Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
To be or not to be (public) Using going private transactions to examine why flrms go public.

Why do flrms go public? Despite the existence of many theories addressing this question, lack of data on private flrms before they are public hampers our ability to test these theories. We circumvent this challenge by testing reverse predictions of going public theories using flrms’ decisions to go private. We employ a comprehensive sample of going private transactions from 1980-2004 in the U.S and examine how these flrms difier at the initial public ofiering and over their public life relative to a sample of flrms that went and remained public. We flnd that many of the factors that drive the flrms to go private are evident at the initial public ofiering. Our results provide strong support for the importance of information and liquidity considerations. We also flnd some support for the importance of capital accessibility and control factors.
Hardware Computation of the PageRank Eigenvector

A hardware solver, implemented on an FPGA, for calculating the Page Rank eigenvector using the Power method is described. The critical operation is a very large sparse matrix by vector multiplication (SMVM). However, we show that the SMVM can be replaced with a pattern adder (a term coined to denote SMVM without multiplication), and a dense element by element vector multiplication, thus simplifying the calculation and improving performance. The system was tested for correctness and performance using a set of Internet Adjacency matrices. Performance data for Virtex 2 and Virtex 5 implementations are presented and an average performance improvement of 180% over a state of the art general purpose processor was achieved by the Virtex 5 implementation.
The association between duration of breastfeeding and adult intelligence.

CONTEXT A number of studies suggest a positive association between breastfeeding and cognitive development in early and middle childhood. However, the only previous study that investigated the relationship between breastfeeding and intelligence in adults had several methodological shortcomings. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between duration of infant breastfeeding and intelligence in young adulthood. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective longitudinal birth cohort study conducted in a sample of 973 men and women and a sample of 2280 men, all of whom were born in Copenhagen, Denmark, between October 1959 and December 1961. The samples were divided into 5 categories based on duration of breastfeeding, as assessed by physician interview with mothers at a 1-year examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Intelligence, assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) at a mean age of 27.2 years in the mixed-sex sample and the Børge Priens Prøve (BPP) test at a mean age of 18.7 years in the all-male sample. Thirteen potential confounders were included as covariates: parental social status and education; single mother status; mother's height, age, and weight gain during pregnancy and cigarette consumption during the third trimester; number of pregnancies; estimated gestational age; birth weight; birth length; and indexes of pregnancy and delivery complications. RESULTS Duration of breastfeeding was associated with significantly higher scores on the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale WAIS IQs. With regression adjustment for potential confounding factors, the mean Full Scale WAIS IQs were 99.4, 101.7, 102.3, 106.0, and 104.0 for breastfeeding durations of less than 1 month, 2 to 3 months, 4 to 6 months, 7 to 9 months, and more than 9 months, respectively (P =.003 for overall F test). The corresponding mean scores on the BPP were 38.0, 39.2, 39.9, 40.1, and 40.1 (P =.01 for overall F test). CONCLUSION Independent of a wide range of possible confounding factors, a significant positive association between duration of breastfeeding and intelligence was observed in 2 independent samples of young adults, assessed with 2 different intelligence tests.
X-ray emission from young stars in the Tucanae association

We report on X-ray emission from members of the recently discovered Tucanae association, a group of stars with youth signatures and similar space motion. The Tucanae asso- ciation is the nearest known region of recent star formation ( 45pc) far from molecular clouds (Zuckerman & Webb 2000). We have made use of the ROSAT Data Archive and searched for X-rays from Tucanae stars in both ROSAT All-Sky Sur- vey (RASS) and pointed observations. While the RASS pro- vides complete coverage of the sky, only three potential Tu- canae members have been observed during PSPC pointings. All three stars have been detected. For the RASS the percentage of detections is 59%. The comparison of the X-ray luminosity function of Tu- canae to that of other star forming regions may provide clues to the uncertain age of the association. We find that the distri- bution of X-ray luminosities is very similar to the ones derived for the TW Hya association, the Taurus-Auriga T Tauri Stars, and the IC 2602 cluster, but significantly brighter than the lumi- nosity distribution of the Pleiades. We conclude that the stars in Tucanae are most likely young, on the order of 10 30Myr. Strong variability of most stars emerges from the X-ray lightcurves where several flares and irregular variations are ob- served.
A THERMOMECHANICAL PROCESS FOR IMPROVING ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF BREWER'S SPENT GRAIN

Brewers' spent grain (BSG), the main low-value solid residue, is the major by-product of the brewing industry, representing around 85 % of the total by-product generated. This raw material is renewable, at low cost, largely available throughout the year and produced in large quantities. BSG was hydrothermally treated by instantaneous controlled pressure drop process (DIC) at five pressure levels (or five temperatures), with as objective to observe the effect of the processing pressure on enzymatic hydrolysis of BSG. Enzymatic hydrolysis was performed on the pretreated solids by celluclast (1.5L). The results showed that the hydrolysis yield of BSG treated at pressure levels of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 bar for a processing time of 15 min was strongly improved compared to hydrolysis yield of unpretreated BSG. The best hydrolysis yield was obtained, up to 100%, when the BSG was pretreated at more intensive conditions (5 and 7 bar for 15 min). The morphology of treated BSG samples was studied with scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Untreated BSG exhibited rigid and highly ordered fibrils whereas the structure of pretreated BSG at 7 bar seems to have an important disruption.
A Survey and Qualitative Analysis of Recent Advances in Drama Management

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in constructing rich interactive entertainment and training experiences. As these experiences have grown in complexity, there has been a corresponding growing need for the development of robust technologies to shape and modify those experiences in reaction to the actions of human participants. One popular mechanism for addressing this need is through the use of a drama manager. A drama manager is a coordinator that tracks narrative progress in the environment and directs the roles and/or responses of objects and agents to achieve a specific narrative or training goal. In this paper, we provide a survey of recent advances in drama management technologies for interactive entertainment, and describe a set of desiderata for the qualitative analysis of such systems.
Understanding the needs of children and young people in care: Towards a taxonomy of needs

A decade of inquiries into child protection and out-of-home care in Australia has seen the concept of 'need' and the needs of children and young people in out-of-home care settings emerge as a prominent theme. Within this context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the richness of the philosophical discourse on need and introduce a research project that examined the needs of children and young people in care, with an emphasis on developing a taxonomy of needs. It is suggested that the understanding of need, derived from both the philosophical literature and the description of need provided in the taxonomy of needs, has the potential to enrich our understanding of the needs of these vulnerable children and young people and, importantly, provide a theoretical and empirical basis for considering the importance of 'need' in out-of-home care policy and practice.
PREVALENCE OF AVIAN PARAMYXOVIRUS 1 AND AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS IN DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS (PHALACROCORAX AURITUS) IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Abstract Although it is well established that wild birds, such as cormorants, carry virulent avian paramyxovirus serotype 1 (APMV-1; causative agent of Newcastle disease) and avian influenza virus (AIV), the prevalence of these viruses among Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Great Lakes region of North America has not been rigorously studied. We determined the prevalences of APMV-1 and AIV in Double-crested Cormorants from the interior population of eastern North America. From 2009 to 2011, oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs and serum samples were collected from 1,957 individual Double-crested Cormorants, ranging from chicks to breeding adults, on breeding colony sites in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Mississippi, USA, and Ontario, Canada, as well as on the wintering grounds of migratory populations in Mississippi, USA. Prevalence of antibodies to APMV-1 in after–hatch year birds was consistently high across all three years, ranging from 86.3% to 91.6%. Antibody prevalences in chicks were much lower: 1.7, 15.3, and 16.4% in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. Virulent APMV-1 was detected in six chicks sampled in 2010 in Ontario, Canada. Only one adult was positive for AIV-specific antibodies and five individuals were positive for AIV matrix protein, but the latter were negative for H5 and H7 AIV subtypes. We provide further evidence that Double-crested Cormorants play an important role in the maintenance and circulation of APMV-1 in the wild, but are unlikely to be involved in the circulation of AIV.
Charge instability in high-k gate stacks with metal and polysilicon electrodes

Charge trapping in high-k transistor gate stacks shifts the threshold voltage and may affect the channel mobility. Since both electrons and holes may potentially contribute to charge trapping, it is important to determine the polarity of the trapped charge and to relate it to the stress or operating conditions. A constant-voltage stress was applied to nMOSFETs and pMOSFETs and the charge trapping in the gate stack and the interface trap generation was monitored by the DCIV method. Detailed band diagram for each stress condition is used to correlate the measured charge trapping and the interface trap generation/annihilation to the dominant tunneling current component and to delineate the physical mechanisms and charge-trapping pathways.
To What Extent Do Consumer Ethical Beliefs Differ Across Countries? A Cross-Country Investigation Using Best-Worst Scaling Methodology

This study uses best-worst scaling experiments to examine differences across six countries in the attitudes of consumers towards social and ethical issues that included both product related issues (such as recycled packaging) and general social factors (such as human rights). The experiments were conducted using over 600 middle class respondents from Germany, Spain, Turkey, USA, India, and Korea. The results show that there is indeed some variation in the attitudes towards social and ethical issues across these six countries. However, what is more telling is the similarities seen and the extent to which individual variations dominates observable demographics and country based variables.
A 40 mV/4 uW CMOS Colpitts Oscillator with Additional Positive Feedback at 2.12 GHz

In this paper, a different topology for ultra-low voltage oscillators is presented. It is based on a classical common-gate Colpitts Oscillator, but with additional positive feedback provided by an inductive gate degeneration. This increase in the positive feedback decreases the required transconductance in order to start-up the circuit, which is used here to reduce the minimum supply voltage. The capacitor ratio of the circuit is also optimized with the same purpose. The equations for the optimization are presented as well as a step-by-step design. A prototype with the aim of validate the work was developed in a standard 0.13 μm CMOS process using a zero-threshold transistor. The post-layout simulation resulted in a minimum supply voltage of 40 mV at 2.12 GHz, with a power consumption of 4 μW.
Damage to left anterior temporal cortex predicts impairment of complex syntactic processing: A lesion‐symptom mapping study

Sentence processing problems form a common consequence of left‐hemisphere brain injury, in some patients to such an extent that their pattern of language performance is characterized as “agrammatic”. However, the location of left‐hemisphere damage that causes such problems remains controversial. It has been suggested that the critical site for syntactic processing is Broca's area of the frontal cortex or, alternatively, that a more widely distributed network is responsible for syntactic processing. The aim of this study was to identify brain regions that are required for successful sentence processing. Voxel‐based lesion‐symptom mapping (VLSM) was used to identify brain regions where injury predicted impaired sentence processing in 50 native speakers of Icelandic with left‐hemisphere stroke. Sentence processing was assessed by having individuals identify which picture corresponded to a verbally presented sentence. The VLSM analysis revealed that impaired sentence processing was best predicted by damage to a large left‐hemisphere temporo‐parieto‐occipital area. This is likely due to the multimodal nature of the sentence processing task, which involves auditory and visual analysis, as well as lexical and syntactic processing. Specifically impaired processing of noncanonical sentence types, when compared with canonical sentence processing, was associated with damage to the left‐hemisphere anterior superior and middle temporal gyri and the temporal pole. Anterior temporal cortex, therefore, appears to play a crucial role in syntactic processing, and patients with brain damage to this area are more likely to present with receptive agrammatism than patients in which anterior temporal cortex is spared. Hum Brain Mapp 34:2715–2723, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Deformable B-solids: Application for Localization and Tracking of Mri-spamm Data

The development of MR tagging techniques has allowed for estimation of local 3D motion of the heart's endocardial and epicardial boundaries as well as transmural cardiac deformations. For analysis of tag data, to date, data from diierent image slices have been considered independently. In this paper, we propose an approach for 3D tag localization and tracking of MRI-SPAMM data by a novel deformable B-solid. The solid is deened in terms of a 3D tensor product B-spline which we require to be aligned with tag lines from diierent image slices. The localization and tracking of tag lines is performed under constraints of continuity and smoothness, taking into account that tag lines belong to the same deformable body. Analyzing the deformation of 3D tags uniies the problem of localization, and displacement tting and interpolation into the same procedure. To track endocardial and epicardial motion, a volumetric heart model is employed which is a pair of coupled endocardial and epicardial B-spline surfaces. In order to recover heart's deformations, an energy-minimization problem is posed where both tag and heart boundary data are used. The framework allows for integration of tag data from Short Axis (SA) and Long Axis (LA) tagged cardiac images. 1 a b c d Figure 1: Radial (a,b) and SPAMM (c,d) tag images of short axes views taken in diastole (a,c) and systole (b,d) stage of the cardiac cicle
FINANCIAL DEEPENING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: WHAT CAN BE LEARNT FROM CORE IN GAMES AND EQUILIBRIUM MODELS?

Equivalence between Shapley-Shubik core in games and general equilibrium is shown along with an example on how separating rather than pooling equilibrium generate more efficient outcomes in financial markets in the presence of asymmetric information. Theoretical arguments are tested by results of an applied dynamic general equilibrium model of Germany, France and UK that is used to evaluate the role of the financial sector in enhancing economic growth in them till 2080 taking competitive equilibrium as an approximation to real markets.
APPLICATIONS OF WAVELETS TO POWER SYSTEMS

Wavelet based algorithms have found many uses in different areas. Most of them are to signal processing or numerical analysis. Here is a plan to study some of applications in power system. The synopsis for Ph.D proposed work is organized as follows. The first part is devoted to the historical background of wavelets. Second part is concerned with the fault detection in power system by wavelets. Part three is mainly concerned with disturbance and variation detection in power system by using wavelets. Fourth part devoted to the denoising of electrical signals by using wavelets. Last part is concerned with data compression.
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology Open Access Antioxidant Enzymes and Lipid Peroxidation in Endometrium of Patients with Polyps, Myoma, Hyperplasia and Adenocarcinoma

Background: Oxidative stress and impaired antioxidant system have been proposed as a potential factors involved in the pathophysiology of diverse disease states, including carcinogenesis. In this study, we explored the lipid peroxidation levels and antioxidant enzyme activities in women diagnosed with different forms of gynecological diseases in order to evaluate the antioxidant status in endometrium of such patients.
Reductive Metabolism of AGE Precursors: A Metabolic Route for Preventing AGE Accumulation in Cardiovascular Tissue

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) in the cardiovascular metabolism of the precursors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Steady-state kinetic parameters of AKRs with AGE precursors were determined using recombinant proteins expressed in bacteria. Metabolism of methylglyoxal and AGE accumulation were studied in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and C57 wild-type, akr1b3 (aldose reductase)-null, cardiospecific-akr1b4 (rat aldose reductase), and akr1b8 (FR-1)-transgenic mice. AGE accumulation and atherosclerotic lesions were studied 12 weeks after streptozotocin treatment of C57, akr1b3-null, and apoE- and akr1b3-apoE–null mice. RESULTS Higher levels of AGEs were generated in the cytosol than at the external surface of HUVECs cultured in high glucose, indicating that intracellular metabolism may be an important regulator of AGE accumulation and toxicity. In vitro, AKR 1A and 1B catalyzed the reduction of AGE precursors, whereas AKR1C, AKR6, and AKR7 were relatively ineffective. Highest catalytic efficiency was observed with AKR1B1. Acetol formation in methylglyoxal-treated HUVECs was prevented by the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil. Acetol was generated in hearts perfused with methylglyoxal, and its formation was increased in akr1b4- or akr1b8-transgenic mice. Reduction of AGE precursors was diminished in hearts from akr1b3-null mice. Diabetic akr1b3-null mice accumulated more AGEs in the plasma and the heart than wild-type mice, and deletion of akr1b3 increased AGE accumulation and atherosclerotic lesion formation in apoE-null mice. CONCLUSIONS Aldose reductase–catalyzed reduction is an important pathway in the endothelial and cardiac metabolism of AGE precursors, and it prevents AGE accumulation and atherosclerotic lesion formation.
Cointegration analysis on trading behavior in four SELECTED asean countries BEFORE MONETARY CRISIS

This paper aims to analyze Indonesian position among the trading behavior in four selected ASEAN countries (according to their import-and-export products) using cointegration analysis. The demands for export and import are estimated before the monetary crisis erupted (1963 – 1995) using the dynamic OLS (DOLS) method. The Johansen Maximum Likelihood (JML) approach is also employed to compare the results obtained. The results show that foreign income has a significant impact on export demand, suggesting that foreign disturbance in the form of economic activities is likely to be transmitted to these countries. The Marshall Lerner conditions are easily met for the cases of Malaysia and Thailand (DOLS and JML). For Indonesia and the Philippines, the sum of the price elasticities of export and import demand are less than unity. This can be explained by the J-curve, in which the currency depreciations will first worsen the trade balance before it improves, and it takes a long time to affect the trade balance.
Transferring from Community College to University: How Choices Are Influenced.

This document discusses a study that addresses why transfer students choose a particular university to continue their education in. Furthermore, the study attempts to identify the types of recruitment strategies that are most effective in persuading students to attend a certain university. The study's sample came from 475 volunteers who attended a transfer session. It was composed of 70% female and 30% male. The following are some of the conclusions made by authors: (1) universities should continue to promote social and academic factors in recruiting activities; (2) transfer students should be recruited from community colleges as enthusiastically as possible; (3) universities should continue to recruit transfer students with the use of videos and tours; (4) universities need to continue to increase financial aid funds to meet increases in tuition; and (5) universities need to keep up with changes in the characteristics and needs of community college students. The document concludes by observing that transfer students are important because they make up a large part of upper division student populations, they fill gaps left by attrition, and fulfill the missions of community colleges by transferring successfully. Therefore, the authors conclude that universities and community colleges should work together to ensure a successful transfer for students. (Contains 19 references.) (MZ) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Transferring from community college to university: How choices are influenced Janice R. Sandiford, PhD Associate Professor of Higher Education Florida International University Susan H. Lynch, EdD Director of Community College Relations & Transfer Services Florida International University Leonard Bliss, PhD Professor of Research and Statistics Florida International University