Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factoryless Goods Producers in the US

This paper documents the extent and characteristics of plants and firms in the US that are outside the manufacturing sector according to official government statistics but nonetheless are heavily involved in activities related to the production of manufactured goods. Using new data on establishment activities in the Census of Wholesale Trade conducted by the US Bureau of the Census in 2002 and 2007, this paper provides evidence on so-called "factoryless goods producers" (FGPs) in the US economy. FGPs are formally in the wholesale sector but, unlike traditional wholesale establishments, FGPs design the goods they sell and coordinate the production activities. This paper documents the extent of FGPs in the wholesale sector and how they differ from traditional wholesalers in terms of their employment, wages, productivity and output. Reclassifying FGP establishments to the manufacturing sector using our definition would have shifted at least 595,000 workers to as many as 1,311,000 workers from wholesale to manufacturing sectors in 2002 and at least 431,000 workers to as many as 1,934,000 workers in 2007.
International activities of U.S. banks and in U.S. banking markets

The international activity of U.S. banks has grown relatively rapidly during the 1990s, as both the trading and derivatives activities of their foreign offices and their cross-border lending have increased. The growth has taken place mainly in relation to the Group of Ten and other industrial countries. Foreign bank activity in U.S. markets has also grown, but at a slightly slower pace than U.S. banking overall, resulting in a small decline in the foreign bank share of domestic commercial bank assets. The role of Japanese banks has declined sharply, and the role of European banks has expanded.
Moderation of anal sphincter tone with nitric oxide agonists and antagonists.

OBJECTIVE To test the thesis that agonists and antagonists of nitric oxide, when applied topically to the anal and rectal mucosa, could moderate rectal pressure. BACKGROUND In vitro studies of muscle strips have suggested that tension of the internal anal sphincter is controlled by nitric oxide. METHODS Gently restrained, unanesthetized rats were used. The experimental drug in a volume of 0.1 mL was introduced into the rectal lumen with a fine syringe. Thereafter a soft catheter-tipped balloon was inserted and inflated with 1 mL of water, and, after 1 minute when the reflex muscle spasm had abated, pressure was measured with a strain gauge transducer. The catheter was reinserted at 10- to 30-minute intervals for pressure measurements. RESULTS Tumor necrosis factor alpha led to a dose-dependent reduction in pressure, reaching a nadir at 30 minutes and returning toward baseline at 60 minutes. At a concentration of 0.1 microgram per 0.1 mL of saline, pressure fell from 63 to 47 mm Hg, while pressure fell from 72 to 23 mm Hg at 10 micrograms. The precursor of nitric oxide, L-arginine, in concentrations of 0.01 mg but not 0.0001 mg, also led to declines in sphincter pressure (P < .05). The higher concentrations appeared to cause a more rapid fall in pressure; however, in all cases the nadir was reached at 30 minutes. Sphincter pressure remained low at 60 minutes but could be restored to baseline 30 minutes after the topical application of 1 mg of the L-arginine antagonist, N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) but not with saline. In animals treated with L-arginine mixed in a water-soluble jelly, sphincter pressure continued to fall during the 60 minutes of monitoring. At a concentration of 1 mg, pressure fell from 56 +/- 3 to 33 +/- 2 (mean +/- SEM) mm Hg (P < .05); at 10 mg, pressure fell from 63 +/- 4 to 36 +/- 3 mm Hg (P < .05). When L-NAME was admixed with L-arginine in the water-soluble jelly, there was no fall in pressure during the 60-minute observation period. CONCLUSION These data indicate that the action of agonists and antagonists of nitric oxide synthesis carries across the anorectal mucosa and rapidly modifies sphincter tone.
Indian Students? Perception of Rural West Bengal as a Tourist Destination

Creating and selling cultural experiences, particularly cultural attractions, is a trend in the travel and tourism industry (Richards, 1996). However, little is known about the impact image has on the sale of cultural experiences, especially in rural settings within developing countries. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the image of West Bengal, India, and to identify its strengths and weakness as a travel destination. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with graduate students whose home residence is India. The results indicated that the images of West Bengal were a mixture of both positive and negative perceptions and challenge commonly held assertions about the appeal of rural areas. Further, no differences in response were found between males and females. Differences were found with respect to home residence.
A 2.8-to-8.5mW GSM/bluetooth/UMTS/DVB-H/WLAN fully reconfigurable CTΔΣ with 200kHz to 20MHz BW for 4G radios in 90nm digital CMOS

A 0.4mm2 low-power fully-reconfigurable continuous-time (CT) feedforward ΔΣ ADC for 4G radios is implemented in 90nm CMOS. By reconfiguring the topology architecture, quantizer bits, biasing current and component parameters, optimal power consumption can be achieved for every mode. The modulator achieves a DR of 85/78/76/72/58dB for GSM/BT/UMTS/DVB-H/WLAN with 2.8/2.6/3.6/4.9/8.5mW from 1V supply. The FOM is 0.68/0.5/0.28/0.27/0.41pJ/conv.
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN AMNION, CHORION AND FETAL SKIN

EARLY in the development of the ovum the blastocyst cavity is formed surrounded by a single layer of trophoblast cells with the inner cell mass to one side. These cytotrophoblast cells remain both in the placental chorionic villi and in the reflected chorion, though only in early pregnancy is there evidence of syncytium over the chorionic membrane. By the 7th or 8th day after fertilization, the formation of the amniotic vesicle separates the dorsal surface of the germ disc, from which skin is derived, from the celIs destined to form amnion. This close developmental origin of amnion and skin suggests that the two may have many features in common, and that the study of the ultrastructure of fetal skin, amnion and chorion may not only reveal these fundamental resemblances but also indicate functions they all possess.
Relative Errors of Difference-Based Variance Estimators in Nonparametric Regression

Difference-based estimators for the error variance are popular since they do not require the estimation of the mean function. Unlike most existing difference-based estimators, new estimators proposed by Müller et al. (2003) and Tong and Wang (2005) achieved the asymptotic optimal rate as residual-based estimators. In this article, we study the relative errors of these difference-based estimators which lead to better understanding of the differences between them and residual-based estimators. To compute the relative error of the covariate-matched U-statistic estimator proposed by Müller et al. (2003), we develop a modified version by using simpler weights. We further investigate its asymptotic property for both equidistant and random designs and show that our modified estimator is asymptotically efficient.
Capturing the way in which risk appetite is integrated within the bid/ no bid heuristics of a contractor’s business unit

A critical decision that have to be made by contractors in the construction industry is whether or not to bid for a new project when an invitation has been received. A bidding decision made on any one project has a significant influence on the short-term profit of the firm, with consequent impact on the firm’s long term strategy and performance. Most contractors realize the importance of considering internal and external factors that affect the bid / no bid decision before committing themselves to a project. Based on these internal- and external factors, the risks and opportunities related to conducting a new project can be described and evaluated. During the evaluation of these risks and opportunities, a contractor wonders which types and amounts of risks and opportunities, and therefore which new projects, are acceptable to take with regard to our strategic objectives. Within Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) this challenge is captured by the concept ‘Risk appetite’, a concept that provides insights about which types and amounts of risks are acceptable to take for an entity in realizing their mission(s). Royal BAM Group, a Dutch contractor, aspires to further intensify their current ERM procedures with a special focus on shaping the concept ‘Risk appetite’. However Royal BAM Group lacks insights about the way their business units arrive at their bid/ no bid decisions and the way risk appetite is integrated within these decisions. This research therefore aspires to capture the bid/ no bid decision making process of a contractor with a special focus on creating insights about the way risk appetite is integrated within this decision making process.
Psychotherapeutic Treatment in Combination with Relaxation in a Flotation Tank : Effects on "Burn-Out-Syndrome"

The focus of this study was to investigate experiences gained from treatment combining relaxation in flotation tank with psychotherapy for sufferers from “burn-out syndrome”. Six people participated in a ten week program. They were all interviewed; the data were analyzed using the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method. Five themes emerged: (a) direct experiences during flotation, (b) effects due to the treatment sessions, (c) psychological transformation, (d) reflections about the treatment program, and (e) demanding and rewarding psychological process over time. All participants went through psychological transformations and improvements in quality of life. At the end of the treatment program, all participants were able continue working full time. This combined program seems to be more therapeutically beneficial than flotation tank treatment alone. Key Words: Relaxation, Psychotherapy, Depression, Rehabilitation, Stress, Phenomenology, and Flotation Tank Treatment
The joint development of physical and indirect aggression: Predictors of continuity and change during childhood

A person-oriented approach was adopted to examine joint developmental trajectories of physical and indirect aggression. Participants were 1183 children aged 2 years at the initial assessment and followed over 6 years. Most children followed either low or declining trajectories of physical aggression (PA), but 14.6% followed high stable trajectories. Approximately two-thirds of participants followed low indirect aggression (IA) trajectories (67.9%), and one-third (32.1%) followed high rising trajectories. The results combining both PA and IA group memberships indicate that most children (62.1%) exhibit desisting levels of PA and low levels of IA. A significant proportion followed a trajectory of moderately desisting PA and rising IA (14.2%), and 13.5% followed high level trajectories of both forms of aggression. Virtually no children were high on one type and low on the other. Multinomial regressions analyses were used to predict joint trajectory group membership from selected child and family variables measured at 2 years. Young motherhood and low income predicted membership in the high PA-high IA trajectory, but only hostile parenting remained significant after family processes variables were entered in the model. Being a boy, young motherhood, and hostile parenting were generally associated with higher levels of PA. Girls were more likely than boys to follow a trajectory of desisting PA and rising IA. The results suggest that some children, mostly girls, reduce their use of PA and tend to increase their use of IA, and that highly physically aggressive children also tend to be highly indirectly aggressive. Early family risk characteristics and hostile parenting interfere with the socialization of aggression.This research was supported by research grants from Quebec's FQRSC and CIQSS, Canada's CIHR and SSHRC, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Molson foundation, St-Justine Hospital's Research Center, and the University of Montréal. We thank Danielle Forest (University of Montréal) for her work on data analysis and Franck Larouche (Statistics Canada) for his sustained commitment to assist us in managing the data.
Feasibility Study of Multi-Agent Simulation at the Cellular Level with FLAME GPU

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are a common approach to simulating biological systems. Multi-agent modelling provides a natural method for describing individual level behaviours of cells. However, the computation cost of simulating behaviours at an individual level is considerably larger than top down equation based modelling approaches. A recent possibility to improve computational performance is the use of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to provide the necessary parallel computing power. In this paper we show that multi-agent models describing biological systems at cellular level are well suited to GPU acceleration. Cellular level systems are characterised by vast numbers of agents that intensively communicate, indirectly through diffusion of chemical substances, or directly, through connection of chemical receptors. We present a study which utilises the FLAME GPU software to target a MAS model of a generic pathogen induced infection to validate the suitability of the GPU for simulation of a broader class of cellular level systems.
Internationalization of Malaysian foodservice firms / Lim Kuang Long

This thesis undertakes the research project from an inductive position to shape the result by adopting the qualitative research process. It challenges the existing theory of internationalization process. This study will compare and contrast the sequential and non-sequential stage in internationalization process. The research tries to explore the facilitation of internationalization process that allows the acceleration of Malaysian foodservice firms to expand globally. By using behavioral approach, this study identifies and delineates the components of strategies adopted in the internationalization process. Based on the case study of the three selected Malaysian foodservice firms, the new model was proposed. It asserted that the intention to expand business overseas requires a firm to undergo (1) pre-internationalization stage; (2) international entry stage; and (3) post-internationalization stage. These three stages were affected by two themes at each stage. These two themes, namely “Western Embeddedness” and “Government Influence” were in turn, formulated on the basis of twelve concepts of internationalization process in cross-case analysis. These twelve concepts were the strategies that accelerated the foreign markets penetration of Malaysian foodservice firms. It was also contended that foodservice firms expand overseas first by franchising, then exporting, and eventually setting up their plant abroad. The newly proposed model of internationalization process was then debated with the existing literature. The limitations and future directions of this model were also discussed.
Private Sector Involvement in Urban Solid Waste Collection. Performance, capacity and regulations in five cities in Ghana

This book exposes the inefficiencies in private sector provision and lack of capacity of Local Governments to deal with solid waste collection. The book will be essential for students, researchers and practitioners involved in areas such as policy, markets, local governments, environmental sanitation, and solid waste management. The book provides investigation into policy gaps and practice of the evolving private sector involvement in solid waste collection in a developing country context. It also deals with how capacity of public and private sectors, and regulation of the private sector influence private sector performance. The book provides practical solutions for both public and private sectors in developing countries to deal with the problems of solid waste collection and management.
The interaction between equity and credit risks

Equity and debt are two distinct classes of securities in terms of investing risks and potential return, but their value depends on the same underlying assets of the firm and therefore the risk-return tradeoff of each security should be systematically related. Following a review of the principal theoretical approaches to the measurement of equity and credit risks, this thesis utilizes a sample of matched firm-level equity and corporate bond data to examine three aspects of risk interaction. First, it investigates the importance of idiosyncratic and systematic equity risks in determining the credit spread on corporate bonds. Second, the thesis investigates how equity and credit risks themselves impact upon the correlation between equity and bond returns. Finally, the thesis examines whether the credit sensitive information contained within financial accounting data is fully reflected in equity prices. The empirical approach adopted in this thesis is to relate the credit spread and the conditional correlation between equity and bond returns with both equity and credit risk indicators and financial accounting variables. This methodological approach enables an extension of the existing literature on several dimensions, leading to a number of empirical results which have important theoretical and practical implications for the integrated management of equity and credit risks. Consistent with existing empirical studies, equity and credit risks are found to exert a positive impact upon the credit spread. Surprisingly, equity volatility is found to significantly outperform the distance to default in terms of explanatory power. Further, the impact of equity volatility increases monotonically as the distance to default narrows. The conditional correlation between equity and bond returns is found on average to be positive and to vary over time, peaking during the 2007 financial crisis. Finally, an increase in credit risk has a positive impact upon the correlation while an increase in equity risk is found to strengthen the correlation only if the firm’s credit risk is high.
Effect of Different Attachment Size on the Muscle Activity in Single Implant Retained Mandibular Over denture

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of two different attachment size in the single implant retained over denture on the muscle activity. Materials and Methods: Twenty completely edentulous patients were selected for the study with normal ridge size and divided into two groups. In all patients single implant was placed at the area of midline after cone beam taken. Three months later low profile ball abutment was attached to the implant in the first group and high profile ball abutment was attached to the implant in the second group followed by complete denture construction for each patient. After six weeks electromyography and masticatory efficiency for each patient was done. Results: The result of the present study showed no statistically significant difference between two groups. Conclusion: It is recommended to use low profile ball attachment instead of conventional ball attachment. Kew words: Single implant, over denture, muscle activity
Sex differences in oxidative stress after eccentric and concentric exercise

ABSTRACT Objectives: Comparison of redox balance changes in the blood of women and men as a result of submaximal eccentric (ECC) and concentric (CONC) efforts. Methods: 10 women and 10 men performed three 45-minute submaximal treadmill runs at constant velocities (downhill run – ECC, uphill run – CONC and level run). Prior to the 45-minute exercises, after their completion and following 24 hours of recovery, the concentration of lactate, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), 3-nitrotyrosine, uric acid (UA) and the white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), lymphocyte (LYMPH) and monocyte content in the blood were determined. Results: In women, the ox-LDL increased significantly 10 minutes and 24 hours following ECC (P < 0.05). 10 minutes after ECC, in women, there was an increase in WBC, NEUT and LYMPH (P < 0.05). In the men, WBC and NEUT increased significantly 24 hours after CONC and ECC (P < 0.05). UA in each determination was higher in the men than the women (P < 0.05). Discussion: ECC cause impaired redox balance only in women. Due to the increase in antioxidant capacity of the blood without accompanying oxidative damage to macromolecules, for both sexes, it is recommended to perform concentric running efforts at the highest possible subliminal intensity.
BEHAVIORAL FLEXIBILITY IN ORB WEB CONSTRUCTION: EFFECTS OF SUPPLIES IN DIFFERENT SILK GLANDS AND SPIDER SIZE AND WEIGHT

Comparisons of webs spun in the field when both sticky and non-sticky silk supplies were complete, when both were recently depleted, and when only non-sticky supplies were depleted show that Leucauge mariana and Micrathena sexspinosa vary design features of their orbs such as numbers of radii and sticky spiral loops, web area and proportion covered with sticky spiral, sticky spiral symmetry, and spaces between sticky spiral loops in response to changes in the amounts of both sticky and non-sticky silk that they have available. Spider size, spider weight and possibly website also influence L. mariana web designs.
Alliance Structure and Success in the Global Airline Industry: An Empirical Investigation

In this paper, we investigate the use of horizontal distribution alliances (HDAs) in the international airline industry. Airlines enter these alliances to effectively meet the needs of passengers in new and expanding markets. We apply transaction cost analysis (TCA) to develop a conceptual framework explaining the use of HDAs. From analyzing primary and secondary data, our results indicate that TCA is a viable theory for predicting the formation and success of an HDA.
Numerical Simulation of Bone Remodelling in the Human Mandible Surrounding of a Dental Implant

Dental implants provide the most efficient and economic long-term solution for replacing lost teeth. However, placement of an implant changes the normal mechanical environment of jawbone, which causes the bone density to redistribute and adapt to the new environment by remodelling. This study aims to predict the density distribution in human jawbone surrounding a dental implant. Based on the two popular, yet distinctive theories for bone remodelling, a new remodelling algorithm is proposed The proposed algorithm is verified by a two-dimensional (2D) plate model. Then, a 2D finite element model of implant and jawbone is studied. The effects of two parameters, viz the reference value of strain energy density (SED) and 'lazy zone' region, on the density distribution are also investigated. This study has demonstrated that consideration of the lazy zone, is less important than consideration of the stress and strain (quantified as SED) induced within the bone. The proposed bone remodelling algorithm is a combination and further development of the two popular but distinctive bone remodelling theories. The shortcomings of the two theories have been overcome in the proposed algorithm