Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socioeconomic Profiles of Early Adopters of Precision Agriculture Technologies

Corn producers are the largest users of cropland and agrichemicals in U.S. agriculture, and represent a major market for precision agriculture technologies. Based on a USDA survey of 950 corn-producing farms, approximately 9% utilized some aspect of precision agriculture for corn production in 1996. A logit analysis indicated that farmers were more likely to adopt precision technologies if they farmed a large number of corn acres, earned a sizable farm income, and had high expected corn yields. The probability of adoption was also higher for farm operators using a computerized farm record system, who were less than 50 years of age, and who relied on crop consultants for information on precision agriculture.
Building an E-learning Recommender System Using Vector Space Model and Good Learners Average Rating

An enormous amount of learning materials in e-learning has led to the difficulty on locating suitable learning materials for a particular learning topic, creating the need for content recommendation tools within learning context. In this paper, we aim to address this need by proposing a novel framework for an e-learning recommender system. Our proposed framework works on the idea of recommending learning materials based on the similarity of content items (using Vector Space Model) and good learners’ average rating strategy. This paper presents the overall architecture of the proposed system and its potential implementation via a prototype design.
A multiwavelength source having precise channel spacing for WDM systems

We report a wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) source in which a combination of a periodically driven Mach-Zehnder modulator and a nonlinear fiber are used to generate an optical spectrum that consists of several wavelength components precisely spaced by 64 GHz (>0.5 nm). The 13 strongest spectral components are within a 10-dB optical power range and their performance as channel sources in a WDM transmitter have been evaluated. We also propose and demonstrate a technique to generate an optical spectrum in which the separation between the major components is four times the modulator drive frequency.
Role of Computer Security in Identity Theft (November 2007)

Phishing is becoming a popular form of online identity theft. As an analysis this paper explores the techniques used to construct phishing attacks and also determine how anti- phishing tools work and their effectiveness it sets the footnote at the bottom of this column. More specifically, we want to know what techniques are used in these tools to detect or prevent phishing attacks. dentity Theft is a crime when a criminal uses victim's personal identifying information such as name, social insurance number to commit fraud. Phishing and Pharming are considered as online identity theft. They are distinguished from offline identity theft such as card skimming and "dumpster diving," as well as from large-scale data compromises in which information about many individuals is obtained at once. Phishing is typically carried out by email and often directs users to enter details at a website to acquire usernames, passwords and credit card details. Online websites like eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing accounts to $1 billion a year in direct losses in the US. Indirect losses are much higher, including customer service expenses, account replacement costs, and higher expenses due to decreased use of online services in the face of widespread fear about the security of online financial transactions. Both the frequency of phishing attacks and their sophistication is increasing dramatically.
The Performance of Global Business Teams within Multinational Corporations: The Test of an Intervening Process Model

Title of Dissertation: THE PERFORMANCE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS TEAMS WITHIN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS: THE TEST OF AN INTERVENING PROCESS MODEL Vincent J. Duriau, Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 Dissertation directed by: Professor Anil K. Gupta Robert H. Smith School of Business Professor Rhonda K. Reger Robert H. Smith School of Business Global business teams are a critical component of the strategic management process of multinational corporations. In the context of this dissertation, they are defined as teams of managers who are responsible for a business or a function across
Force‐velocity and power‐load curves in rat skinned cardiac myocytes

1 This study utilized a skinned myocyte preparation with low end compliance to examine force‐velocity and power‐load curves at 12 °C in myocytes from rat hearts. 2 In maximally activated myocyte preparations, shortening velocities appeared to remain constant during load clamps in which shortening took place over a sarcomere length range of ≈2.30‐2.00 μm. These results suggest that previously reported curvilinear length traces during load clamps of multicellular preparations were due in part to extracellular viscoelastic structures that give rise to restoring forces during myocardial shortening. 3 During submaximal Ca2+ activations, the velocity of shortening at low loads slowed and the time course of shortening became curvilinear, i.e. velocity progressively slowed as shortening continued. This result implies that cross‐bridge cycling kinetics are slower at low levels of activation and that an internal load arises during shortening of submaximally activated myocytes, perhaps due to slowly detaching cross‐bridges. 4 Reduced levels of activator Ca2+ also reduced maximal power output and increased the relative load at which power output was optimal. For a given absolute load, the shift has the effect of maintaining power output near the optimum level despite reductions in cross‐bridge number and force generating capability at lower levels of Ca2+.
Dynamic posture estimation in a network of depth sensors using sample points

In this paper, we propose a novel method to estimate the posture of the human body in a network of depth sensors. We divide the body into two regions and take a limited number of selective samples from point cloud of human body. The sample points are utilized to compute 2D gradient and the histograms of the gradient of sample points along two different scan directions. These extracted values are then selected as feature points of each posture which are then compared with stored values for further posture classification. The input depth map is assigned to a known posture having the most similarity among all available samples. It is shown that the proposed approach offers high recognition rate despite low number of training set.
The magnetic resonance imaging appearances in Kienböck’s disease

complications were observed. Postoperative radiography was used to measure carpal height and scapholunate angle as indicators of fusion (Figure 1). We found in this small series that carpal height significantly increased from 2.8 mm (SD 0.3) to 3.1 mm (SD 0.2), while the scapholunate angle significantly decreased from 68.4° (SD 7.3) to 49.9° (SD 4.3) post-fusion (P < 0.001). Additionally, postoperative improvements in wrist pain and grip strength were observed. Due to concerns that the fusion device, being extra-cortical, might reduce wrist mobility, the device was initially removed after fusion. However, as we found this not to be the case, we stopped removing the device in 2013. However, many of the initial patients requested to have the device removed for cultural reasons; Chinese nationals, not limited to this patient population in rural Yunnan Province, have strong beliefs regarding the removal of foreign objects from the body. The Ni–Ti memory alloy arthrodesis concentrator is a convenient tool for STT arthrodesis, however, further clinical study is needed to determine if STT arthrodesis is a truly effective treatment for patients with late stage Kienböck’s disease. Figure 1. Postoperative posterior-anterior X-ray of the wrist of a 44-year-old male, showing the reduced lunate bone, normal scapholunate angle, and position of the implant with sound fusion. © The Author(s) Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav doi: 10.1177/1753193416616937 available online at http://jhs.sagepub.com
Studies on the quantitative and qualitative characterization of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase.

Abstract An assay procedure is described in which blood cell glutathione peroxidase may be accurately measured by a direct spectrophotometric procedure. Glutathione peroxidase activity is found to be associated with a relatively stable, nondialyzable, heat-labile, intracellular component which is separable from hemoglobin, by gel filtration and ammonium sulfate precipitation. The activity appears to be dependent upon active sulfhydryl groups and is unaffected by low concentrations of azide, cyanide, or ferricyanide.
How Does User-Generated Content Influence Consumers’ New Product Exploration? An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Search and Choice Behaviors

User-generated content (UGC), such as online product reviews, has grown rapidly on the Internet with the pervasiveness of Web 2.0 technologies. In this study, we investigate the underlying process of how individual consumers perceive and use online UGC information to guide their new product exploration and purchase decisions. We propose that online UGC influences an individual consumer’s new product exploration and purchase by (1) informing consumers of more choice alternatives in a market (information effect), (2) highlighting new choice alternatives that have a higher expected utility than that of their prior choices (experience effect), and (3) signaling the quality of competing choice alternatives (competition effect). Using a unique data set that consists of online reviews of restaurants on a popular consumer review website, consumers’ information search and clickstream records on the same website, and consumers’ actual patronage data on restaurant dining transactions, we specify and estimate a structural discrete choice model to empirically evaluate the influence of online UGC on individual consumers’ decision in visiting restaurants. Our model assumes that consumers follow a two-stage decision process. In the first stage, consumers decide whether to explore a new restaurant. In the second stage, consumers decide which specific restaurant to patronize. Our model estimation approach accounts for observed and unobserved consumer heterogeneity, as well as for the potential endogeneity of consumer search. Our results show that consumers are more likely to sample a new restaurant after being exposed to more UGC of previously unvisited new restaurants, and when online UGC of restaurants highlight new alternatives with a higher expected utility than that of previously patronized restaurants. Consumers are also more price sensitive and assign more positive weight on UGC volume when they explore new product alternatives. Our findings on consumer new product exploration behaviors in the context of user-generated reviews have important implications for research, as well as for practices in terms of content marketing and designing product recommendation systems in e-commerce websites.
Antecedents and Performance Outcomes of the Marketing Integration Process in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions: the Case of Malaysia and Indonesia

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are strategic business expansions across national boundaries, which provide bundle of resources and opportunity for growth strategies, however can prove rather problematic and complex. One of the most complex stages in cross-border M&As is when two firms are in the integration process. The most challenging part in a cross-border M&A, is the integration of two different firms that feature different management styles and organizational cultures. Once the integration seeps deeper into functional levels, the strategic level M&A commitment is faced with operational implementation issues. The marketing department is usually heavily involved in this integration process. These are the people who create and generate the sales which thereby increase the income of the combined firm. However, research on marketing integration related to M&As has paid little attention to the amalgamation of similar resources from two similar departments, particularly in the cross-border M&A context. Furthermore, the existing research does not clearly demonstrate the success factors that contribute to the marketing integration process in cross-border M&As. Hence, this thesis explores the role of the antecedents that influence the marketing integration process in cross-border M&As. Results indicate a significant impact on integration from marketing synergy and the redeployment of marketing resources. Meanwhile there is a striking result pertaining to the relationship between interaction and the speed of integration which is significant but negatively to influence the marketing integration process. In addition, cost savings and relationship effectiveness among the marketers of both the acquirer and the acquired firms are found to be highly significant and to positively support the M&A performance. This means that the commitment of the marketers from both firms relies on a close relationship in order to uphold the integration synergy while at the same time reducing cost and improving M&A performance.
Within-subject biological variation of glucose and HbA1c in healthy persons and in type 1 diabetes patients

Abstract Background: Several articles describing within-subject biological variation of fasting glucose and HbA1c in healthy populations have been published, but information about biological variation of glucose and HbA1c in patients with type 1 diabetes is scarce. It is reasonable to assume that type 1 diabetics differ from their healthy counterparts in this matter. The aim of our study was to estimate the biological variation of glucose and HbA1c in healthy subjects and in patients with type 1 diabetes. Methods: Fifteen healthy individuals and 15 type 1 diabetes patients were included. Biological variations were calculated based on blood samples collected weekly for 10 consecutive weeks from the healthy and the eligible of the type 1 diabetes patients. Results: The within-subject variations of glucose were approximately 5% in healthy individuals and 30% in diabetes patients, and for HbA1c they were 1.2% in healthy individuals and 1.7% in diabetes patients. Conclusions: In conclusion, we found a high within-subject biological variation of glucose in diabetes patients as expected compared to healthy individuals (30% vs. 5%). The short-term (2 months) within-subject biological variation of HbA1c did not differ significantly between well regulated type 1 diabetes patients and healthy individuals (1.7% vs. 1.2%).
Integrating Landsat Imageries and Digital Elevation Models to Infer Water Level Change in Hoover Dam

The Thematic Mapper onboard Landsat 4, 5, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (TM/ETM+) onboard Landsat 7 have frequency bands (green and SWIR) to effectively measure water body extents and their changes via the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI). Here, we developed a technique, called the thematic imagery-altimetry system (TIAS), to infer the vertical water changes from MNDWI horizontal water extent changes by integrating long-term TM/ETM+ imageries with available digital elevation models (DEMs). The result is a technique to quantify water level changes of natural or artificial water bodies over two decades. Several DEMs were used to compute intersects with TM/ETM+ water extent time series to evaluate the robustness of the technique. These DEMs include: the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Map version 2 (ASTER-GDEM2, at 1 arcsec resolution), the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission version 2 (SRTM C-band at 1 arcsec), and the Global Multiresolution Terrain Elevation Data (GMTED2010 at 7.5 arcsec). We demonstrated our technique near Hoover Dam (HD) in Lake Mead to quantify its respective decadal water level.
How did the Great Auk raise its young?

The extant auks show three strategies of chick rearing – precocial (chicks leave the nest site when a few days old), intermediate (young raised to a mass of around 20% of adult mass) and semi‐precocial (young raised to a mass of around 65% of adult mass). It is not known which strategy the extinct Great Auk used. In this paper, we investigate this issue by a novel combination of a time and energy budget model and phylogenetic comparison. The first approach indicates that for reasonable estimates of the equation parameters, the Great Auk could have followed an intermediate strategy. For a limited range of parameters, the Great Auk could have followed the semi‐precocial strategy. Phylogenetic comparison shows that it is unlikely that the Great Auk followed a precocial strategy. The results suggest that the Great Auk followed an intermediate strategy as does its presumed closest extant relative the Razorbill.
A Template‐assembled Model of the N‐peptide Helix Bundle from HIV‐1 Gp‐41 with High Affinity for C‐peptide

The infection of target cells by HIV‐1 is initiated by fusion of the viral and cell membranes, which is mediated by the viral glycoproteins, gp120 and gp41. After initial cell binding by gp120, the folding of gp41 to form a stable six‐helix bundle structure is directly associated with membrane fusion. This helix bundle is composed of an α‐helical trimer of gp41 N‐peptide, with three copies of the α‐helical gp41 C‐peptide folded onto it in an antiparallel orientation. This report describes the synthesis and study of an N‐peptide three‐helix bundle structure, KTA‐3N29b, that is assembled on a threefold symmetric template derived from Kemp’s triacid. At neutral pH and in the presence of physiologic salt, KTA‐3N29b, exists as a monomer with high helix content. Binding isotherms measured by circular dichroism spectropolarimetry indicate that KTA‐3N29b binds three copies of the C‐peptide native sequence, with a KD of about 260 nm. These features of KTA‐3N29b demonstrate that this templated three‐helix bundle serves as a functional model for the native N‐peptide structure that will allow detailed studies of the folding and thermodynamic stability of the gp41 six‐helix bundle, and may aid the future development of potent HIV‐1 fusion inhibitors and immunogens.
A semester‐long project‐oriented biochemistry laboratory based on Helicobacter pylori urease

Here we present the development of a 13 week project‐oriented biochemistry laboratory designed to introduce students to foundational biochemical techniques and then enable students to perform original research projects once they have mastered these techniques. In particular, we describe a semester‐long laboratory that focuses on a biomedically relevant enzyme—Helicobacter pylori (Hp) urease—the activity of which is absolutely required for the gastric pathogen Hp to colonize the human stomach. Over the course of the semester, students undertake a biochemical purification of Hp urease, assess the success of their purification, and investigate the activity of their purified enzyme. In the final weeks of the semester, students design and implement their own experiments to study Hp urease. This laboratory provides students with an understanding of the importance of biochemistry in human health while empowering them to engage in an active area of research. © 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(5):333–340, 2015.
Creating value from mergers and acquisitions : the challenges : an integrated and international perspective

PART ONE: OVERVIEW OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS AND THE M&A PROCESS 1. Introduction 2. What causes merger waves? 3. Perspective on Mergers 4. Assessing the success of acquisitions PART TWO: SOURCES AND LIMITATIONS OF VALUE CREATION IN DIFFERENT ACQUISITION TYPES 5. Horizontal mergers 6. Consolidating Fragmented Industries 7. Vertical integration 8. Conglomerate Acquisitions 9. Cross-border acquisitions 10. Joint Ventures and Strategic alliances as alternatives to M & A 11. Corporate divestitures 12. Leveraged buyouts (LBOs) PART THREE: ACQUISITION DECISION, DEAL STRUCTURING AND NEGOTIATION 13. Acquisition decision making and deal structuring 14. Target valuation 15. Accounting for mergers and acquisitions 16. Paying for the acquisition 17. Antitrust regulation 18. Regulating takeover bids 19. Advisers in takeovers 20. Bid strategies and tactics 21. Defences against takeovers PART FOUR: MAKING ACQUISITIONS WORK 22. Organisational dynamics and human aspects of acquisitions 23. Post-merger audit and organizational learning 24. Meeting the challenges in mergers and acquisitions
A fully packaged 4/spl times/4 integrated optical switch matrix

This paper describes a packaged and fiber array coupled 4/spl times/4 optical crosspoint switch designed for optical packet switching. Alignment and fixation techniques of two perpendicular fiber arrays to the integrated InP-based switch chip have been developed. Thermal management is also included in the packaging. The packaged devices demonstrate long-term stability and have been used in switch modules, including the packaged device and electronic interfaces.
Spatiotemporal Object Database Approach to Dynamic Segmentation

Dynamic segmentation is viewed as one of the most important functions of geographic information systems for transportation applications. Although the road network and associated events (e.g., pavement material, traffic volume, incidents) can be referenced to both space and time, the spatial and temporal dimensions have not been well integrated. Modeling space-varying, time-varying, and space-time-varying events in dynamic segmentation by using an object database approach that is in line with the Object Database Management Group standard is explored. A mechanism called parametric polymorphism is used to lift conventional data types to spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal types for maintaining knowledge about events that could change spatially, temporally, and spatiotemporally along linear features. An associated object query language, DS-OQL, was designed to support the formulation of spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal queries on the road and event information.
Magnetization Rate Dependence of the Barkhausen Noise in JRQ Steels

The magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) in JRQ reference steel was measured under varying magnetization rate. The scaling properties of the avalanche size distribution were determined experimentally as a function of the excitation frequency. We have found that the exponent decreases and the scaling region extends as the excitation frequency increases in accordance with theoretical expectations. The average avalanche energy, size, and frequency were found to have power law dependence on the excitation rate. The temporal analysis has shown that the MBN noise generation starts earlier and develops a more symmetric character with the increase of the excitation frequency. These changes with the excitation rate can not be accounted for only by the overlap of individual MBN avalanches, but reveal a change of the dynamics of the MBN process.