Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Willingness-to-Pay for Multiple Units of Eco-Friendly Wheat-Derived Products: Results From Open-Ended Choice Experiments

ABSTRACT A non-hypothetical open-ended choice experiment with a multi-unit elicitation format was conducted to elicit Italian consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) and demand schedule for new wheat-derived products that were produced by adopting an ecologically friendly post-harvest technique (high heat-treated, HHT). A sample of 270 Italian consumers were surveyed in Bologna, Catania, and Palermo in June 2014. Data were analyzed using a double hurdle model. Results suggest Italian consumers are willing to pay premium prices for HHT flour, while they prefer to pay for HHT packed bread at the same price as a conventional one. Consumers’ WTP for the second, third, and more units are lower than their WTP for the first unit of product. While factors that influence consumers’ decision to buy these two new products are the same, factors that affect their desired product units differ among each products. In conclusion, Italian consumers’ preference for an eco-friendly label depends on the types of products.
Plasma endothelin‐1 As a marker for doxorubicin cardiotoxicity

The use of doxorubicin is often limited by cardiotoxicity that can lead to congestive heart failure (CHF). Although various techniques have been used to predict its cardiotoxicity, none has proven useful. We reported 2 patients in whom the level of plasma endothelin (ET)‐ I rose progressively during doxorubicin treatment of breast cancer, and who subsequently developed CHF. Accordingly, we conducted a prospective study of 30 consecutive patients, 23 with breast cancer and 7 with small‐cell lung cancer, who were treated with doxorubicin. Serial changes in plasma ET‐I during doxorubicin treatment were measured by a specific radioimmunoassay, and plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were determined by a sensitive immunoradiometric assay. M‐mode echocardiography was performed serially to monitor the fractional shortening (FS) and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The plasma concentrations of ET‐I rose progressively in 5 of the 30 patients during doxorubicin treatment. Two of the 5 patients developed clinically overt CHF after developing cumulative doses of doxorubicin of 500 and 480 mg/m2. Serial measurement of plasma levels of ANP, FS and LVEF showed no abnormalities until the development of CHF. Another 25 patients who had received doxorubicin (cumulative doses ranging from 400 to 660 mg/m2) and had not developed CHF showed no appreciable change in plasma ET‐I or other, markers. This prospective study suggests that plasma ET‐I may be useful for predicting the risk of doxorubicin‐induced cardiotoxicity. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
International Management Culture Strategy And Behavior

international management culture strategy and behavior is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers hosts in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the international management culture strategy and behavior is universally compatible with any devices to read.
Programmable Design of Magnet Shape for Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motors With Sinusoidal Back EMF Waveforms

The characteristics of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) are influenced greatly by the back-electromotive force waveforms in the motor, which are directly related to the magnet shape. We assume that the outer surface of a magnet in a PMSM can be modeled as one part of a cylinder. Using an ANSOFT model, we optimized the radius of the magnet with respect to number of poles, rotor size, and magnet thickness when the total harmonic distortion is below 1%. We then set up a lookup table using the optimization results so that the desired outer radius of a magnet of any new PMSM motor could be derived, subject to the parameter limits. We applied this method to some PMSM prototypes, and confirmed that the calculation results are substantially accurate.
Microwave absorption at low magnetic field in sintered YBa2Cu3O7: Freezing effects at low temperature and superconducting-glass model.

The Josephson-junction (JJ) model in YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} sintered samples is confirmed by means of microwave absorption measurements at low magnetic field ({lt}500 G). An explanation of measures supporting the JJ model is given. At low temperature ({lt}7 K) experimental evidence shows that the array of junctions is driven by the magnetic field in a frozen state. A qualitative interpretation of this effect in the frame of the superconducting-glass picture is presented.
The Aphasia Quotient: The Taxonomic Approach to Measurement of Aphasic Disability

Summary 150 aphasiacs and 59 controls were examined with a scorable, comprehensive battery, designed to be used by the clinician and the research worker. The subtests of Fluency, Information, Comprehension, Repetition and Naming were added and compared to a hypothetical normal of 100 obtaining the “aphasia Quotient. ” This is a measurement of the severity of language impairment. On the basis of their performance on the subtests, the patients were classified according to taxonomic principles into Global, Motor (Broca’s), Isolation, Sensory (Wernicke’s), Transcortical Motor, Transcortical Sensory, Conduction and Anomic groups (in order of severity). This classification is considered a clinically valid baseline for research, diagnosis and prognosis.
On discrete least square projection in unbounded domain with random evaluations and its application to parametric uncertainty quantification

This work is concerned with approximating multivariate functions in unbounded domain by using discrete least-squares projection with random points evaluations. Particular attention are given to functions with random Gaussian or Gamma parameters. We first demonstrate that the traditional Hermite (Laguerre) polynomials chaos expansion suffers from the \textit{instability} in the sense that an \textit{unfeasible} number of points, which is relevant to the dimension of the approximation space, is needed to guarantee the stability in the least square framework. We then propose to use the Hermite/Laguerre {\em functions} (rather than polynomials) as bases in the expansion. The corresponding design points are obtained by mapping the uniformly distributed random points in bounded intervals to the unbounded domain, which involved a mapping parameter $L$. By using the Hermite/Laguerre {\em functions} and a proper mapping parameter, the stability can be significantly improved even if the number of design points scales \textit{linearly} (up to a logarithmic factor) with the dimension of the approximation space. Apart from the stability, another important issue is the rate of convergence. To speed up the convergence, an effective scaling factor is introduced, and a principle for choosing quasi-optimal scaling factor is discussed. Applications to parametric uncertainty quantification are illustrated by considering a random ODE model together with an elliptic problem with lognormal random input.
Large-Time Dynamics of Kuramoto Oscillators under the Effects of Inertia and Frustration

We study the intricate interplay between inertial effect and interaction frustration in an ensemble of Kuramoto oscillators. In particular, we discuss how asymptotic synchronization can arise from the competition between synchronization factors such as strong coupling strength and desynchronization factors such as inertia and frustration. We provide several frameworks in terms of system parameters and initial configurations that guarantee the emergence of complete synchronization. For a restricted class of initial configurations, we show that asymptotic complete synchronization occurs exponentially fast and its exponential decay rate depends on the strength of system parameters such as coupling, inertia, and frustration. We also provide several numerical simulations and compare these with analytical results.
Internalization and degradation of heparin is not required for stimulus of heparan sulfate proteoglycan synthesis

In vitro, heparin and antithrombotic drugs specifically stimulate the synthesis of an antithrombotic heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) produced by endothelial cells. The putative heparin binding site(s) that may be related to this phenomenon were investigated. In the preceding article, using various heparin probes, it was shown that the heparin does not bind to the endothelial cell surface, but only to the extracellular matrix. The present study demonstrated that, when the cells were exposed to heparin at 37°C, the heparin was internalized and with time was localized in lysosomes. However, endocytosis of heparin was not required for the stimulation of HSPG synthesis. The requirement for heparin degradation in the stimulus of HSPG synthesis was also investigated. When the cells were incubated with chloroquine, a lysosomotropic amine that raises the lysosomal pH thus inhibiting enzymatic degradation of internalized compounds, stimulation of HSPG synthesis was still observed. These combined results indicate that neither internalization nor degradation of heparin is required for stimulation of HSPG synthesis, and suggests that its binding to the extracellular matrix could be responsible for this effect. J. Cell. Physiol. 217: 360–366, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mediterranean Diet Reduces Serum Advanced Glycation End Products and Increases Antioxidant Defenses in Elderly Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

frail participant had at least one adverse outcome, although having one of these adverse conditions did not necessarily confer frailty, even in these extremely old adults. Furthermore, 90.9% of participants were nonfrail or prefrail or had one or a combination of comorbidity, disability, or poor SRH, indicating that there is much heterogeneity in frailty status among near-centenarians and centenarians. These findings underscore the importance of frailty screening for these exceptional survivors, because their frailty status may lead healthcare professionals to discover multiple underlying health and psychosocial problems. Interventions such as resistance and aerobic exercises, caloric and protein support, dietary supplementation, and reduction of polypharmacy may slow or even reverse the progression of frailty. Programs based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, such as qigong and tai chi, have also attained preliminary success in improving disability, mobility, and handgrip strength and reducing falls. Multidimensional programs, knitting exercises, dietary supplementation, and psychosocial intervention together may ultimately help promote autonomy and participation in family and social roles, adding life to years. This is the first study to report the prevalence of overlap of frailty, comorbidity, disability, and poor SRH in community-dwelling near-centenarians and centenarians. The findings show that frailty status may indicate deficits in multiple dimensions of health in these very old adults. It was also found that a significant proportion of community-dwelling near-centenarians and centenarians were not frail, suggesting that frailty could be avoided, or even reversed, even in the tenth decade of life.
Perceived Purchase Risk in the Technological Goods Purchase Context: An Instrument Development and Validation

Each purchase decision is most likely to be a risky decision. Woodside and DeLozier (1976) proposed that consumer purchase-related behaviors correspond to the perceived level of risk in the purchase. Therefore, understanding consumer’s perceived purchase risk is paramount for marketers –especially marketers of high risk products. This study intends to develop a valid and reliable instrument in measuring consumer’s perceived purchase risk using the concept of perceived risk by Peter and Ryan (1976). This study does not intend to infer conclusions regarding the population of respondents used in the research, but only conclusions regarding the sample of items used in the instrument. The instrument was validated using two purchase context, smartphone and netbook purchase. An item is considered valid only if it tested valid in both contexts. The nomological validity of the instrument was tested using Confirmatory factor analysis as the primary method of analysis. Correlations between instruments were also tested to analyze convergent and concurrent validity of the instrument. This study employs LISREL for WINDOWS 8.51 Full Version (Jőreskog and Sőrbom, 2001) as software used for the analysis. The result of this study is that all instrument used in the study have good nomological validity. However, some item were found to be not valid in at least one purchase context, thus was excluded from the measurement model. The newly developed instrument has better convergent validity, even though with slightly weaker concurrent validity than existing instrument.
Factors Influencing the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by African Countries

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors which may influence the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by African countries. Using previous literature, the following factors were identified: economic growth, education level, economic openness, culture and the relative capital market size. All countries in Africa were selected. However, in view of the difficulties in obtaining data for all countries, only 32 African countries comprised the data set. A logistic regression analysis was thereafter conducted. The results indicate that as African countries begin to grow at a quicker rate, they are more likely to adopt IFRS. Countries with relatively higher levels of market capitalization are also more likely to adopt IFRS. The culture variable was the most significant of the explanatory variables, suggesting that African countries with cultural ties to the United Kingdom are significantly more likely to adopt IFRS than those with no such cultural ties.
Species Richness Responses to Structural or Compositional Habitat Diversity between and within Grassland Patches: A Multi-Taxon Approach

Habitat diversity (spatial heterogeneity within and between habitat patches in a landscape, HD) is often invoked as a driver of species diversity at small spatial scales. However, the effect of HD on species richness (SR) of multiple taxa is not well understood. We quantified HD and SR in a wet-dry gradient of open grassland habitats in Hortobágy National Park (E-Hungary) and tested the effect of compositional and structural factors of HD on SR of flowering plants, orthopterans, true bugs, spiders, ground beetles and birds. Our dataset on 434 grassland species (170 plants, 264 animals) showed that the wet-dry gradient (compositional HD at the between-patch scale) was primarily related to SR in orthopterans, ground-dwelling arthropods, and all animals combined. The patchiness, or plant association richness, of the vegetation (compositional HD at the within-patch scale) was related to SR of vegetation-dwelling arthropods, whereas vegetation height (structural HD at the within-patch scale) was related to SR of ground-dwelling arthropods and birds. Patch area was related to SR only in birds, whereas management (grazing, mowing, none) was related to SR of plants and true bugs. All relationships between HD and SR were positive, indicating increasing SR with increasing HD. However, total SR was not related to HD because different taxa showed similar positive responses to different HD variables. Our findings, therefore, show that even though HD positively influences SR in a wide range of grassland taxa, each taxon responds to different compositional or structural measures of HD, resulting in the lack of a consistent relationship between HD and SR when taxon responses are pooled. The idiosyncratic responses shown here exemplify the difficulties in detecting general HD-SR relationships over multiple taxa. Our results also suggest that management and restoration aimed specifically to sustain or increase the diversity of habitats are required to conserve biodiversity in complex landscapes.
An Efficient Router Architecture for Network on Chip

Efficient buffer management is not only instrumental in the overall performance of the on-chip networks but also greatly affects the network energy consumption. In fact, any improvement or deterioration of network performance and energy budget is the net result of increasing buffer utilisation (storing blocked flits) and reducing buffer utilisation (delivering buffered flits). In order to improve the network performance and efficiently utilising the available routers buffer space in NoCs, a new router architecture, called PoolBuffering (PB), is proposed in this paper. By exploiting a flexible ring buffer structure, the buffer space of the proposed architecture is shared amongst all input channels; allocating more buffer to the busy input channels and less to the idle ones. Implementation results show up to 50% in reducing power consumption when compared to a traditional router. Moreover, our extensive simulation study shows that the proposed router architecture enhances the network performance by increasing the acceptance traffic rate and decreasing the average message latency.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its relationship with clinically prevalent cardiovascular disease in the Veneto region, northeastern Italy.

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is more frequent in adults with metabolic syndrome than in those without. We wished to assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and the role of its specific components on prevalent CVD in a large cohort of subjects from the general population. METHODS Seventy-eight general practitioners among 3,542 were identified and participated in this study. Personal, anthropometric, and lifestyle data were obtained as was data relevant to CVD [coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke or both]. A stratified random sample of 6,347 subjects taken from the population of the Veneto region in northeastern Italy was analyzed. RESULTS The prevalence [and its 95% confidence limits (CL)] of metabolic syndrome by gender and age classes was higher in men than women (21.9% vs. 16.8) and it increased with age (29.8% in ages 60-69 vs. 8.0 in ages 30-39). The most frequent triad of metabolic syndrome was waist circumference (WC)-blood pressure (BP)-hyperglycemia (GLYC) (33%). Metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with CVD [odds ratio (OR)=1.53, 95% CL, 1.02-2.29] and gender (men have about six times the risk of women), and the risk of CVD increases with age (11% per additional year of age). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the only component of metabolic syndrome associated with CVD: The OR was 2.12 (95% CL, 1.32-3.43) and remains significant in sex-specific models only in men. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Veneto region among subjects ages 30-69 is high. There is a significant association between prevalent CVD and metabolic syndrome, but the biological basis of association is strongly influenced by gender.
A Critical Review of Online Consumer Behavior

The topic of online consumer behavior has been examined under various contexts over the years. Although researchers from a variety of business disciplines have made significant progress over the past few years, the scope of these studies is rather broad, the studies appear relatively fragmented and no unifying theoretical model is found in this research area. In view of this, we provide an exhaustive review of the literature and propose an integrative model of online consumer behavior so as to analyze the online consumer behavior in a systematic way. This proposed framework not only provides us with a cohesive view of online consumer behavior, but also serves as a salient guideline for researchers in this area. We conclude our paper with a research agenda for the study of online consumer behavior.
Robust $L_{\infty}$ -Induced Filtering and Control of Stochastic Systems With State-Multiplicative Noise

Linear, continuous-time systems with stochastic uncertainties in their state-space model are considered. The problems of induced L∞ state-feedback control and filtering are solved, for the stationary case. In both problems, the cost function is defined to be the expected value of the standard induced L∞ performance index with respect to the uncertain parameters. An example that demonstrates the applicability of the theory is given.
CD8+ T cells in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: expression of cytotoxic proteins, Fas Ligand, and killing inhibitory receptors and their relationship with clinical behavior.

PURPOSE We investigated the number, phenotype, and prognostic significance of CD8+ T cells in patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and CD30- primary cutaneous large T-cell lymphoma (PCLTCL). PATIENTS AND METHODS Immunohistochemical stainings for CD8, granzyme B (GrB), T cell-restricted intracellular antigen (TIA-1), Fas ligand (FasL), and killer-cell inhibitory receptors (KIRs; CD95, CD158a, and CD158b) were performed on 83 first-diagnostic biopsy samples obtained from patients with plaque-stage MF (n = 42), tumor-stage MF (n = 20), and CD30- PCLTCL (n = 21). RESULTS Serial sections and double-staining experiments showed that the large majority of CD8+ T cells in MF and CD30- PCLTCL expressed TIA-1 and FasL, whereas only a minority expressed GrB, which suggested that these CD8+ T cells were partly activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). These CD8+ CTLs never or rarely expressed KIRs. This phenotype was a constant feature of CD8+ CTLs and did not alter with disease progression. In contrast, the median percentage of CD8+ CTLs in plaque-stage MF (22%), tumor-stage MF (7%), and CD30- PCLTCL (3%) differed significantly (P < .0001) and was associated with a significant decrease in 5-year survival. Also within the group of tumor-stage MF, a significant relation between CD8+ CTLs and survival was found. Multivariate analysis in the total group of MF demonstrated that both skin stage and percentage of CD8+ CTLs were independent parameters of survival. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that partly activated CD8+ CTLs were present in CTCL and that high proportions of these cells correlated with a better prognosis. This suggested that these CD8+ CTLs could play an important role in the antitumor response in these conditions.
Modeling Iridium-Based Trilayer and Bilayer Transition-Edge Sensors

We report a model that can be used to calculate superconducting transition temperature of a transition-edge sensor (TES), which is either a normal metal–superconductor–normal metal trilayer or a normal metal–superconductor bilayer. The model allows the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{C}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> estimation of a trilayer when the normal metals at the bottom and at the top are different. Furthermore, the model includes the spin flip time of the normal metals. We use the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{C}$</tex-math></inline-formula> calculations from this model for selected Ir-based trilayers and bilayers to help understand potential designs of low <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{C}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> TESs. A Au/Ir/Au trilayer can have a low <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $T_{C}$</tex-math></inline-formula> because the superconducting order parameter is reduced with normal metals at both sides. On the other hand, an Ir/Pt bilayer can have a low <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{C}$</tex-math> </inline-formula> because the much larger electron density of states of Pt reduces the superconducting order parameter more effectively. Moreover, the spin flip scattering of paramagnetic Pt also contributes to the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T_{C}$</tex-math></inline-formula> reduction.