Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CONSOLIDATING BATCH AND TRANSACTIONAL WORKLOADS USING DEPENDENCY STRUCTURE PRIORITIZATION

- Organizations offer efficient services to their customers through cloud. These services can either be a batch or transactional workloads. To offer a real-time service, there comes a need to schedule these workloads in an efficient way. An idea to consolidate these workloads enables us to cut down the energy consumption and infrastructure cost. It will be harder to consolidate both these workloads due to the difference in their nature, performance goals and control mechanisms. The proposed work implements the concept of Dependency Structure Prioritization (DSP) to assign priority to the job. This work tends to make effective resource utilization through reducing the number of job migration and missed deadline jobs by considering the deadline and the priority of the job as the most important evaluation factor.
Using voice-quality measurements with prosodic and spectral features for speaker diarization

Jitter and shimmer voice-quality measurements have been successfully used to detect voice pathologies and classify different speaking styles. In this paper, we investigate the usefulness of jitter and shimmer voice measurements in the framework of the speaker diarization task. The combination of jitter and shimmer voice-quality features with the long-term prosodic and short-term spectral features is explored in a subset of the Augmented Multi-party Interaction (AMI) corpus, a multi-party and spontaneous speech set of recordings. The best results have been obtained by fusing the voice-quality features with the prosodic ones at the feature level, and then fusing them with the spectral features at the score level. Experimental results show more than 20% relative DER improvement compared to the spectral baseline system.
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of single bolus treatment with abciximab (Reo Pro) in preventing restenosis following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in high risk patients

Objective To assess the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of abciximab in preventing restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Design Data from a previous study, the EPIC trial, were used because only this trial was able to provide event data capable of constructing a cost effectiveness analysis over six months. All other study data reviewed supported the findings of the EPIC trial. To provide indicative results on long term health outcomes, survival and event-free survival were extrapolated using US epidemiological data in a Markov modelling process. Setting and patients Patients who were at high risk for ischaemic complications after PTCA, treated in the standard manner. Interventions Abciximab was added to the regimen of intravenous heparin and aspirin. Results The EPIC study (n = 2099) indicated an 8.1% absolute reduction in serious cardiovascular events (95% confidence interval 3.1% to 12.7%) and a 23% relative risk reduction (p = 0.001). Based on the six month trial period, the additional cost per patient free from a serious event (Australian dollars) is $13 012 and for a special risk/benefit measure of outcome, the additional cost is $14 243. Epidemiological data support extended survival and ischaemic event-free survival with clinically successful PTCA. The results of the modelled analysis indicate a cost per additional life-year gained of $5547 and a cost per additional year event-free of $4285. Conclusions At up to six months abciximab offers improvements in clinically important outcomes. A modelling exercise explores and highlights the likelihood of significant long term health benefits. The analysis provides information for decision makers and funders to consider the value for money of abciximab.
Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Impact on Firm Performance? A Literature Evidence

The shouldering of social responsibility by firms is an issue that continues to generate mixed considerations, debates and thoughts by different subsets of the corporate world and the academia. The proponents argue that “it fosters and promotes ethical behavior by managers, and this has a positive impact on firm reputation”. In other words, shouldering social responsibilities is a feeder to corporate reputation. However, opponents of CSR “claim that it is expensive and inconsistent with the preeminent goal of maximizing shareholder return. ” To these opponents this paper presents the case of the festering wound of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region so that they can clearly judge which is better: to stand on the side of society and the environment and still achieve a high shareholder value or to turn their back on society and risk public odium and the likelihood that shareholders would either risk their stake in the organization or engage perpetually in damage control activities while also remaining in the negative spotlight which is not good for business. This writer reviews current literature on the subject and urges those who argue that CSR is not necessary to consider what has happened in Nigeria’s Niger Delta and the problems oil companies face in that region today. Today, a monster has been created in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region out of alleged neglects that good CSR policy and strategies would have nipped in the bud. Thus, for companies to survive in today’s world, they must be seen to act in society’s best interests.
Tuning thermoelectric properties of graphene/boron nitride heterostructures

Using density functional theory combined with a Green’s function scattering approach, we examine the thermoelectric properties of hetero-nanoribbons formed from alternating lengths of graphene and boron nitride. In such structures, the boron nitride acts as a tunnel barrier, which weakly couples states in the graphene, to form mini-bands. In un-doped nanoribbons, the mini bands are symmetrically positioned relative to the Fermi energy and do not enhance thermoelectric performance significantly. In contrast, when the ribbons are doped by electron donating or electron accepting adsorbates, the thermopower S and electronic figure of merit are enhanced and either positive or negative thermopowers can be obtained. In the most favourable case, doping with the electron donor tetrathiafulvalene increases the room-temperature thermopower to −284 μv K−1 and doping by the electron acceptor tetracyanoethylene increases S to 210 μv K−1. After including both electron and phonon contributions to the thermal conductance, figures of merit ZT up to of order 0.9 are obtained.
Potent Synergistic Effect of Doxycycline with Fluconazole against Candida albicans Is Mediated by Interference with Iron Homeostasis

ABSTRACT Doxycycline was found to act synergistically with the antifungal fluconazole against Candida albicans. Combination with doxycycline converts fluconazole from fungistatic to fungicidal, prevents the onset of drug resistance, and is also effective against a clinical isolate characterized by elevated resistance to fluconazole. Investigation of the interactions between the two drugs by way of checkerboard assays indicated that doxycycline had an influence on the MIC for fluconazole, as defined by CLSI standards, only at high concentrations (200 μg/ml). However, lower concentrations were effective at eliminating residual cell growth at supra-MICs of fluconazole. Using MIC-0, defined as a drug combination resulting in optically clear wells, as an endpoint, doxycycline was found to be synergistic with fluconazole at a concentration as low as 25 μg/ml, with a fractional inhibitory concentration index of <0.5. Doxycycline-mediated growth inhibition can be reversed by externally added iron, indicating that iron depletion may account for the synergism. Consistently, we confirmed old literature data about iron-chelating activity of doxycycline. Synergism of fluconazole with doxycycline does not appear to be mediated by calcineurin, since doxycycline further aggravates the susceptibility to fluconazole of mutants lacking the catalytic or the regulatory subunits of calcineurin. Growth in the presence of fluconazole and doxycycline is restored by an elevated dosage of ERG11 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae but not in C. albicans, despite the full competence of the pathogen's protein to act as a suppressor in baker's yeast.
A choice experiment application to estimate willingness to pay for controlling excessive recreational fishing demand at the Sundays River Estuary, South Africa

The Sundays River Estuary, situated in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, has excessive recreational demand for estuarine services, specifically recreational fishing. The estuary has been over-fished, putting its sustainability at risk. Various management interventions may be required in order to save it, but how is this to be done without reducing welfare? The main aim of this paper is twofold: first, to assess and comprehend the economic value of the estuarine resources at stake; and, second, to propose policy measures to redress the situation (excessive demand, specifically recreational fishing). An application of a choice experiment reveals that the physical size of fish stocks is a very important predictor of recreational choice at the Sundays River Estuary, and it is recommended that demand be curtailed through an increase in the boat license fee for using the estuary of ZAR174 per annum. Keywords : Estuary, demand management, recreational attributes, recreational fishery, choice experiment
On TLS 1.3 - Early Performance Analysis in the IoT Field

The TLS 1.3 specifications are subject to change before the final release, and there are still details to be clarified, but yet some directions have been stated. In the IoT scenario, where devices are constrained, it is important and critical that the added security benefits of the new TLS 1.3 does not increase complexity and power consumption significantly compared to TLS 1.2. This paper provides an overview of the novelties introduced in TLS 1.3 draft finalized to improve security and latency of the protocol: the reworked handshake flows and the newly adopted cryptographic algorithms are analyzed and compared in terms of security and latency to the current TLS in use. In particular, the analysis is focused on performance and memory requirements overhead introduced by the TLS 1.3 current specifications, and the final section reports simulation results of a commercial cryptographic library running on a low end device with an STM32 microcontroller.
Toddler autism screening questionnaire: Development and potential clinical validity

No feasible screening instrument is available for early detection of children with autism in Taiwan. The existing instruments may not be appropriate for use in Taiwan due to different health care systems and child-rearing cultures. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a screening questionnaire for generic autism. The initial 18-item screening questionnaire was developed by a child psychiatrist using face-to-face interviews with 10 families of children with autism and then tested on a sample of families of 18 children with autism and of 59 typically developing children. Of these 18 items, 15 had fair or better item discrimination (kappa >0.20) and were selected for the revised screening questionnaire. In the revised questionnaire, cutoff scores of 5 and 6 offered 100% sensitivity and 96.5% specificity, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.983. The revised screening instrument has high sensitivity and specificity, making it potentially useful for screening Taiwanese children at risk for autism. This instrument should be further tested in a population-based study.
Biological function of the retinoblastoma protein requires distinct domains for hyperphosphorylation and transcription factor binding

Despite the importance of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene to tumor growth control, the structural features of its encoded protein (pRb) and their relationship to protein function have not been well explored. We constructed a panel of deletion mutants of pRb expression vectors and used a biological assay for pRb that measures growth inhibition and morphologic changes in pRb-transfected Saos-2 cells to correlate structural alterations of the pRb coding region with function. We tested the deleted proteins for the ability to bind to viral oncoprotein E1A and to the transcription factor E2F. We also measured the ability of the mutant proteins to become hyperphosphorylated in vivo and to be recognized as substrates in vitro by a cell cycle-regulatory kinase associated with cyclin A. We identified two regions of pRb that are required for E2F binding and for hyperphosphorylation. E1A binding domains partially overlap but are distinct from both of these other two regions. Biological function of pRb is dependent on retention of the integrity of both of these biochemically defined domains. These data support the model that pRb is a transducer of afferent signals (via the kinase that phosphorylates it) and efferent signals (through transcription factor binding), using distinct structural elements. Preservation of both of these features is essential for the ability of pRb to induce growth inhibition and morphologic changes upon reintroduction into transfected cells.
A Study of Original Equipment Manufacturing in China: Current and Future Trends

This study examines issues faced by Chinese original equipment manufacturing firms (OEMs) and explores OEM future development. Qualitative data, consisting of responses from 32 managers in 16 OEMs, were content analyzed. Results reveal various threats to OEM development and numerous opportunities that have yet to be fully explored by OEMs, as well as OEMs strengths and strategic and managerial challenges. Further, this study interprets the future OEM trends, particularly the shift from an OEM business model to the original design manufacturer (ODM) and original brand manufacturer (OBM) models, as well as, the development of long-term relationships with their clients.
Regulation of sialic acid metabolism in Escherichia coli: role of N-acylneuraminate pyruvate-lyase

In Escherichia coli, synthesis of sialic acid is not regulated by allosteric inhibition mediated by cytidine 5'-monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuNAc). Evidence for the lack of metabolic control by feedback inhibition was demonstrated by measuring the intracellular level of sialic acid and CMP-NeuNAc in mutants defective in sialic acid polymerization and in CMP-NeuNAc synthesis. Polymerization-defective mutants could not synthesize the polysialic acid capsule and accumulated ca. 25-fold more CMP-NeuNAc than the wild type. Mutants unable to activate sialic acid because of a defect in CMP-NeuNAc synthetase accumulated ca. sevenfold more sialic acid than the wild type. An additional threefold increase in sialic acid levels occurred when a mutation resulting in loss of N-acylneuraminate pyruvate-lysase (sialic acid aldolase) was introduced into the CMP-NeuNAc synthetase-deficient mutant. The aldolase mutation could not be introduced into the polymerization-defective mutant, suggesting that any further increase in the intracellular CMP-NeuNAc concentration was toxic. These results show that sialic acid aldolase can regulate the intracellular concentration of sialic acid and therefore the concentration of CMP-NeuNAc. We conclude that regulation of aldolase, mediated by sialic acid induction, is necessary not only for dissimilating sialic acid (E.R. Vimr and F. A. Troy, J. Bacteriol. 164:845-853, 1985) but also for modulating the level of metabolic intermediates in the sialic acid pathway. In agreement with this conclusion, an increase in the intracellular sialic acid concentration was correlated with an increase in aldolase activity. Direct evidence for the central role of aldolase in regulating the metabolic flux of sialic adid in E. coli was provided by the finding that exogenous radiolabeled sialic acid was specifically incorporated into sialyl polymer in aldolase-negative strain but not in the wild type.
Consensus Statement on Indications, Guidelines for Use, and Recommendations for Follow‐up of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

February 2001 PACE, Vol. 24 Introduction In view of advances in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy and a paucity of published guidelines for the management of ICDs, the North American Society of Electrophysiology and Pacing, in conjunction with the American College of Cardiology, convened a full day conference on this subject on May 14, 1996. This publication reflects the proceedings from the conference entitled, Consensus Statement on Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: Patient Access to Therapy, Indications, and Guidelines for Use and has been amended to reflect developments and data published since that time. A full list of the participants in this conference is listed below*. Issues presented have been updated and revised to reflect developments and data, which have been published since the meeting was held. The document has gone through a detailed review process of three blinded peer reviewers and four members of the board of trustees. The greater board of trustees then reviewed the document to ensure its accuracy and appropriate reflection of a consensus from the governing members of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. Background During the two decades since the first human implantation of an automatic defibrillator (ICD), many refinements in generator and lead technology have occurred, as the use of such devices has risen exponentially. Between 1993 and 1999, the number of ICD units implanted annually in the United States rose from 15,307 to approximately 50,100, an increase of 227%. For the year 2000, implantation of 61,000 ICD systems in the United States and 81,000 worldwide had been projected. Assuming an average cost of $22,000 per device in the United States, the total domestic expenditure for 2000 has been estimated at 1.342 billion dollars. The projected worldwide expenditure for the year 2000 was estimated at approximately 1.620 billion dollars.
Audit Fees in Family Firms: Evidence from U.S. Listed Companies

Family businesses are an important part of the world economy (Anderson and Reeb, 2003) and show significant differences in their corporate governance compared to non-family firms. Although displaying evident unique features, family firms have received relatively little attention as distinct from their equivalents in publicly held firms. Our study contributes to this growing research and investigates empirically the relationship between family shareholding and audit pricing. Using a sample of 3291 firm-year observations of major U.S. listed companies, for the period 2006- 2008, our results demonstrate that audit fees is negatively associated to family shareholding after taking into account unobservable firm effects, time-varying, industry effects and traditional control variables. The empirical results are robust to alternative family shareholding measures and estimation model specifications. Our results are consistent with the convergence-of-interests hypothesis suggesting that family firms face lower manager/shareholders agency costs. Auditors charge lower fees for family firms because of lower information asymmetry and risk as the controlling family is well informed about the firm and is better able to monitor managerial decisions.
Measurement and Moderation: Finding the Boundary Conditions in Logistics and Supply Chain Research

A moderator is any variable that affects the strength of a relationship between a predictor and an outcome variable. While simple in concept, the application of moderation analysis can yield profound implications to research conducted in logistics and supply chain management. Moderation analysis illuminates boundary conditions to purported relationships, providing a deeper perspective on what may, to date, represent generalizable findings and commonly held beliefs in the field. Such findings prove interesting and enrich our theories. Further, moderation relies on precise measurement of theoretical constructs in order to avoid attenuation of statistical tests and detect interaction effects. This thought leadership piece seeks to: (1) assert the value of moderation analysis and encourage a more prominent place in our survey-based research projects, (2) provide best practice approaches for using this type of analysis in pursuit of greater depth and clarity in our research, and (3) provide seeds for potential research projects that could benefit from the use of this type of analysis. Guidance is also provided for reviewers who assess manuscripts featuring moderation.
Inter-participant variability in daily physical activity and sedentary time among male youth sport footballers: independent associations with indicators of adiposity and cardiorespiratory fitness

Abstract Participation in youth sport is assumed to promote and contribute towards more physically active lifestyles among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine inter-participant variability in objectively measured habitual physical activity (PA) behaviours and sedentary time among youth sport participants and their implications for health. One-hundred-and-eighteen male youth sport footballers (Mean ± s = 11.72 ± 1.60) wore a GT3X accelerometer for 7 days. Average daily PA [min · day−1, in light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA) and combined moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA)] and sedentary time were calculated. Participants’ body mass index adjusted for age and sex (BMI–standard deviation score), per cent body fat (BF%), waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness were assessed. Results revealed that variability in daily PA behaviours and sedentary time (min · day−1) was associated with BMI–standard deviation score [VPA (−), MVPA (−)], BF% [sedentary time (+), VPA (−), MVPA (−)], waist circumference [sedentary time (+), LPA (−)] and cardiorespiratory fitness [sedentary time (−), MPA (+), VPA (+), MVPA (+)]. Whilst sedentary time and MVPA were not related to health outcomes independent of one another, associations with markers of adiposity and cardiorespiratory fitness were stronger for sedentary time. Sedentary time was also significantly positively related to waist circumference independent of VPA. Results demonstrate inter-participant variability in habitual PA and sedentary time among youth sport participants which holds implications for their health. Thus, promoting PA and, in particular, reducing sedentary time may contribute towards the prevention of adverse health consequences associated with a physically inactive lifestyle for children and adolescents active in the youth sport context.
Developing a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes through targeting enteroviral infections

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic disease caused by the destruction of insulin producing β-cells in the pancreas. Studies carried out during the past decades have implied that enteroviruses could be an important causative agent. These findings have generated efforts aiming at developing vaccines against these viruses and testing their efficacy against T1D in clinical trials. Extensive work has been carried out to define the serotype of enteroviruses which are linked to T1D and which should be included in the vaccine, and experimental vaccines have been shown to be effective and safe in mouse models. Large-scale studies are currently in progress to increase the confidence in the scientific concept of the enterovirus-diabetes association, paralleling the efforts aimed at starting the clinical development of the vaccine. This review summarizes recent progress in this field and the scenarios regarding this development process.