Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICT in Industrial Districts: An Empirical Analysis on Adoption, Use and Impact

The aim of this study is to analyse the main determinants of the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the relationship between ICT and the patterns of innovation in an Italian industrial district. The analysis is carried out on a database of 118 textile enterprises located in Biella, a well‐known industrial district specialized in medium to high quality woollen yarns and textiles, that have been interviewed following a structured questionnaire. On the whole, the rate of adoption and use of ICT in Biella is rather low and this confirms the results of other studies on industrial districts that are specialized in traditional sectors. Nevertheless, our analysis also shows that considering ICT as a general technology may be misleading. Instead, it is useful to disentangle the different ICT; in particular, there are significant differences between IT involving production, administration and logistic processes and the communication technologies (CT). Moreover, on a smaller sample of 50 firms we have tested the hypothesis that adoption and use of ICT may positively influence innovation. In this case, we find that different types of innovations, for instance, product, process and organizational innovations, are influenced by very different variables.
Two-port filters and resonators on AlN/3C-SiC plates utilizing high-order Lamb wave modes

A composite plate composed of aluminum nitride (AlN) and cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) is a promising mechanical structure that enables high-frequency Lamb wave devices since the 3C-SiC plate can effectively increase coupling of high-order Lamb wave modes and reduce steep phase velocity dispersion simultaneously. In this study, two-port filters and resonators utilizing various Lamb wave modes in the AlN/3C-SiC composite plate are microfabricated on 2.5-μm-thick AlN films deposited on various thicknesses of 3C-SiC layers. Intriguingly, the experimental results show that some Lamb wave modes are suitable for two-port resonator topology whereas some others are applicable for two-port filter topology due to different wave propagation characteristics.
Mini-review: Lactoferrin: a bioinspired, anti-biofilm therapeutic

Medically relevant biofilms have gained a significant level of interest, in part because of the epidemic rise in obesity and an aging population in the developed world. The associated comorbidities of chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and diabetic foot wounds remain recalcitrant to the therapies available currently. Development of chronicity in the wound is due primarily to an inability to complete the wound healing process owing to the presence of a bioburden, specifically bacterial biofilms. New therapies are clearly needed which specifically target biofilms. Lactoferrin is a multifaceted molecule of the innate immune system found primarily in milk. While further investigation is warranted to elucidate mechanisms of action, in vitro analyses of lactoferrin and its derivatives have demonstrated that these complex molecules are structurally and functionally well suited to address the heterogeneity of bacterial biofilms. In addition, use of lactoferrin and its derivatives has proven promising in the clinic.
Using Stock Price Information to Regulate Firms

This paper examines the role of the information contained in stock prices in the regulation of privatized firms. Stock prices contain noisy but unbiased information about firm's future prospects that regulators can use to decide on some regulatory policies. The main argument developed is that the observation of stock price movements reduces the incentives of regulators to develop their own monitoring technologies and can allow them to commit to relatively lighthanded regulations. This protects firm's investments in cost reduction activities and can increase ex ante welfare. Copyright 2002, Wiley-Blackwell.
Are Disagreements Among Male and Female Economists Marginal at Best?: A Survey of AEA Members and Their Views on Economics and Economic Policy

The authors survey economists in the United States holding membership in the American Economic Association (AEA) to determine if there are significant differences in views between male and female economists on important policy issues. Controlling for place of current employment (academic institution with graduate program, academic institution - undergraduate only, government, for‐profit institution) and decade of PhD, the authors find many areas in which economists agree. However, important differences exist in the views of male and female economists on issues including the minimum wage, views on labor standards, health insurance, and especially on explanations for the gender wage gap and issues of equal opportunity in the labor market and the economics profession itself. These results lend support to the notion that gender diversity in policy‐making circles may be an important aspect in broadening the menu of public policy choices.
Biography of Robert Axelrod

It is a great honor for the American Political Science Association to have Robert Axelrod as our current president. Axelrod combines a devotion to rigorous science as well as a deep concern with policy issues, particularly those of international peace and the threat of nuclear war. His fascination and distress about threats to peace is a major source of the fantastic energy he has brought to his work. Simultaneously, his insistence on rigorous exploration on the processes that enhance cooperation in complex settings has ensured that his theoretical breakthroughs have been widely recognized across the social sciences as well as in biology and computer sciences.I wish to thank Michael Cohen, Robert Keohane, Rick Riolo, Robert Putnam, Carl Simon, and Leigh Tesfatsion for their input and comments on this biographical essay and Nicole Todd and Patty Lezotte for their help in preparing this essay.
Training and Staff Development: Integrated or Isolated?

While some have argued that top management is interested mainly in short-term monetary benefits from training and staff development (TSD), in this study the majority of Australian top managers were seen to adopt longer-term perspectives. These longer-term views were found to be associated with higher levels of top management interest in TSD, more adequate resources for TSD, greater influence on the part of senior TSD and human resource management staff, and a more positive, performance-orientated organizational climate. Very few relationships were found, however, between the apparent purpose of TSD in the organization and the processes by which TSD is actually imple mented, other human resource management activities or other aspects of the organization such as strategy, structure and environment. Thus, while top managers who adopt a long-term perspective tend to support TSD, the function itself appears to remain inward looking and isolated from most other aspects of the organization.
A Re–examination of the Effectiveness of the Bankruptcy Process

As an increasing number of companies go bankrupt, society grows concerned with the process's efficacy. In contrast to previous research, we find that relatively healthy companies emerge from bankruptcy as evidenced by their operating and equity performance post bankruptcy. While we find a substantial degree of variation in the forecast accuracy of sales, EBIT and net income, we find that forecast errors are not statistically significant and are smaller than had been thought. We provide evidence to support the argument that the economy's health affects operating and equity outcomes post bankruptcy. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.
America's Political Market

The annexation of business promotion methods by candidates has revolutionised political advocacy in America, with electronic technology making the traditions of democratic campaigning anachronistic. The consequence of political marketing is a re‐defined democracy in which politicians are more symbolic but less powerful than heretofore, and the principal catalyst of change is television advertising.
Garments Texture Design Class Identification Using Deep Convolutional Neural Network

Garments Texture Design Class Identification Using Deep Convolutional Neural Network S.M. Sofiqul Islam 1,†,‡*, Emon Kumar Dey 2,‡, Md. Nurul Ahad Tawhid 3,‡ and B. M. Mainul Hossain 4,‡ 1 Affiliation 1; bit0310@iit.du.ac.bd 2 Affiliation 2; emonkd@iit.du.ac.bd 3 Affiliation 3; tawhid@iit.du.ac.bd 4 Affiliation 4; raju@du.ac.bd * Correspondence: bit0310@iit.du.ac.bd; Tel. : +880-152-140-9419 † Current address:Institute of Information Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; ‡ These authors contributed equally to this work. Academic Editor: Version March 21, 2016 submitted to Computers; Typeset by LATEX using class file mdpi.cls Abstract: Automatic garments design class identification for recommending the fashion trends is 1 important nowadays because of the rapid growth of online shopping. By learning the properties 2 of images efficiently, a machine can give better accuracy of classification. Several methods, based 3 on Hand-Engineered feature coding exist for identifying garments design classes. But, most of the 4 time, those methods do not help to achieve better results. Recently, Deep Convolutional Neural 5 Networks (CNNs) have shown better performances for different object recognition. Deep CNN 6 uses multiple levels of representation and abstraction that helps a machine to understand the types 7 of data (images, sound, and text) more accurately. In this paper, we have applied deep CNN for 8 identifying garments design classes. To evaluate the performances, we used two well-known CNN 9 models AlexNet and VGGNet on two different datasets. We also propose a new CNN model based 10 on AlexNet and found better results than existing state-of-the-art by a significant margin. 11
A Distributional Analysis of Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers in an Economic Depression and Recovery

We study the earnings losses of Finnish private sector workers who lost their jobs at two very different points in the business cycle. The first group wdisplad in 1992 (depression period) and the second one in 1997 (recovery period). The focal point of the analysis is the quantile displacement effect, the change in the earnings distribution due to involuntary job separation. We use mass layoffs and plant closures to identify groups of workers who were displaced from exogenous causes. The effect of displacement is strongest at the lower end of the earnings distribution and small or negligible at the upper end. Workers displaced during the depression period are subject to much larger earnings losses.
Age‐Dependent Alterations in the Operations of Hippocampal Neural Networks a

Results from numerous studies suggest that the functioning of rat hippocampal neural networks during the second postnatal week of life differs distinctly from that in the mature brain. During this critical period, network behavior might be considered hyperexcitable. Spontaneous network-driven bursts of synaptic potentials, which have not been reported in mature hippocampus, are commonly observed. While these events could be attributable to a late onset of GABAergic synaptic transmission, results suggest that this is not the case. In the immature hippocampus orthodromic stimulation leads to prolonged depolarizations and often repetitive synchronized discharging of the entire CA3 population. These events are in many ways reproduced by application of drugs that suppress GABAergic synaptic transmission. The synchronized discharging of the CA3 population is blocked by excitatory amino acid antagonists. This finding, coupled with our growing understanding of the role that recurrent excitation plays in CA3 network functioning, has led to the hypothesis that the differences in network behavior early in life may be largely attributable to an overabundance of local-circuit recurrent excitatory synapses. With maturation, axon collaterals and attendant synapses would regress to achieve an adult complement. Results from dual intracellular recordings as well as anatomical studies of individual CA3 pyramidal cells support this hypothesis. Unique properties of the NMDA receptor at these recurrent excitatory synapses early in life may also promote network excitability. The participation of extracellular Ca2+ in the voltage dependency of the NMDA receptor-linked iontophore could also contribute to synapse consolidation during maturation and thus in the establishment of network connectivity.
The association between depression and epilepsy in a nationally representative sample

Purpose: To determine the: (1) national prevalence of epilepsy and depression; (2) prevalence of depression among those with epilepsy; (3) odds ratio of depression among those with epilepsy compared to those without, controlling for demographic characteristics; (4) demographic correlates of depression among those with epilepsy and those without; and, (5) health services utilization of those with epilepsy and depression.
Electrically evoked cerebral potentials during esophageal distension at perception and pain threshold.

OBJECTIVE To investigate esophageal sensory function in normal volunteers. METHODS The method of evoking cerebral potentials (EPs) after electrical stimulation of the esophagus was applied in eight healthy male volunteers, 20-40 yr old. Electrical stimulation was obtained via bipolar Ag/AgCl electrodes attached to a latex balloon mounted on a catheter. The balloon was inflated stepwise to perception and pain thresholds. At the perception threshold for balloon distension, the intensity of electrical stimulation was increased stepwise to perception threshold for electrical stimulation, and subsequently to 2-fold, 4-fold, and 8-fold perception threshold. EPs were recorded from the vertex (Cz) and forehead (Fz, reference) and compared between the increasing electrical stimulation intensities and between perception and pain thresholds for mechanical stimulation. RESULTS The results show that amplitudes of EPs significantly increased with increasing electrical stimulation intensities, whereas latencies of EPs were not affected. Latencies and amplitudes of EPs were comparable at perception and pain thresholds for esophageal distension. CONCLUSIONS The study suggests that repetitive electrical stimulation of the human esophagus is predominantly mediated via vagal A-delta fibers. The unaltered EPs at the perception and pain thresholds suggest that vagal A-delta fibers are not involved in mediation of pain. The findings support the view that painful and nonpainful stimuli are mediated via different visceral afferents between the esophagus and brain in humans.
Prisoner of History: Aspasia of Miletus and Her Biographical Tradition

According to legend, Aspasia of Miletus was a courtesan, the teacher of Socrates, and the political adviser of her lover Pericles. Next to Sappho and Cleopatra, she is the best known woman of the ancient Mediterranean. Yet continued uncritical reception of her depiction in Attic comedy and naive acceptance of Plutarch's account of her in his Life of Pericles prevent us from understanding who she was and what her contributions to Greek thought may have been. Madeleine Henry combines traditional philological and historical methods of analysis with feminist critical perspectives, in order to trace the construction of Aspasia's biographical tradition from ancient times to the present. Through her analysis of both literary and political evidence, Henry determines the ways in which Aspasia has become an icon of the sexually attractive and politically influential female, how this construction has prevented her from taking her rightful place as a contributor to the philosophical enterprise, and how continued belief in this icon has helped sexualize all women's intellectual achievements. This is the first work to study Aspasia's biographical tradition from ancient Greece to the present day.
On the Nonlinear Distortion Effects in Nonlinear Distortion Effects in

Radio over fiber (RoF) system is a promising technique for microcell and picocell applications for deployment of future ubiquitous wireless data networks. However, the performance of RoF systems can be severely degraded due to nonlinear effects in the channel. Also, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), as a standard for broadband wireless networks, is being proposed for deployment with RoF systems to facilitate the total performance of a system. In this research, at first, the performance of OFDM-based RoF link with Mach-Zehnder modulator distortion effects has been analyzed at 5.8 GHz. Evaluation of mean-squared error of the proposed OFDM-RoF system was carried out to compare with the conventional single carrier system based RoF link after the modulator distortion case and also for fixed signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 20 dB using undistorted OFDM signal. Later, nominal and offset biasing pre-distortion techniques are applied in proposed system to linearize the OFDM-RoF link. Thus, finally a comparison between the aforementioned pre-distortion techniques applied showed important observation in terms of distortion-free dynamic range and SNR to choose offset predistortion technique for our proposed system
Active Specific Immunotherapy of Melanoma with a GM3 Ganglioside-Based Vaccine: A Report on Safety and Immunogenicity

A novel cancer vaccine was obtained by combining GM3 ganglioside with Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane protein complex to obtain very-small-size proteoliposomes (GM3/VSSP). The authors report the results of a phase 1 study of intramuscular administration of GM3/VSSP/Montanide ISA 51 to patients with metastatic melanoma. Twenty-six patients were included in three dose-level cohorts of 120, 240, and 360 μg. The first five doses (induction phase) were given at 2-week intervals, and the remaining four doses were given monthly. Patients were evaluated for dose-related toxicities and antitumor effects. In addition, serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained at baseline and throughout treatment to evaluate humoral and cellular immune responses. One episode of severe hypotension and fever was observed in a patient included at the highest dose level. Other toxicities consisted of local reactions at the site of injection and mild fever and chills. Five doses of GM3/VSSP induced an anti-GM3 IgM response in 44% of patients. Serum reactivity was also observed against melanoma cell lines and tumor biopsies. GM3/VSSP was shown to induce very strong in vitro IFNγ secretion in all evaluated melanoma patients. Furthermore, in one patient IFNγ secretion was shown to be GM3-specific. A 62% reduction of a mediastinal mass was documented in one patient (partial response), while a second patient benefited from initial disease stabilization followed by tumor reduction in nonmeasurable soft tissue lesions accompanied by vitiligo.
Impression management in annual reports of the largest European companies

Purpose - – Graphs are powerful tools which affect a reader’s impression and decision making. However, graphs in annual reports have a long tradition of being designed in order to give a more favourable impression of the company’s performance. The purpose of this paper is to add to the understanding of how large listed companies in Europe choose to use and misuse graphical representation. Design/methodology/approach - – This comprehensive study investigates annual reports of the top 50 European companies listed in the fortune 500 index. Company reports are analysed over a period of seven years resulting in 4,683 graphs. The authors investigate the development of the three major areas of impression management – selectivity, graphical measurement distortion and presentational enhancement – individually by company as well as collectively for the entire sample. Findings - – The main findings are that topics displayed, and how they are presented, significantly change over time and that graphs are much more likely to exaggerate positive trends than to understate them. Additionally, it can be found that longer time sequences (greater than five years) almost exclusively depict favourable trends (86 per cent) and graphical measurement distortions are applied on purpose for both key financial variables (KFV) as well as for non-KFV (around 30 per cent in all years). Research limitations/implications - – The sample for this study are the biggest 50 companies in Europe. It is not clear, if these companies are a representative sample for all publicly traded companies in Europe. Further research is needed regarding small and medium size companies. Practical implications - – The findings show that companies primarily produce graphs in order to influence the perception of their stakeholders rather than to display the topics in accordance with the “true and fair view” principle that is requested by the IASB. However, standard setters like the IASB or the FASB have not yet released any particular information on how to use graphs correctly and avoid misleading information. This study should provide a solid base for further discussions in this regard as companies still use graphs to give a favourable impression of the company and deliberately misuse them in order to achieve this aim. Originality/value - – This study contributes to the research field of impression management by answering the quest for more longitudinal studies and offers an extended focus while examining not only KFV but all variables depicted in annual reports.
Celebrating Local Products: The Role of Food Events

Visiting a food festival is an important component in the complete construct of culinary tourism. What might have motivated participants to visit such an event has become critical for tourist destinations when they attempt to use food festivals to promote regions and farmers. This article offers an integrated approach aimed at understanding event motivations. It extends the theoretical and empirical evidence on the causal relationships among the push and pull motivations, in order to determine to what extent these motivating factors contribute to the overall perception of the festival. It investigates the relevant relationships among the constructs by using a structural equation model approach. The main result is that, in the case of food and wine events, the pull factors connected with both product and territory have a considerable influence on the participants' perceptions.
A recombinant, chimeric tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate based on a dengue virus serotype 2 backbone

ABSTRACT Dengue fever is caused by infection with one of four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes (DENV-1–4), necessitating tetravalent dengue vaccines that can induce protection against all four DENV. Takeda’s live attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate (TDV) comprises an attenuated DENV-2 strain plus chimeric viruses containing the prM and E genes of DENV-1, -3 and -4 cloned into the attenuated DENV-2 ‘backbone’. In Phase 1 and 2 studies, TDV was well tolerated by children and adults aged 1.5–45 years, irrespective of prior dengue exposure; mild injection-site symptoms were the most common adverse events. TDV induced neutralizing antibody responses and seroconversion to all four DENV as well as cross-reactive T cell-mediated responses that may be necessary for broad protection against dengue fever.