Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trouble Shooting For Recalcitrant Bud Formation In Capsicum Annuum var. Kulai

Hypocotyls and cotyledons of Capsicum annuum var Kulai from 8-14 days old seedlings were cultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BAP and IAA. Effect of explant types, developmental stages of seedling and duration of subculture in different media were studied. Young tissue from hypocotyls formed more buds than the older tissue. Hypocotyls showed better response than cotyledons. Subculture was carried out every two weeks to prevent browning of explants and promote adventitious bud formation and development. Optimal bud forming efficiency in hypocotyl explants was obtained when explants were cultured on MS media containing 3 mg/l BAP and 0.3 mg/l IAA for 2 weeks followed by subculture on medium supplemented with 2mg/l BAP and 0.15mg/l IAA. The percentage of bud formation was 75.48 ± 4.71 %.
1 Return distributions of equity-linked retirement plans with different capital guarantee mechanisms and fee structures

In the recent years an increasing demand for capital guaranteed equity-linked life insurance products and retirement plans has emerged. In Germany, a retirement plan, called Riester-Rente, is supported by the state with cash payments and tax benefits. Those retirement plans have to preserve the invested capital. The company offering a Riester-Rente has to ensure that at the end of the saving period at least all cash inflows are available. Due to the investors demand for high returns, banks and insurance companies are not only offering saving plans investing in riskless bonds but also in products with a high equity proportion. For companies offering an equity-linked Riester-Rente the guarantee to pay out at least the invested capital is a big challenge. Due to the long maturities of the contracts of more than 30 years it is not possible to just buy a protective put. Many different concepts are used by banks and insurance companies to generate this guarantee or to reduce the remaining risk for the company. They vary from simple Stop Loss strategies to complex dynamic hedging strategies. In our work we analyze the return distribution generated by some of these strategies. We consider several examples:
RANTES / CCL 5-induced pro-angiogenic effects depend on CCR 1 , CCR 5 and glycosaminoglycans

Atherosclerosis involves angiogenesis and inflammation with the ability of endothelial cells and monocytes to respond to chemokines. We addressed here by in vitro and in vivo approaches, the role of the chemokine Regulated on Activation, Normal T Cell Expressed and Secreted (RANTES)/CCL5 on angiogenesis through its receptors CCR1, CCR5, syndecan-1 (SDC-1), syndecan-4 (SDC-4) and CD-44. Our data demonstrate that RANTES/ CCL5 is pro-angiogenic in a rat subcutaneous model. This RANTES/CCL5-activity may be related to the in vitro promotion of endothelial cell migration, spreading and neovessel formation. RANTES/CCL5-mediated angiogenesis depends at least partly on Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) secretion by endothelial cells, since this effect is decreased when endothelial cells are incubated with anti-VEGF receptor antibodies. RANTES/CCL5induced chemotaxis is mediated by matrix metalloproteinase-9. We demonstrate that specific receptors of RANTES/CCL5 such as G protein-coupled receptors CCR1 and CCR5, and heparan sulfate proteoglycans, SDC1, SDC-4 or CD-44, play a major role in RANTES/CCL5induced angiogenic effects. By the use of two RANTES/ CCL5 mutants, [E66A]-RANTES/CCL5 with impaired ability to oligomerize, and [AANA]-RANTES/CCL5 mutated in the main RANTES/CCL5-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) binding site, we demonstrate that chemokine oligomerization and binding to GAGs are essential in RANTES/CCL5-induced angiogenic effects. According to these results, new therapeutic strategies based on RANTES/ CCL5 can be proposed for neo-angiogenesis after vascular injury. Mutants of RANTES/CCL5 may also represent an innovative approach to prevent the angiogenesis associated with the formation of atherosclerotic plaque.
Corruption Primer : The role of culture , religion , wealth and governance

The accounting literature on fraud prevention and investigation has identified corruption as one of the major types of occupational abuse against organizations (Albrecht et al. 2009, Wells 2010, 1997). The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Reports to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) summarize four types of corruption schemes: bribery schemes, conflict of interest schemes, economic extortion schemes and illegal gratuity schemes. SAS 99 or Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99: Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit requires the auditor to gather information necessary to identify risks of material misstatement in financial statements. The SAS 99 standard considers and identifies two types of fraud: misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting (e.g. falsification of accounting records) and misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets (e.g. theft of assets or fraudulent expenditures). More recently in its “2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse” the (ACFE) defined corruption as “a scheme that involves the employee’s use of his or her influence in business transactions in a way that violates his or her duty to the employer for the purpose of obtaining a benefit for himor herself or someone else”. Examples of corruption schemes include bribery, extortion and a conflict of interest. Crumbley (2009) also emphasizes the role and responsibility of the auditor in fraud prevention and detection. So, there has been plenty of awareness and regulation as it relates to the role of the auditor in the identification and the prevention of fraud and corruption. However, research that examines the role of accounting in preventing corruption has been limited (Johnston 1999; Kimbro 2002; Siame 2002; Larson & Herz 2003; Everett et al. 2007) and there have very few attempts to empirically examine this relationship (Kimbro 2002). Recently, some articles have emerged that criticize and unfortunately misinterpret the empirical literature on the role of accounting in preventing corruption. Specifically, Everett et al. 2007 explored the role of accounting in “fighting” corruption by drawing on a “governmentality” framing to contrast the “orthodox” versus the “radical” mentality and its interaction with accounting. They label the “orthodox” mentality as a programmatic or normative one which views accounting involvement in the “fight” against corruption as unproblematic and noble; while the
Resonance Frequency , Gain , Efficiency and Quality Factor of a Microstrip Printed Antenna as a Function of Curvature for TM 01 mode Using Different Substrates

Curvature has an important effect on fringing field of a microstrip antenna and consequently fringing field affects the effective dielectric constant and then all antenna parameters. A new mathematical model for resonance frequency, gain, efficiency and quality factor as a function of curvature is introduced in this paper. These parameters are given for TM01 mode and using three different substrate materials RT/duroid-5880 PTFE, K-6098 Teflon/Glass and Epsilam-10 ceramic-filled Teflon.
Structural analysis of a p 44 / msp 2 expression site of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in naturally infected ticks in

Correspondence Norio Ohashi ohashi@u-shizuoka-ken.ac. jp Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka and Global COE Program, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan Department of Microbiology, Shizuoka Institute of Environment and Hygiene, Shizuoka, Japan Laboratory of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiba Institute of Science, Choshi 288-0025, Japan Ohara Research Laboratory, Ohara General Hospital, Fukushima 960-0195, Japan
The Effects of High Frequency Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation on Spasticity, Proprioception, Strength, and Balance in Patients with Stroke : A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study was conducted to compare the effects of high frequency and low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation applied to gastrocnemius muscle on proprioception, spasticity, and dynamic balance of stroke patients. Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to each of 10 experimental and control groups. High frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was applied to the experimental group and low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was applied to the control group for 20 minutes per day, 5 times a week for a total of 4 weeks. The subjects were assessed for proprioception by joint position sense in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion, spasticity was assessed using Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and amount of resistance, and dynamic balance was assessed using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. A significant improvement in joint position sense (plantarflexion, dorsiflexion), MAS, amount of resistance, and TUG was observed after intervention in the experimental group (p < 0.05), and there was a significant improvement in all evaluation items compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that application of high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to the bilateral gastrocnemius muscles of patients with stroke has a positive effect on proprioception, spasticity and dynamic balance.
Earnings Management and Equity Incentive Gap between CEOs and CFOs

Extant research findings on the relative role of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) in earnings management appear to be mixed (Jiang et al, 2010; Feng et al., 2011). This study re-examines this issue by refining the models used by previous studies. We use the difference in the equity incentive of CEOs and CFOs as a proxy for CEO incentive to engage in opportunistic reporting activities relative to CFOs. We find that both CFO equity incentive and the gap between CEO and CFO equity incentive are positively associated with discretionary accruals. More importantly, we examine and find that CEO power does not affect CFO equity incentive to manage earnings. Taken together, the finding of this study is consistent with Jiang et al. (2010) but inconsistent with Feng et al. (2012), indicating that CFOs play a separate (from CEOs) but important role in opportunistic reporting activities. While previous studies (e.g. Kini and William, 2012) find that a higher pay gap between CEOs and other executive managers may encourage CEOs engaging in riskier financing and operating strategies (i.e. tournament incentives), our study provides evidence that a higher gap between CEO and CFO equity incentive is associated with riskier reporting decision.
The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Productivity and Firm Size : Evidence from India ’ s Formal and Informal Manufacturing Sectors

Despite a large literature investigating the impacts of trade on firm productivity, there is almost no evidence on how small firms react to trade liberalization. In this paper, I show that India’s unilateral reduction in final goods tariffs increased the average productivity of its manufacturing firms by 15%. Using a unique dataset of firm-level surveys that are representative of the entire Indian manufacturing industry, I document that this result was driven by an increase in productivity among small, informal firms, which account for 80% of Indian manufacturing employment but have been excluded from previous studies. I also examine the effect of the fall in tariffs on the distributions of productivity and firm size, and find evidence consistent with the exit of the smallest, least productive firms from the informal sector. JEL Classification: F12, L11, O17, O24 ∗Ph.D. candidate, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 207 Giannini Hall #3310, Berkeley, CA 94720-3310. E-mail: shanthi.nataraj@berkeley.edu. I am indebted to my advisers Ann Harrison, Pranab Bardhan, and Sofia Villas-Boas for their valuable guidance, and I thank Paul Gertler, Larry Karp, Kala Krishna, Jill Luoto, Kalina Manova, Clair Null, Elisabeth Sadoulet, Sita Slavov, and Slavi Slavov, as well as seminar participants at UC Berkeley for their valuable comments. I am grateful to Mr. M.L. Philip, Mr. P.C. Nirala, Dr. Praveen Shukla, and Mr. M.M. Hasija of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for their help in answering numerous questions about the data sets used in this paper; to José Machado for his advice on estimating counterfactual densities; and to Gunjan Sharma and Jagadeesh Sivadasan for their assistance in interpreting the Annual Survey of Industries data. Any remaining errors are mine alone. This material is partly based upon work supported under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
YEARS OF THE DOUBLE HELIX One gene , many endocrine and metabolic syndromes : PTEN-opathies and precision medicine

An average of 10% of all cancers (range 1–40%) are caused by heritable mutations and over the years have become powerful models for precision medicine practice. Furthermore, such cancer predisposition genes for seemingly rare syndromes have turned out to help explain mechanisms of sporadic carcinogenesis and often inform normal development. The tumor suppressor PTEN encodes a ubiquitously expressed phosphatase that counteracts the PI3K/AKT/mTOR cascade – one of the most critical growth-promoting signaling pathways. Clinically, individuals with germline PTEN mutations have diverse phenotypes and fall under the umbrella term PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS). PHTS encompasses four clinically distinct allelic overgrowth syndromes, namely Cowden, Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba, Proteus and Proteus-like syndromes. Relatedly, mutations in other genes encoding components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway downstream of PTEN also predispose patients to partially overlapping clinical manifestations, with similar effects as PTEN malfunction. We refer to these syndromes as ‘PTEN-opathies. ’ As a tumor suppressor and key regulator of normal development, PTEN dysfunction can cause a spectrum of phenotypes including benign overgrowths, malignancies, metabolic and neurodevelopmental disorders. Relevant to clinical practice, the identification of PTEN mutations in patients not only establishes a PHTS molecular diagnosis, but also informs on more accurate cancer risk assessment and medical management of those patients and affected family members. Importantly, timely diagnosis is key, as early recognition allows for preventative measures such as high-risk screening and surveillance even prior to cancer onset. This review highlights the translational impact that the discovery of PTEN has had on the diagnosis, management and treatment of PHTS. 8
MAJOR FACTORS IMPACTING COMPETITIVENESS OF LATVIAN

Competitiveness of enterprises is one of business and national economic growth factors. Business theories which imply gathered business experience in a range of countries and across different time periods do not make it clear why some enterprise always would be more competitive over some other. Competitiveness of enterprises is exposed to particular factors as much as to combined factors which depend on further range of other factors such as external environment, time, and also luck. Competitiveness is hard to define, yet it is also difficult to measure: as it is known, the know-how having brought success to some company might not be that useful to other companies due to various additional influential aspects. Nevertheless, business researches conducted in different countries have identified a set of factors affecting competitiveness of enterprises.
Traffic Models : Car Following to Fluid Flow

Scientists for years have tried to create effective models to better understand traffic flows. The ability to understand the dynamics of traffic is of great importance in shaping policy in optimizing the efficiency of our traffic system. With the growing impact cars have on society, whether that be pollution and energy control, or prevention of car crashes, vehicular networks and driver behavior is a growing field. As technology increases, the necessity for a better understanding of how to model traffic becomes greater and greater. The emergence of autonomous cars and “smart” city system requires precise models to optimize traffic systems and ensure the safety of drivers. In finding mathematical model to describe traffic flow one can approach the system microscopically or macroscopically. In the former, we analyze each car’s position and velocity individually, generally forming a system of ordinary differential equations for each vehicle in the system. In macroscopic (continuum) traffic models, one focuses on vehicle density and average velocity of the traffic as functions of a freeway location (x) and time (t), forming a partial differential equation. The continuum model appears similar to other fluid flow equations such as the Navier Stokes equation as well as Kinetic Gas theory. In section 1 we will describe the derivation of the microscopic car-following model by analyzing the behavior of a single driver. In section 2 we will use this microscopic model to motivate a macroscopic, continuum partial differential equation for modeling traffic flow. And finally in section 3, we will explore various models that use hydrodynamic-like conservation equations to model vehicular flow, beginning with the earliest model, the Lighthill-Whitham model, to more modern higher order models.
Post-print version : Multivariable PID control with setpoint weighting via BMI optimisation

The paper focuses on the design of multivariable PID controllers with set-point weighting. The advantage of this PID structure is that the responses of the system to disturbances and to changes in the set-point can be adjusted separately. The proposed design methods rely on the transformation of the tuning of the controller gains into a static output feedback (SOF) problem. Hence, multivariable PID controllers can be designed by solving an optimisation problem with bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs). The paper addresses the design of both time-invariant and gain-scheduled robust controllers. All of the tuning methods discussed through the paper are based on a PID structure with filtered derivative term, thus guaranteeing the well-posedness of the closed loop system.
Availability Analysis and Tuning Tools at the Light Source Bessy II

The 1.7GeV light source BESSY II features about 50 beamlines overbooked by a factor of 2 on the average. Thus availability of high quality synchrotron radiation (SR) is a central asset. SR users at BESSY II can base their beam time expectations on numbers generated according to the common operation metrics [1]. Major failures of the facility are analyzed according to [1] and displayed in real time, analysis of minor detriments are provided regularly by offline tools. Many operational constituents are required for extraordinary availability figures: meaningful alarming and dissemination of notifications, complete logging of program, device, system and operator activities, post-mortem analysis and data mining tools. Preventive and corrective actions are enabled by consequent root cause analysis based on accurate eLog entries, trouble ticketing and consistent failure classifications with enhanced diagnostics. This paper describes the toolsets, developments, their implementation status and some showcase results at BESSY II.
Optimal Consumption , Investment and Insurance Problem in Infinite Time Horizon

We incorporate an insurable risk into the classical consumption and investment problem and intend to find optimal investment, consumption and insurance strategies for a risk-averse investor who wants to maximize her expected utility of consumption in infinite time horizon. We obtain explicit optimal strategies for HARA utility functions. Through an economic analysis, we examine the impact of market parameters and the investor’s risk aversion on optimal strategies and how insurance affects the value function.
Association of Interleukin-10 (-1082 A > G ,-819 C > T and-592 C > A ) gene polymorphism and its serum level with metabolic syndrome in north Indian subjects

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an inflammatory disorder and various cytokines play important role in tilting balance towards disease state. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an important anti-inflammatory cytokine, but its genetic polymorphisms and serum levels in Indian metabolic syndrome subjects are still unknown. Three IL-10 gene polymorphisms [-1082A>G (rs1800896), -819 C >T (rs1800872) and -592C >A (rs1800871)] were genotyped with PCR-RFLP in metabolic syndrome subjects (n=384) and age/sex matched control subjects (n= 386). Serum IL-10 was measured using ELISA. Serum IL-10 level was significantly low in MetS subject and significantly correlated with clinico-biochemical parameters of metabolic syndrome. Out of three investigated promoter polymorphisms, IL-10 -819 C >T and -592C >A were significantly associated with risk of metabolic syndrome. The mutant alleles -819T and -592A of IL-10 gene polymorphism were significantly higher in metabolic
Information Technology Impacts on the U.S. Energy Demand Profile

The growth of information technology (IT) and the internet may dramatically change society and the energy sector. Effective energy policies require sound research and development (R&D) to investigate these changes. This paper explains how viewing IT and energy in the context of a social system allows us to recognize that the indirect and unexpected effects of IT may dwarf the direct impacts on energy consumption. It also makes recommendations for the difficult task of divining the future of energy demand.
Tax Gap and Economic Crime in Italian provinces 1

This paper examines the impact of tax evasion on criminal activities in Italy. Precisely, we consider three types of crime particularly related to economic determinants: property crimes (including robberies, thefts and car thefts), frauds and usury. By using annual data for the Italian provinces (NUTS-3) over the period 2006 to 2010 to estimate a dynamic panel, we show that tax evasion substitutes both frauds and usury, whereas crimes against the property are positively affected by tax evasion. Interestingly, the degree of substitution for fraud and usury is related to the size of tax burden. Moreover, the estimates indicate that these crimes show a different persistency over time, reflecting different adjustment costs. Finally, we find statistical significance and the expected sign for deterrence only for property crimes whereas frauds and usury are not influenced by any deterrence or clearing-up variable.
CLOSED LOOP IMPLEMENTATION OF SPEED CONTROL OF A BRUSHED PMDC MOTOR OF AN X-RAY SYSTEM AND VALIDATION OF RELIABILITY OF THE CONTROLLER

204 | P a g e CLOSED LOOP IMPLEMENTATION OF SPEED CONTROL OF A BRUSHED PMDC MOTOR OF AN X-RAY SYSTEM AND VALIDATION OF RELIABILITY OF THE CONTROLLER Mutum Meenakshi Devi, V Chayapathy Dept. of Electrical and Electronics RV College of Engineering Bengaluru, India minaxiimutum@gmail.com Abstract— The advancement of Power Electronics has brought progress in the control and conversion of electric power. Power electronic systems have good efficiency, flexibility of control and high reliability. Motor drives application is one classic application. Motor drives has the advantage of adjustable characteristic like torquespeed, speed-current by using control technique. With DC motor, precise control of speed that is required in many industries can be achieved.