Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of the marketing strategy process in the innovativeness-performance relationship of SMEs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of the marketing strategy process in the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach The partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze data from Brazilian SMEs that belong to the software sector. Innovativeness was considered as a cultural aspect of the firm, which is related to being open to new ideas. The marketing strategy process was analyzed considering its two dimensions, i.e., formulation and implementation of marketing strategies. Organizational performance included variables of market, financial and innovation performance. Findings The results show that innovativeness positively influences organizational performance through the marketing strategy process. Specifically, the formulation of marketing strategies mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Implementation by itself does not mediate this relationship. When considering the path formulation→implementation as mediator, the influence is positive, i.e., formulation positively influences the implementation of marketing strategies and this path mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Therefore, the mediating role is stronger when considering the formulation-implementation path than when taking into account the activities of the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies separately. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by discussing how innovativeness influences SMEs’ performance through subsequent stages of the marketing strategy process. This is one of the first studies to consider activities in the marketing strategy process as a mediator in the innovativeness-performance relationship and explore its sequence.
Optimal control and dynamic scheduling of networked system with constrained communication capacity

This paper discusses the integrated design of optimal controller and medium access scheduling policy for networked control systems with communication constraints, which means that sensors and actuators are allowed only limited access to the remote controller simultaneously. The joint design problem is solved in three steps: Firstly, an optimal controller is proposed based on optimization theory that quadratically stabilize the original networked control system. Secondly, networked control system is modeled as a switched system whose input and output matrixes vary with medium access constraints. Thirdly, we establish a feedback-based communication scheduling policy at both sides while guaranteeing the stability of the closed-loop system. And finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the advantage of the proposed approach.
Traditional and currently developed management accounting practices – a Greek study

This study investigates the extent to which Greek firms have implemented various traditional and currently developed management accounting practices, the benefits received from those practices and the intentions to focus on specific practices in the future. The findings indicate, that, overall the rates of adoption of traditional management accounting practices were marginaly higher than the currently developed techniques. However, there were techniques such as budgeting and formal strategic planning, which were more widely practiced than those found in previous surveys. Also evidence suggests that firms are willing to place greater emphasis in the future on currently developed techniques instead the traditional ones, particularely performance evaluation techniques and strategic management accounting.
The Role of Good Governance Practices in Enhancing Service Delivery in Public Institutions in Tanzania: The Case Study of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd

This study aimed at finding out the role of good governance practices in enhancing service delivery in public institutions in Tanzania using The Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd. The main objective of this study was to assess the role of good governance practices in enhancing service delivery in public institutions in Tanzania. The methodology used to conduct this study was qualitative research design where random sampling method was employed to select respondents. Questionnaires were made use of to gather raw data from the respondents. Secondary data was also used. The data was analyzed using Microsoft excel package and presented using tables. The study found that good governance practices are adhered to at TANESCO. It was also revealed that good governance contribute to quality service delivery at TANESCO. The study further found that good governance practices at TANESCO are hindered by various factors such as bureaucracy, corruption and delays. The study lastly concluded the existence of a relationship between good governance and service delivery. The study recommended that, to improve service delivery at TANESCO, the management of TANESCO should ensure that all TANESCO staff are aware of the principles of good governance and adhere to them in their day to day activities. It was suggested, TANESCO, to pay attention to staff and human resources development strategies with appropriate training packages to enhance knowledge of good governance.
Agent-based anonymous skyline set computation in cloud databases

Given a set of objects, a skyline query finds the objects that are not dominated by another object. A skyline query helps us to filter unnecessary information efficiently and gives us clues for various decision making tasks. On the other hand, we usually have to hide individual record's values even though there is no ID information in the table in privacy aware environments. In such situation, we cannot use conventional skyline queries. To handle the privacy problem, we considered a skyline query for sets of objects in a database. In which we do not disclose individual record's values. Let s be the number of objects in each set and n be the number of objects in the database. There are
mRNA of MUC2 is stimulated by IL‐4, IL‐13 or TNF‐α through a mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway in human colon cancer cells

MUC2 mucin is a secretory glycoprotein which is produced from the intestinal goblet cells and is a major component of the intestinal epithelial mucus. The biological function of MUC2 mucin is considered to be the protection of intestinal epithelial surface, whereas the regulatory mechanism of MUC2 mucin production in immune response is not completely understood. We have studied the effects of cytokines, IL‐4, IL‐13 and TNF‐α, on the regulation of MUC2 mRNA in the human colonic cancer cell lines, LS174T and HT29. The quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction showed that single addition of IL‐4, IL‐13 and TNF‐α to cell culture induced about two‐fold increase of MUC2 mRNA level in LS174T cells. Interleukin‐4 and IL‐13 activated phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinase in LS174T cells. A specific inhibitor of mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway, U0126, totally inhibited the increase of MUC2 mRNA by IL‐4 or IL‐13 in those cells. Therefore, mitogen‐activated protein activation of kinase is required for the increase of MUC2 mRNA by IL‐4 or IL‐13 in LS174T cells. In contrast to LS174T cells, only TNF‐α increased MUC2 mRNA through a mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway in HT29 cells that express low levels of MUC2 mRNA. These findings sustain a novel phenomenon that MUC2 mRNA expression is differently controlled by IL‐4, IL‐13, or TNF‐α in LS174T and HT29 cells, whereas the mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway plays a role in the MUC2 mRNA expression induced by those cytokines in both cell lines.
Contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI of vascular remodeling after myocardial infarction using lipid-based nanoparticles

function; (b) top row: MR-images acquired within 5min after contrast agent administration; middle row: MR-images 24h (column 1&2), 1.5h (column 3&4) and 48h (column 5&6) after injection; bottom row: CLSM of micellar and liposomal fluorescence (red) & autofluorescence (green) in border zone between remote and infarcted myocardium. a Contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI of vascular remodeling after myocardial infarction using lipid-based nanoparticles
The sustainability report by an entity from the electric sector

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to investigate whether a company, classified as the world leader in the sector, when drawing up its sustainability report all information is disclosed in a transparent way according to its status in the international rankings. Design/methodology/approach: To assess if exist a lack of transparency in the in voluntary information disclosed in the sustainability reports the research design intends to evaluate the correlation between the number of negative media attention that are published in newspapers and the number of words in the disclosure that are reported by the company in the sustainability report. Research limitations: The most important limitation of the paper is the short period of the reasearch due the company just started to publish the sustainability report in 2008. The negative news search based on only a single newspaper, can become another limitation to the study. Findings: The obtained results allow us to conclude that, in spite of EDP's worldwide reputation, is verify a lack of transparency. Our findings show that the negative news about the company, in most situations, are not reflect in the sustainability reports. Originality/Value: The main contribution of this study is to add empirical support that even companies with the best position of commitment to the GRI guidelines reveal a greater disconnection concerning the real activities and as result cannot be classifies as transparent in their sustainability reports. Keywords: Sustainability report; Divulgation level; Transparency; Negative news.
THE WiggleZ DARK ENERGY SURVEY: GALAXY EVOLUTION AT 0.25 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.75 USING THE SECOND RED-SEQUENCE CLUSTER SURVEY

We study the evolution of galaxy populations around the spectroscopic WiggleZ sample of star-forming galaxies at 0.25 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.75 using the photometric catalog from the Second Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). We probe the optical photometric properties of the net excess neighbor galaxies. The key concept is that the marker galaxies and their neighbors are located at the same redshift, providing a sample of galaxies representing a complete census of galaxies in the neighborhood of star-forming galaxies. The results are compared with those using the RCS WiggleZ Spare-Fibre (RCS-WSF) sample as markers, representing galaxies in cluster environments at 0.25 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.45. By analyzing the stacked color–color properties of the WiggleZ neighbor galaxies, we find that their optical colors are not a strong function of indicators of star-forming activities such as EW([O ii]) or Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) near-UV luminosity of the markers. The galaxies around the WiggleZ markers exhibit a bimodal distribution on the color–magnitude diagram, with most of them located in the blue cloud. The optical galaxy luminosity functions (GLFs) of the blue neighbor galaxies have a faint-end slope α of ∼ − 1.3, similar to that for galaxies in cluster environments drawn from the RCS-WSF sample. The faint-end slope of the GLF for the red neighbors, however, is ∼ − 0.4, significantly shallower than the ∼ − 0.7 found for those in cluster environments. This suggests that the buildup of the faint end of the red sequence in cluster environments is in a significantly more advanced stage than that in the star-forming and lower galaxy density WiggleZ neighborhoods. We find that the red galaxy fraction (fred) around the star-forming WiggleZ galaxies has similar values from z ∼ 0.3 to z ∼ 0.6 with fred ∼ 0.28, but drops to fred ∼ 0.20 at z ≳ 0.7. This change of fred with redshift suggests that there is either a higher rate of star-forming galaxies entering the luminosity-limited sample at z ≳ 0.7, or a decrease in the quenching rate of star formation at that redshift. Comparing to that in a dense cluster environment, the fred of the WiggleZ neighbors is both considerably smaller and has a more moderate change with redshift, pointing to the stronger and more prevalent environmental influences on galaxy evolution in high-density regions.
Derivation of Endodermal Progenitors From Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem and progenitor cells play important roles in organogenesis during development and in tissue homeostasis and response to injury postnatally. As the regenerative capacity of many human tissues is limited, cell replacement therapies hold great promise for human disease management. Pluripotent stem cells such as embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are prime candidates for the derivation of unlimited quantities of clinically relevant cell types through development of directed differentiation protocols, that is, the recapitulation of developmental milestones in in vitro cell culture. Tissue‐specific progenitors, including progenitors of endodermal origin, are important intermediates in such protocols since they give rise to all mature parenchymal cells. In this review, we focus on the in vivo biology of embryonic endodermal progenitors in terms of key transcription factors and signaling pathways. We critically review the emerging literature aiming to apply this basic knowledge to achieve the efficient and reproducible in vitro derivation of endodermal progenitors such as pancreas, liver and lung precursor cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 246–258, 2015. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Czech family confirms the link between FBLN5 and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1 neuropathy.

Sir, The article by Auer-Grumbach et al. (2011) reporting that fibulin 5 ( FBLN5 ) mutations are also linked to inherited neuropathies helped us to clarify the cause of autosomal dominant, demyelinating hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN I) in our long-time known, but unsolved, Czech family. Before this study was published, mutations in FBLN5 were associated only with the connective tissue disorder cutis laxa (Loeys et al. , 2002; Markova et al. , 2003; Lotery et al. , 2006; Nascimento et al. , 2010) and age-related macular degeneration leading to vision loss in those aged >50 years (Stone et al. , 2004; Lotery et al. , 2006). Auer-Grumbach et al. (2011) were the first to describe a large family with demyelinating Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT1) and linkage with the interval on chromosome 14. Subsequent resequencing of this region revealed only one novel variant c.1117 C > T (p.R373C) segregating with the disease in the family. Additional screening of 112 patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease showed two other sequence variations in two patients with pure motor neuropathy and hyperelastic skin. The linkage with log of odds score >3.31 indicates the FBLN5 mutation as highly probably causal for HMSN I, but no functional study to confirm this was performed, and no other study on FBLN5 mutations in a family with HMSN has been published to date. This Austrian HMSN I family is the only one reported worldwide. We report a second family with non-syndromic inherited demyelinating motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN I) with FBLN5 mutation and confirm FBLN5 mutations as the new cause of HMSN I. We used exome sequencing for clarification of the cause of HMSN I in a Czech family recruited in 2001 (Fig. 1A). The most frequent causes of CMT1 (CMT1 duplication/HNPP …
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the delivery room; experience from Istanbul, Turkey.

This research letter reports an investigation on the correlation between infants birth weight and the need for delivery room-cardiopulmonary resuscitation steps. Records of all infants born alive with birth weights above 500 g at a hospital in Istanbul Turkey between January 1995 and December 1999 were investigated retrospectively. Overall results show that the need for chest compressions and medication in the delivery room will decline in the coming years.
Antiretroviral Treatment Interruptions Induced by the Kenyan Postelection Crisis Are Associated With Virological Failure

Background:Antiretroviral treatment interruptions (TIs) cause suboptimal clinical outcomes. Data on TIs during social disruption are limited. Methods:We determined effects of unplanned TIs after the 2007–2008 Kenyan postelection violence on virological failure, comparing viral load (VL) outcomes in HIV-infected adults with and without conflict-induced TI. Results:Two hundred and one patients were enrolled, median 2.2 years after conflict and 4.3 years on treatment. Eighty-eight patients experienced conflict-related TIs and 113 received continuous treatment. After adjusting for preconflict CD4, patients with TIs were more likely to have detectable VL, VL >5,000 and VL >10,000. Conclusions:Unplanned conflict-related TIs are associated with increased likelihood of virological failure.
Sentence repetition: what does the task measure?

BACKGROUND Sentence repetition is gaining increasing attention as a source of information about children's sentence-level abilities in clinical assessment, and as a clinical marker of specific language impairment. However, it is widely debated what the task is testing and therefore how informative it is. AIMS (1) To evaluate the effects of different types of long-term linguistic knowledge on immediate recall, (2) to assess age sensitivity of repetition tasks designed to evaluate these effects, and (3) to establish if the effects are similar across typologically different languages. The study also considers the implications of the findings for the use of sentence repetition as a research and clinical assessment tool. METHODS & PROCEDURES Participants were 50 English-speaking and 50 Czech-speaking typically developing 4-5-year-olds. Children's ability to recall sequences of items was compared in seven linguistic conditions ranging from fully well-formed sentences to sequences of non-words. In each condition, children repeated blocks of successively longer stimuli to establish their span. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Results showed significant but differential effects of all linguistic factors in both languages. While syntactic violations and presence of non-words dramatically reduced children's span, semantic implausibility and the removal of sentence prosody played a significant but much smaller role. Familiarity of function words was more important than familiarity of content words. The effects of different linguistic factors on spans were the same for both languages and did not change between 4 and 5 years, although average spans increased over this age range. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS Children's ability to repeat sentences is more dependent on their familiarity with morphosyntax and lexical phonology than semantics or prosody, with function words of particular importance. Findings have implications for the use of recall in clinical assessment and as a research tool.
Neuronal two‐pore‐domain potassium channels and their regulation by G protein‐coupled receptors

Leak potassium currents in the nervous system are often carried through two‐pore‐domain potassium (K2P) channels. These channels are regulated by a number of different G protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR) pathways. The TASK subfamily of K2P channels are inhibited following activation of the G protein Gαq. The mechanism(s) that transduce this inhibition have yet to be established but there is evidence to support a role of phosphatidylinositol 4,5‐bisphosphate (PIP2) hydrolysis products, depletion of PIP2 itself from the membrane, or a direct action of activated Gαq on TASK channels. It seems possible that more than one pathway may act in parallel to transduce inhibition. By contrast, TRESK channels are stimulated following activation of Gαq. This is due to stimulation of the protein phosphatase, calcineurin, which dephosphorylates TRESK channels and enhances their activity. TREK channels are the most widely regulated of the K2P channel subfamilies being inhibited following activation of Gαq and Gαs but enhanced following activation of Gαi. The multiple pathways activated and the apparent promiscuous coupling of at least some K2P channel types to different G protein regulatory pathways suggests that the excitability of neurons that express K2P channels will be profoundly sensitive to variations in GPCR activity.
Removal of lipid artifacts in 1H spectroscopic imaging by data extrapolation

Proton MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of human cerebral cortex is complicated by the presence of an intense signal from subcutaneous lipids, which, if not suppressed before Fourier reconstruction, causes ringing and signal contamination throughout the metabolite images as a result of limited k‐space sampling. In this article, an improved reconstruction of the lipid region is obtained using the Papoulis‐Gerchberg algorithm. This procedure makes use of the narrow‐band‐limited nature of the subcutaneous lipid signal to extrapolate to higher k‐space values without alteration of the metabolite signal region. Using computer simulations and in vivo experimental studies, the implementation and performance of this algorithm were examined. This method was found to permit MRSI brain spectra to be obtained without applying any lipid suppression during data acquisition, at echo times of 50 ms and longer. When applied together with optimized acquisition methods, this provides an effective procedure for imaging metabolite distributions in cerebral cortical surface regions.
A Fault Severity Index for Stator Winding Faults Detection in Vector Controlled PM Synchronous Motor

Stator turn faults in permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) are more dangerous than those in induction motors (IMs) because of the presence of spinning rotor magnets that can be turned off at will. Condition monitoring and fault detection and diagnosis of the PMSM have been receiving a growing amount of attention among scientists and engineers in the past few years. The aim of this study is to propose a new detection technique of stator winding faults in a three-phase PMSM. This technique is based on the image analysis and recognition of the stator current Concordia patterns, and will allow the identification of turn faults in the stator winding as well as its correspondent fault index severity. A test bench of a vector controlled PMSM motor behaviors under short circuited turn in two phases stator windings has been built. Some experimental results of the phase to phase short circuits have been performed for diagnosis purpose.
Entrepreneurial Competencies and Livelihood Improvement: The Moderating Role of Gender

This study examined the interactive effect of gender in the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and livelihood improvement in Uasin Gishu and Bungoma counties in the Western part of Kenya. A survey approach was used to collect data. A matched sample of 101 male and female was generated for the study from a wider study undertaken in the study area. The criterion for participation in the study was experience of under three years of experience in operating the venture. A questionnaire was the main data collection tool. The findings reveal that the moderation results did not supported the hypotheses for the study. Practical implications are that the paper identifies gender as a critical influence and suggests that the relationship between gender and development of entrepreneurial competencies should be addressed through supportive policies that encourage and develop entrepreneurial competencies for enhanced livelihood improvement. The theoretical and methodological framework used in this study provides an enhanced understanding and developing literature on the interactive effect of gender in the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and livelihood improvement research which constitutes originality.