Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival of the Fittest: Online Accountability in Complex Organizational Populations

Online accountability is increasingly becoming a critical issue in contemporary debates over creating more open and transparent organizations. Broadly defined, online accountability refers to the extent that an organization discloses financial and performance data on the organization’s Website, and the level of stakeholder interaction supported by the organization’s Website. Online accountability is positively correlated with outcome metrics such as organizational success, increased charitable contributions, and enhanced public trust. However, our understanding of the determinants of online accountability is limited. Informed by organizational ecology theory, this research-in-progress seeks to enhance our understanding of this key issue by developing and testing a model of the determinants of online accountability. Our preliminary analysis of secondary data on a regional population of 653 organizations in the Northeast United States revealed that only 12.09% of the organizations have implemented online accountability. We argue that organizations that fail to implement online accountability measures can negatively impact their chances of survival in complex and uncertain environments.
Rank constrained stabilization of complex networks

In this paper global stabilization of a complex network is attained by applying local decentralized output feedback control to a minimum number of nodes of the network. The stabilization of the network is treated as a rank constrained problem. Necessary conditions for stabilization of a complex network is derived as a convex LMI representation. Strict positive realness conditions on the node level dynamics allow nonlinearities/uncertainties which satisfy sector conditions to be considered. A randomly generated academic example with 20 nodes is used to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach.
A Sybil-Resistant Admission Control Coupling SybilGuard with Distributed Certification

Structured P2P networks are vulnerable to the sybil attack. In this attack, a misbehaving person creates many node identifiers and possibly chooses some of them in order to disrupt availability or integrity in the P2P network. In this paper, we propose a sybil-resistant distributed admission control system which combines SybilGuard with distributed certification. A new node can join the network if, using SybilGuard, a fixed ratio of the nodes think this new node is genuine and so participate in its distributed certification. This fully distributed system tackles each described aspect of the sybil attack, preventing users from creating many identifiers and enforcing the use of truly random identifiers.
UNDISCLOSED AND UNSUSTAINABLE: PROBLEMS OF THE UK NATIONAL BUSINESS MODEL 1

This paper presents new arguments and evidence about public and private employment creation in the UK. Our measures of public sector employment count state employees and estimate para-state employees whose private employment is state supported. On this basis, state and para-state since 1998 account for more than half the job creation nationally and for much more in the ex-industrial regions. Our argument is that the UK has an undisclosed business model of using publicly supported employment to cover the continuing failure of the private sector to generate and distribute welfare through
ATPase genes of diverse multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates frequently harbour integrated DNA.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to determine whether ATPase genes of genetically diverse Acinetobacter baumannii isolates are disrupted by potential genomic islands. METHODS Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR, sequence grouping and PFGE were used to investigate the genetic diversity of 50 A. baumannii isolated from various clinical specimens. PCR analysis was then used to identify isolates with a potentially disrupted ATPase gene. Representative genetically distinct isolates were further characterized by PCR mapping and chromosome walking to analyse the flanking regions of the disrupted ATPase genes. RESULTS Forty-one of the 50 isolates tested appeared to contain a disrupted ATPase gene. Sequence group and PFGE data for 10 ATPase PCR-negative representative isolates confirmed substantial genetic diversity. Seven isolates contained elements with ends showing high levels of sequence similarity to one or both extremities of AbaR1, the first resistance island described in A. baumannii. A further isolate, A25, possessed a highly conserved AbaR1-like 3'-end, but a divergent, though related, 5'-terminus that exhibited near identity with a distinct locus in A. baumannii ATCC 17978. A ninth isolate (A92) possessed a completely novel sequence abutting on its 5'-ATPase remnant. Three isolates appeared to lack 3'-ATPase gene segments, as was the case with the recently sequenced strain ACICU. Thus, 8 of the 10 ATPase-negative isolates investigated in detail had ATPase genes disrupted with AbaR1-like flanking regions. CONCLUSIONS ATPase genes of diverse A. baumannii isolates are frequently disrupted by insertions matching AbaR1-related flanking sequences. However, the ATPase gene of isolate A92 was disrupted by a DNA sequence distinct from those found in AbaR1.
A multiple summation approach to stability of time-delay systems with interval-like delays

This paper investigates the problem of delay-dependent stability analysis for discrete-time systems with interval-like time delays. A multiple summation inequality is first proposed. Based on the summation inequality, a novel Lyapunov functional including the multiple summation terms is constructed to obtain an improved delay-dependent stability criterion, which is a sufficient condition in terms of a linear matrix inequality (LMI). A numerical example is given to illustrate the less conservatism of the proposed method.
Title Modulation of radial blood flow during Braille character discriminationtask

Purpose: Human hands are excellent in performing sensory and motor function. We hypothesized that blood flow of the hand are dynamically regulated by sympathetic outflow during concentrated finger perception. To identify this hypothesis, we measured radial blood flow (RBF), radial vascular conductance (RVC), heart rate (HR), and arterial blood pressure (AP) during Braille reading performed under the blind condition in nine healthy subjects. The subjects were instructed to read a flat plate with raised letters (Braille reading) for 30 s by the forefinger, and to touch a blank plate as control for the Braille discrimination procedure. Results: HR and AP slightly increased during Braille reading but remained unchanged during the touching of the blank plate. RBF and RVC were reduced during the Braille character discrimination task (decreased by -46% and -49%, respectively). Furthermore, the changes in RBF and RVC were much greater during the Braille character discrimination task than during the touching of the blank plate (decreased by -20% and -20%, respectively). Conclusions: These results suggested that the distribution of blood flow to the hand is modulated via sympathetic nerve activity during concentrated finger perception.
Did Blue Cross and Blue Shield Suffer from Adverse Selection? Evidence from the 1950s

This paper uses a unique data set from 1957 to examine whether or not Blue Cross and Blue Shield suffered from an adverse selection death spiral after for-profit commercial insurance companies entered the market for health insurance. Results suggest that moving to experience rating may have helped the Blues counteract adverse selection in the group health insurance market. Adverse selection posed a greater problem for the Blues in the market for individual health insurance, possibly because of differences in the way the Blues screened potential enrollees relative to commercial insurance companies.
Accelerating cine phase‐contrast flow measurements using k‐t BLAST and k‐t SENSE

Conventional phase‐contrast velocity mapping in the ascending aorta was combined with k‐t BLAST and k‐t SENSE. Up to 5.3‐fold net acceleration was achieved, enabling single breath‐hold acquisitions. A standard phase‐contrast (PC) sequence with interleaved acquisition of the velocity‐encoded segments was modified to collect data in 2 stages, a high‐resolution undersampled and a low‐resolution fully sampled training stage. In addition, a modification of the k‐t reconstruction strategy was tested. This strategy, denoted as “plug‐in,” incorporates data acquired in the training stage into the final reconstruction for improved data consistency, similar to conventional keyhole. “k‐t SENSE plug‐in” was found to provide best image quality and most accurate flow quantification. For this strategy, at least 10 training profiles are required to yield accurate stroke volumes (relative deviation <5%) and good image quality. In vivo 2D cine velocity mapping was performed in 6 healthy volunteers with 30–32 cardiac phases (spatial resolution 1.3 × 1.3 × 8–10 mm3, temporal resolution of 18–38 ms), yielding relative stroke volumes of 106 ± 18% (mean ± 2*SD) and 112 ± 15% for 3.8× and 5.3× net accelerations, respectively. In summary, k‐t BLAST and k‐t SENSE are promising approaches that permit significant scan‐time reduction in PC velocity mapping, thus making high‐resolution breath‐held flow quantification possible. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Response of children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with and without cranial irradiation: a report from the Children's Cancer Group.

PURPOSE Intensified intrathecal (i.t.) chemotherapy without cranial radiation therapy (CRT) prevents CNS relapse in children with low-risk and intermediate-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In the current study, high-risk ALL patients who achieved a rapid early response (RER) to induction chemotherapy were randomized to receive intensive systemic chemotherapy and presymptomatic CNS therapy that consisted of either i.t. methotrexate (MTX) and CRT or intensified i.t. MTX alone. PATIENTS AND METHODS Children (n = 636) with high-risk ALL (aged 1 to 9 years and WBC count > or = 50,000/microL or age > or = 10 years, excluding those with lymphomatous features) who achieved an RER (< or = 25% marrow blasts on day 7) to induction therapy and lacked CNS disease at diagnosis were randomized to receive systemic therapy with either i.t. MTX and CRT (regimen A, n = 317) or intensified i.t. MTX alone (regimen B, n = 319). RESULTS Interim analysis in July 1993 revealed 3-year event-free survival (EFS) estimates of 82.1% +/- 4.0% (SD)and 70.4% +/- 4.2% for patients treated on regimens A and B, respectively (P = .004). As of January 1996, outcome had changed: 5-year EFS estimates were 69.1% +/- 3.4% and 75.0% +/- 2.7% for regimens A and B, respectively (P = 0.50). Marrow relapses comprised 57 events on regimen A and 43 events on regimen B. Fewer late events occurred on regimen B. CONCLUSION For high-risk pediatric ALL patients who show an RER to induction therapy and are treated with systemic Children's Cancer Group (CCG)-modified Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM) chemotherapy, presymptomatic CNS therapy that consists of either i.t. MTX plus CRT or intensified i.t. MTX alone results in a similar 5-year EFS outcome. Furthermore, intensified i.t. MTX may protect against late bone marrow relapse.
Exploring the Effect of HR service delivery quality on serviceclimate perception.

In the HRM literature, HRM implementation is defined as the delivery of HR practices (Boselie, Dietz and Boon, 2005). Next to HR practices, HRM implementation is regarded as influential concerning the attitudes and behavior of employees (Haggerty and Wright, 2009). It is expected that the level of quality of HRM implementation serves as a signal, which is interpreted by employees, on how to behave in a desired way. However, research under this topic is scarce. Therefore, this study takes a look at HRM implementation from a service management point of view, as it is suggested in previous studies, to research the quality of HRM implementation (eg Gilbert, Winne and Sels, 2011). Based on the service management literature, HRM implementation can be defined as HR service delivery quality. To test the signaling function of HR service delivery quality, the relationship between HR service delivery quality of different HR service delivery channels and the service climate is researched. The findings confirm a positive influence of HR shared service center's HR delivery service quality and line manager's HR delivery service quality on service climate. HRM implementation quality thus has a signaling function, which signals the importance of service related attitudes and behavior to employees. Thereby, previous expectations of HRM implementation influence are confirmed. Consequently, this research should lead to a new way of thinking in future HRM research, because besides HR practices, HRM implementation seems to play an important role in influencing desired attitudes and behavior of employees.
Improving energy efficiency in buildings

About one-third of global energy is consumed in residential, public, and commercial buildings (collectively referred to as buildings), where it is used for space heating, cooling, ventilating, lighting, cooking, water heating, refrigerating, and operating electric and mechanical devices. Global energy use in buildings is expected to grow as cities in developing countries continue to modernize and per capita income levels continue to increase. Because of their high energy consumption, residential, public, and commercial buildings also offer unparalleled opportunities for energy savings. According to the International Energy Agency, buildings account for some 41 percent of global energy savings potential by 2035, compared with the industrial sector (24 percent) and the transport sector (21 percent). This guidance note outlines how cities can tap into a wide array of proven technologies, policies, and financing mechanisms to improve energy efficiency and capture cost-effective energy savings in buildings. It offers city leaders advice on how to get started in introducing energy efficiency measures, and provides lessons and examples from successful programs that have been introduced worldwide.
Zero-effort projection for sensory data reconstruction in wireless sensor networks

Compressive sensing is a promising technique for data gathering in large-scale wireless sensor networks. Existing compressive sensing–based data gathering techniques still follow sampling than compression paradigm. In this article, we proposed a random sampling zero-encoding data gathering scheme for wireless sensor networks, which exploits virtual Gaussian energy diffusion model to obtain sampling and compression data gathering. Our proposed data gathering model not only can make simultaneous sampling and compression but also do not need to assign projection matrix to each sensor node. Our scheme can efficiently resolve two types of sensor networks’ data gathering problems: recover missing sensory data and extend monitoring field using incomplete random sampling. Extensive experimental results show that our proposed random sampling zero-encoding data gathering model has good performance for reconstructing the sensory data in wireless sensor networks.
Generating test cases for GUI responsibilities using complete interaction sequences

Testing graphical user interfaces (GUI) is a difficult problem due to the fact that the GUI possesses a large number of states to be tested, the input space is extremely large due to different permutations of inputs and events which affect the GUI, and complex GUI dependencies which may exist. There has been little systematic study of this problem yielding a resulting strategy which is effective and scalable. The proposed method concentrates upon user sequences of GUI objects and selections which collaborate, called complete interaction sequences (CIS), that produce a desired response for the user. A systematic method to test these CIS utilizes a finite-state model to generate tests. The required tests can be substantially reduced by identifying components of the CIS that can be tested separately. Since consideration is given to defects totally within each CIS, and the components reduce required testing further, this approach is scalable. An empirical investigation of this method shows that substantial reduction in tests can still detect the defects in the GUI. Future research will prioritize testing related to the CIS testing for maximum benefit if testing time is limited.
On Greedy Bases Packing in Matroids

Let S be a finite set and M= (S, B) be a matroid where B is the set of its bases. We say that a basis B is greedy in M or the pair (M, B) is greedy if, for every sum of bases vector w, the coefficient:? (B, w) =max{? 0 : w? Bisagainasumofbasesvector }, where B and its characteristic vector will not be distinguished, is integer. We define a notion of minors for (M, B) pairs and we give a characterization of greedy pairs by excluded minors. This characterization gives a large class of matroids for which an integer Caratheodory? s theorem is true.
Tumour angiogenesis in prostatic carcinoma with and without bone marrow metastasis: A morphometric study

One hundred and one cases of clinical prostatic carcinoma (PCa), primary site, were analysed to define the inter‐relationship between tumour angiogenesis, histological grade, and bone marrow metastasis. Tumour angiogenesis was determined by the blood capillary density ratio (BCDR; a/b), defined as the ratio between the area of the blood capillaries (a) and the area of the tumour (b). The BCDR was evaluated by a colour image analysis system employing a computerized morphometrical method. A total of 43 cases of PCa with bone marrow metastasis (stage D2) and 58 cases of PCa without metastasis (stage B, C) were utilized. The prostatic carcinomas were classified into three groups (low, intermediate, and high) using Gleason's grading system. 1The BCDR of the primary PCa with bone marrow metastasis was similar in each of the three histologically graded scores. On the other hand, in the cases of PCa without metastasis, the BCDR of high score PCa was higher than those of the low and intermediate score PCa (U‐test; P<0·001). The BCDR of the high score PCa without metastasis was similar to that of the PCa with bone marrow metastasis. The BCDR may provide help in predicting tumour progression with regard to bone marrow metastasis of PCa with low and intermediate Gleason's scores.
Empirical analysis of moral hazard: a study of a vehicle insurance tax reform

This paper uses discrete choice and count data models to analyze the effects of a tax on vehicle insurance levied in Sweden in 2007. The analysis is based on a large set of micro-level panel data on individual insurance holders at the largest insurance company in Sweden for the period 2006-2010. Two questions are addressed: How did the tax reform influence the choice of insurance coverage, and how did changes in coverage affect the incidence of claims? The results show that, on average, the tax reform increased the odds of choosing lower insurance coverage by 47 percent, and that the tax reform had more impact on older drivers. However, switching to lower coverage due to the tax reform has not resulted in significant changes in claim distributions, though the incidence of claims decreased by 20 percent for switchers aged 35-44 in the pre-reform period, indicating a mitigation of ex ante moral hazard in vehicle insurance.
Mott insulators and the doping-induced Mott transition within DMFT: exact results for the one-band Hubbard model

The paramagnetic phase of the one-band Hubbard model is studied at zero-temperature, within the framework of dynamical mean-field theory, and for general particle-hole asymmetry where a doping-induced Mott transition occurs. Our primary focus is the Mott insulator (MI) phase, and our main aim to establish what can be shown exactly about it. To handle the locally doubly-degenerate MI requires two distinct self-energies, which reflect the broken symmetry nature of the phase and together determine the standard single self-energy. Exact results are obtained for the local charge, local magnetic moment and associated spin susceptibilities, the interaction-renormalised levels, and the low-energy behaviour of the self-energy in the MI phase. The metallic phase is also considered briefly, and shown to acquire an emergent particle-hole symmetry as the Mott transition is approached. Throughout the metal, Luttinger’s theorem is reflected in the vanishing of the Luttinger integral; for the generic MI by contrast this is shown to be non-vanishing, but again to have a universal magnitude. Numerical results are also obtained using NRG, for the metal/MI phase boundary, the scaling behaviour of the charge as the Mott transition is aproached from the metal, and associated universal scaling of single-particle dynamics as the low-energy Kondo scale vanishes.
2.2-W continuous-wave diffraction-limited monolithically integrated master oscillator power amplifier at 854 nm

A monolithically integrated master oscillator power amplifier (M-MOPA) with a flared power amplifier region operating at 854 nm has been fabricated that radiates in a single diffraction-limited lobe to an output power of 2.2-W continuous wave (CW). Additionally, the far field is extinguished by 26 dB with the master oscillator turned off enabling applications requiring digital modulation.
The Truth About Private Equity Performance

The article reports that calculating the performance of private equity funds with a modified internal rate of return (M-IRR) results in a more accurate performance yield or true return. The problem with the internal rate of return (IRR) method is that IRR overstates the fund's performance and misrepresents its relative ranking, which misleads investors about the reinvestment of cash proceeds and makes it difficult to compare fund managers. An example is given showing how M-IRR better represents the rate of return for private equity funds.
Managing Meat Safety at South African Abattoirs

The importance of ensuring safe meat handling and processing practices has been demonstrated in global reports on food safety scares and related illness and deaths. This necessitated stricter meat safety control strategies. Today, many countries have regulated towards preventative and systematic control over safe meat processing at abattoirs utilizing the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. HACCP systems have been reported as effective in managing food safety risks, if correctly implemented. South Africa has regulated the Hygiene Management System (HMS) based on HACCP principles applicable to abattoirs. Regulators utilise the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) to audit compliance at abattoirs. These systems were benchmarked from the United Kingdom (UK). Little research has been done them since inception as of 2004. This paper presents a review of the two systems, its implementation and comparison with HACCP. Recommendations are made for future research to demonstrate the utility of the HMS and HAS in assuring safe meat to consumers. Keywords—Abattoir, co-regulation, food safety, HACCP, meat hygiene.