Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reserve Requirements, the Maturity Structure of Debt, and Bank Runs

The paper looks at the relationship between reserve requirements and the choice of the maturity structure of external debt in a general equilibrium setup, by incorporating the role of international lenders. A date- and maturity-specific reserve requirement is a fraction of the debt to be deposited in a non-interest bearing account at the central bank. At maturity, the central bank returns the reserves. There exist some specific combinations of date- and maturity-specific reserve requirements that reduce the vulnerability to bank runs. In such setup, lenders may still want to provide new short-term lending to the bank after a bank run.
Measurement of doping concentration, internal quantum efficiency and non-radiative lifetime of InP nanowires

We demonstrate an optical method to evaluate the doping concentration, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and non-radiative lifetime of semiconductor nanowires, through power dependent photoluminescence (PL) and time resolved PL (TRPL) measurement. Combining this method with standard PL and time resolved spectrum, we analyse the quality, band structure and doping distribution of Si doped InP nanowires. The doping result is correlated with electrical measurements of single nano wire device.
A study on Content-based Image Retrieval System Using Relevance Feedback

As digital images quickly increase in number, adopting effective content-based image retrieval (CBIR) algorithm to retrieval the desired images is essential nowadays with the presence of a huge amount of digital images, the present paper introduces an accurate and rapid mode for content based image retrieval process. The algorithm is composed of two major phases, namely features extraction and relevance feedback. In the feature extraction phase, it uses the improved DCD algorithm to extract color feature and LBP algorithm to extract the texture feature, with the SVM algorithm adopted in the relevance feedback phase. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher retrieval accuracy than other conventional ones.
Anti-hyperlipidemic and myocardial enhancing effects of berberine in high fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats; Possible role of adiponectin

Aim: Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid with promising anti-diabetic effect. The current study aimed to investigate the antihyperlipidemic and myocardial protective effect of BBR in high fat diet (HFD)/streptozotocin(STZ)-induced type 2 diabetic rats, highlighting the role of adiponectin. Materials and Methods: Rats were fed a HFD for 4 weeks followed by a single intraperitoneal injection STZ (35mg/kg body weight). Diabetic rats were treated either with 50mg/kg or 100mg/kg BBR for 4 weeks. Results: The present results showed a significant increase in fasting and post-prandial glucose levels with concomitant declined serum insulin and liver glycogen levels in diabetic rats. Serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and free fatty acids (FFAs) showed a significant increase in the diabetic rats. Treatment with BBR significantly ameliorated serum glucose, insulin and lipids, and liver glycogen content. In addition, diabetic rats exhibited significantly increased serum AST, CK-MB and LDH, and cardiovascular risk indices, an effect that was markedly reversed following treatment with BBR. Oral supplementation of BBR significantly increased serum levels of adiponectin. Conclusion: The ameliorative effect of BBR on carbohydrate and lipid variables in diabetes may be attributed to its insulin releasing capacity, lipid lowering effect, and increasing adiponectin levels.
Antigen Is the Receptor of Vibrio cholerae Serogroup O 1 El Tor Typing Phage VP 4

Bacteriophage VP4 is a lytic phage of the Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1, and it is used in phage subtyping of V. cholerae biotype El Tor. Studies of phage infection mechanisms will promote the understanding of the basis of phage subtyping as well as the genetic differences between sensitive and resistant strains. In this study, we investigated the receptor that phage VP4 uses to bind to El Tor strains of V. cholerae and found that it infects strains through adsorbing the O antigen of V. cholerae O1. In some natural isolates that are resistant to VP4 infection, mutations were identified in the wb* cluster (O-antigen gene cluster), which is responsible for the biosynthesis of O antigen. Mutations in the manB, wbeE, and wbeU genes caused failure of adsorption of VP4 to these strains, whereas the observed amino acid residue mutations within wbeW and manC have no effect on VP4 infection. Additionally, although mutations in two resistant strains were found only in manB and wbeW, complementing both genes did not restore sensitivity to VP4 infection, suggesting that other resistance mechanisms may exist. Therefore, the mechanism of VP4 infection may provide a basis for subtyping the phage. Elaborate mutations of the O antigen may imbue V. cholerae strains with resistance to phage infection.
Does Product Market Competition Foster Corporate Social Responsibility?

This study examines whether product market competition affects corporate social responsibility (CSR). To obtain exogenous variation in product market competition, I exploit a quasi-natural experiment provided by large import tariff reductions that occurred between 1992 and 2005 in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, I find that companies react to tariff reductions by increasing their engagement in CSR. This finding supports the view that CSR is a valuable resource that allows companies to improve their competitiveness. I further argue and provide evidence that the increase in CSR depends on the institutional environment as well as CSR- and firm-specific characteristics. Specifically, I find that the increase in CSR is larger for companies operating in industries where the CSR-sensitivity of customers is higher such as the business-to-consumer sector and durable experience goods markets. I also find that companies focus their additional CSR investments on their core stakeholders such as customers and employees. Finally, I find that the increase in CSR, albeit smaller, remains significant for companies facing higher financing constraints.
Adaptive Bidding for Electricity Wholesale Markets in a Smart Grid

One of challenges for researchers in smart grids is to nd mechanisms for putting orders on the electricity wholesale market. This paper tackles this problem by proposing adaptive bidding mechanism for trading in the wholesale market. The research challenge lies in the fact that wholesale players simultaneously trade on 24 dierent wholesale markets determined by the moment of electricity delivery which ranges from 1 to 24 hours ahead. Namely, the variant Roth-Erev reinforcement learning algorithm is used to coordinate wholesale bidding across dier- ent markets by choosing among four implemented wholesale strategies. The Power Trading Agent Competition is used to evaluate the perfor- mance of dierent implementations of the adaptive bidding mechanism as well as to benchmark adaptive bidding approach against single strat- egy approach.
Impact of Tax Administration on Government Revenue in a Developing Economy - A Case Study of Nigeria

This paper attempts to look at the Nigeria Tax administration and its capacity to reduce tax evasion and generate revenue for development desire of the populace. The study made use of 121 online survey questionnaires containing 25 relevant questions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse 93 usable responses. The study found among other things that increasing tax revenue is a function of effective enforcement strategy which is the pure responsibility of tax administration. Nigeria lack enforcement machineries which include among other things, adequate manpower, computers and effective postal and communication system. The study has clear practical implications for tax practitioners and governments policy makers in developing countries in particular.
A cross‐national and cross‐generational study of consumer acculturation to advertising appeals

Purpose – Previous research on global marketing has typically focussed on marketing strategies across national markets. Yet, the cross‐national mobility of individuals has increased heterogeneity within country markets. The purpose of this study is to examine how immigrant consumers perceive advertising appeals in the context of the consumer acculturation process. Specifically, our study focusses on the reactions of Mexican, American, and Mexican‐American consumers to puffery‐laden advertisements.Design/methodology/approach – Using two‐factor theory as our theoretical prism, the study offers salient hypotheses regarding consumer perceptions of puffery‐laden advertising appeals, which are then tested in a cross‐national experiment in the USA and Mexico.Findings – The results show that Mexican consumers are more susceptible to puffery‐laden claims than Americans. In contrast, American consumers are more susceptible to advertising that does not contain puffery‐laden claims than their Mexican counterparts. In.
Caspase-11 Protects Against Bacteria That Escape the Vacuole

Caspase-11–Dependent Pyroptosis Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes that assemble to initiate immunity to a variety of microorganisms, as well as to sterile tissue injury. Although a role for caspase-1 downstream of inflammasomes is well characterized, the discovery that caspase-1 knockout mice were also deficient in caspase-11 has led to a reassessment of the function of caspase-11. Aachoui et al. (p. 975, published online 24 January; see the Perspective by Cemma and Brumell) now demonstrate that caspase-11 is required for immunity against cytosolic bacteria in mice. Only bacteria that were able to access cytosol-activated caspase-11–dependent pyroptosis, an inflammatory type of cell death. This function of caspase-11 appeared to be independent of canonical inflammasomes. Caspase-11 triggers cell death in response to bacteria that gain access to the cytosol of macrophages. [Also see Perspective by Cemma and Brumell] Caspases are either apoptotic or inflammatory. Among inflammatory caspases, caspase-1 and -11 trigger pyroptosis, a form of programmed cell death. Whereas both can be detrimental in inflammatory disease, only caspase-1 has an established protective role during infection. Here, we report that caspase-11 is required for innate immunity to cytosolic, but not vacuolar, bacteria. Although Salmonella typhimurium and Legionella pneumophila normally reside in the vacuole, specific mutants (sifA and sdhA, respectively) aberrantly enter the cytosol. These mutants triggered caspase-11, which enhanced clearance of S. typhimurium sifA in vivo. This response did not require NLRP3, NLRC4, or ASC inflammasome pathways. Burkholderia species that naturally invade the cytosol also triggered caspase-11, which protected mice from lethal challenge with B. thailandensis and B. pseudomallei. Thus, caspase-11 is critical for surviving exposure to ubiquitous environmental pathogens.
Audience Currencies in the Age of Big Data

ABSTRACT Audience ratings data have long occupied the attention of marketers and media managers. These are the “currencies” that support the operation of commercial media. Today, metrics can be derived from many large datasets, raising the possibility that new kinds of currencies might emerge. We argue that data on exposure are the most likely to support currencies, and that these might well go beyond traditional measures of audience size and composition. We explore the relationship between the most plausible contenders for audience currencies: size and engagement as measured by time spent. Contrary to the “Law of Double Jeopardy,” we find these metrics to be uncorrelated in an online environment, suggesting that each might have a role to play as a currency. We conclude with a discussion of how the political economy of audience measurement is likely to affect audience currencies in the age of big data.
Systematic Conservation Assessment for Most of the Colombian Territory as a Strategy for Effective Biodiversity Conservation

Colombian ecosystems maintain key ecological processes that support thousands of species, including human beings. With the expansion of the country’s population, and the implementation of a government’s development plan based on an economy centred on extraction patterns, the conservation of these ecosystems is at serious risk. It is a priority to implement effective strategies that ensure the protection of the country’s biological diversity as well as the mitigation and prevention of threats and to contribute to its proper use. Colombia’s development strategies as well as its peoples’ wellbeing depend on the suitable condition of its natural assets. The identification of surrogates of conservation, the formulation of conservation goals, the prioritization of key areas and the formulation of conservation strategies based on the preservation, restoration and sustainable use of the territory and its biodiversity are proposed for 60% of the emerged land (~ 700,000 Km2). This research aims at giving proper guidelines to manage the territory and finding common points between development and biodiversity conservation, as well as to use this input for the development and implementation of a National Decision-making Support System (DSS) that will potentially have an impact on Colombia’s environmental policies and territorial planning schemes.
Parallel multilevel fast multipole algorithm for GRID computing allowing full-wave electromagnetic simulations (abstract)

This work is concerned with the parallelization of the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) for large scale electromagnetic simulations on distributed memory computers. We focus on techniques suited for low-cost clusters of workstations (COWs) and computational GRIDs. These consist of a number of nodes interconnected through a Gigabit Ethernet network and a fast switch. The algorithm is implemented on a method of moment discretisation of a two dimensional TM electromagnetic scattering problem. Because the parallelization of the MLFMA inherently relies on heavy communication between the nodes special care is taken to avoid congestion of the interconnection network by means of an asynchronous algorithm, i.e. some nodes are communicating while others are performing calculations. This allows us to evaluate large problems such as passive optical devices or electromagnetic compatibility simulations of complex high-frequency electronic equipment with up to several millions of unknowns. Keywords—Electromagnetic scattering, parallel MLFMA
Chaotic behavior in Chern-Simons-Higgs systems.

We investigate the dynamical behavior of the Chern-Simons-Higgs system, with and without the Maxwell term for the case of spatial homogeneity. The pure Chern-Simons-Higgs system is shown to be integrable. Inclusion of the Maxwell term renders the system chaotic. A Painlev\'e analysis for the Maxwell-Chern-Simons-Higgs (MCSH) system is carried out to indicate its nonintegrability. Numerical studies of the Poincar\'e plots and Lyapunov exponents are used to establish chaotic behavior in the MCSH system.
Differentially expressed genes under simulated deep-sea conditions in the psychrotolerant yeast

Microorganisms exhibit varying degree of tolerance for extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. In the present study the psychrotolerant deep-sea yeast, Cryptococcus sp. NIOCC#PY13 was exposed to elevated hydrostatic pressure and low temperature to explore the differentially expressed genes, responsible for its survival at such extreme conditions. The Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) technique was employed for identification of expressed upregulated genes at extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. The effect of elevated pressure was found to be different than that of combined pressure and temperature exposures. Altogether 17 and 20 upregulated genes were identified at 50 MPa and 50 MPa/5°C respectively. These differentially expressed genes were similar to the NCBI database ESTs (expressed sequence tags), coding for proteins such as arachidonic acid metabolism, amino acid transport, unsaturation of membrane fatty acids, which have been previously demonstrated in assisting the survival of microorganisms under stress conditions. Interestingly, about 50% of the upregulated genes matched with hypothetical proteins at a percentage similarity of ≤ 96, suggesting their probability of being novel. The detailed studies of the above genes/proteins from deep-sea microorganisms is suggested for the future investigations which may shed more light on existence and adaptation mechanisms adopted by these for their survival under such extreme conditions.
Further and stronger analogy between sampling and optimization: Langevin Monte Carlo and gradient descent

In this paper, we revisit the recently established theoretical guarantees for the convergence of the Langevin Monte Carlo algorithm of sampling from a smooth and (strongly) log-concave density. We improve the existing results when the convergence is measured in the Wasserstein distance and provide further insights on the very tight relations between, on the one hand, the Langevin Monte Carlo for sampling and, on the other hand, the gradient descent for optimization. Finally, we also establish guarantees for the convergence of a version of the Langevin Monte Carlo algorithm that is based on noisy evaluations of the gradient.
Factors of Knowledge Management and the impact of employee turnover in activity and performance in Technology parks in Slovenia

Technology parks provide infrastructure for the creation and development of knowledge-based organizations, which are associated with centers of technological excellence, mainly universities. This research addresses the question of management and skills acquisition in member organizations of technology parks in Slovenia. As means and lever for development organizations, we recognize the values and organizational culture, which cannot be achieved without employees who possess good knowledge. We associated knowledge management with employee turnover factor. The central purpose of this research is to focus on exploring the impact of movements in knowledge management on the turnover in organizations, which are members of technology parks. By using multivariate regression methods we confirmed that the required skills, knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer channels, have a statistically significant effect on employee turnover in technology parks.
A personal perspective on protecting investors of publicly listed Chinese firms

The objective of this paper is to provide a personal perspective on how to protect investors of publicly listed Chinese firms. The key points of my discussion can be summarized as follows. First, I describe China’s investor protection problems and then discuss the importance of investor protection in China. This discussion raises the possibility that strong investor protection may not be a necessary condition for a nation’s economic prosperity. Second, I propose a conceptual framework that I argue all stakeholders should use when judging the superiority of alternative investor protection mechanisms. Third, I analyze the challenges and opportunities for academic researchers interested in studying China’s investor protection. I highlight the difficulty of drawing causal inferences from observed data, the difficulty of quantifying all costs and benefits of regulatory reforms, and the difficulty of China’s unique institutional environment, which may call for investor protection mechanisms with Chinese characteristics. I also identify exciting new research opportunities that China presents to corporate governance researchers.
Application of Customer Satisfaction Degree in the Government Performance Evaluation

Studying the history and the present condition of the performance evaluation in western countries as well as analysing the evaluation model being used in China now,this paper puts forward a new evaluation model called customer satisfaction degree(CSD). Through a case study, it explains the character and feasibility of CSD. To establish a democratic, scientific and modern government performance evaluation system, this method, based on public participation, has a great influence in the future.
Diagnostic value of tomography in unilateral vocal cord paralysis

Tomographie studies were made on 56 patients with unilateral paralysis of the vocal cord. The findings were examined in relation to etiology, course, and laryngoscopic findings. In 74.1 percent of the cases, marked enlargement of the ventricle was noticed on the side of the paralysis, especially during inhalation.
Molecular and Physiological Roles of Estrogen Receptor

Estrogen receptor (ER) has been shown to be involved in several cellular and metabolic pathways. In this study, we reviewed the literature for molecular and physiological roles of estrogen receptor in normal and pathological conditions. We discussed the expression of estrogen receptor in several tissues as well as the potential of using ERb agonists in treating proliferative hematological disorders. The function of estrogen is varied and may look contradicted. Estrogen has multiple roles under physiological conditions including signaling roles in cell growth, reproduction, development and differentiation. Estrogens exert their effects through two distinct estrogen receptors, ER-α and β to which E2 binds strongly. The expression of ERs depends mainly on the type of ER. Although estrogen mainly acts in reproductive system, its receptors are selectively expressed in different tissues. ER-β is highly expressed in the ovary, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, lung, male reproductive organs, prostate, colon, kidney and the immune system. ERb is highly expressed in lymphoid cells, and the finding of anti-proliferative roles of ERb, the potential to use ERb agonists in treating proliferative hematological disorders has been raised. Taken together, the function of estrogen seems to be determined by the estrogen receptor which is expressed in various tissues with relatively predominant forms. There is a potential to used ERb agonists in treating proliferative hematological disorders. *Corresponding author: Ahed J. Al-Khatib, Department of legal medicine, Toxicology of Forensic Science and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan, E-mail: ajalkhatib@just.edu. jo Citation: Ahed J. Al-Khatib, et al. Molecular and Physiological Roles of Estrogen Receptor. (2017) J Pharm Pharmaceutics 4(1): 19. Molecular and Physiological Roles of Estrogen Receptor Ahed J. Al-Khatib1*, Geir Bjørklund2, Samir M Albalas3 Received date: April 20, 2016 Accepted date: April 26, 2017 Published date: May 02, 2017 DOI: 10.15436/2377-1313.17. 021 Ahed J. Al-Khatib, et al. ical processes such as cell growth, reproduction, development and differentiation. Estrogen is mainly synthesized in premenopausal women by ovaries as 17b-estradiol (E2) which, in turn, exerts its effects on target organs and cells. On the other hand, the main source of E2 in postmenopausal women and in men comes from the conversion of extragonadal sites of testosterone and androstenedione into E2 by the action of cytochrome P450 aromatase enzyme[1]. However, E2 has significant roles in mediating various pathological processes such as carcinogenesis[2]. Furthermore, estrogens exert their effects through two distinct estrogen receptors, ER-α and β to which E2 binds strongly[3]. ERs can bind through three binding sites or domains: one is called NH2terminal domain, another one binds the DNA, and the third one binds the ligand domain[4]. According to[5], there is a ligand-independent activation function (AF1) re-