Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Ba” as a determinant of salesforce effectiveness: an empirical assessment of the applicability of the Nonaka‐Takeuchi model to the management of the selling function

Heads of business‐to‐business salesforces in 113 large companies based in Greater London completed mail questionnaires designed to investigate the role of social and other informal gatherings in the exchange of salespeople’s knowledge of specific customers, selling methods, sales leads, lessons learned from past activities, etc. Respondents’ perceptions of these matters were cross‐referenced with, inter alia, the natures of companies’ knowledge management systems, organisational factors such as bureaucracy and the degree of centralisation within a firm, innovativeness, and the ability to accommodate change. The purpose of the investigation was to assess whether the Japanese concept of “ba” was an influential factor facilitating the Nonaka/Takeuchi tacit‐explicit‐tacit knowledge spiral within the sample businesses. It emerged that all four of the ba categories associated with the Nonaka/Takeuchi cycle (externalisation, socialisation, internalisation and combination) exerted a significant impact on one or more key dimensions of salesforce management.
Schistosoma mansoni Soluble Egg Antigens Enhance T Cell Responses to a Newly Identified HIV-1 Gag H-2b Epitope

ABSTRACT Schistosome infection induces significant T helper type 2 (Th2) and anti-inflammatory immune responses and has been shown to negatively impact vaccine efficacy. Our goal was to determine if the administration of schistosome soluble egg antigens (SEA) would negatively influence the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and Th1-type T cell responses to an HIV candidate vaccine in the Th1-biased C57BL/6 mouse strain. Initial experiments failed, as we were unable to detect any response to the defined class I epitope for HIV-1 IIIB Gag. Therefore, we initiated an epitope mapping study to identify C57BL/6 (H-2b) T cell epitopes in HIV-1 IIIB Gag in order to perform the experiments. This analysis defined two previously unreported minimal class I H-2b and class II I-Ab epitopes for HIV-1 IIIB Gag. The newly defined HIV-1 IIIB Gag epitopes were used to evaluate the influence of SEA on the generation of CTL and Th1-type HIV-1 IIIB Gag responses. Surprisingly, in contrast to our hypothesis, we observed that the coadministration of SEA with a Listeria monocytogenes vector expressing HIV-1 IIIB Gag (Lm-Gag) led to a significantly increased frequency of gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in C57BL/6 mice compared to mice immunized with Lm-Gag only. These observations suggest that SEA contains, in addition to Th2-type and immune-suppressive molecules, substances that can act with the Lm-Gag vaccine to increase CTL and Th1-type vaccine-specific immune responses.
Comparison of Sensitivities of Virus Isolation, Antigen Detection, and Nucleic Acid Amplification for Detection of Equine Influenza Virus

ABSTRACT Four seronegative foals aged 6 to 7 months were exposed to an aerosol of influenza strain A/Equi/2/Kildare/89 at 106 50% egg infective doses (EID50)/ml. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for 10 consecutive days after challenge. Virus isolation was performed in embryonated eggs, and the EID50 was determined for all positive samples. The 50% tissue culture infective dose was determined using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Samples were also tested by an in vitro enzyme immunoassay test, Directigen Flu A, and by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) using nested primers from the nucleoprotein gene and a single set of primers from the matrix gene. RT-PCR using the matrix primers and virus isolation in embryonated eggs proved to be the most sensitive methods for the detection of virus. The Directigen Flu A test was the least sensitive method. The inclusion of 2% fetal calf serum in the viral transport medium inhibited the growth of virus from undiluted samples in MDCK cells but was essential for the maintenance of the virus titer in samples subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
Vietnam's Emerging Stock Market: Profitability and Growth in a Statistical View

The Vietnamese stock market has been going into operation for over 8 years. This paper summarizes major aspects of the emerging market so as to give an intuitive and essential overview of its constituents, regulations and performance. Specifically, we examine the risk and return associated with the promising market by looking into the volatility of the VN-Index during the period. We find that predictive power and signs of heteroskedasticity are evident.
Essentials for Information Coordination in Supply Chain Systems

The supply chain plays an essential role for modern companies to retain their competitive advantages in today's business environments. As supply chain members are often separate and independent economic entities, a key issue in supply chain management is to develop mechanisms that can align their objectives and coordinate their activities so as to optimize system performance. Information is a keyword in the coordination. In this paper, we provide a review of coordination of operational information in supply chain which is classified into information types, their impact on supply chain performance, and the policy of information sharing. Then the essentials for information coordination are indicated. In the end, future research direction is pointed out.
Proposing a Compartmental Model for Leprosy and Parameterizing Using Regional Incidence in Brazil

Hansen’s disease (HD), or leprosy, is still considered a public health risk in much of Brazil. Understanding the dynamics of the infection at a regional level can aid in identification of targets to improve control. A compartmental continuous-time model for leprosy dynamics was designed based on understanding of the biology of the infection. The transmission coefficients for the model and the rate of detection were fit for each region using Approximate Bayesian Computation applied to paucibacillary and multibacillary incidence data over the period of 2000 to 2010, and model fit was validated on incidence data from 2011 to 2012. Regional variation was noted in detection rate, with cases in the Midwest estimated to be infectious for 10 years prior to detection compared to 5 years for most other regions. Posterior predictions for the model estimated that elimination of leprosy as a public health risk would require, on average, 44–45 years in the three regions with the highest prevalence. The model is easily adaptable to other settings, and can be studied to determine the efficacy of improved case finding on leprosy control.
Kinematic Isotropy and the Optimum Design of Parallel Manipulators

The differential kinematic equations (DKE) of parallel manip ulators usually involve two Jacobian matrices that, depending on the role they play in the kinetostatic transformation between the joint and Cartesian variables, are commonly referred to as the forward and the inverse Jacobians. In this article, we make use of the special structure of these Jacobians to define a set of conditions under which a parallel manipulator can be rendered isotropic. These conditions are general, and pro vide a systematic method for the optimum kinematic design of parallel manipulators, with or without introducing structural constraints. The application of the proposed conditions is illus trated in detail through a few examples, one of which pertains to the design of a 6-DOF isotropic parallel manipulator.
Decomposing the Smile: Systematic Credit Risk in Mortgage Portfolios

This study analyzes systematic and non-systematic credit risk in mortgage portfolios given US loan-level information by controlling for time-varying observable information in relation to the borrower, the collateral and the macro economy. The total risk in relation to rating class default rates is decomposed into systematic and class-specific non-systematic risk by a state space model. The paper finds that the total risk relates to credit quality in a smile-shaped pattern: systematic risk is negatively related and non systematic risk is positively related to average default rate levels. In addition, total risk increases during and after the Global Financial Crisis. The impact of the crisis on systematic risk is persistent whereas the impact on non-systematic risk appears to be temporary. The analysis of regulatory capital suggests that mortgage risk models in conjunction with periodic updating warrant a sufficient level of regulatory capital given the current regime. These findings are relevant to prudential regulators who are currently discussing the implementation of a monotone relationship between default probabilities and asset correlations under Basel III.
Analysis of Public Accounting Systems in the European Union

Public accounting is continuously evolving and accrual accounting gains importance in governments. As a part of the New Public Management, this concept applies the practices used in the private sector to the public sector. The application of new accounting methods improves financial management and decision making. The European Union, through its Directive 2011/85/EU of November 8, 2011, is really sensitive to the use of reliable and transparent accounting data and accrual accounting could be a very interesting tool to provide quality data.So, the aim of this paper is to analyze the accounting systems used in the European Union Member States. After a review of the literature including concepts of New Public Management and accrual accounting, we classify, on the basis of a survey carried out in the European Union Member States, the States according to the accounting system they use at the central level and at the local level. This system can be cash basis accounting, modified cash basis accounting, accrual accounting or modified accrual accounting. We conclude that there are important disparities between the Member States and also within the country from a government level to another. However, we can see that accrual accounting is dominant in the European Union Member States.
Preferred side‐chain conformation of arginine residues in a triple‐helical structure

The crystal structure of the triple‐helical peptide (Pro‐Hyp‐Gly)3‐Pro‐Arg‐Gly‐(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly)4 (POG3‐PRG‐POG4) was determined at 1.45 Å resolution. POG3‐PRG‐POG4 was designed to permit investigation of the side‐chain conformation of the Arg residues in a triple‐helical structure. Because of the alternative structure of one of three Arg residues, four side‐chain conformations were observed in an asymmetric unit. Among them, three adopt a ttg−t conformation and the other adopts a tg−g−t conformation. A statistical analysis of 80 Arg residues in various triple‐helical peptides showed that, unlike those in globular proteins, they preferentially adopt a tt conformation for χ1 and χ2, as observed in POG3‐PRG‐POG4. This conformation permits van der Waals contacts between the side‐chain atoms of Arg and the main‐chain atoms of the adjacent strand in the same molecule. Unlike many other host–guest peptides, in which there is a significant difference between the helical twists in the guest and the host peptides, POG3‐PRG‐POG4 shows a marked difference between the helical twists in the N‐terminal peptide and those in the C‐terminal peptide, separated near the Arg residue. This suggested that the unique side‐chain conformation of the Arg residue affects not only the conformation of the guest peptide, but also the conformation of the peptide away from the Arg residue. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 101: 1000–1009, 2014.
Raising Companies’ Profile with Corporate Social Performance: Variations in Investor Recognition and Liquidity Linked to VIGEO CSP Rating Disclosures

This paper examines whether the initiation of Vigeo Corporate Social Performance (CSP) rating impacts company profiles. Using a sample of European listed firms, we confirm that there is a positive and significant relationship between CSP rating and a firm's liquidity and investor base. Consistent with the neglected stock effect, this relationship is sensitive to firm size. Our results have important implications for practitioners. Firstly, investment in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could represent an alternative method of improving a company's stock market quality alongside liquidity provider contracting or market listing transfer. Secondly, when a firm's board investigates the opportunity to invest in CSR, it should consider the benefits of lowering the company's cost of capital through the aforementioned effects. Finally, from an asset manager's perspective, any change in CSP should be taken into account, as it can affect company valuation and therefore portfolio performance.
Smart and Interactive Future Homes - Integration of Autonomic Computing and New HCI Methods

Nowadays, huge R&D efforts are running on the re-invention of the Internet so that it is able to cope with future challenges, like the viral growth of the number of connected users, devices, services and usergenerated contents. Today’s houses are slowly turning into a complex electronic net of devices. The increasing complexity of systems and the need for these systems to remain simple, accessible and transparent for the user, makes it necessary to research technologies that enable intelligent and autonomous computing and new ways of interacting with future home. Autonomic computing systems are those which can manage themselves given high level objectives. If we integrate autonomic computing and new interactive user mechanisms like virtual agents, we obtain the future smart homes. These houses would detect the people inside, and self-configure by personalizing the services for each user and detecting new devices plugged to the house: would self-optimize by disconnecting lights or closing doors if people aren’t present: would self-heal by controlling sensors to prevent problems related to physical and software elements; and would self-protect by identifying the current users at home, and preventing external attacks.
Discretionary Accruals and Auditor Behaviour in Code-Law Contexts: An Application to Failing Spanish Firms

This study examines the relationship between earnings management and auditor behaviour in the pre-bankrupt client segment of the Spanish audit market. As proxies for auditor behaviour, we use type of audit firm (Big N/non-Big N) and type of audit report. In contrast to the USA, audit reports in Spain often include modifications other than a going-concern opinion. This allows us to study the relationship in more detail than is possible with US data. The results of our study show that discretionary accruals are negatively related to going-concern opinions but are positively related to reports modified for reasons other than going-concern problems. However, unlike Butler et al. (2004) the negative relationship is explained not by liquidity survival tactics but by auditor conservatism.We find this conservatism not only in the value of discretionary accruals but also in the qualifications that accompany a going concern. In these cases GAAP violations have a much greater income effect and a stronger relationship with the reversal of manipulation accumulated over the years than with the manipulation introduced during the last year.Finally, our results suggest that Big N differentiation in a code-law country is context-specific and depends on the business risk parameter of the audit risk model. In particular, for high-risk firms, Big N auditors show a significantly lower level of discretionary accruals and a greater propensity to issue a going-concern opinion.
Live video streaming using peer-to-peer technologies

Watching videos on websites, e.g. YouTube, is a popular activity of users today. Although the video quality and length of the videos are increased significantly over the last couple of years, offering a full video-ondemand service is still not viable. Different television broadcasters are already setting up streaming services to watch (live) television programs via their websites, but often the quality of the stream and the total number of viewers is limited. An interesting technology that offers a cost efficient mechanism for distributing live video is the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) overlay network model. In a P2P network all peers are both suppliers and consumers, in contrast to traditional client-server networks where only servers supply and clients consume. Therefore, P2P services are potentially highly scalable and robust. Different research projects, e.g. P2P-Next (http://www.p2p-next.org/), currently investigate the possibility of using P2P technologies for (live) video streaming via the Internet. In our research study we use an existing P2P video streaming application (i.e. Tribler [1]) and extend it with buffering and congestion control mechanisms. Via test runs on a dedicated large-scale network emulation environment the performance increase is measured.1
To Trust is Good, But to Control is Better: How Investors Discipline Financial Advisors' Activity

Using a survey of clients from one of the largest Italian banks, we investigate whether investors exert some form of control over the quality of the recommendations they receive, and, if so, which one. We find that investors with low levels of trust seek financial counseling, but make their decisions autonomously. Within this subgroup of investors, those with high self-assessed financial competence are more likely to control the quality of the advice. We also observe that their test-based degree of financial literacy affects the way they discipline the advisors. Investors with high financial literacy monitor the advisors' activity themselves. Investors with low financial literacy, however, are more likely to seek a second expert's opinion that confirms the recommendations previously received, such as in the case of credence services. Our findings suggest that access to different financial institutions is especially beneficial for investors with poor financial literacy.
Can the characteristics of emergency department attendances predict poor hospital outcomes in patients with sepsis?

INTRODUCTION The emergency department (ED) is often the initial site of identification of patients with sepsis. We aimed to determine the characteristics of ED attendances that predict poor hospital outcomes. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients in eight metropolitan EDs in Perth, Western Australia, from 2001 to 2006. Patients diagnosed with sepsis in the ED were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision-Australian Modification code in the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) database. The EDIS database was subsequently linked to mortality and hospital morbidity records. The following characteristics were examined: triage category, mode of arrival, source of referral and hospital of presentation. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of hospital mortality, prolonged length of stay, and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). RESULTS In the 1,311 patients diagnosed with sepsis in the ED, the hospital mortality and ICU admission rates were 19.5% and 18.5%, respectively. The mean hospital length of stay was 12 ± 15 days. Acute triage categories predicted both hospital mortality and ICU admissions, while mode of arrival by ambulance was a predictor of all poor hospital outcomes (p < 0.001). Patients who presented to non-teaching hospitals had similar hospital outcomes as patients who presented to teaching hospitals. The source of referrals was not a predictor of poor hospital outcomes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION Mode of arrival and triage score, which are characteristics unique to the ED, may predict poor hospital outcomes in patients with sepsis.
Explaining Sovereign Bond-CDS Arbitrage Violations During the Financial Crisis 2008-09 ∗

I study the relationship between government bond spreads and credit default swap (CDS) premia during the recent financial crisis, and document a violation of an arbitrage condition occurring at different times in different European countries. I investigate whether current understanding of this arbitrage condition can justify the violation. To explain the phenomenon, I construct a model where investors agree to disagree about the probability a government is going to default, and there is a constraint on the issuance of CDS. In non-crisis times, this constraint plays no role and the arbitrage condition is not violated. However, when a crisis increases the fraction of investors holding relatively pessimistic default beliefs, the latent friction in the CDS market has an effect on trading patterns. The marginal trader in the CDS market changes, and short selling bonds becomes costly, resulting in the emergence of an apparent arbitrage opportunity. I show that the model requires only a quantitatively small divergence in opinions to generate the arbitrage violations observed during the crisis.
Basal glucometabolic status has an impact on long‐term prognosis following an acute myocardial infarction in non‐diabetic patients

Abstract. Tenerz Å, Nilsson G, Forberg R, Öhrvik J, Malmberg K, Berne C, Leppert J (Central Hospital, Västerås; Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm; and University Hospital, Uppsala; Sweden) Basal glucometabolic status has an impact on long‐term prognosis following an acute myocardial infarction in non‐diabetic patients. J Intern Med 2003; 254: 494–503.
CPW-fed dual-/tri-band slot antenna based on multi-mode slot line resonator

In this paper, a dual-band CPW-fed antenna is designed with wide bandwith (BW) tunability. By using the odd-/even-mode theory, the resonant characteristics of the radiating element is vividly analyzed based on equivalent circuit models and design curves. There are four resonances, the 1st of which performs as a parasitic resonance. The 2nd resonance produces the first operating band while the 3rd and 4th resonances construct the second band. By spliting the second operating band into two narrow bands, a tri-band antenna can be produced. The fabricated dual-band antenna works at 2.39 GHz and 5.26 GHz with BW of 14.9 % and 23.5 %, respectively. The mid-band reflection coefficient in each band is better than - 18 dB.
In vivo characterization of the liver fat 1H MR spectrum

A theoretical triglyceride model was developed for in vivo human liver fat 1H MRS characterization, using the number of double bonds (CHCH), number of methylene‐interrupted double bonds (CHCHCH2CHCH) and average fatty acid chain length. Five 3 T, single‐voxel, stimulated echo acquisition mode spectra (STEAM) were acquired consecutively at progressively longer TEs in a fat–water emulsion phantom and in 121 human subjects with known or suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. T2‐corrected peak areas were calculated. Phantom data were used to validate the model. Human data were used in the model to determine the complete liver fat spectrum. In the fat–water emulsion phantom, the spectrum predicted by the model (based on known fatty acid chain distribution) agreed closely with spectroscopic measurement. In human subjects, areas of CH2 peaks at 2.1 and 1.3 ppm were linearly correlated (slope, 0.172; r = 0.991), as were the 0.9 ppm CH3 and 1.3 ppm CH2 peaks (slope, 0.125; r = 0.989). The 2.75 ppm CH2 peak represented 0.6% of the total fat signal in high‐liver‐fat subjects. These values predict that 8.6% of the total fat signal overlies the water peak. The triglyceride model can characterize human liver fat spectra. This allows more accurate determination of liver fat fraction from MRI and MRS. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.