Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CRITICAL RESOURCE DIMENSIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PATENTS — AN ANALYSIS OF 131 NEW TECHNOLOGY-BASED FIRMS LOCALISED IN INCUBATORS

The purpose of this study is to analyse critical resource dimensions for development of patents for these new technology-based firms. The empirical base is 131 new technology-based firms in five high-tech industries: Software/information technology, technology consultants, electronics/electrical, pharmacology and pharmaceutical preparation and mechanics, localised on 16 incubators in Sweden. The incubators in this study are all affiliated to a university. The 131 localised new technology-based firms that answered the questionnaire were rather young (mean 2.76 years) and small (mean 2.07 employees). Five hypotheses were developed from the literature and statistical methods such as factor analysis, correlation and regression analysis were used. The study presents a significant model in several resource dimensions. The study shows that the most important resource dimensions (latent variables) are R&D network, lawyers and patent councils, business competition and university/incubator that will affect development of patents in a positive way.
Insider Trading and the Exploitation of Inside Information: Some Empirical Evidence

Rule lOb-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 prohibits the exploitation of inside information by corporate officers, directors, and large stockholders, usually referred to as insiders. The empirical analysis of insider trading has been the subject of several studies (see, e.g., Finnerty 1976b; Jaffe 1974a, 1974; Lorie and Niederhoffer 1968). The focus of most of these studies is whether insiders obtain trading gains from use of inside information. The answer to this question has clear implications for market efficiency: under the semistrong form of the efficient market hypothesis, all public information is fully reflected in prices. Under the strong form of that hypothesis securities prices reflect all relevant information, regardless of what information is publicly available, with the implication that no abnormal profits could be made through the use of inside information (see Fama [1970] for an extensive exposition and discussion of the efficient markets hypothesis).
Evaluating web interfaces of B2C e-commerce systems for typical agrifood products

E-commerce and geographical typicity of agrifood products are two leverages for the economic development of a lagging rural region where agribusiness is a leading sector of its economy. However, an effective response to this challenge much depends on how typical products are marketed through the internet to an international audience. This paper introduces a methodology for evaluating web interfaces of e-commerce systems of agrifood SMEs operating in an lagging rural region. The methodology has been applied to a regional survey where it considered a sample of SMEs located in Calabria, a South Italy region. The collected data has been statistically analysed in order to get results on levels of B2C e-commerce adoption. A particular study is addressed to a classification of e-commerce interfaces depending on both SME's stage in the industry and the way how SME's 'typical producer' status is perceived by potential customers.
Measuring the International Mobility of Skilled Workers (1990-2000): Release 1.0

Until recently, there has been no systematic empirical assessment of the economic impact of the brain drain. Despite many case studies and anecdotal evidence, the main reason for this seems to be the lack of harmonized international data on migration by country of origin and education level. An exception is the paper by Carrington and Detragiache (1998), which provided skilled migration rates for 61 developing countries in 1990. This study relies on a set of tentative assumptions. For example, they transpose the skill structure of U.S. immigrants on the OECD total immigration stock. In this paper, the authors provide new estimates of skilled workers' emigration rates for about 190 countries in 2000 and 170 countries in 1990, in both developing and industrial countries. Using various statistical sources, they revisit Carrington and Detragiache's measures by incorporating information on immigrants' educational attainment and country of origin from almost all OECD countries. The set of receiving countries is restricted to OECD nations. The authors' database covers 92.7 percent of the OECD immigration stock. In absolute terms, the authors show that the largest numbers of highly educated migrants are from Europe, Southern and Eastern Asia, and, to a lesser extent, from Central America. Nevertheless, as a proportion of the potential educated labor force, the highest brain drain rates are observed in the Caribbean, Central America, and Western and Eastern Africa. Repeating the exercise for 1990 and 2000 allows the authors to evaluate the changes in brain drain intensity. Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Central America experienced a remarkable increase in the brain drain during the past decade. The database delivers information that is rich enough to assess the changes in the international distribution of migration rates, to test for the (push and pull) determinants per skill group, to evaluate the growth effects of migration on source and destination countries, and to estimate the relationships between migration, trade, foreign research and development, and remittances.
Insider Trading: Rule 10b-5, Disclosure and Corporate Privacy

THIS paper considers what has been for the last fifteen years the most rapidly growing area in all of federal corporation law-the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) rule 10b-5'-as it relates to the required disclosure of material nonpublic information by those trading in a company's securities. After a brief account of the rule's adoption and legal setting, we will consider at some length different conceptions of its objectives and their implications. Since adoption of the Securities Act of 1933, formal disclosure requirements, involving a registration statement and prospectus, have been imposed by law on the sales of new security issues by corporations and on secondary distributions of a company's securities by its controlling insiders. There are some limitations. Private placements by a company of its securities, usually with institutional investors, are exempt under section 4(2) of the 1933 act, and resales by insiders in limited amounts to unsolicited purchasers are exempt under section 4(1) of the 1933 act and the SEC's rule 144. By and large, however, sales by a corporation and its controlling insiders of its securities are subject to rather specific and elaborate disclosure requirements, which tend to stress investment risks and take a conservative view of expected returns. The 1933 act did not apply to purchases by a company or its insiders of its securities. In 1942, however, the SEC staff became concerned about reports of a company president who was buying up its stock by telling shareholders
A matrix representation to increase the resolution of a Region of Interest (ROI) for medical images

Diagnostic quality medical images consume vast amounts of network time, system bandwidth and disk storage in current computer architectures. There are many ways in which the use of system and network resources may be optimised without compromising quality of diagnostic image. One of these is in the choice of image representation, both for storage and transfer. In this paper, we show how a particularly flexible method of image representation can lead to an efficient progressive image transmission method. We present the application of a progressive transmission scheme to medical images, and provide some examples of image refinement in a multi-scale fashion. A matrix approach for the entire multiresolution decomposition of images is also presented. Moreover, we prove that thumbnail images created by a multiscale orthogonal decomposition can be optimally interpolated in a minimum square 2-norm sense, based on a generalised Moore-Penrose inverse operator. These interpolators are the minimum energy interpolators which satisfy the undetermined matrix equation in the multiresolution framework. In addition, we present examples of region of interest (ROI) enhancement in which a user selects a square ROI on a low resolution interpolated image.
The correlation between intron length and recombination in drosophila. Dynamic equilibrium between mutational and selective forces.

Intron length is negatively correlated with recombination in both Drosophila melanogaster and humans. This correlation is not likely to be the result of mutational processes alone: evolutionary analysis of intron length polymorphism in D. melanogaster reveals equivalent ratios of deletion to insertion in regions of high and low recombination. The polymorphism data do reveal, however, an excess of deletions relative to insertions (i.e., a deletion bias), with an overall deletion-to-insertion events ratio of 1.35. We propose two types of selection favoring longer intron lengths. First, the natural mutational bias toward deletion must be opposed by strong selection in very short introns to maintain the minimum intron length needed for the intron splicing reaction. Second, selection will favor insertions in introns that increase recombination between mutations under the influence of selection in adjacent exons. Mutations that increase recombination, even slightly, will be selectively favored because they reduce interference among selected mutations. Interference selection acting on intron length mutations must be very weak, as indicated by frequency spectrum analysis of Drosophila intron length polymorphism, making the equilibrium for intron length sensitive to changes in the recombinational environment and population size. One consequence of this sensitivity is that the advantage of longer introns is expected to decrease inversely with the rate of recombination, thus leading to a negative correlation between intron length and recombination rate. Also in accord with this model, intron length differs between closely related Drosophila species, with the longest variant present more often in D. melanogaster than in D. simulans. We suggest that the study of the proposed dynamic model, taking into account interference among selected sites, might shed light on many aspects of the comparative biology of genome sizes including the C value paradox.
An Interview with Dr. Juliana S. Herbert CEO, Herbert Consulting

Juliana Herbert received her doctoral degree in Computer Science from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 2000. From 2000 to 2007, she has researched and taught at Unisinos, Brazil, where she established important software quality programs for the Brazilian community and championed the creation of the Software Quality Laboratory in 2000 and the ESICenter Brazil in 2002. ESICenter Brazil is a Software Engineering Excellence Center created in partnership with the European Software Institute (ESI) and the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Herbert was the Director of ESICenter Brazil since its creation and until August 2007, when she left Unisinos to establish her own company, Herbert Consulting, in partnership with leading international software engineering institutions. Dr. Herbert was the first PSP (Personal Software Process) certiJied instructor in South America and one of the eight certiJied SCAMPI (Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement) Lead Appraisers in Brazil. Dr. Herbert was also the first Latin-American IEEE Software Advisory Board member, where she serves since 2005. In academia, she currently holds a visiting scientist position at Universidad de la Republics, Uruguay, and teaches in three graduate programs in Brazil and Uruguay.
Toward consensus in the analysis of urinary 8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydro‐2′‐deoxyguanosine as a noninvasive biomarker of oxidative stress

Of the DNA‐derived biomarkers of oxidative stress, urinary 8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydro‐2′‐deoxyguanosine (8‐oxodG) is the most frequently measured. However, there is significant discrepancy between chromatographic and immunoassay approaches, and intratechnique agreement among all available chromatography‐based assays and ELISAs is yet to be established. This is a significant obstacle to their use in large molecular epidemiological studies. To evaluate the accuracy of intra/intertechnique and interlaboratory measurements, samples of phosphate buffered saline and urine, spiked with different concentrations of 8‐oxoG, together with a series of urine samples from healthy individuals were distributed to ESCULA members. All laboratories received identical samples, including 2 negative controls that contained no added 8‐oxodG. Data were returned from 17 laboratories, representing 20 methods, broadly classified as mass spectrometric (MS), electrochemical detection (EC), or enzyme‐linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Overall, there was good within‐technique agreement, with the majority of laboratories’ results lying within 1 SD of their consensus mean. However, ELISA showed more within‐technique variation than did the chromatographic techniques and, for the urine samples, reported higher values. Bland‐Altman plots revealed good agreement between MS and EC methods but concentration‐dependent deviation for ELISA. All methods ranked urine samples according to concentration similarly. Creatinine levels are routinely used as a correction factor for urine concentration, and therefore we also conducted an interlaboratory comparison of methods for urinary creatinine determination, in which the vast majority of values lay within 1 SD of the consensus value, irrespective of the analysis procedure. This study reveals greater consensus than previously expected, although concern remains over ELISA. —ESCULA [European Standards Committee on Urinary (DNA) Lesion Analysis], Evans, M. D. , Olinski, R. , Loft, S. , Cooke, M. S. Toward consensus in the analysis of urinary 8‐oxo‐7,8‐dihydro‐2′‐deoxyguanosine as a noninvasive biomarker of oxidative stress. FASEB J. 24, 1249–1260 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Abstract: Deposit Ceilings and the Efficiency of Financial Intermediation

Concern for the social objective of an efficient financial system led several researchers durnng the 1960's to study economies of scale in financial intermediation. These studies were used to draw inferences regarding an optimal structure of financial institutions. Today, there is added reason for the concern for the social cost of providing financial intermediary services. Since 1966, deposit rate controls have been extended to savings and loan associations as well as other thrift institutions whereas the Banking Act of 1933 had previously extended these controls to commercial banks.
Investigation of a Virtual Environment for Rugby Skills Training

We have designed and developed a virtual environment to train rugby ball passing skills. Seeking to validate the system's ability to correctly aid training, an initial experiment was performed to examine the effect of stereoscopic technology and the physical screen's setup on the user's ability to perceive virtual distances correctly. Four participants with at least 10 years' experience of playing local-level rugby took part in the experiment to compare the combinations of different user positions compared to the physical screen, the use of stereoscopic presentation and the use of a floor screen to extend the field of view of the virtual scene. Conversely to what was expected, the participants did not respond well to perceived distance and these variables had little effect on the distance thrown.
Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia: Animal models 2000

Numerous animal models of preinvasive prostate cancer have been described in the past decade. Differences among models account for their variable applicability for answering specific research questions. The dog is the only known nonhuman spontaneous animal model of prostate cancer, but numerous transgenic and therapy‐induced models have been generated in mice and rats. This report summarizes existing models of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and their relevance for the study of human prostate cancer. Prostate 43:286–294, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Procurement Price Relationships for Fed Cattle and Hogs: Importance of the Cash Market in Price Discovery

Reduced reliance on cash markets for fed cattle and hogs raises questions about the role of cash prices in price discovery. Weekly data from mandatory price reports were used to determine whether cash market prices were cointegrated with and exhibited Granger causality with other procurement prices. Cash prices were cointegrated with all but one cattle and one hog procurement price series over the 2001–2010 period. Cash market prices Granger cause all other procurement prices and bidirectional causality was found in some but not all cases. Results for three 3-year subperiods showed some decline in cointegration and causality for hogs. The cash market remains important for price discovery but continuing market thinness, especially in hogs, raises questions regarding viability of the cash market in the future.
Modeling Glaucoma: Retinal Ganglion Cells Generated from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells of Patients with SIX6 Risk Allele Show Developmental Abnormalities

Glaucoma represents a group of multifactorial diseases with a unifying pathology of progressive retinal ganglion cell (RGC) degeneration, causing irreversible vision loss. To test the hypothesis that RGCs are intrinsically vulnerable in glaucoma, we have developed an in vitro model using the SIX6 risk allele carrying glaucoma patient‐specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for generating functional RGCs. Here, we demonstrate that the efficiency of RGC generation by SIX6 risk allele iPSCs is significantly lower than iPSCs‐derived from healthy, age‐ and sex‐matched controls. The decrease in the number of RGC generation is accompanied by repressed developmental expression of RGC regulatory genes. The SIX6 risk allele RGCs display short and simple neurites, reduced expression of guidance molecules, and immature electrophysiological signature. In addition, these cells have higher expression of glaucoma‐associated genes, CDKN2A and CDKN2B, suggesting an early onset of the disease phenotype. Consistent with the developmental abnormalities, the SIX6 risk allele RGCs display global dysregulation of genes which map on developmentally relevant biological processes for RGC differentiation and signaling pathways such as mammalian target of rapamycin that integrate diverse functions for differentiation, metabolism, and survival. The results suggest that SIX6 influences different stages of RGC differentiation and their survival; therefore, alteration in SIX6 function due to the risk allele may lead to cellular and molecular abnormalities. These abnormalities, if carried into adulthood, may make RGCs vulnerable in glaucoma. Stem Cells 2017;35:2239–2252
No GIST-type c-kit gain of function mutations in neuroblastic tumours

Aims: Neuroblastic tumours (NTs) have been shown to respond to imatinib treatment in vivo and in vitro, possibly via inactivating the c-kit receptor. The purpose of this study was to identify gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST)-type c-kit gene associated mutations in exons 9, 11, 13, and 17 in NTs to recognise a subset of tumours that would probably respond to imatinib treatment. Methods: Expression of the c-kit protein was detected immunohistochemically in a total of 37 archival paraffin wax embedded NTs using polyclonal rabbit antihuman c-kit antibody. After immunohistochemistry, c-kit gene associated chromosomal mutations in all cases of NT were detected with denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: Denaturing HLPC analysis did not reveal GIST-type mutations in four immunohistochemically detected c-kit positive or in 33 c-kit negative NTs. Conclusions: c-kit receptor expression and GIST-type c-kit gene mutations are rare events in NTs. Oncogenic activation of c-kit in NTs presumably differs from that of GISTs, which may influence their responsiveness to imatinib treatment. Whether c-kit has an essential role in the pathogenesis of NTs remains to be investigated.
The impact of ICT on the Italian productivity dynamics

The last twenty years have seen a marked slowdown of the Italian productivity growth rate. The literature has underlined the role of international factors, such as globalization and adoption of the euro. In this paper we emphasize the role and dynamics of capital accumulation investigating the impact of the introduction of information technology on capital and production in the Italian economy and the extent to which that is being affected by skills in the labour force. The model is specified and estimated as continuous-time general disequilibrium framework. It presents original features: it analyzes the effects of the introduction of the ICT technology on the Italian economy not in a partial equilibrium context of a single market but from a macro point of view where input markets interact; it does not assume that these markets instantaneously clear but rather that there are imperfections and frictions; it does not impose the condition that the economy necessarily converges to a steady state. The model behaves quite well in replicating the dynamics of the Italian economy. It also shows however that there remains some structural inefficiency that worsened in recent years. In fact, our main finding shows that there exists a permanent gap between â€œoptimalâ€ and actual output which increased in the latter part of the sample period. While a fraction of this gap can be attributed to unavoidable (market and non market) adjustment costs some is associated to efficiency losses.
Determining IC layout rules for cost minimization

A general and practical method for design rule optimization (i.e. IC cost minimization) is presented, and then demonstrated in detail for specific examples. The optimum design rules are shown to be insensitive to chip area or defect density, but strongly dependent on tolerance sizes, number of masking levels, and to a parameter which will be defined as the `area overhead factor'. Throughout the development, limitations and assumptions are thoroughly discussed, with the overall result that the method is shown to be immediately useful for arbitrary, but well characterized, fabrication processes and lithography equipment.
An analysis of the use and success of online recruitment methods in the UK

The use of online recruitment methods is now widespread among UK organisations, but has not dominated the recruitment market in the way that was predicted by the popular media. This may be because organisations experience mixed success in using online methods of recruitment. This article reports on the use of a large-scale, longitudinal survey of recruitment activity to investigate the usage and perceived success of both corporate and commercial web sites by employers. In addition, 20 interviews with users and providers of online recruitment were conducted in order to provide a deeper exploration of the factors that may affect the success of these methods. The results provide valuable insights into the use and success of online recruitment in the UK and have strong implications for practitioners.