Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolving procurement organizations: A contingency model for structural alternatives

Procurement has to find further levers and advance its contribution to corporate goals continuously. This places pressure on its organization in order to facilitate its performance. Therefore, procurement organizations constantly have to evolve in order to match these demands. A conceptual model putting the structural elements in focus is derived from the analysis of two case companies, which extends the existing literature and opens new avenues for future research. The findings highlight the importance of taking a contingency perspective on procurement organization, understanding the internal and external contingency factors and having a more detailed look at the structural dimensions chosen, beyond the well-known characteristics of centralization, formalization, participation, specialization, standardization and size. From a theoretical perspective, it opens up insights that can be leveraged in future studies in the fields of hybrid procurement organizations, global sourcing organizations as well as international procurement offices (IPOs). From a practical standpoint, an assessment of external and internal contingencies and their relation to specific structural dimensions that can be chosen provides the opportunity to consciously match an organization to its operating environment and internal demands.
Interferon monotherapy of chronic hepatitis C in dialysis patients: meta‐analysis of clinical trials

Summary. The efficacy of monotherapy with interferon (IFN) (conventional or pegylated IFN) in dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C remains unclear, although a number of clinical trials have been published addressing this issue. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of monotherapy by conventional or pegylated IFN in dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C by performing a systematic review of the literature with a meta‐analysis of clinical trials. The primary outcome was sustained virological response (SVR; as a measure of efficacy), and the secondary outcome was drop‐out rate (as a measure of tolerability). We used the random‐effects model of Der Simonian and Laird, with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. We identified 28 clinical trials (645 unique patients), of which six (21.4%) had a controlled design. In the group of trials based on conventional IFN, the summary estimate for SVR and drop‐out rate was 39% [95% confidence interval (CI) 32–46] and 19% (95% CI 13–26) respectively. The summary estimate for SVR rate in patients with the hepatitis C virus genotype 1 was 33% (95% CI 19–47). In the subset of trials using pegylated IFN, the summary estimate for SVR and drop‐out rate was 31% (95% CI 7–55) and 27% (95% CI 1–52) respectively. The most frequent side‐effects requiring interruption of treatment were flu‐like symptoms, and gastrointestinal and haematological changes. A relationship between age and drop‐out rate was found, even if no statistical significance was reached (P = 0.064). The studies were heterogeneous with regard to SVR and drop‐out rate. No publication bias was observed. One‐third of dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C were successfully treated with conventional or pegylated IFN monotherapy. Preliminary evidence does not support additional benefit due to monotherapy with pegylated IFN on the viral response in the chronic kidney disease (CKD) population. Tolerance to IFN monotherapy was unsatisfactory, particularly to pegylated IFN. The optimal antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C in dialysis populations is currently under active investigation.
Comparisons of planar detection for service robot with RANSAC and region growing algorithm

Considering the life independence of people with disabilities or a limited range of movement, we intend to develop an intelligent mobile service robot equipped with robot manipulator and computer vision. In order to implement an automatic moving, grasping and delivering task, the abilities of service robot to deal with the images they see and collect useful information are really essential. In this paper, two different algorithms (i.e., the RANSAC algorithm and the region growing algorithm) of the planar detection for the service robot are introduced with detailed principles and implementation processes. For the foundation of our mobile service robot's development, three specific experiments are designed to compare the algorithms on accuracy, robustness and computational complexity. Finally, after the comparison between two algorithms, the suitability of two algorithms for the service robot using in the environment detection will be presented and analyzed.
Base‐pairing requirement for RNA silencing by a bacterial small RNA and acceleration of duplex formation by Hfq

SgrS is an Hfq‐binding small antisense RNA that is induced upon phosphosugar stress. It forms a ribonucleoprotein complex with RNase E through Hfq to mediate silencing of the target ptsG mRNA encoding the membrane component of the glucose‐specific phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system. Although SgrS is believed to act on ptsG mRNA through base pairing between complementary regions, this was not previously tested experimentally. We addressed the question of whether SgrS indeed forms an RNA–RNA duplex with ptsG mRNA to exert its regulatory function. Specific single nucleotide substitutions around the Shine–Dalgarno (SD) sequence of ptsG completely eliminated SgrS action while compensatory mutations in SgrS restored it. A systematic mutational analysis of both ptsG and SgrS RNAs revealed that six base pairs around SD sequence of ptsG are particularly important for SgrS action. We also showed in vitro that SgrS forms a stable duplex with the ptsG mRNA, and that Hfq markedly facilitates the rate of duplex formation.
A sub-Nyquist sampling spectrum sensing system based on PXI bus for multiband signals

In this paper, a sub-Nyquist sampling system for multiband signals is presented, which can perform accurate spectrum sensing and reconstruction. The system is based on PXI bus and virtual instrument technology, which make the proposed system able to be adjusted flexibly for different input signals. Compressive sensing (CS) theory and modulated wideband converter (MWC) are adopted in the system. The detailed design process of the system is given in the paper. The extension method of observation matrix and the reconstruction algorithms are also explained in this paper. Experimental results show that the proposed system can sample the multiband signal at an extreme low frequency and recover the signal spectrum effectively.
The GNB3 C825T polymorphism as a pharmacogenetic marker in the treatment of hypertension, obesity, and depression

Heterotrimeric guanine-binding proteins (G proteins) transmit signals from the cell surface to intracellular signal cascades. The &bgr;3-subunit encoded by the gene GNB3 is widely expressed and, therefore, involved in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. A C825T polymorphism located in exon 10 of GNB3 was described in 1998 and the T allele was associated with alternative splicing and with increased signal transduction in human cells and tissues. In several disease-association studies, the 825T allele could be linked to hypertension, obesity, and depression. Meta-analysis available for hypertension and depression confirmed association with these phenotypes. On the basis of these findings, subsequent studies investigated whether the C825T polymorphism serves as a pharmacogenetic marker. Most pharmacogenetic investigations have focused on the treatment of hypertension, obesity, and depression. In this study, we will comprehensively describe and discuss these studies.
Lithospheric topography, tilted plumes, and the track of the Snake River–Yellowstone hot spot

The trace of the Snake River–Yellowstone hot spot is the world's best example of a mantle plume that has been overridden by continental lithosphere. The “standard model” calls for the plume head to rise under northern Nevada and be forced northward to form basalts of the Columbia Plateau; subsequent movement of North America to the southwest over the plume tail created a hot spot trace on the surface. We present a new conceptual model for the origin of this feature that resolves inconsistencies in the current standard model and explains the recent documentation of a thermal anomaly in the mantle below Yellowstone today that plunges ∼65° WNW. Our model implies that the plume tail was forced beneath thinned cratonic lithosphere to the SE along with part of the plume head and has remained in this orientation for the last 12 Ma. We infer that almost all of the volcanism in SE Oregon and SW Idaho prior to 12 Ma results from overriding the southern extension of the plume head, not the plume tail, and that a distinct plume tail hot spot track was not established until formation of the Bruneau‐Jarbidge eruptive center around 12 Ma. The plume tail track may also be controlled by a preexisting structural boundary in lithosphere that is thinner than adjacent lithosphere. This model demonstrates the potential importance of lithospheric topography on controlling the surface manifestation of plume volcanism and the complexity that may arise when lithospheric thickness is nonuniform.
Biodiversity Reporting Among Malaysian Companies: does the Risk Level Matter?

As Malaysia launched its National Key Economic Areas, biodiversity has been identified as one of the entry point projects for one of the sectors that will drive Malaysia towards high-income status i.e. tourism. Biodiversity, however, is facing a crisis, due to the development of business operation that has direct or indirect contribution to biodiversity loss. Despite the growing concern on biodiversity issue, previous studies have put more focus on general sustainability or environmental reporting issues. This paper aims to provide an analysis on the extent of biodiversity information disclosed by the top 100 Malaysian public listed companies and to see whether there is significant difference, in terms of reporting, between companies from different categories of biodiversity risk. The findings show 80 of the Malaysian companies disclose information regarding biodiversity with ‘mission statement’ being the highest reported biodiversity related item. There is also significant difference, in the context of biodiversity reporting, between companies from different categories of biodiversity risk. Further analysis shows companies with higher biodiversity risk (red-zone) provide more reports on biodiversity related information leading to a statistically significant difference from companies with lower biodiversity risk i.e. amber-zone and green-zone.
AGS volume 102 issue 3 Cover and Back matter

Volume 70, No. 1 (January 1984) R. Gaiani, F. Chiesa, M. Mattioli, G. Nannetti & G. Galeati. Androstenedione and testosterone concentrations in plasma and milk of the cow throughout pregnancy R. N. Kirkwood, K. R. Lapwood, W. C. Smith & I. L. Anderson. Plasma concentrations of LH, prolactin, oestradiol-17p and progesterone in sows weaned after lactation for 10 or 35 days A. Lahlou-Kassi, D. Schams & P. Glatzel. Plasma gonadotrophin concentrations during the oestrous cycle and after ovariectomy in two breeds of sheep with low and high fecundity
Morphometric image analysis and eosinophil counts in human liver allografts

Histology of liver allografts is the gold standard for diagnosis of acute cellular rejection. However, scoring the severity of rejection and distinguishing it from other infiltrations is not easy. Only one group has evaluated biopsies morphometrically and also suggested that eosinophils are a specific diagnostic feature. We quantitated eosinophil count in 92 biopsies in a group of 25 patients and, in another group of 30 patients, used morphometric image analysis to measure the cross-sectional area and cell density in each portal tract in day 5 protocol liver biopsies. Rejection was diagnosed by pathological evaluation confirmed with clinical and biochemical graft dysfunction graded histologically into mild or moderate-to-severe. The control groups were five patients with no rejection, nine patients with CMV infection, and eight biopsies in eight patients for whom the cause of the liver dysfunction was obscure. The cross-sectional area, the inflammatory cell count of each portal tract and the mean portal tract inflammatory cell density (cells/mm2) increased with the severity of rejection. In each case the regression coefficient was statistically signifinant. Correlating the mean of the total inflammatory cell count with the mean of the portal inflammatory cell density (cell/mm2) gave far better separation of the mild rejection and moderate-to-severe rejection groups. Eosinophils were specific for the presence of acute cellular rejection and increased with the severity of rejection. They were absent in the no rejection group, in the CMV group and in those with obscure liver dysfunction. The eosinophil count fell markedly following treatment of rejection. We conclude that morphometric image analysis can be used to quantify acute cellular rejection and that eosinophils can be specific feature of acute cellular rejection.
The local nature of immunity in tuberculosis, illustrated histochemically in dermal BCG lesions.

Dermal BCG lesions and the subsequently developing cellular immunity and allergy were evaluated periodically in rabbits with the following procedures: a) measurements of the lesions during growth and regression, b) tuberculin tests, and c) biopsies of the lesions for histology, histochemistry and enumeration of acid fast bacilli. Certain sections were stained for both bacilli and β-galactosidase activity. Macrophages were the most prominent cell type found in the lesions, although other cells especially PMN and lymphocytes were present in varying numbers. Macrophages developed into first immature epithelioid cells and then mature ones under the stimulus of tubercle bacilli and their products. This development was accompanied by a decrease in the number of bacilli present and a marked increase in certain enzymes, namely the lysosomal enzymes: β-galactosidase, acid phosphatase and β-glucuronidase, and the mitochondrial enzymes: succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase. Thus certain macrophages become highly activated in the local lesion. The association of such activation with an apparent destruction of intracellular bacilli suggests that cellular immunity involves both processes. In addition, the high degree of macrophage activation observed in the lesion suggests that cellular immunity is mainly a local (in contrast to a systemic) phenomenon. In the BCG lesions, certain granulocytes (either eosinophils or toxic PMN) were found to contain considerably more RNase than the other cells present. In necrotic and liquefied areas RNase and DNase were especially active, and acid phosphatase and β-glucuronidase were somewhat active. It therefore seems likely that nucleases and other lysosomal enzymes contribute to cell autolysis and the liquefaction of the caseous focus. The latter process helps perpetuate tuberculosis in mankind.
Harnessing the Double-Edged Sword via Routing: Information Provision on Ride-Hailing Platforms

We consider a ride-hailing platform that provides free information to taxi drivers. Upon receiving a rider's request, the platform broadcasts the rider's origin and destination to idle drivers, who accept or ignore the request depending on the profitability considerations. We show that providing such information may reduce drivers' equilibrium profit. Hence information provision is a double-edged sword: the drivers may choose to take more profitable riders via "strategic idling. " When multiple drivers compete for the same request, how the platform breaks the tie affects the incentives of the drivers. We propose a routing policy that can align the incentives and achieve the first-best outcome for large systems.
Contribution au traitement syntaxico-pragmatique de la langue naturelle parlée : approche logique pour la compréhension de la parole

Les systemes de dialogue Oral Homme-Machine actuellement operationnels sont concus pour les tâches extremement precises. Leur developpement depend directement de celui de la Comprehension Automatique de la Parole. Or, celle-ci se heurte de nombreux problemes : complexite de la relation forme linguistique-sens, erreurs de la reconnaissance vocale et specificites de l'expression orale. Le memoire decrit un systeme de comprehension de la parole concu pour une famille de tâches dans un domaine bien delimite. L'approche est logique ; l'analyse se fait par etapes : elle debute par une analyse syntaxique partielle qui repose sur l'application de regles drivees de celles des grammaires categorielles de type AB. Une ontologie du domaine permet de s'appuyer sur des criteres semantiques pour operer la composition des constituants ainsi obtenus, avec un relâchement progressif des contraintes syntaxiques. Les valuations du systeme montrent la validite de cette approche.
Conception et modélisation d'un micro-actionneur à base d'élastomère diélectrique

Les materiaux polymeres, en particulier les EAP (Electro Active Polymer), sont de bons candidats pour le developpement d'actionneurs de nouvelle generation, en particulier par leurs proprietes mecaniques et electriques. Nous nous sommes interesses plus particulierement au cours de cette these aux actionneurs polymeres a base d'elastomere dielectrique et a leur integration technologique. Le principe de fonctionnement de ce type d'actionneur est base sur l'attraction electrostatique entre deux electrodes qui prennent en sandwich l'elastomere qui jouera a la fois le role d'entrefer de permittivite relative superieure a un et de ressort de rappel par ses proprietes elastiques. Les forces d'attraction sont proportionnelles a la constante dielectrique de l'elastomere et inversement proportionnel au module de Young de ce dernier. Notre choix s'est porte sur les polydimethylesiloxanes (PDMS), materiaux a la fois tres souple et pour lesquels une augmentation de la permittivite peut etre obtenue par l'addition de nanoparticules. Un procede original de structuration des couches de " PDMS " sur une plaquette de silicium a ete developpe. Nous avons formule ce polymere avec un composant photo-actif pour le rendre photosensible afin de pouvoir l'utiliser a l'image d'une resine lithographique conventionnelle et d'envisager la structuration dans un enchainement de fabrication compatible avec les technologies microsystemes. Par ailleurs une caracterisation exhaustive nous a permis de mieux comprendre les mecanismes physico-chimiques impliques lors des differentes etapes technologiques de realisation aussi bien pour le materiau seul qu'additionne de nanoparticules de titanate de baryum. Nous nous sommes egalement attaches a mesurer la permittivite et les coefficients d'elasticite de ces materiaux a la fin du processus de fabrication verifiant ainsi le maintien des proprietes initiales qui ont presidees au choix de ces materiaux. Des actionneurs miniaturises constitues d'une electrode inferieure fixe, d'une couche de PDMS structuree et d'une electrode superieure libre ont ainsi ete fabriques, caracterises et modelises par element finis a l'aide du logiciel Comsol. Nous avons utilise des modeles hyper elastiques pour les confronter aux resultats obtenus. Il en ressort que si l'utilisation des depots de couches metalliques a permis de fabriquer des structures, la deformation maximale de l'actionneur est limitee neanmoins par l'elasticite de l'electrode metallique. Les resultats nous permettent d'envisager, pour les applications a l'optique, la realisation de structures a focale variable dont deux exemples sont donnes en perspective.
Intraspecific functional variability: extent, structure and sources of variation

1. Functional traits are increasingly used to investigate community structure, ecosystem functioning or to classify species into functional groups. These functional traits are expected to be variable between and within species. Intraspecific functional variability is supposed to influence and modulate species responses to environmental changes and their effects on their environment. However, this hypothesis remains poorly tested and species are mostly described by mean trait values without any consideration of variability in individual trait values.
BADANIE POTENCJAŁU GOSPODARCZEGO REGIONU W KONTEKŚCIE IDENTYFIKACJI INTELIGENTNYCH SIECI

Artykul ma na celu przedstawic wyniki badan ukazujące potencjal ekonomiczny regionu w kontekście identyfikacji przeslanek do utworzenia inteligentnych sieci. Metoda badan koncentruje sie na wykorzystaniu pieciu miernikow specjalizacji regionu. Wyniki studiow pozwolą oszacowac mozliwości utworzenia sieci powiązan, ktora przy zalozeniu spelnienia wymagan moze zostac zidentyfikowana, jako siec inteligentna. Wykorzystanie przedstawionej metody identyfikacji klastrow pozwala odnaleźc regiony o duzym skoncentrowaniu branzowym a nastepnie zainicjowac wspolprace z jednostkami mogącymi je wspierac w rozwoju i innowacyjności.
Single Stage Single Switch Power Supply (S4PS)Design for Low Power HB-LED Lighting

Abstract This paper presents an improved power quality converter (IPQC)-based power supply design for high brightness light emitting diode (HB-LED) low power lighting. The IPQC circuit uses a Cuk buck-boost converter to operate it in a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) using the voltage follower technique for the mitigation of harmonic contents present in the AC mains current. Subsequently, reduction in harmonic contents results in improving the power quality indices at the AC mains. Single-stage single switch converter topology is used, which has less component count, size and cost as compared to the two-stage converter topology. DCM operation has an advantage that only output voltage control loop is required as compared to three control loops required in the continuous conduction mode operation. An 18-W LED driver is designed, modeled and simulated using MATLAB/Simulink software for 220 V, 50 Hz AC mains. The performance of the proposed LED driver is observed in terms of total harmonic distortion of the input current (THDi), input power factor (PF) and crest factor (CF) taking into account the strict international standard of IEC 61000-3-2 for class C equipments.
Artificial Intelligence in Cutaneous Oncology

Skin cancer, previously known to be a common disease in Western countries, is becoming more common in Asian countries. Skin cancer differs from other carcinomas in that it is visible to our eyes. Although skin biopsy is essential for the diagnosis of skin cancer, decisions regarding whether or not to conduct a biopsy are made by an experienced dermatologist. From this perspective, it is easy to obtain and store photos using a smartphone, and artificial intelligence technologies developed to analyze these photos can represent a useful tool to complement the dermatologist's knowledge. In addition, the universal use of dermoscopy, which allows for non-invasive inspection of the upper dermal level of skin lesions with a usual 10-fold magnification, adds to the image storage and analysis techniques, foreshadowing breakthroughs in skin cancer diagnosis. Current problems include the inaccuracy of the available technology and resulting legal liabilities. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the clinical applications of artificial intelligence and a discussion on how it can be implemented in the field of cutaneous oncology.