Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching programming as application development from the ground up

This paper explores the proposition that teaching programming for application development differs from established methods in computer science, engineering, and MIS, and requires a re-framing of pedagogical models. In addition to programming fundamentals, algorithms, and data structures, application development also requires understanding the foundations of human-computer interaction and the nature and economics of information in different application domains. Tradeoffs to make this possible within a four-year undergraduate degree are explored using a revised version of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives to compare learning objectives for an applications developer curriculum with those for a traditional computer science curriculum. The paper also reports our experiences over the last five years with a new application design and development curriculum in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at Penn State University. Faculty and student backgrounds and interests range from business to social sciences to humanities to engineering and computer science. Students entering the major have diverse educational backgrounds different from students typically entering physical science, engineering, or computer science programs. We elaborate on these differences and discuss this new curriculum developed to focus more directly on the requirements of application development where they differ from those in numerical or systems-oriented programming.
Green events, value perceptions, and the role of consumer involvement in festival design and performance

This study explores the dimensionality of event attendees’ “green” involvement in festival settings. Given growing interest in environmental issues, it explores relationships between eco-friendly services, and visitor perceptions, intentions, or choices, using the theory of involvement, and involvement–value relationship studies. Special attention is given to comparative advantages attained by events having green policies and practices, and to assessing how much attendees will pay for those practices through event spending. A green involvement scale was developed, tested, validated and refined, before being used at the major Macau Food Festival, obtaining a 406 person data set, which was analyzed by factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results had both theoretical and managerial implications. There is a strong linkage between green involvement and perceived value. To obtain maximum comparative advantage, however, marketing efforts must focus on promoting green initiatives. For example, attendees who take an interest in and feel connected to environmental issues in their life will spend significantly more. Green design and waste management were the most important drivers of perceived green value, followed by green food and green environment and activities. Our findings show that festival attendees will pay 28% more for green food if they perceive the event offers them green values.
Group of pictures effects on proposed multiview video coding scheme

In this paper, an investigation of multiview video coding schemes is presented, based on different inter-view prediction structures and various group of pictures (GOP) sizes. The studied inter-view prediction schemes in this paper are: A new approach namely “PIP”, recently proposed (PBI), and the benchmark structure (MVC). Results of the conducted tests allow to order the studied inter-view structures and GOP sizes preferences according to their effects in terms of random access and compression efficiency. “PIP” approach achieves significant results in terms of random accessibility yielding a gain of 53.33 % and 36.36 % compared to MVC and PBI approach, respectively. A substantial bit-rate saving is produced by “PBI” approach structure compared to the aforementioned structures. Furthermore, the results ascertain the fact that using a reduced GOP length provides better random access ability and less bit-rate saving. Conversely, larger GOP length leads to low-delay random access and more bit-rate saving.
Are Related Party Transactions Red Flags?

This study investigates whether or not related party transactions serve as a “red flag” that warns of potential financial misstatement. We hand collect related party transactions for S&P 1500 firms in 2001, 2004, and 2007 and find a positive correlation between these transactions and future restatements, suggesting restatements are more likely when a firm engages in related party transactions. The association is concentrated among transactions that appear to reflect tone at the top rather than arguably more necessary business transactions. We also find RPT firms pay lower audit fees. However, Tone RPT firms that subsequently restate pay higher audit fees, providing evidence that auditors recognize the individual restatement risks of these firms.
Maritime investment strategies with a portfolio of real options

The maritime industry operates in a dynamic global environment subject to a great number of variables. In this context, the investment challenge facing shipowners is correctly to value alternate mutually exclusive investment strategies before proceeding with confidence to commit to a project which will add the greatest value to the firm. To survive in the competitive market environment shipping companies must be flexible. Companies that rely solely on traditional discounted cash flow analysis may be underestimating the true value of their investment by not valuing any embedded real options specifically. To avoid misallocation of resources, the true value of these embedded options (strategies) should be recognised and quantified where possible for inclusion in the capital budgeting process. Using real options analysis, (ROA), as a development of the financial pricing advances of the 1970s, flexibility is valued like a financial option using non-arbitrage and added to the present value of the original strategy to derive the present value of the flexible strategy. The more uncertainty (risk) present, the greater will be the value of the real options. Similarly, the larger the shipowner's portfolio of options (strategies) from which to choose, the greater will be the valuation of the project. Real options give the shipowner the flexibility to exchange one risky income stream associated with one strategy for that of another. The analysis shows that if managers have the flexibility of more than one embedded option (in this paper, a European put associated with a replacement investment and an option on the maximum of two operating strategies, trading or chartering out) then the project will have greater value than if the there was no choice or if it was limited to one or the other strategy. Sensitivity analysis extends the analysis to demonstrate that if the volatilities of the risky income streams are highly correlated then the additional value of this flexibility will diminish.
Endocytosis of MPO in Marginal Cells Is Regulated by PKC, Protein Phosphatase, ERK and PI3-K Signaling Cascades, but Not by PKA and MEK Signaling Cascades

Endocytosis of marginal cells plays a key role in maintaining the homeostasis of endocytosis and function of the organ of Corti. How the signaling cascade is involved in the regulation of endocytosis is an important issue at present. To investigate the regulation of endocytosis in marginal cells of the stria vascularis by the signaling network, we perfused MPO, an endocytosis tracer, with PMA, OA, staurosporin, PAO, PD98059, SB20580 or wortmannin into the cochlear duct. After 30 min endolymphatic perfusion, the tissues were fixed and the distribution of MPO was examined by electron microscopy. We explored the functions of PKC, RTK, PI3-K, PTP, and PP1/2A in MPO endocytosis and defined the MPO endocytic route. MPO endocytosis was strongly dependent on PKC, ERK, PTP, PP1/2A and PI3-K signaling networks, but not on PKA and MEK signaling networks. The MPO endocytic pathways are clathrin-, GPI-AP-, and caveolae-independent.
Advertising, Concentration, and Price-Cost Margins

The industrial organization literature contains many empirical tests of hypothesized relationships among elements of industry structure and performance. Most of these studies used ordinary least-squares regression to estimate single-equation relationships. This approach is incorrect if the relationship being estimated is part of a simultaneous-equations system. This paper treats three important relationships in industrial organization as a single simultaneous-equations system. The results are consistent with those obtained from single-equation models and suggest that simultaneous-equations bias is not an important factor in the estimation of structure-performance relationships.
Effect of ACE Inhibition on Spontaneous and Insulin-Stimulated Endothelin-1 Secretion: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

To evaluate the effect of angiotensin-converting inhibition enzyme on spontaneous and insulin-stimulated endothelin-1 (ET-1) secretion in vitro and in vivo, human endothelial cells derived from umbilical cord veins were cultured onto acellular collagen-coated permeable membrane, thus mimicking in vivo conditions with a luminal and abluminal side. Insulin (10−6,−8,−9 mol/l) significantly stimulated ET-1 secretion by cultured cells (P < 0.05 starting from 2-h incubation). Captopril (10−7,−8,−9 mol/l) significantly reduced both spontaneous and insulin-stimulated ET-1 secretion, while increasing nitric oxide production. Considering each cell side, captopril significantly inhibited the apical secretion of ET-l, while its effect on the basolateral compartment was modest. In the presence of D-Arg,[Hyp3,Thi5,8,D-Phe7]-bradykinin (10−6 mol/l), a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, captopril had no effects on ET-1 and nitric oxide production and also when insulin was added to the culture media. With regard to in vivo experiments, oral captopril therapy (25 mg twice daily for 1 week) was given to normotensive (n = 5) and hypertensive (n = 6) subjects and significantly decreased plasma ET-1 concentration (normotensive subjects, before: 0.98 ± 0.09 pg/ml; after: 0.55 ± 0.08 pg/ml, P < 0.0001; hypertensive subjects, before: 1.05 ± 0.03 pg/ml; after: 0.56 ± 0.05 pg/ml, P < 0.0001). Transient hyperinsulinemia was accompanied by a significant rise in plasma ET-1 concentrations in both groups (P < 0.0001 at 180 and 210 min) before but not after captopril treatment. In conclusion, captopril inhibits both spontaneous and insulinstimulated ET-1 secretion by endothelial cells, acting on angiotensin-converting enzyme bound to the luminal cell side. In vivo, captopril significantly reduces plasma ET-1 levels in both basal and insulin-stimulated conditions.
Orthonormal (Fourier and Walsh) models of time-varying evoked potentials in neurological injury

The hypothesis that injury-related changes in evoked potential (EP) signals can be modeled by orthonormal basis functions is tested. Two models of time-varying EP signals are evaluated: the Fourier series model (FSM) and the Walsh function model (WFM). The Fourier and Walsh coefficients are estimated with the aid of an adaptive least-mean-squares (LMS) technique. Results from computer simulations illustrate how selection of model order and of the adaptation rate of the estimator affect the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The FSM results in a somewhat higher steady-state SNR than does the WFM; however, the WFM is less computationally complex than is the FSM. These two orthonormal functions are used to evaluate transient response to hypoxic hypoxia in anesthetized cats. Trends of the first five frequencies (Fourier) and sequencies (Walsh) show that the lower frequencies and sequencies may be sensitive indicators of hypoxic neurological injury. <<ETX>>
Stress-Induced Protein S-Glutathionylation in Arabidopsis1

S-Glutathionylation (thiolation) is a ubiquitous redox-sensitive and reversible modification of protein cysteinyl residues that can directly regulate their activity. While well established in animals, little is known about the formation and function of these mixed disulfides in plants. After labeling the intracellular glutathione pool with [35S]cysteine, suspension cultures of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia) were shown to undergo a large increase in protein thiolation following treatment with the oxidant tert-butylhydroperoxide. To identify proteins undergoing thiolation, a combination of in vivo and in vitro labeling methods utilizing biotinylated, oxidized glutathione (GSSG-biotin) was developed to isolate Arabidopsis proteins/protein complexes that can be reversibly glutathionylated. Following two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry proteomics, a total of 79 polypeptides were identified, representing a mixture of proteins that underwent direct thiolation as well as proteins complexed with thiolated polypeptides. The mechanism of thiolation of five proteins, dehydroascorbate reductase (AtDHAR1), zeta-class glutathione transferase (AtGSTZ1), nitrilase (AtNit1), alcohol dehydrogenase (AtADH1), and methionine synthase (AtMetS), was studied using the respective purified recombinant proteins. AtDHAR1, AtGSTZ1, and to a lesser degree AtNit1 underwent spontaneous thiolation with GSSG-biotin through modification of active-site cysteines. The thiolation of AtADH1 and AtMetS required the presence of unidentified Arabidopsis proteins, with this activity being inhibited by S-modifying agents. The potential role of thiolation in regulating metabolism in Arabidopsis is discussed and compared with other known redox regulatory systems operating in plants.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Debt Maturity

In this article, we extend the streams of research on the capital structure of socially responsible firms by investigating the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm debt maturity. Using a large sample of US firms, we provide evidence that high CSR firms significantly reduce their debt maturity. In particular, our results suggest that diversity and community are the dimensions that matter the most in explaining debt maturity. In additional analyses that use a seemingly unrelated regression approach, our results show that CSR decreases the extent to which investments are financed with long-term debt and increases the extent to which investments are financed with short-term debt and shareholders’ equity. Overall, these findings support the view that high CSR firms use debt maturity to manage CSR overinvestment problems and to signal their high quality and their access to the debt market.
Physical Principles of Efficient Excitation Transfer in Light Harvesting

After light absorption the primary process in light harvesting is the transfer of excitation to a reaction center which facilitates a separation of charge across a cell membrane. The physical principles underlying excitation transfer are explained. Theoretical methods for the description of the excitation migration process, including an expansion for excitation lifetime in terms of repeated trapping and subsequent detrapping events and the construction of representative pathways for excitation transfer based on mean first passage times, are presented. Measures for robustness and optimality of excitation transfer in terms of quantum yield are introduced. Photosystem I (PSI) is used as an example to illustrate the methods discussed. Some conclusions for the design of artificial light harvesting systems are also discussed.
The oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding fold motif is a poly(ADP-ribose)-binding domain that mediates DNA damage response

Significance Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is a unique posttranslational modification during DNA damage response. However, the biological function of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is not clear. Here, we found that human ssDNA-binding protein 1 (hSSB1), a putative DNA-binding protein, recognizes poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) and participates in PAR-dependent DNA damage repair. hSSB1 contains an Oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB)-fold motif that is a well-known DNA/RNA binding domain. However, we unexpectedly found that the OB fold of hSSB1 is a PAR binding domain that recognizes the linkage of each ADP ribose unit in PAR. DNA damage-induced PAR recruits hSSB1 to the damage sites for DNA damage repair. Moreover, we found that several other OB folds also recognize PAR. Thus, our results reveal a previously unidentified molecular mechanism of PAR in DNA damage response. Oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB) fold is a ssDNA or RNA binding motif in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Unexpectedly, we found that the OB fold of human ssDNA-binding protein 1 (hSSB1) is a poly(ADP ribose) (PAR) binding domain. hSSB1 exhibits high-affinity binding to PAR and recognizes iso-ADP ribose (ADPR), the linkage between two ADPR units. This interaction between PAR and hSSB1 mediates the early recruitment of hSSB1 to the sites of DNA damage. Mutations in the OB fold of hSSB1 that disrupt PAR binding abolish the relocation of hSSB1 to the sites of DNA damage. Moreover, PAR-mediated recruitment of hSSB1 is important for early DNA damage repair. We have screened other OB folds and found that several other OB folds also recognize PAR. Taken together, our study reveals a PAR-binding domain that mediates DNA damage repair.
Sex expression and level of phytohormones in monoecious cucumber as affected by plant growth regulators.

The hormone levels of auxin and gibberellin were studied in monoecious cucumber plants treated with growth regulators e.g. 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethrel), gibberellic acid (GA3) and maleic hydrazide (MH). The studies were conducted at Vegetable Crops Research Programme, National Agricultural Research Centre Islamabad, Pakistan during 2003 and 2004. The greatest increase in female flower production, lowest ♂ to ♀ sex ratio, highest number of fruits/plant and yield were recorded with the application of MH at 450 µM/l as compared to control. Ethrel also significantly lowered the ♂ to ♀ sex ratio in cucumber. The treated plants had an increased level of auxin hormone. Hormone GA level had a positive correlation with the number of pistillate flower/plant, fruit set percentage and IAA level had a negative correlation with sex ratio.
Networks, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Internationalization Scope: Evidence from Chilean Small and Medium Enterprises

During the last 20 years, the literature on internationalized small firms discussed at length the speed of internationalization, illustrating the importance of born globals. The geographic scope of small firm internationalization and its implications for international business and entrepreneurship theories has however been overlooked, especially with regard to firms based in atin merica. This study expands the research agenda on the effects of networks and entrepreneurship orientation for the internationalization strategy of small firms by examining their effects on internationalization scope. It uses survey data from small firms based in hile. The findings suggest that the greater the number of networks utilized, the more entrepreneurs are likely to target markets based in diverse regions of the world. The study has managerial and policy implications, suggesting that nurturing diverse international networks can help entrepreneurs reach a broader number of markets.
Collective Bargaining in the Canadian Public Sector, 1978–2008: The Consequences of Restraint and Structural Change

We study public-sector bargaining and contract outcomes using Canadian data from 1978 to 2008. We have a number of interesting results, but our principal findings are from our analysis of wage settlements. We find that the essential services designation, which only allows non-essential members of a bargain unit to strike, is associated with decreases in wages. Our estimates also suggest that there is an arbitration wage premium and that making adjustments to the ability to pay criterion used by arbitrators to determine awards does not affect this premium. We also discuss the implications of our estimates.
SEX RATIO AT BIRTH IN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GREECE: THE ROLE OF ETHNIC AND SOCIAL GROUPS

Summary The number of male per 100 female live births (defined as the sex ratio at birth, SRB) has been shown to be consistently stable in human populations irrespective of time and geographical location. All over the globe approximately 105 boys are born for every 100 girls and any significant deviation from this ‘global average’ is considered to be unnatural and is attributed to sex-selective under-reporting of births, sex-selective abortion, sex-selective infanticide or other man-made factors. The present paper uses data on civil registration from 2004–2011 to investigate the sex ratio at birth in modern Greece. It was found that the SRB is extremely masculine when the parents originate from the Indian sub-continent and China. The SRB is also unnaturally high (more than 113 boys per 100 girls) in the case of legitimate births born to Greek mothers who are illiterate. These findings are strong evidence that sex-selective abortions are taking place in Greece within population groups with a certain ethnic and social profile. Other parameters, such as age of mother at birth, birth order, legal status of birth and geographical location, were also investigated and they were found to play a role in the variation of SRB, but not to the extent education and ethnic group do.
IGF-1 and Retinopathy of Prematurity in the Preterm Infant

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) continues to be a major cause of blindness in children. Although ablation of the retina reduces the incidence of blindness by suppressing the neovascular phase of ROP, the visual outcomes after treatment are often poor. Preventive therapy is required and will likely come from a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. Objectives: To study the role of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in both the proliferative phase of ROP (phase II) and in the early phase when blood vessels are lost. Methods: Using both a mouse model of ROP and clinical studies the relationship between IGF-1, VEGF and both vessel loss and vessels proliferation in the retina was studied. Results: IGF-1 is required for maximum VEGF activation of vascular endothelial cell proliferation and survival pathways. IGF-1 levels are deficient after premature birth, setting the stage for retinal vascular loss and ROP. Conclusions: Restoration of IGF-1 to levels found in utero may help prevent ROP.
Why Do Banks Fail? Evidence from the 1920s

This paper examines the causes of rural bank failures during the 1920s using a newly created state-level data series. By focusing on rural banks we are able to investigate the impacts of agricultural distress and government policies on the class of banks accounting for 80% of the failures in the decade. Failure rates were highest where farm acreage and land values had increased the most before 1920 because these regions suffered the worst agricultural distress subsequently. Agricultural distress caused more bank failures in states with deposit insurance systems, suggesting that insurance encouraged banks to increase risk as their net worth declined.