Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of task and time on information behaviour in organisations

This research is about the information behaviour of organizational members in different contexts while dealing with the work tasks. The objectives of the research are to provide an understanding of information seeking, using, and sharing through illuminating answers to “How is organizations’ information behaviour shaped with regard to time pressure and task complexity? ” and “How do organisational members process information in collaborative settings and decide for the next actions in stable vs. unstable environments? ” questions. In work settings, tasks are commonly carried out in groups; information is processed in collaborative manner and affected by situational factors (time and complexity). However, relatively small number of articles presents collaborative information behaviour and its link to situational factors. To contribute to the existing literature, the research aims to explore collaborative information behaviour while carrying out tasks in varying complexity and under time pressure. The research uses qualitative methodology. Data have been collected from Cihan News Agency-Istanbul (CIHAN) and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Disaster Coordination Centre (AKOM) through field observations and interviews. It is a cross case study exploring the differences and commonalities of the information behaviour in two different contexts and two different situations. The interview transcripts and field observation have been interpreted to explain the decision making mode of the organisational members in dynamic environments and the way they process information; and grounded theory approach is used to construct collaborative information behaviour model for the CIHAN and AKOM contexts. Information behaviour models, which are illuminating collaborative information behaviour (CIB), have been introduced as the first contribution of the research. Time pressure and varying task complexity shape the model through illuminating barriers to access information and complex needs of the tasks carried out. The second contribution lies in clarifying the interaction between information behaviour and decision making type (intuitive vs analytical) under time pressure. Time pressure and the nature of the work tasks drive organisational members to use intuition or analytical mode. Activity Theory has been used as the theoretical framework and methodological tool for the research. Activity Theory has been used to investigate individual information behaviour in the literature. Use of Activity Theory to investigate collaborative information behaviour is the methodological contribution.
New approach of stabilization for time-delay continuous Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system

This paper deals with stabilization of continuous Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy models with time-delay based on a Parallel Distributed Compensation (PDC) controller design. Using fuzzy weighting-dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, new sufficient stabilization criteria are established in terms of Linear Matrix Inequality; hence the stability bound of upper bound delay time can be easily estimated. Finally, numeric simulation is given to validate the developed approach.
Reducing Power Consumption in NoC Design with no Effect on Performance and Reliability

High reliability, low power consumption and high performance are key objectives in the design of NoCs. These three design objectives should be considered simultaneously in order to have an optimal design. This paper proposes a method to reduce power consumption of an application specific NoC. This is done in two steps: 1) Extra virtual channels are used in the router architecture to increase the performance in an application specific NoC, and 2) The amount of the performance gain is then set to the initial point using frequency scaling technique, hence reducing the power consumption, without corruption of reliability. The simulation results show that the method can reduce the power consumption up to 20 % depending on the specific application.
Dendritic excitability and calcium signalling in the mitral cell distal glomerular tuft

The processing of odour information starts at the level of the olfactory glomerulus, where the mitral cell distal dendritic tuft not only receives olfactory nerve sensory input but also generates dendrodendritic output to form complicated glomerular synaptic circuits. Analysing the membrane properties and calcium signalling mechanisms in these tiny dendritic branches is crucial for understanding how the glomerular tuft transmits and processes olfactory signals. With the use of two‐photon Ca2+ imaging in rat olfactory bulb slices, we found that these distal dendritic branches displayed a significantly larger Ca2+ signal than the soma and primary dendrite trunk. A back‐propagating action potential was able to trigger a Ca2+ increase throughout the entire glomerular tuft, indicative of the presence of voltage‐gated Ca2+ conductances in all branches at different levels of ramification. In response to a train of action potentials evoked at 60 Hz from the soma, the tuft Ca2+ signal increased linearly with the number of action potentials, suggesting that these glomerular branches were able to support repetitive penetration of Na+ action potentials. When a strong olfactory nerve excitatory input was paired with an inhibition from mitral cell basal dendrites, a small spike‐like fast prepotential was revealed at both the soma and distal primary dendrite trunk. Corresponding to this fast prepotential was a Ca2+ increase confined locally within the glomerular tuft. In summary, the mitral cell distal dendritic tuft possesses both Na+ and Ca2+ voltage‐dependent conductances which can mediate glomerular Ca2+ responsiveness critical for dendrodendritic output and synaptic plasticity.
Liberal cosmopolitan norms and the border: Local actors’ critique of the governance of global processes

Liberal cosmopolitanism provides a set of norms that calls for the openness of borders. Freedom of movement, equality in opportunity and hospitality define a liberal framework for a state’s ruling over the access of foreigners to the territory. However, in states’ execution of border and immigration control these normative ideals seem not to apply. Accounts of border and immigration policy and discourse document a bias towards exclusion, restriction and securitization. It looks as if this normative political theory has no bearing on the real world. This is the starting point for an exploration into the public discourse on liberal cosmopolitan norms and the border. The study finds that most collective actors consider the application of the norms to be utopian. Still, they heavily draw on these norms as a means to critique domestic policies that attempt to regulate global mobility. These are considered to be morally wrong or insufficient for providing equality in opportunities, solidarity, or protection. Actors’ interpretation of key norms such as equality, hospitality and social justice varies significantly which calls for empirical as well theoretical work on the often Janus-faced implications of putting cosmopolitan norms into practice.
Extreme condition, extreme measures? Compliance, drug resistance, and the control of tuberculosis

This paper explores the issue of compliance by focusing on the control of tuberculosis. In the last ten years, patient compliance in tuberculosis control has discursively shifted from ‘direct observation’ of therapy to more patient-centred focus and support drawing on rights-based approaches in dealing with health care provision. At the same time, there has been an increased international concern with the rise of drug resistant forms of tuberculosis, and how to manage this. This paper looks at these issues and the tensions between them, by discussing the shift in discourses around the two and how they relate. Drawing on experience from work in Nepal, and its successful tuberculosis control programme, it looks at debates around this and how these two arenas have been addressed. The rise of increasingly drug resistant forms of tuberculosis has stimulated the development of new WHO and other guidelines addressing how to deal with this problem. The links between public health, ethics and legal mandate are presented, and the implications of this for controlling transmission of drug resistant disease, on the one hand, and the drive for greater patient support mechanisms on the other. Looking forwards to uncertain ethical and public health futures, these issues will be mediated by emergent WHO and international frameworks.
The Acute Stress-Induced Immunoenhancement Hypothesis

Acute stress, such as a bout of exercise, is accepted to cause an array of immunologic changes. Recently, it has been proposed that acute stress activation of the innate immune system might be harnessed as an adjuvant to enhance immune responses to antigen challenge. This review develops the acute stress-induced immunoenhancement hypothesis and its possible role as a vaccine adjuvant.
Normal Boiling Points for Organic Compounds: Correlation and Prediction by a Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship

We recently reported a successful correlation of the normal boiling points of 298 organic compounds containing O, N, Cl, and Br with two molecular descriptors.1 In the present study the applicability of these two descriptors for the prediction of boiling points for various other classes of organic compounds was investigated further by employing a diverse data set of 612 organic compounds containing C, H, N, O, S, F, Cl, Br, and I. The data set was divided into 9 subsets, and additional descriptors were sought for each subset, which, together with the gravitation index and the charged surface area of hydrogen-donor atoms, would model the boiling points. The additional descriptors were then each tested for global relevance and retained only if this was found. A final eight-parameter correlation model was thus deduced which had R2 = 0.965 and a standard error of 15.5 K approaching the estimated average experimental error for the data set. The model appears to be general for a wide variety of organic compounds.
Treat and Extend Versus Treat and Observe Regimens in Wet Age- related Macular Degeneration Patients Treated with Ranibizumab: 3-year Surveillance Period

Objective: To compare the 3-year outcomes of two different dosing regimens used for wet age-related macular degeneration patients treated exclusively with ranibizumab.Methods: A Treat and extend (TAE) dosing group (n=30) and a treat and observe (TAO) dosing group (n=30) were retrospectively recorded. Survival rates (SR) based on visual acuity (VA) outcomes were calculated and analyzed. The central retinal thickness measured with spectral domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) and number of intravitreal injections performed in both groups were also compared.Results: At 36 months, Kaplan-Meier SRs were 90.9% for TAE and 89.7% for TAO (loss 0.05, log-rank test). No differences were found in the final number of injections received: 20.31±6.6 in TAE group vs. 18.41 ± 7.1 in TAO group (p=0.19). Conclusions: Both approaches showed similar number of injections and visual outcomes.
Methods and Results from a New Survey of Values for Eastern Regional Haze Improvements

Abstract A contingent valuation survey was designed and implemented in 2003 to elicit the willingness to pay for haze reduction in scenic areas of the Eastern United States. This survey updated and enhanced a portion of a 1988 survey, Chestnut and Rowe’s Preservation Values Study, which is commonly used to estimate benefits of haze reduction policies. The 2003 survey incorporated features to address criticisms of the 1988 survey regarding its lack of budget constraints and its simplistic descriptions of changes in visibility. In preparing the new survey, we identified a fundamental error in the 1988 survey regarding the amount of visibility change that respondents were asked to value. When corrected, it reduces the estimates in that study of willingness to pay per unit of visibility change by ~40%. More importantly, we estimate that haze reduction benefits based on that study are overstated by ~70%. Results from our 2003 survey demonstrate that the distribution of willingness to pay is highly skewed, which implies that a haze reduction policy of which the costs per person are equal to the average willingness to pay would be rejected by between 70% and 80% of the public if subjected to a majority vote. Moreover, estimates of willingness to pay are sensitive to how respondents are reminded of their budget constraints. We find a statistically significant decline in willingness to pay when budgetary reminders are included. Finally, we find evidence that a large portion of the willingness to pay appears to be associated with improvement on the worst condition days. Little additional value appears to be associated with improvements to the majority of days that have haze conditions nearer the average. These survey results have important implications for policy making on haze reduction.
Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Business Patterns: A Comparison of Koreans and Iranians in Los Angeles 1

There are currently two theoretically controversial issues concerning immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship in the literature, one on its causes and the other on its consequences. The first is the debate about whether ethnic or class resources are more central to the establishment of immigrant/ethnic businesses. The second issue is whether there is a causal connection between ethnic business and ethnic solidarity. Based on a comparison of the two most entrepreneurial immigrant groups in Los Angeles (Koreans and Iranians), this article addresses both issues. Korean immigrants rely more on ethnic resources, whereas Iranians depend more on class resources. Relative utilization of class vs. ethnic resources determines the patterns of immigrant/ethnic businesses rather than their development in the first place. Korean businesses on average are smaller, more concentrated, and serve more co-ethnic and low-income minority customers, while Iranian immigrants are larger, more dispersed, and largely serve white customers. As a result, Koreans have encountered severe intergroup conflict, whereas Iranians have sidestepped it. Our comparison of these two groups suggests that only middleman businesses strengthen ethnic solidarity, although all types of immigrant/ethnic businesses may contribute to ethnic attachment. Paying special attention to business patterns (e.g., size, type, and location) — much neglected variables in research on immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurship — helps in resolving both theoretical issues.
Revision of a Single Type of Large Metal Head Metal-on-Metal Hip Prosthesis

Large-head metal-on-metal (MoM) total hip arthroplasties were introduced because of their purported advantages. Inflammatory pseudotumours occasionally occur after MoM hip arthroplasty and often lead to revision. The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome of revision of large-head MoM total hip arthroplasties after an extensive screening protocol for all MoM articulations with a minimum 2 year follow-up. We identified 50 hips that had undergone large-head MoM total hip arthoplasty and required revision at a mean of 44 months after index operation. Of these, 38 were revised for pseudotumours, 7 for loosening, 2 for infection and 3 for instability. There was bone loss in 44 hips. The majority were revised to a 28 mm metal or ceramic head on a polyethylene-cemented cup. In 12 patients there was a complication. There was a decrease of whole blood cobalt from 20.8 µg/L preoperatively to 1.8 µg/L 1 year after revision. We found 6 residual masses on routine postoperative CT scans. The indication for revision of this cohort is inevitable but the clinical outcome 2 years after revision for pseudotumour is disappointing. Revising a MoM hip arthroplasty to a conventional cemented polyethylene or dual-mobility cup with bone impaction grafting and a 28 mm head can adequately treat the high ion levels and probably the disease of ARMD.
Antibiotic susceptibility testing in less than 30 min using direct single-cell imaging

Significance Antibiotic resistance is a global threat to human health. The problem is aggravated by unnecessary and incorrect use of broad spectrum antibiotics. One way to provide correct treatment and slow down the development of antibiotic resistance is to assay the susceptibility profile of the infecting bacteria before treatment is initiated and let this information guide the choice of antibiotic. Here, we present an antibiotic susceptibility test that is sufficiently fast to be used at the point of care. We show that it is possible to determine if a urinary tract infection is caused by resistant bacteria within 30 min of loading a urine sample, even if the bacterial concentration in the urine is very low. The emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are aggravated by incorrect prescription and use of antibiotics. A core problem is that there is no sufficiently fast diagnostic test to guide correct antibiotic prescription at the point of care. Here, we investigate if it is possible to develop a point-of-care susceptibility test for urinary tract infection, a disease that 100 million women suffer from annually and that exhibits widespread antibiotic resistance. We capture bacterial cells directly from samples with low bacterial counts (104 cfu/mL) using a custom-designed microfluidic chip and monitor their individual growth rates using microscopy. By averaging the growth rate response to an antibiotic over many individual cells, we can push the detection time to the biological response time of the bacteria. We find that it is possible to detect changes in growth rate in response to each of nine antibiotics that are used to treat urinary tract infections in minutes. In a test of 49 clinical uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates, all were correctly classified as susceptible or resistant to ciprofloxacin in less than 10 min. The total time for antibiotic susceptibility testing, from loading of sample to diagnostic readout, is less than 30 min, which allows the development of a point-of-care test that can guide correct treatment of urinary tract infection.
Direct calculation of ice homogeneous nucleation rate for a molecular model of water

Significance Despite the importance of ice nucleation in a wide range of natural and technological systems, it is not trivial to predict its kinetics or unravel its mechanism experimentally. It is also challenging to study the stochastic nature of ice nucleation in computer simulations. The direct calculation of the nucleation rate for realistic molecular models of water is commonly regarded as one of the most challenging open problems in computational studies of water. By applying a novel coarse-graining modification to the forward-flux sampling technique, we perform the first direct rate calculation for TIP4P/Ice, one of the best existing molecular models of water. We also identify the molecular origin of the preference for the cubic polymorph during the homogeneous nucleation process. Ice formation is ubiquitous in nature, with important consequences in a variety of environments, including biological cells, soil, aircraft, transportation infrastructure, and atmospheric clouds. However, its intrinsic kinetics and microscopic mechanism are difficult to discern with current experiments. Molecular simulations of ice nucleation are also challenging, and direct rate calculations have only been performed for coarse-grained models of water. For molecular models, only indirect estimates have been obtained, e.g., by assuming the validity of classical nucleation theory. We use a path sampling approach to perform, to our knowledge, the first direct rate calculation of homogeneous nucleation of ice in a molecular model of water. We use TIP4P/Ice, the most accurate among existing molecular models for studying ice polymorphs. By using a novel topological approach to distinguish different polymorphs, we are able to identify a freezing mechanism that involves a competition between cubic and hexagonal ice in the early stages of nucleation. In this competition, the cubic polymorph takes over because the addition of new topological structural motifs consistent with cubic ice leads to the formation of more compact crystallites. This is not true for topological hexagonal motifs, which give rise to elongated crystallites that are not able to grow. This leads to transition states that are rich in cubic ice, and not the thermodynamically stable hexagonal polymorph. This mechanism provides a molecular explanation for the earlier experimental and computational observations of the preference for cubic ice in the literature.
Association between the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene C677T mutation and colchicine unresponsiveness in Behcet’s disease

Purpose Behcet’s disease (BD) is a multisystemic immunoinflammatory disorder characterized by mucocutaneous, ocular, vascular, and central nervous system manifestations. The common methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T mutation is a known risk factor for thrombosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the MTHFR gene C677 mutation in patients with BD and evaluate if there was an association with clinical features, especially thrombosis, in a relatively large cohort of patients with BD. Methods The study included 318 patients with BD and 207 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was isolated and genotyped using PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism assay for the MTHFR gene C677T mutation. Results The genotype and allele frequencies of the C677T mutation showed a statistically significant difference between BD patients and controls (p=0.003 and p=0.001, respectively). There was also a significant association between C677T alteration and response to colchicine in BD patients (p=0.046). Conclusions The results of this study showed that there was a high association between the MTHFR gene C677T mutation and BD. Stratification analysis according to clinical features for this disease did not reveal an association except response to colchicine that was shown to be influenced by the MTHFR C677T mutation.