Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on 'Enterprise': Control and Autonomy in a Direct Selling Organisation **

Entrepreneurialism within organisations has been praised for serving employees and employers alike, but it has also been criticised as exercising power over employees in an unobtrusive, yet effective way. Within the literature from both advocates and critics, two dichotomies prevail. First, ‘enterprise’ is considered as a monolithic concept that is either ‘liberating’ or governing employees; second, it tends to be viewed as strongly opposed to ‘bureaucracy’. Recent studies have started to challenge these hitherto often one-sided characterisations by showing that individuals react and respond differently to entrepreneurialism and that bureaucratic elements can co-exist within entrepreneurial companies. However, by drawing on empirical evidence from an entrepreneurial company, we demonstrate that enterprise within an organisation itself is a complex and paradoxical instrument of power and governance in organisations. We suppose that enterprise cannot stand on its own but is instead based upon organisational practices that are at the same time liberating and controlling, entrepreneurial and bureaucratic. Such a view not only allows one to pay attention to the fractions that are caused when the ideal of the individual self-made man is transferred to organisations, but also to question the enterprise discourse itself.
Lignocelluloses: An Economical and Ecological Resource for Bio-Ethanol Production – A Review

At present, the world is confronted with the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. This has made the search for alternative and renewable sources of energy inevitable. Today, examples of such efforts are seen in the production of biofuels from wastes of organic origin, often known as Lignocellulosic Biomass. Lignocellulosic wastes are generated during the industrial processing of agricultural products. These wastes are generated in large amounts throughout the year, and are the most abundant renewable resources on earth. Due to their large availability and composition rich in compounds they could be used in other processes, there is a great interest on the reuse of these wastes, both from economical and environmental viewpoints. This paper present a concise overview of lignocelluloses, their chemical composition, economical and biotechnological potentials in bio-ethanol production with special emphasis on the choice of lignocellulosic substrates, pretreatment methods and types of microorganisms that have been used for optimal, ecological and economic production of ethanol. Also reviewed are the different methods used to improve microbiological lignocellulolytic enzymatic systems including the current status of the technology for bio-conversion of lignocellulose residues by microorganisms (particularly yeasts and fungi), with focus on the most economical and eco-friendly method for ethanol production. Although the production of bioethanol offers many benefits, more research is needed in the aspects like feedstock preparation, fermentation technology modification, etc., to make bioethanol more economically viable. This paper opined that lignocellulosic waste will become the main feedstock for ethanol production in the near future. Scaling up the production of lignocellulosic ethanol, however, requires further reduction of the production cost. Conclusively, the review suggested that in order to improve the technology and reduce the production cost, two major issues have to be addressed: i) improving technologies to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic biomass conversion (pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation) and ii) sustainable production of biomass in very large amounts.
Composting of Sewage Sludge of Moscow Waste Water Treatment Plants Using Recycling Filler

This work demonstrates a possibility of composting of municipal waste waters sludge (WWS) digested during 5-7 days, of the Kuryanovo waste water treatment plants (the city of Moscow) without the use of traditional organic additives – sawdust, peat, thatch. As a recycling filler (repeatedly used), enhancing the porosity of the composted mixture, ribbed polyethylene spheres (∅=8 cm) and wood chips (having dimension of 5-10 cm) were used. Composting was performed efficiently in both cases, however, the use of wood ships had technological and economical advantages. The process of composting was carried out during 2-4 weeks and was composed of classical phases of active heating (a rate of 0.2-0.3oC/h was obtained), maintaining of maximum temperature during 1-2 days, and cooling down to the ambient temperature. During the course of composting, a product was obtained, having attractive organoleptic properties, suitable for application in municipal laying-out of greenery.
An integrated, underwater optical /acoustic communications system

Communication underwater is severely limited when compared to communications in air because water is essentially opaque to electromagnetic radiation except in the visible band. Even in the visible band, light penetrates only a few hundred meters in the clearest waters and much less in waters made turbid by suspended sediment or high concentrations of marine life. Consequently, acoustic techniques have been developed for underwater communication systems and now represent a relatively mature and robust technology. Acoustic systems are capable of long range communication, but offer limited data rates and significant latency (due to the speed of sound in water). We are developing an optical communication system that complements and integrates with existing acoustic systems resulting in an underwater communications capability offering high data rates and low latency when within optical range combined with long range and robustness of acoustics when outside of optical range. Amongst a wide array of applications, this combination of capabilities will make it possible to operate self-powered ROVs from support vessels or platforms without requiring a physical connection to the ROV. Such a capability will help simplify operations and potentially reduce costs through the use of less capable surface vessels. New deployment strategies may offer game-changing opportunities within all areas of undersea activities. For example, rapid event response will be enhanced and repair and maintenance of the emerging ocean observatory infrastructure will become more cost effective. Such through-water communications will likewise enable exchange of large data files from fixed sensors using AUVs (or ROVs) as data mules, shuttling real-time video from untethered vehicles for inspection, identification, and other related operations. Interconnectivity for dense arrays of underwater sensors without the need for expensive and difficult to install undersea cables is also possible. An unmanned battery operated vehicle, dedicated to a subsea node, that can be wirelessly operated though a combination of acoustic and optical communications, will be an important asset for both scientific exploration and commercial applications.
Regime Switching as a Test for Exchange Rate Bubbles

This paper develops a new test for speculative bubbles, which is applied to data for the Japanese yen, the German mark and the Canadian dollar exchange rates from 1977 to 1991. The test assumes that bubbles display aparticular kind of regime-switching behaviour, which is shown to imply coefficient restrictions on a simple switching-regression model of exchange rate innovations. Test results are sensitive to the specification of exchange rate fundamentals and other factors. Evidence most consistent with the bubble hypothesis is found using an overshooting model of the Canadian dollar and a PPP model of the Japanese yen.
Long-term survival after ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

Objectives: While the short-term impact of atrial fibrillation–related stroke has been well studied, surprisingly little is known about its long-term effect on survival. Methods: We followed 13,559 patients with atrial fibrillation for a median of 6 years, identifying ischemic strokes through computerized databases and validating 1,025 events. Stroke severity was determined from hospital records. We compared survival of stroke patients with comparator nonstroke patients (matched for age, sex, race, comorbid conditions, and time of entry into the cohort) using proportional hazard models controlling for warfarin use and compared survival by degree of discharge deficit. Results: Median survival after stroke was 1.8 years compared with 5.7 years for matched nonstroke comparators (hazard ratio [HR] 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.5–3.2). This increased risk of all-cause death persisted even after restricting the analysis to the 576 stroke patients who survived 6 months after the initial stroke event (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.7–2.5, adjusting for warfarin use). Risk of death was strongly associated with stroke severity: HR 2.9 (95% CI 2.3–3.5) for strokes resulting in major deficits and HR 8.3 (95% CI 5.2–13.2) for strokes resulting in severe deficits compared with matched comparators without stroke. Conclusions: Ischemic stroke approximately triples the mortality rate in patients with atrial fibrillation. This effect persists well beyond the immediate period poststroke and is strongly associated with disability after stroke. Stroke prevention by anticoagulation has even greater beneficial effects on survival than usually considered when focusing solely on 30-day mortality rates.
Multivariate statistical methods for the analysis of microscope image series: applications in materials science

Multivariate data sets are now produced in several types of microscopy. Multivariate statistical methods are necessary in order to extract the useful information contained in such (image or spectrum) series. In this review, linear and nonlinear multivariate methods are described and illustrated with examples related both to the segmentation of microanalytical maps and to the study of variability in the images of unit cells in high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. Concerning linear multivariate statistical analysis, emphasis is put on the need to go beyond the classical orthogonal decomposition already routinely performed through principal components analysis or correspondence analysis. It is shown that oblique analysis is often necessary when quantitative results are expected. Concerning nonlinear multivariate analysis, several methods are first described for performing the mapping of data from a high‐dimensional space to a space of lower dimensionality. Then, automatic classification methods are described. These methods, which range from classical methods (hard and fuzzy C‐means) to neural networks through clustering methods which do not make assumptions concerning the shape of classes, can be used for multivariate image segmentation and image classification and averaging.
Currency Crises, Monetary Policy and Corporate Balance Sheets

Abstract This paper studies how the exposure of a country’s corporate sector to interest rate and exchange rate changes affects the probability of a currency crisis. To analyze this question, we present a model that defines currency crises as situations in which the costs of maintaining a fixed exchange rate exceed the costs of abandonment. The results show that a higher exposure to interest rate changes increases the probability of crisis through an increased need for output loss compensation and an increased efficacy of monetary policy in stimulating output. A higher exposure to exchange rate changes also increases the need for output loss compensation. However, it lowers the efficacy of monetary policy in stimulating output through the adverse balance sheet effects of exchange rate depreciation. As a result, its effect on the probability of crisis is ambiguous.
Cause and response: vulnerability and climate in the Anthropocene

Causal analysis of vulnerability aims to identify root causes of crises so that transformative solutions might be found. Yet root-cause analysis is absent from most climate response assessments. Framings for climate-change risk analysis often locate causality in hazards while attributing some causal weight to proximate social variables such as poverty or lack of capacity. They rarely ask why capacity is lacking, assets are inadequate or social protections are absent or fail. This contribution frames vulnerability and security as matters of access to assets and social protections. Assets and social protections each have their own context-contingent causal chains. A key recursive element in those causal chains is the ability – means and powers – of vulnerable people to influence the political economy that shapes their assets and social protections. Vulnerability is, as Sen rightly observed, linked to the lack of freedom – the freedom to influence the political economy that shapes these entitlements. In the Anthropocene, human causes of climate hazard must also now be accounted for in etiologies of disaster. However, attention to anthropogenic climate change should not occlude social causes of (and responsibility for) vulnerability – vulnerability is still produced in and by society.
Emerging role of bacteria in oral carcinogenesis: a review with special reference to perio-pathogenic bacteria

Oral cancer, primarily oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), continues to be a major global health problem with high incidence and low survival rates. While the major risk factors for this malignancy, mostly lifestyle related, have been identified, around 15% of oral cancer cases remain unexplained. In light of evidence implicating bacteria in the aetiology of some cancer types, several epidemiological studies have been conducted in the last decade, employing methodologies ranging from traditional culture techniques to 16S rRNA metagenomics, to assess the possible role of bacteria in OSCC. While these studies have demonstrated differences in microbial composition between cancerous and healthy tissues, they have failed to agree on specific bacteria or patterns of oral microbial dysbiosis to implicate in OSCC. On the contrary, some oral taxa, particularly Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum, show strong oral carcinogenic potential in vitro and in animal studies. Bacteria are thought to contribute to oral carcinogenesis via inhibition of apoptosis, activation of cell proliferation, promotion of cellular invasion, induction of chronic inflammation, and production of carcinogens. This narrative review provides a critical analysis of and an update on the association between bacteria and oral carcinogenesis and the possible mechanisms underlying it.
Establishment and exploitation of hyperdiploid and non‐hyperdiploid human myeloma cell lines

The establishment of clinically relevant human myeloma cell lines is central for our understanding of myeloma pathogenesis and development of novel therapies for the disease. Unfortunately, most available lines were generated from extramedullary sites, harbored multiple genetic abnormalities and categorized as non‐hyperdiploid. In contrast, hyperdiploid myeloma cell lines, which represent more than 50% of patients, are rare. We established procedures for establishment of stroma‐dependent myeloma lines by passaging primary myeloma cells, in severe combined immunodeficient‐human (SCID‐hu) or SCID‐rab mice followed by maintenance in co‐culture with stromal cells. We described the establishment and characterization of two hyperdiploid (LD and CF) and two non‐hyperdiploid (JB and BN) cell lines. Using our animal models, we also established bortezomib‐sensitive and ‐resistant BN lines. These cell lines were cellularly, phenotypically and molecularly characterized using flow cytometry immunophenotyping, DNA content, G‐band and multicolor spectral karyotyping (SKY) and global gene expression profiling. All four cell lines were infected with lentiviral‐expressing luciferase for detection of tumour cells at high sensitivity level and for monitoring myeloma growth in co‐cultures and in vivo by live animal imaging. These myeloma cell lines and the procedures used for their establishment provide essential tools for studying myeloma biology and therapy.
Non-invasive single-trial monitoring of human movement-related brain activation based on DC-magnetoencephalography

Neuroimaging techniques, such as fMRI, PET and near-infrared spectroscopy, monitor task-related neuronal activations in the brain indirectly through the associated neurovascular/metabolic responses. To assess the primary neuronal activations directly, magnetoencephalography was combined here with a mechanical modulation of the head-to-sensor position and signal separation via independent component analysis. In all of five subjects this approach allowed to monitor the time evolution of DC fields (< 0.1 Hz) over the left hemisphere related to complex finger movements of the right hand alternating with rest periods (30 s each). Throughout the recording period of 30 min, stable task-related DC fields were recordable in a single-trial mode, i.e. without any averaging. DC-MEG opens up the possibility of analysing non-invasively cortical DC-activity also in stroke, migraine or epilepsy patients.
Early detection of pancreatic cancer in patients with chronic pancreatitis: diagnostic utility of a K-ras point mutation in the pancreatic juice

OBJECTIVE:Point mutations of the K-ras oncogene at codon 12 have been described several months before the onset of pancreatic cancer in isolated cases of chronic pancreatitis (CP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest of a prospective follow-up of patients with CP and K-ras mutations at codon 12 in the detection of early pancreatic cancer.METHODS:From February 1996 to March 1998, 36 patients (mean age 52.6 yr, 31 men, five women) with CP (alcoholic: 61.1%, pancreas divisum: 5.6%, autoimmune: 5.6%, unknown origin: 27.7%) were included and then prospectively monitored (median duration of 22 months) for detection of pancreatic carcinoma. K-ras point mutations were examined by two-step polymerase chain reaction combined with restriction enzyme digestion in pancreatic juice collected during endoscopic retrograde pancreatography.RESULTS:Ten patients (27.8%) were positive for K-ras mutation. Patients with and without the mutation were not different with respect to age and sex ratio. K-ras mutations were homogeneously distributed according to the etiology (alcoholic vs nonalcoholic) and morphological characteristics (ductal stricture or mass vs none) of CP. A pancreatic carcinoma was discovered at an invasive stage in two patients, respectively at 7 and 17 months after disclosure of a K-ras mutation, versus none in patients without the mutation (p < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS:Presence of a K-ras gene mutation is not rare in patients with CP and represents an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. However, its utility for the detection of early pancreatic cancer remains doubtful in clinical practice.
Molecular Surveillance of Clinical Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Abstract Background and Objective: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become an important nosocomial pathogen in our neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and accounts for almost all S. aureus clinical isolates. The objective of this study was to assess the relatedness of these MRSA strains. Design: MRSA clinical isolates were collected from infants hospitalized in our NICUs. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with SmaI digestion was used to fingerprint these isolates. Setting: Level-III NICUs in a university-affiliated children's hospital. Results: Between 1998 and 2000, a total of 122 MRSA clinical isolates were collected from 104 infants hospitalized in our NICUs. Fifteen infants had multiple isolates (range, 2 to 4 isolates). The sources of specimens included blood (72), pus (23), sputum (15), body fluids (3), and catheter tips (9). A total of 4 genotypes with 20 subtypes were identified. There were 2 genotypes in 1998, 2 genotypes in 1999, and 4 genotypes in 2000. All but 2 isolates belonged to either genotype A (63.1%; 7 subtypes) or genotype C (35.2%; 11 subtypes). Among the 15 infants with multiple isolates, the genotypes of the isolates from a single episode of MRSA infection were different in 2 of 12 cases, and reinfection with a new strain was noted in 3 of 5 cases with recurrent infections. Conclusions: Two predominant MRSA clones prevailed in our NICUs between 1998 and 2000. Polyclonal bacteremia and reinfection with a new strain were noted.
An empirical analysis of patents flows and R&D flows around the world

In this article, we empirically investigate the effect of Research and Development (R&D) flows on patent flows around the world. We do this using an unbalanced panel consisting primarily of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that have both patent and R&D expenditure information broken down by domestic and foreign sources. Our analysis shows that even among a fairly homogeneous group of countries, the sources of patents and R&D differ substantially. Using a dynamic panel framework, we find that domestic R&D per capita increases domestic patents per capita only for the European Patent Convention (EPC) countries that already have a decentralized approach to innovation. Foreign R&D per capita increases foreign patents per capita in all countries even though foreign R&D constitutes a very small fraction of total R&D. We find that some of these differences can be attributed to the locations of the patent applications, including those to the European Patent Office (EPO), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and triadic patent applications to the EPO, USPTO and Japan Patent Office (JPO) simultaneously.
Four weeks of paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir plus dasabuvir encountering dengue fever resulted in sustained virological response in an HCV patient

Background:Direct antiviral agent (DAA) has been the standard of care for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Twelve weeks of paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir plus dasabuvir (PROD) with or without ribavirin has shown to have a sustained virological response at post-treatment 12 weeks (SVR12) rate of >90% in HCV genotype 1 (HCV-1) patients. Methods:We report a HCV-1b patient who received only 25 days of PROD treatment. Results:The patient early terminated treatment due to dengue fever but eventually achieved SVR12. It may attribute to low baseline viral loads and extraordinarily rapid suppression of HCV after treatment day1. Conclusions:The finding may shed light for possible response-guided-therapy for so-called ultra-super-responders in the DAA era. Whether the dengue virus, the Flaviviridae family as with HCV, enhanced the HCV clearance remains unclear and needs further exploration.
Loss modeling of inductive components employed in power electronic systems

Loss models of inductive components are thoroughly investigated, thereby all different aspects of loss modeling are considered. The impact of peak-to-peak flux density ΔB, frequency f, DC premagnetization HDC, temperature T, core shape, minor and major loops, flux waveform, and material on core loss calculation are considered. In order to calculate winding losses, formulas for round conductors and litz wires, each including skin- and proximity effects (including the influence of an air-gap fringing field) are included. A high level of accuracy is achieved by combining the best state-of-the-art approaches and by embedding newly-developed approaches into a novel loss calculation framework. The loss models are verified by FEM simulations and experimental measurements.