Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diversity and virulence thresholds in AIDS.

We propose a model for the interaction between human immunodeficiency virus and the immune system. Two differential equations describe the interactions between one strain of virus and one clone of T lymphocytes. We use the model to generalize earlier results pertaining to the AIDS diversity threshold [Nowak, M. A. , Anderson, R. M. , McLean, A. R. , Wolfs, T. F. W. , Goudsmit, J. and May, R. M. (1991) Science 254, 963-969]. Our model has (i) a stable steady state corresponding to the "controlled" persistence of the virus and (ii) a region corresponding to AIDS. The separatrix between the two regimes is formed by the stable manifold of a saddle point. We define a dimensionless "virulence" parameter which combines the infectivity and antigenicity of a virus strain. We derive analytically two parameter conditions involving virulence. The first corresponds to a saddle-node bifurcation which causes AIDS due to the loss of the stable equilibrium. The second corresponds to a global bifurcation which causes AIDS due to a change in the basins of attraction. Incorporating diversity into the model, we derive a diversity threshold corresponding to the saddle-node bifurcation. In this threshold condition diversity and virulence have an equivalent effect. By studying the effect of diversity on the critical virulence that is required for a new mutant to cause AIDS, we again establish that diversity and virulence are equivalent parameters. Because in our model increasing diversity decreases the critical virulence, the strain that eventually causes AIDS need not be a virulent one.
Limited Resource Farmers and the Marketing System

tifying and finding solutions to the problems they face. ' Much of this effort has focused on identifying enterprises that are profitable on a small scale; that is, enterprises which require little land and capital but provide a high return to the producer. These alternative crops include new and improved varieties of traditional cash crops and other nontraditional enterprises, such as fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, ornamentals and specialty animals (French, Whatley). The success of fruit and vegetable producers in California, Florida, Texas, and Arizona has triggered discussions as to whether other areas in the United States, particularly the southern states, could compete with these major producing states (Capps, Babb and Long). Coupled with this push for diversification is the belief that LRFs may benefit from alternative enterprises because they suffer adversely from price fluctuations and low net returns from production of traditional crops. Colette and Wall allude to the high income potentials of vegetables but argue that these crops tend to be very risky enterprises and that LRFs usually have insufficient cash reserves to carry them over a bad year. Efforts have also been directed toward the marketing problems facing LRFs (Christy, Dagher, McLean-Meyinsse). While much attention has been given to alternative enterprises, a full understanding of the marketing system, including market risks, strategies, and alternative market outlets, requires more attention by producers, policy makers, and our profession. Most farmers allocate more time, energy, and resources to production than to marketing. Limited-resource farmers, in general, have not invested the resources required to identify and use viable marketing plans and strategies that can exploit the full potential gains these markets offer sellers of agricultural products. In some cases, LRFs have identified marketing niches and developed innovative marketing strategies (Wysong and Handwerker). The strategic behavior exhibited by small farmers has profit performance implications, such as (a) providing the consumer with high quality, usually fresh products, and (b) gaining the net margins that accrue from performing specific marketing services or functions.
Parameter analysis of probabilistic foreground detector for intelligent surveillance system

Foreground detection can be considered as backbone of multistage computer vision systems. Foreground detection using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) is famous choice because of its good accuracy and low computational cost. There are several parameters (e.g., learning rate, mean, and variance) involved in the model and assigning appropriate values may lead to better foreground segmentation. This paper analyzes the effect of different parameters of GMM on the extraction of foreground. Furthermore, optimal parameter setting suitable in every background setting e.g. indoor, outdoor, and complex backgrounds, etc. is proposed. Standard datasets with indoor and outdoor sequences were tested.
Towards a holistic multi-level green performance indicator framework (GPIF) to improve the Energy Efficiency of data center operation - A resource usage-based approach

This paper presents our Green Performance Indicator Framework (GPIF) for operators to monitor the operational energy efficiency of Data Centers (DC/DCs). Therefore we analyze DC architecture and optimization of system interrelations, and review energy-efficiency metrics through the application of requirements and selection criteria. Based on the findings, our GPIF integrates Information Technology (IT) and ancillary site infrastructure perspectives on energy-performance and resources usage, and provides metrics on multiple levels of aggregation. Application of the GPIF will foster energy efficiency of DC operation through increased transparency.
Microchip analysis device for fixed Caenorhabditis elegans by tapered micro channel

We propose a microfluidic device to analyze the feature of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) from an electric property. In this device, we assessed the body size of C. elegans using the microchip in which a capacitance sensor was embedded. This device is mainly composed of two parts. One is a tapered micro channel. The tapered micro channel was used to immobilize C. elegans and directly measure the body size by an optical microscope. The other is a pair of electrode. The electrode is attached on the bottom of the tapered micro channel to measure the capacitance change. The capacitance change happens when C. elegans is placed in the gap between the electrodes. To measure the body size of C. elegans by capacitance change, the suspension with C. elegans was introduced from the inlet and then the solution was sucked through the tapered micro channel by negative pressure. When the suspension of C. elegans was sucked, the position of C. elegans was controlled in the tapered micro channel. The body size and the capacitance change of total 15 C. elegans were measured. The body size of C. elegans was measured by the digital optical microscope and the capacitance change was measured by the proposed microchip. By comparison with the result of two methods, we confirmed the capacitance change was related with the body size of C. elegans.
Child-Care Services and the Urban Labour Market. Part 1: The Urban Child-Care Market

In this two-part paper we examine some of the market characteristics of urban child-care services. Part 1 is concerned with theory. In it we review the contemporary child-care and preschool education service issue; consider questions of market efficiency and equity, and formulate these in a general equilibrium model which generates testable household labour-supply and service-supply functions. In part 2 we report on an empirical study in which aggregate versions of these functions are calibrated for the supply of labour from mothers with young children and for the supply of childminding services. We focus on the childminder sector, which is of interest as a personal social service that has traditionally been left to the private sector and as a private service with relatively easy entry and exit. These models yield interesting results which indicate on the one hand that access to child-care services is a binding constraint on female labour-market participation and on the other, that the supply of child-care services is quite unresponsive to demand.
Influence of interchannel spacing on the dynamical properties of multichannel quartz crystal microbalance

For a multichannel quartz crystal microbalance (MQCM) device, the key problem in design is to minimize the frequency interference between adjacent channels. In this paper, the effects of interchannel separation on the resonance frequencies and frequency interference of the device are studied. The results show that, for the channels with the same size, the resonant modes will appear alternatively, and the frequency interference keeps oscillating in a very small scope in the cases of large interchannel separations. Based on the studies, the considerations for MQCM design also are discussed.
An investigation on sampling technique for multi-objective restricted Boltzmann machine

Estimation of distribution algorithms are increasingly gaining research interest due to their linkage information exploration feature. Two main mechanisms which contribute towards the success of the algorithms are probabilistic modeling and sampling method. Recent attention has been directed towards the development of probabilistic building technique. However, research on the sampling approach is less developed. Thus, this paper carries out an investigation on sampling technique for a novel multi-objective estimation of distribution algorithm — multi-objective restricted Boltzmann machine. Two variants of a new sampling technique based on energy value of the solutions in the trained network are proposed to improve the efficiency of the algorithm. Probabilistic information which is usually clamped into marginal probability distribution may hinder the algorithm in producing solutions that have high linkage dependency between variables. The proposed approach will overcome this limitation of probabilistic modeling in restricted Boltzmann machine. The empirical investigation shows that the proposed algorithm gives promising result in term of convergence and convergence rate.
Neutrophil Fluorescence: A New Indicator of Cell Activation During Septic Shock–Induced Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

Objective:To investigate the contribution of neutrophil activation as innate immune cells during septic shock–induced disseminated intravascular coagulation. Design:Prospective study. Setting:One University Hospital ICU. Participants:Hundred patients with septic shock. Thirty-five patients had disseminated intravascular coagulation according to Japanese Association for Acute Medicine 2006 score. Intervention:None. Measurements and Main Results:Neutrophil chromatin decondensation was assessed by measuring neutrophil fluorescence (NEUT-side-fluorescence light) labeled by a fluorochrome-based polymethine reagent using a routine automated flow cytometer Sysmex XN20 (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan) and neutrophil-derived CD66b microparticles by prothrombinase assay. Measurements in disseminated intravascular coagulation and no disseminated intravascular coagulation patients showed that a mean value of NEUT-side-fluorescence light above 57.3 arbitrary units had a sensitivity of 90.91% and a specificity of 80.60% for disseminated intravascular coagulation diagnosis. NEUT-side-fluorescence light was correlated to the CD66b microparticles/neutrophil count, a surrogate of neutrophil activation associated with septic shock–induced disseminated intravascular coagulation. Conclusion:NEUT-side-fluorescence light, routinely available, could prove an accurate biomarker of neutrophil activation.
GEOGRAPHIC INCOME SHIFTING BY MULTINATIONAL-CORPORATIONS IN RESPONSE TO TAX RATE CHANGES

We investigate geographic income shifting by 191 U.S. multinational corporations in response to worldwide changes in tax rates during 1984-90. Between 1984 and 1986, the United Kingdom reduced corporate tax rates from a maximum of 45% to 35%, and in 1985 France reduced rates from 50% to 45%. Following these reductions in European rates, the United States reduced top corporate tax rates from 46% to 34% between 1986 and 1988. Canadian rates increased between 1984 and 1986 and then decreased through 1989. Beginning in 1988, numerous countries enacted tax cuts, apparently in response to those that occurred earlier in other countries. As discussed in section 3, differential changes in tax rates provide incentives for geographic income shifting by multinational firms. We identify two subperiods during 1984-90 in which relative tax rate changes
Managing Financial Emergencies in an Integrating World

Financial risks as well as opportunities now flow more freely across the borders of all but the poorest countries in the world. But globalizing finance became an observable fact before appropriate political structures were in place to steer it. The basic proposition that robust financial markets both rested on and reinforced the legitimacy of state power was decisively tested during the Great Depression. It is being tested again today. Two outcomes define the spectrum of policy choices in the medium run. One would return us to a version of the post-1945 order characterized by renewed barriers around national markets and strengthened home-country control of tightly regulated financial intermediaries. The second would entail the grand irony of states transcending one of the last bastions of sovereignty as traditionally conceived, namely autonomous fiscal authority. During the crises of 2007–2008, there were surprising, if opaque, moves in the latter direction. Tanto los riesgos financieros como las oportunidades fluyen ahora más libremente a través de las fronteras de todos menos de los países más pobres en el mundo. Pero la globalización financiera se convirtió en un hecho observable antes de que estuvieran establecidas las estructuras políticas apropiadas para manejarla. La proposición básica de que los mercados financieros robustos se basaran en la legitimidad del poder del estado, y que también la reforzaran, fue decisivamente sometida a prueba durante la Gran Depresión. Hoy día, nuevamente, se ha vuelto a poner bajo prueba. Dos resultados definen el espectro de la selección de política a medio plazo. El primero nos regresa a la versión del orden posterior a 1945, caracterizada por barreras renovadas alrededor de mercados nacionales y fortaleciendo el control del país local a los intermediarios financieros estrictamente regulados. El segundo conlleva la gran ironía de los estados trascendiendo uno de los últimos bastiones de la soberanía como se concibió tradicionalmente, es decir, la autoridad fiscal autónoma. Durante las crisis del 2007–2008, hubo sorpresivamente, aunque de una manera no muy clara, movimientos hacia la última dirección.
Older Workers’ Wage Demands: Relationships with the Quantity and Quality of Work Motivation

The present study investigates the role of work motivation in explaining older workers wage demands. Relying on Expectancy-Value Theory and Self-Determination Theory we identify aspects of the quantity (the overall valence attached to working and expectations concerning the feasibility of working) and quality (the type of aspired work goals and reasons for engaging in work) of older workers’ work motivation and empirically investigate relationships with their wage demands. Analyses on large sample of 1 782 workers aged 50 or more indicate that aspects describing the quantity or intensity of work motivation are differentially related to wage demands. Attaching high valence to work is negatively related to wage demands, whereas having strong expectations about being able to find another job is associated with higher wage demands. In addition, also the type of work goals one aspire matters: aspiring intrinsic work goals is associated with lower wage demands. Finally, we find interaction effects between both qualitative dimensions and between the value attached to working and engaging in work for autonomous reasons. These results show that differences in wage demands among older workers can be better understood by taking into account the quantity and quality of their work motivation.
Skills and occupational attainment: a comparative study of Germany, Denmark and the UK

This article investigates the impact of vocational education and training on labour market outcomes in Germany, Denmark, and the UK. Using the European Community Household Panel the article analyses how workers with vocational training fare in comparison to both their untrained counterparts and those with higher levels of general education. Three outcomes are examined: wages, the odds of being in a lower-skilled job, and the odds of being in professional employment. The results show that returns to vocational training differ markedly across the three countries studied.
Mitigation of atmospheric phase delay effects in SAR interferometry for volcanic activity monotoring using MODIS data and WRF model

The atmospheric phase delay when microwave propagates in troposphere can be severe and be misinterpreted as a surface deformation in differential SAR interferometry (DInSAR). The atmospheric phase delay errors are main difficulties in measuring the deformation caused by volcanic activities. In order to minimize the effects of atmospheric water vapor we calculated mesoscale atmospheric phase delay effects in DInSAR from the various atmospheric data such as WRF model, MODIS products, and radiosonde data. In addition, time-series analysis with atmospheric correction technique was carried out. We successfully minimize the atmospheric phase delay effects, misinterpreted as deformation, and measured the ground motion on the Shinmoedake volcano.
The chicken B‐cell receptor complex and its role in avian B‐cell development

Summary: The bursa of Fabricius is critical to normal B‐lymphocyte development in birds. During embryonic life, B‐cell precursors migrate to the bursal rudiment and those which have undergone productive V(D)J recombination colonize lymphoid follicles and undergo immunoglobulin V gene diversification by gene conversion. The chicken surface IgM complex appears structurally and functionally equivalent to its mammalian counterpart, with homologs to CD79a and CD79b. Expression of a truncated Ig chain is sufficient to drive the early stages of B‐cell development in the embryo bursa. Bursal cells expressing the truncated receptor complex proliferate in bursal follicles, and those which contain V gene rearrangements undergo V gene diversification by gene conversion. The bursa is a gut‐associated organ and antigen is focused to bursal lymphoid follicles after hatch. While expression of the truncated chain is sufficient to support B‐cell development in the embryo, B cells expressing this receptor are rapidly eliminated after hatch. We suggest the possibility that B‐cell development in the bursa after hatch is driven by encounter with antigen leading to redistribution of B cells within the lymphoid follicle, B‐cell proliferation and V gene repertoire development by gene conversion.
Revised Starling equation predicts pulmonary edema formation during fluid loading in the critically ill with presumed hypovolemia.

2741 should include 4,164 patients to show a significant difference in intensive care unit mortality. Additional knowledge concerning reactivation based on CMV DNA polymerase chain reaction would reduce the number of patients needed to show an adequately powered significant outcome difference. Cook and Limaye suggested us to analyze the elevation in anti-CMV immunoglobulin G rather than comparing patients with positive to patients with negative titers. We deliberately chose not to use titers because of a lack of specificity, as stated by Cook and Trgovcich (3). We agree that identifying high-risk patients using clinical and demographic parameters will be difficult. However, we think that an additional prospective study investigating risk factors for reactivation based on CMV DNA polymerase chain reaction would be useful. Identifying patients at risk for reactivation would limit the number of patients unnecessarily exposed to the myelotoxic effects of ganciclovir. Cook and Limaye stated that an interventional study is justified as long as there is a careful safety monitoring and adequate statistical power. Previous studies in mice infected with murine CMV show that reactivation is importantly reduced when administering ganciclovir. Histologic examination showed a reduced pulmonary fibrosis (4). The study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NCT01335932) is limited to patients intubated for acute lung injury and has the surrogate markers serum interleukin-6 level and its change between baseline and 14 days postrandomization as primary end points. Prophylaxis using ganciclovir or valganciclovir vs. placebo will be compared in 160 patients. This study is limited to a selected patient population more likely to benefit and is exploratory because surrogate markers are the primary end point. We look forward to the results of this study. The authors have not disclosed any potential conflicts of interest.
Radical strategic change in the global professional network: the “Big Five” 1999‐2001

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore and explain the dramatic organizational changes that took place over a relatively short time period in the five largest global professional networks, or GPNs – a group of organizations that were originally global accounting firms and traditionally accustomed to relatively gradual change.Design/methodology/approach – Begins by describing the background of divestiture and diversification in GPNs. The data were collected from the firms' web sites, interviews with GPN managers, e‐mail requests for information via Big Five web sites, and from reports in the newspapers and business press over the two‐year period to June 2001. Uses neo‐institutional theory to study the context, precipitating dynamics, and enabling dynamics of large‐scale organizational change, including the part played by governmental and regulatory forces.Findings – Explains the extent to which changes have occurred in a sample of countries in which these organizations operate, noting that the firm effects .
Motion detection with using theory of entropy

The traditional automatic smart image surveillance system can usually be used in the environment with still background. That is, the background image must not contain the moving objects. If there is waving ocean, waving tree, floating cloud, or raining in the background image, the traditional methods do not work well. In order to improve this problem, a new motion detection method based on the theory of entropy and combined a multi-periods Sigma-Delta background estimation algorithm is developed in this paper. Based on the theory of moving average, a moving thresholding method is designed in this paper to obtain a sequence of alarm announcements. Experiments are carried out for some samples with dynamic backgrounds to demonstrate the computational advantage of the proposed method.
Harmonisation of Accounting Measurement Practices in the European Community

Abstract This study attempts to determine the level of accounting harmonisation in the European Community by examining selected measurement practices from the 1992/93 annual reports of companies from Belgium, Denmark. France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands. Portugal and the UK. Harmonisation is tested using the chi-square statistic and measured using the / index. The chi-square statistic tests for the equality of the proportions of accounting measurement methods across countries. The / index measures the extent of concentration around a particular accounting measurement method. The results reveal that accounting for foreign currency translation of assets and liabilities, treatment of translation differences, and inventory valuation are harmonised, while accounting for fixed asset valuation, depreciation, goodwill, research and development costs, inventory costing, and foreign currency translation of revenues and expenses are not harmonised. The results also demonstrate that the extent of harmonisation .