Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost income ratio benchmarking in banking: a case study

This paper examines how ASB Bank, a New Zealand‐based retail bank, made use of cost income ratio benchmarking when reviewing its operational efficiency. In particular, it shows the difficulties associated with the benchmarking process in the sector and details the practical steps taken to obtain meaningful comparative information. It is interesting that, while the cost income ratio was the principal metric used in this benchmarking exercise, it sought to identify best practice not in terms of minimizing this ratio but rather in terms of identifying typical ratios and cost structures among successful banking institutions.
Churn Analytics Using CognitiveObjects Platform

The time scale in the world of business is changing faster. While in the beginning of the last century, business decisions could be taken by the owner of the company on a weekly or monthly basis, in the beginning of the 21st century companies have several layers of decision with several vertical interests, from IT management to sales and risk. Here, we will describe the development of a decision support platform capable of bringing real time information to managers, from C level to operational level, relating customer churn in banking and the results obtained in real european market situation.
Downregulation of cGMP phosphodiesterase induced by expression of GTPase-deficient cone transducin in mouse rod photoreceptors.

PURPOSE Photoexcitation of vertebrate retinal rod photoreceptors stimulates GTP binding to the transducin alpha subunit. Like other GTP-binding proteins, transducin restores itself to an inactive form by hydrolyzing its bound GTP. The role of GTP hydrolysis in phototransduction was investigated. METHODS A mutant form of cone transducin alpha deficient in its ability to hydrolyze bound GTP was expressed in mouse rod photoreceptors. RESULTS Expression of the mutant cone transducin alpha at levels threefold to sixfold higher than endogenous rod transducin alpha led to a specific depletion of the transducin target, cGMP phosphodiesterase, and a decrease in the cGMP level. Suction electrode recordings revealed abnormally prolonged flash responses, decreased maximal response amplitudes, and a shift in the stimulus-response relation to higher flash strengths. CONCLUSIONS Rods expressing high levels of GTPase-deficient cone transduction alpha have reduced levels of phosphodiesterase catalytic subunits and cGMP. These changes are associated with prolonged flash responses, reduced dark current, and decreased sensitivity to light.
Friends Recommend in Micro-blog Social Networks

The users of social network sites are always constructing a large network, recommending friends to registered users is a crucial task for these sites. Traditional contentbased or collaborative filtering recommend technologies are limited for the task, because the users and items are the same dataset, which have rich attributes and complex social graph. In the paper, we proposed a local random walk and random forests combined method to do friends recommendation for large social networks. The experimental results show that the method has high precision and high recall at the same time. Keywords—Local Random Walk, Random Forests, Social Network Site, Friends Recommendation
Sub-micron junction termination for 1200V class devices toward CMOS process compatibility

This study shows, for the first time, possibility of very shallow junction termination in submicron scale. The 2D-TCAD simulations unveil even 0. 2μm junction depth structures are capable of blocking 1200V and usability for power devices with more than two hundreds of guard rings. Very shallow structure has robustness against diffusion depth deviation by special guard ring arrangement.
A search for homologues of plant photoreceptor genes and their signaling partners in the sugarcane expressed sequence tag (Sucest) database

A search in the sugarcane expressed sequence tag (SUCEST) database for homologues of plant genes involved in photo-sensory mechanisms was carried out using the basic local alignment tool (BLAST). Our results shown that known elements (phytochromes, cryptochromes and phototoprin) present in Arabidopsis and other higher plants were detected with low e-values. We also searched for proteins interacting with photoreceptors in primary or downstream signaling events. One putative homologue for a protein postulated to be a primary element in phytochrome signaling pathways was identified, as were other candidates for downstream interacting factors.
A Study For the Evaluation of Alternative Tourism Opportunities in Fethiye Destination

This study has importance in terms of drawing attention to the alternative tourism opportunities of Fethiye destination for tourism; giving idea to public institutions and organizations and tourism operators and entrepreneurs for using Fethiye destination’s alternative, existing and potential tourism opportunities more effectively; emphasizing the importance of this potential’s contribution to the development of tourism activities in the region; and providing suggestions for the development of alternative tourism opportunities. In this context, existing and potential tourism facilities of Fethiye district were determined by using research methods such as interview, observation and document analysis. Within this scope, information on the current and alternative tourism of the region was gained by mutual interview techniques to be done with the public and private sector institutions, organizations and associations which are effective in decision-making and guiding the organization and implementation of tourism activities, and this data was analyzed by being evaluated scientifically. Alternative tourism potential of Fethiye destination was determined by making use of the data gained as a result of these analyses, and suggestions were offered to ensure a more effective use and involvement of the current alternative tourism potential of the region in tourism activities.
Role of Calprotectin as a Modulator of the IL27-Mediated Proinflammatory Effect on Endothelial Cells

An underlying endothelial dysfunction plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular events and is the central feature of atherosclerosis. The protein-based communication between leukocytes and inflamed endothelial cells leading to diapedesis has been largely investigated and several key players such as IL6, TNFα, or the damage associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) calprotectin are now well identified. However, regarding cytokine IL27, the controversial current knowledge about its inflammatory role and the involved regulatory elements requires clarification. Therefore, we examined the inflammatory impact of IL27 on primary endothelial cells and the potentially modulatory effect of calprotectin on both transcriptome and proteome levels. A qPCR-based screening demonstrated high IL27-mediated gene expression of IL7, IL15, CXCL10, and CXCL11. Calprotectin time-dependent downregulatory effects were observed on IL27-induced IL15 and CXCL10 gene expression. A mass spectrometry-based approach of IL27 ± calprotectin cell stimulation enlightened a calprotectin modulatory role in the expression of 28 proteins, mostly involved in the mechanism of leukocyte transmigration. Furthermore, we showed evidence for STAT1 involvement in this process. Our findings provide new evidence about the IL27-dependent proinflammatory signaling which may be under the control of calprotectin and highlight the need for further investigations on molecules which might have antiatherosclerotic functions.
Options on Leveraged ETFs: A Window on Investor Heterogeneity

A risk-neutral probability distribution (RND) for future S&P 500 returns extracted from index options contains investors' true expectations and also their risk preferences. But the empirical pricing kernel that emerges in a representative agent framework, which suppresses investor differences, is inconsistent with investor rationality. The anomalous shape can be generated easily in a model with heterogeneous investors facing limits to arbitrage, however. We explore investor heterogeneity directly via RNDs extracted from options on three exchange traded funds with leveraged short and long exposures to the S&P 500 index, and find large differences that are not arbitraged away. For example, holders of ETFs with short exposure to the market value payoffs in negative return states significantly more than those with long exposure do. Separating true expectations from risk premia requires further assumptions, so we consider polar cases in which either all investors have the same expectations but different risk preferences, or the reverse. The results are largely consistent with the expectations differences we anticipate from investors choosing short or leveraged long market exposure. We then look at changes in RNDs to see how realized returns affect investors with different expectations. A large negative realized return raises the median future return expected by bulls but lowers it for bears. Uncertainty over future returns widens for both types of investors when they are wrong and narrows when they are right.
In Vitro Deoxynucleotidylation of the Terminal Protein of Streptomyces Linear Chromosomes

ABSTRACT Single-stranded gaps at the 3′ ends of Streptomyces linear replicons are patched by DNA synthesis primed by terminal proteins (TP) during replication. We devised an in vitro system that specifically incorporated dCMP, the first nucleotide at the 5′ ends, onto a threonine residue of the TP of Streptomyces coelicolor.
Detection of Eperythrozoon Suis using the Polymerase Chain Reaction

Eperythrozoon suis is an extracellular red blood cell parasite that causes icteroanemia in acutely ill pigs and a variety of syndromes in chronically infected pigs. Current techniques to detect E. suis infection are limited by variability of parasitemias and antibody responses in infected animals. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was investigated to determine its potential as a means of detecting E. suis infection in pigs. With DNA samples extracted from either purified E. suis organisms or E. suis-infected pig blood, PCR produced an amplification product 492 base pairs in length. This amplification product hybridized successfully with the fragment of the DNA probe from which the primer sequences had been selected. Sensitivity studies indicated that the PCR protocol was capable of amplifying total genomic E. suis DNA in quantities as low as 450 pg. When PCR was used with DNA from blood samples from a splenectomized pig that had been infected with E. suis, amplification products were detectable as early as 24 hours postinfection. This preliminary analysis indicates that PCR shows promise as a means of efficiently detecting E. suis infection in pigs.
Parental Understanding of Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis After a Negative Sweat-Test

BACKGROUND: Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) in Illinois uses an immunoreactive trypsinogen/DNA methodology; most false-positive results identify unaffected carriers. METHODS: Parents whose child received a negative result from the sweat test after a positive newborn screening for CF were surveyed ≥6 weeks later by telephone. All parents received genetic counseling while waiting for the sweat-test results. RESULTS: A total of 90 parents participated. Overall knowledge of CF was high (78%), but the ability to understand the CF screening results was mixed. Although 94% of the parents understood that their child did not have CF, only 79% (62 of 78) of participants whose child had a mutation knew their child was definitely a carrier, and only 1 of 12 parents whose child had no mutation understood that the child may be a carrier. Respondents stated that most relatives were not interested in genetic testing. Both parents had been tested in only 13 couples. Fewer than half (36 of 77 [47%]) of the untested couples expressed interest in genetic testing. Although most participants were satisfied with the process, parents expressed frustration because of the lack of prospective newborn screening discussions by prenatal and pediatric providers and lack of knowledge and sensitivity by those who initially notified them of the abnormal newborn screening results. Speaking to a genetic counselor when scheduling the sweat test decreased anxiety for many parents (53 of 73 [73%] were “very worried” at notification versus 18 of 73 [25%] after scheduling; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Parental knowledge about CF is high, but confusion about the child's carrier status and the concept of residual risk persist despite genetic counseling. Relatives express low interest in carrier testing.
Tail-Tolerant Distributed Search

Today's search engines process billions of online user queries a day over huge collections of data. In order to scale, they distribute query processing among many nodes, where each node holds and searches over a subset of the index called shard. Responses from some nodes occasionally fail to arrive within a reasonable time-interval due to various reasons, such as high server load and network congestion. Search engines typically need to respond in a timely manner, and therefore skip such tail latency responses, which causes degradation in search quality. In this paper, we tackle response misses due to high tail latencies with the goal of maximizing search quality. Search providers today use redundancy in the form of Replication for mitigating response misses, by constructing multiple copies of each shard and searching all replicas. This approach is not ideal, as it wastes resources on searching duplicate data. We propose two strategies to reduce this waste. First, we propose rSmartRed, an optimal shard selection scheme for replicated indexes. Second, when feasible, we propose to replace Replication with Repartition, which constructs independent index instances instead of exact copies. We analytically prove that rSmartRed's selection is optimal for Replication, and that Repartition achieves better search quality compared to Replication. We confirm our results with an empirical study using two real-world datasets, showing that rSmartRed improves recall compared to currently used approaches. We additionally show that Repartition improves over Replication in typical scenarios.
Dermoscopic Image Segmentation using Machine Learning Algorithm

Problem statement: Malignant melanoma is the most frequent type of sk in cancer. Its incidence has been rapidly increasing over the last few decades. Medical image segmentation is the most essential and crucial process in order to faci litate the characterization and visualization of th e structure of interest in medical images. Approach: This study explains the task of segmenting skin lesions in Dermoscopy images based on intelligent s ystems such as Fuzzy and Neural Networks clustering techniques for the early diagnosis of Ma lignant Melanoma . The various intelligent systems based clustering techniques used were Fuzzy C Means Algorithm (FCM), Possibilistic C Means Algorithm (PCM), Hierarchical C Means Algorithm (HCM); C-mean based Fuzzy Hopfield Neural Network, Adaline Neural Network and Regression Neural Network. Results: The segmented images were compared with the ground truth image using various parameters such as False Positive Error (FPE), False Negative Error (FNE) Coefficient of si milarity, spatial overlap and their performance was evaluated. Conclusion: The experimental results show that Hierarchical C M eans algorithm( Fuzzy) provides better segmentation than other (Fuzzy C Means, Possibilistic C Means, Adaline Neural Network, FHNN and GRNN) clustering algorithms. Hierarchical C Means approach can handle uncertainties that exist in the data efficiently an d useful for the lesion segmentation in a computer aided diagnosis system to assist the clinical diagn osis of dermatologists.
How Effective are Groupon Promotions for Businesses?

Although social promotions, especially Groupon promotions, have been wildly popular with consumers, it is unclear how businesses fare upon running such promotions. In a survey-based study of 150 businesses that ran and completed Groupon promotions between June 2009 and August 2010, we find that the promotion was profitable for 66% and unprofitable for 32% of respondents. When compared to businesses with profitable Groupon promotions, those with unprofitable promotions reported significantly lower rates of both spending by Groupon users beyond its face value (25% vs. 50%) and return rates to purchase from the business again at full prices (13% vs. 31%). There was disillusionment with the extreme price sensitive nature and transactional orientation of consumers using these promotions among many respondents. Surprisingly, rather than features of the promotion or its effects, employee satisfaction is found to be the primary driver of the promotion’s profitability. We also analyzed the predictors of number of Groupons sold and whether the business would run another social promotion in the future. Based on these findings, suggestions to modify social promotion offers are provided to better balance consumer appeal with positive outcomes for the small businesses offering them.
Is there an optimal concentration of cotransplanted islets of Langerhans for stimulation of hepatocytes in three dimensional matrices?

BACKGROUND Hepatocyte transplantation using three-dimensional matrices is under investigation as an alternative therapy for several liver diseases. For sufficient transplantation results hepatotrophic stimulation is necessary. We investigated the stimulatory effect of cotransplanted pancreatic islets in different ratios. METHODS Lewis rats were used as donors and recipients. A portocaval shunt (group A) or sham operation (groups B-G) was performed 1 week before hepatocyte transplantation. Four polyvinyl-alcohol matrices each containing 1.25 x 10(7) hepatocytes (groups A and B) or 1.25 x 10(7) hepatocytes and 125 (C), 250 (D), 500 (E), or 750 (F) islets were implanted between small bowel mesenteric leaves. In group G, medium soaked matrices were implanted. One month after implantation, specimens were harvested and investigated using albumin-RNA in situ hybridization, and insulin, glucagon, and bromodesoxy uridine immunohistochemistry. The hepatocyte area was assessed using image analysis. RESULTS Hepatocyte area and proliferation ratio increased depending on the number of cotransplanted islets with a peak at 40 islets per 1 million hepatocytes (group E). Cotransplantation of islets in higher concentrations did not further increase hepatocyte area or proliferation ratio. Hepatocytes in all groups expressed albumin RNA at normal transcription levels as compared to standard liver sections. Islets displayed insulin and glucagon in physiological distribution. DISCUSSION Three-dimensional matrices provide a sufficient environment for transplanted hepatocytes and islets. The hepatotrophic effect of cotransplanted islets is comparable to portocaval shunting and has a saturation limit at 40 islets per 1 million hepatocytes. For further application of islet cotransplantation, this ratio seems to be preferable.
Digital Currency and its Impact on Quality of Life

Digital currency has received widespread discussion in practice and academia as a potential alternative to money. Existing research about digital currency largely focuses on building proofs of concept. This paper moves beyond the conventional discussion on this emergent technology to explore what people can do and achieve with it. Based on the theoretical framework of Sen's (1992, 1993) capability approach, the study explores how the adoption of digital currency at the individual level impacts quality of life in a deprived environment, with limited access to banks. We also discuss the antecedents of digital currency adoption based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model(ELM). In this study, we adopt the European Central Bank’s definition of digital currency as a digital representation of value, which can be used as an alternative to money (European Central Bank (ECB), 2012).
A relict lineage and new species of green palm-pitviper (Squamata, Viperidae, Bothriechis) from the Chortís Highlands of Mesoamerica

Abstract A new species of palm-pitviper of the genus Bothriechis is described from Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texíguat in northern Honduras. The new species differs from congeners by having 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody, a bright green dorsal coloration in adults, the prelacunal scale fused to the second supralabial, and in representing a northern lineage that is sister to Bothriechis lateralis, which is distributed in Costa Rica and western Panama and is isolated from the new taxon by the Nicaraguan Depression. This represents the 15th endemic species occurring in Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texíguat, one of the richest herpetofaunal sites in Honduras, itself being the country with the highest degree of herpetofaunal endemism in Central America. We name this new species in honor of a Honduran conservationist slain in fighting against illegal logging, highlighting the sacrifices of rural activists in battling these issues and the critical importance of conservation in these areas.
CLOSING THE SUPPLY CHAIN LOOP: REENGINEERING THE RETURNS CHANNEL PROCESS

Business process reengineering applied to the returns channel is becoming increasingly important as a result of marketplace requirements for productivity and customer satisfaction. This article provides an overview of a reengineering approach to “reverse logistics” and presents methodologies which may be helpful to management. Several examples from the literature are provided as illustrations of issues involved in reengineering the returns channel process and measuring return to available (RTA). The core processes of the Xerox Business Process Architecture (XBPA) are studied to identify the issues involved with solving the business issue by process rather than with functional strategies. Issues associated with business problem benchmarking as an input to reengineering and the key aspects of managing by process are also presented.