Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effective Disclosure in the Fast-Fashion Industry: from Sustainability Reporting to Action

This work, set in the context of the apparel industry, proposes an action-oriented disclosure tool to help solve the sustainability challenges of complex fast-fashion supply chains (SCs). In a search for effective disclosure, it focusses on actions towards sustainability instead of the measurements and indicators of its impacts. We applied qualitative and quantitative content analysis to the sustainability reporting of the world’s two largest fast-fashion companies in three phases. First, we searched for the challenges that the organisations report they are currently facing. Second, we introduced the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework to overcome the voluntary reporting drawback of ‘choosing what to disclose’, and revealed orphan issues. This broadened the scope from internal corporate challenges to issues impacting the ecosystems in which companies operate. Third, we analysed the reported sustainability actions and decomposed them into topics, instruments, and actors. The results showed that fast-fashion reporting has a broadly developed analysis base, but lacks action orientation. This has led us to propose the ‘Fast-Fashion Sustainability Scorecard’ as a universal disclosure framework that shifts the focus from (i) reporting towards action; (ii) financial performance towards sustainable value creation; and (iii) corporate boundaries towards value creation for the broader SC ecosystem.
Role of Chemotaxis in Solvent Production by Clostridium acetobutylicum

The motility of Clostridium acetobutylicum has been investigated during a typical batch fermentation process for solvent production. The motility is characterized by “runs” during the early phase of sugar utilization and acid production, but this changes to “tumbles” during the onset of solventogenesis. Sugars and undissociated acetic and butyric acids have been shown to be attractants for the bacterium, while acetone, butanol, ethanol, and dissociated acetate and butyrate are repellents. It is suggested that chemotactic responses explain why highly motile cells are strongly solventogenic.
Accuracy of the surface integral-equation formulations for large negative permittivity values

Computational solutions of plasmonic problems involving metals at optical frequencies formulated with surface integral equations are considered. Numerical inaccuracies arise when using the conventional formulations for penetrable bodies, especially as the negative real permittivity becomes very large at the lower frequencies of the optical spectrum. In order to close the gap between plasmonic and perfectly conducting simulations, it is required to extend the applicability of surface integral equations to increasingly large negative permittivity values, which is possible by scaling the matrix blocks correctly to capture the limiting process. We demonstrate an example for such an integral-equation formulation, as well as its accuracy, stability, and efficiency in comparison to the traditional formulations.
Isolation of a Novel β4 Integrin-binding Protein (p27BBP) Highly Expressed in Epithelial Cells*

The integrin β4 has a long cytodomain necessary for hemidesmosome formation. A yeast two-hybrid screen using β4 cytodomain uncovered a protein called p27BBP that represents a β4 interactor. Both in yeast and in vitro, p27BBP binds the two NH2-terminal fibronectin type III modules of β4, a region required for signaling and hemidesmosome formation. Sequence analysis of p27BBP revealed that p27BBP was not previously known and has no homology with any isolated mammalian protein, but 85% identical to a yeast gene product of unknown function. Expression studies by Northern analysis and in situ hybridization showed that, in vivo, p27BBP mRNA is highly expressed in epithelia and proliferating embryonic epithelial cells. An antibody raised against p27BBP COOH-terminal domain showed that all β4-containing epithelial cell lines expressed p27BBP. The p27BBP protein is insoluble and present in the intermediate filament pool. Furthermore, subcellular fractionation indicated the presence of p27BBP both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Confocal analysis of cultured cells showed that part of p27BBP immunoreactivity was both nuclear and in the membrane closely apposed to β4. These results suggest that the p27BBP is an in vivointeractor of β4, possibly linking β4 to the intermediate filament cytoskeleton.
Long-period mechanism of the 8 November 1980 Eureka, California, earthquake

The seismic moment and source orientation of the 8 November 1980 Eureka, California, earthquake (M_s = 7.2) are determined using long-period surface and body wave data obtained from the SRO, ASRO, and IDA networks. The favorable azimuthal distribution of the recording stations allows a well-constrained mechanism to be determined by a simultaneous moment tensor inversion of the Love and Rayleigh wave observations. The shallow depth of the event precludes determination of the full moment tensor, but constraining M_(zx) = M_(zy) = 0 and using a point source at 16-km depth gives a major double couple for period T = 256 sec with scalar moment M_(0) = 1.1 · 10^(27) dyne-cm and a left-lateral vertical strike-slip orientation trending N48.2°E. The choice of fault planes is made on the basis of the aftershock distribution. This solution is insensitive to the depth of the point source for depths less than 33 km. Using the moment tensor solution as a starting model, the Rayleigh and Love wave amplitude data alone are inverted in order to fine-tune the solution. This results in a slightly larger scalar moment of 1.28 · 10^(27) dyne-cm, but insignificant (<5°) changes in strike and dip. The rake is not well enough resolved to indicate significant variation from the pure strike-slip solution. Additional amplitude inversions of the surface waves at periods ranging from 75 to 512 sec yield a moment estimate of 1.3 ± 0.2 · 10^(27) dyne-cm, and a similar strike-slip fault orientation. The long-period P and SH waves recorded at SRO and ASRO stations are utilized to determine the seismic moment for 15- to 30-sec periods. A deconvolution algorithm developed by Kikuchi and Kanamori (1982) is used to determine the time function for the first 180 sec of the P and SH signals. The SH data are more stable and indicate a complex bilateral rupture with at least four subevents. The dominant first subevent has a moment of 6.4 · 10^(26) dyne-cm. Summing the moment of this and the next three subevents, all of which occur in the first 80 sec of rupture, yields a moment of 1.3 · 10^(27) dyne-cm. Thus, when the multiple source character of the body waves is taken into account, the seismic moment for the Eureka event throughout the period range 15 to 500 sec is 1.3 ± 0.2 · 10^(27) dyne-cm.
Cardiovascular and respiratory changes during heat stress in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri).

1. Trout were subjected to a steady increase in water temperature (1.5 °C/h) from 15 °C until death occurred, while several respiratory and cardiovascular parameters were monitored. 2. Oxygen consumption increased during the warming ( Q 10 = 2.35 between 16 and 20 °C). At the higher temperatures the increase was more marked ( Q 10 =4.96 between 20 and 26 °C). 3. Ventilatory frequency increased during the rising temperature with a general levelling off observed above 23 °C. The amplitude of the pressure changes in the buccal and opercular cavities increased more than did the ventilatory frequency. Further analysis of the differential pressure across the gills suggests that the adjustment of respiratory pumping to the increased oxygen demand is predominantly in the volume pumped per stroke (cycle). 4. Heart rate rose steadily with the increasing temperature until about 24-25 °C, when a bradycardia usually became evident. Synchrony between the heart beat and the respiratory pumps was observed in some preparations at the higher temperatures. 5. Blood pressure increases during the warming were more marked in the ventral aorta than in the dorsal aorta. At the highest temperatures, abnormal cardiac cycles were frequently observed. 6. Arterial oxygen content declined slightly during warming and venous oxygen content dropped to zero above 23 °C. 7. It is suggested that cardiovascular adjustments may be a limiting factor in this type of stress.
Phorbol ester-induced ventricular fibrillation in the Langendorff-perfused rabbit heart: antagonism by staurosporine and glibenclamide.

Using a paced Lagendorff-perfused rabbit heart paradigm, we investigated the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the development of ventricular fibrillation (VF) in hearts subjected to hypoxia (12 min) and re-oxygenation (40 min). We studied the effect of putative activators and inhibitors of PKC on the incidence of VF. Hearts exposed to 4 beta-phorbol,12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), isophorbol or the membrane permeant diacylglycerol analog, 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-rac-glycerol (OAG), during the prehypoxic phase had an increased incidence of VF during the hypoxic and reoxygenation periods. The incidence of VF was 90%, 83% and 75% in hearts exposed to PDBu, isophorbol and OAG, respectively (P < 0.05 vs control). Perfusion of hearts with PDBu was associated with a significant increase in the membrane fraction of cardiac PKC activity. In the presence of the inactive phorbol ester 4 alpha-phorbol didecanoate, the incidence of VF was 17% (P > 0.05 vs control). PKC activators were profibrillatory at concentrations that did not affect cardiac function: neither left ventricular developed pressure nor coronary perfusion pressure were affected. The effect of PDBu was antagonized by staurosporine: the incidence of VF was 17% in PDBu+staurosporine treated hearts (P < 0.05 vs control). To further study the profibrillatory effect of PDBu, hearts were exposed to PDBu in the presence of the ATP-dependent potassium channel antagonist glibenclamide. The latter prevented PDBu-induced VF. The results show that under the conditions employed, PDBu-induced activation of PKC induces redistribution of PKC activity and is associated with the development of VF.
Boosting Naive-Bayes classifiers to predict outcomes for hip prostheses

Our primary aim is to develop a classifier system that is capable of predicting the success or failure of hip prostheses on the basis of data from early radiological observations. The data set we employ (collected at The Royal London Hospital) records observations taken in the early years following fixation of the prosthesis and failure or otherwise after ten years. Many of the records contained in this data set have missing values. Recent work on the well-known Pima Indian data set has demonstrated the effectiveness of the Naive-Bayes (NB) method, coupled with boosting, on data with missing values. In this paper we investigate the performance of the NB method and boosting on the hip prosthesis data which contains a much greater proportion of missing values than the Pima Indian data. Our data set is additionally challenging in that it contains many more examples of one class (success) than the other.
Depression-Related Short-Term Disability in an Employed Population

Learning ObjectivesIdentify the economic consequences of depression and the likely ways in which depression influences performance at the workplace.Appreciate the prevalence of short-term disability with and without depression, and the influence of gender, age, and past history on depression-related disability.Recognize how the outcome of depression-related short-term disability is influenced by gender, age, and the number of depressive symptoms. There has been a growing realization that the number of workplace disability claims for mental and nervous disorders is increasing. Yet, little is known about the working population disabled by these disorders. Absence of basic information describing this population makes it virtually impossible to plan effective workplace programs. Using administrative data collected from three major Canadian financial/insurance sector employers, we focus on one group of disorders—depression. In this study, we report the prevalence of short-term disability due to depression and describe the characteristics of workers affected and their disability outcomes. We observed that compared with other nervous and mental disorders, depression-related short-term disability generally affected more employees, lasted longer, and had a higher rate of recurrence. In addition, at the end of their episodes more than three quarters of workers returned to work. These estimates suggest that the potential magnitude of the impact of short-term disability should be a concern for employers. This study helps identify the main characteristics of workers who develop depression-related disability. It also helps clarify what happens to those on short-term disability.
S100A7 in the Fallopian tube: a comparative study

Summary The oviduct is a dynamic organ in which final gamete maturation, fertilization and early embryo development take place. It is considered to be a sterile site; however the mechanism for sterility maintenance is still unknown. S100A7 is an anti-microbial peptide that has been reported in human reproductive tissues such as prostate, testicle, ovary, normal cervical epithelium and sperm. The current work reports the presence of S100A7 in the Fallopian tube and its localization at the apical surface of epithelial cells. For comparison, porcine S100A7 was used for antibody development and search for peptide in reproductive tissues. Although present in boar seminal vesicles and seminal plasma, S100A7 was not detected on female porcine organs. Also, in contrast with the human protein, porcine S100A7 did not show anti-microbial activity under the conditions tested. Phylogenetic analyses showed high divergence of porcine S100A7 from human, primate, bovine, ovine and equine sequences, being the murine sequence at a most distant branch. The differences in sequence homology, Escherichia coli-cidal activity, detectable presence and localization of S100A7 from human and pig, suggest that there are possible different functions in each organism.
Aspect dependent drivers for multi-perspective target classification

In this paper, a 2-D classifier using radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) has been implemented combining two imageries collected by different locations to prove the classification rates enhancement given by aspect diversification. Principal components analysis (PCA) is applied to features extracted from a masked version of the SAR image using the sole target's backscattering and shadow information. The classification performance, examined in terms of receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves is presented using MSTAR data for a population formed by six classes plus two unknown and two independent targets. The resulting performance shows a reduction of the probability of false alarm, related to an improvement of probability of declaration and correct classification in comparison with the traditional single aspect case.
Bootstrap Testing of the Rank of a Matrix via Least-Squared Constrained Estimation

To test if an unknown matrix M0 has a given rank (null hypothesis noted H0), we consider a statistic that is a squared distance between an estimator and the submanifold of fixed-rank matrix. Under H0, this statistic converges to a weighted chi-squared distribution. We introduce the constrained bootstrap (CS bootstrap) to estimate the law of this statistic under H0. An important point is that even if H0 fails, the CS bootstrap reproduces the behavior of the statistic under H0. As a consequence, the CS bootstrap is employed to estimate the nonasymptotic quantile for testing the rank. We provide the consistency of the procedure and the simulations shed light on the accuracy of the CS bootstrap with respect to the traditional asymptotic comparison. More generally, the results are extended to test whether an unknown parameter belongs to a submanifold of the Euclidean space. Finally, the CS bootstrap is easy to compute, it handles a large family of tests and it works under mild assumptions.
Association of CYP17 with HLA‐B27‐negative seronegative spondyloarthropathy in Japanese males

Susceptibility genes for seronegative spondyloarthropathy (SNSA) other than HLA‐B27 remain unclarified. Sex hormones are implicated in the pathogenesis of SNSA. Cytochrome P450c17a (CYP17) is a key regulator of androgen biosynthesis, and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 5′‐untranslated region of the CYP17 gene (CYP17), −34C > T, is associated with variety of diseases. We have investigated the association between the CYP17 SNP and SNSA in Japanese males. Genomic DNA was extracted from 149 Japanese male SNSA patients and 380 controls. The CYP17 SNP was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of the SNP were compared between SNSA patients and controls, and within SNSA patients. We also computed haplotype frequencies using an expectation‐maximization algorithm, analyzed the difference between SNSA and control groups, and examined the potential association of other known SNPs in the CYP17 gene. The frequency of the −34T allele was significantly increased in HLA‐B27‐negative SNSA, but not in total or HLA‐B27‐positive SNSA when compared to controls. The T allele was more prevalent in HLA‐B27‐negative SNSA than in HLA‐B27‐positive SNSA, and the T/T genotype was over‐represented in HLA‐B27‐negative SNSA. Haplotype analysis did not demonstrate more significant association. The CYP17 SNP is associated with SNSA in HLA‐B27‐negative Japanese males. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Towards real-time multi-modality 3-D medical image registration

Intensity value-based registration is a widely used technique for the spatial alignment of medical images. Generally, the registration transformation is determined by iteratively optimizing a similarity measure calculated from the grey values of both images. However, such algorithms may have high computational costs, especially in the case of multi-modality registration, which makes their integration into systems difficult. At present, registration based on mutual information (MI) still requires computation times of the order of several minutes. In this contribution we focus on a new similarity measure based on local correlation (LC) which is well-suited for numerical optimization. We show that LC can be formulated as a least-squares criterion which allows the use of dedicated methods. Thus, it is possible to register MR neuro perfusion time-series (128/sup 2//spl times/30 voxel, 40 images) on a moderate workstation in real-time: the registration of an image takes about 500 ms and is therefore several times faster than image acquisition time. For the registration of CT-MR images (512/sup 2//spl times/87 CT 256/sup 2//spl times/128 MR) a multiresolution framework is used. On top of the decomposition, which requires 47 s of computation time, the optimization with an algorithm based on Ml previously described in the literature takes 97 s. In contrast, the proposed approach only takes 13 s, corresponding to a speedup about a factor of 7. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the superior computational performance of LC is not gained at the expense of accuracy. In particular experiments with dual contrast MR images providing ground truth for the registration show a comparable sub-voxel accuracy of LC and MI similarity.
Building Employee Brand Equity to influence Organization Attractiveness and Firm Performance

This paper explores the various dimension of Internal Branding like training, orientation and briefing and Brand supporting behavior (like brand allegiance, brand endorsement and brand citizen behaviour). It further explores impact of Internal branding (IB), Brand commitment (BC) and Brand supporting behavior BSB) on Organization attractiveness (OA) and Firm Performance (FP). The study shows that Internal Branding (IB), Brand commitment (BC) and brand supporting behavior (BSB) impact Organizational attractiveness. While Internal Branding (IB), Brand commitment (BC) and brand supporting behavior (BSB) do not impact directly firm performance, but organizational attractiveness do have significant impact on perception of firm performance among employees.
CMOS technology platform for ubiquitous microsensors

In this paper we review a range of microsensors based on a common CMOS platform technology. The technology features a CMOS core which includes high temperature tungsten metallization and a post-CMOS deep reactive ion etching step of the substrate to release membranes, where the sensing elements are embedded. In one single process we were able to accommodate a variety of sensors such as gas, humidity, pressure, flow, temperature and infra-red detectors and emitters. The benefits of this platform are: (i) ultra-low power consumption, (ii) small form factor, (iii) high reliability and yield (iv) possibility of on-chip electronics and last but not least (v) low unit price.
Adhesive Activity of the Haemophilus Cryptic Genospecies Cha Autotransporter Is Modulated by Variation in Tandem Peptide Repeats

ABSTRACT The Haemophilus cryptic genospecies is an important cause of maternal genital tract and neonatal systemic infections and initiates infection by colonizing the genital or respiratory epithelium. In recent work, we identified a unique Haemophilus cryptic genospecies protein called Cha, which mediates efficient adherence to genital and respiratory epithelia. The Cha adhesin belongs to the trimeric autotransporter family and contains an N-terminal signal peptide, an internal passenger domain that harbors adhesive activity, and a C-terminal membrane anchor domain. The passenger domain in Cha contains clusters of YadA-like head domains and neck motifs as well as a series of tandem 28-amino-acid peptide repeats. In the current study, we report that variation in peptide repeat number gradually modulates Cha adhesive activity, associated with a direct effect on the length of Cha fibers on the bacterial cell surface. The N-terminal 404 residues of the Cha passenger domain mediate binding to host cells and also facilitate bacterial aggregation through intermolecular Cha-Cha binding. As the tandem peptide repeats expand, the Cha fiber becomes longer and Cha adherence activity decreases. The expansion and contraction of peptide repeats represent a novel mechanism for modulating adhesive capacity, potentially balancing the need of the organism to colonize the genital and respiratory tracts with the ability to attach to alternative substrates, disperse within the host, or evade the host immune system.
Indonesia stock exchange liquid stocks identification using self-organizing map

Being able to gain profit is one of the main objectives of people who work in the financial area. Yet, the volatility of the stock price movement makes the task of predicting future condition of a stock market difficult to accomplish. One approach known to provide a safe strategy in stock trading is by collecting only those stocks, which are considered as liquid. The Indonesia Stock Exchange market (IDX) publishes this list of liquid stocks every six months (known as the LQ45 list). Having prior knowledge of stocks that will be in the upcoming LQ45 list would then be a great help to assist people who work in the Financial area in planning their future investment and gain profit. This study proposed the use of unsupervised data mining technique called the Self-Organizing Map algorithm (SOM) to perform early identification of liquid stocks from all listed companies in the IDX by dynamically creating a group of liquid stocks based on their historical states.