Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti Money Laundering Mechanism: An Application of Principal-Agent Model for Pakistan

In this paper anti money laundering policy of the international financial regime is analyzed in principal agent model perspective. The strategy of the principal for formal agents is deliberated for global financial stability. This strategy encompasses incentive and dis-incentive for cooperation of formal agent. Formal agent by cooperating with principal may induce dis-incentive for informal agent. All the integrating stake holders make decision on the basis of comparison of present value of marginal cost of non-cooperation and present value of returns from cooperation. As the desired objective of the principal is to minimize transaction of money through informal channels therefore it has to include informal agents and clients in the strategy. The successful anti money laundering strategy can only be evolved by the cooperation of all the stakeholders.
The Impact of Underwriter Reputation and Risk Factors on the Degree of Initial Public Offering Underpricing: Evidence from Shariah-Compliant Companies

IPO underpricing is an important factor used by investors to predict the profit from investment activities. Numerous empirical researches report the existence of IPO underpricing in various investment environments around the world. However, what the factors that result in such underpricing vary by country and those factors are still largely unexplored. This underpricing phenomenon is difficult to understand because various issues are related such as companies’ performance, government policy and economic condition. Thus this paper investigates the average degree of IPO underpricing listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange (MSE) using data from 476 IPOs that occurred from 2000 to 2011. MSE is a unique stock exchange because it has two types of boards which are the shariah-compliant board and the non shariah-compliant board. 89 percent of the IPO companies are listed on the shariah-compliant board. This paper has two objectives. Firstly, this paper investigates the average degree of IPO underpricing for shariah-compliant companies and non shariah-compliant companies. Secondly, this paper investigates the impact of underwriter reputation and risk factors on the average degree of IPO underpricing. The results show that the average degree of IPO underpricing for shariah-compliant companies is 28.82 percent which is quite similar to that of non shariah-compliant companies which is 26.63 percent. Using multiple linear regression analysis this study finds that the IPO underpricing for shariah-compliant companies is driven by risk factors.
A Commitment-Based Explanation for the Evolution of Outsourcing

We examine outsourcing decisions when the buyer/client is faced with a commitment problem in addition to the vendor’s moral hazard problem. While the production action is outsourced to the vendor, the design action can either be performed in-house or outsourced. The production and intervention actions are not contractible. If the vendor chooses the undesirable production action the client can help the vendor out with a costly intervention action. As such, the vendor may benefit by choosing an undesirable production action and having the client help him out with the intervention action. This leads to a potential client’s commitment problem in addition to the vendor’s moral hazard problem. We show that starting from the vendor’s moral hazard problem being more severe than the client’s commitment problem, improvements in production technology help to improve the client’s profit only up to a point; after which the client’s commitment problem becomes more severe, the client’s profit decreases. To mitigate the commitment problem the client can outsource the design action as well. This leads to situations where even though more tasks are outsourced, the unit price for the vendor may not increase to cover the direct costs of the added responsibility.
Vision-Based Human Face Recognition Using Extended Principal Component Analysis

Face recognition has been used in various applications where personal identification is required. Other methods of person's identification and verification such as iris scan and finger print scan require high quality and costly equipment. The objective of this research is to present an extended principal component analysis model to recognize a person by comparing the characteristics of the face to those of new individuals for different dimension of face image. The main focus of this research is on frontal two dimensional images that are taken in a controlled environment i.e. the illumination and the background is constant. This research requires a normal camera giving a 2-D frontal image of the person that will be used for the process of the human face recognition. An Extended Principal Component Analysis EPCA technique has been used in the proposed model of face recognition. Based on the experimental results it is expected that proposed the EPCA performs well for different face images when a huge number of training images increases computation complexity in the database.
Provider Perception of Pharmacy Services in the Patient-Centered Medical Home

Background: Despite the positive data on clinical outcomes, cost savings, and provider experience, no study has surveyed providers to evaluate what pharmacy services they find to be worthwhile. Objective: To determine what clinical, cost/access, and educational pharmacy services providers in a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) consider worthwhile and the perceived barriers to successful pharmacist incorporation. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in a PCMH physician group. Results: The survey response rate was 78%. Top-tier clinical services were identified as medication counseling, reconciliation, adherence assessment, polypharmacy assessment, and drug information. Formulary review was the only top-tier cost- or access-related service. Top-tier educational services included new black-boxed warnings, drug market withdrawals, and new drug reviews. Ninety-one percent of providers were comfortable referring to a pharmacist for diabetes medication selection and dose titration, but no other disease state eclipsed 75%. More than twice as many providers found the pharmacy service to be very or extremely valuable when the pharmacist is physically located in the office versus virtual interactions (70% vs 34%). Conclusion: Top-tier clinical, cost/access, and educational services considered worthwhile by providers in a PCMH have been identified. In addition to these services, when developing or evaluating a pharmacy service, special attention should be paid to provider preference for physical location in the office and perceived barriers to the pharmacist availability, concern over complex disease management competency and patient confusion as to the role of the pharmacist.
Correction: Native Wolbachia from Aedes albopictus Blocks Chikungunya Virus Infection In Cellulo

Wolbachia, a widespread endosymbiont of terrestrial arthropods, can protect its host against viral and parasitic infections, a phenotype called "pathogen blocking". However, in some casesWolbachiamay have no effect or even enhance pathogen infection, depending on the host-Wolbachia-pathogen combination. The tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is naturally infected by two strains ofWolbachia,wAlbA andwAlbB, and is a competent vector for different arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Interestingly, it was shown in some cases that Ae. albopictus nativeWolbachia strains are able to inhibit DENV transmission by limiting viral replication in salivary glands, but no such impact was measured on CHIKV replication in vivo. To better understand theWolbachia/ CHIKV/Ae. albopictus interaction, we generated a cellular model using Ae. albopictus derived C6/36 cells that we infected with thewAlbB strain. Our results indicate that CHIKV infection is negatively impacted at both RNA replication and virus assembly/secretion steps in presence ofwAlbB. Using FISH, we observed CHIKV andwAlbB in the same mosquito cells, indicating that the virus is still able to enter the cell in the presence of the bacterium. Further work is needed to decipher molecular pathways involved inWolbachia-CHIKV interaction at the cellular level, but this cellular model can be a useful tool to study the mechanism behind virus blocking phenotype induced byWolbachia. More broadly, this underlines that despiteWolbachia antiviral potential other complex interactions occur in vivo to determine mosquito vector competence in Ae. albopictus.
FDI Investment Incentive System and FDI Inflows: The Philippine Experience

This paper examines the country’s investment incentive program for foreign investors and its success in attracting substantial FDI inflows. The analysis compares the FDI incentive system and FDI performance of the Philippines with other Asian countries. Since it is difficult to untangle the effect of tax incentives from other factors, the analysis also takes into account other factors such as level of competitiveness, costs of doing business and availability of infrastructure. Our experience tends to suggest that in the absence of fundamental factors such as economic conditions and political climate, tax incentives alone are not enough to generate a substantial effect on investment decisions of investors nor can they compensate for the deficiencies in the investment environment.
Ongoing Modification of Mediterranean Pleistocene Sapropels Mediated by Prokaryotes

Late Pleistocene organic-rich sediments (sapropels) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea harbor unknown, metabolically active chemoorganotrophic prokaryotes. As compared to the carbon-lean intermediate layers, sapropels exhibit elevated cell numbers, increased activities of hydrolytic exoenzymes, and increased anaerobic glucose degradation rates, suggesting that microbial carbon substrates originate from sapropel layers up to 217,000 years old. 16Sribosomal RNA gene analyses revealed that as-yet-uncultured green nonsulfur bacteria constitute up to 70% of the total microbial biomass. Crenarchaeota constitute a smaller fraction (on average, 16%). A slow but significant turnover of glucose could be detected. Apparently, sapropels are still altered by the metabolic activity of green nonsulfur bacteria and crenarchaeota.
How does concurrent sourcing affect performance

Purpose – “Concurrent sourcing” is a term used by Parmigiani to describe the phenomenon where a firm simultaneously buys and makes the same good or service. The purpose of this paper is to develop propositions that suggest how concurrent sourcing affects performance.Design/methodology/approach – Based on transaction cost, agency, neoclassical economic, knowledge‐based, and resource‐based theory, it is proposed to show how concurrent sourcing affects performance.Findings – The paper argues that concurrent sourcing improves performance when firms face a combination of volume uncertainty, technological uncertainty, performance uncertainty, non‐decomposability, transaction‐specific investments, and strong internal and external capabilities.Research limitations/implications – The paper maps the relationships between concurrent sourcing and performance and discusses how these relationships can be modelled. The propositions and discussion offer researchers a starting‐point for further research.Practical implicat.
α-Catenin contributes to the strength of E-cadherin–p120 interactions

Cadherin–catenin interactions play an important role in cadherin adhesion. In the cadherin complex, α-catenin contributes to the binding strength of another catenin, p120, to the same complex. The data suggest that α-catenin–p120 contact within the cadherin–catenin complex can regulate cadherin trafficking.
Use of serological proteomic methods to find biomarkers associated with breast cancer

New technologies for the detection and therapy of early stage breast cancer are urgently needed. Pathological changes in breast might be reflected in proteomic patterns in serum. A proteomic tool was used to identify proteomic patterns in serum that distinguishes neoplastic from non‐neoplastic disease within the breast. Preliminary results derived from the serum analysis from 54 unaffected women and 76 petients with breast cancer were analyzed by two‐dimensional (2‐D) electrophoresis and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry, HSP27 was found up‐regulated while14‐3‐3 sigma was down‐regulated in the serum of breast cancer patients. The two protein biomarkers were then used to classify an independent set of 104 masked serum samples. The results showed that the protein pattern on 2‐D gels can completely segregate the serum of breast cancer from non‐cancer. The discriminatory pattern correctly identified all 69 breast cancer cases in the masked set. Of the 35 cases of non‐malignant disease, 34 were recognized as non‐cancer. These findings justify a prospective population‐based assessment of proteomic technology as a screening or diagnostic tool for breast cancer in high‐risk and general populations. These two protein biomarkers could also be used as targets for further study in drug design and breast cancer therapy.
Vinblastine-Induced Precipitation of Microtubule Protein

Vinblastine quantitatively precipitates a protein from supernatants obtained from high-speed centrifugation of homogenates of HeLa cells and of pig brain. This protein migrates as a single band on gel electrophoresis, has a mobility identical to that of purified microtubule protein, and-like microtubule protein-binds colchicine. The precipitation is partially inhibited by 0.9 percent NaCl.
SylvaDB: A Polyglot and Multi-backend Graph Database Management System

Abstract: This paper presents SylvaDB, a graph database management system designed to be used by people with no technical knowledge. SylvaDB is based on flexible schema definitions and has been developed taking into account the need to deal with semantic information. It relies on the mathematical notion of property graph. SylvaDB is an open source project and aims at lowering the barrier of adoption for anyone using graph databases. At the same time, it is robust and scalable enough to support collaborative large projects related to knowledge management, document archiving, and research.
Isolation of Single Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells Capable of Long-Term Multilineage Engraftment

Proteins are identified that underlie the early commitment steps of human hematopoietic stem cell differentiation. Lifelong blood cell production is dependent on rare hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to perpetually replenish mature cells via a series of lineage-restricted intermediates. Investigating the molecular state of HSCs is contingent on the ability to purify HSCs away from transiently engrafting cells. We demonstrated that human HSCs remain infrequent, using current purification strategies based on Thy1 (CD90) expression. By tracking the expression of several adhesion molecules in HSC-enriched subsets, we revealed CD49f as a specific HSC marker. Single CD49f+ cells were highly efficient in generating long-term multilineage grafts, and the loss of CD49f expression identified transiently engrafting multipotent progenitors (MPPs). The demarcation of human HSCs and MPPs will enable the investigation of the molecular determinants of HSCs, with a goal of developing stem cell–based therapeutics.
Privacy Preserving K-Means Clustering 6 . 857 Final Rport

Given the exponential rise in the size of datasets over the past decade, novel tools are needed to process and make use of this information. Machine learning, a relatively old subfield of computer science, has gained prominence based on its ability to extract models for meaningful decision-making based on large amounts of data. Fields as wide-ranging as medical diagnosis, disaster response, image and speech recognition, and network breach detection have all benefited from advances in machine learning. However, data-owning parties often find it undesirable or impossible to share the information they collect. Companies may have obligations towards user privacy, aspire to monetize their data, or may need to keep their data private to protect their own platform. Medical organizations have privacy obligations in the United States under the Patient Privacy Act. However, it is very often useful to share data in the development of a machine learning model, giving it more predictive power over a wider range of inputs. To solve this dilemma, we turn to cryptography to enable privacy-preserving machine learning, in which parties can gain an output model based on shared data, without having to reveal individual data points to each other. We recognize that many organizations interested in using privacy-preserving learning would rather use a provided implementation than build a solution themselves. Thus, our goal in this work was to provide a prototype of a usable privacy-preserving machine learning implementation with particular focus on performance, to demonstrate the usefulness of such a system. We also wanted our system to be conceptually-scalable: we provide building blocks that can be used to build additional privacy-preserving machine learning algorithms other than the single one we implemented. Based on the work of Saeed Samet, Ali Miri, and Luis Orozco-Barbosa [9] (often referred to in this paper as “SMO07,”) we have devised and implemented a system to allow disparate parties to utilize their disjoint datasets in order to develop a k-means model usable by all parties. This system leverages multi-party computation and an opensource implementation of the Paillier cryptosystem [3] to implement a k-means clustering algorithm over data that is distributed among different parties. Our implementation can be found at https://github.com/sarahscheffler/pp-k-means.
The contribution of efficient production of monozygotic twins to beef cattle breeding

Production of sires with high breeding potential is indispensable for prompt and reliable breeding using their semen in the cattle industry. Currently, in Japan, we aim to further the production of Japanese black sires via a new breeding system that uses genetically homologous monozygotic twins so that better growth performance and carcass traits can be translated to the increased production of beef with higher economic value. Several studies have reported that monozygotic twins are produced by embryo bisection. On the other hand, with the evolution and stabilization of in vitro fertilization technology, it has become possible to produce multiple monozygotic twin calves from blastomeres separated from a cleavage-stage embryo. This review attempts to clarify breeding practices through revalidation of the factors that affect the production efficiency of monozygotic twin calves by embryo bisection. Furthermore, the establishment of a system for monozygotic twin embryo production via the simplified technique of blastomere separation is reviewed while showing data from our previously performed studies.
Investigation of lead-free BGA solder joint reliability under 4-point bending using PWB strain-rate analysis

Board level solder joint reliability was evaluated using a 4-point monotonic bending test on different BGA package assemblies, including a 51×51 mm 2400 CBGA and a 40×40 mm 1517 PBGA. The edgebond epoxy was applied between the package samples and solder-attached printed wiring boards (PWBs). During the bending test, the PWB strain, bending force and daisy-chain resistance were monitored in real time. The daisy-chain resistance and PWB strain-rate during the bending test were cross-referenced for detailed comparison. The test results indicated that the PWB strain-rate showed an obvious change at the moment of package failure. The PWB strain-rate can be a useful monitoring method for detecting the onset of the solder joint failure during the monotonic bending test.
An examination of the due process in South Africa which led to the adoption of the draft International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium‐sized Entities

Differential reporting was introduced in South Africa with the enactment of the Corporate Laws Amendment Act 24 2006. Since it was urgent that the standard‐setters provide limited interest companies with interim guidance as to the preparation and presentation of financial statements, South Africa adopted the International Accounting Standards Board’s International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Mediumsized Entities in its draft form. This study looks at the development of accounting standards for small and mediumsized entities in South Africa. It also examines analyses of prior research on differential reporting and the due process of the International Accounting Standards Board on this topic, as well as the due process of the South African standard‐setter. The paper provides a contextual analysis of the unique reporting environment of South African companies and concludes that adopting the draft IFRS for SMEs may have been the best option for the standard‐setting body in providing relief for limited interest companies from the cost of complying with the International Financial Reporting Standards while still enabling auditors to express an opinion on the financial statements.
Recombinant human G-CSF and GM-CSF prime human neutrophils for superoxide production through different signal transduction mechanisms.

Recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulate neutrophil production from precursors in the marrow and enhance granulocyte functions in vitro. We studied the effects of G-CSF and GM-CSF on neutrophil superoxide production and secretion. G-CSF and GM-CSF alone stimulated neither superoxide production nor secretion, but both agents primed neutrophils for superoxide production stimulated by either N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) or ionomycin. Optimal priming occurred with G-CSF at 5.3 ng/ml for 20 minutes and for GM-CSF at 1 ng/ml for 60 minutes. Priming by GM-CSF was more readily inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor ST638 but was unaffected by staurosporine. Conversely, G-CSF priming was inhibited by staurosporine but not by ST638. Neither protein kinase C translocation nor increased protein kinase C activity, however, were observed after G-CSF/GM-CSF treatment. Priming by G-CSF and GM-CSF was sensitive to pertussis toxin, suggesting the involvement of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins). Neutrophils from three siblings with cyclic neutropenia were studied to observe the effects of G-CSF treatment on neutrophil function in vivo; sibling 1 and sibling 2 were treated with G-CSF for 6 months, but sibling 3 was not in the treatment group. Compared with neutrophils from normal donors, neutrophils from sibling 1 and sibling 2 were primed in vivo for superoxide release stimulated by either ionomycin or FMLP. Superoxide released by neutrophils from sibling 3 was similar to control cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Preference Measurement with Conjoint Analysis. Overview of State-of-the-Art Approaches and Recent Developments

Abstract Determining consumer preferences is still one of the most important topics in marketing research. Not surprisingly, numerous approaches have been developed for this task. Conjoint measurement techniques are among the most prominent and different forms have emerged over the years. Depending on the specific research setting, all of them have their advantages and drawbacks. The authors discuss the nature and applicability of recent conjoint approaches and provide examples. Guidelines for selecting the optimal technique help to identify which approach works best in a given situation.