Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation Design in Information Systems Research: Example of Studying IT Value Cocreation with NK Model

As an emerging research method that has showed promising potential in several research disciplines, simulation received relatively few attention in information systems research. This paper illustrates a framework for employing simulation to study IT value cocreation. Although previous studies identified factors driving IT value cocreation, its underlying process remains unclear. Simulation can address this limitation through exploring such underlying process with computational experiments. The simulation framework in this paper is based on an extended NK model. Agent-based modeling is employed as the theoretical basis for the NK model extensions.
FPGA implementation of autocorrelation-based feature detector for cognitive radio

Cognitive radio is an emerging technology in communication systems. Cognitive radios aim to relief the shortage of spectral resources by identifying and exploiting underutilized radio spectrum. A key task of the cognitive radio is spectrum sensing in order to find free spectrum and detect licensed spectrum user transmissions. In this paper, an FPGA implementation of a feature detector for OFDM-based primary user signals is presented. The detection algorithm, that was originally presented in , is modified in order to achieve power and area efficient hardware realization. The algorithm is implemented in an FPGA evaluation environment, and the performance is verified in simulation.
A Comprehensive Proteomics and Transcriptomics Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Salt Stress Adaptation

ABSTRACT In its natural habitats, Bacillus subtilis is exposed to changing osmolarity, necessitating adaptive stress responses. Transcriptomic and proteomic approaches can provide a picture of the dynamic changes occurring in salt-stressed B. subtilis cultures because these studies provide an unbiased view of cells coping with high salinity. We applied whole-genome microarray technology and metabolic labeling, combined with state-of-the-art proteomic techniques, to provide a global and time-resolved picture of the physiological response of B. subtilis cells exposed to a severe and sudden osmotic upshift. This combined experimental approach provided quantitative data for 3,961 mRNA transcription profiles, 590 expression profiles of proteins detected in the cytosol, and 383 expression profiles of proteins detected in the membrane fraction. Our study uncovered a well-coordinated induction of gene expression subsequent to an osmotic upshift that involves large parts of the SigB, SigW, SigM, and SigX regulons. Additionally osmotic upregulation of a large number of genes that do not belong to these regulons was observed. In total, osmotic upregulation of about 500 B. subtilis genes was detected. Our data provide an unprecedented rich basis for further in-depth investigation of the physiological and genetic responses of B. subtilis to hyperosmotic stress.
Differential Properties of GTP‐ and Ca2+‐Stimulated Exocytosis from Large Dense Core Vesicles

Many cells utilize a GTP‐dependent pathway to trigger exocytosis in addition to Ca2+‐triggered exocytosis. However, little is known about the mechanism by which GTP triggers exocytosis independent of Ca2+. We used dual‐color evanescent field microscopy to compare the motion and fusion of large dense core vesicles stimulated by either mastoparan (Mas) in Ca2+‐free conditions or high K+ in the presence of Ca2+. We demonstrate that Mas is hardly effective in triggering the fusion of the predocked vesicles but predominantly mobilizes cytosolic vesicles. In contrast, Ca2+‐dependent exocytosis is largely due to predocked vesicles. Fusion kinetics analysis and carbon‐fiber amperometry reveal that Mas induces a brief ‘kiss‐and‐run’ fusion and releases only a small amount of the cargo, whereas Ca2+ stimulates a more persistent opening of the fusion pore and larger release of the contents. Furthermore, we show that Mas‐released vesicles require a much shorter time to reach fusion competence once they approach the plasma membrane. Our data suggest the involvement of different mechanisms not only in triggering and fusion but also in the docking and priming process for Ca2+‐ and GTP‐dependent exocytosis.
Classification of dragon-king phases in preferential attachment and failure models

A new case of a preferential attachment model is considered. The probability that an already existing node in a network acquires a link to a new node is proportional to the product of its intrinsic fitness and its degree. We enrich this already known model by preferential deletion, which removes nodes at random with probability proportional to their fitness to some exponent. Under `normal' conditions, the resulting node degree distribution is an asymptotic power-law (scale-free regime). We derive an exact condition for a phase transition after which one or a few nodes capture a finite fraction of all links in the infinite networks (dragon-king regime). By approximately `parametrizing' the space of fitness distributions through the beta-density, we then show phase-diagrams that separate the two regimes.
Data Flow and Data Structure Modeling for Database Requirements Determination: A Comparative Study

This study investigated, in an experimental setting, the existence, nature and causes of the differences in the completeness of logical data specifications generated by professional systems analysts having training and experience in the use of one of two modeling approaches. The approach used primarily modeled either the data flows or the data structure of an object system. The systems analysts were asked to analyze a case and to generate logical file specifications which were evaluated for completeness. The results of the study indicate that the data structure analysts produced logical data specifications which contained a greater number of entity views and attributes than those of the data flow analysts. Data flow analysts had greater difficulty with the concepts involved in specifying logical data specifications and consequently derived less complete data specifications than data structure analysts.
Prospective Study of Symptom Assessment Among Patients With Cervical Cancer During Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy With Weekly Cisplatin or Every-3-Week Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil

Purpose In this prospective study, symptoms were assessed in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CTRT) with either weekly cisplatin (WP) or every-3-week cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (PF). Materials and Methods Patients with 1994 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIB to IVA disease, biopsy-proven involved pelvic nodes, or gross tumor size greater than 5 cm were eligible. Patients requiring paraaortic radiotherapy were excluded. With the use of a modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, patients reported symptom severity on an 11-point scale 3 times per week during CTRT and at the first follow-up. The Wilcoxon rank sum test and multilevel mixed-effects linear regression were used to assess the effect of chemotherapy regimen on symptoms. Results Among the 52 patients included in the final analysis, 37 received WP, 13 received PF, and 2 received 1 cycle of PF followed by WP. Overall compliance with completion of Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale questionnaires was 75%. There were significant differences in symptom scores for well-being, anorexia, fatigue, diarrhea, and stomatitis favoring the WP regimen. All symptoms except diarrhea were stable and of low intensity in the WP group. In the PF group, symptoms had a cyclical pattern with an initial rise followed by a gradual fall during the 3-week period after chemotherapy. For the 29 patients (56%) who completed the follow-up surveys, scores for all symptoms improved to baseline levels 4 to 6 weeks after treatment. Conclusions This analysis provides important patient-reported data regarding the rates and timing of acute symptoms during CTRT that can help clinicians better manage symptoms that impact patients’ quality of life.
Cosmesis following complete local excision of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND With the establishment of the safety of breast conservation in early breast cancer, cosmesis has become an increasingly important end-point of treatment. The aim of the present study was to establish a model to assess breast cosmesis after complete local excision and to assess cosmesis achieved in patients who had surgery using the seroma technique. METHODS A total of 42 patients were retrospectively reviewed and assessed by independent clinical assessment by a surgeon, structured questionnaire and clinical photography. RESULTS A total of 86% of patients were rated by surgeon and patient as having a good or excellent cosmetic outcome. There was a high degree of concordance between independent clinical assessment and clinical photographic analysis. CONCLUSIONS A model has been established for the assessment of breast cosmesis; the technique of seroma formation without reconstruction of the defect results in good or excellent cosmesis in the majority of patients.
Pore‐forming activity is not sufficient for Legionella pneumophila phagosome trafficking and intracellular growth

Bacterial pathogens often subvert eukaryotic cellular processes in order to establish a replicative niche and evade host immunity. Inhibition of phagosome lysosome fusion is a strategy used by several intracellular bacteria that grow within mammalian cells. It was shown recently that Legionella pneumophila possesses a cytolytic activity that results from the insertion of pores in the macrophage membrane upon contact, and that this activity requires the dot/icm gene products, which are necessary for intracellular growth and phagosome trafficking. Other bacteria that inhibit phagosome lysosome fusion, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, demonstrate similar cytolytic activities, which suggests that formation of pores in the phagosome membrane may account for the defects observed in phagosome trafficking. In this study, we identify a new class of L. pneumophila mutant that retains the pore‐forming activity found in virulent bacteria, but is defective in phagosome lysosome fusion inhibition and intracellular growth. These data indicate that cytolytic activity is not sufficient for L. pneumophila‐induced alterations in phagosome trafficking. Rather, the pore may be a vehicle that facilitates delivery of bacterial‐derived effector molecules to the host cell cytoplasm.
The relative importance of architecture and resource competition in allocation to pollen and ovule number within inflorescences of Hosta ventricosa varies with the resource pools.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Allocation of resources to floral traits often declines distally within inflorescences in flowering plants. Architecture and resource competition have been proposed as underlying mechanisms. The aim of the present study is to assess the relative importance of resource competition and architectural effects in pollen and ovule production on racemes of Hosta ventricosa, an apomictic perennial herb. METHODS Combinations of two defoliation treatments (intact and defoliated) and two fruit-set treatments (no-fruit and fruit) were created, and the roles of architecture and resource competition at each resource level were assessed. KEY RESULTS Pollen and ovule number per flower increased after defoliation, but pollen to ovule ratio per flower did not change. Pollen, ovules and the pollen to ovule ratio per flower declined distally on racemes at each resource level. In the intact treatment, fruit development of early flowers did not affect either pollen or ovule number of late flowers. In the defoliated treatment, fruit development of early flowers reduced both pollen and ovule numbers of late flowers due to over-compensation caused by defoliation. Late flowers on defoliated fruit racemes produced less pollen than intact fruit racemes but the same number of ovules; therefore, the reduction in pollen number was not caused by over-compensation. In addition, the fruit-set rate of early flowers during flowering was higher in intact racemes than in defoliated racemes. CONCLUSIONS In flowering plants, the relative importance of architecture and resource competition in allocation to pollen and ovules may vary with the resource pools or the overall resource availability of maternal plants.
Irisin, an exercise‐induced myokine as a metabolic regulator: an updated narrative review

Irisin, as a new hormone‐like myokine, is discovered in the presence of exercise‐induced peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator‐1‐alpha (PGC‐1α). Which substance plays an important role in energy metabolism in each organ in the body and the regulation of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. The finding of irisin can contribute to the exploration of the novel and effective therapeutic targets or therapeutic strategies of these metabolic diseases or metabolism‐associated health issues. To date, little is known regarding the functions and regulatory mechanisms of irisin with respect to metabolic diseases or metabolism‐associated health issues. In this narrative review article, we systematically introduce its structural characteristics, production and distribution in tissues and organs, and the regulation and corresponding mechanisms for metabolic diseases or metabolism‐associated health issues of irisin. Meanwhile, its future prospects and the development of irisin‐related products for the promotion of human health have also been proposed, which will benefit future research and application of irisin. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Virtualness and Knowledge in Teams: Managing the Love Triangle of Organizations, Individuals, and Information Technology

Information technology can facilitate the dissemination of knowledge across the organization-even to the point of making virtual teams a viable alternative to face-to-face work. However, unless managed, the combination of information technology and virtual work may serve to change the distribution of different types of knowledge across individuals, teams, and the organization. Implications include the possibility that information technology plays the role of a jealous mistress when it comes to the development and ownership of valuable knowledge in organizations; that is, information technology may destabilize the relationship between organizations and their employees when it comes to the transfer of knowledge. The paper advances theory and informs practice by illustrating the dynamics of knowledge development and transfer in more and less virtual teams.
Hybrid Electrochemical Power Sources for Onboard Applications

In this paper, the performance of a hybrid ultracapacitor and battery power source for onboard applications is examined. First, the behavior of the system is shown by means of a nonlinear analytical model, which is solved using a double time scale procedure; then, the performances of the source is experimentally validated through an 80-V prototype. In light of the interaction between the battery and ultracapacitor during the provision of a pulsing load, issues related to power peak, internal loss, and lifecycle are discussed. The aim of this paper is to define the design criteria for battery and ultracapacitor integration in compact and light systems.
Signal pattern recognition, hidden markov modeling and traffic flow modeling filters applied in existing signaling of cellular networks for vehicle volume estimation

Location Based Services is a new category of services for mobile phone users which is based on mobile phone location. Different techniques have been pro posed for estimating the exact location of mobile phones but existing limitations due to cost, accuracy and network coverage have lead to experimental techniques that appear promising. Such a technique is based on signal load existing in cellular networks. The position estimation is based on the comparison between the prediction of the radio level of the area and the measured uplink and downlink patterns elicited from the received signal level indicator RXLEV. Necessary filtering by Hidden Markov modeling and Road Traffic modeling can result vehicle volume information and thus been able to produce traffic report as a Location Based Service.
Involvement of IQGAP family proteins in the regulation of mammalian cell cytokinesis

IQGAP family proteins, comprising IQGAP1, ‐2, and ‐3 in mammals, are involved in diverse ranges of cellular processes such as adhesion and migration. IQGAP proteins in yeast also play important roles in cytokinesis. However, the involvement of IQGAP proteins in cytokinesis in mammals remains unaddressed. In this study, we showed that IQGAP3 specifically localized to the equatorial cortex at anaphase, whereas IQGAP1 localized to the cell cortex uniformly and IQGAP2 was unexpressed in HeLa cells. IQGAP3, but neither IQGAP1 nor ‐2, was able to interact with anillin, which was required for the localization of IQGAP3 to the contractile ring. The suppressed expression of IQGAP3 inhibited the completion of cleavage furrow ingression and led to the multinucleation of cells. The suppression of IQGAP1 also had similar inhibitory effects on cytokinesis, and the simultaneous suppression of IQGAP1 and ‐3 induced more severe effects. The localization of anillin and RhoA to the contractile ring was impaired by the suppression of IQGAP1 and ‐3, whereas their upstream regulators, the centralspindlin complex and Ect2, remained unaffected. These results suggested that mammalian IQGAP proteins may play a role in cytokinesis by regulating the localization of key cytokinesis regulatory proteins to the contractile apparatus during mitosis.
ON AN IMPROVED SOFT SWITCHED CLLL DC / DC CONVERTER

A full-bridge CLLL DC/DC converter that uses an auxiliary circuit is proposed in this paper. The soft switching of lagging leg and auxiliary switches is achieved by the proposed circuit for providing reduced switching losses and high efficiency. The theoretical detail operation of the converter is presented. The proposed converter is verified using MATLAB simulation. Closed loop and open loop circuit models are presented for input step change and output load regulation. A prototype of the proposed DC/DC converter is implemented in MATLAB with switching frequency of 20 KHz and output power of 15 W. The performance of the converter is compared with a conventional full-bridge DC/DC converter.
Approaches to identify genes for complex human diseases: Lessons from Mendelian disorders

The focus of most molecular genetics research is the identification of genes involved in human disease. In the 20th century, genetics progressed from the rediscovery of Mendel's Laws to the identification of nearly every Mendelian genetic disease. At this pace, the genetic component of all complex human diseases could be identified by the end of the 21st century, and rational therapies could be developed. However, it is clear that no one approach will identify the genes for all diseases with a genetic component, because multiple mechanisms are involved in altering human phenotypes, including common alleles with small to moderate effects, rare alleles with moderate to large effects, complex gene–gene and gene–environment interactions, genomic alterations, and noninherited genetic effects. The knowledge gained from the study of Mendelian diseases may be applied to future research that combines linkage‐based, association‐based, and sequence‐based approaches to detect most disease alleles. The technology to complete these studies is at hand and requires that modest improvements be applied on a wide scale. Improved analytical tools, phenotypic characterizations, and functional analyses will enable complete understanding of the genetic basis of complex diseases. Hum Mutat 22:261–274, 2003. Published © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Variable Stars in Galactic Globular Clusters

Based on a search of the literature up to 2001 May, the number of known variable stars in Galactic globular clusters is approximately 3000. Of these, more than 2200 have known periods and the majority (approximately 1800) are of the RR Lyrae type. In addition to the RR Lyrae population, there are approximately 100 eclipsing binaries, 120 SX Phoenicis variables, 60 Cepheids (including Population II Cepheids, anomalous Cepheids and RV Tauri), and 120 SR/red variables. The mean period of the fundamental mode RR Lyrae variables is 0.585 days, for the overtone variables it is 0.342 days (0.349 days for the first-overtone pulsators and 0.296 days for the second-overtone pulsators) and approximately 30% are overtone pulsators. These numbers indicate that about 65% of RR Lyrae variables in Galactic globular clusters belong to Oosterhoff type I systems. The mean period of the RR Lyrae variables in the Oosterhoff type I clusters seems to be correlated with metal abundance in the sense that the periods are longer in the more metal poor clusters. Such a correlation does not exist for the Oosterhoff type II clusters. Most of the Cepheids are in clusters with blue horizontal branches.
Channel strategy: Formulation and adaptation

Inspired by open systems theories like the structural contingency theory (Lawrence and Lorsch 1967), population ecology theory (Hannan and Freeman 1977), and resource dependence theory (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978), several marketing scholars have investigated how channels adapt and organize themselves to cope with their environments. Curiously, however, the implication of such adaptive behaviour (i.e., the better adapted firms are more profitable) has not been investigated in the marketing literature. This paper aims to probe that question. Moreover, unlike previous marketing studies, we articulate the manufacturer's rather than the distributor's point-of-view, because channel strategy decisions are usually in the manufacturer's domain. We scrutinize firms' adaptive responses from a channel structure and channel task perspective. Results show that the better adapted firms deliver superior performance, and that the adaptive responses often occur subtly at the specific channel task level even when the channel structure itself may appear seemingly unaltered.
Effects of losartan on vasomotor function and canonical transient receptor potential channels in the aortas of sinoaortic denervation rats

ABSTRACT Increased short-term blood pressure variability (BPV) is strongly correlated with target organ damage. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal BPV-induced organ damage and effective therapeutic targets are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of losartan on vasomotor function and canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels in the aortas of rats with arterial pressure lability induced by sinoaortic denervation (SAD). SAD was performed in male Sprague-Dawley rats at the age of 10 weeks. The experiment included sham-operated (Sham), SAD, and losartan-treated SAD (SAD+Los) groups. After 8 weeks of treatment, hemodynamic parameters were measured via catheterization, thoracic aortic vasomotor functions were evaluated using a physiological vascular ring tension recording system, and TRPC1 and 6 mRNA and protein expression levels in the endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of the thoracic aorta were determined via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western-blotting, respectively. Compared with Sham rats, SAD rats exhibited significantly increased BPV, enhanced norepinephrine-induced aortic contraction, and attenuated acetylcholine-induced aortic relaxation. Both the mRNA and the protein expression levels of TRPC1 and 6 were significantly downregulated in the ECs and upregulated in the SMCs of the thoracic aortas of SAD rats. Losartan treatment prevented these SAD-induced changes. In conclusion, losartan efficiently prevented vasomotor function impairment in SAD rats by reducing BPV and regulating TRPC1 and 6 expression levels.