Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond Total Quality Management: Toward The Emerging Paradigm

Part 1 The need for a paradigm shift: global competitiveness and change TQM and the foundation of the emerging paradigm organizational culture and the paradigm shift management role resonsibilities. Part 2 The core concepts of the emerging paradigm: concepts for customer value strategic managmeent and the emerging paradigm measurement of customer value organizing to improve systems variation I - interpreting its meaning variation II - understanding causes. Part 3 Making the paradigm shift: strategic linkage of operations through employee involvement culture change and organizational learning.
Does Requiring a Technology Course in Preservice Teacher Education Affect Student Teacher’s Technology Use in the Classroom?

Abstract In this article, we discuss findings of a preliminary study of preservice teacher education students taking a technology course in fall 1999 and serving as student teachers in spring 2000. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of this required one-semester technology course on reported attitudes toward, self-efficacy with, and use of technology by elementary preservice educators at a university in the southwestern United States. The study informed us in many ways, some of which were disappointing but enlightening. From this study, we determined that one undergraduate technology course does not necessarily cause student teachers to use technology in their curriculum. Perhaps an investigation of this kind should also look at new teachers in the first year of their careers for demonstration of technology use from their teacher education program.
A Guide to Conducting a Systematic Literature Review of Information Systems Research

This working paper has been thoroughly revised and superseded by two distinct articles. The first is a revised and peer-reviewed version of the original article: Okoli, Chitu (2015), A Guide to Conducting a Standalone Systematic Literature Review. Communications of the Association for Information Systems (37:43), November 2015, pp. 879-910. This article presents a methodology for conducting a systematic literature review with many examples from IS research and references to guides with further helpful details. The article is available from Google Scholar or from the author's website. The second extension article focuses on developing theory with literature reviews: Okoli, Chitu (2015), The View from Giants’ Shoulders: Developing Theory with Theory-Mining Systematic Literature Reviews. SSRN Working Paper Series, December 8, 2015. This article identifies theory-mining reviews, which are literature reviews that extract and synthesize theoretical concepts from the source primary studies. The article demonstrates by citation analysis that, in information systems research, this kind of literature review is more highly cited than other kinds of literature review. The article provides detailed guidelines to writing a high-quality theory-mining review.
The Role of Oceanic Mesoscale Features on the Tropical Cyclone-Induced Mixed Layer Response: A Case Study

Oceanic mixed layer (ML) response to Hurricane Gilbert in the western Gulf of Mexico is investigated in this paper using the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM). Three snapshots of oceanic observations indicated that a Loop Current Warm Core Eddy (LCWCE) contributed significantly to the ML heat and mass budgets. To examine the time evolution of different physical processes in the ML, MICOM is initialized with realistic, climatological, and quiescent conditions for the same realistic forcing. The ML evolves differently for the realistic background condition with the LCWCE in the domain; differences between climatological and quiescent conditions remain small. Mixed layer temperature (MLT) and ML depth (MLD) differences of up to 18C and 30 m are directly attributed to horizontal advective processes in the LCWCE regime due to preexisting velocities. Comparison of simulated temperatures using realistic conditions in the model shows improved agreement with profiler observations. Using four entrainment mixing parameterizations, the spatial and temporal ML evolution is investigated in MICOM simulations. Although the rates of simulated cooling and deepening differ for the four schemes, the overall pattern remains qualitatively similar. For the three schemes that use surfaceinduced turbulence to predict entrainment rate, the cooling pattern extends farther away from the track. Based on linear regression analysis, MLTs simulated using the bulk Richardson number closure fit the observed temperatures better than did the other schemes. Averaged surface fluxes ranged from 10% to 30% in the directly forced region, with larger values in the LCWCE regime. Overall, entrainment mixing remains the dominant mechanism in controlling the heat and mass budgets.
Low dose of propranolol does not affect rat osteotomy healing and callus strength

Experimental studies suggest that the β‐blocker propranolol stimulates bone formation but little work has investigated its effect on fracture healing. In this study, we examined if a low dose of propranolol, previously shown to be preventive against bone loss in rats, improves bone repair. Female Wistar rats were injected with saline or propranolol (0.1 mg/kg/day) (n = 20/group), 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Three weeks after the beginning of treatment, all rats underwent a mid‐diaphyseal transverse osteotomy in the left femur. Radiographic analysis of ostetomy healing was performed 2 and 5 weeks after osteotomy. Rats were sacrificed at 5 weeks and femora collected for measurements of fracture strength by torsional testing, callus volume, and mineral content by micro‐CT analysis and histology of fracture callus. Eighty nine percent of osteotomies achieved apparent radiological union by 5 weeks in both groups. Propranolol treatment did not significantly alter the torsional strength of the fractured femur compared with controls. The volume and mineralization of fracture callus at 5 weeks were not significantly different in both groups. Histology showed that endochondral ossification was not affected by propranolol. Altogether, our results demonstrate that propranolol using the regimen described does not significantly improve or inhibit rat osteotomy healing and mechanical strength. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 32:887–893, 2014.
Democracy and Trust: Liberty against the democratic state: on the historical and contemporary sources of American distrust

As he contemplates his choices, Dole has been getting shriller, reducing some arguments to buzz words and phrases that sound like they've been culled from market-research groups, and repeating them over and over. “The bottom line is trust,” Dole shouted at the Fairfeld County Fair Thursday night. “Who do you trust? Who do you trust? Who do you trust? Who do you trust? Who do you trust? Who do you trust? Who do you trust? ” … Dole's top economic issue, a 15 percent tax cut, has been similarly distilled. “We believe that the federal government is too big, and it spends too much of your money, your money, your money,” the candidate says. (Report on the Dole campaign in The Boston Globe , October 12, 1996) Introduction It is now common knowledge among political scientists and commentators that America currently faces what Robert Putnam recently called a crisis of “civic engagement. ” On nearly all indicators of political involvement, it has been found that citizens are either not participating or doing so in alarmingly declining percentages. “By almost every measure,” Putnam (1995a) writes, “Americans' direct engagement in politics and government has fallen steadily over the last generation despite the fact that average levels of education – the best predictor of political participation – have risen sharply throughout this period. ” This decline, he further argues, is part of a broader erosion of “social capital” in which “virtually all segments of society have been affected by this lessening of social connectedness, and this trend, in turn, is strongly correlated with declining social trust. ”
Immunolocalization of Glucose Transporter GLUT4 Within Human Skeletal Muscle

To investigate the cellular and subcellular distributioi of glucose transporters in skeletal muscle, the gluco transporter isoform GLUT4 was localized in human muscle by electron microscopy via immunogold labeling with monoclonal (1F8) or COOH-terminal peptide polyclonal (ECU4) antibody and in isolated rat membranes by Western blot. There was no labeling c GLUT4 in endothelial cells of the capillaries. There also was no labeling of GLUT4 on the surface plasms membrane (sarcolemma) under either basal or insulin-stimulated conditions. Specific labeling for GLUT4 was clearly observed in two compartments: within the trie (on terminal cisternae and transverse tubules) and on an intracellular compartment, possibly sarcoplasmic tubules. Isolated triad membranes from rat muscle al contained substantial quantities of GLUT4 transporte but there was no detectable GLUT4 protein in isolate sarcolemmal membranes. These data suggest a possible mechanism that involves glucose transport across the muscle cell at the transverse tubule membrane, not the sarcolemma.
The knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers in Sri Lanka towards childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE To assess the knowledge and attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among primary school teachers in the Gampaha District. METHODS A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of Gampaha district using a stratified sampling method. The knowledge and attitudes on ADHD were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire distributed among all the consenting primary school teachers in the selected schools. RESULTS Total of 202 completed questionnaires of 210 distributed were returned. The majority showed good understanding about ill effects ofADHD, teachers' role in management and counterproductive effects of punishment. Three-fourths had a positive attitude towards behavioural therapy. However, only a minority had adequate knowledge about the presentation of ADHD and its treatment with medication. More than 80% of teachers believed that the parents were to be blamed for the child's ADHD. The majority of participating teachers also believed that behavioural disturbances caused by ADHD children were deliberate and malicious. Teachers who had training in child psychology recorded a significantly higher knowledge and had a more favourable attitude. CONCLUSIONS The knowledge of ADHD and its treatment among primary school teachers needs to be improved. Particular focus should be on improving attitudes and disseminating the message that timely interventions can make a difference in the educational and social development of the child.
The White Dwarf Luminosity Function from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Imaging Data

A sample of white dwarfs is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 3 using their reduced proper motions, based on improved proper motions from combined SDSS and USNO-B data. Numerous SDSS and follow-up spectra (Kilic and coworkers) are used to quantify completeness and contamination of the sample; kinematics models are used to understand and correct for velocity-dependent selection biases. A luminosity function is constructed covering the range 7 < Mbol < 16, and its sensitivity to various assumptions and selection limits is discussed. The white dwarf luminosity function based on 6000 stars is remarkably smooth and rises nearly monotonically to Mbol = 15.3. It then drops abruptly, although the small number of low-luminosity stars in the sample and their unknown atmospheric composition prevent quantitative conclusions about this decline. Stars are identified that may have high tangential velocities, and a preliminary luminosity function is constructed for them.
Electrophysiology of posterior, NaCl-absorbing gills of Chasmagnathus granulatus: rapid responses to osmotic variations

SUMMARY In the present study, the influence of short-term osmotic variations on some electrophysiological properties related to NaCl absorption across posterior gills of Chasmagnathus granulatus was investigated. The transepithelial potential difference (Vte) of isolated and perfused gills increased significantly when hyposmotic saline (699 mosmol l-1) was used instead of isosmotic solution (1045 mosmol l-1). A reduction of the concentration of Na+ or Cl- at constant osmolarity did not produce any change in Vte. Transepithelial short-circuit current (Isc) and conductance (Gte), measured with split gill lamellae mounted in a modified Ussing chamber, also increased after changing to hyposmotic salines (Isc: from -89.0±40.8 μA cm-2 to -179.3±37.0 μA cm-2; Gte: from 40.5±16.9 mS cm-2 to 47.3±15.8 mS cm-2). The observed effects of reduced osmolarity were fast, reversible and gradually dependent on the magnitude of the osmotic variation. The activity of the Na+/K+-ATPase increased significantly after perfusion with hyposmotic saline, from 18.73±6.35 μmol Pi h-1 mg-1 to 41.84±14.54 μmol Pi h-1 mg-1. Theophylline maintained part of the elevated Vte induced by hyposmotic saline, suggesting that an increased cellular cyclic AMP level is involved in the response to reduced osmolarity. In summary, the results indicate that the hemolymph osmolarity regulates active transbranchial NaCl absorption by modulating the activity of the basolateral Na+/K+-ATPase and by changing a conductive pathway, probably at the apical membrane.
An asteroseismic study of the β Cephei star θ Ophiuchi: constraints on global stellar parameters and core overshooting

We present a seismic study of the β Cephei star θ Ophiuchi. Our analysis is based on the observation of one radial mode, one rotationally split � = 1 triplet and three components of a rotationally split � = 2 quintuplet for which the m values were well identified by spectroscopy. We identify the radial mode as fundamental, the triplet as p1 and the quintuplet as g1. Our non-local thermodynamic equilibrium abundance analysis results in a metallicity and CNO abundances in full agreement with the most recent updated solar values. With X ∈ [0.71, 0.7211] and Z ∈ [0.009, 0.015], and using the Asplund et al. mixture but with a Ne abundance about 0.3 dex larger, the matching of the three independent modes enables us to deduce constrained ranges for the mass (M = 8.2 ± 0.3 M� ) and central hydrogen abundance (Xc = 0.38 ± 0.02) of θ Oph and to prove the occurrence of core overshooting (αov = 0.44 ± 0.07). We also derive an equatorial rotation velocity of 29 ± 7k m s −1 . Moreover, we show that the observed non-equidistance of the � = 1 triplet can be reproduced by the second-order effects of rotation. Finally, we show that the observed rotational splitting of two modes cannot rule out a rigid rotation model.
The Great Moderation in the euro area: What role have macroeconomic policies played ?

Most OECD countries have experienced a sharp reduction in the volatility of output and inflation over the past three decades. Although this Great Moderation process has stirred considerable interest in economic and policy circles, research on its causes has so far tended to focus on the US economy and has produced relatively little empirical evidence on the euro area or other non-US OECD countries. This paper contributes to fill in the gap by providing a euro-area view of the Great Moderation process and by assessing the euro-area experience against developments in other OECD countries. Its main focus is on the possible role of macroeconomic policies. After reviewing a set of key stylised facts of the fall in output growth volatility in the euro area, the paper discusses the possible channels through which economic policies may have contributed to the Great Moderation and resents the results of an econometric panel analysis of the determinants of output growth volatility. Its main conclusion is that the Great Moderation is not just the result of a long period of luck in the form of milder shocks but can also partly be ascribed to changes in economic policies, in particular improvements in the conduct of monetary policy and, to a lesser extent, more powerful automatic fiscal stabilisers.
Wideband analysis of indoor MIMO channels

The application of MIMO communication systems in real environments will invariably require systems to operate over wideband channels. Although suitable techniques for processing wideband MIMO channels have been reported, their evaluation has mainly been based on simulation using modelled channels. In this paper we investigate some of the properties of wideband MIMO channels and compare the characteristics of simulated channels with those measured in indoor environments at 5.2GHz.
The Deuterium-to-Oxygen Ratio in the Interstellar Medium

Because the ionization balances for H I, O I, and D I are locked together by charge exchange, the deuterium-to-oxygen ratio, D/O, is an important tracer for the value of the D/H ratio and for potential spatial variations in the ratio. As the D I and O I column densities are of similar orders of magnitude for a given sight line, comparisons of the two values will generally be less subject to systematic errors than comparisons of D I and H I, which differ by about 5 orders of magnitude. Moreover, D/O is additionally sensitive to astration, because as stars destroy deuterium, they should produce oxygen. We report here the results of a survey of D/O in the interstellar medium performed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. We also compare these results with those for D/N. Together with a few results from previous missions, the sample totals 24 lines of sight. The distances range from a few to ~2000 pc and log N(D I) from ~13 to ~16 cm-2. The D/O ratio is constant in the local interstellar medium out to distances of ~150 pc and N(D ) ≃ 1 × 1015 cm-2, i.e., within the Local Bubble. In this region of the interstellar space, we find D/O = (3.84 ± 0.16) × 10-2 (1 σ in the mean). The homogeneity of the local D/O measurements shows that the spatial variations in the local D/H and O/H must be extremely few, if any. A comparison of the Local Bubble mean value with the few D/O measurements available for low-metallicity quasar sight lines shows that the D/O ratio decreases with cosmic evolution, as expected. Beyond the Local Bubble, we detected significant spatial variations in the value of D/O. This likely implies a variation in D/H, as O/H is known to not vary significantly over the distances covered in this study. Our data set suggests a present-epoch deuterium abundance below 1 × 10-5, i.e., lower than the value usually assumed, around 1.5 × 10-5.
A Recurrent Neural Network for Multiple Language Acquisition: Starting with English and French

How humans acquire language, and in particular two or more different languages with the same neural computing substrate, is still an open issue. To address this issue we suggest to build models that are able to process any language from the very beginning. Here we propose a developmental and neuro-inspired approach that processes sentences word by word with no prior knowledge of the semantics of the words. Our model has no "pre-wired" structure but only random and learned connections: it is based on Reservoir Computing. Our previous model has been implemented in the context of robotic platforms where users could teach basics of the English language to instruct a robot to perform actions. In this paper, we add the ability to process infrequent words, so we could keep our vocabulary size very small while processing natural language sentences. Moreover, we extend this approach to the French language and demonstrate that the network can learn both languages at the same time. Even with small corpora the model is able to learn and generalize in monolingual and bilingual conditions. This approach promises to be a more practical alternative for small corpora of different languages than other supervised learning methods relying on big data sets or more handcrafted parsers requiring more manual encoding effort.
Dietary Practices, Dining Out Behavior, and Physical Activity Correlates of Weight Loss Maintenance

Introduction Loss of excess weight can improve blood lipids, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure. However, data are scant on behavioral strategies related to maintenance of weight loss. We examined dietary practices, physical activity, and self-efficacy among adults self-reported to be successful at maintaining weight loss. Methods Using the 2004 Styles survey, a mailed survey of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older, we examined behaviors associated with weight loss maintenance among people who reported trying to lose weight. We analyzed data on number of daily fruit and vegetable servings, minutes per week of physical activity, dining out behavior, and confidence in one's ability to engage in behavioral strategies. We conducted frequency and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results More men (35.5%) than women (27.7%) were classified as successful weight loss maintainers. Compared with adults who reported eating at a fast-food restaurant two or more times per week, adults who reported not eating at fast-food restaurants were more successful at weight loss maintenance (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–2.42). Compared with adults who consumed fewer than five fruit and vegetable servings per day and were sedentary, adults who consumed fewer than five fruit and vegetable servings per day and accrued 420 minutes or more per week of physical activity or consumed five or more fruit and vegetable servings and accrued 150 minutes or more per week of activity were more successful at weight loss maintenance. Conclusion The behavioral strategy of reducing consumption of fast foods could assist people in keeping weight off. The combined approach of consuming five or more fruit and vegetable servings per day and attaining 150 minutes or more per week of physical activity was a common strategy among adults successful at weight loss maintenance.
Inhibitory Mechanism of FAT4 Gene Expression in Response to Actin Dynamics during Src-Induced Carcinogenesis

Oncogenic transformation is characterized by morphological changes resulting from alterations in actin dynamics and adhesive activities. Emerging evidence suggests that the protocadherin FAT4 acts as a tumor suppressor in humans, and reduced FAT4 gene expression has been reported in breast and lung cancers and melanoma. However, the mechanism controlling FAT4 gene expression is poorly understood. In this study, we show that transient activation of the Src oncoprotein represses FAT4 mRNA expression through actin depolymerization in the immortalized normal human mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A. Src activation causes actin depolymerization via the MEK/Erk/Cofilin cascade. The MEK inhibitor U0126 blocks the inhibitory effect of Src on FAT4 mRNA expression and Src-induced actin depolymerization. To determine whether actin dynamics act on the regulation of FAT4 mRNA expression, we treated MCF-10A cells with the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632. Y-27632 treatment decreased FAT4 mRNA expression. This suppressive effect was blocked by siRNA-mediated knockdown of Cofilin1. Furthermore, simultaneous administration of Latrunculin A (an actin depolymerizing agent), Y-27632, and Cofilin1 siRNA to the cells resulted in a marked reduction of FAT4 mRNA expression. Intriguingly, we also found that FAT4 mRNA expression was reduced under both low cell density and low stiffness conditions, which suggests that mechanotransduction affects FAT4 mRNA expression. Additionally, we show that siRNA-mediated FAT4 knockdown induced the activity of the Hippo effector YAP/TAZ in MCF-10A cells. Taken together, our results reveal a novel inhibitory mechanism of FAT4 gene expression through actin depolymerization during Src-induced carcinogenesis in human breast cells.