Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Content-specificity of dysfunctional cognitions for patients with bipolar mania versus unipolar depression: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE Dysfunctional beliefs or cognitions are considered to be fundamental to both the phenomenology and pathogenesis of depression. However, the cognitive aspects of mania have not been as thoroughly investigated. We sought to compare the maladaptive beliefs and cognitions of 23 bipolar manic or hypomanic patients, 28 patients with unipolar major depression, and 24 normal adults. METHOD The Cognition Checklist for Mania (CCL-M) was used to assess the beliefs. This 61-item self-report instrument is scored for seven subscales measuring (a) self-importance, (b) interpersonal grandiosity, (c) inappropriate spending, (d) excitement and risk-taking, (e) interpersonal frustrations, (f) goal-driven activity, and (g) past or future outlooks on life, and also yields a total score. RESULTS The mean CCL-M total score of the bipolar-manic patients was significantly higher than the mean CCL-M total score of the unipolar-depressed patients, and the patients' mean CCL-M total score was also higher than that of the normal adults. The mean scores of the subscales measuring excitement and past and future memories and expectations were also significantly higher for the bipolar-manic than unipolar-depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS Bipolar-manic patients endorse with maladaptive beliefs and cognitions that are associated with mania more than do unipolar-depressed patients and normal adults. The implications for the early identification of cognitions associated with prodromal states of mania, and for psychotherapeutic interventions, are discussed.
Central American ants of the genus Megalomyrmex Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): six new species and keys to workers and males.

Megalomyrmex Forel is a distinctive lineage of Neotropical ants, some of which are specialized parasites or predators of the fungus-growing ants Attini. Here we review and key the Central American fauna. Six new species are described from both female castes: M. brandaoi sp. n. , M. fungiraptor sp. n. , M. longinoi sp. n. , M. milenae sp. n. , M. megadrifti sp. n. and M. osadrifti sp. n. A worker-based key to all Central American species is presented, and all species are illustrated. Megalomyrmex drifti Kempf is redescribed and the first descriptions of queens for M. miri Brandão and M. foreli Emery are provided. New biological information, several new geographic records, and a discussion of the species-group schema of Brandão (1990) are presented. The male sex of Megalomyrmex is diagnosed at the genus-level and keyed to species for the Central American fauna, where known. The male of each species treated in the key is diagnosed, described, or redescribed. Males are known for fourteen out of twenty total Central American Megalomyrmex species. A distinct but unassociated male is described and keyed (M. male 01). The males of M. miri Brandão and M. wettereri Brandão are described for the first time, and the distinctness of these two species is confirmed. One potential synapomorphy of Megalomyrmex present in males and workers is the presence of a carina which posteriorly delimits the basalmost region of the petiolar dorsum.
The strategic value of CRM: a technology adoption perspective

A conceptual model, grounded in the literature, that depicts the impact of the level of CRM technology adoption on business‐to‐business (B2B) relationships is developed and explored. A firm's CRM technology adoption is considered as an antecedent to relationship strength and relationship performance. The model depicts both market and technology orientation of the firm as impacting the level of CRM technology adoption within a firm. The authors propose that the level of CRM technology adoption subsequently affects B2B relationship strength and performance.
Key-Exchange in Peer-to-Peer Radio Networks

The paper presents some simple techniques for key establishment over a radio link in pure peer-to-peer network. In such networks, the users do not share any authenticated information in advance and the Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack is considered feasible. The proposed approach includes two folds; the first is the selection of a secure key exchange protocol, the second fold is to find ways that guarantee the integrity of the messages that are exchanged between the devices during the phase of establishing the key. To implement the first goal, the paper uses a technique based on a variant of the Diffie-Hellman key agreement protocol. The proposed variant is an appropriate mechanism to avoid MITM and allows mutual authentication. It is also possible to use the scheme to establish shared key between more than two entities. To achieve the second goal the paper proposes the use of a modified I-code that can guarantee the integrity of the messages exchanged while establishing the key. The analyses verified the security of the proposed protocol, and the simulation showed that the modified I-code together with using on-off keying and signal anti-blocking guarantee the integrity of the messages.
Collectivist values for productive teamwork between Korean and Chinese employees

The global marketplace increasingly demands that cultural diverse people work together but studies have documented important barriers to inter-cultural collaboration. Researchers have argued the need to study intercultural interaction directly in order to develop knowledge that diverse people can use to overcome obstacles and work productively. This study proposes that collectivist values are a basis upon which Korean and Chinese colleagues working in joint ventures in China develop quality collegial relationships and thereby work productively together. Chinese employees completed measures of collectivist and individualist values in their relationships with a Korean colleague. The Korean partners completed measures of collegial relationships, productivity, and confidence of future collaboration. In addition to supporting that collectivist values can promote quality collegial relationships, findings support the theorizing that quality relationships facilitate productive collaborative work. Results suggest that collectivist values can be an important basis for Korean and Chinese employees to develop a common platform where they work together productively across cultural boundaries. Organizations are developing subsidiaries and joint ventures in foreign countries to capture opportunities to improve quality and customer service as well as to lower costs (Buvik & Gronhaug, 2000; Charman, 2000; Davies & Ko, 2006; Hitt, Harrison & Ireland, 2001; Lane, Salk & Lyles, 2001). But foreign employees must be able to work with local employees to realize these advantages. Indeed, researchers have argued that productive relationships and interactions are critical for effective organizational work (Elicker, Levy, and Hall, 2006; Gersick, Bartunek, and Dutton, 2000; Li & Scullion, 2006; Toh & DeNisi, 2004; Wang, Law, Hackett, Wang, and Chen, 2005). However, * The authors appreciate the financial support of the Research Grants Council of Lingnan University, Project No: DB07A3 to the first author. This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Workshop on “The Koreas at Sixty: Retrospect and Prospect”, hosted by the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies, Lingnan University, 8 May 2008.
The impact of industry and training influences on salesforce consulting time and consulting effectiveness

Purpose – The purpose if this article is to study the relative impact of industry competitive conditions on salesforce consulting time and consulting effectiveness, relative to the impact of type of sales training.Design/methodology/approach – Surveys were sent to sales managers and hypotheses were tested in simultaneous equation models.Findings – Industry product differentiation has the greatest impact on consulting effectiveness. Industry customer segment number has a positive influence. The relationship between consulting time and consulting effectiveness is highest in commodity industries.Research limitations/implications – Future studies should expand the sampling frame to include all manufacturing industries, service firms, and consumer goods firms. Future studies should include other firm variables such as strategy, structure, and level of market orientation to improve the explanation of variation.Practical implications – Sales managers in commodity industries have a relatively high opportunity to .
Upstream vertical integration and fi nancial performance

Predictions regarding the impact of VI on performance, based on the different theoretical perspectives are ambiguous, and so are the empirical findings. The barriers in conducting empirical studies of vertical integration (VI) are multiple. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate ways of overcoming the difficulties facing empirical studies on the impact of VI on performance. The empirical setting chosen for this study is the Norwegian fish processing industry. We examine to what extent VI is implemented in this industry, mainly upstream, towards the fishing fleet. The results from our study show that VI can hardly be said to explain the variation in economic performance among the Norwegian fish processing plants.
The dividualised consumer: sketching the new mask of the consumer

Abstract Recent online marketing innovations such as ad-servers, ad-networks and ad-exchanges allow marketers to extract value from consumer data in new ways. But these new market devices do not just exploit technological innovations. They are constructed around a revolutionary new mask of the consumer. They treat consumers not as fixed individuals but as dividualised consumers – that is to say, collections of data that can be exposed, dissected and segmented into new marketable groups. After sketching out how marketing devices and theories have worked to define new marketplace behaviours, the paper turns to Deleuze’s explanation of control societies to consider the social implications of these new marketing techniques within societies that are increasingly mediated through networked relationships.
Development of the Exact Mass Database of Surfactants and Its Forensic Application

A simple, rapid, and reliable screening method that allows us to simultaneously detect surfactants in forensic samples without their standards has been developed by using liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry （ LC/TOF-MS ）． The exact mass database for 93 kinds of surfactants （ amounting to 6,158 compounds ） was constructed by considering the carbon number distribution of alkyl groups and the degree of polymerization of polyoxyethylene moieties. In order to achieve more reliable results, the surfactants ’ distinct retention times have also been added to the database by analyzing 34 kinds （ 642 compounds ） of their standards. The newly developed method could distinguish not only between surfactants that have the same integer mass, but also between the structural isomers. This study is the first report highlighting the comprehen-sive screening of surfactants using an exact mass database in the field of forensic science, and the method is expected to become a powerful tool for the forensic analyses of various samples, including adulterated foods, drinks, and manufactured products, among other things.
Expression and retinoic acid regulation of the zebrafish nr2f orphan nuclear receptor genes

Background: The vertebrate nuclear receptor subfamily 2, group f (nr2f) genes encode orphan receptors that have the capacity to act as negative regulators of retinoic acid (RA) signaling. Results: We describe embryonic and larval expression of four of the six zebrafish nr2f genes, nr2f1a, nr2f1b, nr2f2, and nr2f5. These genes show highly regulated patterns of expression within the central nervous system, including in the developing hindbrain, as well as in the mesoderm and endoderm. We also investigated the role of RA and fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) signaling in regulating early nr2f gene expression. RA is not required for nr2f expression in the hindbrain; however, exogenous RA can repress this expression. Conversely, we find that RA positively regulates nr2f1a expression in trunk endoderm and mesoderm. Fgf signaling is not required for nr2f expression onset in the hindbrain; however, it may play a role in maintaining rhombomere‐specific expression. Conclusions: We report detailed expression analysis of four nr2f genes in all three germ layers. The onset of nr2f expression in the hindbrain does not require RA or Fgf signals. Our finding that RA positively regulates nr2f1a expression in the trunk supports the possibility that Nr2fs function in a negative feedback loop to modulate RA signaling in this region. Developmental Dynamics 241:1603–1615, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Network effects and the adoption of new technology: evidence from the U.S. telecommunications industry

This paper examines variations in the adoption of new technology by firms operating in a network-based industry: telecommunications. These variations are explained as a function of three network effects: the first is the conversion effect, driven by operations-related increasing returns to scale; the second is the consumption effect, driven by demand-side increasing returns to scale; the third is an imitative effect. We expect the conversion effect to be felt more strongly during earlier phases of a technology’s evolution, while a strong consumption effect is felt throughout. The imitative effect is also expected to be felt throughout. These hypotheses are examined with respect to electronic switching adoption in the local operating sector of the U.S. telecommunications industry. An analysis of the variations in adoption levels of the 40 largest firms over a period lasting from 1973 to 1987 supports our expectations, except for the imitative effect. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Underwriting, Choice and Performance of Government-Insured Mortgages in Russia

This paper analyzes the mortgage borrowing process from a Russian state-owned provider of residential housing mortgages concentrating on the choice of having government insurance. This analysis takes into account the underwriting process and the choice of loan limit by the bank, the choice of contract terms and the performance of all loans issued from 2008 to 2012. Our dataset contains demographic, financial, loan terms and the performance information for all applications. We use a multistep nonparametric approach to estimate the determinants of bank and borrower choice. The main finding that the probability of having government insurance is linked to riskier loans, but insured loans also are more likely to be approved by the bank. The bank, when approving a borrower, takes into account not the probability of default but the difference between the probability of default and having government insurance.
Patients’ Perspectives on the Design of Hospital Outpatient Areas

There is a growing interest among healthcare managers and designers in moving towards a ‘patient-centred’ design of health and care facilities by integrating patient perceptions and expectations of the physical environment where care takes place. Increased interests in physical environments can mostly be attributed to our improved understanding of their role in patients’ health outcomes and staff productivity. There is a gap in the literature on users’ perspectives on physical settings in the context of healthcare. Moreover, the connection of care services with the design of the facility is often overlooked partly due to the lack of evidence. This research was aimed at filling the gap by exploring outpatients’ perspectives on design factors related to the areas frequented by them, e.g., hospital waiting areas. A 16-item questionnaire was conducted among randomly selected outpatients in two hospitals in Qingdao, China, with a response rate of 84.3%. Five principal factors were identified: sensory; lighting and thermal; facilities; spatial; and seating design, which agreed with the literature. Non-parametric tests were applied to assess variances in constructed principal dimensions concerning demographic variables. Female outpatients were found to be more perceptive of the ‘sensory design’ factors than males. The number of previous visits to the hospital was found to be associated with ‘spatial’ and ‘seating design’ factors, while respondents’ age had an association with ‘sensory’ and ‘seating design’ factors. Respondents ranked ‘noise’ and ‘air freshness’ and ‘cleanliness’ as highly important.
Why Business Plans of Start-Up Clothing and Textile Ventures are Rejected by South African Financiers’?

The purpose of this article was to describe the reasons business plans of start-up ventures are rejected by financiers in South Africa. Understanding how financiers’ evaluate new businesses, the parameters they use for screening business plans continues to attract much interest from both academics and practitioners. In reality, the ability to craft a 'bankable' business plan usually defines a business’ ability to access capital or not. This study utilized verbal protocol analysis, a 'real time' methodology. The verbalizations of respondents were noted, transcribed and then content analysed by means of a coding scheme. The sample of four potential financiers comprising of a banker, business angel, government and marketing/branding agency were selected in Gauteng, South Africa. They evaluated 15 business plans relating to clothing and textile industry and where ask to indicate reasons why they would reject a business plan. Findings suggest that unrealistic financials, entrepreneur abilities and market related issue are the main reason to why business plans get rejected. South African financier also put emphasis on job creation. Entrepreneurs should ensure that when preparing the business plan that a thorough market research has been conducted which will aid in clearly defining a market niche for the product/service, target market and competitive edge. The plan should try to emphasize how one plans to minimize or mitigate risk in the venture proposed. If an investor is convinced by an entrepreneur marketing research and penetration strategy then the investor sees they financial projections as realistic and achievable.
PROGRAMMABLE NEURAL PROCESSING FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLANTABLE WIRELESS BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are able to translate cerebral cortex neural activity into control signals for computer cursors or prosthetic limbs. Such neural prosthetics offer tremendous potential for improving the quality of life for disabled individuals. Despite the success of laboratory-based neural prosthetic systems, there is a long way to go before it makes a clinically viable device. The major obstacles include lack of portability due to large physical footprint and performance-power inefficiency of current BCI platforms. Thus, there are growing interests in integrating more BCI's components into a tiny implantable unit, which can minimize the surgical risk and maximize the usability. To date, real-time neural prosthetic systems in laboratory require a wired connection penetrating the skull to a bulky external power/processing unit. For the wireless implantable BCI devices, only the data acquisition and spike detection stages are fully integrated. The rest digital post-processing can only be performed on one chosen channel via custom ASICs, whose lack of flexibility and long development cycle are likely to slow down the ongoing clinical research.This thesis proposes and tests the feasibility of performing on-chip, real-time spike sorting/neural decoding on a programmable wireless sensor network (WSN) node, which is chosen as a compact, low-power platform representative of a future implantable chip. The final accuracy is comparable to state-of-the-art open-loop neural decoder. A detailed power/performance trade-off analysis is presented. Our experimental results show that: 1)direct on-chip neural decoding without spike sorting can achieve 30Hz updating rate, with power density lower than 62mW/cm2; 2)the execution time and power density meet the requirements to perform real-time spike sorting and wireless transmission on a single neural channel. For the option of having spike sorting in order to keep all neural information, we propose a new neural processing workflow that incorporates a light-weight neuron selection method to the training process to reduce the number of channels required for processing. Experimental results show that the proposed method not only narrows the gap between the system requirement and current hardware technology, but also increase the accuracy of the neural decoder by 3%-22%, due to elimination of noisy channels.
Effect of Au/Pd surface finishing on metastable Sn phase formation in microbumps

A metastable phase of Sn has been found to co-exist with ß-Sn in Pb-free SnAg microbumps in 3D integrated circuit (3D IC) technology. Synchrotron microbeam x-ray diffraction, high-resolution TEM imaging and selected-area electron diffraction were used to confirm the metastable phase, which has a orthorhombic lattice, with lattice parameter a = 0.635 nm, b = 0.639 nm, and c = 1.147 nm. Its composition is Sn containing about 10 percent of Ni, a few percent of Au and Pd. The structure is probably isostructural with those of Sn4Au, and Sn4Pd with Ni replacing the noble metal. The formation of this phase may be because of Au and Pd in surface finishing for Ni. With only one reflow, this new phase could form almost continuously in microbumps solder when the thickness of solder layer shrinks to 2 μm. The formation of this phase implies the well adopted Au/Pd surface finishing structure may cause potential reliability problems in 3D IC.
Interferometric SAR data filtering based on amplitude optimization

In this paper, a methodology of noise reduction for interferometric SAR data is proposed based on amplitude optimization model. From the relationship between the amplitude and phase of complex signal, the optimal parameter vector of the filter is constructed pixel by pixel to maximize the minor amplitude of two coherent interferometric signals. The filter is implemented on the complex signal domain instead of the phase domain. Therefore, the output is a pair of interferometric complex images, then the coherence map can be obtained, which is useful in phase unwrapping. The solution of amplitude optimization model is refined to avoid the eigen-decomposition of large scale matrix. Finally, the SIR-C/X-SAR collected dataset is used to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed filter.
SiC BJT Compact DC Model With Continuous- Temperature Scalability From 300 to 773 K

The first vertical bipolar intercompany (VBIC)-based compact dc model has been developed and verified for a low-voltage 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistor to continuously map a wide temperature range from 300 to 773 K. Temperature and doping dependent physical models for bandgap, incomplete ionization, carrier mobility, and lifetime have been taken into account to give physically meaningful fitting parameters for the compact model. Isothermal simulations using the default VBIC model are performed to extract key parameter sets from measured data at seven different temperature points. Then new temperature dependent equations for the key parameters are proposed and embedded in the default VBIC model. Consequently, a single set of model parameters at 300 K is used to achieve fitting over a wide temperature range from 300 to 773 K. This new model can be used for simulating circuits that require continuous description of device dc performance over a wide temperature range.