Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The innovation adoption process: A multidimensional approach

Abstract The study analyses the broad sets of factors that influence the innovation adoption process in the environmental, organizational, top managers,’ innovation and user acceptance context. The innovation adoption process is presented as a sequence of stages, progressing from initiation through adoption decision to implementation of an innovation and it is considered at the organizational level. The Delphi survey conducted among 264 experts of a diverse professional and academic experience allowed examining the perceived significance of each factor for the various stages of the innovation adoption process. The results of the analysis show that the considered factors do not affect the innovation adoption process with the same strength but exert varying levels of influence on the subsequent stages. The study discusses the implications of these findings and suggests ideas for future research.
WLC22-4: Efficient Request Mechanism Usage in IEEE 802.16

IEEE 802.16 protocols for metropolitan broadband wireless access systems have been standardized recently. According to the standard, a subscriber station can deliver bandwidth request messages to a base station by numerous methods. This paper provides both the simulation and analytical models for the investigation of specified random access method, which is compared with centralized polling and station- grouping mechanisms. Based on the assumptions of Bernoulli request arrival process and ideal channel conditions, the mean delay of a request transmission is evaluated for varying number of transmission opportunities and different arrival rates.
Results of evaluating health care workers with prick and patch testing.

BACKGROUND Health care workers are exposed to many agents that can cause irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. Recently, much attention has been focused on latex sensitivity, which commonly causes contact urticaria. Most studies have examined the conditions of irritant or allergic contact dermatitis and contact urticaria independently. Therefore, we have little information about the possible occurrence of these conditions in the context of combined assessment including both prick and patch testing. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis and contact urticaria in a group of health care workers presenting with skin problems. METHODS Retrospective review of health care workers assessed by both prick and patch testing in an occupational health clinic. RESULTS The diagnoses included 61% with irritant contact dermatitis, 31% with allergic contact dermatitis, and 27% with contact urticaria to latex. Eleven percent had both allergic contact dermatitis related to thiuram and contact urticaria to latex. Ninety five percent were deemed to be work-related. CONCLUSION Health care workers presenting with skin complaints should be assessed with both prick and patch testing.
The neurobiology of affect in language

Series Editor's Foreword. Acknowledgments. Introduction. The Theory. The Neural Mechanism. Some Data: Questionnaires. Some More Data: Diary Studies and Autobiographies. Implications. The Role of Affect in First Language Acquisition. The Role of Affect in Cognition. References. Appendix. Index. Credits.
Influence of large local and non-local bispectra on primordial black hole abundance

Primordial black holes represent a unique probe to constrain the early universe on small scales—providing the only constraints on the primordial power spectrum on the majority of scales. However, these constraints are strongly dependent on even small amounts of non-Gaussianity, which is unconstrained on scales significantly smaller than those visible in the CMB. This paper goes beyond previous considerations to consider the effects of a bispectrum of the equilateral, orthogonal and local shapes with arbitrary magnitude upon the abundance of primordial black holes. Non-Gaussian density maps of the early universe are generated from a given bispectrum and used to place constraints on the small scale power spectrum. When small, we show that the skewness provides an accurate estimate for how the constraint depends on non-Gaussianity, independently of the shape of the bispectrum. We show that the orthogonal template of non-Gaussianity has an order of magnitude weaker effect on the constraints than the local and equilateral templates.
An approximation theory for strongly stabilizing solutions to the operator LQ Riccati equation

The linear-quadratic (LQ) control problem is considered for a class of infinite-dimensional systems with bounded input and output operators, that are not exponentially stabilizable, but only strongly stabilizable. A sufficient condition for the existence of a minimizing control and of a stabilizing solution to the associated LQ Riccati equation is given. The main contribution of the paper is the convergence of the stabilizing solutions of a sequence of finite-dimensional Riccati equations to the strongly stabilizing solution of the infinite-dimensional Riccati equation. We illustrate the approximation result with an example of LQ control for a model of propagation of sound waves in a one-dimensional waveguide.
Self-Efficacy: Implications for Physical Activity, Function, and Functional Limitations in Older Adults

Attenuating the physical decline and increases in disability associated with the aging process is an important public health priority. Evidence suggests that regular physical activity participation improves functional performance, such as walking, standing balance, flexibility, and getting up out of a chair, and also plays an important role in the disablement process by providing a protective effect against functional limitations. Whether these effects are direct or indirect has yet to be reliably established. In this review, the authors take the perspective that such relationships are indirect and operate through self-efficacy expectations. They first provide an introduction to social cognitive theory followed by an overview of self-efficacy’s reciprocal relationship with physical activity. They then consider the literature that documents the effects of physical activity on functional performance and functional limitations in older adults and the extent to which self-efficacy might mediate these relationships. Furthermore, they also present evidence that suggests that self-efficacy plays a pivotal role in a model in which the protective effects conferred by physical activity on functional limitations operate through functional performance. The article concludes with a brief section making recommendations for the development of strategies within physical activity and rehabilitative programs for maximizing the major sources of efficacy information.
Systemic lupus erythematosus and genetic variation in the interleukin 1 gene cluster: a population based study in the southeastern United States

Background: Interleukin (IL)1α and IL1β, and their endogenous receptor antagonist (IL1Ra), have been related to the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the role of IL1 polymorphisms in the aetiology of SLE is unknown. Objective: To examine polymorphisms at IL1α −889(C→T), IL1α +4845(C→T), IL1β −511(C→T), IL1β +3953(G→T), and IL1Ra (86 bp VNTR) in a population based study of SLE in North Carolina and South Carolina. Methods: Genotypes from 230 cases who met ACR classification criteria, and from 275 controls matched for age, sex, and state, were analysed separately for African Americans and whites. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by logistic regression models for each locus alone and also after adjusting for polymorphisms at adjacent loci. Results: An increased risk of SLE for the IL1α −889C/C genotype compared with carriage of the −889T allele was found in both African Americans (OR = 3.1, p = 0.001) and whites (OR = 2.9, p = 0.005). In African Americans, carriage of the IL1β −511T allele was associated with a higher risk of SLE than carriage of the −511C/C genotype (OR = 2.4, p = 0.017), independent of variation at IL1α −889. Conclusions: The observed associations support the hypothesis that genetic variation in IL1 is involved in the aetiology of SLE and merit further investigation.
The efficacy of a diabetic educational program and predictors of compliance of patients with noninsulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The concept of detection and management of diabetes mellitus at primary health-care centers is justified and widely practised in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of diabetic educational programs for noninsulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus patients, and to determine the predictors of compliance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A longitudinal experimental research design was adopted for this study and conducted at the diabetic outpatient clinic of King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A convenient sample of 150 adult patients diagnosed as type 2 diabetes was included in this study. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the body mass index (BMI) of patients, an improvement in regular self-checks of blood sugar, dietary regimen, foot care, and exercise and lifestyle behavior following the educational program. It was observed that patients' knowledge of diabetes had improved after exposure to the educational program in the three-time intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibited significant change in both BMI, sugar accumulation, and adherence to medication after attending the educational program, and there was evidence of improved knowledge of regular self-checks of blood sugar, dietary regimen, foot care, exercise, and lifestyle behavior.
DOES KLEPTOPARASITISM BY GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS LIMIT THE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF TUFTED PUFFINS?

Abstract Interspecific kleptoparasitism (food stealing) occurs in many seabird species and can sometimes significantly affect host individuals and populations. We investigated effects of kleptoparasitism by Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) on a population of Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) in which almost all chicks die before fledging in some years. Rates of kleptoparasitism were estimated during two seasons and compared with several spatial and temporal factors that have been predicted to influence kleptoparasitism rates both within and among seasons. Kleptoparasitism rates increased from 2% in the first year to 19% in the second, whereas puffin fledging success declined precipitously from 81% in the first year to 11% in the second. Within years, kleptoparasitism rates increased with number of puffins returning with fish, decreased during fair weather, and were unaffected by tidal height. Spatially, those rates increased with puffin burrow density and declined with angle of the nesting slope. Gull kleptoparasitism success increased during foul weather and at higher puffin nesting elevations. Despite those associations, survival of puffin chicks was not influenced by kleptoparasitism activity near their nests although it increased with a combination of low elevation and high slope at the nesting burrow. Neither kleptoparasitism nor predation by gulls were exceptional relative to other seabird colonies and they were unlikely to cause reproductive failures that characterize puffins at that site. Other factors, particularly food shortages at sea, merit further attention in explaining those failures.
Discovering performance bounds for grid scheduling by using evolutionary multiobjective optimization

In this paper, we introduce a methodology for the approximation of optimal solutions for a resource allocation problem in the domain of Grid scheduling on High Performance Computing systems. In detail, we review a real-world scenario with decentralized, equitable, and autonomously acting suppliers of compute power who wish to collaborate in the provision of their resources. We exemplarily apply NSGA-II in order to explore the bounds of maximum achievable benefit. To this end, appropriate encoding schemes and variation operators are developed while the performance is evaluated. The simulations are based upon recordings from real-world Massively Parallel Processing systems that span a period of eleven months and comprise approximately 100,000 jobs. By means of the obtained Pareto front we are able to identify bounds for the maximum benefit of Grid computing in a popular scenario. For the first time, this enables Grid scheduling researchers to rank their developed real-world strategies.
SOCLEER: A social-based energy-efficient forwarding protocol for opportunistic networks

Opportunistic networks are formed by selforganizing wireless nodes, in which data delivery is not guaranteed, due to intermittent end-to-end connectivity. In order to infer future contact opportunities, a large amount of information extracted from the context of users, such as its social behavior, associated to connectivity metrics have been used to design new forwarding protocols for opportunistic networks. Yet one open issue in this approach is the frequent usage of repeated nodes considered as the most likely to deliver the messages, thus funneling forwarded information towards certain routes containing such nodes overloading them and, therefore, causing a faster consumption of its battery resources. This paper presents SOCLEER, a social-based forwarding protocol which proposal is to relieve the constant demand for nodes considered most popular for forwarding messages in an opportunistic network. To this end, a performance evaluation was fulfilled and the SOCLEER protocol obtained better results than BUBBLE-Rap on forwarded messages load distribution, as well as a battery consumption reduction of preferred nodes when also compared to Epidemic and PROPHET protocols.
Recreational drug use and binge drinking: stimulant but not cannabis intoxication is associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Binge drinking is elevated among recreational drug users, but it is not clear whether this elevation is related to intoxication with recreational drugs. We examined whether stimulant intoxication and cannabis intoxication were associated with binge drinking among young adults. DESIGN AND METHODS An online survey of 18- to 30-year-old Australians who had drunk alcohol in the past year (n = 1994) were quota sampled for: (i) past year ecstasy use (n = 497); (ii) past year cannabis (but not ecstasy) use (n = 688); and (iii) no ecstasy or cannabis use in the past year (alcohol-only group, n = 809). Binge drinking last Saturday night (five or more drinks) was compared for participants who took stimulants (ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamine or methamphetamine) or cannabis last Saturday night. RESULTS Ecstasy users who were intoxicated with stimulants (n = 91) were more likely to binge drink than ecstasy users who were not (n = 406) (89% vs. 67%), after adjusting for demographics, poly-drug use and intoxication with cannabis and energy drinks (adjusted odds ratio 3.1, P = 0.007), drinking a median of 20 drinks (cf. 10 drinks among other ecstasy users). Cannabis intoxication was not associated with binge drinking among cannabis users (57% vs. 55%) or ecstasy users (73% vs. 71%). Binge drinking was more common in all of these groups than in the alcohol-only group (34%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Stimulant intoxication, but not cannabis intoxication, is associated with binge drinking among young adults, compounding already high rates of binge drinking among people who use these drugs.
Associations between hospital and surgeon procedure volumes and patient outcomes after ovarian cancer resection.

BACKGROUND Strong associations between provider (i.e., hospital or surgeon) procedure volumes and patient outcomes have been demonstrated for many types of cancer operation. We performed a population-based cohort study to examine these associations for ovarian cancer resections. METHODS We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database to identify 2952 patients aged 65 years or older who had surgery for a primary ovarian cancer diagnosed from 1992 through 1999. Hospital- and surgeon-specific procedure volumes were ascertained based on the number of claims submitted during the 8-year study period. Primary outcome measures were mortality at 60 days and 2 years after surgery, and overall survival. Length of hospital stay was also examined. Patient age at diagnosis, race, marital status, comorbid illness, cancer stage, and median income and population density in the area of residence were used to adjust for differences in case mix. All P values are two-sided. RESULTS Neither hospital- nor surgeon-specific procedure volume was statistically significantly associated with 60-day mortality following primary ovarian cancer resection. However, differences by hospital volume were seen with 2-year mortality; patients treated at the low-, intermediate-, and high-volume hospitals had 2-year mortality rates of 45.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 42.1% to 48.4%), 41.1% (95% CI = 38.1% to 44.3%), and 40.4% (95% CI = 37.4% to 43.4%), respectively. The inverse association between hospital procedure volume and 2-year mortality was statistically significant both before (P = .011) and after (P = .006) case-mix adjustment but not after adjustment for surgeon volume. Two-year mortality for patients treated by low-, intermediate-, and high-volume surgeons was 43.2% (95% CI = 40.7% to 45.8%), 42.9% (95% CI = 39.5% to 46.4%), and 39.5% (95% CI = 36.0% to 43.2%), respectively; there was no association between 2-year mortality and surgeon procedure volume, with or without case-mix adjustment. After case-mix adjustment, neither hospital volume (P = .031) nor surgeon volume (P = .062) was strongly associated with overall survival. CONCLUSION Hospital- and surgeon-specific procedure volumes are not strong predictors of survival outcomes following surgery for ovarian cancer among women aged 65 years or older.
Discontinued Postnatal Thymocyte Development in Sphingosine 1-Phosphate-Lyase-Deficient Mice12

Circulation of lymphocytes through peripheral lymphoid tissues as well as progenitor entry into the thymus and its output of mature T cells are critical for normal immune function. Egress of lymphocytes from both peripheral lymphoid organs and thymus is dependent on sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) gradients. S1P-lyase 1 (SGPL1) deficiency leads to accumulation of S1P in lymphoid tissues, which blocks lymphocyte egress and induces thymus atrophy. In this study, we investigated thymocyte development in SGPL1-deficient mice (SGPL1−/−), which exhibited postnatal discontinuation of early thymocytopoiesis starting at 2 wk after birth. SGPL−/− thymi showed a loss of developing thymocytes in the thymic cortex between 2 and 4 wk of age, whereas mature thymocytes accumulated in the medulla. Detailed analysis demonstrated a deficit in thymic early T cell progenitors (ETP) as the principal reason for discontinued thymocyte development. This developmental block was accompanied by accumulation of ceramides, resulting in enhanced apoptosis of developing T cells. Lack of immigration or settlement of ETP completely halted thymocyte development. We conclude that increased ceramide levels in the thymus of SGPL1−/− mice abrogate thymic development postnatally by enhanced thymocyte apoptosis and depletion of thymic ETP. Our findings indicate that potentially therapeutic immunosuppression by SGPL1 inhibition should benefit from monitoring ceramides to prevent their increase to apoptosis- inducing levels.
Regeneration of Dopaminergic Function in 6-Hydroxydopamine-Lesioned Rats by Neuroimmunophilin Ligand Treatment

Nonimmunosuppressant immunophilin ligands have been found previously to stimulate neurite growth in culture and to promote regeneration of peripheral and central nerve fibers in vivo. To further characterize the effectiveness of these ligands, we have investigated the effect of the immunophilin ligand GPI-1046 in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats. In unlesioned rats, tetanic stimulation of the white matter induced long-term potentiation (LTP) of corticostriatal synaptic transmission as indicated by a 40-100% increase in the field potential amplitudes recorded in striatal brain slices. Unilateral microinjection of 6-OHDA into the substantia nigra resulted in a loss of corticostriatal LTP and in significant abnormality of motor behavior as assessed by amphetamine-induced ipsilateral rotations. Daily treatment of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats with GPI-1046 (10 mg/kg, s.c.) for 1 week reduced amphetamine-induced rotations by 75% and greatly restored the striatal tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining. In addition, GPI-1046 almost completely restored corticostriatal LTP in 6-OHDA-lesioned animals. LTP in normal animals and that restored by GPI-1046 in lesioned animals were both blocked by the NMDA receptor antagonist APV, suggesting mediation by NMDA receptors. Both LTPs were sensitive to dopamine (DA) receptor antagonists. The nonselective DA receptor antagonist chlorpromazine and the selective D1-D5 receptor antagonist SCH23390 reduced the LTP by 90%. These results demonstrate that the immunophilin ligand GPI-1046 can reverse the abnormalities in the substantia nigra-striatal dopaminergic system that are caused by 6-OHDA, thus providing a potential therapeutic agent for Parkinson's disease.
Career Concerns and Staged Investment: Evidence from the Venture Capital Industry

I develop a model in which career concerns lead to inefficient reinvestment decisions. Managers have incentives to inflate interim returns by continuing bad projects and delaying write-offs. In the venture capital industry, the syndication of follow-on investments can help to solve this problem by providing an intermediate, arm’s-length valuation. The evidence suggests that young venture firms do use syndication to certify investment quality. Moreover, the gap in quality between syndicated and non-syndicated investments measured by ex post outcomes is especially high for young venture firms, consistent with the hypothesis that career concerns reduce the efficiency of staged investment. * I would like to thank Paul Gompers, Oliver Hart, Josh Lerner, Asis Martinez-Jerez, Scott Mayfield, Rick Ruback, Andrei Shleifer, Jeremy Stein, Geoff Verter, Noam Wasserman, Jeff Wurgler and seminar participants at Harvard University and Harvard Law School for helpful comments. This study has been supported by the Division of Research of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Judgment under uncertainty: Conservatism in human information processing

… An abundance of research has shown that human beings are conservative processors of fallible information. Such experiments compare human behavior with the outputs of Bayes's theorem, the formally optimal rule about how opinions (that is, probabilities) should be revised on the basis of new information. It turns out that opinion change is very orderly, and usually proportional to numbers calculated from Bayes's theorem – but it is insufficient in amount. A convenient first approximation to the data would say that it takes anywhere from two to five observations to do one observation's worth of work in inducing a subject to change his opinions. A number of experiments have been aimed at an explanation for this phenomenon. They show that a major, probably the major, cause of conservatism is human misaggregation of the data. That is, men perceive each datum accurately and are well aware of its individual diagnostic meaning, but are unable to combine its diagnostic meaning well with the diagnostic meaning of other data when revising their opinions. … Probabilities quantify uncertainty. A probability, according to Bayesians like ourselves, is simply a number between zero and one that represents the extent to which a somewhat idealized person believes a statement to be true. The reason the person is somewhat idealized is that the sum of his probabilities for two mutually exclusive events must equal his probability that either of the events will occur.