Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enablers and barriers to university and high technology SME partnerships

Abstract While technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face many challenges, effective collaboration with universities can provide access to ideas and resources that can be important determinants of firm performance and growth. A case study approach is used to explore SMEs in the electronics industry in Brisbane, Australia, to identify the enablers and barriers to firms’ research partnerships with universities. The results show that collaborations with research entities, particularly universities, have been important to each of the five companies that are the focus of this study. Firms appear to select university partners based principally on expertise and social capital (i.e. the specialized research skills that universities have as well as the personal relationships that company staff have with particular university faculty). The main barriers to improved research partnerships between universities and SMEs relate principally to differences in organisational culture (e.g., differing aims, levels of formality, value and risk perceptions, temporal concerns). This study extends the literature on key factors that drive the interactions between technology-based SMEs and universities, as well as the routes through which these interactions develop.
Altered structural covariance and functional connectivity of the insula in patients with Crohn's disease.

Background Crohn's disease (CD) is a clinically chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which has been shown to be closely related to the brain-gut axis dysfunction. Although traditionally considered to be a limbic region, the insula has also been commonly identified as an abnormal brain region in previous CD-related studies. Methods Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI images were acquired from 45 CD patients in remission and 40 healthy controls (HCs). Three neuroimaging analysis methods including voxel-based morphometry (VBM), structural covariance, and functional connectivity (FC) were applied to investigate structural and functional alterations of the insulae between the CD patients and HCs. Pearson correlation was then used to examine the relationships between neuroimaging findings and clinical symptoms. Results Compared with the HCs, CD patients exhibited decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the left dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and bilateral posterior insula (PI). Taking these three areas including the left dAI, right PI, and left PI as regions of interest (ROIs), differences were observed in the structural covariance and FC of the ROI with several regions between the two groups. After controlling for psychological factors, the differences of several regions involved in emotional processing in GMV in the left dAI, the FC of the dAI, and the right PI were not significant. The FC of the parahippocampus/hippocampus with dAI and PI were negatively correlated with the CD activity index (CDAI). Conclusions We suggest that the insula-centered structural and/or functional changes may be associated with abnormal visceral sensory processing and related emotional responses in CD patients.
Status of prioritized health issues at two-year follow up in a community health improvement plan

ABSTRACT Within an integrated conceptual framework made up of the social cognitive theory and the theory of fundamental causes, we assess the impact of 37 ecological strategies and 126 programs and action plans on three prioritized health issues in a community health improvement plan implemented in a Mid-Western Region of the United States from 2016 to 2018. We perform z tests comparing performance values to both baseline and established targets in 16 objectives which are tied to two priority health issues: healthy behavior; and healthcare capacity, access, and delivery. For three objectives tied to a third priority issue: changes in policy, system and environment, we conduct descriptive as well as thematic and interpretive analysis of responses to open-ended questions. Based on z-test results with statistically significant margins of 0.05 or less, performance values for 5 out of 16 quantitative outcome objectives met established targets and /or were better than baseline data including adult nutrition choices, adult physical activity, and capacity for both inpatient and outpatient mental health and addiction services for all ages. Qualitative data reveals an overall positive perception of performance in the changes in policies, systems, and environment priority issue area even as members desire an expansion of representation, and a strategic focus on leadership and media advocacy. Most unmet objectives are related to system capacity and resource needs. As predicted and explained in the theory of fundamental causes and the social cognitive theory, findings suggest that efforts to improve community health might have been slow or failing because of unfavorable socio-economic, resource, and structural factors that shape the micro, mezzo, and macro environments in which healthy behavior modification takes place. The results also underscore the difficulties in transforming individual risk and community health status without addressing socio-economic factors.
Significant factors causing delay in the UAE construction industry

Construction delay is considered one of the most recurring problems in the construction industry. Delays have an adverse impact on project success in terms of time, cost, quality and safety. The effects of construction delays are not confined to the construction industry only, but influence the overall economy of a country like UAE, where construction plays a major role in its development and contributes 14% to the GDP. Thus, it is essential to define the most significant causes of delay in order to avoid or minimise their impact on construction projects. A detailed questionnaire was developed and used to get input from professionals associated with the UAE construction industry. The perspective of contractors and consultants has been analysed to rank the causes of delays based on their Relative Importance Index. Contractors and consultants were in agreement on the most significant causes of delays. The research revealed that 50% of the construction projects in UAE encounter delays and are not completed on time. The top 10 most significant causes of construction delays have been identified by this research. Approval of drawings, inadequate early planning and slowness of the owners' decision‐making process are the top causes of delay in the UAE construction industry.
A new floating resistor for CMOS technology

A new floating resistor consisting entirely of MOS devices in saturation has been developed. Linearity within +or-0.04% is achieved through nonlinearity cancellation via current mirrors over an applied voltage range of +or-1 V. The frequency response exceeds 10 MHz, and the resistors are expected to be useful in implementing integrated circuit active RC filters. >
On the modeling of PWM converters for large signal analysis in discontinuous conduction mode

Several methods have been developed until today for the analysis of PWM converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and many endeavours have been done in order to solve two well known problems: the nontrivial calculation of the internally controlled instant at which the current flowing into the diode falls to zero and the subsequent order reduction of the state-space model of the circuit due to the disappearance of one state variable. In this work a new approach to the modeling of PWM converters for the large signal analysis in DCM operation is presented. It is based on a closed-form discrete-time state-space model obtained by introducing a time-adaptive function for the calculation of the instant at which the diode current falls to zero, and an equivalent fictitious configuration of the circuit during the idle phase, in order to prevent the unconditioned order reduction of the state-space model. A four-terminal device is also introduced which allows a unified representation of the PWM buck, boost, buck-boost, and Cuk converters in DCM operation using the fictitious configuration. The model proposed can be used for circuit oriented simulations both in open and closed loop operation and for an accurate ripple inspection, automatically accounting for DCM to CCM (continuous conduction mode) transitions and vice versa. >
Basis of the Swiss Design Standard for Roundabouts

The roundabout form of intersection underwent a huge boom in Switzerland in the 1990s. So-called compact roundabouts have proved particularly successful with regard to traffic safety; in many cases it was possible to eliminate accident "black spots" by converting existing intersections. Analysis of accident data has shown, however, that safety improvements have not produced satisfactory results at all roundabouts. Indeed, before-and-after comparisons indicate certain roundabouts actually experienced increases in the number of accidents. The causes of these negative effects appear to lie in local circumstances. A research project was launched to investigate the relationships between accident occurrence, traffic flow, and geometry in the area of roundabouts. The goal of the project was to develop basic principles for a Swiss design standard. The central importance in roundabout design of the deflection of vehicle pass-through tracks by means of the roundabout's central island was established. An insufficient deflection of the vehicle stream from the straight direction of travel results in failures to give way, increased pass-through speeds, and underestimations of these speeds by the other parties in conflict situations. These consequences are manifested in increased accident frequency.
Cavity-backed wide slot antenna

We propose a wide slot antenna to expand the frequency bandwidth of a cavity-backed slot antenna. In the antenna the slot width is significant in comparison with the slot length. We present the analysis of the antenna including the feed line. The result obtained is a 35% frequency bandwidth (VSWR < = 2), which is also verified by experiment.
The Allocation of a Scarce Medical Resource: A Cross-Cultural Study Investigating the Influence of Life Style Factors and Patient Gender, and the Coherence of Decision-making

ABSTRACT This study examined how lifestyle factors and gender affect kidney allocation to transplant patients by 99 British and Singaporean participants. Thirty hypothetical patients were generated from a combination of six factors (alcohol intake, smoking frequency, weight, exercise frequency, diet, and gender) and randomly paired four times. Participants saw 60 patient pairings and, in each pair, chose which patient would receive treatment priority. A Bradley-Terry model was used to derive coefficients for each factor per participant. A mean factor score (MFS) was then calculated across all participants for each factor. Participants gave lower priority to patients who drank more, were overweight, smoked more and exercised less. A patient’s diet and gender had no significant effect on allocation. There were no significant cross-cultural differences. There were moderate correlations between participants’ self-reported pre- and post-experiment ordering of decision criteria, and these measures and factor coefficients, suggesting a modest level of decision-making consistency. Between participants, moderate levels of concordance with respect to factor importance were observed for self-reported orderings of factors, and weaker agreement for model-derived coefficients. Very similar results were obtained for both British and Singaporean participants, and the implications of the findings are discussed.
Organisation design strategies for mass customisation: an information-processing-view perspective

The need to transform the organisation for mass customisation has long been recognised in literature, but the discussion has largely relied on anecdotal evidence or case studies and has limitedly taken advantage of insights from organisation theory. In this paper, we draw on organisational information-processing theory to develop solid theoretical links between mass customisation capability and four organisation design strategies aimed at either increasing an organisation's information-processing capacity or decreasing its information-processing needs. We then test the hypothesized relationships using a sample of 238 manufacturing plants from three industries and eight countries, and find that mass customisation capability is positively related to self-containment of tasks, environmental management, and use of lateral relations. We conclude by discussing implications of our results for both research and practice.
The Effect of Fore‐Arc Deformation on Shallow Earthquake Rupture Behavior in the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Within the fore‐arc of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, there are significant along‐strike differences in the orientation of splay faults, sediment consolidation, and fault roughness. Here, we use dynamic rupture simulations of megathrust earthquakes on different realizations of a fault system that incorporate fore‐arc properties representative of offshore Oregon and Washington to estimate how splay faults may behave in future megathrust earthquakes in Cascadia. While splay faults were activated in all of our simulations, splay orientation is a primary control on slip amplitude. Seaward vergent faults accommodate significant amounts of slip resulting in large seafloor uplift and significantly larger tsunami amplitudes. For example, our median tsunami heights including splay faults are about a factor of two larger than those that did not include splay fault deformation. We suggest that there is an urgent need to revisit existing approaches to tsunami hazard assessment in Cascadia to include the influence of splay faults.
Strong Diurnal Pulsing of Cold Clouds in Rapidly Intensifying Tropical Cyclones

The radially outward propagating diurnal signal in the upper‐level clouds (diurnal pulse) is a prominent cyclical feature of tropical cyclones (TCs). This study examines relationships between diurnal pulses and TC intensity changes using satellite Infrared data from 2001 to 2018. The occurrence and duration of diurnal pulses 24 hr prior to or during TC intensity change are strongly correlated with TC intensification rate. Rapidly intensifying (RI) TCs have a markedly higher frequency (60%–80%) of very long‐duration pulse ( ≥ 15 hr) and significantly longer mean pulse duration than steady‐state (40%–50%) and gradually intensifying TCs (50%–60%). Long‐duration pulses are infrequent in weakening TCs (20%–30%). Diurnal pulse frequency and duration are highly correlated with the initial cloud‐top cooling rate and very cold‐cloud fraction in the inner core, but less related to the initial TC intensity. In short, strong diurnal pulsing of cold clouds is an evident signature prior to or during the RI of TCs.
Organizational socialization: A new theoretical model and recommendations for future research and HRM practices in organizations

Purpose – The aim of this paper is threefold: to provide an overview of organizational socialization (OS) research; to present a new model of OS focusing on successful outcomes; and finally to draw from both of these to suggest practical steps for both organizations aiming to socialize newcomers, and for newcomers themselves. Design/methodology/approach – A summary literature review of the OS literature post‐entry, focusing on organizational, insider and newcomer actions. Findings – The literature is used to develop and propose a new model of OS success, with five OS success indicators. Testable relationships are proposed between these indicators and both five learning domains and five learning sources. Research limitations/implications – The research model has not been tested empirically. Further, the fifth success indicator, external representation, is a new and untested concept in the OS literature. Practical implications – The paper provides a model that managers and newcomers may find useful to successfully negotiate the OS process. Further, the third section of the manuscript extensively discusses practical implications from the model and more broadly from the initial literature review. Originality/value – The model proposed is novel and raises the important issue of appropriate OS success indicators. New propositions are made regarding relationships between learning sources and domains with these success indicators. This testable model is a valuable resource for researchers. Further, for managers, whether newcomers themselves or responsible for newcomers, the model provides a framework for considering what they are aiming to achieve and how they might get there.
Laryngeal feature specifications in West Slavic languages

This paper argues for laryngeal feature specifications based on Avery (1996) to account for voicing assimilation phenomena in Czech, Slovak, and Polish within a theory of contrastive specification based on the Successive Division Algorithm of Dresher (1998). The proposed specifications allow for an elegant synchronic and diachronic account of the anomalous voicing behaviour of the segments v and _.
Water productivity through dual purpose (milk and meat) herds in the Tadla irrigation scheme, Morocco

This study aims to characterize water productivity in cattle farms facing severe water stress. Agricultural practices were monitored on six farms in a large‐scale Moroccan irrigation scheme. Results showed marked variability in forage yields, milk production and live weight gain. Mean forage biomass yields represented less than two‐thirds of their potential productivity. Alfalfa was the most common forage crop, and its yield was significantly correlated to the amounts of water used for irrigation. The annual mean milk yield per cow was low (2170 kg), whereas the average live weight gain per cow and its progeny was 308 kg. Off‐farm feed provided variable amounts of virtual water which represented 33% of total water uses. Results showed that 1.7 m3 of total water was needed to produce 1 kg of milk, whereas 9.1 m3 were needed for 1 kg of live weight gain. The economic productivity of water through milk was less efficient than through meat (respectively €0.07 and €0.25 m−3). Finally, the overall water productivity of cattle farming (both milk and live weight gain) was €0.14 m−3 of water. Taken together, the results pointed to possible ways of improving water productivity, as many constraints were identified, from water management to farming practices. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wind profile management and blockage assessment for a new 12-fan Wall of Wind facility at FIU

Researchers at the International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC), Florida International University (FIU), are working in stages on the construction of a large state-of-the-art Wall of Wind (WoW) facility to support research in the area of Wind Engineering. In this paper, the challenges of simulating hurricane winds for the WoW are presented and investigated based on a scale model study. Three wind profiles were simulated using airfoils, and/or adjustable planks mechanism with and without grids. Evaluations of flow characteristics were performed in order to enhance the WoW`s flow simulation capabilities. Characteristics of the simulated wind fields are compared to the results obtained from a study using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and also validated via pressure measurements on small-scale models of the Silsoe cube building. Optimal scale of the test model and its optimal distance from the WoW contraction exit are determined - which are two important aspects for testing using an open jet facility such as the WoW. The main objective of this study is to further the understanding of the WoW capabilities and the characteristics of its test section by means of intensive tests and validations at small scale in order to apply this knowledge to the design of the full-scale WoW and for future wind engineering testing.
Potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated from neglected air and surfaces in hospitals

Hospital infections (HI) are a serious public health problem in many countries. Several studies have identified strains correlating to surgical site infections, many with multi-resistance. The goals of this study was to quantify, to identify and to verify the resistance profile of microorganisms collected at two hospitals settings, and to alert health professionals how environmental contamination can influence hospital infection rates. For air sampling in operating rooms, intensive care unit and materials sterilization center, the impaction method (Spin Air, IUL®) and passive sedimentation were used. For the isolation of bacteria on surfaces and uniforms contact plates (RODAC®) were used. Identification of the microorganisms was performed using Vitek® 2 Systems. The antibiograms were conducted according to the disk diffusion method recommended by CLSI. The surgical center of hospital B presented more than 500 CFU/m3 in aerial microbial load. In the aerial microbiota of the sampled areas of both hospitals, M. luteus, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis spp hominis were the prevalent microorganisms, with a percentage greater than 30%. On the surfaces and uniforms there was a prevalence of M. luteus (40%) and S. hominis spp hominis (20%) among others, and some of the resistant strains were isolated from environments with microbial load within the recommended limits.
Sexual Identity in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning Emerging Adults: The Role of Parental Rejection, and Sexuality Specific Family Support

The present study provides critical contributions to the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) emerging adults by examining the role of family and sexuality specific family support, as well as the moderating effect of gender, on sexual identity development. Specifically, the role of mother and father rejection and sexuality specific family support on both affirmed identity and identity struggles of students were assessed. Using a sample of 338 LGBTQ emerging adults at a midwestern University, findings illustrate that for sexual identity development, mother and father parental rejection positively influenced identity struggles while sexuality specific family support positively influenced affirmed identity. Also, moderation by participant gender was not supported. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Partnering in construction: a critical review of issues, problems and dilemmas

Partnering in construction has been presented as a potentially important way of improving construction project performance through the direct benefits it can bring to both clients and contractors. However, there is still considerable debate about the nature and merits of a partnering approach. This paper attempts to contribute towards this debate by exploring the presumed link between partnering and cultural change within the industry, at both organizational and interorganizational levels of analysis. To do so, it draws upon theory and research from the social sciences (especially organizational theory) to explore some of the issues, problems and dilemmas which emerge when full and proper account is taken of the complexities of organizations, as well as some of the subtleties and intricacies of the concept of organizational culture. The paper concludes that it is only by fully appreciating the effects of such complexity that a more realistic and practical approach to the development and implementation of partnering will emerge.