Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CASE Tool Support for Variability Management in Software Product Lines

Software product lines (SPL) aim at reducing time-to-market and increasing software quality through extensive, planned reuse of artifacts. An essential activity in SPL is variability management, i.e., defining and managing commonality and variability among member products. Due to the large scale and complexity of today's software-intensive systems, variability management has become increasingly complex to conduct. Accordingly, tool support for variability management has been gathering increasing momentum over the last few years and can be considered a key success factor for developing and maintaining SPLs. While several studies have already been conducted on variability management, none of these analyzed the available tool support in detail. In this work, we report on a survey in which we analyzed 37 existing variability management tools identified using a systematic literature review to understand the tools’ characteristics, maturity, and the challenges in the field. We conclude that while most studies on variability management tools provide a good motivation and description of the research context and challenges, they often lack empirical data to support their claims and findings. It was also found that quality attributes important for the practical use of tools such as usability, integration, scalability, and performance were out of scope for most studies.
Corporate Governance, Incentives, and Industry Consolidations

This article studies the determinants of the success of industry consolidations using a unique sample of firms established at the time of their initial public offering: roll-up IPOs. In these transactions, small, private firms merge into a shell company, which goes public at the same time. These firms deliver poor stock returns; their operating performance mimics that of comparable firms but does not justify their high initial valuations. However, if the managers and owners of the firms included in the transaction remain involved in the business as shareholders and directors, operating and stock price performance improve, and future acquisitions are better received by the market. Higher ownership by the sponsor of the transaction leads to a reduction in performance, consistent with the view that the sponsor's compensation is excessive. These findings highlight the impact of corporate governance on performance. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.
Parametric Model of Combination Therapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

The development and clinical testing of drug combinations for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and other cancers has recently shown great promise. However, determining the optimum combination and its associated dosages for maximum efficacy and minimum side effects is still a challenge. This paper describes a parametric analysis of the dynamics of malignant B-cells and the effects of an anti-sense oligonucleotide targeted to BCL-2 (as-bcl-2), anti-CD-20 (rituximab) and their combination, for a SCID mouse human lymphoma xenograft model of NHL. Our parametric model is straightforward. Several mechanisms of malignant B-cell birth and death in the nodal micro-environment are simulated. Cell death is accelerated by hypoxia and starvation induced by tumor scale, by modification of anti-apoptosis with as-bcl-2, and by direct kill effects of rituximab (cell kill by cytotoxic immune cells is not included, due to the absence of an immune system in the corresponding experiments). We show that the cell population dynamics in the control animals are primarily determined by K*, the ratio of rate constants for malignant cell death, Kd, and cell birth, Kb. Tumor growth with independent treatments is reproduced by the model, and is used to predict their effect when administered in combination. Malignant cell lifetimes are derived to provide a quantitative comparison of the efficacy of these treatments. Future experimental and clinical applications of the model are discussed.
Practice of Social Entrepreneurship among the Muslim Entrepreneurs in Malaysia

The issue of social entrepreneurship got immense importance in the eyes of the researchers recently. Moreover, data are very limited in the context of Malaysia especially for Muslim entrepreneurs. Realizing these current needs and trends, this study aimed at understanding the current level of practice of social entrepreneurship among the Muslim entrepreneurs in Malaysia. This study has conducted total five in-depth interviews of various Muslim social entrepreneurs to reveal the entrepreneurial dimension that is prevailing in the non-profit organizations. Moreover, this study addresses the research gap and proposes a model of social entrepreneurship for Muslim social entrepreneurs. To end with, this study summarized that, social enterprises have a valuable role to play in creating and sustaining civil society, the benefits of which are consumed by the whole of society. It is in society’s interest therefore to ensure that their contribution in this respect is protected.
Patients’ perspectives on services for epilepsy: a survey of patient satisfaction, preferences and information provision in 2394 people with epilepsy

The objectives of this study were to provide a comprehensive survey of satisfaction with care, care preferences and information provision for patients with epilepsy, and to formulate recommendations for the development of epilepsy services based on the findings. A questionnaire was distributed to 4620 patients who were currently receiving antiepileptic drugs for epilepsy, regardless of aetiology, duration or severity. Two different samples of patients with epilepsy were questioned: the first an unselected sample drawn from primary care, and the second consisting of consecutive patients drawn from hospital clinics. There were 2394 responses to the questionnaire. Satisfaction with primary and hospital care was high, both overall and for specific aspects. However, two major shortcomings were identified. First, few respondents felt that their care was shared between hospital and GP. Secondly, provision of information about epilepsy was perceived to be poor, particularly by the elderly. Younger patients and patients with severe epilepsy had a higher satisfaction with and preference for hospital care, whereas older age groups were more satisfied with and preferred primary care. Patients' main reasons for preferring primary care were that it was more personal and the GP was more familiar with them, and secondary care was preferred because the hospital doctor knew more about epilepsy. In conclusion, we have conducted the largest representative UK survey of patients' perceptions and views of the care available for epilepsy. Although patient satisfaction was high, information provision is poor and the shared care model is not operating effectively. We recommend that an emphasis be placed on methods for improving the interface between primary and secondary care. The setting up of hospital epilepsy centres, as recommended by the recently published Clinical Standards Advisory Group report on epilepsy, would provide a focus for these efforts and for information provision.
BEHAVIORAL STUDY OF OBEDIENCE.

This article describes a procedure for the study of destructive obedience in the laboratory. It consists of ordering a naive S to administer increasingly more severe punishment to a victim in the context of a learning experiment. Punishment is administered by means of a shock generator with 30 graded switches ranging from Slight Shock to Danger: Severe Shock. The victim is a confederate of the E. The primary dependent variable is the maximum shock the S is willing to administer before he refuses to continue further. 26 Ss obeyed the experimental commands fully, and administered the highest shock on the generator. 14 Ss broke off the experiment at some point after the victim protested and refused to provide further answers. The procedure created extreme levels of nervous tension in some Ss. Profuse sweating, trembling, and stuttering were typical expressions of this emotional disturbance. One unexpected sign of tension — yet to be explained — was the regular occurrence of nervous laughter, which in some Ss developed into uncontrollable seizures. The variety of interesting behavioral dynamics observed in the experiment, the reality of the situation for the S, and the possibility of parametric variation within the framework of the procedure, point to the fruitfulness of further study.1 OBEDIENCE is as basic an element in the structure of social life as one can point to. Some system of authority is a requirement of all communal living, and it is only the man dwelling in isolation who is not forced to respond, through defiance or submission, to the commands of others. Obedience, as a determinant of behavior, is of particular relevance to our time. It has been reliably established that from 1933–45 millions of innocent persons were systematically slaughtered on command. Gas chambers were built, death camps were guarded; daily quotas of corpses were produced with the same efficiency as the manufacture of appliances. These inhumane policies may have originated in the mind of a single person, but they could only be carried out on a massive scale if a very large number of persons obeyed orders. Obedience is the psychological mechanism that links individual action to political purpose. It is the dispositional cement that binds men to systems of authority. Facts of recent history and observation in daily life suggest that for many persons obedience may be a deeply ingrained behavior tendency, indeed a prepotent impulse overriding training in ethics, sympathy, and moral conduct. C. P. Snow (1961) points to its importance when he writes: When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. If you doubt that, read William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The German Officer Corps were brought up in the most rigorous code of obedience . in the name of obedience they were party to, and assisted in, the most wicked large scale actions in the history of the world [p. 24].
Managing the Moral Implications of Advice in Informal Interaction

What does advice giving look like among family members? Most conversation analytic research on advice has been in institutional settings, which constrain what speakers can do. Here we analyze advice in the apparently freer environment of telephone calls between mothers and their young adult daughters. We concentrate on how the advice is received. Our analysis shows that the position of “advice recipient” is a potentially unwelcome identity to occupy because it implies one knows less than the advice giver and indeed that one may be somehow at fault. Advice can be resisted, but choosing to do so seems to depend on what the interactional costs would be. We discuss the implications for studying advice and promoting advice acceptance as well as the way relationality more generally can be constituted in talk.
Expectations of Mean-Reverting Profitability: The Case of Valuation Multiples

Despite the fact that corporate profits are mean-reverting (according to Fama by 38% a year) and even despite knowledge about this phenomenon is available for more than half a century, investors seem not to incorporate these findings into their expectations. On data from capital markets in EU from 2002 till 2006 we have found that for net income and earnings before interest and tax the average expected speed of abnormal earnings deterioration is about 4.5% to 6.5% a year. The size of abnormal earnings as well as some other factors – company size, P/BV, phase of economic cycle, competitive advantage or leverage – seems to have no significant influence on the expected speed of mean reversion. On the other hand simulations have shown that this quite low expected speed of abnormal profitability deterioration transform into quite significant differences between valuation multiples, which is consistent with findings of some other authors (e.g. Herrmann and Richter).
Post-production Losses in Iodine Concentration of Salt Hamper the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders: A Case Study in Northern Ethiopia

Iodine is essential for good function of the thyroid, and its deficiency is of public-health importance in Ethiopia. Iodization of salt is an effective and sustainable strategy to prevent and control iodine deficiency in large populations. The effectiveness of salt-iodization programmes depends on the conservation of iodine concentration in salt at various stages of the supply-chain. The overall objective of the study was to assess the loss of iodine in salt from production to consumption and to estimate the proportion of adults, especially pregnant women, at risk of dietary iodine insufficiency. A cross-sectional study was conducted during February-April 2007 in northern Ethiopia. Iodine concentrations of salt samples from producers (n=41), retailers (n=7), and consumers (n=32) were determined using iodiometric titration. A risk assessment was conducted for dietary iodine insufficiency among adults, including pregnant women, using a semi-probabilistic approach. The concentration of iodine in the sampled salts decreased by 57% from the production site to the consumers. The assessment of exposure showed that adults in 63% (n=20) of the households, including 90% (n=29) with pregnant women, were at risk of insufficient iodine intake. A monitoring and evaluation system needs to be established to ensure adequate supply of iodine along the distribution chain. Special attention is needed for the retailers and consumers. At these levels, dissemination of information regarding proper storage and handling of iodized salt is necessary to address the reported loss of iodine from salt.
Stochastic Timing, Uniqueness, and Efficiency in Games

In existing game theoretic settings the timing of moves is deterministic, i.e. they occur with certainty at a pre-specified time. To add more realism we propose a framework in which, after an initial simultaneous move in time t = 0, one player gets to revise his action with positive probability at some time 0. Since the initial action of the opponent can be observed, and payoffs accrue over time, the set-up constitutes a dynamic extension of the Stackelberg leadership concept. Allowing for an arbitrary timing distribution, and using both sub game perfection and stochastic stability, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions under which our dynamic revision game has a unique efficient outcome even if the underlying normal form game has no efficient Nash, or multiple ones. Intuitively, the fact that a player is less likely to move than the opponent may serve as a commitment device. Therefore, if the revision opportunity is expected to arrive sufficiently early then the committed players initial cost of mis-coordination or conflict will be more than compensated by ensuring his preferred outcome after the opponents revision. The framework allows, among other things, to address the issue of equilibrium selection in games in which traditional equilibrium selection approaches fail such as the Battle of the Sexes and the Game of Chicken. It also offers some insights into the debate about Pareto-dominance versus risk-dominance.
Comparison of surgical Limberg flap technique and crystallized phenol application in the treatment of pilonidal sinus disease: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to compare the efficacy of crystallized phenol method with Limberg flap in pilonidal sinus treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of pilonidal sinus disease treated with surgical excision + Limberg rhomboid flap technique and crystallized phenol method between 2010-2011 in the Şevket Yılmaz Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery were evaluated retrospectively. Patients' age, sex, length of hospital stay, complications and recurrence rates were evaluated. RESULTS Eighty eight percent of patients were male and mean age was 26.84±6.41 in the Limberg group, and 24.72±5.00 in the crystallized phenol group. Sinus orifice locations and nature, and duration of symptoms before surgery were similar in the two groups. Length of hospital stay in the Limberg group was 1.46±0.61 days; whereas all patients in the crystallized phenol group were discharged on the same day. Infection, hematoma, wound dehiscence, and cosmetic problems were significantly higher in the Limberg group. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of recurrence and seroma formation. CONCLUSION The less invasive method of crystallized phenol application may be an alternative approach to rhomboid excision and Limberg flap in patients with non-complicated pilonidal sinus disease, yielding acceptable recurrence rates.
Phorbol Esters Target the Activity-Dependent Recycling Pool and Spare Spontaneous Vesicle Recycling

Using electrophysiology and styryl dye imaging, we studied the effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on activity-dependent and spontaneous vesicle recycling. In electrophysiological experiments, we found that the PMA effect depended on the maturational state of the synapses. Spontaneous neurotransmitter release from nascent synapses without a functional readily releasable pool (RRP) was unresponsive to PMA application. In contrast, mature synapses responded robustly to PMA application, consistent with previous studies. Using styryl dye imaging, we found that there was a PMA-dependent increase in the size of the RRP when PMA was present before, during, or after activity-dependent dye uptake, suggesting that this effect involves an increase in the population of the RRP by vesicles recruited from the reserve pool. Additionally, we found that when PMA was present during spontaneous dye uptake, there was an increase in dye labeling, and these additional dye-loaded vesicles showed rapid destaining in response to strong stimulation and were also releasable by hypertonic sucrose. In contrast, these observations were not reproducible when PMA treatment was performed after spontaneous dye uptake and extracellular dye washout. Together, these findings suggest that the increased spontaneous neurotransmission in the presence of PMA was attributable to release of vesicles from the RRP rather than an effect of PMA on the spontaneously recycling pool. Thus, the phorbol esters selectively regulate the activity-dependent pool of vesicles, indicating that priming mechanisms that prepare vesicles for fusion, which are targeted by phorbol esters, are different for the spontaneous and evoked forms of fusion.
Effects of Visceral Fat Accumulation Awareness on a Web-Based Weight-Loss Program: Japanese Study of Visceral Adiposity and Lifestyle Information—Utilization and Evaluation (J-VALUE)

A reduction of visceral fat is important for improvement of metabolic risk. This study was designed to compare the effects of a web-based program alone or together with measurement and self-awareness of accumulated visceral fat in Japanese workers. A new noninvasive device to measure visceral fat accumulation was introduced, and efficacy on weight-loss and improvement of healthy behaviors were examined. This study was conducted according to Helsinki declaration and approved by the ethical committee of Japan Hospital Organization, National Kyoto Hospital. Two-hundred and sixteen overweight and obese males with BMI of more than 23 participated from 8 healthcare offices of 3 Japanese private companies. Subjects were randomly allocated into control group, Web-based weight-loss program (Web), or Web + Visceral fat measurement group (Web + VFA). Eighty-one percent of participants completed the study. Reductions of body weight, waist circumference, and BMI were the largest in Web + VFA group, and the differences between groups were significant by ANOVA. Improvements of healthy behaviors were the largest in Web + VFA group, and the differences of healthy eating improvement scores between Web + VFA and control groups were significant. Our findings suggest that measurement and awareness of visceral fat are effective in weight reduction in overweight and obese males in the workplace.
Evaluation of AMSR-E-Derived Soil Moisture Retrievals Using Ground-Based and PSR Airborne Data during SMEX02

Abstract A Land Surface Microwave Emission Model (LSMEM) is used to derive soil moisture estimates over Iowa during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2002 (SMEX02) field campaign, using brightness temperature data from the Advanced Microwave Sounding Radiometer (AMSR)-E satellite. Spatial distributions of the near-surface soil moisture are produced using the LSMEM, with data from the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS), vegetation and land surface parameters estimated through recent Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface products, and standard soil datasets. To assess the value of soil moisture estimates from the 10.7-GHz X-band sensor on the AMSR-E instrument, retrievals are evaluated against ground-based sampling and soil moisture estimates from the airborne Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) operating at C band. The PSR offers high-resolution detail of the soil moisture distribution, which can be used to analyze heterogeneity within the scale of the AMSR-E pixel. Prelim.
Endogenous Institution Formation Under a Catching-Up Strategy in Developing Countries

This paper explores endogenous institution formation under a catching-up strategy in developing countries. Since the catching-up strategy is normally against the compartive advantages of the developing countries, it can not be implemented through laissez-faire market mechanisms, and a government needs to establish non-market institutions to implement the strategy. In a simple two-sector model, the authors show that an institutional complex of price distortion, output control, and a directive allocation system is sufficient to implement the best allocation for the catching-up strategy. Furthermore, removing any of the three components will make it no longer implementable. The analysis also compares the best allocation and prices under the catching-up strategy with their counterparts under no distortions. The results of this paper provide important implications for understanding the institution formation in the developing countries that were pursuing a catching-up strategy after World War II.
Transonic regular reflection for the unsteady transonic small disturbance equation‚Äîdetails of the subsonic solution

We study a Riemann problem for the unsteady transonic small disturbance (UTSD) equation which leads to a regular reflection with subsonic flow behind the reflected shock. The problem is written in self-similar coordinates resulting in a free boundary value problem. A solution is found in a neighborhood of the reflection point using the Schauder fixed point theorem and Schauder estimates for the fixed boundary value problems. The study of the fixed boundary value problem applies to a more general class of operators satisfying certain structural conditions.