Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Promotion of Sustainable Enterprises

Promoting sustainable enterprises is about strengthening the institutions and governance systems which nurture enterprises - strong and efficient markets need strong and effective institutions. It is also about ensuring that human, financial and natural resources are combined equitably and efficiently in order to achieve innovation and enhanced productivity. This calls for new forms of cooperation between government, business, labour and society at large to ensure that the quality of present and future life and employment is maximized whilst safeguarding the sustainability of the planet. This volume provides detailed guidance on what constitutes a conducive environment for sustainable enterprises, noting that such an environment combines the legitimate quest for profit with the need for development which respects human dignity, environmental sustainability and decent work. The book underscores the principle that sustainable enterprises need sustainable societies and that business tends to thrive where societies thrive and vice versa.
IDS: Survey on Intrusion Detection System in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing provides flexible on demand services to the end users with lesser infrastructural investment. Under the supervision of different managements, these services are provided over the Internet using known networking protocols, standards and formats. Existing deficiencies in underlying technologies tend to open doors for intrusion. This paper surveys different intrusions affecting basics of cloud security i.e. availability, confidentiality and integrity of Cloud resources and services. It examines proposals incorporating Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) in Cloud and discusses various types and techniques of IDS.
Pediatricians' approach to obesity prevention counseling with their patients.

OBJECTIVE The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a primary pediatric obesity prevention policy statement. Its focus is directed toward the health supervision visit. We used qualitative research to determine physicians' approaches toward obesity prevention within this visit. DESIGN Twenty-four University of Wisconsin pediatricians participated in a qualitative study consisting of data transcribed from audio-taped interviews. Open-ended questions investigated specific health supervision practices pertaining to obesity prevention, and major themes were identified. RESULTS The pediatrician's role in obesity prevention is education and detection. Pediatricians provide information on proper nutrition, physical activity, media time, and parenting skills. These pediatricians routinely discuss (1) junk food, (2) balanced diets, (3) nutritional requirements, and (4) parental techniques to promote healthy approaches to food. They discuss methods to increase physical activity and routinely recommend limitations to media time. However, only a third use body mass index (BMI) charts during their health supervision appointments and many are uncertain how to tailor guidance to children with obesity risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Pediatricians follow many of the obesity prevention guidelines. Further evidence is needed to understand the effectiveness of their education and detection methods. Potential areas for improvement include use of BMI charts and counseling with specific obesity prevention in mind.
Insulin‐stimulated cell growth in insulin receptor substrate‐1–deficient ZR‐75‐1 cells is mediated by a phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase–independent pathway

In many human breast cancers and cultured cell lines, insulin receptor expression is elevated, and insulin, via its own insulin receptor, can stimulate cell growth. It has recently been demonstrated that the enzyme phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3‐K) mediates various aspects of insulin receptor signaling including cell growth. In order to understand the mechanisms for insulin‐stimulated cell growth in human breast cancer, we measured insulin‐stimulable PI3‐K activity in a non‐transformed breast epithelial cell line, MCF‐10A, and in two malignantly transformed cell lines, ZR‐75‐1 and MDA‐MB157. All three cell lines express comparable amounts of insulin receptors whose tyrosine autophosphorylation is increased by insulin, and in these cell lines insulin stimulates growth. In MDA‐MB157 and MCF‐10A cells, insulin stimulated PI3‐K activity three‐ to fourfold. In ZR‐75‐1 cells, however, insulin did not stimulate PI3‐K activity. In ZR‐75‐1 cells PI3‐K protein was present, and its activity was stimulated by epidermal growth factor, suggesting that there might be a defect in insulin receptor signaling upstream of PI3‐K and downstream of the insulin receptor. Next, we studied insulin receptor substrate‐1 (IRS‐1), a major endogenous substrate for the insulin receptor which, when tyrosine is phosphorylated by the insulin receptor, interacts with and activates PI3‐K. In ZR‐75‐1 cells, there were reduced levels of protein for IRS‐1. In these cells, both Shc tyrosine phosphorylation and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAP‐K) activity were increased by the insulin receptor (indicating that the p21ras pathway may account for insulin‐stimulated cell growth in ZR‐75‐1 cells).
The use of country of origin information in marketing communications strategies used by South African wine exporting companies in foreign markets

The aim of this study was to identify, describe and analyze the marketing communications strategies used by South African wineries to highlight the country of origin information of products exported into foreign markets. Four South African wine exporting companies participated in this study by providing information through email and telephone interviews. Results indicated that South African wineries emphasize the country of origin information in all marketing communications activities and especially through wine product attributes. The origin of wine is highlighted in packaging and labeling as a mandatory requirement in most wine importing countries. The most common label on packaging appears as ‘____South Africa’. Most wine exporters also use the country’s biodiversity information and ethical work standards to convey positive information to foreign consumers about the country’s wine industry. There was no generalization that country of origin information severely affected wines sales in foreign markets. This was in exception to the US market, where promotion activities need to be reviewed and enhanced. Furthermore, South African wine low market value was more associated with the high bulk export volumes. Participating wineries considered the country’s image abroad to be more important than their own individual brands. South African wine exporting companies together with the country’s official wine promotion agency (WOSA) must analyze the country’s image in all aspects, re-evaluate the capacity of the country as a wine producer, and maybe regulate its bulk export volumes, which appear to negatively impact on SA wine value and perception in foreign markets. Future research can focus on how the South African wine industry can increase their brand awareness for premium wine brands in export markets. In addition, South African wine marketing approach highlighting its deep French roots and expertise in wine making can be explored to evaluate if such marketing approach can enhance the country’s premium wine brands in foreign market acceptance.
Fast update of dynamic photorefractive optical memory.

We have analyzed the dynamics of the selective erasure process in photorefractive crystal. The selective erasure process is much faster than the incoherent erasure process. Experimental results show good agreement with theoretical prediction. We have applied the incremental recording schedule and selective erasure process to a dynamic photorefractive optical memory and experimentally demonstrated the robust readout and fast update capabilities.
Tight Interplay among SAMHD1 Protein Level, Cellular dNTP Levels, and HIV-1 Proviral DNA Synthesis Kinetics in Human Primary Monocyte-derived Macrophages*

Background: SAMHD1 is a host antiviral component that regulates cellular dNTP levels. Results: We report a tight kinetic interplay between SAMHD1 level and the ability of HIV-1 to replicate in MDMs. Conclusion: Very fast kinetics of SAMHD1 degradation by Vpx is mechanistically tied with HIV-1 DNA synthesis in MDMs. Significance: The observed temporal relationship is central to better understanding HIV-1 infection in MDMs. Recently, SAMHD1 has come under intense focus as a host anti-HIV factor. SAMHD1 is a dNTP triphosphohydrolase, which leads to the regulation of DNA metabolism in host cells. HIV-2/SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) viral protein x (Vpx) has been shown to promote the degradation of SAMHD1. In this study, we examine the kinetics of SAMHD1 degradation, the increase in the dNTP pool level, and the efficiency of proviral DNA synthesis in Vpx+ virus-like particle (VLP)-treated monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). Our results indicate a very close temporal link with a reduction in SAMHD1 detected within the first few hours of Vpx+ VLP treatment. This loss of SAMHD1 is followed by a significant increase in cellular dNTP levels by 8 h after Vpx+ VLP addition, ultimately leading to the enhancement of the HIV proviral DNA synthesis rate and HIV infection in MDMs. Finally, the pretreatment of MDMs with the Vpx+ VLPs, which is a widely used protocol, displayed identical proviral DNA synthesis as compared with MDMs co-treated with Vpx+ VLP and HIV vector. These findings further indicate that Vpx degradation of SAMHD1 is sufficiently rapid to enable appropriate progression of reverse transcription in MDMs, even when present at the time of infection. Overall, this study demonstrates a tight interplay between SAMHD1 level, dNTP levels, and HIV proviral DNA synthesis kinetics in MDMs.
Shariah Compliance in Real Estate Investment

Executive Summary. This paper examines the cost of Shariah compliance in real estate investments by comparing synthetic Shariah compliant (SC) real estate investment (REIT) portfolios with unconstrained U.S. REIT portfolios, indexes, and real estate mutual funds (REMF). The performance of the synthetic portfolios are compared with various benchmarks in both univariate and multi factor framework. Shariah compliance seems to create a return trade-off and less restrictive compliance requirements appear to provide better historical returns when SC portfolios are compared to broader indexes or REMFs in general. However, Shariah compliance does not mean that SC REIT portfolios necessarily under-perform relevant indexes when relevant risk factors are considered and when differing sensitivities are applied to benchmark returns. The simulation shows that the market-weighted SC simulated REMFs dominate the conventional REMF and the average simulated annualized mean portfolio return for SC and SCLR REMFs are higher .
Entrepreneurial Opportunity Creation in the Biotechnology Industry in Malaysia

Entrepreneurship and opportunity are closely equated survivability among entrepreneurs. Many researchers have debated whether entrepreneurial opportunities are discovered or created. However, researchers have often overlooked the importance of the various factors that stimulate and shape the process of entrepreneurial opportunity. Adopting a case study method, this thesis includes in-depth interviews with nine biotech entrepreneurs to understand how they shape their activities in the event to create potential business opportunities. This study employs sensemaking theory with an interpretive approach to data analysis. Theoretically, the study demonstrates that individual, institutional support and socio-cultural forces affect the process by which profit opportunities are recognized and created. Three specific lessons learned from the case. First lesson is the importance of passion in influencing the desires, thoughts, plans, and behaviours and that persist over time, regardless of cost, external obstacles and moral objections towards achieving entrepreneurial success. Secondly, prior knowledge and career experience enable entrepreneurs to identify niche opportunities, build up networks of contacts and develop skills, and consequently they confer an ability to recognize the value of new information, to learn, and to apply it to new commercial ends. The regulatory dimensions of an institutional forces consists of regulations and government policies that provide support for new businesses, reduce the risks for individuals starting a new company and facilitate entrepreneurs’ efforts to acquire resources. The theoretical framework of this study makes it possible to see the link between entrepreneurs' ability to utilize limited resources to gain access to valuable key information and decisions, and their creation of sensible actions to recognize business opportunities. Hence, this study is expected to contribute significantly to the wealth of academic literatures in the subject of entrepreneurial opportunity. Thirdly, this study also plays an essential role to provide recommendations for policy makers to foster and encourage entrepreneurship through targeted and specific policy initiatives by fully understanding the elements that contributes to the success of entrepreneurial opportunity creation process in Malaysia.
Morphological studies on the peripheral small arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Morphological studies of the jejunal small arteries and arterioles of spontaneously hypertensive rats (OKAMOTO and AOKI) were performed by direct observation, and by histological, histometric, enzyme-histochemical and fluorescence methods. For making the histological preparations, quick freezing and freeze-substitution or freeze-drying methods were employed to preserve the functional stage of the blood vessels. Rats were divided into three groups: the pre-hypertensive or transitional stage (40 to 60 days after birth), the initial stage (four to six months after birth) and the advanced stage (over one year after birth) of hypertension, and the following results were obtained. 1) Segmental constrictions and tortuosities of the jejunal small arteries and arterioles were observed in all cases of spontaneously hypertensive rats after the development of hypertension. 2) Minimal luminal diameters of almost all branches of the jejunal small arteries and arterioles in spontaneously hypertensive rats were significantly smaller than in normotensive control rats, in the range of 64% to 85% of the control diameters . 3) The mean luminal diameters of the jeju-nal small arteries and arterioles in spontaneously hypertensive rats were significantly smaller in three-fourths of the branches, while the maximal luminal diameters were significantly smaller in half the branches, than in normotensive control rat s. 4) Adenosine triphosphatase activity of the jejunal arterial walls of spontaneously hypertensive rats showed an increase in half the cases in the pre-hypertensive or transitional stage and in all cases in the initial and advanced stages. 5) Adenosine monophosphatase activity of the jejunal arterial walls of spontaneously hypertensive rats showed no difference in all cases in the pre-hypertensive or transitional stage, an increase in two-thirds of the cases in the initial stage, and in all except one in the advanced stage. 6) Adrenergic nerve terminals around the jejunal small arteries and arterioles of spontaneously hypertensive rats were significantly larger than in normotensive control rats in the pre-hypertensive and initial stages, and showed no change in the advanced stage. 7) From the above-mentioned evidence, it may be concluded that increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and increased contracting tendency of the vascular smooth muscle cells cause angiospasm, which plays an important role in the development and maintenance of hypertension.
Transmission tunneling through the periodic sequence of double-negative and double-positive layers

Transmission tunneling based on the frequency behavior of a multilayer structure comprised of double-positive (DPG) and double-negative (DNG) layers is investigated. The structure is sandwiched between two identical half-spaces. The DNG layers are analyzed using Lorentz and Drude medium. Effects of the permittivity and permeability changes on the transmission are also examined for lossless and lossy situations. Finally, the transmission characteristics for the proposed multilayer structure are presented numerically. It can be seen that the multilayer structure may be used to design efficient filters for different frequency ranges.
The response of the wave-driven circulation at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to a rise in mean sea level

Ningaloo Reef extends some 280 km along the western coast of Australia, and consists of a barrier reef 1-6 km offshore with occasional gaps, backed by a shallow lagoon. The reef morphology thus has some similarities to submerged breakwaters, which largely attenuate wave energy by wave breaking over the reef flat. This wave breaking generates radiation stress gradients that produce setup and wave-driven mean currents across Ningaloo Reef. A section of reef at Sandy Bay was chosen as the focus of an intense 6- week field experiment and numerical modelling and wave modelling of the region was conducted using SWAN coupled to the 3D circulation model ROMS. The circulation model was forced by radiation stresses provided by SWAN, and was configured with a 50 m grid resolution that incorporated high-resolution hyperspectral bathymetry. The response of the reef currents to potential forcing mechanisms (wind stress, wave height and tidal level) was investigated with the field data and the modelling, which revealed the dominant role that wave breaking plays in driving the mean circulation and flushing of this reef system. The physics of nearshore processes such as wave breaking, wave setup and mean flow across the reef were investigated in detail by examining the various momentum balances established in the system. The magnitude of the terms in this balance were sensitive to changes in mean sea level, e.g. the wave forces decreased as the water depth increased (and hence wave breaking dissipation was reduced). This led to changes in the intensity of the circulation of the reef-lagoon system, thus highlighting the sensitivity of waves and currents over reefs in response to a potential rise in mean sea level.
An Improved Pulmonary Nodule Detection Scheme based on Multi-Layered Filtering and 3d Distance Metrics

This paper proposed a computer-aided detection (CAD) system to automatically detect pulmonary nodules from thoracic computed tomography (CT) images. Automatically detect pulmonary nodules is a difficult job because of the large deviation in size, shape, location and density of nodules. The proposed CAD scheme applies multiple 3D disk-shaped laplacian filters to enhance the shape of spherical regions. Optimal multiple thresholding and 3D distance mapping is used to extract regions of interest and separate nodules. Finally, rule-based pruning removes easily dismissible false positive structures. The proposed system provides an overall nodule detection rate of 80% with an average of 12.2 false positives per scan. The experimental results reveals that the proposed CAD can attain a comparatively high performance.
A guided tour in haptic audio visual environments and applications

The science of haptics has received enormous attention in the last decade. Activities in different disciplines such as robotics, computer graphics, and psychophysics have been the foundation of haptic science. Nowadays, haptic research comprises four interdisciplinary research branches: human haptics, machine haptics, computer haptics, and the newly introduced multimedia haptics. This paper traces the evolution of haptics technology from the introductory concepts and haptic system architecture, to current technology in the four haptics research branches and applications. Finally, we summarise our findings and present a vision for overcoming challenges and our direction for future research in this area.
Coronary Plaque Type and Burden By Computed Tomography Angiography Without Association to C-Reactive Protein

Background: Contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the coronaries allows identification of plaques. Limited data exists on the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP) and the plaque type or plaque burden detected by CTA. Aims: We studied relationship between CRP and coronary atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: 92 patients without history of coronary disease underwent coronary CTA for chest pain. Coronary arteries were evaluated with each detected plaque labeled as calcified, noncalcified or mixed. Logarithmic transformation was done on CRP values for statistical analysis. Results: 1380 coronary segments were evaluated. The average age was 57 years (SE 1.0) and basal metabolic index (BMI) 28.9 kg/m2 (SE 0.5). Median CRP level was 2.75 mg/L (range 0.17-16.98). No association was found between CRP quartiles and plaque type. In stepwise multivariate analysis, only diabetes was associated with noncalcified plaque (P < 0.001). When calcified and mixed plaques were added to the model, age (P < 0.001), diabetes (P < 0.02), and statin use (P < 0.05) were associated with an increased number of plaques per subject. No association was found between log-CRP for any type of plaque. Conclusion: There was no association between CRP and plaque type by CTA. Lack of association is likely due to limited spatial resolution and underestimation of noncalcified plaque burden by CTA.
Japanese-English Cross-Language Information Retrieval Using Machine Translation and Pseudo-Relevance Feedback

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) based on machine-translation (MT) where the search requests are in Japanese and the documents are in English [24]. Our experiments use a subcollection of the TREC test collections and two bilingual researchers for separately translating the TREC requests into Japanese. Our main findings are as follows: (1) With the aid of pseudo-relevance feedback, MT-based Japanese-English CLIR can be as effective as "best-case" monolingual retrieval. In particular, although poor MT quality often leads to poor initial CLIR performance, pseudo-relevance feedback can alleviate the harm in many cases; (2) The manual request translation process that is inherent in conventional CLIR performance evaluation can be a more dominant factor than query length and overall MT quality.
Energy-deposition events measured by the CRRES PHA experiment

The energy-deposition spectra measured by the CRRES (Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite) pulse height analyzer (PHA) experiment are reexamined to determine the relative contributions from the different mechanisms by which large localized energy-deposition events can be generated in silicon detector volumes flown in space. Comparisons with calculations generated by the CUPID simulation model modified to include pion-production and elastic-scattering events are used to generate a "best fit" trapped proton spectrum that is compared to the predictions of the NASA models for the CRRES orbit.