Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Marketing Adult Education for Megaprojects in the Northwest Territories

This empirical research inquiry examines the influence that the current economic climate - driven by the extraction of non-renewable resources currently underway in the Northwest Territories - is having on adult education policy and program development. A qualitative methodology involving open-ended interviews was chosen for this study to better understand how local realities of labour market influenced educational policy and its implications for policy process and practice. The inquiry gathers perceptions of those given authority and responsibility for developing policy on behalf of northerners, and also those affected by such policies. Interviews were conducted during the summer of 2005 and included policy planners at Aurora College and other stakeholders involved in northern development, adult education and training. Findings suggest that the cooptation of adult education by market forces has occurred despite increased local autonomy through recent Aboriginal self-governance initiatives. Implications for community sustainability and governance are examined within this context.
Reduced-order Wiener state estimators for descriptor system with multi-observation lags and MA colored observation noise

Using the projection theory and modern time series analysis method, based on the autoregressive moving average (ARMA) innovation model and white noise estimators, the reduced-order Wiener state estimators for descriptor system with MA colored observation noise and multi-observation lags are presented. They can handle the prediction, filtering and smoothing in a unified framework. They avoid the solutions of the Riccati equations and Diophantine equations. The estimators have the ARMA recursive form and have asymptotic stability. A simulation example shows their effectiveness.
Genetic variations in TERC and TERT genes are associated with lung cancer risk in a Chinese Han population

The study was aimed to explore whether the TERT and TERC polymorphisms are associated with the lung cancer risk. Five TERC and TERT polymorphisms were genotyped from 554 lung cancer patients and 603 healthy controls. We used χ2 test, genetic model, linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype analyses to evaluate the association between the polymorphisms and lung cancer risk. We found that the allele “C” of rs10936599 (TERC) and the allele “T” of rs10069690 (TERT) were associated with increased risk of lung cancer (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.12-1.55, P = 0.001; OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.14-1.76, P = 0.002, respectively). The genotype of “CC” of rs10936599, genotype “CT” of rs10069690 and genotype “GG and “AG” of rs2853677 were also associated with increased the risk of lung cancer. In addition, rs10936599 under the dominant, recessive and log-additive models; rs10069690 under the dominant, overdominant and log-additive models; rs2853677 under the dominant and log-additive models were found to be associated with increased lung cancer risk. The SNP rs2242652 was found to be associated with an increased lung cancer risk under the dominant and overdominant models without adjustment. The haplotype “TA” of TERT was also associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Our study indicated that rs10936599 (TERC) and rs10069690, rs2242652 and rs2853677 in TERT and haplotype “TA” of TERT were revealed as risk factors of lung cancer in a Chinese Han population. However, it required to verify our result and investigate the function genetic variants and mechanism of lung cancer.
Protective Effects of Ethanolic Neem Leaf Extract on N‐Methyl‐N′‐nitro‐N‐nitrosoguanidine‐Induced Genotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Mice

We evaluated the effects of pretreatment with ethanolic neem leaf extract on N‐methyl‐N′‐nitro‐N‐nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)‐induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in male Swiss albino mice. The frequency of micronuclei (MN), concentrations of lipid peroxides and the status of the antioxidants, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) were used as intermediate biomarkers of chemoprotection. Animals were divided into four groups of five animals each. Animals in group 1 were given MNNG (40 mg/kg body weight) by intragastric intubation. Animals in group 2 received intragastric administration of ethanolic neem leaf extract at a concentration of 200 mg/kg body weight for 5 days followed by MNNG 1.5 h after the final feeding. Group 3 animals received ethanolic neem leaf extract alone for five days. Group 4 received the same volume of normal saline and served as control. The animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation 27 h after the carcinogen exposure. In MNNG‐treated mice, enhanced lipid peroxidation with compromised antioxidant defences in the stomach, liver and erythrocytes was accompanied by increase in bone marrow micronuclei. Pretreatment with ethanolic neem leaf extract significantly reduced MNNG‐induced micronuclei and lipid peroxides and enhanced GSH‐dependent antioxidant activities. The results of the present study demonstrate that ethanolic neem leaf extract exerts protective effects against MNNG‐induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress by augmenting host antioxidant defence mechanisms.
Design and analysis of an origami-based three-finger manipulator

SUMMARY This paper describes a new robotic manipulator with three fingers based on an origami twisted tower design. The design specifications, kinematic description, and results from the stiffness and durability tests for the selected origami design are presented. The robotic arm is made of a 10-layer twisted tower, actuated by four cables with pulleys driven by servo motors. Each finger is made of a smaller 11-layer tower and uses a single cable directly attached to a servo motor. The current hardware setup supports vision-based autonomous control and internet-based remote control in real time. For preliminary evaluation of the robot's object manipulation capabilities, arbitrary objects with varying weights, sizes, and shapes (i.e., a shuttlecock, an egg shell, a paper cub, and a cubic block) were selected and the rate of successful grasping and lifting for each object was measured. In addition, an experiment comparing a rigid gripper and the new origami-based manipulator revealed that the origami structure in the fingers absorbs the excessive force applied to the object through force distribution and structural deformation, demonstrating its potential applications for effective manipulation of fragile objects.
On The Solution Of The Dynamic Rational Expectations Commodity Storage Model In The Presence Of Stockholding By Speculators And Processors

The paper extends the literature of the dynamic rational expectations commodity storage model, to the case where speculators (speculative stocks) and processing firms (working stocks) are stockholders.So far the literature has been focused on solving the storage model for each type of stockholder independently, either for the case of speculative storage (see Williams and Wright, 1991 and Deaton and Laroque, 1992), or for the case of working stocks (Carter and Revoredo, 1999, show that the supply of storage cost approach - Miranda and Glauber, 1993; and Miranda and Rui, 1996 - reflects only the stocks carried by processing firms, when inventories of commodities (raw materials) are modeled as factors of production following Ramey, 1989). Almost no effort has been made for modeling the interaction of both agents (a notable exception is Lowry, 1988 but not in the context of the competitive storage model). The interaction of both agents is crucial to capture a higher number of stylized facts in commodity markets, such as the dynamic behavior of commodity prices (see Deaton and Laroque, 1992 and Miranda and Rui, 1996), and the Working curve (i.e., empirical curve that relates commodity price spreads with stocks, see Working, 1933). The model is solved by means of a modified version of the polynomial approximation technique used by Williams and Wright (1991). Two versions of the algorithm are presented (with and without a price responsive supply). Finally, the model is simulated to show the differences in the resulting market demand with respect to the other two models (speculative stocks and working stocks) and the differences in the resulting Working curves.
Structure Learning of Linear Gaussian Structural Equation Models with Weak Edges

We consider structure learning of linear Gaussian structural equation models with weak edges. Since the presence of weak edges can lead to a loss of edge orientations in the true underlying CPDAG, we define a new graphical object that can contain more edge orientations. We show that this object can be recovered from observational data under a type of strong faithfulness assumption. We present a new algorithm for this purpose, called aggregated greedy equivalence search (AGES), that aggregates the solution path of the greedy equivalence search (GES) algorithm for varying values of the penalty parameter. We prove consistency of AGES and demonstrate its performance in a simulation study and on single cell data from Sachs et al. (2005). The algorithm will be made available in the R-package pcalg.
Autonomous mode selection scheme for underlay device-to-device communication

Device-to-device (D2D) communication is considered as a key enabling technology in next-generation wireless communication system and thus it has become an intriguing topic for research. This can be seen through the dramatic increase in number of studies on D2D mode selection for the last several years. However, most of existing D2D mode selection researches have focused on various mode selection algorithm based on criteria such as sum throughput, harmonic mean, and distances between user equipments (UEs) assuming that the transmission mode is determined by infrastructure such as evolved Node B (eNB). This is reasonable assumption but it has a crucial problem from the point of implementation, such as significant signaling overhead. This is so because eNB should acquire all Channel Status Information (CSI) corresponding to uplink, downlink and sidelink in order to determine the transmission mode. This process causes more signaling than expected. In this paper, we propose a new type of D2D mode selection scheme, called the autonomous D2D mode selection or UE-based D2D mode selection with the novel criteria. The proposed scheme is expected not only to reduce signaling overhead but also to increase spectral efficiency, which is further demonstrated by the simulation results.
Implicit Transaction Costs and the Fundamental Theorems of Asset Pricing

This paper studies arbitrage pricing theory in financial markets with implicit transaction costs. We extend the existing theory to include the more realistic possibility that the price at which the investors trade is dependent on the traded volume. The investors in the market always buy at the ask and sell at the bid price. Implicit transaction costs are composed of two terms, one is able to capture the bid-ask spread, and the second the price impact. Moreover, a new definition of a self-financing portfolio is obtained. The self-financing condition suggests that continuous trading is possible, but is restricted to predictable trading strategies having c\'adl\'ag (right-continuous with left limits) and c\'agl\'ad (left-continuous with right limits) paths of bounded quadratic variation and of finitely many jumps. That is, c\'adl\'ag and c\'agl\'ad predictable trading strategies of infinite variation, with finitely many jumps and of finite quadratic variation are allowed in our setting. Restricting ourselves to c\'agl\'ad predictable trading strategies, we show that the existence of an equivalent probability measure is equivalent to the absence of arbitrage opportunities, so that the first fundamental theorem of asset pricing (FFTAP) holds. It is also shown that the use of continuous and bounded variation trading strategies can improve the efficiency of hedging in a market with implicit transaction costs. To better understand how to apply the theory proposed we provide an example of an implicit transaction cost economy that is linear and non-linear in the order size.
Is the Price Right? Gauging the Marketplace for Local Sustainable Policy Tools

ABSTRACT: Local government sustainability has become a cause célèbre in urban policy. Extant research has attempted to construct narratives of sustainable environmental, economic, and social equity motivations by grouping together multifaceted types of policies adopted to deal with multidimensional problems of land use, transportation, energy, solid waste, carbon emissions, and other functional areas of local government. Yet, decades of policy adoption and implementation research suggest some policies or policy tools require a far greater commitment of resources and administrative and political buy-in than others. We explore whether the degree of such commitment reflects different motivations at play and test for distinct political economies for specific categories of energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction policy tools. We find evidence that the determinants for the two types of policies are distinct, and subsequent research requires refocusing theoretical and empirical efforts at differentiating “win-win” tools from more “altruistic” commitments to sustainable action by governments.
Three Factors, Interest Rate Differentials and Stock Groups

MOTIVATED BY THE single period capital asset pricing model (e.g. Sharpe [33]), for years research centered on the use of a single factor model where the single factor represented the return on the market portfolio. Subsequently, multifactor models were derived in a generalized CAPM setting by Sharpe [34], Long [23], Merton [25] etc., as well as in the arbitrage pricing theoretic framework by Ross [30], [31]. Merton [25] in the context of continuous time intertemporal asset pricing derives what we might call a two-factor model where the additional factor is a portfolio which is perfectly negatively correlated with changes in the risk free rate. The general intertemporal asset pricing models developed by Long [23] or more recently by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross [5] can also be interpreted as multifactor models. On the empirical side numerous studies were finding systematic ex post dependence in the residuals from single factor models (e.g., Agmon and Lessard [1], Arnott [2], Basu [4], Estep [7], Farrell [8, 9], Levy [20], Rosenberg and
The impact of Wal‐Mart supercenters on supermarket concentration in U.S. metropolitan areas

Wal-Mart's 1999 sales in its Supercenter stores will rival that of Kroger, the leading national supermarket chain. With estimated sales at $45-47 billion plus growth of 40% from $32 billion in prior year sales, Wal-Mart's growth has been accomplished without expansion by acquisition or merger. This growth was achieved by capital investment, building new or reformatting existing Wal-Mart stores with the Supercenter format, a hypermarket with general merchandising and full-size supermarket areas. Currently, the number of Wal-Mart Supercenters exceeds 721. Wal-Mart opened 275 Supercenters during 1998 and 1999 and will continue the pace, exceeding 1,400 by the year 2005. These Supercenters will affect the market position and competitive strategies of other food retailers. To date, most reformatting has been in smaller cities and rural areas, perhaps because they tend to have less organized labor markets. This study finds Wal-Mart Supercenter entry had little impact on food seller concentration in major metropolitan areas between 1993 and 1999. Wal-Mart entered 54 of the largest 100 metro areas. Wal-Mart tended to enter cities in the south and east. There is no correlation between entry and city size. Multiple linear regression analysis however indicates that Wal-Mart's market shares are highest in lower income and smaller metro areas. lEcon-Lit citations: L130, L200r © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cognitive functioning in patients with affective disorders and schizophrenia: A meta-analysis

There is considerable evidence for cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and affective disorders, but the pattern of potential similarities or differences between diagnostic groups remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to conduct a quantitative review of studies on cognitive performance in schizophrenia and affective disorders. Relevant articles were identified through literature search in major databases for the period between January 1980 and December 2005. Meta-analytic treatment of the original studies revealed widespread cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia and affective disorders in intellectual ability and speed of information processing, in encoding and retrieval, rule discovery and in response generation and response inhibition. Differences between diagnostic groups were quantitative rather than qualitative.
Experimentation in Two-Sided Markets

We study optimal experimentation by a monopolistic platform in a two-sided market. The platform provider is uncertain about the strength of the externality each side is exerting on the other. Setting participation fees on both sides, it gradually learns about these externalities by observing actual participation levels. This provides an informational rationale for introductory pricing, with the platform provider charging a fee below the myopically optimal level on at least one side of the market. If the externality that the other side exerts is sufficiently well known and weaker than the externality it experiences, the platform provider extracts surplus from that side by charging it a fee above the myopically optimal level. This interplay between learning and surplus extraction is crucial to the market outcome and its dynamics.
A novel human-machine interface for working machines operation

The future of working machines winks to semi autonomy and latest technological aids to improve the quality of operations as well as the easiness of specific tasks execution. This field can take great advantage of latest human-machine interface (HMI) technologies that has been applied in the last years in field like virtual environments and robotics. The present paper discusses a novel approach for interactive operation of working machines. The approach combines traditional controls with visual/vision and haptic interactions. A wearable projection system has been introduced with the purpose of describing a wide set of localized commands recognized by the system's vision module. A preliminary setup has been developed using a simplified demonstration platform. A test session applied to a manipulation robot is presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed solutions in terms of task effectiveness, neglect tolerance, interaction effort and usability of the human-machine interface.
Multiple output selection-LAS algorithm in large MIMO systems

We present a low-complexity algorithm for detection in large MIMO systems based on the likelihood ascent search (LAS) algorithm. The key idea in our work is to generate multiple possible solutions or outputs from which we select the best one. We propose two possible approaches to achieve this goal and both are investigated. Computer simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm, Multiple Output Selection-LAS, which has the same complexity order as that of conventional LAS algorithms, is superior in bit error rate (BER) performance to LAS conventional algorithms. For example, with 20 antennas at both the transmitter and receiver, the proposed MOS-LAS algorithm needs about 4 dB less SNR to achieve a target BER of 10-4 for 4-QAM.
How stable is the demand for money in emerging economies?

One of the key elements of implementing the monetary policy is stability of the demand for money. The literature includes a large number of studies that have tested the stability of the money demand in developed as well as less-developed countries but not in emerging economies of Eastern Europe. As market-based data becomes available from these countries, there is an urgency to test old theories for these modern market-oriented economies. In this article we consider the experiences of Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and the Slovak Republic. Using the bounds testing approach to error-correction modelling and cointegration, we show that money demand is stable in these countries.
Inhibition of MMP-9-dependent Degradation of Gelatin, but Not Other MMP-9 Substrates, by the MMP-9 Hemopexin Domain Blades 1 and 4*

Degradation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) plays important roles in normal development, inflammation, and cancer. MMP-9 efficiently degrades the extracellular matrix component gelatin, and the hemopexin domain of MMP-9 (PEX9) inhibits this degradation. To study the molecular basis of this inhibition, we generated GST fusion proteins containing PEX9 or truncated forms corresponding to specific structural blades (B1–B4) of PEX9. GST-PEX9 inhibited MMP-9-driven gelatin proteolysis, measured by gelatin zymography, FITC-gelatin conversion, and DQ-gelatin degradation assays. However, GST-PEX9 did not prevent the degradation of other MMP-9 substrates, such as a fluorogenic peptide, αB crystalline, or nonmuscular actin. Therefore, PEX9 may inhibit gelatin degradation by shielding gelatin and specifically preventing its binding to MMP-9. Accordingly, GST-PEX9 also abolished the degradation of gelatin by MMP-2, confirming that PEX9 is not an MMP-9 antagonist. Moreover, GST-B4 and, to a lesser extent, GST-B1 also inhibited gelatin degradation by MMP-9, indicating that these regions are responsible for the inhibitory activity of PEX9. Accordingly, ELISAs demonstrated that GST-B4 and GST-B1 specifically bound to gelatin. Our results establish new functions of PEX9 attributed to blades B4 and B1 and should help in designing specific inhibitors of gelatin degradation.
How Mind-Body Practice Works—Integration or Separation?

In this Opinion piece, we take mindfulness as an example of mind-body practice to explore the question of how mind-body practice works based on recent neuroimaging evidence. Mind-body practice encompasses a family of complex practices such as mindfulness meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga, andQi Gong. Of these practices, mindfulness meditation has received themost attention in the field of psychology and neuroscience over the past two decades. In our recent review, we summarize that mindfulness meditation includes three components that interact closely to constitute a process of enhanced self-regulation: enhanced attention control, improved emotion regulation and altered self-awareness. We also pointed out many people use the term “mindfulness,” but often refer to completely different things or ideas (Tang et al., 2015). In the following sections, we provide examples to briefly clarify the fundamental understanding of the mindfulness concept and how mind-body practice works.
Subspace selection using semi-supervised harmonic mean of Kullback-Leibler divergences

In many areas of pattern recognition and machine learning, subspace selection is an essential step. Fisher's linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is one of the most well-known linear subspace selection methods. However, LDA suffers from the class separation problem. The projection to a subspace tends to merge close class pairs. A recent result, named maximizing the geometric mean of Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergences of class pairs (MGMD), can significantly reduce the class separation problem. Furthermore, maximizing the harmonic mean of Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergences of class pairs (MHMD) emphasizes smaller divergences more than MGMD, and deals with the class separation problem more effectively. However, in many applications, labeled data are very limited while unlabeled data can be easily obtained. The estimation of divergences of class pairs is unstable using inadequate labeled data. To take advantage of unlabeled data for subspace selection, semi-supervised MHMD (SSMHMD) is proposed using graph Laplacian as normalization. Quasi-Newton method is adopted to solve the optimization problem. Experiments on synthetic data and real image data show the validity of SSMHMD.