Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A classification model to support SME e‐commerce adoption initiatives

Purpose – Adoption and effective use of e‐commerce remains low among small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) despite substantial investments. This paper aims to analyse the e‐commerce adoption paths of SMEs to identify a specific group that would benefit the most from e‐commerce initiatives.Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study builds on a government‐funded research project that aimed to improve SMEs' understanding of on‐line trading. Data were drawn from case studies of smaller businesses, stakeholders and a series of seminars. A literature review supported the empirical data.Findings – The paper finds that SMEs have significantly different attitudes to online business and cannot be regarded as a homogenous group for e‐commerce initiatives. Rather, specific targeting would enhance participation and lead to more effective use. Using categories derived from the literature, a classification of five SME groupings based on firms' motivations is proposed. It is recommended that adoption initiat.
Acute toxicity tests and meta‐analysis identify gaps in tropical ecotoxicology for amphibians

Amphibian populations are declining worldwide, particularly in tropical regions where amphibian diversity is highest. Pollutants, including agricultural pesticides, have been identified as a potential contributor to decline, yet toxicological studies of tropical amphibians are very rare. The present study assesses toxic effects on amphibians of 10 commonly used commercial pesticides in tropical agriculture using 2 approaches. First, the authors conducted 8‐d toxicity assays with formulations of each pesticide using individually reared red‐eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) tadpoles. Second, they conducted a review of available data for the lethal concentration to kill 50% of test animals from the US Environmental Protection Agency's ECOTOX database to allow comparison with their findings. Lethal concentration estimates from the assays ranged over several orders of magnitude. The nematicides terbufos and ethoprophos and the fungicide chlorothalonil were very highly toxic, with evident effects within an order of magnitude of environmental concentrations. Acute toxicity assays and meta‐analysis show that nematicides and fungicides are generally more toxic than herbicides yet receive far less research attention than less toxic herbicides. Given that the tropics have a high diversity of amphibians, the findings emphasize the need for research into the effects of commonly used pesticides in tropical countries and should help guide future ecotoxicological research in tropical regions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014; 33:2114–2119. © 2014 SETAC
ST-segment changes with exercise stress.

The treadmill electrocardiogram (ECG) stress test is widely used to screen for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The presence of STsegment changes, either depression or elevation, on the ECG during the treadmill test often suggests presence of CAD and warrants further management. We herein present three cases, with evidence of ischaemia on the treadmill ECG stress test. In addition, we discuss the use of the treadmill ECG stress test, including its indications, contraindications, reasons for termination and interpretation of the ST-segment changes, heart rate, as well as blood pressure responses to exercise.
Can culture be considered in continuity with natural evolution? : susan blackmore’s memtic approach and its critiques

iii! OZ! iv! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS! v! TABLE! OF! CONTENTS! vi! INTRODUCTION! 8! CHAPTER! 1! 14! THE! FORERUNNERS! OF! SUSAN! BLACKMORE’S! MEMETIC! APPROACH! 14! 1.1. Memetics:! A! Darwinian! Theory! on! Culture! 14! 1.2. The! Father! of! Memetics:! Richard! Dawkins! 20! 1.3. Philosopher! of! Memetics:! Daniel! Dennett! 29! CHAPTER! 2! 38! THE! PRESENTER! OF! MEMETICS:! SUSAN! BLACKMORE! 38! 2.1. Universal! Darwinism:! The! Theory! of! Everything! 38! 2.2. Actors! of! Darwinian! Scenario:! Replicators! 40! 2.3. Genes! or! Memes? The! Relationship! of! the! Two! Replicators! 42! 2.4. Imitation:! Crucial! Point! for! Defining! Memes! 45! 2.5. What! is! Copying! in! Imitation? :! Copy\the\product! or! copy\the! instruction! 47! 2.6. Technical! Problems! with! Memes! 49! 2.7. The! Problems! To! Which! Memetics! Offers! Solutions! 52! 2.7. 1. Why! we! have! big! brains! 52! 2.7. 2. The! Problem! of! the! Origin! of! Language! 55! 2.7. 3.The! Problem! of! Diversity! of! Sexual! Behavior! In! Modern! Times! 57! 2.7. 4. The! Problem! of! Darwinian! Explanation! of! Altruism! 59! 2.8. Memeplexes:! Religion! and! the! Problem! of! Self! is! Explained! 61! CHAPTER! 3:! 67! THE! CRITICISMS! OF! SUSAN! BLACKMORE’S! MEMETIC! APPROACH! FROM! WITHIN! MEMETICS! 67! 3. 1. Behaviorist! Criticisms! 73! 3.2. Mentalist! Criticisms! 79! 3.3. Critiques! on! the! Way! of! Transmission,! or! Doubts! About! Imitation! 88! 3. 4. Anthropocentric! Bias! 94! 3.5. Methodological! Problems! 97! CHAPTER! 4:! 104!
Capability of Selected Crop Plants for Shoot Mercury Accumulation from Polluted Soils: Phytoremediation Perspectives

High-biomass crops can be considered as an alternative to hyperaccumulator plants to phytoremediate soils contaminated by heavy metals. In order to assess their practical capability for the absorption and accumulation of Hg in shoots, barley, white lupine, lentil, and chickpea were tested in pot experiments using several growth substrates. In the first experimental series, plants were grown in a mixture of vermiculite and perlite spiked with 8.35 μg g–1 d.w. of soluble Hg. The mercury concentration of the plants' aerial tissues ranged from 1.51 to 5.13 μg g–1 d.w. with lentil and lupine showing the highest values. In a second experiment carried out using a Hg-polluted soil (32.16 μg g–1 d.w.) collected from a historical mining area (Almadén, Spain), the crop plants tested only reached shoot Hg concentration up to 1.13 μg g–1 d.w. In the third experimental series, the Almadén soil was spiked with 1 μg g–1 d.w. of soluble Hg; as a result, mercury concentrations in the plant shoots increased approximately 6 times for lupine, 5 times for chickpea, and 3.5 times for barley and lentil, with respect to those obtained with the original soil without Hg added. This marked difference was attributed to the low availability of Hg in the original Almadén soil and its subsequent increase in the Hg-spiked soil. The low mercury accumulation yields obtained for all plants do not make a successful decontamination of the Almadén soils possible by phytoremediation using crop plants. However, since the crops tested can effectively decrease the plant-available Hg level in this soil, their use could, to some extent, reduce the environmental risk of Hg pollution in the area.
Differential effects of the adenovirus E1A oncogene on members of the AP-1 transcription factor family

The adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) oncogene interferes with the expression level and activity of the AP-1 transcription factor family. E1A abolished the transactivating function of AP-1 (Jun/Fos), which binds to the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-responsive element of the collagenase gene (collTRE). In contrast, the activity of another member of the AP-1 family that binds to the c-junTRE was not repressed. The mRNA expression of the c-jun gene was, in fact, strongly elevated in various cell types expressing the E1A gene of either adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) or Ad12. The regulation of the junB gene by adenovirus E1A, on the other hand, depended both on the cell type and on the transforming adenovirus serotype. The fact that E1A-induced alterations in the repertoire of AP-1 transcription factors depend on its transforming domain in conserved region 1 suggests that the effects are relevant for the transformation process.
Fresh WNT into the regulation of mitosis

Canonical Wnt signaling triggering β-catenin-dependent gene expression contributes to cell cycle progression, in particular at the G1/S transition. Recently, however, it became clear that the cell cycle can also feed back on Wnt signaling at the G2/M transition. This is illustrated by the fact that mitosis-specific cyclin-dependent kinases can phosphorylate the Wnt co-receptor LRP6 to prime the pathway for incoming Wnt signals when cells enter mitosis. In addition, there is accumulating evidence that various Wnt pathway components might exert additional, Wnt-independent functions that are important for proper regulation of mitosis. The importance of Wnt pathways during mitosis was most recently enforced by the discovery of Wnt signaling contributing to the stabilization of proteins other than β-catenin, specifically at G2/M and during mitosis. This Wnt-mediated stabilization of proteins, now referred to as Wnt/STOP, might on one hand contribute to maintaining a critical cell size required for cell division and, on the other hand, for the faithful execution of mitosis itself. In fact, most recently we have shown that Wnt/STOP is required for ensuring proper microtubule dynamics within mitotic spindles, which is pivotal for accurate chromosome segregation and for the maintenance of euploidy.
Self-Reported Physical Health of Inmates: Impact of Incarceration and Relation to Optimism

This study investigated the relationship between inmates’ physical health concerns and optimism. Optimism has been consistently associated with physical health in community samples, but little research has examined this potentially malleable variable in an inmate population. This study of 501 male and female jail inmates attempts to bridge this gap. Results showed optimism was negatively associated with physical health concerns upon entry to jail and prior to release or transfer. Additionally, optimism assessed upon entry to jail predicted modest decreases in physical health concerns over incarceration. Results suggest that optimism is a health-related variable that may be beneficial when optimism-increasing components are integrated into treatment.
Mutation of Cys105 Inhibits Dimerization of p12CDK2-AP1 and Its Growth Suppressor Effect*

p12CDK2-AP1 (p12) is a CDK2-associated protein that negatively regulates its kinase activity. Growth arrest of normal diploid cells by contact inhibition resulted in an induction of p27kip1 and reduction of CDK2 levels. Interestingly, we observed concomitantly in growth-arrested cells, there was a reduction of nuclear p12 and the appearance of a nuclear 25-kDa molecule (p25) recognized by anti-p12 polyclonal antibody. Biochemical analysis showed that bacterial His-tagged p12 could be converted into a dimeric p25 in a reducing agent-dependent manner, and mutating the only cysteine residue of p12 (Cys105 → Ala105) abolished the dimerization. Transient transfection of wild type p12 into U2OS cells showed a reducing agent-sensitive dimerization that was also abolished by the C105A mutation. Furthermore, reduction of p12 expression by a short interfering RNA resulted in a parallel reduction of p25. These data supports the possibility that p25 is a homodimeric form of p12 through the cysteine residue. More interestingly, transient transfection of p12 (C105A) into the normal diploid lung fibroblast CCD18LU cells resulted in a reduction of the growth-inhibitory effect of p12 and abolished the inhibitory effect of p12 on CDK2 kinase activity. In addition, we found that the C105A mutation did not alter nuclear localization of p12, but it prevented association with CDK2. Taken together, our data suggest that p12 forms a nuclear homodimers in contact inhibited normal diploid cells and dimerization of p12 is a necessary process for the growth inhibition effect by p12.
Involvement of Nitric Oxide in Angiogenic Activities of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Isoforms

We compared effects of vascular endothelial growth factor-121 (VEGF121) and vascular endothelial growth factor-165 (VEGF165) on generation of NO in HUVEC and the involvement of NO in VEGF121- and VEGF165-induced angiogenesis. VEGF stimulated synthesis of NO within seconds, reaching peak concentrations of 450±25 and 180±15 nmol/l for VEGF121 and VEGF165, respectively. The VEGF121 increased NO production for about 40 s while VEGF165-stimulated NO release lasted only for about 20 s. Accordingly, cGMP elevation was stronger in VEGF121- than in VEGF165-treated cells. The VEGF121 was a very weak mitogen but strong chemoattractant for HUVEC, whereas VEGF165 potently induced both cell proliferation and migration. NO appeared to be involved in the endothelial migration and morphogenesis but not in the proliferation. NO was also a permissive molecule for VEGF121- but not for VEGF165-induced capillary sprouting in spheroid culture. In conclusion, VEGF121 is a stronger stimulator of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity, and angiogenic potential of VEGF121 is more reliant on NO contribution.
On the Existence of Time, Space and Space-Time

In the context of contemporary physics an analogous issue has arisen concerning the existence of space-time. These problems have troubled philosophers for at least 2000 years-but they are far from merely philosophers' puzzles. The leading scientists of their day-Aristotle, Newton and Einstein, to name the most illustrious-have taken them very seriously and have supposed them to bear substantially upon physical theory. One of my purposes here is to evaluate this presumed relevance to physics of the dispute between Absolutism and Relativism. To begin, let me mention some of the considerations which are important in this controversy, and which will be discussed in the following sections. Many of these were first developed in the famous 17th century correspondence between Leibniz and Clarke (who was writing on behalf of Newton, and in consultation with him). And no study of space and
Differentiation of primary cytomegalovirus infection from reactivation using the urea denaturation test for measuring antibody avidity

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is probably the most common agent of prenatal infection of the new‐born, and one of 20 congenitally infected newborns shows serious symptoms. It was therefore considered important to be able to differentiate primary CMV from reactivation in pregnant females. A urea denaturation test was used to distinguish primary from secondary rubella infection in which the urea is included in the wash step of the standard IgG ELISA. This resulted in the removal of low‐avidity antibodies, which are the antibodies produced early in infection. A group of CMV IgM‐negative and ‐positive sera were tested, and all but one showed moderate to high avidity, with an avidity index reading of more than 30%. Among a group of babies 3–12 months of age, who were CMV IgM positive, 55% (16 of 29) showed low‐avidity CMV antibodies. A small group of renal transplant patients and patients with clinically and laboratory‐confirmed CMV gave more or less predicted avidity index results. It appears that, with the method used at this laboratory, the urea denaturation test can be applied to CMV to determine primary infection or reactivation in the majority of cases.
Incidence of Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Patients Before and After Starting Combined Antiretroviral Therapy in 8 Sub-Saharan African HIV Programs

Setting:Eight HIV programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective:To describe the incidence of pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis before and after the start of combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) and investigate associated risk factors. Design:Multicohort study. Adults enrolled between January 2006 and September 2008. Results:A total of 30,134 patients contributed 25,916 person-years of follow-up. The incidence of tuberculosis was 10.5 per 100 person-years during the pre-ART and 5.4 during the ART period. For all types of tuberculosis, incidence was similar in the pre-ART period and initial 3 months of ART but declined over time receiving ART (from 13 per 100 person-years in the first 3 months to 1.5 per 100 person-years after 12 months of therapy). Throughout follow-up, rates of pulmonary tuberculosis remained 2-fold to 3-fold higher than extrapulmonary tuberculosis rates. Smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis was higher than smear-positive incidence and varied greatly across sites during the pre-ART period. Incidence was lower in rural sites, women, patients without prior history of tuberculosis, body mass index ≥18.5 kg/m2, and ≥200 nadir CD4 cells per microliter. Recurrence rate was 1.7 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval: 1.0 to 2.8). Conclusions:Our findings show the high burden that tuberculosis represents for HIV programs and highlight the importance of earlier ART start and the need to implement intensified tuberculosis finding, isoniazide prophylaxis, and infection control.
On the use of Probabilistic Graphical Models: Bayesian and Dependency networks

Esta tesis esta centrada en el campo de los modelos graficos probabilisticos. En ella se desarrollan propuestas centradas en las redes Bayesianas y redes de dependencia. En cuanto a las redes Bayesianas se presentan una serie de algoritmos de aprendizaje estrutural eficientes basados en el paradigma de busqueda con metrica. Esta familia de algoritmos propuestos se basan en la restriccion del espacio de busqueda durante el propio proceso de busqueda para reducir, de manera considerable, el coste computacional del mismo. Asimismo, se demustra teoricamente que el resultado obtenido por estos algoritmos es un mapa de independencia (I-mapa) de la distribucion original, de forma que se garantiza un resultado con una calidad minima. En cuanto a los desarrollos realizados con redes de dependencia, estos se encuadran en dos bloques. Por un lado la clasificacion automatica y por otro el uso de este modelo en optimizacion combinatoria dentro de los algoritmos de estimacion de distribuciones (AED). En el primer caso se presentan tres propuestas principales para usar las redes de dependencia en clasificacion. En la primera se propone un algorimo que aprende el modelo utilizando test de independencia. En la segunda se propone el aprendizaje de una red de dependencia como paso intermedio para aprender un clasificador basado en red Bayesiana. Por ultimo, se presenta un clasificador con redes de dependecia basado en el paradigma de multi-redes, o multinets en ingles. En este punto se hace uso de otra propuesta presentada en esta tesis para paliar unos de los problemas intrinsecos de las redes de dependencia: las inconsistencias parametricas. En lo que concierne al uso de las redes de dependencia con AEDs se presentan dos algoritmos, siendo el segundo una evolucion y mejora del primero. Ellos estan basados en la facilidad de aprendizaje de las redes de dependencia y ademas presentan la novedad de generar un modelo multivariado cuando en el aprendizaje solo se han utilizado estadisticos de orden dos, con el consiguiente ahorro computacional. La evolucion de la segunda propuesta se basa en modelar las distribuciones de probabilidad de cada variable del modelo mediante la combinacion de distribuciones bivariadas utilizando funciones de combinacion, en este caso la funcion media.
The International Reference Ionosphere - Climatological Standard for the Ionosphere

Abstract : The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) a joint project of URSI and COSPAR is the defacto standard for a climatological specification of ionospheric parameters. IRI is based on a wide range of ground and space data and has been steadily improved since its inception in 1969 with the ever-increasing volume of ionospheric data and with better mathematical descriptions of the observed global and temporal variation patterns. The IRI model has been validated with a large amount of data including data from the most recent ionospheric satellites (KOMPSAT, ROCSAT and TIMED) and data from global network of ionosondes. Several IRI teams are working on specific aspects of the IRI modeling effort including an improved representation of the topside ionosphere with a seamless transition to the plasmasphere, a new effort to represent the global variation of F2 peak parameters using the Neural Network (NN) technique, and the inclusion of several additional parameters in IRI, e.g., spread-F probability and ionospheric variability. Annual IRI workshops are the forum for discussions of these efforts and for all science activities related to IRI as well as applications of the IRI model in engineering and education. In this paper I will present a status report about the IRI effort with special emphasis on the presentations and results from the most recent IRI Workshops (Paris, 2004; Tortosa, 2005) and on the most important ongoing IRI activities. I will discuss the latest version of the IRI model, IRI-2006, highlighting the most recent changes and additions. Finally, the talk will review some of the applications of the IRI model with special emphasis on the use for radiowave propagation studies and communication purposes.
Primary Arteriovenous Fistulas in the Forearm for Hemodialysis: Effect of Miscellaneous Factors in Fistula Patency

Background. The provision and maintenance of vascular access remains a major cost to end-stage renal failure programs. In addition, vascular access occlusion, results in significant morbidity in hemodialysis patients. Age, gender, diabetes mellitus, malignancy, smoking habits, administration of heparin per hemodialysis session, previous dialysis catheter insertion, number of hemodialysis sessions and location of the fistula may be associated with survival of the primary arteriovenous fistula. We examined the effects of various factors on fistulas in 412 chronic renal insufficiency patients. Methods. From 1995 to 2004, 412 arteriovenous fistulas were created by the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University for hemodialysis. The mean age of the patients was 45 years (range 6 to 62 years). We evaluated the effects of various factors for patency rates in the patients who had primary arteriovenous fistulas. Primary patency was defined as the duration of fistula patency without revision. Twenty-eight patients (6.7%) with ischemic cardiac disease did not require surgical interference. Analyzed data were age, gender, smoking habits, diabetes mellitus, malignant neoplasm, previous dialysis catheter insertion, number of hemodialysis sessions, and fistula location. Results. In 298 patients, where lower-arm radiocephalic fistulas were created, the fistula patency was 74.1%, 64.2%, 49.8%, 33.7%, and 4.1% after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively, in the other 114 patients, where upper-arm fistulas were created, these rates were 84.0%, 72.2%, 53.3%, 39.8%, and 12.3%, respectively. There was no significantly difference between the upper-arm fistulas and the lower-arm fistulas statistically (p = 0.069). Factors affecting the primary patency of arteriovenous fistulas were diabetes mellitus (p = 0.0001), hemodialysis counts ≥3 per week (p < 0.0005), presence of malignancy (p < 0.0005), previous catheter insertion (p < 0.0007), and administration of heparin per hemodialysis session (p = 0.0008). Conclusion. While primary arteriovenous fistula patency was shortened in chronic renal insufficiency patients with diabetes mellitus, presence of malignancy, and previous catheter insertion, patency was longer in patients with heparin used for hemodialysis and hemodialysis count per week (≥3).
Renal cortical and medullary blood flow during modest saline loading in humans

Renal medullary blood flow (RMBF) is considered an important element of sodium homeostasis, but the experimental evidence is incongruent. Studies in anaesthetized animals generally support the concept in contrast to measurements in conscious animals. We hypothesized that saline‐induced natriuresis is associated with changes in RMBF in humans.