Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing cost uplift in infrastructure delivery methods : a case based approach

In 2009 the Australian Federal and State governments are expected to have spent some AU$30 billion procuring infrastructure projects. For governments with finite resources but many competing projects, formal capital rationing is achieved through use of Business Cases. These Business cases articulate the merits of investing in particular projects along with the estimated costs and risks of each project. Despite the sheer size and impact of infrastructure projects, there is very little research in Australia, or internationally, on the performance of these projects against Business Case assumptions when the decision to invest is made. If such assumptions (particularly cost assumptions) are not met, then there is serious potential for the misallocation of Australia’s finite financial resources. This research addresses this important gap in the literature by using combined quantitative and qualitative research methods, to examine the actual performance of 14 major Australian government infrastructure projects. The research findings are controversial as they challenge widely held perceptions of the effectiveness of certain infrastructure delivery practices. Despite this controversy, the research has had a significant impact on the field and has been described as ‘outstanding’ and ‘definitive’ (Alliancing Association of Australasia), "one of the first of its kind" (Infrastructure Partnerships of Australia) and "making a critical difference to infrastructure procurement" (Victorian Department of Treasury). The implications for practice of the research have been profound and included the withdrawal by Government of various infrastructure procurement guidelines, the formulation of new infrastructure policies by several state governments and the preparation of new infrastructure guidelines that substantially reflect the research findings. Building on the practical research, a more rigorous academic investigation focussed on the comparative cost uplift of various project delivery strategies was submitted to Australia’s premier academic management conference, the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Annual Conference. This paper has been accepted for the 2010 ANZAM National Conference following a process of double blind peer review with reviewers rating the paper’s overall contribution as "Excellent" and "Good".
A country's image as tourist destination for external intermediaries

Destination image is an important variable of influence for tourist behavior. Previous studies showed that intermediaries – different travel agencies ‐ influence the visiting intentions of potential tourists, being able to form opinions and shape behaviors. Measuring the perception of travel agencies and other intermediaries about the tourist image of a destination country becomes really important. Reliable and valid measurement instruments are necessary. The vast majority of previous studies used instruments developed for individual tourists, and they do not offer details about how the measurement instruments were obtained. Our objective was to show how one can build an appropriate instrument for intermediaries; the main contribution of our study lays in the scrutiny and rigor of the instrument development process. We performed an instrumental research, on five stages: documentary research through literature review, exploratory research for general and specific attributes, initial questionnaire design based on the first two stages, questionnaire testing on experts and reliability checking on a pilot study. Both qualitative (content analysis and expert ranking) and quantitative (reliability tests) methods of analysis were used. The final instrument obtained is presented in the conclusions section and could be used to estimate external intermediaries’ attitude towards a destination country. The main implications are methodological – the whole scale development procedure can be used in order to build and test similar research instruments.
Study to Determine the Criterion Validity of the SenseWear Armband as a Measure of Physical Activity in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Measuring physical activity in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is of great importance in light of the increased mortality in this population due to cardiovascular disease. Validation of activity monitors in specific populations is recommended to ensure the accuracy of physical activity measurement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the SenseWear Pro3 Armband (SWA) as a measure of physical activity during activities of daily living (ADL) in people with RA.
Assessment of underlying etiology and cardiac sympathetic innervation to identify patients at high risk of cardiac death.

UNLABELLED Cardiac (123)I-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) activity has significant incremental prognostic value, but the difference between the long-term prognostic value of MIBG imaging for ischemic cardiomyopathies and the long-term prognostic value of MIBG imaging for idiopathic cardiomyopathies is not clear. This study aimed to determine whether assessment of cardiac (123)I-MIBG activities in ischemic and idiopathic cardiomyopathies have equally prognostic values and whether the kinetics are different because of the underlying etiologies. METHODS After quantitative (123)I-MIBG imaging, 76 ischemic and 56 idiopathic cardiomyopathy patients were prospectively followed up for 54 mo. In addition to conventional parameters, cardiac (123)I-MIBG activity was quantified as a heart-to-mediastinum ratio (H/M) for early and late images and the washout kinetics were calculated using tomographic imaging. The data were compared with those obtained from 16 healthy volunteers. RESULTS During follow-up, 29 deaths from heart failure, 11 sudden cardiac deaths, 2 deaths from arrhythmia, and 5 deaths from acute myocardial infarction were documented. Multivariate discriminant analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model showed that, in comparison with other variables, late H/M was the most powerful independent predictor of a lethal clinical outcome in ischemic (Wald chi(2) = 18.6502; P = 0.0000) and idiopathic (Wald chi(2) = 5.3394; P = 0.0208) groups. When patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 40% were considered, late H/M had the greatest statistical power in both groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed late H/M to have an identical threshold (1.82) for both groups for identifying patients at risk of cardiac death. Likewise, when analysis was restricted to patients with an LVEF < 40%, the upper cutoff value of late H/M was 1.50 (P = 0.0358; log rank = 4.41) for ischemic patients and 2.02 (P = 0.0050; log rank = 7.86) for idiopathic patients. For patients with an LVEF < 40% and a late H/M less than the identified threshold of late H/M, the annual rate of cardiac death was greatest, 18.2%/y for the ischemic group and 11.9%/y for the idiopathic group. CONCLUSION Cardiac (123)I-MIBG activity has the most powerful independent long-term prognostic value for both ischemic cardiomyopathy patients and idiopathic cardiomyopathy patients, indicating that both disease processes have common pathophysiologic and prognostic implications of impaired cardiac sympathetic innervation. Although combined testing of cardiac function and (123)I-MIBG activity is most likely to identify patients at increased risk of cardiac death, the underlying etiology of cardiac dysfunction may affect the threshold of (123)I-MIBG activity for the differentiation of high-risk patients.
2-D Numerical Modeling of Gas Temperature in Large-Volume Sr Laser Excited in Nanosecond Pulsed Longitudinal ${\rm He{-}SrBr}_{2}$ Discharge

An active volume scaling in bore and length of a Sr atom laser excited in a nanosecond pulse longitudinal He-SrBr2 discharge is carried out. Considering axial symmetry and uniform power input, 2-D model (r, z) is developed by numerical methods for determination of gas temperature in nanosecond pulsed longitudinal He-Ne-SrBr2 discharge to find out the optimal temperature regime for achieving of a maximal multiline average output power.
A Global Path Planning Strategy for a UGV from Aerial Elevation Maps for Disaster Response

An approach for global path planning of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) is proposed, including basic traversability analysis of the rough terrain to get through. The navigation capabilities of the UGV, in performing such analysis, are considered. The here proposed solution is organized into two following phases: first an aerial scan of the environment is executed by a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and the elevation map of the area is built; after that, a set of processing algorithms is applied to such surface model to derive a 2D costmap (whose costs are based on the prior traversability analysis) which is given as input of a D* path planner. The resulting path can be eventually delivered as a sequence of waypoints for a navigation controller on the field mobile platform.
Similarity Classifier using Measure Derived from Yus Norms Applied to Medical Data Sets

In this paper classification results using similarity classifier and Yu's norms are applied to medical data sets. Similarity measure is constructed using measure based on Yu's t-norm and t-conorm. Constructed measure has been succesfully used in classification. Also results are compared to DIMLP, MLP and CN2 classifiers which are giving quite good results. Result presented in this paper are quite promising. The effects of PCA and entropy minimization as preprocessing methods to classification results has been studied. Results show that entropy minimization method worked well as preprocessor with these data sets and similarity classifier.
Lymphocyte subset differences in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis and major depression

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a heterogeneous disorder of unknown aetiology characterized by debilitating fatigue, along with other symptoms, for at least 6 months. Many studies demonstrate probable involvement of the central and autonomic nervous system, as well as a state of generalized immune activation and selective immune dysfunction in patients with CFS. The aim of this study was to compare the lymphocyte subsets of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome to those of patients with major depression and multiple sclerosis as well as those of healthy control subjects. No differences were found in total numbers of T cells, B cells or natural killer (NK) cells. However, differences were found in T, B and NK cell subsets. Patients with major depression had significantly fewer resting T (CD3+/CD25–) cells than the other groups. Patients with major depression also had significantly more CD20+/CD5+ B cells, a subset associated with the production of autoantibodies. Compared to patients with multiple sclerosis, patients with CFS had greater numbers of CD16+/CD3– NK cells. Further study will be required to determine whether these alterations in lymphocyte subsets are directly involved in the pathophysiology of these disorders, or are secondary effects of the causal agent(s).
An approach to determine possible existence of water ice deposits on lunar craters using minisar data

The present paper deals with the task of identifying lunar craters having possible existence of water-ice deposits on their surface. For this purpose, a decision tree algorithm has been proposed, in which decision criterion are decided on the basis of CPR, m-δ decomposition, fractal dimension `D' and conditions proposed by Thompson et al., The proposed algorithm is successfully applied on Chandrayaan-1's MiniSAR data.
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention: The Development of Digital Genomics.

Featured Article: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW. Digital PCR. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 1999;96:9236–41.3 An oft-cited proverb is that “necessity is the mother of invention,” and that is certainly the case for the development of digital PCR and the advent of digital genomics. In the early 1990s, we were exploring the use of released tumor DNA as a clinical biomarker. Tumor DNA can be readily distinguished from normal DNA by the presence of somatic driver gene mutations. We had already demonstrated that released tumor DNA could be detected in the urine or stool of patients with bladder or colorectal cancers, respectively, and sought to apply this approach to other bodily fluids, particularly plasma. However, the success of this approach was limited by the small amounts of tumor DNA and the large excess of DNA from normal cells in such clinical samples. How could one maximize the analytical specificity and sensitivity for the detection of rare mutant DNA molecules released from tumors? This question prompted the realization that maximum specificity could be achieved by genetically characterizing one molecule at a time. The featured article described the manifestation of this realization, called digital PCR. The increased signal-to-noise ratio obtained by this approach is conceptually identical to the increased signal-to-noise ratio associated with digital as compared to analog technologies in electronics. Digital PCR introduced the concept of digital genomics. With digital PCR, individual DNA template molecules are separately amplified and genetically characterized. This was achieved by optimizing the amplification of individual DNA templates in confined spaces (initially, in wells of a 384-well plate) in …
Irrigation Institutions of Bangladesh: Some Lessons

The objective of this chapter is to highlight some issues of existing irrigation institutions and their impact on cost and price of irrigation water in Bangladesh agriculture. Water is scarce in winter and agriculture is the major water using sector for irrigation in Bangladesh. The study mainly deals with how public institutions and water markets have evolved over time in response to changes in irrigation technology and how they affect the cost and price of irrigation water. There are many government run irrigation projects in the Northwest region (NW) of Bangladesh. Recently Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has handed over these irrigation projects to water user groups (mainly medium and large farmers) for management and cost recovery.
Research Methods for Business and Management

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Feasible and Noninterior Path-Following in Constrained Minimization with Low Multiplier Regularity

Primal-dual path-following methods for constrained minimization problems in function space with low multiplier regularity are introduced and analyzed. Regularity properties of the path are proved. The path structure allows us to define approximating models, which are used for controlling the path parameter in an iterative process for computing a solution of the original problem. The Moreau-Yosida regularized subproblems of the new path-following technique are solved efficiently by semismooth Newton methods. The overall algorithmic concept is provided, and numerical tests (including a comparison with primal-dual path-following interior point methods) for state constrained optimal control problems show the efficiency of the new concept.
FDI, the Location Advantages of Countries and the Competitiveness of TNCs: US FDI in Professional Service Industries

This paper seeks to examine the impact of the foreign activities of firms on their international competitiveness. It addresses questions such as: to what extent and under what conditions can firms compensate for deteriorating location advantages of their home country and maintain their lead in an industry through investment in foreign countries? Under what conditions can firms reap the benefits of a locationally advantageous foreign country? These questions are examined with reference to selected US professional service industries. The findings show that FDI weakens the link between the location advantages of home countries and the ownership advantages of firms, as it enables firms to develop advantages which are not directly related to the location advantages of their home countries. However, this impact is very moderate, and is exercised through the indirect impact of FDI on the advantages of firms and countries. The ownership advantages which firms develop in their home countries are the most critical determinant of their competitiveness.
Binding Site and Inhibitory Mechanism of the Mambalgin-2 Pain-relieving Peptide on Acid-sensing Ion Channel 1a*

Background: Mambalgin-2 is a snake venom peptide that blocks acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) to relieve pain. Results: Mambalgin-2 interacts with at least three different regions of ASICs and exerts both stimulatory and inhibitory effects. Conclusion: Binding of mambalgin-2 into the pH sensor traps the channels in the closed conformation. Significance: This might allow development of optimized blockers of ASICs of therapeutic value. Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are neuronal proton-gated cation channels associated with nociception, fear, depression, seizure, and neuronal degeneration, suggesting roles in pain and neurological and psychiatric disorders. We have recently discovered black mamba venom peptides called mambalgin-1 and mambalgin-2, which are new three-finger toxins that specifically inhibit with the same pharmacological profile ASIC channels to exert strong analgesic effects in vivo. We now combined bioinformatics and functional approaches to uncover the molecular mechanism of channel inhibition by the mambalgin-2 pain-relieving peptide. Mambalgin-2 binds mainly in a region of ASIC1a involving the upper part of the thumb domain (residues Asp-349 and Phe-350), the palm domain of an adjacent subunit, and the β-ball domain (residues Arg-190, Asp-258, and Gln-259). This region overlaps with the acidic pocket (pH sensor) of the channel. The peptide exerts both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on ASIC1a, and we propose a model where mambalgin-2 traps the channel in a closed conformation by precluding the conformational change of the palm and β-ball domains that follows proton activation. These data help to understand inhibition by mambalgins and provide clues for the development of new optimized blockers of ASIC channels.
Are Financially Distressed Firms Priced Differently?

Unexpected stock returns are driven by changes in rational expectations of future cash flows and future returns. Since each of these two components reflects innovations concerning all future horizons, the relative importance of the components may be different between firms with short and long life expectancies. I argue that in firms with financial difficulties, which face high bankruptcy risk, the effect of cash-flow news is more dominant than that of expected-return news, comparing to healthy firms. I find empirical support for my prediction, both by applying Campbell's (1991) variance decomposition framework to three financial-distress-based indices, and by directly examining the sensitivity of stock returns to concurrent shocks to expected volatility. I also examine the relative effect of cash-flow and expected-return news on the occurrence of actual bankruptcies. Both market-level and firm-level tests show that although market prices are mainly affected by changes in expected future returns, more bankruptcies occur after market-declines that are driven by negative shocks to expected cash flows than after market-declines that are driven by positive shocks to expected returns.
Factors Influencing Information Technology Usage for New Product Development: The Case of Japanese Companies*

Although information technology (IT) tools for new product development (NPD) are widely available, prior studies have found the usage of IT to be limited to large-sized firms (cf. Barczak and Sultan, 2006), but increasing (Cooper, 2007). Extant research indicates that several factors influence IT usage, including the existence of a champion and NPD process formalization (Barczak, Sultan, and Hultink, 2007; Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008). In addition, the antecedents to IT usage have been found to vary among countries (Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008); that is, they are context-specific. This study extends prior research by exploring the factors that facilitate and/or inhibit IT usage for NPD in Japanese firms. Japan was chosen for this study because it has been argued that, in order to develop generalized NPD theories applicable across different nations or cultures, further understanding is needed about countries other than North American and Western European countries (Song and Parry, 1996; Song, Kawakami, and Stringfellow, 2010). Additionally, the culture of Japan is known for being very different from North America and other Western countries, particularly in terms of Japan's relative emphasis on the collective as opposed to the individual; high in uncertainty avoidance as opposed to low uncertainty avoidance; and long-term orientation rather than short-term orientation (Hofstede, 2005; Kawakami, Maclachlan, and Stringfellow, forthcoming). The lack of research in Japan on IT and NPD implied the need for an exploratory, grounded theory approach to this study. Using a multiple case study method, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 marketing, R&D, and IT managers and executives in 19 firms in a variety of industries. Based on the analysis of the interview data and the follow-up surveys, the authors propose that ten factors in five categories, namely, strategic factors, market environment factors, development process factors, organizational factors, and technology-human interaction factors, are likely to influence IT usage for NPD in Japanese companies. Specifically, product innovativeness, extent of global engagement, formalized IT ROI measure, standardization of NPD activities, physical proximity, resistance to change, CIO as an executive sponsor, sensory requirements, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness are expected to influence IT usage. From a theoretical perspective, this study extends prior research on IT usage by expanding the cultural context beyond North America and Western Europe by focusing on an Asian country, namely Japan. It also adds to the limited research that integrates national culture and NPD and enables the development of a conceptual model that could be tested empirically.