Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P-Tree programming

We propose a novel method for automatic program synthesis. P-Tree Programming represents the program search space through a single probabilistic prototype tree. From this prototype tree we form program instances which we evaluate on a given problem. The error values from the evaluations are propagated through the prototype tree. We use them to update the probability distributions that determine the symbol choices of further instances. The iterative method is applied to several symbolic regression benchmarks from the literature. It outperforms standard Genetic Programming to a large extent. Furthermore, it relies on a concise set of parameters which are held constant for all problems. The algorithm can be employed for most of the typical computational intelligence tasks such as classification, automatic program induction, and symbolic regression.
Induction Practices and the Continuous Recreation of Organizational Routines

Staff induction and socialization serve as a means of continuously recreating the firm’s organizational memory (OM), so that organizations do not forget what they collectively know. However, OM research neglects this issue. In this paper, we address this research gap by integrating research of OM with organizational recreation and staff induction. In our theoretical analysis, we contribute to existing research by explaining the continuous recreation mode of OM, which is based on adjustment pressure, demonstrative learning, and knowledge provision. Furthermore, we describe the integration into organizational routines by emphasizing the inductee’s learning of the firm’s knowledge architecture (transactive memory) to integrate technical, social and cultural knowledge in a meaningful way. Finally, we analyze the role of a control-based and a commitment-based HRM strategy to govern staff induction, where the level of the newcomer’s background knowledge and the attempt to learn from inductees determine whether to use a control-based approach (transferring knowledge from the firm to the inductee) or a commitment-based approach (seize also novel ideas from newcomers). Paper submitted to the Fourth International Conference on Organizational Routines: Organizational routines between change and stability: Linking empirical research to recent theoretical debates Nice, 11-12 June 2010, France . 1 NINA KATRIN HANSEN, University of Hamburg, Chair for Human Resource Management, Von-Melle-Park 5, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany, Phone +49.40. 42838.3315, E-Mail: NinaKatrin.Hansen@wiso.unihamburg. de 2 WOLFGANG H. GÜTTEL, Johannes Kepler-University Linz, Institute of Human Resource and Change Management, Altenberger Strasse 69, A-4040 Linz, Austria, Phone +43.664. 60.2468668, E-Mail: wolfgang.guettel@jku.at; corresponding author 3 ELENA P. ANTONACOPOULOU, University of Liverpool, Gnosis, Management School, Chatham Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZH, United Kingdom, Phone: +44.151. 7953727, E-Mail: E.Antonacopoulou@liverpool.ac. uk
Function and regulation of the neutrophil MEL-14 antigen in vivo: comparison with LFA-1 and MAC-1.

The CD11/18 (LFA-1, Mac-1) molecules participate in neutrophil adhesion to cultured endothelium in vitro and are critical for effective neutrophil localization into inflamed tissues in vivo. More recently, the MEL-14 Ag, which was first defined as a lymphocyte homing receptor, has also been implicated in inflammatory neutrophil extravasation. Here we compare the regulation and function of these adhesion molecules on neutrophils during the in vivo inflammatory response. The MEL-14 Ag is expressed at high levels on bone marrow and peripheral blood neutrophils, but is lost on neutrophils isolated from the thioglycollate-inflamed peritoneal cavity. In contrast, Mac-1 is up-regulated on inflammatory neutrophils and little change is seen in the level of LFA-1 expression. In vitro activation of bone marrow neutrophils with PMA or leukotriene B4 results in a dose dependent increase in Mac-1 and decrease in MEL-14 Ag expression within 1 h after treatment, thus reflecting what is found during inflammation in vivo. Neutrophils activated in vitro or in vivo (MEL-14Low, Mac-1Hi) do not home to inflammatory sites in vivo, correlating with the loss of the MEL-14 Ag and the increased Mac-1 expression. Anti-LFA-1, anti-Mac-1, or MEL-14 antibody given i.v. suppress neutrophil accumulation within the inflamed peritoneum (38%, 30%, and 37% of medium control, respectively) without affecting the levels of circulating neutrophils. However, when FITC-labeled cells are precoated with the mAb and injected i.v. , only MEL-14 inhibits extravasation into the inflamed peritoneum (25% of medium control). Finally, in ex vivo adhesion assays of neutrophil binding to high endothelial venules in inflamed-lymph node frozen sections MEL-14 inhibits greater than 90%. anti-LFA-1 20 to 30% and anti-Mac-1 less than 10% of the binding of bone marrow neutrophils to inflamed-lymph node high endothelial venules. These results confirm that both the MEL-14 antigen and Mac-1/LFA-1 are important in neutrophil localization to inflamed sites in vivo, but suggest that their roles in endothelial cell interactions are distinct.
Cultural Dissimilarity and Intermarriage. A Longitudinal Study of Immigrants in Sweden 1990–2005 1

Intermarriage with natives is a key indicator of immigrant integration. This article studies intermarriage for 138 immigrant groups in Sweden, using longitudinal individual level data. It shows great variation in marriage patterns across immigrant populations, ranging from over 70 percent endogamy in some immigrants groups to below 5 percent in other groups. Although part of this variation is explained by human capital and the structure of the marriage market, cultural factors (values, religion, and language) play an important role as well. Immigrants from culturally more dissimilar countries are less likely to intermarry with natives, and instead more prone to endogamy.
Disparity of innate immunity–related gene effects on asthma and allergy on Karelia

To cite this article: Zhang G, Candelaria P, Mäkelä JM, Khoo S‐K, Hayden MC, von Hertzen L, Laatikainen T, Vartiainen E, Goldblatt J, Haahtela T, LeSouëf NP. Disparity of innate immunity–related gene effects on asthma and allergy on Karelia. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011; 22: 621–630.
Does Equity Research Induced Buying Have Investment Value? Evidence from an Emerging Market

This research investigates the contribution (if any) of sell side analysts towards profitable investment decisions for investors in India. A sample of 1,000 target prices issued with buy ratings issued between 2007 and 2011 is used to investigate if investors have benefitted from these target price forecasts. The accuracy of target price forecasts is assessed by investigating if target price forecasts have been achieved anytime during the forecast horizon of one year. Analysts are found to meet their target price forecasts with 57.6 percent accuracy which is better than 55.6 percent target price accuracy reported from 16 countries. This implies that analysts perform in line with global analyst performance. The findings support the proposition that analyst recommendations with buy ratings have investment value in India and investors can benefit by tracking buy recommendations issued by analysts. The research was developed further and factors affecting target price accuracy for buy recommendations were investigated through regression analysis of panel data. Promoter holding was found to have a significant and negative impact on target price accuracy. This implies that analysts produce less accurate results with companies in which promoters have bigger role in managing company�s resources and share prices. Stocks with high promoter holding indicate the possibility of insider trading to outsmart the market. Further, regression analysis reveals that price to book is significantly and positively linked with target price accuracy. Fund managers believe that emerging market stocks tend to trade at premium to book values as companies have successfully managed their ROE better than cost of capital. The authors infer that analysts outperform with buy ratings on stocks with higher ROE than cost of capital. Analyst optimism was found to significantly reduce target price accuracy. The results with respect to analyst optimism are in line with the results reported from developed markets like Germany. Past research suggests that higher analyst optimism is possibly associated with trade generation and brokerage revenues out of retail clients. The regression results are supported by a battery of tests associated with panel data. The authors conclude by suggesting that investors, to some extent, can rely on equity research in India for profit-making investment decisions in stocks. The key message is that equity research induced buying has investment value in India.
Microsatellite based genetic structure of regional transboundary Istrian sheep breed populations in Croatia and Slovenia

Istrian dairy sheep is a local breed essential for the identity and development of the NorthernAdriatic karstic region through high-quality products, primarily the hard sheep artisanal cheese. Border changes fragmented the initial Istrian dairy sheep population in three genetically isolated subpopulations in Italy (1000 animals), Slovenia (1150 animals) and Croatia (2500 animals). Due to the drastic reduction of their population sizes and fragmentation, the populations in Croatia and Slovenia are included in governmentally supported conservation programs. The initial subpopulation in Italy was restored after near extinction with stock from Slovenia, and is used today in meat production. The aim of this study was to provide an initial understanding of the current genetic structure and distribution of the genetic variability that exists in Istrian sheep by analysing individuals sampled in two regional groups of Istrian sheep from Croatia and Slovenia. Cres island sheep and Lika pramenka sheep were used as out-groups for comparison. Genetic differentiation was analysed using factorial correspondence analysis and structure clustering over 26 microsatellite loci for a total of 104 sheep belonging to three breeds from Croatia and Slovenia. Factorial correspondence analysis and clustering-based structure analysis both showed three distinct populations: Lika pramenka sheep, Cres island sheep and Istrian sheep. We did not find a marked genetic divergence of the regional groups of Istrian sheep. Istrian sheep regional group from Slovenia showed lower genetic variability compared to the one from Croatia. Variability and structure information obtained in this study considered alongside with socio-cultural-contexts and economic goals for the Istrian sheep reared in Croatia and Slovenia indicate that the cross-border exchange of genetic material of animals carrying private alleles among populations would maintain these alleles at low frequencies and minimize the inbreeding rate.
A taxonomy of prestige-seeking university students: strategic insights for higher education

Abstract This study explores the importance of psychographic characteristics as potential segmentation bases in the higher education sector. In particular, we develop a taxonomy of university students based on their achievement orientation and prestige sensitivity. The study analyses the survey data obtained from 948 respondents using cluster analyses and multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA), indicating interesting findings. Three distinct clusters emerge, namely Strivers, Modest Achievers and Prestige-seeking Innovators. Findings reveal that Prestige-seeking Innovators have a more positive attitude towards the university, whereas Strivers have the strongest sense of regret over their decision to enrol at their current university and would seize the opportunity to enrol in a more prestigious university. The taxonomy is highly relevant to marketers of higher education institutions as it gives insights into potential bases for segmentation, positioning and communication strategies targeting the specific characteristics of each segment.
Role of Human Resource Management Practices on Performance of Financial Cooperatives Based in Nairobi County, Kenya

This paper examines the relationship between Human Resource Management practices and firms’ performance. Recently, the study of the relationship between HRM practices and firms’ performance has shifted from studying individual practices and their influence on organizational performance to studying the entire HRM system and its influence on organizational performance. Different models and theories in HRM literature exist that tries to explain this relationship. Measures of performance as the dependent variable vary as identified by different authors. They fall generally into two categories, that is financial and non financial measures. Divergent opinion exists as what constitutes HRM practices as linked with performance in various studies. Contribution of synergetic relationship among HRM practices to organizational performance, need to be explored and measures generated. Finally the paper develops a conceptual framework that links Human Resource Management practices and firms performance.
Relative validity of the pre-coded food diary used in the Danish National Survey of Diet and Physical Activity

Abstract Objective To determine the relative validity of the pre-coded food diary applied in the Danish National Survey of Dietary Habits and Physical Activity. Design A cross-over study among seventy-two adults (aged 20 to 69 years) recording diet by means of a pre-coded food diary over 4 d and a 4 d weighed food record. Intakes of foods and drinks were estimated, and nutrient intakes were calculated. Means and medians of intake were compared, and cross-classification of individuals according to intake was performed. To assess agreement between the two methods, Pearson and Spearman's correlation coefficients and weighted kappa coefficients were calculated. Setting Validation study of the pre-coded food diary against a 4 d weighed food record. Subjects Seventy-two volunteer, healthy free-living adults (thirty-five males, thirty-seven females). Results Intakes of cereals and vegetables were higher, and intakes of fruit, coffee and tea were lower, in the weighed food record compared with the food diary. Intakes of nutrients were grossly the same in the two methods, except for protein, where a higher intake was recorded in the weighed record. In general, moderate agreement between the two methods was found. Conclusions Participants were classified moderately correct according to food and nutrient intakes assessed in the pre-coded food diary; however values of absolute food intakes should be used and interpreted with caution. Improvement of the methods to estimate portion size may increase the accuracy of the dietary intake estimates.
Cost Allocation of Transmission Line using a New Approach of MW Mile Method

Objective:Many methods have been proposed to evaluate the cost of transmission lines. The MW mile method is a kind embedded pricing method to find transmission cost. The proposed method considers the active power flow in the network and it is the first pricing strategy to consider the real network conditions and power flow in the network. MW mile method is also useful to cover the total transmission system fixed cost among all network users. The primary objective of this paper is to provide charges economically to the customers by considering not only the active power flow but also the power factor.Findings: The power flow values are calculated by using DC power flow and generalized load distribution factors are used to determine load contribution to line flows. Application/Improvements: This method is tested on IEEE 14 bus test system with considering all network parameters to fairly allocate cost to the end users.
Adiabatically Bent Waveguides on Silicon Nitride Photonics for Compact and Dense Footprints

Low-loss bent waveguides drawn by an adiabatic profile with an offset at the interface between a bent and straight waveguides have been proposed, optimally designed, and experimentally evaluated for silicon nitride waveguide platforms, which compactness and high density are required. The profile is sinusoidal which can gradually increase the waveguide width up to 45° and then decrease the width up to 90° symmetrically. By employing the profile, modal confinement is increased and bending loss is decreased simultaneously. As a result of experimental evaluation, the characteristics of bending loss are improved. For instance, 0.215-dB/90° bending loss has been achieved at 5 μm radius. The loss of this bend is 0.4 dB/90° lower than that of a conventional bend. We also investigated bends when using a C-band light source theoretically. Less than 0.6 dB/90° bending loss has been shown using 3-D finite-difference time-domain simulations at 20 μm radius. Thus, it can be used in various applications using visible and infrared lights to reduce the device footprint.
A Contract for "Crowds" Research-in-Progress

Recently, micro-task crowdsourcing has become an increasingly popular tool for many companies to access scalable and on-demand labor markets. However, it also poses novel challenges. In this study, we focus on two of these interrelated challenges, namely, designing an efficient payment scheme and assuring the quality of produced work. We first develop an economic model to explain the relation between pay and the quality of the produced work under the commonly used piece-rate payment scheme. Recognizing the inefficiency of this payment system, we then propose an alternative payment scheme to improve the quality of work in such marketplaces. To test our analytical findings, we perform two sets of experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results of the experiments show a significant improvement in the quality of work under the proposed payment scheme compared to that under the piece-rate payment scheme.
Chemotaxis and Calcium Responses of Phagocytes to Formyl Peptide Receptor Ligands Is Differentially Regulated by Cyclic ADP Ribose1

Cyclic ADP ribose (cADPR) is a calcium-mobilizing metabolite that regulates intracellular calcium release and extracellular calcium influx. Although the role of cADPR in modulating calcium mobilization has been extensively examined, its potential role in regulating immunologic responses is less well understood. We previously reported that cADPR, produced by the ADP-ribosyl cyclase, CD38, controls calcium influx and chemotaxis of murine neutrophils responding to fMLF, a peptide agonist for two chemoattractant receptor subtypes, formyl peptide receptor and formyl peptide receptor-like 1. In this study, we examine whether cADPR is required for chemotaxis of human monocytes and neutrophils to a diverse array of chemoattractants. We found that a cADPR antagonist and a CD38 substrate analogue inhibited the chemotaxis of human phagocytic cells to a number of formyl peptide receptor-like 1-specific ligands but had no effect on the chemotactic response of these cells to ligands selective for formyl peptide receptor. In addition, we show that the cADPR antagonist blocks the chemotaxis of human monocytes to CXCR4, CCR1, and CCR5 ligands. In all cases, we found that cADPR modulates intracellular free calcium levels in cells activated by chemokines that induce extracellular calcium influx in the apparent absence of significant intracellular calcium release. Thus, cADPR regulates calcium signaling of a discrete subset of chemoattractant receptors expressed by human leukocytes. Since many of the chemoattractant receptors regulated by cADPR bind to ligands that are associated with clinical pathology, cADPR and CD38 represent novel drug targets with potential application in chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease.
A cost effective analysis of a laparoscopic versus an open left lateral sectionectomy in a liver transplant unit.

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to assess the cost effectiveness of a laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (LLLS) compared with an open (OLLS) procedure and its role as a training operation as well as the learning curve associated with a laparoscopic approach. METHOD Between 2004 and 2013, a prospectively maintained database was reviewed. LLLS were compared with age- and sex-matched OLLS. In addition, the outcomes of LLLS with a consultant as the primary surgeon were compared with those performed by trainees. RESULTS Forty-three LLLS were performed during the study period. LLLS was a significantly cheaper operation compared with OLLS (P = 0.001, £3594.14 versus £5593.41). The median hospital stay was shorter in the laparoscopic group (P = 0.002, 3 versus 7 days). No difference was found in outcomes between a LLLS performed by a trainee or consultant (operating time, morbidity or R1 resection rate). The procedure length was significantly shorter during the later half of the study period [120 versus 129 min (P = 0.045)]. CONCLUSION LLLS is a significantly cost effective operation compared with an open approach with a reduction in hospital stay. In addition, it is suitable to use as a training operation.
The Influence of Affect on Acceptance of Human Resource Information Systems with Special Reference to Public Sector Undertaking

Although a substantial amount of research has focused on the significance of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) for organization, little research has been done to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of HRIS. Furthermore, while most existing models and theories of acceptance of technology have predominantly focused on the cognitive aspect of decision-making process and individual level reaction to using technology in organizational context, little is known about the influence of affect or emotion on acceptance of HRIS. The study endeavors to find the role of affect or emotion in acceptance of HRIS by exploring the psychological theories of affective experience. The study examines the relationship between affect and cognition, and its role in the acceptance of HRIS. The findings reveal that affect influences the acceptance of HRIS by influencing the cognitive aspects, consequently influencing the behavioral outcome (i.e., formation of behavioral intention).
Fast-switching analog PLL with finite-impulse response

This paper proposes a method for speeding up the linear settling response of integer-N PLL's. Extending the discrete-time model of the PLL, simple design rules are derived which guarantee accurate frequency settling in few reference cycles. Simulations show that the proposed technique can improve the settling time of a conventional PLL by about 10 times. A 2.5-GHz frequency synthesizer with 1-MHz reference is designed according to the proposed technique in an existing 0.35 /spl mu/m-CMOS technology. A 60-MHz frequency step within 0.1-ppm accuracy is performed in 15 /spl mu/s. The simulated reference spur is -60 dBc.