LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Critical Factors of ERP Adoption for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An Empirical Study

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital and pervasive role in the current development of Taiwan’s economy. Recently, the application of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have enabled large enterprises to have direct contact with their clients via e-commerce technology, which has led to even fiercer competition among the SMEs. This study develops and tests a theoretical model including critical factors which influence ERP adoption in Taiwan’s SMEs. Specifically, four dimensions, including CEO characteristics, innovative technology characteristics, organizational characteristics, and environmental characteristics, are empirically examined. The results of a mail survey indicate that the CEO’s attitude towards information technology (IT) adoption, the CEO’s IT knowledge, the employees’ IT skills, business size, competitive pressure, cost, complexity, and compatibility are all important determinants in ERP adoption for SMEs. The authors’ results are compared with research on IT adoption in SMEs based in Singapore and the United States, while implications of the results are also discussed.
Force and vibration analysis of induction motors

This paper analyzes the radial electromagnetic force of induction motors by using two-dimensional nonlinear finite-element method considering the rotor current coupled with voltage equations. First, we analyze the steady-state characteristics of two induction motors to verify our finite-element model. Using this model, we analyze the radial force at the teeth and slots to clarify the influence of slip and the stator winding and the difference between the line source and a pulsewidth modulation inverter. Finally, we discuss the relationship with a measured vibration velocity.
Rapid octree construction from image sequences

The construction of a three-dimensional object model from a set of images taken from different viewpoints is an important problem in computer vision. One of the simplest ways to do this is to use the silhouettes of the object (the binary classification of images into object and background) to construct a bounding volume for the object. To efficiently represent this volume, we use an octree, which represents the object as a tree of recursively subdivided cubes. We develop a new algorithm for computing the octree bounding volume from multiple silhouettes and apply it to an object rotating on a turntable in front of a stationary camera. The algorithm performs a limited amount of processing for each viewpoint and incrementally builds the volumetric model. The resulting algorithm requires less total computation than previous algorithms, runs in close to real-time, and builds a model whose resolution improves over time. 1993 Academic Press, Inc.
Prasugrel versus clopidogrel in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND
Dual-antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a thienopyridine is a cornerstone of treatment to prevent thrombotic complications of acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary intervention.


METHODS
To compare prasugrel, a new thienopyridine, with clopidogrel, we randomly assigned 13,608 patients with moderate-to-high-risk acute coronary syndromes with scheduled percutaneous coronary intervention to receive prasugrel (a 60-mg loading dose and a 10-mg daily maintenance dose) or clopidogrel (a 300-mg loading dose and a 75-mg daily maintenance dose), for 6 to 15 months. The primary efficacy end point was death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. The key safety end point was major bleeding.


RESULTS
The primary efficacy end point occurred in 12.1% of patients receiving clopidogrel and 9.9% of patients receiving prasugrel (hazard ratio for prasugrel vs. clopidogrel, 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 0.90; P<0.001). We also found significant reductions in the prasugrel group in the rates of myocardial infarction (9.7% for clopidogrel vs. 7.4% for prasugrel; P<0.001), urgent target-vessel revascularization (3.7% vs. 2.5%; P<0.001), and stent thrombosis (2.4% vs. 1.1%; P<0.001). Major bleeding was observed in 2.4% of patients receiving prasugrel and in 1.8% of patients receiving clopidogrel (hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.68; P=0.03). Also greater in the prasugrel group was the rate of life-threatening bleeding (1.4% vs. 0.9%; P=0.01), including nonfatal bleeding (1.1% vs. 0.9%; hazard ratio, 1.25; P=0.23) and fatal bleeding (0.4% vs. 0.1%; P=0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with acute coronary syndromes with scheduled percutaneous coronary intervention, prasugrel therapy was associated with significantly reduced rates of ischemic events, including stent thrombosis, but with an increased risk of major bleeding, including fatal bleeding. Overall mortality did not differ significantly between treatment groups. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00097591 [ClinicalTrials.gov].)
Evaluation of food effect on pharmacokinetics of vismodegib in advanced solid tumor patients.

PURPOSE
Vismodegib, an orally bioavailable small-molecule Smoothened inhibitor, is approved for treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC). We conducted a pharmacokinetic study of vismodegib in patients with advanced solid tumors to explore the effects of food on drug exposure.


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
In part I, patients were randomized to fasting overnight (FO), a high fat meal (HF), or a low fat meal (LF) before a single dose of vismodegib 150 mg. Plasma concentrations of vismodegib were determined by a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay. Primary endpoints were C(max) and area under the curve (AUC(0-168)). In part II, patients randomized to FO or HF in part I took vismodegib 150 mg daily after fasting; those randomized to LF took it after a meal. Primary endpoints after two weeks were C(max) and AUC(0-24).


RESULTS
Sixty (22 FO, 20 HF, 18 LF) and 52 (25 fasting, 27 fed) patients were evaluable for primary endpoints in parts I and II, respectively. Mean C(max) and AUC(0-168) after a single dose were higher in HF than FO patients [ratios of geometric means (90% CI) = 1.75 (1.30, 2.34) and 1.74 (1.25, 2.42), respectively]. There were no significant differences in C(max) or AUC(0-24) between fasting and fed groups after daily dosing. The frequencies of drug-related toxicities were similar in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
A HF meal increases plasma exposure to a single dose of vismodegib, but there are no pharmacokinetic or safety differences between fasting and fed groups at steady-state. Vismodegib may be taken with or without food for daily dosing.
Validation of a Chinese version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Hong Kong and development of a short form.

Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being used in various populations to improve well-being and reduce psychological afflictions. However, there is lack of a validated mindfulness measurement in the Chinese language. This study validated the Chinese version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-C) in both a community sample of 230 adults and a clinical sample of 156 patients with significant psychological distress. Results showed a good test-retest reliability (.88) and a high internal consistency (.83 in the community sample and .80 in the clinical sample). Mindfulness as measured by FFMQ-C has moderate to large correlations with psychological distress and mental well-being. Two of the five subscales (describing and acting with awareness) showed incremental validity over the others in predicting psychological symptoms and mental health. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the five-factor structure of the FFMQ-C and demonstrated adequate model fit. A 20-item short form scale (FFMQ-SF) was developed using the proposed comprehensive criteria. These findings indicate that the FFMQ-C is reliable and valid to measure mindfulness in a Chinese population. Further study is needed to evaluate the psychometric properties of FFMQ-SF.
The study of once- and twice-daily biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) with sitagliptin, and twice-daily BIAsp 30 without sitagliptin, in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on sitagliptin and metformin-The Sit2Mix trial.

AIMS
Investigate efficacy and tolerability of intensifying diabetes treatment with once- or twice-daily biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) added to sitagliptin, and twice-daily BIAsp 30 without sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) inadequately controlled on sitagliptin.


METHODS
Open-label, three-arm, 24-week trial; 582 insulin-naïve patients were randomized to twice-daily BIAsp 30+sitagliptin (BIAsp BID+Sit), once-daily BIAsp 30+sitagliptin (BIAsp QD+Sit) or twice-daily BIAsp 30 without sitagliptin (BIAsp BID), all with metformin.


RESULTS
After 24 weeks, HbA1c reduction (%) was superior with BIAsp BID+Sit vs. BIAsp QD+Sit (BIAsp BID+Sit minus BIAsp QD+Sit difference: -0.36 [95% CI -0.54; -0.17], P<0.001) and BIAsp BID (BIAsp BID minus BIAsp BID+Sit difference: 0.24 [0.06; 0.43], P=0.01). Observed final HbA1c values were 6.9%, 7.2% and 7.1% (baseline 8.4%), and 59.8%, 46.5% and 49.7% of patients achieved HbA1c <7.0%, respectively. Confirmed hypoglycaemia was lower with BIAsp QD+Sit vs. BIAsp BID (P=0.015); rate: 1.17 (BIAsp QD+Sit), 1.50 (BIAsp BID+Sit) and 2.24 (BIAsp BID) episodes/patient-year. Difference in bodyweight change favoured BIAsp QD+Sit vs. both BID groups (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Adding BIAsp 30 to patients with T2D poorly controlled with sitagliptin and metformin is efficacious and well tolerated; however, while BIAsp BID+Sit showed superior glycaemic control, BIAsp QD+Sit had a lower rate of hypoglycaemia and showed no weight gain.
A selective endothelin-receptor antagonist to reduce blood pressure in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Hypertension cannot always be adequately controlled with available drugs. We investigated the blood-pressure-lowering effects of the new vasodilatory, selective endothelin type A antagonist, darusentan, in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension.


METHODS
This randomised, double-blind study was undertaken in 117 sites in North and South America, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. 379 patients with systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or more (>/=130 mm Hg if patient had diabetes or chronic kidney disease) who were receiving at least three blood-pressure-lowering drugs, including a diuretic, at full or maximum tolerated doses were randomly assigned to 14 weeks' treatment with placebo (n=132) or darusentan 50 mg (n=81), 100 mg (n=81), or 300 mg (n=85) taken once daily. Randomisation was made centrally via an automated telephone system, and patients and all investigators were masked to treatment assignments. The primary endpoints were changes in sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Analysis was by intention to treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00330369.


FINDINGS
All randomly assigned participants were analysed. The mean reductions in clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 9/5 mm Hg (SD 14/8) with placebo, 17/10 mm Hg (15/9) with darusentan 50 mg, 18/10 mm Hg (16/9) with darusentan 100 mg, and 18/11 mm Hg (18/10) with darusentan 300 mg (p<0.0001 for all effects). The main adverse effects were related to fluid accumulation. Oedema or fluid retention occurred in 67 (27%) patients given darusentan compared with 19 (14%) given placebo. One patient in the placebo group died (sudden cardiac death), and five patients in the three darusentan dose groups combined had cardiac-related serious adverse events.


INTERPRETATION
Darusentan provides additional reduction in blood pressure in patients who have not attained their treatment goals with three or more antihypertensive drugs. As with other vasodilatory drugs, fluid management with effective diuretic therapy might be needed.


FUNDING
Gilead Sciences.
Study of PEV Charging on Residential Distribution Transformer Life

Due to the characteristics of electric power generation, transmission and distribution in the U.S., experts have identified local distribution as a likely part of the chain to be adversely affected by unregulated PEV (Plug-in Electric Vehicle) charging. This paper presents a study performed to assess the impact of PEV charging on a local residential distribution transformer.
Digital signatures and electronic documents: a cautionary tale

Often, the main motivation for using PKI in business environments is to streamline workflow, by enabling humans to digitally sign electronic documents, instead of manually signing paper ones. However, this application fails if adversaries can construct electronic documents whose viewed contents can change in useful ways, without invalidating the digital signature. In this paper, we examine the space of such attacks, and describe how many popular electronic document formats and PKI packages permit them.
José Lezama Lima, poet of the image

An analysis of the life and work of the Spanish American poet, Jose Lezama Lima, this book places his work in its artistic, cultural and political context and examines his theory of the poetic system of the world. The author aims to make Lezama's work more accessible.
Asthma control cost-utility randomized trial evaluation (ACCURATE): the goals of asthma treatment

BACKGROUND
Despite the availability of effective therapies, asthma remains a source of significant morbidity and use of health care resources. The central research question of the ACCURATE trial is whether maximal doses of (combination) therapy should be used for long periods in an attempt to achieve complete control of all features of asthma. An additional question is whether patients and society value the potential incremental benefit, if any, sufficiently to concur with such a treatment approach. We assessed patient preferences and cost-effectiveness of three treatment strategies aimed at achieving different levels of clinical control:1. sufficiently controlled asthma2. strictly controlled asthma3. strictly controlled asthma based on exhaled nitric oxide as an additional disease marker


DESIGN
720 Patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma from general practices with a practice nurse, age 18-50 yr, daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (more then 3 months usage of inhaled corticosteroids in the previous year), will be identified via patient registries of general practices in the Leiden, Nijmegen, and Amsterdam areas in The Netherlands. The design is a 12-month cluster-randomised parallel trial with 40 general practices in each of the three arms. The patients will visit the general practice at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. At each planned and unplanned visit to the general practice treatment will be adjusted with support of an internet-based asthma monitoring system supervised by a central coordinating specialist nurse. Patient preferences and utilities will be assessed by questionnaire and interview. Data on asthma control, treatment step, adherence to treatment, utilities and costs will be obtained every 3 months and at each unplanned visit. Differences in societal costs (medication, other (health) care and productivity) will be compared to differences in the number of limited activity days and in quality adjusted life years (Dutch EQ5D, SF6D, e-TTO, VAS). This is the first study to assess patient preferences and cost-effectiveness of asthma treatment strategies driven by different target levels of asthma control.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Netherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR1756.
Semantics of programming languages

class Expression { abstract Expression smallStep(State state) throws CanNotReduce; abstract Type typeCheck(Environment env) throws TypeError; } abstract class Value extends Expression { final Expression smallStep(State state) throws CanNotReduce{ throw new CanNotReduce("I’m a value"); } }class Value extends Expression { final Expression smallStep(State state) throws CanNotReduce{ throw new CanNotReduce("I’m a value"); } } class CanNotReduce extends Exception{ CanNotReduce(String reason) {super(reason);} } class TypeError extends Exception { TypeError(String reason) {super(reason);}} class Bool extends Value { boolean value; Bool(boolean b) { value = b; } public String toString() { return value ? "TRUE" : "FALSE"; } Type typeCheck(Environment env) throws TypeError { return Type.BOOL; } } class Int extends Value { int value; Int(int i) { value = i; } public String toString(){return ""+ value;} Type typeCheck(Environment env) throws TypeError { return Type.INT; } } class Skip extends Value { public String toString(){return "SKIP";} Type typeCheck(Environment env) throws TypeError { return Type.UNIT; } }
Highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids are effective in treating phimosis: a prospective randomized study.

PURPOSE
We report a prospective randomized study comparing the effects of highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids in treating pediatric phimosis.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 70 boys 1 to 12 years old with phimosis were randomly assigned to receive topical application of either betamethasone valerate 0.06% (a highly potent steroid) or clobetasone butyrate 0.05% (a moderately potent steroid). Parents of the boys were instructed to retract the foreskin gently without causing pain, and to apply the topical steroids over the stenotic opening of the prepuce twice daily for 4 weeks, then for another 4 weeks if no improvement was achieved. Retractibility of the prepuce was graded from 0 to 5. Response to treatment was arbitrarily defined as improvement in the retractibility score of more than 2 points.


RESULTS
Mean treatment and followup periods were 4.3 and 19.1 weeks, respectively. The response rates in boys treated with betamethasone valerate and clobetasone butyrate were 81.3% and 77.4%, respectively (p = 0.63). Mean retractibility score decreased from 3.9 +/- 1.0 to 1.7 +/- 1.1, and 4.2 +/- 1.0 to 1.9 +/- 1.0 in the betamethasone and clobetasone groups, respectively. Both steroids were effective in all age groups. Pretreatment retractibility score did not affect treatment outcomes. No adverse effect was encountered.


CONCLUSIONS
Highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids are of comparable effectiveness in treating phimosis. A less potent steroid may be considered first to decrease the risk of the potential adverse effects.
In sorrow to bring forth children: fertility amidst the plague of HIV

The HIV epidemic is lowering fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. This decline in fertility appears to reflect a fall in the demand for children, and not any adverse physiological consequences of the disease, as it is matched by changes in the expressed preference for children and the use of contraception, and is not significantly correlated with biological markers of sub-fecundity. A fall in fertility lowers dependency ratios and, for a given savings rate, increases future capital per person. These two effects more than offset the loss of prime working age adults and reduced human capital of orphaned children brought by the epidemic, allowing 27 of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa to cumulatively spend US$ 650 billion, or $5100 per dying adult AIDS victim, on patient care without harming the welfare of future generations. In sum, the behavioral response to the HIV epidemic creates the material resources to fight it.
Friends , Fans , and Followers : Do ads Work on Social Networks ? How Gender and age Shape Receptivity

DOI: 10.2501/JAR-51-1-258-275 INTRoDUCTIoN To generate brand awareness for its Old Spice fragrance line, Procter & Gamble invited Facebook users to “Turn Up Your Man Smell” by becoming “fans” of its products. Within a week, the brand’s fan page had more than 120,000 new fans (Morrisey, 2009). Not content merely to draw fans to its Facebook page, the Red Robin restaurant chain enlisted Facebook users as “brand ambassadors,” asking them to send pre-written recommendations to online friends. Some 1,500 customers—each with an average of 150 friends—agreed to post recommendations, which the company estimates resulted in approximately 225,000 positive advertising impressions (York, 2009). Faced with declining sales in the wake of safety recalls, Toyota used a combination of YouTube videos and Facebook pages to promote its Sienna minivan. Creating a fictional couple who “believe they are cool despite all evidence to the contrary” (Elliott, 2010), the automobile manufacturer broadcast a series of videos through the YouTube site, then solicited Facebook fans, combining both forms of social media. Within a few weeks, each of the YouTube videos had been sought out and viewed an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 times, with approximately 2,000 Facebook users signing on as fans of the Sienna. In these and similar cases, social-networking site (SNS) users not only embraced advertising-related content but actively promoted it. Yet, according to one industry-sponsored study, only 22 percent of consumers had a positive attitude toward social media advertising—and 8 percent of consumers studied had abandoned an SNS because of what they perceived as excessive advertising (AdReaction, 2010). For example, although much of the decline in MySpace usage has been due to users’ abandonment of the site in favor of the “next big thing” (i.e., Facebook), many users have suggested that the propensity of unwanted and unsolicited advertising messages contributed significantly to MySpace’s woes (Vara, 2006). These concerns suggest a delicate balancing act for social-networking advertising (SNA). On one hand, advertising provides revenue that enables sites to survive (or, in some instances, to thrive). On the other hand, overt and/or excessive commercialization in the form of advertising can dilute the appeal of SNSs. Thus, the key to successfully integrating advertising into SNSs is consumer acceptance (i.e., positive attitudes toward SNA). Consumers appear to be willing to accept SNA, but sites that do not manage advertising carefully may be perceived as being “populated by pseudo-users who [are] little more than paid corporate shills” (Clemons et al., 2007, p. 275). To help disentangle the paradox, this study develops and tests a model addressing consumer Friends, Fans, and Followers: Do ads Work on Social Networks? How Gender and age Shape Receptivity