Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Split of attentional resources in human visual cortex

Visual spatial attention has been described as a process that favors the processing of sensory information that falls into the “spotlight of attention. ” Recent studies have provided support for an ability to split this attentional focus to selectively process spatially separate locations. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the signature for the presence of multiple spotlights is the presence of multiple retinotopically specific foci of activation in striate and extrastriate visual areas. We used this approach to investigate the presence of such separable activations as a function of the eccentricity of the spatial foci of attention. Visual stimuli consisted of letters and digits displayed in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). Five RSVP streams were presented simultaneously, one in the center of the visual field and one in each visual field quadrant. Subjects had to deploy their attention either to a single peripheral location or two non-contiguous regions performing a match-mismatch judgment. The results show that dividing attention leads to multiple spotlights of attention for central as well as more peripheral locations of the visual field. However, depending on the exact location and width of the attentional spotlights, resulting activation maps might reveal merged activation patterns even in the presence of distinct attentional spotlights.
Profitability of Portfolio Strategies Based on Analyst Consensus EPS Forecasts

We measure the profitability of investment strategies relying on analyst forecasts. We introduce two measures of stock undervaluation, which relate analyst forecast momentum to the contemporaneous stock returns. Employing a 35-year window and a highly liquid US stock universe, we analyze portfolio strategies based on these two measures and show that self-financing trading strategies yield annualized Carhart alphas of up to 8.8%. These strategies clearly outperform existing pure earnings forecast momentum strategies and remain profitable after transaction costs.
Modifying Criminogenic Products: What Role for Government?

Many ordinary manufactured products provide the means or the temptation to commit crime, and the introduction of new products, such as the cellphone or bank machines can create a crime "harvest. " Manufacturers have modified dozens, perhaps hundreds of these criminogenic products to make them less attractive to criminals, mostly for commercial reasons, but in some cases under government pressure. This chapter reviews the international experience of modifying products, whether these are the targets or the tools of crime. It describes the range of products modified, the successes that have been achieved and the scope for further changes provided by new technology. It explains why governments have become increasingly drawn into product change, it examines the different roles they have taken, and it identifies the role of other agents of change such as the media or pressure groups. It concludes by discussing the difficulties for governments of taking a more proactive role in product change, including the reluctance of business and industry to accept Crime Prevention Studies, volume 18, pp. 7-83. Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman their roles in causing (and preventing) crime, pressures to avoid business regulation, and difficulties of obtaining international cooperation in changing products. Greater than any of these difficulties, however, is the size and complexity of the undertaking, resulting from the variety of industries and businesses involved, the sheer number of criminogenicproducts, the bewildering speed of their development, their technical nature and the complexity of the information and service-delivery systems of which many are a part. Governments should establish dedicated units to promote product change. These units should: (1) seek to avert crime harvests by identifying potentially troublesome new products and, (2) develop a problem-solving capacity to deal quickly with unforeseen crime threats caused by the criminal exploitation of new and
Subsurface microhardness of enamel and dentin after different external bleaching procedures.

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of various bleaching systems on subsurface microhardness of enamel and dentin. METHODS 60 bovine crowns were distributed among seven groups (A: Opalescence Xtra Boost, B: Opalescence Quick, C: Rapid White, D: Whitestrips, E: Opalescence 10%, F: Opalescence PF 15%). The crowns were sectioned and baseline hardness (Knoop) of enamel and dentin was assessed on the sectioned surface at various distances from the enamel surface. The sectioned surface was covered with wax and the enamel was treated for 10 days with the bleaching agents A-F according to manufacturers' instructions. Bleaching with C-F was conducted each day (C: twice per day for 10 minutes, D: twice per day for 30 minutes, E: 8 hours, F: 4 hours), systems A-B were applied on first and fifth days (A: twice for 10 minutes, B: 1 hour). Finally, hardness was re-assessed. Data were statistically analyzed to compare baseline hardness and final hardness in the respective groups (P< 0.05). RESULTS Analysis showed that in Group C, hardness was significantly reduced in both enamel and dentin. In the remaining groups, significant reduction of hardness was observed up to the following depths [microm] in enamel; A: 250, B: 700, D: 300, E: 150, F: 150. In these groups no significant hardness changes were recorded in subsurface dentin.
A new approach to functional observer design for linear time-delay systems

Designing functional observers for time-delay systems is an important practical research topic. However, the performance regulation of those observers and their robustness against the delays upper-bounds, have been fairly overlooked. In this brief, the problem of minimum order multi-functional observer design for Linear-Time-Invariant (LTI) systems with single state delay is revisited. Lyapunov Krasovskii approach is used to design the observer parameters in conjunction with the solution of some interconnected equations. A new methodology based on the descriptor transformation is proposed to construct a less conservative stability criterion compared with some other existing methods in designing delay-dependent functional observers. In addition, the exponential convergence of the observer with a specified convergence rate, is guaranteed. A numerical example shows the performance and the efficacy of the proposed design scheme.
Phytoplankton and Nutrient Dynamics of a Tropical Estuarine System, Imo River Estuary, Nigeria

This paper reported a fifteen month study of the patterns of variation of phytoplankton, physical and chemical characteristics of the Imo River estuary between April 2001 and June 2002 were reported. There were remarkable spatial and temporal variations of physico-chemical parameters and significant difference in the stations (p bacillariophyta > Cyanophyta > Dinophyta > Euglenophyta > Chrysophyta > Rhodophyta. Phytoplankton density and diversity were highest in the brackish water, mesohaline zone of the estuary. The trend of wet season nutrient enrichment was observed and maximum phytoplankton concentration was however not coincidental with nutrient enrichment. Early dry season assemblages were characterized by relatively large number of chlorophyta and pennate diatoms in the freshwater and brackishwater zones of the estuary. The dynamic throughput of the estuary is a function of seasonal nutrient input and the effect of the adjacent sea on the estuary. African Research Review Vol. 2 (2) 2008 pp. 253-264
Are posttransplantation protocol liver biopsies useful in the long term?

Controversy exists about the usefulness of yearly protocol liver biopsies after liver transplantation, mainly among patients with normal transaminase levels. The aim of this study is to determine (1) the prevalence and cause of histological liver injury in transplant recipients with a minimum histological follow‐up of 1 year (n = 254), and (2) the correlation between histological findings and transaminase values. The main indication for liver transplantation was viral‐related cirrhosis (61%; 86% caused by hepatitis C virus [HCV]). Protocol liver biopsies were performed yearly for the first 5 years in HCV‐infected transplant recipients and at 1 and 5 years in the remaining patients. Histological liver injury included several categories of liver damage (hepatitis, rejection, steatohepatitis, cholangitis, and Budd‐Chiari–like lesions). Among biopsy specimens categorized as hepatitis, severe hepatitis was defined as the presence of stage 3 or greater fibrosis. The prevalence of liver injury increased significantly with time (42% v 56% at 1 and 5 years, respectively; P = .09) and was significantly greater in patients who underwent transplantation for HCV‐related cirrhosis than in those who underwent transplantation for other reasons (P = .0001). The most frequent category of liver injury was hepatitis (97% and 96% at 1 and 5 years, respectively). Although a proportion of patients with liver injury (12% to 29%) had normal transaminase values, this percentage was almost null in patients with severe hepatitis. Normal histological characteristics were found in the vast majority of non–HCV‐infected transplant recipients with normal transaminase values. Given the high prevalence of abnormal histological findings, particularly the increase over time of those defined as severe, protocol liver biopsies are clearly justified in HCV‐infected transplant recipients. Conversely, given the rarity of abnormal histological findings, protocol liver biopsies should be questioned in non–HCV‐infected transplant recipients with normal transaminase values.
The One Share - One Vote Debate: A Theoretical Perspective

The impact of separating cash flow and votes depends on the ownership structure. In widely held firms, one share - one vote is in general not optimal. While it ensures an efficient outcome in bidding contests, dual-class shares mitigate the free-rider problem, thereby promoting takeovers. In the presence of a controlling shareholder, one share - one vote promotes value-increasing control transfers and deters value-decreasing control transfers more effectively than any other vote allocation. Moreover, leveraging the insider's voting power aggravates agency conflicts because it protects her from the takeover threat and provides less alignment with other shareholders. Even so, minority shareholder protection is not a compelling argument for regulatory intervention, as rational investors anticipate the insider's opportunism. Rather, the rationale for mandating one share - one vote must be to disempower controlling minority shareholders in order to promote value-increasing takeovers. As this policy tends to empower managers vis-a-vis shareholders, it is an open question whether it would improve the quality of corporate governance, notably in systems built around large active owners. The verdict in the case of depositary certificates, priority shares, voting and ownership ceilings is less ambiguous, since they insulate managers from both takeovers and effective shareholder monitoring.
Complete Sequence and Organization of pFR260, the Bacillus thuringiensis INTA Fr7-4 Plasmid Harboring Insecticidal Genes

We report the complete sequence and analysis of pFR260, a novel megaplasmid of 260,595 bp from the Bacillus thuringiensis strain INTA Fr7-4 isolated in Argentina. It carries 7 insecticidal genes: 3 cry8 copies previously reported, 2 vip1, and 2 vip2. Also, it carries a gene encoding a putative atypical Cry protein. These genes are arranged in a region of approximately 105 kbp in size with characteristics of a pathogenicity island with a potential coleopteran-specific insecticide profile. DNA strand composition asymmetry, as determined by GC skew analysis, and the presence of a Rep protein involved in the initiation of replication suggest a bidirectional theta mechanism of replication. In addition, many genes involved in conjugation and a CRISPR-Cas system were detected. The pFR260 sequence was deposited in GenBank under accession number KX258624.
Two Cases of Scimitar Syndrome Associated with Multiple Congenital Skeletal Anomalies and Lacking Abnormalities by Genomic Microarray Analysis

Scimitar syndrome is a congenital anomaly occurring in approximately 1/50 000 births, consisting of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, right lung hypoplasia, and several associated defects. The condition generally has significant morbidity and mortality, but the underlying cause is poorly understood. In this report, we describe 2 autopsy cases of Scimitar syndrome associated with multiple skeletal anomalies and attempt to characterize possible genetic abnormalities in this condition. In light of these findings, we discuss the embryology and direct timing during development of the anomalies associated with this syndrome.
Knowledge management strategic orientation in SMEs

The research involved the development of a theoretical framework relating KM strategic orientation, business strategy, information technology/information systems (IT/IS) and contextual factors. KM strategic orientation was investigated in terms of four sets of dimensions: knowledge sources, knowledge types, KM processes and knowledge-base (broad and deep knowledge-base). Based on an organisation’s orientation towards these dimensions, three KM strategies were proposed: aggressive KM strategy, conservative KM strategy and balanced KM strategy. It is argued that business strategy has a great influence on KM strategy; thus these three strategies were linked to business strategies based on the typology of Miles and Snow (1978): prospectors, defenders and analysers respectively. Besides the influence of business strategy, the contextual factors (organisation size, age and industry sector) are believed to be important in determining the KM strategic orientation of SMEs. It was proposed that the level of use and types of IT/IS depend on the KM strategic orientation of SMEs. Employing mixed methods (survey and interviews), this research found that Saudi SMEs tended to rely on both internal and external sources of knowledge without any significant difference in such reliance. A tacit-orientation approach was adopted significantly more than an explicit-orientation approach because the explicit-orientation approach required more financial, human and technological resources. In regard to the KM processes, the exploitation approach was adopted significantly more than the exploration approach. Moreover, SMEs prepared and preferred their employees to be multi-skilled and able to perform different tasks within the organisations. The research confirmed the influence of business strategy on KM strategic orientation because the proposed relationship between Miles and Snow typology and the proposed KM strategies was confirmed. Besides the business strategy, SME decisions towards KM strategic dimensions were highly influenced by the contextual factors such as organisation size, age, industry sector, resources limitation, the influence of customers/suppliers and the manager’s characteristics. This research found that SMEs were oriented towards the non-expensive and easy to use IT/IS applications. The IT/IS applications were classified, based on the findings of this research into: Internet-based IT/IS, IT/IS for collaboration and IT/IS for codification. There were correlations found between KM strategy and IT/IS applications (i.e. between the aggressive KM strategy and IT/IS for collaboration, and between the conservative KM strategy and IT/IS for codification), which confirmed the association between KM strategy and IT/IS applications.
Youth Farmers’ Coping Strategies with Climate Change in Osun State, Nigeria

The study investigated youth farmers’ coping strategies with climate change in Osun State, Nigeria. Data were gathered through structured interview schedule from 150 farming youths that are ex-trainees of Leventis Foundation School of Agriculture, Ilesa Osun State. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as frequency counts, percentage, mean and standard deviation while correlation and chi square were used to test the hypothesis. The mean age of farming youths in the study area was 27.7 ± 9.0 years. Majority (72.0%) were male who spent an average of 13.9 ± 1.3 years in formal school. The mean of years of farming experience was 8.6 ± 3.8. The youth were fully aware of climate change which had affected their food production enterprises. There were positive and significant relationship between coping strategies of the respondents and their age (r= 0.546; ? 0.01); years of formal education(r= 0.484; ? 0.01); and farming experience(r= 0.503; ? 0.01). It was concluded that climate change is inevitable, that there is need to devise strategies to cope with its devastating impact on food production especially of the farming youths. Exploration of media source of information for coping strategies was recommended. Keywords: climate change, coping strategies, youth farmers
Morphology heterogeneity within a Campylobacter jejuni helical population: the use of calcofluor white to generate rod‐shaped C. jejuni 81‐176 clones and the genetic determinants responsible for differences in morphology within 11168 strains

Campylobacter jejuni helical shape is important for colonization and host interactions with straight mutants having altered biological properties. Passage on calcofluor white (CFW) resulted in C. jejuni 81‐176 isolates with morphology changes: either a straight morphology from frameshift mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms in peptidoglycan hydrolase genes pgp1 or pgp2 or a reduction in curvature due a frameshift mutation in cjj81176_1105, a putative peptidoglycan endopeptidase. Shape defects were restored by complementation. Whole genome sequencing of CFW‐passaged strains showed no specific changes correlating to CFW exposure. The cjj81176_1279 (recR; recombinational DNA repair) and cjj81176_1449 (unknown function) genes were highly variable in all 81‐176 strains sequenced. A frameshift mutation in pgp1 of our laboratory isolate of the straight genome sequenced variant of 11168 (11168‐GS) was also identified. The PG muropeptide profile of 11168‐GS was identical to that of Δpgp1 in the original minimally passaged 11168 strain (11168‐O). Introduction of wild type pgp1 into 11168‐GS did not restore helical morphology. The recR gene was also highly variable in 11168 strains. Microbial cell‐to‐cell heterogeneity is proposed as a mechanism of ensuring bacterial survival in sub‐optimal conditions. In certain environments, changes in C. jejuni morphology due to genetic heterogeneity may promote C. jejuni survival.
International Burdens of the Corporate Income Tax: Working Paper 2006-09

This study applies a simple two-country, five-sector, general equilibrium model based on Harberger (1995, 2006) to examine the long-run incidence of a corporate income tax in an open economy. In equilibrium, capital is assumed to be perfectly mobile internationally in the sense that the country in which a real investment is located does not matter to the marginal investor. In addition, each country is assumed to produce at least some tradable corporate goods for which the country cannot affect world output prices. Like the original Harberger (1962) model, the worldwide stock of capital and
POTENTIAL FOR ENERGY-FROM-WASTE CARBON OFFSETS IN NORTH AMERICA

A carbon offset program is likely to be part of any future federal cap-and-trade program and is included in both the U.S. House of Representatives passed American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and the Kerry-Boxer Senate draft greenhouse gas legislation. Internationally, Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facilities in emerging economies are eligible for carbon offset credits under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. These carbon offset credits can be purchased by developed countries, such as those in Western Europe, to help comply with their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. Although a similar mandatory market does not yet exist in the United States, there is a growing voluntary market in carbon offsets and a set of standards designed to provide some order to this market. One of the key players in the voluntary market is the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS). Project types, such as EfW, that are eligible for credits under the Clean Development Mechanism are also eligible to generate voluntary carbon credits under the VCS. This paper reviews the current methodology for calculating offsets from EfW projects. The current methodology is very conservative, severely restricts the accounting for avoided landfill methane, and significantly underestimates greenhouse gas savings relative to life cycle assessments performed on waste management practices. The current methodology for offsets is compared and contrasted with a more realistic methodology more in line with life cycle assessment calculations. A review of the potential for EfW offsets under evolving state and federal programs and precedents for offsets generated based on avoided landfill methane is also completed.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Pedicle Morphology of the Immature Thoracolumbar Spine

Study Design. Human vertebral morphologic data were compiled from anatomic skeletal collections from three museums. Objectives. To quantify the morphometric characteristics of the pedicles of the immature thoracolumbar spine. Summary of Background Data. Little is known of pedicle morphology of the immature spine as related to pedicle screw fixation. Methods. A total of 75 anatomic skeletal specimens were acquired from C1 to L5 in the age range of 3 to 19 years. The data were collected and analyzed using a computerized video analysis system. Each vertebral pedicle was measured in the axial and sagittal planes. The measurements included the minimum pedicle width, the pedicle angle, the distance to anterior cortex, and anteroposterior and interpedicular spinal canal diameters. Results Wide variation in pedicle morphology between specimens at each vertebral level was found in the young population. In general, compared with the average adult data, a younger spine demonstrated a near uniform reduction in the linear pedicle dimensions at each vertebral level. Pedicles from the lower lumbar vertebrae attained dimensions acceptable for standard screw sizes at an earlier age than in the thoracic vertebrae. Conclusions. The data in this study indicates that pedicle screws may be used in the adolescent spine. However, care should taken to accurately ascertain pedicle size before surgery so that improper use of screws can be avoided. Growth of the pedicles in relation to the spinal canal indicates that the increase in pedicle size is lateral to the spinal canal.