Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

The main objective of this study is to determine the factors influencing the cloud computing adoption by Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). Based on two dominant theories in the field of diffusion of innovation, a conceptual model is proposed. In order to test the model empirically, an online survey was designed and launched. Decision makers of 101 SMEs agreed to participate in this survey. In order to evaluate the internal, convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument, factor analysis and reliability tests of panel data were performed. The logistic regression analysis was deployed to test the research hypotheses. The results of regression analysis reveal that decision maker’s knowledge about cloud computing is the main influential factor in adopting this technology. A comparison between two groups of cloud adopters and non-adaptors confirm the recent Gartner's hype cycle model for emerging technology (as discussed in chapter 7) indicating a high expectation from cloud computing in both groups.
The butterfly Papilio xuthus detects visual motion using chromatic contrast

Many insects’ motion vision is achromatic and thus dependent on brightness rather than on colour contrast. We investigate whether this is true of the butterfly Papilio xuthus, an animal noted for its complex retinal organization, by measuring head movements of restrained animals in response to moving two-colour patterns. Responses were never eliminated across a range of relative colour intensities, indicating that motion can be detected through chromatic contrast in the absence of luminance contrast. Furthermore, we identify an interaction between colour and contrast polarity in sensitivity to achromatic patterns, suggesting that ON and OFF contrasts are processed by two channels with different spectral sensitivities. We propose a model of the motion detection process in the retina/lamina based on these observations.
How to Help Poor Countries

THE YEAR 2005 has become the year of development. In September, at the UN Millennium Summit meeting of heads of state, in NewYork, leaders of wealthy nations will emphasize their commitment to deeper debt relief and increased aid programs for developing countries. The Millennium Development Goals, the centerpiece of the conference's program, call for halving the levels of world poverty and hunger by 2015. The summit will focus on increasing international aid to 0.7 percent of donors' gross national product to finance a doubling of aid transfers to especially needy areas, particularly in Africa. With respect to global trade, efforts will center on the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations and opening markets to important exports (such as cotton) from developing countries. The discussions will thus proceed based on two implicit but critical underlying assumptions: that wealthy nations can materially shape development in the poor world and that their efforts to do so should consist largely of providing resources to and trading opportunities for poor countries. These assumptions ignore key lessons of the last four decades and of economic history more generally. Development is something
The Kynurenine Pathway of Tryptophan Catabolism and AIDS-Associated Kaposi Sarcoma in Africa

Background:Other than Kaposi sarcoma (KS)–associated herpesvirus and CD4+ T-cell lymphopenia, the mechanisms responsible for KS in the context of HIV are poorly understood. One recently explored pathway of HIV pathogenesis involves induction of the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO), which catabolizes tryptophan into kynurenine and several other immunologically active metabolites that suppress T-cell proliferation. We investigated the role of IDO in the development of KS in HIV disease. Methods:In a case–control study among untreated HIV-infected Ugandans, cases were adults with KS and controls were without KS. IDO activity was assessed by the ratio of plasma kynurenine to tryptophan levels (KT ratio), measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Results:We studied 631 HIV-infected subjects: 222 KS cases and 409 controls. Non-KS controls had a higher median plasma KT ratio (130, interquartile range: 90 to 190 nM/&mgr;M) than KS cases (110, interquartile range: 90 to 150 nM/&mgr;M) (P = 0.004). After adjustment for age, sex, CD4 count, and plasma HIV RNA level, subjects with the highest (fourth quartile) plasma KT ratios had a 59% reduction (95% confidence interval: 27% to 77%) in the odds of KS compared with those with the lowest (first quartile) levels. KS was also independently associated with lower CD4+ count, higher plasma HIV RNA, and men. Conclusions:Among HIV-infected individuals, greater activity of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism, as evidenced by higher levels of plasma KT ratio, was associated with lower occurrence of KS. Some consequences of immune activation in HIV infection might actually suppress certain cancers.
Mandatory Notice and Unemployment

We use newly available data from the Ontario Ministry of Labour to estimate the effects of advance notification of permanent layoff on unemployment durations. While notice is strongly negatively correlated with unemployment in the raw data, most of this effect disappears when we control for personal characteristics and when we correct for endogeneity of notice by using only its cross-firm variation to identify its effects. Overall, while short notice intervals can have a substantial effect on the probability of experiencing a short unemployment spell, we find that even very long notice intervals have little impact on long-term unemployment.
Tax Perception and Sample Selection Bias: Microeconometrics

This paper econometrically compares the perceived marginal tax rates and the actually computed marginal tax rates and tries to find out if consumers could accurately perceive the marginal tax rates. Econometrically, the paper highlights that sample selectivity operates through unobservable elements and their correlation with unobservables influencing the variable of primary interest. Sample selection bias will not arise purely because of difference in observable characteristics. Although our paper is illustrative, it highlights the generality of the issue and its relevance to many economic examples
A Comparative Study of Coupled Preferential Crystallizers for the Efficient Resolution of Conglomerate-Forming Enantiomers

The separation of enantiomers is of great importance due to their possible differences in therapeutic properties. Preferential crystallization in various configurations of coupled batch crystallizers is used as an attractive means to separate the conglomerate-forming enantiomers from racemic mixtures. However, the productivity of such batch processes can be limited by the nucleation of the counter enantiomer and consumption of the supersaturation. In this work, a recently proposed process configuration, which uses coupled mixed suspension mixed product removal (MSMPR) with liquid phase exchange, is investigated by simulation studies. A detailed study on the effect of process parameters (e.g., feed flow rate, seed mass, and liquid phase exchange) on the productivity and yield of the coupled MSMPR has been presented. Moreover, a comparison of various coupled crystallizer configurations is carried out. It is shown through simulation studies that the productivity of the enantiomeric separation can be significantly improved compared to the previously proposed batch modes when the continuous configuration is used. The effect of nucleation kinetic parameters on the performances of various crystallizer configurations is studied as well. A set of coupled population balance equations (PBEs) was used to describe the evolution of the crystal phase of the both enantiomers in each vessel. These equations were solved numerically using the quadrature method of moments. The insights obtained in this study will be useful in the process design of coupled crystallizer systems.
What makes them move abroad? Reviewing and exploring differences between self-initiated and assigned expatriation

Only in recent years have self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) been distinguished from assigned expatriates (AEs). But there is still a lack of empirically based comparative results. Statistical analysis, performed on data from 193 expatriates (NAE = 67; NSIE = 126), indicates that self-initiated foreign work experience is significantly more likely to be chosen by women and those having lower job levels. Furthermore, boundaryless and protean career orientation only partially predicted which career path is chosen. SIEs have higher organizational mobility preferences, but do not differ from AEs in their boundaryless mindset and protean career attitude. Implications of these findings for research in expatriation are discussed.
Source-controlled channel decoding

The performance of a channel decoder can be considerably improved if a priori information about the source bits is used. Many source coding schemes for analog signals still have correlation between bits of successive frames. We show that soft-outputs and bit correlations can be converted into a priori values for the next frame and used by a modified Viterbi algorithm, the APRI-SOVA. Gains of several decibels with respect to classical Viterbi decoding are obtained for the mobile GSM coding scheme and PCM transmission schemes. <<ETX>>
Catch composition, reproductive biology and diet of the bramble shark Echinorhinus brucus (Squaliformes: Echinorhinidae) from the south-eastern Arabian Sea.

Fishery and biological data are presented for the poorly known bramble shark Echinorhinus brucus (Squaliformes: Echinorhinidae), from the deep waters of the south-eastern Arabian Sea. A total of 5318 individuals from by-catch landings of deep-water bottom set longlines, gillnets and shrimp trawl fisheries operating at depths of 200-1200 m were recorded between January 2008 and December 2011 at the Kochi Fisheries Harbour (Kerala). A total of 431 individuals, from 46 to 318 cm total length (L(T)) and 0·8 to 132 kg total mass (M(T)), were examined to determine biological data for this species. The LT at which 50% were mature (L(T)50) for females and males was estimated at 189 and 187 cm LT. Litter size ranged from 10 to 36 and size at birth was between 42 and 46 cm L(T). Dietary analysis of stomach contents revealed E. brucus feeds on a variety of prey including crustaceans (69% index of relative importance, I(RI)), teleosts (25·8% I(RI)), cephalopods (1·7% I(RI)) and elasmobranchs (0·7% I(RI)). This study provides the first detailed biological data for this species and also highlights the extent of the by-catch fishery for this species in Indian waters.
Osmoregulation of Dimer Resolution at the Plasmid pJHCMW1 mwr Locus by Escherichia coli XerCD Recombination

ABSTRACT Xer-mediated dimer resolution at the mwr site of plasmid pJHCMW1 is osmoregulated in Escherichia coli. Whereas under low-salt conditions, the site-specific recombination reaction is efficient, under high-salt conditions, it proceeds inefficiently. Regulation of dimer resolution is independent of H-NS and is mediated by changes in osmolarity rather than ionic effects. The low level of recombination at high salt concentrations can be overcome by high levels of PepA or by mutating the ARG box to a sequence closer to the E. coli ARG box consensus. The central region of the mwr core recombination site plays a role in regulation of site-specific recombination by the osmotic pressure of the medium.
Conditional Inactivation of the Men1 Gene Leads to Pancreatic and Pituitary Tumorigenesis but Does Not Affect Normal Development of These Tissues

ABSTRACT Mutations of the MEN1 gene, encoding the tumor suppressor menin, predispose individuals to the cancer syndrome multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, characterized by the development of tumors of the endocrine pancreas and anterior pituitary and parathyroid glands. We have targeted the murine Men1 gene by using Cre recombinase-loxP technology to develop both total and tissue-specific knockouts of the gene. Conditional homozygous inactivation of the Men1 gene in the pituitary gland and endocrine pancreas bypasses the embryonic lethality associated with a constitutional Men1 −/− genotype and leads to β-cell hyperplasia in less than 4 months and insulinomas and prolactinomas starting at 9 months. The pituitary gland and pancreas develop normally in the conditional absence of menin, but loss of this transcriptional cofactor is sufficient to cause β-cell hyperplasia in some islets; however, such loss is not sufficient to initiate pituitary gland tumorigenesis, suggesting that additional genetic events are necessary for the latter.
A new method to identify dynamic transduction properties of aortic baroreceptors.

We identified, in 17 alpha-chloralose-anesthetized rabbits, the dynamic transduction characteristics of the aortic arch baroreceptors using a "white-noise technique. " We recorded aortic pressure and aortic depressor nerve activity while perturbing pressure by rapid, intermittent ventricular pacing (400 beats/min). Dividing the cross-power spectrum between nerve activity and pressure by the power spectrum of pressure yielded the transfer function. The gain of the transfer function increased threefold as the frequency increased from 0.005 to 5 Hz, suggesting that the baroreceptors responded primarily to dynamic rather than to static changes in pressure. To quantify the nonlinear properties of baroreceptor transduction, we compared measured instantaneous nerve activity with that linearly predicted. We demonstrated that the major nonlinearity was attributable to "threshold". The overall baroreceptor transduction properties could be represented by a cascade connection of a linear subsystem followed by a nonlinear subsystem with threshold. The white-noise technique made it possible to identify the unbiased linear properties in a nonlinear system, and thus was very useful in identifying complex biological systems.
Feature transformations for robust speech recognition in reverberant conditions

The problem of noise robustness remains one of main issues in automatic speech recognition (ASR) studies. The introduction of deep neural network (DNN) technologies, while significantly improves the ASR accuracies, still has not achieved a satisfactory performance. DNN, which proves to be able to discriminate features, is a promising technologies to improve the robustness of speech recognition. Therefore, the use of feature transformations may benefit the DNN-based ASR systems. In this paper, we compare several linear feature transformation techniques on several popular features in ASR: MFCC, PLP, and FBANK. The experiments are evaluated on the Meeting Recorder Digits (MRD) subset of Aurora-5 database, a set that is developed for evaluating robust speech recognition methods against reverberation. The features are evaluated on two types of ASR systems: HMM-GMM and HMM-DNN systems. The results indicate that the use of LDA and MLLT transformations, while generally reducing the error in clean conditions for all features, are more benefit on more primitive features such as FBANK in reverberant conditions. Their uses on more uncorrelated features such as MFCC and PLP are not necessarily effective in reverberant conditions. In such conditions, appending the information regarding the features changes during time, i.e. using Delta features, is better.
Do Newly Retired Workers in the U.S. Have Sufficient Resources to Maintain Well-Being?

A persistent policy concern is the ability of individuals to save resources sufficient to sustain economic well-being in retirement. We estimate a measure of resource adequacy that compares wealth at retirement to pre-retirement earnings. Our data, including matched Social Security earnings and benefit records, provide unusually reliable estimates of earnings and retirement resources. Results suggest a modest problem of resource adequacy; about 30 percent of new retirees have insufficient resources using a replacement rate standard. Using longer life expectancy increases this proportion to nearly forty percent. Using the poverty line as a measure of adequacy, about five percent have inadequate resources. Haveman et al., Savings Sufficiency 3 Do Newly Retired Workers in the U.S. Have Sufficient Resources to Maintain Well-Being?
Application of Hamiltonian dynamics to manipulator control in constrained workspace

We describe a methodology to plan the trajectories of a robotic manipulator moving in an n-dimensional Euclidean space. The robot has to reach the target avoiding obstacles and is constrained to move in a region of the space. We show that if the positions of the target and of the obstacles are known a priori then a Hamiltonian function can be constructed and used to define a collision-free trajectory. A simulation concerning a real three-d.o. f. manipulator is reported.
Effects of UV-A (320 to 399 Nanometers) on Grazing Pressure of a Marine Heterotrophic Nanoflagellate on Strains of the Unicellular Cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp

ABSTRACT In the open ocean, where turbidity is very low, UV radiation may be an important factor regulating interactions among planktonic microorganisms. The effect of exposure to UV radiation on grazing by a commonly isolated marine heterotrophic nanoflagellate,Paraphysomonas bandaiensis, on two strains of the cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. was investigated. Laboratory cultures were exposed to a range of irradiances of artificially produced UV-B (290 to 319 nm) and UV-A (320 to 399 nm) for up to 10 h. At a UV-B irradiance of 0.19 W m−2, but not 0.12 W m−2, grazing mortality ofSynechococcus spp. and nanoflagellate-specific grazing rates were reduced compared to mortality and grazing rates with UV-A treatment. Within 6 h of exposure, UV-A alone suppressed grazing mortality at irradiances as low as 3.02 W m−2. The extent to which grazing mortality and nanoflagellate-specific grazing rates were suppressed by UV-A increased with both irradiance and duration of exposure. Over a 6-h exposure period, differences in grazing mortality were largely attributable to differential survival of nanoflagellates. Over a longer period of exposure, there was impairment by UV-A alone of nanoflagellate-specific grazing rates. Rates of primary productivity ofSynechococcus spp. were also reduced by UV-A. The extent to which Synechococcus productivity was reduced, compared to the reduction in Synechococcus grazing mortality, depended on the duration of UV-A exposure. These results support the hypothesis that UV-A alone influences the composition and biomass of marine microbial communities by affecting predator-prey interactions and primary production.
Effect of newcomer socialisation on organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention in the hotel industry

The academic literature features organisational socialisation as playing a crucial role in the early stages of newcomer employment. During this assimilation stage, newcomers adapt to a new workplace more effectively if socialisation is encouraged. It has been found that socialisation minimises the negative effects of unmet expectations on overall organisational effectiveness, including employee turnover – an issue that has become a considerable problem for many hotels. Extending this logic, this study aims to understand socialisation by specifically assessing whether turnover is determined by employees' beliefs about job satisfaction and individual commitment to an organisation and the hotel profession in general. The study of 428 respondents from 61 international tourist hotels in Taiwan implies that social interaction enables organisations to gain, from an increase in commitment to the organisation, job satisfaction and a decrease in newcomers' intent to leave the hotel profession. Two major contributions to the existing literature result (a) commitment to the organisation plays a dominant role in employee turnover intent and (b) job satisfaction is a powerful method of reinforcing individual commitment to the organisation.
Transitional Dynamics and Economic Growth in the Neoclassical Model

An understanding of the qualitative nature of the transitional dynamics of the neociassical model - the process of convergence from an initial capital stock to a steady state growth path - is a key part of the shared knowledge of most economists. It forms the basis, for example, of the widespread interest in hypotheses about convergence of levels of national economic activity. Based on several quantitative experiments undertaken in the 1960s with fixed savings rates versions of the neoclassical model, many economists further believe that the transition process can be lengthy, potentially rationalizing differences in growth rates across countries that are sustained for decades. In this paper, we undertake a systematic quantitative investigation of transitional dynamics within the most widely employed versions of the neoclassical model with interteorally optimizing households. Lengthy transitional episodes arise only if there is very low intertemporal substitution. But, more important, we find that the simplest neoclassical model inevitably generates a central implication that is traced to the production technology. Whenever we try to use it to explain major growth episodes, the model produces a rate of return that is counterfactually high in the early stages of development. For example, in seeking to account for U.S-Japan differences in post war growth as a consequence of differences in end-of-war capital, we find that the immediate postwar rate of return in Japan would have had to exceed 500% per annum. Frequently employed variants of the basic neoclassical model - those that introduce adjustment costs, separate production and consumption sectors, and international capital mobility - can potentially sweep this marginal product implication under the rug. However, such alterations necessarily cause major discrepancies to arise in other areas. With investment adjustment costs, for example, the implications resurface in counterfactual variations in Tobin's Q. We interpret our results as illustrating two important principles. First, systematic quantitative investigation of familiar models can provide surprising new insights into their practical operation. Second, explanation of sustained cross country differences in growth rates will require departure from the familiar neoclassical environment.
Aspergillus species producing ochratoxin A: isolation from vineyard soils and infection of Semillon bunches in Australia

Aims: The incidence of toxigenicity among Australian isolates of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius was assessed. Aspergillus rot and concomitant production of ochratoxin A (OA) in bunches inoculated with A. carbonarius were also investigated.
ASSISTING DEMOBILIZED RUSSIAN OFFICERS OBTAIN HOUSING: THE HOUSING CERTIFICATE OPTION

[© Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies] Under the dwelling purchase certificate program a retired or demobilized Russian officer returning from the "near abroad" is given a certificate which he can use to purchase a new housing unit in the market. The certificate is priced at estimated market price of dwellings, and prices vary by unit size and location (region). There was great uncertainty when the program was launched as to whether officers would find units available for purchase. In fact, most officers succeeded in using their certificate and most contacted several sellers in searching for housing.