Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of a hybrid wireless power harvester for low power applications

This paper proposes a hybrid approach to harvest power through piezo-electromagnetic transduction. This technique is composed of a piezo and electromagnetic transducer on a common platform. The novel duality of piezoelectricity and piezomagnetism in some dielectric materials are focused here to combine the process. The feasible power from the device is calculated through individual and combined boundaries. It is evident from the investigation that, certainly the combination increases the robustness of the device for low power load applications. However, the individual power output remains the same.
THE RELATION BETWEEN CULTURAL DISTANCE AND VIETNAMESE ENTERPRISES’ EXPORT INTENSITY

This paper aims to study the relation between cultural distance and export volume of Vietnamese enterprises. Based on Transaction Cost Theory developed by Hennart (1991), the author hypothesizes that the further the cultural distance between Vietnam and its import partner, the lower the export intensity is. The survey data of Viet Nam Statistics Office on 162 export firms are used to test the proposed hypothesis. Empirical results from Tobit non-linear regression indicate that the hypothesis is strongly supported after characteristics of enterprises are controlled. Managerial implications are also suggested in this paper.
Building efficient soft and cost MDD constraints

Recent developments of efficient propagators, operations and creation methods for MDDs allow us to directly build efficient MDD-based models, without the need of intermediate data structures. In this paper, we make another step in this direction by defining efficient methods to handle cost and soft versions of the MDD constraint. First, we improve the existing algorithms, then we propose to perform several graph operations that reformulate both constraints as a classical MDD constraint. This directly offers cost and soft versions for table constraints and any constraints which can be viewed as an MDD (regular, slide, knapsack, grammar.).
Chapter 8: Internationalisation Strategies and Processes of the German Mittelstand

Abstract In the German economy, in addition to typical small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Mittelstand plays a major role. The present chapter focuses on those Mittelstand firms that are known as Hidden Champions. The contribution will show how the general characteristics of Mittelstand firms impact their internationalisation strategies and internationalisation processes. It outlines how the German Mittelstand solves the global–local dilemma in an unparalleled way, and it stresses some of the major challenges that Mittelstand firms face.
Pengaruh Pengendalian Internal Persediaan dan Sistem Informasi Akuntansi terhadap Upaya Pencegahan Kecurangan (Fraud) dalam Pengelolaan Persediaan pada PT Mitra Jambi Pratama

This research aims to analyze: (1) influence of internal controls against fraud prevention on inventory management of inventory in PT Mitra Jambi Pratama. (2) to analyse the influence of the accounting information system towards the prevention of fraud in the management of the inventory of PT. Mitra Jambi Pratama. Analysis using Partial Least Square (PLS), start from measurement model (outer model), model structure (inner models) and hypothesis testing. The results showed that (1) the internal control supplies has positive significant affect to the prevention of fraud in the management of supplies in PT. Mitra Jambi Pratama and (2) the accounting information system has positive significant affect to the prevention of fraud on inventory management on PT. Mitra Jambi Pratama
The effect of sexual maturity and egg production on skeletal muscle (pectoralis major and gastrocnemius) protein turnover in broiler breeder pure lines

Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of sexual maturity on pectoralis major and gastrocnemius muscle protein turnover in broiler breeder pure lines. Protein turnover in skeletal muscle tissue was determined in 4 broiler breeder pure lines (Line A, Line B, Line C and Line D) at 22, 27, 33, 37, 44, and 50 wk of age. A completely randomized design with a factorial arrangement 4 × 6 (4 lines and 6 time periods (ages)) was used. There were 5 replicates per line/time and each hen represented a replicate. Five hens/line at each age were given an intravenous flooding‐dose of 15N‐phenylalanine (150 mM, 40 atom percent excess (APE) at a dose of 10 mL/kg. After 10 min, birds were euthanized using CO2 asphyxiation and the breast and leg muscle excised and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen for protein turnover analysis. Excreta was collected from each breeder for 3‐methyl histidine (3‐MH) analysis. There was a significant age effect for the breast muscle fractional synthesis rate (FSR), but no main effects (age and line) for leg muscle FSR. The FSR in breast muscle tissue decreased in hens from wk 22 (first egg) to wk 33 (peak egg production). There was a significant age effect on fractional breakdown rate (FBR) in breast and leg muscle. The FBR in breast muscle increased in hens from wk 22 to wk 33 and remained high through wk 37. Breast muscle FBR significantly decreased in hens from wk 37 to wk 50. The FBR in leg muscle tissue increased in hens from wk 33 to wk 37 and then decreased at wk 50. No line effect was seen for FSR or FBR. There is a large increase in skeletal muscle FBR during the transition for the pullet to sexual maturity with increases in skeletal muscle FBR in the breast and leg muscle through peak egg production. Protein turnover in skeletal muscle tissue is believed to be a source of nutrients for egg production.
Experimental Gizzard Erosions in Specific-Pathogen-Free Chicks by Serotype 1 Group I Avian Adenoviruses from Broilers

SUMMARY. The pathogenicity of serotype 1 group I avian adenovirus (GIAAV) strains isolated from gizzard erosions for 1-wk-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens was investigated. In Experiment 1, SPF chickens inoculated orally with a serotype 1 strain (Tokushima2000/GE) of GIAAV isolated from gizzard erosion in broilers were euthanatized and necropsied from 3 to 12 days after inoculation. Clinically, there were no significant signs in the chickens inoculated with Tokushima strain. The gizzards were found macroscopically to be dilated with liquefied contents. The koilin layer of the gizzard exhibited multifocal white lesions with occasional erosions. Gross lesions of the koilin layer (white foci and erosion) appeared at 3 days after inoculation and persisted until 12 days after inoculation. The gross lesions were most severe at 9 days after inoculation. Histologically, multifocal degeneration, necrosis, and loss of the glandular epithelial cells with intranuclear inclusions, liquefactive change of koilin substance, and erosive lesions of koilin layers and surface epithelium of the gizzards were observed. Macrophages increased in the focal areas of the lamina propria below the liquefactive koilin substances. Immunohistochemically, intranuclear inclusions were positive against GIAAV antigen. Histologic lesions of gizzards were most severe at 7 and 9 days after inoculation, but the frequency of intranuclear inclusions was greatest at 5 days after inoculation. In Experiment 2, the pathogenicities of four strains of serotype 1 GIAAV for 1-wk-old SPF chickens were compared. Three strains isolated from gizzard erosion had similar pathogenicities but one strain from a normal chicken was not pathogenic for chickens. These results suggest that gizzard erosions by serotype 1 GIAAV infection may occur in broiler chickens in Japan.
Development of a Methodology based on Requirements Engineering for Informal Settlements upgrading in Cairo

The phenomenon of informal settlements interests many areas of the world and is constantly expanding1. These areas are often distinguished by the lack of regulation, cheap construction materials and poor living conditions. Nonetheless, they are as well characterized by a strong general sense of community and a quite advanced organization that the community itself generates and adapts continuously to the current need. The A²L-Mobilius project2 aims to improve the quality of life of informal settlements of Egypt, by integrating technology to a system that would fit the existing situation at most. In order to achieve this intent, a methodology based on Requirements Engineering has been developed, in order to be translated in a system as end-user-oriented as possible, with the final aim of being more easily accepted. Therefore, a comprehensive study of the existing situation and stakeholder expectations has been used as the starting point. Fitting requirements, the system is meant to follow, were subsequently deducted from it. The requirements were then prioritized and the most relevant translated into functions and specifications for the project A²L-Mobilius.
Multi-cell cooperative scheduling for uplink SC-FDMA systems

In LTE uplink systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) has been employed. In SC-FDMA, orthogonal frequency resources are assigned to different users to avoid intra-cell interference. However, inter-cell interference (ICI) caused by the users in neighboring cells significantly deteriorates the performance. Cooperation among base stations must be used to deal with ICI for multi-cell systems. In this paper, we investigate multi-cell scheduling in SC-FDMA for LTE uplink. We propose a novel cooperative scheduling algorithm that takes inter-cluster and intra-cluster interference into account. We first perform coordinated scheduling and then link adaptation to select modulation and coding scheme (MCS). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has significant gains over the single-cell proportional fair (PF) scheduling algorithm on both cell-edge and average throughput. It also outperforms the existing cooperative algorithm under full path loss compensation and fractional open-loop power control (OLPC).
Network selection for heterogeneous wireless networks based on multiple attribute decision making and Evolutionary Game Theory

Network selection is a key technology to realize fair resource allocation and load balancing for converged multi-radio heterogeneous networks. In this paper, we propose a Multiple attribute decision making and Evolutionary Game Theory (MEGT) integrated network selection scheme. In MEGT, utility functions are designed appropriately to compute user QoS satisfaction of the candidate network. User preferences are considered in this paper and are computed by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Then the dynamics of the population's behavior are explicitly described by EGT. And a centralized population algorithm is adopted to implement the proposed scheme in practical wireless systems. At last, the validity of the proposed scheme is verified by numerical and simulation results.
Preliminary study collaboration method through trust values for e-supply chain integrator: A-case study of Malaysian construction industry

Limited trust, cooperation and communication have been identified as some of the issues that hinder collaboration among business partners. The same applies to the acceptance of e-supply chain integrator among organizations that involve in the same industry. On top of that, the huge number of components in the industry also makes it impossible to include everyone in the integrator. Hence, this study intends to propose a method for identifying “trusted” collaborators for inclusion into an e-supply chain integrator. For the purpose of constructing and validating the method, the Malaysian construction industry is chosen as the case study due to its size and importance to the economy. Thus, this paper puts forward the background of the research, some relevant literatures which lead to trust values elements formulation and a glimpse of the proposed method for trusted partner selection. Besides, future work is also presented to highlight the next step of this research.
Modulation of the Crayfish Escape Reflex—Physiology and Neuroethology1

Abstract We review here factors that control the excitability of the giant neuron-mediated tail-flip escape behavior in crayfish, focusing especially on recent findings concerning serotonergic modulation. Serotonin can either facilitate or inhibit escape depending on concentration and pattern of application. Low concentrations facilitate while high ones inhibit; however, if high concentrations arise gradually they facilitate instead of inhibiting. The effects of serotonin can also be altered by social experience, with application regimens that cause facilitation in social isolates coming to produce inhibition after an extended period of living as a subordinate. Attempts to understand both the possible physiological basis of some of these complexities and their possible function are discussed. Neuroethological investigations indicate that giant neuron-mediated escape is inhibited during the initial fights that establish social relationships and is facilitated in their immediate aftermath. Once the relationship of a pair is well-established, the presence of the dominant tends to suppress giant neuron-mediated escape (but not tail-flip escape mediated by non-giant circuitry) in the subordinate, but the presence of the subordinate has relatively little effect on the dominant. These patterns of modulation can be seen as consistent with the known variations in serotonin's effect as a function of concentration and social experience and may provide a biological reason for these variations.
Financial Innovation and Aggregate Risk Sharing

In this paper we examine the impact of financial innovations on real economy. Based on data for US banks’ off-balance sheet activities from 1995 to 2013, we investigate aggregate risk sharing in two different channels: Personal consumption smoothening and personal income insurance. The results show that the use of financial innovations contributes to a reduction in the exposure of personal income and consumption to state-specific economic shocks, and the results suggest a positive role played by financial innovations in real economy.
Total quality management (TQM): Implementation in primary education system of Bangladesh

The role of primary education is to ensure the broad-based development of pupils. This means ensuring that all pupils are able to develop their cognitive, social, emotional, cultural, and physical skills to the best of their abilities and preparing them for their further school career. It is known that education in Bangladesh is highly subsided. The government has given the highest importance to the education sector to ensure education for all. A large percentage of a country's national budget is set to promote education and make it more accessible. But the education system of Bangladesh faces several problems. Low performances in primary levels and dropout are matters of concern because the low performances can result of poverty, widening disparities in education opportunities and facilities, poor school attendance, less contact time in school, lack of skilled school teachers, and lack of coordination between parents and the teachers. For that reasons, this research is conducted to implement the Total Quality Management (TQM) to improve the condition and the quality of the primary education system. Total Quality Management is a tool for ensuring proper quality in the entire organization. The main objective of the research is to eliminate problems such as the lack of quality of teachers and to improve the relation between teachers, students, and parents. Another aim of this research is to improve the quality of the environment of the class room in order to motivate the students to go to school; so, the dropout can be reduced.
Hydrogen Peroxide-Mediated Interference Competition by Streptococcus pneumoniae Has No Significant Effect on Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colonization of Neonatal Rats

ABSTRACT It has been proposed that the relative scarcity of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae cocolonization in the nasopharynxes of humans can be attributed to hydrogen peroxide-mediated interference competition. Previously it has been shown in vitro that H2O2 produced by S. pneumoniae is bactericidal to S. aureus. To ascertain whether H2O2 has this inhibitory effect in the nasal passages of neonatal rats, colonization experiments were performed with S. aureus and S. pneumoniae. The results of these experiments with neonatal rats are inconsistent with the hypothesis that hydrogen peroxide-mediated killing of S. aureus by S. pneumoniae is responsible for the relative scarcity of cocolonization by these bacteria. In mixed-inoculum colonization experiments and experiments where S. aureus invaded the nasopharynxes of rats with established S. pneumoniae populations, the density of S. aureus did not differ whether the S. pneumoniae strain was H2O2 secreting or non-H2O2 secreting (SpxB). Moreover, the advantage of catalase production by S. aureus in competition with a non-catalase-producing strain (KatA) during nasal colonization was no greater in the presence of H2O2-producing S. pneumoniae than in the presence of non-H2O2-producing S. pneumoniae.
Optimization of lead design and electrode configuration in Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a medical treatment whose exact underlying biological mechanism is unknown. Yet, DBS is an established therapy in a number of neurological and mental disorders. Mathematical models aiming at a better understanding of DBS through the simulation of the electrical field in the brain have been developed in the past years. This study covers in silico optimization of the electrical stimuli delivered to the brain by means of a Finite Element model individualized through medical imaging data. The goal is to cover a given target volume with stimulation for full therapeutic effect while limiting the spread of the stimuli beyond the target border, to avoid undesirable side effects. The fraction of the activated tissue volume within the target and the fraction of the stimulation field that spreads beyond it are computed in order to quantify the performance of the stimuli. Two readily available leads are treated: a state-of-the-art lead using single active contact and a field-steering one in multiple active contact stimulation. Further, in order to obtain insights into lead design, hypothetical leads with different geometric characteristics are as well considered. The obtained results suggest that simplified models give a reasonably good approximation to optimal contact selection when compared to clinical data. Configurations with multiple active contacts might improve stimulation in some cases, although there is no general tendency. The lead design study suggests that row segmentation with three or four contacts per row is a good option. In addition, the stimulation performance was generally better for the designs where the contacts were closer to each other. This study thus confirms the importance of mathematical modeling in DBS as an inexpensive way of obtaining optimal stimulation settings and lead designs. Keywords–Deep Brain Stimulation; Optimization; Lead Design; Convex optimization; Field Steering; Parkinson Disease.
Testing the stability of "wisdom of crowds" judgments of search results over time and their similarity with the search engine rankings

Purpose – One of the under-explored aspects in the process of user information seeking behaviour is influence of time on relevance evaluation. It has been shown in previous studies that individual users might change their assessment of search results over time. It is also known that aggregated judgements of multiple individual users can lead to correct and reliable decisions; this phenomenon is known as the “wisdom of crowds”. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether aggregated judgements will be more stable and thus more reliable over time than individual user judgements. Design/methodology/approach – In this study two simple measures are proposed to calculate the aggregated judgements of search results and compare their reliability and stability to individual user judgements. In addition, the aggregated “wisdom of crowds” judgements were used as a means to compare the differences between human assessments of search results and search engine’s rankings. A large-scale user study was conducted with .
Workplace and human capital disclosure in corporate reports: comparison between government link company (GLC) and non-government link company (non-GLC)

The objective of this paper is to investigate and compare the extent of workplace and human capital disclosure in the corporate annual report and corporate websites between GLC and Non GLC in Malaysia PLC. Content analysis of 60 annual reports of ten PLCs (5 GLC and 5 Non GLC) from 2006 to 2011 and ten corporate websites in 2011 was analysed. Besides analysing the content of annual report and stand-alone reports of those 10 companies for 6 years, interviews with the managers of those companies were also conducted. 13 managers from the companies were interviewed to grasp their perspective on their workplace and human capital reporting practices. The findings from the content analysis reveal that although the disclosure level of workplace and human resource information has increased, the issues discussed and disclosed varies among the companies in the sample. GLCs shows high disclosure amount as compared to Non-GLCs. All companies disclosed at least one item for each workplace category except for the categories of information concerning labour relations, diversity and equality issues, and information about staff engagement. Reasons for non-disclosure of the above mention information ware gathered from the interviews with the managers. The reason was that the companies did not have a union for employees; and, therefore, there was no disclosure about labour relations in their annual reports. The finding of this study extends the CSR literature by providing further understanding concerning the issue of workplace disclosure in Malaysian PLCs.
Epidemiology Analysis of Streptococcus pyogenes in a Hospital in Southern Taiwan by Use of the Updated emm Cluster Typing System

ABSTRACT emm typing is the most widely used molecular typing method for the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus [GAS]). emm typing is based on a small variable region of the emm gene; however, the emm cluster typing system defines GAS types according to the nearly complete sequence of the emm gene. Therefore, emm cluster typing is considered to provide more information regarding the functional and structural properties of M proteins in different emm types of GAS. In the present study, 677 isolates collected between 1994 and 2008 in a hospital in southern Taiwan were analyzed by the emm cluster typing system. emm clusters A-C4, E1, E6, and A-C3 were the most prevalent emm cluster types and accounted for 67.4% of total isolates. emm clusters A-C4 and E1 were associated with noninvasive diseases, whereas E6 was significantly associated with both invasive and noninvasive manifestations. In addition, emm clusters D4, E2, and E3 were significantly associated with invasive manifestations. Furthermore, we found that the functional properties of M protein, including low fibrinogen-binding and high IgG-binding activities, were correlated significantly with invasive manifestations. In summary, the present study provides updated epidemiological information on GAS emm cluster types in southern Taiwan.
A practical notation for object oriented analysis with a formal meaning

A more formal approach to object oriented information modeling (H. Kilov and J. Ross, 1994) is proposed. The five basic associations (dependency, reference, composition, subtyping and symmetric relationship) are defined mathematically, but may still be used in a graphical notation in a user friendly way. In this way, it is possible to obtain an information model with a strict mathematical meaning without additional effort.