Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constancy of Legislative Perceptions of Constituency Opinion

This article develops the dynamic implications of the Miller-Stokes model of constituency representation by exploring the extent to which there was constancy between two “generations” of French Socialist party candidates for the National Assembly from the same constituencies, in their perceptions of the opinions of their constituents. The data derive from personal interviews conducted with the candidates shortly after the legislative elections of 1967 and 1978. The phenomena discussed include the relationship between constancy of candidate perceptions and accuracy of candidate perceptions. The authors also examine the extent to which the candidates base their perceptions of district opinion on the political composition of their constituencies. That practice has daunting implications both for the comparative study of representation and for the representative process itself.
The Services and Supplier Choice Influences of Industrial Distributors

This article introduces the industrial distributor into the service industries literature. A comprehensive description of these middlemen is provided and the results of a 1986 survey are analysed. The findings relate to some characteristics of industrial distributors and to many of the services they perform. It is established that these firms are very service-intensive. The complexity of industrial distribution channels is examined and there is an analysis of the factors that influence how these middlemen select the producers whose products they carry.
Sources of Organizational Stress in Elite Sports Performers

This study extends recent research investigating organizational stress in elite sport. Fourteen international performers (7 men and 7 women) from a wide range of sports were interviewed with regard to potential sources of organizational stress. Consistent with Woodman and Hardy’s (2001a) theoretical framework of organizational stress in sport, four main categories were examined: environmental issues, personal issues, leadership issues, and team issues. The main environmental issues that emerged were selection, finances, training environment, accommodation, travel, and competition environment. The main personal issues were nutrition, injury, and goals and expectations. The main leadership issues were coaches and coaching styles. The main team issues were team atmosphere, support network, roles, and communication. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and in terms of their implications for sport organizations and personnel working with elite performers.
Combinatorial multi-armed bandits in cognitive radio networks: A brief overview

Combinatorial multi-armed bandit (MAB) problem can be used to formulate sequential decision problems with exploration-exploitation tradeoff. Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) in cognitive radio (CR) networks is one of important applications. In this work, we briefly overview combinatorial MAB problems with its possible applications to CR networks. We first investigate the standard MAB problems where a single player either explores an arm to gather information to improve its decision strategy, or exploits the arm based on the information that it has collected at each round. Then, we study the taxonomy of combinatorial MAB problems, in particular for multi-player scenarios with independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) rewards. Finally, we discuss limitations of existing works and interesting open problems.
Internet coordinated pet robot simulator based on MSRDS

This paper proposes a pet robot simulator (PRS), based on MSRDS, which supports interactively controlled two walking robots connected over network. To be pet robot simulator, modeling a commercial pet robot is performed and gait planning is also implemented. By using MSRDS software platform, we connect two robots which are displayed together but controlled separately over network. The two walking pet robots can be simulated interactively by joysticks. It seems to be an internet game for pet robots.
The measurement of productive efficiency in UK building societies

This study applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to 1992 accounting data for 57 UK building societies. DEA allows productive efficiency to be measured without specifying a functional form and without imposing any behavioural assumptions, which is particularly useful in a sector distinguished by mutual ownership. The paper sets out a number of possible objectives for the organizations and measures their relative efficiency under each specific definition. Considerable variation results from the alternate objective functions tested. Decomposing total efficiency into scale and technical components suggests that there is no optimal size of operation for building societies, but rather that specialization allows a variety of activities and organizational structures to exist within the sector
Extraction of IgE-Binding Components of Helicobacter pylori by Immunoblotting Analysis in Chronic Urticaria Patients

Background: An association between Helicobacter pylori and chronic urticaria has been suspected previously. An IgE-mediated pathway might be a possible link between H. pylori infection and chronic urticaria, and therefore we wanted to prepare an optimal H. pylori antigen to detect H. pylori-specific IgE antibodies in chronic urticaria patients. Methods:H. pylori antigen extracts were prepared in different ways to find the optimal antigen extract to be used in the assays. Immunoblotting was used to detect IgE-binding bands. The results were applied in an H. pylori RAST assay for specific H. pylori IgE antibodies in patient sera. Results: In immunoblotting, the largest number of IgE-stained bands were visualized in the washing fluids and sonicated extracts, while strong heating and denaturing treatments destroyed the epitopes for IgE binding, suggesting that they belonged to the flagellar structures of H. pylori. However, in H. pylori-specific RAST analysis, specific IgE was found only in 1 of 25 H. pylori-infected patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that although IgE-binding epitopes were found in H. pylori, H. pylori-specific IgE antibodies are not common in chronic urticaria, and the clinical significance of the IgE response is unclear.
Determination of left ventricular chamber stiffness from the time for deceleration of early left ventricular filling.

BACKGROUND A noninvasive measure of left ventricular (LV) chamber stiffness (KLV) would be clinically useful. Our theoretical analysis predicts that KLV can be calculated from the time for deceleration of LV early filling (tdec) by [formula: see text] where p = density of blood, L = effective mitral length, and A = mitral area. METHODS AND RESULTS We tested this hypothesis in eight conscious dogs instrumented for measurement of LV pressure (P) with use of a micromanometer and volume (V) with use of sonomicrometers. KLV was determined as the slope of the late diastolic portion of the LV P-V loop. KLV was varied from 0.99 +/- 0.35 to 2.58 +/- 0.92 mm Hg/mL with use of three graded doses of phenylephrine. We assumed that p = 1.0 and that L/A = 3.4. Thus, we predicted that KLV = (0.08/tdec)2. The LV filling pattern was determined from the derivative of LV volume (dV/dt). tdec was measured from peak early filling to the end of early filling. Predicted KLV and actual KLV were closely correlated (r = .94, SEE = 0.06 mm Hg/mL, P < .05). The regression line was close to the line of identity (slope = 0.95, intercept = 0.13 mm Hg/mL). Dobutamine did not alter the relation between tdec and KLV.tdec determined from the mitral valve flow velocity measured with Doppler echocardiography correlated well with that measured by dV/dt (r = .89, P < .01) but was 0.02 seconds longer. KLV-calculated tdec from the corrected Doppler tdec provided a good estimate of measured KLV (r = .75, SEE = 0.5 mm Hg/mL, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS LV chamber stiffness can be determined from the time for deceleration of LV early filling, which can be measured noninvasively.
Floating Exchange Rates in Developing Countries: the Case of Zambia

When Zambia introduced weekly foreign-exchange auctions in October 1985 in order to determine the value of the kwacha vis-à-vis the dollar, together with other measures aiming at liberalising external and internal trade and at restructuring the pattern of production, they were widely acclaimed as a model for reforms elsewhere in the continent. The Economist praised Zambia for ‘taking one of the bravest economic gambles that any African country has taken’,1 implying that even in the view of liberal commentators the Government ran a considerable risk in trying to implement this reform programme. The new measures enabled Zambia to reach a fresh stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund in early 1986, the previous one having broken down in 1985 because the authorities failed to meet the I.M. F. 's economic targets.
Implementing RADIUS and diameter AAA systems in IPv6-based scenarios

AAA (authentication, authorization and accounting) frameworks are defined as a set of models, infrastructures and protocols needed to interconnect AAA entities. They have been mainly deployed so far using the RADIUS protocol in IPv4 networks. However, when taking such AAA systems to IPv6 networks some interesting issues appear that need to be addressed. This is the main focus of this paper where both RADIUS and diameter protocols are deployed in different IPv6-related scenarios.
Community banking for development: The case of Community Bank in comparative perspective 1994–1996

The perception has existed that most formal financial institutions are incapable of breaking old habits. Traditional financial institutions are incapable, owing to the design of corporate governance, to deliver cost effective financial services to underdeveloped and marginalised poor people. The granting of microloans to the poor or the informal sector by financial intermediaries is seen as unprofitable. Despite strong demand for relatively small credit allocations, financial intermediaries are reluctant to supply credit to the poor or informal sector because of perceived high default rates, lack of collateral and high transaction costs. The latter involve two categories of cost, ie real resource costs of acquiring, screening, selecting and enforcing contracts, and gathering relevant information about the borrower, as well as the costs incurred in case of default due to imperfect information on informal sector activities. Further costs arise in providing service outlets in villages and small towns, or in the South African case, security-risk urban townships. The consequence of these considerations is that informal sector lending, or the provision of credit to the poor, has not been undertaken on any significant scale by formal sector financial intermediaries.
Pulmonary Tumor With Notochordal Differentiation: Report of 2 Cases Suggestive of Benign Notochordal Cell Tumor of Extraosseous Origin

Intraosseous benign notochordal cell tumor (BNCT) is a lesion postulated to be of notochordal cell origin. BNCT has recently been recognized as a potential precursor of classic chordoma, a rare malignant neoplasm usually presenting in the sacrococcygeal region, skull base, or mobile spine. Extra-axial chordoma is extremely rare, and only 2 cases of pulmonary chordoma have been reported previously. We describe herein 2 cases of hitherto-unreported lung tumors that were diagnosed as BNCT. The patients were a middle-aged asymptomatic man and woman who were each incidentally found to have a 15-mm pulmonary nodule on computed tomography. They underwent surgical resection of the tumors under a diagnosis of probable benign tumor of uncertain nature. Histopathologically, both tumors showed solid sheets of peculiar adipocyte-like univacuolated cells, multivacuolated cells, and less vacuolated cells with small, round nuclei and mildly eosinophilic cytoplasm. Mitosis was absent. These features were typical of BNCT. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells in both cases were positive for brachyury, a transcription factor essential for notochordal cell differentiation and for other markers of notochordal cells including cytokeratins, vimentin, and S-100 protein. Postoperatively, extensive radiographic examination of the whole body revealed no evidence of a primary tumor elsewhere, and both patients are alive and well, with no evidence of disease 1 year after surgery. These 2 cases raise the possibility of a new explanation for the histogenesis of extra-axial chordomas: BNCT may be a precursor lesion of not only conventional axial chordoma but also of extra-axial chordoma.
Optimal Monetary Policy in China

Using the structural vector autoregression model, we estimate the current responses of monetary policy to contemporaneous shocks from macroeconomic variables. Our findings indicate that the People's Bank of China responded to inflation and output changes, but did not react to asset price fluctuations during the period from January 1997 to March 2010. The optimal monetary responses to exogenous shocks are also examined. It is revealed that using asset prices to formulate monetary policy would not help to improve monetary authorities' performance in lowering the volatilities of output growth and inflation while keeping output growth and inflation in their safety zones. The effectiveness of monetary policy and fiscal policy in reacting to external shocks is also discussed.
Lobophytones O–T, New Biscembranoids and Cembranoid from Soft Coral Lobophytum pauciflorum

Chemical examination of a Chinese soft coral Lobophytum pauciflorum resulted in the isolation of five new biscembranoids named lobophytones O–S (1–5) and a new “monomeric” cembrane lobophytone T (6). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by interpretation of 1D and 2D NMR (COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) spectroscopic data in association with MS and IR data. Lobophytone Q showed significant inhibition against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) release in mouse peritoneal macrophages, while lobophytones Q and T showed inhibitory activities against the bacteria S. aureus and S. pneumoniae.
Surveying the Post-MFA Landscape: What Prospects for the Global South Post-Quota?

The editor's introduction to a special issue on the post-MFA apparel industry, this paper reviews the extant literature on the industry, especially with regard to upgrading and development implications for firms and workers in the global South, before summarizing the main contributions of the collection. The five papers comprising the special issue use a global commodity/global value chain approach to analyze the situation of apparel exporters and garment workers, including in Mexico, sub-Saharan Africa, India and China. These papers share a conceptualization of the global apparel industry as a single organizational field in which the experiences and trajectories of individual firms, countries and regions are tied to the dynamics of international trade and production networks. Taking as its point of departure the phase-out of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement, the collection demonstrates how regulatory shifts affect the governance structure of a global commodity/global value chain, how they shape prospects for developing-country firms and regions, and how multilateral liberalization at the global level articulates with regional trade regimes.
An integrative taxonomy of intellectual capital: measuring the stock and flow of intellectual capital components in the firm

Building on the resource-based view of the firm, an intellectual capital framework is suggested to identify and measure important resources that may provide sustainable competitive advantage. The difficulty of measuring and managing the elements of intellectual capital is a result of management's inherent tendency towards over-dependence on financial measures of performance. Typically, however, the intellectual capital assets of the firm are intangible and not easily amenable to financial measures as benchmarks. In attempting to operationalise the concept, the paper begins by developing an integrative taxonomy of intellectual capital based on recent literature. Each element of intellectual capital is then further developed by examining the various types of intangible assets that embody it. Using a software firm as an example, potential quantitative and qualitative indicators of the stock of intellectual capital within the firm are given. Direction towards measuring flows as indicators of intellectual capital strength is discussed.
On a Correct Measure of Inflation

Two commonly cited and newsworthy price indices are the Bureau of Labor Statistic's Consumer Price Index and the Commerce Department's GNP deflator. These indices have become an important part of our economic intelligence and are frequently considered to be the operational counterparts of what economists call "the price level. " They, therefore, often are used as measures of inflation and often are targets or indicators of monetary and fiscal policy. Nevertheless, these price indices, which represent measures of current consumption service prices and current output prices, are theoretically inappropriate for the purpose to which they are generally put. The analysis in this paper bases a price index on the Fisherian tradition of a proper definition of intertemporal consumption and leads to the conclusion that a price index used to measure inflation must include asset prices. A correct measure of changes in the nominal money cost of a giverl utility level is a price index for wealth. If monetary impulses are transmitted to the real sector of the economy by producing transient changes in the relative prices of service flows and assets (i.e., by producing short-run changes in "the" real rate of interest), then the commonly used, incomplete, current flow price indices provide biased short-run measures of changes in "the purchasing power of money. " The inappropriate indices that dominate popular and professional literature and analyses
Hypermetabolism in ALS: Correlations with Clinical and Paraclinical Parameters

Despite a reduction in fat-free mass (FFM), a hypermetabolism has been reported with an average of 10% in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients as compared with a healthy population. The objectives of this study were to confirm the level of hypermetabolism determined by using indirect calorimetry in 168 patients with a probable or a definite ALS and to study correlations with survival. Consecutive evaluations of resting energy expenditure (REE) were performed from diagnosis to the proximity of death in 44 ALS patients. Differences with the calculated value determined a ΔREE. FFM was given by bioimpedance. At T1, REE was significantly increased by an average of 14% as compared with the calculated value. 62.3% of ALS patients were considered as hypermetabolic. REE was correlated in univariate analysis with age, sex, clinical form at onset, presence of a denutrition, weight, FFM, phase angle and ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS). In multivariate analysis, REE was linked to age and FFM. ΔREE was correlated in univariate analysis with sex, phase angle and manual muscle testing (MMT). In multivariate analysis, age and sex remained significantly correlated. During progression of ALS, REE levels remained higher than calculated values with a trend to decrease at proximity of death, whereas FFM remained stable. From T1, survival was linked to MMT, ALSFRS, vital capacity, REE and phase angle. We confirmed the existence of a stable hypermetabolic state in ALS which depends mainly on age, sex and FFM. REE is a prognostic factor for survival in univariate analysis.
Smart Jamming Attacks in Wireless Networks During a Transmission Cycle: Stackelberg Game with Hierarchical Learning Solution

Due to the broadcast nature of the shared medium, wireless communications become more vulnerable to malicious attacks. In this paper, we tackle the problem of jamming in wireless network when the transmission of the jammer and the transmitter occur with a non-zero cost. We focus on a jammer who keeps track of the re-transmission attempts of the packet until it is dropped. Firstly, we consider a power control problem following a Nash Game model, where all players take action simultaneously. Secondly, we consider a Stackelberg Game model, in which the transmitter is the leader and the jammer is the follower. As the jammer has the ability to sense the transmission power, the transmitter adjusts its transmission power accordingly, knowing that the jammer will do so. We provide the closed-form expressions of the equilibrium strategies where both the transmitter and the jammer have a complete information. Thereafter, we consider a worst case scenario where the transmitter has an incomplete information while the jammer has a complete information. We introduce a Reinforcement Learning method, thus, the transmitter can act autonomously in a dynamic environment without knowing the above Game model. It turns out that despite the jammer ability of sensing the active channel, the transmitter can enhance its efficiency by predicting the jammer reaction according to its own strategy.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of CpsD negatively regulates capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae

In Streptococcus pneumoniae, the first four genes of the capsule locus (cpsA to cpsD) are common to most serotypes. By analysis of various in‐frame deletion and site‐directed mutants, the function of their gene products in capsular polysaccharide (CPS) biosynthesis was investigated. We found that while CpsB, C and D are essential for encapsulation, CpsA is not. CpsC and CpsD have similarity to the amino‐terminal and carboxy‐terminal regions, respectively, of the autophosphorylating protein‐tyrosine kinase Wzc from Escherichia coli. Alignment of CpsD with Wzc and other related proteins identified conserved Walker A and B sequence motifs and a tyrosine rich domain close to the carboxy‐terminus. We have shown that CpsD is also an autophosphorylating protein‐tyrosine kinase and that point mutations in cpsD affecting either the ATP‐binding domain (Walker A motif) or the carboxy‐terminal [YGX]4 repeat domain eliminated tyrosine phosphorylation of CpsD. We describe, for the first time, the phenotypic impact of these two mutations on polysaccharide production and show that they affect CPS production differently. Whereas a mutation in the Walker A motif resulted in loss of encapsulation, mutation of the tyrosines in the [YGX]4 repeat domain resulted in an apparent increase in encapsulation and a mucoid phenotype. These data suggest that autophosphorylation of CpsD at tyrosine attenuates its activity and reduces the level of encapsulation. Additionally, we demonstrated that CpsC is required for CpsD tyrosine phosphorylation and that CpsB influences dephosphorylation of CpsD. These results are consistent with CpsD tyrosine phosphorylation acting to negatively regulate CPS production. This has implications for the function of CpsC/CpsD homologues in both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria and provides a mechanism to explain regulation of CPS production during pathogenesis.
Vascularization in the transition area between free grafted soft tissues and pre‐irradiated graft bed tissues following preoperative radiotherapy in the head and neck region

The healing of free vascular grafts in a pre‐irradiated graft bed is characterized by an increased risk of wound healing disorders. For that reason, the aim of this study was to examine quantitative vascularization pattern between free vascular grafts and the pre‐irradiated graft bed as a function of the preoperative irradiation dose.