Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Post-Crisis Aspects of Liquidity and Financial Stability as a Primary Goal of Monetary Policy

International financial regulatory reforms put emphasis on financial stability and its role in monetary policy. Maintaining financial stability, particularly in post-crisis conditions and changes at the global level is possible only with quality assessment of liquidity within the financial system. As a direct consequence of crisis, the financial organizations have been requested to strengthen the liquidity and capital adequacy. It is likely to expect that, in the coming years, importance of these positions will be at the center of attention with the aim of preventing or at least mitigating the crises. In order to assess the strength of liquidity within the system, this paper analyzes the new indicators of liquidity in banks as major financial institutions. We also introduced a new aspect of liquidity instruments appliance in post-crisis requirements, as a main goal to stability of the entire financial and monetary system.
Deep Learning for Multi-Scale Molecular Modeling

Molecular simulations are widely applied in the study of chemical and bio-physical systems. However, the accessible timescales of atomistic simulations are limited, and extracting equilibrium properties of systems containing rare events remains challenging. Two distinct strategies are usually adopted in this regard: either sticking to the atomistic level and performing enhanced sampling, or trading details for speed by leveraging coarse-grained models. Although both strategies are promising, either of them, if adopted individually, exhibits severe limitations. In this paper we propose a machine-learning approach to ally both strategies so that simulations on different scales can benefit mutually from their cross-talks: Accurate coarse-grained (CG) models can be inferred from the fine-grained (FG) simulations through deep generative learning; In turn, FG simulations can be boosted by the guidance of CG models via deep reinforcement learning. Our method defines a variational and adaptive training objective which allows end-to-end training of parametric molecular models using deep neural networks. Through multiple experiments, we show that our method is efficient and flexible, and performs well on challenging chemical and bio-molecular systems.
Role of Pyroptosis in Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries

Central nervous system (CNS) trauma, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI), remains a leading cause for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Past research has shown that cell death plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of CNS injuries. More recently, pyroptosis has been identified as a form of programmed inflammatory cell death, and it is a unique form of cell death in various aspects. Mechanistically, pyroptosis can be categorized into canonical (mediated by caspase-1) and non-canonical (mediated by caspase-4/5/11). In canonical pyroptosis, Nod-like receptors (NLRs) inflammasomes play a critical role, and their activation promotes the maturation and secretion of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β/18 (IL-1β/18), cleavage of gasdermin D (GSDMD), and ultimately pyroptotic cell death. Despite a plethora of new knowledge regarding pyroptosis, detailed understanding of how pyroptosis is involved in CNS injuries and possible ways to improve clinical outcomes following CNS injuries remain elusive. This review discusses the current knowledge on how pyroptosis is involved in CNS injuries, focusing on new discoveries regarding how pyroptosis activation occurs, differences between CNS cell types following injury, time-course of inflammatory responses, and key regulatory steps of pyroptosis. In addition, we highlight various investigational agents that are capable of regulating key steps in pyroptotic cell death, and we discuss how these agents may be used as therapies to improve outcomes following CNS trauma.
RECOVERY OF FISH BONE FROM HOKI (JOHNIUS BELENGERI) FRAME USING A PROTEOLYTIC ENZYME ISOLATED FROM MACKEREL INTESTINE

A new enzymatic treatment procedure was devised to recover and further utilize fish bones from processing which are normally discarded. This procedure includes the use of an enzyme preparation isolated from raw mackerel intestine by acetone precipitation. The caseinolytic activity of mackerel intestine crude enzyme (MICE) was approximately 0.58 U/mg protein, which was comparable to those of trypsin and α-chymotrypsin, or even higher than those of papain and Aspergillus saitoi protease. The optimum pH, temperature and enzyme/substrate ratio of MICE for hydrolysis of protein with hoki (Johnius belengeri) frames were determined to be pH 9.0, 40C and 1:100 (w/w). When the hoki frame was treated by MICE for 6 h under the optimum reaction conditions, the yield of bone recovery was approximately 90%. Compared to Alcalase, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin and Neutrase, the yield of bone recovery using MICE was higher. These results suggest that MICE may be utilized for bone recovery from fish frame.
Opmaak 84/3

The primary aim of this anthology is to show how ambiguously constructed the discipline of Middle English has been, or as the author put it, it is ‘designed to show the peculiar turns Middle English Studies has taken’ (p. 8). Indeed, a relative certaintly and a consensus of what Middle English actually is – the English used in the period roughly between 1100 and 1500 – did not come about until circa fifty years ago. The use of the term Middle English as a unifying term was extremely rare before 1870s. In the anthology the texts are collected from a period which can be considered crucial for the formation of Middle English studies as a discipline, i.e. texts from between the 1760s and the 1870s, most of which are rare and difficult to obtain. The anthology is divided in two parts: in part 1 we can find the original source materials through which the origins and growth of ‘Middle English’ as a linguistic concept can be traced; part 2 deals with the emergence of the concept of ‘Middle English Literature’ as a disciplinary field and the origins of the core canon of fourteenth-century texts. Each extract is preceded by a brief introduction of the author followed by a (usually very short) bibliography. Passages in Latin and German have been translated into Modern English. The term ‘Middle English’ – as so many other crucial terms we use in historical linguistics nowadays – can be attributed to Jacob Grimm. However, he did not use it with the same meaning as we do today. To Grimm the various stages through which the English language has evolved were Anglo-Saxon (reflecting the idea that this was Germanic rather than English, and thus a different language) – Old English (what we would now call Early Middle English) – Middle English (which was considered the English from approximately the fourteenth century onwards) – Modern English. The picture becomes more confusing if we consider the fact that before Grimm some scholars used the term ‘semi-Saxon’ for what they thought was a form of English between (Anglo-)Saxon and later Middle English. Even though Matthews wanted to focus on the period in which Middle English as we know it today was formed, it would have been interesting if he had also added at least some older texts from which the pre-Middle-English-as-weknow-it-today views become clear. Then the reason why Grimm made the above-mentioned distinction might have been – at least partially – revealed. A quick browse through the titles in ‘Early English Books Online’ (http://wwwlib.umi.com/eebo) – an electronic collection of over 125,000 titles of
Missense mutations in N‐acetylglucosamine‐1‐phosphotransferase α/β subunit gene in a patient with mucolipidosis III and a mild clinical phenotype

Mucolipidosis type III (ML III, pseudo‐Hurler polydystrophy), an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of lysosomal enzyme targeting is due to a defective N‐acetylglucosamine 1‐phosphotransferase (phosphotransferase) activity and leads to the impaired formation of mannose 6‐phosphate markers in soluble lysosomal enzymes followed by their increased excretion into the serum. Mutations in the phosphotransferase γ subunit gene (GNPTAG) have been reported to be responsible for ML III. Here we report on a 14‐year‐old adolescent with a mild clinical phenotype of ML III. He presented with progressive joint stiffness and swelling. Urinary oligosaccharide and mucopolysaccharide excretion was normal. Lysosomal enzyme activities were significantly elevated in the serum and decreased in cultured fibroblasts. Impaired trafficking of the lysosomal protease cathepsin D (CtsD) was confirmed by metabolic labeling of the patient's fibroblasts. Neither mutations in the GNPTAG gene nor alterations in the GNPTAG mRNA level were detected whereas the steady state concentration of the 97 kDa GNPTAG dimer was reduced. Most importantly, the patient is homozygous for a pathogenic nucleotide substitution and a polymorphism in the phosphotransferase α/β subunit gene (GNPTA). The data indicate that defects in genes other than GNPTAG can be linked to ML III contributing to the variability of the phenotype. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pensions and Fertility: Micro-Economic Evidence

This study identifies the causal effect of pension generosity on women’s fertility behavior. It capitalizes on Brazil’s expansion of the pension system to rural workers, whose pension wealth subsequently more than tripled. Difference-in-difference, instrumental variable, and event study methods show that the pension reform reduces the propensity of childbearing of women of fertile age by 8 percent in the short run. Completed fertility declines by 1.3 children within 20 years after the reform, reducing the contribution base of the pay-as-you-go long run. The fertility response is strongest at higher birth parities, among older women, and among mothers with sons. (JEL H55, I38, J13, J16, O15)
MICROBIAL STATUS AND QUALITY OF RABBIT MEAT AFTER RABBITS FEED SUPPLEMENTATION WITH PHYTO-ADDITIVES

Nowdays, there is an increasing interest in public health issue due to consumption of healthy and nutritive food, e.i. rich in proteins, low in cholesterol and lipid contents. The aim of this study was to examine if oregano, sage and Eleutherococcus senticosus extracts, commercial Xtract as well can influence microbial status of rabbit meat after their supplementation of rabbit feed. Reduction of enterococci, coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus after feed supplementation by the sage and oregano was more detectable at the end of the experiment (at day 42) than after their application (at day 21). In animals with Xtract addition, antibacterial effect has been noted already at day 21. Our in vivo results confirmed in vitro antibacterial effect of the tested extracts and showed that maintaining of rabbit meat quality by plant extracts is very promising.
TRACKING AND PREDICTING COVID-19 RADIOLOGICAL TRAJECTORY USING DEEP LEARNING ON CHEST X-RAYS: INITIAL ACCURACY TESTING

Background - Decision scores and ethically mindful algorithms are being established to adjudicate mechanical ventilation in the context of potential resources shortage due to the current onslaught of COVID-19 cases. There is a need for a reproducible and objective method to provide quantitative information for those scores. Purpose - Towards this goal, we present a retrospective study testing the ability of a deep learning algorithm at extracting features from chest x-rays (CXR) to track and predict radiological evolution. Materials and Methods - We trained a repurposed deep learning algorithm on the CheXnet open dataset (224,316 chest X-ray images of 65,240 unique patients) to extract features that mapped to radiological labels. We collected CXRs of COVID-19-positive patients from two open-source datasets (last accessed on April 9, 2020)(Italian Society for Medical and Interventional Radiology and MILA). Data collected form 60 pairs of sequential CXRs from 40 COVID patients (mean age +/- standard deviation: 56 +/- 13 years; 23 men, 10 women, seven not reported) and were categorized in three categories: Worse, Stable, or Improved on the basis of radiological evolution ascertained from images and reports. Receiver operating characteristic analyses, Mann-Whitney tests were performed. Results - On patients from the CheXnet dataset, the area under ROC curves ranged from 0.71 to 0.93 for seven imaging features and one diagnosis. Deep learning features between Worse and Improved outcome categories were significantly different for three radiological signs and one diagnostic (Consolidation, Lung Lesion, Pleural Effusion and Pneumonia; all P < 0.05). Features from the first CXR of each pair could correctly predict the outcome category between Worse and Improved cases with 82.7% accuracy. Conclusion - CXR deep learning features show promise for classifying the disease trajectory. Once validated in studies incorporating clinical data and with larger sample sizes, this information may be considered to inform triage decisions.
The impact of believing you have had COVID-19 on behaviour: Cross-sectional survey

Objectives: To investigate whether people who think they have had COVID-19 are less likely to engage in social distancing measures compared with those who think they have not had COVID-19. Design: On-line cross-sectional survey. Setting: Data were collected between 20th and 22nd April. Participants: 6149 participants living in the UK aged 18 years or over. Main outcome measures: Perceived immunity to COVID-19, self-reported adherence to social distancing measures (going out for essential shopping, nonessential shopping, and meeting up with friends/family; total out-of-home activity), worry about COVID-19 and perceived risk of COVID-19 to oneself and people in the UK. Knowledge that cough and high temperature / fever are the main symptoms of COVID-19. Results: In this sample, 1493 people (24.3%) thought they had had COVID-19. Only 245 (4.0%) reported receiving a test result saying they had COVID-19. Reported test results were often incongruent with participants' belief that they had had COVID-19. People who believed that they had had COVID-19 were: more likely to agree that they had some immunity to COVID-19; less likely to report adhering to social distancing measures; less worried about COVID-19; and less likely to know that cough and high temperature / fever are two of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. Conclusions: The number of people in the UK who think they have already had COVID-19 is about twice the rate of current prevalence estimates. People who think that they have had COVID-19 may contribute to transmission of the virus through non-adherence to social distancing measures. Clear communications to this growing group are needed to explain why protective measures continue to be important and to encourage sustained adherence.
Alterations in the oxygen consumption, condition index and concentration of free amino acids in Corbicula fluminea, (mollusca: Pelecypoda) exposed to sodium dodecyl sulfate

The freshwater clam, Corbicula fluminea, was exposed during short- and long-term toxicity tests to the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Oxygen consumption, condition index, water content and the concentration of free amino acids (FAA) were measured in the clams after exposure. A significant increase in the total FAA concentration was measured in clams exposed for 96 h to 25 mg/L SDS. Exposure to sublethal concentrations (0.65 and 3.0 mg/L SDS) for 60 d caused both an increase in total FAA concentration and a change in the relative concentrations of individual amino acids. Sublethal chronic exposure also decreased oxygen consumption and condition index and increased water content. Alterations in FAA are a more sensitive indicator of toxicant exposure than more traditional measures such as respiration. The potential use of FAA as an in situ biochemical indicator of toxicant-induced stress in freshwater invertebrates is discussed.
Frequency and Associated Risk Factors of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infections in Children at a Hepatitis Prevention and Treatment Clinic in Lahore, Pakistan

Objective This study evaluated the frequency of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the associated horizontal risk factors in children being screened for viral hepatitis in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods Children aged 15 years or younger who were brought to a specialized outpatient viral hepatitis clinic affiliated with a tertiary hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, for viral hepatitis screening from March 2017 to March 2018 were enrolled. Children were screened for HBV and HCV infection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; if results were positive, HBV and HCV concentrations were quantitatively assayed by polymerase chain reaction. Children positive for HBV or HCV infection were matched with 100 controls of the same age and sex. All subjects completed a questionnaire on viral infection and its associated risk factors. Results During the study period, 3500 children living in the Punjab Province of Pakistan were screened for HBV and HCV infection. Of these children, 28 (0.8%) were positive for HBV and 66 (1.88%) were positive for HCV. A comparison of the 94 (2.68%) children positive for HBV or HCV with 100 controls identified several risk factors associated with infection. Unexpectedly, ten (35.7%) of the 28 HBV-positive children were born of HBV-negative mothers and had been fully vaccinated for HBV during infancy. Conclusion The frequency of HCV infection was higher than that of HBV infection among Pakistani children aged ≤15 years. Several horizontal risk factors were found to cause viral hepatitis. Several children born of HBV-negative mothers and vaccinated for HBV during infancy later developed HBV infection.
Provenance, shoal size and the sociobiology of predator-evasion behaviour in minnow shoals

An investigation of the predator-evasion behaviour of minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) shoals confronted with a pike (Esox lucius) showed that individual minnows generally chose the behaviour that minimized their chance of being eaten by the predator. As soon as the pike had been detected, minnows switched from dispersed small shoals to a single compact school. They then commenced inspection behaviour, during which individuals or groups approached the predator. This inspection served to confirm recognition of the pike and provide information on its behaviour. Avoidance and skittering behaviour took place when the pike began stalking. It was only when the predator escalated its attack and struck at the shoal that the minnows performed their most costly predator evasion tactics, such as flash expansion and fountain. After such tactics individuals often became separated from the shoal and as such were most vulnerable to capture. As a last resort, individual minnows hid among stones. Minnows from provenances with and without pike exhibited a similar repertoire of antipredator behaviour patterns, but those sympatric with the predator integrated their tactics more effectively and regained pre-exposure behaviour sooner after each encounter. Shoal size had an important effect on the execution of tactics. Minnows in shoals of 10 were more likely than minnows in shoals of 20 or 50 to abandon schooling behaviour and seek cover as individuals.
Influence of various flavonoids and simple phenolics on development of exudative diathesis in the chick

Three-day-old broiler chicks were fed a diet containing low concentrations of selenium and vitamin E for 21 days to produce exudative diathesis. Dietary supplements (1000 mg/kg) of various flavonoids and simple phenolics were tested for their protectiveness against the disorder. Two of the flavonoids, rutin and silymarin, markedly reduced the incidence and severity of exudative diathesis, while three other flavonoids (catechin, quercetin, and morin) and with of the simple phenolics tested (p-coumaric and ferulic acid) provided no protection
Interferon‐γ acutely induces calcium influx in human microglia

The acute actions of the cytokine, interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), on intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i levels in human microglia were investigated. In the presence of a calcium‐containing physiological solution (Ca2+‐PSS), IFN‐γ caused a progressive increase in [Ca2+]i to a plateau level with a mean rate of increase of 0.81 ± 0.17 nM/s and mean amplitude of 102 ± 12 nM (n = 67 cells). Washout of the cytokine did not alter the plateau established with IFN‐γ in Ca2+‐PSS; however, introduction of a Ca2+‐free PSS diminished [Ca2+]i to baseline levels. The decrease in [Ca2+]i with Ca2+‐free PSS would indicate that the response to IFN‐γ was mediated by an influx pathway. This result was confirmed in separate experiments showing the lack of an induced change in [Ca2+]i with IFN‐γ applied in Ca2+‐free PSS. The increase in [Ca2+]i induced in Ca2+‐PSS was reduced to near baseline levels when the external solution contained low Cl− in the maintained presence of IFN‐γ suggesting that cellular depolarization inhibited the cytokine mediated entry pathway. The compound SKF96365, which blocks store operated influx of Ca2+ in human microglia, was ineffective in altering the increase in [Ca2+]i, however, La3+ completely inhibited the Ca2+ response induced by IFN‐γ. Whole‐cell patch clamp studies showed no effect of IFN‐γ to alter outward currents and inward rectifier K+ currents. The influx of Ca2+ may serve a signaling role in microglia linking IFN‐γ to functional responses of the cells to infiltrating T lymphocytes into the central nervous system (CNS) during inflammatory processes. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of latitude and acclimation on the lethal temperatures of the peach‐potato aphid Myzus persicae

1 Aphids, similar to all insects, are ectothermic and, consequently, are greatly affected by environmental conditions. The peach potato aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) has a global distribution, although it is not known whether populations display regional adaptations to distinct climatic zones along its distribution and vary in their ability to withstand and acclimate to temperature extremes. In the present study, lethal temperatures were measured in nine anholocyclic clones of M. persicae collected along a latitudinal cline of its European distribution from Sweden to Spain. The effects of collection origin and intra‐ and intergenerational acclimation on cold and heat tolerance, as determined by upper and lower lethal temperatures (ULT50 and LLT50, respectively), were investigated. 2 Lethal temperatures of M. persicae were shown to be plastic and could be altered after acclimation over just one generation. Lower lethal temperatures were significantly depressed in eight of nine clones after acclimation for one generation at 10°C (range: −13.3 to −16.2°C) and raised after acclimation at 25°C (range: −10.7 to −11.6°C) compared with constant 20°C (range: −11.9 to −12.9°C). Upper lethal temperatures were less plastic, although significantly increased after one generation at 25°C (range: 41.8–42.4°C) and in five of nine clones after acclimation at 10°C. There was no evidence of intergenerational acclimation over three generations. 3 Thermal tolerance ranges were expanded after acclimation at 10 and 25°C compared with constant 20°C, resulting in aphids reared at 10°C surviving over a temperature range that was approximately 2–6°C greater than those reared at 25°C. 4 There was no clear relationship between lethal temperatures and latitude. Large scale mixing of clones may occur across Europe, thus limiting local adaption in thermal tolerance. Clonal type, as identified by microsatellite analysis, did show a relationship with thermal tolerance, notably with Type O clones being the most thermal tolerant. Clonal types may respond independently to climate change, affecting the relative proportions of clones within populations, with consequent implications for biodiversity and agriculture.