Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Framework to Accomplish Strategic Cost Management

Currently, economic and technological developments are growing faster in an unprecedented way. The outcome is changing a great deal of concepts, transactions, and increasing competition allover the world. GATT agreement and emerging of large conglomerates extending competition zone to encompass the whole world. In addition, the improvements in information technology, communication means, and production systems open new horizons. The main consequence is to concentrate on quality and attain consumer's satisfaction. To respond, Companies pay a great attention to accomplish strategic cost management in order to overcome tough competition in local, international, and online markets. Traditional cost systems, those concentrate only on measuring and controlling products/services cost, are not sufficient to deal with new economic and technological developments. Therefore, companies shifted to strategic cost management as a powerful tool to attain competitive advantage and to maximize earnings and in short run and in long run as well. Prior research is constrained to develop and evaluate different tools to accomplish strategic cost management. There is no integrated framework to combine those tools and could be accepted from interested researcher in cost/management accounting and strategic management. This study aims to analyze tools of strategic cost management to introduce an integrated framework that could be useful to companies' stakeholder in short run and in long run as well.
A Benzimidazole Proton Pump Inhibitor Increases Growth and Tolerance to Salt Stress in Tomato

Pre-treatment of tomato plants with micromolar concentrations of omeprazole (OP), a benzimidazole proton pump inhibitor in mammalian systems, improves plant growth in terms of fresh weight of shoot and roots by 49 and 55% and dry weight by 54 and 105% under salt stress conditions (200 mM NaCl), respectively. Assessment of gas exchange, ion distribution, and gene expression profile in different organs strongly indicates that OP interferes with key components of the stress adaptation machinery, including hormonal control of root development (improving length and branching), protection of the photosynthetic system (improving quantum yield of photosystem II) and regulation of ion homeostasis (improving the K+:Na+ ratio in leaves and roots). To our knowledge OP is one of the few known molecules that at micromolar concentrations manifests a dual function as growth enhancer and salt stress protectant. Therefore, OP can be used as new inducer of stress tolerance to better understand molecular and physiological stress adaptation paths in plants and to design new products to improve crop performance under suboptimal growth conditions. Highlight: Omeprazole enhances growth of tomato and increases tolerance to salinity stress through alterations of gene expression and ion uptake and transport.
Design of parallel-jaw gripper tip surfaces for robust grasping

Parallel-jaw robot grippers can grasp almost any object and are ubiquitous in industry. Although the shape, texture, and compliance of gripper jaw surfaces affect grasp robustness, almost all commercially available grippers provide a pair of rectangular, planar, rigid jaw surfaces. Practitioners often modify these surfaces with a variety of ad-hoc methods such as adding rubber caps and/or wrapping with textured tape. This paper explores data-driven optimization of gripper jaw surfaces over a design space based on shape, texture, and compliance using rapid prototyping. In total, 37 jaw surface design variations were created using 3D printed casting molds and silicon rubber. The designs were evaluated with 1377 physical grasp experiments using a 4-axis robot (with automated reset). These tests evaluate grasp robustness as the probability that the jaws will acquire, lift, and hold a training set of objects at nominal grasp configurations computed by Dex-Net 1.0. Hill-climbing in parameter space yielded a grid pattern of 0.03 inch void depth and 0.0375 inch void width on a silicone polymer with durometer of A30. We then evaluated performance of this design using an ABB YuMi robot grasping a set of eight difficult-to-grasp 3D printed objects in 80 grasps with four gripper surfaces. The factory-provided gripper tips succeeded in 28.7% of the 80 trials, increasing to 68.7% when the tips were wrapped with tape. Gripper tips with gecko-inspired surfaces succeeded in 80.0% of trials, and gripper tips with the designed silicone surfaces succeeded in 93.7% of trials.
Modeling and implementation of firing-rate neuromorphic-network classifiers with bilayer Pt/Al2O3/TiO2−x/Pt Memristors

Neuromorphic pattern classifiers were implemented, for the first time, using transistor-free integrated crossbar circuits with bilayer metal-oxide memristors. 10×6- and 10×8-crosspoint neuromorphic networks were trained in-situ using a Manhattan-Rule algorithm to separate a set of 3×3 binary images: into 3 classes using the batch-mode training, and into 4 classes using the stochastic-mode training, respectively. Simulation of much larger, multilayer neural network classifiers based on such technology has sown that their fidelity may be on a par with the state-of-the-art results for software-implemented networks.
Telomeric repeat-containing RNA structure in living cells

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (referred to as TERRA), a noncoding RNA molecule, has recently been found in mammalian cells. The detailed structural features and function of the TERRA RNA at human chromosome ends remain unclear, although this RNA molecule may be a key component of the telomere machinery. In the present studies, we investigated the structural features of human TERRA RNA in living cells. Using a light-switching pyrene probe, we found that human TERRA RNA forms a parallel G-quadruplex structure in living cells, providing the in vivo evidence for the presence of the G-quadruplex in human TERRA RNA. Furthermore, imaging experiments clearly show that TERRA RNA G-quadruplex localizes to telomere DNA at cell nuclei. These results provide valuable information to allow understanding of the structure and function of human TERRA RNA.
New Trends In Consumption Management Of Electric Energy

The report presents the complex proposal for the implementation of the demand side management (DSM) in the Polish energy sector. The issue of DSM is well known in the world, European and domestic dimen¬sions. The experience of western countries shows that at least to some extent, the DSM strategy is already im¬plemented there. However, Polish experience is far too insufficient. Presented practisis from energy sector will be transfered to service sector created new solution in marketing in this sector.
A Novel Query Obfuscation Scheme with User Controlled Privacy and Personalization

Web Search Engines are tools that help users find information. These search engines use the information provided by users, in terms of their search history to build their “user profiles”. Rich user profiles enable the search engines to provide better personalized search results. However, this puts the user’s privacy at risk. Apart from the risk of exposing one’s identity, there is the added disadvantage of being subjected to unsolicited advertising and potential disclosure of sensitive information. Rich user profiles contain a lot of personally identifiable information, which can attract unwarranted malicious interests. It is important that sensitive data collection be curbed or at least obfuscated at the source. To that effect this work is a novel approach towards providing a balance between privacy preservation and personalization by keeping the user in control of his privacy Vs personalization decisions. This work supports complex queries and obfuscates them by adding a set of fake queries that are semantically related to the original query where both the semantic distance and the number of fake queries are user controlled parameters. General Terms Data Privacy, Obfuscation
First Things First: Prioritizing Requirements

Customers are never thrilled to find out they can’t get all the features they want in release 1.0 of a new software product (at least, not if they want the features to work). However, if the development team cannot deliver every requirement by the scheduled initial delivery date, the project stakeholders must agree on which subset to implement first. Any project with resource limitations has to establish the relative priorities of the requested features, use cases, or functional requirements. Prioritization helps the project manager resolve conflicts, plan for staged deliveries, and make the necessary trade-off decisions.
Varus and valgus alignment and incident and progressive knee osteoarthritis

Objective Varus and valgus alignment increase medial and lateral tibiofemoral load. Alignment was associated with tibiofemoral osteoarthritis progression in previous studies; an effect on incident osteoarthritis risk is less certain. This study tested whether alignment influences the risk of incident and progressive radiographic tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. Methods In an observational, longitudinal study of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study cohort, full-limb x-rays to measure alignment were acquired at baseline and knee x-rays were acquired at baseline and knee x-rays at baseline and 30 months. Varus alignment was defined as ≤178° and valgus ≥182°. Using logistic regression and generalised estimating equations, the associations of baseline alignment and incident osteoarthritis at 30 months (in knees without baseline osteoarthritis) and alignment and osteoarthritis progression (in knees with osteoarthritis) were examined, adjusting. For age, gender, body mass index, injury, laxity and strength, with neutral knees as referent. Results 2958 knees (1752 participants) were without osteoarthritis at baseline. Varus (adjusted OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.10) but not valgus alignment was associated with incident osteoarthritis. 1307 knees (950 participants) had osteoarthritis at baseline. Varus alignment was associated with a greater risk of medial osteoarthritis progression (adjusted OR 3.59, 95% CI 2.62 to 4.92) and a reduced risk of lateral progression, and valgus with a greater risk of lateral progression (adjusted OR 4.85, 95% CI 3.17 to 7.42) and a reduced risk of medial progression. Conclusion Varus but not valgus alignment increased the risk of incident tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. In knees with osteoarthritis, varus and valgus alignment each increased the risk of progression in the biomechanically stressed compartment.
Sulfasalazine prevents T‐helper 1 immune response by suppressing interleukin‐12 production in macrophages

Interleukin‐12 (IL‐12) plays a pivotal role in the development of T‐helper 1 (Th1) immune response, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorders. In this study we investigated the effects of sulfasalazine, a drug for treating inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, on the production of IL‐12 from mouse macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Sulfasalazine potently inhibited the production of IL‐12 in a dose‐dependent manner, in part through the down‐regulation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) activation in IL‐12 p40 gene. Activation of macrophages by LPS resulted in markedly enhanced binding activities to the κB site, which significantly decreased upon addition of sulfasalazine as demonstrated by an electrophoretic gel shift assay. Importantly, macrophages pretreated with sulfasalazine either in vitro or in vivo reduced their ability to induce interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and increased the ability to induce IL‐4 in antigen‐primed CD4+ T cells. From these results, sulfasalazine may induce the Th2 cytokine profile in CD4+ T cells by suppressing IL‐12 production in macrophages, and sulfasalazine‐induced inhibition of IL‐12 production in macrophages may explain some of the known biological effects of sulfasalazine.
A W-band bandpass filter using novel processing method based on LTCC technology

In this paper, a W-band bandpass filter using novel processing method based on LTCC technology is presented. The filter is a transfiguration of E-plane metal insert filter. It is composed of a special designed dielectric waveguide and printed iris which both utilized LTCC technology using a novel processing method. A five-order W-band bandpass filter is developed and verified by full-wave simulation. Simulation results show a good electric performance.
Gene expression profile of BRCAness that correlates with responsiveness to chemotherapy and with outcome in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE To define a gene expression profile of BRCAness that correlates with chemotherapy response and outcome in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS A publicly available microarray data set including 61 patients with EOC with either sporadic disease or BRCA(1/2) germline mutations was used for development of the BRCAness profile. Correlation with platinum responsiveness was assessed in platinum-sensitive and platinum-resistant tumor biopsy specimens from six patients with BRCA germline mutations. Association with poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor responsiveness and with radiation-induced RAD51 foci formation (a surrogate of homologous recombination) was assessed in Capan-1 cell line clones. The BRCAness profile was validated in 70 patients enriched for sporadic disease to assess its association with outcome. RESULTS The BRCAness profile accurately predicted platinum responsiveness in eight out of 10 patient-derived tumor specimens, and between PARP-inhibitor sensitivity and resistance in four out of four Capan-1 clones. [corrected] When applied to the 70 patients with sporadic disease, patients with the BRCA-like (BL) profile had improved disease-free survival (34 months v 15 months; log-rank P = .013) and overall survival (72 months v 41 months; log-rank P = .006) compared with patients with a non-BRCA-like (NBL) profile, respectively. The BRCAness profile maintained independent prognostic value in multivariate analysis, which controlled for other known clinical prognostic factors. CONCLUSION The BRCAness profile correlates with responsiveness to platinum and PARP inhibitors and identifies a subset of sporadic patients with improved outcome. Additional evaluation of this profile as a predictive tool in patients with sporadic EOC is warranted.
FEE -BASED ONLINE SERVICES : EXPLORING CONSUMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY

Many online service businesses are beginning to charge fees for services that they used to provide for free. It is unclear whether consumers are ready to embrace this practice. This study explores consumer attitudes toward fee-based online services. The results of the study indicate that consumers’ willingness to pay for online services is likely to be influenced by their perceived value of convenience these services provide, and by the extent to which they utilize these services. While consumers appear more willing to pay for services that are qualitatively better than free services, there is also indication that the belief remains strong among many that online services that were free in the past should remain free.
Optimizing integration of electrosurgical hand controls within a laparoscopic surgical tool

Abstract In laparoscopic surgery, electrosurgical equipment is operated by means of one or more foot pedals positioned on the floor in front of the surgeon causing poor ergonomic posture and physical discomfort. The focus of this study was to ergonomically explore the integration of electrosurgical hand controls within the previously designed Intuitool™ laparoscopic surgical instrument to optimize functionality. Three different hand control designs (CDs) were implemented within the Intuitool™ and each CD contained the standard cutting and coagulation features, previously operated by foot pedals. This study used 26 right-handed participants, with no previous laparoscopic surgery experience. The participants completed simple tasks using all three CDs within a simulated abdomen. Electromyography (EMG) sensors and force sense resistors (FSRs) were utilized to measure muscle activity and button actuation force, respectively. A questionnaire was also utilized to measure comfort level of each CD. The results indicated that the close proximity of CD 1 generated greater actuation force for all tasks, was rated easier to use (P = 0.003) and was preferred more frequently by the participants (53.8%) compared to CD 2 and 3. As a result, CD 1 was determined to be an optimal ergonomic design for electrosurgical hand controls within the Intuitool™.
Next Generation Sequencing and Association Studies in Familial Nonmedullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Let’s Choose Appropriate Controls

a Endocrinology Department, Ambroise Paré University Hospital, AP-HP, Boulogne, France; b Inserm U1173, Université Versailles-Saint-Quentin, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France; c UMR U1179, U1173, Université Versailles-Saint-Quentin, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France; d Clinical Research Unit, Ambroise Paré University Hospital, AP-HP, Boulogne, France; e Department of Endocrinology, Cochin University Hospital, AP-HP, Paris, France; f UMR 8104, Institut Cochin, Paris, France Received: January 6, 2017 Accepted after revision: May 13, 2017 Published online: June 23, 2017
Direct evidence for predation on trilobites in the Cambrian

A fossil arthropod similar to Fuxianhuia and displaying an exceptionally well–preserved alimentary canal with in situ gut contents is reported from the lower Middle Cambrian (ca. 510 Myr ago) of South China. Three–dimensionally preserved, paired phosphatic nodules, arranged in series along both sides of the gut and containing spherical bacteria, probably represent serial digestive glands. The gut is filled with fragments of the eodiscoid trilobite, Pagetia. The well-developed digestive glands and the fragmentary trilobite remains suggest (i) that the arthropod was a durophagous, possibly selective predator, and (ii) that small trilobites such as eodiscoids were a major food source in Cambrian marine ecosystems. This fossil association augments the small number of previously described associations providing more or less direct evidence of predator–prey relationships in Cambrian epibenthic communities.
Willingness to Pay for Preserving Wetland Biodiversity: A Case Study

The present study estimates the economic value of preserving biodiversity of Pongdam Wetland in Himachal Pradesh, a Ramsar Wetland in Western- Himalayas. A Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to estimate Willingness to Pay (WTP) of 208 randomly selected respondents from the vicinities of Pongdam. Using single-bounded dichotomous choice format the mean Willingness to Pay worked out Rs. 75 per year. The mean open-ended WTP was estimated as Rs.368 per year. The results showed that the local people prefer to preserve the wetland biodiversity and are willing to pay for the Joint Management of the Pongdam biodiversity. This in turn can help policy makers to design a right mix of policy instruments and ensure sustainable use of Western Himalaya wetlands.
Boards at Work: How Directors View their Roles and Responsibilities

1. The Changing Expectations of Boards of Directors 2. Perspectives on the Contribution of Boards of Directors 3. Uncovering the Black Box: Researching Boards of Directors 4. The Strategic Role of the Board 5. The Control Role of the Board 6. The Institutional Role of the Board 7. The Dynamics of Board Process 8. Conclusions 9. Postscript: The Board of the Future
The New Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitor Roflumilast Is Efficacious in Exercise‐Induced Asthma and Leads to Suppression of LPS‐Stimulated TNF‐α Ex Vivo

Roflumilast is a new phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor developed by Byk Gulden Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. A placebo‐controlled, randomized, double‐blind, two‐period crossover study was performed to investigate the safety and efficacy of roflumilast in 16 patients with exercise‐induced asthma. The patients received placebo or roflumilast (500 μg/day) for28 days, each according to the randomly determined treatment sequences roflumilast/placebo and placebo/roflumilast. In both study periods, exercise challenge was performed 1 hour after dosing on days 1,14, and 28.FEV1 was measured before exercise challenge, immediately after the end of exercise challenge, and then at 1,3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 minutes after the end of challenge. Blood samples for the determination of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) in whole blood ex vivo as a surrogate marker for the inhibition of inflammatory cell activation were taken predose on days 1 and 28. Serial safety measurements were performed during both study periods. Analysis of variance for the crossover design showed a significant superiority of roflumilast over placebo on day 28. The mean percentage fall of FEV1 after exercise was reduced by 41% as compared to placebo (p = 0.021). An improvement of lung function during roflumilast treatment was also observed on days 1 and 14. The median TNF‐α level decreased by 21% (p = 0.009) during roflumilast treatment but remained essentially constant under placebo. It is concluded that roflumilast is effective in the treatment of exercise‐induced asthma. This result was accompanied by a significant reduction of TNF‐α levels ex vivo. Treatment with roflumilast was safe and well tolerated.
Managing International Hospitality

To understand today's hospitality industry, executives need to recognize its international dimension. In this, the first part of a two-part article on the international dimension of hospitality, the author considers the forces driving hospitality's internationalization, the advantages drawing foreign investment into the North American market, and the patterns of expansion of American firms in overseas markets. The article is excerpted from Introduction to Management in the Hospitality Industry, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
In Vitro Generation of Epstein-Barr Virus–Specific Cytotoxic T Cells in Patients Receiving Haplo-Identical Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

Use of a partially mismatched related donor (PMRD) is an option for patients who require allogeneic transplantation but do not have a matched sibling or unrelated donor. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–induced lymphoma is a major cause of mortality after PMRD transplantation. In this study, we present a clinical grade culture system for donor-derived EBV-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) that do not recognize haplo-identical recipient cells. The EBV-specific CTLs were tested for cytolytic specificity and other functional properties, including ability to transgress into tissues, propensity for apoptosis, degree of clonality, stability of dominant T-cell clones, and Tc and Th phenotypes. The EBV-specific CTLs were routinely expanded to greater than 80 × 10 6 over a period of 5 weeks, which is sufficient for clinical application. A CD8 + phenotype predominated, and the CTLs were highly specific for donor lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) without killing of recipient targets or K562. V&bgr; spectratyping showed an oligoclonal population that was stable on prolonged culture. The EBV-specific CTLs were activated (D-related human leukocyte antigen [HLA-DR + ], L-selectin +/− ) and of memory phenotype (CD45RO + ). Expression of the integrin VLA-4 suggested that these CTLs could adhere to endothelium and migrate into tissues. The Bcl-2 message was upregulated, which may protect the CTLs from the apoptosis. The first demonstration of overexpression of bcl-2 in human memory CTLs. In addition, we show that lymphoblastoid cell lines used to generate CTLs are readily genetically modified with recombinant lentivirus, indicating that genetically engineered antigen presentation is feasible.