Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Evaluation of Technology Innovation on the Performance of Indigenous Textile Weaving Firms in Southwestern Nigeria

﻿The study evaluated the impact of technology innovation on the performance of indigenous textile weaving firms in south-western Nigeria. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaire administered on indigenous weavers in the study area. Results of correlation analysis showed the relationship between business performance and source of raw material (r=0.17, t=2.84, p<0.01); product innovations (r=0.10, t=1.65, p<0.05); investment in technology innovations (r=0.19, t=3.25, p<0.01); business advisory services (r=0.11; t=1.74, p<0.05); reduction of tax (r=0.11; t=1.73, p<0.05), export incentives (r=0.13; t=2.09, p<0.01); and total capital investment (r=0.21; t=3.55, p<0.01). Factors with negative effect are cost of RD t=3.24, p<0.01); threats by competitors (r=-0.18; t=3.06, p<0.01) and production of quality products (r=-0.09; t=1.64, p<0.05). Regression analysis and its impact on business performance were local marketing, (β=17.95, z=11.18, p<0.01); national marketing, (β=18.35, z=1.64, p<0.01); product innovations, (β=3.17, z=3.03, p<0.01); total capital invested, (β=2.68, z=10.19, p<0.01) and experience in business, (β=2.66, z=2.96, p<0.01). Factors with negative effect were payment of tax, (β=-17.46, z=-21.31, p<0.01); regional marketing, (β=-17.38, z=-18.08, p<0.01); local competition, (β=-16.53, z=-9.02, p<0.01). The study concluded that sale of products in the domestic market; product innovations; total capital invested and years of experience in business were the factors responsible for the resilience and sustenance of indigenous textile weaving firms. However, factors such as payment of tax, sale of products in regional market, local competition, trade liberalization and cost of R&D are the major constraints in the performance of firms in the industry.
CAMPBELL SOUP'S CONTINUOUS REPLENISHMENT PROGRAM: EVALUATION AND ENHANCED INVENTORY DECISION RULES

Campbell Soup's continuous replenishment (CR) program is a novel innovation designed to improve the efficiency of inventory management throughout the supply chain. With CR (1) retailers pay a constant wholesale price but continue to participate in consumer promotions, (2) retailers transmit to the supplier daily inventory information via electronic data interchange (EDI), and (3) the supplier assumes responsibility for managing retailer inventories, i.e., vendor managed inventories (VMI). We develop simple inventory management rules to operate CR, and we test these rules with a simulation using actual demand data provided by Campbell Soup. On this sample we find that retailer inventories were reduced on average by 66% while maintaining or increasing average fill rates. This improvementreduces a retailer's cost of goods sold by ~1.2%, which is significant in the low profitmargin grocery industry. Furthermore, these savings could have been achieved without VMI.
The Impact of Regulations on the Informational Basis of Insider Trading

In this paper, we examine the impact of major regulatory changes in New Zealand on the profitability and informational basis of insider transactions. Legislation around the world appears to have tried to encourage insiders to trade only in specified instances. We examine the efficacy of this approach. We conclude that the law changes have had a negative impact on the profitability of insider trading and appear to have forced insiders to stop trading on the knowledge of upcoming price-sensitive events. The results show that well constructed insider-trading laws could be effective in minimising the most harmful aspects of insider trading.
Species-specific detection of Legionella pneumophila in water by DNA amplification and hybridization

A sensitive detection system specific for Legionella pneumophila in water was developed. This system is based on amplification of a chromosomal DNA sequence from L. pneumophila by the polymerase chain reaction, followed by detection of the amplified product by hybridization of a radiolabeled oligodeoxynucleotide. After 35 cycles of amplification, a water sample which had been seeded with 35 CFU of L. pneumophila contained sufficient amplified DNA to be detected on dot blots. Bacteria of other genera tested did not generate positive signals under these conditions. Application of this technique to environmental water samples may help identify the natural reservoirs of nosocomial and community-acquired L. pneumophila infections.
Quantification of Ammonia Release from Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Attractants Using Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract Ammonia is the primary attractant for tephritid fruit flies, and traps baited with synthetic attractants using ammonia formulations have been highly successful in capturing these pests. However, difficulties in quantifying release rates of ammonia have limited abilities to make comparisons among field tests of different species by using different formulations. Therefore, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was evaluated as a method to quantify ammonia from synthetic lures. Analysis of the headspace from commercial ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium acetate lures indicated that there is a large burst of ammonia liberated upon initial exposure of the lures, but after 5–7 d the release rates stabilize and remain steady for at least 60 d under laboratory conditions. During the period of steady release, FTIR static measurements showed an average of 0.12 and 0.21 &mgr;g of ammonia per 50-ml sample from ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium acetate lures, respectively. FTIR dynamic measurements from ammonium acetate lures indicated a steady release rate of ≈200 &mgr;g/h. Ammonia release rate from ammonium acetate lures could be reduced by decreasing the surface area of the release membrane, and the presence of crystal formations on the membrane seemed to decrease the longevity of the ammonium acetate lures.
Subsite specificity of trypanosomal cathepsin L-like cysteine proteases. Probing the S2 pocket with phenylalanine-derived amino acids.

The S2 subsite of mammalian cysteine proteinases of the papain family is essential for specificity. Among natural amino acids, all these enzymes prefer bulky hydrophobic residues such as phenylalanine at P2. This holds true for their trypanosomal counterparts: cruzain from Trypanosoma cruzi and congopain from T. congolense. A detailed analysis of the S2 specificity of parasitic proteases was performed to gain information that might be of interest for the design of more selective pseudopeptidyl inhibitors. Nonproteogenic phenylalanyl analogs (Xaa) have been introduced into position P2 of fluorogenic substrates dansyl-Xaa-Arg-Ala-Pro-Trp, and their kinetic constants (Km, kcat/Km) have been determined with congopain and cruzain, and related host cathepsins B and L. Trypanosomal cysteine proteases are poorly stereoselective towards D/L-Phe, the inversion of chirality modifying the efficiency of the reaction but not the Km. Congopain binds cyclohexylalanine better than aromatic Phe derivatives. Another characteristic feature of congopain compared to cruzain and cathepsins B and L was that it could accomodate a phenylglycyl residue (kcat/Km = 1300 mM-1.s-1), while lengthening of the side chain by a methylene group only slightly impaired the specificity constant towards trypanosomal cysteine proteases. Mono- and di-halogenation or nitration of Phe did not affect Km for cathepsin L-like enzymes, but the presence of constrained Phe derivatives prevented a correct fitting into the S2 subsite. A model of congopain has been built to study the fit of Phe analogs within the S2 pocket. Phe analogs adopted a positioning within the S2 pocket similar to that of the Tyr of the cruzain/Z-Tyr-Ala-fluoromethylketone complex. However, cyclohexylalanine has an energetically favorable chair-like conformation and can penetrate deeper into the subsite. Fitting of modeled Phe analogs were in good agreement with kinetic parameters. Furthermore, a linear relationship could be established with logP, supporting the suggestion that fitting into the S2 pocket of trypanosomal cysteine proteases depends on the hydrophobicity of Phe analogs.
Coding Sequences Enhance Internal Initiation of Translation by Hepatitis A Virus RNA In Vitro

ABSTRACT Hepatitis A virus (HAV), unlike other picornaviruses, has a slow-growth phenotype in permissive cell lines and in general does not induce host cell cytopathology. Although there are no published reports of productive infection of HeLa cells by HAV, HAV RNA appears to be readily translated in HeLa cells when transcribed by T7 RNA polymerase provided by a recombinant vaccinia virus. The 5′ noncoding region of HAV was fused to poliovirus (PV) coding sequences to determine the effect on translation efficiency in HeLa cell extracts in vitro. Conditions were optimized for utilization of the HAV internal ribosome entry segment (IRES). Transcripts from chimeric constructs fused precisely at the initiation codon were translated very poorly. However, chimeric RNAs which included 114 or more nucleotides from the HAV capsid coding sequences downstream of the initiation codon were translated much more efficiently than those lacking these sequences, making HAV-directed translation efficiency similar to that directed by the PV IRES. Sixty-six nucleotides were insufficient to confer increased translation efficiency. The most 5′-terminal HAV 138 nucleotides, previously determined to be upstream of the IRES, had an inhibitory effect on translation efficiency. Constructs lacking these terminal sequences, or those in which the PV 5′-terminal sequences replaced those from HAV, translated three- to fourfold better than those with the intact HAV 5′-terminal end.
Generative adversarial network for visualizing convolutional network

The convolutional neural network (CNN) is one of the most powerful models that has been achieving state-of-the art performance on a variety of computer vision tasks. However, their models are often considered as black-boxes and their lack of interpretability are considered to be a major problem. For example, in applications where the high interpretability is important, getting the predictions is not enough and we also need understanding of why these predictions are made. In that sense, understanding how their models work can build trust with users and make them more human-oriented. In this paper, we introduce a new visualization framework based on generative adversarial network (GAN) to give an insight into the neuron activities and what the CNN has learned. Our method is very simple, yet can produce recognizable and interpretable visualizations. Applied our method to AlexNet, these visualizations help to understand how the CNN works internally.
Design of microstrip fed spiral shaped antenna for wearable systems

This paper presents the spiral shaped monopole wearable antenna operating at 403 MHz for wireless body monitoring application with dimension of 35 × 25 × 1.6mm3. The proposed antenna has spiral geometry patch with microstrip line feed on FR4 substrate material of relative permittivity of 4.4 and thickness of 1.6mm with partial filled ground plane. The proposed antenna has been analyzed and the simulation using HFSS commercial software for 403MHz with consistent radiation pattern and uniform gain. The measured results indicate a −11 dB return loss bandwidth of 4.5 MHz, and a peak realized gain of −20dBi with omnidirectional radiation characteristics.
The continuing value of the Apgar score for the assessment of newborn infants.

BACKGROUND The 10-point Apgar score has been used to assess the condition and prognosis of newborn infants throughout the world for almost 50 years. Some investigators have proposed that measurement of pH in umbilical-artery blood is a more objective method of assessing newborn infants. METHODS We carried out a retrospective cohort analysis of 151,891 live-born singleton infants without malformations who were delivered at 26 weeks of gestation or later at an inner-city public hospital between January 1988 and December 1998. Paired Apgar scores and umbilical-artery blood pH values were determined for 145,627 infants to assess which test best predicted neonatal death during the first 28 days after birth. RESULTS For 13,399 infants born before term (at 26 to 36 weeks of gestation), the neonatal mortality rate was 315 per 1000 for infants with five-minute Apgar scores of 0 to 3, as compared with 5 per 1000 for infants with five-minute Apgar scores of 7 to 10. For 132,228 infants born at term (37 weeks of gestation or later), the mortality rate was 244 per 1000 for infants with five-minute Apgar scores of 0 to 3, as compared with 0.2 per 1000 for infants with five-minute Apgar scores of 7 to 10. The risk of neonatal death in term infants with five-minute Apgar scores of 0 to 3 (relative risk, 1460; 95 percent confidence interval, 835 to 2555) was eight times the risk in term infants with umbilical-artery blood pH values of 7.0 or less (180; 95 percent confidence interval, 97 to 334). CONCLUSIONS The Apgar scoring system remains as relevant for the prediction of neonatal survival today as it was almost 50 years ago.
A fully differential CMOS capacitance sensor design, testing and array architecture

The paper presents a fully differential capacitance sensor employing the CBCM technique to map differential input capacitances to rail-to-rail differential output voltages. The circuit has been designed for measuring capacitances in the plusmn20 fF range, appropriate for sensing live cells using on-chip microelectrodes. The paper also proposes an array architecture based on a shielded current routing bus that allows for a single measurement circuit to be shared by all the sensor pixels without compromising performance. This eliminates the need for individual pixel calibration. Each sensor pixel comprises 6 minimum size digital transistors, enabling high density integration. The sensor employs a 3-phase clocking scheme that enables gain tuning and also limits output voltage offsets. The paper presents data obtained from 5 chips fabricated in a commercially available 2- poly, 3-metal, 0.5 mum CMOS technology, each of them comprising individual circuits measuring the substrate-coupling capacitances of metal3 electrodes of varying sizes. The test data indicates successful sensor operation with a maximum sensitivity of 126 mV/fF, a maximum achievable resolution of 14 aF and an output dynamic range of 69.4 dB.
The Influence of Others on Migration Plans

The willingness to migrate and locational choice may be influenced by others’ choices or plans, particularly if the ‘other people’, such as family and friends, are migrants, former migrants, or potential migrants themselves. We examine the roles ‘other people’ play in influencing an individual’s potential migration decision. In analysing the influence of others on migration decisions, we rely on the concepts of migration networks and herd effects.
Synergies in standardized management systems: some empirical evidence

Purpose – Management system standards (MSSs) have spread in an unprecedented manner in the last few years. Thus, there are now many companies that rely on more than one such standard to establish the criteria for organizational management systems (MSs). The objective of this article is to analyze the existence of possible synergies in the application of a wide range of MSSs through an examination of the benefits obtained from the implementation of one particular MSS, namely ISO 9001.Design/methodology/approach – The starting point is a set of results from an empirical survey of more than 500 Spanish companies. Specifically, the differences between the benefits recognized by companies implementing a single MSS, namely ISO 9001:2000 for quality MSs, and those that implemented a second standard, in this case ISO 14001:2004 for environmental MSs, are discussed. An additional comparison is made between those organizations that have integrated the two MSSs into a single MS and those organizations that have deve.
Systematic and Nonsystematic Risks in Agriculture

A Farm Sector Capital Asset Pricing Model (FSCAPM) is developed to examine systematic agricultural risks. Beta coefficients are derived for various agricultural activities and portfolios. The results reveal that for many agricultural commodities and crop mixes the amount of systematic risk is high. Moreover, for the majority of commodities and crop mixes examined, farmers are being undercompensated for the level of systematic risk they are accepting. It is suggested that off-farm investment might be a feasible approach to reducing systematic risk within agriculture. Un modele simulant le processus de determination de la valeur de l'actif dans le secteur agricole est developpe pour permettre l'etude des risques systematiques dans ce secteur. Les coefficients mesurant le niveau relatif de risque systematique sont ensuite calcules pour differents produits et plans de productions. Les resultats montrent que pour plusieurs pro-duits agricoles et plans de production, les niveaux de risque systtmatique sont Cleves. De plus, pour la majoritt des produits et plans de production etudies, les producteurs agricoles ne sont pas remuneres adequatement pour prendre ces risques. Finalement, l'investissement de capitaux a l'exttrieur du secteur agricole est presente comme un moyen pouvant permettre de reduire le niveau de risque systematique dans ce secteur.
Vestibular evoked blood flow response in the basilar artery

Background and purpose‐ Monitoring of the basilar artery (BA) is difficult and has been sparsely performed. The aim of this study was to present physiological data of functional transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) of the BA during caloric vestibular stimulation in healthy volunteers. Methods ‐ TCD of the BA was performed in 26 healthy volunteers (14 women, 12 men, age 25.1 ±3 years) during caloric vestibular stimulation. Vertigo was documented using electronystagmography (ENG) and a subjective vertigo scale ranging from 0 to 10 points. Simultaneously, capnogpraphy was performed. Results ‐ All subjects experienced vertigo, nausea and oszillopsia during vestibular irrigation. The average subjective vertigo was for a period of 106 s (±65.4); the average subjective estimated degree of vertigo was 6.7 points (±1.5). In all subjects, ENG demonstrated horizontal nystagm to the left non‐irrigated side. In 14 subjects the subjective vertigo was rated by the individuals as extreme (point score ≥ 7) and in 12 subjects as low (point score <7). Mean flow velocity (MFV) in the BA increased significantly during vestibular irrigation, being more prominent in the initial irrigation and vertigo phase (5.8±5.9%, P<0.05) than in the second vertigo phase (2.2 ±8.8%, P<0.05). The calculated pulsatility index (PI), which indicates the condition of the small resistance vessels, decreased significantly (‐4.9±8.1%; −4.3±8.9%, P<0.05) during both phases of vestibular activation. Endtidal pCO2 did not change significantly (constant 5.4±0.4 Vol%), but respiration frequency was significantly increased during vestibular stimulation (12.3±3.8 min‐1 to 16.4±5.3 min‐1 and 16.3±4.8 min‐1, P<0.05) probably as a vegetative sign of vertigo. The observed MFV‐ and Pi‐changes were more prominent, although not quite significant, in the subgroup of subjects who experienced extreme subjective vertigo than in the subgroup who experienced low subjective vertigo. Conclusion ‐ These observations indicate that MFV increase in the posterior circulation is due to activation of the vestibulocerebellum. In addition, it is possible that the previously elaborated MFV increase in the MCA might contribute to MFV increase in the BA via the posterior communicating artery. The difference in the 2 subgroups (extreme vertigo vs low vertigo) may reflect the great variety of anatomical and physiological conditions of the peripheral vestibular organ, the brainstem anatomy and the corresponding blood supply. For clinical purposes this TCD‐test may contribute to the investigation of the vasomotor reserve of the posterior circulation, e.g. in patients with vertebrobasilar ischemia, bilateral vestibular loss or local neurodegenerative disease.
The theory of planned behavior applied to continuing education for mental health professionals.

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effects of a continuing education class that applied the theory of planned behavior to the intentions and behavior of mental health practitioners. METHODS In 2006 a total of 94 mental health practitioners were randomly assigned to either a standard continuing education class or one that applied principles of the theory of planned behavior. The class topic was a brief, self-report tool that assesses felt need for employment among people with serious mental illnesses. Participants' intentions to apply the tool were evaluated before and after each class. Participants' implementation of the tool was measured three months after the class. RESULTS The class guided by the theory of planned behavior significantly and substantially increased the participants' intentions to use the tool in comparison with the standard class. Significantly more participants in the theory-guided class than in the standard class (74% versus 42%) had applied the tool by the three-month follow-up. Among those who implemented the assessment tool, the participants in the theory of planned behavior class also assessed significantly more of their caseload. CONCLUSION The theory of planned behavior can improve and may be well suited to continuing education in psychiatry.
The dynamic linkages between economic growth, environmental quality and health in Greece

Abstract Increasing economic activity ignoring environmental quality may distort economic growth, leading to a negative rate. The expected deterioration of health in the near future may lead to further environmental degradation, with a continuation of a spiral-type path towards worsening growth and efforts to catch up with the developed economies. Τhis article examines the dynamic interdependence between economic activity, health quality and environmental degradation for Greece over the period 1960–2012. We employ Kuznets-type models and apply several co-integration techniques along with Granger causality tests. The results reveal strong causal effects, running from income towards CO2 and infant mortality. In the multivariate context, a significant long-run impact is directed towards infant mortality, with economic growth performing rather exogenously.
Bridging the Gap in Pension Participation: How Much Can Universal Tax-Deferred Pension Coverage Hope to Achieve?

In light of the declining pension coverage of low-income workers, policy makers have discussed requiring all employers to offer individual retirement accounts, similar to defined contribution plans. How likely to participate are workers who currently do not have access to a pension plan? We address this question by using plausibly exogenous variation in pension-plan availability to estimate the determinants of participation in a standard selection on unobservables model. We find that currently uncovered low-income workers are fairly likely to participate in a newly offered plan, yet they are much less likely to do so than currently covered workers.
Nonlinear Least Squares Lattice Algorithm for Identifying the Power Amplifier with Memory Effects

The memory polynomial model (MPM) proposed recently, is shown to be a good model to capture the memory nonlinear effects in the power amplifier (PA). When extracting the model coefficients, the memory length of the PA has to be predefined, while it is actually unknown previously. In this paper, the adaptive nonlinear least squares lattice algorithm is employed to identify the PA with memory effects based on MPM. Making use of the order-recursive behavior of the algorithm, the MPM with the optimum memory length is obtained. The computational complexity of the identification algorithm is equivalent to the recursive-least-squares (RLS) algorithm. And the same model accuracy as acquired by the RLS algorithm can be achieved. Simulation results show the fast convergence and numerical stability of the proposed approach