Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Globalization: The Return of Borders to a Borderless World?

Introduction. 1. What is Globalization? 2. Globalization in Historical Perspective 3. Essentials of Globalization 4. Globalization and Information and Communication Technologies 5. The Global versus the Local 6. The Normative Implications of Globalization 7. Regional Dynamics: Europe and Asia 8. Regional Dynamics: Russia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa 9. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? 10. The Balance Sheet
Commentary: Local Government, the Internet, and Sustainability

In their article, Sonia Royo, Ana Yetano, and Basilio Acerete attempt to measure local government commitment to sustainability goals by examining the existence and success of e-participation tools. Th eir dispiriting conclusion is that use of the Internet by municipalities—in this case, European municipalities—to engage the public on sustainability issues has been halfhearted and largely unsuccessful, even for those local governments that have signed on to a larger, high-profi le coalition eff ort. But, as the authors point out, we are still learning how the Internet can be used as a democratic tool, and it may well be that a municipal Web site is simply not a promising vehicle for the promotion of a local sustainability agenda.
A study of risk management and performance measures on new product development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the management process considering risks and performances in developing new products.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides risk factors and performance factors based on literature reviews and then discusses risk and performance management processes during the product development period. Some lessons for effective risk management and performance measures are reported.Findings – The timing of risk management and performance measures is important to the impact level of performance.Practical implications – This proposed framework could be used as a basis for systematic management of R&D investment projects.Originality/value – The paper provides insights into the R&D committee's role in developing new products.
The Comovements Along the Term Structure of Oil Forwards in Periods of High and Low Volatility: How Tight Are They?

We study the pattern of contagion in volatility along the term structure of oil forwards. We use measures of codependence of returns from quantile regressions to discriminate between integration of the markets for different maturities in the cases of low and high volatility of the returns. Our results provide evidence of decoupling: for most of the maturities we consider, the probability of contagion falls during periods of high volatility.
Reserve stockpiling and managing its monetary consequences: the Indian experience

India's foreign exchange reserves have risen rapidly since the balance-of-payment crisis in 1991 to over US$155 billion by mid-2006. India is now the fifth largest Asian reserve holder. Despite this, scant attention has been paid to the rationale for and impact of reserves accumulation in India. This paper estimates the extent of de facto sterilization and capital mobility concurrently for the period 1990:q1–2004:q4. While India appears to have sterilized capital inflows quite aggressively, as the extent of de facto capital mobility continues to rise, it might become increasingly difficult to continue to sterilize going forward.
Recent Developments in Behavioral Finance

Setting this article against a background of recent academic work, the author reviews the highlights of these studies, emphasizing issues that are particularly relevant for portfolio construction. First, he discusses recent evidence of the ‘disposition effect,’ meaning ‘the disposition to sell winners too early and to hold on to losers too long. ’ The helps him present recent evidence on the disposition effect and introduce some of the basic concepts from behavioral finance for those new to the subject. Next, the author addresses the issue of overconfidence, one of the most prevalent behavioral phenomena. He reviews these findings which are based on recent studies about the forecasts, trades, and performances of participants in investment clubs. Finally, he examines two issues that are specifically relevant for retirement portfolios, although they also have more general implications. The first involves naive diversification and the second pertains to the rules investors use to determine how quickly retirement nest eggs are spent.
The Price of Milk Quota in England and Wales

Abstract In this paper prices for leasing milk quota in England and Wales are estimated using traditional and ‘modern’ microeconomic theory of firms’ costs. In both cases it is argued that the distinction between short‐run and long‐run is relevant in establishing quota prices. Estimates of marginal cost are derived by econometric methods and by direct use of observed costs, after which it is a straightforward exercise to obtain estimates of quota values at farm level and equilibrium quota prices for the industry. Results from the empirical analysis justify choice of the efficiency criterion, whereby quota is transferred from high‐cost to low‐cost producers, as a suitable basis for establishing a leasing price. Whilst higher milk prices are shown to have been the principal cause of increases in the nominal price of quota, reductions in input prices dominate when these increases are measured in real terms. As for choice of cost function, the use of constant marginal cost, associated with ‘modern’ microecono.
Customer relationship management implementation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the generalizability of the customer relationship management (CRM) scale originally developed by Sin et al. as well as to investigate the strength of linkages between CRM implementation components and business performance in Jordan's financial service organizations (FSOs). Design/methodology/approach – Using a quantitative methodology, data were collected through a survey that included FSOs that are operating in the Jordanian market. The original adopted CRM scale was administered to 12 banks and 18 insurance companies that were found to be implementing CRM. An overall number of 320 questionnaires were sent to these banks and insurance companies' top management members who were directly involved in CRM implementation and performance assessments. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the generalizability of the CRM scale developed by Sin et al. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the research hypotheses concerning .
Default, Settlement, and Signalling: Lending Resumption in a Reputational Model of Sovereign Debt

This paper develops a simple model of sovereign debt in which defaulting nations are excluded from capital markets and regain access by making partial repayments. This implication of the model is consistent with the historical evidence that defaulting countries return to international loan markets soon after a settlement but after varying periods of exclusion. Copyright 1995 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
Central and Peripheral Actions of a Nonpeptidic Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist

Nonpeptidic imidazole derivatives were recently reported to be angiotensin II receptor antagonists with acute blood pressure-lowering activity. In the present study, we characterized the angiotensin II receptor antagonist properties of one such derivative, 4′-{[2-butyl-4-chloro-5-(hydroxymethyl)- lH-imidazol-l-yl]methyl}-[l,l′-biphenyl]-2-carboxylic acid (IMI). In receptor binding studies, IMI displaced bound [125I] angiotensin II from rat uterine membranes with an IC50 of 0.17 μM. In isolated rabbit aortic rings, IMI shifted the angiotensin II concentration-response curve to the right in a parallel and concentration-dependent manner. A Schild plot of these data indicated a pA2o of 7.13±0.16 and a slope of 0.94±0.06. In rat kidney slices, IMI shifted the concentration-response curve for angiotensin II-induced inhibition of renin release to the right Antagonism of the angiotensin II pressor response by IMI was dose dependent and reversible in ganglion-blocked, anesthetized rats. The water intake and pressor responses to intracerebroventricular angiotensin II (100 pmol) were inhibited by intracerebroventricular IMI (25 or 50 nmol) in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats. Similarly, the drinking and pressor responses to intravenous angiotensin II were blocked by intravenous IMI in conscious rats. IMI alone had no effects on mean arterial pressure or drinking when administered either intravenously or intracerebroventricularly. IMI decreased mean arterial pressure throughout 5 days of infusion in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In summary, IMI was a full competitive antagonist without partial agonist activity in peripheral tissues and the central nervous system. Moreover, the chronic administration of this angiotensin II receptor antagonist was antihypertensive in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
The relative efficiency and financial risk assessment of shipping companies

Since shipping companies are highly competitive, we ask whether financial risk assessment tools impact company performance and, therefore competitiveness and efficiency. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) is used in the evaluation. Based on distinct features of the risk-return relationship, three cargo segments in the shipping industry are studied—dry bulk, liquid bulk, and containerized cargo. The influence of the risk assessment indicators on market and operational efficiency is subsequently determined using a panel regression to determine whether different asset allocation and risk management techniques improve the performance of shipping companies. In this analysis, 79 international shipping companies listed in Bloomberg Shipping Indices are included in the data collected from Thomson One for the period of 2001–2010. Efficiency estimation from the SFA shows that containerized cargo firms have better performance in both market and operating efficiencies. Operating efficiency performance is achieved by lowering liquidity. Market efficiency is improved by well-managed leverage level.
Melatonin promotes water‐stress tolerance, lateral root formation, and seed germination in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract: A comprehensive investigation was carried out to determine the changes that occurred in water‐stressed cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in response to melatonin treatment. We examined the potential roles of melatonin during seed germination and root generation and measured its effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, and photosynthesis. Melatonin alleviated polyethylene glycol induced inhibition of seed germination, with 100 μm melatonin‐treated seeds showing the greatest germination rate. Melatonin stimulated root generation and vitality and increased the root:shoot ratio; therefore, melatonin may have an effect on strengthening cucumber roots. Melatonin treatment significantly reduced chlorophyll degradation. Seedlings treated with 100 μm melatonin clearly showed a higher photosynthetic rate, thus reversing the effect of water stress. Furthermore, the ultrastructure of chloroplasts in water‐stressed cucumber leaves was maintained after melatonin treatment. The antioxidant levels and activities of the ROS scavenging enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, were also increased by melatonin. These results suggest that the adverse effects of water stress can be minimized by the application of melatonin.
Construction Workers Activity Detection Using BOF

Human Activity detection is an imperative area of research in computer vision. This paper focuses on activity recognition by construction personnel at the construction sites. The method uses bag of features (BOF) approach to detect an activity. Here we have considered five types of activities done at construction sites namely ladder climbing, brick laying, carpentry work, painting and plastering work. Still images of activities at construction sites are obtained from Internet and few were added from personal digital collection to form a new construction workers database, comprising a total of 389 images. 30% of the images from the dataset are used for training, 40% for validation and 30% for testing. Bag of features classifier is applied to the training set to form 500 visual words. The test images are classified as one of the five categories with an accuracy of 95%. The proposed method is also tested on KTH and willows action dataset. The accuracy for KTH dataset is 96% and for Willows action dataset is 95%. All algorithms are tested using MATLAB 2012b software.
Intestinal schistosomiasis japonica: CT-pathologic correlation.

PURPOSE To study the pathologic basis of intestinal wall calcification caused by Schistosoma japonicum visualized with computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Twelve patients underwent CT of the abdomen to detect what pathologic examination proved to be schistosomiasis japonica. Eight intestinal specimens from five of the patients were subjected to radiography, and the pathologic and radiographic findings were correlated. RESULTS CT demonstrated curvilinear or nodular calcification in the colon in 11 patients, in the appendix in two, and in the distal ileum in one. In five patients, calcifications resembling tram tracks were found in the sigmoid colon. Pathologic examination of the specimens showed calcified eggs of S japonicum deposited more extensively in the submucosa and subserosa than in the muscularis propria, which led to the tram-track appearance. CONCLUSION The extensive curvilinear or tram-track calcification found in the colon in patients with schistosomiasis japonica is calcification of deposited eggs.
Marketing and Discontinuous Innovation: The Probe and Learn Process

The disappointing performance of U.S. firms during the 1980s in technology-intensive, global markets (such as consumer electronics, office and factory automation, and semiconductor memories) has been widely attributed to a failure to continuously and incrementally improve products and processes. In "The Breakthrough Illusion", Florida and Kenney wrote that "The United States makes the breakthroughs, while other countries, especially Japan, provide the follow-through" on which competitive advantage is built. Gomory made a similar point. contrasting "revolutionary" innovations with "another, wholly different, less dramatic, and rather grueling process of innovation, which is far more critical to commercializing technology profitably.Its hallmark is incremental improvement, not breakthrough. It requires turning products over again and again, getting the new model out, starting work on an even newer one. This may all sound dull, but the achievements are exhilarating. " In "The Machine that Changed the World", the most influential work on the subject of the 1980s, Womack, Jones, and Roos measured the competitive effects of this lack of attention to continuous incremental improvement throiugh a benchmarking study of the global automobile industry. Other studies reinforce this message: compared to their Japanese competitors, U.S. firms lagged in cost, quality, and speed; and in large measure, the problem stemmed from a relative.
An energy harvesting chip designed to extract maximum power from a TEG

In this paper, we present measurement results from a prototype chip (fabricated in 130 nm CMOS technology), designed to extract maximum power from a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG). From analytical expression, we prove that the maximum extracted power is around 75% of the available power in a TEG, without using a closed loop maximum peak power tracking to regulate the input voltage. In our measurements, the TEG is modeled by a voltage source (50mV-200mV) with a series resistance of 5 Ohms. The prototype is fully electric, starts from 50 mV and can extract 60% (at 50 mV) to 65% (at 200 mV) of the available power. Hence the measurement result closely agrees with the analytical expression.
Does the fear of debt constrain choice of university and subject of study?

The new student funding regime introduced by the 2004 Higher Education Act in England is predicated on the accumulation of student debt. Variable tuition fees, repaid by student loans, will increase average student loan debt on graduation. This article examines how fear of debt and financial constraints affect prospective students’ choices of where and what to study. Using data derived from a survey of about 2000 prospective students, it shows that financial issues constrain lower social class students’ choice of university far more than those from other social classes. It demonstrates that fear of debt is related to two key financially‐driven decisions – applying to a university with low living costs, and applying to one with good term‐time employment opportunities – but only for students from low‐income families. However, concerns about debt do not influence their choice of qualification and subject. The article concludes that low‐income students are more likely than their wealthier peers to perceive the costs of higher education as a debt rather than an investment.
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control via Interval Analysis

This paper deals with the application of interval arithmetic to non linear model predictive control (NMPC) problem. The NMPC problem is expressed as a constraints satisfaction problem (CSP) which can be solved by interval analysis techniques. We present the classical interval techniques to build a nonlinear model predictive control law and propose some improvements in order to adapt interval tools to the context of control. Moreover, in order to reduce the pessimism introduced by interval state estimation, we propose a spatial discretisation of the input. These methods are illustrated on a inverted pendulum model.
Anthropogenic fire drives the evolution of seed traits

Fire is a major disturbance affecting ecosystems worldwide. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the evolution of seed persistence (fire resistance) is associated with fire frequency or severity. However, the existence of specific seed traits resulting from natural selection mediated by fire remains a key question in plant evolution. We evaluated the role of fire in the evolution of seed traits from a microevolutionary perspective, using as a study system a native forb from the Chilean matorral, where fire is a novel, anthropogenic disturbance. We show that anthropogenic fires are shaping the evolution of seed traits such as pubescence and shape. Among-population variation in seed pubescence, shape, and pericarp thickness was strongly associated with fire frequency, and within a population, fire selected those plants with more pubescent seeds, thicker pericarps, and less rounded seeds. Seed pubescence and shape were shown to be heritable traits. Our findings provide insights into the understanding of the evolution of seed traits in fire-prone environments and demonstrate that human-made fires can be driving evolutionary changes in plant species from ecosystems where fires do not occur naturally.
The Politics of Despair: The Plague of 746–747 and Iconoclasm in the Byzantine Empire

This article concerns the plague of 746–747, which took the lives of many in the Byzantine empire, especially in Constantinople. After discussing the main sources (i.e. the patriarch Nikephoros, Theodore the Stoudite, and Theophanes), mention is made of the possible influences which the plague had on developments in the iconoclastic controversy during the reign of Constantine V (741–75). The persecution of iconophile monks as well as attacks against the Holy (e.g., churches, icons, holy relics etc.) is placed in a more general psychological context which is at least partly explained by the plague. Finally, a brief reference is made to the Life of Leo of Katania which may reflect iconoclastic opinion on the matters given above.
The exploitation of market knowledge within relationship orientated small accountancy practices

Within the academic literature there is general acceptance that customer knowledge competence can have a critical influence over whether a firm can successfully achieve a market advantage over competition. There is, however, only limited empirical evidence to support this perspective. This study utilises a previously developed customer knowledge survey tool to compare knowledge management practices within small relationship orientated accountancy practices and small, transactionally orientated firms. The survey was undertaken across a sample of small UK accountancy practices. Results suggest that compared to their transactional counterparts, small relationship orientated firms perceive that customer knowledge is an important aspect of the marketing process. Small, relationship orientated practices also appear to recognise the importance of operating a structured knowledge management system within their organisations.
Probability of EMC Failure and Sensitivity Analysis With Regard to Uncertain Variables by Reliability Methods

In this study, we use a statistical approach to treat a risk analysis of an EMC default. This approach relies upon reliability methods from probabilistic engineering mechanics. An estimation of a probability of failure (i.e., probability that the induced current by crosstalk causes a malfunction of a device connected at the end of a cable) and a sensitivity analysis of this probability of failure is carried out by taking into account uncertainties on input parameters. The reliability methods introduced in this study allow to compute a probability of failure with a relative low computational cost compared to Monte Carlo simulation.
Central Banking in Theory and Practice

Alan S. Blinder offers the dual perspective of a leading academic macroeconomist who served a stint as Vice-Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board—one who practiced what he had long preached and then returned to academia to write about it. He tells central bankers how they might better incorporate academic knowledge and thinking into the conduct of monetary policy, and he tells scholars how they might reorient their research to be more attuned to reality and thus more useful to central bankers. Based on the 1996 Lionel Robbins Lectures, this readable book deals succinctly, in a nontechnical manner, with a wide variety of issues in monetary policy. The book also includes the author's suggested solution to an age-old problem in monetary theory: what it means for monetary policy to be "neutral. "
Suppression of Leishmania RNA virus replication by capsid protein overexpression

Some strains of the protozoan parasite genus Leishmania are persistently infected with single-segmented double-stranded RNA viruses, which are termed LRV. The function of these cytoplasmic viruses is unknown. In order to address the question of whether LRV affects the parasite's phenotype, pairs of isogenic LRV(+)-LRV- lines are required. Since the persistent nature of these viruses precludes de novo infection of virus-negative strains, LRV(+)-LRV- strains were transformed with a Leishmania expression vector expressing the LRV capsid protein with the aim of determining if LRV- promastigotes support capsid assembly and if LRV replication is affected by excess capsid protein. I found that in LRV- promastigotes, capsid protein was capable of self-assembly into virus-like capsids and that capsid overexpression in a naturally infected LRV+ line resulted in a progressive reduction in LRV copy number. Clonal lines derived from an LRV+ capsid overexpressor had no detectable levels of LRV. These results demonstrate that LRV replication can be inhibited and that a significant reduction of viral copy number has no effect on the parasite's viability in liquid medium.