Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selling China: Foreign Direct Investment During the Reform Era

List of tables and figures List of abbreviations Synopsis of the book Preface 1. Introduction 2. An analytical framework 3. Problems in China's corporate sector 4. Constraints on nonstate firms and foreign direct investment 5. State-owned enterprises and insolvency-induced foreign direct investment 6. Economic fragmentation and foreign direct investment 7. Conclusion Bibliography Index.
Deletion analysis identifies key functional domains of the cytadherence‐associated protein HMW2 of Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae attachment to host cells requires biogenesis of a functional attachment organelle, including proper localization of the adhesion protein P1 to this structure. Mutations in the hmw2 gene result in the inability to cytadhere, failure to localize P1 to the attachment organelle, altered cell morphology and accelerated turnover of the cytadherence‐associated proteins HMW1, HMW3 and P65. The hmw2 gene encodes HMW2 (190 kDa) and P28 (28 kDa), the latter apparently the product of internal translation initiation near the 3′ end of the hmw2 coding region. Transformation of hmw2 mutant I‐2 with recombinant wild‐type hmw2 restores a wild‐type phenotype. In the current study, a severely truncated hmw2 gene with an in frame internal deletion of 80% of the HMW2 coding region that leaves the P28‐encoding region intact restored cytadherence to mutant I‐2. Transformants produced the expected 38 kDa HMW2 derivative (HMW2Δmid) at levels comparable to that of HMW2 in wild‐type cells; like HMW2, HMW2Δmid exhibited marked Triton X‐100 insolubility. HMW3, P65 and P28 were fully restored, but not HMW1. These transformants were morphologically similar to wild‐type M. pneumoniae but failed to localize P1 to the attachment organelle. Finally, a C‐terminally truncated HMW2 derivative was partly Triton X‐100 soluble and incapable of restoring HMW1, HMW3 and P65 to wild‐type levels. These data are consistent with a model in which the C‐terminal domain of HMW2 imparts normal localization to the protein, and this localization itself is required for productive interactions with downstream cytadherence‐associated proteins. Furthermore, these results emphasize the association of HMW1 with P1 clustering.
A Novel 8-way radial power combiner

A novel 8-way radial power combiner is developed with wide bandwidth and low insertion loss. The combiner consists of eight microstrip line peripheral ports and one coaxial output port. A cylindrical cavity is introduced in the combining structure to obtain high combining efficiency and high power handling capability. The simulated 20dB return loss bandwidth is around 1.9GHz from 13.5GHz to 15.4GHz. Mechanical tolerance and graceful degradation are also analyzed.
Psychological Effects of Participation in a Large Group Awareness Training.

Evaluation des effets psychologiques de la participation a des groupes appeles LGAT («large group awareness training») qui proposent a l'individu de resoudre ses problemes personnels mais egalement sa satisfaction personnelle. Malgre les precautions methodologiques prises et le grand nombre de dimensions psychologiques etudiees, la participation a ce type de programmes ne semble produire aucun effet a long terme
Predicting functional impact of single amino acid polymorphisms by integrating sequence and structural features

Single amino acid polymorphisms (SAPs) are the most abundant form of known genetic variations associated with human diseases. It is of great interest to study the sequence-structure-function relationship underlying SAPs. In this work, we collected the human variant data from three databases and divided them into three categories, i.e. cancer somatic mutations (CSM), Mendelian disease-related variant (SVD) and neutral polymorphisms (SVP). We built support vector machine (SVM) classifiers to predict these three classes of SAPs, using the optimal features selected by a random forest algorithm. Consequently, 280 sequence-derived and structural features were initially extracted from the curated datasets from which 18 optimal candidate features were further selected by random forest. Furthermore, we performed a stepwise feature selection to select characteristic sequence and structural features that are important for predicting each SAPs class. As a result, our predictors achieved a prediction accuracy (ACC) of 84.97, 96.93, 86.98 and 88.24%, for the three classes, CSM, SVD and SVP, respectively. Performance comparison with other previously developed tools such as SIFT, SNAP and Polyphen2 indicates that our method provides a favorable performance with higher Sensitivity scores and Matthew's correlation coefficients (MCC). These results indicate that the prediction performance of SAPs classifiers can be effectively improved by feature selection. Moreover, division of SAPs into three respective categories and construction of accurate SVM-based classifiers for each class provides a practically useful way for investigating the difference between Mendelian disease-related variants and cancer somatic mutations.
High Conversion Ratio DC–DC Converters With Reduced Switch Stress

In this paper, a new class of single-switch nonisolated high step-up DC-DC converters with simple topologies is proposed. The proposed topologies utilize a hybrid switched capacitor technique for providing a high voltage gain without extreme switch duty cycle and yet enabling the use of a lower voltage and RDS-ON MOSFET switch so as to reduce cost, switch conduction and turn-on losses. Other advantages of the proposed topologies include: continuous input/output current, simple structure and control. The principle of operation in continuous conduction mode and discontinuous inductor current mode are analyzed. Experimental results obtained on a 45-W prototype are also presented.
Corporate Governance and Institutional Investors: Evidence from Malaysia

In 2001, Malaysia undertook important corporate governance reforms, which saw the integration of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) into Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Listing Rules and the establishment of the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG), which aims to enhance institutional investor activism. Following this development, this study investigates the relationship between corporate governance and institutional ownership in Malaysia. Our panel analysis of 434 firms listed on Bursa Malaysia during 1999â€“2002 finds that institutional ownership is positively and significantly related to corporate governance. However, we find that the relationship becomes less positive after 2001, suggesting that the monitoring effects of institutional ownership and corporate governance arise simultaneously and endogenously.
Long-Term Survival of Pathogenic and Sanitation Indicator Bacteria in Experimental Biowaste Composts

ABSTRACT For economic, agricultural, and environmental reasons, composting is frequently used for organic waste recycling. One approach to limiting the potential risk from bacterial food-borne illnesses is to ensure that soil amendments and organic fertilizers are disinfected. However, more knowledge concerning the microbiological safety of composted substrates other than sludge and manure is necessary. Experimental in-vessel biowaste composts were used to study the survival of seeded Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Enteritidis, and Escherichia coli. Four organic waste mixtures, containing various proportions of paper and cardboard, fruits and vegetables, and green waste, were composted in laboratory reactors with forced aeration. The physicochemical and microbiological parameters were monitored for 12 weeks during composting. The survival of bacteria over a 3-month period at 25°C was assessed with samples collected after different experimental composting times. Strain survival was also monitored in mature sterilized composts. Nonsterile composts did not support pathogen growth, but survival of seeded pathogens was observed. Salmonella serovar Enteritidis survived in all composts, and longer survival (3 months) was observed in mature composts (8 and 12 weeks of composting). Mature biowaste composts may support long-term survival of Salmonella serovar Enteritidis during storage at room temperature. E. coli and L. monocytogenes survival was observed only in 4-week-old composts and never in older composts. Proper composting may prevent long-term survival of E. coli and L. monocytogenes. These results suggest that like composted sewage sludge or manure, domestic waste composts may support pathogen survival. Survival was not related to the physicochemical characteristics of the composts.
Linearized Cauchy Data Inversion Method for Two-Dimensional Buried Target Imaging

We propose a novel inversion algorithm to image buried objects in inhomogeneous media from the electromagnetic data on the outer boundary. Our method is based on exploiting the Cauchy data to derive a new Born-like linearization of the inverse problem. The main advantage of this formulation is to avoid the use of the background Green function and therefore is computationally more efficient. It also provides better accuracy than classical Born approximation. In the case of stratified media, our approach can be coupled with any appropriate continuation method. We discuss here the coupling with a continuation method based on the use of approximate transmission conditions. The feasibility and robustness of our methodology is validated through numerical experiments for single and multiple targets.
GAMIFICATION IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: MOTIVATING FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Effective knowledge management relies on successful knowledge sharing. One of the main barriers for knowledge sharing is the lack of employees’ motivation, whereas gamification is a proven means to induce intrinsic motivation. We consider these two observations as reasons to consider applying gamification in the area of knowledge management with the aim of inducing motivation for knowledge sharing. The paper discusses both the issues of knowledge sharing and the components of gamification, and then describes an implementable solution in a form of a system of gamification rules aimed at motivating employees for various activities related to knowledge sharing
Biosynthesis of bacterial glycogen. XI. Kinetic characterization of an altered adenosine diphosphate-glucose synthase from a "glycogen-excess" mutant of Escherichia coli B.

Abstract Previous studies indicated that allosteric regulation of bacterial glycogen synthesis occurs at the level of ADP-glucose synthase (reviewed by Preiss, J. (1969) in Current Topics in Cellular Regulation (Horecker, B. L., and Stadtman, E. R., eds) Vol. 1, pp. 125–160, Academic Press, New York). The physiological significance of the allosteric effects observed in vitro is demonstrated by kinetic characterization of an altered ADP-glucose synthase from a glycogen-excess mutant of Escherichia coli B. The mutant enzyme is specifically altered in its responses to allosteric effectors, having a higher apparent affinity for activators (fructose-P2, TPNH, and pyridoxal-P) and a lower apparent affinity for inhibitor (AMP) than the wild type enzyme. These changes make the mutant enzyme more active at physiological energy charge values and are sufficient to account for the increased rate of glycogen accumulation in vivo. Previous studies demonstrated that allosteric activators increase the activity of the E. coli B ADP-glucose synthase by increasing its maximum velocity (4- to 8-fold) and increasing its affinity for substrates and metal ion (2- to 15-fold) (Priess, J., ibid). Activators also change the shape of the saturation curve for the substrate glucose 1-phosphate. The curves suggest that glucose-1-P binding sites are negatively cooperative in the absence of activators but noninteracting in their presence. A comparison of the concentrations of activators required to stimulate ADP-glucose synthase with their intracellular concentrations suggests that fructose-P2 is the physiological activator of the enzyme in E. coli.
A Comprehensive Literature on Impacts of Microfinance

Micro Finance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low-income households and, their micro-enterprises. In the development paradigm, Micro-finance has evolved as a need-based policy and program to cater to the neglected groups of society especially women, poor, rural, deprived, etc. The basic idea of micro-finance is that; if poor people are provided access to financial assistance, including credit, they may be able to start or expand a micro-enterprise that will allow them to break out of poverty. Micro-finance has become one of the most effective interventions for economic empowerment of the poor.
Soft-matter capacitors and inductors for hyperelastic strain sensing and stretchable electronics

We introduce a family of soft-matter capacitors and inductors composed of microchannels of liquid-phase gallium–indium–tin alloy (galinstan) embedded in a soft silicone elastomer (Ecoflex® 00-30). In contrast to conventional (rigid) electronics, these circuit elements remain electronically functional even when stretched to several times their natural length. As the surrounding elastomer stretches, the capacitance and inductance of the embedded liquid channels change monotonically. Using a custom-built loading apparatus, we experimentally measure relative changes in capacitance and inductance as a function of stretch in three directions. These experimental relationships are consistent with theoretical predictions that we derive with finite elasticity kinematics.
Verification of carrier noise diffusion technique using a zero-sequence voltage at zero-speed drive

This paper proposes a reducing technique of carrier noise of PWM inverters without increasing the carrier frequency during zero-speed drive of a permanent magnet motor. The feature of the proposed technique is that the frequency component of the carrier noise is diffused by zero-sequence voltage. In particular, the zero-sequence voltage is randomized by the M-sequence signal and added to the voltage references. The proposed technique decides the output range of the zero-sequence voltage by calculating through the relationship of d-axis voltage and q-axis voltage, and adds the random zero-sequence voltage within the above range. Experimental results show the spectra of the carrier noise are diffused when the large zero-sequence voltage is added by using the proposed technique and the period of the M-sequence signal is more than 511. As the result, the carrier noise is reduced by the effect of spectrum whitening.
Influence of epidermal hydration on the friction of human skin against textiles

Friction and shear forces, as well as moisture between the human skin and textiles are critical factors in the formation of skin injuries such as blisters, abrasions and decubitus. This study investigated how epidermal hydration affects the friction between skin and textiles. The friction between the inner forearm and a hospital fabric was measured in the natural skin condition and in different hydration states using a force plate. Eleven males and eleven females rubbed their forearm against the textile on the force plate using defined normal loads and friction movements. Skin hydration and viscoelasticity were assessed by corneometry and the suction chamber method, respectively. In each individual, a highly positive linear correlation was found between skin moisture and friction coefficient (COF). No correlation was observed between moisture and elasticity, as well as between elasticity and friction. Skin viscoelasticity was comparable for women and men. The friction of female skin showed significantly higher moisture sensitivity. COFs increased typically by 43% (women) and 26% (men) when skin hydration varied between very dry and normally moist skin. The COFs between skin and completely wet fabric were more than twofold higher than the values for natural skin rubbed on a dry textile surface. Increasing skin hydration seems to cause gender-specific changes in the mechanical properties and/or surface topography of human skin, leading to skin softening and increased real contact area and adhesion.
LacZ Transgenic Mice and Immunoelectron Microscopy: An Ultrastructural Method for Dual Localization of β-Galactosidase and Horseradish Peroxidase

Transgenic animals bearing the reporter gene, LacZ, encoding the histochemical enzyme, β-galactosidase, are increasingly becoming available. Similarly, antibody conjugates consisting of specific IgGs coupled to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) are widely used for Western blotting, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry. Here we provide a detailed fixation and histochemical protocol for the simultaneous electron microscopic visualization and discrimination of β-galactosidase and peroxidase reaction products within mouse kidney. After incubation of transgenic LacZ tissues with IgG-HRP conjugates, samples were lightly fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.4% glutaraldehyde and processed for peroxidase histochemistry. Tissues underwent β-galactosidase histochemistry, were refixed with glutaraldehyde, osmicated, and embedded. In Flk1/LacZ mice, we immunolocalized anti-laminin β1 chain IgG-HRP specifically to developing glomerular basement membranes, whereas Flk1/LacZ was expressed only by glomerular endothelial cells. In Epas1/LacZ mice, we immunolocalized anti-platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 specifically to glomerular endothelial plasma membranes, whereas Epas1/LacZ was expressed by both glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells. This dual ultrastructural localization technique should be broadly applicable for immunoelectron microscopic studies in LacZ transgenic animals, particularly those where LacZ expression and antibody-HRP binding are both relatively abundant.
Computation of Realizations Composed of Dynamic and Static Parts of Improper Transfer Matrices

Computation of Realizations Composed of Dynamic and Static Parts of Improper Transfer Matrices The problem of computing minimal realizations of a singular system decomposed into a standard dynamical system and a static system of a given improper transfer matrix is formulated and solved. A new notion of the minimal dynamical-static realization is introduced. It is shown that there always exists a minimal dynamical-static realization of a given improper transfer matrix. A procedure for the computation of a minimal dynamical-static realization for a given improper transfer matrix is proposed and illustrated by a numerical example.
Avoiding Oral Burns during Electrocautery Tonsillectomy

Electrocautery tonsillectomy is a common method of tonsil removal, and electrocautery devices are widely available. Although these devices are relatively safe, inadvertent patient injury may occur with their use, such as oral cavity burns. We describe a simple surgical technique that reduces the risk of oral burns during electrocautery tonsillectomy and review additional safety considerations.
RESIDENTIAL LOCATION-SPECIFIC TRAVEL PREFERENCES IN AN INTERVENING OPPORTUNITIES MODEL: TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT FOR URBAN RELEASE AREAS

The urban development of green-field areas requires an assessment against economic, social and environmental sustainability objectives of which vehicle-kilometers of travel (VKT) and journey to work patterns by automobile is one important criterion. Current practice in Australia on travel demand forecasting applies strategic land-use and spatial interaction models calibrated for the whole of the metropolitan area to the proposed urban release area to estimate future VKT, among other travel indicators. This will give misleading results for spatial patterns of traffic in these release areas as demonstrated by previous research. A case study of Canberra, the Australia's national capital, is being investigated to assess whether there is a case or not for a variation to the long-term metropolitan structure policy (linear development structure of the Y-Plan) using both the traditional gravity model and the intervening opportunities model with location-specific preference functions.
Identifying a distinctive competence: forecasting ability in the money fund industry

Testing the causal link between a firm‐specific competence and its antecedents or consequences has become a key objective for strategy research over the past decade. On one hand, case studies can identify a competence, but with their small sample size, their retrospective research design, and their tendency toward sampling on the dependent variable, they can not reliably test the causal connection between a competence and its antecedents or its consequences. On the other hand, variance decomposition studies demonstrate the existence of firm‐specific performance differentials but have not identified which particular competencies are responsible for them. The present paper avoids both of these problems by measuring a particular competence across a large sample of organizations over a long period of time, so that a test of statistical causality can be applied to the relationship of this competence to both its antecedents and its consequences. The particular competence studied is the ability of money market mutual funds to forecast changes in short‐term interest rates—a competence known from prior research to be both valuable and rare. In particular, we test the effect of forecasting ability on the economic surplus generated by the fund and its growth. Conversely, we also test the effect of growth on the subsequent development of forecasting ability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.