Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper examines recent trends and drivers of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) which grew six-fold in 1991-98 and now account for more than 85% of foreign direct investment. They are prompted by a range of factors, including excess capacity and increased competition in traditional industries and new market opportunities in high-technology sectors. However, the main driver of M&As in place of greenfield investment is the need to acquire complementary intangible assets –technology, human resources, brand names, etc. In allowing for global industrial restructuring and efficiency gains, crossborder M&As can yield dividends in terms of company performance and profits. The extent to which they result in benefits for home and host countries is argued to be strongly influenced by policy frameworks .
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Relatedness between Selected Members of the Genus Aquaspirillum by Slot Blot Hybridization: Aquaspirillum serpens (Mueller 1786) Hylemon, Wells, Krieg, and Jannasch 1973 Emended to Include Aquaspirillum bengal as a Subjective Synonym

Deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness of five strains of Aquaspirillum serpens and also four other species of this genus was assessed by slot blot hybridization. A high degree of genetic relatedness was evident among the strains within the species A. serpens, but a low degree of relatedness was shown between the species A. serpens, A. sinuosum, A. itersonii, and A. putridiconchylium. Hybridization homology indicated that A. bengal is a subjective synonym for A. serpens and should not have separate species status; therefore, the description of A. serpens is emended accordingly. The strains that grow optimally at higher temperatures (41°C) and produce brown pigments in the presence of some amino acids may be considered varietal and are referred to as A. serpens biovar bengal. This study demonstrates the usefulness of slot blot hybridization for quickly assessing the relatedness of different taxonomic groups of bacteria.
Pricing Extendible Options Using the Fast Fourier Transform

This paper applies the fast Fourier transform (FFT) approach, within the Black-Scholes framework, to the valuation of options whose time to maturity can be extended to a future date (extendible options). We determine the valuation of the extendible options as sums of expectations of indicator functions, leading to a semianalytic expression for the value of the options over a range of strikes. Compared to Monte Carlo simulation, numerical examples demonstrate that the FFT is both computationally more efficient and higher in accuracy.
What Variability tells us about motor expertise: measurements and perspectives from a complex system approach

In this review, we revisit the concept of movement variability in motor expertise from the perspective of complex systems theory; we do so by defining performers and their relationships with the environment. The complex systems perspective places the focus on the functional role of movement variability as an emergent response to interacting constraints as performers pursue task-goals. We therefore show how the shift in theoretical focus towards the functional role of variability has entailed a reconsideration of the way this key property of motor expertise should be assessed. We then present the main theoretical issues surrounding movement variability and expertise through examples of empirical applications of the relevant tools and concepts in the sport and movement sciences.
Fast and Accurate Cascaded Particle Swarm Gradient Optimization Method for Solving 2-D Inverse Scattering Problems

− In this paper, a fast and accurate technique for solving the inverse scattering problem of two-dimensional objects made of perfect conductor is proposed. In this technique which is called cascaded particle swarm gradient, the solving procedure is properly divided into two steps. In the first step, the position and the equivalent radius of the unknown objects is estimated while in the second step, the accurate shape function of the objects is determined. The former step is performed by a global optimizer namely particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique and the latter is carried out by the well-known gradient method. In this work, the forward scattering problem is solved by the equivalent source method. Several numerical examples are presented to examine the proposed algorithm especially in handling the challenging multi-object problems with concave shape functions in the presence of measurement errors. The results show that the proposed algorithm is about 75 times faster than a conventional PSO while yielding a higher accuracy.
GAROP: Genetic Algorithm framework for Running On Parallel environments

In this research, a Genetic Algorithms framework for Running On Parallel environments, which is named GAROP, is proposed. The GAROP provides the library for a parallel processing, so that users should only describe codes for genetic algorithms (GA) programs, utilizing the library implemented for the part requiring a parallel processing. In the GAROP framework, GA research provides only program codes which are concerned with GA algorithm and GAROP library supports other codes which are concerned with parallel processing. The advantage of using GAROP is to increase the user’s productivity by making it possible to develop the program, which can execute a parallel processing. In this paper, the broad description of the GAROP is provided, and the development of the GAROP, corresponding multi-core CPU and GPU environments, is described. The libraries are implemented with GA which finds quasioptimum solutions using meta heuristics, and its productivity and its parallelism are evaluated. As a result, only adding four descriptions to the program, the acceleration of the processing speed is confirmed in both of the environments; 5.26 times speedup on multi-core CPU, and 3.0 times speed-up on GPU.
Isotropic band gaps, optical cavities, and freeform waveguides in hyperuniform disordered photonic solids

Hyperuniform disordered solids are a new class of designer photonic materials with large isotropic band gaps comparable to those found in photonic crystals. The hyperuniform disordered materials are statistically isotropic and possess a controllable constrained randomness. We have employed their unique properties to introduce novel architectures for optical cavities that achieve an ultimate isotropic confinement of radiation, and waveguides with arbitrary bending angles. Our experiments demonstrate low-loss waveguiding in submicron scale Si-based hyperuniform structures operating at infrared wavelengths and open the way for the realization of highly flexible, disorder-insensitive optical micro-circuit platforms.
Model selection for frailty structures

Frailty models are now widely used for analyzing multivariate survival data. An open question is how best to determine how to select the most appropriate frailty structure supported by the data. Herein, we develop a procedure for selecting the optimal frailty structure from a set of (possibly) non-nested frailty models. Our focus is on the dispersion parameters which define the frailty structure. We propose two new AIC criteria: one based on the deviance for goodness of fit and the other on the extended restricted likelihood (ERL) of Lee and Nelder (1996). A simulation study shows that the AIC based on the extended restricted likelihood is better when attention is focussed on selecting the frailty structure.
Effects of substrate selection and post-settlement survival on recruitment success of the thalassinidean shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis to intertidal shell and mud habitats

We quantified recruitment of young-of-the-year (YOY) burrowing thalassinidean shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis to 2 habitats of differing structural complexity-epibenthic bivalve shell and bare mudflat-and examined how differential settlement and post-settlement predation influence patterns of YOY abundance. Local densities of shrimp were quantified prlor to construction of shell habitat in Grays Harbor estuary, Washington (USA). Subsequent recruitment of YOY shrimp to epibenthic shell and bare mudflat was measured during a peak settlement pulse and 10 mo post-settlement. In addition, patches of sediment overlying shell within the shell plot ('subsurface shell') were sampled 10 mo post-settlement. Differential settlement in shell and mud habitats was quantified in field and laboratory experiments. We also examined predator-prey interactions between YOY Dungeness crabs Cancer magister and newly settled shrimp in shell habitat in a laboratory experiment in which prey consumption crab-' was quantified as a function of shrimp density. Results of our studies indicate that dense coverage of epibenthic shell applied to the intertidal site reduced recruitment of ghost shrimp. Epibenthic shell habitat had significantly fewer YOY shrimp than bare mudflat at peak settlement and 10 mo post-settlement, and significantly fewer shrimp than 'subsurface shell' at 10 mo post-settlement. Successful colonization of 'subsurface shell' suggests that shnmp postlarvae settled preferentially in areas of the shell plot covered with mud or possibly were exposed to lower levels of predation than in contiguous epibenthic shell areas. Results of the field experiment revealed that 2 to 5 times fewer shrimp postlarvae settled in shell than mud treatments; a similar but non-significant trend of lower settlement in shell than mud substrate was observed in the laboratory habitat-choice experiment. YOY Dungeness crabs preyed on shrlmp in the laboratory experiment; prey density had a significant effect on consumption I-ates but not on proportional shrimp mortalities. In sum, although other processes most likely contributed to patterns of YOY shrimp distribution, postlarval habitat selection for mud substrate was a key determinant of recruitment success. Recruitment patterns may be further modified by postsettlement mortality of YOY shrimp in shell due to YOY Dungeness crab predation.
Economic effects of alternate growth path, time of calving and breed type combinations across southern Australian beef cattle environments: feedlot finishing at the New South Wales experimental site

The ‘Regional Combinations’ project and its biophysical outcomes have been described in several other papers in this special edition. The information provided in these papers allows an evaluation of the most profitable beef cattle production systems across different environments in southern Australia. In this paper, the focus is on the New South Wales experimental site where the trial animals were finished in a feedlot. The data identified liveweight gain as the biggest driver of profitability of production. Between growth treatments, there was a large difference in the gross margins before feedlot entry between the ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ treatments favouring the fast-grown animals, even after accounting for the higher cost of producing pasture capable of sustaining faster growth. However, the slow growth treatments consistently outperformed the fast growth treatments in the feedlot. In terms of breeds, the European breed types consistently outperformed the Wagyu breeds. There were no time-of-calving experiments in New South Wales.
Masonry infill panels - analytical modeling and seismic behavior

The analytical modeling of the in fills implies the determination of their geometrical and mechanical characteristics. The paper presents three onebay, onestory frames, for which the diagonal strut width and the strength to different failure types are determined. The effects of the masonry infill panels upon the seismic behavior of the frames structures are rendered by the capacity curves obtained from the push-over analysis carried out on a series of concrete frames with different number of stories.
A New Parallel Domain-Decomposed Chebyshev Collocation Method for Atmospheric and Oceanic Modeling

Spectral methods seek the solution to a differential equation in terms of series of known smooth function. The Chebyshev series possesses the exponential-convergence property regardless of the imposed boundary condition, and therefore is suited for the regional modeling. We propose a new domain-decomposed Chebyshev collocation method which facilitates an efficient parallel implementation. The boundary conditions for the individual sub-domains are exchanged through one grid interval overlapping. This approach is validated using the one dimensional advection equation and the inviscid Burgers' equation. We further tested the vortex formation and propagation problems using two-dimensional nonlinear shallow water equations. The domain decomposition approach in general gave more accurate solutions compared to that of the single domain calculation. Moreover, our approach retains the exponential error convergence and conservation of mass and the quadratic quantities such as kinetic energy and enstrophy. The efficiency of our method is greater than one and increases with the number of processors, with the optimal speed up of 29 and efficiency 3.7 in 8 processors. Efficiency greater than one was obtained due to the reduction the degrees of freedom in each sub-domain that reduces the spectral operational count and also due to a larger time step allowed in the sub-domain method. The communication overhead begins to dominate when the number of processors further increases, but the method still results in an efficiency of 0.9 in 16 processors. As a result, the parallel domain-decomposition Chebyshev method may serve as an efficient alternative for atmospheric and oceanic modeling.
Morphological and molecular genetic diversity of Syrian indigenous goat populations

Domestic goats in Syria may provide an interesting source of genetic variability due to its proximity to the centers of domestication. This study aimed to assess the morphological variation, genetic diversity and population substructure of the Syrian goat populations. Commonly, three goat genotypes are distinguished in Syria, namely Jabali or mountain goat, Baladi or local goat and Shami or Damascus (a well-known dairy goat). A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used in recording both qualitative (coat color, eye color, horn length, horn orientation, nose profile) and quantitative (height at wither, chest girth, cannon length, body length, ear length and ear width) morphological data. Data from a total of 5,730 individual goats of the three goat populations reared in ten representative provinces of Syria were collected and analyzed using GenStat version 14 statistical packages. Results of the morphological analysis confirmed that there were clear morphological variations among the three goat populations. The three goat populations are mainly distinguished by their straight (Baladi, 71.1% and Jabali, 82.8%) and curved (Shami, 89.5%) nose profiles. Substantial phenotypic variability was found among and within the breeds suggesting that these goat breeds have not yet undergone an organized breeding program. The genetic variability and population substructures from 398 individual animals of the three breeds were genotyped using 12 DNA microsatellite markers from Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) panel. All microsatellites typed were found to be polymorphic and a total of 41 distinct alleles were detected on Baladi, Jabali and Shami goat populations. The Syrian goat populations had observed and expected heterozygosity values that ranged from 0.50 to 0.62 and 0.74 to 0.85, respectively, and an average of 13.97 alleles per locus across breeds. For all loci, an average inbreeding values (FIS) of low to moderate level was obtained across the three goat breeds, which ranged from 0.29 (Shami goats) to 0.34 (Baladi goats) indicating the absence of mating between close relatives within these populations. The observed positive FIS coefficients among the studied goat breeds also suggested heterozygote deficiencies. The analyses of the molecular data using STRUCURE program indicated there were two primary populations, which did support the results based on morphological data of the same goat populations that clustered these goat populations into two main groups and confirmed the admixture nature of the Baladi and Jabali goat populations, while the Shami goat breed was well differentiated and grouped into a separate cluster that suggests its evolutionary and genetic uniqueness. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) results detected genetic variations within individuals in a population (96%). The high genetic variability within individuals in a population provides a good base for designing genetic improvement programs under the existing goat management systems. Key words : Characterization, cluster, genetic differentiation, population structure, Syria.
Zen in the Art of Cost Estimation

Engineering cannot wait until all phenomena are explained. Engineers may work effectively, often for centuries, with heuristics. This paper provides over thirty heuristics that have been inspired by the development and application of a systems engineering cost estimation model. The objective of this paper is to present such heuristics in a simple manner so that they can benefit those that develop, calibrate, and use cost models.
Cenozoic landscape evolution of the Lambert basin , East Antarctica : the relative role of rivers and ice sheets

The inception of the Antarctic Ice Sheet at around 34 Ma followed a period of globally warm climatic conditions. The efficacy of glacial erosion since this time is modelled using BEDMAPAntarctic digital elevation data and seismically estimated offshore sediment volumes to derive a DEM of the preglacial topography. Using a GIS, sediment is dvirtually backstackedT on to the present-day topography under dynamic ice sheet conditions to produce a model of the preglacial landscape of the Lambert basin area in East Antarctica. Survival of a preglacial river valley system under the ice suggests that glacial modification of the Lambert region has been modest. The Lambert Graben has focussed erosion for the last 118 million years. Morphometric analysis of the modelled preglacial and present-day subglacial topographies shows parallels with present-day drainage systems in Africa and Australia. We calculate that average rates of glacial and fluvial erosion for the last 118 million years have been similar and are ca. 1–2 m Myr 1 and ca. 0.89–1.79 m Myr 1 respectively. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
evelopment of a combined machining method using lectrorheological fluids for EDM

The objective of this study is to develop a new combined technology of electrical discharge machining (EDM) with polishing by using electrorheological (ER) fluid as working fluid. The surface of the work-piece after EDM has a recast layer with many micro-craters and cracks. Therefore, the polishing process is usually required after EDM for the molds applied on computer, communication and consumer electronics (3C) industries. In the study, we proposed a novel method of EDM that used ER fluid instead of water or oil and employed fine abrasive grits to carry out the combined process of EDM and polishing. The effect of this new electromechanical process combining EDM and polishing was investigated. The experimental results demonstrate EDM process still can perform in the ER fluid and polishing process can be surely performed after adding the alumina abrasives. We have a good performance to obtain surface roughness of Ra 0.08–0.06 m when using alumina abrasives of 0.3 m and 0.01 ing the electric field (Bonnecaze and Brady, 1992). Fig. 2 shows discharge capacity of
ACPD 12 , 13827 – 13880 , 2012 HDO / H 2 O retrieval simulator for climate models

A Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer HDO/H2O retrieval simulator for climate models R. D. Field, C. Risi, G. A. Schmidt, J. Worden, A. Voulgarakis, A. N. LeGrande, A. H. Sobel, and R. J. Healy NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY, USA Dept. of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA LMD/IPSL, CNRS, Paris, France Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
YU FUJII MOLECULAR TOOLS FOR FOCUSED PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL CELL FACTORIES

YU FUJII: MOLECULAR TOOLS FOR FOCUSED PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF BACTERIAL CELL FACTORIES Tampere University of technology Master of Science Thesis, 41 pages, 1 Appendix page February 2017 Master’s Degree Programme in Bioengineering Major: Bioengineering Examiner: Assistant Professor Ville Santala and Postdoctoral Researcher Suvi Santala
Retrieving initial capital distributions from panel data

A common problem in the empirical production analysis at the firm-level is that the initial values of capital are often missing in the data. Most empirical studies impute initial capital according to some ad hoc criteria based on a single arbitrary proxy. This paper evaluates the bias of production function estimations that is introduced when these traditional initial value approximations are used. We propose a generalized framework to deal with the missing initial capital problem by using multiple proxies where the choice of proxies is data-driven. We conduct a series of Monte Carlo experiments where the proposed method is tested against traditional approaches and apply the method to the firm-level data.
Information and diffusion of new prescription drugs

This article examines the role of different product information flows on the diffusion of new pharmaceuticals. Given the innovative nature of pharmaceutical drugs and their impact on health care expenditure there is a surprisingly small literature devoted to this topic. Some information flow mechanisms have been examined individually in the literature, but very few have captured the simultaneous impact of these mechanisms on up-take and diffusion. This article uses the up-take of statins as an example. Diffusion of this therapeutical group is expressed as a function of four specific informational channels: self-experience, consumption externalities, scientific evidence and marketing. In addition to this, the influence of economic factors is tested to examine whether they have any role in drug diffusion. Prescription data from over 130 General Practitioners (GP) practices in the UK during 1991–2004 are used to test the econometric specification applying dynamic panel data methods. Results suggest individual self-experience and clinical evidence are major factors promoting diffusion, while there is an inverse relationship with GP practice size and diffusion. Having controlled for these factors financial incentives and marketing appear to play little role.
Sequence-based DNA marker for simultaneous genotyping of all three β-conglycinin subunit genes in soybean

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) seed is about 40% protein, most of which is accounted for by the major storage proteins β-conglycinin (7S globulin) and glycinin (11S globulin). β-conglycinin, which consists of three subunits, α, α’, and β, is the main allergen in soybean. Accordingly, elimination of β-conglycinin from seed is one of the goals of soybean breeding programs. Soybean accessions PI 200485 and CS 1150 lack the α’and α-subunits of β-conglycinin, respectively. In this study, we developed a 3-betacon marker that could simultaneously identify genotypes for the three subunit genes of β-conglycinin. Interestingly, the three subunit genes were amplified with three distinct bands representing varied amplicon sizes. Mutant alleles could be identified in progeny of a three-way cross, and the corresponding αand α’-subunit proteins were clearly absent in each mutant accession. 3-betacon marker will be highly useful for soybean breeding programs to develop soybean cultivars with decreased β-conglycinin contents.