Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New challenges for the collaboration in Web-based information systems development

Web technology is going through major changes, both with respect to types of systems based on Web technology, organization of the development work, required approaches and competencies, etc. We must rethink development methodologies, the ways of organizing the development work, and the tools to support the development. This requires a deeper and coherent understanding of the nature of Web development both in respect of the involved processes and the tools. We present findings from a field study undertaken in a Web development department. We found that Web applications development of today is characterized by the involvement of many expertise groups having problems finding a common ground for their collaboration. We find that these expertise groups have two main challenges: lack of a common approach or methodology and insufficient interoperability, between the techniques and tools used in the development process. We suggest new methodologies, techniques and tools should be redesigned and adjusted to support the collaboration between the different groups involved in Web application development.
A Conditional Capital Asset Pricing Model for Maritime Firms: Empirical Evidence from the Us Stock Market

This study focuses on the valuation of maritime companies. By using Erdogan’s (1996) modified capital asset pricing approach for maritime firms, Bollerslev’s (1986) General Auto Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity Model (GARCH) is adapted along with including the freight market effect in the asset pricing.
Susceptibility and pathological consequences of catla, Catla catla (Hamilton) experimentally infected with Edwardsiella tarda

Abstract The present study tested the susceptibility and pathological changes of catla, Catla catla (Hamilton) infected with Edwardsiella tarda (ET-PG-29). The bacterium was isolated from the kidney of a diseased pangas catfish. To determine the median lethal dose (LD50), C. catla were challenged with this bacterium (108-103 CFU ml-1), and the LD50 was calculated as 105.5 CFU ml-1. Another set of healthy C. catla were injected intraperitoneally with the LD50 dose to induce edwardsiellosis. The clinical signs of the infected C. catla were observed and recorded. Tissues such as kidney, liver, intestine, heart, and gill from the infected fish with clinical signs of edwardsiellosis were used for histopathology. The clinical and gross signs were first visible at 1 d post-injection, and the infected fish showed typical signs of hemorrhagic septicemia. The most striking histopathological features were found in the kidney which showed multi-focal necrosis with the formation of granuloma indicating an inflammatory response against the pathogen. The intestine displayed goblet cell hyperplasia, the liver showed hydropic degeneration with hyperemic central veins, and there was inflammation of gill lamellae and cardiac myositis associated with leucocyte infiltration. Collectively, the results confirmed the susceptibility of C. catla to E. tarda infection and that this bacterium is a threat to C. catla in aquaculture practices.
Improved Draft Genome Sequence of Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus gasseri K7

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus gasseri K7 is an isolate from infant feces and has in vitro and in vivo established probiotic properties. Here, we report the improved version of the draft genome sequence, which comprises 8 scaffolds (13 contigs), a total length of 1.99 Mb, and 1,841 predicted protein-coding sequences.
Influence of Different Methods Preparation on Platelet Activation in Stored Platelet Concentrates

Background: Platelet concentrates are routinely manufactured from whole blood by differential centrifugation. During this storage period under blood bank conditions, biochemical, structural and functional changes occur, a process that is also known as platelet storage lesion. Their quality was assessed using the following parameters: platelets, leukocytes and erythrocytes counts, pH, CD63, lactate dehydrogenase and Annexin V. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 25 platelet concentrates prepared with platelet rich plasma-platelet concentrates, 25 units via buffy coat and apheresis-derived platelet methods. The percentages of Annexin V, CD63 expression, lactatedehydrogenase, platelet, leukocytes counts and pH were evaluated. Results: During storage for up to 5 days, no significant pH, difference was observed among all three type of platelet concentrates (p>0.05). The mean leukocytes count buffy coat units, platelet rich plasmaplatelet concentrates and apheresis-derived units were comparable and statistically significant difference was observed (p<0.05). During storage for up to 5days platelet concentrates units displayed significant an increase in lactatedehydrogenase, CD63 and Annexin V expressions, as compared with buffy coat units and apheresisderived units preparation on day 5 (p<0.05). Discussion: The kinetics of CD63 and annexin V levels are influenced by the method used to prepare platelets for storage. The different levels of CD63, annexin V and lactatedehydrogenase in three types of units clearly demonstrating a progressive activation process of platelet concentrates units exceeds that of buffy coat and apheresis-derived units. Further clinical studies will be necessary to determine whether meet the quality criteria or is superior in predicting in vivo viability.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE TRIAGE PROCESS USING PROCESS AUTOMATIZATION AND MACHINE LEARNING

From historical times, classification of patients according their priority level has been considered very important. In this aspect, this paper intends to share some experiences in improving the turn allocation process in the emergency room of a hospital using machine learning algorithms. The present work compares several models such as Naive Bayes, Logistic Regression and Multilayer Perceptron in predicting patient classification. The result indicates that machine learning can be a very important tool for decision support in medical fields.
Treatment of external nasal valve (alar rim) collapse with an alar strut

Alar (external valve) collapse may be iatrogenic or can occur as a consequence of ageing or trauma. We have utilized an autogenous cartilage graft inserted as an underlay graft to the alar rim to treat 17 patients who have presented with nasal obstruction due to alar collapse. We report the short- and medium-term functional results and the cosmetic sequelae of our approach and conclude that this procedure offers an improvement in nasal airway performance in patients with external valve collapse without producing serious adverse cosmetic sequelae.
“Evaluating the Impact of The Boss: Evidence from CEO Hospitalization Events”

This paper shows that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) meaningfully affect firm performance. Using variation in CEO exposure resulting from the number of days a CEO is hospitalized, we investigate the effect of CEOs on firm policies, holding firm and CEO matches constant. We have four main findings. First, CEOs have an economically and statistically significant effect on profitability, revenue, and investment outcomes. Firms whose CEOs are hospitalized underperform when their chief executives are sick but otherwise exhibit similar performance relative to other firms. Second, we find robust CEO effects for relatively young and highly educated CEOs, and for CEOs in rapidly growing environments, settings where the value of CEOs actions are arguably highest. Third, we show that CEOs are unique: the hospitalization of other senior executives does not have similar effects on performance. Fourth, consistent with the idea that hospitalizations meaningfully affect CEO potential at the firm level, we find that hospitalizations lead to significant increases in turnover probabilities. Overall, our findings demonstrate that CEOs are a key determinant of firm performance, and that the value of CEO succession and contingency plans is likely to be substantial. * Contact information: Bennedsen (morten.bennedsen@insead.edu), Pérez-González (francisco.perez@stanford.edu), and Wolfenzon (dw2382@columbia.edu). We are grateful to the Danish Social Science Research Foundation for financial support and to the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency, and the Research Office in Statistics Denmark for providing us with data. We are particularly grateful to Penille Bang and Kamilla Heurlen for their help with accessing the data. All errors are our own.
A cross layer QoS algorithm to improve wireless link throughput and voice quality over multi-rate WLANs

Voice over IP (VoIP) applications over wireless local area networks (WLANs) has become increasingly popular in recent years. VoIP is sensitive to delay and variations in packet inter-arrival times and require a steady and a dependable stream of packets to provide reasonable voice quality. Therefore, it is important to analyze the performance of the IEEE 802.11 protocol accurately by considering the effects of channel conditions, frame size, number of nodes and collision probability. In this paper, we present an analysis of link layer behavior for ideal and error prone channels by classifying the packet loss caused either by congestion or wireless medium errors and propose an efficient, adaptive, codec and frame size modification algorithm for the optimization of maximum throughput and voice quality on multirate WLANs.
Determining the Extremes of the Cellular NAD(H) Level by Using an Escherichia coli NAD+-Auxotrophic Mutant

ABSTRACT NAD (NAD+) and its reduced form (NADH) are omnipresent cofactors in biological systems. However, it is difficult to determine the extremes of the cellular NAD(H) level in live cells because the NAD+ level is tightly controlled by a biosynthesis regulation mechanism. Here, we developed a strategy to determine the extreme NAD(H) levels in Escherichia coli cells that were genetically engineered to be NAD+ auxotrophic. First, we expressed the ntt4 gene encoding the NAD(H) transporter in the E. coli mutant YJE001, which had a deletion of the nadC gene responsible for NAD+ de novo biosynthesis, and we showed NTT4 conferred on the mutant strain better growth in the presence of exogenous NAD+. We then constructed the NAD+-auxotrophic mutant YJE003 by disrupting the essential gene nadE, which is responsible for the last step of NAD+ biosynthesis in cells harboring the ntt4 gene. The minimal NAD+ level was determined in M9 medium in proliferating YJE003 cells that were preloaded with NAD+, while the maximal NAD(H) level was determined by exposing the cells to high concentrations of exogenous NAD(H). Compared with supplementation of NADH, cells grew faster and had a higher intracellular NAD(H) level when NAD+ was fed. The intracellular NAD(H) level increased with the increase of exogenous NAD+ concentration, until it reached a plateau. Thus, a minimal NAD(H) level of 0.039 mM and a maximum of 8.49 mM were determined, which were 0.044× and 9.6× those of wild-type cells, respectively. Finally, the potential application of this strategy in biotechnology is briefly discussed.
Polymorphisms of toll-like receptors 2, 3 and 4 in patients that do and do not enter labour spontaneously at term

Abstract To assess the association of polymorphisms of toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2, 3 and 4 with the delay in onset of labour at term pregnancies, patients delivering at > 37 weeks and without pre-eclampsia, IUGR or a history of preterm delivery were prospectively evaluated. TLR2 Arg753Gln, TLR3 (c.1377C/T) and TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms were genotyped by using PCR-RFLP. Patients labouring spontaneously before the 41st week were compared with those who did not labour spontaneously until this week in terms of baseline characteristics, TLR 2, 3 and 4 polymorphisms. The same comparisons were also performed by using a 40th week cut-off. Chi-square test, two-sample t-test or Mann–Whitney U tests were used for comparisons, as appropriate. In total, 79 patients delivering after 37 weeks were evaluated. All had CC genotype for TLR2 Arg753Gln and TLR4 Thr399Ile. There were no significant differences for TLR4 Asp299Gly GA and TLR3 (c.1377C/T) polymorphisms between patients spontaneously entering or not entering labour until the 41st week; the same was true when the 40th week cut-off was used. Delay in onset of labour at term pregnant women does not seem to be affected by the presence of TLR 2, 3 or 4 polymorphisms. Further studies are needed.
The private benefits from vocational training: a new framework

For designing policies aimed at stimulating private investments in IVT and CVT it is crucial to know who will benefit from various training investments: employers, individuals, both, or society as a whole? If any party, whether employers or individuals, do not share in the benefits of training this may hamper the success of a training programme. In this contribution we will develop a theoretical framework to characterise vocational training. We will identify four factors that determine to what extent different parties share the returns from training, namely: the degree of firm-specificity of training; the degree of imperfect competition on the market for trained workers; the retention rate of trained workers; the bargaining power of trained workers. Next this framework will serve as a handle for a review of empirical literature on the private benefits from training for both employers and individuals. What are employers’ and individuals’ benefits from different types of training? We will pay particular attention to empirical evidence on the four factors that determine the division of the returns to training.
On the Double Importance of Time in IT-Related Event Studies

Until now, time has been mainly used as a variable in IT-related event studies to explain the delayed impact of strategic IT decisions on firm value and productivity. Yet, the timing of the decision itself, due to investor sentiment, may have an effect on its valuation by the capital market. Using the example of product source code releases as open source, I find that market valuation takes a curvilinear shape over time due to investor sentiment caused by the rise and fall of the dot.com bubble. Future IT-related event studies will need to take this potentially interfering effect into account.
Moral Hazard, Corporate Governance, and Bank Failure: Evidence from The 2000-2001 Turkish Crises

This paper analyzes the role of moral hazard and corporate governance structures in bank failures within the context of the 2000-2001 currency and financial crises experienced in Turkey. The findings suggest that poor performers with lower earnings potential and managerial quality, and hence lower franchise value, were more likely to respond to moral hazard incentives provided by the regulatory failures and full coverage deposit insurance system. The findings also suggest that ownership and control variables are significantly related to the probability of failure. Privately owned Turkish commercial banks were more likely to fail. Moreover, among the privately owned Turkish commercial banks, the existence of family involvement on the board increased the probability of failure.
A Markov-Based Modelling with Dynamic Contention Window Adaptation for LAA and WiFi Coexistence

Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA) allows the operations on unlicensed spectrum for Long Term Evolution (LTE). In this paper, we propose a Markov-based analytical framework using the listen-before-talk (LBT) mechanism with dynamic contention window adaptation to investigate the performance of LAA-LAA and LAA-WiFi coexistence scenarios. Specifically, we introduce a Maximum Contention Window Timer Mechanism (MCWTM) to reduce the waste of resources and improve LAA coexistence performance. Furthermore, we derive the successful transmission probability and system backoff time under the two coexistence cases. Numerical results validate that the proposed dynamic contention window adaptation with MCWTM is effective in LAA-LAA coexistence scenario and can also improve LAA performance in LAA-WiFi coexistence scenario, compared with the static contention window mechanism.
Evaluation of universal screening for military-related sexual trauma.

OBJECTIVES In response to growing concerns about sexual violence as an underrecognized traumatic consequence of military service, Veterans Health Administration policy requires universal screening for sexual trauma sustained during military service. This prospective study, the first to evaluate national efforts to screen for military sexual trauma, investigated whether sexual trauma screening is associated with increased utilization of mental health services. METHODS This study examined data for all male (N=540,381) and female (N=33,259) veterans who had valid responses to screens for military sexual trauma in 2005. The use of mental health services during the three months after screening was examined for persons who screened positive for military sexual trauma and for those who screened negative. Findings were stratified by use of mental health services in the six months before the screening. RESULTS Compared with negative screens, positive screens were associated with significantly increased rates of postscreen mental health treatment. A more than twofold increase was observed for patients without previous use of mental health treatment (women: relative risk [RR]=2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 2.38-2.66; men: RR=2.47, 95% CI=2.34-2.61). In this group, the number of positive screens needed for one additional patient to access treatment was 5.5 for women and 7.2 for men. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that detection via screening is associated with increased rates of mental health treatment. An effective screening program that promotes detection of sexual trauma and access to mental health care can help to reduce the burden of psychiatric illness for those who have experienced military sexual trauma.
How Will Basel Ii Affect Bank Lending to Emerging Markets? An Analysis Based on German Bank Level Data

This paper investigates whether the new Basel Accord will induce a change in bank lending to emerging markets using a comprehensive new data set on German banks` foreign exposure. We test two interlinked hypotheses on the conditions under which the change in the regulatory capital would leave lending flows unaffected. This would be the case if (i) the new regulatory capital requirement remains below the economic capital and (ii) banks' economic capital to emerging markets already adequately reflects risk. On both accounts the evidence indicates that the new Basel Accord should have a limited effect on lending to emerging markets.
Sexual fantasy.

This article reviews the research literature on sexual fantasy, a central aspect of human sexual behavior. Topics include (a) gender similarities and differences in the incidence, frequency, and content of sexual fantasies and how they relate to sociocultural and sociobiological theories of sexual behavior; (b) the association between frequency or content of sexual fantasies and variables such as age, sexual adjustment and satisfaction, guilt, sexual orientation, personality, and sexual experience; and (c) "deviant" sexual fantasies (i.e., what they are, whether they play a role in the commission of sexual crimes, and whether they can be modified). The article ends with a summary of major findings and suggestions for future research.
Spatial and temporal patterns of territory use of male California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Little is known about the spatial distribution patterns of territory use throughout the breeding season and the po- tential influence of these patterns on male behavior and fitness for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828)). We used empirical data from behavioral observations to document the distribution of 1271 territories during the 2004-2006 breeding seasons at three breeding colonies in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Territories were depicted as cir- cular objects and overlaid over one another in ArcINFO 1 , separated by island and year. Areas with consistent overlap in territory use were identified among years. Territory boundaries and locations were spatially distinct within breeding sea- sons and at each of the breeding colonies. Males occurring in these areas were partially influenced by island, year, territory size, number of females, aggressive interactions, and distance to nearest neighbor (best fitting model — AIC = 1273.09, ! i = 0.99). However, the best model only accounted for 30% of the variation, indicating that other variables are needed to explain the occurrence of these ''hot spots''. Territory site selection, therefore, may be influenced by extrinsic factors under which female choice may be operating resembling a lek-like mating system. Resume´ : Chez les lions de mer de Californie (Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828)), on connaoˆt mal les patrons de re ´- partition spatiale de l'utilisation du territoire durant la saison de reproduction et l'influence potentielle de ces patrons sur le comportement et la fitness des males. Des donnees empiriques provenant d'observations du comportement nous ont servi aetablir la repartition de 1271 territoires durant les saisons de reproduction de 2004-2006 dans trois colonies repro- ductives du golfe de Californie, Mexique. Nous avons representeles territoires comme des objets circulaires et superposes dans ArcINFO 1 et les avons separes par o
User-specific effects in Fingerprint Presentation Attacks Detection: Insights for future research

A fingerprint presentation attacks detector (FPAD) is designed to obtain a certain performance regardless of the targeted user population. However, two recent works on facial traits showed that a PAD system can exploit very useful information from the targeted user population. In this paper, we explored the existence of that kind of information in fingerprints when textural features are adopted. We show by experiments that such features embed not only intrinsic differences of the given fingerprint replica with respect to a generic live fingerprint, but also contains characteristics present in other fingers of the same user, and characteristics extracted directly from spoofs of the targeted fingerprint itself. These interesting evidences could lead to novel developments in the design of future FPADs.
Prodromal Symptoms to Relapse in Bipolar Disorder

In a cyclical and recurring illness such as bipolar disorder, prodrome detection is of vital importance. This paper describes manic and depressive prodromal symptoms to relapse, methods used in their detection, problems inherent in their assessment, and patients’ coping strategies. A review of the literature on the issue was performed using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (1965–May 2006). ‘Bipolar disorder’, ‘prodromes’, ‘early symptoms’, ‘coping’, ‘manic’ and ‘depression’ were entered as key words. A hand search was conducted simultaneously and the references of the articles found were used to locate additional articles. The most common depressive prodromes are mood changes, psychomotor symptoms and increased anxiety; the most frequent manic prodromes are sleep disturbances, psychotic symptoms and mood changes. The manic prodromes also last longer. Certain psychological interventions, both at the individual and psychoeducational group level, have proven effective, especially in preventing manic episodes. Bipolar patients are highly capable of detecting prodromal symptoms to relapse, although they do find the depressive ones harder to identify. Learning detection, coping strategies and idiosyncratic prodromes are elements that should be incorporated into daily clinical practice with bipolar patients.