Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TQM and innovation performance in manufacturing SMEs: the mediating effect of job satisfaction

This paper outlines the critical role of employees' job satisfaction in the link between TQM and innovation performance. The discussion arises primarily based on the considerable controversy concerning this relationship that appears in the literature. As of interest to resolve this controversy, a research framework is developed in which job satisfaction acts as the mediator between TQM and firm's innovation performance. The empirical findings from a survey of 90 manufacturing SMEs in Greece confirmed that job satisfaction exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between TQM and innovation. A TQM approach which emphasizes mainly to “soft” issues such as continuous training, performance-based rewards, teamwork and empowerment is necessary to foster job satisfaction that is conducive to innovation. Furthermore, ”hard” TQM elements such as process and quality management, and information analysis facilitate at a lesser degree firm's innovativeness only through job satisfaction.
Cutting Edge: Cross-Presentation as a Mechanism for Efficient Recruitment of Tumor-Specific CTL to the Brain 1

The number and localization of effector cells to the tumor site are crucial elements for immune rejection of solid tumors. However, for cerebral malignancies, antitumor responses need to be finely tuned to avoid neuropathologic consequences. In this study, we determine factors that regulate CTL localization and tumoricidal function after intracerebral implantation of tumors expressing model Ag. H-2bxd mice implanted with a CW3+ murine glioma lacking H-2Kd molecules necessary to present the CW3170–179 epitope demonstrate cross-priming of H-2Kd-restricted CTL, and moreover, Ag-dependent accumulation of functional H-2Kd/CW3170–179-specific CTL within the tumor bed. This implicates a role for cross-presentation not only in priming, but also in retention of fully differentiated CTL in the tumor stroma at the effector stage of the response. Modulating cross-presentation of Ag may be the key in regulating specific immune responses in the brain: either by augmenting protective responses or by down-modulating destructive autoimmune reactions.
The Most Effective Way of Delivering a Train‐the‐Trainers Program: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Previous literature has shown that multifaceted, interactive interventions may be the most effective way to train health and social care professionals. A Train‐the‐Trainer (TTT) model could incorporate all these components. We conducted a systematic review to determine the overall effectiveness and optimal delivery of TTT programs. Methods: We searched 15 databases. Reference lists and online resources were also screened. Studies with an objective follow‐up measure collected over 1 week after the intervention were included. The intervention had to be based on a TTT model for health and social care professionals. Results: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. TTT interventions varied greatly, ranging from didactic presentations to group discussions and role‐plays. The heterogeneity of the studies and limited data prevented metaanalysis. A narrative review found that the TTT programs in 13 studies helped to increase knowledge, improve clinical behavior, or produce better patient outcomes. One study showed no effect. Three studies showed possible effect and one study showed that a CD‐ROM training method was more effective than a TTT training method in improving participants' knowledge. Ratings of the studies' methodologies suggested moderate risk of bias, which limits interpretation of the results. Discussion: There is evidence that using a blended learning approach to deliver TTT programs—combining different techniques such as interactive, multifaceted methods and accompanying learning materials—can help to effectively disseminate and implement guidelines and curricula to health and social care professionals. However, further research is needed to determine the optimum “blend” of techniques.
Spine Computed Tomography Doses and Cancer Induction

Study Design. Computer modeling using patient computed tomography (CT) exposure data. Objective. To adequately consent patients, radiation dose needs to be converted into a relative risk of inducing a cancer. This article estimates different radiation doses and their relative risk of inducing a cancer from spine CT. Summary of Background Data. There has been a marked increase in imaging, particularly CT, and medical exposures make up the majority of background radiation. There is little in the literature about radiation does form spine radiograph and CT imaging. Method. Based on Monte Carlo simulations and the use of software designed for CT dosimetry, the anatomic region of the spine was mapped onto a mathematical phantom. The routine CT protocol was applied with corrections made to reflect the variation in radiation exposure along the length of the spine, resulting from automatic exposure control. The effective dose was calculated for each protocol and the relative risk of cancer induction calculated. Results. Risk ratio for inducing a cancer when CT scanning the whole lumbar spine was about 1 in 3200, which was much less than the risk of CTing the whole dorsal spine (about 1 in 1800) due to the longer coverage required and the anatomic implications of scanning in the region of the cervical dorsal junction. Quantitative CT of the lumbar spine is a low dose technique with estimated effective dose about 0.1 mSv with an estimated cancer risk of 1 in 200,000 compared to a typical chest radiograph estimated effective dose of 0.02 mSv, which gives a relative risk of causing cancer of about 1 in 1,000,000. Undertaking evaluation of the dorsal and lumbar markedly reduces the amount of radiation and therefore reduces the risk, for instance the estimated effective dose of CT from L3 to L5 is about 3.5 mSv, with an estimated cancer risk of 1 in 5200. Conclusion. Precise CT technique of the spine, covering the smallest area necessary to answer the clinical question, has a dramatic effect on the estimated cancer risk for individual patient. Cancer risks are summative, so spine CT imaging needs to be considered in the light of the total radiation risk to the patient over their lifetime.
Assessment of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Abstract The optimal treatment for localized prostate tumours remains unknown. The standard curative options (radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy) are not free of significant complications and risks. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) appears to be an alternative. It is currently used as primary treatment for patients with localized prostate cancer T Nö-x M0, mostly low and intermediate risk, not suitable for surgery and as salvage treatment for locally proven recurrence of prostate cancer after curative therapy. In Belgium, it is estimated that about 730 patients (0.8% of all new prostate cancer patients) were treated with this new technology at 4 hospitals in the years 2000 to 2008. Given the increasing use of HIFU, this study was conducted to assess the current evidence supporting the effectiveness and safety of HIFU and to examine its role in the management of prostate cancer. A standard literature review showed that there is currently not sufficient evidence to support routine use of this new treatment modality. In order to obtain FDA approval, two multicentric non-randomized controlled trials comparing HIFU with cryotherapy and brachytherapy have been started in the US and are now recruiting patients. Until more evidence becomes available, KCE recommends to limit the use of HIFU treatment to study setting. Future research is recommended in the form of comparative studies, preferably randomized controlled trials.
Enseignement de l'informatique et contextualisation scolaire

L'importance du contexte general d'apprentissage a ete relevee depuis bien des annees dans des domaines tels que l'apprentissage cooperatif, la dialectique de l'interaction maitre - eleve, ainsi que dans les courants lies a la pedagogie de la maitrise et du projet. Ces apports se retrouvent actuellement dans les differents courants des sciences de l'education, qu'ils soient issus de la didactique critique-constructiviste, de celle basee sur les theories de l'apprentissage, ou encore dans la didactique critique et communicative. Pourtant, dans l'enseignement de l'informatique, cette question est trop souvent negligee. Comme le souligne G. De Landsheere, « Quelle place fait reellement l'enseignement de l'informatique a une methodologie generale nourrie des acquis actuels des sciences de l'education ? » ; cette question reste ouverte.
IMPROVED NEURAL NETWORK TRAINING ALGORITHM FOR CLASSIFICATION OF COMPRESSED AND UNCOMPRESSED IMAGES

For managing data in a smart card’s limited memory, containing medical and biometric images, images compression is resorted to. For image retrieval, it is necessary that the classification algorithm be efficient to search and locate the image in a compressed doma in. This study proposes a novel training algorithm for Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) to c lassify compressed images. MLP-NN is used for image classification. The most common training algo rithm is Error Back Propagation algorithm (EBP) wit h a very poor convergence rate. Other second order ap pro ches including Levenberg-Marquardt method and conjugate gradient method are better to train neura l networks. This study proposes an improved trainin g algorithm based on Levenberg-Marquardt method for N eural Network.
Speaker verification: minimizing the channel effects using autoassociative neural network models

The characteristics of the telephone channel and handset have a significant effect on the performance of speaker verification systems. The channel/handset mismatch between the training and testing data degrades the performance of speaker verification systems. In this paper, we show that the autoassociative neural network (AANN) models can be used to minimize the effects of channel characteristics on the performance of a text-independent speaker verification system. This paper also compares two approaches to represent the background model for an AANN based speaker verification system.
Adherence of Staphylococcus epidermidis to Biomaterials Is Augmented by PIA

Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most common cause of orthopaedic prosthetic device infections. Polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) is important in the pathogenesis of intravascular catheter-associated infection, and has an essential role in cellular aggregation and biofilm formation. However, the role of PIA in orthopaedic infections is less well understood. We used genetically defined strains of S. epidermidis in an in vitro adherence assay to assess the importance of PIA in the adherence to various orthopaedic biomaterials. On all biomaterials tested (zirconia, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, cobalt chromium, titanium, stainless steel, and silastic), PIA-positive S. epidermidis 1457 exhibited greater levels of adherence thanS. epidermidis 1457 M10, an isogenic icaA Tn917 mutant. PIA appears to play a critical role in the adherence of S. epidermidis to orthopaedic biomaterials, and may serve as an important virulence determinant in orthopaedic prosthetic device infections.
Field emission behaviour of carbon nanotubes embedded into anodic alumina pores on metal oxide catalists

Thin nanoporous alumina films were grown on n-type Si wafers by anodizing sputtered-deposited Al/Ti layers to prepare matrix of metal oxide catalysts with contact interface - Al2O3/TiO2/Ti/n-Si for later synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTpsilas) in the alumina pores. CNTpsilas were grown by CVD in the presence of ferrocene catalyst. Measurements of field emission properties of the CNTpsilas in anodic alumina were performed in the direct and pulsed current modes. The onset voltage and the field enhancement factor beta were calculated for each mode.
Augmented reality using a 3D motion capturing suit

In the paper, we propose an approach that immerses the human user in an Augmented Reality (AR) environment with the use of an inertial motion capturing suit and a Head Mounted Displays system. The proposed approach allows for full body interaction with the AR environment in real-time and it does not require the use of any markers or cameras.
Failure of Anticoagulant Thromboprophylaxis: Risk Factors in Medical-Surgical Critically Ill Patients*

Objectives:To identify risk factors for failure of anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis in critically ill patients in the ICU. Design:Multivariable regression analysis of thrombosis predictors from a randomized thromboprophylaxis trial. Setting:Sixty-seven medical-surgical ICUs in six countries. Patients:Three thousand seven hundred forty-six medical-surgical critically ill patients. Interventions:All patients received anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin or unfractionated heparin at standard doses. Measurements and Main Results:Independent predictors for venous thromboembolism, proximal leg deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism developing during critical illness were assessed. A total of 289 patients (7.7%) developed venous thromboembolism. Predictors of thromboprophylaxis failure as measured by development of venous thromboembolism included a personal or family history of venous thromboembolism (hazard ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.03–2.59; p = 0.04) and body mass index (hazard ratio, 1.18 per 10-point increase; 95% CI, 1.04–1.35; p = 0.01). Increasing body mass index was also a predictor for developing proximal leg deep vein thrombosis (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.06–1.46; p = 0.007), which occurred in 182 patients (4.9%). Pulmonary embolism occurred in 47 patients (1.3%) and was associated with body mass index (hazard ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.02–1.83; p = 0.035) and vasopressor use (hazard ratio, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.01–3.35; p = 0.046). Low-molecular-weight heparin (in comparison to unfractionated heparin) thromboprophylaxis lowered pulmonary embolism risk (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27–0.95; p = 0.034) while statin use in the preceding week lowered the risk of proximal leg deep vein thrombosis (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.27–0.77; p = 0.004). Conclusions:Failure of standard thromboprophylaxis using low-molecular-weight heparin or unfractionated heparin is more likely in ICU patients with elevated body mass index, those with a personal or family history of venous thromboembolism, and those receiving vasopressors. Alternate management or incremental risk reduction strategies may be needed in such patients.
Association of the functional SNP rs2275294 in ZNF512B with risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease in Han Chinese

The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2275294 of the ZNF512B gene has been reported to be associated with a risk of ALS in the Japanese population. Here we conducted a case-control study examining the possible association of rs2275294 with risk of sporadic ALS and PD in Han Chinese. Our study included 301 patients with ALS and 457 age- and gender-matched controls, as well as 555 patients with PD and 473 age- and gender-matched controls. Subjects were genotyped at rs2275293 using the ligase detection reaction. The genotype distribution of rs2275294 shows significant difference between patients with ALS and the control group according to the dominant model (OR 1.518, 95% CI 1.074–2.145, p = 0.018) and based on alleles (OR 1.249, 95% 1.016–1.534, p = 0.035). Stratification analysis showed a significant difference between females with ALS and female controls based on the dominant model (OR 3.285, 95% CI 1.856–5.815, p < 0.001) or alleles (OR 1.697, 95% CI 1.208–2.383, p = 0.002). In contrast, no significant differences were identified between rs2275294 and patients with PD. In conclusion, our case-control study suggests that the CC genotype and C allele at rs2275294 are associated with increased risk of ALS in Han Chinese, particularly females.
Negative Predictive Value of IL28B, SLC28A2, and CYP27B1 SNPs and Low RBV Plasma Exposure for Therapeutic Response to PEG/IFN-RBV Treatment

Objectives: The response rate to treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus-genotype 1 and 4 infections was recently found to be strongly influenced by many polymorphisms. The aim of our study was to carry out an integrated analysis of the effects of polymorphisms and ribavirin (RBV) plasma exposure on outcome. Methods: The retrospective analysis included 174 patients. IL28B, CYP27B1, SLC29A1, SLC28A3, and SLC28A2 polymorphisms were genotyped and tested for association with sustained virological response. The impact of RBV plasma exposure during the first 3 months of therapy on outcome was also investigated. Results: Considering patients infected by hepatitis C virus-1/4, 3 polymorphisms (IL28B rs8099917TT, CYP27B1 rs4646536TT, and CNT2 rs11854484TT) were associated with sustained virological response. The number of negative variant allele and low RBV exposure were correlated to percentage increasing to therapy failure, suggesting some degree of cumulative effect of the 4 factors. A cutoff of 2.5 &mgr;g/mL of RBV was found to be associated with outcome (area under ROC [AUROC] curve = 0.64, sensitivity = 55.0%, and speciﬁcity = 71.2%, P = 0.020). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, each variant allele and RBV plasma exposure cutoff were independently associated with outcome. Conclusions: In this study, we found that additional polymorphisms and RBV plasma exposure are also able to influence the achievement of response. Regardless of the magnitude of RBV pharmacokinetic exposure, the negative predictive value of the polymorphisms here investigated is much stronger than the positive one.
Estimates of the number of US women who could benefit from tamoxifen for breast cancer chemoprevention.

BACKGROUND The Breast Cancer Prevention Trial demonstrated that tamoxifen treatment produced a 49% reduction in the risk of invasive breast cancer among women at elevated risk for the disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) subsequently approved tamoxifen for women aged 35 years or older with a 5-year breast cancer risk of 1.67% or higher for breast cancer chemoprevention. However, tamoxifen use has been associated with adverse outcomes, and not all eligible women have a positive benefit/risk ratio. METHODS We used weighted data from the year 2000 National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Module to estimate the total number of U.S. women, aged 35-79 years, who were eligible for tamoxifen chemoprevention based on the FDA eligibility criteria. We also estimated the numbers of white and black women who would benefit from tamoxifen chemoprevention on the basis of a positive benefit/risk index developed by Gail et al. RESULTS Of the 65,826,074 women aged 35-79 years without reported breast cancer in the United States in 2000, 10,232 816 women (15.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 14.7% to 16.3%) would be eligible for tamoxifen chemoprevention. The percentage of U.S. women who would be eligible varied dramatically by race, with 18.7% (95% CI = 17.8% to 19.7%) of white women, 5.7% (95% CI = 4.3% to 7.5%) of black women, and 2.9% (95% CI = 2.1% to 3.9%) of Hispanic women being eligible. Of the 50,104,829 white U.S. women aged 35-79 years, 2,431,911 (4.9%, 95% CI = 4.3% to 5.4%) would have a positive benefit/risk index for tamoxifen chemoprevention. Of the 7,481,779 black U.S. women aged 35-79 years, only 42,768 (0.6%, 95% CI = 0.2% to 1.3%) would have a positive benefit/risk index. Among white women, 28,492 (95% CI = 24,693 to 32,292) breast cancers would be prevented or deferred if those women who have a positive net benefit index took tamoxifen over the next 5 years. CONCLUSION A substantial percentage of U.S. women would be eligible for tamoxifen chemoprevention according to FDA criteria, but a much smaller percentage would have an estimated net benefit. Nevertheless, this latter percentage corresponds to more than two million women.
Spelling Checker-based Language Identification for the Eleven Official South African Languages

Language identification is often the first step when compiling corpora from web pages or other unstructured sources. In this paper, an effective and accurate method for identification of all eleven official South African languages is presented. The method is based on reusing commercial spelling checkers and consists of a multi-stage architecture that is described in detail. We describe the implementation of our method, as well as an optimisation technique that was applied to reduce the processing time of the language identifier. Evaluation results indicate significant improvements over the accuracy figures obtained by a baseline system.
Influence of soak time and fish accumulation on catches of reef fishes in a multispecies trap survey

Catch rates from fishery-independent surveys often are assumed to vary in proportion to the actual abundance of a population, but this approach assumes that the catchability coefficient (q) is constant. When fish accumulate in a gear, the rate at which the gear catches fish can decline, and, as a result, catch asymptotes and q declines with longer fishing times. We used data from long-term trap surveys (1990–2011) in the southeastern U.S. Atlantic to determine whether traps saturated for 8 reef fish species because of the amount of time traps soaked or the level of fish accumulation (the total number of individuals of all fish species caught in a trap). We used a delta-generalized-additive model to relate the catch of each species to a variety of predictor variables to determine how catch was influenced by soak time and fish accumulation after accounting for variability in catch due to the other predictor variables in the model. We found evidence of trap saturation for all 8 reef fish species examined. Traps became saturated for most species across the range of soak times examined, but trap saturation occurred for 3 fish species because of fish accumulation levels in the trap. Our results indicate that, to infer relative abundance levels from catch data, future studies should standardize catch or catch rates with nonlinear regression models that incorporate soak time, fish accumulation, and any other predictor variable that may ultimately influence catch. Determination of the exact mechanisms that cause trap saturation is a critical need for accurate stock assessment, and our results indicate that these mechanisms may vary considerably among species.
Voice control of a powered wheelchair

Several researchers have described voice control mechanisms for a power wheelchair, but voice control has yet to become a commercially viable control alternative. One problem with voice control is that the voice's limited bandwidth renders it impossible to make frequent small adjustments to the wheelchair's velocity. One possible solution is to utilize voice control in combination with the navigation assistance provided by "Smart wheelchairs," which use sensors to identify and avoid obstacles in the wheelchair's path. This paper describes an experiment that compares the performance of able-bodied subjects using voice control to operate a power wheelchair both with and without navigation assistance.
Exact quantum theory of a time-dependent bound quadratic Hamiltonian system.

Using the path-integral method, the propagator, the wave function, and the expectation values are evaluated explicitly for a time-dependent bound quadratic Hamiltonian system. We also have derived the relation between the wave function and a dynamical invariant which determines whether or not the system is bound. The expectation value of the quantum-mechanical invariant obeys the uncertainty relation with an auxiliary condition as the solution of the classical equation of the system