Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AIS Electronic

The use of information systems (IS) is determined by many factors, such as the usability and usefulness of the system, the tasks facing the user, the training and background of the user, and the social group of which the user is a part. Much of the "impacts" research has ignored social and political factors, and the results in this area reflect this bias. This point can be illustrated by examining the literature on the impacts of information systems on different organizational variables. The research on the impact of IS on the quality of work life (QWL), for example, has shown that IS can decrease QWL, increase QWL, both increase and decrease QWL, or have no effect. Similarly mixed results have been found for centralization of authority, number of levels of reporting relationships, and other dimensions of organizational structure. It is understandable that much research on the impact of information systems on organizations has had mixed and even contradictory results. Poor research methods, different operatic,nalizations of the same variables, different levels of analysis, and inadequate theory are all partly responsible for the variance in results. It is argued that the lack of convergence in the results is also due to a fundamental assumption behind some impacts research: that the features of an IS alone can cause any impact to occur. Impacts are mixed because organizational contexts are mixed, and it is the interaction of the organization and the information system that ultimately determines the impact of that system. Thus, the mixed impacts research results can be viewed as a replicated finding: the same type of system can have different impacts in different organizations.
Managing Information Systems Integration in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have during the last decade established themselves as prominent tools for corporate strategy. Consequently, more and more organizations direct their attention towards the potential benefits of a corporate merger and acquisition (M&A) and the problems of leveraging the potentials. This thesis addresses information systems (IS) integration in the context of M&As. It seeks to enhance the understanding of how IS integration relates to the M&A context, and how to act upon the environmental pressure on the integration solution. The thesis presents a study that can be divided into two phases. The first phase introduces a theoretical framework for IS integration in corporate M&As by integrating previous research on M&A and IS integration. Guided by the framework, the thesis describes and explains the managerial decisions on IS integration and the decision consequences in four corporate M&As. In the second phase of this thesis the research findings from the case studies are used as kernel theory in a design process. In this design process, descriptive and explanatory theory are transformed to prescriptive theory with the ambition to support IS professionals concerned with management of IS integration in M&As. Three managerial challenges related to IS integration in M&A are addressed: 1) improving the capability of IS integration in M&A over time, 2) determining the impact of IS integration on synergetic leverage, and 3) choosing an IS integration architecture. The prescriptive theory, presented in the form of so called design propositions, are evaluated by fellow researchers and IS professional with experience of IS integration in M&A. (Less)
Characterization of contextual independence of contingency matrix

A contingency table summarizes the conditional frequencies of two attributes and shows how these two attributes are dependent on each other with the information on a partition of universe generated by these attributes. Thus, this table can be viewed as a relation between two attributes with respect to information granularity. This paper focuses on characterization of partial independence in a contigency table. from the viewpoint of granular computing, which shows that partial independence, called contextual independene in a contingency table is a special form of linear dependence. The discussions also show that when a contingency table is viewed as a matrix, called a contingency matrix, its rank is less than full rank . Thus, the degree of independence, rank plays a very important role in extracting a probabilistic model from a given contingency table.
Multimodal fluorescence microscopy of prion strain specific PrP deposits stained by thiophene-based amyloid ligands

The disease-associated prion protein (PrP) forms aggregates which vary in structural conformation yet share an identical primary sequence. These variations in PrP conformation are believed to manifest in prion strains exhibiting distinctly different periods of disease incubation as well as regionally specific aggregate deposition within the brain. The anionic luminescent conjugated polythiophene (LCP), polythiophene acetic acid (PTAA) has previously been used to distinguish PrP deposits associated with distinct mouse adapted strains via distinct fluorescence emission profiles from the dye. Here, we employed PTAA and 3 structurally related chemically defined luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) to stain brain tissue sections from mice inoculated with 2 distinct prion strains. Our results showed that in addition to emission spectra, excitation, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) can fruitfully be assessed for optical distinction of PrP deposits associated with distinct prion strains. Our findings support the theory that alterations in LCP/LCO fluorescence are due to distinct conformational restriction of the thiophene backbone upon interaction with PrP aggregates associated with distinct prion strains. We foresee that LCP and LCO staining in combination with multimodal fluorescence microscopy might aid in detecting structural differences among discrete protein aggregates and in linking protein conformational features with disease phenotypes for a variety of neurodegenerative proteinopathies.
13C Metabolic Flux Analysis for Systematic Metabolic Engineering of S. cerevisiae for Overproduction of Fatty Acids

Efficient redirection of microbial metabolism into the abundant production of desired bioproducts remains non-trivial. Here, we used flux-based modeling approaches to improve yields of fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We combined 13C labeling data with comprehensive genome-scale models to shed light onto microbial metabolism and improve metabolic engineering efforts. We concentrated on studying the balance of acetyl-CoA, a precursor metabolite for the biosynthesis of fatty acids. A genome-wide acetyl-CoA balance study showed ATP citrate lyase from Yarrowia lipolytica as a robust source of cytoplasmic acetyl-CoA and malate synthase as a desirable target for downregulation in terms of acetyl-CoA consumption. These genetic modifications were applied to S. cerevisiae WRY2, a strain that is capable of producing 460 mg/L of free fatty acids. With the addition of ATP citrate lyase and downregulation of malate synthase, the engineered strain produced 26% more free fatty acids. Further increases in free fatty acid production of 33% were obtained by knocking out the cytoplasmic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, which flux analysis had shown was competing for carbon flux upstream with the carbon flux through the acetyl-CoA production pathway in the cytoplasm. In total, the genetic interventions applied in this work increased fatty acid production by ~70%.
Sensory-Specific Associations Stored in the Lateral Amygdala Allow for Selective Alteration of Fear Memories

Consolidated long-term fear memories become labile and can be disrupted after being reactivated by the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US). Whether this is due to an alteration of the conditioned stimulus (CS) representation in the lateral amygdala (LA) is not known. Here, we show in rats that fear memory reactivation through presentation of the aversive US, like CS presentation, triggers a process which, when disrupted, results in a selective depotentiation of CS-evoked neural responses in the LA in correlation with a selective suppression of CS-elicited fear memory. Thus, an aversive US triggers the reconsolidation of its associated predictor representation in LA. This new finding suggests that sensory-specific associations are stored in the lateral amygdala, allowing for their selective alteration by either element of the association.
Footprint diameter for a cosmic‐ray soil moisture probe: Theory and Monte Carlo simulations

We used a combination of diffusion theory and neutron transport simulations to estimate the lateral footprint for a cosmic‐ray soil moisture probe. The footprint is radial and can be described by an exponential function. Our theory assumes, and our simulations confirm that the corresponding exponential folding length is closely related to the moderation length in air, which in this work is defined as the average net displacement experienced by neutrons while traveling from the point of emission from soil to the point of detection in air. These simulations indicate that the effective moderation length is 150 m in dry air at sea level, and that this value is fairly constant over a wide range of detection energies––from 100 to 105 eV. If we define the lateral footprint as the area encompassing two e‐fold distances, i.e., the area from which 86% of the recorded neutrons originate, then the footprint diameter is nearly 600 m in dry air. Both theory and simulations indicate that the footprint is inversely proportional to air density and linearly proportional to the height of the sensor above the ground for heights up to 125 m. Furthermore, our simulations indicate that the dependence on soil moisture is small, but the dependence on atmospheric humidity is significant, with a decrease in the footprint diameter of 40 m for every 0.01 kg kg−1 increase in specific humidity. The good agreement between our theory and transport simulations suggests that the lateral footprint is determined mainly by the properties of air.
Behavioral Evidence of Depolarization Block of Dopamine Neurons after Chronic Treatment with Haloperidol and Clozapine

Electrophysiological studies have shown that chronic treatment with haloperidol causes depolarization block (DB) of dopamine cells in anesthetized and paralyzed rats. It has been proposed that the emergence of DB underlies the therapeutic and side effects of this drug. However, the relevance of DB to the clinical actions of haloperidol has been questioned on the grounds that chronic drug-induced DB has not yet been demonstrated in freely moving animals. In this study, responding for rewarding electrical brain stimulation was used to assess the occurrence of DB in rats chronically treated with haloperidol or clozapine. The time course of the effects of acute haloperidol (7.8–500 μg/kg) and clozapine (5–40 mg/kg) and of withdrawal from chronic drug treatment on reward and performance measures were also characterized. Haloperidol and clozapine dose-dependently attenuated reward and performance, haloperidol producing a predominant suppression of performance, and clozapine preferentially attenuating reward. Chronic (21 d) treatment with haloperidol (500 μg/kg) caused responding to cease in the six rats tested, and repeated injection with apomorphine restored the behavior in all of them; such an effect of apomorphine was observed in only two of six rats treated acutely with the same dose of haloperidol. Chronic treatment with clozapine (20 mg/kg) increased reward thresholds, an effect that was reversed by apomorphine in chronically, but not acutely, treated rats. The times at which chronic haloperidol-treated rats resumed responding was positively correlated with indices of behavioral supersensitivity after withdrawal, suggesting that the effect of apomorphine was not caused by direct stimulation of upregulated postsynaptic receptors. These findings constitute the first behavioral evidence of DB in unanesthetized, freely moving animals treated chronically with antipsychotics. They also demonstrate that the neural substrates mediating reward and performance are functionally independent and differentially sensitive to haloperidol and clozapine.
On the capacity of sum-networks

In this paper, we consider sum-networks, which is a class of directed acyclic networks where each terminal in the network requires sum of all the sources. In the literature, all reported sum-networks are shown to have only certain rational valued coding capacities. For example, it has been shown that a sum-network, having 3 sources and 3 terminals, has coding capacity either 0, 2/3 or ≥ 1. It is an open problem whether every positive rational number is the coding capacity of some sum-network. In this paper, for every positive rational number k/n, we show the existence of a sum-network which has coding capacity equal to k/n. The constructed sum-network also demonstrate that the gap between min-cut bound and coding capacity can be unbounded for sum-networks.
Monitoring a Common Agent

We study the problem of multiple financiers who want to extract income from a privately informed agent and design their financial contracts non-cooperatively. Our analysis reveals that the degree of coordination between financiers has strong implications for the shapes of financial contracts. Equity like contracts and excessive monitoring emerge when principals are able to delegate monitoring or verify each others monitoring efforts. When this is not possible, free riding in monitoring weakens the incentive to monitor high profit levels, so that flat payments, debt-like contracts and very low levels of monitoring appear.
Splenomegaly, Cardiomegaly, and Osteoporosis in a Child with Gaucher Disease

A 15-month-old girl, born to the consanguineous parents, was referred with the sign of massive splenomegaly associated with thrombocytopenia and anemia. Plasma Chitotriosidase estimation was carried out as a screening test and was found to be normal with reduced activity of β-glucosidase in leucocytes suggestive of Gaucher disease. At the age of 4 years, severe osteoporosis and cardiomegaly with pulmonary congestion were observed in the child. Molecular analysis for GBA gene has revealed homozygous status for L444P (c.1448C) in the proband, whereas parents and two elder sisters were found to be heterozygote. Prenatal study during the fourth pregnancy was carried out from cultured chorionic villi for β-glucosidase, which was in the carrier range. Further confirmation of the carrier status was carried out from amniotic fluid DNA and was found to be heterozygous for L444P (c.1448C) in the GBA gene. This case demonstrates that children with the sign of splenomegaly with anemia and thrombocytopenia need to be screened for Gaucher disease, and molecular study can further help to confirm the heterozygous status, where prenatal study by enzyme investigation demonstrate heterozygous condition.
Comparison of hydrolysis and esterification behavior of Humicola lanuginosa and Rhizomucor miehei lipases in AOT‐stabilized water‐in‐oil microemulsions: II. Effect of temperature on reaction kinetics and general considerations of stability and productivity

Humicola lanuginosa lipase (HIL) and Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RrnL), isolated from commercial preparations of Lipolase and Lipozyme, respectively, were solubilized in AOT‐stabilized water‐in‐oil (w/o) microemulsions in n‐heptane and aspects of their hydrolysis and condensation activity examined. The temperature dependence of HIL hydrolysis activity in unbuffered R = 10 microemulsions matched very closely that for tributyrin hydrolysis by Lipolase in an aqueous emulsion assay. Apparent activation energies were measured as 13 ± 2 and 15 ± 2 kJ mol / respectively. Condensation activity, however, was essentially independent of temperature over the range 5° to 37°C. The stability of HIL over a 30‐day period was very good at all pH levels (6.1, 7.2, 9.3) and R values studied (5, 7.5, 10, 20), except when high pHs and low R values were combined. The excellent stability was reflected by the linearity of the productivity profiles which facilitate system optimization. The temperature dependence of RmL hydrolysis activity toward pNPC4 showed a maximum at 40°C and an apparent Eact = 20 ± 2 kJ mol−1 was calculated based on the linear region of the profile (5° to 40°C). RmL esterification activity showed only a slight dependence on temperature over the studied range (0° to 40°C) and an apparent Eact = 5 ± 1 kJ mol−1 was measured for octyl decanoate synthesis. Both RmL and HIL, therefore, have potential for application in low temperature biotransformations in microemulsion‐based media. The stability of RmL over a 30‐day period was good in R = 7.5 and R = 10 microemulsions containing pH 6.1 buffer, and this was reflected in the linearity of their respective productivity profiles. RmL stability was markedly poorer at more alkaline pH, however, and proved to be sensitive to relatively small changes in the R value. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Improving internal consistency in IC research and practice: IC and the theory of the firm

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of referring to a theory of the firm as a way to strongly improve internal consistency in both research and practice. To this end, the paper explores how a theory-of-the-firm perspective can assist in a consistent analysis of IC, focusing on five IC-related issues: the definition and the origins of IC; the set of property rights on IC; its role in the competitive advantage and the value generation process of the firm; the way IC can be valued, including issues relating to the internal and external reporting; and finally the most efficient way to effectively manage and control IC. Analysis is carried out referring to the strengths and weaknesses of the resource-based view (RBV), being the main reference theories for IC scholars and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a deductive approach to explore how different theories of the firm shape the way IC-related issues could be consistently analysed. Findings – The r.
Oscillation and nonoscillation criteria for half-linear second order differential equations

Oscillatory properties of the second order half-linear differential equation are investigated. The studied equation is viewed as a perturbation of a nonoscillatory equation of the same form. Conditions on the perturbation term are given which guarantee that the original equation is oscillatory (nonoscillatory).
Legibility of perceptually-tuned grayscale fonts

Perceptually-tuned grayscale fonts are generated from character outline descriptions by applying to them a set of modifications specifically conceived for strengthening thin character parts, obtaining well-contrasted bars and preserving important relationships between character shape parts. The present study aims at comparing the legibility of perceptually-tuned grayscale and bilevel display fonts at small and very small sizes (6, 8 and 10 pt) The study confirms the results of previous studies indicating that reading speed is to a large extent independent of the typography (bilevel or grayscale) and the font size. However, perceptually-tuned grayscale characters perform better than bilevel characters for an italic string search task in a meaningless text. Regarding the subjective preferences of the test subjects, perceptually-tuned grayscale fonts at 8 and 10 point sizes received a superior rating than bilevel fonts at the same sizes.
Suzaku Observations of Abell 1795: Cluster Emission to r200

We report Suzaku observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 1795 that extend to r200 �2 Mpc, the radius within which the mean cluster mass density is 200 times the cosmic critical density. These observations are the first to probe the state of the intracluster medium in this object at r > 1.3 Mpc. We sample two disjoint sectors in the cluster outskirts (1.3 0.4 Mpc and find that it falls relatively rapidly (Tdeprojected / r −0.9 ), reaching a value about one third of its peak at the largest radius we can measure it. Assuming the intracluster medium is in hydrostatic equilibrium and is polytropic, we find a polytropic index of =1 . 3 +0.3 −0.2 and we estimate a mass of 4.1 +0.5 −0.3 ×10 14 M⊙ within 1.3 Mpc, somewhat (2.7 σ) lower than that reported by previous observers. However, our observations provide evidence for departure from hydrostatic equilibrium at radii as small as
The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Economic Growth: Evidence from a Quantile Regression Analysis

Individual country experience with trade liberalisation has been mixed. This paper examines the relationship between liberalisation and growth for a sample of 75 liberalising countries. To consider the importance of heterogeneity in the growth response to liberalisation this paper employs quantile regression methods which allow the coefficient on liberalisation to vary across the conditional growth distribution. The results suggest that countries experiencing the lowest rates of growth benefit most from liberalisation. The results also suggest that while such countries benefit most in the long-run they are the most likely to suffer from short-run negative effects of liberalisation.
A Study of the Internal Organization of a Bidding Cartel

This paper examines bidding in over 1,700 knockout auctions used by a bidding cartel (or ring) of stamp dealers in the 1990s. The knockout was conducted using a variant of the model studied by Daniel Graham, Robert Marshall, and Jean-Francois Richard (1990). Following a reduced form examination of these data, damages, induced inefficiency, and the ring's benefit from colluding are estimated using a structural model in the spirit of Emmanuel Guerre, Isabelle Perrigne, and Quang Vuong (2000). A notable finding is that nonring bidders suffered damages that were of the same order of magnitude as those of the sellers. (JEL D43, D44, L12)
The first international consensus conference on continuous renal replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND Management of acute renal failure (ARF) in the critically ill is extremely variable and there are no published standards for the provision of renal replacement therapy in this population. We sought to review the available evidence, make evidence-based practice recommendations, and delineate key questions for future study. METHODS We undertook an evidence-based review of the literature on continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) using MEDLINE searches. We determined a list of key questions and convened a 2-day consensus conference to develop summary statements via a series of alternating breakout and plenary sessions. In these sessions, we identified supporting evidence and generated practice guidelines and/or directions for future research. RESULTS Of the 46 questions considered, we found consensus for 20. We found inadequate evidence for 21 questions and for the remaining five we found data but no consensus. Full versions of workgroup findings are available on the Internet at http://www.ADQI. net. CONCLUSIONS Despite limited data, broad areas of consensus exist for use of CRRT and guideline development appears feasible. Equally broad areas of disagreement also exist and additional basic and applied research in acute renal failure is needed.
A Sparse Decomposition for Periodic Signal Mixtures

This study proposes a method to decompose a signal into a set of periodic signals. The proposed decomposition method imposes a penalty on the resultant periodic subsignals in order to improve the sparsity of decomposition and avoid the over-estimation of periods. This penalty is defined as the weighted sum of the l 2 norms of the resultant periodic subsignals. This decomposition is approximated by an unconstrained minimization problem. In order to solve this problem, a relaxation algorithm is applied. In the experiments, decomposition results are presented to demonstrate the simultaneous detection of periods and waveforms hidden in signal mixtures. In additionally, the decomposition of a speech mixture is also demonstrated.