Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Study of the Option Pricing Formula with the Underlying Banned from Short Sell

Short sell bans are often imposed during a financial crisis as a desperate measure to stabilize financial markets. Yet, the impact of short sell bans on option pricing and hedging is not well quantitatively studied until very recently when Guo and Zhu (2017) and He and Zhu (2018) formulated a new pricing framework with the underlying being either completely or partially banned from short selling. However, no empirical results were provided to substantiate the usefulness of the formulae, as well as to deepen our understanding on the effects of short sell bans. This paper provides a comprehensive empirical study on the effects of short sell bans to the standard option pricing theory by carrying out both cross-sectional and options time series model calibration of the model devised by He and Zhu (2018). Overall, our empirical results indicate that the alternative option pricing formula considering short sell restrictions has the ability to capture highly-quoted implied volatility, with an evident improvement of 39% out-of-sample performance compared to the benchmark Black-Scholes model during the period of short sell ban.
Classification of Peroxiredoxin Subfamilies Using Regular Expressions

Peroxiredoxins (Prx's) are a superfamily of peroxidases that are ubiquitous in all super-kingdoms. Previous biochemical and structural studies have suggested that Prx's could be divided into five subfamilies (1-Cys, Typical 2-Cys, Atypical 2-Cys C-, L- and R- types). In this work, we have developed a set of regular expression patterns describing subfamily-specific spatial constraints of the key catalytic residues. Using these patterns, 1,016 Prx's available in public databases were classified into the five subfamilies. Our method performed well for most of the types except for Atypical 2 Cys R type.
Analysis of the Transport Behavior of Escherichia Coli in a Novel Three-Dimensional In Vitro Tumor Model

Analysis of the Transport Behavior of Escherichia Coli in a Novel Three-Dimensional In Vitro Tumor Model by Nelita Trotman Elliott Department of Biomedical Engineering Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Fan Yuan, Supervisor ___________________________ Pedro Gonzalez ___________________________ Claudia Gunsch ___________________________ William Reichert ___________________________ Lingchong You An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Graduate School of Duke University
Perspectives of surface plasmon resonance sensors for optimized biogas methanation

Biogas production is becoming significantly viable as an energy source for replacing fossil‐based fuels. The further development of the biogas production process could lead to significant improvements in its potential. Wastewater treatment currently accounts for 3% of the electrical energy load in developed countries, while it could be developed to provide a source of nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to energy. The improvement of anaerobic digestion (AD) detection technologies is the cornerstone to reach higher methane productivities and develop fully automatized processes to decrease operational costs. New sensors are requested to automatically obtain a better interpretation of the complex and dynamical internal reactor environment. This will require detailed systematic detection in order to realize a near‐optimal production process. In this review, optical fiber‐based sensors will be discussed to assess their potential for use in AD. There is currently a disparity between the complexity of AD, and online detection. By improving the durability, sensitivity, and cost of dissolved H2 (as well as H2S, acetic acid, ammonia, and methane) sensor technology, further understanding of the AD process may allow the prevention of process failure. The emergence of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing with optical fibers coupled with the H2‐sensitive metal palladium, allows detection of dissolved hydrogen in liquid. By implementing these SPR sensors into AD, improvements to the biogas production process, even at small scales, may be achieved by guiding the process in the optimum direction, avoiding the collapse of the biological process. This review intends to assess the feasibility of online, cost‐effective, rapid, and efficient detection of dissolved H2, as well as briefly assessing H2S, acetic acid, ammonia, and methane in AD by SPR.
Genesis and Geography of University–Industry Partnerships in France: When Interpersonal Ties Matter

Some case studies have recently advanced our understanding of university-industry partnerships, showing that the relationships used to form such collaboration are a key factor. However, the weight of interpersonal relationships in the formation of University-industry partnerships remains to be measured more precisely, along with their impact on the geography of partnerships. This paper compiles relational data collected through semi-structured interviews, to identify the interpersonal relationships that impacted the formation of 244 such partnerships. A quantitative treatment reveals that 43% of partnerships were made possible by interpersonal ties, but that only non-professional ties have a significant impact on the geography of partnerships.JEL classification: D71, D85, O31.
IN VITRO EVALUATION OF AFLATOXIN M1 CONTROL POTENTIAL OF SIX ESSENTIAL OILS IN BENIN

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is hepatocarcinogen frequently found in cheese. Its presence in this foodstuff constitutes a serious threat for consumers. The present study had evaluated aflatoxin M1 control potential of six essential oils against synthetic aflatoxin M1. It had consisted to blend Aflatoxin M1 diluted in acetonitrile (1µg/mL) with essential oil to achieve final concentrations of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% of oil and to follow the disintegration of this AFM1 in the meantime of 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 24 hours on silica gel with or without thin layer chromatography assay (TLC). The results obtained revealed that at the concentrations tested, no fluorescence was observed for the mixtures of Aflatoxin M1 with C. zeylanicum, P. racemosa and Syzygium aromaticum essential oils on silica gel without chromatography assay contrary to results obtained for the same mixtures after chromatography assay. The mixture of Cymbopogon citratus showed fluorescence with or without TLC assay. Pure extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Zingiber officinale showed a green fluorescence. In sum, all the essential oils tested didn’t possess capacity to destroy AFM1 at concentrations investigated. Although, these extracts cannot be used for controlling aflatoxin M1, their potentiality for inhibiting production by moulds can be considered.
Control of Peronophythora fruit downy blight of lychee by neutralized phosphorous acid.

Ann, P. J., Tsai. J. N. , and Yang, H. R. 2011. Control of Peronophythora fruit downy blight of lychee by neutralized phosphorous acid. Plant Pathol. Bull. 20: 90-97 Field studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of neutralized phosphorous acid solution (NPA) on the control of fruit downy blight of lychee (Litchi chinensis) caused by Peronophythora litchii during 1999-2003. Trees of lychee, variety ‘Black Leaf’, were sprayed with NPA at 1000 mg/L, 2 or 3 times at 7-day intervals, at the fruit maturing stage and then inoculated with sporangial suspension of P. litchii at 200-500 spores/mL. Matured fruits were harvested and percentage of downy blight fruit was recorded. Results of the 3-year field trials showed that lychee trees sprayed with NPA significantly (P 0.05) reduce the incidence of Peronophythora downy blight of lychee fruits during postharvest stage. These results of field and laboratory experiments indicate that NPA must be applied to lychee plants at fruit development or maturing stage in the fields to induce resistance of lychee fruits against P. litchii and, thereby, reduce downy blight of lychee fruits in the field and at postharvest stage.
Plasticité synaptique dans l’aire tegmentaire ventrale : implication des endocannabinoïdes

The meso-corticolimbic dopamine (DA) system of the brain, originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), is strongly implicated in reward, motivation and drug addiction. Drugs of abuse activate this system and cause significant long term plasticity. DA neurons in the VTA receive are densely innervated by glutamatergic inputs. All major classes of drugs of abuse have been found to cause a long term potentiation (LTP) of glutamate transmission onto DA neurons of the VTA. LTP is an enduring increase of synaptic transmission, hypothesized to underlie memory and learning. Endocannabinoids (ECs) are transmitters that act in a retrograde fashion on presynaptic receptors leading to a decrease in neurotransmitter release. DA neurons can release ECs from their somatodendritic compartment in response to afferent stimulation or depolarization. Neurotensin (NT) is a neuropeptide that presents an extensive interaction with the DA system. It was discovered that NT can induce production of ECs in the striatum. In the first study of this thesis, we used a combination of immunohistochemical, pharmacological and electrophysiological techniques in mouse brain slices to demonstrate that CB1 EC receptors are present on glutamatergic afferents to DA neurons. Their activation induces a depression of glutamate release. We further showed that trains of afferent stimulation induce EC release from DA neurons and that in the presence of the CB1 antagonist AM251, there is a marked facilitation of the induction of LTP, suggesting that ECs produced in response to activation of glutamate synapses normally negatively regulate the induction, but not the expression of LTP. Finally, we found that 2arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is the main EC implicated in this negative regulation of LTP and that LTP induced in the presence of a CB1 receptor antagonist is otherwise also dependent on NMDA glutamate receptors. In the second study, we report that NT is present in a subset of glutamatergic axon terminals in the VTA and that activation of NT receptors by exogenous NT induces a long-
Characterization and mosquito infection of the Tengah isolate of Japanese encephalitis virus

2 Declaration 4 Acknowledgements 5 List of figures 11 List of tables 12 List of abbreviations 13 CHAPTER 1: Overview, literature review and aims 1 1.1 Overview 1 1.2 Literature review 5 1.2. 1 History of JEV 5 1.2. 2 Transmission cycle 9 1.2. 3 Vectors of JEV 10 1.2. 4 Vertebrate hosts 11 1.2. 5 Persistence of JEV in nature 15 1.2. 6 Overwintering mechanisms 16 1.2. 7 Molecular epidemiology of JEV 17 1.2. 8 Viral replication 20 1.2. 9 Phylogenetic variation 21 1.2. 10 Geographic distribution 23 1.2. 11 The emergence and spread of JEV 27 1.2. 12 Factors associated with emergence 27 1.2. 13 JEV vaccines 30 1.2. 14 Potential future trends 30 1.2. 15 Vector competence of Japanese encephalitis virus 32 1.2. 16 Mosquito-borne viruses in Europe 42 1.2. 17 Mosquito-borne viruses in Great Britain 51 1.2. 18 History of mosquito-borne pathogens in the Great Britain 53 1.2. 19 British Mosquitoes 55 1.2. 20 Invasive mosquitoes 57 1.2. 21 Risk of arbovirus introduction into the Great Britain 59
Effect of Certain Factors on Productive and Reproductive Efficiency Traits and Phenotypic Relationships Among These Traits and Repeatabilities in West Anatolian Holsteins

The present investigation was undertaken to study certain factors affecting production efficiency, milk production and reproduction and to estimate the repeatabilities and phenotypic correlations of these traits in Holsteins maintained at different farms in western Anatolia over 3 years (1990 - 1993). The data consisted of 506 first and 232 second lactations of 525 cows. Three production efficiency traits (milk yield per day of lactation length (MYPDLL), milk yield per day of calving interval (MYPDCI) and milk yield per day of age at second calving (MYPDASC)), one production trait (lactation yield (LY)), and one reproduction trait (calving interval (CI)) were studied. The means of MYPDLL, MYPDCI, MYPDASC, LY and CI were 19.04 kg, 15.44 kg, 4.91 kg, 6404.77 kg, and 418.86 days, respectively. The analyses of variance indicated that the effects of the region-year factor were significant (P < 0.05) for all traits, whereas none of the traits was influenced by the parity order. The calving months were significant (P < 0.05) for MYPDASC, LY and CI. Least-squares means illustrated that these traits were lower for summer calvers. Age also had an important effect (P < 0.05) on MYPDLL, MYPDCI and LY. The positive phenotypic correlation (0.55) between milk yield and calving interval suggested that the higher yielding cows had longer calving intervals. Fertility was also severely depressed when the lactation yield was higher than 7000 kg. The repeatabilities for MYPDLL (0.51), MYPDCI (0.41) and LY (0.43) were high, and low for calving interval (0.10).
A Grub(Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis) Rearing Technique Using Cellulose-digesting Bacteria and Natural Recycling of Rearing Byproduct to an Organic Fertilizer

Cellulose-digesting bacteria were isolated from hindgut of Allomyrina dichotoma (Coleoptera: Dynastidae). The bacterial isolates were identified as Yersinia sp. and Bacillus sp. The addition of the identified bacteria to diet increased growth rate of the cetoniid beetle, Protaetia brevitarsis senlensis (Coleoptera: Cetoniidae), probably by digesting cellulose nutrient contained in the oak tree sawdust diet. An additive of wheat flour at more than 10% to the sawdust diet significantly enhanced growth of P. brevitarsis senlensis. Trimmed branches of apple trees have been disposed in the apple farms and could be used for a diet component of the cetoniid beetle when the cellulose-digesting bacteria were mixed with the derived-sawdust. Resulting manure from mass rearing of P. brevitarsis senlensis contained high organic matters and trace amounts of toxic metals. When the manure were splayed on soil, it was effective as a natural compost and significantly stimulated lettuce growth. This research suggests a model technology to use cellulose-digesting bacteria to use for culturing grub, which results in natural recycles of trimmed branches in apple farms as grub diet, and to use grub manure as a natural compost.
The structure and function of hyaluronan-binding proteins in extracellular matrix assembly

﻿ The chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) aggrecan forms link protein-stabilised complexes with hyaluronan (HA), via its N-terminal G1-domain, that provide cartilage with its load bearing properties. Similar aggregates (potentially containing new members of the link protein family), in which other CSPGs (i.e., versican, brevican and neurocan) substitute for aggrecan, may contribute to the structural integrity of many other tissues including skin and brain. In this thesis, cartilage link protein (cLP) and the G1-domains of aggrecan (AG1) and versican (VG1) were expressed in Drosophila S2 cells, purified to homogeneity and functionally characterised. The recombinant human proteins were found to have properties similar to those described for the native molecules. For example cLP formed dimers, and HA decasaccharides (HA 10-mers) were the minimum size that could compete effectively for their binding to polymeric HA. In addition, gel filtration and protein cross-linking/MALDI-TOF peptide fingerprinting showed that cLP and AG1 interact in the absence or presence of HA. Conversely, cLP and VG1 did not bind directly to each other hi solution yet formed ternary complexes with HA24. N -linked glycosylation of VG1 and AG1 was demonstrated to be unnecessary for either HA binding or the formation of ternary complexes. Additionally, the length of HA required to accommodate two G1-domains was found to be significantly larger for aggrecan than versican, which may reflect differences hi the conformation of HA stabilised on binding these proteins. To further investigate protein-HA interactions, fluorescent HA oligosaccharides were prepared and characterised. HA oligosaccharides labelled with the fluorophore 2-aminobenzoic acid (2AA) from four to 40 residues hi length were purified to homogeneity by ion exchange chromatography using a logarithmic gradient. Molecular weight and purity characterisation of HA oligosaccharides was facilitated by 2AA derivitisation since it enhanced signals in MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and improves fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) analysis by avoiding the inverted parabolic migration characteristic of 2-aminoacridone (AMAC) labelled sugars. The small size and shape of the fluorophore maintains the biological activity of the derivatised oligosaccharides, as demonstrated by their ability to compete for polymeric hyaluronan binding to VG1, AG1 and cLP. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay was used to study VG1 binding to 2AA-labelled HA 8-, 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-mers and although no stable VG1 binding was observed to labelled 8-mers, the equilibrium dissociation constant (100 nM) for VG1 with HA 10-mers was estimated from densitometry analysis of the free oligosaccharide. Interactions involving 2AA labelled HA 20-, 30-, and 40-mers with VG1 also displayed positive cooperativity. Therefore, oligosaccharides labelled with 2-aminobenzoic acid are biologically active and show excellent potential as probes in fluorescence-based assays that investigate protein-carbohydrate interactions.
Viticulture integree et bio-organique: synthese de sept ans d'observation

Une parcelle de Chasselas situee a Perroy (Vaud, Suisse) a ete cultivee de 1998 a 2004 selon deux systemes de production: une partie selon les directives de la production integree (PI) et l'autre selon un cahier des charges bio-organique (Bio). Les traitements appliques ont permis une protection satisfaisante du vignoble dans les deux variantes. Les traitements Bio se sont averes toutefois moins efficaces en cas de forte pression d'oidium. Les interventions phytosanitaires Bio ont fait diminuer la densite de l'acarien predateur Typhlodromus pyri, sans toutefois menacer le bon deroulement de la lutte biologique contre les acariens phytophages. Les traitements plus nombreux dans la variante Bio ont necessite davantage de main-d'oeuvre et rencheri le cout de la protection phytosanitaire de 40%. D'un point de vue nutritionnel, peu de differences ont ete observees. Les techniques d'entretien du sol appliquees en culture Bio ont permis de bien gerer la nutrition azotee. Parmi les elements majeurs, seul le potassium a ete moins bien absorbe par la plante dans la variante Bio. Lors des annees seches, le poids des baies a la vendange a ete inferieur dans la variante Bio. Les analyses effectuees sur les mouts n'ont pas montre de differences notables entre les procedes.
Genetic analysis of seed dormancy and seed composition in Arabidopsis thaliana using natural variation

The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has a broad natural distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere therefor many different accessions could be collected from natural populations and are available for experimental analysis. These accessions provide an alternative source of genetic variation that can be used to study the function of genes. The main aim of the work presented in this thesis is to increase the knowledge about the genetic control of seed dormancy. Therefore the natural variation present between two Arabidopsis accessions; Landsberg erecta and Cape Verde Islands has been analysed for this character. This analyses revealed several loci involved in seed dormancy, one of them has been further characterised and fine-mapped. In addition other seed traits that might be related to seed dormancy and germination have been analysed. These traits are seed oligosaccharide content, seed storability and seed phytate and phosphate content.
Influence of autoclave sterilization procedures on the cyclic fatigue resistance of heat-treated nickel-titanium instruments: a systematic review

Objectives This systematic review evaluated the influence of autoclave sterilization procedures on the cyclic fatigue resistance of heat-treated nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments. Materials and Methods A systematic search without restrictions was conducted in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Open Grey. The hand search was also performed in the main endodontic journals. The eligible studies were submitted to the methodological assessment and data extraction. Results From 203 abstracts, a total of 10 articles matched the eligible criteria. After reading the full articles, 2 were excluded because of the absence of the heat-treated instruments in the experimental design and 3 due to the lack of a control group using heat-treated instruments without autoclave sterilization. From the 5 included studies, 1 presented a low risk of bias, 3 presented moderate and 1 high risk. It was observed heterogeneous findings in the included studies, with autoclave sterilization cycles increasing, decreasing or not affecting the cyclic fatigue life of heat-treated NiTi instruments. However, the retrieved studies evaluating the cyclic fatigue resistance of endodontic instruments presented different protocols and assessing outcomes, this variability makes the findings less comparable within and also between groups and preclude the establishment of an unbiased scientific evidence base. Conclusions Considering the little scientific evidence and considerable risk of bias, it is still possible to conclude that autoclave sterilization procedures appear to influence the cyclic fatigue resistance of heat-treated NiTi instruments.