Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Security Behaviors in Personal Computer Usage: A Threat Avoidance Perspective

This study aims to understand the IT threat avoidance behaviors of personal computer users. We tested a research model derived from Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT) using survey data. We find that users’ IT threat avoidance behavior is predicted by avoidance motivation, which, in turn, is determined by perceived threat, safeguard effectiveness, safeguard cost, and self-efficacy. Users develop a threat perception when they believe that the malicious IT is likely to attack them (perceived susceptibility) and the negative consequences will be severe if they are attacked (perceived severity). When threatened, users are more motivated to avoid the threat if they believe that the safeguarding measure is effective (safeguard effectiveness) and inexpensive (safeguard cost) and they have confidence in using it (self-efficacy). In addition, we find that perceived threat and safeguard effectiveness have a negative interaction on avoidance motivation so that a higher level of perceived threat is associated with a weaker relationship between safeguard effectiveness and avoidance motivation or a higher level of safeguard effectiveness is associated with a weaker relationship between perceived threat and avoidance motivation. These findings provide an enriched understanding about personal computer users’ IT threat avoidance behavior.
FairE9: Fair File Distribution over Mesh-Only Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are in the spotlight due to the wide-spreading file-sharing applications. Many file-distributing algorithms have been suggested and implemented. The various solutions need to cope with a heterogeneous and unstable environment, where peers can arrive and depart at a high rate (churn). Sometimes cooperation cannot be assumed. These issues make the structured attitude less practical. Even some of the algorithms that are considered as unstructured try to maintain long-term parent-child relationships. Existing unstructured (mesh-only) algorithms for file-distribution work well on the Internet on the average. But some of the participating peers may suffer from a slow start or high latency because of the randomness of the peer and piece selection for upload and download. In this paper we propose a fair unstructured system for file-distribution from a single source, with no central authority. The proposed protocol is fair both with respect to load balancing and with respect to the latency in each peer. It is based on a novel weights-algorithm that helps peers to determine what piece to ask from which peer, in a manner that increases their chance to get served. In this way it also lowers the overhead. The proposed algorithm welcomes newcomers while being resilient to churn, being resilient to free-riders, and adaptive to heterogeneous bandwidth.
Virtual Product Experience in New Product Development:A Customer-participation Perspective

Enterprises' ability to explore and exploit outside knowledge plays an increasingly important role in new product development(NPD),and customer participation has become an essential way to acquire customers' knowledge and to integrate it into enterprises' NPD process.Virtual product experience(VPE) enables customers to participate in NPD in earlier stages with better results.In this paper,advantages of VPE in NPD,the roles of customers participating in VPE are discussed.Further,a process by which customers can effectively participate in NPD via VPE is proposed,which can be referred to by enterprises when making decisions concerning new product development.
Preliminary design of a multi-touch ultrasonic tactile stimulator

This paper presents a method to control ultrasonic waves on a beam, allowing to obtain a Multi-touch ultrasonic tactile stimulation in two points, to give the sensation to two fingers, from two piezoelectric transducers. The multi-modal approach and the vector control method are used to regulate the vibration amplitude, in order to modulate the friction coefficient with the fingers. An analytical modelling is presented, with experimental validation. Finally a psychophysical experiment shows that a multi-touch ultrasonic tactile stimulation is possible.
Improving logistics efficiency of industrial districts: a framework and case study in the food sector

Focused on food industrial districts, this paper proposes an integrated approach to increase sustainability and efficiency of logistics activities. The approach is conceived to design an integrated food district, starting from a set of independent companies, and to quantify the economic savings that could be gained from the pooled management of logistics and transportation activities. Moreover, some environmental aspects are considered in the framework, as complementary features that could justify the sustainability of the new scenario. The approach was verified through a real-case application targeting companies operating in the Italian district of tomato. Results of the application show that the pooled management of packaging procurement, warehousing and transportation activities could generate significant improvements in the district sustainability, in terms of both efficiency and resources used. Due to the lack of quantitative models for the optimisation of industrial districts, the approach developed can represent a useful addition to the literature.
Practical value of MIB-1 index in predicting behavior of astrocytomas.

BACKGROUND The MIB-1 labeling index (LI) has proved to be useful in assigning grading and prognosis to astrocytomas. The purpose of our study was to analyze the utility of MIB-1 LI in differentiating astrocytomas of varying grades and the possible relationships of MIB-1 LI with clinical parameters like age and sex. We also wanted to study the prognostic role of MIB-1 index in predicting behavior of astrocytomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS Our study included 145 patients with astrocytic tumors of varying grades. Immunolabeling for all patients was done using MIB-1 antibody. Survival data could be obtained for 64 patients. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the difference in MIB-1 LI between different histological grades. The univariate analysis was done by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the multivariate analysis for survival was performed using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS Significant differences were noted in mean MIB-1 LI of high-grade and low-grade diffuse astrocytomas. MIB-1 LI did not vary significantly with age and sex. Univariate analysis showed favorable prognostic factors for low histopathological grade, young patient age and low MIB-1 LI; however, multivariate analysis showed that only histopathological grade had independent prognostic significance. CONCLUSIONS Our study proves that MIB-1 LI is not dependent on factors like age and sex and is solely dependent on histological grade. Though the average level of MIB-1 LI varies considerably in the different grades of astrocytomas, considerable overlap can be observed between them. MIB-1 LI is a very useful adjunct to the histopathological diagnosis and can be of great help in situations where the clinical and radiological findings do not correlate with histological diagnosis.
Financial Assurance Program For IncidentsInduced By Internet-based Attacks In TheFinancial Services Industry

This paper furnishes an analytical model for the generation of a risk-driven financial assurance program capable of preventing, detecting, and responding to financial incidents (FAPG) for a general support system. Risk is defined in the paper as a basic belief assignment. The study reviews a single general support system with a known basic risk, integrating ids evidence and meta-evidence obtained from security management, in order to estimate the current system security risk position. The study shows the functioning of the FAPG, by generating a risk-driven financial assurance program, for a relatively small general support system in a firm in the financial services industry. This study is focused on financial incidents induced by Internet-based attacks but introduces a framework for further research.
Volatility Risk Premia in the G9 Currencies

We study the volatility risk premia for the G9 currencies and find that they are negative, significant, both statistically and economically, and time varying. Our analysis indicates that the currency volatility risk premia covary with other prominent risk premia that have attracted attention in the asset pricing literature, namely the FX carry and the equity risk premium as well as the variance risk premia in other asset classes. However, once the equity variance risk premium is entered in a multiple regression, the statistical and economic significance of the former two is substantially impaired. We interpret these findings as evidence that volatility acts as an aggregate state variable that captures the evolution of the investor's opportunity set rather than just another statistical risk factor. Finally, we find no conclusive evidence that jump risk is priced within the volatility risk premia supporting the view that stochastic volatility and jumps have different effects and are separately priced.
Efficient Detection for DOS Attacks by Multivariate Correlation Analysis

: The interconnected systems are under the threads from the network attack. Denial of service attack is the most common thread. DoS attack attempt to prevent a computer or service from being available. In the proposed system, we present a DoS attack detection system that uses Multivariate Correlation Analysis (MCA) for accurate network traffic characterization by analyzing network traffic pattern. Anomaly based detection is used to detect the attack in Multivariate correlation analysis. This help to detect the known an unknown DoS attacks effectively by learning the patterns of legitimate network traffic. Our model is capable of detecting a intrusion whenever an end host performs any of the DOS attack .
Potential economic losses to the US corn industry from aflatoxin contamination

ABSTRACT Mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungi that colonise food crops, can pose a heavy economic burden to the US corn industry. In terms of economic burden, aflatoxins are the most problematic mycotoxins in US agriculture. Estimates of their market impacts are important in determining the benefits of implementing mitigation strategies within the US corn industry, and the value of strategies to mitigate mycotoxin problems. Additionally, climate change may cause increases in aflatoxin contamination in corn, greatly affecting the economy of the US Midwest and all sectors in the United States and worldwide that rely upon its corn production. We propose two separate models for estimating the potential market loss to the corn industry from aflatoxin contamination, in the case of potential near-future climate scenarios (based on aflatoxin levels in Midwest corn in warm summers in the last decade). One model uses the probability of acceptance based on operating characteristic (OC) curves for aflatoxin sampling and testing, while the other employs partial equilibrium economic analysis, assuming no Type 1 or Type 2 errors, to estimate losses due to proportions of lots above the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) aflatoxin action levels. We estimate that aflatoxin contamination could cause losses to the corn industry ranging from US$52.1 million to US$1.68 billion annually in the United States, if climate change causes more regular aflatoxin contamination in the Corn Belt as was experienced in years such as 2012. The wide range represents the natural variability in aflatoxin contamination from year to year in US corn, with higher losses representative of warmer years.
Executive Compensation and Policy Choices at U.S. Commercial Banks

In response to the huge losses taken by U.S. financial institutions in mortgage-backed securities investments, federal legislators have proposed laws that would constrain the ability of bank boards to freely set the size and terms of executive pay. Underlying these proposals is the belief that corporate risk-taking can be controlled by inserting the proper incentives into executive compensation contracts. We examine whether and how the terms of CEO compensation contracts at large, publicly traded commercial banks between 1993 and 2006 influenced the risk-profiles of these firms, and also whether and how the firms' boards responded to risk-taking by changing the terms of CEO compensation contracts. We find strong evidence linking contractual risk-taking incentives (which we proxy with standard measures of vega and delta) to financially risky business policies, including but not limited to increased investments in mortgage-backed securities and increased operating income from originate-to- securitize banking activities. We also find evidence suggesting that bank boards respond in to mismanagement and excessive risk-taking by altering the incentives in executive compensation contracts in sensible ways. These findings suggest that (a) banking executives were to some extent aware of the risks that they were taking, (b) these risks were taken at least partially in response to the incentives present in their compensation contracts, but (c) government intervention to limit risk-taking incentives in financial executive compensation contracts would at best strengthen, and at worst interfere with, the risk- mitigation behaviors already exhibited by bank boards.
Central and peripheral cardiovascular changes following chemical stimulation of the surface of the dog's heart.

Epicardial stimulation of the left ventricle with nicotine in open-chest anaesthetized dogs produced a vagally mediated reflex fall in heart rate and blood pressure. In addition, reflex increase in femoral arterial blood flow was due to cholinergic sympathetic activation to skeletal muscle vessels. Epicardial stimulation also produced reflex depression of left ventricular force. The epicardial chemoreflex was inactivated by prior intracoronary injection of veratrine.
The Alpha and Beta of Private Equity Investments

This paper introduces a novel methodology to estimate abnormal performance and systematic risk of private equity investments from observable cash flow data. The methodology is validated using detailed Monte-Carlo simulations and is applied to a unique and comprehensive sample of 10,798 (6,380 venture capital and 4,418 buyout) fully realized portfolio company investments by private equity funds. The results show that both venture capital and buyout investments have substantial loadings on the market factor and earn statistically significant positive abnormal returns before fees. The paper also provides the first comprehensive analysis of the differences in systematic risk and abnormal returns across time periods, exit routes, regions, industries, and across companies with different characteristics, such as their stage of development in the venture segment. The results help to develop a more nuanced view of the risk and return characteristics of private equity investments and have important implications for the valuation of private companies.
Students’ off-campus residence and impact on localities: The case of the University of Benin and Ekosodin village

One of the problems facing most Nigerian Universities is inadequate accommodation facilities which makes many students seek accommodation off-campus in the surrounding localities. This paper examines the impact of University of Benin students off-campus residence on Ekosodin village. A field survey was carried out with the use of questionnaire. The study reveals that the presence of the students in Ekosodin has brought significant changes both positively and negatively on the physical and socio economic environment of the village. Although the students enjoy the close proximity between the village and the university, they experience some problems living in the village. These include increase in rent, crime occurrence, and poor supply of water and electricity. The paper therefore urges the state government to improve on the water and electricity supplies, as well as providing adequate security measures in the village. The landlords should also provide boreholes in the hostels for students use.
Comparative results of shockwave lithotripsy for renal calculi in upper, middle, and lower calices.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To assess the results of shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) for renal calculi in upper, middle, and lower calices according to the stone burden. PATIENT AND METHODS A series of 52 female and 66 male patients with a mean age of 47.8 years and isolated single caliceal stones who underwent SWL monotherapy were enrolled. Stone burden, stone location, number of sessions/shockwaves, and auxiliary procedures were noted for each patient. Stones were located in the upper, middle, and lower calices of 35, 43, and 40, patients respectively, with mean stone burdens of 81.4 mm2, 75.2 mm2, and 96.3 mm2, respectively. Patients were evaluated with intravenous urography, plain film, or ultrasonography. Success was determined 3 months after the last session. Re-treatment rates were calculated. The effect of anatomic factors on the success of treatment for lower-caliceal stones also was determined. RESULTS The mean stone burden, median number of treatment sessions, and mean number of shockwaves were 84.2 mm2, 2, and 4344, respectively. The auxiliary procedure rate was 16.1%, and the re-treatment rate was 71.2%. Failure was noted in 26 patients (22%). The stone-free rates for stones in the upper, middle, and lower calices were 82.8%, 83.4%, and 67.5%, respectively (P = 0.14). The stone-free rates for stones <100 mm2 and 100 to 200 mm2 were 91.2% and 65.5%, respectively (P = 0.001). The efficiency quotient was 49.8, 44.8, and 32.5 for upper-, middle-, and lower-caliceal stones, respectively. Infundibular length (P = 0.006) and infundibular width (P + 0.036) were significant in determining the stone-free rate after treatment of lower-caliceal stones. CONCLUSIONS We recommend SWL as the first choice for treatment of stones <200 mm2 in the upper and middle calices. Extracorporeal lithotripsy is one of the options for lower-caliceal stones <200 mm2 but has high re-treatment and auxiliary-procedure rates in these cases.
Marketing of Turkey as a Tourism Destination

ABSTRACT Despite the wealth of resources that Turkey possesses, it is generally believed that this tourism destination has not reached its potential. Turkey is restricted by its international image, its centralization and the limited resources that are available for marketing and communication activities. Furthermore, in the past, Turkey has focused on 3S (sun, sea and sand) mass tourism, targeting lower income level tourists. As capacity has increased steadily in coastal areas, the bargaining power of tour operators has grown, bringing an increasing pressure for lower prices. The new strategies of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism aim at changing this focus and diversifying the tourism product of Turkey. Moreover, a conscious effort is made to attract higher income level groups. The purpose of this article is to provide a critical analysis of current marketing strategies of Turkey in tourism, within the theoretical background of the destination marketing literature.
Case Study of Wireless Networking for Small Business

Mobile and wireless networks have undergone rapid changes and have seen an unprecedented growth during the last few years. Traditional ways of networking have changed to accommodate new lifestyles and newer ways of working. Wireless networks offer several advantages over fixed or wired networks through mobility, flexibility, ease of access, speed of deployment, and low cost. Flexibility of wireless networks facilitates rapid deployment. Finally, this paper identifies the benefits of wireless technology for small businesses and features of wireless networks. Keywords—Wireless Networking, Wireless Technology, Benefits & Features of Wireless Networks.
A Role for the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, But Not the Amygdala, in the Effects of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor on Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking

We have shown that intracerebroventricular administration of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor antagonist D-Phe CRF(12-41), blocks footshock-induced reinstatement of drug seeking in cocaine-trained rats. We now report that D-Phe acts in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and not in the amygdala, to block footshock-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. In addition, CRF injections in the BNST, and not in the amygdala, are sufficient to reinstate cocaine seeking. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine intravenously on a fixed ratio (FR-1) schedule of reinforcement. After 5 drug-free days, animals were returned to the self-administration chambers and given daily extinction and reinstatement test sessions. To test the effects of D-Phe CRF(12-41) on stress-induced reinstatement, rats were pretreated with vehicle or D-Phe in either the BNST (10 or 50 ng per side) or amygdala (50 or 500 ng per side) before being exposed to 15 min of intermittent footshock stress. To test whether injections of CRF itself could induce reinstatement, rats were given vehicle or CRF in either the BNST (100 or 300 ng per side) or amygdala (300 ng per side) 15 min before the session. Injections of D-Phe into the BNST completely blocked footshock-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking; injections of CRF itself in this structure induced reinstatement. Injections of these compounds into the amygdala were without effect. These findings suggest that activation of CRF receptors in the BNST, but not in the amygdala, is critical for footshock-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking.
The Role of Activity Based Budgeting On Target Costing Practices

ABSTRACT This paper aims to analyze the effects of classical (volume-based) and activity based budgeting approaches on target costing practices via a hypothetical application. Also, it is assumed that preferring activity based budgeting rather than the classical one will increase the probability of success of target costing practices. The underlying logical base of this assumption is that in target costing, the specific properties of any product and the required resources to produce it are determined before the production begins, but in classical costing not.
Intraovarian Cavity Leucocytes of Viviparous Fish, Neoditrema ransonneti (Perciformes, Embiotocidae)

Abstract To obtain basic information on the properties of the intraovarian cavity leucocytes (IOCLs) of the viviparous teleost, Neoditrema ransonneti, morphological characteristics and numerical changes of IOCLs during the reproductive cycle were investigated. In the ovaries of newborn females, leucocytes exuded into the lumen were observed first in November, prior to insemination of semen. These cells were primarily macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Among them, macrophages were invariably the largest population throughout the reproductive cycle. They began to phagocytize spermatozoa in December, when spermatozoa were first detected in the ovary. The number of IOCLs gradually increased from November in the newborn female. However, this increase is not ascribed to the effect of copulation or the presence of semen, because the number of leucocytes also increased in non-mating fish. While developing embryos were discharged into the ovarian lumen at the latest in January, a number of spermatozoa and spermatozoa-phagocytizing macrophages were seen until March. Even after the extinction of sperm cells, numerous IOCLs remained in the lumen and coexisted with fetuses until their parturition. These results suggest that IOCLs play roles in successful pregnancy, besides elimination of remaining spermatozoa.