Bitcoin Network Mechanics: Forecasting the BTC Closing Price Using Vector Auto-Regression Models Based on Endogenous and Exogenous Feature Variables

The Bitcoin (BTC) market presents itself as a new unique medium currency, and it is often hailed as the “currency of the future”. Simulating the BTC market in the price discovery process presents a unique set of market mechanics. The supply of BTC is determined by the number of miners and available BTC and by scripting algorithms for blockchain hashing, while both speculators and investors determine demand. One major question then is to understand how BTC is valued and how different factors influence it. In this paper, the BTC market mechanics are broken down using vector autoregression (VAR) and Bayesian vector autoregression (BVAR) prediction models. The models proved to be very useful in simulating past BTC prices using a feature set of exogenous variables. The VAR model allows the analysis of individual factors of influence. This analysis contributes to an in-depth understanding of what drives BTC, and it can be useful to numerous stakeholders. This paper’s primary motivation is to capitalize on market movement and identify the significant price drivers, including stakeholders impacted, effects of time, as well as supply, demand, and other characteristics. The two VAR and BVAR models are compared with some state-of-the-art forecasting models over two time periods. Experimental results show that the vector-autoregression-based models achieved better performance compared to the traditional autoregression models and the Bayesian regression models

Compare the Effects of Caffeine on QTc Interval and Blood Pressure During Isometric and Isotonic Contractions in Male Athletes and Non-Athletes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: QTc fluctuations, in rest and exercise lead to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Caffeine is an energy source and it may moderate this bad fluctuation. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of caffeine on QTc and blood pressure during isometric and isotonic contractions in athletic and non-athletic men. METHODS: in this semi-experimental study, 20 healthy men were randomly selected and placed in two groups of athletes and non-athletes. Pre-test: at first, each subject pressed the dynamometer handle at maximum power for 30s (isometric). After 25 min rest, the isotonic activity was performed in 15 repetitions of 5 seconds. At the end, each subject takes 400 mg of caffeine, and after 60min, the post-test similarly, was repeated as a pre-test. QTc changes and blood pressure were checked before and after the test. FINDINGS: The average weight of individuals was 76±13.93 kg. Caffeine in the athlete group resulted in a decrease in QTc during isometric and isotonic contractions of 11.5 ms and 15ms respectively. But in nonathlete groups, QTc during isometric and isotonic contractions were respectively 0.7ms increase and 4.1 ms decrease. There was no significant correlation between QTc in both groups, but diastolic blood pressure increased significantly (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that caffeine consumption had no significant effect on QTc interval but it affected diastolic blood pressure

Collaborative development of the Arrowsmith two node search interface designed for laboratory investigators.

Arrowsmith is a unique computer-assisted strategy designed to assist investigators in detecting biologically-relevant connections between two disparate sets of articles in Medline. This paper describes how an inter-institutional consortium of neuroscientists used the UIC Arrowsmith web interface http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu in their daily work and guided the development, refinement and expansion of the system into a suite of tools intended for use by the wider scientific community

International Health Regulations—What Gets Measured Gets Done

Focus on goals and metrics for 4 core capacities illustrates 1 approach to implementing IHR

Derivation and Validation of an Inâ Hospital Mortality Prediction Model Suitable for Profiling Hospital Performance in Heart Failure

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142499/1/jah32925_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142499/2/jah32925.pd

4-{(4-Chloro­phen­yl)[4-(4-methyl­phen­yl)-1,2,3-selenadiazol-5-yl]meth­yl}-4,5,6,7-tetra­hydro-1,2,3-benzoselenadiazole

In the title compound, C22H19ClN4Se2, the mean plane of the non-fused selenadiazole ring forms dihedral angles of 54.20 (16)° and 70.48 (11)°, respectively, with the essentially planar [maximum deviations of 0.025 (5) and 0.009 (2) Å, respectively] methyl­phenyl and chloro­phenyl substituents. The tetra­hydro-1,2,3-benzoselenadiazole group is disordered over two sets of sites with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.802 (5):0.198 (5). In the crystal, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯N inter­actions are observed

Quantitating membrane bleb stiffness using AFM force spectroscopy and an optical sideview setup

AFM-based force spectroscopy in combination with optical microscopy is a powerful tool for investigating cell mechanics and adhesion on the single cell level. However, standard setups featuring an AFM mounted on an inverted light microscope only provide a bottom view of cell and AFM cantilever but cannot visualize vertical cell shape changes, for instance occurring during motile membrane blebbing. Here, we have integrated a mirror-based sideview system to monitor cell shape changes resulting from motile bleb behavior of Xenopus cranial neural crest (CNC) cells during AFM elasticity and adhesion measurements. Using the sideview setup, we quantitatively investigate mechanical changes associated with bleb formation and compared cell elasticity values recorded during membrane bleb and non-bleb events. Bleb protrusions displayed significantly lower stiffness compared to the non-blebbing membrane in the same cell. Bleb stiffness values were comparable to values obtained from blebbistatin-treated cells, consistent with the absence of a functional actomyosin network in bleb protrusions. Furthermore, we show that membrane blebs forming within the cell-cell contact zone have a detrimental effect on cell-cell adhesion forces, suggesting that mechanical changes associated with bleb protrusions promote cell-cell detachment or prevent adhesion reinforcement. Incorporating a sideview setup into an AFM platform therefore provides a new tool to correlate changes in cell morphology with results from force spectroscopy experiments

3-(4-Methyl­phen­yl)-1-phenyl-3-(4,5,6,7-tetra­hydro-1,2,3-benzoselenadiazol-4-yl)propan-1-one

In the title compound, C22H22N2OSe, the fused six-membered ring of the 4,5,6,7-tetra­hydro­benzo[d][1,2,3] selenadiazole group adopts a near to envelope (E form) conformation and the five-membered 1,2,3-selenadiazole ring is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0059 Å). In the crystal, adjacent mol­ecules are inter­linked through weak inter­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions