Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Impact of Technological Assets and Reconfiguration Capabilities: The Case of Small Manufacturing Firms in Japan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between firm resources and performance. We divide firm resources into two types: primary resources and support resources. Primary resources include technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities, which directly contribute to a firm's competitive advantage. Support resources include internal human capital, interfirm collaboration, and managerial vision, which contribute to the development of primary resources. Using a sample of 302 small-and-medium manufacturing firms in Japan, our analysis revealed that both technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities significantly enhanced firm performance, that the firms with superior technological assets tended to possess superior reconfiguration capabilities, and that most of the support resources significantly contributed to the development of both technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities.
Understanding information seeking in digital libraries: antecedents and consequences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of information seeking in digital libraries from the perspectives of the Technology Acceptance Model and flow experience, as well as the consequences from the perspectives of self-efficacy in getting information and individual performance. Design/methodology/approach – A research model is developed and tested using questionnaires and, partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings – The effect of flow experience on information seeking in digital libraries is the largest one. Meanwhile, flow experience fully mediates the effects of ease of use and usefulness on information seeking in digital libraries which further leads to self-efficacy in getting information and individual performance. Practical implications – Librarians should help users to experience more stable and sustainable flow by providing dependable, prompt, personalized and professional service to them. Librarians should try their best to provide diversified user tr.
Circadian blood pressure variations under different pathophysiological conditions.

The daily variation in blood pressure (circadian blood pressure rhythm) is characterized by a nocturnal fall and a diurnal rise. The circadian blood pressure rhythm seems to be mediated mainly by the circadian rhythm of sympathetic tone, linked to changes in physical and mental activities, e.g. the waking-sleeping cycle. Statistically significant circadian blood pressure rhythms have been confirmed in approximately 80% of mild to moderate essential hypertensive patients as well as in normal subjects. However, the normal pattern of circadian blood pressure rhythm is reversed in elderly people and in those with Cushing's syndrome, those undergoing glucocorticoid treatment, and those with hyperthyroidism, central and/or peripheral autonomic dysfunction (Shy-Drager syndrome, tetraplegia, diabetic or uremic neuropathy, etc), chronic renal failure, renal or cardiac transplantation, congestive heart failure, eclampsia, sleep apnea syndrome, malignant hypertension, systemic atherosclerosis and accelerated hypertensive organ damage. However, in those with primary aldosteronism, renovascular hypertension, pheochromocytoma without paroxysmal hypertension, or those with cardiac pacing, a nocturnal blood pressure fall is ordinarily observed. It may be that a fall in cardiac output rather than in peripheral resistance may be mainly responsible for the nocturnal fall in blood pressure. It also seems that a nocturnal heart rate fall is not responsible for it, since the nocturnal blood pressure fall remained unchanged in patients undergoing cardiac pacing and was disturbed in patients with Cushing's syndrome or hyperthyroidism in whom the circadian heart rate rhythm remained unchanged. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Validation of Heterologous Radioimmunoassays (RIA) for Growth Hormone (GH) and Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF)-I in Phocid, Otariid, and Cetacean Species

Growth hormone (GH) is a homeorhetic hormone that coordinates diverse physiological processes to partition nutrients toward lean tissue accretion and milk production, and to inhibit utilization of nutrients by adipose tissue, especially during periods of energy deficiency. Due to age-related declines in GH, GH is negatively correlated with overall growth rate and lipid accretion but positively associated with protein accretion. Circulating GH influences peripheral tissues directly or indirectly and is primarily mediated via an insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I. Similar to GH, age and nutrition influence IGF-I secretion. In general, IGF-I is positively associated with growth rate and accretion of protein. Since purified pinniped or cetacean GH and IGF-I are not available, heterologous assay techniques must be employed to quantify concentrations of these hormones. Critical to the reliability of heterologous assays are the proper execution of validations to demonstrate the accuracy and precision of the assay for each new species of interest. In this study, we developed and validated heterologous radioimmunoassays for seven marine mammal species using porcine and human antisera for GH and IGF-I quantification, respectively. Sensitivity, recovery of mass, assay precision, parallelism, and dilution linearity were determined for each assay and species. Both assays exhibited excellent parallelism and linearity. Appropriate concentrations of hormone were quantified throughout the range of the standard curve. Importantly, using these assays, we have demonstrated that serum concentrations of GH and IGF-I change with age and nutrient intake in these species. Validation of these assays allows evaluation of metabolic hormones that may provide unique perspectives on physiological regulation of differential growth and nutrient allocation for diverse marine mammal species.
Hospital information system user acceptance factors: User group perspectives

ABSTRACT This study aimed to identify and rank user acceptance factors regarding the implementation of hospital information systems (HIS) based on the views of the following user groups: doctors, nurses, hospital management, and administrative staff (operators). The results should provide guidance for hospital management and HIS developers on meeting user requirements. The study was carried out using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The authors conducted interviews and distributed questionnaires to doctors, nurses, hospital management, and administrative staff in a government-owned Indonesian public hospital. Entropy measurements were used to analyze the questionnaire data. The study identified 15 important HIS user acceptance factors, which were ranked differently by each user group. The results show that non-technological dimensions, such as human and organizational dimensions, influence HIS user acceptance to a greater extent than technological dimensions. More work should be carried out to gain a better understanding of the relationship between user acceptance factors in order to increase the success of HIS implementations.
The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and Its Effect On Employee Involvement

Communication plays an important role in the development of trust within an organization. While a number of researchers have studied the relationship of trust and communication, little is known about the specific linkages among quality of information, quantity of information, openness, trust, and outcomes such as employee involvement. This study tests these relationships using communication audit data from 218 employees in the oil industry. Using mediation analysis and structural equation modeling, we found that quality of information predicted trust of one's coworkers and supervisors while adequacy of information predicted one's trust of top management. Trust of coworkers, supervisors, and top management influenced perceptions of organizational openness, which in turn influenced employees' ratings of their own level of involvement in the organization's goals. This study suggests that the relationship between communication and trust is complex, and that simple strategies focusing on either quality or quantity of information may be ineffective for dealing with all members in an organization.
Clinical risk factors for recurrence of IgA nephropathy

No clinical risk factors for recurrence of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy in kidney transplants have been defined. This is a single‐centre retrospect analysis of recurrence in 104 first kidney transplant patients with biopsy‐verified IgA nephropathy. Fifty patients had living donors. All but an identical twin were treated with cyclosporin A. The median follow‐up time was 5 yr. Graft biopsies had been obtained from 35 grafts later than 6 months after transplantation, due to deteriorating graft function or gross proteinuria. Thirteen biopsies showed mesangial glomerulopathy – proliferative in eleven cases – with IgA deposits. Recurrence caused failure of six grafts. Eleven grafts with recurrence were from living donors (p=0.005). No specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) was identified as a risk factor. Known duration of original disease until end‐stage renal failure was significantly shorter in patients with recurrence (median 5 yr, range 0–25 yr) compared with those without (median of 10 yr, range of 0–37 yr) (p=0.015). Cumulative graft survival was not reduced in living versus cadaveric donor recipients.
Impact of FDA black box advisory on antipsychotic medication use.

BACKGROUND In April 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory and subsequent black box warning regarding the risks of atypical anti psychotic use among elderly patients with dementia. The impact of these warnings on atypical drug use is unknown. METHODS We used quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series analyses to examine nationally representative data from IMS Health's National Disease and Therapeutic Index from January 2003 through December 2008. The primary measurement from this audit of office-based physicians was the use of an atypical antipsychotic agent. We quantified the impact of the advisory on atypical antipsychotic use among all individuals and those 65 years or older with dementia. RESULTS From January 2003 to March 2005, mentions of total atypical antipsychotic drugs increased at an annual rate of 34%, and among patients with dementia, 16%. In the year prior to the FDA advisory, there were approximately 13.6 million atypical drug mentions, including 0.8 million among those with dementia. In the year following the advisory, atypical drug mentions fell 2% overall and 19% among those with dementia. In 2004, 19% (0.8 of 4.1 million) of drug mentions for dementia were for an atypical agent. By 2008, this proportion decreased to 9% (0.4 of 4.3 million). Atypical drug use slowed for both FDA-approved and off-label indications and declined through 2008 for all populations examined. CONCLUSION The FDA advisory was associated with decreases in the use of atypical antipsychotics, especially among elderly patients with dementia.
HfO2-Based RRAM: Electrode Effects, Ti/HfO2 Interface, Charge Injection, and Oxygen (O) Defects Diffusion Through Experiment and Ab Initio Calculations

We investigate in detail the effects of metal electrodes on the switching performance and conductive filament (CF) stability of HfO2-based RRAM. The current- voltage characteristics of the devices exhibit different electrodedependent RESET profiles which we attempt to clarify. With the insight from the experimental data, we employ first-principles calculations to have a better microscopic understanding of the devices. We study the charge injection, formation of Frenkel pairs, and diffusion of oxygen defects (oxygen vacancies Vo and oxygen interstitials Oi) that are important in the CF creation and stability during the device operation. Since the presence of Ti in RRAM has been associated with the creation of substoichiometric TiOy region at the Ti/HfO2 interface, we also explore different Ti and Hf suboxides to understand the possible composition of that interface. Our calculations suggest that the composition of the interface would be Ti2O/Hf2O3 from thermodynamic perspective. By combining the experimental and calculations results, we show that the concentration of oxygen interstitial (Oi) ions in the oxide after CF formation is larger for RRAM devices with inert electrodes (like Pt) compared with O reactive electrodes (like Ti) which results in degraded device performance. The lower Oi concentration in HfO2 layer with Ti electrodes results in improved CF thermal stability and device variability.
High‐involvement and low‐involvement products

Purpose – Knowledge of brand awareness and its role is important for the design of an organisation's marketing strategies. This study aims to determine the brand awareness of high‐ and low‐involvement products among Black and non‐Black students enrolled at a South African university.Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administered survey was completed by a convenience sample of 300 students of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The focal high‐involvement product was sportswear clothing and the low‐involvement product, coffee.Findings – The results indicated a higher awareness of high‐involvement product brands than of low‐involvement product brands. Advertising played an important role in the awareness of sportswear clothing brands, but seemed unimportant in the case of coffee. The brand name was important for coffee, while the name and the logo played a role in students' awareness of sportswear brands.Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to .
Effects of noise on tomographic breast imaging

We study the effect of noise on microwave breast imaging by numerical simulations. A high contrast breast model is considered and the image reconstructions are carried out in time domain using a nonlinear inversion algorithm. A relative reconstruction error is defined in order to quantitatively evaluate the image distortion due to noise. The relative reconstruction errors of noisy reconstructions are obtained when different levels of amplitude and phase errors are taken into account.
A bazaar assemblage: reconstructing consumption, production and trade from mineralised seeds in Abbasid Jerusalem

Abstract Recent excavations in the historic centre of ancient Jerusalem have revealed evidence of an Abbasid (eighth- to tenth-century AD) marketplace. Refuse pits and cesspits have yielded an exceptionally well-preserved archaeobotanical assemblage—the first to be recovered from a Levantine marketplace, and the first in the region to be almost entirely preserved by mineralisation. Among several rare species identified is the earliest discovery of aubergine in the Levant. The assemblage includes staple and luxury food plants, medicinal herbs and plants used for industrial production, illuminating patterns of consumption, production, trade and the socioeconomic structure of Abbasid Jerusalem.
The impact of analyst recommendations and revisions on the prices of JSE-listed companies

ABSTRACT This study establishes that equity analyst recommendations have a significant short-term impact on share prices, by utilising an international database containing 31 363 analyst recommendations on JSE-listed and delisted companies, published over the period 1995 to 2011. In addition, two portfolio strategies were constructed. The first strategy shows that only investing in stocks with the most favourable consensus recommendations is associated with significant abnormal returns. The second strategy demonstrates that a portfolio consisting of recently upgraded stocks earns positive abnormal returns while a portfolio consisting of downgraded stocks is associated with negative abnormal returns.
How perceived physician leadership behavior affects physician satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether faculty members at an academic medical facility perceive their physician leaders as exhibiting transformational leadership behavior and whether they are most satisfied with leaders perceived to be most frequently exhibiting this behavior. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS The study was conducted within the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic's site in Rochester, MN, from December 1, 2005, through March 21, 2006. A total of 314 physicians within the Department of Medicine were asked to complete a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) consisting of 22 questions regarding their primary physician leader (ie, division or department chair). The MLQ asked how frequently the physician leader exhibited specific behavior comprising 5 transformational leadership attributes (idealized attributes, idealized behavior, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration) and included 2 questions regarding satisfaction with that leader. RESULTS Leaders varied in how frequently their faculty perceived that they exhibited each behavior. Leaders were shown to exhibit the attributes "fairly often," but not "frequently if not always. " Each of the leadership attributes highly correlated with each of the 2 satisfaction measures. However, the attributes most strongly correlated with satisfaction were among the least often displayed. CONCLUSION Physicians' satisfaction with their leaders is closely associated with the frequency with which leaders are perceived as exhibiting specific transformational leadership behavior. These results point to 5 specific behaviors that might be targeted to enhance both leadership skills and faculty members' satisfaction with their leaders.
Considering Fas ligand as a target for therapy

About a decade ago, the death factor Fas ligand (FasL) was identified as the natural trigger of Fas/CD95-dependent apoptosis and as an inducer of Fas-dependent activation-induced cell death. Meanwhile, it is known that this molecule not only contributes to target cell lysis in the immune system but also to the establishment of immune privilege and tumour survival. Because delivering a specific antiproliferative signal to T lymphocytes is of major biomedical interest, the FasL/Fas system has gained much attention over the last few years. However, only recently it became evident that the biology of FasL is more complex than initially anticipated. FasL displays a complex pattern of inducible and constitutive expression associated with a number of different functions as a death factor or a co-stimulatory/accessory molecule in lymphocyte activation. Thus, side effects are likely to occur following systemic administration of, for example, anti-FasL medication, not only because of the constitutive FasL expression on cells within immune privileged tissues and vascular endothelium. In addition, FasL comes in different forms: as a surface molecule, as a protease-shed soluble variant or secreted in vesicles. Because increased levels of soluble FasL (sFasL) have been determined in various immunological and non-immunological diseases, it has been suggested that sFasL might serve as a prognostic or diagnostic marker even though the pathophysiological cause for its enhanced production is hardly known in most cases. This review summarises the current facts and ideas about the clinical and pharmacological potential of FasL and sFasL as targets for therapeutic interventions.
Ownership Concentration, IFRS Adoption and Earnings Quality: Evidence from an Emerging Market

We investigate the impact of corporate governance characteristics, and IFRS on earnings quality in Borsa Istanbul (BIST). Our contribution stems from the fact that we study moderating effects of mandatory IFRS adoption on the relationship between ownership concentration and earnings quality in a setting characterized by low minority ownership rights protection and high ownership concentration in the form of family-owned pyramids, in a code law country with lax rules and weak enforcement. We use a unique data set that is hand collected. We find strong first time evidence for low persistence of earnings and high earnings management and that ownership concentration impedes earnings quality while foreign ownership enhances it. Mandatory IFRS adoption has had a strong positive effect on earnings persistence and a weaker effect on earnings management. However, the impact of IFRS in reducing the negative impact of only family type ownership concentration is noteworthy.
Behavior of multitemporal and multisensor passive microwave indices in Southern Hemisphere ecosystems

This study focused on the time series analysis of passive microwave and optical satellite data collected from six Southern Hemisphere ecosystems in Australia and Argentina. The selected ecosystems represent a wide range of land cover types, including deciduous open forest, temperate forest, tropical and semiarid savannas, and grasslands. We used two microwave indices, the frequency index (FI) and polarization index (PI), to assess the relative contributions of soil and vegetation properties (moisture and structure) to the observations. Optical‐based satellite vegetation products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer were also included to aid in the analysis. We studied the X and Ka bands of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer‐EOS and Wind Satellite, resulting in up to four observations per day (1:30, 6:00, 13:30, and 18:00 h). Both the seasonal and hourly variations of each of the indices were examined. Environmental drivers (precipitation and temperature) and eddy covariance measurements (gross ecosystem productivity and latent energy) were also analyzed. It was found that in moderately dense forests, FI was dependent on canopy properties (leaf area index and vegetation moisture). In tropical woody savannas, a significant regression (R2) was found between FI and PI with precipitation (R2 > 0.5) and soil moisture (R2 > 0.6). In the areas of semiarid savanna and grassland ecosystems, FI variations found to be significantly related to soil moisture (R2 > 0.7) and evapotranspiration (R2 > 0.5), while PI varied with vegetation phenology. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found among FI values calculated at the four local times.
Automatic Enrollment, Employee Compensation, and Retirement Security

This study uses restricted microdata from the National Compensation Survey to examine the impact of auto enrollment on employee compensation. By boosting plan participation, automatic enrollment likely increases employer costs when previously unenrolled workers receive matching retirement plan contributions. Our data show significant negative correlation between employer match rates and automatic enrollment provision. We find no evidence that total costs differ between firms with and without automatic enrollment, and no evidence that defined contribution costs crowd out other forms of compensation, suggesting that firms might be lowering their potential and/or default match rates enough to completely offset the higher costs of automatic enrollment without needing to reduce other compensation costs.