Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological and cognitive responses when riding an electrically assisted bicycle versus a classical bicycle

The present study compared the physiological responses and the subsequent cognitive performance when riding an electrically assisted (EB) versus a classical (CB) bicycle. Oxygen uptake, heart rate and leg extensor muscles electromyographic (EMG) activity were recorded in 10 subjects during a 30-min intermittent cycling exercise performed with EB versus CB. Cognitive performance was evaluated by a mail sorting test, performed at rest and after each cycling session. Averaged oxygen uptake and heat rate were significantly (P < 0.05) lower during EB cycling than during CB cycling. The EMG activities of the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris and gastrocnemius medialis muscles were significantly (P < 0.001) greater during CB cycling than during EB cycling. The time to complete the mail sorting test was significantly (P < 0.05) shorter after EB cycling than after CB cycling. Because EB cycling reduced muscle strains and physiological stress, it might offer benefits for those using bicycles in their work, such as postal workers and police officers. Statement of Relevance: This study compared physiological and cognitive responses when riding an electrically assisted versus a classical bicycle. The results showed that the electrically assisted bicycle led to reduced muscle strains and physiological stress and, therefore, might offer benefits for those using bicycles in their work, such as postal workers and police officers.
United States Farm Commodity Programs and Land Use

We estimate the impact of government payments on United States land use, using county-level data from the National Resources Inventory and the Census of Agriculture in 1987, 1992, and 1997. Although payments were made under decoupled support programs, effects on land use are found to be significant. On average for the years studied, our simulations indicate that United States cropland acreage would have been 89 million acres (22%) less if program payments had been reduced to half their observed level (holding market prices of commodities constant). Percentage reductions are largest in marginal crop producing areas of the nation. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.
Ultra High Performance Wireless Control for Critical Applications: Challenges and Directions

Industrial applications aimed at real-time control and monitoring of cyber-physical systems pose significant challenges to the underlying communication networks in terms of determinism, low latency, and high reliability. The migration of these networks from wired to wireless could bring several benefits in terms of cost reduction and simplification of design, but currently available wireless techniques cannot cope with the stringent requirements of the most critical applications. In this paper, we consider the problem of designing a high-performance wireless network for industrial control, targeting at Gbps data rates and 10-${\mu }$s-level cycle time. To this aim, we start from analyzing the required performance and deployment scenarios, then we take a look at the most advanced standards and emerging trends that may be applicable. Building on this investigation, we outline the main directions for the development of a wireless high-performance system.
Support Vector Regression Scoring of Receptor-Ligand Complexes for Rank-Ordering and Virtual Screening of Chemical Libraries

The community structure-activity resource (CSAR) data sets are used to develop and test a support vector machine-based scoring function in regression mode (SVR). Two scoring functions (SVR-KB and SVR-EP) are derived with the objective of reproducing the trend of the experimental binding affinities provided within the two CSAR data sets. The features used to train SVR-KB are knowledge-based pairwise potentials, while SVR-EP is based on physicochemical properties. SVR-KB and SVR-EP were compared to seven other widely used scoring functions, including Glide, X-score, GoldScore, ChemScore, Vina, Dock, and PMF. Results showed that SVR-KB trained with features obtained from three-dimensional complexes of the PDBbind data set outperformed all other scoring functions, including best performing X-score, by nearly 0.1 using three correlation coefficients, namely Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall. It was interesting that higher performance in rank ordering did not translate into greater enrichment in virtual screening assessed using the 40 targets of the Directory of Useful Decoys (DUD). To remedy this situation, a variant of SVR-KB (SVR-KBD) was developed by following a target-specific tailoring strategy that we had previously employed to derive SVM-SP. SVR-KBD showed a much higher enrichment, outperforming all other scoring functions tested, and was comparable in performance to our previously derived scoring function SVM-SP.
Securities Price Consequences of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Related Events

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) increases restrictions on private litigation for securities fraud. We examine stock price reactions on legislative‐event‐related days of firms in four high‐litigation‐risk industries. Two other studies on this issue, Spiess and Tkac (1997) (ST) and Johnson et al. (2000) (JKN), conclude that shareholders considered PSLRA beneficial. While we find largely similar daily abnormal returns for event‐related days that they examine, we present evidence that the timing of multiple confounding events makes the interpretation of these daily returns ambiguous. Results from additional analyses beyond those conducted by ST and JKN (market price reversal tests, analysis of additional legislative‐event‐related days, cumulative abnormal returns over the legislative period, and analysis of other events affecting investors' ability to bring securities‐related lawsuits), are largely inconsistent with their interpretation, suggesting instead that shareholders in the four hi.
OPF for reactive pricing studies on the NGC system

Retail transmission services like those being provided by the National Grid Company (NGC) in England and Wales pose new challenges for the pricing of reactive power supply. A reactive power market approach has been proposed by NGC and continues to be evaluated. Such an approach includes a novel requirement for transmission constrained economic dispatch of VAr, a problem in the security constrained optimal power flow (OPF) class. The problem formulations handled by the OPF package in use could not accommodate NGC's requirements. This paper describes the reactive pricing problem being addressed, the modeling requirements, and the resulting extensions made to the OPF formulation and package. It discusses the test results obtained to date on the NGC system.
Genome Data Mining and Soil Survey for the Novel Group 5 [NiFe]-Hydrogenase To Explore the Diversity and Ecological Importance of Presumptive High-Affinity H2-Oxidizing Bacteria

ABSTRACT Streptomyces soil isolates exhibiting the unique ability to oxidize atmospheric H2 possess genes specifying a putative high-affinity [NiFe]-hydrogenase. This study was undertaken to explore the taxonomic diversity and the ecological importance of this novel functional group. We propose to designate the genes encoding the small and large subunits of the putative high-affinity hydrogenase hhyS and hhyL, respectively. Genome data mining revealed that the hhyL gene is unevenly distributed in the phyla Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria. The hhyL gene sequences comprised a phylogenetically distinct group, namely, the group 5 [NiFe]-hydrogenase genes. The presumptive high-affinity H2-oxidizing bacteria constituting group 5 were shown to possess a hydrogenase gene cluster, including the genes encoding auxiliary and structural components of the enzyme and four additional open reading frames (ORFs) of unknown function. A soil survey confirmed that both high-affinity H2 oxidation activity and the hhyL gene are ubiquitous. A quantitative PCR assay revealed that soil contained 106 to 108 hhyL gene copies g (dry weight)−1. Assuming one hhyL gene copy per genome, the abundance of presumptive high-affinity H2-oxidizing bacteria was higher than the maximal population size for which maintenance energy requirements would be fully supplied through the H2 oxidation activity measured in soil. Our data indicate that the abundance of the hhyL gene should not be taken as a reliable proxy for the uptake of atmospheric H2 by soil, because high-affinity H2 oxidation is a facultatively mixotrophic metabolism, and microorganisms harboring a nonfunctional group 5 [NiFe]-hydrogenase may occur.
Mining Big Time-series Data on the Web

Online news, blogs, SNS and many other Web-based services has been attracting considerable interest for business and marketing purposes. Given a large collection of time series, such as web-click logs, online search queries, blog and review entries, how can we efficiently and effectively find typical time-series patterns? What are the major tools for mining, forecasting and outlier detection? Time-series data analysis is becoming of increasingly high importance, thanks to the decreasing cost of hardware and the increasing on-line processing capability. The objective of this tutorial is to provide a concise and intuitive overview of the most important tools that can help us find meaningful patterns in large-scale time-series data. Specifically we review the state of the art in three related fields: (1) similarity search, pattern discovery and summarization, (2) non-linear modeling and forecasting, and (3) the extension of time-series mining and tensor analysis. We also introduce case studies that illustrate their practical use for social media and Web-based services.
Do Input Subsidy Programs Raise Incomes and Reduce Poverty among Smallholder Farm Households? Evidence from Zambia

Many of the agricultural input subsidy programs (ISPs) currently being implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa include among their objectives raising farm incomes and reducing rural poverty. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the extent to which ISPs are achieving these objectives. Moreover, results from previous studies on ISPs in Zambia and Malawi, and stubbornly high rural poverty rates in both countries despite many years of large-scale ISPs, have raised doubts that ISPs are effectively reducing poverty.
Banking productivity: an overview of the Greek banking system

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to examine the productivity of the Greek banking sector for the time period 2004-2006. Design/methodology/approach - Standard ratio measures of bank financial performance have been used as output measures in a data envelopment analysis model in combination with efficiency ratios’ analysis. Findings - The Greek banking efficiency remains relatively constant throughout the period under observation, while, on average, big banks perform better than medium and small ones. Research limitations/implications - Profit and loss accounts as well as balance sheet accounts of each bank are used for examining bank efficiency. Practical implications - A positive relationship between bank size and performance is observed. More specifically, it is suggested that large total assets gives a bank the ability to achieve higher efficiency levels; thus, a merger of two small banks will probably increase their efficiency and competitiveness in the long term. Originality/value - Greek banks are at a crossroad and faced with the dilemma of expanding their operations internationally or staying at home. The current financial crisis has made this dilemma stronger. The paper's findings suggest that probably the best solution for the Greek banks to overcome their current problem is to merge.
Parametric survival analysis and taxonomy of hazard functions for the generalized gamma distribution

The widely used Cox proportional hazards regression model for the analysis of censored survival data has limited utility when either hazard functions themselves are of primary interest, or when relative times instead of relative hazards are the relevant measures of association. Parametric regression models are an attractive option in situations such as this, although the choice of a particular model from the available families of distributions can be problematic. The generalized gamma (GG) distribution is an extensive family that contains nearly all of the most commonly used distributions, including the exponential, Weibull, log normal and gamma. More importantly, the GG family includes all four of the most common types of hazard function: monotonically increasing and decreasing, as well as bathtub and arc‐shaped hazards. We present here a taxonomy of the hazard functions of the GG family, which includes various special distributions and allows depiction of effects of exposures on hazard functions. We applied the proposed taxonomy to study survival after a diagnosis of clinical AIDS during different eras of HIV therapy, where proportionality of hazard functions was clearly not fulfilled and flexibility in estimating hazards with very different shapes was needed. Comparisons of survival after AIDS in different eras of therapy are presented in terms of both relative times and relative hazards. Standard errors for these and other derived quantities are computed using the delta method and checked using the bootstrap. Description of standard statistical software (Stata, SAS and S‐Plus) for the computations is included and available at http://statepi.jhsph. edu/software. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cytoarchitectonic characterization of the parahippocampal region of the guinea pig

The cytoarchitectonic features of the parahippocampal region (PHR) in the guinea pig are described, based on coronal, horizontal, and sagittal 50‐μm sections stained for Nissl substance, zinc, parvalbumin, or calbindin. We differentiate between perirhinal (PRC), postrhinal (POR), and entorhinal (ERC) cortices. PRC is divided into areas 35 and 36 occupying the fundus and the dorsal bank of the rhinal fissure, respectively. POR is located caudal to the PRC. POR and area 36 show a dense, clustered cellular layer II and a thinner layer III in comparison to the adjacent neocortex, and they differ from each other with respect to the orientation of the somata of layer VI neurons. Area 35 is characterized by a thin layer II that is not very different from layer III. Layer IV is (dys)granular in area 36 and POR, and is absent in area 35 and ERC. ERC, located ventromedial to the PRC and POR, is subdivided in six fields, of which field 5 is adjacent to area 35. In both area 35 and field 5, no clear differentiation between layers II and III is present. Field 5 shows a darker cellular stain and exhibits a cell‐free zone or lamina dissecans between layers III and V. Medial to field 5, an area characterized by large cell clusters in layer II is designated field 4. The latter field is replaced by field 3 rostromedially, which also typically shows clustering of layer II neurons. These cell clusters in field 3, however, are much more constant in size in spacing compared to those in field 4. The caudomedial portion of ERC is subdivided into fields 1, 1′, and 2. The latter, characterized by a homogeneous distribution of neurons in all layers with large darkly stained neurons in layer V is positioned rostral to field 1 and caudomedial to fields 4 and 5. In field 1, layers V and VI are thinner, and layer II neurons are smaller then in field 1′ and field 2. We conclude that the architectonic features of the guinea pig PHR are comparable to those described in other mammals, particularly the rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 474:289–303, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Do Institutional Investors Exploit the Post-Earnings Announcement Drift?

We provide evidence that transient institutional investors (i.e., those actively trading to maximize short term profits) trade to exploit the post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD). We estimate that transient institutions' arbitrage generates an abnormal return of 5.1 percent (or 22 percent annualized) after transaction costs. In addition, their arbitrage trades accelerate the speed that stock prices reflect the implications of current earnings for future earnings. However, transient institutions trade less aggressively to exploit PEAD in firms with high transaction costs. Our results contribute to understanding the role of transient institutional investors in explaining the persistence of PEAD.
Capitalism 2.0: Implications for Management 2.0

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a collection of articles representing the best papers and invited contributions from attendees at the 4th Annual Global Drucker Forum, an international conference focused on future challenges facing management. Design/methodology/approach – The recent financial crisis has presented twin challenges confronting the next generation of management: a transformation toward a new environment in which market-driven efficiency and the concern for a functioning society are better aligned, and the nature of management practice that successfully addresses this alignment. Dimensions of these challenges are discussed in five articles in this special issue. This summary of the articles and underlying themes is provided by a professor whose teaching and research focus on strategy and entrepreneurship in free markets. Findings – The articles in this issue discuss the need in organizations for adaptive flexibility, new ways of thinking, leadership behaviour at the individual and system level, and systems thinking to overcome short termism. Themes underlying these challenges include the challenges of managing in the present for the future, the need to create a learning organization, and the complexity of managing holistically. Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests themes that might benefit from future management research. Originality/value – This paper summarizes cutting-edge issues for management that were discussed at a recent international conference, and synthesizes six authors' research contributions that address dimensions of these issues.
How Long is a Spell of Unemployment?: Illusions and Biases in the Use of CPS Data

Most data used to study the durations of unemployment spells come from the Current Population Survey, which is a point-in-time survey and gives an incomplete picture of the underlying duration distribution. We introduce a new sample of completed unemployment spells obtained from panel data and apply CPS sampling and reporting techniques to replicate the type of data used by other researchers. Predicted duration distributions derived from this CPS-like data are then compared to the actual distribution. We conclude that the best inferences that can be made about unemployment durations using CPS-like data are seriously biased.
An Energy Taxis Transducer Promotes Root Colonization by Azospirillum brasilense

ABSTRACT Motility responses triggered by changes in the electron transport system are collectively known as energy taxis. In Azospirillum brasilense, energy taxis was shown to be the principal form of locomotor control. In the present study, we have identified a novel chemoreceptor-like protein, named Tlp1, which serves as an energy taxis transducer. The Tlp1 protein is predicted to have an N-terminal periplasmic region and a cytoplasmic C-terminal signaling module homologous to those of other chemoreceptors. The predicted periplasmic region of Tlp1 comprises a conserved domain that is found in two types of microbial sensory receptors: chemotaxis transducers and histidine kinases. However, the function of this domain is currently unknown. We characterized the behavior of a tlp1 mutant by a series of spatial and temporal gradient assays. The tlp1 mutant is deficient in (i) chemotaxis to several rapidly oxidizable substrates, (ii) taxis to terminal electron acceptors (oxygen and nitrate), and (iii) redox taxis. Taken together, the data strongly suggest that Tlp1 mediates energy taxis in A. brasilense. Using qualitative and quantitative assays, we have also demonstrated that the tlp1 mutant is impaired in colonization of plant roots. This finding supports the hypothesis that energy taxis and therefore bacterial metabolism might be key factors in determining host specificity in Azospirillum-grass associations.
The Determinants of External Audit Costs in the New Zealand Life Insurance Industry

The contracting theory literature suggests that auditors’ pricing decisions reflect the efficacy of contracting arrangements in firms. Drawing a framework from this literature, we test empirically the simultaneous effect of six firm-specific variables on external audit costs using 1988–1993 data drawn from New Zealand’s (NZ) life insurance industry. These variables are: assets-in-place, reinsurance, internal governance, firm size, product-mix and organizational form. Consistent with expectations, our results indicate that audit fees are influenced by product-mix and firm size. However, the other variables are found not to be statistically significant. The empirical results thus provide mixed support for contracting theory.
Econometric analyses of renewable energy promotion

This thesis consists of four self-contained papers related to renewable energy promotion. Paper I analyzes the factors that influence the share of renewable energy in total energy supply. The analysis is conducted using a panel data consisting of 26 OECD countries over the period 1990-2010. The results from the two-way fixed effect model indicate that policy measures play important roles in increasing the share of renewable energy. A positive effect of Research and Development (R&D) on the share of renewable energy is found, and this is because R&D activities have reduced the cost of renewable energy production. The results also indicate that having a market-based policy instrument (feed-in tariffs or quota obligations) in place increases the share of renewable energy in a country. However, there is no evidence to prefer a feed-in tariff or a quota obligation in this study. The individual effect of these policy instruments is not significant. This may issue from lack of powerful variables to measure their magnitudes. In addition, a large energy consumption growth decreases the share of renewable energy in total energy supply. Paper II elicits the value of renewable electricity that people are willing to pay to have their electricity supply come from exclusively renewable sources in six OECD countries. The results indicate that people are willing to pay only a few percentage points more of their current electricity bill in each country. This suggests that it is still difficult to extract a sizable premium for renewable electricity. Paper III investigates motivations for adoption of renewable electricity among households in Sweden. Different models are used to consider the possible interactions between adopting renewable electricity and joining environmental organizations. The results indicate that people's residences and most socio-demographic characteristics do not affect their adoption of renewable electricity. Adopters of renewable electricity tend to be males, members of environmental organizations, and those who strongly agree that people should pay for environmental policies. Environmental concern also affects adoption of renewable electricity, mainly via membership in an environmental organization. Paper IV investigates determinants of people's participation in environmental organizations in Sweden with a zero-inflated ordered probit (ZIOP) model. This model can account for different types of non-members, i.e. those who might become members in the future and those who are unlikely to become a member. The differentiation is based on a two-stage decision on participation. Results indicate that different factors influence people’s decision in the two stages, and a factor could have different effect in the two stages. Attitudes towards the environment play an important role. The component of non-members varies among households of different income levels.