Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating Dependence Structure and Risk of Financial Market Crash

In this paper, we estimate the dependence structure between international stock markets using copulas. Different relationships that exist in normal and extreme periods were estimated using Clayton copula. The Inference Functions for Margins method was used in estimating the clayton copula parameter thereby obtaining dependence estimates used in estimating Value-at-Risk. Extreme events are likely to alter the dependence structure of financial markets.This could have implications for investment decisions and ability to estimate the risk of financial markets crash. Results reveal that during the crisis period (2007-2009), maximum possible loss of market value is 75.9% and 77.6% with a confidence interval of 90% for the Kenya-Nigeria and Kenya-South Africa portfolios respectively. This implies that the Kenya-South Africa portfolio has the highest risk.
Periodontitis as a causative agent for systemic disease of pancreas

In recent years it has been studied that periodontal diseases have a strong correlation with systemic health. The purpose of the present study is to correlate the periodontitis with the pancreatic health. Two hundred sixty subjects were selected for this study and divided in control and chronic periodontitis. Amylase, lipase, glucose, cholesterol, sodium, potassium and calcium level were measured in serum of all subjects. Significant changes were observed in amylase, glucose, cholesterol and calcium levels in periodontitis subjects.
Particle formation and growth at five rural and urban sites

Abstract. Ultrafine particle (UFP) number and size distributions were simultaneously measured at five urban and rural sites during the summer of 2007 in Ontario, Canada as part of the Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study (BAQS-Met 2007). Particle formation and growth events at these five sites were classified based on their strength and persistence as well as the variation in geometric mean diameter. Regional nucleation and growth events and local short-lived strong nucleation events were frequently observed at the near-border rural sites, upwind of industrial sources. Surprisingly, the particle number concentrations at one of these sites were higher than the concentrations at a downtown site in a major city, despite its high traffic density. Regional nucleation and growth events were favored during intense solar irradiance and in less polluted cooler drier air. The most distinctive regional particle nucleation and growth event during the campaign was observed simultaneously at all five sites, which were up to 350 km apart. Although the ultrafine particle concentrations and size distributions generally were spatially heterogeneous across the region, a more uniform spatial distribution of UFP across the five areas was observed during this regional nucleation event. Thus, nucleation events can cover large regions, contributing to the burden of UFP in cities and potentially to the associated health impacts on urban populations. Local short-lived nucleation events at the three near-border sites during this summer three-week campaign were associated with high SO2, which likely originated from US and Canadian industrial sources. Hence, particle formation in southwestern Ontario appears to often be related to anthropogenic gaseous emissions but biogenic emissions at times also contribute. Longer-term studies are needed to help resolve the relative contributions of anthropogenic and biogenic emissions to nucleation and growth in this region.
Automatic subbottom characterization based on visual features

The ocean subbottom characterization is based mainly on the processing of a received echo from a sonar based equipment. This signal is further analysed by a geologist in order to visually characterize the sediment type. No automatic processing is actually implemented and, therefore, the classification process is difficult and time consuming. In this article we propose a semiautomatic classification based in pseudoimages created from the acoustic signals. An a priori classification of sediments based on their visual artifacts is made. Two main features are extracted and used as inputs for a subbottom classifier. Experimental data and results as well as further improvements are presented.
Seasonal and interannual variability of sea‐surface carbon dioxide species at the European Station for Time Series in the Ocean at the Canary Islands (ESTOC) between 1996 and 2000

Seasonal patterns in hydrography, partial pressure of CO2, fCO2, pHt, total alkalinity, AT, total dissolved inorganic carbon, CT, nutrients, and chlorophyll a were measured in surface waters on monthly cruises at the European Station for Time Series in the Ocean at the Canary Islands (ESTOC) located in the northeast Atlantic subtropical gyre. With over 5 years of oceanographic data starting in 1996, seasonal and interannual trends of CO2 species and air‐sea exchange of CO2 were determined. Net CO2 fluxes show this area acts as a minor source of CO2, with an average outgassing value of 179 mmol CO2 m−2 yr−1 controlled by the dominant trade winds blowing from May to August. The effect of short‐term wind variability on the CO2 flux has been addressed by increasing air‐sea fluxes by 63% for 6‐hourly sampling frequency. The processes governing the monthly variations of CT have been determined. From March to October, when CT decreases, mixing at the base of the mixed layer (11.5 ± 1.5 mmol m−3) is compensated by air‐sea exchange, and a net organic production of 25.5 ± 5.7 mmol m−3 is estimated. On an annual scale, biological drawdown accounts for the decrease in inorganic carbon from March to October, while mixing processes control the CT increase from October to the end of autumn. After removing seasonality variability, fCO2sw increases at a rate of 0.71 ± 5.1 μatm yr−1, and as a response to the atmospheric trend, inorganic carbon increases at a rate of 0.39 ± 1.6 μmol kg−1 yr−1.
Osteology of the Middle Triassic archosaur Lewisuchus admixtus Romer (Chañares Formation, Argentina), its inclusivity, and relationships amongst early dinosauromorphs

Lewisuchus admixtus is an enigmatic early dinosauriform from the Chañares Formation, Ladinian of Argentina, which has been recently considered a member of Silesauridae. Yet, it differs markedly from Late Triassic silesaurids in dental and vertebral anatomy. Indeed, a detailed redescription of its holotype allowed the identification of several features of the skeleton previously unrecognized amongst silesaurids. These include pterygoid teeth, a dorsomedial posttemporal opening on the otoccipital, foramina associated with cranial nerves X–XII on the caudal region of the prootic–otoccipital, and postaxial neck/trunk vertebrae with craniocaudally expanded neural spines. The presence of a single row of presacral scutes was also confirmed. Some elements previously referred to, or found associated with, the holotype, including a lower jaw, pedal elements and an astragalus, more probably correspond to proterochampsid remains. The anatomical information available for the holotype of L. admixtus was rescored into a new phylogenetic dataset for dinosauromorphs, mostly based on previous works. Lewisuchus admixtus and Pseudolagosuchus major are treated as distinct OTUs because their preserved skeletons mostly lack overlapping parts. The parsimony analysis supports the basal position of L. admixtus within dinosauriforms, prior to the silesaurid–dinosaur split, rather than at the base of Silesauridae. This suggests that a higher number of early dinosauriform clades branched in the Middle and Late Triassic than previously suggested.
Broad Money Demand and Financial Liberalization in Malaysia: An Application of the Nonlinear Learning Function and Error-Correction Models

This paper attempts to model the effects of financial liberalization and innovations on the demand for broad money in Malaysia. The nonlinear learning function and error-correction mechanism model were utilized. The results of encompassing tests and dynamic (ex post) simulation confirm the error-correction as the parsimonious specification. The augmented error-correction model with nonlinear interacted variables is unable to detect the effects of financial liberalization on Malaysian broad money demand.
The impact of ruminative and mindful modes of self-focus on prospective memory

There is a substantial body of literature documenting the susceptibility of retrospective memory to negative emotional influences. By contrast, despite the ubiquity of prospective memory (Burgess, Quayle & Frith, 2001), very little is known about how this cognitive ability to execute previously formed intentions interacts with enduring emotional states. The present study set out to investigate the impact of ruminative and mindful modes of self-focus on prospective memory. The Ruminative Response Scale (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer & Toney, 2006) were opportunistically administered to 165 healthy volunteers. Of these, 16 men and 81 women aged between 18 and 64 years (median age: 18-24 years) completed the questionnaires. Respondents scoring above one standard deviation of the respective scales were invited back for a computer-based prospective memory experiment (mindful group n=9, rumination group n=10) comprising both a time-based task and an event-based task. The results did not reveal any significant differences in prospective memory performance between the two groups. Explanations for the lack of effect are offered with reference to the Resource Allocation Model (Ellis & Ashbrook, 1988), the cognitive-initiative framework of depression (Hertel, 2000) and the Multiprocess Framework (McDaniel and Einstein, 2000).
Institutions and Economic Performance: Cross-Country Tests Using Alternative Institutional Indicators

This paper compares more direct measures of the institutional environment with both the instability proxies used by Barro (1991) and the Gastil indices, by comparing their effects both on growth and private investment. The results provide substantial support for the position that the institutional roots of growth and convergence are significant. The marked improvement that these new variables represent over existing proxies also suggests that there are substantial returns to future research into variables that reflect the security of property rights and the efficiency with which states determine economic policies and allocate public goods.
How the First Stars Regulated Star Formation. II. Enrichment by Nearby Supernovae

Metals from Population III (Pop III) supernovae led to the formation of less massive Pop II stars in the early universe, altering the course of evolution of primeval galaxies and cosmological reionization. There are a variety of scenarios in which heavy elements from the first supernovae were taken up into second-generation stars, but cosmological simulations only model them on the largest scales. We present small-scale, high-resolution simulations of the chemical enrichment of a primordial halo by a nearby supernova after partial evaporation by the progenitor star. We find that ejecta from the explosion crash into and mix violently with ablative flows driven off the halo by the star, creating dense, enriched clumps capable of collapsing into Pop II stars. Metals may mix less efficiently with the partially exposed core of the halo, so it might form either Pop III or Pop II stars. Both Pop II and III stars may thus form after the collision if the ejecta do not strip all the gas from the halo. The partial evaporation of the halo prior to the explosion is crucial to its later enrichment by the supernova.
Examining the Modes Malware Suppliers Use to Provide Goods and Services

Malware suppliers use various modes to provide goods and services to customers. By mode, we mean “the way” the malware supplier chooses to function. These modes increase monetization opportunities and enable many security breaches worldwide. A theoretically sound framework that can be used to examine the various modes that malware suppliers use to produce and sell malware is needed. We apply a general model specified recently by Hagiu and Wright to study five modes that malware suppliers use to deliver goods and services to their customers. The framework presented in this article can be used to predict the mode in which a malware supplier will function; to study which types of malware suppliers, agents, and customers are attracted to each mode; to discover new modes; and to better understand the threat a malware supplier presents.
Entrepreneurial human capital

We argue that formal schooling and wage-work experience are complementary types of human capital for entrepreneurs. Strong empirical support is found for this hypothesis as the interaction term between schooling and actual wage-work experience enters positively and significantly in a Mincer equation, whereas the effect of schooling in the absence of wage-work experience is insignificant. These results are extremely robust towards more flexible specifications, including fixed-effects estimations dealing with unobserved heterogeneity. For wage workers, the interaction term is negligible, confirming that the complementarity is a distinct characteristic of entrepreneurial human capital.
Aluminum-4 mass%Copper/Alumina Composites Produced from Aluminum Copper and Rice Husk Ash Silica Powders by Powder Forging

This research demonstrated simple but effective process to produce Al-4 mass%Cu/Al2O3 composites, by powder metallurgy method. The starting powders were aluminum, copper, and rice husk ash silica. Processing was by sintering at 650°C for 3.6 ks, hot forging of sintered billet at 600°C under 660 MPa pressure, followed by heat treatment. Hot forging of sintered billet induced plastic deformation of the matrix as well as fractured the porous silica, thus created ultimate contact between the two phases. The following heat treatment produced alumina, which was the reinforcement phase, by chemical reaction between fractured rice husk ash silica and aluminum matrix. The fabricated composite contained γ- and κ-alumina, and elemental silicon in matrix of aluminum solid solution. Addition of copper facilitated sintering by formation of liquid phase, as well as yielding a matrix material which can be strengthened by precipitation hardening. Maximum hardness obtained was 44 HRA, for composite material using 15 vol% rice hush ash silica. Peak hardness of the matrix was in range of 130–136 HV, after aging for 28.8 to 43.2 ks.
Secure Dynamic Resource Provisioning Cost by Optimized Placement of Virtual Machines in Cloud Computing

- Cloud computing provides pay-as-you-go computing resources and accessing services are offered from data centers all over the world as the cloud. Consumers may find that cloud computing allows them to reduce the cost of information management as they are not required to own their servers and can use capacity leased from third parties or cloud service providers. Cloud consumers can successfully reduce total cost of resource provisioning using Optimal Cloud Resource Provisioning (OCRP) algorithm in cloud computing environment. The two provisioning plans are reservation and on-demand, used for computing resources which is offered by cloud providers to cloud consumers. The cost of utilizing computing resources provisioned by reservation plan is cheaper than that provisioned by on-demand plan, since a cloud consumer has to pay to provider in advance. This project proposes that the OCRP algorithm associated with rule based resource manager technique is used to increase the scalability of cloud on-demand services by dynamic placement of virtual machines to reduce the cost and also endow with secure accessing of resources from data centers and parameters like virtualized platforms, data or service management are monitored in the cloud environment.
Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of BisGMA/Amine Functionalized Paper Pulp Composites

Due to the growing environmental awareness, societal concern and new environmental regulations, attention is currently being focused on natural fiber or “green” composites, composed of natural or synthetic resins and reinforced with natural fibers. Thus the present work aims at the fabrication of BisGMA (Bisphenol-A glycidyldimethacrylate) and randomly oriented amine functionalized paper pulp (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt %) composites which are environmentally friendly. The mechanical properties of composites like Tensile Strength, Elongation at Break and Impact strength have been determined. Reinforcement of BisGMA by amine functionalized paper pulp resulted in a significant increase in all the above mentioned mechanical properties. Water absorption capacity of the composites is very low (0-1%) and composites are non corroded in saline environment. From the study of various mechanical, water absorption and corrosion properties, it can be concluded that the composites can be used in structural and automotive industries.
Evaluation of toxicity after periocular and intravitreal administration of carboplatin in rabbit eyes

The aim of this study was to characterize the extent of toxicity of focal carboplatin administration and to identify the dose limiting toxicity in rabbit eyes depending on administered concentrations. New Zealand white male rabbits (n = 18) were treated with 1 of 3 regimens: a single periocular injection of 15 mg of carboplatin (group I), a single periocular injection of 30 mg of carboplatin (group II) and a single transcorneal intravitreal injection of 0.05 mg of carboplatin (group III). Ophthalmologic examinations and vitreous samplings were performed under dissociative anaesthesia at regular intervals during next 2 (groups I and III) or 3 (group II) weeks. Carboplatin concentrations in vitreous samples were assessed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. At the end of experiments, all rabbit eyes were obtained for histopathologic examination. Clinical and histological evidence of toxicity was graded into four grades according to anatomical structures of the rabbit eye. The dose limiting toxicity was reached in group II after periocular injection of 30 mg of carboplatin and in group III after intravitreal injection of 0.05 mg of carboplatin. No systemic toxicity was observed in any group. Focal carboplatin administration may decrease systemic exposure to this cytotoxic drug in the retinoblastoma treatment. This moreover suggests that focal carboplatin administration is a promising approach and challenge for advanced retinoblastoma chemotherapy.
On the real quadratic fields with certain continued fraction expansions and fundamental units

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the real quadratic number fields Q( √ d) which contain the specific form of the continued fractions expansions of integral basis element where d ≡ 2, 3(mod4) is a square free positive integer. Besides, the present paper deals with determining the fundamental unit d = ( td + ud √ d ) /2 〉 1 and nd and md Yokoi’s d-invariants by reference to continued fraction expansion of integral basis element where ` (d) is a period length. Moreover, we mention class number for such fields. Also, we give some numerical results concluded in the tables.
Advanced Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods for sampling on diffusion pathspace

The need to calibrate increasingly complex statistical models requires a persistent effort for further advances on available, computationally intensive MonteCarlo methods. We study here an advanced version of familiar Markov-chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) algorithms that sample from target distributions defined as change of measures from Gaussian laws on general Hilbert spaces. Such a model structure arises in several contexts: we focus here at the important class of statistical models driven by diffusion paths whence the Wiener process constitutes the reference Gaussian law. Particular emphasis is given on advanced Hybrid Monte-Carlo (HMC) which makes large, derivative-driven steps in the state space (in contrast with local-move Random-walk-type algorithms) with analytical and experimental results. We illustrate it’s computational advantages in various diffusion processes and observation regimes; examples include stochastic volatility and latent survival models. In contrast with their standard MCMC counterparts, the advanced versions have mesh-free mixing times, as these will not deteriorate upon refinement of the approximation of the inherently infinite-dimensional diffusion paths by finite-dimensional ones used in practice when applying the algorithms on a computer.
Effects of equalizing currents on electromagnetic forces of whirling cage rotor

The electromagnetic force acts between the rotor and stator of an induction motor, when the rotor is performing cylindrical circular whirling motion with respect to the stator. The nonsymmetric flux distribution due to the eccentricity induces circulating currents in the rotor cage and parallel branches of the stator winding. These currents tend to equalize the flux distribution, and by doing this, reduce the electromagnetic force and change the direction of the force from the direction of the shortest air gap. Impulse method is utilized in the finite element analysis to calculate the frequency response of the force and the eccentricity harmonics of the flux density in the air gap and the circulating currents. The frequency responses were calculated for the test motors with different stator connections and with and without rotor cage. The frequency response function of the force is calculated for two induction motors with different geometry, one with open and another one with closed rotor slots. The results show that the equalizing currents in both parallel branches in the stator winding and rotor cage damp strongly the amplitude of the force. The damping effects depend on the whirling frequency, loading condition and the geometry of the machine.
Morphological characters of Chaetoceros lorenzianus (Bacillariophyceae) isolated from North Arabian Sea after Tasman Spirit oil spill

The present study investigated the morphology and taxonomy of marine centric diatom Chaetoceros lorenzianus from Karachi Harbor, Pakistan for the first time for the first time during the incident of Tasman Spirit Oil Spill (2003) in the area. Phytoplankton samples were collected from 5 different locations from the study area. Chaetoceros lorenzianus was found only at one station collected after Tasman Spirit Oil Spill. Moreover morphometric measurements of present record showed narrow range as compared to the records investigated by other workers.
EMPIRICALLY ANALYZING THE "FIVE PERCENT RULE OF MATERIALITY" IN FINANCIAL REPORTING DECISIONS

This study analyzes a sample of financial restatements from 2011 and 2012 as a way to assess a proposed “five percent rule of materiality” for financial reporting decisions. Such a rule claims the average investor is only influenced by income restatements greater than five percent. Market reactions are observed through stock price, volume, and bid-ask spread following the restatement in the Form 10-K/A. The study finds only some firms restating net income by more than five percent experience statistically significant reactions in two of these metrics. The study also suggests percent change in net income is a significant driver of percent change in the three metrics via a regression analysis.