Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully

This article examines key success factors for designing and delivering combinations of goods and services (i.e., hybrid offerings) in business markets. Goods manufacturers, unlike pure service providers, find themselves in a unique position to grow revenues through hybrid offerings but must learn how to leverage unique resources and build distinctive capabilities. Using case studies and depth interviews with senior executives in manufacturing companies, the authors develop a resource–capability framework as a basis for research and practice. Executives identify four critical resources: (1) product usage and process data derived from the firm's installed base of physical goods, (2) product development and manufacturing assets, (3) an experienced product sales force and distribution network, and (4) a field service organization. In leveraging these specific resources, successful firms build five critical capabilities: (1) service-related data processing and interpretation capability, (2) execution risk assessment and mitigation capability, (3) design-to-service capability, (4) hybrid offering sales capability, and (5) hybrid offering deployment capability. These capabilities influence manufacturers’ positional advantage in two directions: differentiation and cost leadership. The authors propose a new typology of industrial services and discuss how resources and capabilities affect success across categories of hybrid offers.
Ultimate Objectives for the IRS: Balancing Revenue and Service

Although it is widely understood that the Internal Revenue Service has the mission to collect federal taxes, there is some debate as to whether that is its only mission. If there is a crisis in tax administration, it may be one of identity. There is a consensus that the IRS must collect revenues, but there is little agreement on how and sometimes even whether it should pursue its many other functions. Even members of Congress have waxed and waned between demanding that almost all effort be put into pursuing noncompliance as opposed to emphasizing service and taxpayer rights.
Structure of viruses: a short history

Abstract This review is a partially personal account of the discovery of virus structure and its implication for virus function. Although I have endeavored to cover all aspects of structural virology and to acknowledge relevant individuals, I know that I have favored taking examples from my own experience in telling this story. I am anxious to apologize to all those who I might have unintentionally offended by omitting their work. The first knowledge of virus structure was a result of Stanley's studies of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and the subsequent X-ray fiber diffraction analysis by Bernal and Fankuchen in the 1930s. At about the same time it became apparent that crystals of small RNA plant and animal viruses could diffract X-rays, demonstrating that viruses must have distinct and unique structures. More advances were made in the 1950s with the realization by Watson and Crick that viruses might have icosahedral symmetry. With the improvement of experimental and computational techniques in the 1970s, it became possible to determine the three-dimensional, near-atomic resolution structures of some small icosahedral plant and animal RNA viruses. It was a great surprise that the protecting capsids of the first virus structures to be determined had the same architecture. The capsid proteins of these viruses all had a ‘jelly-roll’ fold and, furthermore, the organization of the capsid protein in the virus were similar, suggesting a common ancestral virus from which many of today's viruses have evolved. By this time a more detailed structure of TMV had also been established, but both the architecture and capsid protein fold were quite different to that of the icosahedral viruses. The small icosahedral RNA virus structures were also informative of how and where cellular receptors, anti-viral compounds, and neutralizing antibodies bound to these viruses. However, larger lipid membrane enveloped viruses did not form sufficiently ordered crystals to obtain good X-ray diffraction. Starting in the 1990s, these enveloped viruses were studied by combining cryo-electron microscopy of the whole virus with X-ray crystallography of their protein components. These structures gave information on virus assembly, virus neutralization by antibodies, and virus fusion with and entry into the host cell. The same techniques were also employed in the study of complex bacteriophages that were too large to crystallize. Nevertheless, there still remained many pleomorphic, highly pathogenic viruses that lacked the icosahedral symmetry and homogeneity that had made the earlier structural investigations possible. Currently some of these viruses are starting to be studied by combining X-ray crystallography with cryo-electron tomography.
Supply chain management between Finland and China : empirical evidence from Vaasa region

This study is part of the CHISU project. Economic growth has increased rapidly for many decades and China offers a lot of possibilities for both large and small companies. This study focuses on purchasing from China and defining the supply chain between Finland and China. The intention is to help SMEs planning to start collaboration with Chinese suppliers. This study focuses on SMEs in Vaasa region. First, this study reviews Chinese markets and development of its economy. The trade between Finland and China was observed as well. Second, the theoretical part of the study focuses on supply chain and supply chain management. In addition, attention is paid to global supply chain and global purchasing as global purchasing has become a critical strategic decision for companies competing on a global basis. Third, in the empirical part of the study, four case companies were interviewed. The goal was to find out the fluency of the supply chain, how the process has developed and what kinds of problems have occurred. The results of the study show that the main factors affecting the selection of suppliers are price, quality, loyalty, and know-how. In general, companies have been very satisfied to the cooperation with Chinese and the supply chain process has been very fluent. Chinese people are hardworking, friendly and precise, and they really respect their customers. In the future, the interest towards China seems to increase. China is offering a numerous chances, and by benefiting these chances might offer assets and success to the companies. However, creating relationships to China takes a great deal of investments, and it includes risks as well. Anyhow, cooperation may offer both business development potential, and opportunity for learning.
An integrated approach for designing office chair with ergonomic consideration

Ergonomic consideration for designing an industrial or office work environment, taking into account both psychological and physical needs of employees, helps to enhance employee's efficiency and productivity. It is essential to find optimum parameters that determine the design of a product, which possesses the characteristics not only to appeal to the users but also reduce fatigue and injury during use. Since most of the psychological needs of customers are difficult to express quantitatively, an integrated approach using statistical and artificial intelligence techniques has been proposed in this article to effectively handle subjective characteristics during the design phase. The approach has been demonstrated by using the design of an office chair. The design parameters have been compared with dimensions outlined in Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
ORGAN CULTURE OF THE RAT ADRENAL MEDULLA: A MODEL SYSTEM FOR THE STUDY OF TRANS‐SYNAPTIC ENZYME INDUCTION

—It was the aim of the present study to develop organ culture conditions for the rat adrenal medulla which are representative for the in vivo situation. This is a prerequisite for studying the complex processes involved in trans‐synaptic enzyme induction. The processes of trans‐synaptic enzyme induction initiated in vivo by injecting 5 mg/kg of reserpine 2 h prior to the removal of the adrenal medulla, continued in this culture system and final levels of tyrosine hydroxylase were comparable to those seen in vivo. That these culture conditions are representative for the in vivo induction is also supported by the fact that transection of the splanchnic fibres supplying the adrenal medulla or administration of actinomycin D prior to reserpine abolished the rise in tyrosine hydroxylase activity not only in vivo, but also in culture.
Stator current based indicators for bearing fault detection in synchronous machine by statistical frequency selection

The aim of this paper is to present some indicators developed for efficient detection of bearing defaults in high speed synchronous machines using a stator current analysis. These actuators are used in an air conditioning fan for aeronautic applications. The signatures of the bearing defects appear through an increase in amplitude of specific current harmonics multiples of the rotation frequency. From an experimental comparison between a healthy fan and another with damaged bearings, an automatic frequency selection is performed to identify the frequency ranges for which the energy is the most sensitive to the considered faults. From these frequencies, several strategies are investigated to propose a suitable indicator for the bearing fault detection. A post-processing algorithm is then developed and tested for different measurements, different types of faults and different operating points, to ensure the robustness of the proposed method.
Hospitalizations for fungal infections after renal transplantation in the United States

Abstract: Fungal infections in renal transplant recipients have not been studied in a national population. Therefore, 33,420 renal transplant recipients in the United States Renal Data System from 1 July 1994 to 30 June 1997 were analyzed in a retrospective registry study of hospitalized fungal infections (FI). FI were most commonly associated with secondary diagnoses of esophagitis (68, 23.9%), pneumonia (57, 19.8%), meningitis (23, 7.6%), and urinary tract infection (29, 10.3%). Opportunistic organisms accounted for 95.4% of infections, led by candidiasis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, and zygomycosis. Most fungal infections (66%) had occurred by six months post‐transplant, but only 22% by two months. In logistic regression analysis, end‐stage renal disease due to diabetes, duration of pre‐transplant dialysis, maintenance tacrolimus and allograft rejection were associated with FI. In Cox regression analysis, recipients with FI had a relative risk of mortality of 2.88 (95% CI=2.22–3.74) compared to all other recipients. Among FI, zygomycosis and aspergillosis were independently associated with both increased patient mortality and length of hospital stay. Most fungal infections in renal transplant recipients were opportunistic, occurred later than previously reported, and were associated with greatly decreased patient survival. Recipients with diabetes, prolonged pre‐transplant dialysis, rejection, and tacrolimus immunosuppression should be considered high risk for FI.
The effect of regional changes in anthropogenic aerosols on rainfall of the East Asian Summer Monsoon

The response of East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) precipitation to long term changes in regional anthropogenic aerosols (sulphate and black carbon) is explored in an atmospheric general circulation model, the atmospheric component of the UK High-Resolution Global Environment Model v1.2 (HiGAM). Separately, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and black carbon (BC) emissions in 1950 and 2000 over East Asia are used to drive model simulations, while emissions are kept constant at year 2000 level outside this region. The response of the EASM is examined by comparing simulations driven by aerosol emissions representative of 1950 and 2000. The aerosol radiative effects are also determined using an off-line radiative transfer model. During June, July and August, the EASM was not significantly changed as either SO2 or BC emissions increased from 1950 to 2000 levels. However, in September, precipitation is significantly decreased by 26.4% for sulphate aerosol and 14.6% for black carbon when emissions are at the 2000 level. Over 80% of the decrease is attributed to changes in convective precipitation. The cooler land surface temperature over China in September (0.8 °C for sulphate and 0.5 °C for black carbon) due to increased aerosols reduces the surface thermal contrast that supports the EASM circulation. However, mechanisms causing the surface temperature decrease in September are different between sulphate and BC experiments. In the sulphate experiment, the sulphate direct and the 1st indirect radiative effects contribute to the surface cooling. In the BC experiment, the BC direct effect is the main driver of the surface cooling, however, a decrease in low cloud cover due to the increased heating by BC absorption partially counteracts the direct effect. This results in a weaker land surface temperature response to BC changes than to sulphate changes. The resulting precipitation response is also weaker, and the responses of the monsoon circulation are different for sulphate and black carbon experiments. This study demonstrates a mechanism that links regional aerosol emission changes to the precipitation changes of the EASM, and it could be applied to help understand the future changes in EASM precipitation in CMIP5 simulations.
Bestatin Inhibits Cell Growth, Cell Division, and Spore Cell Differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

ABSTRACT Bestatin methyl ester (BME) is an inhibitor of Zn2+-binding aminopeptidases that inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in normal and cancer cells. We have used Dictyostelium as a model organism to study the effects of BME. Only two Zn2+-binding aminopeptidases have been identified in Dictyostelium to date, puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase A and B (PsaA and PsaB). PSA from other organisms is known to regulate cell division and differentiation. Here we show that PsaA is differentially expressed throughout growth and development of Dictyostelium, and its expression is regulated by developmental morphogens. We present evidence that BME specifically interacts with PsaA and inhibits its aminopeptidase activity. Treatment of cells with BME inhibited the rate of cell growth and the frequency of cell division in growing cells and inhibited spore cell differentiation during late development. Overexpression of PsaA-GFP (where GFP is green fluorescent protein) also inhibited spore cell differentiation but did not affect growth. Using chimeras, we have identified that nuclear versus cytoplasmic localization of PsaA affects the choice between stalk or spore cell differentiation pathway. Cells that overexpressed PsaA-GFP (primarily nuclear) differentiated into stalk cells, while cells that overexpressed PsaAΔNLS2-GFP (cytoplasmic) differentiated into spores. In conclusion, we have identified that BME inhibits cell growth, division, and differentiation in Dictyostelium likely through inhibition of PsaA.
SPICE models of nonlinear capacitors for simulation of ferroelectric circuits

The paper presents SPICE models of nonlinear capacitors for analysis of ferroelectric circuits. The capacitors can be defined by either charge-voltage or voltage-charge closed form expressions. Additionally the model for series connection of any number of nonlinear capacitors is proposed. The model takes into account trapped charges of internal connections. Numerical experiments for ferroelectric circuits confirmed the correctness of the proposed approach.
Modeling and Application for Multiobjective Flow-shop Scheduling Using Hybrid Genetic Algorithms

Numerous real-world problems relating to flow-shop scheduling are characterized by combinatorially explosive alternatives as well as multiple conflicting objectives and are denoted as multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems. The problem of multiobjective optimization with setup times in flow shop is considered in this study. The objective function of the problem is minimization of the weighted sum of total completion time, makespan, maximum tardiness and maximum earliness. An integer programming model is developed for the problem which belongs to NP-hard class by using the hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) to move from local optimal solution to near optimal solution for flow-shop scheduling problems. Small size problems and large size problems can be solved by the proposed integer programming model. Computational experiments are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed HGA algorithm.
Advertising and the Sale of Novels

EORGE H. DORAN, looking back on a T lifetime of varied and successful publishing, remarked, "The great profession of publishing has measurably degenerated into a business of mass production where each highly enterprising publisher of the new era seeks by advertising and other ultra-modern methods to out-yell his contemporaries of this new dispensation. " The book industry in this new role has certain characteristics which create for it a unique marketing problem. Competitive organization, a limited and unstable market, a product which changes every season and defies standardization, and over-production in relation to the effective demand, are among the problems which confront the publisher. In addition to this, the industry seeks to satisfy a public taste, thought to be wholly unpredictable. A glance at the output and average sale per title of the book industry will illustrate the problem of over-production. In 1935 there were 2I5 publishing houses in the United States which put out five or more books each. Together they placed on the market 6,914 new titles and 1,852 new editions. Of these, 1,362 titles were new fiction. That these figures represent a wasteful over-production of new titles which is injurious to the industry is suggested by the small number of copies of most of them sold. Of a sample list from the same year the average sale per title was 5,523 copies, the median sale was only
Determinants of SMEs Performance in Nigeria: A Pilot Study

The objective of this research work is to examine and explore quantitatively a small sample of data on the determinants of SMEs Performance in Nigeria. The study adopted survey approach to collect 46 usable questionnaires from SMEs in Kano as one of the strata based on stratified random sampling method. The model produces six factors that are used as a determinant of SMEs performance in Nigeria. Therefore, validity and reliability of the instruments were examined through panel of expert and also the small sample of the data was analyzed using SPSS v18. Results confirmed the validity and reliability of the instruments adapted in the pilot study. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015. v6n1p156
Characterization and photocatalytic performance evaluation of various metal ion-doped microstructured TiO2 under UV and visible light

Commercially available microcrystalline TiO2 was doped with silver, ferrous and ferric ion (1.0 mol %) using silver nitrate, ferrous sulfate and ferric nitrate solutions following the liquid impregnation technology. The catalysts prepared were characterised by FESEM, XRD, FTIR, DRS, particle size and micropore analysis. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared catalysts was tested on the degradation of two model dyes, methylene blue (3,7-bis (Dimethylamino)-phenothiazin-5-ium chloride, a cationic thiazine dye) and methyl blue (disodium;4-[4-[[4-(4-sulfonatoanilino)phenyl]-[4-(4-sulfonatophenyl)azaniumylidenecyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene]methyl]anilino]benzene sulfonate, an anionic triphenyl methane dye) under irradiation by UV and visible light in a batch reactor. The efficiency of the photocatalysts under UV and visible light was compared to ascertain the light range for effective utilization. The catalysts were found to have the anatase crystalline structure and their particle size is in a range of 140-250 nm. In the case of Fe2+ doped TiO2 and Fe3+ doped TiO2, there was a greater shift in the optical absorption towards the visible range. Under UV light, Ag+ doped TiO2 was the most efficient catalyst and the corresponding decolorization was more than 99% for both the dyes. Under visible light, Fe3+ doped TiO2 was the most efficient photocatalyst with more than 96% and 90% decolorization for methylene blue and methyl blue, respectively. The kinetics of the reaction under both UV and visible light was investigated using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood pseudo–first-order kinetic model. Kinetic measurements confirmed that, Ag+ doped TiO2 was most efficient in the UV range, while Fe3+ doped TiO2 was most efficient in the visible range.
Enterprise Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing Environment -The

Enterprise security and privacy in public cloud computing environment in Africa is a burning issue that presents the concept of cloud computing and risk factors associated with it. With the advancement in Information technology, cloud computing has made access to computing resources a lot easier, but with that convenience has come a whole new universe of threats and vulnerabilities. The security challenges that cloud computing presents, especially for public clouds whose infrastructure and computational resources are owned by an outside party that sells those services to the general public, are formidable. Hence, this article presents the technological impacts and threats associated with cloud computing in Africa. Review method was used in this work. Works of different authors and bodies were collated and analyzed to help x-ray data accessibility, information dissemination, data integrity, privacy, and data security in a public cloud computing environment. Since cloud computing helps to keep businesses growing beyond boundary in Africa, it is recommended that more security measures should be adopted to improve data security.
[The vertigo syndrome, magnetic resonance and magnetic angiography of the head in patients on a chronic hemodialysis program].

BACKGROUND Vertiginous syndrome appears in more then 100 diseases, therefore subject of intensive investigation. Insufficient research has been done on vertiginous syndrome in patients on chronic program of haemodialisis. The aim of this study is to search anatomical and structural changes on blood vessels of the brain by neuroimaging techniques, as well as increased circulatory resistance on TCD, in patients on chronic program of haemodialysis. METHODS The research has been done on 30 patients with vertiginous syndrome, 22 males and 8 females, average age 45.9 years, average duration of haemodialysis 5.83 +/- 4.5. In all patients relevant diagnostic procedures had been done (EEG, TCD, audio vestibulogram, X-ray of cervical spine), and in 14 patients with increased circulatory resistance TCD we have done MRI and MRA of the brain. Pathological EEG has been found in 10%, 40% of the patients have had normal EEG finding, while 50% had slowing (non-specific disfunction) in EEG record. RESULTS MRI and MRA had been done in 14 patients of average age 51.21 +/- 10.82. In 13 patients we had a pathological finding of MRI and MRA, while in one patient only we had normal finding of MRA, and another one patient with normal MRI scan. In 64.2% of the sample we have had cortical cerebral atrophy, in 57.1% cortical atrophy of cerebellum, while in 35.8% apart from the mentioned changes atrophy of cerebellar vermis had been found. In 71.4% of all patients cerebrovascular disease (stroke) could be identified. Atherosclerosis changes in blood vessels of anterior or posterior circulatory segment were found in 78.5% of the patients, while spasm of arteries had been registered in 21.4% of the sample. CONCLUSION MRI and MRA of the brain brought light on aethiological aspect of vertigo in these patients. Results of our research indicate vascular aethiology of vertiginous syndrome in patients on chronic program of haemodialysis.