Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating macro-finance interactions using mixed frequency methods

This dissertation examines how macroeconomic variables influence financial market volatility and correlations using mixed frequency time series methods. The modelling framework allows combining high-frequency and low-frequency data within the same model and thus allows directly relating the economic data to the low-frequency component of volatility or correlations. The dissertation sheds light on which economic variables influence the low-frequency component of volatilities and correlations, as well as examines various methods to improve long horizon forecasts for stock market volatility by utilising the information in macroeconomic variables. The first essay considers the relative and combined importance of macroeconomic fundamentals and survey-based sentiment data for modelling US equity market volatility in a GARCH-MIDAS framework. It uses a data set which accurately takes into account real-time data revisions to lags of the macroeconomic data and extends the analysis to include several new variables. Forward-looking macroeconomic data is important for forecasting volatility, even after the information in sentiment indicators is controlled for. On the other hand, for example, consumer confidence indicators contain information complementary to forward-looking macroeconomic variables. Overall, models combining macroeconomic and sentiment data tend to improve in-sample fit and in some cases also out-of-sample forecast accuracy compared to models only driven by one type of data. The improvements in forecasting performance are, however, not statistically significant, and therefore the results do not strongly advocate using several explanatory variables in the MIDAS polynomial. In the second essay I assess the time-variation in predictive ability arising from the inclusion of macroeconomic and financial data in a GARCH-MIDAS model for US stock market volatility. I compare forecasts from a GARCH-MIDAS model to forecasts from a nested GARCH model, and therefore the differences in forecasting performance directly reflect the impact of economic data. While forecasting performance between the two models is similar when considered over the full out-of-sample period, there is clear time-variation in relative forecasting performance over sub-samples. I suggest the variation could arise from the phase of the business cycle or the volatility environment and find particularly strong evidence in favour of economic variables being important for volatility forecasting during low-volatility periods. Forecast combination methods and a decision rule based on conditional predictive ability produce consistently better forecasts than the GARCH model, although statistical significance of the improvements depend on the loss function considered. The third essay considers the time-variation in the co-movement of equity returns
ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC FEATURES IN COPD PATIENTS

Background: COPD is one of the common problem in the current world. Significnt number of patients develops corpulmonale during the course of the illness. Aim of this study is to assess the role of echocardiography in detection of corpulmonale early in the course of the illness before an apparent ECG change appears. Materials and Methods: Fifty consecutive COPD patients with normal ECG attended the OPD were included in the study. Various parameters like RVH, Pulmonary artery systolic pressure; RV Strain and LVEF were calculated. Results: The present study finding reveals that among the fifty patients studied twenty-seven patients had normal echocardiogram with respect to the above parameters and nine persons had mildly elevated pulmonary artery pressure with mean value of 35.2mmHg. LV diastolic dysfunction was noticed in three patients and increased LV mass was noticed in one patient among those who had elevated pulmonary artery pressure. Fourteen patients had RV Hypertrophy without pulmonary hypertension. Conclusion: The results showed that patients can have various stages of corpulmonale even with a normal ECG. ECG is not the sensitive test to detect corpulmoale. It is prudent to do ECHO in all the patients with COPD to rule out early corpulmonale.
Elementos Referenciais na Libras: uma Análise Realizada a partir de Anáforas
 Diretas em Língua Portuguesa

O processo de referenciacao nas linguas depende de uma serie de fatores cognitivos, linguisticos e discursivos, sendo fundamental para a conducao da progressao textual, para a constituicao dos sentidos e para os propositos comunicativos dos interlocutores. Em se tratando dos elementos referenciais em uma lingua oroauditiva e em uma visuoespacial, podemos inferir que ha complexidades e singularidades que denotam diferencas relevantes quanto a operacao linguistica em questao. Nesse sentindo, buscamos responder, nesse artigo, a seguinte indagacao: (i) Como a anafora que se realiza na Lingua Portuguesa ocorre na Lingua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras), considerando-se a diferenca de modalidade entre as duas linguas? Assim sendo, o objetivo geral desse trabalho e refletir sobre os processos referenciais realizados por sujeitos surdos na Libras diante das ocorrencias de anaforas diretas em recortes textuais da Lingua Portuguesa, em um vies tradutorio. Para a realizacao da pesquisa, selecionamos recortes textuais escritos em Lingua Portuguesa compostos por anaforas diretas, os quais foram submetidos ao sujeito surdo para a traducao em Libras, possibilitando em seguida realizar a analise dos processos referenciais na Libras. Com a analise do Corpus Paralelo Portugues-Libras foi possivel perceber como a anafora que sai da Lingua Portuguesa pode chegar na Libras, considerando as estrategias de construcao de cadeias referenciais especificas da modalidade visuoespacial. E indispensavel destacar a simultânea relacao entre a anafora e a deixis presente nas glosas-Libras analisadas, contribuindo para a construcao dos sentidos na Libras, e representando dinamicidade e a fluidez entre os processos referenciais.
The rise of 2D dielectrics/ferroelectrics

Ultrathin films with high-k dielectric/ferroelectric properties form the basis of modern electronics. With further miniaturization of electronic devices, conventional materials are expected to experience a challenge because of their critical thickness, where the dielectric/ferroelectric responses are unstable or even disappeared if the film thickness is reduced to the nanometer scale or below a two-dimensional (2D) limit. Owing to the benefit of preparing stable atomically thin film, 2D materials present tantalizing prospects for scaling high-k dielectric/ferroelectric technologies down to the actual atomic scale. Here, we review recent progress in 2D dielectrics/ferroelectrics and related device applications.
A remark on memory effects in constrained fluid systems

The goal of this note is to put into perspective the recent results obtained on memory effects in partially congested fluid systems of Euler or Navier-Stokes type with former studies on free boundary obstacle problems and Hele-Shaw equations. In particular, we relate the notion of adhesion potential initially introduced in the context of dense suspension flows with the one of Baiocchi variable used in the analysis of free boundary problems.
Research on a novel extraction method using Deep Learning based on GF-2 images for aquaculture areas

ABSTRACT Recently, moderate-resolution remote sensing images have been widely used in extracting coastal aquaculture areas that are usually used to obtain marine fishery resources. However, in moderate-resolution remote sensing images, the aquaculture areas destroyed by storm-tide are hard to be observed. In order to get information of coastal aquaculture areas quickly and accurately, to help the scientific management and the planning of aquaculture resources and to meet the needs of disaster emergency response, it is imperative to extract aquaculture areas based on high-resolution remote sensing images. However, as the spatial resolution increases, there are many disadvantages that traditional pixel-level classification methods bring about, for example, the sediments and some floatage on the water surface are easy to be mistaken as aquaculture areas. In view of these problems, we proposed a novel Semantic Segmentation Network, named Hybrid Dilated Convolution U-Net (HDCUNet), which combines U-Net and Hybrid Dilated Convolution (HDC) to further expend receptive field and prevent the ‘gridding’ problem simultaneously. In this paper, we chose Gaofen-2 images as experimental data to extract aquaculture areas, and the Precisions and Recalls of two types of aquaculture areas are both above 95% and the overall accuracy reaches up to 99.16%. Besides, we compared the extraction accuracy with other four methods: FCN-8s, SegNet, U-Net and Threshold Segmentation (TS) to analyse the extraction effect and verify the validity of HDCUNet.
Evaluation and Application of Alternative Drinking Water Biofilter Monitoring Techniques

Drinking water biofiltration research has increased dramatically in the past decade as new monitoring techniques have become available, resulting in widespread implementation at municipal treatment facilities. However, biofiltration is still considered a “black-box” technology which offers limited process control. This research examined biofiltration using a variety of techniques to develop a practical understanding of the underlying biological processes and provide guidance for improved design and operation. This research focussed on three primary topics: i) modelling processes critical to biofiltration, ii) applying biological monitoring to improve treatment, and iii) demonstrating benefits beyond providing improved water quality. Initial studies evaluated the application of a biofilter scaling model to determine the significance of biofilm shear loss and mass transport resistance with respect to a variety of biomass (density, function, and community composition) and water quality (organics, nutrients, disinfection by-product formation potential) parameters. Biofilm shear loss was observed to be the critical design parameter when scaling biofilter processes from pilotto bench-scale, as enzyme activity, indicative of biological function, was not equivalent to pilot filters when mass transport resistance was deemed to have primacy.
Stereoscopic Three-dimensional Optic Flow Distortions Caused by Mismatches Between Image Acquisition and Display Parameters

We analyze the impact of common stereoscopic 3D (S3D) depth distortion on S3D optic flow in virtual reality (VR) environments. The depth distortion is introduced by mismatches between the image acquisition and display parameter. The results show that such S3D distortions induce large S3D optic flow distortions and may even induce partial/full optic flow reversal within a certain depth range, depending on the viewer's moving speed and the magnitude of S3D distortion introduced. We hypothesize that the S3D optic flow distortion may be a source of intra-sensory conflict that may be a source of visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) in S3D.
The effect of the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup tournaments on German national pride. A natural experiment

ABSTRACT Recent studies have focused on the influence of major sporting events on different areas (e.g. well-being, life satisfaction, sport-related national pride), but their effect on national pride has been investigated insufficiently. A German cross-sectional dataset (ALLBUS) that was collected during spring and fall in 2014 and 2018 was used as time series data to measure national pride among the German population during the FIFA World Cup. To detect the relevant breaks during the observation period, an interrupted time-series analysis (Linden 2015) was performed. In 2014, when the German national team won the championship, there was a small but significant increase in national pride, and, in 2018, when the German national team was eliminated in the group stage, there was a small but significant decrease in national pride. However, in the case of Germany, these effects are temporary and, thus, are not sustainable.
Warehousing process performance improvement: a tailored framework for 3PL

Third-party logistic providers (3PLs) continuously strive for controlling and improving their performances to gain a competitive advantage. The challenging environment where they operate is affected by high variety in type and number of clients, the inventory mix and the demand profiles they have to meet. Consequently, better understanding the dynamics of warehousing operations and the characteristics of the inventory mix is critical to handle such a complexity. ,This paper proposes a decision-support framework, suited for 3PL warehouse practitioners, that aids to design and implement effective and affordable activities for measuring and improving the warehousing performances. Such goal is pursued by the framework by leading the managers through an initial mapping and diagnosis of the system, then by developing a tailored measurement system to track the performance, paving the way to the identification of the criticalities and the potential improvement scenarios. ,This paper presents a case study on the implementation of the proposed framework at a warehouse of an Italian 3PL provider to introduce a new storage assignment policy and reduce the travelling time for order picking. Furthermore, the paper exemplifies how the framework contributes to enhance the awareness of managers on warehousing operations and the involvement of the personnel throughout the improvement process. ,The proposed framework can be implemented by operations managers of 3PL warehouses who want to pursue general performance improvement projects. With respect to the case study, this framework contributes to identify the storage assignment policy that reduces the travelling for order picking in the observed warehouse of 8 percent in a month but is intended to address to even other areas of improvement in 3PL warehousing environments. ,Instead of focusing on the proper methods and models that optimize a specific task or performance indicator, it provides a general framework that leads the managers through the decisional process, from the preliminary diagnosis of the system, to its benchmarking, towards the implementation of corrective and improving solutions.
The Use of GC-, Codon-, and Amino Acid-frequencies to Understand the Evolutionary Forces at a Genomic Scale

It is well known that the GC content varies enormously between organisms; this is believed to be caused by a combination of mutational preferences and selective pressure. Within coding regions, the variation of GC is more substantial in position three and smaller in position one and two. Less well known is that this variation also has an enormous impact on the frequency of amino acids as their codons vary in GC content. For instance, the fraction of alanines in different proteomes varies from 1.1% to 16.5%. In general, the frequency of different amino acids correlates strongly with the number of codons, the GC content of these codons and the genomic GC contents. However, there are clear and systematic deviations from the expected frequencies. Some amino acids are more frequent than expected by chance, while others are less frequent. A plausible model to explain this is that there exist two different selective forces acting on the genes; First, there exists a force acting to maintain the overall GC level and secondly there exists a selective force acting on the amino acid level. Here, we use the divergence in amino acid frequency from what is expected by the GC content to analyze the selective pressure acting on codon frequencies in the three kingdoms of life. We find four major selective forces; First, the frequency of serine is lower than expected in all genomes, but most in prokaryotes. Secondly, there exist a selective pressure acting to balance positively and negatively charged amino acids, which results in a reduction of arginine and negatively charged amino acids. This results in a reduction of arginine and all the negatively charged amino acids. Thirdly, the frequency of the hydrophobic residues encoded by a T in the second codon position does not change with GC. Their frequency is lower in eukaryotes than in prokaryotes. Finally, some amino acids with unique properties, such as proline glycine and proline, are limited in their frequency variation.
Survival Analysis of Breast Tumor in Al-Najaf

Breast cancer is the most common type of tumor in Iraq. This research is mainly concerned with study analysis of breast tumor data. Â AÂ representative random sample of patient suffering from tumor was collected from Al-Sadder hospital in Al-Najaf city. The data was then analyze using survival analysis technique.
An abnormally positioned and morphologically variant sigmoid colon: case report

The sigmoid colon is about 40 cm in length and begins below the pelvic inlet and ends at the rectosigmoid junction. It normally lies in the lesser pelvis. Anatomical variations of the sigmoid colon were described by various authors. The length and form of sigmoid colon are the most variable of all colonic segments. In this case, the sigmoid colon was found covering the left half of the transverse colon, hiding the spleen and in contact with the left lobe of the liver. In addition, it had no visible taeniae coli and sacculations. The sigmoid colon was 66 cm in length, 7 cm in lumen width, and in suprapelvic position. Awareness of the possible variation of colon especially of the sigmoid is necessary for adequate clinical, surgical and radiological management.
Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays

Cells can communicate with each other by emitting diffusible signaling molecules into the surrounding environment. However, simple diffusion is slow. Even small molecules take hours to diffuse millimeters away from their source, making it difficult for thousands of cells to coordinate their activity over millimeters, as happens routinely during development and immune response. Moreover, simple diffusion creates shallow, Gaussian-tailed concentration profiles. Attempting to move up or down such shallow gradients – to chemotax – is a difficult task for cells, as they see only small spatial and temporal concentration changes. Here, we demonstrate that cells utilizing diffusive relays, in which the presence of one type of diffusible signaling molecule triggers participation in the emission of the same type of molecule, can propagate fast-traveling diffusive waves that give rise to steep chemical gradients. Our methods are general and capture the effects of dimensionality, cell density, signaling molecule degradation, pulsed emission, and cellular chemotaxis on the diffusive wave dynamics. We show that system dimensionality – the size and shape of the extracellular medium and the distribution of the cells within it – can have a particularly dramatic effect on wave initiation and asymptotic propagation, and that these dynamics are insensitive to the details of cellular activation. As an example, we show that neutrophil swarming experiments exhibit dynamical signatures consistent with the proposed signaling motif. Interpreted in the context of these experiments, our results provide insight into the utility of signaling relays in immune response.
ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METALS CONCENTRATION IN WATER AND EDIBLE TISSUES OF NILE TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS) AND (CLARIAS GARIEPINUS) FROM BURULLUS LAKE, EGYPT WITH LIVER HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AS POLLUTION INDICATOR

The study reported water quality and the concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Ni, Pb, Mn, Cd, Co, Cr & Hg) in water, muscle and liver of two fish species; Clarias gariepinus (Cat fish) and Oreochromis niloticus (Tilapia fish) obtained from Burullus Lake, Kafr Elsheikh Governorate. Thesealterations were followed, in the present study, by the occurrence of histological lesions in liver of two fishes collected from the same sites. The results showed that there were high level of the analyzed metals (Fe; 56.63mg/kg, Zn; 28.09mg/kg, Mn; 7.89mg/kg, Pb; 7.87mg/kg, Cr; 5.22mg/kg, Cu;2.82mg/kg, Co; 2.68mg/kg and Hg; 0.0103 mg/kg) as Fe > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cr > Cu > Co > Hg in C. gariepinus and (Fe; 48.15mg/kg, Zn; 25.41mg/kg, Mn; 7.14 mg/kg, Pb; 5.23 mg/kg, Cu; 1.91mg/kg & Hg; 0.0074mg/kg) as Fe > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cu > Hg in O. niloticus sample compared to WHO standard. So, fish in some sites of Burullus Lake may be not safe for human consumption.
Apolipoprotein A1 in Cerebrospinal Fluid Is Insufficient to Distinguish Alzheimer’s Disease from Other Dementias in a Naturalistic, Clinical Setting

Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) is the major protein component of the high-density lipoprotein and involved in cholesterol transport. Disruption of cholesterol homeostasis has been identified as a contributing factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Moreover, polymorphisms of ApoA1 have been associated with higher risk of disease onset and cognitive decline. Therefore, ApoA1 has been suggested as a biomarker in AD. Here, we tested a small cohort of AD and non-AD dementia patients and measured levels of ApoA1 in cerebrospinal fluid. Our results indicate that ApoA1 might not be applicable to distinguish AD from other forms of dementia.
Regionalism and Great Power Management in the Asia–Pacific: Complementary or Competing Forces?

ABSTRACT This article seeks to advance the recent turn in the literature on regionalism in the Asia–Pacific that considers the scope for an effective managerial role for the region’s great powers. Drawing on the work of the English School of International Relations on “great power management”, the article seeks to clarify the interaction between processes of regionalism and the special managerial rights and responsibilities of the great powers. It draws on both the lessons of historical instances of institutionalised great power management in the form of great power concerts and a theoretical reframing of the practice of great power management. The article argues in favour of a disaggregated approach that prioritises crisis management between the great powers over more expansive versions of great power management in the immediate term. Distinguishing between different types of great power management at both the global and regional levels and highlighting the different lessons that scholars have drawn from the history of great power concerts leads to three recommendations for aligning great power management with processes of regionalism. First, prioritising regular and purposely exclusive dialogue between the United States and China in the immediate term. Second, fostering ad-hoc regional power summits over the medium to long-term as the distribution of power in the region shifts from one of bipolarity to multipolarity. And third, throughout both phases, actively avoiding what is labelled “competitive minilateralism” that is likely to both compete with existing regional institutions and work against the order-building goals of great power management.
Technological advances in pediatric epilepsy surgery: implications for tuberous sclerosis complex

In selected children with tuberous sclerosis complex, epilepsy surgery leads to seizure freedom or seizure reduction. The current standard involves a multimodal pre-surgical workup followed by invasive electrocorticographic monitoring and resective surgery. Recent insights in the disorder and novel technologies are changing the approach to pediatric epilepsy surgery in tuberous sclerosis complex. New evidence suggests tubers are poorly delineated, and epileptogenic activity may originate in the perituber tissue. Novel imaging modalities relevant to surgical planning include high-resolution MRI, α-methyl-l-tryptophan or fluorodeoxyglucose PET with diffusion tensor imaging. Advanced neurophysiological techniques have improved identification of the surgical target, including magnetoencephalography, electrical source imaging of high-density electroencephalograph data, and high-frequency oscillations in electrocorticography data. Simultaneously, novel surgical tools including stereo-electroencephalography and .