Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological Role of Pyruvate Carboxylase in a Thermophilic Bacillus

A prototrophic, thermophilic bacillus is in a state of biotin insufficiency when grown in medium consisting of inorganic salts and a carbon source. The effect of this biotin deficiency on the growth rate is severe only if the functioning of pyruvate carboxylase is essential for the utilization of the particular growth substrate. A mutant, PC2, of the thermophile devoid of active pyruvate carboxylase has been isolated. The properties of this mutant confirm the anaplerotic role of this enzyme in the utilization for growth of compounds like glucose and lactate which are catabolized via pyruvate. This conclusion is supported by the finding that revertants isolated from strain PC2 have regained simultaneously the ability to synthesize active pyruvate carboxylase and the ability to utilize glucose or lactate for growth. The growth of mutant PC2 on acetate, unlike that of the parent wild type, is inhibited when glucose or lactate is added to the medium. Secondary mutants obtained from PC2, which are resistant to such inhibition, still carry the original pyruvate carboxylase lesion but are derepressed for isocitrate lyase. This suggests that the inhibition of the growth of mutant PC2 is due to a block in the functioning of the glyoxylate cycle, produced by the glucose or lactate supplement.
Quality Improvements in Public Livestock Services Delivery: Are Farmers Ready to Pay? An Inquiry in South India

Farmers Willingness To Pay (WTP) for improving the quality of public livestock services delivery, in terms of Service Provider and Farmer Relationship (SPFR), chance of recovery from ailments and chance of conception following Artificial Insemination (AI), was assessed through Contingent Valuation (CV) in southern peninsular state of India, the Tamil Nadu State. The districts of the state were categorized as ‘Livestock Developed’ (LD) and ‘Livestock Under Developed’ (LUD) based on initial base line developed. Contingent Valuation (CV) approach and Tobit regressions were used to assess variations in the stated Willingness To Pay (WTP) values, and the probability of stating a positive WTP value for respondents who declared that they were not willing to pay. Overall, the respondents in the study area were willing to pay INR 3.91 for improving the SPFR attribute of the public veterinary centre, while they were ready to pay INR 5.84 for augmenting the chances of recovery from illness by the services of public veterinary centres. In order to benefit from improved chance of conception of their bovines after AI, the farmers were willing to pay INR 11.71. An absolute concordance on the levels of attributes and the variations in the stated positive WTP values for quality improvements was noticed. Tobit regression analyses on the improvements of all above attributes indicated that the farmers who were at disadvantaged levels of an attribute were willing to pay more compared to those at an advantaged level.
Inpatient Studies of a Kalman-Filter-Based Predictive Pump Shutoff Algorithm

Background: An insulin pump shutoff system can prevent nocturnal hypoglycemia and is a first step on the pathway toward a closed-loop artificial pancreas. In previous pump shutoff studies using a voting algorithm and a 1 min continuous glucose monitor (CGM), 80% of induced hypoglycemic events were prevented. Methods: The pump shutoff algorithm used in previous studies was revised to a single Kalman filter to reduce complexity, incorporate CGMs with different sample times, handle sensor signal dropouts, and enforce safety constraints on the allowable pump shutoff time. Results: Retrospective testing of the new algorithm on previous clinical data sets indicated that, for the four cases where the previous algorithm failed (minimum reference glucose less than 60 mg/dl), the mean suspension start time was 30 min earlier than the previous algorithm. Inpatient studies of the new algorithm have been conducted on 16 subjects. The algorithm prevented hypoglycemia in 73% of subjects. Suspension-induced hyperglycemia is not assessed, because this study forced excessive basal insulin infusion rates. Conclusions: The new algorithm functioned well and is flexible enough to handle variable sensor sample times and sensor dropouts. It also provides a framework for handling sensor signal attenuations, which can be challenging, particularly when they occur overnight.
Relationship of Indicators of Neuropathology, Psychopathology, and Effort to Neuropsychological Results in Patients with Epilepsy or Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures

Previous research suggests epilepsy and psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) patients do not show consistent group differences on neuropsychological measures. However, both groups of patients show decreased neuropsychological performance when compared to a normal population (Cragar, Berry, Fakhoury, Cibula, & Schmitt, 2002). Swanson, Springer, Benbadis, and Morris (2000) have suggested epilepsy patients show decreased neurocognitive functioning due to neuropathology whereas PNES patients show decreased neurocognitive functioning due to psychopathology. Effort has also been implicated as an important factor in neuropsychological test results in general (Green, 2003). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of medical history variables (e.g., duration of disorder), neuropathology, psychopathology, and effort to neuropsychological findings in epilepsy and PNES patients. Neuropsychological functioning was divided into six domains: intelligence, memory, language, executive functions, visual-spatial, and motor. Results indicated that medical history variables were related to intellectual, memory, language, and motor functioning. Psychopathology was associated with all cognitive domains except executive functioning. Effort was related to intellectual, memory, language, visual-spatial, and motor functioning. Neuropathology and diagnosis were related only to memory. Dona E.C. Locke is now at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. This project was supported by the Epilepsy Foundation through the generous support of the American Epilepsy Society. This paper is based on a dissertation submitted by Dona Cragar in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctorate in clinical psychology. Thank you to Chantel M. S. Dearth and Chris Miara for their help with data collection, Greg Smith, Ph.D. and Sarah Fischer, M.S., for their statistical advice, and Christi Patten, Ph.D., for her comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Mitigating supply disruption with a backup supplier under uncertain demand: competition vs. cooperation

In case of supply disruption following major disasters, many supply chains tend to break down due to stock-outs and take a long time to recover. However, by keeping emergency sources of supply, some supply chains continue to function smoothly even after a major disaster. In this work, using a game-theoretic-framework, we consider a two-suppliers-one-retailer supply chain with price-dependent stochastic demand in which suppliers are prone to disruption. To investigate the impact of supply disruption we consider two models: SC model, in which the retailer does not maintain any emergency sources of supply against any supply disruption, and SCB model, in which the retailer maintains a backup supplier to mitigate the impact of supply disruption. We mainly focus on the pricing strategies of the suppliers and the mitigating strategies of the retailer under supply and demand uncertainty. We address two coordinating mechanisms to enhance supply chain performance. Our results indicate that in the presence of supply disruption, even with lower probabilities, the retailer would always prefer to take the advantage of a backup supplier and the optimal reserve quantity increases with disruption probabilities. We further investigate the scenario in which the suppliers would always prefer to cooperate with each other.
The Effect of IFRS Adoption on Accounting Quality and Market Liquidity: The Impact of Family Control

Previous studies suggest that firm-level reporting incentives play a significant role for heterogeneous effects on the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (e.g., Daske et al., 2013; Ball et al., 2003; Leuz et al., 2003; Burgstahler et al., 2006). In this study, we focus on family ownership control, which arguably creates severe agency problems between controlling and minority shareholders as well as weaker incentives for quality financial reporting and transparency. We examine whether the effect of full IFRS adoption on accounting quality and market liquidity is significantly mitigated by family control by comparing accounting quality metrics and market liquidity metrics between family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms listed in Hong Kong for the period before mandatory IFRS adoption and the period after adoption. We show that accounting quality and market liquidity generally improve after full IFRS adoption. However, when we take into consideration of family control, higher accounting quality in the post-IFRS period is only substantiated in the non-family-controlled firms. The accounting quality actually gets worse in the post-IFRS period for family-controlled firms. We also find that improvements in market liquidity after the adoption of IFRS are moderated by family control. The results indicate that the expected benefits of IFRS adoption are realised in non-family-controlled firms, but such desirable outcomes are severely moderated by family ownership control. Given that family control is a common phenomenon in Asia and other emerging economies, our findings are useful for policy makers and investors to better understand the impact of IFRS adoption.
Neural Networks for calibrating ATLAS jets 1 Introduction

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collides bunches of 10 protons at energies of 14 TeV every 25 ns. These parameters lead to an average of 40 collisions per bunch crossing, but most of them won’t correspond to head-on collisions, but rather a glancing collision, labeled as a pile-up (PU) event. Physicists at the LHC are interested in the high-energy or hard-scatter collision in a brunch crossing. ATLAS is one of the multi-purpose detectors at the LHC, and looks at the highly collimated streams of particles, or jets, from the collision. To reconstruct a jet’s transverse momentum, pT , it must therefore correctly disentangle the true energy depositions and pile-up contributions that can cause extra energy to leak into a jet [1]. This challenge will intensify over the next few years when the LHC plans to increase the average PU from 40 to 140. Our goal for this project was to use supervised ML techniques to improve the reconstruction of the jet’s transverse momentum, pT . The input to our algorithm was the pT s cluster deposits and locations in the detector, and we used linear regression, a single layer perceptron, and a convolutional neural net to output the pT of the jet.
A Study on the Impact of Employee's Person-Environment Fit and Information Systems Acceptance Factors on Performance: The Mediating Role of Social Capital

In a knowledge-based society, a firm's intellectual capital represents the wealth of ideas and ability to innovate, which are indispensable elements for the future growth. Therefore, the intellectual capital is evidently recognized as the most valuable asset in the organization. Considered as intangible asset, intellectual capital is the basis based on which firms can foster their sustainable competitive advantage. One of the essential components of the intellectual capital is a social capital, indicating the firm's individual members' ability to build a firm's social networks. As such, social capital is a powerful concept necessary for understanding the emergence, growth, and functioning of network linkages. The more social capital a firm is equipped with, the more successfully it can establish new social networks. By providing a shared context for social interactions, social capital facilitates the creation of new linkages in the organizational setting. This concept of "person-environment fit" has long been prevalent in the management literature. The fit is grounded in the interaction theory of behavior. The interaction perspective has a fairly long theoretical tradition, beginning with proposition that behavior is a function of the person and environment. This view asserts that neither personal characteristics nor the situation alone adequately explains the variance in behav- ioral and attitudinal variables. Instead, the interaction of personal and situational variables accounts for the greatest variance. Accordingly, the person-environment fit is defined as the degree of congruence or match between personal and situational variables in producing significant selected outcomes. In addition, information systems acceptance factors enable organizations to build large electronic commun- ities with huge knowledge resources. For example, the Intranet helps to build knowledge-based communities, which in turn increases employee communication and collaboratio n. It is vital since through active communica- tion and collaborative efforts can employees build common basis for shared understandings that evolve
Refinement of Kinect Sensor's Depth Maps Based on GMM and CS Theory

As the Microsoft’s Kinect sensor can generate a real-time dense depth map with relatively commercial available, it is widely used in depth map capturing. However, there are some artifacts like holes, instability of the raw input data, which seriously affect the application. To solve this problem, in this paper, we propose a novel depth map refinement method based on by GMM and CS theory which enable the kinect sensor generate a dense depth map, the background large holes are filled without blurring, and the edges of the objects are sharpened, median filter is used to remove noise. Experiments on captured indoor data demonstrate the effectiveness of the method especially in the edge area and occlusion area that our method can obtain better results.
A Methodology to Evaluate the Organizational Impact of it on Knowledge Management: an Italian Case Study

Abstract The important role played by Information Technology (IT) for Knowledge Management (KM) within many companies has been widely recognized. However, the relationship between IT investment and firm performance is complex and multifaceted and the evaluation of the impact of IT for KM on organizational performance has proved to be a difficult task. This has made it difficult to demonstrate that IT for KM may be used to leverage other firm advantages and opportunities and to justify spending on IT projects in support of KM. This paper provides a methodological framework to analyze the consequences related to the adoption of IT tools for the management of information and knowledge. In particular, we present a four-phase framework that captures the benefits of KM features in meeting business objectives through an examination of organizational processes and actors. The aim of the constructed methodology coincides with the main target pursued by firms: to have the possibility of evaluating IT solutions both ex ante, i.e. at the project/design phase, and ex post, i.e. at the assessment phase. A case study application in an Italian small business is described in detail.
Hemodynamic Effect of Iodinated High-Viscosity Contrast Medium in the Rat Kidney: A Diffusion-Weighted MRI Feasibility Study

Laissy J-P, Menegazzo D, Dumont E, et al. Hemodynamic effect of iodinated high-viscosity contrast medium in the rat kidney: A diffusion-weighted MRI feasibility study. Invest Radiol 2000;35:647–652. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES.To assess the abilities of dynamic diffusion-weighted MRI to demonstrate the effects in vivo of a high-viscosity iodinated contrast agent on medullary and cortical blood flow in the rat kidney. METHODS.Dynamic diffusion-weighted, echoplanar MR images obtained from five b-value single-shot acquisitions and their isotropic apparent diffusion coefficient maps were obtained from nine rats anesthetized by pentobarbital sedation, before and after intravenous injection of a high-viscosity, dimeric iso-osmolar iodinated contrast medium (iodixanol), and compared with those obtained from four control rats that received saline. RESULTS.The mean baseline apparent diffusion coefficient values were 1.64 ± 0.05 × 10 −3 mm2/s for the cortex and 1.75 ± 0.06 × 10 −3 mm2/s for the medulla. In the iodixanol group, a significant decrease in renal diffusion was observed at 12 minutes and lasted at least until 24 minutes. The decrease in diffusion occurred earlier for the cortex and lasted less than for the medulla. There was no significant modification in diffusion over time in the control group. CONCLUSIONS.This preliminary experience in rats shows that dynamic diffusion-weighted MRI can be used to study noninvasively the in vivo renal hemodynamic response after injection of iodinated contrast.
UTILITY ANALYSIS FOR CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING IN SMALL TREATMENT SETTINGS

Data-driven clinical decision-making can be difficult in settings that service relatively few patients because of the small samples available, the patients' potential dissimilarity from participants in published research, and highly limited resources. This study was designed to demonstrate how utility analyses might assist clinical decision-making in small treatment settings and provide data for promoting programmatic improvements. Data came from a study to identify rural juvenile delinquents suspected to not benefit from residential behavioral treatment. A prospective correlational design was used with data from a mid western juvenile criminal justice residential unit in which about 30 males were treated annually. Outcomes included treatment performance measures and number of delinquent offenses during the year after treatment. Utility analyses suggested that delinquents who were less likely to benefit from residential treatment could be identified a priori using a modified Psychopathy Checklist, Revised. Cost utility analysis estimated $180,000 less would be spent on residential treatment as a result of selecting residents based on the pretreatment assessment. This money might be reallocated toward alternative intervention for delinquents who are not likely to benefit from the residential treatment. More importantly, results suggested specific alternative interventions for the delinquents who were less likely to benefit from the treatment by providing direct links to existing literature. Advantages of utility analysis research include strong external validity, minimal interference with treatment during data collection, results that estimate clinical and practical significance, and results that are easily communicated to laymen.
Effect of a split transformer leakage inductance in the LLC converter with integrated magnetics

The effects of the transformer leakage inductance in a LLC converter that exploits the integrated magnetic concept are investigated. The vast literature on this subject always models the transformer considering its magnetizing inductance, together with a lumped leakage inductance located at the primary side. However, when the transformer windings are arranged so as to increase the leakage magnetic flux with the aim of achieving the desired value, two leakage inductances are indeed created, one associated to each winding. Using the Fundamental Harmonic Approximation (FHA), the converter behavior at steady-state is revised so as to highlight the effects of a split leakage inductance, while the dynamic behavior is investigated using the Generalized Averaging Method. A suitable design procedure is proposed that accounts for the more complex transformer model. Measurements taken on a 100 W rated LLC converter prototype confirm the theoretical forecasts.
Measuring Mobile Internet Communication End User Cost and System Latency as Data Limitations

This paper examines the use of automated measurement as a tool to support the development on mobile internet communication. The focus is on analysis on end user inputs; data connection cost, time spent on moving data, and end user effort in the use of mobile internet communication service. The paper compares results of two case studies in UK and in Finland to the 2010 created 50 €s roaming limit for Telecommunications in EU, and supports the year 2011 Proposal for the Digital Agenda of EU by analyzing the data cost per megabyte in actual use. The results in UK show that mobile service users were concerned about the cost of mobile service usage. This seems to limit the actual data amounts moved. Pilot user in Finland in 2010 exceeded 12 times the data limit valid in UK a year earlier. The results suggest that mobile system latency is a continuous development initiative; in the second pilot in Finland, end user could move 40 mega bytes in 20 minutes with a fixed price of 9.8 € a month; 25 cents per megabyte, if no additional data was moved. By understanding the end user limitations linked to actual use cases, the potential value or end user may become more transparent.
Belowground carbon trade among tall trees in a temperate forest

Carbon trading between adult trees Competition between individual plants for resources is well known, but sharing of resources may also occur. Klein et al. observed tree-to-tree carbon shuttling between roots of tall trees in a mixed temperate forest in Switzerland (see the Perspective by van der Heijden). By applying stable carbon isotope labeling to individual tree canopies, they show that up to 40% of the carbon in the fine roots of one individual may be derived from photosynthetic products of a neighbor. Carbon transfer of this kind, mediated by plant-associated fungi, or mycorrhizae, in the soil, has been reported on a smaller scale in seedlings, but not before in trees. Science, this issue p. 342; see also p. 290 Isotopic analysis shows that up to 40% of carbon in fine roots of temperate forest trees may be derived from neighbors. [Also see Perspective by van der Heijden] Forest trees compete for light and soil resources, but photoassimilates, once produced in the foliage, are not considered to be exchanged between individuals. Applying stable carbon isotope labeling at the canopy scale, we show that carbon assimilated by 40-meter-tall spruce is traded over to neighboring beech, larch, and pine via overlapping root spheres. Isotope mixing signals indicate that the interspecific, bidirectional transfer, assisted by common ectomycorrhiza networks, accounted for 40% of the fine root carbon (about 280 kilograms per hectare per year tree-to-tree transfer). Although competition for resources is commonly considered as the dominant tree-to-tree interaction in forests, trees may interact in more complex ways, including substantial carbon exchange.
Deadbeat controlled PWM inverter with parameter estimation using only voltage sensor

A new control technique based on deadbeat control theory is proposed to obtain a nearly sinusoidal PWM inverter output voltage using only a voltage sensor. The closed loop sampled-data feedback scheme inherently results in very fast response to load disturbance and nonlinear load, producing low total harmonic distortion. Parameter estimation of the plant provides a type of self-tuning of the proposed controller. This paper presents a theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental results for a single phase PWM inverter controlled by an Intel 8086 microprocessor.