Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Game option models of convertible bonds: Determinants of call policies

The interaction of bondholder's conversion and issuer's call in a convertible bond leads to a game option model between the two counterparties. Like typical pricing models for corporate debts, the fair value of a convertible bond is highly dependent on issuer's credit risk, tax benefits of coupons and other structural features. The convertible bond pricing models in the literature can be categorized into two approaches: (i) structural firm value models that incorporate dilution effect in the issuer firm's corporate structure upon conversion; and (ii) reduced form models that price convertible bonds based on calibration with market liquid instruments. We review and comment on various pricing formulations of convertible bonds and effectiveness of different numerical schemes for solving the associated optimal stopping problems. Empirical studies on issuers' optimal call policies have revealed discrepancies between the optimal decision rule derived from pricing models and actual market practices. The more refined model formulation of a convertible bond should include corporate finance considerations in the determination of the optimal call policies.
Potentials and Limitations of Real-Time Elastography for Prostate Cancer Detection: A Whole-Mount Step Section Analysis

Objectives. To evaluate prostate cancer (PCa) detection rates of real-time elastography (RTE) in dependence of tumor size, tumor volume, localization and histological type. Materials and Methods. Thirdy-nine patients with biopsy proven PCa underwent RTE before radical prostatectomy (RPE) to assess prostate tissue elasticity, and hard lesions were considered suspicious for PCa. After RPE, the prostates were prepared as whole-mount step sections and were compared with imaging findings for analyzing PCa detection rates. Results. RTE detected 6/62 cancer lesions with a maximum diameter of 0–5 mm (9.7%), 10/37 with a maximum diameter of 6–10 mm (27%), 24/34 with a maximum diameter of 11–20 20 mm (70.6%), 14/14 with a maximum diameter of >20 mm (100%) and 40/48 with a volume ≥0.2 cm3 (83.3%). Regarding cancer lesions with a volume ≥ 0.2 cm³ there was a significant difference in PCa detection rates between Gleason scores with predominant Gleason pattern 3 compared to those with predominant Gleason pattern 4 or 5 (75% versus 100%; P = 0.028). Conclusions. RTE is able to detect PCa of significant tumor volume and of predominant Gleason pattern 4 or 5 with high confidence, but is of limited value in the detection of small cancer lesions.
Upper-Extremity Stroke Therapy Task Discrimination Using Motion Sensors and Electromyography

Brain injury resulting from stroke often causes upper-extremity motor deficits that limit activities of daily living. Several therapies being developed for motor rehabilitation after stroke focus on increasing time spent using the extremity to promote motor relearning. Providing a novel system for user-worn therapy may increase the amount and rate of functional motor recovery. A user-worn system comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, and electromyography amplifiers was used to wirelessly transmit motion and muscle activity from normal and stroke subjects to a computer as they completed five upper-extremity rehabilitation tasks. An algorithm was developed to automatically detect the therapy task a subject performed based on the gyroscope and electromyography data. The system classified which task a subject was attempting to perform with greater than 80% accuracy despite the fact that those with severe impairment produced movements that did not resemble the goal tasks and were visually indistinguishable from different tasks. This developed system could potentially be used for home-therapy compliance monitoring, real-time patient feedback and to control therapy interventions.
The lawful perception of apparent motion Perceptual

Visual apparent motion is the experience of motion from the successive stimulation of separate spatial locations. How spatial and temporal distances interact to determine the strength of apparent motion has been controversial. Some studies report space–time coupling: If we increase spatial or temporal distance between successive stimuli, we must also increase the other distance between them to maintain a constant strength of apparent motion (Korte’s third law of motion). Other studies report space–time tradeoff: If we increase one of these distances, we must decrease the other to maintain a constant strength of apparent motion. In this article, we resolve the controversy. Starting from a normative theory of motion measurement and data on human spatiotemporal sensitivity, we conjecture that both coupling and tradeoff should occur, but at different speeds. We confirm the prediction in two experiments, using suprathreshold multistable apparent-motion displays called motion lattices. Our results show a smooth transition between the tradeoff and coupling as a function of speed: Tradeoff occurs at low speeds and coupling occurs at high speeds. From our data, we reconstruct the suprathreshold equivalence contours that are analogous to isosensitivity contours obtained at the threshold of visibility.
American Meteorological Society Monthly Weather Review Early Online Release Mixed Layer Cooling in Mesoscale Oceanic Eddies during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

This is a preliminary PDF of the author-produced manuscript that has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. Since it is being posted so soon after acceptance, it has not yet been copyedited, formatted, or processed by AMS Publications. This preliminary version of the manuscript may be downloaded, distributed, and cited, but please be aware that there will be visual differences and possibly some content differences between this version and the final published version. 2 ABSTRACT During favorable atmospheric conditions, hurricanes Katrina and Rita deepened to category 5 over the Loop Current's (LC) bulge associated with an amplifying warm core eddy. Both hurricanes subsequently weakened to category 3 after passing over a cold core eddy (CCE) prior to making landfall. Reduced (increased) oceanic mixed layer (OML) cooling of ~1 o C (4.5 o C) was observed over the LC (CCE) where the storms rapidly deepened (weakened). Data acquired during and subsequent to the passage of both hurricanes indicate that the modulated velocity response in these geostrophic features was responsible for the contrasts in the upper ocean cooling levels. For similar wind forcing, the OML velocity response was about two times larger inside the CCE that interacted with Katrina than in the LC region affected by Rita, depending on the pre-storm OML thickness. Hurricane-induced upwelling and vertical mixing were increased (reduced) in the CCE (LC). Less wind-driven kinetic energy was available to increase vertical shears for entrainment cooling in the LC, as the OML current response was weaker and energy was largely radiated into the thermocline. Estimates of downward vertical radiation of near-inertial wave energies were significantly stronger in the LC (12.1×10-2 W m-2) compared to that in the CCE (1.8×10-2 W m-2). Katrina and Rita winds provided O(10 10) W to the global internal wave power. The vertical mixing induced by both storms was confined to the surface water mass. From a broader perspective, models must capture oceanic features to reproduce the differentiated hurricane-induced OML cooling to improve hurricane intensity forecasting.
Applying Person‐Environment Fit Theory to Identify Personality Differences between Prospective Social and Commercial Entrepreneurs: An Explorative Study

Research has started to investigate personality traits of social entrepreneurs because such traits in commercial entrepreneurs have been found to affect new venture creation/success. In this exploratory study, we apply the person‐environment fit theory and analyze specific social entrepreneurial personality dimensions (i.e., altruism, empathic concern, personal distress, compassion), and classical entrepreneurial personality dimensions (i.e., need for achievement (nAch), entrepreneurial self‐efficacy (ESE), general self‐efficacy, risk‐taking propensity) to identify differences between prospective social and commercial entrepreneurs. Using a sample of 85 prospective entrepreneurs, results show that prospective social entrepreneurs differ from prospective commercial entrepreneurs in the personality dimensions of personal distress, nAch, ESE, and risk‐taking propensity.
A dynamical systems analysis of assisted and unassisted anterior and posterior hand-held load carriage

Load carriage is recognised as a primary occupational factor leading to slip and fall injuries, and therefore assessing balance maintenance during such tasks is critical in assessing injury risk. Ten males completed 55 strides under five carriage conditions: (1) unassisted anterior, (2) unassisted posterior, (3) assisted anterior, (4) assisted posterior and (5) unloaded gait (UG). Kinematic data were recorded from markers affixed to landmarks on the right side of each participant, in order to calculate segment angles for the foot, shank, thigh and pelvis. Continuous relative phase (CRP) variability was calculated for each segment pair and local dynamic stability was calculated for each segment in all three movement planes. In general, irrespective of the assistive device or movement plane, anterior load carriage was most stable (lower CRP variability and maximum finite-time Lyapunov exponents). Moreover, load carriage was less dynamically stable than UG, displaying the importance of objectively investigating safe load carriage practices. Practitioner Summary: Dynamical systems analyses were used to comprehensively evaluate the stability of various hand-held load carriage methods. In general, anterior load carriage was significantly more stable than posterior load carriage, Mover's assistive device had small but beneficial effects on stability, and load carriage was less stable than UG.
We Are the 5%

This article uses data from California to analyze the results of the proposed accountability system in the Senate’s Harkin-Enzi draft Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization. The authors analyze existing statewide school-level data from California, applying the accountability criteria proposed in the draft law. Comparing the proposed system to the No Child Left Behind Act’s Adequate Yearly Progress provisions, they draw conclusions about the stability of the proposed identification schemes and the types of schools likely to be identified. They conclude with several policy recommendations that could be easily incorporated into the law, based on their analysis and the existing literature.
Simultaneously deepening corporatism and advancing neoliberalism: Australia under the Accord

Given recent calls for a new social contract between the unions and government, it is timely to consider the relationship of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) prices and incomes Accord (1983–97) to the construction of neoliberalism in Australia. Contrary to most scholarly accounts, which posit the ALP and ACTU prices and incomes Accord and neoliberalism as exogenously related or competing processes, this article argues they were internally related aspects of economic transformation. The implementation of the Accord agreement deepened Australia’s existing corporatist arrangements while simultaneously advancing neoliberalism within a highly structured political-economic framework.
Preamble Design for Non-Contiguous Spectrum Usage in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radios can significantly improve spectrum efficiency by using locally available spectrum. The efficiency, however, depends heavily on their transceiver design. In particular, being able to use non-contiguously aligned spectrum bands simultaneously is a critical requirement. Prior work in this area requires a control channel so that transmitter/receiver pairs can synchronize on their spectrum usage patterns. However, this approach can suffer from high cost and control congestion. In this paper, we propose an in-band solution for informing receivers the spectrum usage patterns. By judiciously designing packet preambles, we embed the spectrum usage patterns in each data packet. Using the legacy 802.11 preamble structure, we focus on choosing the appropriate preamble sequences to maintain reliable packet detection in the presence of noise and interference. We verify our design using simulation and show that it can lead to reliable packet transmissions comparable to those of contiguous spectrum usage. We also identify the impact of interference on our design and propose refinements to choose the preamble sequence using information on the interference.
Antibodies to Inhibitory Synaptic Proteins in Neurological Syndromes Associated with Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Autoimmunity

Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-ab) associate to different neurological syndromes. It is unknown if the diversity in syndrome association represents epitopes in different immunodominant domains or co-existence of antibodies to other proteins of the inhibitory synapsis. We examined the serum and CSF of 106 patients with anti-GAD related syndromes (39 cerebellar ataxia, 32 stiff-person syndrome [SPS], 18 epilepsy, and 17 limbic encephalitis [LE]). GAD65-ab titres were quantified by ELISA. Immunoblot was used to determine if the antibody-targeted epitopes of GAD65 and GAD67 were linear. A cell-based assay (CBA) with HEK293 cells expressing the GAD65 N-terminal, central catalytic domain, or C-terminal was used to investigate the immunodominant domains. Antibodies to GAD67, gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAaR), glycine receptor (GlyR), GABAaR-associated protein (GABARAP), and gephyrin were determined with CBA. GAD-ab internalization was investigated using cultured rat hippocampal neurons. CSF GAD65-ab titres were higher in patients with cerebellar ataxia and LE compared to those with SPS (p = 0.02). GAD67-ab were identified in 81% of sera and 100% of CSF. GAD65-ab recognized linear epitopes in 98% of the patients and GAD67-ab in 42% (p<0.001). The GAD65 catalytic domain was recognized by 93% of sera, and the three domains by 22% of sera and 74% of CSF (p<0.001). Six patients had GABAaR-ab and another 6 had GlyR-ab without association to distinctive symptoms. None of the patients had gephyrin- or GABARAP-ab. GAD65-ab were not internalized by live neurons. Overall, these findings show that regardless of the neurological syndrome, the CSF immune response against GAD is more widespread than that of the serum and that there is no specific association between clinical phenotype and the presence of antibodies against other proteins of the inhibitory synapsis.
ISCSI-based data protection system for virtual machine

Virtual Machine (VM) has been commonly used in the software testing environments. Since this environments are unstable, we propose the ISCSI-Based Protection System to ensure the high availability of VM, which can recover the damaged VM files to the past state. Our system is carried out at block level on standard ISCSI protocol and snapshot. Using CDC (content-defined chunking) de-duplication, we improve the utilization rate of space. Specially, we enhance the flexibility of managing disks with LVM (Logical Volume Manager). Through running a variety of VMs with different configurations, we demonstrate that the VM can be recovered quickly and we also reduce the storage space effectively. Furthermore, making use of ISCSI achieves stable and no distance limitation remote storage without too much investment.
Intelligent Gaurds against Disaster Prepared Smart Environment using MSP430 Microcontroller

Recent years have tremendous advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) implied in infrastructures for disaster management. Sensor networks and web services interoperable provides alert and warning systems at emergencies. Even though people in technically advanced regions remains ill prepared. The broader spectrum of devices and services makes smart and intelligent environment provides comfort and convenience, safety from intruders, and enhancing our environment for disaster preparedness. The standard-based cyber physical devices are the application system that help to minimize loss of lives and damage to property and enables social connectivity but little or nothing to help us to improve our readiness against killer tornados, major earthquakes, and landslides, floods and so on. Such devices and systems performing predict, detect & alert
A study on the performance, power consumption tradeoffs of short frame turbo decoder design

Protecting short frames using turbo coding is a challenging task because of the small interleave size and the need for transmission efficiency. We explore possible trade-off between power consumption (estimated by the average number of iterations) and performance of turbo decoders when short frame turbo codes are used. Three encoding/decoding schemes are proposed to improve performance of turbo decoder in terms of frame/bit error rate, and to increase the data transmission efficiency whether ARQ protocols are performed or not. Specifically, turbo decoding metrics aided short CRC codes are applied to terminated trellis codes, tail-biting encoded trellis codes and CRC embedded trellis codes with a two-fold purpose: to stop the iterative decoding processes and to detect decoding errors at the last iteration. We show that significant coding gains can be achieved by actually increasing the coding rate with negligible increase in power consumption. Performance improvement is demonstrated over both AWGN and Rayleigh flat fading channels.
A methodological framework for Monte Carlo probabilistic inference for diffusion processes

The methodological framework developed and reviewed in this article concerns the unbiased Monte Carlo estimation of the transition density of a diffusion process, and the exact simulation of diffusion processes. The former relates to auxiliary variable methods, and it builds on a rich generic Monte Carlo machinery of unbiased estimation and simulation of infinite series expansions which relates to techniques used in diverse scientific areas such as population genetics and operational research. The latter is a recent significant advance in the numerics for diffusions, it is based on the so-called Wiener-Poisson factorization of the diffusion measure, and it has interesting connections to exact simulation of killing times for the Brownian motion and interacting particle systems, which are uncovered in this article. A concrete application to probabilistic inference for diffusion processes is presented by considering the continuous-discrete non-linear filtering problem.
Normalizing web product attributes and discovering domain ontology with minimal effort

We have developed a framework aiming at normalizing product attributes from Web pages collected from different Web sites without the need of labeled training examples. It can deal with pages composed of different layout format and content in an unsupervised manner. As a result, it can handle a variety of different domains with minimal effort. Our model is based on a generative probabilistic graphical model incorporated with Hidden Markov Models (HMM) considering both attribute names and attribute values to extract and normalize text fragments from Web pages in a unified manner. Dirichlet Process is employed to handle the unlimited number of attributes in a domain. An unsupervised inference method is proposed to predict the unobservable variables. We have also developed a method to automatically construct a domain ontology using the normalized product attributes which are the output of the inference on the graphical model. We have conducted extensive experiments and compared with existing works using prouct Web pages collected from real-world Web sites in three different domains to demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework.
Educational Inequalities in Acute Myocardial Infarction Incidence in Norway: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Background Increasing differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality across levels of education have been reported in Norway. The aim of the study was to investigate educational inequalities in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) incidence and whether such inequalities have changed during the past decade using a nationwide longitudinal study design. Methods Data on 141 332 incident (first) AMIs in Norway during 2001–2009 were obtained through the Cardiovascular Disease in Norway (CVDNOR) project. Educational inequalities in AMI incidence were assessed in terms of age-standardised incidence rates stratified on educational level, incidence rate ratios (IRR), relative index of inequality (RII) and slope index of inequality (SII). All calculations were conducted in four gender and age strata: Men and women aged 35–69 and 70–94 years. Results AMI Incidence rates decreased during 2001–2009 for all educational levels except in women aged 35–69 among whom only those with basic education had a significant decrease. In all gender and age groups; those with the highest educational level had the lowest rates. The strongest relative difference was found among women aged 35–69, with IRR (95% CI) for basic versus tertiary education 3.04 (2.85–3.24)) and RII (95% CI) equal to 4.36 (4.03–4.71). The relative differences did not change during 2001–2009 in any of the four gender and age groups, but absolute inequalities measured as SII decreased among the oldest men and women. Conclusions There are substantial educational inequalities in AMI incidence in Norway, especially for women aged 35–69. Relative inequalities did not change from 2001 to 2009.
Effect of a 360 Degrees Panoramic Image System (360 PIS) on the Environment Recognition of Students with Moderate and Severe Mental Retardation in Special Education School

The purpose of the study was to explore if students with moderate and severe mental retardation could take advantage of 360 PIS to enhance action capability in the environment? The study adopted an experimental design of multiple-probe-across-subject. The targets were four students with moderate and severe mental retardation from a special education school. The independent variable was the teaching system of "The Environment Introduction of Yangming Park by 360 PISrdquo and the dependent variable were the learning results of the students on the 360 PIS, the ability of the students to recognize the real scenes after learning from the 360 PIS and to act independently in the real environment. Each student had to go through three stages of experiment: baseline, intervention and generalization period. The results of experiments were as follows: 1. After teaching, students with moderate and severe mental retardation could operate the 360 PIS and reach the learning level of proficiency. 2. Students with moderate and severe mental retardation could recognize the environment on 360 PIS. They could name the scenes and the locations of related passages on the panoramic image. Furthermore, they also could categorize the results from virtual to real environment, named the scenes and found out locations of passages. 3. Students with moderate and severe mental retardation could walk through two trails independently on 360 PIS and generalized the results from cyberspace to not yet experienced environment and walked through two trails.