Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversification and Corporate Performance : An Evaluation of Pakistani Firms

Diversification continues to be an important strategy for corporate growth and better financial performance. The relationship between the diversification strategy and profitability as well as diversification and market power has been explored by a number of studies for the developed economies. The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between diversification and a firm’s financial performance in the case of Pakistan. A sample of 65 firms have been categorized as diversified and non-diversified. For these firms, the financial performance in terms of risk and return has been analyzed with the return measured by Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Market Rate of Return (MKRT) and Tobin’s q, and the coefficient of variation used as the measure of risk. The results show that the non-diversified firms performed better than the diversified firms. However, the high return of non-diversified firms is accompanied by low risk and the low return of diversified firms is more risky. But there is a contrast in results based on book values and market values. The paper concludes that managers have to be careful while selecting the degree of diversification since the diversified firm may capture more market share but it can reduce its profitability.
Outlier Path: A Homotopy Algorithm for Robust SVM

In recent applications with massive but less reliable data (e.g., labels obtained by a semi-supervised learning method or crowdsourcing), non-robustness of the support vector machine (SVM) often causes considerable performance deterioration. Although improving the robustness of SVM has been investigated for long time, robust SVM (RSVM) learning still poses two major challenges: obtaining a good (local) solution from a non-convex optimization problem and optimally controlling the robustness-efficiency trade-off. In this paper, we address these two issues simultaneously in an integrated way by introducing a novel homotopy approach to RSVM learning. Based on theoretical investigation of the geometry of RSVM solutions, we show that a path of local RSVM solutions can be computed efficiently when the influence of outliers is gradually suppressed as simulated annealing. We experimentally demonstrate that our algorithm tends to produce better local solutions than the alternative approach based on the concave-convex procedure, with the ability of stable and efficient model selection for controlling the influence of outliers.
Fluid Model of Crystal Plasticity

The main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate model of a plastic flow of a highly viscous fluid that describes the ultrafine structure formation induced by severe plastic deformation. The idea behind is to apply and further develop methods known from fluid mechanics to modelling crystal solids. We aim to describe very large deformations, that are typical for fluid models, thus the Eulerian formulation is employed. Numerical simulation equipped with necessary mathematical analysis, can predict microstructure evolution, including the material hardening, shear band formation and strain localization. The thesis focuses on three broad areas: mathematical modelling of responses of elasto-viscoplastic materials (Chapter 1), mathematical analysis of newly developed models (Chapter 2), and the development of numerical schemes to capture the behaviour of such materials (Chapter 3 and Chapter 4). In the centre of attention are, fully Eulerian models of crystal plastic materials under large deformations.
A Hybrid Approach for Probabilistic Forecasting of Electricity Price

The electricity market plays a key role in realizing the economic prophecy of smart grids. Accurate and reliable electricity market price forecasting is essential to facilitate various decision making activities of market participants in the future smart grid environment. However, due to the nonstationarities involved in market clearing prices (MCPs), it is rather difficult to accurately predict MCPs in advance. The challenge is getting intensified as more and more renewable energy and other new technologies emerged in smart grids. Therefore transformation from traditional point forecasts to probabilistic interval forecasts can be of great importance to quantify the uncertainties of potential forecasts, thus effectively supporting the decision making activities against uncertainties and risks ahead. This paper proposes a hybrid approach to construct prediction intervals of MCPs with a two-stage formulation. In the first stage, extreme learning machine (ELM) is applied to estimate point forecasts of MCPs and model uncertainties involved. In the second stage, the maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the noise variance. A generalized and comprehensive evaluation framework for probabilistic electricity price forecasting is proposed in this paper. The effectiveness of the proposed hybrid method has been validated through comprehensive tests using real price data from Australian electricity market.
Characteristics of Al$_{x}$In 1−$_{x}$As $_{y}$Sb1− $_{y}$ (x:0.3−0.7) Avalanche Photodiodes

We report avalanche photodiodes fabricated from Al<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{x}$</tex-math> </inline-formula>In<sub>1−</sub><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{x}$</tex-math></inline-formula>As <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{y}$</tex-math></inline-formula>Sb<sub>1−</sub><inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{y}$</tex-math></inline-formula> wafers grown by molecular beam epitaxy using the digital alloy technique. A series of Al<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{x}$</tex-math></inline-formula>In<sub> 1−</sub><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{x}$</tex-math></inline-formula>As<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{y}$</tex-math></inline-formula>Sb<sub>1−</sub><inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{y}$</tex-math></inline-formula> (<italic>x</italic> = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7) p-i-n structures have been grown on GaSb substrate. Dark current, avalanche multiplication, excess noise, and external quantum efficiencies have been characterized. Very low excess noise, as characterized by <italic>k</italic> ∼ 0.01–0.05, has been achieved.
Proteolytic activity of novel human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proteinase proteins from a precursor with a blocking mutation at the N terminus of the PR domain

The mature human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proteinase (PR; 11 kDa) can cleave all interdomain junctions in the Gag and Gag-Pol polyprotein precursors. To determine the activity of the enzyme in its precursor form, we blocked release of mature PR from a truncated Gag-Pol polyprotein by introducing mutations into the N-terminal Phe-Pro cleavage site of the PR domain. The mutant precursor autoprocessed efficiently upon expression in Escherichia coli. No detectable mature PR was released; however, several PR-related products ranging in size from approximately 14 to 18 kDa accumulated. Products of the same size were generated when mutant precursors were digested with wild-type PR. Thus, PR can utilize cleavage sites in the region upstream of the PR domain, resulting in the formation of extended PR species. On the basis of active-site titration, the PR species generated from mutated precursor exhibited wild-type activity on peptide substrates. However, the proteolytic activity of these extended enzymes on polyprotein substrates provided exogenously was low when equimolar amounts of extended and wild-type PR proteins were compared. Mammalian cells expressing the mutated precursor produced predominantly precursor and considerably reduced amounts of mature products. Released particles consisted mostly of uncleaved or partially cleaved polyproteins. Our results suggest that precursor forms of PR can autoprocess but are less efficient in processing of the Gag precursor for formation of mature virus particles.
Construction of Infectious cDNA Clone of a Chrysanthemum stunt viroid Korean Isolate

Chrysanthemum stunt viroid (CSVd), a noncoding infectious RNA molecule, causes seriously economic losses of chrysanthemum for 3 or 4 years after its first infection. Monomeric cDNA clones of CSVd isolate SK1 (CSVd-SK1) were constructed in the plasmids pGEM-T easy vector and pUC19 vector. Linear positive-sense transcripts synthesized in vitro from the full-length monomeric cDNA clones of CSVd-SK1 could infect systemically tomato seedlings and chrysanthemum plants, suggesting that the linear CSVd RNA transcribed from the cDNA clones could be replicated as efficiently as circular CSVd in host species. However, direct inoculation of plasmid cDNA clones containing full-length monomeric cDNA of CSVd-SK1 failed to infect tomato and chrysanthemum and linear negative-sense transcripts from the plasmid DNAs were not infectious in the two plant species. The cDNA sequences of progeny viroid in systemically infected tomato and chrysanthemum showed a few substitutions at a specific nucleotide position, but there were no deletions and insertions in the sequences of the CSVd progeny from tomato and chrysanthemum plants.
Comparison of Ondansetron and Metoclopramide for PONV Prophylaxis in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) are common distressing complications of surgery and anaesthesia. Objective: The present study was designed to compare the relative antiemetic efficacy and safety of intravenous (I/V) ondansetron and metoclopramide for prevention of PONV after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adult female patients under General Anesthesia (GA). Material and methods: In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study we included 150 adult American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Grade I or II female patients, aged 18-55 years, undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under GA. The anaesthetic technique, drugs, monitoring and care were standardized in all the patients during the perioperative period. The patients were divided into two groups using random numbers table. Group A (n=50) received ondansetron 4 mg/2ml while group B (n=50) received metoclopramide 10 mg/2 ml I/V just before induction of anaesthesia. Patients were observed for the initial 24 hours after anesthesia. The presence or absence of nausea and vomiting (by simply yes or no) was assessed by a resident anesthetist double blind to the study The rescue antiemetic (cyclizine 10 mg) I/V, was given, if patient suffered from nausea for more than 15 minutes, or experience retching or vomiting during study period. Results: In comparison to metoclopramide group, the frequency of nausea and vomiting was clinically and statistically lower in ordansetron group (p=0.035). Use of rescue antiemetic was significantly higher in metoclopramide group (p=0.022). Conclusion: Our study showed that prophylactic use of ondansetron is more effective with fewer side effects than metoclopramide in the prevention of PONV during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adult females. Furthermore, metoclopramide was associated with more adverse effects, major being dizziness and extrapyramidal symptoms.
Hamstring musculotendon dynamics during stance and swing phases of high-speed running.

INTRODUCTION Hamstring strain injuries are common in sports that involve high-speed running. It remains uncertain whether the hamstrings are susceptible to injury during late swing phase, when the hamstrings are active and lengthening, or during stance, when contact loads are present. In this study, we used forward dynamic simulations to compare hamstring musculotendon stretch, loading, and work done during stance and swing phases of high-speed running. METHODS Whole-body kinematics, EMG activities, and ground reactions were collected as 12 subjects ran on an instrumented treadmill at speeds ranging from 80% to 100% of maximum (avg max speed = 7.8 m·s(-1)). Subject-specific simulations were then created using a whole-body musculoskeletal model that included 52 Hill-type musculotendon units acting about the hip and the knee. A computed muscle control algorithm was used to determine muscle excitation patterns that drove the limb to track measured hip and knee sagittal plane kinematics, with measured ground reactions applied to the limb. RESULTS The hamstrings lengthened under load from 50% to 90% of the gait cycle (swing) and then shortened under load from late swing through stance. Although peak hamstring stretch was invariant with speed, lateral hamstring (biceps femoris) loading increased significantly with speed and was greater during swing than stance at the fastest speed. The biarticular hamstrings performed negative work on the system only during swing phase, with the amount of negative work increased significantly with speed. CONCLUSION We concluded that the large inertial loads during high-speed running appear to make the hamstrings most susceptible to injury during swing phase. This information is relevant for scientifically establishing muscle injury prevention and rehabilitation programs.
Dynamics in Tangible Chemical Reactions

Spatial understanding and the understanding of dynamic change in the spatial structure of molecules during a reaction is essential for designing new molecules. Knowing the physical processes in the reactions helps to speed up the designing process. To support the designer with the correct representation of the designed molecule as well as showing the dynamic behavior of the whole reacting system is the goal of our application. Our system shows the spatial deformation of the molecules at every time interval by minimizing the energy level of the molecules. The position and orientation of the molecules can be intuitively controlled by manipulating objects of the real world using Augmented Reality techniques. Our approach has the potential to speed up the design of new molecules and help students to understand the chemical processes better. Keywords—Augmented Chemical Reactions, Augmented Reality, chemistry, education.
Digoxin inhibits PDGF-BB-induced VSMC proliferation and migration through an increase in ILK signaling and attenuates neointima formation following carotid injury

The increased proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are key events in the development of artery restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention. Digoxin has long been used in the treatment of heart failure and has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells through multiple pathways. However, the potential role of digoxin in the regulation of VSMC proliferation and migration and its effectiveness in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, such as restenosis, remains unexplored. In the present study, we demonstrate that digoxin-induced growth inhibition is associated with the downregulation of CDK activation and the restoration of p27Kip1 levels in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated VSMCs. In addition, we found that digoxin restored the PDGF-BB-induced inhibition of integrin linked kinase (ILK) expression and prevented the PDGF-BB-induced activation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β. Furthermore, digoxin inhibited adhesion molecule and extracellular matrix relative protein expression. Finally, we found that digoxin significantly inhibited neointima formation, accompanied by a decrease in cell proliferation following vascular injury in rats. These effects of digoxin were shown to be mediated, at least in part, through an increase in ILK/Akt signaling and a decrease in GSK-3β signaling in PDGF-BB-stimulated VSMCs. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that digoxin exerts an inhibitory effect on the PDGF-BB-induced proliferation, migration and phenotypic modulation of VSMCs, and prevents neointima formation in rats. These observations indicate the potential therapeutic application of digoxin in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, such as restenosis.
AWJ machinability performance of CS/UPR composites with the effect of chemical treatment

ABSTRACT This work focuses on the effect of chemical treatment of coconut sheath/unsaturated polyester (CS/UPR) composite on the performance of abrasive waterjet machining (AWJM). Two different chemical treatments, namely alkali (NaOH) and trichlorovinylsilane, were imposed on the CS fiber. Further, the induced compressive strength arising as a result of AWJM was studied along the radial and depth directions of the composite. Experimental results revealed significantly lower induced stress at all points compared to the ultimate stress of CS/UPR composites except the free-edge loading condition. The chemically treated composites also exhibited inconsistent results in the machining characteristics such as kerf taper angle (Ta) and surface roughness (Ra) under varying cutting conditions. However, no direct correlation was seen between interfacial adhesion and Ta and Ra of the cutting zone. The maximum decrease of 12% of Ta and 22% of Ra was found for silane-treated composites compared to the untreated ones. In addition, the composite failure mechanisms such as fiber pullout, fiber breakage, interfacial debonding, matrix failure, and voids were identified in the cutting surfaces through scanning electron microscopy analysis.
Applying High Performance Computing to Multi-Area Stochastic Unit Commitment for Renewable Integration 2012 International Symposium on Mathematical Programming

We present a parallel implementation of a Lagrangian relaxation algorithm for solving stochastic unit commitment subject to uncertainty in wind power supply and generator and transmission line failures. We present a scenario selection algorithm inspired by importance sampling in order to formulate the stochastic unit commitment problem and validate its performance by comparing it to a stochastic formulation with a very large number of scenarios, that we are able to solve through parallelization. We examine the impact of narrowing the duality gap on the performance of stochastic unit commitment and compare it to the impact of increasing the number of scenarios in the model. We examine the relation between duality gap in Lagrangian relaxation and the number of scenarios in the model and relate that to theoretical results provided in the literature. We finally report results regarding speedup and efficiency and discuss the scalability of our proposed algorithm.
Optimal Deployment of Multistatic Radar System Using Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization

We consider an optimization deployment problem of multistatic radar system (MSRS). Through the antenna placing and the transmitted power allocating, we optimally deploy the MSRS for two goals: 1) the first one is to improve the coverage ratio of surveillance region; 2) the second goal is to get a even distribution of signal energy in surveillance region. In two typical working modes of MSRS, we formulate the optimization problem by introducing two objective functions according to the two mentioned goals, respectively. Addressing on two main challenges of applying multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) in solving the proposed optimization problem, we propose a deployment algorithm based on multiobjective particle swarm optimization with non-dominated relative crowding distance (MOPSO-NRCD). For the challenge of value difference, we propose a novel selection method with a non-dominated relative crowding distance. For the challenge of particle allocation, a multi-swarm structure of MOPSO is also introduced. Finally, simulation results are given out to prove the advantages and validity of the proposed deployment algorithm. It is shown that with same number of employed particles, the proposed MOPSO-NRCD algorithm can achieve better optimization performance than that of traditional multiobjective particle swarm optimization with crowding distance (MOPSO-CD).
Prevalence of 10-Year Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases and Associated Risks in Canadian Adults: The Contribution of Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment Introduction

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in adult Canadians. Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) derived from 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome (MetS) needs to be evaluated in Canadian adults. Objective. To determine CMR among Canadian adults by sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Subjects and Methods. Data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), Cycle 1, 2007–2009, was used. Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was implemented to predict 10-year risk of CVD, and metabolic syndrome was identified using the most recent criteria. The 10-year risk of CVD was multiplied by 1.5 in individuals with MetS to obtain CMR. Data were weighted and bootstrapped to be able to generalize the results nationally. Results and Conclusion. CMR gave more accurate estimation of 10-year risk of CVD in Canadian adults from 30 to 74 years than using only FRS. The 10-year risk of CVD in Canadian adults significantly increased when CMR was taken into account from 8.10% to 9.86%. The CVD risk increased by increase in age, decrease in education, and decrease in physical activity and in smokers. Canadians with medium risk of CVD consumed significantly less fruit and vegetable juice compared to Canadians with low risk. No other dietary differences were found.
Endothelial Cell PECAM-1 Promotes Atherosclerotic Lesions in Areas of Disturbed Flow in ApoE-Deficient Mice

Objective—Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1, CD31) has recently been shown to form an essential element of a mechanosensory complex that mediates endothelial responses to fluid shear stress. The aim of this study was to determine the in vivo role of PECAM-1 in atherosclerosis. Methods and Results—We crossed C57BL/6 Pecam1−/− mice with apolipoprotein E–deficient (Apoe−/−) mice. On a Western diet, Pecam1−/−Apoe−/− mice showed reduced atherosclerotic lesion size compared to Apoe−/− mice. Striking differences were observed in the lesser curvature of the aortic arch, an area of disturbed flow, but not in the descending thoracic or abdominal aorta. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression, macrophage infiltration, and endothelial nuclear NF-&kgr;B were all reduced in Pecam1−/−Apoe−/− mice. Bone marrow transplantation suggested that endothelial PECAM-1 is the main determinant of atherosclerosis in the aortic arch, but that hematopoietic PECAM-1 promotes lesions in the abdominal aorta. In vitro data show that siRNA-based knockdown of PECAM-1 attenuates endothelial NF-&kgr;B activity and VCAM-1 expression under conditions of atheroprone flow. Conclusion—These results indicate that endothelial PECAM-1 contributes to atherosclerotic lesion formation in regions of disturbed flow by regulating NF-&kgr;B–mediated gene expression.
Mutations Disrupting Histone Methylation Have Different Effects on Replication Timing in S. pombe Centromere

The fission yeast pericentromere comprises repetitive sequence elements packaged into heterchromatin marked by histone H3K9 methylation and Swi6 binding. Transient disruption of Swi6 during S phase allows a period of RNA synthesis which programs the RNAi machinery to maintain histone methylation. However, Swi6 is also required for early replication timing. We show that not only Swi6 but also the chromodomain protein Chp1 are delocalized during S phase. Different from loss of swi6, mutations that disrupt histone methylation in the centromere, chp1Δ and clr4Δ, undergo early DNA replication. However, timing is modestly delayed in RNAi mutants dcr1Δ or rdp1Δ, while hrr1Δ mutants resemble swi6Δ in their replication delay. Finally, we show that recruitment of RNA polymerase II in the centromere occurs independently of replication. These different effects indicate that replication timing is not simply linked to histone methylation.