Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards a Comprehensive Appraisal of Global Accounting Harmonization: About the “Desirability” of IFRS – A Comment on Ramanna’s “The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization”

Abstract: The article “The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization” by Karthik Ramanna is extremely insightful and his approach appears in many respects groundbreaking. One major refreshing result is that it does justice to those who think that this area of society is by nature, as technical as it seems, a political phenomenon. However, the approach chosen takes as a given that the fate of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will depend on “The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization. ” That leaves in the shadows some key elements that may well play a greater role and transform the course of events in a more powerful way. Among these are some additional geopolitical, macroeconomic, microeconomic and public interest perspectives. In that line of thinking, it could be interesting to study if, in addition to the two main factors identified by Ramanna in the politics of IFRS, one could identify another one: the “desirability” of IFRS for countries faced with the choice of accounting standards. This “desirability” would highly depend on the nature and intensity of the critique (both conceptual and fact-based) addressed to IFRS, but even more on the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) response to that critique. In the face of a robust and well-grounded critique and in case of a lack of response by the IASB, the appetite for IFRS should decrease, shrink or could even disappear and harmonization will not happen in that form; whereas in case of changes in IFRS towards better balance and consideration given to issues raised by stakeholders, harmonious globalization could effectively materialize.
Heterogeneity of Genotype-Phenotype Correlation among Macrolide-Resistant Streptococcus agalactiae Isolates

ABSTRACT Seventy-four erythromycin-resistant group B Streptococcus isolates were analyzed regarding their phenotype-genotype and phenotype-serotype correlation. Four different phenotypes were assessed, one of them for the first time. ermB and ermTR were the most frequent genotypes (80%). The most prevalent serotype III showed great phenotypic variability while serotype V was strongly associated only with two different phenotypes.
Adaptive feature selection for real-time face recognition in portable surveillance systems

Real-time face recognition is a necessary feature in advanced portable surveillance systems. However, the high complexity of available algorithms to objects segmentation and recognition makes it impossible to include such a feature into a portable device. In this paper, we aim at designing a portable surveillance system which can take MPEG audio/video currently with recognizing human faces based on a digital camera platform. The proposed flow fully utilizes the available intermediate data passing from standard video compression flow in a digital camera. An efficient face recognition approach based on adaptive feature extraction and support vector machines (SVMs) are proposed to address the performance issues. The experimental result shows that the recognition speed running on a commercial digital camera platform can achieve 1.216 seconds/frame.
Effect of combined electrostimulation and plyometric training on vertical jump height.

PURPOSE This study investigated the influence of a 4-wk combined electromyostimulation (EMS) and plyometric training program on the vertical jump performance of 10 volleyball players. METHODS Training sessions were carried out three times weekly. Each session consisted of three main parts: EMS of the knee extensor muscles (48 contractions), EMS of the plantar flexor muscles (30 contractions), and 50 plyometric jumps. Subjects were tested before (week 0), during (week 2), and after the training program (week 4), as well as once more after 2 wk of normal volleyball training (week 6). Different vertical jumps were carried out, as well as maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the knee extensor and plantar flexor muscles. RESULTS At week 2, MVC significantly increased (+20% knee extensors, +13% plantar flexors) as compared to baseline ( < 0.05). After the 4-wk training program, different vertical jumps considered were also significantly higher compared to pretraining ( < 0.001), and relative gains were comprised between 8-10% (spike-counter movement jump) and 21% (squat jump). The significant increases in maximal strength and explosive strength produced by the present training program were subsequently maintained after an additional 2 wk of volleyball training. CONCLUSION EMS combined with plyometric training has proven useful for the improvement of vertical jump ability in volleyball players. This combined training modality produced rapid increases (approximately 2 wk) of the knee extensors and plantar flexors maximal strength. These adaptations were then followed by an improvement in general and specific jumping ability, likely to affect performance on the court. In conclusion, when EMS resistance training is proposed for vertical jump development, specific work out (e.g., plyometric) must complement EMS sessions to obtain beneficial effects.
Retirement Systems of Higher Educational Institutions in Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom

わが国では急速な少子高齢化が進展するに伴い, 若年就労世代が老齢退職者の公的年金を賄う社会保障システムに対して制度上の限界が指摘されている。 年金制度改革はわが国の国内政策における重要且つ喫緊の検討課題であるが, 企業年金・退職給付制度といった社会保障制度はまた, わが国の高等教育機関や教職員にも共通する極めて深刻な問題といえる。 特に私立大学・短期大学の経営母体である学校法人の年金問題は極めて厳しい状況にあり, 現在各機関・法人に課せられている年金掛け金率は1990年代前半比で既に二倍にまで引き上げられている。 また法人化以降の国立大学法人においては, 文部科学省共済組合長期給付事業を継続しており, 教職員給与から掛金が天引きされているものの, 依然として不十分な引当金の問題が解決しておらず将来的な年金不安は免れない。 これらの背景を踏まえ, 流動的な雇用形態を特徴とするわが国の大学・短期大学教員にとって, 新たに導入された確定拠出型年金がもつポータビリティのメリットは享受されうるのか, また税制上の優遇措置や年金資産運用に係る投資リスクに対する教職員の個人選好について考察すると同時に, わが国の高等教育機関にとって適切且つ持続可能な年金・退職給付制度の在り方について検討する。 また本稿では, 従来の確定給付型年金構造を基盤とする日英高等教育機関における年金制度と米国教育研究機関が導入する確定拠出型年金システムの制度比較をとおして, 各国の高等教育機関における運用実態と問題点を把握し, わが国の新たな退職給付システム構築に向けた制度設計について考察する。
Workshop on Approaches and Applications of Inductive Programming, AAIP 2005, to be held in conjunction with the 22nd International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2005), Bonn, Germany, August 7, 2005

We describe an approach to the inductive synthesis of recursive equations from input/outputexamples which is based on the classical twostep approach to induction of functional Lisp programs of Summers (1977). In a first step, I/Oexamples are rewritten to traces which explain the outputs given the respective inputs based on a datatype theory. This traces can be integrated into one conditional expression which represents a non-recursive program. In a second step, this initial program term is generalized into recursive equations by searching for syntactical regularities in the term. Our approach extends the classical work in several aspects. The most important extensions are that we are able to induce a set of recursive equations in one synthesizing step, the equations may contain more than one recursive call, and additionally needed parameters are automatically introduced.
External Ownership of Industry and Government Policy: Some Further Evidence for Northern Ireland

HARRIS R. I. D. (1990) External ownership of industry and government policy: some further evidence for Northern Ireland, Reg. Studies 25, 45–62. This paper considers the causes and consequences of external ownership and control of manufacturing in Northern Ireland. The province is an interesting example of a branch plant economy, since government regional policy has been particularly responsible for encouraging inward investment. The effect of external control on occupational structures, inter-firm linkages, technological development, and plant closures is assessed using various (and often unique) databases. The results obtained suggest that high levels of external ownership in Northern Ireland lead to proportionately more unskilled, as opposed to skilled, manual workers; linkages tend to be truncated leading to generally lower levels of integration into the local economy; RD and there appears to have been a higher propensity for closure if the plant w.
Exploration for the Salinity Tolerance-Related Genes from Xero-Halophyte Atriplex canescens Exploiting Yeast Functional Screening System

Plant productivity is limited by salinity stress, both in natural and agricultural systems. Identification of salt stress-related genes from halophyte can provide insights into mechanisms of salt stress tolerance in plants. Atriplex canescens is a xero-halophyte that exhibits optimum growth in the presence of 400 mM NaCl. A cDNA library derived from highly salt-treated A. canescens plants was constructed based on a yeast expression system. A total of 53 transgenic yeast clones expressing enhanced salt tolerance were selected from 105 transformants. Their plasmids were sequenced and the gene characteristics were annotated using a BLASTX search. Retransformation of yeast cells with the selected plasmids conferred salt tolerance to the resulting transformants. The expression patterns of 28 of these stress-related genes were further investigated in A. canescens leaves by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. In this study, we provided a rapid and robust assay system for large-scale screening of genes for varied abiotic stress tolerance with high efficiency in A. canescens.
Collaborative Care for Children With ADHD Symptoms: A Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Trial

OBJECTIVES: Although many attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) care models have been studied, few have demonstrated individual-level symptom improvement. We sought to test whether complementing basic collaborative care with interventions that address common reasons for symptom persistence improves outcomes for children with inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. METHODS: We conducted a randomized comparative effectiveness trial of 2 care management systems for 6- to 12-year-old children being evaluated for ADHD (n = 156). All participants received care management with decision support. Care managers in the enhanced care arm also were trained in motivational and parent management techniques to help parents engage in their child’s treatment, address their own mental health needs, and manage challenging child behaviors. We used multivariable models to assess inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositionality, and social skills over 1 year. RESULTS: Both treatment arms generated guideline concordant diagnostic processes in 94% of cases; 40% of children had presentations consistent with ADHD. For the entire sample, there were no differences in symptom trajectories between study arms; mean differences in change scores at 12 months were –0.14 (95% confidence interval –0.34 to 0.07) for inattention; –0.13 (–0.31 to 0.05) for hyperactivity/impulsivity; –0.09 (–0.28 to 0.11) for oppositionality; and 3.30 (–1.23 to 7.82) for social skills. Among children with ADHD-consistent presentations, enhanced arm participants experienced superior change scores for hyperactivity/impulsivity of –0.36 (–0.69 to –0.03), oppositionality –0.40 (–0.75 to –0.05), and social skills 9.57 (1.85 to 17.28). CONCLUSIONS: Among children with ADHD-consistent presentations, addressing barriers to engagement with care and challenging child behaviors has potential to improve the effectiveness of collaborative care.
echanics of airflow in the human nasal airways

The mechanics of airflow in the human nasal airways is reviewed, drawing on the findings of experimental and computational model studies. Modelling inevitably requires simplifications and assumptions, particularly given the complexity of the nasal airways. The processes entailed in modelling the nasal airways (from defining the model, to its production and, finally, validating the results) is critically examined, both omputational biomechanics
Automatic Generation of Concept Taxonomies from Web Search Data using Support Vector Machine

Ontologies and concept taxonomies are essential parts of the Semantic Web infrastructure. Since manual construction of taxonomies requires considerable efforts, automated methods for taxonomy construction should be considered. In this paper, an approach for automatic derivation of concept taxonomies from web search results is presented. The method is based on generating derivative features from web search data and applying the machine learning techniques. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is trained with known concept hyponym-hypernym pairs and the obtained classification model is used to predict new hyponymy (is-a) relations. Prediction results are used to generate concept taxonomies in OWL. The results of the application of the approach for constructing colour taxonomy are presented.
Monetary Policy and the Slope Factor in Empirical Term Structure Estimations

This paper examines the empirical relationship between the movement of the slope factor in term structure of nominal interest rates and exogenous monetary-policy shocks in the U.S. after 1982. Using first a six-variable VAR model and then a GMM estimation model of the Taylor rule, I estimate the exogenous monetary-policy shocks implied by each of them in the U.S. during this period. Meanwhile, a two-factor model is used to extract the underlying slope factor of the term structure. Results from the correlation study suggest that there is strong correlation between the slope factor and the exogenous monetary-policy shocks. Moreover, monetary-policy shocks can explain a large part of variability of the slope factor. This study provides strong evidence in support of Knez, Litterman and Scheinkman (1994)'s conjecture on the relation between the slope factor and the Federal Reserve policy, and is also consistent with the results in Wu (2001a)'s general-equilibrium based simulation study.
On Interference Rejection Combining for LTE-A Systems: Analysis of Covariance Estimators and an Iterative Algorithm for Frequency-Selective Channels

Spatial suppression of interference using interference rejection combining (IRC) is an important feature considered in LTE-A systems for improving the reception performance of users, especially at the cell-edges. The efficiency of interference suppression depends on the accuracy of the channel estimation and the spatial covariance estimation. In this work, we first analyze two different approaches of covariance estimation, namely data based covariance estimation and reference signal based covariance estimation. It is shown that the reference signal based covariance estimation is superior, even for a block flat fading channel and the reasons behind this behavior are investigated. Secondly, we propose an iterative IRC receiver with soft iterative channel estimation and covariance estimation for highly frequency-selective channels. The performance results demonstrate that the iterative IRC receiver can provide a significant gain.
Lipopolysaccharide extraction: a phenol alternative.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the predominant molecule exposed on the outer membrane of Gramnegative bacteria, and as such is the first structure on these organisms to be encountered by the host s immune system. LPS is one of the most potent bacterial components to produce an immune response in higher vertebrates (Heumann & Roger 2002), and has been extensively used as the basis for serotyping bacteria. Extracts of this molecule are also routinely used to study host–pathogen interactions as it is also involved in the resistance of bacteria to complement killing (Boesen, Pedersen, Larsen, Koch & Ellis 1999), has a specific binding site on macrophages via the LPS-binding protein (Mathison, Tobias, Wolfson & Ulevitch 1992), and may be required for proper expression of proteins in the outer membrane of the bacterium (Skurnik & Bengoechea 2003) and the biosynthesis of other virulence components (Welch & Crosa 2005). The traditional method used for LPS extraction (Westphal & Jann 1965), relies on the solubilization of the LPS molecules in phenol heated to 65 C. This, however, poses safety issues as phenol causes severe burns, is readily absorbed through the skin, is very toxic, and its analgesic properties prevents awareness that burning has actually occurred. An alternative method for LPS extraction was proposed by Morrison & Leive (1975) after comparing hot-phenol with butan-1-ol for the extraction of LPS from Escherichia coli. Their study was limited to the chemical structure of the extracted material and physical properties of the two resulting extracts. In the present study, we used butan-1-ol to purify LPS from Vibrio anguillarum, a highly pathogenic fish bacterium, and examined the purity and activity of the extracted LPS in comparison to LPS extracted with phenol, as well as whole cells treated with proteinase K (Hitchcock & Brown 1983). Different serotypes of V. anguillarum (VIB1, serotype O1, VIB2 and VIB72T, serotype O2a, VIB102, serotype O2b and VIB3, serotype O3) were cultured on tryptic soya agar (Oxoid) supplemented with 2% NaCl in 13 cm Petri dishes (Sterilin), over-laid with a cellophane sheet (Medicell International) and incubated for 72 h at 22 C. Bacteria were collected from the cellophane into 20 mL of physiological saline (2% NaCl) and heat-killed at 60 C for 120 min. After cooling, samples were divided between two poly-propylene centrifuge tubes (Nalgene), to which an equal volume of butan-1-ol (VWR) was added. The tubes were incubated at 20 C for 15 min on a shaker and centrifuged at 35 000 g for 20 min. The lower phase (aqueous) was collected and large particles filtered out with a 0.45 lm syringe filter (Sartorius), followed by 300 kDa concentrator centrifuge tubes (Vivaspin). Residual butan-1-ol was removed by concentrating the solution using 10 kDa concentrator centrifuge tubes (Vivaspin) with three successive resuspensions in distilled water. The sample was finally resuspended in 2 mL of distilled water and proteinase K (0.5 mg mL; Journal of Fish Diseases 2009, 32, 811–814 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2761.2009. 01061.x
Intratympanic administration of methylprednisolone reduces impact of experimental intensive impulse noise trauma on hearing

Conclusion. The present findings demonstrated that intratympanic methylprednisolone (MP) reduces the impact of impulse noise trauma on hearing and in part preserves the hair cells from death 1 h after exposure to intensive impulse noise. Objective. To examine the treatment efficiency of intratympanic MP (IT-MP) with different methods of administration on cochlear injury induced by exposure to intensive impulse noise. Materials and methods. Fifty-five guinea pigs were assigned into six groups and exposed to intensive impulse noise, i.e. 60 impulses at 165 dB SPL peak pressure with 0.5 ms duration and 2 s intervals. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to examine the hearing thresholds. Cochlear morphology was examined to estimate the inner and outer hair cell loss induced by impulse noise exposure. MP was applied as a rescue agent via different modalities of administration. Results. The ABR threshold value of IT-MP1 or IT-MP4 groups significantly decreased at 4 weeks as compared with the IT-NS (IT 0.9% physiological saline) group. The ABR threshold value of the group that received intramuscular administration of MP (IM-MP) also decreased at 4 weeks as compared with the IT-NS group. Significant hair cell loss was observed at the region 40–50% from the apex in the present model. Within this region, the residual hair cell number in the IT-MP1 or IT-MP4 groups was significantly greater than that in the IT-NS group.
Privacy preservation based on rotation perturbation in weighted social networks

With the development of social networks, users' privacy is threatened seriously. To protect privacy, in this paper a rotation perturbation method based on algorithm RBT (Rotation-Based Transformation) is improved. The new algorithm PPRRP (Privacy Preservation by Random Rotation Perturbation) establishes social networks into a vectors model and carries on rotation perturbation. This method reduces the amount of computation and improves the rotation perturbation efficiency. The random function generating the rotation matrix mentioned in this paper can resist the recognition attack. Simulation experiments prove PPRRP has a better performance.
Characterization of SYBR Gold nucleic acid gel stain: a dye optimized for use with 300-nm ultraviolet transilluminators.

The highest sensitivity nucleic acid gel stains developed to date are optimally excited using short-wavelength ultraviolet or visible light. This is a disadvantage for laboratories equipped only with 306- or 312-nm UV transilluminators. We have developed a new unsymmetrical cyanine dye that overcomes this problem. This new dye, SYBR Gold nucleic acid gel stain, has two fluorescence excitation maxima when bound to DNA, one centered at approximately 300 nm and one at approximately 495 nm. We found that when used with 300-nm transillumination and Polaroid black-and-white photography, SYBR Gold stain is more sensitive than ethidium bromide, SYBR Green I stain, and SYBR Green II stain for detecting double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA, and RNA. SYBR Gold stain's superior sensitivity is due to the high fluorescence quantum yield of the dye-nucleic acid complexes ( approximately 0.7), the dye's large fluorescence enhancement upon binding to nucleic acids ( approximately 1000-fold), and its capacity to more fully penetrate gels than do the SYBR Green gel stains. We found that SYBR Gold stain is as sensitive as silver staining for detecting DNA-with a single-step staining procedure. Finally, we found that staining nucleic acids with SYBR Gold stain does not interfere with subsequent molecular biology protocols.
Diversity of endophytic bacteria in medicinally important Nepenthes species

Background: Nepenthes species are used in traditional medicines to treat various health ailments. However, we do not know which types of endophytic bacteria (EB) are associated with Nepenthes spp. Objective: The objective of this study was to isolate and to identify EB associated with Nepenthes spp. Materials and Methods: Surface-sterilized leaf and stem tissues from nine Nepenthes spp. collected from Peninsular Malaysia were used to isolate EB. Isolates were identified using the polymerase chain reaction-amplified 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence similarity based method. Results: Cultivable, 96 isolates were analyzed; and the 16S rDNA sequences analysis suggest that diverse bacterial species are associated with Nepenthes spp. Majority (55.2%) of the isolates were from Bacillus genus, and Bacillus cereus was the most dominant (14.6%) among isolates. Conclusion: Nepenthes spp. do harbor a wide array of cultivable endophytic bacteria.
New Telecommunications and Residential Location Flexibility

Information and communications technologies are now used by a rapidly increasing number of people as means of spatial interaction. This has two major effects on transportation: (1) telecommunications partially substitute for travel to the workplace and to some other preexisting destinations; and (2) often indirectly, telecommunications stimulate new activities and generate extra travel. In this paper, I first develop an analytical framework for understanding changes in residential location flexibility that result from the direct travel substitution effect. I then apply this analytical tool to an exploration of the emerging urban spatial structure in the information age; alternative scenarios of telecommunications usage are simulated in a hypothetical metropolitan setting, and insightful results are obtained. The simulation is followed by a discussion of the role of urban planning in shaping the future pattern of residential growth. In an effort to stimulate further thinking and research, I point out in the conclusion that the analytical approach should be extended by taking into account the travel generation effect of telecommunications, and could be incorporated into land-use models.