Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Commodity chains, services and development: theory and preliminary evidence from the tourism industry

Global commodity chains (GCC) present a fairly new and innovative approach for understanding the prospects for development among Third World countries within a larger environment characterized by globalization. To date, most research using the framework concentrates on the changing organization of manufacturing activities and helps to explain why the chains touch down where they do. This article concentrates on two related questions: what can commodity chains tell us about the globalization of services and to what extent do services suggest the need to refine the GCC approach? Both questions are examined by focusing upon tourism, the largest service activity in the world. Concentrating on hotels and airlines, the article demonstrates that tourism services have become internationalized in a manner unlike manufacturing activities. Most notably, organizational or governance structures do not conform to either buyer-driven or producer-driven models frequently predicted by GCC analysis. The article concludes that while commodity chain analysis is useful for examining the political economy of tourism, especially in highlighting power and exchange relationships, it must be broadened to 'account' fully for the unique organization of the global tourism industry.
Automatically Extracting Acronyms from Biomedical Text

Acronyms are widely used in biomedical literature. Knowledge of acronyms and their corresponding long forms is a fundamental pre-processing step in the mining of information from biomedical text. In this paper, we present a set of heuristics for finding acronyms and their long forms in biomedical texts. Our accurate and scalable heuristics allowed us to determine over 14,000 acronyms/long form pairs in 6 million English language PubMed abstracts. The overall precision of our term finding heuristics was 97.9%. Our heuristics found about 12,000 novel acronyms that were not in the SPECIALIST lexicon, potentially increasing the SPECIALIST lexicon acronym list by 125%. Our stemmed down acronym list is at http://www.computationalbiology. info/.
Endogeneity in Semiparametric Panel Binary Choice Model

In this paper, we study estimation of a semiparametric panel binary choice model with fixed-effects and continuous endogenous regressors. The proposed procedure combines the smoothed maximum score approach with the control function approach and allows for a fixed effect nonparametric first stage regression. Under some sufficient conditions, we show that the proposed estimator for the finite dimensional parameter is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed. A small scale simulation study demonstrates that the proposed procedure has some practical value.
High irradiance and temperature inhibit the germination of spores of the fern Rumohra adiantiformis (Forst.) Ching (Dryopteridaceae)

Rumohra adiantiformis (Forst.) Ching is a fern (Dryopteridaceae) which is used to compose floral arrangements. Fertile fronds were harvested in the "Permanently Protected Area" of Ilha Comprida, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sterilized spores were germinated in Mohr liquid medium modified by Dyer. The effect of 72%, 54%, 17% and 9% of total irradiance on germination under field conditions, was analyzed. Experiments were carried out in March (I), April (II) and August of 2000 (III). Under 54% and 72% of total irradiance in Experiment I (March) the germination was completely inhibited and partially inhibited under 72% of total irradiance in Experiment II (April). The lowest mean germination time () was observed under 9% of total irradiance in Experiments II (11.62 days) and III (8.80 days) respectively, followed by 17% in Experiment III (10.12 days) and 9% of total irradiance in the Experiment I (11.62 days ). The effect of temperatures of 15 ± 1, 20 ± 1, 25 ± 1 and 30 ± 1 oC on germination was also analyzed. The lowest mean germination time (7.93 days) was observed at 25 ± 1 °C followed by 20 ± 1 °C. The highest mean germination time was observed at 15 ± 1 °C (12.10 days) followed by 30 ± 1 °C (10.63 days), which inhibited germination. The germination of R. adiantiformis was photoinhibited by high irradiance and partially inhibited by the highest temperature tested.
Expression of bloodstream variant surface glycoproteins in procyclic stage Trypanosoma brucei: role of GPI anchors in secretion

Using transformed procyclic trypanosomes, the synthesis, intracellular transport and secretion of wild‐type and mutant variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) is characterized. We find no impediment to the expression of this bloodstream stage protein in insect stage cells. VSG receives a procyclic‐type phosphatidylinositol‐specific phospholipase C‐resistant glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor, dimerizes and is N‐glycosylated. It is transported to the plasma membrane with rapid kinetics (t1/2 ∼1 h) and then released by a cell surface zinc‐dependent metalloendoprotease activity, a possible homolog of leishmanial gp63. Deletion of the C‐terminal GPI addition signal generates a soluble form of VSG that is exported with greatly reduced kinetics (t1/2 ∼5 h). Fusion of the procyclic acidic repetitive protein (PARP) GPI anchor signal to the C‐terminus of the truncated VSG reporter restores both GPI addition and transport competence, suggesting that GPI anchors play a critical role in the folding and/or forward transport of newly synthesized VSG. The VSG–PARP fusion is also processed near the C‐terminus by events that do not involve N‐linked oligosaccharides and which are consistent with GPI side chain modification. This unexpected result suggests that GPI processing may be influenced by adjacent peptide sequence or conformation.
Generating tetrahedral volume mesh from surface model

In this paper, we present an efficient algorithm to generate tetrahedral meshes from surface models. Our algorithm first subdivides the axis-aligned bounding box of a surface model into a number of uniform tetrahedra, and then generates an initial indention mesh after removing all the tetrahedra outside the surface model by employing a signed distance function, defined by the vertices of the surface model. Subsequently, our algorithm deals with the rough indention mesh according to the relationship between the surface model and the vertices of the tetrahedra bestriding the mesh surface. Finally, the algorithm uses Laplacian smoothing operator to improve the quality of the tetrahedral mesh. Results show that the volume mesh models created by our algorithm have smooth boundary and high-quality interior cells.
How Should We Measure the Return on Public Investment in a VAR

A new method of empirically computing the macroeconomic returns to public investment is proposed. Pereira's (2000) technique is modified, and a measure which accounts for both public and private investment costs is suggested. An empirical application to US data shows that differences between alternative ways of measuring rates of return are non-trivial - taking into consideration the full investment effort halves estimated returns when partial public costs only are considered.
Inexact Objective Function Evaluations in a Trust-Region Algorithm for PDE-Constrained Optimization under Uncertainty

This paper improves the trust-region algorithm with adaptive sparse grids introduced in [SIAM J. Sci. Comput. , 35 (2013), pp. A1847--A1879] for the solution of optimization problems governed by partial differential equations (PDEs) with uncertain coefficients. The previous algorithm used adaptive sparse-grid discretizations to generate models that are applied in a trust-region framework to generate a trial step. The decision whether to accept this trial step as the new iterate, however, required relatively high-fidelity adaptive discretizations of the objective function. In this paper, we extend the algorithm and convergence theory to allow the use of low-fidelity adaptive sparse-grid models in objective function evaluations. This is accomplished by extending conditions on inexact function evaluations used in previous trust-region frameworks. Our algorithm adaptively builds two separate sparse grids: one to generate optimization models for the step computation and one to approximate the objective function.
Lipid droplets at a glance

Lipid droplets (LDs) are the major cellular organelles for the storage of neutral lipids. Excessive lipid storage in LDs is central to the pathogenesis of prevalent metabolic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis; LDs are, therefore, crucial in the development of these diseases.
Human immunodeficiency virus vpr product is a virion-associated regulatory protein

The vpr product of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) acts in trans to accelerate virus replication and cytopathic effect in T cells. Here it is shown that the HIV-1 viral particle contains multiple copies of the vpr protein. The vpr product is the first regulatory protein of HIV-1 to be found in the virus particle. This observation raises the possibility that vpr acts to facilitate the early steps of infection before de novo viral protein synthesis occurs.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Readmissions in US Hospitals: The Role of Insurance Coverage

We examine differences in rates of 30-day readmissions across patients by race/ethnicity and the extent to which these differences were moderated by insurance coverage. We use hospital discharge data of patients in the 18 years and above age group for 5 US states, California, Florida, Missouri, New York, and Tennessee for 2009, the latest year prior to the start of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Compare program of public reporting of hospital performance on 30-day readmissions. We use logistic regression models by state to estimate the association between insurance status, race, and the likelihood of a readmission within 30 days of an index hospital admission for any cause. Overall in 5 states, non-Hispanic blacks had a slightly higher risk of 30-day readmissions relative to non-Hispanic whites, although this pattern varied by state and insurance coverage. We found higher readmission risk for non-Hispanic blacks, compared with non-Hispanic whites, among those covered by Medicare and private insurance, but lower risk among uninsured and similar risk among Medicaid. Hispanics had lower risk of readmissions relative to non-Hispanic whites, and this pattern was common across subgroups with private, Medicaid, and no insurance coverage. Uninsurance was associated with lower risk of readmissions among minorities but higher risk of readmissions among non-Hispanic whites relative to private insurance. The study found that risk of readmissions by racial ethnic groups varies by insurance status, with lower readmission rates among minorities who were uninsured compared with those with private insurance or Medicare, suggesting that lower readmission rates may not always be construed as a good outcome, because it could result from a lack of insurance coverage and poor access to care, particularly among the minorities.
Plasmonic perfect absorber for solar cell applications

We design and simulate a simple plasmonic absorber by employing a three-layer structure comprised of square nanoring array on top of the dielectric subtract followed by a gold reflector. To achieve near perfect absorption, several configurations of the top layer (plasmonic nanoparticle) are proposed, which includes a gold nanoring, horizontally split ring, vertically split ring and quad-split ring, respectively. Simulation results indicate that for some geometries, dual broad absorption bands with absorption efficiencies greater than 99% are obtained, which is highly suitable for solar cell applications.
Heckscher-Ohlin Business Cycles

This paper introduces Heckscher-Ohlin trade features into a two-country DSGE model, and studies how productivity shocks propagate through trade in goods. In comparison with standard models, (i) transitory shocks to productivity have permanent effects on country-level aggregate variables; (ii) aggregate productivity shocks have relevant effects on the sectoral allocation of production factors; (iii) the business cycle properties of our model are broadly compatible with the empirical evidence; (iv) under complete asset markets, the international correlation of consumption is lower than that of output.
Performance Contracting In Practice: Experience and lessons from the water sector in Ghana

This article provides some insights into how performance contracting works in practice in a developing country context, using the case of the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC). Performance contracting has been a useful instrument for restructuring the state-owned enterprises (SOE) sector in Ghana, and the GWSC has made some moderate improvements since its introduction. However, the article highlights some of the institutional constraints and capacity issues that reformers will have to pay attention to, including overstretched capacity of the monitoring agency, a weak information management system and inconsistent compliance to contract by government. The findings also highlight the difficulty of separating politics from operational/management issues, especially in politically sensitive public services, yet performance contracting relies on such separation to be effective. Also it shows how informal behaviour undermines the formality of performance contracting.
New PCR-Based Method for the Sp1 Site Polymorphism in the COL1A1 Gene

Abstract Polymorphism in the Sp1 binding site in the first intron of the COL1A1 gene has been related to increased risk of osteoporosis in several populations. To overcome the difficulties associated with the use of mismatch oligonucleotide primers in the original method for its detection, we developed a procedure involving PCR amplification of a 598-base pair sequence from the intron and its digestion with the restriction enzyme Van 91 I. The more frequent allele is recognized by the enzyme, whereas the reaction is abolished in the less frequent allele. Two convenience samples from the population in northern Finland, consisting altogether of 173 individuals, were studied. The overall frequencies were 0.864 for the G and 0.136 for the T allele, with a heterozygocity of 27.2%. The frequency of the T allele is towards the lower end of the range observed for other European populations.
Relative Prices and Economic Adjustment in the U.S. And the EU: A Real Story About European Monetary Union

Structural vector autoregressions are used to analyse the relationship between real output and relative prices within the European Union (EU) and the United States. Relative price variability appears to be more important for adjustment within the EU than the United States, reflecting the lower integration of goods and factor markets. In the absence of higher market integration, the lower relative price variability implied by the introduction of a single currency in the EU could well cause significant economic disruption.
A descriptive analysis of select input bases of the financial accounting Standards Board

Accounting standards are established through a complex mechanism involving both the public and private sectors of society. The study reported in this paper concentrates on activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), one party involved in the standard-setting process. Since the inception of the FASB, there has been substantial public participation in the process, including responses to discussion memoranda and exposure drafts and testimony at public hearings. Such responses detail constituents' preferences on the accounting issues under consideration and are encouraged by the FASB. For example, the FASB states: "The operating procedures of the Standards Board are designed to permit timely, thorough, and open study of financial accounting and reporting issues and to encourage broad public participation in the process of establishing and improving standards of financial accounting and reporting. The objective of the Board's policy of openness and broad public participation in the accounting standards-setting process is to stimulate consideration and debate within the Board's constituency on matters of significance to the public" [1978, p. 8].
Constrained AdaBoost for Totally-Ordered Global Features

This paper proposes a constrained AdaBoost algorithm for utilizing global features in a dynamic time warping (DTW) framework. Global features are defined as a spatial relationship between temporally-distant points of a temporal pattern and are useful to represent global structure of the pattern. An example is the spatial relationship between the first and the last points of a handwritten pattern of the digit "0". Those temporally-distant points should be spatially close enough to form a closed circle, whereas those points of "6" should be distant enough. For a temporal pattern of an N-point sequence, it is possible to have N(N -- 1)/2 global features. One problem of using the global features is that they are not ordered as a one dimensional sequence any more. Consequently, it is impossible to use them in a left-to-right Markovian model, such as DTW and HMM. The proposed constrained AdaBoost algorithm can select a totally-ordered subset from the set of N(N -- 1)/2 global features. Since the totally-ordered features can be arranged as a one-dimensional sequence, they can be incorporated into a DTW framework for compensating nonlinear temporal fluctuation. Since the selection is governed by the AdaBoost framework, the selected features can retain discriminative power.
DkMyb4 Is a Myb Transcription Factor Involved in Proanthocyanidin Biosynthesis in Persimmon Fruit1[C][W][OA]

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are secondary metabolites that contribute to the protection of the plant and also to the taste of the fruit, mainly through astringency. Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) is unique in being able to accumulate abundant PAs in the fruit flesh. Fruits of the nonastringent (NA)-type mutants lose their ability to produce PA at an early stage of fruit development, while those of the normal astringent (A) type remain rich in PA until fully ripened. The expression of many PA pathway genes was coincidentally terminated in the NA type at an early stage of fruit development. The five genes encoding the Myb transcription factor were isolated from an A-type cultivar (Kuramitsu). One of them, DkMyb4, showed an expression pattern synchronous to that of the PA pathway genes in A- and NA-type fruit flesh. The ectopic expression of DkMyb4 in kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) induced PA biosynthesis but not anthocyanin biosynthesis. The suppression of DkMyb4 in persimmon calluses caused a substantial down-regulation of the PA pathway genes and PA biosynthesis. Furthermore, analysis of the DNA-binding ability of DkMyb4 showed that it directly binds to the MYBCORE cis-motif in the promoters of the some PA pathway genes. All our results indicate that DkMyb4 acts as a regulator of PA biosynthesis in persimmon and, therefore, suggest that the reduction in the DkMyb4 expression causes the NA-type-specific down-regulation of PA biosynthesis and resultant NA trait.
Influence of Combination of Criteria for Extraction of Features on the Classification of Biological Signals

Expert doctors use the shape of the principal components of the Brain Stem Auditory Evoked Potential (BSAEP) signal to diagnose patients with multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis involves the estimation of the effects of the disease on the form of the waveform components of BSAEPs. Since these components are localized in time and frequency a packet wavelet decomposition of the signal is used to compress it. The information obtained by the packed wavelet can be use to feed artificial neural networks (ANN) with Radial Basis Functions for the same purpose of obtaining a diagnosis. Due to the paucity of data, the signals must be preprocessed. From the hundreds or thousands of wavelet coefficients, only eight are selected using different criteria. Those are used to train an artificial neural network with radial basis functions. We have found that if we combine some of the selection criteria to differentiate sick and healthy people, only one combination of criteria provided better results that using each criterion alone, and other combinations worked better only with some wavelet bases.
Wakeup Call: Strategic Management, Network Alarms, and Performance

New empirical evidence suggests that service performance is shaped by the strategies adopted by public organizations and the networking behavior of public managers. Strategy captures two central behavioral aspects of public organizations: the way in which objectives and actions are selected (processes), and an organization’s approach to service delivery (content). Networking is similarly concerned with the behavior of public managers as they interact with others. These twin themes are linked in an integrated study that explores the relationship between strategy, networking, and service performance within a sample of English local governments. The results show that strategy processes based on rational planning offer long-run positive effects on public services, as does a strategic proactive stance.
Price Transmission in Three Italian Food Chains: A Structural Break Approach

Recently a wide instability of food prices has been observed in world and European agricultural and food markets. Both media and policy makers have dealt with the unsatisfactory patterns of marketing margins and price transmission along the food chain which may bring about distributive issues and affect inflationary trends. Although price transmission and margins dynamics have attracted so much interest at the policy level, few Italian studies deal with this topic. Our aim is to provide a first analysis of the price transmission mechanism in three Italian agri-food chains (lamb, pork and pasta), within a structural change framework. Results show that structural breaks in the price transmission mechanism are an issue in the food chain of pasta and pork with the regime change arising in occasion of the price bubble of 2007-2008.
Mechanistic formulation of a lineal-quadratic-linear (LQL) model: split-dose experiments and exponentially decaying sources.

PURPOSE In recent years, several models were proposed that modify the standard linear-quadratic (LQ) model to make the predicted survival curve linear at high doses. Most of these models are purely phenomenological and can only be applied in the particular case of acute doses per fraction. The authors consider a mechanistic formulation of a linear-quadratic-linear (LQL) model in the case of split-dose experiments and exponentially decaying sources. This model provides a comprehensive description of radiation response for arbitrary dose rate and fractionation with only one additional parameter. METHODS The authors use a compartmental formulation of the LQL model from the literature. They analytically solve the model's differential equations for the case of a split-dose experiment and for an exponentially decaying source. They compare the solutions of the survival fraction with the standard LQ equations and with the lethal-potentially lethal (LPL) model. RESULTS In the case of the split-dose experiment, the LQL model predicts a recovery ratio as a function of dose per fraction that deviates from the square law of the standard LQ. The survival fraction as a function of time between fractions follows a similar exponential law as the LQ but adds a multiplicative factor to the LQ parameter beta. The LQL solution for the split-dose experiment is very close to the LPL prediction. For the decaying source, the differences between the LQL and the LQ solutions are negligible when the half-life of the source is much larger than the characteristic repair time, which is the clinically relevant case. CONCLUSIONS The compartmental formulation of the LQL model can be used for arbitrary dose rates and provides a comprehensive description of dose response. When the survival fraction for acute doses is linear for high dose, a deviation of the square law formula of the recovery ratio for split doses is also predicted.