Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Corporate CIA---A Prediction of Things to Come

This paper presents the case that there will soon be a confluence of the technical capability, manpower and motivation for corporations to know their competitors much better than they do now. An argument is given that a recognized new corporate activity will develop whose mission will be to study competitors with a view to finding weaknesses which can be capitalized upon. A likely consequence of this development will be the growth of covert activities of a kind which are at least distasteful, are probably immoral and possibly are illegal. If the development of corporate CIA's takes place there will be a new and fascinating arena for analytic skills, but the practitioner will be faced with some very demanding questions of what shall constitute moral behavior.
Conveyer Belt Model to Analyze Cycle Time Conditions in a Semiconductor Manufacturing Line

It is indispensable to observe and control cycle time and throughput in a semiconductor manufacturing line to achieve competitive semiconductor manufacturing. It is especially important to control cycle time because any events in the line can cause delay in the cycle time and it becomes impossible to remedy the delay. We previously reported that lot arrival intervals could affect normalized cycle time (X-factor) and that this was an important factor to determine cycle time in a semiconductor manufacturing line (Inoue et al. (2005). This time, we created a new model that observes cycle time conditions and is useful for analyzing cycle time degradation on a manufacturing line. We call it a conveyer belt model and have found that it is valuable when visualizing and analyzing cycle time conditions. The proposed new model combined with queue time theory gives us an effective analysis of cycle time. As a result, this model is effective in the pursuit of cycle time design.
Why Does Financial Sector Growth Crowd Out Real Economic Growth?

We examine the negative relationship between the rate of growth of the financial sector and the rate of growth of total factor productivity. Using a panel of 20 countries over 30 years, we establish that there is a robust correlation: the faster the financial sector expands, the slower the real economy grows. We then proceed to build a model in which this relationship arises from the fact that investment projects that are easier to pledge as loan collateral have lower productivity. As the financiers improve their ability to recover collateral in default, entrepreneurs expect credit to grow more quickly. As a consequence, they choose to invest in more pledgeable/less productive projects, reducing total factor productivity growth. We take this theoretical prediction to the data and find that financial growth disproportionately harms industries the less tangible their assets or the more R&D intensive they are.
The Welfare Implications of Oil Privatization: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Norway's Statoil

The oil industry is of great economic significance to many countries, and privatisations of National Oil Companies (NOCs) have often been controversial, as have been the benefits from privatisation more generally. We conduct a social cost-benefit analysis of the partial privatisation of Norway’s Statoil and estimate net present welfare improvements of at least NOK 166 billion (US$18.4 billion) in 2001 money, which amounts to 11% of Norway’s GDP in that year. Savings on investment costs are the most important source of efficiency improvements, and two thirds of the overall benefits accrue at fellow stakeholders in Statoil-led operations. The state manages to capture 66% of the total welfare gain, with the remainder going to private shareholders and no changes to consumer surplus. It is shown that benefits from partial privatisation can be substantial, particularly if ownership change is supported by additional restructuring measures, and that privatisation can be structured with state involvement at several levels, aiming to maximise the public share of benefits.
Some Thoughts on the Nature and Purpose of House Price Studies

The paper examines the implicit assumptions made in hedonic studies of urban house prices. It is apparent that the technique can only be applied to city wide cross section analysis when sample data is capable of meaningful disaggregation. Previous uses of the technique are examined and it is suggested that the methodology is inappropriate for testing hypotheses derived from spatial residential models. Possible avenues of development for house price research are outlined.
Congenital anomalies in the offspring of military personnel?

Commentary on the paper by Mageroy et al (see page 92) Human reproduction is a complex process and can be affected in many phases by both host and environmental factors. Many studies have found it difficult to distinguish the occupational causes of congenital malformations from other factors related to parents’ characteristics and their living environment. The extrapolation of results of animal studies to humans is also complicated because there are structural and functional differences between the species, and the mechanisms of harmful effects are seldom known. At present, knowledge on the potential reproductive toxicity of even rather common occupational exposures is limited and only suggestive in many cases.1 The conception of an embryo involves the fertilisation of the ovum by a spermatozoon. If the ovum and/or spermatozoon is defective, the resulting embryo may die early or late in gestation (resulting in spontaneous abortion or miscarriage). If the defective embryo develops to term, the infant could present with stillbirth or congenital anomalies may be detected at birth or later in life. Another scenario is that the embryo is conceived by a normal ovum and spermatozoon, but in the process of development in the uterus, it is exposed to agents …
Minor head injury at paediatric age in Argentina.

BACKGROUND To evaluate epidemiologic factors in relation to paediatric head injury in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. METHODS Retrospective (12-month) and prospective (6-month) evaluations were carried out on a total of 2,492 children with head injury (age range 0-15 years), taking into account sex, age, cause of injury, time of injury, incidence of hospitalisation, and the occurrence of fractures on conventional X-ray and computarized tomography (CT) scans of the head. Data were compiled and analyzed through a register called "Traumatic Brain Injury Register". RESULTS From the total 2,492 children entered in the registry, 62% were males and 38% females. Age distribution was as follows: 33.5% from 0-2 years, 43.8% from 3-9 years, and 22.7% from 10-15 years. Falls were the main cause of head injury in children under 3 years of age, whereas car accidents prevailed among older groups (chi2 = 216.00, p<0.0001). Injuries occurred most frequently (84.7% of the cases) between 12:00 hrs and 24:00 hrs. From the total sample, 1,015 children (19.9%) required hospitalisation. Skull fractures were identified on conventional X-rays in 14.9% of the cases, and there was a direct relationship between skull X-rays and CT scans with respect to skull fractures (chi2 = 13.13, p<0.0001). The overall incidence of paediatric head injuries was 566 cases per 100,000 population and mortality rate was 4.65 per 1,000 head injuries. CONCLUSIONS Our figures revealed an overall incidence of paediatric head injuries, which is 2.97 higher than the international average, suggesting that accident prevention measures should be further implemented.
Magnetic Resonance Angiography and Evaluation of Cervical Arteries

Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of endarterectomy in selected groups of patients based primarily on percent diameter stenosis. Although measurement of stenosis in the clinical trials was established by conventional angiography, there is considerable interest in noninvasive alternatives. Magnetic resonance angiography, performed using time-of-flight methods or with contrast enhancement, is one of several alternatives for noninvasive carotid evaluation. Screening examinations are routinely performed for carotid stenosis. Preoperative evaluations based on one or a combination of noninvasive tests have been proposed, although these proposals are the subject of ongoing controversy. Evaluation of the vertebral arteries is more difficult and less well studied; however, the increasing availability of therapies for posterior circulation atherosclerotic narrowing is resulting in increased interest in this problem.
A Form-Based Approach to Natural Language Query Processing

We describe a methodology for processing data retrieval and update queries using a form-based natural language interface. For the purpose of illustration, we use computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) as the application domain. The interface consists of a set of fourth-generation interface tools (SQL forms), a set of form definitions, a lexicon, and a parser. The forms are developed from the functional and data models of the system. A form definition consists of a form name, a form object, a set of form fields, and a set of fragment grammars. A form object is a single or composite entity that uniquely identifies a form. Form fields consist of database fields whose values can be entered by users (user-defined), and others whose values can be derived by the system (system-defined). Fragment grammars are templates that identify the information requested by user queries. The lexicon consists of all words recognized by the system, their grammatical categories, synonyms, and associations (if any) with database objects and forms. The parser scans a natural language query to identify a form in a bottom-up fashion. The information requested by the user query is determined in a top-down manner by matching the fragment grammars associated with a form against the user query. Extragrammatical inputs with limited deviations from the grammar rules are supported. Elliptical queries are supported by deriving the missing information from those specified in previous queries and forms. Combining a natural language processor with SQL forms allows update queries and prevents violation of database integrity constraints, duplication of records, and invalid data entry.
Distance-mediated plasmonic dimers for reusable colorimetric switches: a measurable peak shift of more than 60 nm.

The first reconfigurable colorimetric DNA switches based on target DNA binding are reported. This DNA binding actuates a change in the interparticle distance between gold nanoparticle dimers. A significant spectral shift of 68 nm is achievable from on-off switching. The reconfigurability is possible owing to thiol and EDC-imidazole coupling which anchors the DNA linkers to the nanoparticles. The huge spectral shift allows the unaided eye to observe single target biomolecular binding event in real time under a darkfield microscope. The limit-of-detection for target molecules in PBS and human serum are 10(-13) M and 10(-11) M respectively. An improved fabrication strategy via asymmetric functionalization is also described, assisted by solid phase synthesis which minimizes the formation of trimers and multimers.
Host association and selection on salivary protein genes in bed bugs and related blood-feeding ectoparasites

Reciprocal selective pressures can drive coevolutionary changes in parasites and hosts, and result in parasites that are highly specialized to their hosts. Selection and host co-adaptation are better understood in endoparasites than in ectoparasites, whose life cycles may be more loosely linked to that of their hosts. Blood-feeding ectoparasites use salivary proteins to prevent haemostasis in the host, and maximize energy intake. Here we looked for signals of selection in salivary protein genes of ectoparasite species from a single genus (Cimex) that associate with a range of hosts including mammals (bats and humans) and birds (swallows). We analysed two genes that code for salivary proteins that inhibit platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction and may directly affect the efficiency of blood feeding in these species. Significant positive selection was detected at five codons in one gene in all bat-associated species groups. Our results suggest association with bats, versus humans or swallows, has posed a selective pressure on the salivary apyrase gene in species of Cimex.
Fiscal dependence on trade taxes and trade policy reform

The article focuses on fiscal implications of Structural Adjustment Loans (SALs), from an a priori standpoint and by reference to the experience of five countries. Three of these countries have had revenue enhancement after trade policy reforms, and the other two cases experienced revenue depletion. The central point which emerges from the study is that it is not clear that trade liberalisation leads to fiscal enhancement or fiscal depletion. Both a priori the orising and country analyses demonstrate that a range of outcomes is possible depending upon initial conditions and the components of any reform package.
Comparison of the square-wave and quasi-resonant topologies

The waveforms of a square-wave and a quasi-resonant dc-dc converter are examined in detail so that a comparison between the switching and conduction losses for each topology can be made. Using data from commercially available semiconductor devices, conservative estimates are then given for the switching frequency at which the resonant approach becomes advantageous. The effect of an isolation transformer on this comparison is also addressed.
Construction of Meaning in Socio‐Technical Networks: Artefacts as Mediators between Routine and Crisis Conditions

This article focuses on the construction of meanings taking place in organizational routinized innovation processes. The results of the single case study investigating the company Carmlod, which institutionalized a routine process for their innovations, show how boundary objects like standardized methods and designed objects facilitate the communication process within interdisciplinary teams. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that team members continue using the distinct meanings of the mutually shared object. They follow their strategies and goals according to their professional disciplinary knowledge. Only when a fundamental crisis takes place, in which nobody knows the right strategy to achieve a possible solution any more, do artefacts within the contingent space of manoeuvre become important. In the process, team members are forced to enter into a coercion‐free discourse within a socio‐technical network that allows them to come up with true innovation and genuine collectively shared meanings.
Adrenalectomy in dogs with adrenal gland tumors: 52 cases (2002-2008).

OBJECTIVE To evaluate predictors of survival time in dogs undergoing adrenalectomy and identify risk factors associated with adrenal gland tumor metastasis and vein thrombosis. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 52 dogs with primary adrenal gland tumors. PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed. Signalment, tumor features, and information from surgical procedures were evaluated to identify factors predictive of overall survival time, which was defined as the time from surgery until death. The association between metastasis or vein thrombosis and tumor type, size, and site (right or left adrenal gland) was investigated. RESULTS On the basis of results of univariate analysis, survival time was significantly shorter for dogs with adenocarcinoma, tumor major axis length ≥ 5 cm, metastasis, and vein thrombosis and when adrenalectomy was combined with an additional abdominal surgical intervention. On multivariate analysis, survival time was significantly shorter for dogs with an adrenal gland tumor with major axis length ≥ 5 cm and for dogs with metastasis or vein thrombosis. Significant associations were found between metastasis and adenocarcinoma and between vein thrombosis and tumors with major axis length ≥ 5 cm. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Dogs with an adrenal gland tumor with major axis length ≥ 5 cm, documented metastasis, or vein thrombosis had a poorer prognosis. Metastasis was more frequent in dogs with adenocarcinoma and vein thrombosis when tumors were ≥ 5 cm in length.
Telehealth for improved glycaemic control in patients with poorly controlled diabetes after acute hospitalization – a preliminary study in Singapore

We evaluated a disease management and education programme delivered via telephone support (TS) to patients with poorly controlled diabetes (HbA1c >7%). All eligible patients were invited to participate in the programme, which involved education on lifestyle modification and disease management delivered via three scheduled monthly calls by trained nurses. Patients who declined or could not be contacted acted as the controls (usual care, UC). A per protocol analysis was conducted using a mixed effect model for two subgroups with different baseline HbA1c levels (i.e. baseline HbA1c <8.0% and HbA1c ≥8.0%). A total of 2646 patients with diabetes were eligible for enrolment. Of these, 1391 participants had HbA1c measurements available. The study comprised 633 patients (46%) who completed the programme (TS), 598 (43%) who were not contactable or refused to participate at the first telephone call (UC) and 160 patients who dropped out. In the patients with HbA1c ≥8%, TS reduced the adjusted mean HbA1c by 0.38% (P = 0.022) but the reduction in diabetes-related admissions (4.2% lower adjusted mean admission rate) was not significant. In patients with HbA1c <8%, TS had no additional effect on glycaemic control or diabetes-related admission. Telephone support appeared effective in improving glycaemic control in patients with poor diabetes control.
Trend Analysis of Satellite Global Temperature Data

Global satellite data is analyzed for temperature trends for the period January 1979 through June 2009. Beginning and ending segments show a cooling trend, while the middle segment evinces a warming trend. The past 12 to 13 years show cooling using both satellite data sets, with lower confidence limits that do not exclude a negative trend until 16 years. It is shown that several published studies have predicted cooling in this time frame. One of these models is extrapolated from its 2000 calibration end date and shows a good match to the satellite data, with a projection of continued cooling for several more decades.
Computer Control of Multijointed Finger System for Precise Object-Handling

The computer control of a multijointed finger system is discussed. First, an overall view of the system is given, and the optimum operational direction of the fingers for manual tasks from their motional structure is determined. Primitive programs prepared for this system also are described. Second, the cooperative motion of two fingers is analyzed and control procedures are constructed for the fingers for locating objects at a desired position and in a desired orientation precisely under the condition such that each fingertip is considered globe-shaped. The cooperative motion of two fingers generating simultaneous finger operations is studied only in a situation in which the relative positions of the fingers and the grasped object are kept the same as those in the initial state. Third, the programming of several manual tasks is discussed, and experimental results are presented which verify the success made toward the programmable automation of manual tasks by multijointed fingers.
Recent Developments in Microbial Biotransformation and Biodegradation of Dioxins

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), commonly known as dioxins (PCDD/Fs), are toxic environmental pollutants formed from various sources. Elimination of these pollutants from the environment is a difficult task due to their persistent and ubiquitous nature. Removal of dioxins by biological degradation (biodegradation) is considered a feasible method as an alternative to other expensive physicochemical approaches. Biodegradation of dioxins has been extensively studied in several microorganisms, and details concerning biodiversity, biodegradation, biochemistry and molecular biology of this process have accumulated during the last three decades. There are several microbial mechanisms responsible for biodegradation of dioxins, including oxidative degradation by dioxygenase-containing aerobic bacteria, bacterial and fungal cytochrome P-450, fungal lignolytic enzymes, reductive dechlorination by anaerobic bacteria, and direct ether ring cleavage by fungi containing etherase-like enzymes. Many attempts have been made to bioremediate PCDD/Fs using this basic knowledge of microbial dioxin degradation. This review emphasizes the present knowledge and recent advancements in the microbial biotransformation, biodegradation and bioremediation of dioxins.
Acidic Fibroblast Growth Factor is Expressed Abundantly by Photoreceptors Within the Developing and Mature Rat Retina

In order to further understand the role(s) of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) in the development, differentiation and function of the central nervous system, we analysed the expression of the mRNA, and the presence and tissue distribution of the translated product, of one member of the FGF family, acidic FGF (aFGF), within the mammalian retina. Firstly, the relative abundance of aFGF mRNA was assayed in embryonic (between 14 and 17 days of gestation), postnatal (between 1 and 17 days after birth) and adult rat retina by quantitative reverse transcription‐coupled polymerase chain reaction amplification using specific aFGF oligonucleotides. The level of expression remained uniformly low throughout the embryonic period and until postnatal day 7. Therefore the quantity of aFGF mRNA increased rapidly, reaching 80% of adult levels by eye opening (postnatal day 13). Adult levels were three‐fold higher than at early developmental times. In situ hybridization of adult rat retina using specific antisense aFGF riboprobes revealed labelling in all cellular layers. Antisera raised against recombinant human aFGF revealed very little labelling of 4‐day postnatal retina, but by postnatal days 8 and 17 immunoreactive aFGF was localized mainly within the photoreceptor cell bodies. Western blots of retinal extracts derived from 17‐day embryonic, 4‐day postnatal and adult retina probed with the same antibody revealed a single immunoreactive band of the expected molecular weight (18 kDa) in all extracts. Thus aFGF is mostly transcribed and translated within the retina subsequent to the major steps of cell birth, migration and differentiation, and seems to be abundantly expressed by maturing photoreceptor cells.
The Effect of Aggregating Accounting Reports on the Quality of the Lending Decision: An Empirical Investigation

This paper reports on an empirical study concerning the stipulation that detailed financial information is more useful for lending decision making. Prior research and other evidence assert that the utility of more detailed data is greater than the utility of (condensed) aggregated data. Since the utility of using data cannot be evaluated in a direct manner, decision effects have been used as a surrogate measure. The primary result of this research shows that the perceived risk of the borrowing firm tends to be negatively influenced by the aggregation of financial reports only when the financial situation of that firm is marginal. This result, then, supports imputing a higher utility for detailed data, but only under certain conditions. A secondary result casts doubts on the strength of the predictive ability of financial ratios if not accompanied by financial information more detailed than that used in computing these ratios.