Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Atomic and electronic structure of amorphous and crystalline hafnium oxide: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional calculations

The atomic structure of amorphous and crystalline hafnium oxide (HfO2) films was examined using x-ray diffractometry and Hf edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy. According to the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and band data calculated by the density functional method, we found that the valence band of HfO2 consists of three subbands separated by ionic gaps. The upper subband is formed by O 2p, Hf 4f, and Hf 5d states; the intermediate subband is formed by O 2s and Hf 4f states, whereas the lower narrow subband is mainly formed by Hf 5p states. The energy gap of amorphous HfO2 is 5.7eV as determined by electron energy loss spectroscopy. The band calculation results indicate the existence of light (0.3m0) and heavy (8.3m0) holes in the HfO2 film and the effective mass of electron lies in the interval of 0.7m0–2.0m0.
Drivers of elevated service offerings in collaborative service networks

Service industries are radically transforming the manner in which firms operate within the context of globalisation and service delivery mechanisms, thereby creating new service industry and market opportunities. Innovations in technology, integration with computers and telecommunications and the use of internet are viewed not only as a powerful facilitating mechanism for service organizational growth, but also as drivers for creating new service markets. They are seen as
An in-depth analysis of the RZ Piscium atmosphere

The star RZ Psc is one of the most unusual members of the UX Ori star family. It demonstrates all properties that are typical of these stars (the light variability, high linear polarization in deep minima, the blueing effect), but until recently there has been no obvious evidence of its youth. Recently, we have shown that RZ Psc is in the transitional evolutionary stage between stars with the primordial and debris disks. In this paper we present the results of the quantitative analysis of the star’s spectrum. Using the high-resolution (R = 46 000) spectrum of RZ Psc obtained with Nordic Optical Telescope, we determined Teff = 5350 ± 150 K, log g = 4.2 ± 0.2, [M/H] = −0.3 ± 0.05. These parameters agree well with the same ones as for the stars recently passed the T Tauri star evolutionary stage. This supports our previous suggestion about the evolutionary status of RZ Psc as the post-T Tauri and post-UX Ori star.
Assessment of fl udarabine plus cyclophosphamide for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (the LRF CLL4 Trial): a randomised controlled trial

Methods 777 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia requiring treatment were randomly assigned to fl udarabine (n=194) or fl udarabine plus cyclophosphamide (196) for six courses, or chlorambucil (387) for 12 courses. The primary endpoint was overall survival, with secondary endpoints of response rates, progression-free survival, toxic eff ects, and quality of life. Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number NCT 58585610.
3-27-2007 Potential contribution of respiration by Anabrus simplex ( Mormon crickets ) to net CO 2 exchange in three Great Basin ecosystems

—Disturbance events can significantly influence net CO2 exchange (NCE) in ecosystems. High densities of Anabrus simplex (Mormon crickets) periodically afflict large areas of the western USA; their sheer numbers could make them a significant source of CO2. We modeled cricket respiration at the ecosystem level using air and body temperatures and insect gas exchange measurements. Cricket CO2 efflux values were compared to ecosystem CO2 flux from eddy covariance measurements in 3 Great Basin ecosystems: a juniper woodland, a sagebrush shrubland, and a crested wheatgrass pasture. Mean respiration from Mormon crickets was 0.96 g CO2 ⋅ m–2d–1. Since Mormon crickets are present when NCE is otherwise near 0, they can potentially alter NCE between 20% ( juniper woodland) and 60% (crested wheatgrass pasture). Transient pests such as Mormon crickets can be an important component of NCE.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES USED FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDA SPP.

Early identification of Candida isolates is necessary for an effective antifungal therapy. Conventional identification methods are often difficult and time-consuming. Molecular biological techniques are representing an useful alternative approach. Yeast clinical isolates were obtained from 50 independent patients admitted to the hospital during the year 2008. In the present study yeast identification was based on gene restriction profiles ARNr 5.8S by PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) and on random amplification profiles, RAPD (Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA). Rezumat Identificarea rapidă a tulpinilor de Candida la nivel de specie este necesară pentru un tratament antifungic eficient. Metodele convenționale de identificare sunt adesea dificil de realizat și durează mult timp. Tehnicile moleculare de identificare reprezintă metode alternative de abordare. Tulpinile de Candida au fost izolate de la 50 pacienți spitalizaţi in anul 2008. In această lucrare sunt prezentate rezultatele identificării unor tulpini de Candida spp. prin tehnici moleculare, bazate pe profilele de restricție a genei pentru ARNr 5.8S RCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) dar și pe profilele de amplificare randomizată RAPD (Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA).
Comparative and functional analysis of alternative splicing in eukaryotic genomes

Alternative splicing (AS) is a common post-transcriptional process in eukaryotic organisms, by which multiple distinct functional transcripts are produced from a single gene. Because of its potential role in expanding transcript diversity, interest in alternative splicing has been increasing over the last decade, ever since the release of the human genome draft showed it contained little more than the number of genes of a worm. Although recent studies have shown that 94% human multi-exon genes undergo AS while aberrant AS may cause disease or cancer, evolution of AS in eukaryotic genomes remains largely unexplored mainly due to the lack of comparable AS estimates. In this thesis I built a Eukaryote Comprehensive & Comparable Alternative Splicing Events Database (ECCASED) based on the analyses of over 30 million Expressed Sequence Tag (ESTs) for 114 eukaryotic genomes, including protists (22), plants (20), fungi (23), metazoan (non-vertebrates, 29) and vertebrates (20). Using this database, I addressed two main questions: 1) How does alternative splicing relate to gene duplication (GD) as an alternative mechanism to increase transcript diversity? and 2) What is the contribution of alternative splicing to eukaryote transcript diversity? I found that the previous “interchangeable model” of AS and gene duplication is a by-product of an existing relation between gene expression breadth, AS and gene family size. I also show that alternative splicing has played a key role in the expansion of transcript diversity and that this expansion is the best predictor reported to date of organisms complexity assayed as number of cell types. In addition, by comparing alternative splicing patterns in cancer and normal transcript libraries I found that cancer derived transcript libraries have increased levels of “noisy splicing”.
The promises and pitfalls of universal early education

There is widespread interest in universal early education, both to promote child development and to support maternal employment. Positive long-term findings from small-scale early education interventions for low-income children in the US have greatly influenced the public discussion. However, such findings may be of limited value for policymakers considering larger-scale, more widely accessible programs. Instead, the best insight into the potential impacts of universal early education comes from analysis of these programs themselves, operating at scale. This growing research base suggests that universal early education can benefit both children and families, but quality matters.
Robust automatic target tracking based on a Bayesian ego-motion compensation framework for airborne FLIR imagery

Automatic target tracking in airborne FLIR imagery is currently a challenge due to the camera ego-motion. This phenomenon distorts the spatio-temporal correlation of the video sequence, which dramatically reduces the tracking performance. Several works address this problem using ego-motion compensation strategies. They use a deterministic approach to compensate the camera motion assuming a specific model of geometric transformation. However, in real sequences a specific geometric transformation can not accurately describe the camera ego-motion for the whole sequence, and as consequence of this, the performance of the tracking stage can significantly decrease, even completely fail. The optimum transformation for each pair of consecutive frames depends on the relative depth of the elements that compose the scene, and their degree of texturization. In this work, a novel Particle Filter framework is proposed to efficiently manage several hypothesis of geometric transformations: Euclidean, affine, and projective. Each type of transformation is used to compute candidate locations of the object in the current frame. Then, each candidate is evaluated by the measurement model of the Particle Filter using the appearance information. This approach is able to adapt to different camera ego-motion conditions, and thus to satisfactorily perform the tracking. The proposed strategy has been tested on the AMCOM FLIR dataset, showing a high efficiency in the tracking of different types of targets in real working conditions.
Bayesian Inference Model of Clinical Guillain-Barré Syndrome Cases arising from Zika Virus Infections

We gathered case data from eleven locations with confirmed Zika outbreaks and reports of potentially associated Guillain Barré Syndomre (GBS) cases with the goal of estimating the risk of GBS and the number of suspect reported Zika cases per Zika virus (ZIKV) infection (Table 1 in the main text). The data obtained represent total case counts over time spans that vary by location. The data are publicly available and was obtained from either weekly epidemiological bulletins or published research articles: Yap [1], French Polynesia [2], Bahia state in Brazil [3], Colombia [4], Dominican Republic [5], El Salvador [3], Honduras [3], Puerto Rico [6] and Salvador city in Brazil [7], Suriname [3] and Venezuela [3]. It should be noted that all GBS cases reported in Colombia and Puerto Rico displayed symptoms compatible with ZIKV infections. Despite limited specificity and varying surveillance systems [8], suspect cases were used for consistency and variation in surveillance was considered in the model framework. Weekly reports from Puerto Rico aggregate all arboviral disease suspect cases together, but classify confirmed cases as dengue, chikungunya or Zika. To estimate the number of Zika cases, we assumed that among suspect cases, Zika represents the same proportion of the total as in confirmed cases.
THE POPULATION OF GALAXY–GALAXY STRONG LENSES IN FORTHCOMING OPTICAL IMAGING SURVEYS

Ongoing and future imaging surveys represent significant improvements in depth, area, and seeing compared to current data sets. These improvements offer the opportunity to discover up to three orders of magnitude more galaxy–galaxy strong lenses than are currently known. In this work we forecast the number of lenses that will be discoverable in forthcoming surveys and simulate their properties. We generate a population of statistically realistic strong lenses and simulate observations of this population for the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and Euclid surveys. We verify our model against the galaxy-scale lens search of the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, predicting 250 discoverable lenses compared to 220 found by Gavazzi et al. The predicted Einstein radius distribution is also remarkably similar to that found by Sonnenfeld et al. For future surveys we find that, assuming Poisson limited lens galaxy subtraction, searches of the DES, LSST, and Euclid data sets should discover 2400, 120000, and 170000 galaxy–galaxy strong lenses, respectively. Finders using blue-minus-red ( g − i ? > ) difference imaging for lens subtraction can discover 1300 and 62000 lenses in DES and LSST. The uncertainties on the model are dominated by the high-redshift source population, which typically gives fractional errors on the discoverable lens number at the level of tens of percent. We find that doubling the signal-to-noise ratio required for a lens to be detectable approximately halves the number of detectable lenses in each survey, indicating the importance of understanding the selection function and the sensitivity of future lens finders in interpreting strong lens statistics. We make our population forecasting and simulated observation codes publicly available so that the selection function of strong lens finders can easily be calibrated.
A systemic BIM innovation model in the construction supply chain

BIM innovation research has mainly focused on diffusion models of acceptance at the individual and organisational levels. However, BIM has the potential to bring together multiple organisations working collaboratively in a coordinated fashion. Realising this potential requires a study of BIM innovation at the inter-organisational level, which is considered to be systemic BIM innovation. Systemic BIM innovation and its effect in the construction supply chain have not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this paper is to present a critical review of literature on the diffusion of BIM innovation in the construction industry. A conceptual model of systemic BIM innovation is developed and presented. The proposed model incorporates factors such as individual BIM acceptance, organisation's drivers of BIM usage, organisation's linkages, supply chain management challenges, and the role of context. It is found that variables facilitating systemic BIM innovation are interrelated at different analytical levels, and are shaped by the context. Directions for future research and empirical validation are presented.
ENHANCEMENT OF IMMUNE RESPONSES BY PROBIOTIC PROPERTIES OF LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS NCDC 195

Probiotics are microbial food supplements with beneficial effects on human health. Along with the dietary supplement, probiotics also have immunomodulatory properties. Present study was carried out using the in-vivo utilization of albino mice for the study of immunomodulatory effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC 195. To estimate the increase immune responses Nitroblue Tetrazolium reduction test, (Inducible Nitric Oxide synthase) test and Phagocytosis (% age) have been studied. Results were compared with the control value and. It was observed that feeding the Swiss albino mice for 15 days with Probiotic dosage (Yogurt), causes 1.98 times increase in Nitroblue Tetrazolium reduction test as compared to control, whereas Inducible Nitric Oxide synthase and phagocytosis shows 1.71 and 1.82 times increase in immune responses respectively. Cell mediated immune response was also calculated, where there was increase of 1.04, 1.07 and 1.02 times in Delayed Type Hypersensitivity (DTH) as compared to control was observed. Keywords: Immunomodulation, Nitroblue Tetrazolium (NBT) reduction, Probiotic, Phagocytosis, Cell mediated immune response, Inducible Nitric Oxide synthetase.
SCIAMACHY lunar occultation water vapor measurements: retrieval and validation results

Abstract. SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY) lunar occultation measurements have been used to derive vertical profiles of stratospheric water vapor for the Southern Hemisphere in the near infrared (NIR) spectral range of 1350–1420 nm. The focus of this study is to present the retrieval methodology including the sensitivity studies and optimizations for the implementation of the radiative transfer model on SCIAMACHY lunar occultation measurements. The study also includes the validation of the data product with the collocated measurements from two satellite occultation instruments and two instruments measuring in limb geometry. The SCIAMACHY lunar occultation water vapor measurement comparisons with the ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer) instrument have shown an agreement of 5% on the average that is well within the reported biases of ACE in the stratosphere. The comparisons with HALOE (Halogen Occultation Experiment) have also shown good results where the agreement between the instruments is within 5%. The validations of the lunar occultation water vapor measurements with MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) instrument are exceptionally good, varying between 1.5 to around 4%. The validations with MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) are in the range of 10%. A validated dataset of water vapor vertical distributions from SCIAMACHY lunar occultation measurements is expected to facilitate the understanding of physical and chemical processes in the southern mid-latitudes and the dynamical processes related to the polar vortex.
The Inflation Hedging Characteristics of U.S. and U.K. Investments : A Multi-Factor Error

Historic analysis of the inflation hedging properties of stocks has produced anomalous results, with stocks often appearing to offer a perverse hedge. This has been attributed to the impact of real and monetary shocks to the economy, which influence both inflation and asset returns. It has been argued that real estate should provide a better hedge: however, empirical results have been mixed. This paper explores the relationship between commercial real estate returns and economic, fiscal and monetary factors and inflation for U.S. and U.K. markets. Comparative analysis of general equity and small capitalization stock returns is carried out with inflation divided into expected and unexpected components. The analyses are undertaken using an error correction approach. In the long run, once real and monetary variables are included, asset returns are positively linked to anticipated inflation but not to inflation shocks. Adjustment processes are, however, gradual and not within period. Real estate returns, particularly private market returns, exhibit characteristics that differ from those of stocks.
Institutions, Board Structure, and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Chinese Firms

This paper investigates how institutional environment like property rights protection influences the size and composition of corporate boards, and further, how board structure impacts firm performance in China. Using a World Bank survey of 2400 public and private firms across 18 Chinese cities, I find robust evidence that weaker helping hand from the government is associated with a higher number and proportion of outsiders on the board, after controlling for the effects of firm complexity, growth opportunities, CEO characteristics, ownership, and the potential endogeneity concern. Furthermore, the results show that when firms are operating in a weak property rights environment, more outsiders improve corporate performance.
PENGENALAN WAJAH SECARA REAL TIME DENGAN SMARTPHONE ANDROID

Manusia memilik.i kemampuan untuk mengcnali wajah dengan akurasi minimal 90% bahkan ketika tidak bertemu dengan wajah tersebut selama puluban tahun, namun kemampuan seseorang untuk mengingat atau mencocokan wajah tersebut agak kurang. Terkadang pada saat menjumpai seseorang yang ada di album foto, seringkali merasakan sepertinya sudah pernah mengenali ataufami/iar dengan orang tersebut tetap1 tidak mengingat bahkan lupa identitas siapakah orang tersebut. Oleh karena itu dipcrlukan suatu sistem untuk mengenali wajah seseorang yang dapat digunakan sebagai pengingat apakah seseorang yang dijumpai tersebut sudah pemah dikenalt sebelumnya atau belum. Pada tulisan ini, penulis melakukan pengenalan wajah yang menggunakan metode eigenface sebagai metode yang digunakan secara real time. Pada pembuatan sistem ini, penulis menggunakan bahasa pemrograman java dan sistem operasi android sebagai platformnya. Tujuan dalam peoulisan ini adalah dapat mengembangkan aplikasi pengenalan wajah berbasis mobile dengan tingkat akurasi dan kecepatan yang lebih baik secara real time. Pada tahap implementas1 yang dilakukan, menghasilkan hasil pengenalan yang terbaik yaitu dengan dtingkat a.kurasi sebesar 66,67% dengan rata- rata waktu pcngenalannya adalah 333,33 ms dengan kondisi pencahayaan yang menduk:ung.
Dividend Tax Cuts in the United States and Single-Tier Tax Regime in Malaysia: Share Price Reactions to Tax Policy Changes

There is a body of received theories which suggest that tax policy changes actually influence the value of corporations, and affect capital market values. There is strong evidence of share price being changed whenever good or bad news from tax changes occur. This paper provides a very short review of well-known theories, with the aim of showing how tax changes relating to dividends in Malaysia and in the USA do actually affect the values of shares in one mid-income and one high-income economy. Malaysia’s policy change in 2007 to streamline the dividend credit system into a single-tier tax system led to share price increases in Bursa Malaysia. Tax effect in the USA was tested using the good news of dividend tax cuts passed into law on three dates over 2003 and 2010. These findings are very much policy relevant for the ongoing debate, for example, in Malaysia on introducing future goods and sales tax to reduce other taxes.
Employee Engagement and Areas of Worklife of Call Center Agents in the Philippines

This study described the level of work engagement and areas of worklife of 294 call center agents in Ortigas, Pasig City, Philippines. It also investigated the relationship between work engagement and areas of worklife when grouped according to gender, age, tenure at present job and course. In addition, it also explored the differences in the perception of the call center agents when grouped according to the demographic profile. Gamma correlation was carried out to check if correlation exists between the variables of work engagement and variables of areas of worklife. Mood’s median test was conducted to test the differences in the level of engagement and areas of worklife when grouped according to demographic profiles. Results of work engagement showed that those who were aged 31-35 and those who stayed for less than a year in the organization had a high level of dedication. Commerce or Business graduates had a high level of absorption. Results of the areas of worklife showed that majority of the respondents when grouped according to their demographic profile had a match with the variables of fairness, control, values, workload, and community except for the age group of 36 and above who had a mismatch for the variable control. No relationship existed between work engagement and the areas of worklife. Male call center agents are perceived to be more energetic, dedicated and absorbed than female call center agents. Lastly, the areas of control and fairness were reported to differ across all demographic profile of gender, age, tenure at the present job and course.