Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge management capacity and organizational performance: the social interaction view

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management capacity and organizational performance from the social interaction perspective. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical study employs a questionnaire approach. The sample for this study is drawn from the population of the top 5,000 Taiwanese firms listed in the yearbook published by the China Credit Information Service Incorporation. Regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 105 Taiwanese firms. Findings - The findings suggest that two assessments of knowledge management capacity, knowledge acquisition and dissemination, and the communication factor of social interaction are positively related to organizational performance. Further, social interaction has complementary or synergistic interaction effects with knowledge management capacity on organizational performance. Practical implications - Given the need for the use of knowledge management capacity as an enabler to improve organization outcome, firms need to be aware that social interaction would moderate the link between knowledge management capacity and organizational performance. Therefore, firms should pay special attention to formulate appropriate social interaction conditions under which knowledge acquisition and dissemination are most likely to enhance organizational performance. Originality/value - This study contributes to the literature by theoretically developing a conceptual model and then empirically examining the relationships among knowledge management capacity, social interaction, and organizational performance.
Speaker invariance for phonetic information: An fMRI investigation

The current study explored how listeners map the variable acoustic input onto a common sound structure representation while being able to retain phonetic detail to distinguish among the identity of talkers. An adaptation paradigm was utilised to examine areas that showed an equal neural response (equal release from adaptation) to phonetic change when spoken by the same speaker and when spoken by two different speakers, and insensitivity (failure to show release from adaptation) when the same phonetic input was spoken by a different speaker. Neural areas that showed speaker invariance were located in the anterior portion of the middle superior temporal gyrus bilaterally. These findings provide support for the view that speaker normalisation processes allow for the translation of a variable speech input to a common abstract sound structure. That this process appears to occur early in the processing stream, recruiting temporal structures, suggests that this mapping takes place prelexically, before sound structure input is mapped onto lexical representations.
DETERMINISTIC PRODUCTION PLANNING WITH CONCAVE COSTS AND CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS.

A multi-period single commodity production planning problem is studied in which known requirements have to be satisfied. The model differs from earlier well-known studies involving concave cost functions in the introduction of production capacity constraints. The structure of an optimal solution is characterized and then used in a simple dynamic programming algorithm for problems in which the capacities are the same in every period. Both the nonbacklog and backlog allowed cases are considered.
INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF MNCS IN SERBIA

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate if intellectual capital (IC) has an impact on organizational performance as well as to identify the IC components that may be the drivers of the traditional indicators of business success. The study sought evidence from the multinational companies which conduct their business in Serbia.Design/methodology/approach – By using data from 37 multinational companies which established their business in Serbia from 2006 to 2008 and applying the VAIC methodology for generating independent variables which reflect IC, regression models were constructed to examine the relationships between the efficient use of MNCs' human and structural capital and corporate performance measures: return on assets, return on equity and productivity.Findings – The results of this study reveal that human capital is positively associated with all three corporate performance measures. The hypothesis regarding a positive association between structural capital and MNCs' profi.
Analytical studies of the dynamics of gaseous detonations

The dynamics of gaseous detonation is revisited on the basis of analytical studies. Problems of initiation, quenching, pulsation and cellular structures are addressed. The objective is to improve our physical understanding of the development, stability and structure of gaseous detonations. New insights that have been gained from analytical investigations are emphasized. Specific problems discussed are the direct initiation of detonations in spherical geometry, the spontaneous soft initiation and quenching of detonations in a temperature gradient, the stability threshold and dynamics of galloping detonations, and the multi-dimensional instability threshold and cellular structures of both overdriven and near-Chapman–Jouguet detonations. It will be seen that, although there have been many accomplishments, some outstanding questions remain.
Differential Diagnosis of Breast Lesions 5 mm or Less: Is There a Role for Magnetic Resonance Imaging?

Objectives: According to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System, foci are small enhanced lesions 5 mm or less in diameter. This study was conducted to (a) assess morphological and dynamic profiles in malignant versus benign foci in breast MR imaging (MRM) and to (b) identify overall diagnostic accuracy of MRM for differential diagnosis of foci. Methods: This study was approved by the local institutional review board; all patients gave written consent. All MRM (T1w-FLASH; 0.1 mmol/kg body weight gadolinium-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid; T2w-TSE; consecutive 12-year period; with histological verification after MRM were evaluated by 2 experienced (>500 MRM) radiologists in consensus using 16 predefined descriptors and were included into a database. A data set was created by extracting all lesions 5 mm or less (benign, 27; malignant, 61). Accuracy of individual descriptors was assessed (Crosstabs, &khgr;2-test; positive/negative likelihood ratios (LR±); diagnostic odds ratio [DOR]). Binary logistic regression analysis was applied to identify overall diagnostic accuracy using all descriptors combined (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve,). Results: Washout was typically associated with malignancy (P < 0.05; DOR, 3.5). Irregular shape was feasible for differential diagnosis of foci (DOR, 7.3), yet majority of malignancies demonstrated a round shape (55.6%). Additional descriptors such as blooming (DOR, 4.0, LR+, 2.8), adjacent vessel (DOR, 4.8; LR+, 4.5), and root sign (DOR, 5.6; LR+, 4.1) showed a high accuracy. Overall accuracy for differentiation of benign versus malignant foci showed an area under the curve of 0.887 (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: Assessment of dynamic and morphological profiles in foci 5 mm or less was feasible. Using all descriptors combined, a high potential for differential diagnosis of foci in magnetic resonance-mammography could be identified.
Retired professional women's past, current and future perceptions of their life satisfaction, health status and locus of control

This thesis examines one hundred retired professional women's (remembered) past, current, and future perceptions of their life satisfaction, health status, and locus of control. Participants in this Melbourne study completed a questionnaire which included the Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI-A), Levenson's multidimensional locus of control scale, and a self-rating of health status. In addition, participants were asked a series of questions concerning the differences between their pre-retirement expectations and their actual retirement experiences. Participants also provided written responses to several open-ended questions. Eighty-four of these retired women took part in an interview. Results show that most retired professional women have substantial life satisfaction, robust health, and an internal control orientation. For a majority of women, their retirement life satisfaction, health status, and internality reflects their experience in pre-retirement. Achieving key life preferences and priorities in preretirement,contributed to the life satisfaction, and, to a lesser extent, the health and internality of most women. A failure to achieve key life preferences and priorities usually resulted in diminished life satisfaction and health for participants. Whilst not achieving key life preferences and priorities may have challenged women's control capacities, it does not appear to have altered their locus of control orientation.
Trends in Texas maternal mortality by maternal age, race/ethnicity, and cause of death, 2006‐2015

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality is a sentinel indicator of health care quality. Our purpose was to analyze trends in Texas maternal mortality by demographic characteristics and cause of death, and to evaluate data quality. METHODS Maternal mortality data were initially analyzed by single years, but then were grouped into 5-year averages (2006-2010 and 2011-2015) for more detailed analyses. Rates were computed per 100 000 live births. A two-proportion z test or Poisson regression for numerators <30 was used to evaluate differences. RESULTS The Texas maternal mortality rate increased from 18.6 in 2010 to 38.7 in 2012, and then declined nonsignificantly to 32.5 in 2015. The 2011-2015 rate (34.2) was 87% higher than the 2006-2010 rate (18.3). In 2011-2015, the maternal mortality rate for women ≥40 years (558.8) was 27 times higher than for women <40 years (20.7). From 2006-2010 to 2011-2015, the maternal mortality rate increased by 121% for women ≥40 years and by 55% for women <40 years. The rate increased by 132% for nonspecific causes of death, and by 54% for specific causes. Rates for women <40 years for specific causes increased by 36%. CONCLUSIONS The observed increase in maternal mortality in Texas from 2006-2010 to 2011-2015 is likely a result of both a true increase in rates and increased overreporting of maternal deaths, as indicated by implausibly high and increasing rates for women aged ≥40 years and among nonspecific causes of death. Efforts are needed to strengthen reporting of death certificate data, and to improve access to quality maternal health care services.
North-South Trade: Is Africa Unusual?

We estimate a gravity model to address the question of whether Africa`s bilateral trade with industrial countries is "unusual" compared with other developing country regions. Our main finding is that the unusually low level of African trade is explained by economic size, geographical distance, and population. This result holds after controlling for a country`s access to the sea, composition of exports, linguistic ties with industrial countries, and trade policies. If anything, the average African country tends to "overtrade" compared with developing countries in other regions, although the degree to which Africa overtrades has steadily declined over the past two-and-one-half decades.
Are Patients Traveling Further

Managed care has been hypothesized to increase patient travel for health care services by steering patients to more distant providers. This raises access concerns. However, if the result is to expand the geographic extent of provider markets, this may ease antitrust concerns about mergers. This research compares travel distances for patients discharged from California hospitals in 1985 and 1991 controlling for payor, diagnosis, and local market conditions. Privately insured patients were more likely to be in managed care than Medicare patients during this period. We expect travel distances to increase for private patients relative to Medicare patients if managed is leading to greater travel. However, for a random sample of patients excluding births and neonatal discharges, we find no evidence relative travel increased. Nor do we find a systematic pattern of increase when we examine travel for specific diagnoses selected on the basis of the urgency and complexity of care.
Do Financial Analysts’ Long-Term Growth Forecasts Matter? Evidence from Stock Recommendations and Career Outcomes

Prior literature portrays long-term growth (LTG) forecasts as nonsensical from a valuation perspective. Instead, we hypothesize that LTG forecasts signal high effort and ability to analyze firms' long-term prospects. We document stronger market response to stock recommendation revisions of analysts who publish accompanying LTG forecasts. We also hypothesize and find that these analysts are less likely to leave the profession or move to smaller brokerage houses. Consistent with Reg. FD's intention to promote fundamental analysis of long-term earnings prospects, post-Reg. FD observations drive our results. Overall, we identify previously undocumented benefits accruing to analysts who publish LTG forecasts.
Shifts in the Employment Conditions of Mexican Migrant Men and Women

Prior studies suggest that the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in 1986 signaled deterioration in the labor market conditions faced by Mexican migrant men. In this article, the authors examine whether and how labor market conditions changed for migrant women after 1986, and the extent to which these shifts were comparable to those experienced by men. Using data about household heads and their spouses from the Mexican Migration Project, they examine sex differences in five employment conditions: hourly wages, hours worked, and the likelihoods of receiving wages in cash and paying federal and Social Security taxes. The authors find significant gender differences in the post-1986 period, especially after 1993 when most avenues to legal visas disappeared. These findings document negative policy impacts on the employment conditions of Mexican migrant men and women, and they suggest particularly precarious employment conditions for women since 1994.
Phase I trial of adoptively transferred tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte immunotherapy following concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) for cancers using autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can induce immune responses and antitumor activity in metastatic melanoma patients. Here, we aimed to assess the safety and antitumor activity of ACT using expanded TILs following concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Twenty-three newly diagnosed, locoregionally advanced NPC patients were enrolled, of whom 20 received a single-dose of TIL infusion following CCRT. All treated patients were assessed for toxicity, survival and clinical and immunologic responses. Correlations between immunological responses and treatment effectiveness were further studied. Only mild adverse events (AEs), including Grade 3 neutropenia (1/23, 5%) consistent with immune-related causes, were observed. Nineteen of 20 patients exhibited an objective antitumor response, and 18 patients displayed disease-free survival longer than 12 mo after ACT. A measurable plasma Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) load was detected in 14 patients at diagnosis, but a measurable EBV load was not found in patients after one week of ACT, and the plasma EBV load remained undetectable in 17 patients at 6 mo after ACT. Expansion and persistence of T cells specific for EBV antigens in peripheral blood following TIL therapy were observed in 13 patients. The apparent positive correlation between tumor regression and the expansion of T cells specific for EBV was further investigated in four patients. This study shows that NPC patients can tolerate ACT with TILs following CCRT and that this treatment results in sustained antitumor activity and anti-EBV immune responses. A larger phase II trial is in progress.
Education and Economic Growth in Chile

Human Capital, or more precisely education, plays an important role in economic growth. Chile's structural reforms in this front have contributed with more than one percentage point of higher growth during the nineties. If we continue in the same human capital trend growth, or even better, if we achieve radical changes that puts us at the standards for developed nations, we could benefit from substantially higher growth rates. This paper critically reviews the Chilean education system and identifies quality as its mayor problem. We study the reforms and their effects on quantity and quality of education and propose further changes that will generate substantial improvements and potential benefits in increased future growth.
SERUM STEROIDS AND PITUITARY HORMONES IN FEMALE PUBERTY: A PARTLY LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Pubertal development of 200 normal girls, 7–17 years of age, was investigated in a partly longitudinal manner with two examinations 1·5 years apart. Samples from postmenarchal girls were taken on days 6–9 and 20–23 of the menstrual cycle. Serum pregnenolone, progesterone, 17‐hydroxyprogesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, 5α‐dihydrotestosterone, androsterone, oestradiol and cortisol as well as ACTH, FSH, LH and prolactin were measured radioimmunologically and were related to bone age, breast and pubic hair developmental stages, and gynaecological age. In the samples of premenarchal girls as well as at the follicular phase of postmenarchal girls the concentration of all the steroids increased with age. Of all the steroids measured, serum dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone displayed the earliest increase, from the youngest age group of 7·5 years onwards. Serum oestradiol, testosterone and androstenedione increased rapidly from the bone age group of 9·5 years (subjects 9·0–9·9 years of age) onwards, in close association with the appearance of the first physical signs of puberty. A marked increase in these three steroids continued until 13·5 years, the age at which menarche took place. Menarche was followed by a plateau of 1–2 years duration and then a second increase took place up to the two oldest age groups (17·5 and 18·5 years bone age), a trend seen in the follicular phase levels of all the steroids measured. The 5α‐dihydrotestosterone/testosterone ratio decreased with increasing testosterone concentration. Serum oestradiol, testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone and FSH showed no overlapping in the 2·5–97·5% range of concentrations and androsterone and LH in the 16–84% range between pre‐pubertal and postmenarchal subjects. Pregnenolone, progesterone, 17‐hydroxyprogesterone, 5α‐dihydrotestosterone, cortisol, ACTH and prolactin overlapped even in the 16–84% range between these two groups of subjects. In postmenarchal girls, about 80% of the cycles were anovulatory in the first year after menarche, 50% in the third and 10% in the sixth year. The background of the majority of the anovulatory cycles seems to be a physiological variant of the pattern seen in the polycystic ovary syndrome: the levels of testosterone, androstenedione and LH were increased in anovulatory cycles compared to ovulatory ones.
Serial in vivo MR tracking of magnetically labeled neural spheres transplanted in chronic EAE mice

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation has been shown to attenuate the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Central to the future success of NSC transplantation in MS is the ability of transplanted cells to migrate from the site of transplantation to relevant foci of disease. Using magnetically labeled mouse neurospheres and human embryonic stem cell (hESC)‐derived neurospheres, we applied serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the biodynamics of transplanted cell migration in a chronic mouse EAE model. Magnetic labeling did not affect the in vitro and in vivo characteristics of cells as multipotential precursors. Cell migration occurred along white matter (WM) tracts (especially the corpus callosum (CC), fimbria, and internal capsule), predominantly early in the acute phase of disease, and in an asymmetric manner. The distance of cell migration correlated well with clinical severity of disease and the number of microglia in the WM tracts, supporting the notion that inflammatory signals promote transplanted cell migration. This study shows for the first time that hESC‐derived neural precursors also respond to tissue signals in an MS model, similarly to rodent cells. The results are directly relevant for designing and optimizing cell therapies for MS, and achieving a better understanding of in vivo cell dynamics and cell–tissue interactions. Magn Reson Med 57:164–171, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Provision in Europe – First Results Approaching Reality in an Unclear Field of Practices

Background: The demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment in the European Union (EU) has led to an increase in the various CAM interventions available to the public. Our aim was to describe the CAM services available from both registered medical practitioners and registered non-medical practitioners. Methods: Our literature search comprised a PubMed search of any scientific publications, secondary references and so-called grey literature, a search of government websites and websites of CAM organisations to collect data in a systematic manner, and personal communications, e.g., via e-mail contact. Due to the different reliability of data sources, a classification was developed and implemented. This weighted database was condensed into tables and maps to display the provision of CAM disciplines by country, showing the distribution of CAM providers across countries. Results: Approximately 305,000 registered CAM providers can be identified in the EU (∼160,000 non-medical and ∼145,000 medical practitioners). Acupuncture (n = 96,380) is the most available therapeutic method for both medical (80,000) and non-medical (16,380) practitioners, followed by homeopathy (45,000 medical and 5,800 non-medical practitioners). Herbal medicine (29,000 practitioners) and reflexology (24,600 practitioners) are mainly provided by non-medical practitioners. Naturopathy (22,300) is dominated by 15,000 (mostly German) doctors. Anthroposophic medicine (4,500) and neural therapy (1,500) are practised by doctors only. Conclusion: CAM provision in the EU is maintained by approximately 305,000 registered medical doctors and non-medical practitioners, with a huge variability in its national regulatory management, which makes any direct comparison across the EU almost impossible. Harmonisation of legal status, teaching and certification of expertise for therapists would be of enormous value and should be developed.
Old document recognition using fuzzy methods

This paper proposes an expert system based on fuzzy logic for optical character recognition of old printed documents. These documents can have some problems, such as distortion, poor printing quality, faded and misprinted characters, speckles and smudges. The recognition process consists of two stages: training with character image examples and classification of new character images. The proposed OCR builds fuzzy membership functions from oriented features extracted using Gabor filter banks. The proposed methodology is tested on three different books from the 17th century, written in Portuguese. The fuzzy recogniser presents a very high character recognition success rate, which confirms the advantage of using expert systems in image based decision systems.