Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing the Ease of Doing Business in APEC Countries: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Since 2006, the World Bank has been ranking almost 200 countries in terms of their business environment and the “ease of doing business” in these economies. The rationale behind this is the importance of a thriving private sector in promoting high and inclusive growth and development. It is argued that the easier it is to establish and run a business, the more investors will be encouraged to invest, and thus more employment is generated. A good business environment also promotes competition and encourages innovation and expansion (World Bank 2013). The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) also has its own specialized group monitoring the progress of its members in enhancing the ease of doing business. In its 2015 edition (which looks at data from 2014), the World Bank ranked the Philippines 95th in its Doing Business Report. This is a 13-place improvement from its 2014 rank and a 38-notch jump from 2013. These improvements reflect the efforts made by key government agencies in the past years. This rise in ranking can be seen not only as an enhancement of the country’s economic fundamentals and potential for growth; it also sends out a positive signal to foreign investors, governments, institutions, and media. This paper will provide inputs to the APEC Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Initiative which establishes the goal of an APEC-wide improvement of 25% by 2015 in the following five key areas of doing business: (1) starting a business; (2) dealing with permits; (3) getting credit; (4) trading across borders; and (5) enforcing contracts, with an interim target of 5% percent improvement by 2011.
Sampling frequency influence on magnetic characteristic evaluation under high frequency GaN inverter excitation

Nowadays, there is a great interest on new magnetic materials and their outstanding properties of low iron losses. However, when a magnetic material is experimentally characterized, it is important to select a suitable sampling frequency specially when the inverter is driven at a high carrier frequency. Nevertheless, iron losses of a magnetic material under inverter excitation are usually underestimated when the inverter is driven at an insufficient sampling frequency. This paper introduces the iron losses of a magnetic material at high carrier frequency excitation using a GANFET inverter. In addition, the experimental evaluation of iron losses at several sampling frequencies is presented. As a result of the measurements, at low sampling frequencies, minor loops of BH curves could not be well constructed, because the inverter waveforms are not measured properly. Finally, experimental tests at 100 kHz and 1 MHz of carrier frequency presented an underestimation of 21.4% and 25.1%, respectively. This measurement error is presented when the inverter is driven at a sampling frequency lower than the suitable one.
"Checkerboard" DNA-DNA hybridization.

A method is introduced for hybridizing large numbers of DNA samples against large numbers of DNA probes on a single support membrane. Denatured DNA from up to 43 samples was fixed in separate lanes on a single membrane mounted in a Miniblotter 45. The membrane was then rotated 90 degrees in the same device, which enabled simultaneous hybridization with 43 different DNA probes. Hybridizations were also performed on lysates of bacterial cells blotted to membranes. A MiniSlot device allowed lysates loaded in parallel channels to be aspirated through the membrane, depositing horizontal lanes on the membrane surface. Hybridizations were performed in vertical lanes with either digoxigenin-labeled whole genomic probes or 16S rRNA-based oligonucleotide probes directly conjugated to alkaline phosphatase. The method permits the simultaneous determination of the presence of multiple bacterial species in single or multiple dental plaque samples, thus suggesting its usefulness for a range of clinical or environmental samples.
Influence of waterborne gallic and pelargonic acid exposures on biochemical and reproductive parameters in the zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Gallic and pelargonic acids are biologically derived substances receiving a growing interest as eco‐friendly biocides with potential applications in freshwater system management. However, some data gaps remain to address their chronic ecotoxicity issue, particularly for fish. This work aimed at investigating the sublethal effects of a long‐term waterborne exposure of zebrafish to these compounds. Mature fish were exposed to gallic or pelargonic acid at the concentrations of 0, 0.05, 0.5 and 5 mg/L during one month under semi‐static conditions. Fecundity, hatching rate and median hatching time were regularly evaluated. Circulating sex hormone levels (11 ketotestosterone −11 KT, 17 βestradiol ‐E2‐), plasma vitellogenin (Vtg), and gonad histology were monitored in males and females after exposure. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total glutathione peroxydase (GPx) and glutathione‐S transferase (GST) activities were assessed as enzymatic biomarkers of exposure in fish liver. Significant increases of GPx activity were reported in females exposed to both type of chemicals regardless the contamination level. Moreover, 5 mg/L gallic acid induced a decrease in 11‐KT levels for males. For fish exposed to pelargonic acid, decreases in circulating hormone levels were reported respectively at 0.05 and 5 mg/L for 11‐KT in males, and at 0.5 mg/L for E2 in females. However, no histological alteration in gonads neither significant variation in reproductive performances were detected following zebrafish exposure to gallic or pelargonic acid. Additional investigations concerning the mode of application and the environmental fate of these substances may warrant their further use in freshwater systems at concentrations compatible with biocidal/allelochemical effects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 227–240, 2017.
Development and application of metamaterial-based half-wave plates for the NIKA and NIKA2 polarimeters

CONTEXT.Large field-of-view imaging/polarimetry instruments operating at millimeter and submm wavelengths are fundamental tools to understand the role of magnetic fields (MF) in channeling filament material into prestellar cores providing a unique insight in the physics of galactic star-forming regions. Among other topics, at extra-galactic scales, polarization observations of AGNs will allow us to constrain the possible physical conditions of the emitting plasma from the jets and/or exploring the physics of dust inside supernova remnants. The kilo-pixel NIKA2 camera, installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope, represents today one of the best tools available to the astronomers to produce simultaneous intensity/polarimetry maps over large fields at 260 GHz (1.15 mm). AIMS.The polarization measurement, in NIKA and NIKA2, is achieved by rapidly modulating the total incoming polarization. This allows in the end to safely isolate the small science signal from the large, un-polarized and strongly variable, atmospheric background. METHODS.The polarization modulation is achieved by inserting a fast rotating Half-Wave Plate (HWP) in the optical beam. In order to allow wide field-of-view observations, the plate has to be large, with a diameter exceeding 250 mm. The modulation of the polarized signal, at 12 Hz, requires also the waveplate to be sufficiently light. In addition, this key optical element has to exhibit optimal electromagnetic characteristics in terms of transmission and differential phase-shift. For this purpose, three metamaterial HWPs have been developed using the mesh-filter technology. The knowledge acquired in developing the first two single-band HWPs was used to achieve the more challenging performance requirements of the last dual-band HWP. The first and the third waveplates met the requirements for both the NIKA and NIKA2 instruments. RESULTS. (abridged)
Feeding dried purple laver (nori) to vitamin B12-deficient rats significantly improves vitamin B12 status

To clarify the bioavailability of vitamin B12 in lyophylized purple laver (nori; Porphyra yezoensis), total vitamin B12 and vitamin B12 analogue contents in the laver were determined, and the effects of feeding the laver to vitamin B12-deficient rats were investigated. The amount of total vitamin B12 in the dried purple laver was estimated to be 54.5 and 58.6 (SE 5.3 and 7.5 respectively) ΜG/100 g dry weight by lactobacillus bioassay and chemiluminescent assay with hog intrinsic factor respectively. the purple laver contained five types of biologically active vitamin b12 compounds (cyano-, hydroxo-, sulfito-, adenosyl- and methylcobalamin), in which the vitamin b12 coezymes (adenosyl- and methylcobalamin) comprised about 60 % of the total vitamin b12. when 9-week-old vitamin b12-deficient rats, which excreted substantial amounts of methylmalonic acid (71.7(se 20.2) μmol/d) in urine, were fed the diet supplemented with dried purple laver (10 μg/kg diet) for 20 d, urinary methylmalonic acid excretion (as an index of vitamin B12 deficiency) became undetectable and hepatic vitamin B12 (especially adenosylcobalamin) levels were significantly increased. These results indicate that vitamin B12 in dried purple laver is bioavailable to rats.
Learning Analytics in a Shared-Network Educational Environment: Ethical Issues and Countermeasures

The recent trend in the development of education across the globe is the use of the new Learning Analytics (LA) tools and technologies in teaching and learning. The potential benefits of LA notwithstanding, potential ethical issues have to be considered and addressed in order to avoid any legal issues that might arise from its use. As a result of this, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) involved in the development of LA tools need to pay particular attention to every ethical challenges/constraint that might arise. This paper aims to identify and discuss several ethical issues connected with the practice and use of LA tools and technologies in analysing and predicting the performance of students in a shared network environment of HEIs. The study discusses the four ethical issues of Information and Communication Technology namely Privacy, Accuracy, Property and Accessibility (PAPA’s Model) as well as other approaches to explain these future concerns. The paper also presents the empirical evidence of the views of students on the analytical use and storage of their data. The results indicate that even though students have high trust in the privacy and security of their data being used by their institutions, more than half of the students have ethical concerns with the accessibility and storage of their data beyond a certain period. In the light of this, generalised strategies on ethical issues of the use of learners’ data in an HEI shared networked environment are proposed.
Verhoudingsbemarking by reisagentskappe in die Wes-Kaap Provinsie

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AT TRAVEL AGENCIES IN THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE Relationship marketing has received much attention and widespread publicity over the past ten years and has moved to the forefront of research and practice. It provides companies with a management tool to establish economically profitable relationships, networks and interactions with different, but equally important stakeholder markets. The marketing concept as reflected in the four P's of the marketing mix was prominent in marketing practice and thinking until the mid-1980s, when reference to customer relationships and relationship building began to appear in the literature and became the focus of much research. The marketing concept, although still relevant, was expanded to include the dimension of relationships. The shift fiom transactional to relationship-based marketing has many implications for product and service based business. Marketing can no longer be viewed as a separate function to which an organisation can assign responsibility for the customer while the rest of the organisation gets on with their tasks. Rather, the relationship-based view of marketing places the responsibility for marketing (as defined broadly) on everyone in the organisation. In other words, it is the responsibility of every employee within the organisation to satisfy the needs of customers. A relationshp marketing orientation can therefore create a competitive edge for an organisation and can also have a posititive impact on organisational performance. In a highly competitive, global environment organisations are focussing more attention on building sustainable, competitive advantages by developing and maintaining close, cooperative relationships with a limited set of suppliers, customers and channel members. Through these relationshps, organisations create value by differentiating their offering andlor lowering their costs. The term "relationshp marketing" is therefore applied to a number of different marketing activities ranging fiom consumer fiequency marketing programs to selling activities directed towards building partnerships with key customers. The focus of this study is to investigate the mutually beneficial nature of establishing long term relationships in supplier markets, customer markets, internal markets, recruitment markets, internal markets and influence markets. The kfferent principles which are important to improve and professionally manage the relationships in the markets listed above, are identified and discussed. These principles were tested in travel agencies in the Western Cape province to determine their current and ideal application in a travel and tourism environment. The calculation of effect sizes were based on the difference between the current and ideal application of the principles within travel agencies in the Western Cape.
Proposal of a new medical manipulator for laparoscopic surgery

NOBUTO MATSUHIRA 1;¤, HIDEAKI HASHIMOTO 1, MAKOTO JINNO 1, KYOJIRO NAMBU , YASUHIDE MORIKAWA , TOSHIHARU FURUKAWA 3, MASAKI KITAJIMA 3 and KAZUO NAKAZAWA 4 1 Mechanical Systems Laboratory, Corporate Research and Development Center, Toshiba Corp., 1, Komukai Toshiba-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki 212-8582, Japan 2 Medical Systems Company, Toshiba Corp., 1, Komukai Toshiba-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki 212-8582, Japan 3 Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Japan 4 Department of System Design Engineering, Keio University, Japan
Utilizing Different Link Types to Enhance Document Clustering Based on Markov Random Field Model With Relaxation Labeling

With the fast growing number of works utilizing link information in enhancing unsupervised document clustering, it is becoming necessary to make a comparative evaluation of the impacts of different link types on document clustering. Various types of links between text documents, including explicit links such as citation links and hyperlinks, implicit links such as coauthorship and cocitation links, and similarity links such as content similarity links, convey topic similarity or topic transferring patterns, which is very useful for document clustering. In this paper, we adopt a clustering algorithm based on Markov random field and relaxation labeling, which employs both content and linkage information, to evaluate the effectiveness of the aforementioned types of links for document clustering on ten data sets. The experimental results show that linkage information is quite effective in improving content-based document clustering. Furthermore, a series of important findings regarding the impacts of different link types on document clustering is discovered through our experiments.
Growth Hormone: A Promising Treatment for the Failing Heart?

Many pathologic processes that accelerate the progression of heart failure, such as cardiac remodeling and impaired contractility, may be modulated by administration of recombinant growth hormone. The agent improves structural and functional aspects of the failing heart both in the short term and after several months of therapy. However, conflicting clinical results cast doubt on whether it has a clear benefit in all of these patients. In addition, growth hormone therapy may be associated with cardiac and noncardiac adverse effects. Many questions must be addressed before its place in heart failure therapy is established. Optimal patient population, dosing regimen, duration of therapy, and effect on patient survival are unknown. Until larger, blinded studies are completed, growth hormone therapy remains an investigational approach to managing refractory heart failure.
Tape Reading and Market Tactics: The Three Steps to Successful Stock Trading

10.56 MB Free download Tape Reading and Market Tactics: The Three Steps to Successful Stock Trading book PDF, FB2, EPUB and MOBI. Read online Tape Reading and Market Tactics: The Three Steps to Successful Stock Trading which classified as Other that has 256 pages that contain constructive material with lovely reading experience. Reading online Tape Reading and Market Tactics: The Three Steps to Successful Stock Trading book will be provide using wonderful book reader and it's might gives you some access to identifying the book content before you download the book.
Spatial-Temporal Union of Subspaces for Multi-body Non-rigid Structure-from-Motion

Non-rigid structure-from-motion (NRSfM) has so far been mostly studied for recovering 3D structure of a single non-rigid/deforming object. To handle the real world challenging multiple deforming objects scenarios, existing methods either pre-segment different objects in the scene or treat multiple non-rigid objects as a whole to obtain the 3D non-rigid reconstruction. However, these methods fail to exploit the inherent structure in the problem as the solution of segmentation and the solution of reconstruction could not benefit each other. In this paper, we propose a unified framework to jointly segment and reconstruct multiple non-rigid objects. To compactly represent complex multi-body non-rigid scenes, we propose to exploit the structure of the scenes along both temporal direction and spatial direction, thus achieving a spatio-temporal representation. Specifically, we represent the 3D non-rigid deformations as lying in a union of subspaces along the temporal direction and represent the 3D trajectories as lying in the union of subspaces along the spatial direction. This spatio-temporal representation not only provides competitive 3D reconstruction but also outputs robust segmentation of multiple non-rigid objects. The resultant optimization problem is solved efficiently using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). Extensive experimental results on both synthetic and real multi-body NRSfM datasets demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed framework compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
A clustering algorithm based on user queries

A clustering algorithm which is tree-like in structure, and is based on user queries, is presented. It is compared to Bonner's Method, Rocchio's Method, Dattola's Method and the Single Link Method in three different aspects, namely system effectiveness, system efficiency and the time required for clustering. Experimental results using the Cranfield 424 collection indicate that the proposed method is superior to the other methods.
On the evolutionary origin of declarative pointing Brinck, Ingar

Imperative and declarative pointing are distinct kinds of communicative acts that rely on different cognitive capacities in the speakers. Declarative pointing is an important precursor to language, seen from both an evolutionary and a developmental perspective. Declarative pointing is functionally independent of affective intersubjectivity, yet it is intimately related to it in development. It is argued that declarative pointing once evolved because it allows for the mutual evaluation of joint objects of attention. Interaffectivity and joint attention to a distal object together constitute the prerequisites for using declarative pointing for the purpose of evaluation. Mutual evaluation has the benefits of enhancing co-operation and allowing for vicarious learning. It also makes possible the non-linguistic, active interrogation of others about their attitudes to jointly attended objects. * Talk presented at the International Symposium on Empathy, Intersubjectivity, and Language, Dept. of Linguistics, Lund, November 2003, and at the Workshop on Mirror neurons, Mind-Reading and Empathy, Dept. of Neurophysiology, Parma, March 2004, arranged by Eurocores The Origin of Man, Language, and Languages, European Science Foundation.
Location, location, location: Satellite image-based real-estate appraisal

Buying a home is one of the most important buying decisions people have to make in their life. The latest research on real-estate appraisal focuses on incorporating image data in addition to structured data into the modeling process. This research measures the prediction performance of satellite images and structured data by using convolutional neural networks. The resulting CNN model trained performs 7% better in MAE than the advanced baseline of a neural network trained on structured data. Moreover, sliding-window heatmap provides visual interpretability of satellite images, revealing that neighborhood structures are essential in the price estimation.
Mechanisms of Thrombocytopenia During Septic Shock: A Multiplex Cluster Analysis of Endogenous Sepsis Mediators

Background: Thrombocytopenia is a common feature of sepsis and may involve various mechanisms often related to the inflammatory response. This study aimed at evaluating factors associated with thrombocytopenia during human septic shock. In particular, we used a multiplex analysis to assess the role of endogenous sepsis mediators. Methods: Prospective, observational study. Thrombocytopenia was defined as an absolute platelet count <100 G/L or a 50% relative decrease in platelet count during the first week of septic shock. Plasma concentrations of 27 endogenous mediators involved in sepsis and platelet pathophysiology were assessed at day-1 using a multi-analyte Milliplex human cytokine kit. Patients with underlying diseases at risk of thrombocytopenia (hematological malignancies, chemotherapy, cirrhosis, and chronic heart failure) were excluded. Results: Thrombocytopenia occurred in 33 (55%) of 60 patients assessed. Patients with thrombocytopenia were more prone to present with extrapulmonary infections and bacteremia. Disseminated intravascular coagulation was frequent (81%) in these patients. Unbiased hierarchical clustering identified five different clusters of sepsis mediators, including one with markers of platelet activation (e.g., thrombospondin-1) positively associated with platelet count, one with markers of inflammation (e.g., tumor necrosis factor alpha and heat shock protein 70), and endothelial dysfunction (e.g., intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) negatively associated with platelet count, and another involving growth factors of thrombopoiesis (e.g., thrombopoietin), also negatively associated with platelet count. Surrogates of hemodilution (e.g., hypoprotidemia and higher fluid balance) were also associated with thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Multiple mechanisms seemed involved in thrombocytopenia during septic shock, including endothelial dysfunction/coagulopathy, hemodilution, and altered thrombopoiesis.