Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capital structure and performance of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) banks: an assessment of credit rating

The firm’s credit rating is an important communication tool and previous research has shown that many companies consider it important in capital structure decisions. This study examines the determinants of capital structure in MENA banks. In addition, it investigates the determinants of credit rating. Further, the impact of credit rating and capital structure on banks’ performance is examined. Therefore, this study is an attempt to answer the following questions: 1) what are the main determinants of capital structure? 2) how does credit rating affect capital structure? 3) what are the main determinants of credit rating? and 4) what is the effect of capital structure and credit rating on bank performance? The sample covers 169 banks and is divided into two sub-samples: rated (79) and non-rated banks (90). The results indicate that credit rating directly affects the capital structure decisions as rated banks use more debts than non-rated banks. Banks’ performance is positively associated with credit rating and negatively with the capital structure. This study has an implication on investors in their decisions to invest in the banking industry. It also helpful for policy makers to understand how bank’s capital structure behaves so they could take it into consideration when issuing new regulations such as Basel.
Anti‐inflammaging effects of human alpha‐1 antitrypsin

Inflammaging plays an important role in most age‐related diseases. However, the mechanism of inflammaging is largely unknown, and therapeutic control of inflammaging is challenging. Human alpha‐1 antitrypsin (hAAT) has immune‐regulatory, anti‐inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties as demonstrated in several disease models including type 1 diabetes, arthritis, lupus, osteoporosis, and stroke. To test the potential anti‐inflammaging effect of hAAT, we generated transgenic Drosophila lines expressing hAAT. Surprisingly, the lifespan of hAAT‐expressing lines was significantly longer than that of genetically matched controls. To understand the mechanism underlying the anti‐aging effect of hAAT, we monitored the expression of aging‐associated genes and found that aging‐induced expressions of Relish (NF‐ĸB orthologue) and Diptericin were significantly lower in hAAT lines than in control lines. RNA‐seq analysis revealed that innate immunity genes regulated by NF‐kB were significantly and specifically inhibited in hAAT transgenic Drosophila lines. To confirm this anti‐inflammaging effect in human cells, we treated X‐ray‐induced senescence cells with hAAT and showed that hAAT treatment significantly decreased the expression and maturation of IL‐6 and IL‐8, two major factors of senescence‐associated secretory phenotype. Consistent with results from Drosophila,RNA‐seq analysis also showed that hAAT treatment significantly inhibited inflammation related genes and pathways. Together, our results demonstrated that hAAT significantly inhibited inflammaging in both Drosophila and human cell models. As hAAT is a FDA‐approved drug with a confirmed safety profile, this novel therapeutic potential may make hAAT a promising candidate to combat aging and aging‐related diseases.
Inhibition of Mammalian Gq Protein Function by Local Anesthetics

Background Local anesthetics have been shown to selectively inhibit functioning of Xenopus laevis Gq proteins. It is not known whether a similar interaction exists with mammalian G proteins. The goal of this study was to determine whether mammalian Gq protein is inhibited by local anesthetics. Methods In Xenopus oocytes, the authors replaced endogenous Gq protein with mouse Gq (expressed in Sf9 cells using baculovirus vectors). Cells endogenously expressing lysophosphatidic acid or recombinantly expressing muscarinic m3 receptors were injected with phosphorothioate DNA antisense (or sense as control) oligonucleotides against Xenopus Gq. Forty-eight hours later, oocytes were injected with purified mouse Gq (5 × 10−8 m) or solvent as control. Two hours later, the authors injected either lidocaine, its permanently charged analog QX314 (at IC50, 50 nl), or solvent (KCl 150 mm) as control and measured Ca-activated Cl currents in response to lysophosphatidic acid or methylcholine (one tenth of EC50). Results Injection of anti-Gq reduced the mean response size elicited by lysophosphatidic acid to 33 ± 7% of the corresponding control response. In contrast, responses were unchanged (131 ± 29% of control) in cells in addition injected with mouse Gq protein. Injection of mouse Gq protein “rescued” the inhibitory effect of intracellularly injected QX314: whereas QX314 was without effect on Gq-depleted oocytes, responses to lysophosphatidic acid after QX314 injection were inhibited to 44 ± 10% of control response in cells in addition injected with mouse Gq protein (5 × 10−8 m). Similar results were obtained for m3 signaling and intracellularly injected lidocaine. Conclusion Inhibition of Gq function by local anesthetics is not restricted to Xenopus G proteins. Therefore, Gq should be considered as one additional intracellular target site for local anesthetics, especially relevant for those effects not explainable by sodium channel blockade (e.g., antiinflammatory effects).
Effect of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) on Gonadal Sex Reversal and Spermatogenesis of Honeycomb Grouper Epinephelus merra

We investigated the androgenic effects of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) on gonadal sex reversal and spermatogenesis in honeycomb grouper Epinephelus merra by method of gonadal biopsy. 11-KT was injected intramuscularly at a concentration of 1 and 10 ㎍/g body weight. The proportion of cross sectional area of the gonad occupied by each germ cell type was measured and compared pre- and post-injection group. During the sex change phase, the distribution ratio of oocytes was decreased in all fish of 11-KT treatment group while the distribution ratio of spermatocytes was increased than pre-injection group. In male phase, all fish of 11-KT treatment group shown the increased distribution ratio of spermatocytes, but the distribution ratio of spermatozoa was decreased than pre-injection group. The present results suggest that 11-KT can stimulate degeneration of oocytes, proliferation of spermatocytes and spermiation in honeycomb grouper.
Service integration in multiantenna bidirectional relay networks: Public and confidential messages

To increase the spectral efficiency of next generation wireless networks, it is important to wisely integrate multiple services at the physical layer. Here, we consider physical layer service integration in multiantenna bidirectional relay networks, where a relay node establishes a bidirectional communication between two other nodes using a decode-and-forward protocol. In the broadcast phase the relay efficiently integrates additional common and confidential services at the physical layer, which requires the study of the MIMO Gaussian bidirectional broadcast channel (BBC) with common and confidential messages. We establish the secrecy capacity region which unifies previous (partial) results, where the relay provides only some of the services.
Cloning and expression of chitinase A, B, and C (chiA, chiB, chiC) genes from Serratia marcescens originating from Helicoverpa armigera and determining their activities

Three genes encoding chitinase A (chiA), B (chiB), and C (chiC) were amplified from a bacterium that was isolated from a naturally dead Helicoverpa armigera larva and identified as Serratia marcescens based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis (KF823633 accession number). The open reading frames (ORFs) were identified as 1692, 1500, and 1443 base pairs for chiA, chiB, and chiC genes, respectively. These sequences were submitted to the GenBank with accession numbers KF823630 (chiA), KF823631 (chiB), and KF823632 (chiC). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences with those of other bacterial chitinases revealed that the 3 chitinases contain the catalytic domain. Furthermore, all 3 chitinases showed 99% similarity to the S. marcescens WW4 strain at the amino acid level. The chitinases were overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Expressed proteins were purified and their activities were tested using colloidal chitin as substrate. Reasonable pH and temperature ranges were also determined as 7-11 and 33-37 °C, respectively. Insecticidal activities of these proteins were tested on the larvae of Malacosoma neustria and H. armigera. Test results showed that 1000 U/mL ChiA, ChiB, and ChiC have 47%, 50%, and 66% insecticidal activities on M. neustria, and 80%, 45%, and 50% insecticidal activities on H. armigera larvae within 10 days, respectively.
The Topsar Interferometric Radar Topographic Mapping Instrument

The authors have augmented the NASA DC-8 AIRSAR instrument with a pair of C-band antennas displaced across track to form an interferometer sensitive to topographic variations of the Earth's surface. During the 1991 DC-8 flight campaign, data were acquired over several sites in the US and Europe, and topographic maps were produced from several of these flight lines. Analysis of the results indicate that statistical errors are in the 2-4-m range, while systematic effects due to aircraft motion are in the 10-20-m range. The initial results from development of a second-generation processor show that aircraft motion compensation algorithms reduce the systematic variations to 2 m, while the statistical errors are reduced to 2-3 m. >
A Longitudinal Population Study of the Mini-Mental State Examination in the Very Old: Relation to Dementia and Education

We examined the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in relation to the prevalence and incidence of dementia in a representative population sample (n = 494), followed from age 85 to 88. The study included a neuropsychiatric examination (including the MMSE) and a key informant interview conducted by a psychiatrist. Dementia was defined according to the DSM-III-R. Among non-demented 85-year-olds, 75% of those who scored below the cut-off score of 23/24 and 37% of those scoring 24–25 became demented during the follow-up. Non-demented 85-year-olds who did not develop dementia during the following 3 years had a mean decline in MMSE score of 0.6 per year, while those who became demented decreased by 2.3 points per year. A decrease of 4 or more points during the 3 years had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 80% for a diagnosis of dementia. High and low MMSE score at base-line was related to a smaller decrease in MMSE score between age 85 and 88. Higher education was related to higher scores on MMSE at age 85 and to a smaller decline in scores between age 85 and 88. Change in MMSE score in non-demented individuals is small especially among individuals with high education. Non-demented individuals scoring below 26 should receive close attention, as a high proportion are at risk of developing dementia.
Defeating Primary User Emulation Attacks Using Belief Propagation in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio (CR) is a promising technology for future wireless spectrum allocation to improve the usage of the licensed bands. However, CR wireless networks are susceptible to various attacks and cannot offer efficient security. Primary user emulation (PUE) is one of the most serious attacks for CR networks, which can significantly increase the spectrum access failure probability. In this paper, we propose a defense strategy against the PUE attack in CR networks using belief propagation, which avoids the deployment of additional sensor networks and expensive hardware in the networks used in the existing literatures. In our proposed approach, each secondary user calculates the local function and the compatibility function, computes the messages, exchanges messages with the neighboring users, and calculates the beliefs until convergence. Then, the PUE attacker will be detected, and all the secondary users in the network will be notified in a broadcast way about the characteristics of the attacker's signal. Therefore, all SUs can avoid the PUE attacker's primary emulation signal in the future. Simulation results show that our proposed approach converges quickly, and is effective to detect the PUE attacker.
Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics Systemic Default and Return Predictability in the Stock and Bond Markets

Using a structural model of default, we construct a measure of systemic default defined as the probability that many firms default at the same time. We account for correlations in defaults between firms through exposures to common shocks. The systemic default measure spikes during recession periods and is correlated with macroeconomic indicators and future realized defaults. Furthermore, it predicts future equity and corporate bond returns, even after controlling for many existing return predictors, including tail risk. The predictability results are robust to out-of-sample tests. ∗Bao is from the University of Delaware, Lerner College of Business and Economics, jackbao@udel.edu. Hou is from the Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, China Academy of Financial Research (CAFR), and China Institute of Finance and Banking (CIFB), hou.28@osu.edu. Zhang is from the Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, zhang.7805@osu.edu. We thank Antje Berndt, Stephen Brown, Tarun Chordia (discussant), Jefferson Duarte, Lorenzo Garlappi, Stefano Giglio (discussant), Jean Helwege, Jingzhi Huang, Andrew Karolyi, Ron Masulis, Eckhard Platen, David Rapach (discussant), Rik Sen, Zhaogang Song, Rene Stulz, Dragon Tang, Hongjun Yan (discussant), Harold Zhang, conference participants at the UBC Winter Finance Conference, ABFER, SoFiE, CICF, Macquarie Quant Research Conference, PKU Forum on Asset Pricing and Asset Management, and seminar participants at Australian National University, CKGSB, DePaul, Fordham, Georgetown, LSU, Macquarie University, Monash University, Peking University, Purdue, Seoul National University, Tsinghua PBC, University of California at Riverside, University of Delaware, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, University of Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech for helpful comments and discussions. Hou and Zhang gratefully acknowledge funding support from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. All remaining errors are our own.
Between-Arm Comparisons in Randomized Phase II Trials

In a Phase II trial, we may randomize patients to multiple arms of experimental therapies and evaluate their efficacy to determine if any of them is worthy of a large scale Phase III trial. Usually the primary objective of such a study is to identify experimental therapies that are efficacious compared to a historical control. Each arm is independently evaluated using a standard design a for single-arm Phase II trial, e.g., Simon's optimal or minimax design. When more than one arm is accepted through such a randomized trial, we may want to select the winner(s) among them. There are methods for between-arm comparisons in the literature, but most of them have drawbacks. They have a large false selection (type I error) probability when the competing arms have a small difference in efficacy, or the statistical tests used in the selection procedure do not properly reflect the small sample sizes and multi-stage design of the trials. In this paper, we propose between-arm comparison methods for selection in randomized Phase II trials addressing these issues.
The Relationship between Market Orientation and Business Performance of Nigerian SMEs: The Role of Organizational Culture

This study is aimed at examining the association between market orientation and business performance of Nigerian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Even though their associations have received substantial scholarly interest, few studies have been conducted among Nigerian SMEs. However, this study seeks also to examine the mediating role of organizational culture between market orientation and business performance relationship. SME is essential to economic growth of Nigeria, and they are considered as a major source of job creation, poverty reduction and significantly contributes to the gross domestic products. Based on theoretical consideration, a framework was developed to investigate these relationships. The model was tested on a sample of 640 firms through self-administration of a questionnaire survey. The result from correlation analysis established a good relationship between market orientations, organizational culture and business performance. However, regression results established no relationship between market orientation and SME performance, whereas, the mediation test was not supported. The study’s implications also discussed.
Geological and geobotanical studies of Long Valley Caldera, CA, USA utilizing new 5m hyperspectral imagery

In May of 1989, a six month-long small magnitude earthquake swarm began beneath the Pleistocene-aged dacitic cumulovolcano Mammoth Mountain. The following year, increased mortality of trees in the Horseshoe Lake region was observed. Their deaths were initially attributed to the Sierran drought of the 1980s. In 1994 however, soil gas measurements made by the USGS confirmed that the kills were due to asphyxiation of the vegetation via the presence of 30-96 % CO/sub 2/ in ground around the volcano. Physiological changes in vegetation due to negative inputs into the ecological system such as anomalously high levels of magmatic CO/sub 2/, can be seen spectrally. With this phenomena in mind, as well as many other unanswered geological and geobotanical questions, seven lines of hyperspectral 5-meter HyMap data were flown over Long Valley Caldera located in eastern California on September 7, 1999. HyMap imagery provides the impetus to address geobotanical questions such as where the tree kills are currently located at Mammoth and other locales around the caldera as well as whether incipient kills can be identified. The study site of the Horseshoe Lake tree kills serves as a focus to the initial analyses ofthis extensive HyMap dataset due to both the tree kill's geologically compelling origins and its status as a serious volcanic geohazard.
Wearable Ballistocardiography system for heartbeat detection

Ballistocardiography (BCG) is a non-invasive method based on the measurement of the human body motion occurring due to acceleration of blood as it is ejected and moved in the large vessels at each cardiac cycle. The system presented in this paper is designed to measure the reaction force of systolic contraction of the body after determining the pumping of blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery and also the reflected signals in the form of signal correlated with ECG signal. The system is embedded into a cushion and clothing, giving the advantage to automatically perform investigations of physiological parameters using ballistocardiograph method and the accelerometer sensor.
In vitro characterization of magnetic electrospun IDA-grafted chitosan nanofiber composite for hyperthermic tumor cell treatment

Magnetic nanoparticles were the thermoseeds under an alternating magnetic field and can be used to produce highly localized hyperthermia effect on deep-seated tumor. Nevertheless, effective and precisive delivery of nanoparticles to the treatment-intended site remains a challenge. In this study, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were incorporated onto the crosslinked electrospun chitosan nanofibers using chemical co-precipitation from the Fe ions adsorbed. Such magnetic nanoparticle–nanofiber composites could be delivered to the treatment site precisely by surgical or endoscopic method. Iminodiacetic acid (IDA) functionality was grafted onto the chitosan with an aim to increase the amount of magnetic nanoparticles formed in the electrospun magnetic nanofiber composite. The morphology, crystalline phase as well as the magnetism characteristic of the magnetic electrospun nanofiber matrixes, was analyzed. Results have indicated that, with the incorporation of IDA functionality, more magnetic nanoparticles were formed in the electrospun chitosan nanofiber matrix. In addition, the magnetic IDA-grafted chitosan nanofiber composite can effectively reduced the tumor cell proliferation under the application of magnetic field. This finding suggested the magnetic electrospun chitosan nanofiber composite can be of potential for hyperthermia treatment.
A Parallel Quadruplex DNA Is Bound Tightly but Unfolded Slowly by Pif1 Helicase*

Background: Some G-rich sequences fold into intramolecular quadruplex structures. Pif1 helicase reduces genomic instability by unfolding quadruplex DNA. Results: Pif1 unfolds a parallel quadruplex structure slowly relative to unwinding of duplex DNA. Conclusion: Comparison of duplex unwinding to quadruplex unfolding is complicated by distinct kinetic mechanisms. Significance: A highly stable, intramolecular quadruplex is a formidable obstacle but can be overcome by Pif1 helicase. DNA sequences that can form intramolecular quadruplex structures are found in promoters of proto-oncogenes. Many of these sequences readily fold into parallel quadruplexes. Here we characterize the ability of yeast Pif1 to bind and unfold a parallel quadruplex DNA substrate. We found that Pif1 binds more tightly to the parallel quadruplex DNA than single-stranded DNA or tailed duplexes. However, Pif1 unwinding of duplexes occurs at a much faster rate than unfolding of a parallel intramolecular quadruplex. Pif1 readily unfolds a parallel quadruplex DNA substrate in a multiturnover reaction and also generates some product under single cycle conditions. The rate of ATP hydrolysis by Pif1 is reduced when bound to a parallel quadruplex compared with single-stranded DNA. ATP hydrolysis occurs at a faster rate than quadruplex unfolding, indicating that some ATP hydrolysis events are non-productive during unfolding of intramolecular parallel quadruplex DNA. However, product eventually accumulates at a slow rate.
Study on the Use of Deep Neural Networks for Speech Activity Detection in Broadcast Recordings

This paper deals with the task of Speech Activity Detection (SAD). Our goal is to develop a SAD module suitable for a system for broadcast data transcription. Various Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are evaluated for this purpose. Training of DNNs is performed using speech and non-speech data as well as artificial data created by mixing of both these data types at a desired level of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). The output from each DNN is smoothed using a decoder based on Weighted Finite State Transducers (WFSTs). The presented experimental results show that the use of the resulting SAD module leads to a) a slight improvement in transcription accuracy and b) a significant reduction in the computation time needed for transcription.
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering LEARNING TO REPAIR PLANS AND SCHEDULES USING A RELATIONAL ( DEICTIC ) REPRESENTATION

Unplanned and abnormal events may have a significant impact on the feasibility of plans and schedules which requires to repair them ‘on-the-fly’ to guarantee due date compliance of orders-in-progress and negotiating delivery conditions for new orders. In this work, a repair-based rescheduling approach based on the integration of intensive simulations with logical and relational reinforcement learning is proposed. Based on a relational (deictic) representation of schedule states, a number of repair operators have been designed to guide the search towards a goal state. The knowledge generated via simulation is encoded in a relational regression tree for the Q-value function defining the utility of applying a given repair operator at a given schedule state. A prototype implementation in Prolog language is discussed using a representative example of three batch extruders processing orders for four different products. The learning curve for the problem of inserting a new order vividly illustrates the advantages of logical and relational learning in rescheduling.