Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managerial Reliance on the Retail Shareholder Vote: Evidence from Proxy Delivery Methods

Recent studies document the increasing effectiveness of shareholder voting as a monitoring mechanism. Because both directors and the market respond to shareholder votes, management has stronger incentives to influence voting outcomes. We identify one channel through which management can affect voting outcomes: increasing the turnout of (typically management-friendly) retail shareholders. Our study focuses on an observable managerial choice of how to deliver proxy materials to maximize retail turnout. Management can opt to send a full set of proxy materials to all shareholders, which increases retail turnout but also increases printing and mailing costs, or they can send a notice directing shareholders to proxy materials available online, which reduces costs but also decreases retail turnout. We find that managers are more likely to choose to deliver a full set of proxy materials when there are contentious items on the ballot for which they need additional voting support; and, indeed, the resulting support increases the likelihood that voting outcomes will align with management recommendations.
Energy-efficient resource hyper-visioning in private clouds

Cloud computing provides services on demand and has led to the establishment of large scale Cloud systems. Large scale Cloud systems entail energy concerns, which include drawbacks on the system and the environment. In a private Cloud, in particular, energy efficiency relates to the cost of providing Cloud services. First the impact of energy consumption on a private Cloud is explained. Then energy-efficient resource hyper-visioning policies and mechanisms are proposed and evaluated. Energy consumption by Cloud systems contributes to a substantial level of energy consumption worldwide. High level of energy consumption, on one hand, adds to the cost of running the Cloud system (by adding to the energy bill), and the cost of running cooling devices because of the effect of energy consumption on thermal state. High energy consumption, on the other hand, contributes to carbon dioxide emission worldwide. To address energy concerns in private Clouds, the resource hyper-visioning software, that arbitrates the virtualization of resources in terms of Virtual Machines (VMs), should make energy-efficient decisions. Hyper-visioning decisions include the mapping of VMs to hosts for execution and VM migration if needed. To deploy energy-efficient hyper-visioning, a set of hypotheses are made. These hypotheses relate to the development of adaptive energy-efficient mechanisms for VM mapping and VM migration using macro and micro level observation records to adaptively reduce energy consumption. In this thesis, first an adaptive energy-efficient VM mapping mechanism is developed. The mechanism uses Bayesian Inference (BI) to associate the deployment of a VM mapping policies at a given state of the system and workload properties with VM mapping policy’s total energy consumption, which is a macro level observation record. The proposed BI indicates which VM mapping policy
Toxicokinetics of atrazine in embryos of the zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamine-s-triazine) is a widely used selective herbicide. Due to its persistence, it is present in many surface waters, contaminating nontarget organisms such as fish. Teratogeny of atrazine was examined during the first 48 h of zebrafish development (embryo test) and correlated to effects on the microsomal and soluble glutathione S-transferases (m-/sGST; EC 2.5.1.18). Atrazine at 4 mg/L disturbed the normal development to long pec stage, at concentrations between 10 and 20 mg/L it caused retardations in organogenesis, a slowdown of movements, and functional disturbances of heart and circulatory system. m- and sGST activities were affected by atrazine in all investigated developmental stages. Atrazine elevated the mGST activity dose dependently up to a concentration of 5 mg/L, and the sGST up to 1 mg/L. Higher atrazine concentrations caused a decrease of GST activity, especially of the sGST of the younger stages, 32 cells and 75% epiboly. This might indicate that the detoxication system itself is affected, which then gives rise to morphological abnormalities during fish development. In vitro tests were performed to purify and characterize GST-formed atrazine metabolites by the use of ESI--HPLC--MS. mGST showed higher conversion rates compared to sGST.
Intrinsic network activity in tinnitus investigated using functional MRI

Tinnitus is an increasingly common disorder in which patients experience phantom auditory sensations, usually ringing or buzzing in the ear. Tinnitus pathophysiology has been repeatedly shown to involve both auditory and non‐auditory brain structures, making network‐level studies of tinnitus critical. In this magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, two resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) approaches were used to better understand functional network disturbances in tinnitus. First, we demonstrated tinnitus‐related reductions in RSFC between specific brain regions and resting‐state networks (RSNs), defined by independent components analysis (ICA) and chosen for their overlap with structures known to be affected in tinnitus. Then, we restricted ICA to data from tinnitus patients, and identified one RSN not apparent in control data. This tinnitus RSN included auditory–sensory regions like inferior colliculus and medial Heschl's gyrus, as well as classically non‐auditory regions like the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, striatum, lateral prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortex. Notably, patients' reported tinnitus loudness was positively correlated with RSFC between the mediodorsal nucleus and the tinnitus RSN, indicating that this network may underlie the auditory–sensory experience of tinnitus. These data support the idea that tinnitus involves network dysfunction, and further stress the importance of communication between auditory–sensory and fronto‐striatal circuits in tinnitus pathophysiology. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2717–2735, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Human Cytomegalovirus Differentially Controls B Cell and T Cell Responses through Effects on Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells1

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs), the main producers of type I IFN in response to viral infection, are essential in antiviral immunity. In this study, we assessed the effect of human CMV (HCMV) infection on PDC function and on downstream B and T cell responses in vitro. HCMV infection of human PDCs was nonpermissive, as immediate-early but not late viral Ags were detected. HCMV led to partial maturation of PDCs and up-regulated MHC class II and CD83 molecules but not the costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. Regardless of viral replication, PDCs secreted cytokines after contact with HCMV, including IFN-α secretion that was blocked by inhibitory CpG, suggesting an engagement of the TLR7 and/or TLR9 pathways. In the presence of B cell receptor stimulation, soluble factors produced by HCMV-matured PDCs triggered B cell activation and proliferation. Through PDC stimulation, HCMV prompted B cell activation, but only induced Ab production in the presence of T cells or T cell secreted IL-2. Conversely, HCMV hampered the allostimulatory ability of PDCs, leading to decreased proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which HCMV differentially controls humoral and cell-mediate immune responses through effects on PDCs.
10 MINUTE WESTERN BLOTTING WITH 54-PLEX THROUGHPUT FOR CLINICAL CONFIRMATORY HIV DIAGNOSIS IN HUMAN SERUM

We translate western blotting to a microchip workflow that cuts conventional assay times from 3-18 hours to 10-60 min with up to 5-plex analyte detection and 54-plex channel throughput. An engineered photoactive protein capture matrix with tunable porosity (PACTgel) constitutes 1) a spatially addressable denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separation matrix compatible with mask-based visible light photopatterning and 2) a UV light-toggled protein capture matrix with unprecedented capture efficiency (>75%). We report the first 10 minute western blot consisting of protein sizing and immunoaffinity detection in a single microchannel, and validate a rapid confirmatory HIV diagnostic using human serum. Our capability for rapid confirmatory HIV diagnosis at the point of care has the potential to circumvent the western blotting bottleneck in the current diagnostic pipeline.
Towards passive imaging with CMOS THz cameras

This paper reports on a measurement which shows for the very first time that uncooled non-quasi static detectors with wide bandwidth integrated in a 32 × 32 pixel focal plane array in standard 65 nm bulk CMOS silicon technology are able to detect non-amplified black-body radiation. With its integrated readout electronics, this “THz camera” shows a noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 20.86 K in integration mode.
The Socioeconomic Conditions for Growth and Development of Maori Family Businesses

This study examines the environment for development and growth of Maori family firms in New Zealand, and firms are evaluated relative to selected external environmental factors related to entrepreneurial operations. The environmental conditions are grouped into five external environmental factors: government policies and procedures, socioeconomic conditions, entrepreneurial and business skills, financial support to businesses, and non-financial support to businesses. Policy implications are made for assisting Maori firms’ development in the rural areas of New Zealand.
Environmental disclosure and innovation activity: Evidence from EU corporations

Innovation is expected to become an essential element in overcoming climate change issue. To examine the factors that might induce such innovation, this study focuses on environmental disclosure and scrutinises how it influences innovation activity. Utilising firm-level panel datasets from EU corporations (fiscal years 2000-08) that were constructed based on the Carbon Disclosure Project data and the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, I estimate dynamic panel models using the system GMM estimator. The potential endogeneity issue is addressed in the models. Innovation activity is measured by R&D investment. The results show that corporations that implement a specific environmental disclosure action, namely, disclosing Scope 3 GHGemissions, are more likely to invest in R&D. This study sugg ests that supply chain management is crucial for corporations to enhance their innovation activity. In addition,this study reveals that a policy that stimulates corporate incentives to disclose Scope 3 GHG emissions may be a key to enhancing innovation activity. Since communication between corporations and other stakeholders, which may be enhanced by environmental disclosure , is a significant factor in encouraging corporate innovation activity, it is important to construct a system wherein environmental disclosure is evaluated objectively and corporations with strong environmental performance are adequately rewarded.
Classification of visemes using visual cues

Psycho-acoustic tests have indicated that human vision classifies the visemes (visual representation of phonemes) into different classes. This study shows that visual features extracted from 2-D images of lip motion can be used to design an automatic classifier for visemes. Audio-visual recordings from 18 native speakers of American English for 12 Vowel-Consonant-Vowel (VCV) sounds were obtained using the consonants /b,v,w,ð,d,z/ and the vowels /a,i/. The lip height, lip width, motion of the upper lip and the rate at which lips move while producing the VCV words were visual features used to represent each VCV sound. Features extracted from nine of the speakers were used to define Linear Discriminant Analysis functions to classify the visemes and features extracted from the remaining nine speakers were used in testing the classifiers. When the VCV sounds were divided into five classes consistent with those obtained from psycho-acoustic tests, the percentage of correct classification was 72.1% in training and 69.3% in testing. When each VCV sequence was treated as an independent class, resulting in 12 classes, the percentage of correct recognition was 55.3% in the training set and 43.1% in the testing set.
SLC 26 anion exchangers of guinea pig pancreatic duct : molecular cloning and functional characterization

Andrew K. Stewart, Boris E. Shmukler, David H. Vandorpe, Fabian Reimold, John F. Heneghan, M. Nakakuki, Arash Akhavein, Shigeru Ko, Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Seth L. Alper Renal Division and Vascular Biology Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Human Nutrition, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Showa-Ku, Nagoya, Japan
Electroforming and Resistance Switching Characteristics of Silver-Doped MSQ With Inert Electrodes

This paper reports on the resistance switching effect in silver-doped methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) thin films with Pt top and bottom electrodes. Silver is thermally diffused into MSQ films for different times and the results prove that silver ions (or other oxidizable metal ions) are required in the system, but not necessarily as one of the two electrodes. SEM investigations at horizontal cells (gap width 15-100 nm) show the formation of metallic agglomerations in the gap. The forming process is found to be electric-field driven and the filament resistance is determined to be 30 Ω/nm. Under the assumption of conical-shaped filament growth, the diameter of a filament is calculated to 13.5 nm, which is in agreement with the SEM observations. Memory device related tests on 100 × 100 nm2 cross junctions show unipolar switching up to 2000 times and retention at 85°C for at least 6 × 104 s.
Mechanisms of Resistance to Quinolones and Epidemiological Significance of Salmonella spp.

Abstract Bacteria develop resistance to antimicrobial agents by a number of different mechanisms. The resistance to (fluoro)quinolones in Salmonella is of particular importance especially if therapy in humans is required. For decades there has been a significant interest in studying the biology of Salmonella because these bacteria are among the leading causes of foodborne illnesses around the globe. To this date, two main mechanisms of quinolone resistance have been established: alteration in the targets for quinolones, decreased accumulation inside bacteria due to impermeability of the membrane and/or an over expression of the efflux pump systems. Both of these mechanisms are chromosomally mediated. Furthermore, mobile elements have been described carrying the qnr gene which confers resistance to quinolones. The plasmid encoded QNR proteins belong to the pentapeptide repeat family of proteins. The plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) is often associated with the resistance to beta lactam antibiotics. It was noticed that PMQR is backing up chromosomal mutations for quinolone resistance, hence becoming an important resistance mechanism worldwide. Even with our knowledge expanding over the years, it is not possible to predict how bacteria will respond in the future, if they are exposed to new external challenges. The possibility that they will find a way to survive by introducing new mutations or by exchanging mobile genetic elements and subsequently developing resistance to survive in the environment should not be underestimated.
SENTIMENT ANALYSIS ON ONLINE PRODUCT REVIEWS

In today’s e-commerce world sentiment analysis is salient and the most crucial step because it captures the product users opinion, feelings and belief regarding the respective product specially to determine whether the users attitude is positive, negative, or neutral . This analysis greatly helps the companies to make necessary changes in their product which in return can overcome the flaws that the product is facing and target to a better customer satisfaction.
Network-on-chip-centric approach to interleaving in high throughput channel decoders

Reliable wireless communication needs efficient channel coding schemes like turbo and LDPC codes. During decoding, data is exchanged iteratively between component decoders. Between iterations, however, the data blocks are subjected to a permutation (or interleaving). As parallelization of the decoder architectures is mandatory for high throughput, access conflicts can occur. For standard compliant decoders it is impossible to design, or pre-process, the permutation patterns such that conflicts are avoided. Therefore, we employ networks-on-chip capable of resolving access conflicts at run-time to support arbitrary interleavers without any pre-processing.
DietBet: A Web-Based Program that Uses Social Gaming and Financial Incentives to Promote Weight Loss

Background Web-based commercial weight loss programs are increasing in popularity. Despite their significant public health potential, there is limited research on the effectiveness of such programs. Objective The objective of our study was to examine weight losses produced by DietBet and explore whether baseline and engagement variables predict weight outcomes. Methods DietBet is a social gaming website that uses financial incentives and social influence to promote weight loss. Players bet money and join a game. All players have 4 weeks to lose 4% of their initial body weight. At enrollment, players can choose to share their participation on Facebook. During the game, players interact with one another and report their weight loss on the DietBet platform. At week 4, all players within each game who lose at least 4% of initial body weight are declared winners and split the pool of money bet at the start of the game. Official weigh-in procedures are used to verify weights at the start of the game and at the end. Results From December 2012 to July 2013, 39,387 players (84.04% female, 33,101/39,387; mean weight 87.8kg, SD 22.6kg) competed in 1934 games. The average amount bet was US $27 (SD US $22). A total of 65.63% (25,849/39,387) provided a verified weight at the end of the 4-week competition. The average intention-to-treat weight loss was 2.6% (SD 2.3%). Winners (n=17,171) won an average of US $59 (SD US $35) and lost 4.9% (SD 1.0%) of initial body weight, with 30.68% (5268/17,171) losing 5% or more of their initial weight. Betting more money at game entry, sharing on Facebook, completing more weigh-ins, and having more social interactions during the game predicted greater weight loss and greater likelihood of winning (Ps<.001). In addition, weight loss clustered within games (P<.001), suggesting that players influenced each others’ weight outcomes. Conclusions DietBet, a social gaming website, reached nearly 40,000 individuals in just 7 months and produced excellent 4-week weight loss results. Given its reach and potential public health impact, future research may consider examining whether a longer program promotes additional weight loss.
Dynamic Pricing for Heterogeneous Time-Sensitive Customers

Problem definition : A core problem in the area of revenue management is pricing goods in the presence of strategic customers. We study this problem when customers are heterogeneous with respect to their initial valuations for the good and their time sensitivities—that is, the customers differ in both their initial valuations and the rates at which their initial valuation decreases with a delay in the purchase. Academic/practical relevance : In many settings, especially in fashion and electronic retail, a customer’s valuation for the product is time-sensitive and decreases over time. In these situations, customers are not only different in terms of their initial willingness to pay for these products when they are first introduced to the market, but they are also different in terms of how rapidly they lose interest in these products. We show that when a firm sells products in such settings, it can realize significant benefits by incorporating dynamic pricing, even in the absence of demand uncertainty. Methodology : Dynamic mechanism design. Results : We characterize the optimal mechanism for selling durable goods when the customers differ in both their initial valuations and the rates at which their initial valuation decreases. We show that delayed allocation and dynamic pricing can be effective screening tools for maximizing firm profit and can also increase social welfare. We also investigate the impact of production and holding costs on the optimal mechanism. Managerial implications : Our work shows how firms can exploit scenarios in which their customers have time-sensitive valuations and are forward-looking to achieve a win–win, by both generating additional revenue and improving social welfare.
Cervicogenic headache : Pathophysiology , diagnostic criteria and treatment

Servikojenik bafl a¤r›s› boyundaki yap›lardan kaynaklanan, nispeten s›k rastlan›lan ancak halen tart›flmal› olan bir bafl a¤r›s› fleklidir. Servikojenik bafl a¤r›s› tek tarafl›d›r, boyundan bafllar ve ayn› tarafta okülo-fronto-temporal bölgeye yay›l›r. Patofizyolojide intervertebral disfonksiyon, sitokinler ve nitrik oksit gibi a¤r›ya neden olan çeflitli faktörler rol al›r. Servikojenik bafl a¤r›s›n›n tan›s› 1998’de ‘Cervicogenic Headache International Study Group’ veya ‘International Headache Society’nin en son 2004 y›l›nda yay›mlanan ‘International Classification of Headache Disorders ‘ s›n›flamalar› yard›m› ile konulabilir. Servikojenik bafl a¤r›s›n›n tedavisinde çeflitli yöntemler kullan›lmaktad›r. Bunlar daha az invazif olan farmakolojik esasl› tedavilerden, invazif cerrahi a¤›rl›kl› tedavilere kadar de¤iflmektedir. Servikojenik bafl a¤r›s› için deneysel modellerin yeterli olmamas› ve bu tip bafl a¤r›s› için biyomoleküler belirleyicilerin bulunmamas› nedeni ile servikojenik bafl a¤r›s› yeterli tedavi edilemeyen ve yaklafl›mda zorluk oluflturan karmafl›k bir sendrom olmaya devam etmektedir.
Size of public sector in the Russian banking industry

In many emerging markets the key players in the banking industry are fully or partially controlled by the state. The state-banking phenomenon is believed to render national financial sector less efficient due to politically-motivated credit decisions and to hinder bank intermediation. In the case of Russia, analysis of state participation in the banking industry requires a more in-depth analysis with special regard to its institutional basis such as bank ownership control. An accurate re-definition of public sector boundaries is crucial for all kinds of further analysis, e.g. the impact of direct state presence on performance indicators and relative efficiency of banks and the nature of their activities.
Direct and simultaneous determination of copper,manganese and molybdenum in seawater with a multi-element electrothermalatomic absorption spectrometer

A simple method is described for the determination of trace metals (Cu, Mn and Mo) in seawater directly and simultaneously using a multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer equipped with a transversely heated graphite atomizer. A mixture of Pd(NO3)2 and Mg(NO3)2 with the special gas (5% H2 and 95% Ar) was used as the chemical modifier. Matrix interferences were removed completely, so a simple calibration curve method could be used. The relative standard deviations (RSD) for the simultaneous determination of Cu, Mn and Mo in CASS-3 (near shore seawater) were 2–12% and the detection limits were 0.42 µg l−1 for Cu, 0.68 µg l−1 for Mn and 1.2 µg l−1 for Mo. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by the analysis of certified reference saline waters (CASS-3, SLEW-2 and NASS-5). The analytical results were compared with those obtained using pure Ar as the purge gas. Scanning electron micrographs were used to investigate the physical form of Pd on the surface of the platform in the graphite furnace.