Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A microtiter-based assay for hyaluronidase activity not requiring specialized reagents.

A sensitive, rapid microtiter-based assay for hyaluronidase activity is described that does not require highly specialized biological reagents, as required heretofore. The free carboxyl groups of hyaluronan are biotinylated in a one-step reaction using biotin-hydrazide. This substrate is then covalently coupled to a 96-well microtiter plate. At the completion of the enzyme reaction, residual substrate is detected with an avidin-peroxidase reaction that can be read in a standard ELISA plate reader. Because the substrate is covalently bound to the microtiter plate, artifacts such as pH-dependent displacement of the biotinylated substrate do not occur. The sensitivity permits rapid measurement of hyaluronidase activity from cultured cells and biological samples with an interassay variation of less than 5%. Using this new assay, we measured the distribution profile of plasma hyaluronidase levels in normal human sera. A 1-microl sample of plasma was sufficient for assays in triplicate. Hyaluronidase activity in human foreskin primary keratinocyte cultures was also quantitated. A 25-fold increase in hyaluronidase activity was observed in keratinocyte cultures induced to differentiate in high calcium (1.5 mM), compared to levels in low calcium (0.05 mM) media. The microtiter-based assay may be used as a routine clinical laboratory procedure.
Risky Assets Ownership Decisions by the Elderly: Evidence from the UK Retirement Survey*

This paper explores the risky asset ownership decisions of the elderly that are about to or have recently retired. The unique nature of the dataset allows us to assess the impact of various retirement related factors. The results stress the role of stock market participation costs and support decreasing absolute risk aversion preferences, implying that the less successful in the accumulation of lifetime wealth abstain from stockholding. Findings from this study, referring to an early stage of the spread of equity culture, can be particularly useful in comparisons with recently released European data on elderly finances.
Consumer Involvement and Deception from Implied Advertising Claims

Results from Experiment 1 reveal that consumers highly involved in processing an advertisement are likely to make invalid inferences from incomplete-comparison claims at the time of processing and, hence, be deceived. Less involved consumers may be induced to complete such claims at the time of measurement, which makes it appear that they also were deceived by the advertisement. Experiment 2 then demonstrates that deception depends on the processing demands of the advertising claim. Only less involved consumers are deceived by inconspicuous-qualification claims, which require detailed processing of the advertisement for non-deception. The author discusses the implications of these findings for advertisers and public policy.
Dividend Imputation and the Equity Market Premium

Much uncertainty has existed over the impact of the imputation tax system on the size of the equity market premium in Australia. This paper presents a simple equilibrium model which answers that question under certain simplifying assumptions. The analysis implies that the introduction of imputation should have led to: a one off increase in Australian equity prices; a lasting decline in the equity premium in Australia; an increase in the dividend drop off rate relative to overseas; and a change in the trading patterns of foreign investors in the Australian equity market.
Pupillometric-Based Analysis of Central Autonomic Levels Using HHT

This paper proposes a new application of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT). Pupillogram recording were analyzed through the non-traditional HHT to investigate patterns in the time-frequency parameters of Spontaneous Pupillary Oscillation (SPO) signals. The traditional Fourier transform is only useful for linear stationary signals analysis, but the HHT was designed for the analysis of non-linear and non-stationary waves. The intrinsic properties of the signals were highlighted by the HHT scheme and the results showed that SPO waves presented local and intermittent variations through the time span. The numerical parameters demonstrated that there is a wide inter-subject variation in the intrinsic time-frequency parameters contribution from each yielding mode to the total signal content.
The Regulation and Supervision of Banks around the World: A New Database

International consultants on bank regulation, and supervision for developing countries, often base their advice on how their home country does things, for lack of information on practice in other countries. Recommendations for reform have tended to be shaped by bias rather than facts. To better inform advice about bank regulation, and supervision, and to lower the marginal cost of empirical research, the authors present, and discuss a new, and comprehensive database on the regulation, and supervision of banks in a hundred and seven countries. The data, based on surveys sent to national bank regulatory, supervisory authorities, are now available to researchers, and policymakers around the world. The data cover such aspects of banking as entry requirements, ownership restrictions, capital requirements, activity restrictions, external auditing requirements, characteristics of deposit insurance schemes, loan classification and provisioning requirements, accounting and disclosure requirements, troubled bank resolution actions, and (uniquely) the quality of supervisory personnel, and their actions. The database permits users to learn how banks are currently regulated, and supervised, and about bank structures, and deposit insurance schemes, for a broad cross-section of countries. In addition to describing the data, the authors show how variables ay be grouped, and aggregated. They also show some simple correlations among selected variables. In a comparison paper ("Bank regulation and supervision: What works best") studying the relationship between differences in bank regulation and supervision, and bank performance and stability, they conclude that: 1) Countries with policies that promote private monitoring of banks, have better bank performance, and more stability. Countries with more generous deposit insurance schemes tend to have poorer bank performance, and more bank fragility. 2) Diversification of income streams, and loan portfolios - by not restricting bank activities - also tends to improve performance, and stability. (This works best when an active securities market exists). Countries in which banks are encouraged to diversify their portfolios, domestically and internationally, suffer fewer crisis.
Increase in antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella infections in the United States, 1989-1990.

To assess factors associated with antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella infections and trends in resistance, a prospective study of patients with culture-confirmed salmonellosis was done in 1989-1990. Patients with resistant infections were more likely than those with susceptible infections to be hospitalized (P = .006), to be < 1 year old (P = .003), to be black (P = .013), and to have recently been treated with an antimicrobial agent (P = .085). Compared with data from a similar study in 1979-1980, increases were seen in the percentage of patients with resistant infections (from 17% to 31%), in the resistance to ampicillin (10% to 14%), and in the frequency of isolates found in blood (1% to 11%). These data show that treatment of Salmonella infections may be complicated by growing resistance to clinically important antimicrobial agents and by an increasing frequency of extraintestinal complications. Antimicrobial agents with little demonstrated resistance should be considered for patients with complicated illness and at high risk of having a resistant infection.
Public Involvement in Forest Management and Planning in Manitoba: The Role of Stakeholder Advisory Committees (SACs)

i Acknowledgements iii List of tables vii List of figures viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose/objectives 3 1.2 Significance of the study 3 1.3 Study sites 4 1.4 Methods 5 1.5 Organization 5 Chapter 2: Public involvement in forest management and planning 6 2.1 Definition of public involvement 6 2.2 Rationale for public involvement 7 2.3 Benefits of public involvement 10 2.3.1 Involvement and creativity 10 2.3.2 Effective decision-making 10 2.3.3 Credibility 11 2.3.4 Reduce conflict 11 2.3.5 Acquisition of information 11 2.3. 6 Minimizing time and money 12 2.3. 7 Participation as experiential education 12 2.4 Public involvement in Canada 13 2.5 Public involvement in forest management and planning in North America: an overview 16 2.5. 1 Review of policy communities and networks 17 2.6 Advisory committees 27 2.6. 1 Advantages 28 2.6. 2 Disadvantages 29 2.7 Key elements of good public involvement 29 2.7. 1 Timing of involvement 29 2.7. 2 Degrees of involvement 30 2.7. 3 Analysis of public involvement mechanisms 32 Chapter 3: Methods 34 3.1 Overview 34 3.2 Literature and document review 34 3.3 Key informant interviews 35 3.4 Standardized open-ended interviews 35 3.5 Interview process 37
Information needs of lecturers in the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Nigeria

The degree of knowledge acquired by lecturers is important in every progressive teaching and learning in a higher institution. The information needs of 30 lecturers in the faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus were investigated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used in collecting the data. Majority of the lecturers were found to be within lecturer 1 and Senior Lecturer. Areas of their information needs were found in the following order: research support for journal articles; research support for conference/workshop papers; information on current development in their field; help for teaching the students. Others were research support for book production; general knowledge; current affairs and health matters. The lecturers made use of the Internet; their colleagues; mass media and the library in meeting their information needs. They encountered insufficient updated textbooks in library, slow Internet service and insufficient current journal in the library as major problems in getting their information needs met. They suggested upgrading Internet services; provision of current and relevant journals, updated textbooks; provision of a separate section for them in the library, their needs studied and their active participation in selecting materials for the library. Keywords: Information needs; Lecturers; Business Administration; University, Nigeria, libraries, internet, textbooks
The Relationship between Information & Communications Technology, Prior Experience and Customer Loyalty in Saudi Arabia Insurance Industry Companies

This study is an attempt to examine the association between important variables of service quality namely information and communications technology, prior experience and customer loyalty in Saudi Arabia’s provision of health insurance. This study obtained primary data collected through questionnaire after which SPSS version 21 was employed to test the relationship between independence variables and dependent variable. The results of this study revealed a positive and significant association between information and communications technology and customer loyalty. In the same path, prior experience was found to have a positive and significant connection with customer loyalty. Finally, this study provides limitations and suggestion for future studies towards the end.
The impact of new technology on document availability and access

Reports on new technological developments in the information transfer chain and evaluates their likely impact on availability of and access to documents. Demonstrates that new technology is making an impact on traditional means of matching authors′ products with market demands. Examines the impact of compact media on publishing formats; the use of optical discs; and the role of electronic document delivery. Considers the risk that advances in technology will restrict rather than improve availability.
Node ranking in wireless sensor networks with linear topology

In wireless sensor networks with linear topology, knowing the physical order in which nodes are deployed is useful not only for the target application, but also to some network services, like routing or data aggregation. Considering the limited resources of sensor nodes, the design of autonomous protocols to find this order is a challenging topic. In this paper, we propose a distributed and iterative centroid-based algorithm to address this problem. At each iteration, the algorithm selects two virtual anchors and finds the order of a subset of nodes, placed between these two anchors. The proposed algorithm requires local node connectivity knowledge and the identifier of the first sensor node of the network, which is the only manually configured parameter. This solution, scalable and lightweight from the deployment and maintenance point of view, is shown to be robust to connectivity degradation, correctly ordering more than 95% of the nodes, even under very low connectivity conditions
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Deaf Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

This phenomenological study focuses on the description of the nature and the meaning of the experience of being a deaf entrepreneur/business owner. Very little is known of the nature of deaf entrepreneurs and business owners. Because of the growing numbers of deaf people becoming entrepreneurs, it is important that we gain a better understanding of the experience of being a deaf entrepreneur/business owner. To gain further insight into the nature of this experience, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 participants. These individuals were selected in accordance to Crammate‘s definition of ―deaf‖ and having had been an entrepreneur/business owner for at least 2 years. Through an coded analysis of the transcribed text from the interviews, six essential themes emerged: (1) pursuing their passion with experience and skill; (2) running their enterprise through collaboration, networking, strategy and understanding of the market; (3) reflecting on their identity as a deaf person and how it impacted their experience; (4) building bridges to the rest of the world using communication strategies; (5) having a support network; (6) desiring to make an impact on the world. These themes were present among deaf entrepreneurs/business owners in all types, sizes, and structures of businesses. The implications of this study take the form of the establishment of training and development programs for nascent and experienced deaf entrepreneurs/business owners; the expansion or the creation of networking opportunities for deaf entrepreneurs; the creation of formalized mentoring networks specifically for deaf entrepreneurs within existing programs; the exploration of use of technology to enhance entrepreneurial opportunities for deaf people; and the need to use deaf entrepreneurs as role models. Areas for recommendations for future research are to further explore: 1) the concept of LIVED EXPERIENCES OF DEAF ENTREPRENEURS, vii ethnic enclaves or a ―deaf economy‖ in the context of the deaf community 2) the role of networking and mentoring for entrepreneurial and career success among deaf people 3) the role of access in the search of funding and capital 4) the use of social media for networking for deaf people 5) the concept of motivating and success factors for deaf entrepreneurs 6) the role of inhibiting factors for success of deaf people, and 7) the use of technology for access purposes. As evidence shows, there is the increasing likelihood that entrepreneurship is becoming a more viable career option for deaf people, especially after they have gained some experience in a field of study of which they are passionate. Beyond the deaf community, there are possible concepts that may be transferrable to other marginalized groups.
Intellectual Capital Research: A Personal View

This paper presents a personal view of the state of research in the field of intellectual capital. 220 papers published in the Journal of Intellectual Capital have been reviewed yielding information on demographic, linguistic, taxonomic and content issues. The authors discuss the survey data and suggest areas for improvement both in the way intellectual capital research is undertaken and in the critical area of the dissemination of intellectual capital practice to industry.
Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe Energy-efficient Sparse Matrix Auto-tuning with CSX

This whitepaper describes the programming techniques used to develop an auto-tuning compression scheme for sparse matrices with respect to accelerating matrix-vector multiplication and minimizing its energy footprint, as well as a method for extracting a power profile from a corresponding implementation of the conjugate gradient method. Using two example systems, we show how these techniques can be leveraged to automatically detect a non-trivial local optimum in the execution parameter space, suggesting that it is feasible to integrate the energy efficiency evaluation of the automatic adaptation with the automatic tuning process.
Analysis of data with excess zeros

This paper is an introduction to a set of papers on two-part models that were presented at the 2000 Joint Statistical Meetings of American Statistical Association, International Biometric Society (ENAR), International Biometric Society (WNAR), Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and Statistical Society of Canada. The second part of the paper summarizes results of a study of the size and power of two-part models. It proposes that two-part models are a useful alternative to the t-test and the Wilcoxon test.
Divide and Prosper: Consumers’ Reactions to Partitioned Prices

Many firms divide a product's price into two mandatory parts, such as the base price of a mail-order shirt and the surcharge for shipping and handling, rather than charging a combined, all-inclusive price. The authors call this strategy partitioned pricing. Although firms presumably use partitioned pricing to increase demand and profits, there is little clear empirical support that these prices increase demand or any theoretical explanation for why this should occur. The authors test hypotheses of how consumers process partitioned prices and how partitioned pricing affects consumers’ processing and recall of total costs and their purchase intentions and certain types of demand. The results suggest that partitioned prices decrease consumers’ recalled total costs and increase their demand. The manner in which the surcharge is presented and consumers’ affect for the brand name also influence how they react to partitioned prices.
ANFIS APPROACH WITH GENETIC FEATURE SELECTION FOR PREDICTION OF STUDENTS ' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

Recently the number of distance education platforms has been increased significantly. These platforms provide isolation between the student and teacher. Thus, there is a need for predicting the students who are possible to fail in a specific course and take the precautions like starting face-to-face on demand lectures for individual cases. Both of artificial intelligence and data mining techniques can be used perfectly for this task. In this paper a neuro-fuzzy inference approach has been used for prediction of academic performance of students in distance education system. The proposed system uses Takagi Sugeno Kang fuzzy inference system for the generation of the fuzzy rules. In addition the genetic algorithm used as feature selection method. The experimental results have shown that the proposed system in this paper can over perform both of neuro-fuzzy and conventional neural network approaches. Keywords— ANFIS, Genetic algorithms, Neuro Fuzzy systems
Acceptability of blood and blood substitutes

Alternatives to donor blood have been developed in part to meet increasing demand. However, new biotechnologies are often associated with increased perceptions of risk and low acceptance. This paper reviews developments of alternatives and presents data, from a field‐based experiment in the UK and Holland, on the risks and acceptance of donor blood and alternatives (chemical, genetically modified and bovine). UK groups perceived all substitutes as riskier than the Dutch. There is a negative association between perceived risk and acceptability. Solutions to increasing acceptance are discussed in terms of implicit attitudes, product naming and emotional responses.
Post-Stock Performance of Bailout Acquisitions in Japan: A One Decade Experience

In this paper, we found a strong positive post-rescue performance for acquiring firms. Furthermore, we observed even more dramatic recovery effects when we focused on accounting accrual components, such as the credit sale increases or reduction of PPE depreciation value. We found that investors have been dubious with the solvency of the troubled firms at least one year before the announcement date of their acquisition. As a result, they sold the troubled firms’ stocks heavily leading to sluggish sales that hover at a considerably low level during a one year period. However, once they are rescued by an acquiring firm, the target firm’s business recovers dramatically. Focusing on accounting accrual components (changes in ratio of receivables to total assets for one year preceding the rescue), we found a 35.92% average difference for three-year CARs between the highest and lowest ranked firms (reversed out into the acquiring firm’s stock appreciation). We also found a 35.29% average difference for three year CARs between high vs. low firm ratio changes of depreciation costs against total assets for the year preceding the announcement. Finally, we found the reversal effect on troubled firms who underwent a large stock sell-off, and found that a greater stock sell-off is strongly correlated to a more drastic reversal for the acquiring firm’s stock appreciation after buyout.
Cycle-accurate modeling of multicore processors on FPGAs

We present a novel modeling methodology which enables the generation of a highperformance, cycle-accurate simulator from a cycle-level specification of the target design. We describe Arete, a full-system multicore processor simulator, developed using our modeling methodology. We provide details on Arete's resource-efficient and high-performance implementation on multiple FPGA platforms, and the architectural experiments performed using it. We present clear evidence that the use of simplified models in architectural studies can lead to wrong conclusions. Through two experiments performed using both cycleaccurate and simplified models, we show that on one hand there are substantial quantitative and qualitative differences in results, and on the other, the results match quite well. Thesis Supervisor: Arvind Title: Johnson Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science