Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Higher order neural networks for financial time series prediction

Neural networks have been shown to be a promising tool for forecasting financial times series. Numerous research and applications of neural networks in business have proven their advantage in relation to classical methods that do not include artificial intelligence. What makes this particular use of neural networks so attractive to financial analysts and traders is the fact that governments and companies benefit from it to make decisions on investment and trading. However, when the number of inputs to the model and the number of training examples becomes extremely large, the training procedure for ordinary neural network architectures becomes tremendously slow and unduly tedious. To overcome such time-consuming operations, this research work focuses on using various Higher Order Neural Networks (HONNs) which have a single layer of learnable weights, therefore reducing the networks' complexity. In order to predict the upcoming trends of univariate financial time series signals, three HONNs models; the Pi-Sigma Neural Network, the Functional Link Neural Network, and the Ridge Polynomial Neural Network were used, as well as the Multilayer Perceptron. Furthermore, a novel neural network architecture which comprises of a feedback connection in addition to the feedforward Ridge Polynomial Neural Network was constructed. The proposed network combines the properties of both higher order and recurrent neural networks, and is called Dynamic Ridge Polynomial Neural Network (DRPNN). Extensive simulations covering ten financial time series were performed. The forecasting performance of various feedforward HONNs models, the Multilayer Perceptron and the novel DRPNN was compared. Simulation results indicate that HONNs, particularly the DRPNN in most cases demonstrated advantages in capturing chaotic movement in the financial signals with an improvement in the profit return over other network models. The relative superiority of DRPNN to other networks is not just its ability to attain high profit return, but rather to model the training set with fast learning and convergence. The network offers fast training and shows considerable promise as a forecasting tool. It is concluded that DRPNN do have the capability to forecast the financial markets, and individual investor could benefit from the use of this forecasting.
Design and Performance of an Electrically Small Antenna with Matching Circuit

We designed and fabricated an electrically small antenna (ESA) with coplanar waveguide (CPW) matching circuit. Matching circuit is realized by using an interdigital gap and a transmission line. We designed ESA with the aid of the commercial three-dimensional electro magnetic field simulator. We also made experiments on the ESA with CPW matching circuits using patterned circuit board.
Economically efficient flood protection standards for the Netherlands

Within the context of the Dutch Delta Programme, economically efficient flood protection standards for the entire Netherlands were calculated using a recently developed methodology for cost‐benefit analysis and up‐to‐date insights into flood risk assessment. This results in economically efficient flood protection standards for different parts of the Netherlands that significantly differ from current legal flood protection standards. The cost‐benefit analysis shows that it is economically efficient to raise protection standards especially along the rivers Rhine and Meuse, while for many dike ring areas in the coastal region, existing legal flood protection standards seem relatively high. An additional Monte Carlo analysis shows that in light of many uncertainties, these are also robust conclusions. The cost‐benefit analysis does not support a general increase of the legal flood protection standards for all flood‐prone areas in the Netherlands by (at least) a factor 10, as was recommended by the (second) Delta Committee in 2008.
Depolarization Estimates from Linear H and V Measurements with Weather Radars Operating in Simultaneous Transmission-Simultaneous Receiving Mode

Circular depolarization ratio (CDR) is a polarimetric parameter, which, unlike linear depolarization ratio (LDR), does not exhibit significant dependence on hydrometeor orientation and can be used for particle type identification and shape estimation if propagation effects are small. The measurement scheme with simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception (STSR) of horizontally and vertically polarized signals is widely used with research and operational radars. The STSR scheme does not provide direct measurements of depolarization. This study presents an estimator to obtain depolarization ratios from STSR complex voltages in radar receivers. This estimator provides true CDR if the phase shift on transmission, b, is equal to 6908 and the phase shift on reception, g, equals 2b. Even if these conditions are not satisfied, depolarization estimates are still possible if b 1 g 5 08 (though such estimates deviate slightly from true CDR varying between CDR and slant-458LDR). The sum b 1 g represents the initial differential phase shift offset and can be accounted for. The use of this depolarization estimator is illustrated with the data from the NOAA X-band radar. The measurements in ice clouds demonstrate the utility of near-CDR estimates to identify dendritic crystals and their gradual aggregation within the cloud. Illustrations are also given for near-CDR estimates in rain. An important advantage of depolarization estimates in the STSR mode is that these estimates are obtained from two ‘‘strong’’ channel returns. This greatly relaxes the radar sensitivity requirements compared to radar systems that utilize direct depolarization measurements as the power ratio of radar echoes measured in ‘‘strong’’ and ‘‘weak’’ receiving channels that represent two orthogonal polarizations.
Thrombocytopenia induced by nicotinamide in hemodialysis patients.

the more severe histologic subtypes of focal proliferative and sclerosing disease has reduced O-linked sialic acid and galactosylation than samples from normal controls, and that all groups of IgAN patients have increased exposure of N-acetylgalactosamine residues in their IgA1 compared with normal controls. This work is consistent with previous work that also found decreased sialation in IgAN patients (see e.g., [2] and others therein). The decreased sialation may be fundamental in the pathogenesis of IgAN as desialation may further expose IgA1 to degalactosylation. Such aberrantly glycosalted IgA1 may be important in the pathogenesis of IgAN because it may be deposited in the mesangium. Whether fundamental to the pathogenesis or not, we just want to note that desialation may be a useful point at which to intervene for therapy for IgAN. It may be possible to screen for and design medicinals that specifically block the desialation of IgA1 without unacceptable side effects. We further note that there is at least a small possibility that a useful sialation inhibitor not only already exists, but is also approved for use worldwide. Indeed, neuraminic acid is a synonym for sialic acid. Two neuraminidase inhibitors—oseltamivir and zanamivir—are currently licensed and in use worldwide for treatment and immediate prophylaxis for influenza virus infection [3]. While designed to work against the viral neuraminidase, there is at least some evidence that these medicines are also active against a mammalian neuraminidase [4]. Neuraminidase inhibitors—oseltamivir and zanamivir or others—would be a much needed addition to the treatment armamentarium for IgAN and are worthy of further consideration and potential study.
The output signals and noise from a nonlinearity with amplitude-dependent phase shift

On the assumption that each input signal represents only a small part of the total input power, the output signals and output noise spectrum are found by extending the Barrett-Lampard diagonal expansion to the case of the quadrivariate distribution of input amplitude and phase at two different times. This expansion yields a decomposition of the nonlinearity into a summation of generalized Laguerre polynomials with uncorrelated outputs, whose spectra are simply autoconvolutions of the input spectrum. A slight generalization of the notion of memoryless nonlinearity allows this result to he applied very simply to devices, such as limiters and TWT amplifiers, that cause AM-to-PM conversion.
Analyzing carbon-fiber composite materials with equivalent-Layer models

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of equivalent-layer models for the analysis of carbon-fiber composite materials. In this paper, we present three different models for the electromagnetic characterization (effective material properties) of fiber composites that are commonly used in aircraft and EMC/EMI shielding materials. These three models represent various orders (or levels) of detail in the fiber composite structure and, hence, capture various physical aspects of the composite. These models can be used to efficiently calculate the reflection and transmission coefficients, as well as the shielding effectiveness, of these fiber composites. We compare results of the reflection coefficient and shielding effectiveness obtained from these effective-property models to results obtained from a full numerical solution based on the finite-element (FE) method of the actual periodic fiber composite. We show that, as expected, as more of the geometric detail of the fiber composite is captured with the different models, the upper frequency limit of validity increases.
Glasgow prognostic score is related to blood transfusion requirements and post-operative complications in hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Systemic inflammation before surgery, as evidenced by the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), predicts postoperative complications and cancer-specific survival in various types of cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance GPS in hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty-six patients who underwent elective hepatic resections for HCC were include in the study. Patients were classified into three groups: GPS 0 [C-reactive protein (CRP)≤1.0 mg/dl and serum albumin ≥3.5 g/dl, n = 54], GPS 1 [CRP >1.0 mg/dl or serum albumin <3.5 g/dl, n = 11], and GPS 2 [CRP>1.0 mg/dl and serum albumin <3.5 g/dl, n = 1]. We retrospectively examined the association between GPS (0 or 1) and perioperative clinical variables and outcome. RESULTS In univariate analysis, GPS 0 patients had significantly better preoperative the retention rate of indocyanine green at 15 minutes (ICGR15) (p=0.0418), Child-Pugh classification (p = 0.0075) and model for end-stage liver disease score (p = 0.0007) than did GPS 1 patients. In multivariate analysis, blood loss and GPS 1 were independent risk factors for pulmonary complications (p = 0.0118 for blood loss, p = 0.0143 for GPS 1), red blood cell concentration transfusion (p = 0.0036 for blood loss, p = 0.0117 for GPS 1) and flesh frozen plasma transfusion (p = 0.0020 for blood loss, p = 0.0044 for GPS 1). Albumin product transfusion, duration of operation (p = 0.0478), blood loss (p = 0.0420) and GPS 1 (p = 0.0111) were independent risk factors. Disease-free and overall survival of GPS 0 and GPS 1 patients were comparable. CONCLUSION GPS reflects preoperative patient status, and is associated with blood transfusion and pulmonary complications in elective hepatic resection for HCC.
Inference and sample size calculation for clinical trials with incomplete observations of paired binary outcomes

We investigate the estimation of intervention effect and sample size determination for experiments where subjects are supposed to contribute paired binary outcomes with some incomplete observations. We propose a hybrid estimator to appropriately account for the mixed nature of observed data: paired outcomes from those who contribute complete pairs of observations and unpaired outcomes from those who contribute either pre‐intervention or post‐intervention outcomes. We theoretically prove that if incomplete data are evenly distributed between the pre‐intervention and post‐intervention periods, the proposed estimator will always be more efficient than the traditional estimator. A numerical research shows that when the distribution of incomplete data is unbalanced, the proposed estimator will be superior when there is moderate‐to‐strong positive within‐subject correlation. We further derive a closed‐form sample size formula to help researchers determine how many subjects need to be enrolled in such studies. Simulation results suggest that the calculated sample size maintains the empirical power and type I error under various design configurations. We demonstrate the proposed method using a real application example. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Enhanced therapeutic effects of combined chemotherapeutic drugs and midkine antisense oligonucleotides for hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM To evaluate the effect of combined antisense oligonucleotides targeting midkine (MK-AS) and chemotherapeutic drugs [cisplatin(DDP), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and adriamycin (ADM)] on inhibition of HepG2 cell proliferation, and to analyze the efficacy of MK-AS used in combined ADM in in situ human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model. METHODS HepG2 cells were treated with MK-AS and/or chemotherapeutic drugs mediated by Lipofectin, and cell growth activity was determined by MTS assay. An in situ HCC model was used in this experiment. MK-AS, ADM and MK-AS + ADM were given intravenously for 20 d, respectively. The animal body weight and their tumor weight were measured to assess the effect of the combined therapy in vivo. RESULTS Combined treatment with MK-AS reduced the IC50 of DDP, 5-FU and ADM in HepG2 cells. MK-AS significantly increased the inhibition rate of DDP, 5-FU and ADM. Additionally, synergism (Q 1.15) occurred at a lower concentration of ADM, 5-FU and DDP with combined MK-AS. Combined treatment with MK-AS and ADM resulted in the more growth inhibition on in situ human HCC model compared with treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs alone. CONCLUSION MK-AS increases the chemosensitivity in HepG2 cells and in situ human HCC model, and the combination of MK-AS and ADM has a much better in vitro and in vivo synergism.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Criteria for Urinary Tract Infection in a Cohort of Nursing Home Residents *

OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate nursing home residents with suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) to determine whether they met the McGeer, Loeb, or revised Loeb consensus‐based criteria and whether any set of criteria was associated with laboratory evidence of UTI, namely bacteriuria (>100,000 colony forming units) plus pyuria (>10 white blood cells).
Correlation between Loss of Bcl-XL Expression and Improved Prognosis in Advanced Esophageal Cancer Treated by Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy

We investigated the clinical significance of the apoptosis- related molecule expression of tumor cells in patients with advanced esophageal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Preoperative CRT reduced Bcl-XL expression in a significant proportion of the group responding to CRT but not in the group resisting CRT, although Bcl-2 expression was reduced in both groups. The mean survival time of the patients with cancers that lost Bcl-XL following CRT was significantly longer compared to those with cancers expressing Bcl-XL. These results suggested that CRT reduced Bcl-XL expression, and this decrease closely correlated with the prolonged survival of advanced esophageal cancer patients treated with preoperative CRT.
Dear Colleague Letter: Information to Principal Investigators (PIs) Planning to Submit Proposals to the Sensors and Sensing Systems (SSS) Program October 1, 2013, Deadline

The Sensors and Sensing Systems (SSS) program will be conducting a proposal review pilot test of a modified proposal review process utilizing proposals submitted to the SSS program for the October 1, 2013, proposal submission deadline. Submission of a proposal to this program for this deadline will imply your willingness to participate in the process. The purpose of this pilot is to seek new approaches to proposal review that can lower the cost of the review process, improve the quality of reviews, and reduce the workload on the reviewer community, while not discouraging the submission of collaborative or highly innovative proposals. Briefly, the review process shall consist of the following:
Identification of New Inhibitors for Human SIRT1: An in-silico Approach.

BACKGROUND Human SIRT1 is a class III histone deacetylase (HDAC) family protein. As the overexpression of hSIRT1 leads to cancer, inhibiting its HDAC function may be a better strategy for the treatment of cancer. Till now, only a few reported inhibitor compounds have reached the stage of animal studies; hence, identifying high efficacy inhibitors of hSIRT1 is essential. OBJECTIVE The main objective of the study is to obtain a new class of inhibitor compounds of hSIRT1 by the rational structure-based method. METHODOLOGY We performed virtual screening using AutoDock Vina for the HDAC domain of hSIRT1 against the Drug- Bank library containing 1,716 compounds. The recently determined crystal structure of the HDAC domain of hSIRT1 (PDB Id: 4KXQ) was used for docking studies. Subsequently, we performed molecular dynamics simulations and an invitro deacetylase assay for selected compounds. RESULTS Virtual screening studies yielded seven compounds from two chemical classes, namely diphenyl and oxycoumarin derivatives. Molecular dynamic simulations confirmed that the predicted seven compounds bind well to their respective complex structures. Moreover, four commercially available drugs containing the predicted compounds showed significant inhibition of hSIRT1 deacetylase activity in comparison to the known hSIRT1 inhibitor (sirtinol). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that the compounds of the diphenyl and oxycoumarin series may serve as useful scaffolds in the development of new chemical libraries of hSIRT1 inhibitory activity.
Molecular characterization of a new efficiently transducing bacteriophage identified in meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

In Staphylococcus aureus, generalized transduction mediated by temperate bacteriophages represents a highly efficient way of transferring antibiotic resistance genes between strains. In the present study, we identified and characterized in detail a new efficiently transducing bacteriophage of the family Siphoviridae, designated ϕJB, which resides as a prophage in the meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain Jevons B. Whole-genome sequencing followed by detailed in silico analysis uncovered a linear dsDNA genome consisting of 43 ,12 bp and comprising 70 ORFs, of which ∼40 encoded proteins with unknown function. A global genome alignment of ϕJB and other efficiently transducing phages ϕ11, ϕ53, ϕ80, ϕ80α and ϕNM4 showed a high degree of homology with ϕNM4 and substantial differences with regard to other phages. Using a model transduction system with a well-defined donor and recipient, ϕJB transferred the tetracycline resistance plasmid pT181 and a penicillinase plasmid with outstanding frequencies, beating most of the above-mentioned phages by an order of magnitude. Moreover, ϕJB demonstrated high frequencies of transferring antibiotic resistance plasmids even upon induction from a lysogenic donor strain. Considering such transducing potential, ϕJB and related bacteriophages may serve as a suitable tool for elucidating the nature of transduction and its contribution to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in naturally occurring MRSA populations.
Sedation, Analgesia, and Delirium in the Critically Ill Patient

Most critically ill patients receive a myriad of psychoactive medications during their hospital stay. An understanding of the pharmacology of the more commonly used sedative and analgesic therapies enables the clinician to aptly utilize these medications and limit toxicity. A key to the appropriate provision of sedative and analgesic pharmacotherapy is a thorough patient assessment, use of validated monitoring tools, and defined therapeutic goals. Limiting these therapies while optimizing patient comfort has been shown to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and reduce intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay and should be the aim of the multidisciplinary medical team. This review is intended to provide the reader with a fundamental understanding of how to facilitate comfort of the mechanically ventilated critically ill adult patients and how to minimize medication-related toxicities.
Application and methodology of in vivo K x‐ray fluorescence of Pb in bone (impact of KXRF data in the epidemiology of lead toxicity, and consistency of the data generated by updated systems)

K x-ray fluorescence (KXRF) technology has been used to make in vivo measurements of lead in bone for more than three decades. The data obtained are beneficial to research on lead toxicity as well as, in certain circumstances, the practice of occupational and environmental medicine. This paper reviews the impact of KXRF data on epidemiologic research involving lead toxicity and demonstrates that bone lead is and will continue to be a valuable biomarker in addressing long-term health effects related to cumulative exposure. The KXRF system has been improved and upgraded several times ever since it was first used. The consistency of the data obtained from these KXRF systems has been investigated in many studies. This paper provides an overview of the factors that will affect the data generated by the KXRF systems. A calibration problem encountered in one of the major KXRF laboratories is described, and the approach taken to solve the problem is discussed. Despite all the theoretical considerations, there are still some important practical challenges to the intercalibration of KXRF instruments both within the laboratory, and between laboratories. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Internal wave tunnelling

We present the first laboratory evidence of internal gravity wave tunnelling through weakly stratified fluid patches and we derive analytic theories for energy transmission by the waves in two distinct circumstances. In one, the computed transmission coefficient is directly analogous to the textbook calculation for quantum tunnelling of a free electron incident upon a potential barrier. In the other, we consider the partial reflection and transmission of internal waves through a mixed region bounded by discontinuities in the density profile. The results reveal a linear resonance between vertically propagating internal waves and interfacial waves that exist on either flank of the mixing region. The resonance permits perfect transmission of internal waves that would otherwise strongly reflect from the weakly stratified region. We discuss a specific application of our results to deep convective storm-generated internal waves that tunnel through the mesosphere to the ionosphere.
Biped Gymnastics

In this paper we examine the nature of a gymnastic maneu ver, the forward flip, and describe how a planar biped run ning machine executes it. To perform a flip the machine runs forward, thrusts with both legs to jump while pitching the body forward, shortens the legs to tuck once airborne, untucks in time to land on the feet, and then continues running. The control system produces these actions and the resulting flip by issuing a prespecified pattern of actuator commands to the actuators in conjunction with a set of control algorithms used for normal running. When all components of the system are working properly, the machine executes nine out of 10 flips successfully.