Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How much do firms imitate each other? The role of external search strategies in KIBS firms

Purpose . Despite many firms rely on a wide range of external partners to achieve and sustain innovation, we still know little about if and how firms’ openness to external sources of information affects firms’ imitation strategy. We conceptualize openness as the involvement of a heterogeneous range of actors and sources. Approaching this underexplored area of research, we apply information-based theory of imitation to evaluate how firms decide how much to imitate by compensating their information deficiency via external partnerships. Methodology . We test our hypotheses using a large-scale sample of Italian knowledge intensive business service (KIBS) firms, a very relevant setting for an increasing knowledge-based economy. Findings . Our findings show that both external search depth and breadth affect firms’ imitation propensity. When the depth of exchanges is high, and firms draw deeply from external sources, KIBS firms increase their level of imitation, while the breadth in the number of external sources takes a curvilinearly (U-shaped) relationship with the imitation propensity. Practical implications . Managers, who operate in complex and uncertain environments, can rely on external partnerships to explore the external environment and define how much to imitate rivals. Originality/value . We contribute to the strategic management and KIBS literature by applying information-based theories of imitation to firms’ external search strategy and by identifying new original antecedents to imitative behavior.
Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases in Elderly People

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of mortality in women and men all over the world. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors in the elderly people. Methods: This descriptive study has been done on 382 elderly people in 2009 . Samples were chosen from different regions of Tehran city by random-cluste r sampling method. Data was collected by researcher made questionnaire and also measurement of the height and weight (body-mass index), blood pressure, blood lipids and fasting blood sugar. The data analyzed using descriptive-analytical statistical method and SPSS 17 software. Results: Risk factors of cardiac vascular diseases (and their prevalence) included obesity and overweight (48.1%), high triglyceride (37.2%), lack of exercise (36.4%), high cholesterol (32.2%), high systolic (%31.4) and diastolic (28.0%) blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases (27.3%), tobacco consumption (19.7%), high fasting blood sugar (14.7%), and positive family history (13.4%). Prevalence of different risk factors of cardiac vascular diseases was significantly higher in men than women (P<0.05) except fasting blood sugar, physical inactivity and lack of exercise. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the prevalence of risk factors for cardiac vascular diseases was high and higher in men than women. Therefore, educating individuals, control of risk factors and screening are suggested.
Elliptical galaxies with rapidly decreasing velocity dispersion profiles: nmagic models and dark halo parameter estimates for NGC 4494

NGC 4494 is one of several intermediate-luminosity elliptical galaxies inferred to have an unusually diffuse dark matter halo. We use the χ 2 -made-to-measure particle code NMAGIC to construct axisymmetric models of NGC 4494 from photometric and various kinematic data. The extended kinematics include light spectra in multiple slitlets out to 3.5Re, and hundreds of planetary nebulae velocities out to ≃ 7Re, thus allowing us to probe the dark matter content and orbital structure in the halo. We use Monte Carlo simulations to estimate confidence boundaries for the halo parameters, given our data and modelling set-up. We find that the true potential of
A game-theoretic approach to dynamic demand response management

Within the realm of dynamic of \emph{smart buildings} and \emph{smart cities}, dynamic response management is playing an ever-increasing role thus attracting the attention of scientists from different disciplines. Dynamic demand response management involves a set of operations aiming at decentralizing the control of loads in large and complex power networks. Each single appliance if fully responsive and readjusts its energy demand to the overall network load. A main issue is related to mains frequency oscillations resulting from an unbalance between supply and demand. In a nutshell, this paper contributes to the topic by equipping each signal consumer with strategic insight. In particular, we highlight three main contributions and a few other minor contributions. First, we design a mean-field game for the TCLs application, study the mean-field equilibrium for the deterministic mean-field game and investigate on asymptotic stability for the microscopic dynamics. Second, we extend the analysis and design to imperfect models which involve both stochastic or deterministic disturbances. This leads to robust mean-field equilibrium strategies guaranteeing stochastic and worst-case stability, respectively. Minor contributions involve the use of stochastic control strategies rather than deterministic, and some numerical studies illustrating the efficacy of the proposed strategies.
Varietal response of four cowpea cultivars ( Vigna unguiculata L. Walp ) to different densities of guinea grass ( Panicum maximum )

-2 ) of guinea grass at the Experimental Garden of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. The experimental design was a 4 x 4 factorial scheme. Weed densities did not significantly (P>0.05) affect plant height at 3, 6 and 9 weeks after planting (WAP) but the varieties did. However, the interaction between weed densities and varieties was not significant throughout the study. Dry matter yield by the different cowpea varieties significantly (P<0.05) decreased with increasing weed densities. There were significant (P<0.05) differences among the varieties in terms of number of days to 50% flowering while interactions between varieties and weed densities were not significant. Number of pods was significantly (P<0.05) influenced by varying weed densities and varieties. Varying weed densities and varieties significantly influenced cowpea yields.
Intestinal effects of dietary betaine in piglets.

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of graded dietary inclusion levels of betaine on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal bacterial fermentation characteristics in piglets. A total of 8 barrows (BW 7.9 kg) was fitted with simple T-cannulas at the distal ileum. The animals were randomly allocated to 1 of the 4 assay diets with 2 pigs per treatment in 4 repeated measurement periods. The assay diets included a basal diet based on wheat, barley and soybean meal alone, or supplemented with a liquid betaine product at dietary levels of 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0 g betaine kg–1 diet (as–fed). Ileal digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) increased both quadratically and linearly (P<0.05), and ileal digestibility of glycine increased linearly as dietary betaine level increased (P<0.05). Moreover, there were linear increases in the concentrations of ileal D–lactic acid (P<0.05), indicating intensified intestinal bacterial activities as dietary betaine level increased. At the fecal level, total tract crude protein (CP) digestibility increased quadratically (P<0.05), and digestibility of amino acids (AA) tended to increase quadratically (P=0.06 to P=0.11), except for proline (P>0.05), as dietary betaine level increased. The increased bacterial degradation of CP and AA in the large intestine coincides with the linear increase (P<0.05) in fecal diaminopimelic acid concentrations, indicating enhanced intestinal bacterial growth with increasing dietary betaine levels. In most cases, there was a response in the variables that were measured up to 3.0 g betaine per kg diet, whereas increasing the betaine level from 3.0 to 6.0 g betaine per kg diet had no additional effect. It can be concluded that dietary betaine stimulates microbial fermentation of fiber in the small intestine, leaving less fermentable fiber to reach the large intestine and therefore, increased microbial degradation of protein in the large intestine may occur. Keywords: piglets, betaine, digestibility, bacterial fermentation, microflora
The impact of job rotation on nurses' burnout in Ayatollah Kashani hospital, Tehran: A case study

Background and aim: Job burnout is a syndrome which is known by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and deterioration of job performance. Due to the negative impacts of this syndrome on patients, employees, and organization in healthcare settings this issue has drawn attention of many researchers during recent years. Despite the large number of publications in this area , limited attention has been paid to the factors influencing job burnout. The aim of the present study was to determine the level of job burnout and impacts of job rotation on nurses burnout in Ayatollah Kashani hospital, Tehran. Methods: In order to conduct this research a historical cohort study was performed to determine degree of job burnout among nurses with and without job rotation in Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Tehran. The number of nurses with job rotation was (n=59) and without job rotation (n=29). Data was collected via a self-report questionnaire. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to assess the job burnout of the subjects. Results: The overall findings revealed that nurses had low level of emotional exhaustion, low level of depersonalization and middle level of declining of personal accomplishment. No significant difference was observed between the job burnout of the tow groups of nurses - with and without rotation. In comparing the level of job burnout among the nurses of different wards (i.e. between wards comparison) the findings revealed that nurses of the emergency ward, had higher rate of depersonalization (P=0.012). Conclusion: The nurses' burnout showed to be at the medium level with respect to the personal accomplishment subscale, which seems to require a managerial intervention in this hospital. Apparently current job rotation schedule has had no significant impact on the nurses’ job burnout in Ayatollah Kashani hospital and the obtained results suggest that other alternative approaches need to be considered to improve personal accomplishment and to decrease job burnout among nurses.
DIRECT MULTI‐SCALE ORDINATION WITH CANONICAL CORRESPONDENCE ANALYSIS

Gradient analysis uses ordination methods to study the structure of biotic communities caused by biotic processes operating in a heterogeneous environment. This structure has two spatial components: spatial processes within the community create au- tocorrelation, and the spatial structure of environmental factors creates spatial dependence. Ordination methods, however, do not make use of spatial information. Spatial alternatives are available in multivariate geostatistics, but are not compatible with important ordination methods used in gradient analysis, correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis (CA, CCA). This paper shows how CA and CCA can be partitioned by distance (indirect and direct multi-scale ordination) and integrated with geostatistics. A diagnostic tool enables ecologists to partition ordination results by distance, to distinguish between components of spatial dependence and of spatial autocorrelation, and to check assumptions of independent residuals, stationarity, and scale-invariant correlation. The application is illustrated with a well-known data set of oribatid mites. Empirical chi-square variograms of individual species, their pair-wise cross variograms, and the variogram of the total inertia are defined and summarized in a variogram matrix, which leads to a spatial partitioning of the eigenvalues. The empirical variogram matrix provides a link to coregionalization anal- ysis that may be used to simultaneously model spatial dependence and spatial autocorre- lation. This will be useful for answering questions about the organism-specific scale of response to the environment, the optimal spacing of sampling units, or the scale-dependent effect of environmental factors.
Kuvvet Miktarı ve Optimum Diş Hareketi İlişkisi The Relationship betvveen Force Magnitude and Optimum Tooth Movement

Dişe uygulanan kuvvet ile birlikte dişte meydana gelen hareket ortodontistler için uzun yıllardır popüler bir konu olmuştur. Bu makalede kuvvet büyüklüğü, optimum diş hareketi ve bunların arasındaki ilişki tartışılmıştır. Optimum kuvvetin belirlenmesindeki ana problemlerin ortaya konması ve diş hareketi ile ilgili yapılan araştırmalara ait eldeki literatürlerin derlenmesi, ortodonti pratiğinde doğru kuvvetlerin uygulanmasında ve gelecekte planlanacak araştırmalara temel olabilir. (Türk Ortodonti Dergisi 2007; 20:83-92)
Taxonomy and conservation in Higher Plants and Bryophytes in the Mediterranean Area

The Mediterranean Region is among the areas of the world richest in wild and cultivated taxa. Extinctions in the Mediterranean area are bound to have occurred in historical times but they are not documented. The probable and documented cases of plant extinction in specific areas within the Mediterranean are equivalent to 0.25% of total species-by-area records. Species with a large range are more prone to local population size fluctuations and eventual extinction than species with a reduced population. Small islands floras are more prone to extinction than those on large islands and on the mainland. Reliability of our data on Mediterranean plant extinctions is poor. New emphasis on floristic research is needed to boost our deficient knowledge of the Mediterranean flora. A closer collaboration between scholars and amateurs can increase floristic knowledge and also help unravel taxonomic problems.
Monitoring Yogurt Culture Fermentation and Predicting Fermentation Endpoint with Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Determination of the endpoint of yogurt culture fermentation is a process parameter that could benefit from automation. The feasibility of using a fluorescence sensor technology based on 280 nm excitation and 350 nm emission to predict the endpoint of yogurt culture fermentation was investigated and compared with the endpoint prediction from a near-infrared (880 nm) light backscatter sensor. Yogurt cultures with three levels of milk solids (8%, 10%, and 12%) and three temperatures (40°C, 43°C, and 46°C) were tested with three replications in a 3  3 factorial design (n = 27). Prediction models were developed for each optical measurement using the independent variables and time parameters calculated from the data. It was found that the fluorescence sensor technology was able to predict the endpoint of yogurt culture fermentation with a standard error of 16.0 min and an R2 value of 0.999. The near-infrared sensor technology was able to predict the endpoint with a standard error of 10.4 min and an R2 value of 0.997.
Application of Gauss's Theorem to quantify localized surface emissions from airborne measurements of wind and trace gases

Abstract. Airborne estimates of greenhouse gas emissions are becoming more prevalent with the advent of rapid commercial development of trace gas instrumentation featuring increased measurement accuracy, precision, and frequency, and the swelling interest in the verification of current emission inventories. Multiple airborne studies have indicated that emission inventories may underestimate some hydrocarbon emission sources in US oil- and gas-producing basins. Consequently, a proper assessment of the accuracy of these airborne methods is crucial to interpreting the meaning of such discrepancies. We present a new method of sampling surface sources of any trace gas for which fast and precise measurements can be made and apply it to methane, ethane, and carbon dioxide on spatial scales of ∼ 1000 m, where consecutive loops are flown around a targeted source region at multiple altitudes. Using Reynolds decomposition for the scalar concentrations, along with Gauss's theorem, we show that the method accurately accounts for the smaller-scale turbulent dispersion of the local plume, which is often ignored in other average mass balance methods. With the help of large eddy simulations (LES) we further show how the circling radius can be optimized for the micrometeorological conditions encountered during any flight. Furthermore, by sampling controlled releases of methane and ethane on the ground we can ascertain that the accuracy of the method, in appropriate meteorological conditions, is often better than 10 %, with limits of detection below 5 kg h−1 for both methane and ethane. Because of the FAA-mandated minimum flight safe altitude of 150 m, placement of the aircraft is critical to preventing a large portion of the emission plume from flowing underneath the lowest aircraft sampling altitude, which is generally the leading source of uncertainty in these measurements. Finally, we show how the accuracy of the method is strongly dependent on the number of sampling loops and/or time spent sampling the source plume.
Does easily accessible nutritional labelling increase consumption of healthy meals away from home? A field experiment measuring the impact of a point-of-purchase healthy symbol on lunch sales

Abstract This paper analyses the effect on meal consumption away from home of a point-of-purchase healthy symbol. We base the analysis on a field experiment in a lunch restaurant. Our results suggest that meal consumption does not increase if the meal is labelled with a healthy symbol. Also, the mean nutritional content of meals consumed seems unaffected by the introduction of a healthy-labelled meal on the menu. Even if easily accessible and understood, menu labelling therefore seems inefficient in promoting healthier meal choices. Factors influencing meal consumption are meal ingredients and the order of the meal on the menu.
Economic Study of Solar Thermal Plant based on Gas Turbines

The goal of this thesis is to carry out an economic analysis of solar thermal plant based on gas turbines. Throughout the project , there is a brief overview of different technologies used today in CSP without going into greater depth in most of them, but emphasizing solar tower technology with solar hybrid gas turbines. Having explained the reason why this technology has been chosen, possible configurations currently found in the solar panorama will be considered. Then, with the help of a thermodynamic software, called IPSE, all necessary data will be extracted for further economic evaluation. All configurations tested are hybrid using a fuel support based on Brayton cycle. Before carrying out the economic analysis, it will attempt to optimize the electrical efficiency and see how it affects to the levelized cost of electricity. Finally, all the configurations studied will be compared considering economic and energetic aspects.
A reassessment of the Ceratozamia miqueliana species complex (Zamiaceae) of southeastern Mexico, with comments on species relationships

Abstract The Ceratozamia miqueliana species complex has been revised from a morphological, anatomical and biogeographical perspective. The complex consists of five closely related species, one of which is new, C. santillanii sp. nov., and is described and illustrated from the northern highlands of Chiapas. The five species, although not sympatric, occur in the ‘Arc’ Pleistocene floristic refuge that covers southern Mexico, including northern Oaxaca and Chiapas, as well as southern Tabasco and Veracruz. The five species are characterised by oblong, oblanceolate to widely ob‐lanceolate leaflets with decumbent or erect megastrobili when ripe. The species complex consists of C. becerrae Perez‐Farr. , Vovides & Schutzman C. euryphyllidia Vazq.Torres, Sabato & D.W. Stev. , ´C. miqueliana H. Wendl. , C. zoquorum Perez‐Farr. , Vovides & Iglesias and the new species which is related to C. zoquorum, but differs from these in leaf, male and female cone growth habit, as well as inter‐leaflet distance. Discriminant analysis using the five species with 14 variables showed significant differences (Wilks λ test, P < 0.01) for four functions among the five species. Mahalanobis distances were also highly significant among the five species (P < 0.01). Ceratozamia euryphyllidia and C. becerrae were the most distant, whereas C. zoquorum and C. becerrae were closest.
Implications of Unequal Rates of Population Growth for Trade

We study closed form solutions that we obtained from a two-sector, two-factor overlapping generations model under autarky and free trade scenarios for an a la Heckscher-Ohlin exploration of the possible implications of population growth differentials for the patterns of trade flows between economies that are identical except for population growth rates. Our analysis shows that differences in population growth rates give way to differences in relative commodity and factor prices, creating the basis for comparative advantages in the same way as suggested by the static Heckscher-Ohlin model. We also show that unequal rates of population growth prevent comparative advantages from getting eliminated in the long-run, thereby allowing trade to continue to occur even after the steady state is reached. Our solutions reveal, however, that trade does not necessarily improve welfare for both parties in the long-run. The explanation we offer for this nicely complements previous studies that obtained similar results by using overlapping generations general equilibrium models within two country set-ups with steady populations.
Developing Student Support for Open and Distance Learning: The EMPOWER Project

European universities face great challenges dealing with twenty-first century world changes. Deep transformations are required to a wide range of life-long learning scenarios, which are replacing traditional modes of university study and giving access to students in more flexible ways. To address the transformation in learning, the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) launched the EMPOWER project in 2015 so that the EADTU could share expertise of distance education universities in the field. The EMPOWER project is organised in 12 areas. One is student support, as the central area for students’ success. The project’s goal is to empower students to become life-long, self-directed learners in open, online and blended-learning environments. The plan was to increase student retention and enhance academic performance, integration and satisfaction. This article summarises the work that has been done during the past two years to offer different tools and resources, such as webinars and reports. These can help institutions and academics in their understanding of what underlies student engagement and motivation versus student drop-out. We aim to share expertise about how effective, or not, technology has been for developing innovative, advanced and quality student support services to large and small groups of students. It is too early to judge the success of the student support group of the EMPOWER project. This paper looks at what has been achieved so far. In particular it outlines the reasons for focusing on the problem of student drop-out and how student support may help to ameliorate the problem.