Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting Finnish consumers' intention to receive SMS marketing: a conceptual model and an empirical study

The study examines factors that affect consumers' intentions to participate in mobile marketing and explores the relationship between consumers' intentions to participate in mobile marketing and their experience with mobile marketing. The authors develop and test a research model with a sample of 4062 mobile phone users. The empirical model highlights that Perceived Utility (PU), context, credibility and Perceived Social Utility (PSU) are the main contributors to consumers' intentions to participate in mobile-marketing initiatives. The paper provides several contributions to both theory and practice.
Effect of Manganous Ions on Thyroidal Iodine Metabolism in the Rat

Summary Injection into rats of manganous chloride along with radioiodide showed, after a 24-hr period, a marked increase in the S/T and decline in the PBI fraction as compared with controls. There were also declines in the percentages of iodinated thyronines and increases in the percentages of iodinated tyrosines in the thyroids of the experimental animals.
Additive Techniques to Refurbish Ni Based Components

The attractiveness of additive techniques to refurbish worn components requires the availability of data from different process. This study correlates two additive techniques, Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA – AM) and Direct Laser Deposition (DLD), using IN 625 wire. Specific features of each technique are discussed regarding their potential use to recover geometry and properties of worn components. Multilayers were processed with each technique on a section of a blade and the interaction between materials together with the effect of post deposition heat treatment were characterized. Results show that there are differences in the final microstructure and in the interaction with the part being refurbished imposed by the additive technique used. Competitive changes can be made by changing the feedstock. PTA-AM using powder material exhibits a microstructure that approaches that obtained in DLD using wire. Key-words: Additive manufacturing; Direct laser deposition; PTA, Inconel 625; Refurbishing.
Using the K-edge to Improve Contrast Conspicuity and to Lower Radiation Dose With a 16-MDCT: a Phantom and Human Study

Purpose: To study the effect of tube current (milliamperes; mA) and potential (peak kilovolt; kVp) on the attenuation values and contrast-to-noise ratios of iodine- and gadolinium-based contrast media (CM) for computed tomography angiography (CTA). Materials and Methods: Phantom Study: A water-filled phantom with five 20-mL syringes filled with 1:20 dilution of 282, 300, 370, and 400 milligrams of iodine per milliliter concentration CM and gadopentetate dimeglumine (Magnevist, Berlex Laboratories, Wayne, NJ, 0.5 mol/L) was scanned with a 16-multidetector CT using 80, 100, 120, and 140 kVp and 500-millisecond gantry rotation time. The milliampere was either fixed at 100, 200, 300, and 380 or automatically adjusted with noise indices of 15, 20, and 25 or manually adjusted to maintain a constant image noise. The attenuation value (Hounsfield unit; HU) and its standard deviation of CM in each syringe and of the water phantom were obtained. Statistical analysis was performed to determine difference between attenuation values and contrast medium-to-water contrast-to-noise ratios at various kVp and mA selection. Human Study: Three groups of patients had CTA for abdominal aortic aneurysm with similar computed tomography parameters, varying only in kVp selection of either 100 (group A), 120 (group B), or 140 (group C). Another group (group D) had CTA at 100 kVp but with the CM volume reduced to 60%. The CTA studies were evaluated for the quality of axial and 3D images; attenuation values in the aorta, superior mesenteric artery, and iliac arteries; image noise; and scanner-estimated radiation dose. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the difference in image quality and radiation dose among the groups. Results: Phantom Study: In comparison with 140 kVp, regardless of selected milliampere or noise indices, images acquired at 80, 100, and 120 kVp showed 90.8% to 94.2%, 47% to 49.7%, and 18.9% to 20.7% (P < 0.0001) increase in HU of iodine-based CM, respectively, and 62.9%, 39.6%, and 16.8% (P < 0.0001) increase in HU of gadolinium-based CM, respectively. Human Study: The axial images in all the groups were diagnostically acceptable. There was significantly inferior quality of axial images associated with greater image noise in group A and group D (P < 0.01) in comparison with group C, but there was no difference in the quality of 3D images among the 4 groups. In comparison with group C, there was significantly higher attenuation of the aorta, superior mesenteric artery, and iliac arteries in group A (P < 0.01), group B (P < 0.05), and group D (P < 0.01). The radiation dose (CT dose index volume) decreased to 12 ± 4 in groups A and D compared with 17 ± 4 in group B and 24 ± 5 in group C. Conclusions: Lower kVp increases the attenuation of iodinated and gadolinium CM. CTA of the abdominal aorta performed at low kVp results in higher attenuation in aorta with reduced radiation dose and without degrading the diagnostic image quality. The iodinated CM volume can be reduced by reducing kVp during CTA.
Optimum Design for Teleconsultation Systems

We analyse the clinical process of patient referral developed and in routine use for over 5 year at Chorleywood Health Centre, UK. The system combines diagnostics performed in primary care with results forwarded to the consultant in electronic form. Patients may then be referred for teleconsultation between patient and local health care professional and distant consultant. By ensuring diagnostic information is gained in advance, we have determined that the teleconsultation may concentrate on management, and as a result is more efficient and effective. We further analyse the processes and determine the functional characteristics of the teleconsultation and the functional requirements of the teleconsultation system that may support the process in an optimum way
Stable Discrete Series Characters at Singular Elements

Abstract Write ${{\Theta }^{E}}$ for the stable discrete series character associated with an irreducible finite-dimensional representation $E$ of a connected real reductive group $G$ . Let $M$ be the centralizer of the split component of a maximal torus $T$ , and denote by ${{\Phi }_{M}}\left( \gamma ,\,{{\Theta }^{E}} \right)$ Arthur’s extension of $|D_{M}^{G}\,\left( \gamma \right)|{{\,}^{1/2}}\,{{\Theta }^{E}}\,\left( \gamma \right)$ to $T\left( \mathbb{R} \right)$ . In this paper we give a simple explicit expression for ${{\Phi }_{M}}\left( \gamma ,\,{{\Theta }^{E}} \right)$ when $\gamma $ is elliptic in $G$ . We do not assume $\gamma $ is regular.
Urinary diversion after cystectomy for bladder cancer: A population-based study in Sweden

Abstract Objective. To investigate the type of urinary diversion performed after cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer in Sweden, using data from a population-based national register. Material and methods. Since 1997, the Swedish Bladder Cancer Register has included more than 90% of all patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer. The different types of urinary diversion performed in 1997–2003 were analysed, comparing non-continent diversion (ileal conduit) with continent reconstruction (bladder substitution or continent cutaneous diversion). Results. During the study period, 3463 patients were registered with clinical T2–T4 non-metastatic bladder cancer. Cystectomy was performed in 1141 patients with ileal conduit in 732 (64%) and continent reconstruction in 409 (36%). Ileal conduit was used more frequently in females than males (p = 0.019), in patients older than 75 years (p < 0.00001), and in those with less favourable TNM classification. Continent reconstruction was done more often at university hospitals than at county hospitals (p < 0.00001), but rarely in the northern and western healthcare regions compared with other regions (p < 0.00001). Nationwide, the proportion of registered continent reconstructions decreased, although the absolute number was relatively stable (50–60 per year). Conclusions. Continent reconstruction after cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is performed more often in some healthcare regions and in patients at university hospitals than in county hospitals, indicating a substantial provider influence on the choice of urinary diversion. Over time, the proportion of these procedures has decreased, while the absolute number has remained low and stable; therefore, concentration in high-volume hospitals specialized in bladder cancer and continent reconstruction seems appropriate.
Levels of Trace Cadmium and Essential Zinc in Wheat flour Commercially Available in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Levels of trace Cadmium and essential Zinc in wheat flour commercially available in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia By Zelalem Tadesse Advisor Prof. M.Subbaiyan Samples of wheat flour were collected from five different wheat flour processing industries (DHGEDA, KOJJ, Akwan, Redfam, and Misrak.). Different digestion procedures were tested by varying the type of reagent, temperature and time of digestion to develop optimum digestion procedure. The optimal procedure required 4 hours and consumed 6mL of 70% HNO3 and 2mL of 37% HCl to completely digest 10g of wheat flour sample. The accuracy of optimal procedure was checked by digesting a mixture of standard solutions and determining the percent recovery. The recoveries were 92% for Cd and 94% for Zn. the concentrations of Cd and Zn in wheat flour samples were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometery employing a four point external calibration curve. The mean concentration of Cd and Zn in wheat flour in this study ranged (mg/kg DW) from 0.011 to 0.024 mg/kg and 5.93 to 9.88mg/kg respectively. There was no significant difference observed in the levels of Cd and Zn in wheat flour samples obtained from different industries. The wheat flour samples examined in this study are non compliant with the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) for Cd in wheat.
Risky driving behaviour in urban Ghana: the contributions of fatalistic beliefs, risk perception, and risk-taking attitude

ABSTRACT There is rapid motorisation in Ghana, leading to increases in risky driving and road crashes. Understanding pathways through which traffic risk perception and traffic fatalism affects risky driving behaviour can help with effective road safety education and health promotion interventions among drivers in Ghana. Yet, the pathways are not well understood. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to assess the hypothesised model that attitudes towards risky driving would mediate the association of traffic fatalism and traffic risk perception with risky driving behaviour. Licensed drivers (N = 519) aged 18 to 73 years (M = 27.98, SD = 9.23) completed a survey on fatalistic beliefs, traffic risk perception, and risky driving attitudes and self-reported risky driving behaviour. The model shows a good fit to the data. Attitudes towards risky driving mediated the effects of fatalistic beliefs and risk perception on risky driving behaviour. Further, fatalistic beliefs were positively associated with attitudes towards risky driving. Risk perception was negatively associated with attitudes towards risky driving. Moreover, attitudes towards risky driving positively predicted risky driving behaviour. Other multivariate results showed that risk perception and risk-taking differ among male and female drivers and among married and never married drivers. The results provide opportunities for the National Road Safety Commission to design safety promotion interventions to target the belief that road crashes are influenced, in part, by fate and destiny other than by road user behaviour. Road safety education should target favourable attitudes towards risk-taking through which fatalistic beliefs and risk perception affect driving behaviour.
Forced Symmetry Breaking as a Mechanism for Bursting

A robust mechanism generating regular or irregular bursts of large dynamic range near threshold is described. The mechanism arises in the interaction between oscillatory modes of odd and even parity in systems of large but finite aspect ratio, and provides an explanation for the bursting behavior observed in binary fluid convection by Sullivan and Ahlers [Phys. Rev. A 38, 3143 (1988)]. [S0031-9007(98)06353-4]
Muži jako oběti domácího násilí

Prace se zabýva domacim nasilim jako jednim z druhů agresivniho chovani s tim, že vymezuje tuto problematiku v teoreticke rovině. Je zaměřena na vymezeni pojmů týkajicich se problematiky domaciho nasili, zakladnich rysů, druhů a přicin vzniku. Pozornost je upřena zejmena na zvlastnosti domaciho nasili pachaneho na mužich, jeho projevy, pachatelku, psychologicke aspekty, charakteristiku osobnosti oběti a naslednou pomoc statu a nevladnich organizaci. V zavěru je prace věnovana zakonným normam ceskeho pravniho systemu, ktere se vztahuji k tomuto problemu z hlediska Policie Ceske republiky, zejmena zakonu c. 273/2008 Sb. , o Policii Ceske republiky (prvotni ukony přimo na mistě výskytu domaciho nasili) a zakonu c. 40/2009 Sb. , trestni zakonik. Tyto dvě pravni normy přinaseji změny v pravnim systemu s ucinnosti od 1. ledna 2009 a 1. ledna 2010. Cilem prace je zpřehlednit problematiku domaciho nasili, prezentovat dlouho ocekavane změny, ktere propojuji postupy policie a socialnich služeb při řeseni tohoto negativniho spolecenskeho problemu a potvrdit nebo vyvratit pracovni hypotezu stanovenou před zpracovanim, zda je socialni a pravni pomoc obětem domaciho nasili dostacujici.
Adherence of Finnish people with glaucoma to treatment plans and connected factors

Objectives. The aim of the study was to describe the adherence of Finnish people with glaucoma to prescribed treatment plans, the factors connected to adherence and to produce knowledge for developing effective interventions to improve adherence to treatment plans. Study design. This was a cross-sectional study. Methods. The data (n=249) were collected at one point in time from Finnish adults diagnosed with glaucoma with a questionnaire covering adherence to treatment. These patients used glaucoma medication and had follow-up appointments with ophthalmologists. Results. Sixty-seven percent (n=166) of the patients with glaucoma were very adherent to the prescribed treatment plan in terms of self-care, treatment and follow-up visits. Almost all were very adherent to medical care (97%, n=242). More than half of those who had received information from physicians and nurses were very adherent to treatment (66%, n=163). Two factors, support from physicians and nurses (p&0.001) and being informed of the consequences of treatments (p=0.003), had a statistically significant connection to treatment adherence. Conclusions. This study indicates that people with glaucoma in Finland adhere well to care and exceptionally well to medical care. Support and patient education from health care personnel is crucial to maintain patient adherence to treatment. These results indicate that nurses play a very important role in patient education and support. In practice, it is crucial to maintain this level of patient engagement by developing more tailored and time-saving education and support methods. The results of this study could be helpful for developing new patient education and support approaches for people with glaucoma.
Peonidin 3-Glucoside Inhibits Lung Cancer Metastasis by Downregulation of Proteinases Activities and MAPK Pathway

Anthocyanins, present in various vegetables and fruits as a nature colorant, have broad activities including anticarcinogenesis and antimutagenesis, which are generally attributed to their antioxidant activities. However, limited studies have been available concerning the inhibitory effect of peonidin 3-glucoside (P3G) for cancer metastasis. Here, we demonstrated that P3G could significantly inhibit the invasion (P < 0.001), motility (P < 0.05), secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) of lung cancer cells. Meanwhile, P3G attenuated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2, a member of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family involved in the upregulation of MMPs and u-PA, and also inhibited the activation of activating protein-1 (AP-1) as shown by Western blot and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Thus, the inhibitory effects of P3G may be at least partly through inactivation of ERK 1/2 and AP-1 signaling pathways as confirmed by abolishment of P3G-inhibited H1299 cell invasion by overexpression of MAPK kinase 1 (MEK1). Finally, P3G was evidenced by its inhibition on the metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma cells in vivo (P < 0.001). Taken together, these findings suggested that P3G could reduce the metastasis of lung cancer cells, thereby constituting an adjuvant treatment for metastasis control.
Hammerstein-Wiener Model for Wideband RF Transmitters Using Base-Band Data

This paper proposes a 3-box model also known as Hammerstein-Wiener model to model the dynamic nonlinear behavior of wideband RF transmitters. First a Hammerstein model is applied to the raw signal samples, this model consists of a nonlinear static block which models the AM/AM nonlinear behavior of the system and is followed by a dynamic linear filter which models the memory effects. A third static nonlinear block is then cascaded with the linear filter which accounts for the AM/PM nonlinear distortion. The first two blocks are realized concurrently using a nonlinear identification procedure with an optimization process in which the estimated error is the difference between the actual gain and the model gain. Having realized the first 2 blocks, the phase shift of this initial model is obtained and compared with that of the actual system and the difference is modeled in a third nonlinear static block.
Mattering and marginality among African American students at Rowan University

Lovely Durham MATTERING AND MARGINALITY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT ROWAN UNIVERSITY 2007/08 Dr. Burton R. Sisco Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration The purpose of this study was to determine student perceptions of advising relationships, administrative interactions, classroom climate, peer interactions, faculty interactions and diversity of campus services, and in which of these dimensions students felt they mattered or were marginalized most. Further, this study sought to determine if there was relationship between the dimensions of the institutional environment. Lastly, the study aimed to find out if there was a statistical relationship between student perception of the environment and their involvement in student organizations. The study also examined the student's perception of their involvement in relation to their perceived significance to the institution. A survey, Perceptions on Community, was carefully conducted of selected African American students at Rowan University. The survey data were coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Services (SPSS) software. Findings in this study were consistent with previous research on mattering and marginality of African American students. Overall, African American students perceived that they matter at Rowan University. There were areas where student perceptions of mattering and marginality were mixed. Students felt they mattered most to academic and personal advisors, and felt most marginalize in the classroom. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.
Molecular epidemiology of Legionella pneumophila environmental isolates representing nine different serogroups determined by automated ribotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

The purposes of the study were (i) to describe the abundance and epidemiology of Legionellaceae in the man-made environment in a northern Italian area, (ii) to assess the concordance between pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and automated ribotyping (AR) techniques for genotyping L. pneumophila and (iii) to investigate the correlation between serogrouping and genotyping data. Water was sampled from reservoirs in 12 buildings across an area of 80-km radius. Despite the water temperature always being maintained above 55 °C, all of the buildings sampled were contaminated with Legionellaceae on at least one occasion and 63 L. pneumophila isolates representing nine different serogroups were collected. The two DNA methods revealed a high degree of genetic heterogeneity, even though identical L. pneumophila clones were recovered at different sites. The AR technique provided a fairly reliable approximation of PFGE results (73% concordance), however there was poor correlation between serogrouping and genotyping data as identical DNA fingerprints were shared by isolates of different serogroups.
A typology of user liability to IT addiction

To date, information systems (IS) research mainly has provided a monolithic view of information technology (IT) use, considering it to be a desired behaviour with positive outcomes. However, given the dramatic increase in the use of technology during the last few years, susceptibility to IT addiction is increasingly becoming an important issue for technology users and IS researchers. In this paper, we report the results of a study that focuses on identifying variations in user liability to IT addiction, which reflects the susceptibility of individual users to develop IT addiction. First, a review of the literature in different disciplines (e.g. health, psychology and IS) allows us to better understand the concepts of IT addiction and liability to addiction. The literature review also provides an overview of the antecedents and consequences associated with IT addiction. Then, building on the analysis of 15 in‐depth interviews and 182 exploratory open‐ended surveys collected from smartphone users, we apply the concept of liability to addiction in the IT use context and propose a typological theory of user liability to IT addiction. Our typology reveals five ideal types; each can be associated to a user profile (addict, fanatic, highly engaged, regular and thoughtful). Building upon both the extant literature and our results, we put forth propositions to extend the theoretical contributions of the study. We finally discuss the contributions and implications of our paper for research and practice.
Patient and clinician views on comparative effectiveness research and engagement in research.

AIMS Describe and compare patient and primary care clinician attitudes about comparative effectiveness research (CER) and inclusion of patients and clinicians as partners in clinical research. MATERIALS & METHODS Online survey of patients (n = 900) and primary care clinicians (n = 750) from opt-in survey panels. RESULTS Nearly half (45%) of clinicians were not familiar with CER, but after reviewing a definition of CER, most (76%) agreed that it can improve patient care. Patients and clinicians indicated interest in engagement as research partners (66% and 55%, respectively). Lack of time was the most commonly endorsed barrier. CONCLUSION Attitudes toward CER and engagement in clinical research were generally favorable. Identified facilitators and barriers point to strategies for enhancing patient and clinician engagement in research.