Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of an in‐plane detection cell with integrated waveguides for UV/Vis absorbance measurements on microfluidic separation devices

A microfluidic device with integrated waveguides and a long path length detection cell for UV/Vis absorbance detection is presented. The 750 νm U‐cell detection geometry was evaluated in terms of its optical performance as well as its influence on efficiency for electrophoretic separations in the microdevice. Stray light was found to have a strong effect on both, the sensitivity of the detection and the available linear range. The long path length U‐cell showed a 9 times higher sensitivity when compared to a conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE) system with a 75 νm inner diameter (ID) capillary, and a 22 times higher sensitivity than with a 50 νm ID capillary. The linear range was comparable to that achieved in a 75 νm ID capillary and more than twice as large as in a 50 νm ID capillary. The use of the 750 νm U‐cell did not contribute significantly to band broadening; however, a clear quantification was made difficult by the convolution of several other band broadening sources.
Banco Central de Chile Documentos de Trabajo Central Bank of Chile Working Papers N ° 590 Agosto 2010 THE FINANCIAL ACCELERATOR UNDER LEARNING AND THE ROLE OF MONETARY POLICY

Financial frictions have been shown to play an important role amplifying business cycles fluctuations. In this paper we show that the financial accelerator mechanism, analyzed by Bernanke, Gertler and Gilrchrist (1999), combined with adaptive learning can amplify business cycle fluctuations significantly as the balance sheet channel interacts with the presence of endogenous asset price “bubbles”. These large business cycle fluctuations are amplified in a non-linear way by the size of the shocks and by the degree of financial fragility in the economy determined by its leverage. Our preliminary results indicate that even in the presence of endogenous bubbles, responding aggressively to inflation reduces output and inflation volatility. If the central bank adjusts its policy instrument in response to asset price fluctuations, it may reduce output volatility and even inflation volatility in the short run. However, that monetary policy conduct leads to a surge in inflation several periods after the shocks. A policy that aggressively responds to changes in asset prices may marginally reduce output volatility with respect to a policy that reacts aggressively to inflation, but also at the cost of generating inflationary pressures. We acknowledge comments and suggestions by Bryan Doyle, Sofia Bauducco, Alejandro Justiniano and an anonymous referee. The research assistance of Ursula Schwarzhaupt is greatly appreciated.
Agency Escape: Decentralization or Dominance of the European Commission in the Modernization of Competition Policy?

The “modernization” reforms of European antitrust are summarized and interpreted. The article uses principal–agent analysis enhanced by socio-institutional insights. The reforms in policy implementation are of historic importance. While they appear to promise decentralization to national competition authorities, more sophisticated analysis points to an increase in the centralized power of the Commission. The novel instrument of a supranational European Competition Network creates a redesigned relationship between the Commission and the member states that carries high risks of incoherence. Modernization driven by a legal epistemic community carries a less obvious risk that increased power of competition policy will unduly reinforce liberal market disciplines through a juridification of the European competition regime.
Tatar Language Policies in Comparative Perspective: Why Some Revivals Fail and Some Succeed

SUMMARY: В статье Дмитрия Горенбурга разбирается вопрос о том, насколько проводимые по инициативе и при поддержке правительства программы языкового возрождения способны изменить лингвистическую ситуацию в регионе, входящем в большое гетерогенное государство с отличным (от титульного регионального) языком большинства. В поисках ответа автор обращается к исследованию языковой политики в одном из регионов Российской Федерации – Татарстане, население которого почти поровну разделено на татар и русских. Татарстан, таким образом, позволяет увидеть, в какой степени правительственные усилия по возрождению татарского языка могут быть успешными в ситуации, когда население продолжает широко пользоваться русским языком и рассматривать его как более престижный и полезный. Основной целью политики возрождения в Татарстане татарского языка являлось расширение его использования в публичной сфере и воспитание поколения, которое бы считало татарский основным языком в повседневном общении. Автор оценивает успех этой программы сдержанно: она привела к расширению публичной сферы использования татарского языка, но не сломила тенденцию к сокращению числа грамотных татарофонов и этнических татар, общающихся между собой преимущественно по-татарски. Проводя сравнительный анализ между типологически схожими ситуациями в разных регионах и странах, Горенбург показывает, что успех правительственной политики возрождения языка в значительной степени зависит от того, насколько местные культурные активисты способны повысить статус “ущемленного” языка, иначе у правительственных программ нет шансов изменить лингвистическое поведение населения. Однако даже в этом случае усилия правительства могут стимулировать представителей нетитульных этнических групп изучать титульный язык по прагматическим соображениям (карьерным, статусным).
An active filter method to eliminate dc-side low-frequency power for single-phase quasi-Z source inverter

Second harmonic pulsating power flows through the dc side of the single-phase quasi-Z-source inverter (qZSI). This requires bulky capacitor banks and inductors to suppress the second harmonic ripple of dc-link voltage and inductor currents. However, the resultant qZS network seriously deteriorates the system reliability, efficiency, volume, weight, and cost. This paper proposes an active filter integrated single-phase qZSI topology to transfer the low-frequency (second harmonic) power ripple directly from the ac load to the active filter ac capacitor. Thus low-frequency power ripple will not be present at the dc side, and constant inductor current and constant capacitor voltage are ensured. The qZS impedance is small because only high frequency switching ripple is present and the active filter supports ac voltage (large ripple) enabling small values of capacitance - both of these characteristics result in low size and low weight. This paper investigates the analysis, modeling, parameter design method of qZS network and active filter, as well as control strategy of the proposed topology. Comparative evaluation and experimental results verify the proposed new topology system.
The Impact of Husband's Perception and Value towards Family Purchase Decision Patterns

Changes are occurring in society's norm structure. One of these changes is the shifting of women roles. More wives are working outside home and acting as a source of income, event becoming chief wage earner in the family. Many past researches have used demographic and family structure as predictor of family purchase decision patterns. This study will figure out the impact of husbands' perception and value to the usage of wife's income for family expenditure. Total 112 husbands in Jakarta and Bandung participated in this survey. This study used questionnaire to gather data. Questions to measure perception and norm of husbands were derived from qualitative study, a preliminary interview with 20 husbands in Jakarta and Bandung Indonesia. Schwartz Value Scale was used to measure husband's value structure. Findings indicate that husband perception and value have significant impact on usage of wife's income for family expenditure. This research is useful to fill the research gap in family purchase decision theory. For marketers and business practitioners the results will enhance their comprehension in segmenting, selecting more effective target and creating more creative communication strategy.
Governance and risk management: challenges and public productivity

Purpose – This paper has two purposes. The first is to help elected officials address the issue of public accountability for crises and improve productivity and risk management in the process by outsourcing some traditional government functions to civil society based organizations that can do a better job. The second is to mobilize researchers to explore the implications of the shift from “governing” to “governance” for risk management and the development of risk culture.Design/methodology/approach – After exploring some case studies, the paper examines some leading resources on the shift from “governing” to “governance”. The paper goes on to present an alternative approach for managing public risks.Findings – In order to improve the management of public risks, and given the financial constraints faced by most governments, there is a need for a deliberate effort to entice civil society based organizations to help government identify and alert the public to possible risks. In other words, civil society bas.
Framing the Issue of Research Quality in a Context of Research Diversity

T he current editorial policy of The Accounting Review states ‘‘The scope of acceptable articles should embrace any research methodology and any accounting-related subject, as long as the articles meet the standards established for publication in the journal. ’’ The policy concludes with the statement ‘‘The journal is also open to all rigorous research methods. ’’ Private journals are rightly entitled to set as selective an editorial policy as they think proper. An association journal, however, should rightly be expected to maintain an open policy that does not ex ante privilege one form of research over another. In that respect, the clearly stated policy of The Accounting Review of seeking ‘‘any’’ and ‘‘all’’ is admirable. However, the continuing need to make the case for research diversity is disappointing given the longstanding recognition of the dangers of narrowness:
Hedge Fund Market Risk Exposures: A Survey

This paper reviews the literature on Hedge Fund performance attribution. Hedge Funds follow very dynamic and leveraged strategies and invest massively in derivatives and illiquid securities. Consequently, these funds present linear but also non-linear relationships with market indexes. The article investigates the risk factors that have been used to capture the linear and non-linear comovements of Hedge Fund returns with passive indexes. The review especially discusses the significance of adding option-like or distribution-based factors to benchmark models. It moreover supports the evidence that multi-moment risk premiums could considerably improve the models traditionally used to evaluate Hedge Funds.
Bank Efficiency And Financial Ratios: Rating The Performance Of The Four Largest South African Banks

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in conjunction with financial ratios is used to estimate and compare the performance of the four largest South African banks over the period 2001 to 2011. DEA is used to estimate the relative technical, allocative, cost and scale efficiencies and compare these estimates to certain financial ratios published by the banks in their financial statements. These ratios include return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), net interest margin (NIM), impairment losses, etc. The results obtained from the efficiency estimates and the financial ratios are used to rate the banks according to these performances. The rating differs depending on which performance measure is applied. A combination of these measures was necessary to determine the best and the worst performing bank. From the results obtained it appears that profitability and efficiency are two sides of the same coin.
iTRAQ Labeling is Superior to mTRAQ for Quantitative Global Proteomics and Phosphoproteomics*

Labeling of primary amines on peptides with reagents containing stable isotopes is a commonly used technique in quantitative mass spectrometry. Isobaric labeling techniques such as iTRAQ™ or TMT™ allow for relative quantification of peptides based on ratios of reporter ions in the low m/z region of spectra produced by precursor ion fragmentation. In contrast, nonisobaric labeling with mTRAQ™ yields precursors with different masses that can be directly quantified in MS1 spectra. In this study, we compare iTRAQ- and mTRAQ-based quantification of peptides and phosphopeptides derived from EGF-stimulated HeLa cells. Both labels have identical chemical structures, therefore precursor ion- and fragment ion-based quantification can be directly compared. Our results indicate that iTRAQ labeling has an additive effect on precursor intensities, whereas mTRAQ labeling leads to more redundant MS2 scanning events caused by triggering on the same peptide with different mTRAQ labels. We found that iTRAQ labeling quantified nearly threefold more phosphopeptides (12,129 versus 4,448) and nearly twofold more proteins (2,699 versus 1,597) than mTRAQ labeling. Although most key proteins in the EGFR signaling network were quantified with both techniques, iTRAQ labeling allowed quantification of twice as many kinases. Accuracy of reporter ion quantification by iTRAQ is adversely affected by peptides that are cofragmented in the same precursor isolation window, dampening observed ratios toward unity. However, because of tighter overall iTRAQ ratio distributions, the percentage of statistically significantly regulated phosphopeptides and proteins detected by iTRAQ and mTRAQ was similar. We observed a linear correlation of logarithmic iTRAQ to mTRAQ ratios over two orders of magnitude, indicating a possibility to correct iTRAQ ratios by an average compression factor. Spike-in experiments using peptides of defined ratios in a background of nonregulated peptides show that iTRAQ quantification is less accurate but not as variable as mTRAQ quantification.
Base station cooperation in multi-cellular system using multi-stream communications

In multiple transmitter multiple receiver (MTMR) communication represented by multi-cellular systems, receivers (UTs: user terminals) might be located far from their target transmitter (BSs: base stations), and suffered from attenuation of the desired signal and strong interferences from nontarget transmitters. As a solution to this problem, this paper considers multi-cellular system using the cooperation of BSs in which multi-stream transmission based on MIMO (multiple input multiple output) structure is adopted. Here studied is two types of BS cooperation, the first is the case all the BSs share only CSI (channel state information), and the second is the case data is also shared among BSs (virtual array). The performance of several algorithms including the multi-stream version of partial zero forcing (PZF) algorithms are evaluated, and it is shown that the cooperation is useful also in multi-stream transmission.
GAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN E‐TAILING THROUGH MARKETING MANAGEMENT AND VALUE‐ADDED USES OF TECHNOLOGY

Experts cite the lack of a sound business plan and a diminished regard for basic marketing and management practices as major reasons for the failure rate of Web‐based retailers. The dot‐com platform alone was often viewed as a sufficient basis for business success. This article provides a guide in applying marketing management principles to Internet‐based retailers. The format for this guide uses marketing management plans, providers, access, distribution, markets, products, prices, and promotions. The practices and examples provided in this guide are useful for gaining competitive advantage in the retail, dot‐com marketplace.
Complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in esophageal carcinoma is associated with significantly improved survival.

PURPOSE Attempts to improve survival of patients with esophageal cancer have been made using induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery. A large single-center experience was reviewed to determine which treatment-related variables could predict survival and recurrence. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients undergoing esophagectomy between January 1994 and December 2002 were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using log-rank and Cox proportional hazards models, and survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Of 171 patients with invasive cancer, 131 (77%) underwent preoperative CRT. The average age was 60 years, and most patients were male (85%). Operations performed included Ivor-Lewis (60%), transhiatal (8%), three-hole (23%), or left thoracoabdominal (8%) esophagectomy. Perioperative mortality rate was 5%. Median overall survival (OS) of the entire group was 33 months, and the 5-year OS rate was 26%. Induction CRT was associated with a 33% 5-year survival rate compared with 11% for surgery alone (P = .43). Patients downstaged to pathologic stage 0 or I had an improved OS and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with those patients who were not downstaged (P = .022). Additionally, the ability to perform an R0 resection was a significant factor for OS and DFS (n = 130; P < .0001 and P <.0002, respectively). CONCLUSION Response to CRT and the ability to perform an R0 resection are associated with significantly improved survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma.
Comparative genomic hybridization reveals frequent chromosome 13q and 4q losses in renal carcinomas with sarcomatoid transformation

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) with sarcomatoid transformation show the most malignant behaviour of all renal carcinoma types. In this study, comparative genomic hybridization was used to screen for losses and gains of DNA sequences along all chromosome arms in 12 sarcomatoid (S) RCCs. On average, there were 8·6 aberrations per tumour. DNA sequence losses (5·2±4·4) were slightly more frequent than gains (3·4±2·6). DNA gains most often involved chromosomes 17 (33 per cent), 7, and 8q (25 per cent each). High‐level co‐amplification involving 11q22–23 and 7p21–22 in one SRCC was not present in adjacent non‐sarcomatous tumour areas, raising the possibility of oncogene involvement at these loci for sarcomatoid transformation. DNA losses were most prevalent at 13q (75 per cent) and 4q (50 per cent), suggesting that inactivation of tumour suppressor genes at chromosomes 13q and 4q may be linked to sarcomatoid growth of RCC. It is concluded that SRCCs are genetically highly complex. Chromosomes 13q, 4q, 7p21–22, and 11q22–23 may carry genes with relevance for sarcomatoid growth in RCC. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Buffering of Genetic Regulatory Networks in Drosophila melanogaster

Regulatory variation in gene expression can be described by cis- and trans-genetic components. Here we used RNA-seq data from a population panel of Drosophila melanogaster test crosses to compare allelic imbalance (AI) in female head tissue between mated and virgin flies, an environmental change known to affect transcription. Indeed, 3048 exons (1610 genes) are differentially expressed in this study. A Bayesian model for AI, with an intersection test, controls type I error. There are ∼200 genes with AI exclusively in mated or virgin flies, indicating an environmental component of expression regulation. On average 34% of genes within a cross and 54% of all genes show evidence for genetic regulation of transcription. Nearly all differentially regulated genes are affected in cis, with an average of 63% of expression variation explained by the cis-effects. Trans-effects explain 8% of the variance in AI on average and the interaction between cis and trans explains an average of 11% of the total variance in AI. In both environments cis- and trans-effects are compensatory in their overall effect, with a negative association between cis- and trans-effects in 85% of the exons examined. We hypothesize that the gene expression level perturbed by cis-regulatory mutations is compensated through trans-regulatory mechanisms, e.g., trans and cis by trans-factors buffering cis-mutations. In addition, when AI is detected in both environments, cis-mated, cis-virgin, and trans-mated–trans-virgin estimates are highly concordant with 99% of all exons positively correlated with a median correlation of 0.83 for cis and 0.95 for trans. We conclude that the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are robust and that trans-buffering explains robustness.
A randomized trial of letrozole in postmenopausal women after five years of tamoxifen therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

BACKGROUND In hormone-dependent breast cancer, five years of postoperative tamoxifen therapy--but not tamoxifen therapy of longer duration--prolongs disease-free and overall survival. The aromatase inhibitor letrozole, by suppressing estrogen production, might improve the outcome after the discontinuation of tamoxifen therapy. METHODS We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test the effectiveness of five years of letrozole therapy in postmenopausal women with breast cancer who have completed five years of tamoxifen therapy. The primary end point was disease-free survival. RESULTS A total of 5187 women were enrolled (median follow-up, 2.4 years). At the first interim analysis, there were 207 local or metastatic recurrences of breast cancer or new primary cancers in the contralateral breast--75 in the letrozole group and 132 in the placebo group--with estimated four-year disease-free survival rates of 93 percent and 87 percent, respectively, in the two groups (P< or =0.001 for the comparison of disease-free survival). A total of 42 women in the placebo group and 31 women in the letrozole group died (P=0.25 for the comparison of overall survival). Low-grade hot flashes, arthritis, arthralgia, and myalgia were more frequent in the letrozole group, but vaginal bleeding was less frequent. There were new diagnoses of osteoporosis in 5.8 percent of the women in the letrozole group and 4.5 percent of the women in the placebo group (P=0.07); the rates of fracture were similar. After the first interim analysis, the independent data and safety monitoring committee recommended termination of the trial and prompt communication of the results to the participants. CONCLUSIONS As compared with placebo, letrozole therapy after the completion of standard tamoxifen treatment significantly improves disease-free survival.
An automated learner-based reading ability estimation strategy using concept indexing with integrated Part-of-Speech n-gram features

This study is about the development of a retrainable reading ability estimation system based on concepts from the Text Readability Indexing (TRI) domain. This system aims to promote self-directed language learning and to serve as an educational reinforcement tool for English language learners. Student essays were used to calibrate the system which provided realistic approximations of their actual reading levels. In this thesis, we compared the performance of two vector semantics-based algorithms, namely, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and Concept Indexing (CI) for content analysis. Since these algorithms rely on the bag-of-words approach and inherently lack grammatical analysis, we augmented them using Part-of-Speech (POS) n-gram features to approximate the syntactic complexity of text documents. Results show that directly combining the content-and grammar-based feature sets yielded lower classification accuracies than utilising each feature set alone. Using a sparsification strategy, we were able to optimise the combination process and, with the integration of POS bi-grams, we achieved our overall highest mean exact agreement accuracies (MEAA) of 0.924 and 0.952 for LSI and CI, respectively. We have also conducted error analyses on our results where we examined overestimation and underestimation error types to uncover the probable causes for the systems' misclassifications.