Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taking the Most of Existing Image Descriptors: A Hybrid Approach

This work proposes the creation of a new image descriptor based on the aggregation of multiple pre-existing image descriptors. It starts by generating intermediary descriptors based on existing extraction procedures. Afterwards, those descriptors are normalized and eight first order statistical measurements are computed for each individual descriptor. It follows a step of parameter selection which aims to remove biased and irrelevant features. At the same time, it seeks to select the features which maximize the amount of information encoded. The resulting descriptor was tested using six different image databases, namely two produced in-house and four well-known public bases UIUCTex, Brodatz, VisTex and Outex TC 00013. The results seem to indicate that superior descriptive power can be achieved using this selection procedure.
Why Testing Improves Memory: Mediator Effectiveness Hypothesis

Testing not only evaluates the state of memory, but also improves memory more than restudy. A wealth of research has established that practice tests improve memory for the tested material. Although the benefits of practice tests are well documented, the mechanisms underlying testing effects are not well understood. We propose the mediator effectiveness hypothesis, which states that more-effective mediators (that is, information linking cues to targets) are generated during practice involving tests with restudy versus during restudy only. Effective mediators must be retrievable at time of test and must elicit the target response. We evaluated these two components of mediator effectiveness for learning foreign language translations during practice involving either test-restudy or restudy only. Supporting the mediator effectiveness hypothesis, test-restudy practice resulted in mediators that were more likely to be retrieved and more likely to elicit targets on a final test.
Zero-Voltage-Switching PWM Hybrid Full-Bridge Three-Level Converter with Clamping Diodes

Hybrid full-bridge three-level converter can realize zero-voltage-switching for the switches with the use of the leakage inductance and the intrinsic capacitors of the switches. As it can operate in three-level mode and two-level mode, the secondary rectified voltage is very close to the output voltage over the input voltage range, so the output filter inductance can be reduce significantly. Moreover the voltage stress of the rectifier diodes can also be reduced as well. So the converter is very attractive for wide input range applications. However there is voltage oscillation across the rectifier diodes resulted by the reverse recovery. In this paper a resonant inductance and two clamping diodes are introduced to the converter to achieve ZVS in a wide load range, and meanwhile to clamp the secondary rectified voltage at the reflected input voltage in three-level mode and reflected half input voltage in two-level mode respectively, thus the voltage oscillation across the rectifier diodes is eliminated. The operation principle of the proposed converter is analyzed in details in this paper. A 1.2 kW prototype converter is built and the experimental results have shown the validity of the proposed converter
Operationalizing the strategic net benefit (SNB) of HR

Purpose – A pressing research question in human resources (HR) is how to determine the value HR adds to a firm. This article seeks to address this issueDesign/methodology/approach – As summarized here, benchmarking techniques, ROI tools, behavioral analyses and other types of quantitative efforts have attempted to provide answers, but such methods also have downsides. In the present paper, the long‐established finance concept of net present value (NPV) is applied in order to determine the value that HR activities provide to an organization's business strategy.Findings – A specific example is used to illustrate how NPV can be used to value the HR activities in a firm pursuing an innovation business strategy. An explanation is also given of how NPV can be used in making decisions related to HR outsourcing.Practical implications – NPV is used to operationalize the strategic net benefit (SNB) of HR's costs and contributions to a firm's business strategy.Originality/value – The long‐established finance concept.
Governance, Boards of Directors and the Impact of Contracting on Not‐for‐profit Organizations – An Australian Study

This article investigates strategic changes in the governance of not-for-profit (NFP) boards in response to Australia's fully contracted employment services system. Of interest are changes in board demography, behaviour, procedures and dynamics, with special attention to the impact of those changes on boards' identity as a representation of community interests. As Australia is in the vanguard of social service contracting, the Australian experience affords insight into the impact of contracting upon the identity of the NFP sector. We find that NFP directors operating in this quasi-market have come to define board ‘professionalism’ as the main strategic move to accommodate the increasingly commercial and competitive nature of contracting. Boards have adopted a more business-like view of how their agency should operate, changed their board's skill set and utilized strategic recruitment processes, including selecting new board members based on perceived skill deficiencies of the current board and paying board members for their service. NFP boards have also introduced more comprehensive induction, training and evaluation systems. These findings provide Australian policymakers with evidence of the cultural impact of service delivery reforms on NFP agencies. They also afford leaders of NFPs an opportunity to reflect on important changes in the governance of their organizations, including the potential for ‘mission drift’ and loss of local forms of legitimacy.
Prognostic Role of PTEN Gene Expression in Breast Cancer Patients from North-East Iran

Background: PTEN protein is one of the most important tumour suppressor factors which is detectable by immunohistochemistry. The goal of the present study was to investigate the prognostic role of PTEN gene expression in breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 100 breast cancer patients referred to Sabzevar hospitals in the north-east of Iran between 2010 and 2011, who were followed up to 2015. PTEN gene expression in tissue samples was determined using specific monoclonal antibodies and data were analyzed using Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Patient survival was analyzed after 4 years of follow-up using the Cox regression model. Results: PTEN gene expression was evident in 70 of 100 cnacer samples but was found at high levels in all non-cancer samples. There was an inverse significant relationship between PTEN gene expression and tumour stage or tumour grade (p<0.001). The expression of PTEN in invasive ductal tumours was lower than in non-invasive tumours. There was also an inverse significant relationship between the hazard of death and PTEN gene expression (p<0.001). In addition, there was an inverse significant relationship between tumour stage and hazard of death (p<0.001). Conclusion: These findings indicate that lack of PTEN gene expression can be a sign of a worse prognosis and poor survival in breast cancer cases.
The Notch ligand Jagged1 is required for inner ear sensory development

Within the mammalian inner ear there are six separate sensory regions that subserve the functions of hearing and balance, although how these sensory regions become specified remains unknown. Each sensory region is populated by two cell types, the mechanosensory hair cell and the supporting cell, which are arranged in a mosaic in which each hair cell is surrounded by supporting cells. The proposed mechanism for creating the sensory mosaic is lateral inhibition mediated by the Notch signaling pathway. However, one of the Notch ligands, Jagged1 (Jag1), does not show an expression pattern wholly consistent with a role in lateral inhibition, as it marks the sensory patches from very early in their development—presumably long before cells make their final fate decisions. It has been proposed that Jag1 has a role in specifying sensory versus nonsensory epithelium within the ear [Adam, J., Myat, A. , Roux, I. L. , Eddison, M. , Henrique, D. , Ish-Horowicz, D. & Lewis, J. (1998) Development (Cambridge, U.K.) 125, 4645–4654]. Here we provide experimental evidence that Notch signaling may be involved in specifying sensory regions by showing that a dominant mouse mutant headturner (Htu) contains a missense mutation in the Jag1 gene and displays missing posterior and sometimes anterior ampullae, structures that house the sensory cristae. Htu/+ mutants also demonstrate a significant reduction in the numbers of outer hair cells in the organ of Corti. Because lateral inhibition mediated by Notch predicts that disruptions in this pathway would lead to an increase in hair cells, we believe these data indicate an earlier role for Notch within the inner ear.
Genome Sequence of a Novel Virus of the Species Human Adenovirus D Associated with Acute Gastroenteritis

ABSTRACT A novel virus of the species human adenovirus D, HAdV-67 (P-New/H9/F25), was first isolated from diarrheal feces of six children in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. The genome of this novel virus may be composed of multiple recombinations among HAdV-9, HAdV-25, HAdV-26, HAdV-33, HAdV-46, and an unknown human adenovirus D which was an origin of HAdV-67.
Novel approaches to transplant conditioning

, CML, is an ideal candidate for LIC as mixed chimerism can be effectively treated with DLI. Keleman et al . conditioned 19 CML patients, ﬁve of whom were in accelerated phase, with a non-myeloablative, myelosuppressive regimen of dibromomannitol and cytosine arabinoside. 32 They report a leukemia-free survival of 82 per cent at 3 to 7.5 years post-transplant. The protocol was well tolerated with very few post-transplant complications. No patient developed severe mucositis, TPN was not required and there were few infections. However, 33 per cent of patients relapsed while chronic GVHD occurred in 12/18 (66 per cent). There were no late relapses. A further 18 patients have been transplanted with similar results but with shorter follow-up.
Residential Security, Risk, and Race: The Home Owners' Loan Corporation and Mortgage Access in Two Cities

The Residential Security Maps produced under the aegis of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) are often regarded as significant evidence that the federal government was complicit in expanding segregated housing patterns. This paper suggests a different direction for the analysis of the agency's role and the impact of their maps regarding patterns of real estate appraisal and mortgage credit allocations. It is argued that: (1) whereas the broadly asserted relationship between race and residential security areas can be demonstrated, there are important variations that should drive further research in this sphere, including the significance of other demographic, socioeconomic, and housing variables; (2) despite uniform guidelines, the appraisal surveys and assignments of grades by HOLC were not identical across cities; (3) the approaches utilized by HOLC were not identical to those implemented by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), making it unlikely these agencies had a cooperative relationship; and (4) the relationship between grades and the distribution of mortgages varied by lender type and between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, suggesting the importance of local context in examining HOLC as a public policy instrument and its subsequent impact on racial segregation.
Elevated temperature and acclimation time affect metabolic performance in the heavily exploited Nile perch of Lake Victoria

ABSTRACT Increasing water temperatures owing to anthropogenic climate change are predicted to negatively impact the aerobic metabolic performance of aquatic ectotherms. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that thermal increases result in reductions in aerobic scope (AS), which lead to decreases in energy available for essential fitness and performance functions. Consequences of warming are anticipated to be especially severe for warm-adapted tropical species as they are thought to have narrow thermal windows and limited plasticity for coping with elevated temperatures. In this study we test how predicted warming may affect the aerobic performance of Nile perch (Lates niloticus), a commercially harvested fish species in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa. We measured critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and key metabolic variables such as AS and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) across a range of temperatures, and compared responses between acute (3-day) exposures and 3-week acclimations. CTmax increased with acclimation temperature; however, 3-week-acclimated fish had higher overall CTmax than acutely exposed individuals. Nile perch also showed the capacity to increase or maintain high AS even at temperatures well beyond their current range; however, acclimated Nile perch had lower AS compared with acutely exposed fish. These changes were accompanied by lower EPOC, suggesting that drops in AS may reflect improved energy utilization after acclimation, a finding that is supported by improvements in growth at high temperatures over the acclimation period. Overall, the results challenge predictions that tropical species have limited thermal plasticity, and that high temperatures will be detrimental because of limitations in AS. Summary: Upper thermal tolerance limits and metabolic traits of a heavily exploited, tropical freshwater fish (the Nile perch) have high thermal plasticity without incurring major energetic costs.
Malaria in Europe: An Ecological Study

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A Critical Assessment of the High-Performance Paradigm

This paper assesses research on the effects of high-performance systems on employer, worker and union outcomes. It concludes that, compared with what has long been thought of as good management practice, claims that these systems yield superior performance outcomes may be unwarranted, and their implications for both workers and unions are at best uncertain. Conventional explanations for these findings are found to be insufficient. Alternative explanations involving the nature of the employment relation are proposed, and the need for an alternative paradigm, which promotes legal and institutional reforms, is established.
Trials and tribulations: marketing in modern South Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a background into the challenges and developments faced by marketers in South Africa as well as those wanting to enter the South African market.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the viewpoints of the authors based on their knowledge of happenings within the marketing field in South Africa.Findings – Marketers in South Africa face both challenges and developments from the macro and market environment. These challenges and developments include the diverse nature of the South African consumer, competition, infrastructure issues, government legislation and bureaucracy.Practical implications – South African marketers need to adapt their marketing strategies to accommodate the developments in the market. Furthermore, marketing strategies need to be adapted to meet the new challenges in South Africa markets in terms of the diversity of consumers in order to be successful.Originality/value – The originality and value of this paper lies in the fact t.
Immigration and Growth in an Aging Economy

This paper argues that immigration can help to alleviate the burden aging presents for the welfare states of most Western Economies. We develop a macroeconomic framework which deals with the impact of both aging and immigration on economic growth. This is combined with a detailed model of the labor market, to include the interaction with low-skilled unemployment. The empirical relevance of some crucial model assumptions is shown to hold for the Netherlands, 1973–2007. The conclusions are that immigration will help to alleviate the aging problem, as long as the immigrants will be able to participate in the labor force at least as much as the native population. Moreover, the better educated the immigrants are or become, the higher their contribution to growth will be.
Empirical Evidence Of The Influences On First-Price Bid Auction Premiums

This study examines the determinants of auction premium using data from a first-price sealed bid auction of Federal Government Landed Properties in Nigeria. The results indicate that the number of bidders and location are important determinants of auction price premiums. These findings are consistent with the auction theory. The empirical estimates also suggest that property type as well as bidder characteristics may also influence auction premiums.
Pattern of Cortical Activity, Degree of Synchronization, Binocular Fusion, and Binocular Rivalry

The synchronization hypothesis is the likely idea for the binding problem in the brain. Here we tested whether the theory is applicable for the occurrence of either binocular fusion or binocular rivalry. We first showed patterns of activated patches in V1 with proceeding from fusion to rivalry on the basis of Hubel and Wiesel's 1979 illustration. We then assumed that the strength of synchrony between the patches in the left-eye and right-eye ocular dominance columns is a crucial determinant for the divergence between fusion and rivalry. By using the strength of fusion between the paired images as a measure of degree of synchrony, we confirm the assumption about interocular vision and the synchronization hypothesis as well.
Near-IR coronagraphic imaging of the companion to HR 7672

This article presents coronagraphic images of the low-mass companion to the star HR 7672 observed at the Palomar 200 inch telescope and first detected at Gemini and Keck in the K band by [CITE]. We obtained additional photometry in J ($1.2~\mu$m), H ($1.6~\mu$m) and K s ($2.2~\mu$m) bands to cover the full near-IR domain and hence to further constrain the nature of the companion. A mass estimate of 58-71 ${M_J}$ is derived from evolutionary models of very low-mass objects.
Applicator reconstruction in cervix brachytherapy

Kari Tanderup (Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark) Robert Hudej (Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Slovenia) Gerry Lowe (Mount Vernon Hospital, United Kingdom) Rachel Wills (Mount Vernon Hospital, United Kingdom) Marisol De Brabandere (Leuven, Belgium) José Perez Calatayud (Valencia, Spain) Astrid De Leeuw (Utrecht, The Netherlands) Isabelle Dumas (Institut Gustave-Roussy, France) Daniel Berger (Medical University of Vienna, Austria) Christian Kirisits (Medical University of Vienna, Austria) Taran Hellebust (Norwegian Health Trust, Norway)
Fair Values of Equity and Debt Securities and Share Prices of Property-Liability Insurers

This study analyzes the relation between fair values of equity and fixed maturity debt securities and share prices of property-liability insurers. We find that property- liability share prices can be explained by fair values of equity investments and U.S. Treasury investments, even after controlling for historical costs. Fair value disclosures for other types of investment securities (e.g., municipal and corporate bonds) do not explain share prices beyond historical costs. Our results suggest that the reliability of fair value estimates for different types of securities affects the value-relevance of related disclosures.
Modulation of Muc-1 mucin expression in the mouse uterus during the estrus cycle, early pregnancy and placentation.

The Muc-1 protein is an integral membrane protein that is expressed apically by simple secretory epithelia in many different organs. We present in this paper a study on Muc-1 protein expression in the mouse uterus during early pregnancy, placentation and the estrus cycle. Muc-1 immunopositive reaction is found in the decidua by day 8 of pregnancy onwards. The observed pattern was unusual, since Muc-1 protein was present in spherical cytoplasmic granules in granular metrial gland cells. Both the intracellular pattern of expression and the lymphoid origin of these cells were striking results. Muc-1 is thought to be an epithelial differentiation marker, and this is the first report of its expression by non-epithelial cells. Our results on Muc-1 expression in the uterus of cycling mice showed that higher levels of Muc-1 mRNA and protein correlate with higher levels of plasma estrogen in the estrus and proestrus phases. However, in ovariectomized mice without hormone replacement, the endometrium expressed high levels of this protein. These levels could not be substantially changed by estrogen, although progesterone reduced the levels of Muc-1 protein associated with the epithelium. These data together with the normal expression in the cycling mice suggest that progesterone might repress Muc-1 expression during the metestrus and diestrus phases. In cycling mice, when plasma progesterone is at its nadir and the estrogen level is elevated in estrus and proestrus phases, Muc-1 concentration would increase to its basal level, not because of estrogen stimulation, but due to lack of progesterone repression. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Diversification Effects of Direct versus Indirect Real Estate Investments in the U.K

Executive Summary.This study uses annual data from 1975 through 2003 to construct mean-variance optimal portfolios for the United Kingdom. Real estate return data for all U.K properties from the Investment Property Databank (IPD), for U.K. pooled property funds, and for U.K. property shares are used, in addition to U.K. common stocks (equities) and gilts (government bonds). The different mixed-asset portfolio allocations using the different real estate return series are compared/contrasted. Finally, the return series are unbundled for U.K. IPD real estate, U.K. common stocks, and U.K. gilts into income and appreciation returns and additional optimal mean-variance portfolios, which are constructed for income returns, appreciation returns, and total returns (income and appreciation returns).