Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Private Car Users’ Willingness to Pay for Designated Parking Spaces in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The study examined the private car users’ willingness to pay for designated parking spaces in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. This is with a view to providing information for sustainable provision of car park and its inherent facilities in major activity centers of the urban environment. Data were obtained from 167 private car users in major activity centers of the study area through purposive sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Relative Willingness Index (RWI) in the study area showed that the car users were most willing to pay for ‘surface car park’ and ‘shared car park’ with indices of 4.47 and 3.39 respectively. The basic car park attributes preferred were: car washing service, toilet facilities, security service and surveillance cameras among others. It was also established that the willingness to pay (WTP) for parking space varied directly with the education (primary RWI= 2.97; secondary RWI= 3.44; tertiary RWI= 4.15) and income statuses (low RWI= 2.72, middle RWI= 3.61; high RWI= 3.94) of the users. The minimum, maximum and average amount of money that the users could afford and willing to pay after using parking space and inherent facilities were respectively N50, N250 and N175 (US$1 = N365). The study concluded that the information obtained on the car owners’ WTP for parking space and associated facilities could be effective device in the hands of policy makers and private investors at ensuring that the problems of the unavailability of car parks in the urban environment are curbed.
Coarse- and fine-grained phenotypic divergence among threespine stickleback from alternating lake and stream habitats

Background: Habitat characteristics can vary over small spatial scales at which gene flow is expected to swamp any effect of divergent natural selection. However, fine-grained (‘microgeographic’) adaptive divergence may still be feasible if individuals exhibit dispersal behaviours that improve the match between their phenotype and habitat. For example, threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from lake and stream habitats maintain differences across a narrow ecotone because of non-random gene flow. However, it is unknown whether dispersal bias might also contribute to even finer-scale divergence within habitats, in response to microhabitat variation within lakes and within streams. Question: Does stickleback morphology co-vary with flow regime within stream populations, controlling for distance from adjoining lake populations? Data: We sampled stickleback along a transect through alternating lake and stream habitats. Within each stream, multiple traps were set at 50 m intervals. We recorded microhabitat data (flow rate and depth) at each trap. We measured morphology (gill rakers, head shape, fin shape, standard length) of more than 900 stickleback captured from these traps. Analysis: We used multivariate analyses of covariance and linear models to test for: (1) phenotypic divergence between lake and stream stickleback, (2) divergence among stream sites as a function of their distance from an adjoining lake, and (3) covariation between local flow regime (at each trap) and the morphology of stickleback captured from that trap. Conclusions: Fish from different flow regimes within a stream show phenotypic variation that is not due to clinal transitions from lake to stream. We found covariation between local flow regime and either fin morphology or gill raker length in different streams. The total effect size of stream microhabitat on morphology was greater than the effect size of habitat (lake vs. stream), for overall multivariate data and for a subset of univariate traits. These findings imply that local adaptation can occur on a finer spatial scale than is typically expected, perhaps as a result of non-random dispersal.
Current Trends in the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Individual Entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation

The purpose of this article is to explore development trends and identify ways of creating a more efficient and sustainable sector of small business and individual entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation. As research methods, the comparative analysis of quantitative indicators of official statistics of the countries represented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Development Bank, etc. was used. The results of the performed research show that the contribution to the economy of the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual entrepreneurship (IE) in Russia remains relatively low compared to developed countries and some countries with emerging economies. A characteristic feature of SMEs and IE in Russia is a small number of microand small enterprises and low employment in the small business sector. Based on the study of international experts' opinions, the authors conclude that currently there is a huge underused potential in the activities of Russian SMEs and IE. There are a number of areas, in which further improvement would be able to RESUMEN: El propósito de este artículo es explorar las tendencias de desarrollo e identificar formas de crear un sector más eficiente y sostenible de pequeñas empresas y emprendimiento individual en la Federación Rusa. Como métodos de investigación, se utilizó el análisis comparativo de los indicadores cuantitativos de las estadísticas oficiales de los países representados por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico, el Banco Mundial de Desarrollo, etc. Los resultados de la investigación realizada muestran que la contribución a la economía del sector de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PyMEs) y el emprendimiento individual (EI) en Rusia sigue siendo relativamente baja en comparación con los países desarrollados y algunos países con economías emergentes. Un rasgo característico de las PYME e IE en Rusia es un pequeño número de micro y pequeñas empresas y un bajo nivel de empleo en el sector de las pequeñas empresas. Sobre la base del estudio de las opiniones de expertos internacionales, los autores concluyen que actualmente existe un enorme potencial subutilizado en las actividades de las PYME significantly stimulate SMEs and IE development. These include targeted and specialized state support for IE and SMEs; development of programs on innovation development, export and investment for SMEs in the manufacturing industry; a national campaign to raise awareness of entrepreneurship; optimization of the tax system for formal businesses; support for measures to broaden the spectrum of alternative financing for SMEs and IE.
Linnea: A Compiler for Linear Algebra Operations

The evaluation of linear algebra expressions is a central part of both languages for scientiﬁc computing such as Julia and Matlab, and libraries such as Eigen, Blaze, and NumPy. However, the existing strategies are still rather primitive. At present, the only way to achieve high performance is by handcoding algorithms using libraries such as BLAS and LAPACK, a task that requires extensive knowledge in linear algebra, numerical linear algebra and high-performance computing. We present Linnea, the prototype of a compiler that automates the translation of linear algebra expressions to an efﬁcient sequence of calls to BLAS and LAPACK kernels. Initial results indicate that the algorithms generated by Linnea signiﬁcantly outperform existing high-level languages by a factor of up to six.
Flying Capacitors Reduction in an Improved Double Flying Capacitor Multicell Converter Controlled by a Modified Modulation Method

This paper proposes an improved configuration of double flying capacitor multicell (DFCM) converter. The main advantages of the proposed converter, compared to the conventional DFCM converter, are the doubling of the number of output voltage levels and improvement of the output voltage frequency spectrum. This progress is achieved by adding only two low-power switches and one dc voltage source, whose voltage rating is a small fraction of the main dc-link voltage rating, to the conventional configuration of the DFCM converter. However, the number and voltage rating of high-frequency switches and capacitors and the number of high-frequency switchings during a full cycle are kept constant. The doubling of the number of output voltage levels in the proposed converter makes it possible to decrease the number of cells, the number of flying capacitors, as well as their voltage rating and the amount of stored energy in flying capacitors. Moreover, a modulation method based on phase-shifted carrier pulsewidth modulation is proposed to control the new converter. Simulation and measured experimental results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed configuration and its control strategy.
What's New in Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.

Orthopaedic rehabilitation approaches the patient in a holistic fashion and considers the surgical episode as an important yet small facet in each patient’s management and total recovery. Although orthopaedic traumatologists and orthopaedic rehabilitation specialists focus their practice on functional restoration following traumatic brain injury, stroke, trauma, and other musculoskeletal impairments, all orthopaedists recognize the value of rehabilitation in determining the success or failure of surgical interventions. Additionally, all orthopaedists will encounter common orthopaedic problems such as fractures and arthritis in patients with neurologic impairments and should be aware of how to best treat them.
Unravelling the Complexity of Supply Chain Volatility Management

Managing supply chain volatility (SCV) is often identified as one of the major challenges of modern supply chain management. While research has predominantly focused on describing the multidimensional areas of SCV and its negative impacts, clear guidelines on how to manage SCV for efficiency, and prioritize the areas on which to focus, are sparse. This study seeks to fill this gap in the research by: (1) assessing the relative impact of SCV sources, and (2) proposing means to deal with them. Based on an Analytical Hierarchy Process conducted with 17 SCM practitioners, the paper assesses the relative impact of sources of SCV, and further contextualizes them according to factors such as product lead time and production strategy, providing more fine-grained insights for SC managers seeking to manage SCV. Subsequently, the paper applies the Nominal Group Technique with the same group of practitioners in order to identify and condense strategies for dealing with the most impactful sources of SCV (intra-organizational misalignment, inaccurate forecasting, long lead times, erratic behavior of decision makers in the supply chain, erratic behavior of customers, and high level of competition), leading to a set of 44 SCV-management strategies.
Ethmoid bone sandwich grafting for caudal septal defects.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate a new technique for correction of severe caudal septal defects. DESIGN For all patients, preoperative photographs were graded with regard to the severity of caudal septal defects. Preoperatively, nasal airway breathing surveys were conducted and nasal tip projection (NTP) measurements were recorded. The caudal septal defects were then repaired with use of the ethmoid bone sandwich grafting technique. Photographs, NTP measurements, and an airway survey were then repeated 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative assessments were compared and analyzed. Lateral nasal roentgenograms were obtained in five of 10 patients to assess resorption of the bone grafts. Complications were noted if present. SETTING Urban medical center. PATIENTS Ten volunteers with severe caudal septal defects causing both cosmetic and functional problems. All patients had undergone at least one previous submucous resection. OUTCOME MEASURES Durability and degree of correction, maintenance of NTP, airway improvement, and morbidity. RESULTS After 1 year, all patients maintained satisfactory correction of their caudal septal defect based on postoperative photographic grading and physical examination findings. The NTP was maintained in eight of 10 patients. Two patients experienced loss of NTP after 1 year that was not present 6 months postoperatively. Average airway improvement was 126.7% after 1 year. Postoperative roentgenograms showed only minor (< 10%) bone graft resorption. The only complication was a granuloma. CONCLUSIONS The ethmoid bone sandwich grafting technique corrected severe caudal septal deviations while maintaining or strengthening structural support of the caudal septal strut without loss of NTP, airway compromise, or morbidity.
Enhancing the Strategic Alignment Model : The Contribution of BiSL

Presented at the 14th 14th European Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance ECMLG 2018: From the article: "Abstract: Scientific literature and practices emphasize that organizations have to align their business strategies with their IT strategy. Strategic alignment of business with IT in organizations is not only a prerequisite for organizations to be successful or competitive but also positively influences IT effectiveness and leads to greater profitability. At the same time organizations have been struggling for a long time with the concept of strategic alignment. In this paper an enhanced concept of strategic alignment is given in such a way that organizations can practically use to align their business and IT. Based on scientific research in this study the existing concept of strategic alignment model, i.e. the relationship between business and IT, was enhanced by placing the discipline of information management between business and IT and thus making information management responsible for the alignment or linking of business with IT. This conceptually enhanced concept of strategic alignment was practically enhanced even further with the use of the Business information Service Library (BiSL) framework. This framework links business with IT on the strategically, managing and operational level of an organization. The BiSL process framework thus provides an description of the information management processes on the different levels of an organization that have to be implemented and carried out to achieve strategic alignment within an organization. With the support of three experts in the field of information management and BiSL, an enhanced Strategic Alignment Model was constructed. To validate this model 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted in eleven organizations. The results of these interviews show not only a strong and solid support for adding information management to the existing concept of strategic alignment but also indicate a strong and solid support for the use of the BiSL framework for implementing information management. These findings support the notion that the BiSL enhanced Strategic Alignment Model not only provides a conceptually enhanced strategic alignment model but also provides organizations with a concept of strategic alignment that organization can practically use to align their business with IT. "
On the design of software composition : mechanisms and the analysis of composition conflicts

A large variety of programming languages exists, and these languages differ substantially with regard to the modularization and composition mechanisms they support. Such differences may have an impact on important software engineering characteristics, such as reusability, exibility, analyzability and stability. The design of software languages often entails making trade-offs between such characteristics. In this thesis, we study several state-of-the-art programming languages, in particular focusing on aspect-oriented languages. Aspects have been proposed as a means to improve software modularization in the presence of crosscutting concerns; the aim is that such improved modularization leads to better software maintainability. In this thesis, we strive to improve several engineering characteristics, in particular those that are influenced by the use of aspect-oriented languages. Specically, to improve the analyzability of programs written in aspect-oriented languages, we propose several analysis techniques. First, we introduce an algorithm that ensures the declarative application of introductions by aspects. However, the use of introductions can also cause new kinds of composition conflicts. We propose automated tools to detect such conflicts. In addition, we employ graph-based formalisms to detect several other categories of issues related to introductions by aspects. In addition, we attempt to improve changeability, both from the perspective of software engineers who write programs using aspects, as well as from the perspective of language engineers who prototype new (aspect) languages. To this end, we define an aspect metamodel interpreter framework, which can be used to define many aspect-oriented languages, including domain-specific aspect languages, of which we give several examples. Using this framework, it is also possible to write programs that use aspects written in multiple aspect languages, expressed in terms of the interpreter framework. Finally, we present a powerful composition infrastructure that supports the definition of a range of composition mechanisms, such as different styles of inheritance, but also aspect-based or domain-specific composition mechanisms. The infrastructure is defined in terms of a language that defines no fixed composition semantics, but provides a generic mechanism for constructing composition mechanisms from primitives that are expressed as rst-class objects.
A Novel Juxtamembrane Deletion in Rat TrkA Blocks Differentiative but Not Mitogenic Cell Signaling in Response to Nerve Growth Factor

Abstract: We have generated a novel rat TrkA receptor mutant (TrkAS3) by deletion of five conserved residues (493IMENP497) in the juxtamembrane domain. TrkAS3 receptors cannot support nerve growth factor (NGF)‐induced cell cycle arrest or neuronal differentiation but retain cell survival responses as well as Ras‐dependent mitogenic signaling. Cells of the nnr5 line stably expressing TrkAS3 induce NGF‐dependent SHC phosphorylation and phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase, phospholipase Cγ‐1, and prolonged mitogen‐activated protein kinase activation to absolute levels comparable to those in PC12 cells. Although the stoichiometry of TrkAS3‐SHC binding is reduced, cells overexpressing TrkAS3 exhibit NGF‐dependent SHC‐Grb‐2/Sos binding, essential for Ras activation, as well as NGF‐dependent SNT phosphorylation to absolute levels comparable to those in PC12 cells. Collectively, these data suggest that the TrkAS3 deletion either directly affects a novel Ras‐independent TrkA binding protein or that the decrease in TrkAS3‐SHC association affects a Ras‐independent SHC binding protein essential for cell cycle arrest and/or neurite outgrowth.
Intimate Partner Violence Predicts Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Severity Independent of Early Life and Deployment-Related Trauma in Deployed Men and Women Veterans

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse perpetrated by a current or former partner. IPV affects both genders, though little is known about its effects on men as victims. The aims of this study were to determine if IPV is a factor contributing to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity independently of deployment-related trauma, and to determine if there are gender differences in these associations. Participants were 46 female and 471 male post-9/11 veterans. Four sequential regressions were employed to examine the independent contribution of IPV among multiple trauma types on PTSD severity in men and women at two epochs, post-deployment (participants were anchored to deployment-related PTSD symptoms) and current (within the past month). Models were significant for both epochs in men (ps < .001) but not in women (ps > .230). In men, IPV independently predicted PTSD severity in both epochs (β > .093). However, in women, early life trauma (β = .284), but not IPV was a significant and independent predictor for current PTSD. Thus, there are distinct gender differences in how trauma type contributes to PTSD symptom severity. Although the statistical models were not significant in women, we observed similar patterns of results as in men and, in some cases, the β was actually higher in women than in men, suggesting a lack of power in our analyses. More research is clearly needed to follow-up these results; however, our findings indicate that IPV is a contributing factor to PTSD severity in veterans.
The Human-Centric Warehouse

In theory and in practice, the objective of warehouse design has long been to meet operational requirements of throughput and service performance at minimum cost. A natural product of this “bottom line” approach has been warehouse buildings and operations ill-suited to the humans who spend their working lives interacting with them. We offer an explanation for the current approach, and argue that a new approach— a new paradigm —is needed. We then describe a comprehensive approach to warehouse design that includes human well-being as a primary goal.
Immunoelectron Microscopy of Peroxisomes Employing the Antibody for the SKL Sequence PTS1 C-terminus Common to Peroxisomal Enzymes

Immunohistochemistry employing a new hapten antibody that detects the SKL sequence and its variants of the PTS1 C-terminus of peroxisomal enzymes was attempted to visualize peroxisomes across species. Rabbits were immunized with the SKL sequence coupled with KLH, between which an arm molecule was interposed. IgG fractions of antisera were affinity-purified against the hapten and employed for immunochemical analyses and immunoelectron microscopy. The specificity of the antibody was examined by immunoblot analyses for various purified enzymes of rat liver peroxisomes and by dot-blot analyses inhibited by SKL peptide and its variants. Various animal and plant tissues were subjected to immunoelectron microscopy with the protein A-gold technique. The antibody reacted with various enzymes in the peroxisome with the SKL motif. The affinity of the antibody for tripeptides, which varied depending on their structures, was higher for SKL than for its variants. Hepatic and renal peroxisomes of vertebrates, peroxisomes in the fat body of an insect, and the cotyledon of a plant were visualized by immunoelectron microscopy. Immunohistochemistry employing this SKL antibody may provide specific staining that can detect peroxisomes across different species.