Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and analysis of newsvendor-based trading options in supply chains

Options are introduced into supply chain management to improve the capability of handling demand uncertainty and hence seek better performance of the participants. An option model based on the newsvendor problem is presented to quantify and price a trading contract in a supply chain. With trading options, buyers (or retailers) can either order products from suppliers or purchase options from other retailers, and decide whether to buy or sell their remaining options in the second period after demand is realised in the first period. This paper examines how trading options work in a supply chain consisting of one supplier and a set of retailers in both competitive and cooperative scenarios. Using the concept of best response in game theory, the outcomes of option trading with interdependent demands are analysed. Depending on the current inventory, options in hand and demand information of the second period, the optimal trading quantity in the non-interdependent demand model could be found, where trading quantity is irrelevant to options price.
L’impact des chocs boursiers sur le crédit en France depuis le milieu des années quatre-vingt-dix

This study attempts to distinguish, in the impact on credit in France, between the effects of stock market shocks occurred since the mid-1990s and more traditional effects, stemming from the business cycle. To do so, it uses a model focused on two financial assets: loans and equities. According to the simulations of this model, companies in France appear much more sensitive than households to stock market shocks. Wealth effects seem to have a fairly limited impact on loans to households. However, the balance sheet structure effect appears to be largely responsible for the expansion of loans to companies. The rise in stock prices in the latter half of the 1990s seems to have sharply increased companies' equity capital, thus allowing them to increase their leverage. The bursting of the equity bubble as of mid-2000 then appears to have contracted this positive credit gap but it was not entirely offset in 2004.
Transcriptome Profiling of Tiller Buds Provides New Insights into PhyB Regulation of Tillering and Indeterminate Growth in Sorghum1

Buds of a phytochrome B mutant express high levels of the flowering regulators TFL1, TPPI, and gibberellic acid oxidase and become dormant, whereas wild-type buds with higher cytokinin/sugar induce a SWEET transporter, cell wall invertases, and grow into tillers. Phytochrome B (phyB) enables plants to modify shoot branching or tillering in response to varying light intensities and ratios of red and far-red light caused by shading and neighbor proximity. Tillering is inhibited in sorghum genotypes that lack phytochrome B (58M, phyB-1) until after floral initiation. The growth of tiller buds in the first leaf axil of wild-type (100M, PHYB) and phyB-1 sorghum genotypes is similar until 6 d after planting when buds of phyB-1 arrest growth, while wild-type buds continue growing and develop into tillers. Transcriptome analysis at this early stage of bud development identified numerous genes that were up to 50-fold differentially expressed in wild-type/phyB-1 buds. Up-regulation of terminal flower1, GA2oxidase, and TPPI could protect axillary meristems in phyB-1 from precocious floral induction and decrease bud sensitivity to sugar signals. After bud growth arrest in phyB-1, expression of dormancy-associated genes such as DRM1, GT1, AF1, and CKX1 increased and ENOD93, ACCoxidase, ARR3/6/9, CGA1, and SHY2 decreased. Continued bud outgrowth in wild-type was correlated with increased expression of genes encoding a SWEET transporter and cell wall invertases. The SWEET transporter may facilitate Suc unloading from the phloem to the apoplast where cell wall invertases generate monosaccharides for uptake and utilization to sustain bud outgrowth. Elevated expression of these genes was correlated with higher levels of cytokinin/sugar signaling in growing buds of wild-type plants.
DRMS: A New Strategic Stake for Content Industries: The Case of the Online Music Market

The recording industry has always been very dependent on existing technologies. The compact disc and the Internet have been the latest examples, two ambiguous examples that have certainly led to the developmentof Digital Rights Management Systems (DRMS). The compact disc has been a kind of gold mine for the recording industry, at least for the major companies.However, the appearance of blank CDs allowed music to be copied in a much better way than on blank tapes. Major companies used to consider the Internet as just another way to distribute their music, but in 1999, Napster made them realize that there might be something else behind this tool. The following development of online piracy has obliged the music industry to find solutions. DRMS appear as one of these.DRMS are often described as essential in the development of the legal online supply of content, notably of music (in this paper, we do not study the cases of sites that sell pre-recorded music, such as Amazon). That is why they are becoming a crucial stake for the whole recovering music industry. In the firstsection, we will precise the strategic role of DRMS. The aim of this paper is to study the technological competition between the firms that try to impose their standard on the growing market of DRMS. We find that the results of this competition may not benefit the content industries.
What gives to keep that price point? High-density residential developments

High-density living is now widely accepted in the built environment. At the apartment entry price-point, space and place appear to be the key considerations, with limited attention to a building’s social, physical and environmental features. To examine this, the researchers interviewed leading Melbourne property developers and consultants to identify the challenges of incorporating innovation relative to governance, design, and construction and building operations into the competitive high-density property development market. Responses demonstrate that post-occupancy analysis can be a tool to better inform property stakeholders. When presented to prospective purchasers, this information could shift the key consideration from an entry price point to the features of a well-designed apartment and so redirect the current ‘minimalist’ approach adopted by some new property development entrants to improving occupier living experience and ongoing maintenance costs.
Physicians, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and the cost of prescribing.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of primary care physicians' attitudes toward and use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives on prescribing costs in ambulatory practice. DESIGN A mailed questionnaire collected information about physician demographic and practice characteristics and attitudes toward and use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives. PARTICIPANTS Kentucky physicians practicing primary care adult medicine (family medicine, general practice, general medicine; n = 1603). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Relative cost of prescribing, based on physician responses to treatment choices for ambulatory clinical scenarios in primary care. A multivariable regression model assessed predictive relationships between independent variables and prescription costs. RESULTS Four hundred forty-six returned questionnaires were suitable for analysis. No significant differences were noted in age, gender, days worked per week, or years since graduation between responders and a sample of nonresponders. A significant positive correlation was found between physician cost of prescribing and perceived credibility, availability, applicability, and use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives (P < .01, Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient). Physicians in academic or hospital-based practice settings had significantly lower prescribing costs than physicians in nonacademic and nonhospital practices (P = .001, analysis of variance). Frequency of use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives (P = .01, multiple linear regression) and the group practice setting (P = .02, multiple linear regression) remained significant, independent positive predictors of cost in the multivariable regression model. CONCLUSIONS Frequency of use of information provided by pharmaceutical representatives and the group practice, nonacademic and nonhospital setting may be associated with increased primary care physician prescribing costs.
Purchasing's Role in Environmental Management: Cross-Functional Development of Grounded Theory

SUMMARY Are government regulations a driver or barrier to environmental activities? Does greater functional involvement within a firm help to ensure the success of environmental projects? Do environmental projects improve or harm financial performance? This research finds that none of these questions can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, this article distinguishes between successful and unsuccessful environmental projects, through an examination of not only their consequences but also their drivers and barriers and the functional interplay that occurs during their implementation. The findings result from an inductive study leading to theory grounded in the data but related to extant findings, and are based on case studies that tap the perspectives of purchasing managers and the managers in multiple, additional functional areas with whom they interact when initiating environmental projects.
Intra-Articular versus Intravenous Tranexamic Acid in Controlling Blood Loss during Primary Total Knee Replacement

Copyright: © 2017 Morsi E, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. *Corresponding author: Elsayed Morsi, professor of orthopaedic surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt. Tel. : +201227469041; E-mail: Dr.elsayedmorsi@gmail.com
Electronic structure of MoSe2, MoS2, and WSe2. I. Band-structure calculations and photoelectron spectroscopy.

The band structures of the semiconducting layered compounds ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$, and ${\mathrm{WSe}}_{2}$ have been calculated self-consistently with the augmented-spherical-wave method. Angle-resolved photoelec- tron spectroscopy of ${\mathrm{MoSe}}_{2}$ using He i, He ii, and Ne i radiation, and photon-energy-dependent normal-emission photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation, show that the calculational results give a good description of the valence-band structure. At about 1 eV below the top of the valence band a dispersionless state was measured, almost completely of Mo 4d character. Such a state, which is not predicted by band-structure calculations, has also been observed in metallic layered compounds. Suggestions are given for the explanation of this phenomenon.
Effects of temporal contexts and contextual habituation on latent inhibition

Background: Latent inhibition of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is sensitive to external and internal cues. Time of day can serve as an internal cue, and latent inhibition may be reduced if the pre‐exposure and conditioning stages occur at different times of day. This contextual cue attributed to a change in the time of day may reveal a temporal specificity of latent inhibition. Although the habituation period to spatial contexts is a determinant variable for the spatial specificity of latent inhibition of CTA, the influence of contextual‐temporal familiarity (time of day) on latent inhibition of CTA has not been explored through direct comparisons between different periods of habituation to the temporal context. Method: Two different periods of contextual habituation (short vs. long) previous to taste pre‐exposures were compared in Wistar rats to analyze the influence of these periods on the temporal specificity of latent inhibition of CTA. Results: A long period of habituation, in relation to a short period, facilitated the effect of a change of the time of day between pre‐exposure and conditioning on the magnitude of taste aversion. Conclusions: A long habituation to temporal contexts facilitates the temporal specificity of latent inhibition of CTA. Resumen Efectos de contextos temporales y habituación contextual sobre inhibición latente. Antecedentes: la inhibición latente del aprendizaje aversivo gustativo (AAG) es sensible a claves externas e internas. La hora del día puede actuar como una clave interna, y la inhibición latente puede ser reducida si pre‐exposición y condicionamiento ocurren a diferentes horas del día. Esta clave contextual atribuida a un cambio en la hora del día puede revelar una especificidad temporal de la inhibición latente. Aunque el período de habituación a contextos espaciales es determinante para la especificidad espacial de la inhibición latente del AAG, la influencia de la familiaridad contextual‐temporal (hora del día) sobre la inhibición latente del AAG no ha sido explorada mediante comparaciones directas entre diferentes períodos de habituación al contexto temporal. Método: en ratas Wistar se compararon dos diferentes períodos de habituación contextual (corto versus largo) previos a pre‐exposiciones gustativas para analizar la influencia de éstos sobre la especificidad temporal de la inhibición latente del AAG. Resultados: un largo período de habituación, en relación con uno corto, facilitó el efecto de un cambio de la hora del día entre pre‐exposición y condicionamiento sobre la magnitud de la aversión gustativa. Conclusiones: una larga habituación a contextos temporales facilita la especificidad temporal de la inhibición latente del AAG.
Characterization of residues from plant biomass for use in energy generation

The use of plant residues for energy purposes is already a reality, yet in order to ensure suitability and recommend a given material as being a good energy generator, it is necessary to characterize the material through chemical analysis and determine its calorific value. This research aimed to analyze different residues from plant biomass, characterizing them as potential sources for energy production. For the accomplishment of this study, the following residues were used: wood processing residue (sawdust and planer shavings); coffee bean parchment and coffee plant stem; bean stem and pod; soybean stem and pod; rice husk; corn leaf, stem, straw and cob; and sugar cane straw and bagasse. For residue characterization the following analyses were done: chemical analysis, immediate chemical analysis, calorific value and elemental analysis. All procedures were conducted at the Laboratory of Forest Biomass Energy of the Federal University of Lavras. In general, all residues showed potential for energetic use. Rice husk was found to have higher lignin content, which is an interesting attribute as far as energy production is concerned. Its high ash content, however, led to a reduction in calorific value and fixed carbon. The remaining residues were found to have similar energetic characteristics, with corn cob showing greater calorific value, followed by coffee plant stem, both also containing higher levels of carbon and fixed carbon. A high correlation was found of higher calorific value with volatile materials, carbon and hydrogen contents.
Vitamin E Protects against Photoinhibition and Photooxidative Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana

Vitamin E is considered a major antioxidant in biomembranes, but little evidence exists for this function in plants under photooxidative stress. Leaf discs of two vitamin E mutants, a tocopherol cyclase mutant (vte1) and a homogentisate phytyl transferase mutant (vte2), were exposed to high light stress at low temperature, which resulted in bleaching and lipid photodestruction. However, this was not observed in whole plants exposed to long-term high light stress, unless the stress conditions were extreme (very low temperature and very high light), suggesting compensatory mechanisms for vitamin E deficiency under physiological conditions. We identified two such mechanisms: nonphotochemical energy dissipation (NPQ) in photosystem II (PSII) and synthesis of zeaxanthin. Inhibition of NPQ in the double mutant vte1 npq4 led to a marked photoinhibition of PSII, suggesting protection of PSII by tocopherols. vte1 plants accumulated more zeaxanthin in high light than the wild type, and inhibiting zeaxanthin synthesis in the vte1 npq1 double mutant resulted in PSII photoinhibition accompanied by extensive oxidation of lipids and pigments. The single mutants npq1, npq4, vte2, and vte1 showed little sensitivity to the stress treatments. We conclude that, in cooperation with the xanthophyll cycle, vitamin E fulfills at least two different functions in chloroplasts at the two major sites of singlet oxygen production: preserving PSII from photoinactivation and protecting membrane lipids from photooxidation.
Increasing the Use of Comparative Quality Information in Maternity Care: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial tested an intervention to increase uptake of hospital-level maternity care quality reports among 245 pregnant women in North Carolina (123 treatment; 122 control). The intervention included three enhancements to the quality report offered to the control: (a) biweekly text messages or e-mails directing women to the website, (b) videos and materials describing the relevance of quality measures to pregnant women’s interests, and (c) tools to support discussions with clinicians. Compared with controls, intervention participants were significantly more likely to visit the website and report adopting behaviors to inform care, such as thinking through preferences, talking with their doctor, or creating a birth plan. Reports designed to put quality information into the larger context of what consumers want and need to know, along with targeted and timely communications, can increase consumer use of quality information and prompt them to talk with providers about care preferences and evidence-based practices.
DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF EARLY MATURING MAIZE VARIETIES IN NZEGA DISTRICT, TABORA REGION

Nzega is among the district located in semi-arid areas of Tanzania where drought is a limiting factor for agriculture. In the district farmers are advised to use early maturing maize varieties (EMMV). In contrary the adoption of EMMV in Nzega District is still low. Increase in use of EMMV is possible if factors which influence adoption are addressed. The present study aimed at identifying factors which influence adoption of EMMV. The main objective was to analyze challenges facing efforts to improve maize production through the promotion of adoption of EMMV. The specific objectives were to compare profitability of EMMV and the traditional maize varieties, to identify determinants of adoption of EMMV and to determine factors affecting the level of adoption of EMMV. A total of 150 maize farmers consisting of adopters and non-adopters of EMMV were involved. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select maize farmers from 10 villages. Data were collected through structured questionnaire. Gross margin was used to compare the profitability of EMMV and the traditional maize varieties. Cragg’s double hurdle model was used in determining factors affecting adoption decision and the level of adoption. The results show that the gross margin for EMMV is higher than the traditional maize varieties. Results also show that extension services, education level of the household and size of the farm owned by the farmer were significant in affecting both the adoption decision and the level of adoption. Factors like family labour, family dependency ratio, number livestock units owned by the farmer and distance to the nearest market were significant in explaining adoption decision only. The present study concludes that low adoption of EMMV can be attributed to institutional and socio-economic factors. Therefore the Government should put more effort in improving extension services, markets and provision of input subsidies for maize farmers.
Software-based repair for memories in tiny embedded systems

This paper presents a software-based technique for handling permanent manufacturing faults in low-cost memories for tiny embedded systems. The technique is based on an adaptation of the program code that avoids the usage of faulty memory words. Various methods for handling memory faults in program memory are discussed and evaluated with flash memory devices. Based on real test data for the flash memories, it is shown that with the software-based technique a significant amount of hardware-overhead in the memory can be avoided without losing the capabilities of handling memory faults.
The Function of HSP72 in Suppression of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase Activation Can Be Dissociated from Its Role in Prevention of Protein Damage*

Activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) by a variety of stimuli is critical for regulation of many cellular processes including apoptosis. The major inducible heat shock protein Hsp72 has previously been demonstrated to inhibit activation of JNK in cells exposed to heat shock and other protein-damaging agents, thus suppressing apoptosis. Hsp72 can protect proteins from stress-induced damage. To test if this protective function of Hsp72 is involved in JNK suppression, we investigated whether Hsp72 can avert activation of JNK by stimuli that do not cause protein damage. We show that Hsp72 suppresses activation of JNK induced by non-protein-damaging stimuli, interleukin-1 and UV irradiation, as well as by constitutively active components of the JNK signaling cascade Cdc42 and MEKK1. Furthermore, Hsp72 strongly reduced activation of JNK by phosphatase inhibitors. We also demonstrate that an Hsp72 mutant that lacks the ATPase domain is still capable of JNK suppression, thus indicating that the protein refolding activity of Hsp72 is not critical for inhibition of JNK activation. Taken together these data suggest that Hsp72 plays a regulatory role in JNK signaling and that the function of Hsp72 in protein protection or refolding is not involved in JNK regulation.
Does insider trading prior to a stock price crash increase litigation risk

In this paper, we document that insider trading prior to a large stock price drop increases the likelihood of a class-action lawsuit being filed against the firm. We document that this effect is primarily due to “opportunistic” sales by CEOs. Lawsuits also appear to focus on sales made in the near quarter prior to the price drop rather than sales made in the earlier quarters, even though the class action period during which the manipulation is alleged to have occurred extends well over the prior three months.
Optimization of Functional Group Prediction from Infrared Spectra Using Neural Networks

In a large-scale effort, numerous parameters influencing the neural network interpretation of gas phase infrared spectra have been investigated. Predictions of the presence or absence of 26 different substructural entities were optimized by systematically observing the impact on functional group prediction accuracy for the following parameters: training duration, learning rate, momentum, sigmoidal discrimination and bias, spectral data reduction with four different methods, number of hidden nodes, individual instead of multioutput networks, size of the training set, noise level, and 12 different spectral preprocessing functions. The most promising approaches included constant monitoring of training progress with a 500 spectra cross-validation set, increasing the number of spectral examples in the training set from 511 to 2588, employing variance scaling, and using specialized instead of multioutput networks. An overall recognition accuracy of 93.8% for the presence and 95.7% for the absence of functional.