Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SPICE: Exploration and analysis of post‐cytometric complex multivariate datasets

Polychromatic flow cytometry results in complex, multivariate datasets. To date, tools for the aggregate analysis of these datasets across multiple specimens grouped by different categorical variables, such as demographic information, have not been optimized. Often, the exploration of such datasets is accomplished by visualization of patterns with pie charts or bar charts, without easy access to statistical comparisons of measurements that comprise multiple components. Here we report on algorithms and a graphical interface we developed for these purposes. In particular, we discuss thresholding necessary for accurate representation of data in pie charts, the implications for display and comparison of normalized versus unnormalized data, and the effects of averaging when samples with significant background noise are present. Finally, we define a statistic for the nonparametric comparison of complex distributions to test for difference between groups of samples based on multi‐component measurements. While originally developed to support the analysis of T cell functional profiles, these techniques are amenable to a broad range of datatypes. Published 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The price, liquidity and information asymmetry changes associated with new S&P 500 additions

Purpose - Using S&P 500 additions, the purpose of this paper is to test the permanence of abnormal returns around the index inclusion announcement and effective implementation dates to differentiate among competing explanations for the index inclusion premia puzzle. Design/methodology/approach - The event study methodology is used to examine abnormal returns and volume effects around the announcement dates (ADs) and implementation dates of index additions. Findings - This study documents a twofold increase in trading volume and significant permanent abnormal returns at the ADs that are correlated with subsequent decreases in bid-ask spreads. There is a fivefold increase in trading volume, but only temporary abnormal returns, around the effective dates (EDs). Taken collectively, the evidence indicates that the permanent return at announcement is best explained by liquidity/information cost explanation, but the temporary return and large trading increases at the ED can best be attributed to the price pressure hypothesis. Research limitations/implications - These results do not support the well documented long-run downward-sloping demand curve as the primary explanation for the abnormal returns observed on these dates. Originality/value - This study contributes to the body of literature on the index inclusion effect by providing supporting evidence for the liquidity/information cost explanation, and by extending the previously analyzed index additions with an additional five-year period from 2000-2004.
Time Horizon and Solvency Capital within a Brownian Framework Partially Modulated by a Continuous-Time Markov Chain

A quite important issue in life insurance or concerning pension benefits is the determination of the “right” or “fair” minimum level of capital needed by the insurer to be solvent. Especially under the future so called “Solvency II framework” for insurance undertakings in the European Union which is designed to be more risk-sensitive. The particularity stands in the long-term characteristic of these products, and it may be important to take into account the time horizon effect of these products in the computation of the solvency capital, which is the purpose of this paper. We consider here the case of a pension fund. We take into account two market risks: the interest rate risk (with an affine term structure model) and the equity risk (with a Markovmodulated geometric Brownian motion, which incorporates a kind of economic risk with a continuous-time Markov chain which modulates the parameters of the geometric Brownian motion). Then, a portfolio is built in this market composed of three assets (a bank account, a zero-coupon bond and a stock) which satisfies the constant portfolio allocation hypothesis. We neglect the mortality and underwriting risks by assuming that the pension fund is fully hedged against these risks. The pension fund offers a fixed guaranteed rate on a certain time horizon. The probability of default is first considered, and then the issue of the determination of the solvency capital is addressed by means of the value at risk and the tail value at risk measures. A comparison is made with the Solvency II framework.
Modelling Asymmetric Cointegration and Dynamic Multipliers in a Nonlinear ARDL Framework

We develop a cointegrating nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model in which short- and long-run nonlinearities are introduced via positive and negative partial sum decompositions of the explanatory variables. We demonstrate that the model is estimable by OLS and that reliable long-run inference can be achieved by bounds-testing regardless of the integration orders of the variables. Furthermore, we derive asymmetric dynamic multipliers that graphically depict the traverse between the short- and the long-run. The salient features of the model are illustrated using the example of the nonlinear unemployment-output relationship in the US, Canada and Japan.
Economic Policy Uncertainty and Exchange Rate Volatility

type="main" xml:lang="en"> This paper investigates the impact of general economic and economic policy uncertainty on exchange rate volatility for ten industrial and emerging economies since 1990. The results in this paper suggest that home and US economic policy uncertainty directly increase exchange rate volatility for some of the currencies examined. For the more integrated industrial economies, there is strong evidence that both home-country and US economic policy uncertainty increase currency volatility during bad economic times. For the less integrated emerging economies, only home-country economic policy uncertainty increases exchange rate volatility during bad economic times. General economic uncertainty also increases exchange rate volatility, but its impact is generally smaller than that of economic policy uncertainty. Given that previous research has found a negative relationship between exchange rate volatility and economic activity, these results suggest that economic policy uncertainty can negatively affect economic performance.
The Transferability of Welfare Models: A Comparison of the Scandinavian and State Socialist Models in Relation to Finland and Estonia

In this paper, two examples of the close relationship between a national social welfare system, and explicit transnational influences are discussed. Both the state socialist and Scandinavian models have a recognized structure independent of the particular countries in which they have been implemented, although they are both associated with a home base, Russia and Sweden respectively. Our examples, Estonia and Finland, faced both common and specific national problems following 1991, which led to rapid change in each country’s economic situation and pressure on their respective welfare systems. There were elements of continuity and discontinuity with the main tenets of their respective welfare models, and both structural factors and cultural diffusion will be explored to understand the origin of these changes. The paper could be seen as a case study of welfare changes in the "borderlands" where "old empires meet". The countries were chosen because they are peripheral to what were rival spheres of influence and because they see themselves as having much in common. We also expect changes to occur more rapidly in peripheral areas.
High-order single-loop double-sampling sigma-delta modulator topologies for broadband applications

This paper presents novel low-voltage high order single loop sigma-delta modulator structures for wideband applications. The proposed architectures employ the technique of double-sampling to double the effective oversampling ratio (OSR) without increasing the sampling frequency. To alleviate the quantization noise folding into the inband frequency region which is a result of the mismatch between the sampling capacitors of the feedback's digital-to-analog converter (DAC) paths, a zero is placed at the half of the sampling frequency of the modulator's noise transfer function (NTF). The problem of this additional zero in the NTF is solved through the proposed modulator architectures with a very simple design procedure.
Residual venous thrombosis as predictive factor for recurrent venous thromboembolim in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis: a sytematic review

The potential role of the detection of residual thrombosis after deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the differentiation of patients at risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not yet been fully established and includes different definitions. We performed a systematic review in order to determine the role of residual thrombosis in predicting recurrent VTE after acute proximal DVT. Databases were searched until June 2010. Randomized, controlled trials or prospective cohort studies were eligible for inclusion if they included patients with objectively diagnosed proximal DVT, measured thrombus diameter after at least 3 months and reported recurrent VTE during follow‐up. Two authors independently reviewed articles and extracted data. Data from 11 studies were used for the current analysis; in total 3203 patients were included. Residual thrombosis was positively correlated with recurrent VTE. Large heterogeneity was present, due to differences in study population, timing and the differences in method of measuring residual thrombosis. The effect was more pronounced in patients with malignancy or was dependent on the criteria used. This systematic review shows a positive relationship between residual thrombosis and recurrent VTE during follow‐up. Assessing residual thrombosis could be useful in individual recurrence risk estimation.
Retromastoid Microsurgical Approach to Vascular Compression of the Eighth Cranial Nerve

In our series of 10 patients, the age ranged between 31 and 69 years. Seven patients were followed for from 1–2½ years. Complaints consisted of tinnitus, vertigo, or both. Vegatative symptoms consisting of nausea or vomiting were minimal or absent. Audiometry revealed a varying neurosensory loss. Vestibular hypoexcitability was a common finding. Good discrimination appeared to indicate a vascular loop rather than hydrops. The neuroradiologic work‐up was unremarkable.
Obstacles to Economic Growth in Nineteenth-Century Mexico

THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MEXICO HAS ADVANCED dramatically in recent years. The most important revisionist work has concentrated on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although major works have appeared on the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth centuries as well. ' Much of the new research has been quantitative or comparative, linking the study of Mexico's past to methodological currents in the United States and Western Europe.2 It is now possible to revise some of the principal hypotheses about Mexico's relative backwardness since the end of the colonial era. Comparative estimates of Mexican gross national product in the nineteenth century can be used to assess the impact of revisionist work on standard interpretations of Mexico's economic history from the Bourbons to the Revolution of I9IO. By way of introduction, two caveats are worth stressing. First, spurious precision infects all, or nearly all, quantitative historical work. Margins of error are necessarily large in estimates of national product based on fragmentary data, the guesswork of interested contemporaries, and the imagination of the modern researcher. This is even truer of estimates produced to test hypotheses about what might have been, as the "new economic history" has amply demonstrated during the past decade or so in the United States. I take it as a duty, therefore, to issue a clear warning: all of the numbers in this article are, without exception, inaccurate; however, that is not a valid argument against their use. Literary estimates typically contain fewer errors (we
Effect of Quality Characteristics on Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Gala Apples

This paper uses individual apple-level data that include consumer sensory assessments and instrumental measurements of internal quality to analyze willingness to pay for Washington State Gala apples. Three distinct models are estimated: a model that includes destructive internal quality measures of apple characteristics, a model that utilizes only non-destructive internal quality measures, and a consumer model that includes subjective consumer sensory evaluations and consumer socio-demographic characteristics. The objective is to identify instrumental measures of internal quality that can be used to inform the apple industry of consumer preferences. The consumer model serves as a benchmark. Finally, we evaluate whether non-destructive measures of internal quality can substitute for destructive measures. We find that firmness and soluble solids content are significant and can be measured effectively using non-destructive measures. Implications of the findings for the apple industry in terms of marketing and possible “elite” standards for apples are discussed. Le present article utilise des donnees individuelles, notamment des evaluations sensorielles et des mesures instrumentales, pour analyser la volonte de payer des consommateurs pour des pommes Gala de l'Etat de Washington. Nous avons estime trois modeles : un modele comprenant des mesures instrumentales qui affectent la qualite interne des pommes; un modele qui utilise des mesures instrumentales qui n'affectent pas la qualite interne; un modele du consommateur qui comprend des evaluations sensorielles subjectives et des caracteristiques sociodemographiques. L'objectif consistait a identifier les mesures instrumentales qui pourraient etre utilisees pour renseigner l'industrie pomicole sur les preferences des consommateurs. Le modele du consommateur a servi de point de reference. Finalement, nous avons examine si les techniques non destructives de mesure de la qualite interne pouvaient ou non remplacer les techniques destructives. Nous avons trouve que la fermete et la teneur en solides solubles sont des caracteristiques importantes et qu'elles peuvent etre mesurees efficacement au moyen de techniques non destructives. Nous discutons des repercussions de ces resultats sur l'industrie pomicole sur le plan du marketing et de l'etablissement possible de normes ≪elite≫.
Equilibrium Unemployment in Australia: Concepts and Measurement

This paper reviews some concepts of equilibrium unemployment and outlines the fundamental difficulties facing any attempt to produce estimates of the equilibrium rate of unemployment. It develops simple quasi-reduced form models of aggregate unemployment based on rival non market-clearing and market-clearing theories. These equations form the basis of an empirical model of aggregate unemployment in Australia since 1969. The empirical evidence suggests that most of the observed increase in unemployment can be attributed to cyclical rather than structural-frictional factors. However, stylized explanations of cyclical unemployment exclusively along the lines of Keynesian, Classical or equilibrium search theory are found inadequate.
Further arguments in favour of direct covalent binding of Ochratoxin A (OTA) after metabolic biotransformation

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is nephrotoxic to all animal species, carcinogenic for rats and mice and probably implicated in human Balkan endemic nephropathy and the associated urothelial tract tumour. Controversial results concerning genotoxicity and biotransformation of OTA have been generated. By 32P post-labelling technique, a dose- and time-dependent DNA adduct formation is observed in vivo and in vitro. Use of several inducers or inhibitors of biotransforming enzymes (including cytochrome P 450, cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, glutathione-S-transferase), demonstrated that OTA is biotransformed into genotoxic derivatives damaging for DNA. Authentic C8dG-OTA standards have been synthesized by photo-oxidation. Both of them (C-C8 & O-C8) co-migrate on TLC with two adducts formed by in vitro incubation of OTA in the presence of kidney microsomes, and in vivo in kidney of pig or rodent fed OTA as well as in kidney and bladder tumour of humans exposed to OTA. Several OTA metabolites have been isolated from tissues or cells treated by OTA. The open ring lactone (OP-OTA) and quinone OTA (OTQ) are genotoxic.
Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome: pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment.

PURPOSE To extend upon previous reports, observations, and discussions of intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) with the goal of providing new insight into the syndrome's pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment. METHODS Following a review of IFIS and its relationship to autonomic pharmacology, evidence for anatomic changes following exposure of humans and other animals to autonomic drugs is described. The clinical implications for these findings are discussed as they relate to the treatment and prevention of this syndrome. RESULTS IFIS has been associated with the use of adrenergic antagonists even after they have been discontinued years prior to surgery. Some investigators believe that this persistence of IFIS reflects anatomic structural change. Evidence from laboratory experiments and human clinical studies using topically applied and systemic autonomic drugs supports the possibility of anatomic changes coexisting with IFIS observed during cataract surgery. CONCLUSIONS IFIS is a relatively rare syndrome, often associated with the use of systemic alpha-blockers and conditions that influence dilator muscle tone. Laboratory and clinical evidence supports the possibility of anatomic changes following the use of autonomic drugs. The persistence of IFIS years after cessation of treatment with alpha-blockers suggests that the potential risks of discontinuing these drugs prior to cataract surgery outweigh potential benefits.
A 160MHz 4-bit pipeline multiplier using charge recovery logic technology

In this paper a 4-bit pipeline multiplier is designed using a novel charge-recovery logic technology called Pulse Boost Logic (PBL), and fabricated out with Rohm 0. 18μm CMOS process. Cadence Spectre simulation indicates that energy dissipation of proposed PBL multiplier is 79% of Enhanced Boost Logic with almost the same number of transistors. The test chip is using a LC resonant system for AC power supply, since PBL structure requires two phase non-overlap clock as power supply. The measurement result shows that operation frequency of PBL 4-bit pipeline multiplier is up to 161MHz, while the energy dissipation is 4.81pJ/cycle.
Quantitative ultrasound analyses of cell starvation in HT-29 pellets

Spectral analysis of ultrasound backscatter data has been shown to be sensitive to cellular changes, particularly due to apoptosis. Different therapies that seek to destroy cells work activate different cell death mechanisms, most commonly apoptosis, but also oncosis or ischemic death. Pellets of HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells were placed in PBS at room temperature over the course of 56 hours and were imaged with high-frequency (55 MHz) ultrasound and the raw RF data processed. Due to the lack of nutrients available to the cells, they underwent oncosis. Attenuation slope, speed of sound (SOS), spectral slope and midband fit (MBF) were estimated every 8 hours over the course of 56 hours to determine changes due to starvation. The spectral slope decreased through time, with an increase at 40 hours. Midband fit and attenuation both showed a trend through time with three phases with the first significant increase at 16 hours and a second significant increase at 40 hours. Speed of sound increased from 1513 m/s to 1534 m/s with time. A decrease in cellular number density and increase in inter-cellular debris is evident on histological slides. Results show different trends than observed for cells undergoing apoptosis, suggesting there are specific signatures that can be exploited to determine changes in cell morphology associated with different mechanisms of cell death.
‘Carry Your Credit in Your Pocket’: The Early History of the Credit Card at Bank of America and Chase Manhattan

Drawing from newly available archival material, this article explores the early history of one of today’s most ubiquitous financial instruments, the bank credit card. It focuses on the managerial decisions that led to the implementation and development of charge card programs at the two largest American banks of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Even though the initial performance of the two programs was comparable, top management at each bank ultimately adopted different business strategies. The differences resulted from managers’ contrasting interpretations of the appropriate market for the credit card, interpretations formed within the context of two distinct banking cultures.
Stages of embryonic development of the zebrafish

We describe a series of stages for development of the embryo of the zebrafish, Danio (Brachydanio) rerio. We define seven broad periods of embryogenesis—the zygote, cleavage, blastula, gastrula, segmentation, pharyngula, and hatching periods. These divisions highlight the changing spectrum of major developmental processes that occur during the first 3 days after fertilization, and we review some of what is known about morphogenesis and other significant events that occur during each of the periods. Stages subdivide the periods. Stages are named, not numbered as in most other series, providing for flexibility and continued evolution of the staging series as we learn more about development in this species. The stages, and their names, are based on morphological features, generally readily identified by examination of the live embryo with the dissecting stereomicroscope. The descriptions also fully utilize the optical transparancy of the live embryo, which provides for visibility of even very deep structures when the embryo is examined with the compound microscope and Nomarski interference contrast illumination. Photomicrographs and composite camera lucida line drawings characterize the stages pictorially. Other figures chart the development of distinctive characters used as staging aid signposts. ©1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Structure and Response to Flow of the Glycocalyx Layer

The glycocalyx is a sugar-rich layer located at the luminal part of the endothelial cells. It is involved in key metabolic processes and its malfunction is related to several diseases. To understand the function of the glycocalyx, a molecular level characterization is necessary. In this article, we present large-scale molecular-dynamics simulations that provide a comprehensive description of the structure and dynamics of the glycocalyx. We introduce the most detailed, to-date, all-atom glycocalyx model, composed of lipid bilayer, proteoglycan dimers, and heparan sulfate chains with realistic sequences. Our results reveal the folding of proteoglycan ectodomain and the extended conformation of heparan sulfate chains. Furthermore, we study the glycocalyx response under shear flow and its role as a flypaper for binding fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), which are involved in diverse functions related to cellular differentiation, including angiogenesis, morphogenesis, and wound healing. The simulations show that the glycocalyx increases the effective concentration of FGFs, leading to FGF oligomerization, and acts as a lever to transfer mechanical stimulus into the cytoplasmic side of endothelial cells.