Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge Sharing Barriers

To ensure continued existence, an organization must develop ways to share the knowledge that is possessed within that organization with the people who need, or who will need, that knowledge. This critical organizational task transcends departmental boundaries and is a necessary element for the maintenance of every organizational function. Improving the efficiency of knowledge sharing is a highly desirable goal because it offers a promise of compounded returns as the organization works harder and smarter. As business practices have developed over the last few decades, knowledge workers have developed a variety of mechanisms and routines to share knowledge, but these have not yet been well studied. Specifically, the barriers to knowledge sharing remain somewhat elusive. A better understanding of the knowledge-sharing process may provide managers with a set of tools that could be used to identify and combat barriers to knowledge sharing, which could lead to much more efficient organizational routines. In this article, the process of knowledge sharing will be examined by framing the knowledge-sharing transaction as a form of communication in order to identify and isolate the barriers to that type of communication. Once the barriers are isolated, they can be overcome.
Investigating the Technology Diffusion Problems in a Multi Culture Environment: A Case of Telecom Sector

Technology diffusion is an important aspect that is considered as economically important, while offering particularly large benefits to the organizations (Erik. A & Ken.G 2002). This study will explore the barriers to the diffusion of a new technology in a Telecom Sector organization. Ease of use, Job-fit, facilitating condition, training, Top management support, and project communication were found frequently used factors to investigate the usage behavior of employees of a telecom, manufacturing, engineering and government service sector industries. This study also investigates the impact of culture while diffusing a new technology in an organization. System generated real time data is administered for evaluating the employee performance after implementing the new SpeechLog software in the QAU department as well as a questionnaire based survey was administered personally on 140 employees, In response to the survey, 120 valid responses were received. The response rate was 85%. Among the respondents, 70% were male while 30% were female.
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a Mediator of Nitric Oxide (NO)Signaling Functions in Bacteria

Gasotransmitters NO, CO and H2S are the key signaling molecules in both animals and plants. They are generated and regulated enzymaticaly in all biological systems. It is now clear that these compounds act in concert to coordinate the cell responses, but exactly how this interaction is achieved is not known. H2S has effects on the accumulation of both reactive chemical species ROS and RNS and can give rise to the other reactive species. We focus on the genetic and physiological evidences of an interaction between nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide in the bacterial cell – in regulation of DNA repair gene expression and biofilm formation. The crystalline dinitrosyl iron complexes NO-29 and NO-33 with thiourea as the ligands and tetranitrosyl iron complexes with thiosulfate and tetrazole (TNICthio, TNICtetrazo) were studied first in pure solutions and in the combination with H2S. According to the results of our genetic, physiological and EPR studies we concluded that H2S is not acting as a typical genetic signal in bacteria, but it interacts with the true NO signals to ensure the NO-signaling mechanisms to arrange of stress challenges properly.
Reliability studies of AuGe/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to MESFETs by accelerated thermal aging tests

Optimally alloyed AuGe/Ni/Au source-drain ohmic contacts to MESFETs with very low contact resistance (Rc) of the order 0.05 - 0.07 Omega-mm were obtained after rapid thermal alloying at 400degC. We have studied the degradation of ohmic contacts at elevated temperatures for 4000 hours. Ohmic contact test structures were subjected to accelerated life test temperatures at 185degC, 200degC and 230degC. We found that the drifts in Rc of the optimally alloyed contacts after thermal aging were as low as +13%, which are possibly one of the lowest drifts reported hitherto. This low drift may be due to the formation of thermally stable compounds and their nature at the ohmic contact interfaces, and the access regions during optimum alloying.
Auditor Tenure and Perceptions of Audit Quality

We analyze how investors and information intermediaries perceive auditor tenure. Using earnings response coefficients from returns-earnings regressions as a proxy for investor perceptions of earnings quality, we document a positive association between investor perceptions of earnings quality and tenure. Further, we find that the influence of reported earnings on stock rankings becomes larger with extended tenure, although the association between debt ratings and reported earnings does not vary with tenure. Finally, we find that the influence of past earnings on one-year-ahead earnings forecasts becomes greater as tenure increases. In general, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that investors and information intermediaries perceive auditor tenure as improving audit quality. One implication of our study is that imposing mandatory limits on the duration of the auditor-client relationship might impose unin- tended costs on capital market participants.
Early interventional therapy for acute massive pulmonary embolism guided by minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring.

AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring in the early catheter-based intervention for acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE). METHODS A total of 40 cases with acute massive PE were randomized into experimental and control group with 20 cases in each group. In the experimental group, the hemodynamics was monitored via Vigileo/FloTrac system, while echocardiography was used in the control group. Twelve hours after systemic thrombolysis, catheter-based clot fragmentation and local thrombolysis were employed in the experimental group if Vigileo/FloTrac system revealed hemodynamic abnormality. For the control group, the application of catheter was determined by the findings in echocardiography at 24 hours after systemic thrombolysis. RESULTS A total of 12 cases in the experimental group underwent catheter therapy successfully while 4 cases in the control group received the same treatment. Compared to the control group, 12 hours after catheter intervention the experimental group had higher PaO2/FIO2 and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) but lower pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), indicating the effectiveness of Vigileo/FloTrac monitoring. The 28-day survival rates were identical between the groups although one patent in the control group died. Both the RVEF and PASP were significantly improved in the experimental group in 6 months compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS In massive PE, hemodynamic monitoring via Vigileo/FloTrac system might be useful in the decision making for catheter intervention after systemic thrombolysis and might improve the outcomes for patients.
STUDIES ON A COMPLEMENT FIXATION TEST FOR HERPES SIMPLEX

Although the neutralization test is, in general, satisfactory for immunologic studies with a diversity of viruses, it is cumbersome and expensive. The complement fixation test, in contrast, is simple and rapid and has been successfully applied to a number of viral diseases, especially for diagnostic purposes. In the case of herpes simplex virus infections, however, the literature concerning the applicability and usefulness of the fixation method is at considerable variance; on the whole, positive reactions have been elicited with difficulty, and the basic problem lies in the preparation of an adequately potent and specific antigen. Thus, while some early workers (Kraus and Takaki, 1925, 1926; Takaki, Bonis, and Koref, 1926) obtained fixation when testing human or rabbit immune sera against a rabbit brain antigen, others (Greenbaum and Harkins, 1925; Todorovitch, 1925; Bedson and Crawford, 1927; Schultz and Hoyt, 1928; Tang and Castaneda, 1929; Gay and Holden, 1931; Myers and Chapman, 1937), using antigens prepared from rabbit brain or herpetic vesicle epithelium or fluid from guinea pigs and rabbit immune sera of high neutralizing capacity, were unable to confirm these results. The failure of such systems may most probably be attributed to the nonspecific and anticomplementary activity of crude rabbit brain suspensions (Maltaner, 1946) and rabbit serum (Kidd and Friedewald, 1942); whatever the difficulty, specific fixation could be elicited in systems employing suspensions of infected guinea pig pads and guinea pig immune sera (Bedson and Bland, 1929) or sera from patients with herpetic infections (Brain, 1932).
An exploratory study to identify relevant cues for the deletion of faces for multimedia retrieval

Within our approach to big data, we reduce the number of images in video footage by applying a shot detection with a keyframe extraction of single frames. This can be followed by duplicate removal and face detection processes yielding to a further data reduction. Nevertheless, additional reductions steps are necessary in order to make the data manageable (searchable) for the end user in a meaningful way. Therefore, we investigated human inspired forgetting as a data reduction tool. We conducted an exploratory study on a subset of the remaining face data to examine patterns in the selection process of faces that are considered most memorable showing a potential of roughly above 75 % for elimination. The results of the study considered the quality and the size of the faces as important measures. In these terms, we finally show a connection to characteristics of state-of-the-art face detectors.
Associations of neighborhood characteristics with the location and type of food stores.

OBJECTIVES We investigated associations between local food environment and neighborhood racial/ethnic and socioeconomic composition. METHODS Poisson regression was used to examine the association of food stores and liquor stores with racial/ethnic composition and income in selected census tracts in North Carolina, Maryland, and New York. RESULTS Predominantly minority and racially mixed neighborhoods had more than twice as many grocery stores as predominantly White neighborhoods (for predominantly Black tracts, adjusted stores per population ratio [SR]=2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.2, 3.2; and for mixed tracts, SR=2.2; 95% CI=1.9, 2.7) and half as many supermarkets (for predominantly Black tracts, SR=0.5; 95% CI=0.3, 0.7; and for mixed tracts, SR=0.7; 95% CI=0.5, 1.0, respectively). Low-income neighborhoods had 4 times as many grocery stores as the wealthiest neighborhoods (SR=4.3; 95% CI=3.6, 5.2) and half as many supermarkets (SR=0.5; 95% CI=0.3, 0.8). In general, poorer areas and non-White areas also tended to have fewer fruit and vegetable markets, bakeries, specialty stores, and natural food stores. Liquor stores were more common in poorer than in richer areas (SR=1.3; 95% CI=1.0, 1.6). CONCLUSIONS Local food environments vary substantially by neighborhood racial/ethnic and socioeconomic composition and may contribute to disparities in health.
Sorting out tigers (Panthera tigris): mitochondrial sequences, nuclear inserts, systematics, and conservation genetics

Sequences from complete mitochondrial cytochrome b genes of 34 tigers support the hypothesis that Sumatran tigers are diagnostically distinct from mainland populations. None of the latter, including Bengals, Siberians, or Indochinese tigers, were found to have fixed diagnostic characters. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences confirms these results. Within the framework of a phylogenetic species concept, current evidence thus supports the recognition of two distinct taxa, and within the context of this definition they could be ranked at the species level. This paper also documents a previously unrecognized nuclear insert of mitochondrial DNA that includes, minimally, mitochondrial homologues of a control region that lacks the feline mitochondrial repeat sequences, a complete cytochrome b gene, and complete tRNAThr and tRNAsurPro genes. In a phylogenetic analysis of the nuclear cytochrome b‐like sequences and various feline mitochondrial sequences, the nuclear insert clusters with lion mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences, which suggests the insert is at least as old as the split between lions and tigers. The results of this study emphasize the importance of doing more to conserve Sumatran tigers. Because they are underrepresented in zoos relative to Bengals and Siberians, an effort should be made to increase captive breeding stocks of Sumatrans. That Sumatrans are a distinct taxonomic entity relative to mainland populations can be used in educational programs to increase conservation efforts within Indonesia.
Stock Liquidity and Dividend Policy: Dividend Policy Changes Following an Exogenous Liquidity Shock

Investors’ liquidity needs may be an important reason why firms pay dividends. While intuitive, identification issues limit researchers’ ability to examine this hypothesis empirically. We overcome the identification concerns by using an exogenous shock to stock liquidity. We find that firms reduce dividend payments when stock liquidity increases. The reduction is greater for firms that experience a greater stock liquidity increase and/or firms whose shareholders have greater cash needs or rebalancing demands. Shareholders who exhibit large liquidity demands in the pre-event period are also more likely to sell shares after the stock liquidity increases.
Warm dust resolved in the cold disk around T Chamaeleontis with VLTI/AMBER

Context. The transition between massive Class II circumstellar disks and Class III debris disks, with dust residuals, has not yet been clearly understood. Disks are expected to dissipate with time, and dust clearing in the inner regions can be the consequence of several mechanisms. Planetary formation is one of them that will possibly open a gap inside the disk. Aims. According to recent models based on photometric observations, T Cha is expected to present a large gap within its disk, meaning that an inner dusty disk is supposed to have survived close to the star. We investigate this scenario with new near-infrared interferometric observations. Methods. We observed T Cha in the H and K bands using the AMBER instrument at VLTI and used the MCFOST radiative transfer code to model the SED of T Cha and the interferometric observations simultaneously and to test the scenario of an inner dusty structure. We also used a toy model of a binary to check that a companion close to the star can reproduce our observations. Results. The scenario of a close (few mas) companion cannot satisfactorily reproduce the visibilities and SED, while a disk model with a large gap and an inner ring producing the bulk of the emission (in H and K-bands) close to 0.1 AU is able to account for all the observations. Conclusions. With this study, the presence of an optically thick inner dusty disk close to the star and dominating the H and K-bands emission is confirmed. According to our model, the large gap extends up to ~7.5 AU. This points toward a companion (located at several AU) gap-opening scenario to explain the morphology of T Cha.
Antioxidant activity and two new flavonoids from Washingtonia filifera

Two new flavonoids, 8-hydroxyisoscoparin (1) and luteolin 7-O-glucoside 4″-sulfate (2), along with eight known flavonoids, including luteolin 7-O-glucoside 2″-sulfate, were isolated and identified from Washingtonia filifera. All compounds were characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, CI-MS, FABMS and UV. The antioxidant activities of various W. filifera extracts were determined.
Estimation of dietary exposure to chemicals: a case study illustrating methods of distributional analyses for food consumption data.

There are a number of sources of variability in food consumption patterns and residue levels of a particular chemical (e.g., pesticide, food additive) in commodities that lead to an expected high level of variability in dietary exposures across a population. This paper focuses on examples of consumption pattern survey data for specific commodities, namely that for wine and grape juice, and demonstrates how such data might be analyzed in preparation for performing stochastic analyses of dietary exposure. Data from the NIAAA/NHIS wine consumption survey were subset for gender and age group and, with matched body weight data from the survey database, were used to define empirically-based percentile estimates for wine intake (microliter wine/kg body weight) for the strata of interest. The data for these two subpopulations were analyzed to estimate 14-day consumption distributional statistics and distributions for only those days on which wine was consumed. Data subsets for all wine-consuming adults and wine-consuming females ages 18 through 45, were determined to fit a lognormal distribution (R2 = 0.99 for both datasets). Market share data were incorporated into estimation of chronic exposures to hypothetical chemical residues in imported table wine. As a separate example, treatment of grape juice consumption data for females, ages 18-40, as a simple lognormal distribution resulted in a significant underestimation of intake, and thus exposure, because the actual distribution is a mixture (i.e., multiple subpopulations of grape juice consumers exist in the parent distribution). Thus, deriving dietary intake statistics from food consumption survey data requires careful analysis of the underlying empirical distributions.
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Versus Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

The optimal method of coronary revascularization for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is unclear. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in these patients. Two investigators independently searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register databases for relevant studies. Four prospective and 5 retrospective studies, published before March 2015, involving 6082 patients were included. Compared with PCI, CABG was significantly associated with lower long-term death (odds ratio [OR]: 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.96, P = .01, I 2 = 0%), myocardial infarction (OR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.36-0.95, P = .03, I 2 = 44%), and repeat revascularization (OR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.14-0.22, P < .001, I 2 = 32%). The short-term death rate was comparable between CABG and PCI (OR: 2.09, 95% CI: 0.80-5.45, P = .13, I 2 = 9%). Coronary artery bypass grafting has long-term benefits compared with PCI in patients with CAD and LV dysfunction.
Extracellular matrix in tooth cementum and mantle dentin: Localization of osteopontin and other noncollagenous proteins, plasma proteins, and glycoconjugates by electron microscopy

Noncollagenous proteins (NCPs) are considered to have multiple functions related to the formation, turnover, and repair of the collagen‐based mineralized tissues. Collectively, they comprise a class of generally acidic, mineral‐binding proteins showing extensive posttranslational modifications, including glycosylation, phosphorylation, and sulfation.
Visual Cryptography Schemes with Reversing

The Visual cryptography scheme (VCS) is a perfect secure method that encrypts a secret image by breaking it into shadow images. A distinctive property of VCS is that one can visually, without computation, decode the secret by superimposing shadow images. However, much of the contrast of the reconstructed image is lost. A different kind of VCS has been recently proposed by Viet and Kurosawa, called VCS with reversing, allowing participants to perform a reversing operation (reverse black and white) on shadow images. Two drawbacks of the Viet–Kurosawa VCS are: (1) one can only reconstruct an almost ideal contrast image but not an ideal contrast image and (2) the Viet–Kurosawa VCS is constructed just from a perfect black VCS. This paper shows a real perfect contrast VCS such that the black and white pixels are perfectly reconstructed within finite runs, no matter what VCS (perfect black or non-perfect black) is used.
Reproductive Responses of Male Microtus montanus to Photoperiod, Melatonin, and 6‐MBOA

Juvenile male Microtus montanus were examined for the effects of photoperiod, melatonin, and the naturally occurring reproductive stimulant 6‐MBOA on growth and sexual maturation. 6‐MBOA, present in sprouting grass, is an important environmental cue used for the initiation of reproduction in natural populations of this species. Long photoperiod (16:8) was stimulatory to body, testes, and seminal vesicle growth, while short photoperiod (8:16) inhibited these parameters. The pineal hormone melatonin, administered via daily afternoon injections (5 μg), was also inhibitory to all of the above parameters as well as to serum testosterone. 6‐MBOA, administered via injection (0.0001–100 μg) or dietary means (0.1 or 1.0 μg/gm unsifted chow), appeared unable to augment the rate of maturation in long‐photoperiod‐stimulated animals. When short‐photoperiod animals were treated with high doses of the compound (100 μg injected or 1.0 μg/gm sifted chow), body and gonadal growth was inhibited to a greater extent than when animals were exposed to short photoperiod alone, and serum LH was reduced. Lower doses of the compound had no effect. Melatonin‐treated animals experienced less maturational inhibition when simultaneously given a low dose of 6‐MBOA‐coated chow (1.0 μg/gm unsifted chow). A higher dose of 6‐MBOA (1.0 μg/gm sifted chow) was ineffective in preventing the response to melatonin. These results indicate that 1) male M. montanus utilize photoperiod, rather than 6‐MBOA, as a primary environmental cue, 2) high doses of 6‐MBOA can be inhibitory under short photoperiod, 3) juvenile male voles are highly sensitive to the inhibitory effects of exogenously administered melatonin, and 4) 6‐MBOA can partially prevent the inhibitory effects of melatonin on growth and sexual maturation.
3 GS/s S-Band 10 Bit ADC and 12 Bit DAC on SiGeC Technology

In advanced applications such as digital radar, Ultra Wide Bandwidth communications and software defined radio, the need for instantaneous bandwidth often drives system design decisions. Access to high speed data converters enabling up and down conversion directly in the L Band and S Band removes the limit imposed by bandwidth scarcity and allows the design of flexible and simplified system architectures. Broadband ADC's (Analogue to Digital Converters) and DAC's (Digital to Analogue Converters) are key enabling components which open up new design opportunities for digital transceiver systems, including digital down and up-conversion closer to the antenna. In this regard, this paper describes new 10bit 3GS/s ADC and 12 Bit 3GS/s DAC, based on a 200 GHz SiGeC bipolar Technology, which enables direct digitizing or synthesing of 1GHz arbitrary broadband waveforms directly in the high IF region closer to the Antenna.