management Business Unit of BMC Software. The paper identifies and demonstrates several critical success, factors $such as empowerment, risk taking, and top-notch agile consulting - applying agile methodology as part of the overall software engineering "stack" and changing organizational structures. In particular, it highlights the relationship between empowerment and risk-taking, and suggests that the two should be managed in tandem as the foundation on which successful agile projects can evolve. Finally, the paper emphasizes the importance of implementing agile methodology across multiple corporate functions $marketing, sales, support, professional services, etc. It concludes with a review of the benefits that this approach provides to the end customers
Option Valuation in Changing Markets

Theoretical option prices can be computed using several different pricing models which make numerous assumptions about the markets and the underlying asset. Depending on those assumptions, the models have different strengths and weaknesses which make them more suited to a specific type of market. This study evaluates six different pricing models implemented in MATLAB, and introduces a combined model which is a linear combination of two of the implemented models. They are dynamically combined by an exogenous framework utilizing estimated market volatility to blend the models and minimize the model price error. This combined model is empirically tested using European call options with the DAX and the FTSE indices as the underlying assets. For both indices, the price error is significantly smaller in the combined model than in any of the six standard models. (Less)
Production risk, pesticide use and GM crop technology in South Africa

Technology involving genetic modification of crops has the potential to make a contribution to rural poverty reduction in many developing countries. Thus far, pesticide-producing Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) varieties of cotton have been the main GM crops under cultivation in developing nations. Several studies have evaluated the farm-level performance of Bt varieties in comparison to conventional ones by estimating production technology, and have mostly found Bt technology to be very successful in raising output and/or reducing pesticide input. However, the production risk properties of this technology have not been studied, although they are likely to be important to risk-averse smallholders. This study investigates the output risk aspects of Bt technology by estimating two ‘flexible risk’ production function models allowing technology to independently affect the mean and higher moments of output. The first is the popular Just-Pope model and the second is a more general ‘damage control’ flexible risk model. The models are applied to cross-sectional data on South African smallholders, some of whom used Bt varieties. The results show no evidence that a ‘risk-reduction’ claim can be made for Bt technology. Indeed, there is some evidence to support the notion that the technology increases output risk, implying that simple (expected) profit computations used in past evaluations may overstate true benefits.
Debt, Deficits and Inflation: an Application to the Public Finances of India

The paper studies the solvency of the Indian public sector and the eventual monetization and inflation implied by stabilization of the debt-GNP ratio without any changes in the primary deficit. The nonstationarity of the discounted public debt suggests that indefinite continuation of the pattern of behavior reflected in the historical discounted debt process is inconsistent with the maintenance of solvency. This message is reinforced by the recent behavior of the debt-GNP ratio and the ratio of primary surplus plus seigniorage to GNP. Our estimates of the base money demand function suggest that even maximal use of seigniorage will not be sufficient to restore solvency.
Bax Can Antagonize Bcl-XL during Etoposide and Cisplatin-induced Cell Death Independently of Its Heterodimerization with Bcl-XL*

Bax, a member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, has been shown to promote apoptosis while other members of the family, including Bcl-XL and Bcl-2, inhibit cell death induced by a variety of stimuli. The mechanism by which Bax promotes cell death is poorly understood. In the present report, we assessed the ability of Bax to antagonize the death repressor activity of Bcl-XL during chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in the lymphoid cell line, FL5.12. Expression of wild-type Bax countered the repressor activity of Bcl-XL against cell death mediated by VP-16 and cisplatin. We performed site-directed mutagenesis of the BH1, BH2, and BH3 homology regions in Bax to determine the ability of wild-type and mutant Bax to heterodimerize with Bcl-XL and to antagonize the protective effect of Bcl-XL against chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Bax proteins expressing alanine substitutions of the highly conserved amino acids glycine 108 in BH1, tryptophan 151 and 158 in BH2, and glycine 67 and aspartic acid 68 in BH3 retained their ability to promote chemotherapy-induced cell death that was inhibited by Bcl-XL and to form heterodimers with Bcl-XL. Bax proteins containing deletions of the most highly conserved amino acids in BH1 (Δ102-112) and BH2 (Δ151-159) maintained the ability of Bax to antagonize the death repressor activity of Bcl-XL and to associate with Bcl-XL. However, Bax with BH3 deleted did not form heterodimers with Bcl-XL, but retained its ability to counter the death repressor activity of Bcl-XL. These results demonstrate that the conserved BH3, but not BH1 or BH2, homology region of Bax is necessary for its interaction with Bcl-XL in mammalian cells. Furthermore, our results indicate that Bax does not require BH1, BH2, BH3, or heterodimerization with Bcl-XL to counter the death repressor activity of Bcl-XL. Therefore, Bax can antagonize Bcl-XL during VP-16 and, in a lesser degree, during cisplatin-induced cell death independent of its heterodimerization with Bcl-XL.
Inhibition of Proinflammatory Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-Induced Inducible Nitric-Oxide Synthase by Xanthine-Based 7-[2-[4-(2-Chlorobenzene)piperazinyl]ethyl]-1,3-dimethylxanthine (KMUP-1) and 7-[2-[4-(4-Nitrobenzene)piperazinyl]ethyl]-1, 3-dimethylxanthine (KMUP-3) in Rat Trachea: The Involvement of S

In the study of anti-proinflammation by 7-[2-[4-(2-chlorobenzene)piperazinyl] ethyl]-1,3-dimethylxanthine (KMUP-1) and 7-[2-[4-(4-nitrobenzene)piperazinyl]ethyl]-1,3-dimethylxanthine (KMUP-3), exposure of rat tracheal smooth muscle cells (TSMCs) to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a proinflammatory cytokine, increased the expression of inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) and NO production and decreased the expression of soluble guanylate cyclase α1 (sGCα1), soluble guanylate cyclase β1 (sGCβ1), protein kinase G (PKG), and the release of cGMP in TSMCs. The cell-permeable cGMP analog 8-Br-cGMP, xanthine-based KMUP-1 and KMUP-3, and the phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor zaprinast all inhibited TNF-α-induced increases of iNOS expression and NO levels and reversed TNF-α-induced decreases of sGCα1, sGCβ1, and PKG expression. These results imply that cGMP enhancers could have anti-proinflammatory potential in TSMCs. TNF-α also increased protein kinase A (PKA) expression and cAMP levels, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, and activated productions of prostaglandin (PG) E2 and 6-keto-PGF1α (stable PGI2 metabolite). Dexamethasone and N-[2-(cyclohexyloxyl)-4-nitrophenyl]-methane sulfonamide (NS-398; a selective COX-2 inhibitor) attenuated TNF-α-induced expression of COX-2 and activated productions PGE2 and PGI2. However, KMUP-1 and KMUP-3 did not affect COX-2 activities and did not further enhance cAMP levels in the presence of TNF-α. It is suggested that TNF-α-induced increases of PKA expression and cAMP levels are mediated by releasing PGE2 and PGI2, the activation products of COX-2. In conclusion, xanthine-based KMUP-1 and KMUP-3 inhibit TNF-α-induced expression of iNOS in TSMCs, involving the sGC/cGMP/PKG expression pathway but without the involvement of COX-2.
Transcription factor assembly on the nicotinic receptor &bgr;4 subunit gene promoter

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are involved in a plethora of fundamental biological processes ranging from muscle contraction to formation of memories. The receptors are pentameric proteins whose subunits are encoded by distinct genes. Subunit composition of a mature nicotinic receptor is governed in part by the transcriptional regulation of each subunit gene. Here, using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we report the interaction of the transcription factors Sp1, Sp3, c-Jun and Sox10 with the &bgr;4 subunit gene promoter in neuronal-like cell lines and rodent brain tissue. Our results corroborate previous in-vitro data demonstrating that these transcription factors interact with the &bgr;4 promoter. Taken together, these data suggest that Sp1, Sp3, c-Jun and Sox10 regulate expression of the &bgr;4 subunit gene in the mammalian brain.
Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural Economy

This paper presents evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from agriculture to the nonfarm sector using survey data from Nepal and Vietnam. In the absence of credible instruments, the degree of selection on observables is used as a guide to the degree of selection on unobservables, à la Altonji et al. (2005) to address the unobserved genetic correlations. The results show that intergenerational occupational mobility is lower among women in both countries, and is lower in Nepal compared with Vietnam. In the case of Nepal, strong evidence favors a causal role played by the mother’s nonfarm participation in the daughter’s occupation choice, possibly because of cultural inheritance in a traditional society.
Sparse Multi-Model Based Denoising

In this paper, we shall critically appraise sparse representation based denoising applications. An essential task for this framework is dictionary learning. Our novel proposition involves learning such a dictionary not only by analyzing the distribution of training data in the metric space but also exploiting local nature of the visual scene. Subsequently, the learning scheme is further developed for a message passing interface programming architecture. The resulting algorithm is applied to gray scale image denoising which one of the fundamental problems in image processing. In this regard, we show that dictionary learning from noisy images improves denoising performance. Experimental results indicate that proposed approach outperforms the exact KSVD denoising approach and for some cases even surpasses BM3D based denoising.
Adaptive Estimation of Causal Periodic Autoregressive Model

This article deals with the adaptive estimation of a periodic autoregressive model, with unspecified innovation density satisfying only some general technical assumptions. We first establish, while verifying the adapted sufficient conditions of Swensen (1985) to our model, the Local Asymptotic Normality (LAN), the Local Asymptotic Quadratic (LAQ), and the Local Asymptotic properties satisfied by its central sequence. Secondly, the Locally Asymptotically Minimax (LAM) estimators are constructed. Using these results, we construct the adaptive estimators of the unknown autoregressive parameters. The performances of the established estimators are shown, via simulation studies.
Quality management in veterinary medical health care

This study attempts to address some critical issues in managing veterinary medical health care. First, some concepts of quality in veterinary medicine will be outlined to focus on some of the unique aspects and problems associated with this industry. Second, the management of this quality will be addressed to allow managers the ability to assess problems. Third, how these areas of study relate to client and patient requirements and how they may be used to improve quality management in veterinary medical health care facilities will be examined. Finally, a new approach and managerial implications will be provided.
Innovation in emerging markets – the case of China

Purpose – Multinational companies are increasingly locating R&D activities in emerging markets, particularly China. This paper aims to focus on why China is moving from imitation to innovation, how MNCs are evolving their R&D activities in China, the challenges they face, and how they deal with these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – As this is a viewpoint paper, the authors do not report any methodology other than the general research that the authors have been conducting for the last two years, primarily interviews with companies. Findings – The key finding is that China is moving from imitation to innovation and that multinational companies should develop strategies for conducting R&D there. Originality/value – This is a fairly original paper in that there has been only limited research on innovation in China.
Do Customer Acquisition Cost, Retention and Usage Matter to Firm Performance and Valuation?

We examine the valuation role of customer acquisition cost, retention and usage in the wireless industry during the period 1997–2004. We develop and test a model that links customer acquisition cost, customer retention and call usage to future financial performance and valuation. In doing so, we control for the role of traditional accounting measures as predictors of firm performance. Although the wireless industry maintains a rapid pace of technological and commercial changes, fundamental accounting numbers are found to be value relevant. We provide new evidence that customer acquisition cost is likely a firm value driver. Specifically, we show that this cost is positively associated with customer retention, future profits and current market values. However, customer acquisition cost is not associated with future revenues, suggesting that successful investment in customer acquisition is capable of saving future expenses and hence of improving profitability. There does not seem to be a direct association between customer retention and usage. Nevertheless, we document a positive relation between retention and future revenues, as well as a positive association between usage and future profits. Collectively, these results suggest that retention and usage play an important mediating role linking customer acquisition with benefit generation. Consistent with this, we find some evidence that customer retention and usage enhance market values.
ERP systems and management accounting: a multiple case study

Purpose - The present study seeks to refine the findings and theory on the impact that enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations have had on management accounting. Specifically, the purposes of this paper are to analyze the changes that ERP implementations have had on performance measures, management accounting techniques, activities of management accountants, and the use of non-financial information. Design/methodology/approach - The controllers of 13 major Canadian firms were interviewed as part of a multiple case study. Open-ended questions were used. Findings - The research assesses how ERP implementations through more computational power, relational databases, standardized state-of-the-art transaction processing, and extended chart of accounts change management accounting. The enhanced computing power and overall standardization lead to more accurate and timely information. The standardized transaction processing and the charts of accounts have increased the availability of information from units and products previously deficient of information, and ensured a consistency of information across all units and products. The standardization and automation of transaction processing has reduced the amount of data entry done by management accountants. Performance measures have been standardized, expanded to more units and products, increased in accuracy, and produced more quickly. Management accounting techniques have become more efficient and effective. Management accountants are less involved with data entry, thus allowing them to undertake more analyses. Non-financial information is more extensive. Originality/value - This research provides new insights or contributions to understanding how ERP systems impact management accounting and management accountants. First, ERP system implementations affect management accounting. Second, the three part lens or conceptual framework – physical, transactional, and information – explicates the impact of ERP systems on management accounting and management accountants. Third, understanding the impact is further guided by recognizing the expanded chart of accounts inherent with ERP systems.