Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Path Independence of Exotic Options and Convergence of Binomial Approximations

The analysis of the convergence of tree methods for pricing barrier and lookback options has been the subject of numerous publications aimed at describing, quantifying and improving the slow and oscillatory convergence in such methods. For barrier and lookback options, we find path-independent options whose price is exactly that of the original path-dependent option. The usual binomial models converge at a speed of order 1=pn to the Black–Scholes price. Our new path-independent approach yields a convergence of order 1=n. Further, we derive a closed-form formula for the coefficient of 1=n in the expansion of the error of our path-independent pricing when the underlying is approximated by the Cox, Ross and Rubinstein (CRR) model. Using this, we obtain a corrected model with a convergence of order n-3=2 to the price of barrier and lookback options in the Black–Scholes model. Our results are supported and illustrated by numerical examples.
Multi-view Clustering with Noisy Views

In real-word applications of multi-view clustering, there may be noisy views, which hurt the performance of multi-view clustering. To address this issue, we propose a novel multi-view clustering method which assigns the noisy views with smaller weights to alleviate the negative effect of the noisy views for better clustering performance. Specifically, we simultaneously learn the kernel k-means clustering structures in each view, the latent consistent clustering structure between views and the weights of views. The noisy views are allowed to have worse kernel k-means performance while have consistent clustering structure by assigning smaller weights. To solve the corresponding optimization problem, we develop an efficient algorithm, which updates partial variables alternatively. Moreover, the convergence of the proposed algorithm is theoretically guaranteed. Comprehensive experiments both on conventional multi-kernel dataset and synthetic noisy multi-kernel dataset demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.
Novel collophorina-like genera and species from Prunus trees and vineyards in Germany

Strains with a yeast-like appearance were frequently collected in two surveys on the biodiversity of fungi in Germany, either associated with necroses in wood of Prunus trees in orchards in Saxony, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg or captured in spore traps mounted on grapevine shoots in a vineyard in Rhineland-Palatinate. The morphology of the strains was reminiscent of the genus Collophorina: all strains produced aseptate conidia on integrated conidiogenous cells directly on hyphae, on discrete phialides, adelophialides and by microcyclic conidiation, while in some strains additionally endoconidia or conidia in conidiomata were observed. Blastn searches with the ITS region placed the strains in the Leotiomycetes close to Collophorina spp. Analyses based on morphological and multi-locus sequence data (LSU, ITS, EF-1α, GAPDH) revealed that the 152 isolates from wood of Prunus spp. belong to five species including C. paarla, C. africana and three new species. A further ten isolates from spore traps belonged to seven new species, of which one was isolated from Prunus wood as well. However, a comparison with both LSU and ITS sequence data of these collophorina-like species with reference sequences from further Leotiomycetes revealed the genus Collophorina to be polyphyletic and the strains to pertain to several genera within the Phacidiales. Collophorina paarla and C. euphorbiae are transferred to the newly erected genera Pallidophorina and Ramoconidiophora, respectively. The new genera Capturomyces, Variabilispora and Vexillomyces are erected to accommodate five new species isolated from spore traps. In total nine species were recognised as new to science and described as Collophorina badensis, C. germanica, C. neorubra, Capturomyces funiculosus, Ca. luteus, Tympanis inflata, Variabilispora flava, Vexillomyces palatinus and V. verruculosus.
Evaluation of Six Phase Encoding Based Susceptibility Distortion Correction Methods for Diffusion MRI

Purpose Susceptibility distortion impacts diffusion MRI data analysis and is typically corrected during preprocessing. Correction strategies involve three classes of methods: registration to a structural image, the use of a fieldmap or the use of images acquired with opposing phase encoding directions. It has been demonstrated that phase encoding based methods outperform the other two classes but unfortunately, the choice of which phase encoding based method to use is still an open question due to the absence of any systematic comparisons. Methods In this paper we quantitatively evaluated six popular phase encoding based methods for correcting susceptibility distortions in diffusion MRI data. We employed a framework that allows for the simulation of realistic diffusion MRI data with susceptibility distortions. We evaluated the ability for methods to correct distortions by comparing the corrected data with the ground truth. We also validated two popular indirect metrics using both simulated data and real data. The two indirect metrics are the difference between the corrected LR and AP data, and the FA standard deviation over the corrected LR, RL, AP and PA data. Results We found that EPIC, HySCO and TOPUP offered better correction than the other three methods. The difference between the corrected LR and AP data provide a good indication of the correction performance. We demonstrated that the FA standard deviation over the corrected LR, RL, AP and PA data gave a different ordering of correction quality than the direct metric. Conclusion We suggest researchers to use EPIC, HySCO and TOPUP for susceptibility distortion correction. We also suggest that indirect metrics must be interpreted cautiously when evaluating methods for correcting susceptibility distortions in diffusion MRI data.
Characterization of the pharmacological effects of digitoxin on lung epithelial cells

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CARDIAC GLYCOSIDES ON LUNG EPITHELIAL CELLS by Hosam Abdelmonaim Elbaz Lung diseases (excluding cancer) account for 9% of all disease related mortalities while lung cancer accounts for 30% of cancer related mortalities. Therapeutic maneuvers, as surgery are usually unfeasible given the extreme vitality of the lung. Developing novel therapeutic alternatives for lung cancer requires a thorough understanding on the lung epithelial cell behavior following exposure to drugs. The goal of this dissertation was to examine how molecular and cellular characteristics, such as morphology and cell viability, of lung cancer cells will be altered upon exposure to digitoxin, a cardiac glycosides (CGs) and a digitoxin synthetic analog. CGs are a large family of chemical compounds found in several plants and animal species and have been applied for treating congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and atrial fibrillation. The study was conducted on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells using several techniques such as different cell proliferation assays, fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, western blotting, and confocal
Research on 3D gesture recognition in virtual maintenance

In the process of virtual maintenance training, in order to achieve more natural human-computer interaction and enable trainees get the best immersion, it is particularly important to recognize 3D gestures in the real environment. By analyzing the development status of today's three-dimensional gesture recognition technology, gesture recognition device Leap Motion Controller is used to collect gestures in virtual maintenance training, and simulation experiments are carried out by SVM and PNN algorithm. The results show that the static gesture recognition rate of both algorithms can reach 100%, but SVM has a higher computing efficiency. The optimized PNN can achieve higher recognition rate for dynamic gestures, and the processing efficiency after PCA processing is higher.
Efficient Processing of Reverse Top-k Dominating Queries

The top-k dominating queries (kDQ) are very useful to the users who hope to select their favorite products. It combines the characteristics of top-k query and skyline query. Although kDQ has been well-studied in the literature, there is, to the best of our knowledge, no prior work on one of the most intuitive and practical types of kDQ, namely, reverse top-k dominating queries (RkDQ), which returns all data points so that the results of their top-k dominating queries contain the query point q. We formalize the RkDQ query and then propose an efficient algorithm for computing RkDQ with some smart pruning heuristics. Extensive experimental results over real and synthetic datasets show that our proposed algorithms are effective and efficient.
Picking the Strawberries out of the Jam: thinking critically about Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis

Educational research has as one of its goals the provision of research evidence to support or change practice and in recent years there has been considerable debate over what constitutes „good evidence‟. Broadly speaking, there has been an increasing focus on research methods which have apparent claims to greater objectivity – such as systematic reviewing and meta-analysis – when compared to the narrative reviews previously more common in the educational research paradigm. This paper draws on our experience of conducting systematic reviews of the impact of thinking skills interventions on learners and teachers for the EPPI-Centre‟s Research Evidence in Education Library (REEL) commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills. It examines the benefits of systematic reviewing for reinforcing the „evidence base‟ and its limitations in terms of providing guidance for new developments. (4866)
Technology Assessment of Molecular Pathology Testing for the Estimation of Prognosis for Common Cancers

Research Review Citation: Sreelatha Meleth, Ph.D., M.S., M.S., M.A., Katherine Reeder-Hayes, M.D., Mahima Ashok, Ph.D., M.S., Robert Clark, Ph.D., William Funkhouser, M.D., Ph.D., Roberta Wines, M.P.H. , Christine Hill, M.P.A. , Ellen Shanahan, M.A., Emily McClure, M.S.P.H. , M.A., Katrina Burson, M.N. , B.S.N. , C.C. R.P., Manny Coker-Schwimmer, M.P.H. , Nikhil Garge, M.S., Daniel E. Jonas, M.D., M.P.H, "Technology Assessment of Molecular Pathology Testing for the Estimation of Prognosis for Common Cancers. " Technology Assessment. (Prepared by the RTI-UNC Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. CANG0212.) Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. May 2014.
Haplotypes of HTRA1 rs1120638, TIMP3 rs9621532, VEGFA rs833068, CFI rs10033900, ERCC6 rs3793784, and KCTD10 rs56209061 Gene Polymorphisms in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Background To determine the impact of HTRA1 rs1120638, TIMP3 rs9621532, VEGFA rs833068, CFI rs10033900, ERCC6 rs3793784, and KCTD10 rs56209061 genotypes on the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the Lithuanian population. Methods A total of 916 subjects were examined: 309 patients with early AMD, 301 patients with exudative AMD, and 306 healthy controls. The genotyping of HTRA1 rs11200638, TIMP3 rs9621532, VEGFA rs833068, CFI rs10033900, ERCC6 rs3793784, and KCTD10 rs56209061 was carried out using the RT-PCR method. Results Our study showed that single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs3793784 and rs11200638 were associated with increased odds of early and exudative AMD, and the variant in KCTD10 (rs56209061) was found to be associated with decreased odds of early and exudative AMD development after adjustments for age and gender in early AMD analysis and after adjustments only for age in exudative AMD. The haplotype containing two minor alleles C-A and the G-A haplotype in rs3793784-rs11200638 were statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of exudative AMD development after adjustment for age, while the G-G haplotype showed a protective role against early and exudative AMD and the haplotype C-G in rs3793784-rs11200638 was associated with a decreased risk only of exudative AMD development. Conclusions Our study identified two markers, rs11200638 and rs3793784, as risk factors for early and exudative AMD, and one marker, rs56209061, as a protective factor for early and exudative AMD development. The haplotypes constructed of rs3793784-rs11200638 were found to be associated with AMD development, as well.
QUALITY DETECTION SYSTEM FOR BANANAS

The issue of food being artificially processed to serve the market’s need is not new. Especially, in a developing country like India, with the low ratio of number of good to bad bananas being sold and constant market competition to make profit, vendors resort to selling artificially ripened bananas. This calls for a system that differentiates between a modified and unmodified banana. Distinguishing a good and bad fruit with mere eyesight is a tough task, even for experts. Our system detects the quality of the fruit through hyper-spectral imaging. The IoT technology serves as a bridge between the information created and analysed. Analysis is done using Machine learning. Keywords— Internet of Things (IoT), Banana Quality, Machine Learning, Hyper-Spectral Imaging
Serum Hs-CRP in elderly women affects the proliferative capacity of human myoblast

Chronic low-grade inflammation is believed to affect muscle regeneration and to contribute to an age-related decline in muscle mass. Levels of circulating cytokines are negatively related to muscle mass in elderly. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of serum of elderly women with different levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein on the proliferative capacity of human myoblasts. A pilot study was also preformed to investigate a possible effect of resistance training on human myoblast proliferative capacity. 16 healthy women (age 65-70 yrs) performed a health assessment with blood samples taken and analyzed for Hs-CRP level. Physical activity level was assessed using accelerometry. Myoblasts were extracted from human muscle biopsy samples from vastus lateralis. 30 000 cells was seeded in 35 mm collagen-coated dish at day 1 (0 hour) and cultured in proliferation media with DMEM, 15% human serum and 2% Ultroser G. At day 4 (96h) the cells were counted for evaluation of population doubling time. Human myoblasts were incubated with serums from each of the 16 women. A pilot study was performed to examine the effects of resistance training on the proliferative capacity of human myoblasts. This was done by using serum from one subject who participated to a supervised resistance training program for 24 weeks. Blood sampling was performed before and after the intervention. Significant associations were found between myoblast DT and serum Hs-CRP level. A relationship was also demonstrated between serum Hs-CRP level and BMI. Using a linear regression analysis it was found that serum Hs-CRP level explained 45 % (p=0.004) of the variability in myoblast DT. A pilot study showed increased strength in 10RM leg extension and leg press with 22% and 46% respectively. The proliferative capacity of myoblast cultured in serum obtained after the training period increased with 2 %. Data from the present study suggest that systemic factors in the biological environment such as the level of inflammation markers (Hs-CRP level) in serum affect the proliferative capacity of muscle cells in old women negatively. higher serum CRP values The present results showed that serum Hs-CRP level was significantly correlated with BMI. A high BMI associated with a high Hs-CRP level has also been confirmed in showing strong association between trunk fat and CRP level
Environmental enteric dysfunction and child stunting

Abstract In 2017, an estimated 1 in every 4 (23%) children aged < 5 years were stunted worldwide. With slow progress in stunting reduction in many regions and the realization that a large proportion of stunting is not due to insufficient diet or diarrhea alone, it remains that other factors must explain continued growth faltering. Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a subclinical state of intestinal inflammation, can occur in infants across the developing world and is proposed as an immediate causal factor connecting poor sanitation and stunting. A result of chronic pathogen exposure, EED presents multiple causal pathways, and as such the scope and sensitivity of traditional water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions have possibly been unsubstantial. Although the definite pathogenesis of EED and the mechanism by which stunting occurs are yet to be defined, this paper reviews the existing literature surrounding the proposed pathology and transmission of EED in infants and considerations for nutrition and WASH interventions to improve linear growth worldwide.
Complete chloroplast genome sequences of an important horticultural orchid: Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum (Orchidaceae)

Abstract Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum is an important ornamental orchid species with great horticultural value. The whole chloroplast genome was assembled using genome skimming data. The total length of the cp genome is 154,569 bp, comprising a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85198 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 683 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 34,344 bp each. The chloroplast genome consists of 125 functional genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 38 tRNA genes. The systematic position of the species was also inferred based on plastid phylogenomic analyses.
Effects of a Non Dairy Cheese Cream Containing Fermented Soybean Extract on Lipid Profile and Lipoproteins in Dyslipidemic Patients

Aim: to evaluate the effects of a non dairy cheese cream containing fermented soybean extract compared to a dairy cheese cream on lipid profile and lipoproteins in dyslipidemic patients. Methods: patients were randomized to take, twice a day on a slice of bread, a non dairy cheese cream, containing fermented soybean extract 75% (Valsoia Lo spalmabile®), or a placebo dairy cheese cream for 3 months, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study design. We evaluated, at baseline and after 3 months: anthropometric parameters, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (Tg), lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)], apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I), apolipoprotein B (Apo B), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP). Results: we did not record any variation of FPG. Total cholesterol, LDL-C and Tg decreased after 3 months with the active treatment, both compared to baseline and placebo (p Conclusions: a non dairy cheese cream, containing fermented soybean extract 75%, better improved lipid profile compared to placebo dairy cheese cream in dyslipidemic patients.
SOIL BACTERIAL BIODIVERSITY IN DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY LOGGEDOVER FOREST TO OIL PALM PLANTATION IN MINERAL SOIL OF BELAGA, SARAWAK

Conversion of forest to oil palm typically results in significant land changes within the soil, for example, extensive damage to the top soil, soil compaction and erosion. Such changes are often related to reductions within the biodiversity and abundance of the soil microbial communities. By using 16S rDNA and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, we investigated the microbial composition between oil palm plantations, at various stages of planting in mineral soil of Belaga, Sarawak in Malaysia, and forest ecosystem (biodiversity strip). Bacterial composition within biodiversity strips of secondary logged-over forests was mostly dominated by unclassified bacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria followed by α-Proteobacteria whereas oil palm management areas were most commonly consisted of unclassified bacteria, Firmicutes, β - Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi. In a newly developed oil palm plantation, pH factor with the addition of fertiliser during land clearing altered the bacteria composition, affecting several phyla especially Acidobacteria, and with increasing pH, the population showed an abundance of Firmicutes, β-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes. Shifts in the bacterial community of the oil palm plantation, especially with the increasing number of the phylum Firmicutes, β-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and the decreasing number of α-Proteobacteria caused by the slight increase of pH values indicated that changes of soil properties introduced by field management ( e.g ., fertiliser application) somehow affects bacterial composition. Nevertheless, the method of intercropping oil palm with black pepper and pineapple, during oil palm aged 4.5 years, showed increasing emergence of minor phyla from Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, Chlamydiae and Cyanobacteria, which contributes to the diverse variations of new phylum to the microbial diversity of the oil palm area indicating this method as a sustainable system for the oil palm management. Overall, there is a need for further research in using sustainable methods such as a suitable intercropping system that can positively improve soil fertility and a balanced long-term usage of biofertilisers and chemical fertilisers, which can enhance the biodiversity of the bacterial community and contributes to the sustainable development of oil palm plantations.
Quality-driven efficiency in healthcare

During the upcoming decades, healthcare organizations face the challenge to deliver more patient care, of higher quality, and with less financial and human resources. The goal of this thesis is to help and guide healthcare professionals making their organizations future-proof. Building on techniques from Operations Research, a subfield of applied mathematics, and focusing on the management of operations, the research presented contributes to a better understanding and functioning of healthcare delivery. The outcomes support decision makers in realizing the best possible use of available resources. The work presented intends to make healthcare professionals more aware of the added value of taking an integral perspective on logistical decision making. First, the problems addressed emphasize the importance of integrality in terms of objectives: healthcare must be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. While the traditional belief is that quality and efficiency always confront each other, we demonstrate that they often can, and must, go hand in hand. Second, the research outcomes show the value of integrality in planning and control: performance is enhanced by aligning long-, medium-, and shortterm decision making and by realizing coordination and collaboration between the various care chain actors. The thesis is organized in six parts. Part I provides a general introduction. Part II provides an overview of the field of resource capacity planning and control in healthcare and a review of the state of the art in Operations Research. It sets up the conceptual framework within which several specific decision problems are studied in the following parts. Part III focuses on facilitating combination appointments during single outpatient visits, and Part IV on multidisciplinary treatments requiring a series of outpatient visits. Part V supports the design and operations of inpatient care services. Part VI builds a theoretical framework to model entire care pathways. In Part III–Part VI, a diversity of operations research techniques (often in combination) is applied: computer simulation, heuristics, Markov processes, mathematical programming, queueing theory, and stochastic Petri nets. Based on the obtained results, in the epilogue we claim that Operations Research can play a key role in addressing the tough logistical challenges healthcare organizations face.