Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical analysis of the relationship between Six Sigma management activities and corporate competitiveness

Purpose – This study proposes a research model to test whether Six Sigma‐based management activities improve corporate competitiveness in Samsung Group.Design/methodology/approach – The paper's model was validated and its hypotheses tested using structural equation model analysis.Findings – Empirical results showed that Six Sigma activities do indeed contribute to revitalized process management, improved quality, and, finally, lead to corporate competitiveness.Research limitations/implications – The survey data were collected at the individual level, such as GB, BB, MBB, and limited to the affiliated companies of Samsung Group. To obtain more meaningful results, data would be collected at the corporate level and the pool of subjects expanded. However, this paper shows that the four fundamental factors (CEO's will, Communication, Training, and Policy) as well as three substantial factors (Information Utilization, Standardization, and Promotion) are meaningful activities influencing the success of Six Sigma.
An investigation of the adoption and implementation of benchmarking

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use survey data collected from 453 respondents, from over 40 countries, to determine the current levels of use of benchmarking as an improvement technique. It identifies where and how benchmarking is implemented within organisations and compares the popularity of benchmarking against other improvement tools. Finally, it provides an evidence based opinion on whether benchmarking is a fad or an established management technique.Design/methodology/approach – An on‐line questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was translated into five languages and promoted by the Global Benchmarking Network, a network of benchmarking competency centres, representing 21 countries. The data were then analysed using SPSS statistical software.Findings – The analysis suggests that benchmarking (informal and formal) is used by a majority of organisations although best practice benchmarking is only used by a core minority. Benchmarking effectiveness compares favourably with .
The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and the Reinvention of Political Journalism

The boundaries between news and entertainment, and between public affairs and pop culture, have become difficult if not impossible to discern. At the intersection of those borders sits The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a hybrid blend of comedy, news, and political conversation that is difficult to pigeon hole. Although the program often is dismissed as being “fake” news, its significance for political communication may run much deeper. This study first locates The Daily Show within an emerging media environment defined by the forces of technological multiplication, economic consolidation, and discursive integration, a landscape in which “real” news is becoming increasingly harder to identify or define. It then offers an interpretive reading of the program that understands the show not as “fake news,” but as an experiment in journalism. It argues that the show uses techniques drawn from genres of news, comedy, and television talk to revive a journalism of critical inquiry and advance a model of deliberative democracy. Given the increasing popularity of the program, this essay concludes that The Daily Show has much to teach us about the possibilities of political journalism in the 21st century.
Differential Diagnosis of Lower Extremity Enlargement in Pediatric Patients Referred with a Diagnosis of Lymphedema

Background: There are many causes for a large lower limb in the pediatric age group. These children are often mislabeled as having lymphedema, and incorrect diagnosis can lead to improper treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the differential diagnosis in pediatric patients referred for lower extremity “lymphedema” and to clarify management. Methods: The authors' Vascular Anomalies Center database was reviewed between 1999 and 2010 for patients referred with a diagnosis of lymphedema of the lower extremity. Records were studied to determine the correct cause for the enlarged extremity. Alternative diagnoses, sex, age of onset, and imaging studies were also analyzed. Results: A referral diagnosis of lower extremity lymphedema was given to 170 children; however, the condition was confirmed in only 72.9 percent of patients. Forty-six children (27.1 percent) had another disorder: microcystic/macrocystic lymphatic malformation (19.6 percent), noneponymous combined vascular malformation (13.0 percent), capillary malformation (10.9 percent), Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (10.9 percent), hemihypertrophy (8.7 percent), posttraumatic swelling (8.7 percent), Parkes Weber syndrome (6.5 percent), lipedema (6.5 percent), venous malformation (4.3 percent), rheumatologic disorder (4.3 percent), infantile hemangioma (2.2 percent), kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (2.2 percent), or lipofibromatosis (2.2 percent). Age of onset in children with lymphedema was older than in patients with another diagnosis (p = 0.027). Conclusions: “Lymphedema” is not a generic term. Approximately one-fourth of pediatric patients with a large lower extremity are misdiagnosed as having lymphedema; the most commonly confused causes are other types of vascular anomalies. History, physical examination, and often radiographic studies are required to differentiate lymphedema from other conditions to ensure the child is managed appropriately.
SOA-conform modeling as a highlevel standard for discrete modeling and simulation

Today, there is no universal standard for discrete simulation. Models, created with leading simulation tools can not be exchanged between the systems. This results in very high investments and maintenance costs for simulation studies and some additional problems with portability and performance in large simulations. This paper discusses a new and powerful approach by using Service Oriented Architectures (SOA). The integration of SOA-interfaces in simulation systems connects them to the common IT infrastructure of ERP-systems, business process modeling systems and web-services. In addition, the SOA standards BPMN and BPEL are also capable for simulation modeling. So after 30 years without standards, the SOA technology can open a new chapter in discrete simulation.
Does low-dose acetylsalicylic acid prevent cognitive decline in women with high cardiovascular risk? A 5-year follow-up of a non-demented population-based cohort of Swedish elderly women

Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) influences the rate of cognitive change in elderly women. Design Prospective, population-based cohort study. Setting The city of Gothenburg, Sweden, including those living in private households as well as in residential care. Participants The sample was derived from the Prospective Population Study of Women and from the H70 Birth Cohort Study in Gothenburg, Sweden. Both samples were obtained from the Swedish Population Register, based on birth date, and included 789 (response rate 71%) women aged 70–92 years. After the exclusion of individuals with dementia and users of warfarin, clopidogrel or heparin at baseline, 681 women were examined. Among all participants, 95.4% (N=601) had a high cardiovascular risk (CVD), defined as 10% or higher 10-year risk of any CVD event according to the Framingham heart study and 129 used low-dose ASA (75–160 mg daily) at baseline. After 5 years a follow-up was completed by 489 women. Primary outcome and secondary outcome measures Cognitive decline and dementia incidence in relation to the use of low-dose ASA and cardiovascular risk factors. Cognition was measured using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), word fluency, naming ability and memory word tests. Dementia was diagnosed according to the DSM-III-R criterion. As secondary outcome incidence of stroke and peptic ulcer in relation to low-dose ASA use was studied. Results Women on regular low-dose ASA declined less on MMSE at follow-up than those not on ASA. This difference was even more pronounced in those who had ASA at both examinations (p=0.004 compared with never users; n=66 vs n=338). All other cognitive tests showed the same trends. There were no differences between the groups regarding short-term risk for dementia (N=41). Conclusion Low-dose ASA treatment may have a neuroprotective effect in elderly women at high cardiovascular risk.
Chemical reporters for fluorescent detection and identification of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins reveal glycosylation of the ubiquitin ligase NEDD4-1

The dynamic modification of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins by the monosaccharide N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) continues to emerge as an important regulator of many biological processes. Herein we describe the development of an alkynyl-modified GlcNAc analog (GlcNAlk) as a new chemical reporter of O-GlcNAc modification in living cells. This strategy is based on metabolic incorporation of reactive functionality into the GlcNAc biosynthetic pathway. When combined with the Cu(I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] azide-alkyne cycloaddition, this chemical reporter allowed for the robust in-gel fluorescent visualization of O-GlcNAc and affinity enrichment and identification of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins. Using in-gel fluorescence detection, we characterized the metabolic fates of GlcNAlk and the previously reported azido analog, GlcNAz. We confirmed previous results that GlcNAz can be metabolically interconverted to GalNAz, whereas GlcNAlk does not, thereby yielding a more specific metabolic reporter of O-GlcNAc modification. We also used GlcNAlk, in combination with a biotin affinity tag, to identify 374 proteins, 279 of which were not previously reported, and we subsequently confirmed the enrichment of three previously uncharacterized proteins. Finally we confirmed the O-GlcNAc modification of the ubiquitin ligase NEDD4-1, the first reported glycosylation of this protein.
Inferring pairwise regulatory relationships from multiple time series datasets

Motivation: Time series expression experiments have emerged as a popular method for studying a wide range of biological systems under a variety of conditions. One advantage of such data is the ability to infer regulatory relationships using time lag analysis. However, such analysis in a single experiment may result in many false positives due to the small number of time points and the large number of genes. Extending these methods to simultaneously analyze several time series datasets is challenging since under different experimental conditions biological systems may behave faster or slower making it hard to rely on the actual duration of the
Design thinking – a new mental model of value innovation

Purpose – As value innovation becomes a core top management concern, there is a growing recognition that “design thinking,” or the creative principles long associated with the design function, may now have something very significant to offer when applied more broadly to business management and strategy development. This paper aims to investigate this issue.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes the techniques of Roger Martin, one of design thinking's most widely recognized advocates. Martin introduces a set of concepts that are not familiar to most managers: the knowledge funnel, the distinction between reliability and validity, and abductive reasoning.Findings – Using case examples of leading companies such as Proctor & Gamble, the paper shows how they have developed a capacity for design thinking.Research limitations/implications – The paper presents case reports.Practical implications – The paper provides a detailed description of how Proctor & Gamble and its CEO A.G. Lafley introduced and imp.
Organizational culture for total quality management

This study aimed to find empirical evidence about the organisational culture that fits best with a total quality management (TQM) system. Based on the classification developed by Cameron and Quinn (1999), we propose an alternative type of culture: the ‘mixed culture’ or ‘culture for quality’, which would be between adhocratic and clan cultures. It would have a double orientation – external and internal – and it would promote flexibility. The results of an empirical study of 451 companies were analysed using hierarchical linear regression methodology. The measurement of constructs used in this research was based on a review of the literature. Empirical evidence was found for the positive impact of adhocratic culture on TQM. Contrary to expectations, the clan culture has no significant effect on TQM. In addition, the mixed culture or ‘culture for quality’ is the most appropriate for a TQM system. The expected effect of control-oriented cultures was also found. In this case, both the market culture and the hierarchical culture have a negative effect on the quality management system. Finally, it was found that TQM has a significant positive effect on business performance. This effect is consistent with the literature reviewed. Consequently, managers must know the rules, values and customs that actually exist in their organisations as well as those that are more consistent with quality management. Companies with a quality orientation should promote the values and beliefs of the clan and adhocracy cultures.
Urban construction archive submission system with WPF technology

With rapid development of urban construction, there are more and more urban construction archives, more and more types of construction archives. The traditional ways for submitting the urban construction archives, such as paper-based submission, disk-based submission and email-based submission, can't meet the much more complex demands. The shortage of paper-based way is that it can't be in time and that the submitted archives can't be used for building the digital database. In disk-based way, the paper documents normally are converted to electronic form and then submitted. But because of the delay of the disk delivery, the submission is also not in time. Email-based way improves the efficiency of submission. But because of the size limitation of email and its security shortage, this way can't meet complex submission. One solution for submitting the urban construction archives remotely is proposed to overcome above shortages based on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). WPF separates the presentation from its behavior, so that designers and developers can work at separate models. WPF possesses not only many characteristics of desktop applications, such as rich interactive ability, but also some special advantages, such as rapid and low-cost deployment. As one of efficient RIA technology, WPF supports both online and offline work and is very suitable to be based on for developing remote submission system. WebGIS is also used in the browser-based management information system of the urban construction archives to present the spatial information of the submitted archives. The system framework, and some technique details about data organization at client, data packaging at client, data transferring between client and web service, and WebGIS support in server system, are introduced. The developed software is now used by the Urban Construction Archives Agency of Shaoguan City and Zhenjiang City of China. The effects show it works very well.
A nonlinear heartbeat dynamics model approach for personalized emotion recognition

Emotion recognition based on autonomic nervous system signs is one of the ambitious goals of affective computing. It is well-accepted that standard signal processing techniques require relative long-time series of multivariate records to ensure reliability and robustness of recognition and classification algorithms. In this work, we present a novel methodology able to assess cardiovascular dynamics during short-time (i.e. <; 10 seconds) affective stimuli, thus overcoming some of the limitations of current emotion recognition approaches. We developed a personalized, fully parametric probabilistic framework based on point-process theory where heartbeat events are modelled using a 2nd-order nonlinear autoregressive integrative structure in order to achieve effective performances in short-time affective assessment. Experimental results show a comprehensive emotional characterization of 4 subjects undergoing a passive affective elicitation using a sequence of standardized images gathered from the international affective picture system. Each picture was identified by the IAPS arousal and valence scores as well as by a self-reported emotional label associating a subjective positive or negative emotion. Results show a clear classification of two defined levels of arousal, valence and self-emotional state using features coming from the instantaneous spectrum and bispectrum of the considered RR intervals, reaching up to 90% recognition accuracy.
Short-term forecasting of French GDP growth using dynamic factor models

In recent years, central banks and international organisations have been making ever greater use of factor models to forecast macroeconomic variables. We examine the performance of these models in forecasting French GDP growth over short horizons. The factors are extracted from a large data set of around one hundred variables including survey balances and real, financial, and international variables. An out-of-sample pseudo real-time evaluation over the past decade shows that factor models provide a gain in accuracy relative to the usual benchmarks. However, the forecasts remain inaccurate before the start of the quarter. We also show that the inclusion of international and financial variables can improve forecasts at the longest horizons.
Effects of social security on lifetime income distribution in Brazil

This paper considers the distributive effects of a very complex Pay-As-You-Go Scheme from a lifetime income approach, assessing the potential effect of different variables on the returns offered by the system. Using data on gender, residence and income level, a simulation was prepared to estimate the internal rates of return received by workers, considering not only sociodemographic and economic differences between social groups but the possibility of receiving benefits under alternative program rules. Our results indicate that workers retiring under the Old Age provisions (which grant retirement benefits to those who exceed a certain age, with very low contributions requirements) receive the best rates of return. Instead, most workers retiring under the Length of Service (which grants benefits after a number of years with contributions, regardless of age) receive rates of return much closer to market interest rates. The analysis indicates that women are in better position than men and the system appears to be progressive with respect to income distribution.
3D Two Spirals Separation Based upon Qualitative Mapping

Two spirals separation is an important non-linear recognition problem which can be used to test the function of artificial learning system. We design an intelligent method based on qualitative mapping and try to recognize 3D two spirals. The result of the computer based experiment indicates that the mode we use has the following merits: less learning samples, shorter learning time, faster recognition and higher recognizing rate. Also we discuss the value of the mode both in theory and commercial development.
Unique physiology of host–parasite interactions in microsporidia infections

Microsporidia are intracellular parasites of all major animal lineages and have a described diversity of over 1200 species and an actual diversity that is estimated to be much higher. They are important pathogens of mammals, and are now one of the most common infections among immunocompromised humans. Although related to fungi, microsporidia are atypical in genomic biology, cell structure and infection mechanism. Host cell infection involves the rapid expulsion of a polar tube from a dormant spore to pierce the host cell membrane and allow the direct transfer of the spore contents into the host cell cytoplasm. This intimate relationship between parasite and host is unique. It allows the microsporidia to be highly exploitative of the host cell environment and cause such diverse effects as the induction of hypertrophied cells to harbour prolific spore development, host sex ratio distortion and host cell organelle and microtubule reorganization. Genome sequencing has revealed that microsporidia have achieved this high level of parasite sophistication with radically reduced proteomes and with many typical eukaryotic pathways pared‐down to what appear to be minimal functional units. These traits make microsporidia intriguing model systems for understanding the extremes of reductive parasite evolution and host cell manipulation.
Identification, nucleotide sequence, and control of developmentally regulated promoters in the hook operon region of Caulobacter crescentus.

The major flagellar proteins, including the flagellins and the hook protein, are synthesized periodically in the Caulobacter crescentus cell cycle at the time of flagellum assembly. Although fla genes are regulated at the transcriptional level [Ohta, N. , Chen, L. -S. , Swanson, E. & Newton, A. (1985) J. Mol. Biol. 186, 107-115], the 5' regulatory regions of C. crescentus genes have not been identified. We describe here the results of nuclease S1 protection assays that map the 5' ends of mRNAs synthesized in vivo from transcription units II (hook operon) and II.1 of the hook gene cluster and locate the corresponding promoter regions PII and PII.1. The two promoters are regulated with different periodicities in the cell cycle and have different genetic requirements for expression. The failure to detect transcripts from either PI or PII in Escherichia coli suggests that developmentally regulated promoters of C. crescentus have different recognition sequences from those of E. coli. There is little nucleotide sequence homology between PII and PII.1. There are, however, three regions of homology between PII and the nucleotide sequence 5' to the 29-kDa-flagellin-related gene, and two of these are in regions of dyad symmetry. We discuss the possibility that DNA-protein interactions at homologous nucleotide sequences like those identified in PII are part of a regulatory gene cascade that participates in timing fla gene expression in the C. crescentus cell cycle.
Economic, Structural and Socio‐Psychological Determinants of Protests in Russia During 2011–2012

This empirical analysis is based on the latent variable framework to identify key determinants of protests in Russia during 2011–2012. We derive logistic regressions from the revolution constraints based on economic (the political Kuznets Curve) and socio‐psychological (grievance) theories of protest. Our findings suggest a positive linear relationship between income and income inequality, contradicting the Kuznets curve. Our estimations show that inequality, share of the poor, the relation of the governor's family income to the average family income, distance to Moscow and accumulated human capital increase the risk of protest, whereas transfers and subsidies decrease these risks.