Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internet Adoption by Travel Agents: a Case of Egypt

Current collaborative and rapid developments in tourism and information and communication technologies (ICTs) make it difficult to imagine that tourism existed before ICTs. Communication technology is one main reason for the existence of the Internet. Travel agents (TAs) are among service providers whom their Internet adoption could be the best marketing device for their business and a tool for their competitive advantages. The study explores the Internet adoption of the Egyptian TAs, patterns of usage and perceived benefits and barriers of e-commerce adoption. It is found that the majority of TAs use the Internet to provide TA's information, find out about customers and competitors. Sales and revenue growth, increasing competitive advantages and marketing activities are the agents’ perceived benefits of adopting e-commerce. Limited resources, unskilled labour, lack of readiness of public infrastructure and customers are among the main obstacles for not adopting the Internet technologies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Disinformation Warfare: Understanding State-Sponsored Trolls on Twitter and Their Influence on the Web

Over the past couple of years, anecdotal evidence has emerged linking coordinated campaigns by state-sponsored actors with efforts to manipulate public opinion on the Web, often around major political events, through dedicated accounts, or “trolls. ” Although they are often involved in spreading disinformation on social media, there is little understanding of how these trolls operate, what type of content they disseminate, and most importantly their influence on the information ecosystem. In this paper, we shed light on these questions by analyzing 27K tweets posted by 1K Twitter users identified as having ties with Russia’s Internet Research Agency and thus likely state-sponsored trolls. We compare their behavior to a random set of Twitter users, finding interesting differences in terms of the content they disseminate, the evolution of their account, as well as their general behavior and use of Twitter. Then, using Hawkes Processes, we quantify the influence that trolls had on the dissemination of news on social platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan. Overall, our findings indicate that Russian trolls managed to stay active for long periods of time and to reach a substantial number of Twitter users with their tweets. When looking at their ability of spreading news content and making it viral, however, we find that their effect on social platforms was minor, with the significant exception of news published by the Russian state-sponsored news outlet RT (Russia Today).
A 10 Gb/s burst-mode CDR IC in 0.13 /spl mu/m CMOS

A 10 Gb/s burst-mode CDR (clock and data recovery) IC, that is eight times faster than previous burst-mode ICs, is fabricated in a 0.13 /spl mu/m CMOS process. It amplifies an AC-coupled input burst by means of an edge detection technique, and extracts a clock within 5 UIs with a gated oscillator. It consumes 1.2 W from a 2.5 V supply.
TAXES IN A LABOR SUPPLY MODEL WITH JOINT WAGE-HOURS DETERMINATION

PAYROLL AND PROGRESSIVE INCOME taxes play an enormous role in the American fiscal system. It is therefore of some importance to know the extent to which they influence work incentives. The purpose of this study is to present some econometric evidence on the effects of taxes on married women, a group of growing importance in the American labor force.2 A testable model of labor supply is developed which permits statistical estimation of a "coefficient of tax perception. " Unlike previous models of labor supply, it allows for the possibility that the wage may depend on the number of hours worked. Contrary to much of the literature, the results of this paper strongly suggest that marginal tax rates do have an important impact on labor force behavior. This section reviews briefly the past thought on this problem. Section 2 develops a model to explain work decisions when an individual faces a whole set of wagehour combinations, rather than a given wage independent of the number of hours he works. In Section 3 this model is modified to permit an explicit test of whether or not taxes affect individuals' labor supply decisions. Estimation problems are discussed at length, and the empirical results are presented. A concluding section contains a summary and suggestions for future research.
Differences in the Role of Job‐Relevant Information in the Budget Participation‐Performance Relationship among U.S. and Mexican Managers: A Question of Culture or Communication

This study extends the stream of participative budgeting literature and, specifically, the work of Frucot and Shearon (1991). This study employs an expanded version of the path model introduced to this literature by Kren (1992) to examine and compare the budget participation‐performance relationship for U.S. and Mexican mid‐level managers. The expanded path model allows the examination of both the direct effects of budget participation on performance and the indirect effects of budget participation on performance that run through job satisfaction and job‐relevant information. The primary findings of this study are that while there are strong associations between budget participation and performance for both U.S. managers working in the U.S. and Mexican managers working for U.S.‐controlled maquiladoras in Mexico, the causal mechanisms connecting budget participation to performance are quite different between these two groups. The information‐communication aspect of the budget participation‐performance rela.
Risk, Instrumentalism and the Humane Project in Social Work: Identifying the Informal Logics of Risk Management in Children's Statutory Services

This paper addresses growing professional discontents with the increasing formalisation of social work practice exerted through systems of risk management and audit. Drawing on an ESRC-funded study of social work practices in children's statutory services, this paper provides a critique of instrumental approaches to risk management in social work. Through the discussion of three illustrative case examples, we argue that risk management is an inherently complex, contingent and negotiated activity. Social work practitioners are obliged to comply with risk reduction technologies, but informal processes continue to play a critical role in shaping decisions and actions in this relationship-based profession. From practitioner accounts, we identify key elements of the informal logics of risk management. We conclude that the bureaucratic–instrumental bias manifest in the modernisation of children's services, in privileging metrics and administrative power leaves the informal and relational aspects of practice under-emphasised and under-theorised. Suggestions are made about how practice might be advanced in the complex world of child welfare and protection.
Forensic botany: potential usefulness of microsatellite-based genotyping of Croatian olive (Olea europaea L.) in forensic casework.

AIM To assess genotyping with microsatellite-based markers of the olive (Olea europaea L.) for potential application of olive as legal case evidence, with regard to the degree of variability within the Croatian olive genomic pool and to the effectiveness of the chosen set of microsatellite-based markers in revealing olive divergence. METHODS The total of 44 autochthonous Croatian olive specimens were subjected to genotyping with 16 previously described and developed microsatellite-based markers. According to previous morphological analyses, 44 specimens were classified into 30 cultivars with the exception of an additional, previously unassigned specimen. RESULTS Genotyping of 44 specimens distinguished a total of 44 different genotype profiles by 16 microsatellite-based loci. Average expected heterozigosity amounted to 0.758, which points to significant diversity of Croatian olives. CONCLUSION Croatian olive genotyping showed strong varietal discrimination up to the single tree and considerable potential application of olive as evidence in investigation of crime, accident, and suicide circumstances.
Modeling the Implied Volatility Surface-: A Study for S&P 500 Index Option

The aim of this study is to demonstrate a framework to model the implied volatilities of S&P 500 index options and estimate the implied volatilities of stock prices using stochastic processes. In this paper, three models are established to estimate whether the implied volatilities are constant during the whole life of options. We mainly concentrate on the Black-Scholes and Dumas' option models and make the empirical comparisons. By observing the daily-recorded data of S&P 500 index, we study the volatility model and volatility surface. Results from numerical experiments show that the stochastic volatilities are determined by moneyness rather than constant. Our research is of vital importance, especially for forecasting stock market shocks and crises, as one of the applications.
Continuous-wave and giant-pulse operations of a single-frequency erbium-doped fiber laser

We present a compact diode-pumped single-frequency single-polarization erbium-doped fiber laser with fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) written in the active fiber itself. The single-polarization regime was obtained by applying uni-axial stress to one of the two FBGs forming the cavity. The laser is shown to operate in two regimes-quasi-continuous-wave regime with a few-percent of modulation in the output power and a giant-pulse regime accessible under sinusoidal pump modulation.
The effects of a flexible visual acuity-driven ranibizumab treatment regimen in age-related macular degeneration: outcomes of a drug and disease model.

PURPOSE Differences in treatment responses to ranibizumab injections observed within trials involving monthly (MARINA and ANCHOR studies) and quarterly (PIER study) treatment suggest that an individualized treatment regimen may be effective in neovascular age-related macular degeneration. In the present study, a drug and disease model was used to evaluate the impact of an individualized, flexible treatment regimen on disease progression. METHODS For visual acuity (VA), a model was developed on the 12-month data from ANCHOR, MARINA, and PIER. Data from untreated patients were used to model patient-specific disease progression in terms of VA loss. Data from treated patients from the period after the three initial injections were used to model the effect of predicted ranibizumab vitreous concentration on VA loss. The model was checked by comparing simulations of VA outcomes after monthly and quarterly injections during this period with trial data. A flexible VA-guided regimen (after the three initial injections) in which treatment is initiated by loss of >5 letters from best previously observed VA scores was simulated. RESULTS Simulated monthly and quarterly VA-guided regimens showed good agreement with trial data. Simulation of VA-driven individualized treatment suggests that this regimen, on average, sustains the initial gains in VA seen in clinical trials at month 3. The model predicted that, on average, to maintain initial VA gains, an estimated 5.1 ranibizumab injections are needed during the 9 months after the three initial monthly injections, which amounts to a total of 8.1 injections during the first year. CONCLUSIONS A flexible, individualized VA-guided regimen after the three initial injections may sustain vision improvement with ranibizumab and could improve cost-effectiveness and convenience and reduce drug administration-associated risks.
Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications of EGFR and KRAS Mutations in Resected Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Somatic mutations in EGFR (exons 19 and 21) and KRAS (exon 2) are found in lung adenocarcinomas and have potential prognostic value in patients with advanced disease. These mutations also have therapeutic significance, as they predict for sensitivity and resistance, respectively, to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. Whether EGFR and KRAS mutations also have an impact on survival in patients who undergo lung resection for curative intent in the absence of targeted therapy has not been established. Methods: We analyzed the clinical characteristics and outcomes data for 296 patients who underwent resection at our institution for stage I–III lung adenocarcinoma. Tumors were assessed for both EGFR and KRAS mutations by established methods. Results: EGFR and KRAS mutations were found in tumors from 40 (14%) and 50 (17%) patients, respectively. Patients with EGFR mutant tumors were more likely to be never smokers (48%), present with stage I disease (88%), and had a 90% (95% confidence interval [CI] 70–97%) 3-year overall survival, whereas patients with KRAS mutant tumors were more likely to be former/current smokers (92%), present with locally advanced disease (40%), and had a 66% (95% CI 48–79%) 3-year overall survival. Conclusions: EGFR and KRAS mutations define distinct molecular subsets of resected lung adenocarcinoma. Because EGFR and KRAS mutations also predict whether tumors are sensitive or resistant, respectively, to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, they can readily be used in clinical trials to help guide the administration of specific types of adjuvant therapy.
The impact of anti-corruption strategies on corruption free performance in public construction projects

Despite extensive efforts, corruption in public procurement has reached epidemic proportions and has become one of the major challenges for management. Because corrupt practices mostly occur under wraps, the task of combating corruption becomes even more difficult. In the course of a review of the extant literature on the theme a number of independent constructs with the potential to develop anti-corruption strategies have been identified. A research model was developed on the basis of the hypothesis that anti-corruption strategies lead to corruption free performance in public construction projects. A questionnaire survey was administered and 105 responses were collected. ‘Anti-corruption strategies’ was defined as a second order construct composed of four latent constructs: leadership, rules and regulations, training and fear of punishment. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to test the hypothesized positive inter-relations between anti-corruption strategies and corruption free performance. The significance of the role of management leadership, rules and regulations, training, as well as fear of punishment is highlighted to help policy makers and construction institutions in understanding the role of various anti-corruption strategies in public construction projects so that they may contribute to this important endeavour in achieving the goal of promoting economy, efficiency, quality, fairness and transparency.
Relationship of bladder dysfunction to lesion site in multiple sclerosis.

PURPOSE We investigated the relationship of voiding dysfunction type and the lesion site in patients with multiple sclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Voiding dysfunction was evaluated in 32 patients with multiple sclerosis using the International Prostate Symptom Score and urodynamic tests. Lesion sites were determined by combined neurological examination and magnetic resonance imaging findings. RESULTS Compared with reports from Western countries the ratio of emptying-to-filling symptoms was high in Japan. Of urinary symptoms only filling correlated with disability status and disease duration. Urinary symptoms were not related to lesion sites. Urodynamic evaluation revealed detrusor hyperreflexia in 14 of 32 patients, hyporeflexia or areflexia in 12, detrusor hyperreflexia with impaired contractile function in 4, a low compliance bladder in 1 and normal function in 1. Of 14 patients with hyperreflexia 13 had overactive sphincter concurrently. Incompetent sphincter was identified in 2 patients who had detrusor hyperreflexia with impaired contractility and in 1 with a low compliance bladder. A significant correlation was noted for a pontine lesion and detrusor hyporeflexia, and for a cervical cord lesion and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. CONCLUSIONS Detrusor hyporeflexia and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia are indicative of a pontine and cervical spinal cord lesion, respectively. Thus, the lesion site in the central nervous system may be a major determinant of the type of bladder and urethral sphincter dysfunction. The high prevalence of emptying symptoms in Japanese patients may reflect the prevalence of detrusor hyporeflexia and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia.
Two-dimensional line of sight interference analysis of LMDS networks for the downlink and uplink

Local multipoint distribution systems (LMDS), which are operating worldwide in the frequency range of 26 to 43 GHz, have large bandwidths of 0.1 up to 2 GHz, but a very limited area coverage due to line of sight constraints and large propagation losses. As suggested in the Cellular Radio Access for Broadband Services (CRABS) Report , a high spectral efficiency can be obtained for a regular network of squared cells with a dual frequency and polarization reuse scheme. However, this frequency and polarization reuse leads to cochannel and adjacent channel interference. In this paper, we report a systematic two-dimensional study of interference in such a regular LMDS network for the downlink and uplink in order to assess the impact of different geometric and propagation parameters. The paper reports simple formulas to estimate the areas of high interference levels within an LMDS cell as a function of the half-power beamwidth of the customer-site antennas for the downlink. The effect on the carrier-to-interference distribution over a LMDS cell is evaluated by varying the half-power beamwidth of the customer-site antennas, the time percentage of short term enhancement due to atmospheric multipath and focusing effects and the cell dimensions. We also introduce a simple technique by reorientation of the customer-site antennas for interference reduction. The results presented in this paper can be used to carry out system-level design for interference-limited LMDS cells.
CD4+ T Cells and Cytokines in the Pathogenesis of Acquired Myasthenia Gravis

Although human and experimental acquired myasthenia gravis (MG) are prototypic antibody (Ab)‐mediated autoimmune diseases, synthesis of the pathogenic anti‐acetylcholine receptor (AChR) Abs, which are high affinity IgG, requires intervention of CD4+ T helper cells and their cytokines. Moreover, cytokine signaling is crucial for development, modulation, and downregulation of immune responses, and therefore influences the initiation and evolution of the anti‐AChR response in acquired MG. Cytokines are involved in the growth and differentiation of CD4+ T cells, and are secreted by activated CD4+ T cells as effectors of their functions: differentiated CD4+ T cells are classified into subtypes based on the cytokines they synthesize and secrete. Because cytokines are synthesized by and act on a variety of cells and because they may influence the synthesis and/or the activity of other cytokines, the effects of their signaling, in both normal and autoimmune responses, are complex and sometimes even contrasting, depending on the circumstances when the cytokine action took place. In this chapter, we will review studies on the effects on the development of acquired MG symptoms of several cytokines secreted by activated CD4+ T cells or influencing the activation of particular CD4+ T cell subsets.
'How far' vs 'how fast' in Alzheimer's disease. The question revisited.

OBJECTIVE To expand on a recent study of 42 patients with probable Alzheimer's Disease that found that the only significant predictors of certain clinical end points were the degree of severity features at entry ("how far"). DESIGN A case series study of a cohort of 81 patients with Alzheimer's disease that used survival analysis methods similar those of the previous study but included a new technique for calculating rate of progression ("how fast") as well as entry characteristics ("how far"). SETTING A university medical center and its affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS All patients with probable and definite Alzheimer's disease studied at the Aging Clinical Research Center at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif, in the years 1981 and 1992 who met the following criteria: a mild to moderate level of severity of the disease (Mini-Mental State Examination score of 15 or above) at entry into the study and a minimum of three test points spaced approximately 6 months apart (to allow estimation of rate of progression). A total of 81 such patients were identified. These patients had been followed up for a mean of 4.53 +/- 2.3 years, with a range of 1.0 to 14.5 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The outcome measure was the average rate of decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS The results of our study replicated a previous finding that the degree of severity is a strong predictor of time course, but in addition we found that the rate of progression also appears to be a strong predictor of clinical course. CONCLUSION There appears to be substantial heterogeneity in the rate of progression in patients with Alzheimer's disease, and, like initial degree of severity, rate of progression appears to be a strong predictor of clinical course.
The anatomy of corporate control: directors, shareholders and executive remuneration in giant US and UK corporations

This paper provides a contemporary comparison of the anatomy of corporate contol in giant U.S. and U.K. corporations. The comparison draws upon an analysis of share ownership, executive remuneration, board membership, and the patterns of interlocking directorships. The results are of significance not only for the managerialist hypothesis, but also for the wider issues concerning the control and behavior of these giant corporations. The evidence presented leads to some qualifications of the managerialist position. Furthermore, the study identifies the potentially key role played by nonexecutiv e directors, particularly where their board membership is associated with significant shareholdings of financial institutions. Copyright 1987 by Oxford University Press.
Emerging regional innovation strategies in Central Europe: institutions and regional leadership in generating strategic outcomes

The paper seeks to develop a comparative analysis of approaches to innovation support in three self-governing regions of the Czech Republic. Its analytical section presents an in-depth analysis of the development of innovation policies in three regions: the capital city of Prague, South Moravia and the old industrial region of Moravia-Silesia. Key dimensions of regional innovation strategy in each of the three regions are closely scrutinized and critically examined, within the context of state-of-the-art European approaches to innovation policy. Profound differences, both in approaches to innovation policy design and in the results so far achieved, have been found between the studied regions, reflecting differences in both structural and soft factors in the regions in question. Rapid progress, in terms of innovation strategy implementation, is evident in a region where strong knowledge creation capacity (in both the academic and the business spheres) exists in harmony with professional and enthusiastic key personnel in intermediary institutions as well as steady political support from regional decision-makers. The authors believe that some of their observations will have relevance for innovation policy design and implementation in other Czech regions and in other regions of the European Union’s new member states.