Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking user interaction and new venture growth: the mediating role of new product development

ABSTRACT This paper identifies both the breadth and the depth as two crucial dimensions of user interaction from an ecosystem viewpoint. We postulate that the breadth and the depth of user interaction are critical to the number of new products developed and development speed, which can then lead to new venture growth. Survey data from 341 new ventures from ICT sector illustrates that the number of new products developed mediates the relationships between user interaction breadth, user interaction depth and new venture growth, and development speed mediates the influence of user interaction depth on new venture growth. This study contributes to the literature by refining the conceptualization of user interaction, and developing a theoretically grounded research model to investigate the relationships among user interaction, new product development and new venture growth.
Effect of Sodium Chloride on Bakers' Yeast Growing in Gelatin

In recent years, industrial fermentation researchers have shifted their attention from liquid to solid and semisolid culture conditions. We converted liquid cultures to the semisolid mode by adding high levels of gelatin. Previous studies on liquid cultures have revealed the inhibitory activity of mineral salts, such as NaCl, on the fermentation of sugars by yeasts. We made a kinetic study of the effects of 1 to 5% (wt/vol) NaCl on the alcoholic fermentations of glucose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a growth medium containing 16% gelatin. Our results showed that the effect of high salt content on semisolid culture is essentially the same as the effect on liquid culture; i.e., as the salt content increased, the following occurred: (i) the growth of yeasts decreased, (ii) the lag period of the yeast biomass curve lengthened, (iii) the sugar intake was lowered, (iv) the yield of ethanol was reduced, and (v) the production of glycerol was increased. We observed a new relationship correlating the area of kinetic hysteresis with ethanol production rate, acetaldehyde concentration, and the initial NaCl concentration.
The Financial Cycle and Recession Risk

Financial cycle booms can end in crises and, even if they do not, they tend to weaken growth. Given their slow build-up, do they convey information about recession risk? We compare the predictive performance of different financial cycle proxies with that of the term spread - a popular recession indicator. In contrast to much of the literature, our analysis covers a large sample of advanced and emerging market economies. We find that, in general, financial cycle measures provide valuable information and tend to outperform the term spread.
Energy consumption and economic growth in Sub-Saharan African countries: Further evidence

This article examines the causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth within a multivariate approach which incorporates physical capital, land, trade openness and financial development in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries. The autoregressive distributed lag bounds approach to cointegration and a modified version of the Granger non-causality test are applied to investigate the short-term and the long-term properties. The results show the existence of a long-term relationship in eight out of the 13 countries and evidence of growth hypothesis is reported in Gabon, Kenya and Nigeria. We also observe the existence of the conservation hypothesis in Sudan and Zambia, feedback hypothesis in Cameroon, and a neutrality nexus in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Togo. These findings provide useful reference in designing appropriate country specific environmental and energy policies.
Human chorionic gonadotropin measurements in parathyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE Preoperatively, it is difficult to differentiate between parathyroid cancer (PtCa) and severe primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) due to a benign tumor. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a tumor marker in trophoblastic and nontrophoblastic cancers and hyperglycosylated hCG is increased in hCG-secreting malignancies. We investigated whether hCG can distinguish PtCa cancer from benign disease and add prognostic information. DESIGN Observational study. METHODS Measurement of urinary hCG (total and malignant isoforms) and serum malignant hCG in 8 subjects with PtCa and in 18 subjects with PHPT (measurement of urine in ten and serum in eight). RESULTS Total urinary hCG was normal in the benign PHPT control subjects (range: 0-17 fmol/mg Cr; nl<50). In the PtCa subjects, three had normal total urinary hCG levels and survived complication free for at least 2 years; three had persistently elevated total urinary hCG levels (range: 217-1986 fmol/mg Cr) and sustained hip fracture (n=3) and died (n=2) within 3 and 6 months respectively; two had a rise in total urinary hCG and had hip fracture (n=1) and died (n=2) within 4 and 10 months respectively. Elevated urinary hCG was of the malignant hyperglycosylated isoform. Serum malignant hyperglycosylated hCG values in all of the cancer patients exceeded the maximal serum malignant hCG level of the PHPT subjects with benign disease (3.77 pmol/l). CONCLUSION hCG, especially its hyperglycosylated isoform, might add diagnostic and prognostic information in PtCa. Further studies would help to elucidate the role of hCG as a potential tumor marker in this disease.
Basic concepts of artificial neural networks (ANN) modeling in the application to pharmaceutical development.

Artificial neural networks (ANN) methodology is a new modeling method that has not been broadly applied to pharmaceutical sciences up to now. The aim of this paper is to give a detailed description of the associating networks as well as a description of less well-known networks (i.e., feature-extracting and nonadaptive networks) and their scope of application in pharmaceutical sciences. The descriptions include the historical origin and the basic concepts behind the computing. ANN are based on the attempt to model the neural networks of the brain. Learning algorithms for associating ANN use mathematical procedures usually derived from the gradient descent method whereas feature-extracting ANN map multidimensional input data sets onto two-dimensional spaces. Nonadaptive ANN map data sets and are able to reconstruct their patterns when presented with corrupted or noisy samples. Associating networks can typically be applied in the pharmaceutical field as an alternative to traditional response surface methodology, feature-extracting networks as alternative to principal component analysis, and nonadaptive networks for image recognition. Based on these abilities, the potential application fields of the ANN methodology in the pharmaceutical sciences is broad, ranging from clinical pharmacy through biopharmacy, drug and dosage form design, to interpretation of analytical data. The few applications presented in the pharmaceutical technology area seem promising and should be investigated in more detail.
In Vivo Chondrogenesis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Photopolymerized Hydrogel

Background: Surgical options for cartilage reconstruction can be significantly improved through advances in cartilage tissue engineering, whereby functional tissue replacements are created by growing cells on polymer scaffolds. The objective of this study was to use a photopolymerizable hydrogel to implant bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells subcutaneously in a minimally invasive manner and promote cartilage tissue formation by the cells in vivo. Methods: Athymic nude mice were injected subcutaneously with polymer solutions of poly(ethylene) oxide diacrylate containing mesenchymal stem cells and placed under a UVA lamp to transdermally photopolymerize (solidify) the injected liquid. Experimental groups included polymer solutions with hyaluronic acid (HA), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β3, or both. After 3 weeks of implantation, cartilage formation was evaluated by gene expression analysis and histologic techniques. Results: Hyaluronic acid increased the viscosity of the polymer solutions, which helped maintain the injections at the desired site during photopolymerization. Mesenchymal stem cells in hydrogels containing both HA and TGF-β3 produced the highest quality cartilage, based on expression of the cartilage-specific genes and production of proteoglycan and collagen II. When used independently, TGF-β3 and HA alone induced cartilage-specific gene expression and collagen type II production; however, TGF-β3 was essential for proteoglycan production. HA enhanced proteoglycan production when combined with TGF-β3 and reduced expression and production of collagen I. Conclusions: This study is the first to demonstrate the minimally invasive implantation and subsequent chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in the subcutaneous environment. This lays the foundation for further optimization of a novel and practical technology for cartilage reconstruction.
Can A Disease Self-Management Program Reduce Health Care Costs?: The Case of Older Women With Heart Disease

Background. There is increasing interest in the potential for chronic disease self-management interventions to provide health benefits while reducing health care costs. Objectives. To assess the impact of a heart disease management program on use of hospital services; to estimate associated hospital cost savings; and to compare potential cost savings with the cost of delivering the program. Research Design. Randomized, controlled study design. Data were collected from hospital billing records during a 36 month period. Multivariate models were used to compare health care use with cost between treatment and control groups. Estimated differences were then compared with the program costs to determine cost-effectiveness. Subjects. Participants were recruited from 6 hospital sites. Screening criteria included: female, 60 years or older, diagnosed cardiac disease, and seen by a physician approximately every 6 months. The study included 233 women in the intervention group and 219 in the control group. The “Women Take PRIDE” program utilizes a self-regulation process for addressing a problematic area of the heart regimen recommended by each woman’s physician. It is tailored to the unique needs of older women. Measures. Hospital admissions, in-patient days, emergency department visits. Results. Program participants experienced 46% fewer in-patient days (P <0.05) and 49% lower in-patient costs (P <0.10) than women in the control group. No significant differences in emergency department utilization were found. Hospital cost savings exceeded program costs by a ratio of nearly 5-to-1. Conclusions. A heart disease self-management program can reduce health care utilization and potentially yield monetary benefits to a health plan.
Miniaturized, Lumped-Element Filters for Customized System-on-Package L-Band Receivers

The system-on-package (SoP) approach to design wireless front ends has proven to optimize the tradeoff between performance and size. In this paper, two new and highly compact bandpass filters are presented that show the greatest degree of miniaturization of any bandpass filters presented to date when their volume is measured in guided wavelengths. A novel packaging technique where most of the filter components are folded beneath the resonator inductors allows for this level of miniaturization. The filters are designed as lumped-element equivalent circuits and fabricated in standard low-permittivity low-temperature cofired ceramic technology that makes them suitable for embedding within a mass-producible SoP solution. In addition, electric and magnetic couplings are used to create finite transmission zeros that enhance the selectivity of these filters. The second-order filter demonstrates an insertion loss of 2.2 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 11% at a center frequency of 1.524 GHz. Meanwhile, the fourth-order implementation shows an insertion loss of 4.92 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 6.6% at a center frequency of 1.521 GHz. In both cases, the agreement between simulations and measurements is excellent. Careful analysis of individual capacitors and inductors comprising the filters is provided to explain the link between process parameters and actual measured performances.
The Importance of the Public Sector in Sustainable Development in Poland

The striving for sustainable development has become the goal of actions undertaken not only by representatives of public authorities and institutions representing this sector, but also representatives of private entities who are increasingly recognizing the benefits and sources of long-term development based on the principles and objectives of sustainable development. These are mainly based on the pursuit of synergy in the three basic areas of activities, i.e., in the economic, social, and environmental dimensions as well as in the maintenance of natural resources. The implementation of these activities is connected with the necessity of incurring financial expenditures, which the government (public sector) does not have in the required value. Therefore, in the process of sustainable development for which the government is responsible, the active participation of the financial sector (banks) is necessary. Achieving results within the alliance of the concept of sustainable development requires the setting of a kind of contract, the parties of which are the government, society, and financial institutions. The purpose of the conducted research is to indicate by which means the government can stimulate economic growth towards its sustainable development.
Innovation and business performance for Spanish SMEs: New evidence from a multi-dimensional approach

This article examines the impact of product, process and organisational innovations on two alternative dimensions of business performance: finance and operations. Two indicators capture financial performance: sales increase and production cost reduction. Operational firm performance is captured by two alternative indicators: productive capacity augmentation and quality improvement of product/service provided by the firm. Using a wide-ranging sample of Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), our findings highlight the significant impact of innovation upon both these dimensions of business performance, although they differ regarding the type of innovation and the performance indicator considered. Furthermore, our results indicate that the relationship between innovation choices in SMEs and business performance should be analysed from a multi-dimensional approach. These findings reveal significant implications for innovation policies and strategies for SMEs.
Foreign Direct Investment, International Trade and Financial Development in BRICS-T Countries: A Bootstrap Panel Causality Analysis

The aim of this paper is to investigate, within a Bootstrap panel causality approach, the interactions among foreign direct investment (FDI), international trade and financial development in BRICS-T countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China South Africa and Turkey). While the effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth is well documented, the consequences of FDI on financial development have not received as much attention. Previous studies have recognized that FDI is a crucial source of financing especially for emerging economies, though the benefit of FDI to recipient country is ambiguous. Furthermore, the number of previous studies examining the causal linkage between international trade and financial development is also limited. Besides, examining the associations among these factors, this study also investigates the joint effect of FDI and international trade on financial development in these countries. Empirical findings from a bootstrap panel causality approach indicate that FDI induce financial development in Brazil, Russia, and China. In addition, international trade promotes financial market development in Brazil, Russia and South Africa. Empirical findings also indicate that financial development stimulates international trade in Brazil, India and Turkey. Finally, it is found in this study that not only international trade stimulates FDI, but also FDI induce international trade in India and Turkey.
Does "subthreshold" posttraumatic stress disorder have any clinical relevance?

The present report examined the extent to which subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (without lifetime PTSD) and full PTSD are associated with impairment or distress, controlling for comorbidity (i.e., major depression and panic disorder) in a sample of treatment-seeking psychiatric patients. Patients were administered diagnostic interviews and assessed for psychosocial impairment and whether or not they desired treatment for their PTSD symptoms. No significant differences were found between patients with full PTSD (N = 156) and those with subthreshold PTSD (N = 56) in degree of impairment (i.e., social and work functioning, as well as number of suicide attempts). In contrast, those with full PTSD had significantly more psychiatric hospitalizations and worse global functioning and were more likely to want treatment for their PTSD symptoms compared to those with subthreshold PTSD, albeit the majority of patients with subthreshold PTSD wanted treatment for their PTSD symptoms. These findings, like past research, suggest that subthreshold PTSD is associated with levels of social and work morbidity comparable to full PTSD. However, the report also underscores the difficulties in identifying a set of clinical criteria that clearly delineates between full PTSD and subthreshold PTSD.
Maximizing α-Lifetime of wireless sensor networks with solar energy sources

In this paper, using linear programming, we formulate the problem of maximizing the a-lifetime of wireless sensor networks with solar energy sources. The a-lifetime of a sensor network is defined as the duration in which a percentage of sensor data can be collected by the base station. Our formulation takes account of varying solar energy recovery rate at different sensors and jointly optimizes the transmission power of the sensors and data routing for maximizing a-lifetime. We study the break point, which marks the level of solar energy supply above which the sensor network can operate perpetually. We also study the changes in a-lifetime with the solar energy supply rate, distribution of solar energy, and the values of a. Our study provides useful guidance in practical deployment of sensor networks with renewable energy sources.
Behavioural biases among SME owners

People are not fully rational and their decisions suffer from errors and biases. Because behavioural finance research focuses on investor irrationality, additional attention should examine managerial decision-making. This study helps to fill this gap by addressing three objectives: (a) to identify whether owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are prone toward behavioural bias; (b) to assess the impact of these biases on their decision-making; and (c) to determine whether age, experience, education, and gender affect their propensity to exhibit behavioural biases. Using responses from 154 Indian SME owners, the study uses logistic regression to assess how demographic variables affect behavioural biases. The evidence shows that SME owners are prone to self-attribution, overconfidence, and loss aversion, but not anchoring. Differences exist in the working capital management decisions of owners prone to behavioural biases. Gender, age, and experience significantly affect the propensity to exhibit behavioural biases.
One-Dimensional Sub-Threshold Model for Symmetric Double-Gate MOSFETs

A one-dimensional (1-D) surface potential based sub-threshold model for symmetric double-gate MOSFET (DG MOSFET) is proposed. The model provides useful insight into the device behaviour. The proposed model shows good agreement with the two-dimensional (2-D) numerical simulation results for sub-threshold current, sub-threshold swing, threshold voltage roll-off and drain induced barrier lowering. The model is able to predict the behavior of the device as the oxide thickness is scaled. In this paper we have modeled the sub-threshold behavior of symmetric DG MOSFET by applying Gauss's law. The model is restricted to sub-threshold region for symmetric DG MOSFET. Mid-gap gates (Taur, 2000) are considered and mobile charge carriers are neglected
Implementing Dementia-Friendly Land Use Planning: An Evaluation of Current Literature and Financial Implications for Greenfield Development in Suburban Canada

ABSTRACT The number of people with dementia worldwide will reach 115.4 million by 2050. This accelerating crisis has sparked research on how to design neighbourhoods for those with early dementia, and how to empower them through built environment changes to remain in their community for as long as possible. There are numerous benefits for persons with dementia who continue access to their neighbourhood: physical activity, sense of dignity, social interaction, autonomy and psychological wellbeing. In this paper, I examine 17 recommendations (urban design and land use strategies) identified as ‘dementia-friendly’, within dementia design and planning literature. Each is then examined against the planning frameworks for a mid-size suburban municipality in Ontario and assessed for its financial impact on a base case subdivision using pro forma analysis. The effect on the financial return for a developer was minimal, demonstrating that establishing these recommendations as policy is viable, through regulation and incentives.
The impact of caring for a child with cerebral palsy: quality of life for mothers and fathers.

BACKGROUND Although it is expected that caring for a child with cerebral palsy (CP) can impact on the quality of life (QOL) of caregivers, the QOL of carers' has yet to be adequately examined. The aims of this study are to: (1) explore the QOL of mothers and fathers of children with CP aged 3-18 years; and (2) examine whether the impact of caring for a child with CP changes from childhood to adolescence. METHOD A qualitative study was conducted utilizing a grounded theory framework. Twenty-four mothers and 13 fathers of children and adolescents with CP aged 3-7 years (n = 15), 8-12 years (n = 10) and 13-18 years (n = 12) and with varying levels of impairment (GMFCS Level I = 1, II = 4, II = 3, IV = 5, V = 12) participated in semi-structured interviews about their QOL. The transcripts were analysed to identify issues affecting parental QOL. RESULTS There were no differences in parental QOL among subgroups (i.e. mothers and fathers, age groups, GMFCS levels). Parental QOL ranged across a wide spectrum. Caring for a child with CP affects a parent's physical well-being, social well-being, freedom and independence, family well-being and financial stability. Parents indicated that they often feel unsupported by the services they access. CONCLUSIONS Caring for a child with CP can both positively and negatively impact on a parent's life. There is value for both parents and children if parental concerns and determinants of QOL are considered in overall programme planning and service delivery for children and their families.