Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Almost Sure Exponential Stabilization by Discrete-Time Stochastic Feedback Control

Given an unstable linear scalar differential equation x·(t)=αx(t) (α>0), we will show that the discrete-time stochastic feedback control σx([t/τ]τ)dB(t) can stabilize it. That is, we will show that the stochastically controlled system dx(t)=αx(t)dt+σx([t/τ]τ)dB(t)is almost surely exponentially stable when σ<sup>2</sup>>2α and τ>0 is sufficiently small, where B(t) is a Brownian motion and [t/τ] is the integer part of t/τ. We will also discuss the nonlinear stabilization problem by a discrete-time stochastic feedback control. The reason why we consider the discrete-time stochastic feedback control is because that the state of the given system is in fact observed only at discrete times, say 0,τ,2τ,⋯, for example, where τ>0 is the duration between two consecutive observations. Accordingly, the stochastic feedback control should be designed based on these discrete-time observations, namely the stochastic feedback control should be of the form σx([t/τ]τ)dB(t). From the point of control cost, it is cheaper if one only needs to observe the state less frequently. It is therefore useful to give a bound on τ from below as larger as better.
Is Inflation in South Afri ca a Structural or Monetary Phenomenon

Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate whether or not inflation in South Africa is a structural or monetary phenomenon. Study Design: Case Study. Place and Duration of Study: South Africa. Time series data ranging from 1965 to 2006. Methodology: The study employs unit root testing, co-integration analysis, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) regression, Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression, Error Correction Model and pair wise Granger Causality Test technique to analyze annual time series data from South Africa. Results: The findings suggest that in the short run, openness of the South African economy, nominal interest rate, inflation in USA, broad money supply and government spending are not likely to influence prices in South Africa. Instead, the paper finds GDP as a significant determinant of prices in South Africa in the short run. In the long run without controlling for structural breaks, openness of the South African economy to the rest of the world, inflation in the USA, GDP, broad money supply and size of government are significant determinants of inflation in South Africa. However, when we control for the Asian stock market crash and the collapse of the apartheid system, only openness of the South African economy to the rest of the world and broad money supply are the significant determinants of inflation. Nominal interest rate is not a significant determinant of inflation in South Africa. Granger Causality Tests reveal that there is uni-directional causality from inflation in the USA and GDP to inflation in South Africa as well as from inflation to broad Research Article British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 3(1): 60-72, 2013 61 money supply in South Africa. Conclusion: The study contends that inflation in South Africa is a structural as well as monetary phenomenon. To the extent that inflation in the USA as well as openness of the South African economy to the rest of the world demonstrates robust influence on inflation in South Africa, it is submitted that policy makers in South Africa could moderate inflation by strengthening international competitiveness of the South African economy.
Two cases of adynamia episodica hereditaria: In vitro investigation of muscle cell membrane and contraction parameters

Membrane potentials, current–voltage relationships, and contractile parameters were studied in intact muscle cell bundles obtained from two patients with adynamia episodica hereditaria. In a normal extracellular medium, the cell membranes had resting potentials of about –80 mV and their current–voltage relationships were not significantly different from control curves. In contrast to normal muscles the afflicted cells were paralyzed in a medium having 6–10 mmol/liter potassium. The mechanisms of paralysis in the two specimens were different from each other. Many fibers from one patient were spontaneously active even in normal solution. In high potassium solution spontaneous activity was increased and the cells gradually depolarized to values at which excitatory sodium current is normally inactivated. This depolarization was connected with an increased sodium conductance and was reversed by the application of tetrodotoxin (TTX). The fibers from the other patient were not spontaneously active. In high potassium solution they were paralyzed at membrane potential values at which normal fibers would still contract. The reason for this paralysis was a reduced excitability.
Sable Research Group HorseIR : Fusing Array Programming and Database Query Processing Sable Technical Report No . McLAB-2018-03

While traditional relational database management systems (RDBMS) seem to be a natural choice for data storage and analysis in the area of Data Science, current systems still fall short in two aspects. First, with increasingly cheap main memory, many workloads now fit into main memory while RDBMS have been optimized for I/O. Second, while current systems support advanced analytics beyond SQL queries through user-defined functions (UDF) written in procedural languages, integration into the SQL engine mostly follows a black-box approach limiting the opportunities for a holistic optimization. In this paper, we propose HorseIR, an array-based intermediate representation that allows for a unified representation of UDFs and SQL execution plans optimized with traditional RDBMS optimization techniques. HorseIR has a high-level design, supports rich types and data structures, including homogeneous vectors and heterogeneous lists. We identify suitable optimizations for generating efficient code from HorseIR, taking memory and CPU aspects into account. We compare HorseIR with the MonetDB RDBMS, by testing both standard SQL queries and queries with UDFs, and show how our holistic approach and compiler optimizations benefit the runtime of complex queries.
Protective Effects of Methoxyflavone Derivatives from Black Galingale against Glutamate Induced Neurotoxicity in Primary Cultured Rat Cortical Cells

To examine the neuroprotective effects of black galingale, its protection was tested against glutamate‐induced neurotoxicity in primary cortical cultured neurons. It was found that an aqueous extract of this medicinal plant exhibited significant protection against glutamate‐induced toxicity in primary cultured rat cortical cells. In order to clarify the neuroprotective mechanism(s) of this observed effect, isolation was performed to seek and identify active fractions and components. By such fractionation, bioactive methoxyflavone derivatives were isolated from the methanol extracts from the air‐dried rhizomes of black galingale. 5‐Hydroxy‐3,7,3′,4′‐tetramethoxyflavone exhibited significant neuroprotective activities against glutamate‐induced toxicity, exhibiting cell viability of about 60–70%, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 μm to 10 μm. Therefore, the neuroprotective effect of black galingale might be due to the inhibition of glutamate‐induced toxicity by the methoxyflavone derivatives it contains. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Smart Beta Is Not Monkey Business

Monkey portfolio proponents argue that all smart beta strategies generate positive value and small-cap exposure, which fully explains their outperformance. They also claim that similar results are obtained by any random portfolio strategy, including the inverse of such strategies. We analyze these claims using test portfolios that follow commonly employed methodologies for explicit factor-tilted indexes. Our results directly invalidate the hypothesis that these claims hold for all smart beta strategies. In particular, our results show that, although some strategies such as fundamental equity indexation may perhaps mostly be driven by a value tilt and may generate similar performance to their upside-down counterpart, many smart beta strategies display exposure to additional factors, as well as pronounced differences in factor exposures across different strategies. Moreover, and perhaps reassuringly, the inverse of these strategies generates lower performance. That our findings directly contradict the monkey portfolio claims can be explained by our set of test portfolios. Although the monkey portfolio arguments may hold for the particular smart beta specifications tested by its proponents, they do not hold in general. An important implication of our results is that one should take care to avoid overgeneralizing tests of particular specifications of smart beta. For the explicit factor-tilted strategies tested here, our results imply that a careful assessment of investment philosophy and index design is indeed relevant as such strategies do not behave like monkey portfolios.
Gene Regulatory Control of Myocardial Energy Metabolism Predicts Postoperative Cardiac Function in Patients Undergoing Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: Inhalational versus Intravenous Anesthetics

Background: Anesthetic gases modulate gene expression and provide organ protection. This study aimed at identifying myocardial transcriptional phenotypes to predict cardiovascular biomarkers and function in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods: In a prospective randomized trial, patients undergoing elective off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery were allocated to receive either the anesthetic gas sevoflurane (n = 10) or the intravenous anesthetic propofol (n = 10). Blood samples were collected perioperatively to determine cardiac troponin T, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A. Cardiac function was measured with transesophageal echocardiography and pulmonary artery thermodilution. Atrial biopsies were collected at the beginning and end of bypass surgery to determine gene expression profiles. Results: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A blood levels were decreased with sevoflurane treatment. Echocardiography showed preserved postoperative cardiac function in sevoflurane patients, which paralleled higher cardiac index measurements. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide release was predicted by sevoflurane-induced transcriptional reduction in fatty acid oxidation, whereas changes in cardiac index were predicted by preoperative gene activity of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor &ggr; coactivator-1&agr; pathway. Sevoflurane-mediated attenuation of transcripts involved in DNA-damage signaling and activation of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor survival pathway predicted improved postoperative cardiac index and diastolic heart function, respectively. Conclusions: Anesthetic-induced and constitutive gene regulatory control of myocardial substrate metabolism predicts postoperative cardiac function in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The authors' analysis further points to novel cardiac survival pathways as potential therapeutic targets in perioperative cardioprotection.
High Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infections in Urine Samples from Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Men

ABSTRACT Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the resulting immunosuppression are associated with an increased risk for human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence and related malignancies. In the present study we investigated the prevalence of HPV in urine samples from 104 HIV-infected men with low CD4+ cell counts (<100 per mm3) and 115 urine samples from HIV-negative men. A high prevalence of HPV DNA (39.4%) was found in the HIV patients. Most of the HPV types were high risk (81.4%), with HPV 52 as the most prevalent type (12.5%), followed by HPV 18 (6.7%), HPV 35 (5.8%), and HPV 70 (4.8%). Multiple HPV genotypes were observed in 17 (41%) of the 41 HPV- and HIV-positive men. In contrast, only 11 (9.6%) HPV DNA-positive cases were observed among the 115 HIV-uninfected men, and 3 (27.3%) contained multiple genotypes. Quantitative analyses indicated that the HPV viral load, as measured in urine samples, is significantly higher in HIV-positive men compared to HIV-negative men. In the present study we show that urine samples are useful for detecting HPV DNA, there is a high prevalence of HPV in HIV-positive men, and the HPV viral load is substantially higher in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative men. More studies are needed to evaluate the risk and natural development of HPV-related malignancies in HIV-positive men.
Transformer-Based Ultra-Wide Band 43 GHz VCO in 28 nm CMOS for FMCW Radar System

An ultra-wide band, high linearity and low phase noise 43 GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar system is presented. A transformer-based magnetic-tuning technique is adopted to realize both coarse frequency tuning and fine frequency tuning, achieving a sweeping bandwidth of >5.7 GHz within single tuning curve. Distributed biasing parallel varactors are used to achieve high tuning linearity. Since the flicker noise (1/f noise) significantly worsens the VCO phase noise due to high 1/f corner frequency in TSMC 28nm CMOS, a technique to suppress the flicker noise up-conversion is adopted to improve the phase noise performance. The VCO has been implemented in TSMC 28 nm CMOS process, obtaining a tuning range (TR) from 37.5 GHz to 49 GHz, which consumes 8 mA current from a 0.95 V power supply. The phase noise is lower than −100 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset from a 37.5 GHz carrier and the resulting FoM is −182 dBc/Hz.
Marine animal behaviour: neglecting ocean currents can lead us up the wrong track

Tracks of marine animals in the wild, now increasingly acquired by electronic tagging of individuals, are of prime interest not only to identify habitats and high-risk areas, but also to gain detailed information about the behaviour of these animals. Using recent satellite-derived current estimates and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) tracking data, we demonstrate that oceanic currents, usually neglected when analysing tracking data, can substantially distort the observed trajectories. Consequently, this will affect several important results deduced from the analysis of tracking data, such as the evaluation of the orientation skills and the energy budget of animals or the identification of foraging areas. We conclude that currents should be systematically taken into account to ensure the unbiased interpretation of tracking data, which now play a major role in marine conservation biology.
GENETIC BASIS OF SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT: EVIDENCE FROM A TWIN STUDY

Concordance rates were compared for 63 monozygotic (MZ) and 27 dizygotic (DZ) same‐sex twin pairs, aged seven years and over, selected because at least one twin met diagnostic criteria for specific speech or language impairment. There was significant heritability for developmental speech and language disorder, defined according to DSM‐III‐R criteria. When the definition of the phenotype was broadened to include those with a past history of disorder and those with a less pronounced discrepancy between verbal and non‐verbal ability, concordance for MZ twins was close to 100 per cent, and that for DZ twins approximately 50 per cent. There was also close similarity between concordant twins for type of disorder. There is good evidence that genetic factors play a role in the aetiology of speech and language impairment; twin data may help us arrive at a clearer conception of the phenotype as well as quantifying the extent of the genetic contribution.
Towards flexible speech coding for speech synthesis: an LF + modulated noise vocoder

This paper presents an ARX-LF-based model of speech that is amenable to low-bit-rate quantization and speech modiﬁca-tions directly at the parametric domain. The new model successfully addresses the non-deterministic part of voiced speech by modulating noise with the glottal ﬂow, while unvoiced speech and transients are synthesized by modulating noise with a signal-derived time envelope. The presented work is essentially a high-quality vocoder that can be used for low complexity coding/synthesis/modiﬁcation of speech suitable for embedded text-to-speech applications.
Validity of administrative database coding for kidney disease: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Information in health administrative databases increasingly guides renal care and policy. STUDY DESIGN Systematic review of observational studies. SETTING & POPULATION Studies describing the validity of codes for acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in administrative databases operating in any jurisdiction. SELECTION CRITERIA After searching 13 medical databases, we included observational studies published from database inception though June 2009 that validated renal diagnostic and procedural codes for AKI or CKD against a reference standard. INDEX TESTS Renal diagnostic or procedural administrative data codes. REFERENCE TESTS Patient chart review, laboratory values, or data from a high-quality patient registry. RESULTS 25 studies of 13 databases in 4 countries were included. Validation of diagnostic and procedural codes for AKI was present in 9 studies, and validation for CKD was present in 19 studies. Sensitivity varied across studies and generally was poor (AKI median, 29%; range, 15%-81%; CKD median, 41%; range, 3%-88%). Positive predictive values often were reasonable, but results also were variable (AKI median, 67%; range, 15%-96%; CKD median, 78%; range, 29%-100%). Defining AKI and CKD by only the use of dialysis generally resulted in better code validity. The study characteristic associated with sensitivity in multivariable meta-regression was whether the reference standard used laboratory values (P < 0.001); sensitivity was 39% lower when laboratory values were used (95% CI, 23%-56%). LIMITATIONS Missing data in primary studies limited some of the analyses that could be done. CONCLUSIONS Administrative database analyses have utility, but must be conducted and interpreted judiciously to avoid bias arising from poor code validity.
Preclinical Toxicity Screening of Intrathecal Oxytocin in Rats and Dogs

Background:Anatomic, physiologic, and behavioral studies in animals suggest that spinally released oxytocin should produce analgesia in humans and may also protect from chronic pain after injury. In this article, the authors report preclinical toxicity screening of oxytocin for intrathecal delivery. Methods:Intrathecal oxytocin, 11 &mgr;g (6 U) or vehicle, was injected intrathecally in 24 rats, followed by frequent behavioral assessment and histologic examination of spinal contents 2 or 14 days after injection. In three dogs, a range of intrathecal oxytocin doses (18 to 550 &mgr;g in 0.5 ml) was injected followed by physiologic, biochemical, and behavioral assessments. Ten dogs were then randomized to receive five daily injections of intrathecal oxytocin, 550 &mgr;g in 0.5 ml, or vehicle with similar assessments and, necropsy and histologic analysis were conducted 2 days later. Results:In rats, intrathecal oxytocin resulted in transient scratching and itching behaviors, without other differences from vehicle. There was no behavioral, gross anatomic, or histologic evidence of neurotoxicity. Dose ranging in dogs suggested mild effects on motor tone, blood pressure, and heart rate at the 550 &mgr;g dose. Repeated boluses in dogs did not produce behavioral, biochemical, neurological, gross anatomic, or histologic evidence of neurotoxicity. Conclusions:Substances, including natural neurotransmitters, may be toxic when administered in pharmacologic doses in the spinal cord. This preclinical toxicity screen in two species suggests that bolus injections of oxytocin in concentrations up to 1,100 &mgr;g/ml are unlikely to cause neurotoxicity. The authors also support cautious clinical application of intrathecal oxytocin under regulatory supervision.
Myo-inositol changes precede amyloid pathology and relate to APOE genotype in Alzheimer disease

Objective: We aimed to test whether in vivo levels of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) metabolites myo-inositol (mI), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and choline are abnormal already during preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD), relating these changes to amyloid or tau pathology, and functional connectivity. Methods: In this cross-sectional multicenter study (a subset of the prospective Swedish BioFINDER study), we included 4 groups, representing the different stages of predementia AD: (1) cognitively healthy elderly with normal CSF β-amyloid 42 (Aβ42), (2) cognitively healthy elderly with abnormal CSF Aβ42, (3) patients with subjective cognitive decline and abnormal CSF Aβ42, (4) patients with mild cognitive decline and abnormal CSF Aβ42 (Ntotal = 352). Spectroscopic markers measured in the posterior cingulate/precuneus were considered alongside known disease biomarkers: CSF Aβ42, phosphorylated tau, total tau, [18F]-flutemetamol PET, f-MRI, and the genetic risk factor APOE. Results: Amyloid-positive cognitively healthy participants showed a significant increase in mI/creatine and mI/NAA levels compared to amyloid-negative healthy elderly (p < 0.05). In amyloid-positive healthy elderly, mI/creatine and mI/NAA correlated with cortical retention of [18F] flutemetamol tracer ( = 0.44, p = 0.02 and = 0.51, p = 0.01, respectively). Healthy elderly APOE ε4 carriers with normal CSF Aβ42 levels had significantly higher mI/creatine levels (p < 0.001) than ε4 noncarriers. Finally, elevated mI/creatine was associated with decreased functional connectivity within the default mode network (rpearson = −0.16, p = 0.02), independently of amyloid pathology. Conclusions: mI levels are elevated already at asymptomatic stages of AD. Moreover, mI/creatine concentrations were increased in healthy APOE ε4 carriers with normal CSF Aβ42 levels, suggesting that mI levels may reveal regional brain consequences of APOE ε4 before detectable amyloid pathology.
A study of the wide-band L-probe fed planar patch antenna mounted on a cylindrical or conical surface

The characteristics of an L-probe fed planar patch antenna mounted on a cylindrical or conical surface are investigated in this paper. It is found that the wide-band characteristic of the L-probe patch antenna can be maintained with this structure and further enhanced by using a curved ground. An antenna mounted on a cylinder is built and measured to confirm the simulated results. A 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 45.2%, which is about 50% larger than that of the patch mounted on a flat ground plane, and a 3 dB beamwidth of 89/spl deg/ are achieved. This antenna, with a peak gain of 8.6 dBi, provides stable radiation patterns across the entire passband. Then an antenna with the same structure on a metallic conical ground is also evaluated. It is found that the bandwidth can be further improved when the antenna is mounted on a conical structure. The result is useful for the design of wide-band cylindrical antenna arrays with down tilted patterns.
Disclosure level, information asymmetry, cost of capital and capital structure

By employing one-way variance analysis, signed rank tests and multivariable regression method while using the data of subsample firms in Shenzhen Stock Exchange on 31-Dec-2010, this paper verifies that the disclosure level has a negative relation with the information asymmetry, while the information asymmetry has a positive relation with the cost of capital, and the cost of capital is negatively correlated to the capital structure. Using the multivariable regression and the robustness tests in the full-sample firms, some further results indicate that the cost of capital, the information asymmetry and the disclosure levels have significant effect on the variation of firms' leverage and the firm-level factors significantly affect capital structure. This means that the pecking order theory is not adaptable in China's security market where companies prefer financing through equity capital.