Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pristine CNO Abundances from Magellanic Cloud B Stars. II. Fast Rotators in the Large Magellanic Cloud Cluster NGC 2004

We present spectroscopic abundance analyses of three main-sequence B stars in the young Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 2004. All three targets have projected rotational velocities around 130 km s-1. Techniques are presented that allow the derivation of stellar parameters and chemical abundances in spite of these high v sin i values. Together with previous analyses of stars in this cluster, we find no evidence among the main-sequence stars for effects due to rotational mixing up to v sin i ≈ 130 km s-1. Unless the equatorial rotational velocities are significantly larger than the v sin i values, this finding is probably in line with theoretical expectations. NGC 2004/B30, a star of uncertain evolutionary status located in the blue Hertzsprung gap, clearly shows signs of mixing in its atmosphere. To verify the effects due to rotational mixing will therefore require homogeneous analysis of statistically significant samples of low-metallicity main-sequence B stars over a wide range of rotational velocities.
Regionalization in Central and Eastern Europe

SUMMARY Regional players among the MNCs operating in Central and Eastern Europe have to decide if they should regard their businesses as a collection of individual markets or as a homogeneous region. The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how regionalization concepts have actually been implemented by foreign MNCs in CEE. The analysis focuses on the preconditions for the emergence of a regional strategy, on the identification of the main areas of regional integration, and the relationship between strategy and organizational structure. By using a longitudinal case study approach a better insight is gained on how regional strategies have emerged during the internationalization process of the firm and, if they have emerged, in which way they have manifested themselves in business decisions. The findings raise new questions about the regionalization construct with regard to the operationalization of regionalization, the relationship between strategy and structure, and its applicability to services.
Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology

High-dimensional case-control analysis is encountered in many different settings in genomics. In order to rank genes accordingly, many different scores have been proposed, ranging from ad hoc modifications of the ordinary t statistic to complicated hierarchical Bayesian models. Here, we introduce the “shrinkage t” statistic that is based on a novel and model-free shrinkage estimate of the variance vector across genes. This is derived in a quasi-empirical Bayes setting. The new rank score is fully automatic and requires no specification of parameters or distributions. It is computationally inexpensive and can be written analytically in closed form. Using a series of synthetic and three real expression data we studied the quality of gene rankings produced by the “shrinkage t” statistic. The new score consistently leads to highly accurate rankings for the complete range of investigated data sets and all considered scenarios for across-gene variance structures.
A 6 DOF nonlinear observer for auvs with experimental results

In this paper we propose an observer system for underwater vehicles. Two separate control plant models are employed; a three DOF model accounting for the main current loads acting on the vehicle and a live DOF model describing the vehicle dynamics. By explicitly utilizing an estimation of the current velocity in the observer, this paper shows that a high degree of robustness related to environmental disturbance and measurement noise is achieved. This is related to the estimation of the destabilizing Coriolis forces and moments. UGES is proven for the observer error dynamics. Experimental results from full scale testing of the Minesniper Mkll demonstrate the proposed observer system.
When uncertainty meets life: The effect of animacy on probability expression

Everyone faces uncertainty on a daily basis. Two kinds of probability expressions, verbal and numerical, have been used to characterize the uncertainty that we face. Because our cognitive concept of living things differs from that of non-living things, and distinguishing cognitive concepts might have linguistic markers, we designed four studies to test whether people use different probability expressions when faced with animate or inanimate uncertainty. We found that verbal probability is the preferred way to express animate uncertainty, whereas numerical probability is the preferred way to express inanimate uncertainty. The “verbal-animate” and “numerical-inanimate” associations were robust enough to persist when tested with forced-choice response patterns regardless of the information (e.g., equally likely outcomes, frequencies, or personal beliefs) used to construct probabilities of events. When the response pattern was changed to free-responses, the associations were evident unless the subjects were asked to write their own probability predictions for vague uncertainty. Given that the world around us consists of both animate (i.e., living) and inanimate (i.e., non-living) things, “verbal-animate” and “numerical-inanimate” associations may play a major role in risk communication and may otherwise be useful for practitioners and consultants.
A Discrete-Time Approach to Stability Analysis of Systems With Aperiodic Sample-and-Hold Devices

Motivated by the widespread use of networked and embedded control systems, an algorithm for stability analysis is proposed for sampled-data feedback control systems with uncertainly time-varying sampling intervals. The algorithm is based on the robustness of related discrete-time systems against perturbation caused by the variation of sampling intervals. The validity of the algorithm is demonstrated by numerical examples.
Do Risk Preferences Change? Evidence from Panel Data Before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake

We investigate whether individuals’ risk preferences change after experiencing a natural disaster, specifically, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Exploiting the panels of nationally representative surveys on risk preferences, we find that men who experienced greater intensity of the Earthquake became more risk tolerant after the Earthquake. Furthermore, these men gamble more, which is consistent with the direction of changes in risk preferences. We find no such pattern for women. Finally, the effects on men’s risk preferences are persistent even five years after the Earthquake at almost the same magnitude as those shortly after the Earthquake.
Long-Term Supplier Relations and Product-Market Structure

If you are searching for the ebook by Susan Helper Long-term supplier relations and product market structure: An exit-voice approach (CCC working paper) in pdf form, then you have come on to loyal site. We present full variation of this ebook in ePub, DjVu, PDF, doc, txt forms. You can read Long-term supplier relations and product market structure: An exit-voice approach (CCC working paper) online either downloading. Moreover, on our website you can read guides and other art eBooks online, or load them as well. We want invite note what our website not store the book itself, but we give ref to the website wherever you can load either reading online. So that if want to load pdf by Susan Helper Long-term supplier relations and product market structure: An exit-voice approach (CCC working paper), then you have come on to the faithful site. We own Long-term supplier relations and product market structure: An exit-voice approach (CCC working paper) PDF, txt, DjVu, doc, ePub formats. We will be pleased if you will be back to us anew.
Investor PSY-chology Surrounding 'Gangnam Style'

The global success of the song, “Gangnam Style”, by the Korean rapper PSY in 2012, was an exogenous shock to investor enthusiasm for DI Corp., a Korean semiconductor manufacturer. Although DI Corp.'s business is not related to the entertainment industry, its co-CEO is the father of PSY. Using the count of flash mob and parody videos of “Gangnam Style” on YouTube from different countries and domestic regions as a proxy for the enthusiasm of individual investors, we find that individual investors became net buyers of DI Corp. stock when the attention level increased in their neighborhood (countries). Accordingly, the attention drove up the stock price by 800% without information on the stock's fundamentals.
The role of federal district courts on desegregation: A logistic regression analysis of the factors that influence prodesegregation outcomes.

In this study I analyzed the 1089 desegregation outcomes in federal district courts that occurred between 1994 and 2004 in order to identify a) the legal and non-legal factors in the litigation process that predict pro-desegregation outcomes and b) the judicial patterns that impact the future of desegregation policy. Twenty-one legal and non-legal variables were analyzed via logistic regression analysis to identify factors that predict pro-desegregation outcomes. Only three predictor variables were statistically significant: Government Litigants; Region 3 (West) and Region 4 (Northeast.) Descriptive analyses of the data identified two trends in the pattern of litigation: The percentage of defendant wins increased after 1991 at a lesser rate than has been previously reported. I conclude that based on the results of both the quantitative and qualitative analyses the federal district courts are not a barrier to desegregation and can still be a part of a comprehensive desegregation strategy.
Genetic Polymorphism of msp1 and msp2 in Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Côte d'Ivoire versus Gabon

Introduction. The characterization of genetic profile of Plasmodium isolates from different areas could help in better strategies for malaria elimination. This study aimed to compare P. falciparum diversity in two African countries. Methods. Isolates collected from 100 and 73 falciparum malaria infections in sites of Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa) and Gabon (Central Africa), respectively, were analyzed by a nested PCR amplification of msp1 and msp2 genes. Results. The K1 allelic family was widespread in Côte d'Ivoire (64.6%) and in Gabon (56.6%). For msp2, the 3D7 alleles were more prevalent (>70% in both countries) compared to FC27 alleles. In Côte d'Ivoire, the frequencies of multiple infections with msp1 (45.1%) and msp2 (40.3%) were higher than those found for isolates from Gabon, that is, 30.2% with msp1 and 31.4% with msp2. The overall complexity of infection was 1.66 (SD = 0.79) in Côte d'Ivoire and 1.58 (SD = 0.83) in Gabon. It decreased with age in Côte d'Ivoire in contrast to Gabon. Conclusion. Differences observed in some allelic families and in complexity profile may suggest an impact of epidemiological facies as well as immunological response on genetic variability of P. falciparum.
What Factors Determine International Real Estate Security Returns

We use constrained cross-section regressions to disentangle the effects of various factors on international real estate security returns. Besides a common factor, pure country, property type, size, and value/growth factors are considered. The value/growth measure that is used in this paper provides for each security the relative importance of the value and growth components, rather than a binary classification. The value/growth factor is found to be volatile and to have a substantial effect on returns over the analyzed period February 1990-April 2003. Country factors are the dominant factors, and size is shown to have a negative impact on returns. Statistical factors derived by means of cluster analysis explain about one third of specific returns on international real estate securities. The implication for portfolio managers is that failing to recognize the importance of the various factors leads to the portfolio being exposed to systematic risk.
Female Involvement in Information Technology Degrees: Perception, Expectation and Enrolment

The aim of this research was to identify the social, marketing and academic factors that effect the expectations and enrolment of students in university degrees. Of particular interest were the factors that differentiate female and male perceptions of Information Technology degrees from degrees in other discipline areas. Multidimensional scaling was used to analyse and compare high-school student subject dissimilarity ratings with perceptions of discipline areas at Southern Cross University. It was found that females tend to avoid information technology degrees, not because such degrees are considered difficult, but because they do not offer scope for teamwork and social interaction.
Unlocking the Power of Networks: Keys to High-Performance Government

The era of strict top-down, stovepiped public management in America is over. The traditional dichotomy between public ownership and privatization is an outdated notion. Public executives have shifted their focus from managing workers and directly providing services to orchestrating networks of public, private, and nonprofit organizations to deliver those services. Unlocking the Power of Networks employs original sector-specific analyses to reveal how networked governance achieves previously unthinkable policy goals. Stephen Goldsmith and Donald F. Kettl head a stellar cast of policy practitioners and scholars exploring the potential, strategies, and best practices of high-performance networks while identifying next-generation issues in public-sector network management. They cover the gamut of public policy issues, including national security, and the book even includes a thought-provoking look at how jihadist terrorists use the principles of network management to pursue their goals. Contributors: William G. Berberich (Virginia Tech), Tim Burke (Harvard University), G. Edward DeSeve (University of Pennsylvania),William D. Eggers (Manhattan Institute), Anne M. Khademian (Virginia Tech), H. Brinton Milward (University of Arizona), Mark H. Moore (Harvard University), Paul Posner (George Mason University), Jorg Raab (Tilburg University), and Barry G. Rabe (University of Michigan).
Matter , Electrons and Gamma Ray Telescopes

Kaluza-Klein dark matter particles can annihilate efficiently into electron-positron pairs, providing a discrete feature (a sharp edge) in the cosmic ee spectrum at an energy equal to the particle’s mass (typically several hundred GeV to one TeV). Although this feature is probably beyond the reach of satellite or balloon-based cosmic ray experiments (those that distinguish the charge and mass of the primary particle), gamma ray telescopes may provide an alternative detection method. Designed to observe very high-energy gamma-rays, ACTs also observe the diffuse flux of electron-induced electromagnetic showers. The GLAST satellite, designed for gamma ray astronomy, will also observe any high energy showers (several hundred GeV and above) in its calorimeter. We show that high-significance detections of an electronpositron feature from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilations are possible with GLAST, and also with ACTs such as HESS, VERITAS or MAGIC. SLAC-PUB-10882 Work supported in part by the Department of Energy Contract DE-AC02-76SF00515 Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94309
Headform and N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator Interaction: Contact Pressure Simulation and Validation

This article presents a computational and experimental study of contact pressure between six N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and five newly developed digital headforms (small, medium, large, long/narrow, and short/wide). Contact interaction is simulated using the finite element method and validated by experiments using a pressure mapping system. The headform model has multiple layers: a skin layer, muscle layer, fatty tissue layer, and bone layer. Each headform is divided into five parts (two parts for the cheeks, one part for the upper forehead, one part for the chin, and one part for the back side of the head). Each respirator model comprises multiple layers and two straps. The simulation process has two stages for each respirator/headform combination. The first stage is to wrap the straps around the back of the headform and pull the respirator away from the face. The second stage is to release the respirator so that the respirator moves toward the face. Strap forces and contact interactions are generated between the respirators and the headforms. Meanwhile, a real-time surface pressure mapping system is used to record the pressures at six key locations to validate the computational results. There is a strong correlation between computational and experimental results (R2 = 0.88). By comparing the pressure values from simulations and experiments, we have validated the simulation models.
The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools

N RECENT YEARS, public and professional interest in schools has been heightened by a spate of reports, many of them critical of current school policy. ' These policy documents have added to persistent and long-standing concerns about the cost, effectiveness, and fairness of the current school structure, and have made schooling once again a serious public issue. As in the past, however, any renewed interest in education is likely to be short-lived, doomed to dissipate as frustration over the inability of policy to improve school practice sets in. This frustration about school policy relates directly to knowledge about the educational production process and in turn to underlying research on schools. Although the educational process has been extensively researched, clear policy prescriptions flowing from this research have been difficult to derive.2 There exists, however, a consistency to the research findings that does have an immediate application to school policy: Schools differ dramatically in "quality,"
Changes in Anterior Chamber Depth after Phacoemulsification in Pseudoexfoliative Eyes and their Effect on Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Power Calculation

Objectives: To compare anterior chamber depth (ACD) changes after phacoemulsification surgery in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) and normal patients using an anterior segment imaging method. Another aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these changes on the accuracy of intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation and postoperative refraction. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients with PEX and 30 eyes of 30 normal patients who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification surgery and IOL implantation were included in the study. The ACD of all patients was evaluated preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively with the ALLEGRO Oculyzer (WaveLight® Oculyzer™ II, Alcon, Novartis)-Scheimpflug imaging system. Results: The postoperative mean ACD values were significantly larger than the preoperative ACD values in both groups (p<0.001 for both groups). The pre- to postoperative change in ACD was 0.46±0.3 mm in the PEX group, which was a larger change than seen in the normal patients (0.12±0.1 mm) (p=0.04). The mean absolute errors (MAE) calculated with different IOL formulas (SRK/T, Haigis, Hoffer and Holladay 1 formulas) were comparable and no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p=0.21). Conclusion: Phacoemulsification induces more significant ACD changes in patients with PEX compared to normal patients. However, the MAE did not differ significantly between the groups.
Circulating Tumor Cell Analysis: Technical and Statistical Considerations for Application to the Clinic

Solid cancers are a leading cause of death worldwide, primarily due to the failure of effective clinical detection and treatment of metastatic disease in distant sites. There is growing evidence that the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood of cancer patients may be an important indicator of the potential for metastatic disease and poor prognosis. Technological advances have now facilitated the enumeration and characterization of CTCs using methods such as PCR, flow cytometry, image-based immunologic approaches, immunomagnetic techniques, and microchip technology. However, the rare nature of these cells requires that very sensitive and robust detection/enumeration methods be developed and validated in order to implement CTC analysis for widespread use in the clinic. This review will focus on the important technical and statistical considerations that must be taken into account when designing and implementing CTC assays, as well as the subsequent interpretation of these results for the purposes of clinical decision making.
Improving Open Relation Extraction via Sentence Re-Structuring

Information Extraction is an important task in Natural Language Processing, consisting of finding a structured representation for the information expressed in natural language text. Two key steps in information extraction are identifying the entities mentioned in the text, and the relations among those entities. In the context of Information Extraction for the World Wide Web, unsupervised relation extraction methods, also called Open Relation Extraction (ORE) systems, have become prevalent, due to their effectiveness without domain-specific training data. In general, these systems exploit part-of-speech tags or semantic information from the sentences to determine whether or not a relation exists, and if so, its predicate. This paper discusses some of the issues that arise when even moderately complex sentences are fed into ORE systems. A process for re-structuring such sentences is discussed and evaluated. The proposed approach replaces complex sentences by several others that, together, convey the same meaning and are more amenable to extraction by current ORE systems. The results of an experimental evaluation show that this approach succeeds in reducing the processing time and increasing the accuracy of the state-of-the-art ORE systems.
No cure for all evils: Dutch obstetric care and limits to the applicability of the focused factory concept in health care

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating the limits of the applicability of the focused factory concept (FFC) in health care. The case setting comes from the Dutch obstetric care system, which is organised by principles in sync with the FFC; the organisation for “simple” pregnancies (independent midwifery practices) is fully separated from that for “complex” pregnancies (obstetric departments in hospitals). The paper investigates the degree of fit between how the Dutch obstetric care system is organised and how it operates (internal fit). Design/methodology/approach – This study analyses one year of patient data from one obstetric hospital department and from one midwifery practice in its immediate geographical proximity. Data were collected regarding the medical condition, consultations, and delivery. These data were used to test the degree to which the obstetric care system operates in line with the FFC; one would expect the midwifery practice to operate as a “line proces.