Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards resource-efficient and QoS-aware video adaptation in media cloud

Video streaming dominates Internet traffic, accounting for more than 70 percent of North American downstream traffic at peak time. However, limited bandwidth capacity, unstable network condition, and diverse viewing devices inherently deteriorate user experiences, triggering a tussle between the growing demand of video traffic and the quality of viewing experiences. Video adaptation is the de facto solution for video streaming over heterogeneous viewing devices and under time-varying network connections. For video adaptation, each video must be transcoded into multiple representations in different bitrates and resolutions. The client-side can dynamically select the best possible quality representation according to the current network condition and device capacity. Nevertheless, embracing video adaptation in video streaming faces many challenges regarding operational cost, Quality of Service (QoS), and Quality of Experience (QoE). First, video transcoding is compute-intensive, and transcoding source videos into multiple representations and storing them consume tremendous resources. Adopting video adaptation mechanism can thus greatly increase the operational cost for video streaming. To reduce the operational cost, we propose the partial transcoding scheme for cost-efficient video transcoding. Specifically, the frequently requested video chunks are cached, resulting in storage cost; while the seldom requested video chunks are transcoded online when being requested, resulting in computing cost. We aim to minimize the longterm overall cost by determining whether a video chunk should be cached or transcoded online. We also design the virtual caching scheme, vCache, by considering the practical implementation under the Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) infrastructure. vCache can dynamically provision computing resources to ensure that transcoding delays will not affect streaming services. Second, the video generation rate in an online video service is time-varying, and maintaining a fixed number of servers for transcoding to meet the peak workload may waste
Molecular Cloning and Functional Analysis of Polyphosphoinositide-dependent Phospholipase D, PLDβ, from Arabidopsis*

A novel plant phospholipase D (PLD; EC 3.1.4.4) activity, which is dependent on phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and nanomolar concentrations of calcium, has been identified in Arabidopsis This report describes the cloning, expression, and characterization of an Arabidopsis cDNA that encodes this PLD. We have designated names of PLDβ for this PIP2-dependent PLD and PLDα for the previously characterized PIP2-independent PLD that requires millimolar Ca2+ for optimal activity. The PLDβ cDNA contains an open reading frame of 2904 nucleotides coding for a 968-amino acid protein of 108,575 daltons. Expression of this PLDβ cDNA clone in Escherichia coli results in the accumulation of a functional PLD having PLDβ, but not PLDα, activity. The activity of the expressed PLDβ is dependent on PIP2 and submicromolar amounts of Ca2+, inhibited by neomycin, and stimulated by a soluble factor from plant extracts. Sequence analysis reveals that PLDβ is evolutionarily divergent from PLDα and that its N terminus contains a regulatory Ca2+-dependent phospholipid-binding (C2) domain that is found in a number of signal transducing and membrane trafficking proteins.
Liquidity of financial options on GARCH option pricing in AMEX option market

This paper examines the pricing efficiency of Heston and Nandi GARCH (HN GARCH) model on financial options in the AMEX option market. A total of eleven major financial options during 2006 are sampled and classified by liquidity, market capitalization, and P/E ratio. The authors find that, while HN GARCH model has smaller valuation errors overall, they appear to be ill-suited for valuation of small market capitalization companies and display notable underpricing for options of low P/E ratio companies. They, however, do a good job modeling the option prices of lower liquidity companies, whose options are much more European in practice.
Compliance of corporate businesses to health and environment standards. The case of cell phone towers in Egypt

APA Citation Ibrahim, M. (2015). Compliance of corporate businesses to health and environment standards. The case of cell phone towers in Egypt [Master’s thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt. edu/etds/194 MLA Citation Ibrahim, Mohamed Mostafa. Compliance of corporate businesses to health and environment standards. The case of cell phone towers in Egypt. 2015. American University in Cairo, Master's thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt. edu/etds/194
Involvement in non-farm activities and occurrence of domestic conflicts among rural farmers in Edo state, Nigeria

As part of effort to promote rural dwellers’ wellbeing, several studies had been conducted to examine the causes and resolution of domestic conflicts among farmers but less attention is paid to their involvement in non-farm activities as a strategy to mitigate domestic conflicts, particularly in Edo State, Nigeria. The study therefore assessed male and female rural farmers’ involvement in non-farm activities in Edo State with a view to unveiling the effects on occurrence of domestic conflicts. Specifically, it analysed the benefits derived in non-farm activities as well as establishing relationship between their involvement in non-farm activities and frequency of occurrence of domestic conflicts among male and female farmers. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 130 respondents (65 males and 65 females) in the same household using interview schedule. Data on socioeconomic characteristics, non-farm activities performed and frequency of occurrence of domestic conflicts were described with the use of mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages while Pearsons’ Product Moment Correlation was used to determine the relationship that exists between benefits derived due to their involvement in non-farm activities and frequency of occurrence of domestic conflicts. Results show that 63.1% and 66.2% of male and female were between the ages of 20 and 40 years while only 9.2% of male and 38.5% of female having no formal education. Non farm activities such as wood carving (=2.94±0.57), building/construction (=2.92±0.48) and Carpentry/ furniture works (=2.83±0.83) were the major non-farm activities with high involvement among male while petty trading (=2.99±0.83), hairdressing (=3.24±0.94) and tailoring (=2.73±0.88) recorded high involvement level among their female counterparts. Income generation (=3.29±0.64) and creation of self employment (=3.24±0.27) were among the benefits derived for their involvement. A negative and significant correlation existed between farmers’ involvement in non-farm activities and frequency of occurrence of domestic conflicts (r= -0.51; p≤0.01). It was concluded that involvement in non farm activities among rural farmers is central to resolving domestic conflicts. It is therefore, recommended that farmers in the rural areas should be encouraged to involve in non-farm activities by social and development workers as this will be a strategy in building peace within a community.
[Characterization of Escherichia coli isolates derived from phylogenetic groups A and B1 causing extraintestinal infection].

INTRODUCTION Escherichia coli isolates from the non-pathogenic phylogenetic groups A and B1 rarely cause extraintestinal infections. The aim of this study was to analyze 37 E. coli isolates pertaining to phylogenetic groups A and B1 and compare them with 37 E. coli isolates from group B2 and 31 from group D, which caused the same infections. METHODS Among 105 E. coli isolated from the urine of patients with cystitis and pyelonephritis and from the blood of patients with urinary-source and other-source bacteriemia, the E. coli phylogenetic groups, 15 virulence-associated genes, 7 O-antigens and fluoroquinolone resistance were analyzed. RESULTS E. coli from groups A and B1 showed fewer virulence determinants (median 3.5) than E. coli from group B2 (8.6, P < 0.01) or D (5.3, P < .001); however, a subgroup containing 3 isolates from group A and 5 from B1 harbored 5 or more factors. E. coli from groups A/B1 were associated with resistance to fluoroquinolones (74%, P < .001), whereas E. coli from group B2 were associated with susceptibility to this antibiotic (76%, P = .003). E. coli from groups A/B1 were isolated significantly more frequently in patients with pyelonephritis or sepsis and local or general factors favoring infection, association not observed in patients with cystitis. CONCLUSIONS Even though most of the E. coli isolates from phylogenetic groups A and B1 presented a low virulence potential, they were able to cause extraintestinal infections, particularly in compromised patients.
Political Interests and the Emergence of Commercial Banking in Transition Economies

This paper examines how interactions between government agencies and banking organizations led to the emergence of commercial banking in the Czech Republic and Hungary during the 1990s. We rely on interviews with bank managers at six large banks, government officers, and experts at other organizations to learn how actions based on different political ideologies shaped the banking field. We integrate prior research on institutional change, political interest, and transition economies to describe the emergence of commercial banking. Three important problems characterized commercial banking in the two countries: the disposal of bad loans, the privatization of banks, and the establishment of banking services. We argue that the solutions to these problems based on the changing political interests of organizational actors and regulators represent the phases of institutional development in commercial banking during the 1990s. Implications of our research are discussed regarding the political perspective of organizational fields in transition economies.
Negotiation in the sourcing process in E-procurement: Case study at the Australian private sectors

: Negotiation is an important part of commerce. With the use of internet-based technologies to procure goods and services, the sourcing process of multiple goods or services usually involves complex negotiations. Advanced technologies such as e-procurement can facilitate effective solutions for negotiation between trading partners, however, in order to support business negotiations with electronic tools effectively, a deep understanding of real life business negotiation is required. This study is aim to explore the negotiation in the sourcing process in e-procurement network at the Australian Private Sectors. Two different companies which operated in the different market were selected to provide valuable information regarding the approach of negotiation in the sourcing process operated in e-procurement environment. Two cases study were conducted via interviews at the Manufacturing Car Company and the Aviation Company. The respondents included the Purchasing Managers and the suppliers for the companies. Actor Network Theory (ANT) will be used as guidance to explore this study. The significance of this study is to improve the value chain between partners in the sourcing process through the understanding and identifying social issues in electronic procurement negotiation. As such, it is hoped that greater success with e-procurement will be achieved.
Complement C5a Generation by Staphylococcal Biofilms

ABSTRACT Biofilms production is a central feature of nosocomial infection of catheters and other medical devices used in resuscitation and critical care. However, the very effective biofilm forming pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis often produces a modest host inflammatory response and few of the signs and symptoms associated with more virulent pathogens. To examine the impact of bacterial biofilm formation on provocation of an innate immune response, we studied the elaboration of the major complement anaphylatoxin C5a by human serum upon contact with S. epidermidis biofilms. Wild-type S. epidermidis and mutants of sarA (a regulatory protein that promotes synthesis of the biofilm-forming polysaccharide intercellular adhesin [PIA]) and icaB (responsible for postexport processing of PIA) were studied. C5a release, as a function of exposed biofilm surface area, was on the order of 1 fmol · cm−2 · s−1 and was dependent on the presence of PIA. Experimental results were used to inform a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of C5a release by an infected central venous catheter, one of S. epidermidis’ primary means of causing human disease. These simulations revealed that the magnitude of C5a release on a superior vena cava catheter completely covered with S. epidermidis would be lower than necessary to alert circulating leukocytes. Combined, the experimental and computational results are highly consistent with clinical observations in which the clinical signs of central line–associated bloodstream infection are often muted in association with this important pathogen.
Three Studies Of Stakeholder Influence In The Formation And Management Of Tax Policies

This dissertation consists of three separate but interrelated studies examining the formation and management of tax policies. The first study uses stakeholder theory (ST) to investigate the strategic management practices of the Transport for London (TfL) during discrete stages in the adoption, implementation, and amendments of the tax policy reform known as the London Congestion Charge (LCC). Results indicate that TfL has utilized power, legitimacy, and urgency as its main policy management tactics with a significant emphasis on legitimatizing the LCC and its subsequent policy amendments. The second study draws on social exchange theory (SET) to reexamine the relationship between corporations and legislators during tax policy processes. Data for the study come from publicly available political action committee (PAC) contribution activities surrounding the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA07). By examining the endogeneity between legislators’ voting patterns and PAC contributions by corporations, this study aims to refine empirical work on corporate political strategy, especially as it relates to crucial tax provisions embedded within an intensely debated policy proposal. Using simultaneous equations modeling (SEM), results are consistent with SET showing that an implicit and reciprocal relationship exists between corporations and legislators. This relationship affects the interdependence of how legislators vote for public policies and the amount of corporations’ financial contributions to legislators. The third study investigates and aims to validate the empirical applicability of Dahan’s (2005) typology of political resources in explicating the political interactions between stakeholder groups and legislators in the development of EISA07. I discuss how and why the mode of operations and various political resources employed by stakeholder groups affected the iii final EISA07 language concerning domestic production deduction tax credits for the oil and gas industry. Publicly available data show that both supporting and opposing stakeholder groups employ tactics consistent with Dahan’s (2005) typology. However, both stakeholder groups tend to use an interactive or positive political approach to gain access and favor of legislators instead of an adversarial approach. Ultimately, the tax credits were preserved. Taken as a whole, the three studies advance the tax and public policy research literature in accounting by studying how and why relevant stakeholders affect the formation and ongoing management of public and tax policies
Replacement of surgical castration by GnRH-inhibition or Leydig cell ablation in the male rat Hershberger antiandrogen assay.

An obstacle to the widespread adoption of the Hershberger antiandrogen assay is the surgical castration procedure required to produce androgen deficiency in the test animals. Here we describe two chemical treatments that produce similar effects to surgical castration. The first is use of ethane dimethane sulphonate (EDS), a specific toxin to the testosterone-producing Leydig cells of the mature testes. The second class of compound is the decapeptide inhibitors of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), compounds such as Antarelix and Antide. Administration of either EDS or the GnRH inhibitors results in loss of weight of the testes, epididymides, and sex-associated tissues. Co-administration of testosterone to these animals leads to reversal of the induced effects. The basic test protocol for both of these assay modifications is described. Flutamide was used as a representative potent antiandrogen, and DDE as an example of a weakly active antiandrogen. The 5alpha-reductase inhibitor finasteride was used to inhibit the transformation of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. It is shown that the EDS assay is sensitive to the antiandrogen flutamide, but that it fails to detect the weaker antiandrogen DDE. In contrast, the Antarelix assay performs as well as does the classical castration assay, leading to the detection as antiandrogens of flutamide, DDE, and finasteride. It is concluded that the GnRH inhibition Hershberger assay is more convenient to conduct than the original surgical castration assay, and it involves less stress to the test animals.
Individual variation in the frequency of sperm aneuploidy in humans

To examine interindividual differences in sperm chromosome aneuploidy, repeated semen specimens were obtained from a group of ten healthy men, aged 20–21 at the start of the study, and analyzed by multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis to determine the frequencies of sperm aneuploidy for chromosomes X, Y, 8, 18 and 21 and of diploidy. Semen samples were obtained three times over a five-year period. Statistical analysis examining the stability of sperm aneuploidy over time by type and chromosome identified two men who consistently exhibited elevated frequencies of sperm aneuploidy (stable variants): one with elevated disomy 18 and one with elevated MII diploidy. Differences among frequencies of aneuploidy by chromosome were also seen. Overall, disomy frequencies were lower for chromosome X, 8 and 18 than for chromosomes 21 or Y and for XY aneuploidy. The frequency of chromosome Y disomy did not differ from XY sperm frequency. Also, the frequency of meiosis I (XY) and II (YY + XX) sex chromosome errors did not differ in haploid sperm, but the frequency of MII errors was lower than MI errors in diploid sperm. Frequencies of sperm aneuploidy were similar between the first sampling period and the second, two years later. However, the frequency of some types of aneuploidy (XY, disomy Y, disomy 8, total autosomal disomies, total diploidy, and subcategories of diploidy) increased significantly between the first sampling period and the last, five years later, while others remained unchanged (disomy X, 21 and 18). These findings confirm inter-chromosome differences in the frequencies of disomy and suggest that some apparently healthy men exhibit consistently elevated frequencies of specific sperm aneuplodies. Furthermore, time/age-related changes in sperm aneuploidy may be detected over as short a period as five years in a repeated-measures study.
Analysing the risks of individual and collective intentionality

The risk assessment of complex systems often seems to neglect the way in which intentions, collective and individual, are central to our explanations of how risk arises in such systems. Contradictions among the intentions of different actors, for example, are typically an important part of our understanding of how organizations break down. Moreover, risk assessment practice pays little attention to the reflexive problem of how intentions for the risk assessment itself can themselves become problematic. This study was an attempt to develop a framework to support reasoning about intentionality, both individual and collective, during risk assessment. The framework broadly follows a process of 1) identifying the main social objects in a system, 2) asking what are the collective intentions for these objects in terms of the functions that are conferred on them, 3) asking what obligations and powers these create, and 4) asking what risks of organizational dysfunction can then arise. The approach was applied in a case study of aviation ramp operations. Its main value is as a formative rather than a summative kind of analysis.
Consumer preference in using the services of bukalapak website with conjoint method

Internet has become a necessity for society in Indonesia, is seen with the internet impact for the development of information technology in the environment of the community, one of which is E-commerce (electronic commerce) or commonly referred to as the shopping activity is done online, e-commerce is one of the utilization of internet technology is done by the community. With e-commerce, the community may make purchases or sales in accordance with his wishes. Bukalapak one of the companies in Indonesia who stand as an e-commerce company that offers a community to be able to make purchases or sales on his website for free. Bukalapak has competitors to continue to compete in the world of e-commerce in Indonesia. This research aims to know the preferences of consumers in using the services of the site Bukalapak. This research includes the types of descriptive and exploratory research, using the technique of Non-probability sampling and purposive sampling that are specific to the community of Bandung city ever doing online shopping at Bukalapak as a criterion of the respondents in this study, with the number of samples as many as 100 respondents in Bandung. The analysis of the data used is conjoint analysis. The results of this study showed that overall the respondents made the attribute method of the payment as the main preference in using the services of the site Bukalapak, and then followed by the attribute display websites, products and features.
The Effect of Sleep and Wakefulness Disorders on Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Objective: To clarify clinical features of sleep disorders in patients with Parkinson‘s disease (PD) and their effect on cognitive function and emotional-personal sphere. Material and methods: The study involved 62 patients with PD (33 men and 29 women) mean age 47.8+7.1 years. The control group consisted of 20 patients without Parkinsonism matching by age and sex. The diagnosis of PD was established by criteria A.Hughes. Patients underwent an extended neuropsychological study with qualitative and quantitative analysis. To determine cognitive disorders, we used neuropsychological tests. Results: 49 patients (79,3%) had sleep disorders. In the structure of sleep disorders: 29 (59.2%) patients had insomnia and 11 (22.4%) patients – parasomnia and 9 (18.4%) hypersomnia. In a control group, numbers were 4.5 times less. The analysis showed that the structure of sleep disorders correlates with the form of PD. So, insomnia is more rapidly met in akinetic-rigid form (55.5%), whereas hypersomnia is presented in mixed form. Patients with insomnia present 35% of predement cognitive impairment and 34% of dementia (66.7% of mild degree dementia and 33.3% moderate dementia severity). Whereas, in patients with hypersomnia 35% of predement cognitive impairment, 60% of dementia (54.6% and 45.4%) were observed. Among patients with permanent drowsiness 32.4% of predement cognitive impairment and 58.4% of dementia (44.8% and 55.2%) were diagnosed. Dementia (65.4%) was observed more in patients with sudden sleep (42,8% and 57.2%). Conclusion: sleep and wakefulness disorders depend not only on the severity of motor symptoms, but also depend on the emotional and cognitive state.