Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Managing strategic innovation through coopetition

This contribution aims to tackle the link between two new conceptions of strategy, namely coopetition and strategic innovation in an oligopolistic context. Our research question is the following: what is the impact of a strategic innovation driven by a dominant firm on interfirm relations within an oligopoly? In order to discuss this question, we investigate the case of the multiplex movie theatre's introduction to France. This event characterises a strategic innovation carried out individually by one of the dominant firms (Pathe) and going against the collective interests of the oligopoly formed by Gaumont, Pathe and UGC. Among the main results, the study shows that strategic innovation leads dominant firms to be both more cooperative and more competitive. This observation leads us to discuss the case in terms of coopetition.
Maximum power point tracker for electromagnetic energy harvesting system

A maximum power point (MPP) tracking technique for electromagnetic energy harvesters is presented. The concept is based on using a bidirectional AC/DC converter to simultaneously counteract the effect of the output inductance and match the output resistance of the harvester, in order to perform maximum power transfer. The modulating signal for the AC/DC converter is generated by sensing and processing the output current of the harvester without requiring a priori knowledge of the value of the output inductance and output resistance of the harvester. The MPP is located by observing the change of the form factor of the differentiated output current under a perturb-and-observe method. A 12W prototype MPP tracker has been built and evaluated. The experimental results are favorably compared with theoretical predictions.
Crossing the level of employee's performance: HPWS, affective commitment, human capital, and employee job performance in professional service organizations

Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWS) has primarily examined the effects of HPWS on firm-level performance from a macro perspective and mostly in manufacturing settings. This study extends this literature by integrating social exchange theory and human capital theory perspectives to examine how shop-level HPWS affect employee individual performance in the service context, especially focusing on the small-scale professional service organizations. Data collected from multiple sources included 97 hair salon shop owners and 284 hairdressers as well as objective job performance measured in terms of each hairdresser's average monthly service sales. Results from cross-level analysis indicated that the relationship between shop-level HPWS and employee job performance was mediated by employee affective commitment and their human capital. These findings shed new light on the mechanisms through which HPWS impact employee outcomes and serve to bridge between macro and micro perspectives of human resource management.
Effects of a home-based walking training program on cardiorespiratory fitness in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer treatment is associated with a decline in measured cardiorespiratory fitness and increased fatigue. There is accumulating evidence that exercise training during adjuvant chemotherapy may contribute to prevent these changes. Additional studies are needed to explore the effectiveness of home-based walking interventions among this population. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week adapted home-based walking training program (WTP) on clinical rehabilitation in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. DESIGN This was a pilot study using a single-group design. SETTING Unit Department of Physiology and Medical Oncology, Limoges University Hospital, France. POPULATION Thirty-nine outpatients predominantly with stage II breast cancer. METHODS Participants performed 3 home ambulatory aerobic walking sessions per week at 50-60% of their maximum heart rate for 12 weeks. Functional capacity was assessed with an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test during which peak oxygen consumption (VO(2peak)) was measured. A six-minute walking test (6 MWT) was performed to evaluate physical function. The revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R) was used to measure self-reported fatigue. RESULTS Thirty-four patients (87%) completed all study procedures. Per Protocol (PP) analysis indicated that VO(2peak) recorded both before and after a 12-week adapted home-based WTP increased significantly by 2.21 mL.kg-1.min-1 (P=0.008) and 6 MWT distance increased significantly by 42 m (P=0.04). PFS-R score increased by 0.4 points, but not significantly. CONCLUSION In breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, home-based WTP is feasible and associated with significant improvements in VO(2peak), with no significant effect on fatigue score. Larger randomized trials are necessary to confirm these findings.
Customer feedback and Internet: Means used by the biggest Portuguese companies

On this paper we proceed to the analysis of the means of obtaining customer feedback through the Internet. Keeping demanding customers as well as attract new ones, has always been a major concern for the majority of the companies. Knowing what customers think is an important part of developing products and services, and differentiating factor against the competition. Obtaining customer feedback through the Internet can be considered more cost efficient and accessible, when compared to more traditional means. This work results from a study that identified the means of obtaining customer feedback, on the websites of the Portuguese companies with the biggest business volume.
Dictyostelium TRFA Homologous to Yeast Ssn6 Is Required for Normal Growth and Early Development*

The TPR (tetratricopeptide repeat) family became widespread during evolution, having been found from bacteria to mammals. By means of restriction enzyme-mediated integration, we have identified a Dictyostelium gene (trfA) highly homologous to a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding a TPR protein, Ssn6 (Cyc8), which functions as a global transcriptional repressor for diverse genes. The deduced amino acid sequence of theDictyostelium gene product, TRFA, contains 10 consecutive TPR units as well as Gln repeats, Asn repeats, and a region rich in Glu, Lys, Ser, and Thr. The sequences of some of the 10 TPR units in TRFA are more than 70% identical to the corresponding units in Ssn6. The trfA − cells produced smooth plaques on a bacterial lawn and failed to aggregate normally when starved on a plain agar plate. Individual trfA − cells also failed to correctly respond to cAMP, although the adenylyl cyclase oftrfA − cells was expressed upon starvation and activated by stimulation with cAMP as in the wild-type cells. When cultured in a rich medium in suspension, they grew more slowly and stopped growing at a lower density than the wild-type cells. Furthermore, they divided into cells of various sizes and tended to be much smaller than the wild-type cells. These pleiotropic defects of thetrfA − cells suggest the possibility thatDictyostelium TRFA may regulate the transcription of diverse genes required for normal growth and early development.
Lack of association between BDNF Val66Met gene polymorphism and late-onset depression in a Chinese Han population

Background: Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene has been suggested to be associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). There were a few reports of the relationship between the variant and late-onset depression (LOD) in Chinese Han population. Objective: To investigate the relationship among BDNF Val66Met gene variants, BDNF plasma level and LOD. Methods: Chinese Han patients with LOD (n = 99) and control subjects (n = 110) were assessed for BDNF Val66Met gene polymorphism. BDNF plasma level was tested only in LOD. Results: There were no significant differences in genotypes and allele frequencies between cases and controls (p = 0.744 and p = 0.845, respectively). Plasma BDNF level also did not show significant differences in three genotypes in LOD (p = 0.860). Conclusion: The Val66Met polymorphism in BDNF gene may not confer susceptibility to LOD in Chinese Han population.
Two Decades of Advances in Understanding of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

The aim of this article is to highlight advances achieved over the past 2 decades in understanding mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). The first section provides a historical background, which establishes that research during the 1980s was focused on more severe TBI. During the 1990s MTBI received substantially more recognition. The second section explains why the diagnostic frameworks have evolved. The third section examines why 80% to 90% of all MTBI patients have favorable outcomes whereas 10% to 20% do not. This latter subgroup, also known as the Miserable Minority, presents with a plethora of persistent physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. A dichotomy has emerged in the literature interpreting these postconcussional symptoms as being psychogenic or neurogenic. This article offers an alternate and more patient-based framework. Instead of the various disciplines focusing on select symptoms, the patient-based approach is aimed at phenomenologically understanding how the MTBI patient's life has changed. The fourth section provides practical steps for treatments. This historical review offers the conclusion that we have focused for too long on diagnostic challenges, without similarly focusing on treatment. It is time that we advance efficacious treatments for the Miserable Minority.
TQM as a management strategy for the next millennia

Total quality management (TQM) has been acclaimed as an organizational philosophy to enhance global competitiveness. Will TQM continue to be a management philosophy of the future in same shape, size, and design? This paper, through literature search and using field experts, identifies the future role of TQM in businesses facing global markets.
No effect of taurine on platelet aggregation in men with a predisposition to type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abbreviations ADP–denosine diphosphate; BMI–body mass index; FFA–free fatty acids; FFM–fat-free mass; IGT–impaired glucose tolerance; OGTT–oral glucose tolerance test; PPP–platelet-poor plasma; PRP–platelet-rich plasma; T2DM–type 2 diabetes mellitus; TG–triglyceride. Contributed equally to this study. Any diet therapy that potentially could affect platelet function would also influence the initiation of atherosclerotic plaque formation which is an important complication of diabetes mellitus eventually resulting in myocardial infarction and stroke. Blood platelets are rich in taurine, and it has been shown that taurine inhibits platelet aggregation in healthy subjects. The purpose was to examine the effect of taurine supplementation on platelet aggregation in high-risk subjects with a positive family history of T2DM. Twenty healthy men were included in a double-blinded, randomized, crossover study, receiving daily supplementation of 1.5 g taurine or placebo for two 8-week periods. Subjects were overweight and first-degree relatives of T2DM patients. At the end of each treatment, fasting blood samples for assessment of platelet aggregation was drawn. Platelet aggregation was induced by ADP. Plasma taurine concentration was significantly greater after taurine intervention compared to placebo (131.4 ± 61.7 vs. 38.9 ± 6.7 µmol/l, P < 0.0001). There was no difference in the threshold level for complete platelet aggregation induced by ADP in vivo between placebo and taurine intervention (placebo 3.86 ± 2.21 vs. taurine 3.86 ± 3.25 µmol/l). Supplementation with 1.5 g of taurine for 8 weeks had no effect on platelet aggregation in overweight prediabetic men.
In vitro and in vivo quality of bovine embryos in vitro produced with sex-sorted sperm

In this work we analyzed the effects of three culture systems on developmental ability of bovine embryos in vitro produced with sexed sperm, the survival to vitrification (cryologic vitrification method) of such blastocysts, and their pregnancy rates after embryo transfer to recipients, both as fresh and after vitrification/warming. Finally, we measured the accuracy of the sorting protocol by a polymerase chain reaction-based method to validate the embryo sex at blastocyst stages. We confirmed an individual effect of the bull as well as development rates of embryos produced with sorted sperm lower than embryos with unsorted sperm, independent of the culture system used. The cryoresistance to vitrification of embryos produced with sexed sperm did not differ from that of conventionally produced embryos (re-expansion rates at 24 and 48 h: 74.6% vs. 75.5%, and 64.5% vs. 68.1% for embryos produced with conventional and sorted sperm, respectively; hatching rates at 48 h: 63.55% vs. 55.5% for embryos produced with conventional and sorted sperm, respectively). Finally, no significant differences were found in pregnancy rates after the embryo transfer of fresh and vitrified/warmed blastocysts (52.8% vs. 42.0%, respectively; P 0.05). Male and female embryos produced with sorted sperm showed the same quality in terms of developmental ability, cryoresistance, and pregnancy rates after transfer. Our culture system, coupled with the vitrification in fiber plugs, provides good quality sex-known embryos which survive vitrification at similar rates than embryos produced with conventional unsorted sperm; also it produces good pregnancy rates after transfer of sexed embryos both fresh and after vitrification and warming. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Scapegoat Model of Exchange Rate Fluctuations

While empirical evidence finds only a weak relationship between nominal exchange rates and macroeconomic fundamentals, forex markets participants often attribute exchange rate movements to a macroeconomic variable. The variables that matter, however, appear to change over time and some variable is typically taken as a scapegoat. For example, the current dollar weakness appears to be caused almost exclusively by the large current account deficit, while its previous strength was explained mainly by growth differentials. In this paper, we propose an explanation of this phenomenon in a simple monetary model of the exchange rate with noisy rational expectations, where investors have heterogeneous information on some structural parameter of the economy. In this context, there may be rational confusion about the true source of exchange rate fluctuations, so that if an unobservable variable affects the exchange rate, investors may attribute this movement to some current macroeconomic fundamental. We show that this effect applies only to variables with large imbalances. The model thus implies that the impact of macroeconomic variables on the exchange rate changes over time.
Inhibition of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Macrophage IL-12 Production by Leishmania mexicana Amastigotes: The Role of Cysteine Peptidases and the NF-κB Signaling Pathway1

Infection with lesion-derived Leishmania mexicana amastigotes inhibited LPS-induced IL-12 production by mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages. This effect was associated with expression of cysteine peptidase B (CPB) because amastigotes of CPB deletion mutants had limited ability to inhibit IL-12 production, whereas preincubation of cells with a CPB inhibitor, cathepsin inhibitor IV, was able to suppress the effect of wild-type amastigotes. Infection with wild-type amastigotes resulted in a time-dependent proteolytic degradation of IκBα and IκBβ and the related protein NF-κB. This effect did not occur with amastigotes of CPB deletion mutants or wild-type promastigotes, which do not express detectable CPB. NF-κB DNA binding was also inhibited by amastigote infection, although nuclear translocation of cleaved fragments of p65 NF-κB was still observed. Cysteine peptidase inhibitors prevented IκBα, IκBβ, and NF-κB degradation induced by amastigotes, and recombinant CPB2.8, an amastigote-specific isoenzyme of CPB, was shown to degrade GST-IκBα in vitro. LPS-mediated IκBα and IκBβ degradation was not affected by these inhibitors, confirming that the site of degradation of IκBα, IκBβ, and NF-κB by the amastigotes was not receptor-driven, proteosomal-mediated cleavage. Infection of bone marrow macrophages with amastigotes resulted in cleavage of JNK and ERK, but not p38 MAPK, whereas preincubation with a cysteine peptidase inhibitor prevented degradation of these proteins, but did not result in enhanced protein kinase activation. Collectively, our results suggest that the amastigote-specific cysteine peptidases of L. mexicana are central to the ability of the parasite to modulate signaling via NF-κB and consequently inhibit IL-12 production.
Noninvasive image derived heart input function for CMRglc measurements in small animal slow infusion FDG PET studies

Absolute quantitation of the cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRglc) can be obtained in positron emission tomography (PET) studies when serial measurements of the arterial [18F]-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) input are available. Since this is not always practical in PET studies of rodents, there has been considerable interest in defining an image-derived input function (IDIF) by placing a volume of interest (VOI) within the left ventricle of the heart. However, spill-in arising from trapping of FDG in the myocardium often leads to progressive contamination of the IDIF, which propagates to underestimation of the magnitude of CMRglc. We therefore developed a novel, non-invasive method for correcting the IDIF without scaling to a blood sample. To this end, we first obtained serial arterial samples and dynamic FDG-PET data of the head and heart in a group of eight anaesthetized rats. We fitted a bi-exponential function to the serial measurements of the IDIF, and then used the linear graphical Gjedde–Patlak method to describe the accumulation in myocardium. We next estimated the magnitude of myocardial spill-in reaching the left ventricle VOI by assuming a Gaussian point-spread function, and corrected the measured IDIF for this estimated spill-in. Finally, we calculated parametric maps of CMRglc using the corrected IDIF, and for the sake of comparison, relative to serial blood sampling from the femoral artery. The uncorrected IDIF resulted in 20% underestimation of the magnitude of CMRglc relative to the gold standard arterial input method. However, there was no bias with the corrected IDIF, which was robust to the variable extent of myocardial tracer uptake, such that there was a very high correlation between individual CMRglc measurements using the corrected IDIF with gold-standard arterial input results. Based on simulation, we furthermore find that electrocardiogram-gating, i.e. ECG-gating is not necessary for IDIF quantitation using our approach.
A Low-Power Reconfigurable Logic Array Based on Double-Gate Transistors

A fine-grained reconfigurable architecture based on double gate technology is proposed and analyzed. The logic function operating on the first gate of a double-gate (DG) transistor is reconfigured by altering the charge on its second gate. Each cell in the array can act as logic or interconnect, or both, contrasting with current field-programmable gate array structures in which logic and interconnect are built and configured separately. Simulation results are presented for a fully depleted SOI DG-MOSFET implementation and contrasted with two other proposals from the literature based on directed self-assembly.
The effectiveness of more advanced human resource systems in small firms

In this paper, we analyze whether Human Resource (HR) systems in small firms can be associated with higher performance as well as higher wages. Our study, which focuses on Dutch pharmacies, shows that more advanced HR systems do not have any effect on firms' productivity. In these micro firms, it is only employees who significantly benefit from the introduction of both a basic and a more advanced HR system. Our findings that small firms do not significantly benefit from introducing less traditional HR practices offer an explanation for the thresholds in the diffusion of these HR practices in small firms, and suggest that in these firms formal HR practices are less important than personal relations between the employer and his or her employees.
Polar-LDPC Concatenated Coding for the AWGN Wiretap Channel

In this paper, a concatenated coding scheme based on polar codes and LDPC codes is proposed for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) wiretap channel. We first analyze the bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed coding scheme through the density evolution (DE). Then, the security gap that our coding scheme can achieve is investigated. Finally, to adapt to the dynamic environments, we present a transmission scheme using rate compatible Polar-LDPC codes. Numerical results suggest that the proposed coding scheme is more effective and flexible than other existing secure coding schemes.
Using evolution patterns to find duplicated bugs

The widespread use of software configuration management repositories to record the evolution of a software project raises the possibility of mining these repositories to better understand how developers fix software defects. In the repository that records a software project's change history, there are many changes where developers fix bugs (known as bug fix changes) as opposed to adding new features or refactoring source code. Bug fixes are interesting, since they not only provide the source code of a bug, but also the source code for how the bug is fixed. This dissertation defines 27 static bug fix patterns, which are automatically extractable, based on the syntax components and context of the source code involved in bug fix changes. Instances of static bug fix patterns are extracted from the configuration management repositories of seven open source projects, all written in Java (ArgoUML, Columba, Eclipse, JEdit, Scarab, Lucene, and MegaMek). Defined static bug fix patterns cover 45.7% to 63.6% of the total bug fix changes in these projects. Two classes of static bug fix pattern instances, those related to if statements and method calls, together account for 44.6% to 60.3% of all observed static bug fix patterns. Several analyses were performed on the extracted pattern instances on the projects. This dissertation also presents a bug finding algorithm, BugMem, to find duplicated bugs using bug fix memories: a project-specific bug and fix knowledge base developed by analyzing the history of bug fixes. This approach is a learning process, hence identified bug patterns are project-specific, the number of bug patterns grows as the software evolves, and high-level project-specific bugs can be detected. The algorithm and tool were assessed by evaluating if duplicated bugs and fixes in project histories could be found in the bug fix memories. Analysis of five open source projects (ArgoUML, Columba, Eclipse, JEdit, and Scarab) shows that, for these projects, 17.5%--32.4% of bugs appear repeatedly in the memories, and 7.5%--13.0% of bug and fix pairs are found in memories. The results demonstrate that project-specific bug fix patterns occur frequently enough to be useful as a bug detection technique. Furthermore, for the bug and fix pairs, it is possible to both detect the bug and provide a strong suggestion for the fix.