Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Skull Mechanics and the Evolutionary Patterns of the Otic Notch Closure in Capitosaurs (Amphibia: Temnospondyli)

Capitosaurs were among the largest amphibians that have ever lived. Their members displayed an amphibious lifestyle. We provide new information on functional morphology data, using finite element analysis (FEA) which has palaeoecological implications for the group. Our analyses included 17 taxa using (2D) plate models to test four loading cases (bilateral, unilateral and lateral bitings and skull raising system simulation). Our results demonstrates that, when feeding, capitosaurs concentrated the stress at the circumorbital region of the capitosaur skull and cranial sutures probably played a key role in dissipating and absorbing the stress generated during biting. Basal members (as Wetlugasaurus) were probably less specialized forms, while during Middle‐ and Late Triassic the group radiated into different ecomorphotypes with closed otic notch forms (as Cyclotosaurus) resulting in the strongest skulls during biting. Previous interpretations discussed a trend from an open to closed otic notch associated with lateral repositioning of the tabular horns, but the analysis of the skull‐raising system reveals that taxa exhibiting posteriorly directed tabular horns display similar results during skull raising to those of closed otic notch taxa. Our results suggest that various constraints besides otic notch morphology, such as the elongation of the tabular horns, snout length, skull width and position, and size of the orbits affect the function of the skull. On the light of our results, capitosaur skull showed a trend to reduce the stresses and deformation during biting. Capitosaurs could be considered crocodilian analogues as they were top‐level predators in fluvial and brackish Triassic ecosystems. Anat Rec, , 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Advocating for Action Design Research on IT Value Creation in Healthcare

Today there is mixed evidence that health IT decreases costs and/or improves care quality in the US. Some of the same factors that have driven delays in realizing the benefits from IT investments in other industries (i.e., time consuming process changes) are apparent in the U.S. healthcare industry, which is only now digitizing its fundamental patient data, the electronic health record. The healthcare industry itself is in transition and new IT may not provide full benefit unless it is accompanied with a restructuring of healthcare delivery. Traditional ex post approaches to measuring IT value will limit the ability of healthcare IT value researchers to add value to practice now especially as government incentives in the US drive significant investment. But generalizing results from traditional IT value research to the healthcare setting is risky due to differences between healthcare and other industries. I advocate for action design research that uses existing theory as a foundation, but adapts it to the specific unique characteristics of this industry. By actively participating in the design and evaluation of new socio-technical systems, IT value researchers can generate grounded theory to explain value creation in healthcare while influencing practice now.
Posttraumatic Anger, Recalled Peritraumatic Emotions, and PTSD in Victims of Violent Crime

A mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal design was employed to explore the association between posttraumatic anger and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; symptoms) in victims of civilian violence. It was speculated that this relationship is mainly due to concurrent recalled peritraumatic emotions. Such emotions may be interpreted to result from anger-rooted threat perceptions and to share similarities with posttraumatic intrusion symptoms. In addition, predictors of PTSD maintenance were investigated. Cross-sectional data indicated that posttraumatic anger and several indices of PTSD were highly interconnected. Recalled peritraumatic emotions partly accounted for the relation between posttraumatic anger and posttraumatic intrusions (n = 177). Only posttraumatic intrusions were associated with PTSD symptom persistence at follow-up (n = 56). Findings were discussed in light of study limitations and directions for future research.
An Alternative to Business Plan Based Advice for Start-ups?

Business plans are advocated by many business support professionals and others, such as educators in higher education institutions, because they suit their purposes. A typical view is that a business plan is ‘one of the most important steps in setting up any new business’ (Burns, 2011); but their hegemony is now being questioned. Sarasvathy (2008) suggests that effectuation is the method often favoured by expert entrepreneurs and this paper seeks to combine it with an exploration view of entrepreneurship to produce an alternative tool for start-up ventures. The paper compares the pros and cons of each approach and suggests that an exploration approach is often more natural, logical and effective than the business plan based alternative.
Professional Investors as Naturalistic Decision Makers: Evidence and Market Implications

This paper is the first to examine investment decision-making from a naturalistic decision perspective. Naturalistic decision procedures tend to be used by experts making decisions in complex, ill-structured, and indeterminate situations. Survey results indicate that investment professionals, like other naturalistic decision-makers, rely heavily on mental imagery, reasoning by analogy, and decision procedures that become more intuitive as complexity increases. Also, they are "satisficers," not optimizers. In other words, their primary aim is to make an acceptable choice; finding the best choice is not necessary. Clinical training is recommended to improve the performance of investment professionals. In particular, investment professionals may benefit from training similar to that given to medical professionals wherein emphasis is placed to extensive repetitive exposure to "real world" decisions complete with plenty of immediate and unambiguous feedback.
The Valuation of Deferred Taxes

We provide evidence regarding the incremental value- relevance of deferred tax information provided under SFAS No. 109. We assess the likelihood of reversal for each component of the deferred tax disclosures required by SFAS No. 109, forming expectations about the direction and magnitude of these components' valuation. Based on these data, we measure the extent to which the valuation of deferred tax components depends on the probability of reversal. Our empirical work tests the hypothesis that deferred taxes that are more likely to reverse in the next period will contribute more to firm value (in absolute terms) than deferred tax components that are less likely to reverse soon. Our model values a firm's equity as a linear function of net operating assets, net financial assets, and current and lagged abnormal operating earnings. We introduce net deferred tax liabilities as a distinct category of (negative) assets in the valuation model and estimate the effect of each different asset class on the market value of the firm's equity. We find that, on average, one dollar of net operating assets is valued as a dollar; a dollar of net financial assets contributes less than one dollar to equity value; and a dollar of net deferred taxes is valued slightly more than a dollar. Separating a firm's deferred tax balance into its component parts provides further, more specific information relevant to firm value. We classify deferred tax components into seven categories, including depreciation and amortization; taxes and losses carried-forward; and restructuring charges. In particular, the valuation coefficient on deferred tax liabilities
Modeling Hedge Fund Lifetimes: A Dependent Competing Risks Framework with Latent Exit Types

Due to the voluntary nature of hedge funds reporting to databases, hedge funds may stop reporting and exit a database not only because of failure, but also as a result of success and reaching the optimal size of assets under management. The existing hedge fund databases do not seem to provide reliable and unambiguous information on the reasons of hedge fund exits. In this paper, we consider that the causes of hedge fund exits are latent, and develop a competing risks model with two exit specific hazard functions, one for each cause of exit. We further allow both exit specific hazard functions to depend on unobserved heterogeneity terms that can be mutually dependent. In this way, we investigate the interdependence between the exit specific hazard functions, and explore their determinants. We show that even without observability on causes of exit, the two sets of coefficients, one for each cause of exit, can be estimated. We find an evidence of strong dependence between the unobserved heterogeneities. We also find that the estimated coefficients of the observed covariates are generally similar whether unobserved heterogeneities or the dependence between them is taken into account or not. However, the estimated exit specific hazard functions are significantly different, due to the standard negative duration dependence in the case of omitted heterogeneity.
A Spatial Hedonic Analysis of the Value of Urban Land Cover in the Multifamily Housing Market in Los Angeles, CA

Little appears to be known about the value of urban green spaces (tree canopy cover and grassy areas) in a Mediterranean climate, or in relation to multifamily buildings. This study starts addressing this gap by quantifying the impact of urban green spaces on the value of 1197 multifamily buildings sold in 2003/04 in Los Angeles, California. To assess the robustness of the results, a spatial Durbin model is contrasted with a geographically weighted regression model and an extensive sensitivity analysis is conducted. It is found that increases in grassy areas either on the parcels of multifamily buildings or in their vicinity (200 metres outward from each parcel boundary) would typically not enhance their value and neither would more parcel tree canopy cover (TCC); by contrast, most multifamily properties would benefit from an increase in vicinity TCC. These results have implications for tree planting programmes that rely heavily on private property owners.
Use of one-bottle adhesive as an intermediate bonding layer to reduce sealant microleakage on saliva-contaminated enamel.

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of three different adhesives, each used as an intermediary layer, on microleakage of sealants applied under condition of salivary contamination. MATERIALS AND METHODS Six different experimental conditions were compared, 3 with adhesives and 3 without. After prophylaxis and acid etching of enamel, salivary contamination was placed for 10 s. In Group SC the sealant was applied after saliva without bonding agent and then light-cured. In Group SCA, after saliva, the surface was air dried, and then the sealant was applied and cured. In Groups ScB, SB and PB, a bonding agent (Scotchbond Dual Cure/3M, Single Bond/3M and Prime & Bond 2.1/Dentsply, respectively) was applied after the saliva and prior to the sealant application and curing. After storage in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 24 hrs, the teeth were submitted to 500 thermal cycles (5 degrees C and 55 degrees C), and silver nitrate was used as a leakage tracer. Leakage data were collected on cross sections as percentage of total enamel-sealant interface length. Representative samples were evaluated under SEM. RESULTS Sealants placed on contaminated enamel with no bonding agent showed extensive microleakage (94.27% in SC; 42.65% in SCA). The SEM revealed gaps as wide as 20 microm in areas where silver nitrate leakage could be visualized. In contrast, all bonding agent groups showed leakage less than 6.9%. Placement of sealant with a dentin-bonding agent on contaminated enamel significantly reduced microleakage (P < 0.0001). The use of a bonding agent as an intermediary layer between enamel and sealant significantly reduced saliva's effect on sealant microleakage.
Comparison of the Denka-Seiken INFLU A·B-Quick and BD Directigen Flu A+B Kits with Direct Fluorescent-Antibody Staining and Shell Vial Culture Methods for Rapid Detection of Influenza Viruses

ABSTRACT The INFLU A·B-Quick and Directigen Flu A+B enzyme immunoassays were compared with direct immunofluorescence and cell culture for detection of influenza A and B viruses in a total of 255 patient specimens. Both assays identified 23 of 42 influenza A viruses (sensitivity, 54.8%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value [PPV], 100%; negative predictive value [NPV], 91.8%). The INFLU A·B-Quick assay identified 10 of 16 influenza B viruses (sensitivity, 62.5%; specificity, 99.6%; PPV, 90.9%; NPV, 97.5%), and the Directigen Flu A+B assay detected 9 of 16 influenza B viruses (sensitivity, 56.3%; specificity, 99.6%; PPV, 90%; NPV, 97.1%).
Quantitative MRI for analysis of peritumoral edema in malignant gliomas

Background and purpose Damage to the blood-brain barrier with subsequent contrast enhancement is a hallmark of glioblastoma. Non-enhancing tumor invasion into the peritumoral edema is, however, not usually visible on conventional magnetic resonance imaging. New quantitative techniques using relaxometry offer additional information about tissue properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate longitudinal relaxation R1, transverse relaxation R2, and proton density in the peritumoral edema in a group of patients with malignant glioma before surgery to assess whether relaxometry can detect changes not visible on conventional images. Methods In a prospective study, 24 patients with suspected malignant glioma were examined before surgery. A standard MRI protocol was used with the addition of a quantitative MR method (MAGIC), which measured R1, R2, and proton density. The diagnosis of malignant glioma was confirmed after biopsy/surgery. In 19 patients synthetic MR images were then created from the MAGIC scan, and ROIs were placed in the peritumoral edema to obtain the quantitative values. Dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion was used to obtain cerebral blood volume (rCBV) data of the peritumoral edema. Voxel-based statistical analysis was performed using a mixed linear model. Results R1, R2, and rCBV decrease with increasing distance from the contrast-enhancing part of the tumor. There is a significant increase in R1 gradient after contrast agent injection (P < .0001). There is a heterogeneous pattern of relaxation values in the peritumoral edema adjacent to the contrast-enhancing part of the tumor. Conclusion Quantitative analysis with relaxometry of peritumoral edema in malignant gliomas detects tissue changes not visualized on conventional MR images. The finding of decreasing R1 and R2 means shorter relaxation times closer to the tumor, which could reflect tumor invasion into the peritumoral edema. However, these findings need to be validated in the future.
What Factors Contribute to the Identity Development of International Adoptees

International adoptees face a unique challenge in their ethnic identity development because they are raised in a different culture than they were born, usually by parents of a different race. Understanding what helps develop an adoptees ethnic identity helps adoption professionals and adoptive parents facilitate a positive identity development among adoptees. The study consisted of four qualitative interviews with adult international adoptees regarding the factors that contributed to their ethnic identity development. Using a developmental framework and grounded theory the interview were analyzed and coded for themes. Participants shared a common development over time starting at a pride of their adoptee status to avoidance during adolescence. In young adulthood learning about their birth country and better understanding their adoption was significant for all four participants. Other factors contributing to the participants’ identity development include visiting birth country, meeting birth family, family support, family dynamics, mental health and disability. Data shows many factors influence an adoptees identity development and each person is different. The data also shows support for preadoption services for adoptive families. Implications for further research are discussed. INTERNATIONAL ADOPTEES IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT iii Acknowledgements A sincere thank you to my committee chair, Dr. Felicia Sy for all her guidance and feedback throughout this project. I would also like to thank my committee members, Sarah Park and Bethany Almos. Thank you for sharing your expertise, helpful feedback and time. Lastly, I would like to thank the University of St. Thomas for the opportunity to do this research. INTERNATIONAL ADOPTEES IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT iv Table of
Implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in hotel industry from organizational culture perspective: Case of a chain hotel in the UK

The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the impact of organizational culture on implementing customer relationship management (CRM) in the hotel industry. ,The research is conducted with a quantitative approach and a questionnaire adapted from Denison Organizational Culture Survey, and the Mendoza CRM model is the research instrument. The questionnaire was administered among 346 managers of a chain hotel in the UK. Gathered data were subjected to correlation and multiple regression analyses. ,The correlation analysis demonstrates that organizational culture factors of adaptability, consistency, staff involvement and mission have a positive significant impact on CRM implementations. The multiple regression analysis further showed that though CRM implementation is highly correlated with these four factors, its successful implementation is not dependent on all of them. ,The research is conducted in the frame of a case study where a UK chain hotel is selected; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population. This research is conducted in the context of hotel industry and the result might be different for other industries. Due to the limitation in access to all employees, only managers were selected as the sample of the study and future studies with all staff may show different results. ,Organizational culture readiness is one of the most important requirements in CRM implementation initiatives. The results of this study will benefit hotel managers in measuring their organizational culture and improve it toward better CRM outcomes. ,Previous studies on organizational culture and CRM with qualitative approaches have tried to highlight the role of organizational culture on CRM implementation or some have attempted to identify the organizational culture factors with potential impact on CRM implementations. However, very few of these studies have empirically investigated the impacts of organizational culture on CRM implementation, and this is the first study that empirically investigates this impact in the context of the hotel industry.
Board composition and forms of innovation: does diversity make a difference?

Previous research brought evidence of the influence of board composition for bringing strategic resources for innovation, as well as evidence of positive outcomes of board diversity. Only a few studies have investigated the effects of various indicators of board diversity on innovation. In this paper, we will explore the relationship between several aspects of board diversity (gender and age) and four types of innovation, i.e. product, process, organizational, marketing from a sample of 176 French firms based on data from French Community Innovation Survey (CIS) in 2008 and annual reports. Our results show evidence of the influence of board diversity on all types of innovation except process innovation. Findings provide discussions for the impact of board diversity on innovation.
TAYLOR in the cAMP-dependent protein kinase Divalent metal ions influence catalysis and active-site accessibility

Phosphorylation of the peptide LRRASLG by the catalytic subunit of CAMP-dependent protein kinase was measured in the presence of various divalent metals to establish the role of electrophiles in the kinetic mechanism. Under conditions of low or high metal concentrations, the apparent second-order rate constant, kc,,/Kpep,ide, and the maximal rate constant, kc,,, followed the trend Mg2+ > Co2+ > Mn2+. Competitive inhibition studies indicate that the former effect is not due to destabilization of the substrate complex, E-ATP.S. The effects of solvent viscosity on the steady-state kinetic parameters were interpreted according to a simple mechanism involving substrate binding, phosphotransfer, and product release steps and two metal chelation sites in the nucleotide pocket. Decreases in kc,, and kcol/Kpeplide result mostly from attenuations in the dissociation rate constant for ADP and the association rate constant for the substrate, respectively. Decreases in the phosphoryl transfer rate constant have only negligible to moderate effects on these parameters. The low observed values for the association rate constant of the substrate indicate that the metals control the concentration of the productive binary form, E,. ATP, and indirectly the accessibility of the active site. By comparison, Mg2+ is the best divalent metal catalyst because it uniformly lowers the transition state energies for all steps in the kinetic mechanism, permitting maximum flux of substrate to product. The data suggest that CAMP-dependent protein kinase uses metal ions to serve multiple roles in facilitating phosphotransfer and accelerating substrate association and product dissociation.
A Review of Capital Asset Pricing Models

Purpose - The main aspect of security analysis is its valuation through a relationship between the security return and the associated risk. The purpose of this paper is to review the traditional capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and its variants adopted in empirical investigations of asset pricing. Design/methodology/approach - Pricing models are discussed under five categories: the single-factor model, multifactor models, CAPM with higher order systematic co-moments, CAPM conditional on market movements and time-varying volatility models. Findings - The paper finds that the last half-century has witnessed the proliferation of empirical studies testing on the validity of the CAPM. A growing number of studies find that the cross-asset variation in expected returns cannot be explained by the systematic risk alone. Therefore a variety of models have been developed to predict asset returns. Research limitations/implications - There is no consensus in the literature as to what a suitable measure of risk is, and consequently, as to what is a suitable measure for evaluating risk-adjusted performance. So the quest for robust asset pricing models continues. Originality/value - From its beginning to its possible demise the paper reviews the history of the CAPM assuring that we are all up to speed with what has been done.
Gated Communities in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina: A challenge for Town Planning

The massive growth of gated communities was one of the major urban changes during the 1990s in the Buenos Aires suburbs, but urban planners face many problems because of such developments. These upper-class enclaves, using large tracts of land, spring up at the periphery of cities, which are, in developing countries, lower-class residential areas, creating striking urban contrasts. The municipalities of the second suburban ring of Buenos Aires, with high population growth rates and the poorest inhabitants of the whole metropolis, often have limited resources and great difficulties controlling their own urbanisation. Focusing on the example of the municipality of Pilar, 50 km north of Buenos Aires, an epicentre for the gated communities' boom, this paper shows that planning regulations, often obsolete, are poorly applied. If gated communities generate some economic development, it appears that suburban municipalities and the majority of their residents actually take very little advantage of the arrival of closed affluent neighbourhoods in their localities.