Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning from Experience: Managerial Interpretations of Past and Future Information Technologies

This paper reports the results of an empirical study that examines how a manager'sexperience with a specific strategic information technology in their industryinfluences cognitive managerial tasks associated with new informationtechnologies. Specifically, we sought to assess the effects of both positive andnegative managerial experiences on: the framing of new information technologiesas threats or opportunities for the firm, the perceived uncertainty associated withresponding to new information technologies, and the seeking of information aboutnew information technologies. We undertook this study in the tax preparationindustry and examined how managerial perceptions of new informationtechnologies were shaped by managers' previous experiences with electronic filingtechnology for tax returns.
Band‐limited ray tracing

We develop a new ray‐tracing method, namely, band‐limited ray tracing, which aims to overcome some of the limitations of standard high‐frequency ray tracing in complex velocity models that contain complex interfaces. Band‐limited ray tracing is based on the Kirchhoff integral representation of the transmitted wavefield. In our discussion we consider the Kirchhoff integral for the acoustic wave equation, however, our method can be extended to the Kirchhoff integral for the elastic wave equation. When compared to finite‐difference wave propagation, the new method captures the wave kinematics more accurately than conventional ray tracing while staying within the ray‐tracing framework, without requiring processing or alteration to the original model. We present the theory of band‐limited ray tracing and demonstrate its capability. We compare the Kirchhoff migration examples obtained using conventional ray‐tracing and band‐limited ray‐tracing methods. Our synthetic example demonstrates that band‐limited ray tracing provides better results than conventional ray tracing, especially in estimating wavefronts. In the case of the real data example, the results are comparable to each other while presenting different focusing characteristics. The different focusing characteristics indicate the necessity of performing a full model building workflow for an extended evaluation on real data application.
Dépôts d’avalanches dans les Alpes françaises : géométrie, sédimentologie et géodynamique depuis le Petit Âge glaciaire

Using a systematic and diachronic method, measurements of slopes and granulometry were conducted on twenty snow avalanche deposits in the Massif des Ecrins (southern French Alps). The main results show some specific morphosedimentary features: 1) an apical inclination lower than 34°, 2) a concavity index "C" higher than 2,7, 3) a break point φ with relatively constant coordinates (X = 90 % of the profile ; Y = 14°± 2°), 4) two types of granulo- metric sorting along the longitudinal profile (slight increase until the breaking point then high increase afterwards), and 5) isotropical fabrics. The analysis of the spatial and diachronic evolutions of avalanches frequency enabled us to better explain these morphometrical and sedimentological features. The largest avalanches reaching the base of slopes have decreased brutaly. The pronounced and sudden variation in the run-out frequency could be linked essentially to the brutal decrease in the amount of removed snow by the avalanches, which could be climatic in origin. According to lichenometrical observations, this dynamic variation of the avalanches could have occured at the end of the Little Ice Age.
Shaping Rural Settlements: The Early Medieval Legacy to the English Village

Abstract Some researchers seeking to establish the origins of the medieval village in England see a beginning in the seventh or eighth centuries as part of a Middle Saxon ‘Great Re-Planning’, but most currently argue that villages were founded as part of a process beginning in the tenth century. The organisers of England's most extensive test-pitting scheme inside currently-occupied rural settlements have suggested that there is little evidence for roots before the tenth century. This paper demonstrates, however, that test pits are not an appropriate way to detect ephemeral Middle Saxon remains, that the ability of such methods to accurately reconstruct early medieval settlement sequences has been overemphasised and that occupation pre-dating the ninth century is only likely to be located through more extensive excavation. It is further suggested in the paper that medieval villages often emerged through a two-stage process, as from the tenth century existing Middle Saxon centres were shifted short distances and restructured into their more lasting historic forms. The seventh, eighth and ninth centuries can therefore be seen as having left an important legacy in the landscape of England.
Evidence for multiple ice centres during the late Palaeozoic ice age in Oman: outcrop sedimentology and provenance of the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Al Khlata Formation

Abstract This paper proposes a model for glaciation in Oman during the late Palaeozoic ice age (LPIA) based on sedimentological and provenance analyses of the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Al Khlata Formation, exposed in the Huqf, Oman. The results demonstrate a complex pattern of glaciation across Oman, not fully recognized in previous models. Striated glacial pavements provide evidence for two phases of ice advance: a phase of ice sheet advance towards the NE, and a second and probably younger phase where an ice centre localized on the Huqf High flowed towards the SW. The stratigraphy is constrained by previous palynological studies and is subdivided into three units, from oldest to youngest: ‘early’ AKP5, ‘late’ AKP5 and AKP5/P1. ‘Early’ AKP5 palaeogeography is characterized by ice-contact glacial lacustrine and deltaic sedimentary environments along the western margin of the Huqf High. Meltwater discharge flowed into the lake from ice margins located to the east, upon the Huqf High, recorded by progradational delta and fan complexes. ‘Late’ AKP5 palaeogeography is characterized by pro-glacial fluvial-deltaic outwash braidplains that record high-magnitude meltwater discharge from an ice margin located to the SW of the study area. The youngest undifferentiated AKP5/P1 palaeogeography is characterized by re-establishment of ice-contact glaciolacustrine conditions.
Birds in humanized landscapes: São Tomé endemic birds' response to agricultural intensification

Main aim Assessing how the replacement of agroforestry systems, by more open agricultural practices affects Sao Tome’s birds abundance, diversity and distribution. Location Agricultural matrix and montane rainforest in the northeast end of Obo Natural Park in the mountainous centre of the island of Sao Tome. Methods Within the study landscape four different land-use types were selected: primary forest, shade coffee, shade polyculture and annual agriculture representing a gradient of agricultural intensity and a total of 105 count stations was spread across the landscape. Data on bird species was collected from May-July 2008 using different day repeated point counts and vegetation structure around each point count was recorded. Species composition among different sites was explored using nonmetric multidimensional scaling and linear models were used to assess the relationship between community composition, diversity, similarity to forest and abundance of different bird groups to landscape and local habitat variables. Results Species abundance and diversity change varied according to land use, with shade polyculture being the most species rich land-use type whereas the rainforest had the lower number of species. Abundance of most guilds also varied according to land-use type and the same was true for endemic and recently arrived species. Bird community composition of annual agriculture was found to be more distinct from native forest than any of the shade plantations and edge effects, local variables and landscape variables were found to impact upon bird distribution and abundance across the landscape. Main conclusions Agroforestry systems were found to support bird communities closer to ones in native forest than annual agriculture did. However, several species were simply absent from the agricultural matrix, highlighting that their conservation can only be achieved by the preservation of large tracks on native vegetation.
The Laurentian Caledonides of Scotland and Ireland

Abstract The Caledonides of Britain and Ireland are one of the most intensively studied orogenic belts in the world. This review considers all the tectonic events associated with the development and closure of the Iapetus Ocean. It first summarizes the tectonic evolution of each segment involved in the Scottish–Irish sector of the Caledonides and then reviews the temporal evolution of the Caledonian Orogeny. Three main tectonic phases are recognized in the Scottish–Irish Caledonides: an Early–Middle Ordovician (475–465 Ma) phase termed the Grampian Orogeny; a phase of Silurian (435–425 Ma) tectonism restricted to the Northern Highland Terrane of Scotland termed the Scandian Orogeny; and an Early Devonian (395 Ma) phase termed the Acadian Orogeny. The Grampian Orogeny was caused by the collision of the Laurentian continental margin with an oceanic arc terrane and associated suprasubduction zone ophiolites during the latest Cambrian–Early Ordovician. Following the Grampian arc–continent collision event, there was a subduction polarity reversal. This facilitated continued subduction of Iapetan oceanic lithosphere and an Andean-type continental margin developed on and adjacent to the Laurentian margin in the Middle Ordovician along with a substantial thickness of accretionary prism sediments (the Southern Uplands–Longford Down Terrane). The Iapetus Ocean is believed to have disappeared by the Late Silurian based on the faunal record and a continent–continent collision ensued. The absence of significant regional deformation and metamorphism associated with the Late Silurian collision between Avalonia and the Scottish–Irish margin of Laurentia suggests that the continental collision in this sector of the Caledonian–Appalachian orogen was ‘soft’ or highly oblique. The exception is the Northern Highlands Terrane of Scotland that was believed to have been situated 500–700 km to the north along orogenic strike. This terrane records evidence for significant Silurian regional deformation and metamorphism attributed to the collision of the Laurentian margin of East Greenland with Baltica (the Scandian Orogeny). Current controversies in the Laurentian Caledonides of Scotland and Ireland are discussed at the end of this review.
Autotracking of faults on 3D seismic data

Manual fault mapping in 3D seismic interpretation is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Complex fault geometries and the distortion of the seismic signal close to faults complicate full automation of the fault-mapping process. We present a semiautomatic fault-tracking method for 3D seismic data that consists of fault highlighting followed by model-based fault tracking. Fault highlighting uses log-Gabor filters for emphasizing oriented amplitude discontinuities at faults in the presence of noise. Subsequent fault tracking fits an active contour to the highlighted fault voxels. The active contour searches for a connected, smooth curve which fits the data and disambiguates misleading or missing information. The fault tracker requires the interpreter to place the active contour close to a fault on one initial seismic inline (2D pick). The active contour deforms to the closest amplitude dis-continuity highlighted. This tracking result is then projected forward to the next inline, providing an initial fault pick on this section that is again optimized by the active contour. Tracking results on a series of successive seismic sections, finally, constitute a 3D fault surface. User interaction is solely required for an approximate fault pick on the first inline, and in cases where the fault line is lost due to insufficient signal. Use of the autotracker prototype provides a fast solution for the mapping of complete 3D fault surfaces of constant dip, and for the automated tracking of fault portions within distinct dip domains, if fault surfaces are curved (i.e., listric). The method was applied to a series of high-quality reflectivity sections extracted from a 3D seismic volume from shallow-offshore Nigeria, with the tracking results (generated within seconds) comparing well with manually interpreted fault surfaces.
Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Arm Activity Measure in people with chronic stroke

Introduction The Arm Activity Measure was developed to assess active and passive functions of the upper limb in people with unilateral paresis, but a Chinese version is not available and its psychometric properties have not been specifically tested in people with stroke. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Chinese version of the Arm Activity Measure (ArmA-C) and establish its psychometric properties in people with chronic stroke. Methods The psychometric properties of ArmA-C were determined in 100 people with chronic stroke. Results The ArmA-C had good test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC] = 0.87–0.93; quadratic weighted Kappa coefficients = 0.53–1.00). A floor effect was identified in section A of the ArmA-C. The content validity and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficients = 0.75–0.95) were good. The construct validity of the ArmA-C was supported by acceptable fit to the two-factor structure model and significant correlations with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity score, grip strength, the Wolf Motor Function Test score, the Trail Walking Test completion time, and the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire scores. Conclusions The ArmA-C is reliable and valid for assessing active and passive functions in people with chronic stroke.
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

Vitamin D; COPD Abstract Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and comes to be more frequent with increased disease severity. We aimed to assess the role of vitamin D supplementation in patients with severe COPD. Patients and methods: We studied 30 patients with severe COPD and vitamin D deficiency. All patients received oral vitamin D3 50,000 IU once weekly for 8 weeks, followed by a daily dose of 800 IU thereafter. Pulmonary function tests, six minute walk test (6MWT), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum vitamin D level were assessed at the start of the study and 1 year later. The frequency of exacerbations was recorded a year before and a year after vitamin D supplementation. Results: The mean serum vitamin D level was 11.80 ± 2.40 ng/dl and reached 55.30 ± 5.65 ng/ dl a year after vitamin D intake (p< 0.001). We found a significant improvement in dyspnea scale (p< 0.003), 6MWT (p< 0.001), MVV (p< 0.001), MIP (p= 0.006), MEP (p< 0.001), coupled with a decrease in disease exacerbations (p< 0.001) and CRP (p< 0.001) a year after vitamin D replacement. However, the FEV1 and FVC did not differ significantly. Conclusion: Vitamin D replacement improved dyspnea, physical performance and decreased the frequency of exacerbation in severe COPD patients with vitamin D deficiency. a 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

Abbreviations: CT, computed tomography; FOB, fiberoptic bronchoscopy; TBNA, transbronchial needle aspiration; BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; TB, tuberculosis; AFB, autofluorescence bronchoscopy; WLB, white light bronchoscopy; H&E, haematoxylin and eosin; PAP, Papanicolaou; SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Science; EBB, endobronchial biopsy; FOB, fiberoptic bronchoscopy; NSCLC, non small cell lung cancer * Corresponding author. Mobile: +20 01116444422. E-mail address: samohamedoctober@yahoo.com (S. Ahmed). Peer review under responsibility of The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis.
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

Osteopontin; Smokers; Ex-smokers; COPD Abstract Background: COPD is a widely distributed disease with high morbidity and mortality, associated with different pathologies. The link between osteopontin, smoking and COPD needs to be clarified. Objectives: To study the osteopontin serum levels in smoker COPD patients and ex-smoker COPD patients. Methods: Serum levels of osteopontin were measured in 38 male COPD patients divided into smoker and ex-smoker groups using human osteopontin ELISA kits. Results: There was a significant difference between smokers and ex-smokers regarding their serum osteopontin levels. There was no significant difference in serum osteopontin level between COPD patients regarding severity in both groups. There was a significant difference in serum osteopontin level between the smokers group regarding their pack year index of smoking. There was no significant difference in serum osteopontin level between ex-smokers group regarding the duration of cessation. Conclusion: Serum level of osteopontin is increased in COPD patients and decreases with cessation of smoking. It has no relation to disease severity. a 2014 The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

n Society http cense. Abstract Objectives: Adherence to therapy is very important and many factors could be responsible for this issue. Suboptimal adherence to asthma therapy is a major contributor to poor asthma outcomes. Our aim is to find out the most important factor responsible for adherence to therapy in bronchial asthma patients. Subjects and methods: The study included 143 patients with persistent bronchial asthma. Factors that may affect adherence to therapy were studied. These factors included age, sex, residence, level of education, proper asthma education and whether inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) was taken alone, with long acting b2 agonist (LABA) in separate devices or with LABA in a combined form. Adherence to ICS was determined according to Medication Rating Scale. Results: We found that 55.3% of patients that received asthma education were adherent to ICS while only 21% of patients that did not receive asthma education were adherent to ICS therapy. The difference was statistically highly significant (p= 0.003). Other factors do not significantly affect adherence to ICS. Patients that used combined ICS with LABA in the same device were significantly more adherent to therapy (60.25%) than patients that used the same combination in 2 separate devices (34.5%). All patients with well controlled asthma were adherent to ICS, while 47.5% of uncontrolled patients was adherent. Comparison between level of control and adherence to ICS was highly significant (p= 0.003). Conclusion: This study showed how different factors may modulate adherence to asthma treatment and confirmed the importance of patient education in increasing adherence to asthma therapy. a 2013 The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

n Society http cense. Abstract Introduction: Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) is a common problem for differential diagnosis from malignant effusion (MPE) in epidemic areas of tuberculosis (TB). Prediction based on adenosine deaminase (ADA) is dependent on age as well as the tuberculosis incidence. Aim of the work: To estimate the value of cutoff point of ADA in MPE and TPE & to evaluate its role in differential diagnosis in Egypt a country with high incidence of TB. Subjects & methods: The study was conducted in Kaser El-Aini Hospital, Cairo University in the period from April 2011 to January 2012. It was carried on 30 patients. We retrospectively analyzed 30 patients with a definitive diagnosis of TPE (n= 19) and MPE (n= 11). The optimal cutoff value of ADA was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. There was a statistically significant difference according to the levels of pleural fluid ADA between TPE and MPE groups. Result: Confirm that ADA is a very useful parameter for the differential diagnosis of TPE and MPE, specifically in younger with a higher incidence of tuberculosis. a 2012 The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Egyptian Journal of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis; Diabetes mellitus Abstract People with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at high risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than those without. People with diabetes are more likely to fail treatment and to die during treatment compared to those without diabetes. Aim of the work: The aim of the current study was to study the risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis among diabetic patients in comparison to patients with DM alone. Methods: 160 patients were grouped into two groups, the first group, 80 patients (DM-TB) group, and the second group, 80 patients, diabetics with chest diseases other than TB. All patients were subjected to meticulous history taking, clinical examination, radiological examination, and laboratory investigations. All data were statistically analyzed. Results: In this study the mean age of the DM-TB group was 52.90 ± 11.12 years and 54.57 ± 9.84 years for DM group. There was no statistically significant difference in gender, smoking, and DM treatment compliance between the two groups. There was a highly statistically significant difference in body mass index (BMI), Hashish, Banjo and Tramadol addiction, poor glycemic control, lower hemoglobin levels, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and lower serum protein and albumin. Bilateral affection was found in 45% and 21.5% in lower lobe in DM-TB. Conclusion: From the current work it could be concluded that the factors determinant of pulmonary tuberculosis among diabetics are weight loss, decreased BMI, drug addiction, uncontrolled diabetes, higher rates of HbA1c, increased insulin requirements, anemia, higher ESR, higher platelet count and decreased serum proteins and albumin. 2016 The Egyptian Society of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncnd/4.0/).