Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FORECASTI G PRODUCT RETUR S FOR PRODUCTIO PLA I G A D CO TROL I REMA UFACTURI G

There is a growing focus on sustainability in corporate objectives. A key approach to managing and implementing sustainability is through operations management. Sustainable operations hold the key to increased profitability and effective management of environmental issues. Among the business processes used for sustainability is reuse. A key preferred component of reuse is remanufacturing. Legislation trends, as evidenced in the European Union, are forcing manufacturers to take back and put products back into the market, after remanufacturing. The remanufacturing may be done by either the manufacturer or a remanufacturer. In this study, we consider a manufacturer that also acts as a remanufacturer, and develop a generalized forecasting approach to determine the returns of used products, as well as integrate it with an inventory model to enable production planning and control. I TRODUCTIO There has been tremendous corporate interest in sustainability in the last two decades. Most major corporations in the Fortune 500 are now expanding their strategic goals to include sustainability issues (www.wal-mart.com, www.usa.canon.com/green, www.toyota.com, www.ge.com, www.dell.com/sustainabilityreport are a few of the examples). The definition of sustainable development as “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” by the World Commission on Environment and 1 Department of Management Sciences, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, 2100 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, e-mail: clottey.2@osu.edu
The V2 Temporal Document Database System

An adjustable automotive vehicle seat has independent front and rear edge adjusting and supporting means to provide for vertical adjustment of the seat between raised and lowered positions, and for tilt adjustment of the seat between an untilted position and a forwardly tilted position while preventing rearward tilting of the seat. A first control member is operable to provide only downward movement of the front edge of the seat, while a second control member is operable to provide only upward movement of the rear edge of the seat. A third control member is operable to provide either upward or downward movement of both front and rear edges simultaneously. Preferably the adjusting and support means comprises separate motors and the control members are switch operators.
A case of synchronous double primary breast carcinoma and osteosarcoma: Mismatch repair genes mutations as a possible cause for multiple early onset malignant tumors

Summary Background: Simultaneous or consequent development of multiple solid tumors might be faced in some patients, especially the young. These tumors might be related to certain hereditary cancer syndromes or certain genetic predispositions. Case Report: We present the case of a 19-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer to the contralateral axillary lymph node, associated with simultaneous osteosarcoma of the left lower femur. As she did not fit into any of the familial cancer syndromes, genetic predisposition was suspected. We detected MLH1 and MSH2 promotor methylation (PM), microsatellite instability (MSI), and different mutational events in both tumors. BRCA1 gene mutations were detected in the breast tumor, with reduced mRNA expression of BRCA1&2. ERCC1, MLH1 and MSH2, especially in OS, and RRM1 was overexpressed in both tumors. Conclusions: Aberrations in MMR genes could explain simultaneous or consequent development of multiple solid tumors, especially in a young patient. We recommend detecting these defects, close follow-up for those patients, and genetic counseling for their family members. Further studies in a larger population are essential to support our results.
Cost-benefit analysis and valuation uncertainty

This thesis addresses the economic trade-offs between hydropower and fish production, based on an empirical assessment of the costs and benefits of changing the water flow of the Ume/Vindel River in northern Sweden at a major hydropower plant in ways that would reduce its production of electricity but increase the number of wild salmon in the river. A theoretical framework for dynamic cost benefit analysis (CBA) is presented and applied to the salmon passage-hydropower production conflict. The approach has wider applicability than suggested here, and should be useful in other, similar contexts. To obtain estimates for the benefit of increasing the number of wild salmon the contingent valuation method (CVM) was applied. The CVM is a survey-based method developed for measuring values of non-market goods by using willingness to pay (WTP) questions. A new open-ended valuation question, the â€œclassic and interval open-endedâ€ (CIOE) question, was introduced to accommodate the fact that many people have an inability to state their preferences accurately. Interpretation of the resulting valuation uncertainty is more straightforward with this type of question than with other types of valuation question. There are other advantages as well. In addition, methods are introduced for: finding a WTP point estimate for the CIOE question; estimating lower and upper boundaries for the WTP; and for estimating confidence intervals for the total present benefit. An important element of the empirical analysis is that estimated changes in resource conditions are based on detailed river-specific data. The resource dynamic considerations were introduced into both the scenarios and the WTP questions, using an estimated salmon population model for the Vindel River as a base. A model predicting the effects of varying the water flows on the salmonâ€™s migration behaviour was used to estimate the costs of increasing the number of salmon. A total of 1785 individuals received a questionnaire including the CIOE question; the response rate was 66%. Passive use (non-use) values are the major contributors to the benefit (96-517 MSEK) of increasing the wild salmon stock in the Vindel River. The sensitivity analysis suggests that the opportunity costs in terms of lost electricity are typically higher than the estimated benefits.
Fully automatic 3D segmentation measurements of human liver vessels from contrast-enhanced CT

Aim of the present work was to evaluate the performance of a novel fully automatic algorithm for 3D segmentation and volumetric reconstruction of liver vessel network from contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) datasets acquired during routine clinical activity. Three anonymized CECT datasets were randomly collected and were automatically analyzed by the new vessel segmentation algorithm, whose parameter configuration had been previously optimized on a phantom model. The same datasets were also manually segmented by an experienced operator that was blind with respect to algorithm outcome. Automatic segmentation accuracy was quantitatively assessed for both single 2D slices and 3D reconstruction of the vessel network, accounting manual segmentation results as the reference “ground truth”. Adopted evaluation framework included the following two groups of calculations: 1) for 3D vessel network, sensitivity in vessel detection was quantified as a function of both vessel diameter and vessel order; 2) for vessel images on 2D slices, dice similarity coefficient (DSC), false positive ratio (FPR), false negative ratio (FNR), Bland-Altman plots and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to judge the correctness of single pixel classifications. Automatic segmentation resulted in a 3D vessel detection sensitivity of 100% for vessels larger than 1 mm in diameter, 64.6% for vessels in the range 0.5-1.0 mm and 27.8% for smaller vessels. An average area overlap of 99.1% was obtained between automatically and manually segmented vessel sections, with an average difference of 0.53 mm2. The corresponding average values of FPR and FNR were 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Therefore, the tested method showed significant robustness and accuracy in automatic extraction of the liver vessel tree from CECT datasets. Although further verification studies on larger patient populations are required, the described algorithm has an exciting potential for supporting liver surgery planning and intraoperative resection guidance.
The Importance of Background and Peer Characteristics in Analyzing Academic Achievement Participation and Results

Using a rich longitudinal data set, two issues regarding academic performance analysis are examined. First, we address the endogeneity and error correlation of potential performance in grade 10 national examinations and school-leaving choices prior to exams. Second, we evaluate the sensitivity of academic performance analysis to excluding variables often unavailable in datasets (such as childhood IQ, early family resources, and teenage peer effects). An important finding of this paper is that inclusion of these (often unobserved) characteristics may alter policy implications drawn from academic performance research. Our results show further that in addition to childhood ability and family background characteristics, later family, school and peer resources also have major and significant effects on academic achievement. JEL codes: I21, J24, J13, J18 ∗ This study was made possible through a research grant from the New Zealand Treasury. Special thanks go to David Fergusson and John Horwood for making the data set available and for insightful information on the data set; Francine Blau, Lawrence Kahn, Stephen Jenkins, Anna Vignoles, Geeta Kingdon, Bob Haveman, Barbara Wolfe, Karl Scholz, Dean Hyslop, David Mare′, seminar participants at IZA, the 2006 Australasian Labour Econometrics Workshop, and 2006 EALE meetings for insightful comments; George Barker and Ron Crawford for helpful comments on an earlier part of the study; and Adam Warner for initial research assistance. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed.
Financial decisions as determinants of ownership structure

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to analyse how financial decisions influence corporate ownership structure of Spanish family and non-family controlled firms. Design/methodology/approach - The authors derived two models in line with financial theory, which have then been estimated by using a sample of Spanish companies. Panel data methodology and estimation by the generalized method of moments allow the unobservable heterogeneity to be eliminated and the endogeneity problem controlled. Findings - The main findings are as follows. First, increases in debt lead outside owners and managers to limit the risk they bear by reducing their holdings. Such reductions are also found in family controlled firms. Second, both outside owners and managers are encouraged to increase their stakes in the firm in view of higher dividends. This reaction is also observed in family controlled firms, and it is even stronger in the managers of family controlled firms. Third, outside owners in non-family firms increase their holdings when a new investment project is undertaken, whereas the reaction of family controlled firms is the opposite. The expected positive effect of investment on insider ownership is only observed in family controlled firms. Practical implications - When analysing the determinants of corporate ownership structure, the analysis should be controlled for family ownership. Originality/value - Overall, this paper contributes to the strand of literature on the determinants of corporate ownership structure in two ways: first, by focusing on the role played by financial decisions; and second, by accounting for family control.
Comparing and Evaluating Terminology Services APIs: RxNav, UMLSKS, and LexBIG

To facilitate the integration of terminologies into numerous aspects of e-Science, e-Business and eGovernment, various terminology services APIs (application programming interfaces) have been developed in the recent past. These APIs, in general, are tuned to efficiently and effectively provide a host of functional characteristics ranging from retrieving concept attributes such as definitions and synonyms, to navigating relationships between concepts (e.g., finding sub- or superconcepts of a given concept). In this study, we compare and evaluate three publicly available terminology services APIs, RxNav, UMLSKS, and LexBIG, with respect to retrieval of information from one biomedical terminology, RxNorm, common to these services. Specifically, we established a list of queries covering a wide spectrum of terminology services functionalities such as finding RxNorm concepts by their name, or navigating different types of relationships based on the current implementation of the RxNav API. Training and test data were generated from the RxNorm dataset to verify and evaluate the implementation of the functionalities, respectively. Our results revealed issues with various aspects of the API implementation and documentation that are currently being addressed. The study contributes to provide a methodological model in comparing and evaluating terminology services APIs developed by different organizations.
Clinical outcome following DIAM implantation for symptomatic lumbar internal disk disruption: a 3-year retrospective analysis

Background/objective Internal disk disruption (IDD), an early event of lumbar disk degeneration, is the most common cause of low back pain. Since increased intradiskal pressure (IDP) is associated with symptoms and progression of disk degeneration, unloading a painful disk with an interspinous process device (IPD) is a rational treatment option. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of dynamic stabilization with an IPD in the treatment of symptomatic IDD of the lumbar spine. Patients and methods Patients with symptomatic IDD were treated with implantation of an IPD, the device for intervertebral assisted motion (DIAM). Diagnosis of IDD was based on typical MRI finding of posterior annular high-intensity zone and positive provocative test on discography. IDP was analyzed intraoperatively. Axial back and leg pain was evaluated with visual analog scale, functional status with Oswestry Disability Index, and final clinical outcomes with Odom criteria. Data from 34 patients followed up for at least 3 years were collected. Results DIAM implantation significantly reduced IDP (n=11, P<0.0001). All 34 patients reported symptom relief. Thirty-one patients (91%) remained symptom free until the last followups. Three patients (9%) experienced recurrence of pain, of which the causes were unrelated to the IDD or surgery. Disk status at the DIAM-implanted segments remained stable. Segmental flexion/extension mobility was preserved in 27 of 30 patients with preoperative mobility. No proximal or distal adjacent segment degeneration was observed. The final clinical outcomes were excellent/good in 31 and fair/poor in three patients. Conclusion For patients with symptomatic IDD, dynamic stabilization with DIAM provides pain relief and functional improvement. The implantation maintains disk status and prevents progression of disk degeneration, without compromising segmental flexion/extension mobility or causing adjacent segment degeneration.
Effect of correlated errors on TCP

Center for Wireless Communications, University of California San Die go, 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla, CA 92093-0407, USA – fax: +1-619-534-2486 – e-mail: fzorzi,raog@ece.ucsd. edu Abstract— In this paper, we study the throughput and energy efficiency of TCP in the presence of correlated packet errors described by a Markov channel model. We consider a single connection and study the evolution of the window size. A Markov approach is developed and tight bounds are derived. It is shown that TCP performs better in the presence of clustered errors, suggesting that techniques that reduce channel memory may be undesirable. We also identify the tradeoff between instantaneous throughput and energy efficiency.
A temporal logic view of paradigm models

Software systems have evolved from monolithic programs to systems constructed from parallel, cooperative components, as can be currently found in object-oriented applications. Although powerful, these cooperative systems are also more difficult to verify.We show it is possible to automatically translate a PARADIGM specification to a Propositional Linear Temporal Logic based program. This has several interesting consequences: a) on one hand we allow a more declarative view of PARADIGM specifications, b) the resulting translation is an executable specification and c) as we show in this work it can also be useful on verifying correctness properties by automatic means. We think this will contribute to enhance the understanding, usability and further development of PARADIGM, and related methods like SOCCA, within both the Software Engineering and the Knowledge Engineering communities.
Financial development and economic growth: An analysis based on provincial panel data

This paper examines the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth for the case of China over the period 1978–2007. A panel data framework is used as an appropriate specification and the long-run relationship among financial development, growth and other key growth factors is analyzed in a theoretically based system. The empirical results show that there exists a unidirectional causality from financial development to economic growth in China, and financial development is found to lead and promote the economic growth. Conclusion give some policy suggestions.
The Gender-Specific Effect of Working Hours on Family Happiness in South Korea

This paper uses detailed longitudinal data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) stretching from 1998 to 2008 to analyze the relationship between working hours and family happiness in Korea. The Korean labor market is characterized by high levels of gender inequality which is partly due to long working hours, a significant gender gap in earnings, yet also to traditional gender roles maintained until today. Therefore, post-marriage labor force participation rates for men are still double as high as for women. However, significant changes took place over the period of our study. Working hours have been steadily reduced and female labor force participation slightly increased, partly due to the introduction of the 5-day working week in 2004. Hours, job, and life satisfaction have all increased hence. Running fixed-effects ordered logit models on married couples with children, we analyze hours, job, and life satisfaction separately for women and men. Our findings indicate that past working hours reductions increased family happiness in Korea. However, there are still strong gender-specific effects how working hours affect family happiness. Controlling for household income, wives report highest satisfaction when either not-working or working 31 to 40 hours per week. Both part-time and overtime work reduce women’s happiness. Korean husbands, in comparison, are best off when being full-time employed with weekly working hours between 31 and 50. Staying at home or being only part-time employed (1-30 hours) is strongly detrimental to their happiness. For both sexes, cross-partner effects are strongly significant. These findings are particularly interesting in comparison to other countries like Great Britain or Australia where similar studies were carried out (Booth and van Ours, 2008; 2009). Results confirm strong traditional gender roles in Korea until today. In order to further increase female labor force participation and family happiness, further reductions in working hours should be flanked by policies promoting equal chances at the work place, a rethinking of gender identities, and flexible job and child-care solutions.
Dirichlet Process Mixtures of Generalized Mallows Models

We present a Dirichlet process mixture model over discrete incomplete rankings and study two Gibbs sampling inference techniques for estimating posterior clusterings. The first approach uses a slice sampling subcomponent for estimating cluster parameters. The second approach marginalizes out several cluster parameters by taking advantage of approximations to the conditional posteriors. We empirically demonstrate (1) the effectiveness of this approximation for improving convergence, (2) the benefits of the Dirichlet process model over alternative clustering techniques for ranked data, and (3) the applicability of the approach to exploring large realworld ranking datasets.
Integrated Network Operations for Future Army Tactical Networks

Military Network Operations (NetOps) consist of three main components: network management, network defense (information assurance), and content staging (information dissemination management). NetOps capabilities include organizations, procedures, and technologies required to manage, defend, and utilize a network. Conventionally NetOps components are regarded as functionally orthogonal and operationally independent. However, based on our experience1 with the future Army tactical network that consist of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), we believe these components should be integrated to enhance NetOps in MANET environments. We envision that with the creation of an over-arching architectural framework to underlie NetOps components, future Army tactical network operations will provide better support to network centric warfare. Also, the focus of NetOps should transition from maintaining network operations to providing optimal communications. In this paper, we describe issues and challenges associated with integrating NetOps components for future Army tactical networks, and discuss path forward.
Peer-to-Peer Video Streaming on Mobile Phones

We demonstrate peer-to-peer video streaming on mobile phones. The stream originates as a live stream from a phone camera and is then propagated in peer-to-peer fashion to multiple other mobile phones or other devices. By extending the peer-to-peer streaming to handheld devices, we can significantly increase the coverage and dynamics in content creation and consumption and allow much more use cases than with PCs and laptops only.
Fault reconnaissance agent for sensor networks

One of the key prerequisite for a scalable, effective and efficient sensor network is the utilization of low-cost, low-overhead and high-resilient fault-inference techniques. To this end, we propose an intelligent agent system with a problem solving capability to address the issue of fault inference in sensor network environments. The intelligent agent system is designed and implemented at base-station side. The core of the agent system - problem solver - implements a fault-detection inference engine which harnesses Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate fault probabilities of sensor nodes. To validate the correctness and effectiveness of the intelligent agent system, a set of experiments in a wireless sensor testbed are conducted. The experimental results show that our intelligent agent system is able to precisely estimate the fault probability of sensor nodes.
Building credibility in international banking and financial markets

Purpose – The research aims to draw a detailed picture of how international corporate banks and financial institutions approach image advertising to enhance impressions of their credibility. The purpose of the work is twofold, namely to demonstrate how corporate credibility can be conceptualised and made operational for strategic communication, and how the operational categories are utilised in the planning of recent image advertising campaigns in Europe.Design/methodology/approach – A reconceptualised model of credibility dimensions was first proposed to obtain a collection of operational appeal forms. A corpus of 74 print adverts was then analysed in order to establish how financial marketers use the appeal forms to strengthen their corporate reputations. The patterns of credibility appeals obtained were then linked to the supporting visuals to provide a fuller picture of the industry's current praxis for portraying its expertise, trustworthiness and empathy.Findings – The results reveal an overwhelming.