Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of gate driver signal on static losses for a SiC switch built with Normally-Off JFETs and a Schottky diode

This document shows the behaviour of a SiC switch built with Normally-Off JFETs and a Schottky diode when the JFETs are controlled with a constant gate-to-source voltage or with a constant gate current. The JFETs are used in a direct and reverse conduction. The goal of this study is to determine a gate driver signal that minimizes static losses in the switch in spite of temperature variations. Two switches are tested: the first one is built with one JFET and one diode, the second one is built with four JFETs and one diode. It has been shown that in both cases, when reverse conduction is used, a current controlled gate driver leads to lower static losses.
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DETERMINANTS OF COST EFFICIENCY IN THE ZAMBIAN BANKING SECTOR

Research interest in banking cost efficiency in developing countries has increased over the past years as researchers seek to evaluate the efficacy of reforms implemented in these countries. However, for sub-Saharan Africa, such research remains thin and inconclusive. This study attempts to fill this void by investigating cost efficiency in the Zambian banking sector since the banking crisis of the mid 1990s. Using a single stage maximum likelihood estimation procedure applied to a stochastic frontier cost function, we observe that Zambian banks are on average inefficient in the order of 11.4 %. Furthermore, foreign banks are more efficient than domestic banks, especially the state bank. However, domestic private banks have been closing the efficiency gap over the past few years. Contrary to popular thinking in the Zambian banking circles, regulatory intensity does not exacerbate inefficiency. Instead, bank specific factors and macroeconomic uncertainty have contributed significantly to the relatively low efficiency bank performance. In setting the agenda for future improvement in cost efficiency, attention must be focussed at improving risk management techniques and reducing credit to government in order to unlock the potential in the domestic banking sector. In order to achieve this, the institutional framework must be strengthened to revitalise the sector.
Poliovirus surveillance by examining sewage specimens. Quantitative recovery of virus after introduction into sewerage at remote upstream location

In order to assess the feasibility of environmental poliovirus surveillance, known amounts of poliovirus type 1, strain Sabin, were flushed into the sewage network of Helsinki. Grab specimens collected at a remote downstream location and concentrated about a 100-fold revealed infectious poliovirus on four successive days in all three separate experiments. As for concentration, a simple two-phase separation method was found to be at least as useful as a several-fold more resource-demanding polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation method. Recovery of the introduced virus was remarkably high (more than 10%). Using the current system, it might be possible to detect poliovirus circulation in a population of 700 000 people by examining a single 400 ml sewage specimen, if 1 out of 10000 inhabitants were excreting the virus. It is concluded that environmental surveillance is a sensitive approach to monitor silent poliovirus circulation in populations served by a sewage network.
A STUDY OF THE INNOVATION POWER OF SMEs IN SEMARANG

The objective of this study was to analyze the reasons why a business could sustain its life. The approaches used were industrial based approach and micro business unit approach. The sampling method was purposive sampling combined by convenience sampling technique.The amount of samples were 100. The method of analysis used were nonparametric statistics and regression analysis. The study found that the innovation power of SMEs in Semarang was quite small (around 5%). This finding was expected to benefit business actors in Indonesia, namely to help increase innovation power so that their businesses could survive and continue to exist.
Infection Barriers to Successful Xenotransplantation Focusing on Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses

SUMMARY Xenotransplantation may be a solution to overcome the shortage of organs for the treatment of patients with organ failure, but it may be associated with the transmission of porcine microorganisms and the development of xenozoonoses. Whereas most microorganisms may be eliminated by pathogen-free breeding of the donor animals, porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) cannot be eliminated, since these are integrated into the genomes of all pigs. Human-tropic PERV-A and -B are present in all pigs and are able to infect human cells. Infection of ecotropic PERV-C is limited to pig cells. PERVs may adapt to host cells by varying the number of LTR-binding transcription factor binding sites. Like all retroviruses, they may induce tumors and/or immunodeficiencies. To date, all experimental, preclinical, and clinical xenotransplantations using pig cells, tissues, and organs have not shown transmission of PERV. Highly sensitive and specific methods have been developed to analyze the PERV status of donor pigs and to monitor recipients for PERV infection. Strategies have been developed to prevent PERV transmission, including selection of PERV-C-negative, low-producer pigs, generation of an effective vaccine, selection of effective antiretrovirals, and generation of animals transgenic for a PERV-specific short hairpin RNA inhibiting PERV expression by RNA interference.
Modelling supply rates of high-strength oxycodone across New South Wales

Aim: The objective of this research was to develop a statistical methodology for identifying areas with aberrantly high supply levels of 80mg oxycodone controlled-release (CR) tablets, a prescription medicine that is currently a target for illicit diversion in Australia. The intention in developing this methodology was to provide assistance to the Pharmaceutical Services unit of the New South Wales Department of Health in monitoring supply and prescribing of high-strength prescription opioids. Method: Statistical analysis focused on modelling variations across New South Wales (from 2006 to 2009) in wholesale supply rates of 80mg oxycodone CR tablets while controlling for relevant demographic and public health characteristics of each area. Results: This analysis identified a number of Local Government Areas with supply levels of 80mg oxycodone CR tablets that were significantly higher than that predicted by the statistical model. In contrast to analysis of raw unadjusted supply counts of this medicine, which were highest in areas with large populations, statistical modelling identified mainly regional areas as those with unexpectedly high supply rates of 80mg oxycodone CR tablets. Conclusion: The current findings highlight the importance of controlling for relevant population level characteristics related to indications for opioid prescribing when evaluating trends in supply of these medicines.
Audit Quality and Earnings Management in France

This paper investigates the effect of audit quality variables on abnormal accruals in the French context. The sample comprises 255 firm-years observations from SBF 120 Index companies (1999-2001). Abnormal accruals are estimated using a Jones cross-sectional Model, as well as a CFO Model (Jones Model controlling for cash flows). They are considered in signed value, as a proxy for accounting conservatism, and in absolute value, as a proxy for the overall earnings management regardless of income-increasing or -decreasing incentives. Multivariate analyses document that: (1) the presence of a Big Five auditor has no effect on the magnitude of abnormal accruals whether considered in signed or absolute value; (2) the presence of an audit committee (but not the committee's independence) is associated with lower signed abnormal accruals, suggesting more conservative accounting earnings; and (3) in contradiction with positive accounting predictions, leverage has a negative effect on signed abnormal accruals. Implications of these findings are discussed in the French setting with respect to, notably, the lower litigation risk of auditors (vs. the US litigation system), the recommendations on audit committees, the duties of corporate directors, and the traditionally significant role of accounting in the protection of debtholders' interests.
Port‐Wine Stain Nodules in the Adult: Report of 20 Cases Treated by CO2 Laser Vaporization

BACKGROUND Port-wine stain (PWS) is a congenital vascular malformation of the superficial dermal vessels. These vessels become progressively ectatic, with development of nodular and hypertrophic areas on the surface of the lesions. OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of CO2 laser vaporization in the treatment of nodules in PWS. METHODS Twenty adult patients with PWS who developed nodules and hypertrophy on the surface of the lesions were treated by CO2 laser vaporization. Only one pass was performed to each area of the lesions, using a continuous and defocused mode, with a power density of 10 W/cm2. When the treated lesion was very large, several sessions of treatment were necessary to vaporize its entire surface. Photographic controls were performed before and after treatment. RESULTS The nodules and hypertrophy were removed and the smooth surface of the lesions was reestablished. The color, usually violaceous, was transformed in a slight erythema. CONCLUSION CO2 laser is a good method for treatment of nodules and hypertrophy in PWS. With adequate precautions, excellent cosmetic results can be obtained. Other more-specific laser systems may be successively used to treat the remaining erythema.
Managing Customer Relationships by Gender

ABSTRACT Purpose: Although relational bonds (i.e., structural bonds, social bonds, and financial bonds) positively contribute to customer loyalty, no study has yet examined the relative effectiveness of such relationship strategies on female and male customers. Moreover, businesses must make a tradeoff between improving one and the other bonds, warranting research into allocating resources effectively to improve them. Therefore, this study investigates whether and how marketers should strive to improve such bonds differently according to customer gender. Methodology/approach: A cross-sectional design was implemented. The data consist of questionnaires filled out by a representative sample of 425 directors of animal hospitals. The sample is representative with regard to gender composition. By using confirmatory factor analysis, study items exhibited adequate reliability and validity. Quadratic regressions were used for testing the study hypotheses. Findings: For female customers, relational bonds have concave relations with their loyalty (i.e., initial increases in relational bonds boost loyalty effectively while subsequent increases of relational bonds only raise loyalty marginally). However, for male customers, relational bonds have convex relations with their loyalty (i.e., initial increases in relational bonds raise loyalty less effectively than subsequent increases in relational bonds). Originality/value/contribution: Results of this study are among the first to suggest that when targeting female customers, marketers should allocate their resources to improving all relational bonds to moderate levels. Conversely, when targeting male customers, marketers should concentrate their resources on creating an extremely strong relational bond. Managing customer relational bonds by gender can effectively cultivate loyal customers of each gender. This study is one of the first studies examining how to manage customer relational bonds by gender.
Using artificial neural networks to enhance the accuracy of the photovoltaic simulation model

This study aims to enhance the accuracy of the PV simulation model by using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to incorporate the effect of the surrounding environment in the model. The ANNs designed are using the weather aspects to predict the actual values of Short Circuit Current (Isc) and Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) used in the simulation. The results show that varying the values of Isc and Voc using ANNs does enhance the prediction accuracy. Therefore, it is concluded that the values of Isc and Voc should not be used as constant in the simulation of the PV panel. In addition, ANNs are found to be a valuable tool to be used in the simulation of PV and their use could be extended to the simulation of other renewable energy sources.
The Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation through The Concept of a Regional Indicators System

The article presents an approach to the strategic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation based on a system of regional indicators as transformation of the Balanced Scorecard method. The regional indicators system approach allows elaborating the general concept of comprehensive regional development taking into consideration economic and non-economic factors. The main peculiarities of the Arctic zone of Russian Federation are described. The general strategic chart of development of the Arctic zone was worked out based on the regional indicators system concept. The key target indicators of the strategic development of the Arctic zone are presented for the following strategic chart components: regional finance; society and market; industry and entrepreneurship; education, development, and innovations. These charts are to be integrated with the national strategic chart and regional charts of lower levels. The authors use cascading as a process of working out and transformation of comprehensive regional indicators based on the goal-oriented approach for every level of regional governance.
Benchmarking tool for improved corporate social responsibility in purchasing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a benchmark tool that can be applied to improve corporate social responsibility (CSR) in purchasing. The tool has been tested on two companies that illustrate how the benchmarking tool can be applied.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review provides arguments for the importance of a benchmarking tool in the area of social responsible purchasing. The literature review also provides information about the practices and activities that can be applied as well as a structure for these. Empirical data are based on the sustainability reports of two companies.Findings – A benchmarking tool for social responsible purchasing is developed. The tool facilitates companies in their structuring, categorising and presenting of relevant data in order to benchmark their social responsibility in purchasing. The testing of the tool provided concrete examples of activities that can be used to address different aspects of CSR in purchasing.Practical implications – The l.
Toward Cloud Computing Evolution: Efficiency vs Trendy vs Security

Information Technology (IT) shaped the success of organizations, giving them a solid foundation that increases both their level of efficiency as well as productivity. The computing industry is witnessing a paradigm shift in the way computing is performed worldwide. There is a growing awareness among consumers and enterprises to access their IT resources extensively through a 'utility' model known as 'cloud computing. ' Cloud computing was initially rooted in distributed grid-based computing. It has become a significant technology trend and expect that cloud computing will reshape IT processes and the IT marketplace. With the cloud computing technology, clients use a variety of smart mobile devices to access programs, storage, and application-development platforms over the network and internet, through services offered by cloud computing providers. An innovative new way to boost capacity and add capabilities in computing without spending money on a new infrastructure, training new personnel or licensing software is one of the characteristics of a cloud computing. Demands for fastest access to information is changing and increasing, therefore, the availability of cloud computing has made it easier for organizations to share and store related data and information with their stakeholders. Moreover, cloud computing is the use of internet-based services to support business processes. Our research is to find out what the demand and main emphasized of cloud computing compared with efficiency, trendy and security that leads to improved business processes within corporate as cloud user.
Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search by Residual Vector Quantization

A recently proposed product quantization method is efficient for large scale approximate nearest neighbor search, however, its performance on unstructured vectors is limited. This paper introduces residual vector quantization based approaches that are appropriate for unstructured vectors. Database vectors are quantized by residual vector quantizer. The reproductions are represented by short codes composed of their quantization indices. Euclidean distance between query vector and database vector is approximated by asymmetric distance, i.e., the distance between the query vector and the reproduction of the database vector. An efficient exhaustive search approach is proposed by fast computing the asymmetric distance. A straight forward non-exhaustive search approach is proposed for large scale search. Our approaches are compared to two state-of-the-art methods, spectral hashing and product quantization, on both structured and unstructured datasets. Results show that our approaches obtain the best results in terms of the trade-off between search quality and memory usage.
Localization of unaffected spins in NMR imaging and spectroscopy (LOCUS spectroscopy)

A new method for the localization of NMR spectra in vivo is presented. Herein a series of selective 90° pulses with different carrier frequencies in the presence of magnetic field gradients is saturating spins of unwanted regions. Only spins in the region of interest are left unaffected. The LOCUS (localization of unaffected spins) spectrum of this region is measured by a single 90° excitation pulse. The FLASH imaging sequence combined with the LOCUS technique allows the identification of the region of interest. © 1986 Academic Press, Inc.
Considering the consequences: Australian country newspapers and news impact on communities

Abstract The news media are often criticised for not considering the impact of their reporting on audiences. Journalism conventions and market demands are seen as militating against concern with the consequences of news coverage, and this is frequently highlighted as one of the reasons for decreasing public trust in the media. However, such criticisms may apply primarily to news outlets in metropolitan areas, where media environments are competitive and the risk of alienating or offending some readers, viewers or listeners must be balanced against the need to attract as wide an audience as possible. Outside cities, the news media environment tends to be less competitive, and this, along with factors such as individual journalists’ greater public visibility and accessibility, may encourage a greater concern with the impacts and effects of news reporting. This conclusion is supported by the findings of a study into relationships between Australian country non-daily newspapers and community in Victoria and South Australia, suggesting that journalistic conventions such as objectivity may require reinterpretation in non-metropolitan environments.
Hepatocurative and antioxidant profile of HP-1, a polyherbal phytomedicine

HP-1 a herbal formulation comprising of Phyllanthus niruri and extracts of Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula, Phyllanthus emblica and Tinospora cordifoliahas been evaluated for hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced toxicity. Results show that HP-1 reversed the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and prevented the depletion of glutathione (GSH) levels in a primary monolayer culture of rat hepatocytes (in vitro). HP-1 attenuated the serum toxicity as manifested in elevated levels of transaminases (glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), and GPT) The anti-oxidative enzymes in liver (catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD)) were restored to normal values after the oral administration of HP-1. HP-1 suppressed the formation of the superoxide anion radical and reduced CCl4 mediated lipid peroxidation (LPO). Silymarin and antioxidants (ascorbic acid,β-carotene and tocopherol) were used for comparison. The present study showed that HP-1 is a potential hepatoprotective formulation with an additional attribute of being anti-peroxidative.
Genome wide profiling of altered gene expression in the neocortex of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a complex neurodegenerative process affecting multiple genes and proteins in the neocortex, many of which have not been well‐studied. In this study, we investigated genome‐wide gene alterations in the temporal cortex of a well‐characterized cohort of AD patients using a recently developed microarray platform, and compared some of the transcript changes with immunoblotting. Of the 5485 genes found to be significantly altered in AD, there were consistent patterns of changes which show that the AD transcriptome in neocortex is characterized by changes indicative of synaptic dysfunction, perturbed neurotransmission and activation of neuroinflammation. We also highlighted several genes of potential pathogenic significance which have not been well studied in AD. The current study aims to add to the growing body of knowledge relating to gene changes in AD and provide further insights into pathogenic mechanisms and potential targets of pharmacotherapy. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient vs. Opportunistic Choice of Accounting Procedures: Corporate Control Contests

SYNOPSIS AND INTRODUCTION: Accounting numbers are an integral part of the firm's formal and informal contracts (Watts 1974; Holthausen and Leftwich 1983; Watts and Zimmerman 1986; Ball 1989; Christie 1990). This contracting-based theory of accounting is based on the premise that managers choose particular accounting procedures either efficiently to maximize the value of the firm, or opportunistically to make the manager better off at the expense of some other contracting party (Holthausen 1990). The relative amounts of efficiency and opportunism depend on controls on managers' accounting discretion. Such controls include monitoring by the board of directors, competition from the product markets and from within the firm by other managers, and the discipline of the market for corporate control. It is difficult to determine whether managers make accounting choices to maximize firm-value. Empirical tests often assume opportunism and usually rejectthe null hypothesis of no association between accounting choice and firm-specific variables such as leverage (Christie 1990). However, many of the empirical regularities interpreted as evidence of opportunism can also be interpreted as occurring for efficiency reasons, which serves to confound these findings (Watts and Zimmerman 1986; Watts and Zimmerman 1990; Sweeney 1994). The few tests based on efficiency rationales find an association between the contracting variables and accounting choice (Zimmer 1986; Whittred 1987; Malmquist 1990; Mian and Smith 1990a).