Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carrot or Stick? Strategic Corporate Governance and the Incentivization of Attention to Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues

When seeking to influence firms’ behaviors, investors have a range of strategic alternatives through which pressure can be exerted. These approaches range from collaborative dialogue with firms, to other more coercive methods such as divesting their shareholdings. However, limited consideration has been given to the relative effectiveness of the various corporate governance decisions available to investors. Consequently, this study proposes a behaviorally-grounded strategic view of corporate governance whereby intendedly rational investors choose their corporate governance decisions based on whether the expected response from the targeted firm is preferable to the response from investors’ other alternatives. Doing so enables investors to more efficiently allocate their monitoring resources. I operationalize the study by analyzing investors’ strategic decisions relating to the use of shareholder proposals. Focusing on environmental, social, and governance issues, I find that investors’ use of incentives for collaboration — by withdrawing shareholder proposals — produces more effective outcomes than the coerced enforcement of control — putting the proposal to a vote. A key mechanism relates to firms’ cognition of issue salience and the external legitimacy which investor activism signals. In doing so, these findings suggest that investors can strategically channel firms’ attention and effort to substantively address the issues raised.
Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty in Vietnam Cosmetics Market

For the purpose of examining the impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty in HCM City Cosmetic market,the author carried out this study using quantitative approach via survey. A questionaire derived from previous study and wasmodified through group discussion among 20 customers then officially conducted with the sample of 318 people. The resultshows that among relationship marketing underpinnings, 5 variables: trust, commitment, communication, conflict handling, sharedvalue have positive influence on customer loyalty, shared value is more important than others. There are some research limitationsas the data analysed were collected from one sector of the industry in one country, the relationships investigated here deservefurther researchs on other sectors or study development by modifying relationship marketing variables. However, researchprovides insights on the importance of relationship marketing integral elements. With the information supplied, cosmetic brandscan enhance their effectiveness of marketing strategy, attain marketing success by focusing on 5 key characteristics affectingcustomer loyalty
Taking the Pulse of the Tropical Water Cycle

Climate records from tropical ice cores from the Andes have been interpreted in terms of temperature changes, similar to records from the polar regions. In his Perspective, [Hoffmann][1] reviews recent evidence that rather than exclusively temperature, the Andean records track changes in precipitation. In conjunction with other records such as corals and with global climate models, the ice cores can be used to reconstruct the hydrological cycle. However, more precisely dated records are needed to extend this reconstruction beyond recent decades. [1]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/301/5634/776
Language Recognition in iVectors Space

The concept of so called iVectors, where each utterance is represented by fixed-length low-dimensional feature vector, has recently become very successfully in speaker verification. In this work, we apply the same idea in the context of Language Recognition (LR). To recognize language in the iVector space, we experiment with three different linear classifiers: one based on a generative model, where classes are modeled by Gaussian distributions with shared covariance matrix, and two discriminative classifiers, namely linear Support Vector Machine and Logistic Regression. The tests were performed on the NIST LRE 2009 dataset and the results were compared with stateof-the-art LR based on Joint Factor Analysis (JFA). While the iVector system offers better performance, it also seems to be complementary to JFA, as their fusion shows another improvement.
CD4-dependent and CD4-independent HIV-2: consequences for neutralization

Background: HIV-2 is less pathogenic than HIV-1. In contrast to HIV-1, many isolates of HIV-2, including primary isolates, can infect cells independently of CD4. Objective: To compare the sensitivity of CD4-dependent and CD4-independent isolates of HIV-2 to antibody-mediated neutralization. Methods: The neutralization sensitivity of CD4-dependent and CD4-independent molecular clones of HIV-2 to a panel of HIV-2-positive serum samples was tested. Monoclonal antibodies to various epitopes across the viral envelope were used to determine whether a specific epitope conferred neutralization sensitivity. Neutralization sensitivity of primary isolates of HIV-2 able to infect in the absence of cellular CD4 was also investigated. Antibody binding to sensitive and resistant envelopes was analysed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry. Results: CD4-independent ROD B was highly sensitive to neutralization by HIV-2-positive sera compared with the CD4-dependent isolate ROD A. Induction of ROD A to infect CD4-negative cells by soluble CD4 rendered it equally sensitive to antibody neutralization. Similarly, primary X4, R5 or dual-tropic isolates of HIV-2 were significantly more susceptible to neutralization when utilizing a CD4-independent route of infection. Neutralization sensitivity was not epitope specific but several conformation-dependent antibodies accentuated this phenotype. Antibody binding to monomeric or oligomeric envelope did not correlate with neutralization sensitivity. Conclusions: HIV-2 isolates utilizing a CD4-independent route of infection are more sensitive to antibody-mediated neutralization. Cellular CD4 may protect HIV-2 from neutralization. This sensitivity to neutralization may, in part, explain the lower virus load and slower progression to disease in HIV-2-infected individuals.
Développements de méthodes de traitement et d’acquisition du signal pour la Spectroscopie de Résonance Magnétique 2D in vivo

La Spectroscopie de Resonance Magnetique (SRM) constitue un outil non-invasifunique pour l’exploration biochimique du metabolisme des organismes vivants. Cependant,en raison des champs magnetiques couramment utilises chez l’homme etle petit animal, la SRM in vivo du proton ne permet pas de quantifier precisementla concentration de tous les metabolites presents dans le cerveau. La SRM a deuxdimensions spectrales (SRM 2D), technique utilisee en routine en chimie, permetde separer efficacement les signatures spectrales des metabolites facilitant ainsi leuridentification et leur quantification en termes de concentrations. Les travaux realisesdans le cadre de cette these concernent le developpement de methodes d’acquisitionet de quantification de spectres RMN 2D J-resolus in vivo et sont presentessuivant deux axes majeurs. Le premier axe concerne les travaux relatifs a la SRM2D J-resolue conventionnelle qui ont fait l’objet du developpement d’une sequenceJ-PRESS sur un imageur 7 T pour l’acquisition de spectres 2D sur le cerveau de rat.Les donnees acquises sont traitees avec une methode d’analyse spectrale developpeeet optimisee specifiquement pour la quantification de donnees SRM 2D J-resolues,reposant sur une connaissance a priori et un ajustement numerique dans le domainetemporel. Le second axe concerne les travaux relatifs a la reduction de la dureed’acquisition en SRM 2D avec le developpement de techniques basees sur le conceptrecent de RMN ultrarapide. Une nouvelle sequence de SRM 2D J-resolue ultrarapidea ete developpee et validee sur un imageur 7 T et a permis l’acquisition de spectres2D complets avec une duree d’acquisition de l’ordre de la seconde.
Changes in neurocognitive functioning during transition to manifest disease: comparison of individuals at risk for schizophrenic and bipolar affective psychoses

Background Neurocognitive deficits are important aspects of schizophrenic disorder because they have a strong impact on social and vocational outcomes. Previously it was assumed that cognitive abilities progressively deteriorate with illness onset. However, recent research results have contradicted this with observations of continuous or even improved performance in individuals at risk for psychosis or manifest schizophrenia. The objective of our longitudinal study was to examine neurocognitive functioning in help-seeking individuals meeting basic symptoms or ultra-high-risk criteria for schizophrenic psychosis (HRSchiz) or risk criteria for affective psychosis (HRBip). The progression of cognitive functioning in individuals converting to psychosis was compared with that of at-risk individuals who did not convert during the follow-up period. Method Data were available from 86 study participants who completed neurocognitive and clinical assessments at baseline and, on average, 12.8 (s.d. = 1.5) months later. Neurocognitive measures were grouped according to their load in factor analysis to five cognitive domains: speed, attention, fluency, learning and memory, and working memory. Results Neurocognitive functioning in HRSchiz and HRBip individuals generally improved over time. Subjects converting to manifest psychosis displayed a stable neurocognitive profile from baseline to follow-up. Compared with non-converters, they had already demonstrated a significantly lower level of performance during their baseline examinations. Conclusions Our data provide no evidence for a progressive cognitive decline in individuals at risk of psychosis. In line with the neurodevelopmental model, our findings suggest that cognitive deficits are already present very early, before or during the prodromal stage of the illness.
Enlivenment and the Gruffalo: the unfolding story of events in destination shopping centres

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the growing, and multifaceted, role for events within destination shopping centres. With particular focus upon The Gruffalo experience (GE)—a three week pop-up experiential children’s activation—the study offers insights and provides a conceptual framework, relating to the emerging and future role of events. Design/methodology/approach The study emerged from a privileged opportunity to research The GE, enabling a visitor questionnaire survey (n=1,305), using a non-probability sample, and four in-depth interviews, which were extended by an additional seven respondents. Findings There is a noteworthy role for events as “enlivenment”; attractors to increase visitation, repeat visitation and equally to impact dwell time and boost footfall and sales for tenants. The study revealed a need for a developed event portfolio, with various fundamental tensions relating to objectives, tenants, integration with wider strategy and customer experience. Research limitations/implications By interlinking events with shopping, re-visitation intention is improved and therefore not only does it deliver short-term return but longer-term payback. The vast assortment of events, and stakeholders, means a strategic and reflective approach is required. A limitation of the study is that there is limited existing research on this topic upon which to compare the overall findings, or specifically the survey data and analysis. Originality/value This early research study into events within destination shopping centres has revealed a prolific and advantageous, but also emerging and intricate, relationship. There is an absence of extant literature and therefore this paper makes a notable contribution to this unfolding area.
Automatic robot kinematic modeling with a modular artificial skin

In this paper, we present a new approach to automatically acquire the kinematic model of a robot equipped with a multi-modal, modular artificial skin. Here, we make use of the tri-axial accelerometer built into every cell of our artificial skin, along with a set of open loop test motions of the robot. With a circle point analysis we extract the relevant vectors to assemble a forward kinematic model. In comparison to existing approaches, our method builds and calibrates a kinematic model with minimal motions around the initial workspace, does not require any external metrology system and only requires low-grade motion sensors. We demonstrate the robustness of our approach by estimating the kinematic parameters of a UR-5 robotic arm mounted on an inertial dual arm platform.
High-voltage circuits for power management on 65 nm CMOS

Abstract. This paper presents two high-voltage circuits used in power management, a switching driver for buck converter with optimized on-resistance and a low dropout (LDO) voltage regulator with 2-stacked pMOS pass devices. The circuit design is based on stacked MOSFETs, thus the circuits are technology independent. High-voltage drivers with stacked devices suffer from slow switching characteristics. In this paper, a new concept to adjust gate voltages of stacked transistors is introduced for reduction of on-resistance. According to the theory, a circuit is proposed that drives 2 stacked transistors of a driver. Simulation results show a reduction of the on-resistance between 27 and 86 % and a reduction of rise and fall times between 16 and 83 % with a load capacitance of 150 pF at various supply voltages, compared to previous work. The concept can be applied to each high-voltage driver that is based on a number (N) of stacked transistors. The high voltage compatibility of the low drop-out voltage regulator (LDO) is established by a 2-stacked pMOS transistors as pass device controlled by two regulators: an error amplifier and a 2nd amplifier adjusting the division of the voltages between the two pass transistors. A high GBW and good DC accuracy in line and load regulation is achieved by using 3-stage error amplifiers. To improve stability, two feedback loops are utilized. In this paper, the 2.5 V I/O transistors of the TSMC 65 nm CMOS technology are used for the circuit design.
Image-based part programming with process parameter selection guidance for laser milling

In this work, a software system is presented to aid tool-path and process planning in 3D laser milling, its novelty being two-fold. First, it uses images of subsequent cross-sections of the part instead of relying on 3D models and a CAM system. Zigzag tool paths are employed to clear material from appropriate areas, as necessary, and all geometry calculations are unified since they are effected in terms of pixels thereby abolishing analytical geometry. Second, appropriate metamodels (artificial neural networks) are plugged into the programming environment in order to predict machining outcome given particular values of process parameters. Any metamodel can be used after being constructed and validated from experimental, empirical or theoretical data, making for a flexible and intelligent programming environment. Demonstration of the system in CO2 laser milling of wood is followed by an assessment of profile accuracy according to the alpha-shapes method.
Evaluation on the natural suitability of urban human settlement environment using multisource data

With the degeneration of environment and acceleration of urbanization, urban human settlement environment has been in rapid change and attracted great attentions worldwide. Meanwhile the Quantitative evolution on the natural suitability of urban human settlement environment (NSUHSE) is essential for a better and powerful understanding of the urbanization process, such as the direction and pace of the urbanization. This paper uses multisource data, including DEM, meteorological data, vegetation cover data (Normal Differential Vegetation Index, NDVI), DMSP/OLS NTL data etc. to establish the NSUHSE model to quantitatively evaluate the natural suitability of urban human settlement environment in China. The results show that the NSUHSE of China decreases from southeast to northwest in general, urban area of China is concentrated in the area with moderate high NSUHSE which is an area of 415195 km2 or 60.91% of the country's total urban area. Moreover, NSUHSE has significant influence on urban distribution according to the correlation coefficient between NSUHSE and DMSP/OLS NTL data.
Nitric Oxide Is Involved in Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin–Activated Jagged1 and Notch1 Signaling

Pathogenic mycobacteria have evolved unique strategies to survive within the hostile environment of macrophages. Modulation of key signaling cascades by NO, generated by the host during infection, assumes critical importance in overall cell-fate decisions. We show that NO is a critical factor in Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin–mediated Notch1 activation, as the generation of activated Notch1 or expression of Notch1 target genes matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) or Hes1 was abrogated in macrophages derived from inducible NO synthase (iNOS) knockout (iNOS−/−), but not from wild-type, mice. Interestingly, expression of the Notch1 ligand Jagged1 was compromised in M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin–stimulated iNOS−/− macrophages, and loss of Jagged1 expression or Notch1 signaling could be rescued by NO donors. Signaling perturbations or genetic approaches implicated that robust expression of MMP-9 or Hes1 required synergy and cross talk between TLR2 and canonical Notch1-PI3K cascade. Further, CSL/RBP-Jk contributed to TLR2-mediated expression of MMP-9 or Hes1. Correlative evidence shows that, in a murine model for CNS tuberculosis, this mechanism operates in vivo only in brains derived from WT but not from iNOS−/− mice. Importantly, we demonstrate the activation of Notch1 signaling in vivo in granulomatous lesions in the brains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected human patients with tuberculous meningitis. Current investigation identifies NO as a pathological link that modulates direct cooperation of TLR2 with Notch1-PI3K signaling or Jagged1 to regulate specific components of TLR2 responses. These findings provide new insights into mechanisms by which Notch1, TLR2, and NO signals are integrated in a cross talk that modulates a defined set of effector functions in macrophages.
Sternal pulse rate variability compared with heart rate variabilit on healthy subjects

The heart rate variability (HRV) is a commonly used method to quantify the sympathetic and the parasympa-thetic modulation of the heart rate. HRV is mainly conducted on electrocardiograms (ECG). However, the use of photo-plethysmography (PPG) as a marker of the autonomic tone is emerging. In this study we investigated the feasibility of deriving pulse rate variability (PRV) using PPG signals recorded by a reflectance PPG sensor attached to the chest bone (sternum) and comparing it to HRV. The recordings were conducted on 9 healthy subjects being in a relaxed supine position and under forced respiration, where the subjects were asked to breathe following a visual scale with a rate of 27 breaths/min. HRV parameters such as the mean intervals (meanNN), the standard deviation of intervals (SDNN), the root mean square of difference of successive intervals (RMSSD), and the proportion of intervals differing more than 50 ms (pNN50) were calculated from the R peak-to-R peak (R-R) and pulse-to-pulse (P-P) intervals. In the frequency domain the low and high frequency ratio of the power spectral density (LF/HF) was also computed. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed significant correlation for all the parameters (r > 0.95 with p <; 0.001) and the Bland-Altmann analysis showed close agreement between the two methods for all the parameters during resting and forced respiration condition. Thus, PRV analysis using sternal PPG can be an alternative to HRV analysis on healthy subjects at.
Influence of Hydrogen on the Mechanism of Permanent Passivation of Boron–Oxygen Defects in p-Type Czochralski Silicon

Strong evidence is provided for the critical role of hydrogen in the permanent passivation of boron-oxygen (B-O) defects in p-type Czochralski silicon. In particular, the impact of rapid thermal processing (firing), plasma exposure, and hydrogen-containing dielectrics on B-O defect passivation is explored. Importantly, no permanent passivation of B-O defects is observed in samples fired bare (both with and without exposure to a hydrogen-rich plasma prior to firing) and in nonfired samples coated with hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H). In contrast, samples with SiNx:H layers present during firing resulted in significant levels of B-O passivation, even at firing temperatures as low as ~500 °C. Increasing peak firing temperatures (Tpeak) appeared to correlate to increased B-O passivation ability; however, increasing Tpeak above a value of 670 °C resulted in suboptimal levels of surface and bulk passivation. These observations are explained within a hydrogen-based model for permanent passivation of B-O defects. Implications for nonhydrogen-based models are also discussed.
On the Impact of Fundamentals, Liquidity, and Coordination on Market Stability

Complex interactions between fundamentals and liquidity during unstable periods in financial markets are succinctly modeled with coordination games. We propose a flexible framework to estimate such a model and use the efficient method of moments as estimation procedure. We illustrate the model by using exchange rates from the yen–dollar carry trade induced uncertainty in 1998, interest rate spreads and global market volatility. The model fits the data well, with evidence of low information disparities, the market is generally very deep, where global volatility is more important than fundamental uncertainty in the determination of liquidity. There is clear evidence of asymmetry between the buy and sell sides of the market.
Deletion of the pyc Gene Blocks Clavulanic Acid Biosynthesis Except in Glycerol-Containing Medium: Evidence for Two Different Genes in Formation of the C3 Unit

ABSTRACT The β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid is formed by condensation of a pyruvate-derived C3 unit with a molecule of arginine. A gene (pyc, for pyruvate converting) located upstream of the bls gene in the clavulanic acid gene cluster ofStreptomyces clavuligerus encodes a 582-amino-acid protein with domains recognizing pyruvate and thiamine pyrophosphate that shows 29.9% identity to acetohydroxyacid synthases. Amplification of thepyc gene resulted in an earlier onset and higher production of clavulanic acid. Replacement of the pyc gene with theaph gene did not cause isoleucine-valine auxotrophy in the mutant. The pyc replacement mutant did not produce clavulanic acid in starch-asparagine (SA) or in Trypticase soy broth (TSB) complex medium, suggesting that the pyc gene product is involved in the conversion of pyruvate into the C3 unit of clavulanic acid. However, the β-lactamase inhibitor was still formed at the same level as in the wild-type strain in defined medium containing d-glycerol, glutamic acid, and proline (GSPG medium) as confirmed by high-pressure liquid chromatography and paper chromatography. The production of clavulanic acid by the replacement mutant was dependent on addition of glycerol to the medium, and glycerol-free GSPG medium did not support clavulanic acid biosynthesis, suggesting that an alternative gene product catalyzes the incorporation of glycerol into clavulanic acid in the absence of the Pyc protein. Thepyc replacement mutant overproduces cephamycin.