Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enterprise Combinations in Cassava Based FoodCrop Farming System in Nigeria: Evidence fromOgun State

This study examines the enterprise combination in cassava based food crop farming system in Ogun state. Three stage sampling technique was used to select 120 cassava farmers from the study area. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, economic land equivalent ratio (ELER), linear programming and stochastic production frontier to actualize all the objectives. Descriptive statistics was employed for the description of socio-economic characteristics while economic land equivalent ratio (ELER) and linear programming were used for cost-return structure and optimal combination of crops in cassava based farm enterprises respectively. Descriptive statistics shows that most of the farmers are in their late forty with the mean age of the farmers being 48.2 years with 6years of formal education and wealth of farming experience of about 19 years. The farmers cultivated area of land that varies between 0.5ha and 5 hectare with a mean of 2 hectare. All enterprise combinations are profitable; however, cassava/maize/vegetable production enterprise is the most profitable with net farm income of N36649.90 per hectare closely followed by cassava /maize with N36462.67 per hectare. The optimal cassava based combination was actualized by linear programming model which shows that cassava/maize and cassava/maize/vegetable are the optimal combination because only the two combinations contributed to the gross margin and also added zero opportunity cost to the total cost of production. The result also shows that land and capital are the limiting resources whereas labour is not which means that for optimal cassava based production land and capital investment should be increased. In lieu of these findings, farmers in Ogun state farmers should intercrop cassava, maize and vegetables or intercrop cassava and maize, this will not only increase their net farm income per hectare, it will also ensure flow of income during on and off seasons. Farmers should also increase the utilization of the limiting resources, that is capital base and hectrage of land cultivated. Keywords: Enterprise, Cassava, Farming System, Optimality, Profitability, Intercrop, Linear Programming
Experimental results and modeling of noise coupling in a lightly doped substrate

While an in-depth experimental study of substrate noise coupling in an epi process has been reported, most research into substrate coupling in lightly doped bulk wafers has been limited to simulations without experimental confirmation. This work presents experimental noise coupling data for a lightly doped substrate, along with corresponding simulation results obtained using a compact model of the substrate. The results of this work provide a general understanding of noise coupling in lightly doped substrates and emphasize the layout dependence of such noise. Without an efficient simulation capability utilizing a compact model of the substrate, it is extremely difficult to predict how noise will couple to a circuit node.
Penetration of clarithromycin into middle ear fluid of children with acute otitis media.

OBJECTIVE To determine the steady state plasma and middle ear fluid concentrations of clarithromycin and its metabolite, 14(R)-hydroxyclarithromycin in 32 pediatric patients with acute otitis media. METHODS After the sixth dose of a 7.5-mg/kg every-12-h regimen of clarithromycin suspension, tympanocentesis was performed at 2, 4, 8 or 12 hours postdose. Plasma and middle ear fluid samples were assayed for concentrations of clarithromycin and its 14-hydroxy metabolite. RESULTS Mean middle ear fluid concentrations ranged from 3.0 to 8.3 micrograms/g during the dosing interval for clarithromycin and from 1.5 to 3.8 micrograms/g for 14(R)-hydroxyclarithromycin. The mean middle ear fluid concentrations were consistently greater than corresponding mean plasma concentrations, which ranged from 0.7 to 3.4 micrograms/ml for clarithromycin and from 0.8 to 1.8 micrograms/ml for 14(R)-hydroxyclarithromycin. The ratios of middle ear fluid to plasma concentration appeared to increase during the dosing interval and were 8.8 and 3.8 for clarithromycin and 14(R)-hydroxyclarithromycin, respectively, 12 h after dosing. CONCLUSIONS Multiple oral doses of clarithromycin suspension produced sustained middle ear fluid concentrations of clarithromycin and 14(R)-hydroxyclarithromycin which exceed the minimum inhibitory concentrations of most otic pathogens.
Intellectual property and open innovation: an empirical analysis

The recent growth in inward and outward technology transfer, e.g., by means of technology licensing, reflects the new paradigm of open innovation. By actively acquiring and commercialising intellectual property in the technology markets, these open innovation processes contrast traditional closed innovation processes. Prior open innovation research has largely been limited to case studies and theoretical contributions, and other lines of research have focused either on inward or outward technology transfer without taking an integrative perspective. Therefore, I simultaneously consider inward and outward technology transfer as the two main directions of open innovation. On this basis, data from a survey of 154 industrial firms are used to test four hypotheses relating the size and quality of the corporate patent portfolio to a firm’s extent of external technology acquisition and external technology commercialisation. The results show that the corporate intellectual property portfolio constitutes a major determinant of opening up the innovation process.
Marx after Steedman: Separating Marxism from ‘Surplus Theory’

The main camps in the ‘value’ debate are sketched and it is argued that it is wrong to reduce all ‘surplus theory’ to the Sraffian approach. There are a plurality of surplus approaches and the Marxian one is uniquely equipped to answer the fundamental Marxian questions. The great virtue of the Marxian approach resides in its double structure of prices and value which places economic activity in the context of a broader redistributive class process. Nevertheless, it is recognised that the Steedman-type points in cases of joint production still have a critical force. Consequently, it is demonstrated how they might be overcome with a different method for tackling the transformation
Investigation on Influence of Salts Mixture on the Determination of Flashover Discharge Constant Part I: A Preliminary Study

In this paper we study the influence of salts mixture on DC flashover voltage discharge characteristics. We used NaCl as principal salt and we adjoin it different salts. Results shows that mixture of salts gives different flashover voltage and current then NaCl on both polarity. A dimensional analysis has made for determining the relation between quantity of salt and constant of discharge N and n. The results of calculation shows that N and n are function of quantity of chalk and volume of CaCO3.
Comparison of Bacterial Culture and Real‐Time PCR for the Detection of Salmonella in Grow–Finish Pigs in Western Canada Using a Bayesian Approach

The study objective was to evaluate the accuracy of a real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and a culture protocol used to detect Salmonella in the faeces of grow–finish pigs using a Bayesian approach. The RT‐PCR was invA‐gene‐based assay, while the culture protocol included pre‐enrichment in buffered peptone water, selective enrichment in tetrathionate and Rappaport‐Vassiliadis broths, and isolation on semi‐solid (modified semi‐solid RV) or solid (XLT4, Rambach) agar plates. Bayesian analysis was performed using a two‐test, two‐population model with dependence between culture and RT‐PCR and compared to a second model with conditional independence between these two tests. Two hundred and ninety three individual faecal and 294 pooled pen samples from grow–finish pig collected from 10 farms were tested and results were divided into two groups according to herd size (five herds <250 sows, five herds with >400 sows). In the dependence model, RT‐PCR sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were estimated to be 90% (95% probability interval 74, 97) and 99% (98, 99), respectively. Culture Se was 92% (75, 99), while culture Sp was considered 100% as all culture‐positive samples were confirmed by serotyping. In the conditional independence model, RT‐PCR Se and Sp, and culture Se, were 96% (93, 98), 99% (98, 100) and 97% (94, 100), respectively. The dependence model resulted in posterior estimates of Se that were lower and with broader probability intervals than the independence model, indicating that when RT‐PCR and culture are evaluated relative to each other, the correlation between these tests is an important source of bias and should be adjusted for during analysis. The RT‐PCR evaluated in this study performed almost comparably to culture; given the cost savings associated with using this test and more timely results, the RT‐PCR may be a useful alternative to culture for screening large numbers of samples, particularly when Salmonella prevalence is low.
Liquidity adjusted value-at-risk based on the components of the bid-ask spread

This paper proposes a method of calculating a Liquidity Adjusted Value-at-Risk (L-VaR) measure. Traditional VaR approaches assume perfect markets, where an investor can buy or sell any amount of stock without causing a significant price change. Such a hypothesis is seldom verified in practice, especially in emerging markets, consequently underestimating the VaR risk measure. An attempt is made to remedy this shortcoming by first estimating the bid–ask spread components in order to calculate accurately both the endogeneous and the exogenous liquidity risk. Under this framework, the liquidation price of a position will not be the spread midpoint, but at most the bid price. The Madhavan et al. (1997) model is extended by incorporating the traded volume and find that liquidity risk, for an emerging stock market, displays an inverse U-shape pattern throughout the day. For the high-priced, high-capitalization stocks of the Athens Stock Exchange, it represents 3.40% of total market risk, while for the low capitalization ones, it is even higher at 11%. VaR measures are then adjusted for such spread variation since, neglecting such effect, leads so serious failure of VaR backtesting.
Moody's and S&P Ratings: Are They Equivalent? Conservative Ratings and Split Rated Bond Yields

We examine the relative impact of Moody's and S&P ratings on bond yields and find that at issuance, yields on split rated bonds with superior Moody's ratings are about 8 basis points lower than yields on split rated bonds with superior S&P ratings. This suggests that investors differentiate between the two ratings and assign more weight to the ratings from Moody's, the more conservative rating agency. Moody's becomes more conservative after 1998 and the impact of a superior Moody's rating becomes stronger. Furthermore, the differential impact of the two ratings is more pronounced for the more opaque Rule 144A issues. Copyright (c) 2010 The Ohio State University.
Forecasting Financial Stress

This paper uses a Financial Stress Index (FSI) for 13 OECD countries to examine which variables can help predicting financial stress. A stress index measures the current state of stress in the financial system and summarizes it in a single statistic. We employ three criteria for indicators to be used in constructing a multi-country FSI (the index covers the entire financial system, indicators used are available at a high frequency for many countries for a long period, and are comparable) to come up with our FSI. Our results suggest that financial stress is hard to predict. Only credit growth has predictive power for most countries. Several other variables have predictive power for some countries, but not for others.
Escolha de práticas contábeis no Brasil: uma análise sob a ótica da hipótese dos covenants contratuais

The present study aims to analyze the economic motivations and consequences of accounting choices under the Debt Covenants Hypothesis. Specifically, this study investigates if managers of Brazilian companies that issued long-term debts make changes in accounting methods in order to prevent the breaking of covenants (based on accounting numbers) established in debt contracts. In the analysis of this fact, prior studies suggests that managers of those companies adopt accounting methods less conservatives (that increase earnings and equity) with the objective of preventing the breaking of debt covenants. Through the analysis of 125 public Brazilian companies that issued long-term debts (in the period 2000-2006), and using univariate (real histogram and chi-square test) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistical tests, it was possible to demonstrate those companies do not make changes in accounting methods in order to prevent the breaking of covenants established in debt contracts. The main reasons that underlying these results are: (a) the low costs in breaking debt covenants; (b) the active regulation and oversight public services regulatory agencies, especially in electric energy sector; (c) Brazilian companies, in general, already adopt less conservative accounting methods. Such results, allow us to suppose that managers, in order to prevent the breaking of debt covenants, take real actions that impact the companies’ cash flow. The main contribution of the observed results is to demonstrate that there is no evidence of significant opportunistic accounting choices with the purpose of preventing the breaking of debt covenants. Such results suggest the presence of the Contractual Efficiency Approach in the context of the companies that issued long term debts in Brazil.
Television Exposure: Programs vs. Advertising

Abstract Although it is generally accepted that television program ratings are greater than the audience's exposure to the advertising, the key issue is the actual size of the difference. A review of advertising, marketing, communication, and sociology literature yields some indications of the degree of difference between ad and program exposure and factors in the viewing environment which could influence audience commercial avoidance.
Strategy and structure of Japanese enterprises

A comprehensive analysis of China's rural reforms, this book links local experiences to national policy, showing the dynamic tension in the reform process among state policy, local cadre power and self-interest, and the peasants' search for economic growth. Key topics covered include: the responsibility system, privatization and changing property rights, industrialization, social conflict, cadre corruption, urban-rural relations, conflict over land, rural urbanization, and the impact of globalization. The introduction skillfully integrates the themes that run throughout this work and the concluding chapter focuses on current and future problems in rural China.
The Dynamic Harrod Foreign Trade Multiplier and the Demand-orientated Approach to Economic Growth: an Evaluation

This paper puts forward a demand-orientated model of economic growth, as an alternative to the supply-orientated approach of neoclassical theory, and evaluates the extensive research testing the dynamic Harrod trade multiplier model developed by Thirlwall and extended by McCombie. It is critical of the continued dismissal of demand constraints as an explanation of inter-country growth rate differences in the models of McGregor & Swales, Crafts, Krugman, etc., and in the ‘new’ growth theory literature, although it is sympathetic to the rehabilitation of the role increasing returns for an understanding of cumulative processes which make for divisions in the world economy.
Faith, Politics, and Power: The Politics of Faith-Based Initiatives

Chapter 1 An Introduction to the Faith-Based Initiatives Chapter 2 The Historical Role of Religion in Government Social Services and the Development of the Faith-Based Initiatives Chapter 3 Faith-Based Liaisons: Finding Faith in the Faith-Based Initiatives Chapter 4 Making the Initiatives the Law of the Land Chapter 5 Calling All the Faithful: Faith-Based Conferences and Liaison Choices as Symbolic Politics Chapter 6 Here, There, but Not Quite Everywhere: Why are there Faith-Based Initiatives? Chapter 7 Religion, Policy, and Politics: Institutionalizing Religion within State Government Chapter 8 Conclusion: What is Success?
Physiologic reactivity despite emotional resilience several years after direct exposure to terrorism.

OBJECTIVE Six and a half to 7 years after the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, the authors assessed autonomic reactivity to trauma reminders and psychiatric symptoms in adults who had some degree of direct exposure to the blast. METHOD Sixty survivors who were listed in a state health department registry of persons exposed to the bombing and 60 age- and gender-matched members of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area community were assessed for symptoms of PTSD and depression and for axis I diagnoses. Heart rate and systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures were measured before, during, and after bombing-related interviews. The two groups were compared on both psychometric and physiologic assessments. RESULTS Posttraumatic stress but not depressive symptoms were significantly more prevalent in the survivor group than in the comparison group, although symptoms were below levels considered clinically relevant. Despite apparent emotional resilience or recovery, blast survivors had significantly greater autonomic reactivity to trauma reminders on all measures than comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that physiologic assessment may capture long-term effects of terrorism that are not identified by psychometric instruments. The consequences of autonomic reactivity despite emotional resilience years after experiencing trauma are unknown but theoretically could range from facilitating a protective vigilance toward future disasters to more maladaptive avoidance behaviors, somatic symptoms, or medical problems.
On the approximation of blow-up time for solutions of nonlinear parabolic equations

There are many nonlinear parabolic equations whose solutions develop singularity in finite time, say T. In many cases, a certain norm of the solution tends to infinity as time t approaches T. Such a phenomenon is called blow-up, and T is called the blow-up time. This paper is concerned with approximation of blow-up phenomena in nonlinear parabolic equations. For numerical computations or for other reasons, we often have to deal with approximate equations. But it is usually not at all clear if such wild phenomena as blow-up can be well reflected in the approximate equations. In this paper we present rather simple but general sufficient conditions which guarantee that the blow-up time for the original equation is well approximated by that for approximate equations. We will then apply our result to various examples. §
JC virus in the Irish population: Significant increase of genotype 2 in immunocompromised individuals

The human polyomavirus JC virus (JCV) is ubiquitous and can be shed in the urine of more than 40% of the healthy population. Amplification and sequencing of JCV from urine has allowed a distinctive map of the distribution of JCV genotypes worldwide. To define the frequency of JCV urinary excretion and genotype distribution in Ireland, urines from 121 healthy individuals and from 94 immunocompromised individuals (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]-positive patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients) were collected. JCV DNA was detected by polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) with subsequent nucleotide sequencing of a fragment of the major capsid protein (VP1). JCV was detected in 20.7% of healthy individuals and was found significantly more often in the urine of HIV-positive patients (54.2%; P < .001) and rheumatoid arthritis patients (54.4%; P < .001). In healthy Irish individuals genotype 1 was the predominant genotype in 62.5%, followed by genotype 4 in 16.7% and genotype 2 in 12.5%. In contrast, genotype 2 was significantly more often isolated from the urine of both HIV-positive patients (60%) and rheumatoid arthritis patients (54.4%; P < .01). The pattern of genotype distribution among healthy Irish individuals is in agreement with data reported from other European countries, whereas the overall level of JCV urinary excretion is lower. Previous studies have found genotype 2 significantly more often in cerebrospinal (CSF) samples of patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Here the authors report an increased frequency of genotype 2 in urine samples of immunocompromised non-PML patients. This finding further underlines the hypothesis that there could be biologic differences between JCV genotypes.
Robert A. BURGELMAN & Leonard R. SAYLES (1986), Inside Corporate Innovation: Strategy, Structure and Managerial Skills

Free Press. Paperback. Condition: New. 240 pages. Dimensions: 8.9in. x 5.8in. x 0.6in. The new wave of organizational innovations involves new types of arrangements between individuals and corporations. It is likely to continue to produce new organizational forms, spanning the entire range of combinations of markets and hierarchies and involving complex, sometimes protracted negotiation processes between individuals and corporate entities. Such negotiation processes, we believe, will be an increasingly pervasive aspect of corporate life and an important mechanism for facilitating the.
NKG2D Initiates Caspase-Mediated CD3ζ Degradation and Lymphocyte Receptor Impairments Associated with Human Cancer and Autoimmune Disease

Deficiencies of the T cell and NK cell CD3ζ signaling adapter protein in patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases are well documented, but mechanistic explanations are fragmentary. The stimulatory NKG2D receptor on T and NK cells mediates tumor immunity but can also promote local and systemic immune suppression in conditions of persistent NKG2D ligand induction that include cancer and certain autoimmune diseases. In this paper, we provide evidence that establishes a causative link between CD3ζ impairment and chronic NKG2D stimulation due to pathological ligand expression. We describe a mechanism whereby NKG2D signaling in human T and NK cells initiates Fas ligand/Fas-mediated caspase-3/-7 activation and resultant CD3ζ degradation. As a consequence, the functional capacities of the TCR, the low-affinity Fc receptor for IgG, and the NKp30 and NKp46 natural cytotoxicity receptors, which all signal through CD3ζ, are impaired. These findings are extended to ex vivo phenotypes of T and NK cells among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and in peripheral blood from patients with juvenile-onset lupus. Collectively, these results indicate that pathological NKG2D ligand expression leads to simultaneous impairment of multiple CD3ζ-dependent receptor functions, thus offering an explanation that may be applicable to CD3ζ deficiencies associated with diverse disease conditions.
Engaging Institutional Environments and Alumni Donor Participation Rates: Is There a Linkage?.

ix CHAPTER 1 1 Engaging Campus Environments 5 Research Purpose 7 Research Questions 7 Study Significance 7 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9 Student Engagement Theory 9 The Role of Environment on Student Engagement Theory 13 Alumni Giving 14 Demographic and Institutional Characteristics 15 Student Engagement and Alumni Giving 23 Involvement in Student Activities 24 Presence of NCAA Athletics 25 Other Opportunities for Engagement 25 Conceptual Framework 27 CHAPTER 3: METHODS 30 Data Sources 30 Voluntary Support of Education Survey 30 National Survey of Student Engagement 31 Samples 33 Measurement and Coding of Variables 34 Dependent Variable 34 Independent Variable 34 Control Variables 35 Data Coding 36 Data Analysis 38 Data Limitations 39 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 40