Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multilevel modelling of built environment characteristics related to neighbourhood walking activity in older adults

Objective: To examine the relation between built environment factors (representing several dimensions of urban form of neighbourhoods) and walking activity at both the neighbourhood level and the resident level, in an older adult sample. Design, setting, participants: A cross sectional, multilevel design with neighbourhoods as the primary sampling unit and senior residents as the secondary unit. Five hundred and seventy seven residents (mean age = 74 years, SD = 6.3 years) participated in the survey, which was conducted among 56 city defined neighbourhoods in Portland, Oregon, USA. Neighbourhood level variables were constructed using geographical information systems. Resident level variables consisted of a mix of self reports and geocoded data on the built environment. Main outcome measure: Self reported neighbourhood walking. Main results: A positive relation was found between built environment factors (density of places of employment, household density, green and open spaces for recreation, number of street intersections) and walking activity at the neighbourhood level. At the resident level, perceptions of safety for walking and number of nearby recreational facilities were positively related to high levels of walking activity. A significant interaction was observed between number of street intersections and perceptions of safety from traffic. Conclusions: Certain neighbourhood built environment characteristics related to urban form were positively associated with walking activity in the neighbourhoods of senior residents. Public health promotion of walking activity/urban mobility and the design of interventions need to consider the contribution of neighbourhood level built environment influences.
Multimarket Contact and Rivalry over Knowledge‐based Resources

Research summary: Research shows that multimarket contact (MMC) reduces rivalry involving downstream activities. Yet, studies showing that MMC can increase the threat of imitation suggest a need to better understand how MMC affects upstream rivalry over knowledge‐based resources. In this study, we argue that MMC increases rivalry over knowledge‐based resources since the deterrent threat of retaliation that typically leads to mutual forbearance in downstream activities will not be sufficient to restrain firms from protecting their knowledge from imitation in upstream activities. In support of these arguments we find that MMC increases the likelihood that a firm initiates patent litigation against a rival. This study suggests the relationship between MMC and rivalry may depend on the competitive domain and the type of resources over which firms are competing. Managerial Summary: How does market overlap or MMC affect rivalry between two competitors? Prior studies have largely found that an increase in market overlap decreases rivalry in less knowledge‐intensive context because of the deterrent threat of retaliation. However, in this paper, we argue that an increase in market overlap may not reduce rivalry in more knowledge‐intensive context because of heterogeneity in capabilities to protect knowledge. We find that a firm is more likely to initiate patent litigation against a rival as market overlap increases. Our findings suggest that the incentive to protect value across multiple product markets may surpass the motivation to cooperate with rivals and that managers should have a more nuanced view of how market overlap with competitors affects rivalry in more knowledge‐intensive contexts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation of Two Enzyme Immunoassays for Detection of Human Rotaviruses in Fecal Specimens

ABSTRACT The two assays evaluated in this study (the Ridascreen rotavirus and the Pathfinder rotavirus) exhibited comparable sensitivities (100%) but highly divergent positive predictive values (93.74 and 57.7%, respectively) when compared on 393 specimens. This difference should be considered when using these tests on collectives with an unknown or low prevalence.
CSR Disclosures in Listed Banks - Current State and Future Perspective

Summary: The purpose of the paper is twofold. First, this study briefly analyzes the new non-financial reporting requirements implemented in Polish Accounting Act. Second, it investigates the current state of CSR reporting in commercial banks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and its connection with the new requirements. The sample consists of 12 banks. The data were collected in December 2016 covering three communication channels: annual reports (including management commentary), separate CSR reports in PDF files and information from the companies’ web sites. A content analysis and Likert scale were used to measure the level of CSR disclosures in five categories namely: environment, labor practices, human rights, community involvement and anti-corruption. Disclosures on business model was also examined. The results of the study show that banks prefer annuals reports rather than CSR reports or websites to communicate voluntary CSR disclosures. In most cases the disclosures in the areas: community involvement, environment and labor practices have already met the requirements of the amended Polish Accounting Act. The level of reporting in the areas: human rights and the fight against corruption is insufficient under the new regulations.
Learning Uncertainty in Ocean Current Predictions for Safe and Reliable Navigation of Underwater Vehicles

Operating autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) near shore is challenging—heavy shipping traffic and other hazards threaten AUV safety at the surface, and strong ocean currents impede navigation when underwater. Predictive models of ocean currents have been shown to improve navigation accuracy, but these forecasts are typically noisy, making it challenging to use them effectively. Prior work has explored the use of probabilistic planners, such as Markov decision processes (MDPs), for planning in these scenarios, but prior methods have lacked a principled way of modeling the uncertainty in ocean model predictions, which limits applicability to cases in which high fidelity models are available. To overcome this limitation, we propose using Gaussian processes (GPs) augmented with interpolation variance to provide confidence measures on predictions. This paper describes two novel planners that incorporate these confidence measures: (1) a stationary risk‐aware GPMDP (for low‐variability currents), and (2) a nonstationary risk‐aware NS‐GPMDP (for faster and high‐variability currents). Extensive simulations indicate that the learned confidence measures allow for safe and reliable operation with uncertain ocean current models. Field tests of the planners on Slocum gliders over several weeks in the ocean demonstrate the practical efficacy of our approach.
Public Infrastructure and Private Production

W n many industrialised countries, levels of public investment have declined sigI nificantly during the last three decades. In Australia, the average annual growth -Aerate of general government capital declined from 4.1 per cent in the period 1967/68-1979/80 to 1.9 per cent in the period 1980/81-1989/90 (Otto & Voss, 1994a). Concern about this decline surfaced early in the United States (see the ref­ erences in Ratner, 1983) where some commentators suggested that the decline was in part responsible for the observed slow-down in productivity growth. In order to assess this claim, it is necessary to understand the role of public investment in the economy. Ratner (1983) is an early attempt; but it was the influential work of David Aschauer in the late 1980s that initiated a wide-ranging literature investigating the role of public investment and infrastructure. This literature is now vast and contin­ ues to grow. This article reviews this literature with a particular emphasis on its implications for public policy. We argue that although the literature has proven to be informa­ tive in a number of ways, it has not yet provided much of substance to answer the question whether or not the declining levels of public investment are appropriate.
An epidemiological survey on the determination of Taenia saginata cysticercosis in Iran, using a PCR assay

Bovine cysticercosis caused by Taenia saginata is a zoonotic disease affirming routine inspection measures for the postmortem detection of cysticerci (cysts) in beef destined for human consumption. Detection is based on gross examination of traditional carcase predilection sites; although there is evidence to suggest that examination of other sites may offer improvements in sensitivity. In the current study, a biomolecular-based assay was employed to confirm and differentiate T saginata cysticercosis from other comparable parasitic infection in cattle carcases. Out of 7371 cattle carcases routinely inspected, 72 (0.97 per cent) were initially detected, from which 57 (79.16 per cent), 11(15.27 per cent) and 4 (5.55 per cent) were recorded in masseter muscle, heart and diaphragm, respectively. The PCR assay was also conducted to confirm different stages of the cysts, being able to detect the cyst, and to discriminate its various degenerative stages with other parasitic structures. The technique was proposed as a reliable tool to differentiate the cysticerci and, thus, could be used in further epidemiological studies as there was no difference in view of negative PCR results in lesions found by routine inspection.
e-HR Systems Implementation: A Conceptual Framework

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enable innovative ways of carrying on routine organizational tasks via the power of virtual work environment. Piggy -backing on the success of E -commerce systems, organizations are in creasingly making use of Web -based Human Resource Management (e -HR) systems. These systems offer organizations the promise of huge performance improvement as well as of overhauling the entire HR function itself. This latter possibility is expected to offe r competitive advantage to organizations. However, it is not known (a) at what level of sophistication should organizations pitch their e -HR systems and (b) what contextual factors moderate the relationship between e -HR systems implementation and their be nefits. In this research -in -progress paper we offer a conceptual framework and a research plan to develop a theory of e -HR systems implementation.
Olfactory Discrimination and Weber's Law

Experiments with two odorants, acetic acid and propionic acid, have provided additional evidence that jnds are a constant fraction of the stimulus strength. A linear plot of the difference limens and stimulus intensities has yielded a K of 0.28 for olfactory discrimination in man. The treatment of data derived from tests above the 50% limen and the over-all concept of jnd discrimination are discussed.
Quality evaluation of steamed wheat bread substituted with green banana flour.

Quality attributes of steamed bread without green banana flour (BF) (CON), substituted with 30% BF (BBFI) and 30% BF + 8% gluten (BBFII) were determined. The green banana flour (BF) and the mixture of wheat flour (WF) substituted with 30% BF + 8% gluten (FBFII) was significantly highest in water holding capacity and oil holding capacities, respectively. Potassium, calcium and magnesium were significantly higher in BBFI and BBFII than CON. Significantly highest insoluble dietary fibre and total dietary fibre shown in BBFI. Steaming resulted significant reduction in resistant starch content in BBFI as compared with the dough of BBFI I. The specific volume of BBFII and CON showed significant different compared to the BBFI. The BBFII spread ratio was significantly highest and steamer spring lowest than CON. BBFII showed significantly highest in hardness and adhesiveness values but CON was significantly highest in cohesiveness, elasticity and chewiness. L and Hue values was shown highest in CON. BBFII indicated highest acceptability score than other samples.
Why do people use social computing? An experiential perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework to describe the continual usage of social computing systems from an experiential perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework is developed using theories formulated from a variety of disciplines including information system (IS) continuance, relationship formation, human-computer interaction, and motivation theory. Findings – The conceptual framework encompasses the relationship and experiential perspective of user-computer interactions. The framework also identifies factors that contribute to the continual usage of social computing by users and how these factors are related with system features. Research limitations/implications – This study does not include an empirical analysis to validate the conceptual framework proposed in this study. Future research is encouraged to examine the ten propositions from the proposed conceptual framework. Practical implications – The conceptual framework takes a different appro.
Women, Social Capital and Collective Action – The Case of NERICA Rice Technology in Benin

Women rice farmers in Africa are often constrained in accessing resources and technologies adapted to their requirements. AfricaRice has targeted women in disseminating NERICA to consider their needs. Along with top-down strategies, also processes that strengthen women rice growers at the grassroots are essential. Farmer groups’ social relation networks and collective action might open opportunities for women. This qualitative case study examines the interplay of technology adoption, social capital, collective action and women’s empowerment by focusing on women’s perceptions in the context of NERICA in Benin. Findings show that social capital and collective action enhance women’s economic and social position and their personal advancement. The study indicates what kind of external support might be useful to exploit, in the best possible way, the potential of collective action as a means for promoting women’s holistic development. The results can help in the design of strategies for women’s empowerment within NERICA dissemination activities.
MAC protocol based on cross-layer design methodology for fast link in wireless communication systems

: A novel protocol for point-to-point data transfer services on a wireless network is proposed. The protocol is designed using cross-layer design methodology, which makes the time from the start of connection setup to the start of data transfer 200 times shorter and the maximum throughput up to 1.4 times higher than those of the conventional WLAN. It also provides robust connection under degradation of signal quality.
Factors Affecting the Adoption of e-Procurement Systems among International Non-Governmental Organisations in Kenya

The benefits of e-Procurement have been verified by many leading companies worldwide, and eProcurement is a significant tactic in most companies’ e-Business strategies. This study proposes sought to determine factors influencing the adoption of e-procurement systems among international NGOs in Kenya. The problem to the study is that the rate of e-procurement systems adoption has been much lower than the opportunity presented by the market and studies have shown that there has been inadequate evidence on the realization of e-procurement benefits. This research based its objectives on four procurement related factors on e-procurement; organization factors, innovation related factors, supply factors and strategic factors. The research shall adopt a descriptive cross-sectional research design while targeting the 510 International NGOs in Kenya with their procurement operations office in Nairobi. Taro Yamane formulae and principle of finite population sample size was used to find the sample. The primary was gathered directly from respondents using questionnaires while secondary data involved the collection and analysis of published material and information from other sources such as annual reports, published data. The research carried out a pilot study to pretest and validates the questionnaire and the interview guide. The researcher shall finally peruse completed questionnaires and document analysis recording sheets. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using SPSS and presented through frequencies and percentages. The information was displayed by use of tabulations, bar charts, graphs and pie charts and in prose-form. Content analysis was used to test the data of qualitative nature or aspect of the data collected from the open ended questions. This multivariate regression model was applied to determine the relative importance of each of the four variables with respect to the influence adoption of E-Procurement. The organizational factors influence e-procurement up to 82% of e-procurement, 93.5% the results indicated that innovation related factors influence the adoption of technology on procurement operations, 94% NGO managers find strategic factors to influence adoption of e-procurement among international NGOs and over 72% found the influence to be at great extent and even beyond.
Institutional Investors and Home Biased REITs

REITs are frequently considered as an investment opportunity for Institutional investors due to the above the average returns offered with respect to other financial instruments. Due to the specific characteristic of the real estate market normally geographically specialized REITs (home biased) can benefit from an higher quality of the information available for selecting among investment opportunities and from a reduction of the cost of monitoring and servicing of assets owner. Home Biased REITs could be particularly appealing for such type of investors because the opportunity to add this type of asset to an investment portfolio already diversified can allow to optimize the risk-return of their investment strategy. The paper considers all the REITs included in the Standard and Poor’s Global REIT Index and evaluates the percentage of investment released by institutional investors and their change over time. Focusing the attention on REITs’ international real estate exposure, the paper shows that the geographical diversification matters for the investment decisions made by international investors and results are robust with respect to the time horizon considered and the proxy used for the concentration of the ownership.
An investigation of non-planar austenite–martensite interfaces

Motivated by experimental observations on CuAlNi single crystals, we present a theoretical investigation of non-planar austenite–martensite interfaces. Our analysis is based on the nonlinear elasticity model for martensitic transformations and we show that, under suitable assumptions on the lattice parameters, non-planar interfaces are possible, in particular for transitions with cubic austenite.
Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides in Caucasian patients: a clinicopathologic study of 7 cases.

BACKGROUND Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides (MF) is a rare variant of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. It is more frequent in dark-skinned or Asian patients, particularly children. Only 9 cases in Caucasian patients have been reported in the literature so far. OBSERVATION We describe 7 Caucasian patients (2 children and 5 adults) with hypopigmented MF. Histologic examination confirmed the diagnosis in all cases. The phenotype of neoplastic lymphocytes was T helper in 4 cases and T suppressor in 3 (2 of them children). Monoclonality of the T lymphocytes could be detected in hypopigmented lesions in all 7 cases with the use of a polymerase chain reaction technique. In 4 patients, polymerase chain reaction analysis of T-cell receptor-gene rearrangement after laser-based microdissection of the specimen revealed that the monoclonal population of T lymphocytes was confined mainly to the epidermis. CONCLUSION Hypopigmented lesions of MF can be observed in Caucasian patients. Children affected by MF often present with this rare clinical variant of the disease. Persistent or unusual hypopigmented lesions should be subjected to biopsy to avoid delay in the diagnosis of MF, especially in children.
Comparative study on customer satisfaction of islamic and conventional banking in Sri Lanka

generates revenue as profit that is flexible while conventional bank earns from the interest that is fixed; risk is shared among lender, borrower and bank in Islamic banks while conventional bank transfers the whole risk to others; Islamic banks is trade oriented unit while conventional bank works as a pure financial intermediary to covenant on the basis of interest. Islamic banks have great opportunities in several regions with a higher population of Muslims. Islamic banks are facing many challenges meantime increasing number of conventional and Islamic banks created a healthy competition for the delivery of quality products and service to retain satisfied customers for sustainable benefits but in the recent past, Islamic banks are booming with new products, services and braches to attract their existing customers and new customers. This is the outstanding growing of an industry still in the infancy stage of branding carries a significant message to the world that Islamic banking has indeed established a valuable alternative to that of conventional banks further understanding of the economic, social, and cultural background which underlies this growth necessitates further study and research.
Global solutions of Navier-Stokes equations with large $L^2$ norms in a new function space

First we prove certain pointwise bounds for the fundamen- tal solutions of the perturbed linearized Navier-Stokes equation (The- orem 1.1). Next, utilizing a new framework with very little L p theory or Fourier analysis, we prove existence of global classical solutions for the full Navier-Stokes equation when the initial value has a small norm in a new function class of Kato type (Theorem 1.2). The smallness in this function class does not require smallness in L 2 norm. Further- more we prove that a Leray-Hopf solution is regular if it lies in this class, which allows much more singular functions then before (Corollary 1). For instance this includes the well-known result in (25). A further regularity condition (form boundedness) was given in Section 5. We also give a different proof about the L 2 decay of Leray-Hopf solutions and prove pointwise decay of solutions for the three-dimensional Navier- Stokes equations (Corollary 2, Theorem 1.2). Whether such a method exists was asked in a survey paper (2).
Employee Ownership and High-Performance Work Systems in Context

This chapter addresses employee ownership within a strategic human resource management (SHRM) framework that has gained increased attention. The study extends the configurational approach to SHRM and argues that the construct of the workforce philosophy is the primary factor that determines the coherence of HRM systems. In other words, the workforce philosophy propagates the idea that employees both deserve to be co-owners and must be taken seriously as such. In addition, the chapter argues that the HRM system should reflect this workforce philosophy: the HRM system should contain HRM practices that mirror the rights that comprise the very construct of “ownership. ” We present the possible core HRM practices of the “ownership high-performance work system (O-HPWS),” which, similar to employee ownership, produces favorable outcomes. The chapter also addresses the important mediating role of employees’ perception and attributions related to employee share ownership in the relationship of the HRM system (with employee share ownership) to favorable outcomes.