Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The control of marine biofouling on xerogel surfaces with nanometer-scale topography

Mixtures of n-octadecyltrimethoxysilane (C18, 1–5 mole-%), n-octyltriethoxysilane (C8) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) gave xerogel surfaces of varying topography. The 1:49:50 C18/C8/TEOS xerogel formed 100–400-nm-wide, 2–7-nm deep pores by AFM while coatings with ≥3% C18 were free of such features. Segregation of the coating into alkane-rich and alkane-deficient regions in the 1:49:50 C18/C8/TEOS xerogel was observed by IR microscopy. Immersion in ASW for 48 h gave no statistical difference in surface energy for the 1:49:50 C18/C8/TEOS xerogel and a significant increase for the 50:50 C8/TEOS xerogel. Settlement of barnacle cyprids and removal of juvenile barnacles, settlement of zoospores of the alga Ulva linza, and strength of attachment of 7-day sporelings were compared amongst the xerogel formulations. Settlement of barnacle cyprids was significantly lower in comparison to glass and polystyrene standards. The 1:49:50 and 3:47:50 C18/C8/TEOS xerogels were comparable to PDMSE with respect to removal of juvenile barnacles and sporeling biomass, respectively.
ECONOMIC AND MECHANICAL MODELS OF INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION

The author critically examines Gary Beckers attempt to integrate the theory of income distribution (intragenerational differences) with the theory of mobility (intergenerational differences) in an economic model of the family. He assesses Beckers "claims of distinctiveness integration explanatory power and surprise and [arrives] at a rather skeptical view of the contribution that the core of microeconomics has made to this study of the family. " A reply by Becker is included (pp. 514-8). (EXCERPT)
Probability of a unique crypto key generation based on finger's different images with two scanners

In practical cases, one finger is always scanned with different scanners at different time, which generates different fingerprint images. The key issue of the fingerprint-based cryptosystem is how to realize a unique crypto key from a fingerprint feature data which may differ from scanner to scanner. In this paper, the main difference between the fingerprint key-generation cryptosystems and the fingerprint-based recognition system was studied and a crypto key generation scheme based on one fingerprint image was proposed. The experimental results showed that about forty percent fingers can generate a same crypto key even if the images are from different scanners. That is to say, a unique crypto key could be generated based on different fingerprint images of one finger even these images were scanned with different scanners. This means the efforts of future work should be the technology of image quality checking and key generation scheme.
The Forecasting Newsvendor: Benefits of Improved Demand Forecasts When Acquisition Costs are Increasing

We investigate the supply strategy of a firm that faces uncertain seasonal demand. While additional demand information becomes available in the form of signals throughout a finite planning horizon, it also becomes more expensive to acquire the product. In this setting, we explore the tradeoff between increasing acquisition cost and benefits of improved demand forecast. First, we show that the optimal replenishment policy is a state-dependent base-stock policy, where the state represents a statistic of the observed signals. Then, we characterize the base stock policy and show that the optimal base stock level is a linear function of the last updated mean demand. We also discuss the impact of fixed ordering and information acquisition costs on the firm's supply strategy. Finally, using a special case of our main model, we characterize the conditions under which a responsive, frequent ordering strategy with information updating is valuable.
Relationship between fluoroscopic time, dose-area product, body weight, and maximum radiation skin dose in cardiac interventional procedures.

OBJECTIVE Real-time maximum dose monitoring of the skin is unavailable on many of the X-ray machines that are used for cardiac intervention procedures. Therefore, some reports have recommended that physicians record the fluoroscopic time for patients undergoing fluoroscopically guided intervention procedures. However, the relationship between the fluoroscopic time and the maximum radiation skin dose is not clear. This article describes the correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose and fluoroscopic time for patients undergoing cardiac intervention procedures. In addition, we examined whether the correlations between maximum radiation skin dose and body weight, fluoroscopic time, and dose-area product (DAP) were useful for estimating the maximum skin dose during cardiac intervention procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred consecutive cardiac intervention procedures were studied: 172 percutaneous coronary interventions and 28 cardiac radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) procedures. The patient skin dose and DAP were measured using Caregraph with skin-dose-mapping software. RESULTS For the RFCA procedures, we found a good correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose and fluoroscopic time (r = 0.801, p < 0.0001), whereas we found a poor correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose and fluoroscopic time for the percutaneous coronary intervention procedures (r = 0.628, p < 0.0001). There was a strong correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose and DAP in RFCA procedures (r = 0.942, p < 0.0001). There was also a significant correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose and DAP (r = 0.724, p < 0.0001) and weight-fluoroscopic time product (WFP) (r = 0.709, p < 0.0001) in percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. CONCLUSION The correlation between the maximum radiation skin dose with DAP is more striking than that with fluoroscopic time in both RFCA and percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. We recommend that physicians record the DAP when it can be monitored and that physicians record the fluoroscopic time when DAP cannot be monitored for estimating the maximum patient skin dose in RFCA procedures. For estimating the maximum patient skin dose in percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, we also recommend that physicians record DAP when it can be monitored and that physicians record WFP when DAP cannot be monitored.
Predicting the Financial Vulnerability of Charitable Organizations

This article describes a model that can be used to predict which nonprofit organizations are vulnerable to financial problems. The model is based on financial indicators developed by Tuckman and Chang (1991), adapts methodologies that have been developed in the for-profit sector to predict financial vulnerability, and was empirically tested using a multiyear Internal Revenue Service database provided by the National Center for Charitable Statistics. Both internal and external stakeholders can use the model when making allocation decisions during the strategic planning process and in evaluating financial risk.
Prevalence of HPV genotypes in cervical adenocarcinoma: a study in Greek women.

PURPOSE To study the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes among cervical adenocarcinomas in Greek women. METHODS The study group comprised 78 adenocarcinoma cases (20 in situ and 58 invasive). HPV DNA was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and HPV genotypes were identified by reverse hybridization. RESULTS There was a high prevalence of HPV infection both for in situ (95%) or invasive (94.83%) adenocarcinomas, comprising also cancers of unusual morphology. HPV 16 was the commonest strain (N=57, 73.08%) followed by HPV 18 (N=28, 35.90%). Interestingly, 13 cases (16.67%) were also HPV 52 positive (as co-infection with HPV 16 or 18). All other strains with the exception of HPV 66 were found only as co-infections. No significant age difference was noted in terms of any HPV strain positivity. CONCLUSIONS HPV DNA was found in the large majority of cervical adenocarcinomas. As opposed to other studies, HPV 52 was the third most commonly encountered strain after HPV 16 and HPV 18. The above findings would probably be of help in decision making concerning vaccination policy for the prevention of HPV infection in Greece.
Quantitative requirements in undergraduate business courses : the case study of Victoria University of Technology

Business educators and employers recognize the importance of quantitative methods to business professionals, and subjects in quantitative methods are among the most frequentiy required in the business undergraduate curriculum. However, both business employers and graduates have expressed some dissatisfaction with business education and comment that school ttaining fails to prepare graduates adequately for the particular needs of business organisations. Because of recent changes in technology in the business environment, business educators need to understand what employers consider important, what quantitative methods are required in industry, and how education in quantitative methods can best be prepared in order to meet the needs of business in the 21st century. This research study attempts to answer these questions by investigating the content of quantitative programs offered at the Victoria University of Technology, the effectiveness of associated teaching methods in undergraduate business comses and the viewpoints of final-year students, graduates, educators and business employers about the courses.
Evaluation of insulin resistance in normoglycemic patients with coronary artery disease

Insulin resistance is clearly associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in diabetics. Insulin resistance may also be present in normoglycemic individuals, and some of these patients can be diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome (MS) according to various definitions. However, the relationship between hyperinsulinemia and CAD is obscure in normoglycemic individuals, especially in patients who do not meet the criteria for MS.
Review of ICT Adoption Research in Arabic Countries: Trends and Future Research

Information systems IS researchers have intensively investigated information and communication technology ICT adoption. However, very little research has analyzed ICT adoption in the Arab region. This paper aims to review research related to ICT adoption in the Arab world to identify the current state of this research area and provide direction for future research. Fifty articles that addressed ICT adoption in three Arabic countries, namely United Arab Emirates UAE, Jordan, and Egypt, were found and selected for review. These articles were analyzed based on a research framework that included eight elements: the selected Arabic countries, applied theoretical models, adoption factors, type of adopted ICT, applied research methods, level of adoption, publication year, and quality of publications i.e. journals ranking. This paper discusses the current trends of ICT adoption research in the Arab region based on the findings of this analysis and provides two main directions for future research: conceptual and theoretical research development and methodological research.
Factor Price Changes and Factor Substitution in an Evolutionary Model

This paper argues that economists have been schizophrenic regarding the theory of the firm in a competitive industry. In much (but not all) of their formal mathematical modeling, maximization and equilibrium are taken literally. Ordinarily, however, both maximization and equilibrium are interpreted as tendencies in the verbal articulation. Such a "tendency" theory, which is thought by many economists to be closer to reality, is believed to be intrinsically difficult to formalize in such a way as to obtain verifiable theorems -- for example, that a shift in the ratio of the factor prices will induce the industry to change factor proportions in the opposite direction. This paper offers a more optimistic view of the prospects for formalizing this tendency approach. A formal evolutionary model is presented in which essentially neoclassical conclusions regarding the effect of factor prices on factor ratios are deduced without any recourse to concepts either of maximization or industry equilibrium.
Struggling on the Newstart unemployment benefit in Australia: The experience of a neoliberal form of employment assistance

The low level of the Newstart (unemployment benefit) payment has become a major source of concern about Australia’s willingness and ability to protect unemployed Australians from poverty. Despite this disquiet, there has been little scholarly examination of the implications of living on Newstart. In this article, through the use of a survey and in-depth interviews, we examine features of everyday life for Newstart recipients in the Sydney area, experiences that reveal the scarring potential of low benefits. The article illustrates that for a majority of interview participants, the most basic items were difficult to purchase and many of the interviewees were living in inadequate and even unsafe situations owing to an inability to afford satisfactory accommodation. For some, their lack of disposable income had severe health implications. Social isolation was a common phenomenon, and many of the interviewees found that the low payment made finding employment a lot more challenging.
Direct Evidence on the Informational Properties of Earnings in Loan Contracts

Using a sample of firms that disclose the realizations of earnings used for determining covenant compliance in loan contracts, we provide direct evidence on the informational properties of earnings used in the performance covenants included in debt contracts. We find that the earnings measure used in performance covenants does not exhibit asymmetric loss timeliness and has significantly greater cash flow predictive ability than GAAP measures of earnings. We suggest that these results reflect the idea that contracting parties design accounting rules for performance covenants to enhance their efficacy as “tripwires. ”
Urban Regeneration for Sustainable Development: The Role of Sustainable Housing?

This article examines the extent to which a number of urban regeneration approaches involve sustainable housing. Specifically, it assesses the potential of eco-neighbourhoods, urban villages and new urbanism to contribute to sustainable regeneration. The article highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each approach from a sustainable housing perspective and, in particular, evaluates the extent to which the environmental and social aspects are addressed in each. It concludes that both aspects are frequently neglected in regeneration programmes and that this is likely to result in unsustainable urban renewal in many cities.
Estrogen‐withdrawal migraine

Prophylaxis of menstrual migraine was attempted in five women, using estradiol implants. The treatment was successful in suppressing ovulation and in producing high, although fluctuating, levels of estradiol in the plasma. Clinically this was associated with severe menstrual disturbance. The regular periodicity of the headaches was lost, but clinical benefit was unpredictable, with some patients actually experiencing more headaches than before the treatment. The administration of progesterone against a background of prolonged exposure to high estrogen levels did not provoke migraine, nor in any case did its subsequent withdrawal result in migraine. These findings cast further doubt on the importance of progesterone withdrawal in the etiology of menstrual migraine.
Pumping Insulin During Exercise

IN BRIEF: Exercise can decrease insulin resistance in most people. Insulin pumps deliver precise insulin adjustments that improve fuel availability and provide glycemic control to help diabetic patients overcome obstacles to exercise. Diabetic patients, their physicians, and their healthcare providers should be familiar with the features and nuances of specific pump models and follow some basic guiding principles for exercise to create the most normal metabolic response possible.
Characterization of the RokA and HexA Broad-Substrate-Specificity Hexokinases from Bacteroides fragilis and Their Role in Hexose and N-Acetylglucosamine Utilization

ABSTRACT Bacteroides fragilis, a human gastrointestinal commensal and an opportunistic pathogen, utilizes simple and complex sugars and polysaccharides for growth in the large intestine and at sites of infection. Because B. fragilis lacks transport-linked sugar phosphorylation systems, cytoplasmic kinase(s) was expected to be required for the phosphorylation of hexoses and hexosamines. We have now identified two hexose kinases that are important for growth of B. fragilis on glucose, mannose, and other sugars. One kinase (RokA), a member of the ROK family of proteins, was found to be the sole kinase for activation of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG). The other kinase (HexA) is responsible for the majority of the glucose kinase activity in the cell, although a hexA deletion mutant strain was not defective for growth on any substrate tested. Deletion of both the rokA and hexA kinase genes resulted in inability of the cell to use glucose, mannose, NAG, and many other sugars. We purified RokA and determined its approximate molecular mass to be 36.5 kDa. The purified RokA protein was shown to phosphorylate several substrates, including glucose, NAG, and mannose, but not N-acetylmannosamine or N-acetylneuraminic acid. Phylogenetic analysis of RokA showed that it is most similar to kinases from the Cytophaga-Flavibacterium-Bacteroides group, while HexA was most similar to other bacterial hexokinases and eukaryotic hexokinases.
Longevity risk and survivor derivative pricing

Purpose - Longevity risk, that is, the uncertainty of the demographic survival rate, is an important risk for insurance companies and pension funds, which have large, and long-term, exposures to survivorship. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to describe this demographic survival risk. Design/methodology/approach - The model proposed in this paper satisfies all the desired properties of a survival rate and has an explicit distribution for both single years and accumulative years. Findings - The results show that it is important to consider the expected shift and risk premium of life table uncertainty and the stochastic behaviour of survival rates when pricing the survivor derivatives. Originality/value - This model can be applied to the rapidly growing market for survivor derivatives.
A Review of Business Intelligence Techniques for Mild Steel Defect Diagnosis

In this competitive era, manufacturing companies have to focus on the quality of the produced products. The quality of the product produced is affected by many influential parameters during the process. The product once produced with a lower quality then usually ends up with incurring loss in certain terms to the company. Hence, it is extremely important to know the defect causing parameters and perform defect diagnosis. Various techniques like SPC-SQC, Six-Sigma and Kaizen have been used for quality analysis. But since last few years machine learning and data mining is being used for analysis due to advancement in the field and its advantages. This paper conducts an analytical survey of various business intelligence techniques used in for defect diagnosis. The paper concludes with the analytical results as random forest performs the best in terms of performance compared to other techniques and shows the future research scope in this area. Moreover, we find that random forest has not been introduced yet in steel defect diagnosis.
A principal-component approach to measuring investor sentiment

The usefulness of the investor sentiment measure in the stock market has received increasing attention in recent years. Various measures of investor sentiment have been proposed over the last two decades. Early studies, such as Lee et al. (1991), Swaminathan (1996) and Neal and Wheatley (1998), use closed-end fund discounts as a proxy for market sentiment. Since both closed-end funds and small stocks are mainly owned by individual investors, the sentiment affects the returns of small stocks in the same way as it influences closed-end funds. Otoo (1999) studies the survey-based Michigan consumer confidence index and finds a strong positive relationship between consumer sentiment and stock prices. Kumar and Lee (2002) construct a measure of individual investor sentiment based on the buy–sell imbalance and show that it has incremental explanatory power for small stocks, value stocks and stocks with low institutional ownership. Fan and Yao (2003) propose a composite index which contains the information of various market indicators.x Brown and Cliff (2004) use a vector autoregressive framework to explain the mutual influence between the sentiment measure, market returns and volatility. It is shown that investor sentiment measures have little explanatory power for short-term stock returns. Baker and Wurgler (2006) construct a measure of stock market sentiment based on the common variation of the closed-end fund discount, NYSE share turnover, the number of IPOs, the average first-day returns on IPOs, equity share in new issues and dividend premium. They show that stocks with highly subjective valuations and
Plasmon properties of doped or gated graphene nanoribbon arrays with armchair shaped edges

The exceptional ability to manipulate the electromagnetic response of two-dimensional graphene-like structures at the nanoscale, due to plasmon excitations, has paved the way for new challenges in electronics and photonics. Practical applications have stressed the key role played by the edges of the nanomaterials, which generate peculiar plasmon modes interfering with the usual bulk or surface modes of the ideal (infinitely extended) systems. In particular, recent spectacular experiments have cast light into the spatial dispersion of confined plasmon oscillations in graphene nanoribbon arrays, detecting and resolving a onedimensional (edge) mode from a two-dimensional (surface) mode. On the theoretical side, a number of semi-phenomenological and parameter-dependent approaches have been able to catch the main features of the plasmon response from diverse types of nanoribbon structures, explicitly including edge-roughness effects. Nonetheless, current synthesized nanoribbon sizes have made it possible to test more self-consistent atomistic strategies, based on time-dependent density functional theory. Recently, some noteworthy ab initio calculations of this type have shown how edge and surface plasmon modes are generated and interact in the narrowest nanoribbon arrays (1 nm wide). The shape and dispersion of these modes have been simulated by a probe particle (electron or photon) with incident momentum parallel to the ribbon axis. Here, we extend these previous results and investigate how the interplay of edge and surface plasmons is modulated by the ribbon width, in a range of 0.7 to 3 nm. We thus suggest and recommend using density functional theory based methods to extend current views on the plasmonics of low dimensional materials.
The Role of the Automatic Stabilizers in Modern Economy

Automatic stabilizers as a factor of cyclical fluctuations stabilization attract economists' attention for several decades. This paper deals with the mechanisms through which automatic stabilizers influence economy and positive and negative effects on aggregate demand they can produce. It is common when discussing automatic stabilizers to put the accent on certain tax categories, such as personal income tax and corporate income tax, оr some public expenditures, such as unemployment benefits and social protection. Given that, here only fiscal stabilizers will be discussed, although some nonfiscal categories also demonstrate stabilizing impact.