Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determining an Effective UV Radiation Exposure Time for Vitamin D Synthesis in the Skin Without Risk to Health: Simplified Estimations from UV Observations

UV radiation contains erythemally weighted UV, as well as UV that synthesizes vitamin D3. Here, we attempted to determine the relationship between these factors by numerical simulation of atmospheric parameters, such as total ozone, using a simplified “SMART2” model for radiative transfer. Both forms of UV were almost linearly correlated with each other for a comparably large UV radiation exposure, larger than UV Index ~1.6. If erythemally weighted UV, which carries a risk of sunburn, is known, the amount of UV exposure needed for vitamin D synthesis in the epidermis can be estimated using this relationship. The production of 10 μg (400 IU) of vitamin D per day takes approximately 1/3 of the time needed to reach the minimal erythemal dose (MED) for an effective skin area of 600 cm2 for skin phototype III. For an area of 1200 cm2, 1/6 of that exposure time suffices. From a UV Index that is commonly used, the risks and benefits can be evaluated using this linear relationship, which will enable people to effectively manage their UV exposure and consider the risks and benefits to optimize health outcomes.
The “agent effect” on business divorce

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the introduction of agents, such as consultants and lawyers, when the continuation of a business relationship is threatened by conflict.Design/methodology/approach – Based on findings in a distorted business relationship in the oil industry, describes an “agent effect” on managerial decisions.Findings – The “agent effect” reduces uncertainty in the decision process by adding information, but also increases the uncertainty. This implies that their advice in fact may increase managerial uncertainty to a level of which the relationship may end up in a business divorce. The study is explorative and based on a single case study design where written communication between the battling parties, public media and court writs are investigated. Primary and secondary data sources are combined.Research limitations/implications – Although the paper's strength lies in it being an in‐depth analysis of a single case, this approach is also a limitation when claiming new knowl.
The difference between Chinese and Western negotiations

Guanxi is the foundation of Chinese business negotiations. The paper explains the meaning of Guanxi and uses it to differentiate between the characteristics of Chinese and Western negotiations in the marketing context. Guanxi is a characteristic of Chinese culture and provides a starting point for understanding the Chinese negotiating style. Western cultures have inherently different characteristics. As culture is so important in the negotiation process, the paper also reviews the five dimensions of culture as outlined by Hofstede (1991) and places these in the Chinese context.
PCRless library mutagenesis via oligonucleotide recombination in yeast

The directed evolution of biomolecules with new functions is largely performed in vitro, with PCR mutagenesis followed by high‐throughput assays for desired activities. As synthetic biology creates impetus for generating biomolecules that function in living cells, new technologies are needed for performing mutagenesis and selection for directed evolution in vivo. Homologous recombination, routinely exploited for targeted gene alteration, is an attractive tool for in vivo library mutagenesis, yet surprisingly is not routinely used for this purpose. Here, we report the design and characterization of a yeast‐based system for library mutagenesis of protein loops via oligonucleotide recombination. In this system, a linear vector is co‐transformed with single‐stranded mutagenic oligonucleotides. Using repair of nonsense codons engineered in three different active‐site loops in the selectable marker TRP1 as a model system, we first optimized the recombination efficiency. Single‐loop recombination was highly efficient, averaging 5%, or 4.0 × 105 recombinants. Multiple loops could be simultaneously mutagenized, although the efficiencies dropped to 0.2%, or 6.0 × 103 recombinants, for two loops and 0.01% efficiency, or 1.5 × 102 recombinants, for three loops. Finally, the utility of this system for directed evolution was tested explicitly by selecting functional variants from a mock library of 1:106 wild‐type:nonsense codons. Sequencing showed that oligonucleotide recombination readily covered this large library, mutating not only the target codon but also encoded silent mutations on either side of the library cassette. Together these results establish oligonucleotide recombination as a simple and powerful library mutagenesis technique and advance efforts to engineer the cell for fully in vivo directed evolution.
Company's internal characteristics, environmental uncertainty, the use of accounting information, and the performance of SMEs

Accounting information allows management to implement strategies and operational activities which are necessary to achieve the objectives of the organization as a whole, including on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Many SMEs have difficulty in understanding the accounting information well, whereas the accounting information plays an important role in creating the flow of financial information to support survival or going concern of the SMEs. This study has two objectives. First, to determine the effect of knowledge of accounting, business scale, business experience, and types of businesses on the use of accounting information with the environmental uncertainty as a moderating variable on SMEs in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, second, to determine the effect of the use of accounting information on the performance of SMEs. The result shows that knowledge of accounting, business scale, and business experience affect the use of accounting information. However, the variable of type of business does not affect the use of accounting information. The result of hierarchical regression analysis shows that the variable of environmental uncertainty strengthens the efffect of the variables of knowledge of accounting, business experience, and type of business on the use of accounting information. However, the environmental uncertainty does not strengthen the effect of business scale on the use of accounting information. The test result also shows that the use of accounting information can improve the performance of SMEs.
Thromboembolic Prophylaxis for Total Knee Arthroplasty in Asian Patients: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Purpose. To compare the efficacy and safety of different modes of thromboembolic prophylaxis for elective total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Asian patients. Methods. 440 low-risk patients undergoing TKA were randomised into 4 equal groups: (1) no prophylaxis (control), (2) graduated compression stockings (GCS), (3) intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC), and (4) low-molecular-weight heparin (enoxaparin). Duplex ultrasonography was used as an assessment tool. Results. The deep vein thrombosis point prevalence was highest in the control group (22%), which was significantly higher than in patients receiving IPC (8%, p=0.032) or enoxaparin (6%, p=0.001). One patient each in the control and GCS groups developed a non-fatal pulmonary embolism. Patients on enoxaparin received more blood transfusions and 2 of them had major bleeding complications. Conclusion. IPC is the preferred method of thromboprophylaxis for TKA in Asian patients.
Three‐year clinical prospective follow‐up of extrasinus zygomatic implants for the rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla

BACKGROUND Placement of extrasinus zygomatic implants to support implant-supported rehabilitation is still controversial due to the scarcity of data. PURPOSE To evaluate the clinical outcomes of 94 extrasinus zygomatic implants, installed laterally to the maxillary sinus, for rehabilitation of the edentulous atrophic maxillae. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 42 patients (mean age 58 years) with severely atrophic maxillae were treated between November 2010 and July 2011, and followed up until July 2014. A total of 273 implants (94 zygomatic implants and 179 conventional implants) were used. The patients were followed in a standardized clinical and radiographic method. RESULTS During the 3-year study period, 1 zygomatic implant and 4 conventional implants failed, resulting in a survival rate of 98.9% and 97.7% respectively. All restorations with titanium-welded bars were installed either 3 days after surgery (immediate loading) or 6 months after surgery (delayed loading), and were successful until the last follow-up appointment, except for minor technical problems. No patient presented any type of sinus adverse event. No other significant occurrences were reported. CONCLUSION This 3-year clinical follow-up study indicates that extrasinus zygomatic implants represent predictable treatment option atrophic maxillae. Further longitudinal prospective clinical studies are necessary to confirm these results.
What Do We Know about Bank Capital Structure? Evidence from International Data

We examine the determinants of bank capital structure using a sample of 569 large and publicly traded banks in 26 developed and emerging countries over the period 2004-2013. We use simultaneously two notions of capital ratio (risk- and non-risk based capital ratio) to provide a more comprehensive analysis of banks’ capital decisions. Our study shows two important evidences. First, we find that banks determine their capital structure in much the same way as non-financial firms, mainly using the risk-insensitive leverage ratio (equity over assets ratio). The evidence also shows size and profitability are the two most reliable factors determining banks’ capital structure. Second, we observe the impacts of country-level characteristics on bank’s financing choices through three sets: institutional characteristics, banking industry and macroeconomic characteristics. Unlike other studies, we demonstrate that besides the direct effects of country-specific factors, there are also indirect impacts as these country-level factors affect the way in which bank-level determinants influence bank capital decisions. Our results have potential policy implications for the on-going regulatory reform. The evidence suggests the recent implementation of non-risk based leverage ratio (pillar I of Basel III) is supportive. However, since bank financing decisions is not homogeneous across countries, national regulatory should adapt the Basel agreement so that these rule become more consistent with its characteristic.
Wealth Effect of Mergers & Acquisitions in an Emerging Market: A Case Study of Pakistan’s Banking Sector

This study investigates the short term market response associated with the announcement of seven mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the banking sector of Pakistan during the period 2003 to 2008 using the event study methodology. We categorize the sample M&A deals as (1) Acquisition of Pakistani banks by the foreign investors, (2) Merger of Pakistani banks with the other domestic banks and (3) Merger of Pakistani banks with the foreign banks operating in Pakistan. The results indicate statistically significant investor reactions around the merger announcements. For individual target and bidder banks, the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) range from significant positive to significant negative. The combined mean CARs for the target banks group and bidder group are both positive and statistically significant. The mean CAR for the combined banks in the domestic mergers is also positive but is largely impacted by the substantial positive CAR of one bidder bank.
The transmission of tuberculosis in the light of new molecular biological approaches

This review briefly summarises the recent achievements in tuberculosis epidemiology associated with the introduction of molecular methods, and considers the implications of these methods for the understanding of occupational tuberculosis transmission. Special attention is paid to the relative contribution of recently transmitted tuberculosis; risk factors for recent transmission; and the occurrence and frequency of exogenous reinfection. There is a need for occupational epidemiological studies, which should combine the methods of “classical” epidemiology with those of molecular epidemiology.
Close Encounter with the Hard Discounter: A Multiple-Store Shopping Perspective on the Impact of Local Hard-Discounter Entry

“Hard discounters” (HDs) have become a considerable force in grocery retailing. With rock-bottom prices and minimal assortments, they differ greatly from “large discounters” such as Wal-Mart, constituting complements to, rather than substitutes for, more traditional supermarkets. Therefore, the authors propose that HD impact of entry on local incumbents is different as well. Using a store choice and spending model that explicitly accounts for interstore synergies and multiple-store shopping behavior, the authors study consumer responses to 194 HD openings. Although they find that HDs, like large discounters, especially appeal to private label–prone shoppers and lead to sizable incumbent losses, the results confirm that the nature of these losses is different. First, HDs do not cause incumbent chains to lose their best customers; instead, shoppers who have already visited other chains alongside the incumbent are lost. Second, the authors find that chains located in close proximity to new HDs do not suffer more from their entry. Third, losses are lower for upscale chains and incumbents that strongly complement the HD. The authors conclude by discussing implications for proper response to HD entry.
Website Quality Factors from Jordanian Universities Students' Viewpoint

This study aimed at identifying the quality factors perceived by Jordanian universities’ students to be most important in relation to the use of websites. The questionnaire designed was based on the WEBQUAL instrument that identifies twelve quality dimensions (informational fit-to-task; interaction; trust; response time; design appeal; intuitiveness; visual appeal, innovativeness, flow-emotional appeal; integrated communication; business processes and viable substitute). Ten items that have been identified as the most important from Jordanian universities students’ viewpoint in relation to the quality of websites: Fit-to-task, Interaction, Trust, Response Time, Intuitiveness, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, Emotional Appeal, Integrated Communication and Business Processes. Based on the study findings, some recommendations were presented related to website quality factors, which may help Jordanian companies to develop their websites to satisfy customers' needs and wants.
Testing of Market Efficiency in International Metal Market

ABSTRACT As the price of mineral resources has rapidly increased since 2000, many countries have invested in the development of oversea resources to nationalize the resources. Korea also makes efforts for the development of overseas resources since 2001. However the mineral prices have high variability according to the international demand while the evaluation of economic feasibility on the deposits may differ according to the fluctuation of mineral prices. This paper investigated the efficiency of three primary metals markets using cointegration tests. The spot prices of copper, aluminum and zinc over the period January 1985 to December 2008 have served as the basis of the analysis. As a result of testing the efficiency using cointegration model, Aluminum and zinc have been inferred as inefficient markets while copper are efficient on the other hand.
Collaborative Practice in the Management of Neuroendocrine Tumors

Management of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) requires a multidisciplinary approach, as many modalities are useful in this malignancy. Somatostatin receptor analogues (SSAs) are a mainstay of treatment, both for ameliorating symptoms and slowing disease progression, but novel approaches are emerging. At 2015 JADPRO Live, Jennifer A. Chan, MD, MPH, and Robin Sommers, DNP, ANP-BC, AOCNP, both of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, brought attendees up to date on management strategies for NETs. NETs arise from cells in the diffuse neuroendocrine system throughout the body. Traditionally, NETs have been divided into pancreatic NETs and NETs originating in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, lungs, and other nonpancreatic sites, previously referred to as “carcinoid” tumors.
Information Asymmetry and Trust: A Framework for Studying Microfinance in India

In recent times, microfinance has emerged as a major innovation in the rural financial marketplace. Microfinance largely addresses the issue of access to financial services. In trying to understand the innovation of microfinance and how it has proved to be effective, the author looks at certain design features of microfinance. He first starts by identifying the need for financial service institutions which is basically to bridge the gap between the need for financial services across time, geographies, and risk profiles. In providing services that bridge this gap, formal institutions have limited access to authentic information both in terms of transaction history and expected behaviour and, therefore, resort to seeking excessive information thereby adding to the transaction costs. The innovation in microfinance has been largely to bridge this gap through a series of trustbased surrogates that take the transaction-related risks to the people who have the information — the community through measures of social collateral. In this paper, the author attempts to examine the trajectory of institutional intermediation in the rural areas, particularly with the poor and how it has evolved over a period of time. It identifies a systematic breach of trust as one of the major problems with the institutional interventions in the area of providing financial services to the poor and argues that microfinance uses trust as an effective mechanism to address one of the issues of imperfect information in financial transactions. The paper also distinguishes between the different models of microfinance and identifies which of these models use trust in a positivist frame and as a coercive mechanism. The specific objectives of the paper are to: Superimpose the role of trust in various types of exchanges and see how it impacts the effectiveness of repeated transactions. While greater access to information fosters trust and thus helps social networks to reduce transaction costs, there could be limits to which exchanges could solely depend on networks and trust. Look at the frontiers where mutual trust cannot work as a surrogate for lower appraisal costs. Use an example in the Canadian context and see how an entity that started on the basis of social networks and trust had to morph into using the techniques used by other formal nonneighbourhood institutions as it grew in size and went beyond a threshold. Using the Canadian example, the author argues that as the transactions get sophisticated, it is possible to achieve what informal networks have achieved through the creative use of information technology. While we find that the role of trust both in the positivist and the coercive frame does provide some interesting insights into how exchanges with the poor could be managed, there still could be breaches in the assumptions. This paper identifies the conditions under which the breaches could possibly happen and also speculates on the effect of such breaches.
Cytoplasmic long noncoding RNAs are frequently bound to and degraded at ribosomes in human cells

Recent footprinting studies have made the surprising observation that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) physically interact with ribosomes. However, these findings remain controversial, and the overall proportion of cytoplasmic lncRNAs involved is unknown. Here we make a global, absolute estimate of the cytoplasmic and ribosome-associated population of stringently filtered lncRNAs in a human cell line using polysome profiling coupled to spike-in normalized microarray analysis. Fifty-four percent of expressed lncRNAs are detected in the cytoplasm. The majority of these (70%) have >50% of their cytoplasmic copies associated with polysomal fractions. These interactions are lost upon disruption of ribosomes by puromycin. Polysomal lncRNAs are distinguished by a number of 5' mRNA-like features, including capping and 5'UTR length. On the other hand, nonpolysomal "free cytoplasmic" lncRNAs have more conserved promoters and a wider range of expression across cell types. Exons of polysomal lncRNAs are depleted of endogenous retroviral insertions, suggesting a role for repetitive elements in lncRNA localization. Finally, we show that blocking of ribosomal elongation results in stabilization of many associated lncRNAs. Together these findings suggest that the ribosome is the default destination for the majority of cytoplasmic long noncoding RNAs and may play a role in their degradation.
Axial Resolution and Robustness Improvement in Coded Excitation Ultrasound Images Using Fractional Fourier Transform

As the kernels of fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) are in theform of chirp signals, this transform would be useful forprocessing and describing linear chirps. In this paper FrFT isused as an alternative for pulse compression of received echosignals in coded excitation ultrasound imaging. Using field ${\rmI}{\rm I}$ program, axial resolution of match filter and FrFT, astwo methods of pulse compression, are compared. Simulation resultsshow that applying FrFT with synthetic transmit aperture lead toabout 15dB improvement in discrimination ability of two closereflectors for various depth and central frequency of excitationsignals. It is worthwhile noting that, in addition to thisimprovement, no computational complexity imposed for pulsecompression. Using Wigner-Ville distribution, it is shown that theproposed method is more robust than match filter against thefrequency dependent attenuation in medium.
Anti-inflammatory Effects of the Chinese Herbal Formula FAHF-2 in Experimental and Human IBD

Background:Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease with increasing incidence in children. Current medications have potentially serious side effects, hence increasing interest in alternative therapies. We previously developed an herbal formula, FAHF-2, based on a classical traditional Chinese herbal formula Wu Mei Wan that has long been used in China to treat colitis. We investigated FAHF-2's potential anti-inflammatory effects. Methods:FAHF-2 efficacy was tested in vivo in the CD45RbhiRAG1−/− transfer colitis model. Weight loss, colonic histology, and cytokine production from mesenteric lymph nodes were assessed. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and colonic biopsies were obtained from children newly diagnosed with CD and controls and cultured with or without FAHF-2. Cytokine levels were measured by multiplex immunoassay. The effect of FAHF-2 on TNF-&agr;–producing cells was determined by flow cytometry. NF-&kgr;B signaling was investigated in human lamina propria mononuclear cells upon FAHF-2 treatment by In-Cell Western. Results:FAHF-2–treated mice had decreased weight loss, improved histology, and reduced TNF-&agr;, IL-17, IL-6, and IFN-&ggr; production. In vitro treated PBMCs produced less TNF-&agr;, IFN-&ggr;, and IL-12. FAHF-2 reduced the TNF-&agr;–producing monocytes and T cells. Inflamed CD biopsies produced less TNF-&agr;, IL-17, IL-6, and IL-1&bgr;. These effects are because of decreased NF-&kgr;B activation. Conclusions:FAHF-2 inhibited both adaptive and innate immune proinflammatory cytokine responses in PBMCs and inflamed CD mucosa due in part to blockage of NF-&kgr;B activation. FAHF-2 was effective in halting progression of colitis in a murine model. This study shows that FAHF-2 has potential as a novel treatment of CD.