Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New dimensions in regional integration: Regionalism versus multilateralism: analytical notes

With the Uruguay Round still (at the time of writing) on the brink, with growing tensions between the United States and Japan, and with growing support in the United States for a more or less aggressive industrial policy, it is evident that the GATT-centred system of multilateral trade relations is in considerable trouble. At the same time, regional trading arrangements such as ‘EC 1992’ and the North American Free-Trade Area (NAFTA) have appeared to be the cutting edge of whatever successful international negotiations have taken place. This apparent shift away from globalism to localism has created severe ambivalence among policy intellectuals. Should the rise of regional trading arrangements be welcomed, as a step on the road that will ultimately reinforce global free trade? Or should regional trading blocs be condemned, as institutions that undermine the multilateral system? Or, yet again, should they perhaps be accepted more or less grudgingly, as the best option we are likely to get in an age of diminished expectations? This ambivalence, and the striking extent to which reasonable analysts find themselves in sharp disagreement, are not surprising. The issue of multilateralism versus regionalism is a difficult one to get one's arms around, on at least two levels. First, even in narrowly economic terms it is a tricky area: after all, it was precisely in the context of preferential trading arrangements that the byzantine complexities of the second best were first discovered. Second, the real issues cannot be viewed as narrowly economic. International trading regimes are essentially devices of political economy; they are intended at least as much to protect nations from their own interest groups as they are to protect nations from each other.
An empirical microwave emissivity model for a foam-covered sea

A model for computing microwave emissivity of a wind-driven foam-covered sea is presented. The effect of roughness and foam is modeled by combining early measurement results and theoretical analysis. Recent Seasat-SMMR measurements are used to fine tune the model and derive an "effective" fractional foam coverage expression in terms of frequency and wind speed. The model incorporates polarization characterization and view angle dependence of the foam-cover emissivity. For48.8\degincidence angle and wind speed less than 15 m/s, the emissivity values calculated from this model differs by <8 percent from those calculated from Wilheit's model. At nadir and at 25 m/s wind speed, the emissivity calculated from the two models differ by\sim15percent.
Alveolar Macrophage Distribution in a Mouse Model

Rodent lungs are routinely examined after intratracheal instillation (IT) of fixative. This study compares the histopathologic appearance of the lung after IT fixation with air inflation (AI) followed by immersion fixation. Lungs from mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke were fixed either by IT or by AI. Increased numbers of macrophages with differing distributions were seen in both groups. Lungs fixed by IT had prominent, large macrophages floating in the alveolar lumina, as well as macrophage clusters and loose aggregates, often near terminal airways. Macrophages in lungs fixed by AI were randomly distributed throughout the lung, lying singly along alveolar walls, with large numbers visible in the interstitium. Clusters of macrophages were seen in the airways after AI but were fewer after IT fixation. The effects of intratracheal fixation on lung macrophages need to be considered carefully when assessing the significance of changes in macrophage appearance and distribution.
A multi-granularity parallelism object recognition processor with content-aware fine-grained task scheduling

Multiple granularity parallel core architecture is proposed to accelerate object recognition with low area and energy consumption. By adopting task-level optimized cores with different parallelism and complexity, the proposed processor achieves real-time object recognition with 271.4 GOPS peak performance. In addition, content-aware fine-grained task scheduling is proposed to enable low power real-time object recognition on 30fps 720p HD video streams. As a result, the object recognition processor achieves 9.4nJ/pixel energy efficiency and 25.8 GOPS/W·mm2 power-area efficiency in O.13um CMOS technology.
Evolution of global regulatory networks during a long‐term experiment with Escherichia coli

Evolution has shaped all living organisms on Earth, although many details of this process are shrouded in time. However, it is possible to see, with one's own eyes, evolution as it happens by performing experiments in defined laboratory conditions with microbes that have suitably fast generations. The longest‐running microbial evolution experiment was started in 1988, at which time twelve populations were founded by the same strain of Escherichia coli. Since then, the populations have been serially propagated and have evolved for tens of thousands of generations in the same environment. The populations show numerous parallel phenotypic changes, and such parallelism is a hallmark of adaptive evolution. Many genetic targets of natural selection have been identified, revealing a high level of genetic parallelism as well. Beneficial mutations affect all levels of gene regulation in the cells including individual genes and operons all the way to global regulatory networks. Of particular interest, two highly interconnected networks—governing DNA superhelicity and the stringent response—have been demonstrated to be deeply involved in the phenotypic and genetic adaptation of these experimental populations. BioEssays 29:846–860, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genetic architecture of traits associated with serpentine adaptation of Silene vulgaris

Serpentine soils provide a difficult substrate for plant colonization and growth and therefore represent an ideal system for studying the genetics of habitat adaptation and the evolution of plant‐ecotypes. Using an F2 mapping population derived from an intraspecific cross between a serpentine and a nonserpentine ecotype of Silene vulgaris, the genetic architecture of seven morphological, physiological and life‐history traits was explored. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified 23 QTLs, 15 of which were classified as major QTLs. The observed genetic architecture suggests that traits potentially involved in habitat adaptation are controlled by few genes of major effect and have evolved under consistent directional selection. Several linkage groups harboured overlapping QTLs for different traits, which can be due to either pleiotropy or linkage. The potential roles of these factors and of the time available for habitat adaptation and ecological speciation on serpentine are discussed.
NuSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE POWERFUL RADIO-GALAXY CYGNUS A

We present NuSTAR observations of the powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A, focusing on the central absorbed active galactic nucleus (AGN). Cygnus A is embedded in a cool-core galaxy cluster, and hence we also examine archival XMM-Newton data to facilitate the decomposition of the spectrum into the AGN and intracluster medium components. NuSTAR gives a source-dominated spectrum of the AGN out to > 70 ? > keV. In gross terms, the NuSTAR spectrum of the AGN has the form of a power law ( Γ ∼ 1.6 − 1.7 ? > ) absorbed by a neutral column density of N H ∼ 1.6 × 10 23 cm - 2 ? > . However, we also detect curvature in the hard ( > 10 ? > keV) spectrum resulting from reflection by Compton-thick matter out of our line of sight to the X-ray source. Compton reflection, possibly from the outer accretion disk or obscuring torus, is required even permitting a high-energy cut off in the continuum source; the limit on the cut-off energy is E cut > 111 ? > keV(90% confidence). Interestingly, the absorbed power law plus reflection model leaves residuals suggesting the absorption/emission from a fast ( 15 , 000 − 26 , 000 km s - 1 ? > ), high column-density ( N W > 3 × 10 23 cm - 2 ? > ), highly ionized ( &xgr; ∼ 2500 erg cm s − 1 ? > ) wind. A second, even faster ionized wind component is also suggested by these data. We show that the ionized wind likely carries a significant mass and momentum flux, and may carry sufficient kinetic energy to exercise feedback on the host galaxy. If confirmed, the simultaneous presence of a strong wind and powerful jets in Cygnus A demonstrates that feedback from radio-jets and sub-relativistic winds are not mutually exclusive phases of AGN activity but can occur simultaneously.
FDI and Efficiency Convergence, the Case of Vietnamese Manufacturing Industry

Aims: The scope of this study is twofold. We aim to test efficiency convergence hypothesis among firms in Vietnamese manufacturing industry, and to analyze the influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) on efficiency and efficiency convergence. Study Design: Case study Place and Duration of Study: Technical efficiency measures are derived for a sample of Vietnamese manufacturing firms during 2000-2012 Methodology: nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). The approach to find the impacts of FDI on efficiency and efficiency convergence through horizontal and vertical spillover effects is to construct the linkages from dynamic input - output tables. The way to test unconditional convergence in the two technical efficiency measures from DEA is used the regression in the form
Peptide-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy

One approach in the immunotherapy of cancer patients involves vaccination with peptides derived from tumour-associated antigens specifically designed to associate with T cells in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or II molecules. Several clinical trials in different tumour types have been conducted utilising this vaccination strategy. The majority of trials indicate that peptide vaccination has few toxicities associated with its administration, but disparities exist between in vitro and clinical responses. However, this represents an evolving field and, thus, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions concerning the efficacy of peptide-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. Improvements to peptide vaccination, including the addition of various adjuvants, the utilisation of peptide-pulsed dendritic cells, multipeptide vaccinations, the addition of helper peptides and peptide delivery through the use of mini-genes, are encouraging and serve as important guides for future research.
BIOTECHNOLOGICALLY RELEVANT ENZYMES AND PROTEINS CHO-recombinant human growth hormone as a protease sensitive reporter protein

Protein-free media are gaining more and more interest in mammalian cell culture technology. However, the range of commercially available protein-free media is wide, but lack of serum causes the lack of various substances (Keenan et al. in Cytotechnology, 50(1–3):49–56, 2006) which must be substituted case by case. Details on the composition of protein-free media are often unavailable or inaccessible in some cases, and as a consequence, there is an obvious need for testing procedures in order to evaluate the various commercialised products for their performance. Additionally, negative effects of tryptic meat digests on product quality have been reported in the literature (Gu et al. in Biotech Bioeng 56 (4):353–341, 1997). In the present studies of comparing various protein-free media for their suitability in propagation of recombinant CHO cells expressing human growth hormone (hGH), we have found somatotropin to be an excellent candidate for detection of protease activity. Somatotropin contains protease recognition sites for numerous proteases located around amino-acid residues 134–150. In this study, we demonstrate highly specific cleavage of recombinant hGH during batch cultivation. Analysis of the digested molecule was then performed by convergent methods like SDS-PAGE, HPLC and mass spectroscopy, and the results indicate hGH to be an ideal candidate for media and component screening in mammalian cell culture.
Celecoxib pathways: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

The selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib, shows a complex but important pharmacogenomics profile. The use of this highly effective anti-inflammatory and antitumor drug is limited by concerns about its potential for increased cardiovascular risk. Although the mechanism of action of celecoxib is well studied and many large clinical trials have examined its efficacy, we still lack a complete understanding of the sources of variability in the occurrence of adverse effects as well as the differential risk profile for all drugs in the NSAID class. Preliminary work showed that genetic factors influence response to celecoxib and may be useful in selecting individuals at risk for adverse events. However, the existing pharmacogenetic studies of celecoxib toxicity are still exploratory, with limited sample size and limited number of events. NSAIDs are widely used, and the lower gastrointestinal toxicity of the coxibs represents an important potential advantage over nonselective NSAIDs, as long as we can identify those at an increased risk for cardiovascular toxicity. Larger outcome trials and comprehensive analysis of both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic candidate genes are needed to identify genetic markers to predict variations in response and celecoxib-induced adverse events.
An Alternative Model of Tubulobulbar Complex Internalization During Junction Remodeling in the Seminiferous Epithelium of the Rat Testis1

ABSTRACT Tubulobulbar complexes (TBCs) are elongate subcellular machines responsible for internalizing intercellular junctions during sperm release. Each complex consists of a double-membrane tubular core terminating in a clathrin-coated pit. The core is surrounded by a network of actin filaments, and a distinct swelling or bulb, which lacks an association with actin, develops in the distal third of the structure. The bulb eventually buds from the complex and enters endocytic compartments of the Sertoli cell. The relationship of the actin cuff to the formation and budding of the bulb is not known. To gain insight into this relationship, we perturbed the actin networks of TBCs with cytochalasin D. When isolated testes were perfused with a physiological buffer containing cytochalasin D, apical TBCs at stage VII of spermatogenesis were associated with lower levels of actin compared to controls. At the ultrastructural level, the actin networks in cytochalasin D-treated testes appeared patchy, and ectopic bulbs and swollen tubular regions occurred. When normal untreated samples at early stage VII were analyzed, large elongate bulbs and short tubular sections were observed. Together, these results suggest a new model for TBC vesiculation in which the actin network begins to disassemble and the tubular region begins to swell into a bulb. As actin disassembly continues, the coated pit and most of the tubular region are incorporated into the enlarging bulb. The remaining short neck of the bulb near the base of the complex undergoes scission, and the bulb is internalized.
Transcription factor binding distribution and properties in prokaryotes

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS . vi LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xii Chapter 1. Regulatory networks of M. tuberculosis and E. coli: Analysis and validation of ChIP-Seq protocol and data. 1 1.
3D hand posture tracking with depth gradient estimation on a RGB-D camera

This paper presents a real-time 3D hand posture estimation using the data from a RGB-D camera. A hierarchical method is adopted to first estimate the pose of palm and then the pose of fingers. The particle filtering algorithm with efficient particle generation for tracking the palm and fingers is proposed by analyzing the depth gradient and the contour of hand region. The finger motion model with chain reaction is also constructed to predict the hand pose transition feasibly.
Multi-agent Based simulation for Decision-Making: an application to Rungis food market

In this paper, we present our first results obtained with a multi-agent based simulation of the fruit and vegetable Rungis market. Our goal is to simulate negotiation and price formation based on observed strategies on the real market. We aim to understand negotiation and price formation mechanisms, and explain their impact on macro variables (like the difference between the official price and the average price used on the market).
Information Technology and the Performance of the Customer Service Process: A Resource-Based Analysis

Delivering quality customer service has emerged as a strategic imperative, one that is increasingly tied to a firm's information technology resources and capabilities. This paper presents an empirical study that examines the extent to which IT impacts customer service. More specifically, this study investigates the differential effects of various IT resources and capabilities on the performance of the customer service process across firms that compete in the North American life and health insurance industry. The paper builds on (1) information systems work that suggests that the effects of IT are best documented at the level of processes within a firm, (2) information systems work that suggests that the performance effects of IT are likely to be contingent in nature, and (3) developments in the resource-based view, which describes the kinds of IT resources and capabilities that are likely to enable a process in one firm to outperform the same process in competing firms. The findings suggest that tacit, socially complex, firm-specific resources explain variation in process performance across firms and that IT resources and capabilities without these attributes do not. Of particular interest to IS scholars, it is found that shared knowledge between IT and customer service units-an important driver of how IT is implemented and used in the customer service process-is a key IT capability that affects customer service process performance and moderates the impacts of explicit IT resources such as the generic information technologies used in the process and IT spending, which-consistent with resource-based predictions-were not found to be directly and positively associated with relative process performance. The implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.
Hexaaquacobalt(II) and hexaaquanickel(II) bis(μ-pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate.

The title complexes, hexaaquacobalt(II) bis(μ-pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate, [Co(H(2)O)(6)][Bi(2)(C(7)H(4)NO(4))(4)]·2H(2)O, (I), and hexaaquanickel(II) bis(μ-pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bis[(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato)bismuthate(III)] dihydrate, [Ni(H(2)O)(6)][Bi(2)(C(7)H(4)NO(4))(4)]·2H(2)O, (II), are isomorphous and crystallize in the triclinic space group P-1. The transition metal ions are located on the inversion centre and adopt slightly distorted MO(6) (M = Co or Ni) octahedral geometries. Two [Bi(pydc)(2)](-) units (pydc is pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate) are linked via bridging carboxylate groups into centrosymmetric [Bi(2)(pydc)(4)](2-) dianions. The crystal packing reveals that the [M(H(2)O)(6)](2+) cations, [Bi(2)(pydc)(4)](2-) anions and solvent water molecules form multiple hydrogen bonds to generate a supramolecular three-dimensional network. The formation of secondary Bi.O bonds between adjacent [Bi(2)(pydc)(4)](2-) dimers provides an additional supramolecular synthon that directs and facilitates the crystal packing of both (I) and (II).
Essays on Canada-US Productivity in Manufacturing

Supervisory Committee Dr. Graham M. Voss (Department of Economics, University of Victoria) Supervisor Dr. Merwan H. Engineer (Department of Economics, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Kenneth G. Stewart (Department of Economics, University of Victoria) Departmental Member Dr. Jen Baggs (Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria) Outside Member Canada and the US are highly integrated economies and yet persistent productivity gaps exist between them. This raises the question whether there is a relationship in productivity between Canada and the US, and if so, what industry-specific characteristics are important. This dissertation focuses on the manufacturing sector and its component three-digit industries. The first chapter investigates the interdependence of labour productivity (LP) between the two countries. It finds no evidence of long-run convergence of US and Canadian LP. There is, however, some evidence of short-run dependence within industries. Regarding industry characteristics, only industry-specific export intensity is found to be an important channel for the long-run productivity transmission. The second chapter develops measures of total factor productivity (TFP) that are comparable across Canada and the US. The third chapter investigates the interdependence of TFP between the countries. As with LP, there is no evidence of longrun convergence. In both the short and long run, the dependence of Canadian manufacturing industries upon their US counterparts is limited and non-uniform. The fourth chapter examines industry-specific characteristics. Export, import and foreign direct investment (FDI) intensities are found to be important channels in the short run for technology diffusion from the US. Surprisingly, a higher research and development intensity reduces short-run technology diffusion. In the long run, export and FDI intensities are shown to contribute to technology diffusion. iv Table of
Codes and Modalities in Multiple Resources: A Success and a Qualification

This article includes two sections that address the relevance of codes (verbal-spatial) and modalities (auditory-visual) in the multiple-resource model to the prediction of task interference. The first section describes an experiment in which either verbal or spatial decision tasks, responded to with either voice or keypress, were time-shared with second-order tracking. Decision problem difficulty was manipulated, and subjective workload as well as performance measures were assessed. The results provided support for the importance of the dichotomy between verbal and spatial processing codes in accounting for task interference. Interference with tracking was consistently greater and difficulty/performance trade-offs were stronger when the spatial decision task was performed and the manual response was used. The second section reviews literature on the interference between a continuous visual task and a discrete task whose modality is either auditory or visual. The review suggests that scanning produces a dominant cost to intramodal configurations when visual channels are separated in space; when visual separation is eliminated, however, the differences between cross-modal and intramodal performance may be best accounted for by a mechanism of preemption. Discrete auditory stimuli preempt the processing of a continuous visual task, facilitating their own processing at the expense of the continuous task. Such preemption does not occur when visual discrete and continuous tasks are time-shared.