Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethics of Information in Distributed Business Environment

Current ethics is limited by the antagonistic attitude of researchers and practitioners in information in DBE, and the use of information raises new ethical dilemmas in the making of ethical decisions. The ethical approach may signal the need for a new code of ethics and new values that should be better suited to our times. We present the state-of-the-art and discuss the importance of ethics in DBE and its emerging developments. Yan, Wang and Chand (2004, p. 42) consider that “the enterprise usually collects information from spread sub-companies. This kind of the enterprise is called as distributed business environment”. A DBE is more complex than “an enterprise that collects information” and can be described as an environment in which two worlds live together, the real world in which the human factor is the most important resource, and the virtual world in which the basic resource is information. In this environment the former boundaries of organisations disappear because of modern information technology reasons distributed all over the world. abStract
Marketing Analytics for Data-Rich Environments

The authors provide a critical examination of marketing analytics methods by tracing their historical development, examining their applications to structured and unstructured data generated within or external to a firm, and reviewing their potential to support marketing decisions. The authors identify directions for new analytical research methods, addressing (1) analytics for optimizing marketing-mix spending in a data-rich environment, (2) analytics for personalization, and (3) analytics in the context of customers’ privacy and data security. They review the implications for organizations that intend to implement big data analytics. Finally, turning to the future, the authors identify trends that will shape marketing analytics as a discipline as well as marketing analytics education.
Static and dynamic magnetism in underdoped superconductor BaFe1.92Co0.08As2.

We report neutron scattering measurements on single crystals of BaFe1.92Co0. 08As2. The magnetic Bragg peak intensity is reduced by 6% upon cooling through TC. The spin dynamics exhibit a gap of 8 meV with anisotropic three-dimensional interactions. Below TC additional intensity appears at an energy of approximately 4.5(0.5) meV, similar to previous observations of a spin resonance in other Fe-based superconductors. No further gapping of the spin excitations is observed below TC for energies down to 2 meV. These observations suggest the redistribution of spectral weight from the magnetic Bragg position to a spin resonance, demonstrating the direct competition between static magnetic order and superconductivity.
Speaker dependent emotion recognition using prosodic supervectors

This work presents a novel approach for detection of emotions embedded in the speech signal. The proposed approach works at the prosodic level, and models the statistical distribution of the prosodic features with Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) mean-adapted from a Universal Background Model (UBM). This allows the use of GMM-mean supervectors, which are classiﬁed by a Support Vector Machine (SVM). Our proposal is compared to a popular baseline, which classiﬁes with an SVM a set of selected prosodic features from the whole speech signal. In order to measure the speaker inter-variability, which is a factor of degradation in this task, speaker dependent and speaker independent frameworks have been considered. Experiments have been carried out under the SUSAS subcorpus, including real and simulated emotions. Results shows that in a speaker dependent framework our proposed approach achieves a relative improvement greater than 14% in Equal Error Rate (EER) with respect to the baseline approach. The relative improvement is greater than 17% when both approaches are combined together by fusion with respect to the baseline.
Combination of nanotechnology with vascular targeting agents for effective cancer therapy

As a young science, nanotechnology promptly integrated into the current oncology practice. Accordingly, various nanostructure particles were developed to reduce drug toxicity and allow the targeted delivery of various diagnostic and therapeutic compounds to the cancer cells. New sophisticated nanosystems constantly emerge to improve the performance of current anticancer modalities. Targeting tumor vasculature is an attractive strategy to fight cancer. Though the idea was swiftly furthered from basic science to the clinic, targeting tumor vasculature had a limited potential in patients, where tumors relapse due to the development of multiple drug resistance and metastasis. The aim of this review is to discuss the advantages of nanosystem incorporation with various vascular targeting agents, including (i) endogen anti‐angiogenic agents; (ii) inhibitors of angiogenesis‐related growth factors; (iii) inhibitors of tyrosine kinase receptors; (iv) inhibitors of angiogenesis‐related signaling pathways; (v) inhibitors of tumor endothelial cell‐associated markers; and (vi) tumor vascular disrupting agents. We also review the efficacy of nanostructures as natural vascular targeting agents. The efficacy of each approach in cancer therapy is further discussed.
Food Web Architecture and Population Dynamics in Laboratory Microcosms of Protists

In theory, food chain length and omnivory are pivotal elements of food web structure that can affect the population dynamics of species within the web. Long food chains are thought to be less stable than shorter food chains, and omnivores are thought to destabilize food webs, although populations of omnivores may be more stable than populations of nonomnivores. In three of four simple food webs assembled from bacteria and protists in laboratory microcosms, the abundance of bacterivorous protists varied more over time when the species occurred in longer versus shorter food chains. The abundance of protists attacked by omnivorous top predators was either more or less temporally variable than in webs where top predators fed only at one adjacent trophic level, depending on the particular combination of interacting species. The abundance of omnivorous top predators varied less over time than the abundance of top predators restricted to feeding only at an adjacent trophic level. Observations of increased temporal variation in prey abundance in longer food chains and low temporal variation in omnivore abundance agree broadly with several predictions of food web theory. The observation that different species in similar trophic positions can exhibit very different dynamics suggests that stability may depend on complex interactions between species-specific life-history traits and general patterns of food web architecture.
THE EFFECT OF WEBSITE QUALITY FEATURES AND COGNITIVE ABSORPTION ON SOCIAL NETWORK SITE USAGE: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY

Social network sites (SNSs) have become an essential interpersonal communication tool, and the number of global SNSs users is increasing at an astonishing rate. To fill the research gap on SNSs, this study examined the rarely discussed influence of website quality features and cognitive absorption on SNS acceptance. This cross-sectional study focused on comparing 250 users from Taiwan and 200 users from Indonesia to contribute to the growing field of information system (IS) and information technology (IT) literature on SNSs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis were used to analyze the data. The results indicated similarities and differences between the two countries, confirming that the effect of country moderates the SNS usage. This study demonstrated that website quality features attract users based on the perceived ease of use and perceivedÂ usefulness. Feelings of temporal dissociation, heightened enjoyment, and curiosity also arouse usersâ€™ intentions to use SNSs. To cite this document: Ya-Hui Hsu, Chien-Kuo Li, Chien-Ming Li, and Na-Ting Liu, "The effect of website quality features and cognitive absorption on social network site usage: A cross-national study ", International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, Vol.7, No.2, pp.156-188, 2016. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi. org/10.7903/ijecs.1448 Â
A Practice Approach to Addressing Strategic Risk and Uncertainty for Management Consultants

We take a practice approach to addressing risk and uncertainty for management consultants. We discuss the notion of strategic risk and its importance to the management of uncertainty, outlining the strategic risks and uncertainty created by the range of consulting engagement. Our contribution is to explore what are the strategic risks facing consultants, how they address uncertainty and ultimately propose a conceptual model to assist in the identification and analysis of strategic risks and uncertainty.
An overview of recent advances in CMOS T/R switch designs

Recent advances in design of transmit/receive (T/R) switches in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology for radio transceivers are reviewed in this paper. First, the evolution of wireless communication systems and CMOS technology are introduced for the purpose of design of T/R switches. Then, typical T/R switch topologies, key performance parameters, and device circuit models are described. Next, the important circuit techniques and concepts developed specifically for CMOS T/R switches are discussed. Finally, reported CMOS T/R switches are summarized and future design issues are identified.
Metro trains equipped onboard with supercapacitors: A control technique for energy saving

The paper suggests a control technique for improving energy saving in metropolitan trains equipped by onboard supercapacitors. On the basis of the typical duty-cycle of a metro-train, the supercapacitor system has been sized with reference to an energetic criterion that tries to limit overhead line current and, consequently, voltage drop at the train pantograph. The control algorithm is then based on a changeover scheme that properly manage the charge and discharge of supercapacitors in order to keep constant the line current during acceleration, coasting and braking of the train. Experimental results on a scale model, reproducing forces and inertias of a real railroad vehicle, validate completely both the sizing procedure and the control technique proposed.
Development of new filter bank for detection of nodular patterns and linear patterns in medical images

Abnormal shadows in medical images are described as isolated nodular structures or linear structures. However, the size and shape of the shadows usually vary from case to case. Consequently, in order to detect abnormal shadows with high accuracy, we need to use a filter that can deal with various sizes and shapes, rather than a fixed filter assuming a typical shadow shape. The purpose of this study is to detect abnormal shadows with high accuracy, and a new perfect reconstruction filter bank is developed, introducing multiresolution based on wavelet analysis. The filter bank is designed so that the subimages generated the elements of a Hessian matrix at each resolution level. By calculating the small and large eigenvalues, a new filter bank has the following three properties. (1) Nodular patterns of various sizes can be enhanced. (2) Both nodular and linear patterns of various sizes can be enhanced. (3) The original image can be reconstructed with these patterns removed. The filter bank is applied to enhance microcalcifications in mammograms and to enhance/remove bone tissue in chest radiographs. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 36(13): 81–91, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20171
Large-Signal Frequency Response of an HEB Mixer: From 300 MHz to Terahertz

We present a study of the large signal frequency response of an HEB mixer over a wide frequency range. In our experiments, we have subjected the HEB mixer to incident electromagnetic radiation from 0.3 GHz to 1 THz. The mixer element is an NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz. The mixer chip is mounted in a waveguide cavity, coupled to free space with a diagonal horn. At microwave frequencies, electromagnetic radiation is applied through the coaxial bias port of the mixer block. At higher frequencies the input signal passes via the diagonal horn feed. At each frequency, the incident power is varied and a family of I-V curves is recorded. From the curves we identify 3 distinct regimes of operation of the mixer separated by the phonon relaxation frequency and the superconducting energy gap frequency observed at about 3 GHz and 660 GHz respectively. In this paper, we will present observed curves and discuss the results of our experiment.
Development of QSAR‐Improved Statistical Potential for the Structure‐Based Analysis of ProteinPeptide Binding Affinities

Proteinpeptide interactions have recently been found to play an essential role in constructing intracellular signaling networks. Understanding the molecular mechanism of such interactions and identification of the interacting partners would be of great value for developing peptide therapeutics against many severe diseases such as cancer. In this study, we describe a structure‐based, general‐purpose strategy for fast and reliably predicting proteinpeptide binding affinities. This strategy combines unsupervised knowledge‐based statistical potential derived from 505 interfacially diverse, non‐redundant proteinpeptide complex structures and supervised quantitative structure‐activity relationship (QSAR) modeling trained by 250 proteinpeptide interactions with known structure and affinity data. The built partial least squares (PLS) model is confirmed to have high stability and predictive power by using internal 5‐fold cross‐validation and rigorous Monte Carlo cross‐validation (MCCV). The model is further employed to analyze two large groups of HLA‐ and SH3‐binding peptides based upon computationally modeled structures. Satisfactorily, although the PLS model is originally trained with dissociation constants (Kd) of proteinpeptide binding, it shows a good correlation with other two affinity qualities, i.e. SPOT signal intensities (BLU) and half maximal competitive concentrations (IC50). Furthermore, we perform systematic comparisons of our method with several widely used, representative affinity predictors, including molecular mechanics‐based MM‐PB/SA, knowledge‐based DFIRE and docking score HADDOCK, on a small panel of elaborately selected proteinpeptide systems. It is demonstrated that (i) the QSAR‐improved statistical potential exhibits a comparable predictive performance with but can work faster than these traditional methods, and (ii) the crystal structure‐derived statistical potential also supports the modeled and solution structures of proteinpeptide complexes. We expect that this hybrid method can be exploited as a new scoring tool to facilitate, for example, peptide docking and virtual screening.
Capital raising of aerospace companies: equities or debts?

Aerospace products enhance national and economic activities, thus maintaining the sustainability of aerospace industry is crucial. One of the perspectives in ensuring sustainability of aerospace companies is expansion of firms by raising funds for research and development in order to provide a reasonable profitability to the firms. This study comprises a sample of 47 aerospace companies from 2009 to 2015 to analyze the impact of raising fund by equities or debts to the profitability of the firms. The result indicates that capital raising through equities is preferable than debts. Moreover, the study also identifies that the profit of aerospace industry is volatile and there is cyclical reduction of the net income in the first quarter of the year. The management needs to make wise decisions in raising fund to ensure a healthy growth of the aerospace company.
Treatment of depression among impoverished primary care patients from ethnic minority groups.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether supplementing traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression with clinical case management would reduce the rate of dropout from care and improve outcomes for ethnically diverse, impoverished medical outpatients. METHODS The study was a randomized trial that compared cognitive-behavioral group psychotherapy alone (N=103) with the same therapy supplemented by clinical case management (N=96). RESULTS The patients who received supplemental case management had lower dropout rates than those who received cognitive-behavioral group therapy alone. Supplemental case management was associated with greater improvement in symptoms and functioning than cognitive-behavioral therapy alone for patients whose first language was Spanish (N=77) but was less effective for those whose first language was English (N=122). CONCLUSIONS Supplemental case management improves retention in traditional mental health outpatient care and can improve outcomes for Spanish-speaking patients.
QoS maintenance for fair queueing algorithms in wireless mobile networks

In order to extend fair queueing algorithms to wireless networks, we propose a channel error and handoff compensation scheme. A compensation is performed by a compensation server and a priority swapping mechanism. The proposed compensation scheme provides a short‐term fairness guarantee for an error‐free session, long‐term fairness guarantee for an erroneous session, fast handoff and traffic‐specific quality of service control. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Developing and implementing encryption algorithm for addressing GSM security issues

GSM bears numerous security vulnerabilities. Although GSM's architecture is designed in such a way to provide various security features like authentication, data/ signaling confidentiality, and secrecy of a user yet the GSM channel is susceptible to replay, interleaving and man-in-the-middle attacks. The GSM speech service is secure up to the point where speech enters the core network. However to achieve end-to-end security it is desired that the GSM subscriber, not the network operator controls the encryption on the speech channel. A new approach of encryption at the user-end is introduced. In this paper we have tested our encryption technique on the GSM communication system using TMS320C6713 DSP Starter Kit (DSK), in real-time. Our technique encrypts the speech before entering the GSM handset which adds security and privacy. The encryption algorithm being private to the communicating GSM subscribers, the GSM channel will become exclusively confidential for them. The DSK board was used as a separate module of the system implementing the encryption algorithm. Real-time experiments were conducted to check the performance of the system in terms of its performance and latency rate.
Employing engineering methods for the analysis of OLEDs

We analyze typical static curves of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that were obtained under mid-to-high biases, leading to forward currents ranging from contact-limited regime of injection to bulk-limited transport of majority carriers. We also present arguments to suggest that our OLEDs effectively behave as Schottky devices under static electric characterization. Two engineering methods, usually applied for inorganic Schottky diodes analysis, are shown to be also suitable for evaluation of OLEDs. As an alternative approach impedance spectroscopy measurements are employed to confirm that a Schottky-like type of behavior is adequate for modeling of OLEDs.
Nexus between Leadership Styles and Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author PK designed the study, managed literature searches, analyzed data, did critical review of the comments on the manuscript and finalized the manuscript. Author HB guided on the managerial aspects and supervised the writing up of the final manuscript. Author JK guided on the methodology and the statistical aspects of the entire manuscript including interpretation of the results. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the nexus between leadership styles and performance of small and medium manufacturing firms (SME’s) in Kenya. The leadership styles examined include the transformational, transactional and passive/avoidant behaviour. This study is underpinned in the Dynamic Capabilities View of the firm and sought to examine whether leadership styles influences the performance of manufacturing SME’s. A triangulation of both quantitative and qualitative designs was used. Primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 115 firms obtained from a population of 165 manufacturing SMEs. Hypotheses were tested using bivariate correlations and regression analysis. The results indicated that leadership styles positively and significantly influences manufacturing SME’s performance (r =.259 ** , P = .005). Secondly, most of the CEO’s in these firms practices transactional leadership style (composite mean score, 3.54), followed by transformational leadership (composite mean score, 3.42) and lastly passive/avoidant leadership (composite mean score, 3.12). Thirdly, this study found that transformational leadership style is the best in these firms (r =.297 ** , P =.001; β 1 =.208, P =.013). The influence of transactional leadership style (r = .180, P =.054) and passive/avoidant leadership behaviour (r = .169, P = .071) was found to be insignificant.
Artificial miRNAs mitigate shRNA-mediated toxicity in the brain: Implications for the therapeutic development of RNAi

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal, dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine repeat expansion in exon 1 of the HD gene, which encodes the huntingtin protein. We and others have shown that RNAi is a candidate therapy for HD because expression of inhibitory RNAs targeting mutant human HD transgenes improved neuropathology and behavioral deficits in HD mouse models. Here, we developed shRNAs targeting conserved sequences in human HD and mouse HD homolog (HDh) mRNAs to initiate preclinical testing in a knockin mouse model of HD. We screened 35 shRNAs in vitro and subsequently narrowed our focus to three candidates for in vivo testing. Unexpectedly, two active shRNAs induced significant neurotoxicity in mouse striatum, although HDh mRNA expression was reduced to similar levels by all three. Additionally, a control shRNA containing mismatches also induced toxicity, although it did not reduce HDh mRNA expression. Interestingly, the toxic shRNAs generated higher antisense RNA levels, compared with the nontoxic shRNA. These results demonstrate that the robust levels of antisense RNAs emerging from shRNA expression systems can be problematic in the mouse brain. Importantly, when sequences that were toxic in the context of shRNAs were placed into artificial microRNA (miRNA) expression systems, molecular and neuropathological readouts of neurotoxicity were significantly attenuated without compromising mouse HDh silencing efficacy. Thus, miRNA-based approaches may provide more appropriate biological tools for expressing inhibitory RNAs in the brain, the implications of which are crucial to the development of RNAi for both basic biological and therapeutic applications.