Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An ethnographic investigation into a series of incidents on a large construction project

A series of incidents in a short period created cause for concern on a large construction project in the UK (+£500m). Incident investigations are one of the ways to learn about safety failings, so that remedial action can be put into place to avoid a recurrence. The researcher was a member of the HS attending safety and accident investigation meetings; viewing project documents; and attending the safety stand down that occurred. The case study findings revealed that a blame culture restricted information flow on the incidents; and consequently there was a focus on easily observable unsafe acts, and static unsafe conditions, providing a narrow rather than deep perspective. These acts and conditions, such as a lack of compliance with PPE, or a weather condition, were often difficult to manage. For safety understanding the project repeatedly used Heinrich's (1931) seminal work as a foundation. However, this work is arguably outdated as it focuses on accidents on an individual rather than complex socio-technical level.
Branched Willmore Spheres

In this paper we classify branched Willmore spheres with at most three branch points (including multiplicity), showing that they may be obtained from complete minimal surfaces in $\R ^ 3$ with ends of multiplicity at most three. This extends the classification result of Bryant. We then show that this may be applied to the analysis of singularities of the Willmore flow of non-Willmore spheres with Willmore energy $ \mc {W} (f) \leq 16\pi$.
Long-term effect of Haart on biochemical profiles of HIV/AIDS patients in a tertiary health facility in Benin city, Nigeria

Purpose : To assess the long-term effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on biochemical parameters of HIV-infected patients in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria. Methods : HIV/AIDS patients on HAART for 2 - 8 years (297), those who were not on HAART (112, positive control), and healthy subjects (103, negative control) were recruited in the Infectious Diseases Clinic (IDC) of UBTH. Their sera were assayed for biochemical parameters. WHOQoL bref instrument was used to assess patients’ Quality of life (QoL). Results : Patients who have been on HAART had significantly elevated ALT and AST levels (p < 0.001) but mild liver toxicity. QoL of these patients was not significantly different from that of the healthy controls. The levels of Na + (133.4 ± 5.2 mmol/l), K + (3.6 ± 0.4 mmol/l) and Cl - (101.3 ± 4.0 mmol/l) were significantly lower in patients on HAART than those of the positive (137.5 ± 5.1, 3.9 ± 0.5, 104.3 ± 5.7 mmol/l respectively, p < 0.001). Also, levels of creatinine (0.8 ± 0.2 mg/dl), TBil (0.5 ± 0.2 mg/dl), and CB (0.3 ± 0.5 mg/dl) were significantly higher in patients on HAART than those of either the positive (0.7 ± 0.3, 0.4 ± 0.2, 0.2 ± 0.1 mg/dl) or negative (0.7 ± 0.3, 0.3 ± 0.1, 0.2 ± 0.1 mg/dl) controls respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion : Treatment with HAART for 2 - 8 years may not produce severe hepatotoxicity in HIV/AIDS patient though mild liver toxicity should be expected. The patients’ QoL was not negatively affected by the use of HAART for 2 - 8 years. Keywords : Biochemical parameters, HIV/AIDS, Long-term HAART, Quality of life (QoL).
Sleep Duration and Mortality in Japan: the Jichi Medical School Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Although sleep is one of the most important health-related factors, relationship between sleep duration and mortality has not been fully discussed. METHODS: Study subjects were 11,325 participants (4,419 males and 6,906 females) in the Jich Medical School Cohort Study, a population-based prospective study. Baseline data were obtained by questionnaire and health checkups between April 1992 and July 1995 in 12 rural areas in Japan. Main outcome measures were all-cause and cause-specific mortality derived from death certificates up to December 31, 2001. Cox’s proportional hazard models were applied to analyze the association of sleep duration with mortality. RESULTS: A total of 495 deaths (289 males and 206 females) were observed during the average of 8.2-year follow-up period. After adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, body mass index, smoking habits, alcohol drinking habits, education, and marital status, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of all-cause mortality for individuals sleeping shorter than 6 hours and 9 hours or longer were 2.4 (1.3-4.2) and 1.1 (0.8-1.6) in males, and 0.7 (0.2-2.3) and 1.5 (1.0-2.4) in females, respectively, relative to those with 7-7.9 hours sleep. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that males with short sleep and females with long sleep were at an elevated risk of death.
Procoagulant Activity and Cytokine Expression in Whole Blood Cultures from Patients with Atherosclerosis Supplemented with Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Summary Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) may reduce atherogenesis and thrombosis. We investigated the effects of n-3 FAs on procoagulant activity and cytokine expression in whole blood cultures from patients with atherosclerosis. Eleven of the 23 included patients had received 5.1 g n-3 FA daily for 6 months (group I) whereas 12 patients had been on placebo (group II). All patients were then given 5.1g n-3 FA daily for another 4 weeks. At baseline significantly lower levels of LPS-induced prothrombin fragment1+2 were found in group I (p = 0.010), this difference being eliminated after 4 weeks. Il-6 and TNFαwere significantly higher at baseline in group I and the differences in changes from baseline between the groups were statistically highly significant with increasing values in group II (Il-6 p = 0.001, TNFαp = 0.002). The present results indicate a reduction in pro-thrombotic potential in patients receiving highly concentrated n-3 FA, whereas some pro-inflammatory responses might be adverse.
SISO and SIMO Indoor Wireless Transmission Systems Simulations using the FDTD Method

A SISO (Single Input Single Output) and a SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output) wireless transmission system operating in a Rayleigh distributed environment at the 434 MHz ISM band are investigated. The two systems are simulated using the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method, which enables the simultaneous characterization of the propagation channel and the immersed wire dipoles antennas. A novel procedure to evaluate the method’s accuracy for this type of systems is introduced, through the convergence of the SISO system’s Transfer Function (H). The results show that a numerical phase error of 1 per wavelength is acceptable for accurate estimation of H for a propagation distance of about 12 wavelengths. Moreover, the instantaneous correlation coefficient and the received power ratio versus dipoles’ separation distance are estimated and presented for the SIMO system. Key-Words: FDTD, numerical dispersion error, transfer function, dipoles, multipath, correlation coefficient.
Influence of Informal Groups on Productivity: A Case Study on Philadelphia Pharmaceuticals Company

In the contemporary context of human resource management, workplace performance is seen to have a greater impact on the productivity and sustainability of employees. Accordingly, one of the areas that have been noted to affect the workplace performance is inter-professional collaboration among the workers within companies. While much attention is given to the formal groups that affect the very context of productivity among the workers, little is known on the influence of the informal groups on workplace performance. This descriptive case study unveils some of the critical impact that engagement of workers in informal groups on their productivity. Instinctively, the analysis investigates 48 workers from Philadelphia Pharmaceuticals and uses both questionnaires and semistructured interviews to collect the data. The results shows that out of the 48 participants investigated, 54.17% of them agrees that the informal groups enhances communication among the members while 27% noted that they find it easy to express their grievances in the informal setting. The results also confirmed that informal groups have no rules (52.08%) hence high sense of autonomy is expected in an informal setting. Lastly, approximately 61.42% of the participants agreed to the fact that informal groups have a positive effect on the productivity of the members of staff with keen attention creating a high level of motivation among them. Those who did not support this fact noted that joining these informal groups could lead to strikes that might impede the proper functionality of the organizational structure hence would reduce productivity. It is recommended from this analysis that companies should encourage the workers' involvement in informal groups.
Analysis of MPPT algorithms for photovoltaic panels based on ripple correlation techniques in presence of parasitic components

The Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithms based on power and voltage (or current) ripple components have been proved to allow an effective and low cost analog implementation, suitable for interfacing photovoltaic (PV) panels with batteries or inverters connected to the utility grid. However, when exploiting the inherent switching frequency ripple components caused by power converters, PV panel reactive parasitic elements, like output shunt capacitance and series inductance, can play a key role in determining the overall algorithm efficiency. The paper addresses this topic by investigating the effect of these parasitic components, through analytical models, as well as by simulations and experimental measurements, when a high-frequency (> 100 kHz) dc-dc converter is employed as a MPP tracker.
Generation-Y shopping: the impact of network externalities and trust on adoption of social commerce

Many commercial companies are keen to exploit the rapid transformation of electronic commerce into social commerce. Social commerce is increasingly being observed in the purchasing behaviour of college-aged Generation-Y consumers. Drawing on theory of reasoned action, this study examines the strength and significance of trust and network externalities on social commerce adoption. By linking security, situational normality, vendor familiarity and structural assurance as determinants of trust, we propose a model of an individual's intention to engage in social commerce. Our model adds network externalities as antecedents influencing an individual's normative beliefs. Our findings reveal that security, situational normality and structural assurance have positive effect on trust. Number of peers has a positive relationship with normative beliefs. Both trust and normative beliefs are inextricably linked to behavioural intention. Our results provide insight into the role of trust and network externalities on social commerce adoption, thereby allowing social commerce providers to develop innovative strategies to compete in the social commerce industry.
The effects of industry characteristics on stock price synchronicity around IFRS adoption

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a change in stock price synchronicity after IFRS adoption differs by industry characteristics. IFRS adoption was expected to improve earnings quality and comparability. Industry concentration and homogeneity are utilized as industry characteristics, which are known as determinants to earnings quality and comparability to examine IFRS adoption effect on the synchronicity. Using Korean firms listed from 2006 to 2015, the author found that stock price synchronicity decreases after IFRS adoption. The reduction in synchronicity is larger for firms in a concentrated industry. However, the researcher didn’t find that incremental effect of homogeneity on synchronicity changes around IFRS adoption. These results remain unchanged after several robustness tests. The results imply that earnings quality after IFRS adoption improves, while comparability effect is not evident in the Korean market. The paper has implications that co-movement of stock price decreases after IFRS adoption in that delivering firm-specific information to investors; in addition, the magnitude of impacts of IFRS adoption differs by the industry characteristics. The author extends prior studies about IFRS adoption effect on the capital market by providing that the effects need to be examined after considering the industry characteristics.
Increasing the Sense of Presence in a Simulation Environment Using Image Generators Based on Visual Attention

Flight simulator systems generally use a separate image-generator component. The host is responsible for the positional data updates of the entities and the image generator is responsible for the rendering process. In such systems, the sense of presence is decreased by model flickering. This study presents a method by which the host can minimize model flickering in the image-generator output. The method is based on preexisting algorithms, such as visibility culling and level of detail management of 3D models. The flickering is minimized for the visually important entities at the expense of increasing the flickering of the entities that are out of the user’s focus using a new perception-based approach. It is shown through user studies that the new proposed approach increases the participants’ sense of presence.
Coping with ex-ante regulations for planting Bt maize: the Portuguese experience

This article investigates the attitude and practices of Bt and non-Bt maize farmers in Portugal. Thirty-seven Bt maize farmers were interviewed, representing 22.5% of the total number of Bt maize notifications in the country and 31.5% of the total area planted with Bt maize in 2007. Additionally, 66 non-Bt maize farmers were surveyed in an attempt to investigate their opinion on the Bt technology, its viability, and its future. The most interesting finding is that almost half of all the surveyed maize farmers stated that the ex-ante regulations are rigid and difficult to apply.
How Demanding are Activation Requirements for Jobseekers?

This paper presents new information on activity-related eligibility criteria for unemployment and related benefits in OECD- and EU-countries in 2017, comparing the strictness of “demanding” elements built into unemployment benefits across countries and over time. Eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits determine what claimants need to do to successfully claim benefits initially or to continue receiving them. Benefit systems feature specific rules that define the type of job offers that claimants need to accept, requirements for reporting on the outcomes of independent job-search efforts, obligations to participate in active labour market programmes, as well as sanctions for failing to meet these requirements. Such rules aim to strengthen incentives to look for, prepare for, and accept employment. They may also be used as a targeting device to reduce demands on benefit systems, and on associated employment services. While this may serve to limit support to genuine jobseekers, strict requirements can also exclude some intended recipients from financial and re-employment support, e.g., by discouraging them from applying. This paper presents detailed information on policy rules in 2017, summarises them into an overall policy indicator of eligibility strictness, and gauges recent policy trends by documenting changes in the strictness measures. A novelty is the inclusion of lower-tier unemployment or social assistance benefits in the compilation of policy rules. Results document a large number of reforms enacted after the Great Recession and suggest a slight convergence of policy rules across countries even though overall measures of the strictness of activity-related eligibility criteria have remained broadly unchanged during the recent past. In countries with multiple layers of support for the unemployed, availability requirements tend to be more demanding for lower-tier assistance benefits, while sanction rules tend to be more stringent for first-tier programmes.
The effect of 2 sympatholytic medications--propranolol and clonidine--on sleep bruxism: experimental randomized controlled studies.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To examine whether 2 sympatholytic medications decrease sleep bruxism and prevent the rise in sympathetic activity preceding the onset of sleep bruxism: propranolol, a nonselective adrenergic beta-blocker, and clonidine, a selective alpha2-agonist. DESIGN Experimental randomized controlled crossover studies with placebo and active treatments (propranolol 120 mg; clonidine 0.3 mg). SETTING Hospital-based sleep research laboratory. PATIENTS Twenty-five subjects with a history and diagnosis of SLEEP BRUXISM (11 men, 14 women; age range, 21 to 31 years). INTERVENTION Polygraphic study. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Polygraphic sleep laboratory recordings were done for 4 nights: the first night was habituation, the second, sleep bruxism diagnosis; and 3 and 4 were study nights. The sleep bruxism index was estimated using masseter muscle activity. Heart rate variability was estimated with spectral analysis of RR intervals. Sleep and sleep bruxism variables were not significantly influenced by propranolol. A reduction of the mean RR intervals and of the sympathetic dominance (p < .05) was seen. Under clonidine, duration of sleep stage 2 was prolonged, whereas REM sleep was suppressed in 14 of 16 subjects with sleep bruxism. The sleep bruxism index was reduced by 61% (p < .05). Under clonidine, a reduction in heart rate and sympathetic dominance was observed in stable sleep and in the minute preceding the onset of sleep bruxism (p < .05). CONCLUSION Although propranolol did not affect sleep bruxism, clonidine decreased sympathetic tone in the minute preceding the onset of sleep bruxism, thus reducing sleep bruxism by preventing the sequence of autonomic to motor activation of sleep bruxism. This further supports the role of sympathetic activity in the pathophysiology of sleep bruxism. Because morning hypotension was seen in 19% of patients, further dose-dependant research is required to assess the safety of clonidine for the management of sleep bruxism.
Universal laws and economic phenomena

Despite the idiosyncratic behavior of individuals, empirical regularities exist in social and economic systems. These regularities often arise from simple underlying mechanisms which, analogous to the natural sciences, can be expressed as universal principles or laws. In this essay, I discuss the similarities between economic and natural phenomena and argue that it is advantageous for economists to adopt methods from the natural sciences to discover “universal laws” in economic systems. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2011
Preexisting dual antiplatelet treatment increases the risk of post-thrombolysis intracranial hemorrhage in Chinese stroke patients

Abstract Objective: Previous studies have shown conflicting results on the use of antiplatelet (AP) agent and its risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) following thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke. Our study was to explore the safety of intravenous (IV) thrombolysis in Chinese stroke patients who were on AP prior to stroke. Methods: Data were collected from the thrombolysis implementation and monitor of acute ischemic stroke in China (TIMS-China) registry. Symptomatic ICH defined per SITS-MOST (safe implementation of treatments in stroke-monitoring study), ECASS II (second European-Australasian acute stroke study), and NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) criteria, 90-day functional outcome, and 7-day and 90-day mortalities were compared between the stroke patients who were on mono and dual AP therapy. Results: A total of 157 (14·2%) patients received at least one AP drug within 24 hours before thrombolysis. Patients with preexisting dual AP treatment had higher rate of sICH (14·3% (2/14) per SITS-MOST, 21·4% (3/14) per ECASS II definitions) than those on no AP treatment. No significant difference was found in the rate of sICH or 7-day or 90-day mortalities between the groups on aspirin (ASA) alone and on no AP treatment. Discussion: The risk of developing sICH is low when thrombolysis is given to patients who are on ASA alone. However, there is potential increased risk of sICH if a patient is on dual AP treatment.
Effects of country-of-origin stereotypes on consumer responses to product-harm crises

The purpose of this paper is to investigate “how” and “when” the stereotypes of competence and warmth, that are evoked by a foreign company’s country-of-origin (COO), affect blame attributions and/or attitudes toward a company’s products when a company is involved in a product-harm crisis. ,Study 1 (n=883) analyzes the psychological mechanisms through which perceived COO competence and warmth differently affect blame attributions and evaluative responses. Study 2 (n=1,640) replicates Study 1’s findings, and it also investigates how consumer ethnocentrism, animosity toward a country, and product category characteristics moderate the hypothesized COO’s effects. ,COO competence leads to more favorable attitudes toward the involved company’s products. This effect increases when the company sells high-involvement or utilitarian products. COO warmth leads to more favorable attitudes toward the involved company’s products directly as well as indirectly by diminishing blame attributions. These effects increase when consumers are highly ethnocentric, or the animosity toward a foreign country is high. ,This paper frames the investigation of COO stereotypes in a new theoretical and empirical setting, specifically, a product-harm crisis. It demonstrates that consumers differently evaluate a potential wrongdoing company and its harmful products in a product-harm crisis based on their perceptions of a company’s COO competence and warmth. Finally, it defines the moderating effects of individual, consumer-country-related and product characteristics on the hypothesized COO effects.
Viscocanalostomy in rhesus monkeys.

OBJECTIVE To examine structural changes and aqueous humor outflow after viscocanalostomy in live normal monkey eyes. METHODS Viscocanalostomy surgery was performed in 1 eye of each of 4 rhesus monkeys. Outflow facility was determined before and after surgery. All eyes were fixed and examined by light and/or electron microscopy 36 or 63 days postoperatively. RESULTS Schlemm canal was replaced by scar tissue at the surgical site. The juxtacanalicular zone contained homogeneous material, probably high-molecular-weight 1.4% sodium hyaluronate. The sclera external to Schlemm canal was overhydrated, and remains of a scleral lake were present in 1 animal. Multiple defects were present in the endothelial lining of Schlemm canal inner and outer wall. Fine fibrillar material and sheath-derived plaque material partly bridged the defects. Along the inner wall, aggregations of thrombocytes covered some defects in the endothelial lining of the canal. At 90 degrees to 180 degrees from the surgical site, small and fewer breaks in the inner wall were seen. Postsurgery outflow facility (n = 2) was approximately 30% higher in the treated eye than in the contralateral control, corrected bilaterally for presurgery baseline. CONCLUSIONS The most likely explanations for the increase in outflow facility in monkeys after viscocanalostomy are focal disruptions of the inner wall endothelium of Schlemm canal and disorganization of the juxtacanalicular zone, resulting in direct communication of juxtacanalicular zone extracellular spaces with the lumen of Schlemm canal. The continuous presence of sodium hyaluronate might prevent repair of these defects by interfering with thrombocyte function. CLINICAL RELEVANCE In nonhuman primates, viscocanalostomy appears to decrease outflow resistance through persisting focal disruption of the inner wall endothelium and opening of the juxtacanalicular or cribriform region of the trabecular meshwork, the tissue most affected by pathologic changes in primary open-angle glaucoma in humans.