Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic programming with non-convex risk-sensitive measures

Dynamic programming with risk-sensitive performance criteria has applications in many fields (e.g., operations research, finance, control systems). Historically, risk-sensitive performance criteria have been represented using expected utility functions. More recently, literature on dynamic performance (i.e., risk or reward) measures has inspired an alternative approach to risk-sensitive performance evaluation. The dynamic performance measure approach is a generalization of the classical work using expected value. One drawback of this approach is that it has only been developed with convex/coherent performance measures, which exclude a large class of important non-convex performance criteria (e.g., Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT)). We remedy this drawback by proving the existence of dynamic programming equations for non-convex performance criteria.
Removal of glutathione produces apoptosis and necrosis in HepG2 cells overexpressing CYP2E1.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that addition of ethanol, iron, or arachidonic acid to HepG2 cells expressing CYP2E1 produced a loss in cell viability and caused apoptosis. These effects were enhanced when cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were lowered by treatment with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Overexpression of CYP2E1 in HepG2 cells could produce toxicity even in the absence of added toxin after BSO treatment. Studies were carried out to characterize this CYP2E1-and BSO-dependent toxicity. METHODS HepG2 cells expressing CYP2E1 were treated with BSO for 1 to 4 days, and various parameters associated with apoptosis and cell viability were assayed. RESULTS Treatment of cells expressing CYP2E1 (E47 cells) with BSO resulted in apoptosis as well as necrosis. The apoptosis and necrosis were independent of each other. No toxicity was found with control HepG2 cells or HepG2 cells expressing CYP3A4 instead of CYP2E1 under these conditions. The antioxidant trolox partially prevented the apoptosis and necrosis, whereas diallylsulfide, a CYP2E1 inhibitor, was fully protective. The activity of caspase 3, but not caspases 1, 8, or 9, was increased in the BSO-treated E47 cells, and an inhibitor of caspase 3 prevented apoptosis. Damage to mitochondria appears to play a role in the CYP2E1- and BSO-dependent toxicity, because mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased and cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition, prevented the apoptosis and the necrosis. The fall in membrane potential was prevented by trolox and diallylsulfide, suggesting damage to the mitochondria by CYP2E1-derived reactive oxygen species. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate the critical role of GSH in protecting against CYP2E1-mediated oxidative stress and that mitochondria may be a target for CYP2E1-derived reactive oxygen species, and suggest that interactions between CYP2E1, mitochondria, and altered GSH homeostasis may play a role in alcohol-induced liver injury.
Method for High Precision Clock Synchronization in Wireless Systems with Application to Radio Navigation

In this paper we present a novel approach for high precision clock synchronization in wireless systems. A concept similar to the standard FMCW (frequency-modulated continuous wave) radar principle is used to estimate the offset in time and in frequency between two wireless communication units. The novel approach allows for a synchronization of both offsets significantly below 100 ps and 10 Hz, respectively. This highly accurate synchronization is used in a prototype system to measure the distance between wireless units similar to a secondary radar. The prototype works within the 5.8 GHz ISM-band and uses a bandwidth of 150 MHz. With the setup presented we can measure the distance between two radio units with a standard deviation of 4 to 5 cm over a range of 200 m. This distance deviation implies a clock and center frequency synchronization of both communication modules significantly below 100 ps and 1 ppb, respectively. The broadband measurement principle is robust towards multi-path interference. It can be extended to other frequency bands and is well-suited for direct integration into communication channels and novel modulation principles such as OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) or SC/FDE (single carrier transmission with frequency domain equalization), e.g. for locatable WLAN (wireless local area network) devices or wireless sensor networks
Relação entre os fatores contingenciais e a remuneração variável de executivos

A pesquisa trata sobre a remuneracao de executivos, um importante elemento da contabilidade de gestao. O objetivo foi analisar a relacao entre os fatores contingenciais (ambiente, estrategia, estrutura, tecnologia) e a remuneracao dos executivos. A pesquisa e quantitativa e foram utilizados dados primarios e secundarios de empresas de capital aberto que atuam no Brasil para investigacao das hipoteses. A tecnica usada foi o modelo de equacoes estruturais generalizado (GSEM). Faz-se necessario estudar o contexto brasileiro, pois o pais possui caracteristicas peculiares em relacao a remuneracao de outros paises, como a tributacao mais baixa e pagamentos serem, em maioria, na forma de recurso financeiro em detrimento ao pagamento na forma de opcoes de acoes. As hipoteses foram aceitas, em sua maioria, e evidenciaram que empresas que empregam a estrategia defensora pagam menor remuneracao variavel na forma de acoes, pois o resultado e menos dependente da atuacao do executivo. Verificou-se tambem que quanto mais as empresas sao centralizadas e menor for o uso da tecnologia, maior e a tendencia a remunerar na forma variavel. Alem disso, tambem constatou-se que empresas maiores e com melhor desempenho pagam maior remuneracao variavel na forma de acoes. Somente a variavel ambiente nao mostrou relacao com a remuneracao variavel. A variavel de controle setor nao foi significativa evidenciando que o setor nao influencia a relacao entre os fatores contingenciais e a remuneracao variavel. Posto isso, confirma-se a tese de que tres fatores contingenciais estao relacionados com a remuneracao variavel de executivos na forma de acoes. O estudo direciona avancos na Teoria da Contingencia, ao mostrar que ha relacao entre tres fatores contingenciais analisados (estrategia, estrutura, tecnologia) e a remuneracao de executivos na forma de acoes. Em termos da contabilidade de gestao, mostra a importância as empresas de serem considerados os fatores contingentes as suas atividades, pois esses estao associados ao menor ou maior pagamento da remuneracao variavel de executivos, o que pode estimular a congruencia de objetivos, potencializando o desempenho. A pesquisa diferencia-se da literatura existente por considerar a influencia dos fatores contingenciais na remuneracao dos executivos.
Studies on the growth of Vibrio cholerae biotype eltor and biotype classical in foods

SUMMARY The growth of Vibrio cholerae biotype eltor and biotype classical was studied in a range of cooked foods, shellfish and raw vegetables, incubated at 22°, 30° and 37°C. Both biotypes grew in all cooked foods but growth was not demonstrated on raw shellfish. The organism multiplied on some vegetables to levels of the order of 105/g. The classical biotypes of V. cholerae showed a longer lag period than the eltor biotypes in some foods particularly when incubated at 22°C. The eltor biotypes reached a higher level in the stationary phase than the classical biotypes.
Economic and Environmental Benefits of Dynamic Demand in Providing Frequency Regulation

Increase of penetration of intermittent renewable power connected to the system will increase the requirements for frequency regulation services. If these services are met by conventional plant running part-loaded, this will not only reduce the system operational efficiency but will also limit the ability of the system to accommodate renewable generation. This work quantifies the value of Dynamic Demand (DD) concept, which enables domestic refrigeration appliances to contribute to primary frequency regulation through an advanced stochastic control algorithm. The benefits of DD providing frequency response are determined for a wide range of future low-carbon generation systems, using an efficient generation scheduling model which includes scheduling of frequency regulation and reserve services. The analysis also considers the potential impact of wind generation on system inertia and primary frequency regulation. Simulations indicate that the benefits of DD increase considerably in systems with high wind penetration, making DD an attractive option for significantly improving system efficiency.
Averting epidemics of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) has been detected in most provinces of South Africa, particularly in the KwaZulu-Natal province where several hundred cases have been reported since 2004. We analyzed the transmission dynamics of XDR TB in the region using mathematical models, and observed that nosocomial transmission clusters of XDR TB may emerge into community-based epidemics under the public health conditions of many South African communities. The effective reproductive number of XDR TB in KwaZulu-Natal may be around 2. Intensified community-based case finding and therapy appears critical to curtailing transmission. In the setting of delayed disease presentation and high system demand, improved diagnostic approaches may need to be employed in community-based programs rather than exclusively at tertiary hospitals. Using branching process mathematics, we observed that early, community-based drug-susceptibility testing and effective XDR therapy could help curtail ongoing transmission and reduce the probability of XDR TB epidemics in neighboring territories.
A study on characteristic basis function method using combined IP-CBF

We proposed an improved technique of the analysis accuracy for the characteristic basis function method (CBFM) using the multilevel approach. In this technique, improved primary CBFs (IP-CBFs) are used for taking into account multiple scattering between each block. The radar cross section (RCS) of a perfect electric conductor cube was analyzed by using the proposed technique. It was found that analysis accuracy is improved compared by the results of the conventional method.
Highly Demanding Resistive Vibration Exercise Program is Tolerated During 56 Days of Strict Bed-Rest1

Several studies have tried to find countermeasures against musculoskeletal de-conditioning during bed-rest, but none of them yielded decisive results. We hypothesised that resistive vibration exercise (RVE) might be a suitable training modality. We have therefore carried out a bed-rest study to evaluate its feasibility and efficacy during 56 days of bed-rest. Twenty healthy male volunteers aged 24 to 43 years were recruited and, after medical check-ups, randomised to a non-exercising control (Ctrl) group or a group that performed RVE 11 times per week. Strict bed-rest was controlled by video surveillance. The diet was controlled. RVE was performed in supine position, with a static force component of about twice the body weight and a smaller dynamic force component. RVE comprised four different units (squats, heel raises, toe raises, kicks), each of which lasted 60 - 100 seconds. Pre and post exercise levels of lactate were measured once weekly. Body weight was measured daily on a bed scale. Pain questionnaires were obtained in regular intervals during and after the bed-rest. Vibration frequency was set to 19 Hz at the beginning and progressed to 25.9 Hz (SD 1.9) at the end of the study, suggesting that the dynamic force component increased by 90 %. The maximum sustainable exercise time for squat exercise increased from 86 s (SD 21) on day 11 of the BR to 176 s (SD 73) on day 53 (p = 0.006). On the same days, post-exercise lactate levels increased from 6.9 mmol/l (SD2.3) to 9.2 mmol/l (SD 3.5, p = 0.01). On average, body weight was unchanged in both groups during bed-rest, but single individuals in both groups depicted significant weight changes ranging from - 10 % to + 10 % (p < 0.001). Lower limb pain was more frequent during bed-rest in the RVE subjects than in Ctrl (p = 0.035). During early recovery, subjects of both groups suffered from muscle pain to a comparable extent, but foot pain was more common in Ctrl than in RVE (p = 0.013 for plantar pain, p = 0.074 for dorsal foot pain). Our results indicate that RVE is feasible twice daily during bed-rest in young healthy males, provided that one afternoon and one entire day per week are free. Exercise progression, mainly by progression of vibration frequency, yielded increases in maximum sustainable exercise time and blood lactate. In conclusion, RVE as performed in this study, appears to be safe.
Credit-IR-FX Hybrid Derivatives without Stochastic Hazard Rates

We propose a model which allows to price and hedge credit/IR/FX hybrid products whose payoffs do not depend on the change in credit quality of the underlying entity prior to default. It is based on the multi-currency Hull-White model, with Gaussian short rates and log-normal spot FX rates. The correlation between credit and IR/FX rates is realized by default-contingent jumps. The interest rate jumps are absolute in the case of interest rates, and proportional in the case of FX rates, with deterministic magnitudes. The model can be applied to price such products as quanto CDS, extinguisher/credit-contingent IRS and contingent CDS. It accounts for the quanto CDS spread and the risky Libor forwards adjustment. The additional advantages of the model are its simplicity and ease of calibration. In our paper, we derive the mathematical description of the model, discuss the pricing and analyze its application to several products.
Institutional design and implicit incentives in Bolivia's decentralization model

The second generation fiscal federalism approach is used as a reference to analyze the political and fiscal institutional design of Bolivia’s decentralization model and its evolution. Sub-national public finance data up to 2008 is used to verify that decentralization of expenditure was higher than that of revenue, establishing a context of vertical fiscal imbalance that increased due to growing fiscal transfers during the positive external shock (boom) period. Panel models were estimated at sub-national levels to identify and assess the implicit incentives embedded in fiscal institutions of the decentralization model.
NUBOMEDIA: The First Open Source WebRTC PaaS

In this paper, we introduce NUBOMEDIA, an open source elastic cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) specifically designed for real-time interactive multimedia and WebRTC services. NUBOMEDIA exposes its capabilities through simple Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), making possible to deploy and execute developers' applications. To that aim, NUBOMEDIA combines the simplicity and ease of development of API services with the flexibility of PaaS infrastructures. Once an application is implemented, developers just need to deploy it on top of NUBOMEDIA providing elasticity as a service and reliable communication.
The Power of Script Knowledge and Selective Retrieval in the Recall of Daily Activities

ABSTRACT In this study we examined the effects of script knowledge and selective retrieval on the recall of daily activities. The participants studied daily activities typically performed over the course of a normal day from morning to bedtime, presented in chronological order or as a random list. Then half of the participants practiced retrieval for part of the activities. The use of the script improved recall in the ordered presentation. The facilitation effect caused by retrieval practice was greater in the random presentation, showing that retrieval is a powerful mnemonic enhancer, especially for nonorganized materials. Script-driven processing in the ordered presentation prevented inhibitory effects derived from selective retrieval practice, whereas retrieval-induced forgetting was observed in the random presentation, which lacked the temporal and causal structure of the script. The results show the power of the script to moderate inhibition and the effectiveness of retrieval practice in the recall of daily activities.
Proteomic surveillance of putative new autoantigens in thyroid orbitopathy

Aims Thyroid orbitopathy (TO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder characterised by several ocular manifestations. Several autoantigens have been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of TO, but the autoantigen system and the mechanism of TO would be rather complex. In this study, an immunoproteomic method was used to survey novel autoantigens expressed in the orbital fat tissue of patients with TO. Methods We used immunoproteomic, ELISA and immunohistochemical staining methods to survey novel autoantigens expressed in the orbital fat tissue of patients with TO. Results Six protein spots showing high reactivity with the serum from the patients with TO were detected as candidate orbital autoantigens, and two of them (carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1) and alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B)) were further verified by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining. We found that CA1 and ADH1B could attribute target autoantigens in this autoimmune disease. We discovered anti-CA1 and anti-ADH1B antibody prevalence to be higher in patients with TO (68.57%/51.43%) or Graves’ disease (GD) (72%/48%) than in healthy controls respectively. Immunohistochemical staining study revealed the significantly enhanced expressions of CA1 and ADH1B in orbital fat of TO compared with that in healthy controls. Conclusions We found that CA1 and ADH1B could attribute target autoantigens in this autoimmune disease. The high prevalence of these autoantibodies against CA1 and ADH1B in patients with TO and GD clarifies the potential clinical role for anti-CA1 and anti-ADH1B antibodies as biomarkers for GD and TO.
Evidence for Involvement of a Hydrophobic Patch in Framework Region 1 of Human V4-34-Encoded Igs in Recognition of the Red Blood Cell I Antigen1

The monoclonal IgM cold agglutinins that bind to the I/i carbohydrate Ags on the surface of RBCs all have Ig H chains encoded by the V4-34 gene segment. This mandatory use indicates that distinctive amino acid sequences may be involved in recognition. Critical amino acids exist in framework region 1 (FR1) of V4-34-encoded Ig, and these generate a specific Id determinant which apparently lies close to the I binding site. However, I binding by Id-expressing Ig can be modulated by sequences in complementarity-determining region (CDR)H3. Examination of the crystal structure of an anti-I cold agglutinin has revealed a hydrophobic patch in FR1 involving residue W7 on β-strand A and the AVY motif (residues 23–25) on β-strand B. In this study we used mutagenesis to show that each of the strand components of the hydrophobic patch is required for binding the I carbohydrate Ag. In addition, the crystal structure reveals that amino acids in the carboxyl-terminal region of CDRH3 form a surface region adjacent to the hydrophobic patch. We propose that the I carbohydrate Ag interacts simultaneously with the entire hydrophobic patch in FR1 and with the outside surface of CDRH3. This interaction could leave most of the conventional binding site available for binding other Ags.
Interest point localization based on edge detection according to gestalt laws

The paper proposes a method for grouping fragments of contours of objects in the images of microscopic parasitological examinations, characterized by high transparency of analyzed objects. The method is based on a graphical representation of the edges in vector form, allowing to substantially reduce the required calculations. The method uses simple vector operations to determine stroke parameters describing the degree of curvature and closure of the examined contour and the direction where the remaining part of the contour should be located. Compared with other methods of detecting elliptic objects, the proposed method allows for the association of objects with rather irregular and distorted shapes occurring in parasitic images.
Why Allow Internalization?

Over the last decade, an increasing portion of U.S. equity trading volume has been executed away from public exchanges. A common form of this off-exchange trading is internalization, a practice whereby a brokerage fills a client's order from its own inventory. I develop a model to study the impact of internalization on traders’ behavior and market outcomes. In equilibrium, trades in the limit order book, relative to internalized orders, stem from the more informed traders. The bifurcation of the order flow increases transaction costs for the more informed traders. Consequently, it reduces these traders’ demands and the aggregate trading volume. When all orders are submitted via possibly internalizing broker-dealers, the volume reduction lowers price efficiency. When traders can access the limit order book directly, the concentration of informed flow on the exchange may dominate the impact of the reduced volume: there exists an equilibrium where internalization improves price efficiency.
New options, old dilemmas: women, close relationships, marriage, and career in Brazil

This paper presents part of the results of a research project on the identity of the urban middle class Brazilian women, and on how they perceive maternity, close relationships, sexuality, marriage and career, among other aspects of their lives. We interviewed 25 university students, aged 18 to 28, and enrolled in different courses of private and public universities of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The interviews were taped recorded and transcribed and the resulting texts were analyzed according to the following categories: maternity; sexuality; family; close relationships; physical appearance; professional career. The discourse analysis pointed to the fact that new attitudes and behaviors on the part of women are seen as not only possible, but also as desirable. However, their acceptance conflicts with old discourses that used to define women’s and men’s identities. As a result, for our interviewees, contemporary women should be multiple if they want to fulfill theirs and society’s expectations: a competent professional, a cult, intelligent and sensuous woman, a good housekeeper and mother, and an affectionate companion.
Noncoherent Amplify-and-Forward MIMO Relaying With OSTBC Over Rayleigh–Rician Fading Channels

This paper investigates orthogonal space-time block-coded (OSTBC) transmission for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel with noncoherent amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying in a situation where the source–relay and relay–destination channels undergo Rayleigh fading and Rician fading, respectively. Fading coefficients of the Rician channel are considered to be correlated. Different scenarios are then considered for the Rician channel. We derive exact expressions for the moment-generating function (mgf) and the first and second moments of the instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the destination to statistically characterize system behavior. We also derive the exact expressions for the probability density function (pdf) and the cumulative distributive function (cdf) to discuss system behavior with the Rician factor. We then analyze system performance by deriving new analytical expressions for the bit error rate (BER), outage probability, amount of fading (AoF), diversity order, and array gain. These performance metrics reveal that strong line-of-sight (LoS) components between a relay–destination link always limit the performance promised by the MIMO scattering environment when both nodes have multiple antennas.