Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Embedded Corporation: Corporate Governance and Employment Relations in Japan and the United States

The Japanese model of management, with the “miracle” of the Japanese economy, was seen as a superior model of the management system in the 1970s and 1980s, as opposed to a market-oriented approach. However, economic fortunes fluctuate and the 1990s saw another reversal. The Japanese economy’s “lost decade,” along with the dominance of the U.S. economy, prompted many to declare that it had outlived its usefulness, and the American model of market-oriented management seems to have regained the status of global standard. The Embedded Corporation by S. Jacoby investigates the nature of change in corporate governance and the role of human resource (HR) departments in Japan and the U.S., basing their research on case studies of 12 large firms and a survey of 374 senior executives in the two countries. The book starts with a discussion of how globalization has created pressures for change in advanced economies and establishes four hypotheses in terms of changes:
Adaptive Traffic Signal Control for Multi-intersection Based on Microscopic Model

In this paper, we mainly propose an online learning method for adaptive traffic signal control in a multi-intersection system. The method uses approximate dynamic programming (ADP) to achieve a near-optimal solution of the signal optimization in a distributed network, which is modeled in a microscopic way. The traffic network loading model and traffic signal control model are presented to serve as the basis of discrete-time control environment. The learning process of linear function approximation in ADP approach adopts the tunable parameters of the traffic states, including the vehicle queue length and the signal indication. ADP overcomes the computational complexity, which usually appears in large scale problems solved by exact algorithms, such as dynamic programming. Moreover, the proposed adaptive phase sequence (APS) mode improves the performance by comparing with other control methods. The results in simulation show that our method performs quite well for adaptive traffic signal control problem.
Gate level leakage minimisation at 90 nm technology

In the modern era of ultra large scale integration, miniaturisation with lowest possible power dissipation is considered as the most significant challenge and is of a prime concern. But power dissipation in modern semiconductor devices is of inverse in nature with respect to the scaling of device dimension. Smaller is the physical dimension of integrated component, greater is the percentage of static power in the form of different leakage currents. This gets even more pronounced at nano-scale regime. This issue demands in additional cooling arrangements for the device, which results in economy, design and space overhead. In order to resolve the issues to some extent, in this paper, we have proposed an idea that is useful for leakage reduction of basic logic gates. We have evaluated our idea with both of CMOS-based NAND and NOR gate. The gates have been chosen because of their universal capability to implement other logic functions. An approximate value of 90% and 88% saving in static power for NAND and NOR gate respectively was found in comparison to their normal counterpart. But the proposed approach suffers from an additional area and delay overhead.
The Social Engagement of Social Science: A Tavistock Anthology

Si la theorie des systemes socio-techniques s'interesse a l'organisation du travail, elle est critiquee pour deux raisons : la validite de voir les organisations en terme de systemes et de sous-systemes et le niveau de l'analyse. Cette theorie, liee a son temps, a ete appliquee dans des projets de recherche. Si les forces du marche ont sape la base politique de la theorie, l'avenement de la technologie de l'information constitua un principal defi a sa base theorique
The Cosmic MeV Gamma-Ray Background and Hard X-Ray Spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei: Implications for the Origin of Hot AGN Coronae

The origin of the extragalactic gamma-ray background radiation at 1-10 MeV is still unknown. Although the cosmic X-ray background up to a few hundred keV can be accounted for by the sum of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), current models of AGN spectra cannot explain the background spectrum beyond ~1 MeV, because of the thermal exponential cutoff of the electron energy distribution assumed in the models. Here we construct a new spectral model by calculating the Comptonization process, including nonthermal electrons, which are expected to exist in an AGN's hot corona if it is heated by magnetic reconnections. We show that the MeV background spectrum can be explained nicely by our model, when coronal electrons have a nonthermal power-law component whose total energy is a few percent of the thermal component and whose spectral index is dln Ne/dln Ee ≈ − 4. Although in nearby AGN spectra the MeV gamma-ray flux from such a component is below the detection limit of past observations, it might be detected by MeV detectors that are planned for future use. We point out that the nonthermal component's total energy and electron index are similar to those found for electrons accelerated by magnetic reconnections in solar flares and in the Earth's magnetosphere, which supports the reconnection hypothesis, which in turn explains the origin of an AGN's hot coronae.
NON-SELECTIVE ACCESS OF PHONOLOGY BY KOREAN-CHINESE BILINGUALS

This study investigated the bilingual phonological processes with bi-scriptal readers of Korean language, Korean-Chinese. Three types of same-different matching between the prime and target were compared. The main result was that the condition of semantically not related but phonologically related (S–P+; e.g., “ 水 /su/[a homophone of the prime has the same meaning as the target] and 손 /son/”) was slower than the condition of the condition of semantically and phonological not related (S–P–). The critical point was on whether the semantically related word with the target (i.e., 手 /su/) can be activated by the phonological form of the prime. These results indicate that phonological access is nonselectively activated in Korean- Chinese bilingual processing. The implication for bilingual phonological recoding was discussed.
Reduced Thymocyte Development in Sonic Hedgehog Knockout Embryos 1

The Hedgehog family of secreted intercellular signaling molecules are regulators of patterning and organogenesis during animal development. In this study we provide genetic evidence that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) has a role in the control of murine T cell development. Analysis of Shh−/− mouse embryos revealed that Shh regulates fetal thymus cellularity and thymocyte differentiation. Shh is necessary for expansion of CD4−CD8− double-negative (DN) thymocytes and for efficient transition from the earliest CD44+CD25− DN population to the subsequent CD44+CD25+ DN population and from DN to CD4+CD8+ double-positive cells.
The Processing of Human Emotional Faces by Pet and Lab Dogs: Evidence for Lateralization and Experience Effects

From all non-human animals dogs are very likely the best decoders of human behavior. In addition to a high sensitivity to human attentive status and to ostensive cues, they are able to distinguish between individual human faces and even between human facial expressions. However, so far little is known about how they process human faces and to what extent this is influenced by experience. Here we present an eye-tracking study with dogs emanating from two different living environments and varying experience with humans: pet and lab dogs. The dogs were shown pictures of familiar and unfamiliar human faces expressing four different emotions. The results, extracted from several different eye-tracking measurements, revealed pronounced differences in the face processing of pet and lab dogs, thus indicating an influence of the amount of exposure to humans. In addition, there was some evidence for the influences of both, the familiarity and the emotional expression of the face, and strong evidence for a left gaze bias. These findings, together with recent evidence for the dog's ability to discriminate human facial expressions, indicate that dogs are sensitive to some emotions expressed in human faces.
Influence of Desert Pollution on the Lightning Impulse Break

A discussion is presented of the influence of desert contamination on the breakdown voltage characteristics of rod-plane air gaps when subjected to standard lightning impulse voltages of positive and negative polarities. Experimental simulation of desert air pollution was carried out in a chamber where particle parameters could be controlled independently. The gaps studied were from 5 cm up to 2 m with applied voltages, there is a considerable influence on the breakdown behavior. For such cases, the breakdown voltages for dust contaminated gaps can be lower as well as higher than the corresponding values for clean air gaps, depending upon the gap length and the cathode radius. Detailed results and analysis are provided. >
The 68-kDa Telomeric Repeat Binding Factor 1 (TRF1)-associated Protein (TAP68) Interacts with and Recruits TRF1 to the Spindle Pole during Mitosis*

Background: The significance of telomeric protein translocation to the spindle pore is unknown. Results: TAP68 mediates TRF1 transit to the centrosome in mitotic cells. Conclusion: Repression of TAP68 induces genomic instability possibly through inhibition of TRF1 and tankyrase recruitment to centrosomes. Significance: Identifying TRF1-interacting proteins that regulate its localization is crucial for understanding the role of telomeric proteins in mitosis. The telomere capping protein TRF1 is a component of the multiprotein complex “shelterin,” which organizes the telomere into a high order structure. Besides telomere maintenance, telomere-associated proteins also have nontelomeric functions. For example, tankyrase 1 and TRF1 are required for the maintenance of faithful mitotic progression. However, the functional relevance of their centrosomal localization has not been established. Here, we report the identification of a TRF1-binding protein, TAP68, that interacts with TRF1 in mitotic cells. TAP68 contains two coiled-coil domains and a structural maintenance of chromosome motifs and co-localizes with TRF1 to telomeres during interphase. Immediately after nuclear envelope breakdown, TAP68 translocates toward the spindle poles followed by TRF1. Dissociation of TAP68 from the telomere is concurrent with the Nek2A-dependent phosphorylation at Thr-221. Biochemical characterization demonstrated that the first coiled-coil domain of TAP68 binds and recruits TRF1 to the centrosome. Inhibition of TAP68 expression by siRNA blocked the localization of TRF1 and tankyrase 1 to the centrosome. Furthermore, siRNA-mediated depletion of TAP68 perturbed faithful chromosome segregation and genomic stability. These findings suggest that TAP68 functions in mediating TRF1-tankyrase 1 localization to the centrosome and in mitotic regulation.
Implicit and Explicit Romantic Fantasy and Satisfaction in Marital Life

The study investigated the relationship between women's romantic fantasies and their satisfaction with marital life. The romantic fantasies of 44 women were assessed using implicit and explicit measures (Implicit Association Test and self reports). The results showed that women implicitly (but not explicitly) tended to associate their partners with a prince or hero of a fantasy story, and their implicit romantic fantasies negatively predicted their satisfaction in marital life. The findings suggest that women's implicit attitudes, a psychological dependency to be taken care of by their partners, would produce conflicts with their reality and thus negatively affect their satisfaction in marital life.
Interobserver and intraobserver variability in the sonographic assessment of fatty liver.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate interobserver and intraobserver variability in the sonographic assessment of the presence and severity of fatty liver. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the static images of 168 adult patients who had undergone abdominal sonography. Three experienced radiologists independently graded the hepatic images as normal, mild steatosis, moderate steatosis, or severe steatosis. Assessment of liver steatosis was repeated on the same set of images 1 month later under the same conditions and blinded to the initial reading. Weighted kappa statistics were used to analyze interobserver and intraobserver agreement, and the agreement percentages were calculated. RESULTS The mean interobserver and intraobserver agreement rates for the presence of fatty liver were 72% (kappa = 0.43) and 76% (kappa = 0.54). For severity of fatty liver, the initial reading for pairs of observers had 47-59% (kappa = 0.40-0.51) interobserver agreement. The interobserver agreement for the second reading was 59-64% (kappa = 0.43-0.54). The mean agreement rates for pairs of observers were 53% (kappa = 0.47) and 62% (kappa = 0.50) on the first and second readings. Intraobserver agreement for severity of fatty liver ranged from 55% to 68% (kappa = 0.51-0.63). CONCLUSION Subjective visual assessment of fatty liver on sonography has substantial observer variability. There is a need for a more objective quantitative method of grading fatty liver on sonography that would be easily available and applicable in routine clinical practice.
Manual curation is not sufficient for annotation of genomic databases

MOTIVATION Knowledge base construction has been an area of intense activity and great importance in the growth of computational biology. However, there is little or no history of work on the subject of evaluation of knowledge bases, either with respect to their contents or with respect to the processes by which they are constructed. This article proposes the application of a metric from software engineering known as the found/fixed graph to the problem of evaluating the processes by which genomic knowledge bases are built, as well as the completeness of their contents. RESULTS Well-understood patterns of change in the found/fixed graph are found to occur in two large publicly available knowledge bases. These patterns suggest that the current manual curation processes will take far too long to complete the annotations of even just the most important model organisms, and that at their current rate of production, they will never be sufficient for completing the annotation of all currently available proteomes.
Evaluation of the influence of the aqueous phase bioconstituent environment on the F‐19 T1 of perfluorocarbon blood substitute emulsions

Oxygen‐sensitive F‐19 magnetic resonance imaging of perfluorocarbon compounds requires that fluorocarbon T1 changes correlate with the local Po2 and not with the composition of the surrounding aqueous phase. The influence of various bioconstituents and paramagnetic ions within the aqueous phase on the F‐19 fluorocarbon phase T1 for PFC emulsions was evaluated at 0.14 and 0.66 T. T1 was measured for FC‐43, perflubron, and a fluorinated surfactant. Controlled variables introduced in the aqueous phase included annex solution constituents, blood, pH changes, and Gd‐DTPA. For a constant Po2, the F‐19 T1s were independent of the emulsion constituents, blood concentration, and pH. For FC‐43 and perflubron, F‐19 T1 was independent of the Gd‐DTPA concentration, while the aqueous phase T1 decreased by more than an order of magnitude. XMO‐10 (smallest emulsion particle size) showed a slight decrease in F‐19 T1 with increasing Gd‐DTPA concentration at 0.66 T.
On the infimal Signal-to-Noise Ratio limitations for measurable disturbance rejection

In networked control a channel model is explicitly considered in the classical control feedback configuration. This channel model can be located over the control path, between the controller and the plant, or over the feedback path, between the plant and the controller (or over both simultaneously). It has been shown that an important channel parameter for the stabilisability of the control feedback loop is the channel Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). In this work we propose the controller design to satisfy a given user SNR requirement, when a feed-forward controller is also implemented to compensate the presence of a measurable disturbance. We then highlight the resulting trade-off between measurable disturbance rejection requirement and infimal SNR requirement for both, the control path and the feedback path locations.
International Journal of Women's Health Dovepress Uterine Cancer Presenting as Obstructive Jaundice

hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms Abstract: Obstructive jaundice as an initial manifestation of uterine cancer is extremely rare. We present a case of a 72-year-old female who presented with obstructive jaundice, supposedly for pancreatic cancer. After detailed diagnostic investigation, the cause of the jaundice was attributed to a metastatic compression of the common bile duct, from the primary neoplasm of the uterus. This case highlights the importance of including uterine cancer in the differential diagnosis of woman presenting with obstructive jaundice, even though it is very rare.
Effect of passive heat stress on arterial stiffness

Arterial compliance, the inverse of arterial stiffness, is a prognostic indicator of arterial health. Central and peripheral arterial compliance decrease with acute cold stress and may increase postexercise when exercise‐induced elevations in core temperature are likely still to be present. Increased blood flow through the conduit arteries associated with elevated core temperature increases shear stress, which in turn releases nitric oxide and other endothelium‐derived factors. These changes, in conjunction with supportive in vitro data, suggest that elevated core temperature may indirectly increase central and peripheral arterial compliance (i.e. decrease arterial stiffness). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that increased core temperature decreases central and peripheral arterial stiffness, as measured with pulse wave velocity (PWV). Using Doppler ultrasound, carotid–femoral (central) and carotid–radial (peripheral) arterial PWVs were measured from eight subjects (age 37 ± 11 years; mass 68.8 ± 11.1 kg; height 171 ± 3 cm) before and during passive heat‐stress‐induced increases in core temperature of 0.47 ± 0.05, 1.03 ± 0.12 and 1.52 ± 0.07°C (i.e. baseline, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5°C, respectively). Changes in PWV were evaluated with one‐way repeated‐measures ANOVA. When analysed as group means, neither central (677 ± 161, 617 ± 72, 659 ± 74 and 766 ± 207 cm s−1; P= 0.12) nor peripheral PWV (855 ± 192, 772 ± 95, 759 ± 49 and 858 ± 247 cm s−1; P = 0.56) changed as core temperature increased from baseline to 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5°C, respectively. However, individual changes in central (average r=−0.89, P < 0.05) and peripheral PWV (average r=−0.93, P < 0.05) with heat stress were significantly correlated with normothermic baseline PWV. In conclusion, these data suggest that the magnitude by which heat stress reduced PWV was predicated upon normothermic PWV, with the individuals having the highest normothermic PWV being most responsive to the heat‐stress‐induced reductions in PWV.
Prediction of Membrane Transport Proteins and Their Substrate Specificities Using Primary Sequence Information

Background Membrane transport proteins (transporters) move hydrophilic substrates across hydrophobic membranes and play vital roles in most cellular functions. Transporters represent a diverse group of proteins that differ in topology, energy coupling mechanism, and substrate specificity as well as sequence similarity. Among the functional annotations of transporters, information about their transporting substrates is especially important. The experimental identification and characterization of transporters is currently costly and time-consuming. The development of robust bioinformatics-based methods for the prediction of membrane transport proteins and their substrate specificities is therefore an important and urgent task. Results Support vector machine (SVM)-based computational models, which comprehensively utilize integrative protein sequence features such as amino acid composition, dipeptide composition, physico-chemical composition, biochemical composition, and position-specific scoring matrices (PSSM), were developed to predict the substrate specificity of seven transporter classes: amino acid, anion, cation, electron, protein/mRNA, sugar, and other transporters. An additional model to differentiate transporters from non-transporters was also developed. Among the developed models, the biochemical composition and PSSM hybrid model outperformed other models and achieved an overall average prediction accuracy of 76.69% with a Mathews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.49 and a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) of 0.833 on our main dataset. This model also achieved an overall average prediction accuracy of 78.88% and MCC of 0.41 on an independent dataset. Conclusions Our analyses suggest that evolutionary information (i.e., the PSSM) and the AAIndex are key features for the substrate specificity prediction of transport proteins. In comparison, similarity-based methods such as BLAST, PSI-BLAST, and hidden Markov models do not provide accurate predictions for the substrate specificity of membrane transport proteins. TrSSP: The Transporter Substrate Specificity Prediction Server, a web server that implements the SVM models developed in this paper, is freely available at http://bioinfo.noble. org/TrSSP.
A Goodness-of-Fit Approach to Informed Consent for Pediatric Intervention Research

As children and adolescents receive increased research attention, ethical issues related to obtaining informed consent for pediatric intervention research have come into greater focus. In this article, we conceptualize parent permission and child assent within a goodness-of-fit framework that encourages investigators to create consent procedures “fitted” to the research context, the child's cognitive and emotional maturity, and the family system. Drawing on relevant literature and a hypothetical case example, we highlight four factors investigators may consider when constructing consent procedures that best reflect participants' rights, concerns, and well-being: (a) the child's current assent capacity and the likely impact of study information on the child's mental and physical development, (b) parents' understanding of their child's treatment needs and distinctions between treatment and clinical trials research, (c) the family's history of shared decision making, and (d) the child's strivings for autonomy within the context of their parents' duty to make decisions in the child's best interest.
Cloaking RFID tags

We propose two approaches to cloak RFID tags using a light-weight symmetric key algorithm called Hummingbird (HB), a state-full, rotor-based system. Deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) at the individual item level has stalled, partially due to concerns over privacy. To realize the full potential of both increased efficiency in the supply chain and promising new capabilities, RFID tags need to be pushed down beyond the cases and pallets that they are used to track now. In order to gain general acceptance, consumers must feel they have control over the tags they possess. HB has been shown to provide high security within reach of the limited resources of a tag. The proposed approaches provide for tag security by silencing a tag unless it is queried by an authenticated reader, while providing a security model that consumers will understand and with which they will feel comfortable. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges of cloaking tags and show how our protocols may be effectively applied in different environments.