Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on Competitiveness Efficiency of Crediting Rating Industry using DEA

Abstract This study investigates industry competitiveness problem in crediting rating industry. In this paper, firstly it put forward the competitive analysis model of credit rating industry, then the indicators system of evaluation is constructed; Secondly, DEA method is developed to take empirical researches on credit rating industry competitiveness problem, from the angle of technological progress; Thirdly, to make clear of the problem, the technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of DMU is calculated.Some important conclusions are obtained: most of the credit rating agencies in America and Europe, such as Mood's, Fitch and S&P, take the leading place in competitiveness efficiency, and Japan’ agencies has made great progress in industry competition, while redundant inputs and outputs shortage co-exist for China’ angencies. etc. At last, a series of practical and feasible suggestions and countermeasures are put forward.
A potent dauer pheromone component in Caenorhabditis elegans that acts synergistically with other components

In the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, the dauer pheromone is the primary cue for entry into the developmentally arrested, dauer larval stage. The dauer is specialized for survival under harsh environmental conditions and is considered “nonaging” because larvae that exit dauer have a normal life span. C. elegans constitutively secretes the dauer pheromone into its environment, enabling it to sense its population density. Several components of the dauer pheromone have been identified as derivatives of the dideoxy sugar ascarylose, but additional unidentified components of the dauer pheromone contribute to its activity. Here, we show that an ascaroside with a 3-hydroxypropionate side chain is a highly potent component of the dauer pheromone that acts synergistically with previously identified components. Furthermore, we show that the active dauer pheromone components that are produced by C. elegans vary depending on cultivation conditions. Identifying the active components of the dauer pheromone, the conditions under which they are produced, and their mechanisms of action will greatly extend our understanding of how chemosensory cues from the environment can influence such fundamental processes as development, metabolism, and aging in nematodes and in higher organisms.
Differences between Offer and Demand on the ICT specialist’s Czech Labor Market

Abstract Global changes in the information society are placing ever greater emphasis on professionals in all areas of human activity and in the area of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) especially. This article provides methodology how to measure knowledge level requirements on ICT specialists in business, ICT and non ICT skills in graduates of tertiary education level. It shows also an example of data collecting in academic sphere and among business unites. Practical experiences from the five years research are presented at the end of in this contribution. These results are successfully applied for human resource management and innovation management in competences of ICT professionals in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic.
Purification and Characterization of a Novel Thermo‐Alkali‐Stable Catalase from Thermus brockianus

A novel thermo‐alkali‐stable catalase from Thermus brockianus was purified and characterized. The protein was purified from a T. brockianus cell extract in a three‐step procedure that resulted in 65‐fold purification to a specific activity of 5300 U/mg. The enzyme consisted of four identical subunits of 42.5 kDa as determined by SDS‐PAGE and a total molecular mass measured by gel filtration of 178 kDa. The catalase was active over a temperature range from 30 to 94 °C and a pH range from 6 to 10, with optimum activity occurring at 90 °C and pH 8. At pH 8, the enzyme was extremely stable at elevated temperatures with half‐lives of 330 h at 80 °C and 3 h at 90 °C. The enzyme also demonstrated excellent stability at 70 °C and alkaline pH with measured half‐lives of 510 h and 360 h at pHs of 9 and 10, respectively. The enzyme had an unusual pyridine hemochrome spectrum and appears to utilize eight molecules of heme c per tetramer rather than protoheme IX present in the majority of catalases studied to date. The absorption spectrum suggested that the heme iron of the catalase was in a 6‐coordinate low spin state rather than the typical 5‐coordinate high spin state. A Km of 35.5 mM and a Vmax of 20.3 mM/min·mg protein for hydrogen peroxide was measured, and the enzyme was not inhibited by hydrogen peroxide at concentrations up to 450 mM. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by cyanide and the traditional catalase inhibitor 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole. The enzyme also showed no peroxidase activity to peroxidase substrates o‐dianisidine and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid), a trait of typical monofunctional catalases. However, unlike traditional monofunctional catalases, the T. brockianus catalase was easily reduced by dithionite, a characteristic of catalase‐peroxidases. The above properties indicate that this catalase has potential for applications in industrial bleaching processes to remove residual hydrogen peroxide from process streams.
The International Activities of Japanese Retailers

Despite the upsurge of academic and commercial interest in the changes taking place in the retail sector within Japan, little has been published on the international activities of Japanese retailers. This paper illustrates the range and scale of activities.which have been undertaken by such companies. While Europe and America were favourite destinations up until the mid-1980s, most Japanese retailers have now refocused their expansion plans on Asia as the level of consumers' disposable income has risen and trade barriers have been lowered. At the same time, the early entrants into international markets, the development stores, have been joined by companies operating supermarkets, convenience stores, clothing stores, electrical outlets and so on. The paper considers the nature of these changes and the factors which have driven them.
Collusive Pricing with Capacity Constraints in the Presence of Demand Uncertainty

We explore the response of collusive prices to changing demand conditions when firms operate under capacity constraints in the presence of demand uncertainty. We find support for the conventional view that periods of low demand lead, through the emergence of excess capacity, to a breakdown of collusive pricing. We also find that the nature of price wars depends on the degree of excess capacity in the industry; while small amounts of excess capacity can lead firms to engage in "mild" price wars, characterized by uniform price reductions and market share stability, more "severe" price wars, characterized by price undercutting and market share instability, can emerge if excess capacity is sufficiently great. Finally, our results lend support to the view that market share instability is a symptom of ineffective collusion.
Passenger or Driver? A Cross-National Examination of Media Coverage and Civil War Interventions

Existing research on civil war interventions provides contradicting evidence about the role that the media plays in affecting the likelihood of intervention. To date, studies often focus on specific cases (frequently by the United States) leaving it unclear whether the media's influence extends more broadly. In this article we examine this question cross-nationally and argue that we need to account for the possibility that interventions also lead to increases in media coverage. We test our hypotheses using cross-national data on civil war interventions and media coverage. These data include a new measure of media coverage of 73 countries experiencing civil wars between 1982 and 1999. These data allow us to determine whether media coverage is more likely to drive leaders’ decisions or follow them. Toward this end we employ a two-stage conditional maximum likelihood model to control for potential endogeneity between media attention and interventions. The results suggest a reciprocal positive relationship between media attention and civil conflict interventions. Specifically, an increase of one standard deviation in media coverage raises the probability of intervention 68%.
Characterization and mechanism of action of cerein 7, a bacteriocin produced by Bacillus cereus Bc7

Cerein 7 is a peptidic antibiotic produced by Bacillus cereus Bc7 (CECT 5148) at the end of exponential growth but before sporulation onset. Cerein 7 has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria, but it is inactive against Gram‐negative bacteria. The sequence of its amino‐terminal end and its characteristics of hydrophobicity and molecular mass make cerein 7 unique among the bacteriocins produced by the soil bacterium B. cereus. In this paper a further characterization of cerein 7 is presented, it is shown that it can be classified as a Klaenhammer's class II bacteriocin and that its mode of action corresponds to that of a membrane‐active compound.
[123I]‐FP‐CIT‐SPECT demonstrates dopaminergic deficit in orthostatic tremor

There is increasing evidence of a potential role of the dopaminergic system in orthostatic tremor (OT): Association with parkinsonism and treatment effects of L‐dopa and dopamine agonists have been reported. Eleven patients with isolated OT had single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 123I‐FP‐CIT ([123I]‐2β‐carbomethoxy‐3β‐(‐4‐iodophenyl)‐N‐(3‐fluoropropyl)‐nortropane) as dopamine transporter tracer. Results were compared with 12 age‐matched normal controls and 12 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A marked reduction in striatal tracer binding was found in OT compared to normal controls (p < 0.001). Tracer uptake was significantly higher and more symmetrical than in PD, and caudate and putamen were equally affected. L‐dopa challenges, performed in seven patients, showed a small but non‐significant improvement on EMG and a small but significant improvement in clinical parameters on blinded video rating. Two‐month open‐label L‐dopa treatment (600 mg/day) led to a small improvement in two of five patients but no significant overall change. Olfactory function on University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test was normal. Our finding of a marked tracer uptake reduction on dopamine transporter SPECT supports a role of the dopaminergic system in OT. Lack of evidence of a clinically relevant therapeutic response to L‐dopa suggests that other mechanisms must also be involved in the pathogenesis. Ann Neurol 2003
Implementing and Interpreting Event Studies of Regulatory Changes

The study of the stock price reaction to an event is a standard tool in economics and finance. The spate of regulatory changes in recent years provides ample opportunity for such studies. However, event studies of regulatory changes present a number of challenges. Analysts must carefully design and interpret tests of hypotheses regarding the effects of regulatory changes because of the nature of the regulatory process and financial markets. I discuss the way to test for the impact of regulatory changes in an event study. I also comment on what event studies can and cannot tell us about the effects of regulatory changes, and on ways to more effectively implement them.
Idiosyncratic Risk of Investing in Islamic Capital Market Equities

This article investigates the idiosyncratic risk of investing in Islamic capital market equities. It aims to answer the question: do stocks included (excluded) in the Shari’ah Index have higher (lower) idiosyncratic risks? We used the FTSE Bursa Malaysia EMAS Shari’ah Index (FBMEI) launched in 2007 to investigate whether stocks added and deleted from this Shari’ah-compliant index had higher or lower idiosyncratic risks. The estimation results show that the idiosyncratic risk of stocks added to the FBMEI was high during the bearish market and low during the bullish market. Our estimation results from a rolling regression show that, on average, idiosyncratic risk for the stocks deleted from the FBMEI is relatively higher compared to idiosyncratic risk for the stocks added to the FBMEI.
Risk-Taking Incentives: A Review of the Literature

Incentive structures affect people's decisions. But what are the implications of the resulting choices that people make for the level of risk within the economy? This paper reviews the literature in this area and attempts to draw out practical work that can be taken forward in assessing risk-taking incentives in the UK. Understanding the principal-agent problem is key to explaining many of the incentive structures that emerge. The paper provides an exposition of this before considering its implications in the managerial and financial markets. Within both these markets the paper considers how incentive structures alter principals' behaviour, before considering possible solutions to the common problem of asymmetric information. The paper concludes that the implications for risk-taking are unclear, as incentive structures can lead to both increased and decreased risk-taking. It therefore makes a number of suggestions for future research into the effect of incentive structures in existence in the UK. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2005.
Detection of the KPC Gene in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii during a PCR-Based Nosocomial Surveillance Study in Puerto Rico

ABSTRACT A 6-month, PCR-based, island-wide hospital surveillance study of beta-lactam resistance in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii was conducted in Puerto Rico. Of 10,507 isolates, 1,239 (12%) unique, multi-beta-lactam-resistant isolates from all geographical regions were identified. The KPC gene was detected in 61 E. coli, 333 K. pneumoniae, 99 P. aeruginosa, and 41 A. baumannii isolates, indicating the widespread dissemination of the KPC gene in clinically significant nosocomial isolates.
Reduced Complexity Digital Back-Propagation Methods for Optical Communication Systems

Next-generation optical communication systems will continue to push the ( bandwidth · distance) product towards its physical limit. To address this enormous demand, the usage of digital signal processing together with advanced modulation formats and coherent detection has been proposed to enable data-rates as high as 400 Gb/s per channel over distances in the order of 1000 km. These technological breakthroughs have been made possible by full compensation of linear fiber impairments using digital equalization algorithms. While linear equalization techniques have already matured over the last decade, the next logical focus is to explore solutions enabling the mitigation of the Kerr effect induced nonlinear channel impairments. One of the most promising methods to compensate for fiber nonlinearities is digital back-propagation (DBP), which has recently been acknowledged as a universal compensator for fiber propagation impairments, albeit with high computational requirements. In this paper, we discuss two proposals to reduce the hardware complexity required by DBP. The first confirms and extends published results for non-dispersion managed link, while the second introduces a novel method applicable to dispersion managed links, showing complexity reductions in the order of 50% and up to 85%, respectively. The proposed techniques are validated by comparing results obtained through post-processing of simulated and experimental data, employing single channel and WDM configurations, with advanced modulation formats, such as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM). The considered net symbol rate for all cases is 25 GSymbol/s. Our post-processing results show that we can significantly reduce the hardware complexity without affecting the system performance. Finally, a detailed analysis of the obtained reduction is presented for the case of dispersion managed link in terms of number of required complex multiplications per transmitted bit.
Bridging the State and Society: Case Study of Mahalla Institutions in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, after gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, had publicly declared that it would adhere to democratic governance principles in designing and implementing its public administration policies. As a newly-independent state with democracy claims, Uzbekistan had tried to establish new democratic institutions with an effort to capture international community’s attention and attract foreign direct investment. For a brief period during the first stages of nation-building process there was a widespread assumption that Uzbekistan would be able to build democratic institutions and market-based economy through reforming its public administration system. Consequently, decentralization reforms had been launched in order to promote the efficiency of public administration at the local level. The main aim of these decentralization reforms was to abandon traditional communistic public administration system in which the public administration system was centrally-planned. Pre-Soviet institutions and popular traditions have been chosen as a basis for these public administration reforms. Accordingly, pre-Soviet Mahalla institutions (local community groups) presented themselves as feasible solutions. Prior to these reforms, mahallas heavily relied on social norms to enforce the cooperative behavior in the community. The adoption of the Mahalla Law in 1993 (revised in 1999) has strictly formalized the activities of mahallas, thereby indirectly incorporating them into the system of public administration. Mahallas are no longer local informal institutions, now they have become the government’s main agency responsible for implementing social welfare programs and maintaining social order and stability. In the light of growing economic, social and political challenges, mahallas have become the focal point of public policies where the law, social forces and informal economic structures come to interplay. This paper uses mahalla institutions as a case study to examine the myths and realities of public administration reforms in Uzbekistan since 1991. It is argued that public administration reforms since 1991 have transformed mahallas into the comprehensive system of social control, and therefore, mahallas can be places of democratic transformations or sites of authoritarianism in Uzbekistan.
The Strategic Exercise of Options: Development Cascades and Overbuilding in Real Estate Markets.

This article develops an equilibrium framework for strategic option exercise games. The author focuses on a particular example: the timing of real estate development. An analysis of the equilibrium exercise policies of developers provides insights into the forces that shape market behavior. The model isolates the factors that make some markets prone to bursts of concentrated development. The model also provides an explanation for why some markets may experience building booms in the face of declining demand and property values. While such behavior is often regarded as irrational overbuilding, the model provides a rational foundation for such exercise patterns. Copyright 1996 by American Finance Association.
Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions in a Rural School District in Southern Indiana

Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers’ Career Decisions in a Rural School District in Southern Indiana by Theresa Lemons MA, Olivet Nazarene University, 2004 BS, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, 2001 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Emerging Russian multinational companies: managerial and corporate challenges

In recent years, large Russian companies have shown an impressive performance in their expansion abroad. This internationalisation has attracted a great deal of interest from both scholars and practitioners. Advance of these companies into Western markets has become a contentious topic; quite often, it is due to the clashes between the distinctly Russian managerial style and the Western style of classic management. Yet, the interplay between the specificities of the Russian managerial style and the process of firm internationalisation remains an under-researched topic. The paper seeks to fill this gap and to examine management practices in Russian companies, with a specific emphasis on internationalisation. The study provides a detailed account of several elements of these practices, such as human resource management, knowledge management, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the paper formulates directions for further research.
Preference Reversal: Information-Processing Effect or Rational Non-transitive Choice?

Preference reversal is often explained as an information-processing effect, whereby individuals respond differently to valuation problems than to straight choices. Regret theory offers the alternative explanation that individuals act on consistent, but nontransitive, preferences. Regret theory, in its most general form, is shown to make specific predictions about nontransitive pairwise choices that correspond with the preferences reversal phenomenon. Some experiments designed to discriminate between these two explanations are reported. The main finding is that, as regret theory predicts, the preference reversal phenomenon can be reproduced in situations in which subjects confront only choice problems. Copyright 1989 by Royal Economic Society.
Nice Guys Finish First: The Competitive Altruism Hypothesis

Three experimental studies examined the relationship between altruistic behavior and the emergence of status hierarchies within groups. In each study, group members were confronted with a social dilemma in which they could either benefit themselves or their group. Study 1 revealed that in a reputation environment when contributions were public, people were more altruistic. In both Studies 1 and 2, the most altruistic members gained the highest status in their group and were most frequently preferred as cooperative interaction partners. Study 3 showed that as the costs of altruism increase, the status rewards also increase. These results support the premise at the heart of competitive altruism: Individuals may behave altruistically for reputation reasons because selective benefits (associated with status) accrue to the generous.
Multicentric parotid cysts and cervical adenopathy in aids patients. A newly recognized entity: CT and MR manifestations

Patients with AIDS or ARC may present with parotid gland enlargement either initially or during the course of their disease. Of nine such patients, eight had unilateral gland enlargement, and one had bilateral disease. CT and MR scanning revealed that all patients except one had bilateral multiple intraparotid cysts. In addition, four of the nine patients clinically had cervical adenopathy, while all patients had adenopathy on scanning. We believe that the association of parotid cysts and cervical adenopathy is another manifestation of AIDS or ARC and, when found on scanning, should alert the clinician to the probable underlying condition.