Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Qualitative Data: A Framework of Text Analysis Methods

Information systems (IS) researchers have argued the need for using qualitative approaches, such as action research, ethnomethodology, phenomenology, and futures research, to supplement widely used quantitative approaches. Despite the interest in qualitative approaches, almost all IS articles published in leading IS journals during the previous decade continue to report the results of quantitative studies. The disparity between the interest in and adoption of qualitative approaches may be attributed to unfamiliarity with qualitative approaches for analyzing text data and the mistaken belief that all qualitative approaches are antipositivist. This paper makes qualitative methods more accessible to both researchers and practitioners by providing a framework that categorizes various text analysis approaches. The framework classifies methods as positivist, linguistic, and interpretivist, based on assumptions about the nature of text data, the researcher's influence on text interpretation, and the validity checks used to justify text interpretations. Thus, all researchers can consider qualitative text analysis methods regardless of their paradigmatic position.
Differential effects of platelets and platelet inhibition by ticagrelor on TLR2- and TLR4-mediated inflammatory responses

Summary Platelets and platelet-monocyte interaction play an important role in inflammation. Both pro- and anti-inflammatory effects of platelet inhibition have been reported in animal models. This study aimed to investigate the effect of platelets and platelet inhibition by the new P2Y12 receptor antagonist ticagrelor on monocyte function, as assessed by cytokine responses to Toll-like Receptor (TLR) ligands. In a set of in vitro experiments, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) incubated with the TLR2 ligand Pam3CSK4 produced less cytokines in the presence of platelets, whereas platelets increased the production of cytokines when PBMC were exposed to TLR4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These effects of platelets were dependent on direct platelet-leukocyte aggregation and for the Pam3CSK4-induced response, on phagocytosis of platelets by monocytes. In a double blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in healthy volunteers, a single oral dosage of 180 mg ticagrelor reduced platelet-monocyte complex (PMC) formation. This was associated with an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines in blood exposed to Pam3CSK4, but a decrease in these cytokines in blood exposed to LPS. These findings show that platelets differentially modulate TLR2- and TLR4-mediated cytokine responses of PBMC. Through inhibition of platelet-leukocyte interaction, P2Y12 receptor antagonists may either exert a pro- or anti-inflammatory effect during infections depending on the TLR primarily involved.
Applying Online Behavioral Models in Internet Retailing: Understanding Consumer Behavior in Online Marketing

With the tremendous growth of the Internet and e-commerce, marketing has sustained multiple evoultions especially in relation to online consumer behavior as e-consumers exhibit a profound change in their purchasing experience. In this context, this book tests four theoretical models frequently used to explain online consumer behavior: technology acceptance model, expectation confirmation theory, theory of planned behavior, flow theory. The first three models adapt the research hypotheses of each verified theory. For flow theory a new model is formed by including notable constructs from this theory, customized on e-shopping. Moreover, this book proposes a new integrated model of online shopping behavior that mixes central constructs from previous models with constructs that draw attention to consumer perceptions in e-commerce meant to impact e-loyalty. The analyses have important inputs in extending theoretical models and proposing new ones. Also, the book provides guidelines for web service providers that rely on online consumer behavior in their business models and need to develop marketing strategies by emphasizing certain factors to improve the customer shopping experience.
A Call To Arms for Tackling the Unexpected Implications of SDN Controller Enhancements

The last few years have seen a massive and organic transformation of the Software Defined Networking ecosystem with the development of enhancements, e.g., Statesman, ESPRES, PANE, and Athens, to provide better composability, better utilization of TCAM, consistent network updates, or congestion free updates. The end-result of this organic evolution is a disconnect between the SDN applications and the dataplane. A disconnect which can impact an SDN application's performance or correctness. In this paper, we present the first systematic study of the interactions between enhancements and SDN applications -- we show that an application's performance can be significantly impacted by these enhancements: with the efficiency of a traffic engineering App reduced by 24.8%. Motivated by these insights, we argue for a redesign of the SDN controller centered around mitigating and reducing the impact of these enhancements. We demonstrate through an initial prototype and with experiments that our abstractions require minimal changes and can restore an SDN application's performance and efficiency.
IP Multicast Requirements for a Network Address Translator (NAT) and a Network Address Port Translator (NAPT)

This document specifies requirements for a Network Address (and port) Translator (NAT) that supports Any Source IP Multicast or Source- Specific IP Multicast. An IP multicast-capable NAT device that adheres to the requirements of this document can optimize the operation of IP multicast applications that are generally unaware of IP multicast NAT devices.
Virologic Failure and Second-Line Antiretroviral Therapy in Children in South Africa—The IeDEA Southern Africa Collaboration

Background: With expanding pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, children will begin to experience treatment failure and require second-line therapy. We evaluated the probability and determinants of virologic failure and switching in children in South Africa. Methods: Pooled analysis of routine individual data from children who initiated ART in 7 South African treatment programs with 6-monthly viral load and CD4 monitoring produced Kaplan-Meier estimates of probability of virologic failure (2 consecutive unsuppressed viral loads with the second being >1000 copies/mL, after ≥24 weeks of therapy) and switch to second-line. Cox-proportional hazards models stratified by program were used to determine predictors of these outcomes. Results: The 3-year probability of virologic failure among 5485 children was 19.3% (95% confidence interval: 17.6 to 21.1). Use of nevirapine or ritonavir alone in the initial regimen (compared with efavirenz) and exposure to prevention of mother to child transmission regimens were independently associated with failure [adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval): 1.77 (1.11 to 2.83), 2.39 (1.57 to 3.64) and 1.40 (1.02 to 1.92), respectively]. Among 252 children with ≥1 year follow-up after failure, 38% were switched to second-line. Median (interquartile range) months between failure and switch was 5.7 (2.9-11.0). Conclusions: Triple ART based on nevirapine or ritonavir as a single protease inhibitor seems to be associated with a higher risk of virologic failure. A low proportion of virologically failing children were switched.
Using the realist perspective to link theory from qualitative evidence synthesis to quantitative studies: Broadening the matrix approach

This study describes an approach for the use of a specific type of qualitative evidence synthesis in the matrix approach, a mixed studies reviewing method. The matrix approach compares quantitative and qualitative data on the review level by juxtaposing concrete recommendations from the qualitative evidence synthesis against interventions in primary quantitative studies. However, types of qualitative evidence syntheses that are associated with theory building generate theoretical models instead of recommendations. Therefore, the output from these types of qualitative evidence syntheses cannot directly be used for the matrix approach but requires transformation. This approach allows for the transformation of these types of output.
Structures of yeast vesicle trafficking proteins

In protein transport between organelles, interactions of v‐ and t‐SNARE proteins are required for fusion of proteincontaining vesicles with appropriate target compartments. Mammalian SNARE proteins have been observed to interact with NSF and SNAP, and yeast SNAREs with yeast homologues of NSF and SNAP proteins. This observation led to the hypothesis that, despite low sequence homology, SNARE proteins are structurally similar among eukaryotes. SNARE proteins can be classified into two groups depending on whether they interact with SNARE binding partners via conserved glutamine (Q‐SNAREs) or arginine (R‐SNAREs). Much of the published structural data available is for SNAREs involved in exocytosis (either in yeast or synaptic vesicles). This paper describes circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering data for a set of yeast v‐ and t‐SNARE proteins, Vti 1p and Pep12p, that are Q‐SNAREs involved in intracellular trafficking. Our results suggest that the secondary structure of Vti1p is highly α‐helical and that Vti 1p forms multimers under a variety of solution conditions. In these respects, Vti1p appears to be distinct from R‐SNARE proteins characterized previously. The α‐helicity of Vti1p is similar to that of Q‐SNARE proteins characterized previously. Pep12p, a Q‐SNARE, is highly α‐helical. It is distinct from other Q‐SNAREs in that it forms dimers under many of the solution conditions tested in our experiments. The results presented in this paper are among the first to suggest heterogeneity in the functioning of SNARE complexes.
Implementation of Parameters in the Expansion Ratio of Mesh Skin Grafts

&NA; Expansion of a mesh skin graft depends on factors pertaining to the graft itself as well as on parameters of the meshing device. With regard to the graft, we examine the efficiency of graft handling and thickness of the skin graft. With regard to the parameters of the meshing apparatus, which determine the expansion ratio: (1) d equals the distance between the cutting blades, which will become the width of the mesh ribbons and is an underestimated parameter for expansion; and (2) L equals the length of cut, which determines proportionally the expansion ratio. This length defines the maximal distance of the rawsquare of the expanded mesh and therefore the healing time by epithelialization. The authors present a mathematical formula of expansion ratio that allows for an objective comparison of skin meshing apparatuses. It is concluded that optimal mesh skin grafting is based on mathematical principles rather than on inventive instrumentation. Furthermore, an analysis of the mechanical parameters as given by the manufacturers is important in anticipating healing time per expansion ratio. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 100: 653, 1997.)
Cloning of the Candida albicans nucleoside transporter by complementation of nucleoside transport‐deficient Saccharomyces

The nucleoside permease gene (i.e. NUP) from Candida albicans was cloned by complementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in nucleoside transport capability. The permease transported adenosine and guanosine and was sensitive to the mammalian nucleoside transport inhibitors: dipyridamole and NBMPR. It did not transport uridine, cytidine, adenine, guanine or uracil. The inability to transport uridine indicated that the NUP gene product was different from the Candida uridine permease, which also transported cytosine and adenosine. The NUP gene coded for a protein of 407 amino acids in size which was approximately the size of the human, Giardia and E. coli nucleoside permeases. It did not, however, exhibit any significant degree of homology with these transporters. The GenBank accession number for the Candida NUP gene is AF016246. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Coordination and control for energy distribution using consensus algorithms in interconnected grid networks

In recent years, a smart grid has attracted a tremendous amount of research interest due to its potential benefit to modern civilization. A key feature of a smart grid is the change of the energy distribution characteristics from a centralized energy system to a distributed energy system. The distributed energy system consists of interconnected energy resources such as renewable energies including photovoltaic (PV), hydroelectric, solar thermal, natural gas, wind powers, and nuclear energy. Though centralized energy plants still cover the major portion of energy demand, the amount of energy demand covered by distributed energy resources has been increasing steadily. In this dissertation, we study coordination and control for energy distribution in interconnected grid networks based on distributed consensus algorithms. First, we provide energy coordination rule for supply-demand balance considering the energy generation capacity. Second, we present energy distribution with energy coordination, which is energy generation control for the desired net energy given by the energy coordination rule. Third, we present energy distribution without energy coordination, which is energy generation control for supply-demand balance and energy flow control between pairs of energy resources to make the net energy of each node meet the given-individual desired net energy. Fourth, we provide two energy flow control strategies for energy distribution in the presence of energy flow constraint in the physical-layer for energy delivery. We provide cyber-layer consensus-based energy flow control strategy under fixed interaction topology and physicallayer consensus-based energy flow control strategy under switching interaction topology as well as fixed interaction topology. Fifth, we provide coordination and control for interconnected power networks as an application of the proposed coordination and control strategies. We focus on the power flow control to achieve the desired net power and determine the phase
Control Strategy of Single-Phase Three Level Neutral Point Clamped Cascaded Rectifier

Single-phase 3-level neutral point clamped cascaded rectifier (3LNPC-CR) has been successfully made its way into traction drive system as a high-voltage traction converter. In this passage, the control issue of the 3LNPC-CR is considered. A transient current control strategy, combined with proportional integral (PI) controllers, is adopted to achieve unity power factor, satisfactory sinusoidal grid current, regulated overall dc voltage, and even efficient voltage balance between each module. Besides, with regard to the instinct voltage fluctuation problem among dc-link capacitors in one 3-level neutral point clamped (3LNPC) rectifier module, a phase shift carrier space vector pulse width modulation (PSC-SVPWM) worked along with a reasonable redundancy selection scheme is addressed. In addition, two auxiliary balancing circuits for a single-phase 3LNPC rectifier is proposed. The voltage balancing capacity of these internal-module balancing schemes are analyzed and compared. Finally, the control performance of these proposed strategies are verified by simulations and experiments.
A systematic review of active comparator controlled clinical trials in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis

Abstract Purpose: Interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 inhibitors are the newest biologic agents used in the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Active comparator studies allow for direct comparison of different biologic agents. We sought to systematically investigate the efficacy of newer biologic agents compared to earlier biologics. Materials and methods: We conducted a literature search for randomized control trials that compared the efficacy of a biologic agent with an active comparator. Articles from January 1 2010 to June 26 2017 were searched. Reference lists were also reviewed for studies for inclusion. Results: Twelve studies were included, a majority being phase III trials. All of the studies compared the efficacy of IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors with adalimumab, etanercept, or ustekinumab with the exception of one study that compared the efficacy of ustekinumab with etanercept. IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors consistently demonstrate superior efficacy over TNF inhibitors and ustekinumab as assessed by 75%, 90%, and 100% improvement in baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores at week 12. Conclusions: Overall, IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors appear to demonstrate superior efficacy and more rapid clinical improvement when compared to older biologic agents. This review may help predict patient outcomes, manage patient expectations, and biologic agent utilization.
The Influence of Corporate Governance on the Likelihood of a Firm Being Acquired, Going Private or Going Bankrupt

We explore how various aspects of corporate governance influence the likelihood of a public corporation being acquired, going private or going bankrupt when one acknowledges the potential endogeneity of these governance features to these outcomes. Our evidence confirms that some corporate governance features are endogenous variables in regression models that estimate the probability of these outcomes. After accounting for endogeneity, we find evidence that outsider dominated boards and lower restrictions on internal governance play major roles in the way firms exit public markets. Interestingly, our results suggest that several corporate governance features are more important determinants of a firm’s exit than many economic factors that have figured prominently in prior research.
Understanding Environmentally Responsible Behaviour of Ecotourists: The Reasoned Action Approach

ABSTRACT Ecotourism has been increasingly promoted as an environmentally appropriate form of tourism across the globe. The impact of ecotourism on the destination environment, however, depends on on-site tourist behaviour. It is crucial for ecotourism planners and managers to understand the factors affecting on-site behaviours of ecotourists so that environmentally responsible behaviour can be encouraged. This paper explores the factors influencing tourist environmental behaviour (TEB) using the reasoned action approach. Data were collected through a survey of 230 tourists visiting the Annapurna Conservation Area in Nepal. Results indicated that the variation in TEB is explained by three psychological variables (i.e. environmental attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control) as well as one sociodemographic characteristic (i.e. age), and two trip attributes (i.e. trip duration and group size). Theoretical and managerial implications of research findings with respect to ecotourism development are discussed.
A Method for the Electromagnetic Characterization of Construction Materials Based on Fabry–Pérot Resonance

The determination of the complex permittivity of low-loss construction materials at frequency bands above 6 GHz that are being proposed to allocate forthcoming mobile radio services is of critical importance for the design and deployment of future wireless systems. In this paper, a simple free-space method for the electromagnetic characterization of construction materials that does not require multiple reflection or transmission coefficient measurements for different incidence angles or complex optimization procedures is proposed and tested. The method is shown to yield permittivity and conductivity values in agreement with the literature for some common-use materials using a relatively simple measurement setup and procedure.
Optimising the parallel behaviour of combinations of program components

The skeleton approach to programming parallel machines promises to o er a high-level of abstraction to the programmer, whilst providing the implementation with su cient information to e ectively manage the resources available. Each skeleton captures a common pattern of computation and has associated with it parallel implementations. Functional programming languages are a suitable framework for exploring this approach as skeletons can be elegantly represented as higher-order functions. Applications are naturally expressed as combinations of several skeletons. This thesis explores the problem of optimising combinations of skeletons, where each skeleton may have more than one underlying parallel implementation. A skeleton approach suitable for expressing programs as combinations of skeletons is presented. The primitive skeletons of this approach are operators of parallel abstract data types. Skeletons are combined together using a set of combining skeletons which abstract patterns of control ow. For each primitive it is possible to exploit di erent kinds of parallelism which would be suitable for di erent parallel architectures. Data distributed and pipelined parallelism are studied. An informal and formal description of these behaviours enable di erent behaviours for a skeleton to be compared and for the behaviour of combinations to be reasoned about. The resource issues involved in optimising combinations of skeletons depend on the parallel behaviour of the components of the combinations. An algorithm is presented for inferring the behaviour of the skeletons in a program from the behaviour of its inputs. A scheme is developed for optimising the patterns of data distributions used by the primitives in data distributed combinations. These investigations demonstrate the potential for the systematic optimisation of applications constructed as combinations of simple program components. Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor John Darlington, who has provided unfailing support, guidance and considerable encouragement over the past few years. John's genuine enthusiasm for my work, and his many critical questions have been instrumental in the elaboration of my ideas. Many of the other members of the Advanced Languages and Architectures section at Imperial College have o ered their help, advice and friendship including Ariel Burton, Tony Field, Yike Guo, Martin K ohler, Ari Laakkonen, David Lillie, Ross Paterson, Frank Taylor and David Weston. Paul Kelly deserves a special mention for his many helpful and fruitful discussions. I am indebted to Andrew Bennett for bravely proof-reading an earlier draft, and whose comments have greatly improved the presentation and clarity of the thesis. I am grateful to Moustafa Ghanem, who patiently checked the proofs and equations in the later chapters, and spent many hours discussing skeletons with me.Finally I would like to thank my friends and family for their support and encouragement. I dedicate this thesis to my parents. I gratefully acknowledge the nancial support received from a SERC research studentship.