Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lean transformation in the pure service environment: the case of the call service centre

Purpose – Service businesses are struggling with customer demands for better quality service and managerial demands for cost reduction. There is evidence to suggest that service businesses are in practice failing on both these counts, seeing increased costs and reductions in service quality. The application of lean production approaches to the service context has been suggested as a means to resolve these problems, reducing costs and improving quality. Despite the validation of lean approaches in the product‐service context, the application of lean approaches in the pure service environment remains largely untested. The purpose of this paper is to assess the suitability of lean production methodologies in the pure service context.Design/methodology/approach – Three financial service companies in the UK were followed through a common programme of lean transformation. The improvements observed in each company were recorded. The change programme is evaluated to determine the “leanness” of the initiatives. Th.
Plant Variety Protection, Innovation, and Transferability: Some Empirical Evidence

Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, all member-countries of the World Trade Organization are required to provide an “effective” system of plant variety protection within a specific time frame. In many developing countries, this has led to a divisive debate about the fundamental desirability of extending intellectual property rights to agriculture. Empirical studies on the economic impacts of plant variety protection, especially its ability to generate large private sector investments in plant breeding and to facilitate the transfer of technology, have been very limited. This paper examines two aspects of the international experience of plant variety protection: (a) the relationship between legislation, research, and development expenditures and plant variety protection grants, i.e., the innovation effect and (b) the role of plant variety protection in facilitating the flow of varieties across countries, i.e., the transferability effect. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.
Schizonepeta tenuifolia Inhibits the Development of Atopic Dermatitis in Mice

Historically, Schizonepeta tenuifolia (ST) has been used for the treatment of skin disorders, such as allergic dermatitis, eczema, and inflammatory diseases. In this study, we examined whether ST inhibited 2,4‐dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)‐induced atopic dermatitis (AD) in BALB/c mice. In histopathological analyses of the epidermis and dermis, skin thickness was significantly increased in DNCB‐induced mice as compared with normal group. Treatment with ST inhibited this inflammatory change and markedly suppressed the secretion of immunoglobulin E, tumor necrosis factor α, and interleukin 6 levels in the serum of DNCB‐induced mice. In addition, ST treatment significantly restored the upregulation of proinflammatory factors, such as nuclear factor (NF)‐κB and mitogen‐activated protein kinase expression. Taken together, due to its ability to suppress inflammatory factors and upregulate proinflammatory factors, ST may be useful as a therapeutic treatment for AD. ST extract application decreased both epidermis and dermis thickness in DNCB‐induced mice. In serum, ST reduced immunoglobulin E, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin 6 level. In addition, ST suppressed NF‐κB activation as well as the mitogen‐activated protein kinase activities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Psychological treatments for eating disorders

Purpose of review This review summarizes recent evidence on psychological treatments for eating disorders. Recent findings Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions requiring evidence-based intervention. Treatments have been evaluated within each eating disorder diagnosis and across diagnoses. For adults with anorexia nervosa, no one specialist treatment has been shown to be superior. Cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy remain the most established treatments for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, with stepped-care approaches showing promise and new behavioral treatments under study. Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy has improved symptoms in adults and youth. Maudsley family-based therapy is the most established treatment for youth with anorexia nervosa and may be efficacious for youth with bulimia nervosa. Interpersonal psychotherapy for the prevention of excess weight gain may be efficacious for reducing loss of control eating and weight gain in overweight youth. Summary Significant advances in treatments have been made, including evaluation of long-term outcomes, novel approaches, and tailored extension for specific patient profiles. However, widespread access to effective eating disorder treatments remains limited. Increasing the potency and expanding the implementation of psychological treatments beyond research settings into clinical practice has strong potential to increase access to care, thereby reducing the burden of eating disorders.
The Incidence of Apoptosis During Colorectal Tumorigenesis

Epithelial homeostasis in colorectal tumorigenesis is dependent not only on the rate of cell production but also on the rate of apoptosis, a genetically programmed process of autonomous cell death. Ideally, an analysis of cell kinetics should be carried out for both cell proliferation and death. We investigated the incidence of apoptosis in 3 5 colorectal neoplasms (1 5 adenomas and 20 carcinomas) using the DNA nick end labeling method (TUNEL). The expression of Ki-67 as a marker of proliferating activity and some kinds of oncogene products were analyzed immunohistochemically. When the TUNEL labeling index (TI) and the Ki-67 labeling index (KI) were determined, TI was found to be significantly higher in adenomas with high-grade dysplasia (TI: 2.5%) than in adenomas with low-grade dysplasia (TI: 0.6%) or carcinomas (TI: 1.4%). In contrast, KI increased with the progression of colorectal tumorigenesis. Moreover, TI of the carcinomas was significantly higher in c-Myc-positive cases than in c-Myc-negative cases (p<0.05). The results indicate that apoptosis plays an important role in the early stage of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, permitting us to speculate that the increased tumor cell proliferation is negated by increased apoptosis at the stage of adenoma with high-grade dysplasia (or intramucosal carcinoma), while cell proliferation overwhelms cell death at the stage of invasive carcinoma.
FIRM SIZE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS: EVIDENCE FROM THE SME SECTOR IN ARGENTINA

Abstract This study investigates the determinants of firm size. Data was collected in face‐to‐face structured‐questionnaire interviews of 1314 firm founders from 14 counties in Argentina. Quantile regression was used as a more suitable methodology to measure the determinants of firm size. Our results show that the main sets of explanatory variables related to founder characteristics (age, experience, education, and vocation) provide a full explanation of firm size. We have also found evidence that a high degree strategic planning and a better competitive position are positively related to firm size as well. Finally, environmental factors were less representative.
Challenges facing W. Midlands ICT‐oriented SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the challenges faced by West Midlands (UK) information communications technology (ICT)‐oriented small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting and coping with the speed of fast‐changing technologies.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 73 company managers (most of them are owners) were interviewed in various sub‐regions of West Midlands. Among the companies, 81 per cent of SMEs opted for face‐to‐face interview, while 19 per cent opted for a telephone interview.Findings – Several factors that affect the speed of adopting new technology were identified, ranging from SME owner or manager level of education, lack of strategy and perceived benefits in adopting new technologies, to ICT investment, involvement in research, innovation and research and development.Research limitations/implications – The study focused on the ICT‐oriented businesses in general. ICT is a wide area and so there is a need to test each type of ICT and see how other factors li.
A Secured Pattern Matching Technique for Intrusion Detection System in Wireless Sensor Network

-The evaluation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for performance is the most familiar research area and there are various kinds of possibilities in which security can be breached and enable the hackers to utilize secured information. The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is one of the major defensive methods used against attack in WSN. There are three types of methodologies used for detect intrusion on the network, they are Signature based, Anomaly based and Stateful protocol analysis. This paper is based on Signature based Intrusion Detection System methodology. String matching algorithms are essential for IDS that filter packets and flows based on their payload. This work describes the concept of single keyword pattern matching algorithms. A Logo Pattern Matching algorithm (LPM) is proposed. The new method reduces character comparisons, faster and more reliable in network security applications. Many pattern matching algorithms have high false alarm. The proposed LPM scheme reduces false alarm percentage to an extensive level and detects the intruder efficiently. The experimental results implemented in SNORT and show that the new algorithm is highly efficient. Its search time is cut down significantly compared with other popular existing algorithms and its memory occupation stays at a low level. Moreover, conclusion on results is made and direction for future works is presented.
Differential Fringe-Field MEMS Accelerometer

A new differential microelectromechanical systems accelerometer based on fringe-field sensing is presented. The basic working principle relies on the generation of fringe electric fields in the volume in between and over two biased coplanar interconnections; a grounded suspended micromachined mass, moving in this fringe volume, differently intercepts the electric field lines for different positions, giving rise to capacitance changes between the interconnections, used as electrodes. The capacitance variation can be then transformed into a voltage signal using standard capacitive readout techniques. The design exploits a new geometry, a technological scaling, and for the first time, a differential configuration to reach a measured sensitivity of 2.7 fF/g in the tested range of ±2 g of external acceleration. With respect to parallel-plate configurations, the device is immune from in-plane pull-in instability as the suspended mass does not face fixed parts biased at different voltages.
[Prevalence of depressive symptoms, ways of coping, and related factors among medical school and health services higher education students].

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms, ways of coping, and their relationships to sociodemographic variables among students of the Medical Faculty (MF) and the Health Services Higher Education School (HSHES) at Inönü University. METHOD The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Styles of Coping Inventory (SCI), and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used. RESULTS Among the HSHES students (n = 128), the prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher. The MF students whose fathers had a higher level of education had higher BDI scores. The MF students from families with lower levels of income had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms. In both groups, the students with previous histories of psychiatric and physical ilness had higher BDI scores. Among the MF students, older age (OR = 2.72), and among the HSHES students, having a previous history of psychiatric disorder (OR = 5.25) and female gender (OR = 1.85) affected the prevalence of depressive symptoms. The HSHES students used passive styles of coping more frequently. Active coping styles were used more frequently by the male students in both groups. The HSHES students whose mothers had lower levels of education, had higher passive coping style scores; active coping styles and higher family income correlated positively. In both groups, BDI and active styles scores correlated positively. Passive styles were used more frequently by male and female students that had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION The rate of mental health problems was quite high among the students. Preventive mental health programs should be developed and implemented.
Entrepreneurial Orientation, Learning Orientation, and Firm Performance

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a key ingredient for firm success. Nonetheless, an important message from past findings is that simply examining the direct effect of EO on firm performance provides an incomplete picture. Prior studies examined various internal and external factors that influence the EO–performance relationship. However, learning orientation (LO) has been a missing link in the examination of the relationship. Using data from 213 medium–to–large UK firms, this study finds that LO mediates the EO–performance relationship, and the EO–LO–performance link is stronger for prospectors than analyzers. The findings indicate that LO must be in place to maximize the effect of EO on performance, and that LO is an important dimension, along with EO, to distinguish prospectors from analyzers.
Key molecular events in puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis rats

Nephrin, podocin and α‐actinin are all involved in proteinuria, but it is unclear which molecular event plays a crucial role during the development of proteinuria. Immunofluorescence staining and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to study the glomerular expression of these molecules in puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis. Morphometric methods were applied to evaluate the podocyte foot process (FP) morphology. Two days after PAN injection, nephrin and podocin staining became discontinuous, podocin intensity decreased and FP swelled. Nephrin protein and mRNA decreased at day 5. Both podocin and nephrin intensity decreased dramatically when heavy proteinuria occurred, but nephrin mRNA was regained. When proteinuria disappeared, podocin recovered whereas nephrin did not (P = 0.02); α‐actinin intensity increased (P = 0.009) and the distribution changed. The podocyte FP volume density correlated negatively with nephrin (r = −0.78, P = 0.0001) and podocin immunofluorescence intensity (r = −0.76, P = 0.0001). We conclude that, before the onset of proteinuria, the first response was the nephrin and podocin distribution change, podocin protein decrease and swollen FP; the podocin quantitative change was earlier than nephrin. Podocin and nephrin distribution and the protein level was associated with proteinuria more closely than their mRNA level. The delayed α‐actinin induction might be a reparative response.
Chikungunya in north-eastern Italy: a summing up of the outbreak.

The first outbreak of autochthonously transmitted Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Europe, which recently occurred in the province of Ravenna in north-eastern Italy has been completely controlled: the last case onset occurred on 28 September in the town of Rimini, and in October no cases were confirmed.
Cloning and Characterization of theFlavobacterium johnsoniae Gliding-Motility GenesgldB and gldC

ABSTRACT The mechanism of bacterial gliding motility (active movement over surfaces without the aid of flagella) is not known. A large number of mutants of the gliding bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae(Cytophaga johnsonae) with defects in gliding motility have been previously isolated, and genetic techniques to analyze these mutants have recently been developed. We complemented a nongliding mutant of F. johnsoniae (UW102-99) with a library of wild-type DNA by using the shuttle cosmid pCP26. The complementing plasmid (pCP200) contained an insert of 26 kb and restored gliding motility to 4 of 50 independently isolated nongliding mutants. A 1.9-kb fragment which encompassed two genes, gldB andgldC, complemented all four mutants. An insertion mutation in gldB was polar on gldC, suggesting that the two genes form an operon. Disruption of the chromosomal copy ofgldB in wild-type F. johnsoniae UW101 eliminated gliding motility. Introduction of the gldBCoperon, or gldB alone, restored motility. gldBappears to be essential for F. johnsoniae gliding motility. It codes for a membrane protein that does not exhibit strong sequence similarity to other proteins in the databases. gldC is not absolutely required for gliding motility, but cells that do not produce GldC form colonies that spread less well than those of the wild type. GldC is a soluble protein and has weak sequence similarity to the fungal lectin AOL.
Predictors of optimal viral suppression in patients switched to abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine: the Swiss HIV Cohort Study

Objective:To investigate predictors of continued HIV RNA viral load suppression in individuals switched to abacavir (ABC), lamivudine (3TC) and zidovudine (ZDV) after successful previous treatment with a protease inhibitor or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based combination antiretroviral therapy. Design and methods:An observational cohort study, which included individuals in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study switching to ABC/3TC/ZDV following successful suppression of viral load. The primary endpoint was time to treatment failure defined as the first of the following events: two consecutiveviral load measurements > 400 copies/ml under ABC/3TC/ZDV, one viral load measurement > 400 copies/ml and subsequent discontinuation of ABC/3TC/ZDV within 3 months, AIDS or death. Results:We included 495 individuals; 47 experienced treatment failure in 1459 person-years of follow-up [rate = 3.22 events/100 person-years; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 2.30–4.14]. Of all failures, 62% occurred in the first year after switching to ABC/3TC/ZDV. In a Cox regression analysis, treatment failure was independently associated with earlier exposure to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) mono or dual therapy [hazard ratio (HR), 8.02; 95% CI, 4.19–15.35) and low CD4 cell count at the time of the switch (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51–0.87 by +100 cells/μl up to 500 cells/μl). In patients without earlier exposure to mono or dual therapy, AIDS prior to switch to simplified maintenance therapy was an additional risk factor. Conclusions:The failure rate was low in patients with suppressed viral load and switch to ABC/3TC/ZDV treatment. Patients with earlier exposure to mono or dual NRTI therapy, low CD4 cell count at time of switch, or AIDS are at increased risk of treatment failure, limiting the use of ABC/3TC/ZDV in these patient groups.
Equilibrium swelling properties of polyampholytic hydrogels

The role of counter ions and ion dissociation in establishing the equilibrium swelling of balanced and unbalanced polyampholytic hydrogels has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. The swelling dependence on both the net charge offset and the external bath salt concentration has been examined using an acrylamide based polyampholytic hydrogels. By careful consideration of the swelling kinetics, we illustrate the effects of ion dissociation equilibria and counter ion shielding in polyampholytic hydrogels near their balance point where both polyelectrolyte and polyampholyte effects are present. The theory considers a Flory type swelling model where the Coulombic interactions between fixed ions in the hydrogel resemble those of an ionic solid with a Debye screening factor. Theoretical predictions from this model are in qualitative agreement with our experimental results.
The potential for non‐invasive study of mummies: validation of the use of computerized tomography by post factum dissection and histological examination of a 17th century female Korean mummy

The socio‐cultural antipathies of some descendants with regard to invasive examinations of age‐old human remains make permission for dissection of Korean mummies of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) difficult to obtain. Overcoming this obstacle necessitated the use of non‐invasive techniques, such as multi‐detector computerized tomography (MDCT) and endoscopic examination, enabling determination of the preservation status of internal organs of mummies without significantly damaging the mummies themselves. However, MDCT alone cannot clearly differentiate specific mummified organs. Therefore, in much the same way as diagnostic radiologists make their MDCT readings on living patients more reliable by means of comparison with accumulated post‐factum data from autopsies or histological studies, examinations of mummies by invasive techniques should not be decried as mere destruction of age‐old human remains. Rather, providing that due permission from descendants and/or other relevant authorities can be obtained, dissection and histological examination should be performed whenever opportunities arise. Therefore, in this study, we compared the radiological data acquired from a 17th century mummy with our dissection results for the same subject. As accumulation of this kind of data could be very crucial for correct interpretation of MDCT findings on Korean mummies, we will perform similar trials on other Korean mummies found in forthcoming days if conditions permit.
Can We Explain the Sign-Switching Behavior of Cross-Country Interest Rate Correlations?

This paper considers the well established empirical fact that conditional correlations among cross-country interest rates switch signs. Switching implies an alternation of coupling and decoupling of global bond markets over time. This evidence is robust to alternative estimation schemes. Here we use a seminonparametric (SNP) model with a BEKK-GARCH variance function to estimate conditional second moments both to confirm these results and to provide auxiliary models for structural estimation of term structure models. Using an extensive historical analysis, we find that major driving forces behind the sign-switching behavior of conditional correlations between the Eurodollar rate and the Euroyen rate are synchronization and dis-synchronization of business cycles and coordination and discoordination of monetary policies triggered by international policies and financial market crashes. Especially, we find that the two interest rates are more likely to couple when both the U.S. and Japan slip into a recession while the likelihood of decoupling is highest when both economies are in expansion. We also explore whether proposed International Affine Term Structure Models (IATSMs) and International Quadratic Term Structure Models (IQTSMs) are able to reproduce the sign-switching behavior of conditional correlations among cross-country interest rates. We find that a small subset of the IATSMs can generate sign-switching behavior but only by forgoing their ability to describe other features such as the positivity of nominal interest rates, heteroskedasticity in volatility, and correlations among underlying state variables. In contrast, the IQTSMs are able to generate it without limiting their ability to describe other dynamic features. Using the MCMC-Efficient Method of Moments (EMM), we test the empirical performance of the models in reproducing the sign-switching behavior of conditional correlations. The result suggests that the IATSMs conclusively fail to capture it while the IQTSMs are relatively successful but fail to reproduce ephemeral ones.