Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study on weakness and improvement of Cloud Shredder

Recently, almost all data have been stored and managed by digital types because of development of IT infrastructure. Digital data has the advantage of huge data that can be stored in very small space. However, there is a risk that a large amount of data can be leaked if disk which stored digital data is stolen or lost. Currently, digital data is protected by encryption method to prevent data leaking. However, the encryption method is not enough to protect data because the performance of attack system is higher and the attack methods are various. Therefore, there is a need for a new advanced data protection method. There have been a variety of research methods such as Cloud Shredder which is to maintain local storage and cloud storage for solving this problem. In this paper, we identify the problem of the existing method and propose an advanced method of digital data protection to solve that problem.
TNF‐α reduces the Na+/K+ ATPase activity in LLC‐PK1 cells by activating caspases and JNK and inhibiting NF‐κB

TNF‐α has recently been implicated in diabetic nephropathy, which is usually accompanied by higher sodium retention. The kidneys play a major role in sodium homeostasis by regulating tubular sodium reabsorption, a process geared by the sodium gradient established by the Na+/K+ ATPase. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of TNF on the ATPase, and consequently its implication in kidney malfunction, using LLC‐PK1 cells. The cytokine reduced the Na+/K+ ATPase activity significantly. In an attempt to elucidate the signalling pathway involved, PDTC (pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate), SP600125 and FK009 respectively inhibitors of NF‐κB, c‐JNK and caspases, were added to the cells in the presence and absence of TNF, and changes in the activities of JNK and PDTC were determined. The activity of the pump was assayed by measuring the ouabain‐inhibitable release of inorganic phosphate. The effect of the cytokine was abrogated completely when JNK and caspases were inhibited but was unaffected by NF‐κB inhibition. The role of each mediator in the signalling cascade was studied further by applying different combinations of the inhibitors. TNF‐α was found to act at 1 h by activating caspases, which in turn activate JNK; the latter exerts an inhibitory effect on NF‐κB, a transcription factor that stimulates the Na+/K+ ATPase when active. It was concluded that TNF‐α exerts opposite effects on the Na+/K+ ATPase at different times, though the effects are always mediated via cJNK, NF‐κB and caspases.
Finanças comportamentais: aplicações no contexto brasileiro

Behavioral Finance is a line of study of Finance which has as its objective the review and the improvement of the modern economic and financial model through the addition of evidences about investor’s irrationality. The article brings a review of the first international papers about the subject. It gives, as well, an account of the studies about the identification of these anomalieson the Brazilian stock market and a research about the major qualities and deficiencies of the Behavioral Finance model that make this study one of the most controversial subjects within the contemporary world of Finance.
The Image of the Slav in U.S. History and in Immigration Policy

BY A SERIES OF discriminatory immigration laws, culminating in the Quota Act of 1924, the Slav was assigned to the category of "inferior" nations and "races. " How did this attitude come about? It was the result of a rather strange combination of forces produced by labor, industrialists, farmers, exuberant nationalists, racists, and intellectuals (like historians and sociologists). These influences converged to produce both the ideology out of which the legislation was fabricated and the pressure that brought about its enactment. ' That immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, particularly from the Balkans, were inherently inferior was one racist assumption. That they could not be assimilated was another. The goal of those who held these ideas was, of course, to effect a decrease in the total number of immigrants entering the United States. But it was not only that. They sought also to set up a formula which would favor the entry of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe while keeping the number of the unfavored groups to a minimum. Both racial assumptions and the ideology of Anglo-Saxon conformity have been built-in features of this policy, even though Americans claimed generally to be opposed to racism abroad (Hitlerism especially) or at home-racial segregation in the schools and economic and social discrimination against the Negro and other minority groups notwithstanding.
To Give or Not to Give? - Equity, Efficiency and Altruistic Behavior in a Survey-Based Experiment

This paper presents the results of a survey-based experiment on the role of equity and efficiency for altruistic behavior. Using simple binary decisions for a representative pool of subjects, we find that both equity and efficiency are relevant for the decision to give. However, contrary to the findings in several laboratory experiments, our results indicate that equity plays a major role for altruistic behavior. Differences in relative payoffs have a significant effect on the decision to give. When giving is not costly, more than half of the subjects prefer equal payoffs to a socially efficient but unequal allocation. When giving is Pareto-improving, half the subjects choose to sacrifice a higher payoff in order to avoid payoff inequality. We also find that preferences, as revealed by experimental choices, are largely consistent with reported pro-social activities, while only weakly related to self-reported well-being.
Proposed Framework for Assessing Human Capital: Derivation of the Human Capital Index and Its Application

The measurement of human capital is a challenging task for both researchers and professionals. Numerous studies have been undertaken to formulate a technique which can comprehensively encapsulate the various dimensions of human capital. However, there is a need to develop a technique that measures human capital by capitalizing on its intangibles aspects. The study therefore proposes a framework that captures both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of human capital by assigning weights for different dimensions of human capital. By applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique to the case of the textiles industry in Pakistan, we have derived a human capital index, consisting of 9 main dimensions and 36 sub-dimensions. Each of the dimensions and sub-dimensions of human capital has been prioritized according to its importance. The results for the textiles industry in Pakistan reveal that the sub-dimensions of experience rank highest, followed by skills and turnover. The framework introduced in this study can be adopted to derive the human capital index for various industries and sectors.
Suboptimal in vitro culture conditions: an epigenetic origin of long‐term health effects

The foetal origins of adult diseases or Barker hypothesis suggests that there can be adverse in uterus effects on the foetus that can lead to certain diseases in adults. Extending this hypothesis to the early stages of embryo development, in particular, to preimplantation stages, it was recently demonstrated that, long‐term programming of postnatal development, growth and physiology can be irreversibly affected during this period of embryo development by suboptimal in vitro culture (IVC). As an example, it was found in two recent studies that, mice derived from embryos cultured in suboptimal conditions can suffer from obesity, increased anxiety, and deficiencies on their implicit memory system. In addition, it was observed that suboptimal IVC can cause disease in mature animals by promoting alterations in their genetic imprinting during preimplantation development. Imprinting and other epigenetic mechanisms control the establishment and maintenance of gene expression patterns in the embryo, placenta and foetus. The previously described observations, suggest that the loss of epigenetic regulation during preimplantation development may lead to severe long‐term effects. Although mostly tested in rodents, the hypothesis that underlies these studies can also fit assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures in other species, including humans. The lack of information on how epigenetic controls are lost during IVC, and on the long‐term consequences of ART, underscore the necessity for sustained epigenetic analysis of embryos produced in vitro and long‐term tracking of the health of the human beings conceived using these procedures. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 74: 1149–1156, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Objective Evaluation of Insert Material for Diabetic and Athletic Footwear

Five of the most commonly used materials for shoe inserts (soft Plastazote, medium Pelite, PPT, Spenco, and Sorbothane) were objectively evaluated in the laboratory to characterize their behavior in the following three specific functions that correspond to clinical use: (1) the effect on the materials of repeated compression. (2) the effect of a combination of repetitive shear and compression. (3) the force-distribution (force-attenuation) properties of these materials, both when new and after repeated compression. The last function represents a model for relief of pressure beneath plantar bony prominences, a topic of special concern for the insensitive foot.
N-Terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Associations With Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Features in Middle Age: The CARDIA Brain MRI Study

Objective As part of research on the heart–brain axis, we investigated the association of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with brain structure and function in a community-based cohort of middle-aged adults from the Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging sub-study of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Approach and results In a cohort of 634 community-dwelling adults with a mean (range) age of 50.4 (46–52) years, we examined the cross-sectional association of NT-proBNP to total, gray (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes, abnormal WM load and WM integrity, and to cognitive function tests [the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), the Stroop test, and the Rey Auditory–Verbal Learning Test]. These associations were examined using linear regression models adjusted for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac output. Higher NT-proBNP concentration was significantly associated with smaller GM volume (β = −3.44; 95% CI = −5.32, −0.53; p = 0.003), even after additionally adjusting for cardiac output (β = −2.93; 95% CI = −5.32, −0.53; p = 0.017). Higher NT-proBNP levels were also associated with lower DSST scores. NT-proBNP was not related to WM volume, WM integrity, or abnormal WM load. Conclusion In this middle-aged cohort, subclinical levels of NT-proBNP were related to brain function and specifically to GM and not WM measures, extending similar findings in older cohorts. Further research is warranted into biomarkers of cardiac dysfunction as a target for early markers of a brain at risk.
Are blue chip stock market indices good proxies for all-shares market indices? The case of the Brussels Stock Exchange 1833–20051

In this article, we calculate a market-weighted return index for the 20 largest stocks listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange over the period 1833–2005, based on a new, unique and high-quality database. We find that this index captures the most important stylised facts of the value-weighted return of all shares listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange in this period. Our results support the empirical practice of concentrating on just the largest stocks. The indices we construct are based on one of the longest Belgian time series available. The indices take into account the exact dividends, the timing of the dividend cash flows and all capital operations. We are therefore able to decompose total returns into capital gain returns and dividend returns, which is not possible with most historical return series. We show that, to construct a credible return index, it is crucial to fully take into account dividends.
Reform Politics through the Creation of Inefficient Political Institutions: The Case of the 2007 Danish Administrative Reform

This article poses the question of whether reform politicians' pursuit of institutional goods may, under certain circumstances, lead to the creation of inefficient political institutions. The theory of weakening political actors through the creation of inefficient political institutions, as elaborated by Terry M. Moe, is applied in a comparative analysis of two main elements in the recent Danish administrative reform: the consolidation of 270 municipalities into 98 larger ones, and the creation of five new macro regions with special responsibilities. In contrast to the coherent institutional structure of the municipalities, the level of coherence in the regional reform elements is inappropriate and inefficient. The article shows that the different institutions in the municipalities and the regions can be interpreted as an attempt by the (national) reform parties to prevent other political actors from gaining access to future substantial, as well as institutional, goods.
Proteolytic activation of tick-borne encephalitis virus by furin

Flaviviruses are assembled intracellularly in an immature form containing heterodimers of two envelope proteins, E and prM. Shortly before the virion exits the cell, prM is cleaved by a cellular enzyme, and this processing step can be blocked by treatment with agents that raise the pH of exocytic compartments. We carried out in vivo and in vitro studies with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus to investigate the possible role of furin in this process as well as the functional consequences of prM cleavage. We found that prM in immature virions can be correctly cleaved in vitro by recombinant bovine furin but that efficient cleavage occurs only after exposure of the virion to mildly acidic pH. The data suggest that exposure to an acidic environment induces an irreversible structural change that renders the cleavage site accessible to the enzyme. Cleavage by furin in vitro resulted in biological activation, as shown by a 100-fold increase in specific infectivity, the acquisition of membrane fusion and hemagglutination activity, and the ability of the envelope proteins to undergo low-pH-induced structural rearrangements characteristic of mature virions. In vivo, prM cleavage was blocked by a furin inhibitor, and infection of the furin-deficient cell line LoVo yielded only immature virions, suggesting that furin is essential for cleavage activation of flaviviruses.
Redefining the Boundaries? Making Sense of Career in Contemporary New Zealand

This paper outlines the results from an exploratory research project into individual perceptions of career in the changing world of work. The aim was to understand how individuals were making sense of and enacting their career. Three organisations, which had all undergone significant change, were used to identify participants whose stories were generated either through qualitative surveys and interviews. From data analysis using the NUD•ist software program, six themes were generated illustrating patterns of ideas running through the data. These themes were then used to address the research aims of investigating current interpretations of career in New Zealand. Overall, it was found that contemporary workplace changes have impacted on career meaning and subjective interpretations of career have been externalised. These conclusions have practical implications for career practitioners, human resources managers and individuals in their own career planning.
Debugging protocol for remote cross development environment

To develop the applications for Internet appliances, embedded software development tools need various host tools such as cross compilers and binary utilities as well as a remote debugger, an interactive shell, and real time resource monitors. The heavy host-target communication overhead and inconsistency caused by various host tools make target monitor programs more complex. The authors propose a debugging protocol for these tools that supports several host-resident tools under the existence of RTOS. To abstract the details of the target systems, we have developed a target agent running as a task on the RTOS. The target agent is the counterpart of the host agent that supports host tools through communication over UDP/IP. The proposed architecture is implemented and tested on Esto (Embedded Systems Toolset), a development tool for Internet based embedded applications.
An enhanced buffer management for improving performance with considering handover in WiMedia WLP-based networks

When a mobile node moves to a congested new BS with a general bottleneck link, a new buffer management scheme is proposed to improve utilization of the radio link. The proposed buffer management scheme determines the disposal of buffered packets depending on the degree of congestion. The proposed buffer management approach with considering the handover (Handover-based RED: HRED) provides a new disposal standard for the handover packets and improves throughput of existing flows. The simulation results confirm that the proposed buffer scheme can improve the link utilization performance about crowded wireless link.
An Examination of Internal Auditor Objectivity: In‐House versus Outsourcing

The internal audit function is evolving from its traditional oversight function to one that includes a wider spectrum of activities that add value to their organizations. In addition, economic pressures have forced many companies to consider outsourcing as an alternative. These ongoing changes have caused some concern regarding the potential lack of objectivity and independence for internal auditors. This exploratory study examines whether outsourcing of the internal audit function is susceptible to client advocacy vis‐a`‐vis in‐house auditing, which itself may be sensitive to an employer advocacy Sixty‐six practicing members of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) completed a case study involving a corporate acquisition scenario. Of the 66 participants, 35 were from corporations (in‐house), while the remaining 31 were from the Big 4 accounting firms (outsource). Advocacy was manipulated by asking participants to assume the role of internal auditor for either the buyer or the seller of a target divisi.
Defense Spending Promotes Aggregate Output in the United States--Evidence from Cointegration Analysis

This paper provides new evidence on the question of the effects of defense spending on aggregate output in the United States. Earlier studies of this basic issue relied on traditional econometric techniques and the neoclassical production function theory. In this paper, recently developed cointegration methodology and modeling that is inspired by new macroeconomic theory is employed. The results from earlier studies concerning the effects of defense spending are mixed. The findings presented in this paper reveal that there is a quantitatively important and positive relation between defense spending and aggregate output in the United States.
On the Distributional Effects of Exchange Rate Fluctuations

The paper studies the differential impact of exchange rate fluctuations on households in a country. I extend earlier research by relaxing the assumption of complete international sectoral specialization. My setup allows for the presence of several different sectors in a given country, each producing a different type of good. Combined with incomplete asset markets, the sectoral dimension leads to a heterogeneous impact of exchange rate fluctuation within each country. In particular, although a depreciation of a country's currency has an adverse 'beggar-thyself' effect for the country as a whole, a minority of households benefit.
Managing Students’ Attitude towards Science through Problem – Solving Instructional Strategy

Abstract The study was designed to further clarify the claim by several authors that methods of instruction could change students’ attitude positively towards science. It was the belief of the author that if students were allowed to develop higher cognitive processes through problem solving strategies, either as teacher directed or self-directed, their attitudes toward chemistry might change positively. Therefore, the effect of teacher-directed and self-directed problem-solving strategies on students’ attitude toward chemistry was investigated. The four-stage (logical) model of solving Chemistry problems as suggested by Ashmore, Casey and Frazer (1979) was adopted for the study. The findings in this study showed that students in the experimental group developed more positive attitude towards Chemistry after the treatment. It was then recommended that teachers should adopt problem solving strategies in their teaching in order to win many more students to chemistry. Besides giving students the content, the process is equally important for them to comprehend some scientific concepts and principles. This could make them develop more positive attitude toward the learning of science.
Backscatter change on fire scars in Siberian boreal forests in ENVISAT ASAR wide-swath images

The objective of this letter was to investigate the performance of the C-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument onboard the European ENVISAT satellite for mapping fire scars in boreal forest ecosystems. The Wide Swath Mode (WSM) of the cloud and haze-penetrating ASAR instrument with a spatial resolution of 150 m would be ideal to support nearly real-time fire monitoring and impact assessment over the vast and sparsely populated circumpolar forest belt. We found that: (1) the ASAR WSM backscatter signal was sensitive to fire disturbance; (2) the backscatter change correlated mainly with snow-melt and rainfall; and (3) the backscatter varied as a function of the incidence angle with a higher backscatter occurring at shallower incidence angles. The results suggest ASAR WSM data could be used to support operational fire impact monitoring in boreal forests of Siberia. Multitemporal datasets are required because environmental conditions strongly influence the backscatter signal.
Epstein-Barr Virus Lytic Infection Contributes to Lymphoproliferative Disease in a SCID Mouse Model

ABSTRACT Most Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive tumor cells contain one of the latent forms of viral infection. The role of lytic viral gene expression in EBV-associated malignancies is unknown. Here we show that EBV mutants that cannot undergo lytic viral replication are defective in promoting EBV-mediated lymphoproliferative disease (LPD). Early-passage lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from EBV mutants with a deletion of either viral immediate-early gene grew similarly to wild-type (WT) virus LCLs in vitro but were deficient in producing LPD when inoculated into SCID mice. Restoration of lytic EBV gene expression enhanced growth in SCID mice. Acyclovir, which prevents lytic viral replication but not expression of early lytic viral genes, did not inhibit the growth of WT LCLs in SCID mice. Early-passage LCLs derived from the lytic-defective viruses had substantially decreased expression of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), and restoration of lytic gene expression reversed this defect. Expression of cellular IL-10 and viral IL-10 was also diminished in lytic-defective LCLs. These results suggest that lytic EBV gene expression contributes to EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease, potentially through induction of paracrine B-cell growth factors.