Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Institutional factors and innovation diffusion: the diffusion of the Bookstart programme among township libraries in Taichung City, Taiwan

In this article, we analyse the comparative strengths of institutional factors associated with the decision of public organizations to adopt innovative programs. An institutional framework composed of regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive factors is developed for the purposes of analysis. The focus is on the decision of township libraries in Taiwan to adopt Bookstart. The data were collected from a primary survey of head librarians in Taichung County in 2011. The results show that the respondents’ perceptions of the institutional factors do not vary with their demographic characteristics. However, three factors had comparable effects on the decision to adopt the programme, and a descriptive analysis shows that professional values and norms received the highest scores. This may indicate that the respondents value Bookstart as a worthy cause because it assists preschool children and their parents. This article serves as a reminder that the characteristics of innovative policies are important when they are being diffused. The successful diffusion of a cultural policy such as Bookstart that conforms to mainstream values may critically depend on normative institutional factors.
Characteristics of a successful shared services centre in the Australian public sector

Purpose – Organisations are increasingly looking to establish shared services centres (SSCs) yet there is limited guidance available. The paper aims to propose a structured framework that will form the basis for identifying a series of characteristics associated with a successful SSC.Design/methodology/approach – Based upon Scott‐Morton's organisational framework a series of dimensions were proposed for the analysis of SSCs. A case study was then presented as a starting point for identifying specific characteristics along each dimension associated with a successful SSC.Findings – Based on the framework, a case study highlights characteristics associated with a successful SSC. Specifically, the SSC is given responsibility for demonstrably reducing costs through economies of scale and process improvement of multiple transaction‐oriented tasks. An enterprise resource planning system is seen as key to realising those savings. Use of the SSC is compulsory and charged for. SSC management feels they require a go.
Reurbanisation and its potential for the reduction of car use. An analysis of preferences of residence, activity – and travel pattern in the Oslo area

The generation of traffic as a consequence of the localisation of different services and functions in urban areas is an important factor in local land use and transport planning. In relation to planning for less road traffic without a reduction in the possibilities on different welfare arenas for the population, differences in preferences of residence, activity and travel patterns were studied in the Oslo metropolitan area. The methods used are focus group interviews, and postal questionnaire, sent to a random sample in a central area, a suburban area and a railway town. The net sample consists of 1900 persons. The type of area, with different access to various services, cultural institutions, employment and public transport, has an impact on which welfare arenas the population attend, where the activities are performed and the use of transport mode. In relation to the inhabitants opinions of qualities of the “good” or ideal city, planning ideals are discussed.
Different Worlds of Welfare Capitalism: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and Singapore

Since the ideologically coloured meaning of the 'welfare state', implying a massive level of redistribution and high government spending in the field of social policy, does not match the reality of a number of today's welfare state systems, especially outside Europe, this article examines the existence of at least eight different forms of welfare capitalism, i.e. welfare state systems, all represented by model countries. There are very distinct approaches to ensure high levels of social security, either by governmental welfare provision or welfare regulation, with or without redistribution of personal income.
Natural history of asymptomatic unruptured cerebral aneurysms evaluated at CT angiography: growth and rupture incidence and correlation with epidemiologic risk factors.

PURPOSE To characterize the relationship between aneurysm size and epidemiologic risk factors with growth and rupture by using computed tomographic (CT) angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this HIPAA-compliant, institutional review board approved study, patients with known asymptomatic unruptured intracerebral aneurysms were followed up longitudinally with CT angiographic examinations. Growth was defined as an increase in one or more dimensions above the measurement error, and at least 5% volume by using the ABC/2 method. Associations of epidemiologic factors with aneurysm growth and rupture were analyzed by using logistic regression analysis. Intra- and interobserver agreement coefficients for dimension, volume, and growth were evaluated by using the Pearson correlation coefficient and difference of means with 95% confidence intervals, the agreement statistic, and the McNemar χ(2). RESULTS Patients (n = 165) with aneurysms (n = 258) had a mean follow-up time of 2.24 years from time of diagnosis. Forty-six of 258 (18%) aneurysms in 38 patients grew larger. Spontaneous rupture occurred in four of 228 (1.8%) intradural aneurysms of average size (6.2 mm). Risk of aneurysm rupture per patient-year was 2.4% (95% CI: 0.5%, 7.12%) with growth and 0.2% (95% CI: 0.006%, 1.22%) without growth (P = .034). There was a 12-fold higher risk of rupture for growing aneurysms (P < .002), with high intra- and interobserver correlation coefficients for size, volume, and growth. Tobacco smoking (3.806, one degree of freedom; P < .015,) and initial size (5.895, two degrees of freedom; P < .051) were independent covariates, predicting 78.4% of growing aneurysms. CONCLUSION These results support imaging follow-up of all patients with aneurysms, including those whose aneurysms are smaller than the current 7-mm treatment threshold. Aneurysm growth, size, and smoking were associated with increased rupture risk.
Association of cervical cancer with the presence of CD4+ regulatory T cells specific for human papillomavirus antigens

Because of their important role in the maintenance of self-tolerance, CD4+ regulatory T cells prevent autoimmune diseases but also curtail the efficacy of T cell immune responses against cancers. We now show that this suppressive action of CD4+ regulatory T cells is not limited to cancers displaying tumor-associated self antigens, such as melanomas, but also extends to human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive cervical cancers that express foreign tumor antigens. HPV-specific CD4+ T cells isolated from lymph node biopsies of cervical cancer patients were found to suppress proliferation and cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-2) production by responder T cells. The capacity of HPV-specific CD4+ T cells to exert this suppressive effect depended on their activation by cognate HPV antigen and on close-range interactions with responder T cells. HPV-specific CD4+ regulatory T cells were also retrieved from cervical cancer biopsies, suggesting that they interfere with the anti-tumor immune response at both the induction and effector levels. Our findings offer a plausible explanation for the observed failure of the tumor-specific immune response in patients with cervical carcinoma.
Residue‐centric modeling and design of saccharide and glycoconjugate structures

The RosettaCarbohydrate framework is a new tool for modeling a wide variety of saccharide and glycoconjugate structures. This report describes the development of the framework and highlights its applications. The framework integrates with established protocols within the Rosetta modeling and design suite, and it handles the vast complexity and variety of carbohydrate molecules, including branching and sugar modifications. To address challenges of sampling and scoring, RosettaCarbohydrate can sample glycosidic bonds, side‐chain conformations, and ring forms, and it utilizes a glycan‐specific term within its scoring function. Rosetta can work with standard PDB, GLYCAM, and GlycoWorkbench (.gws) file formats. Saccharide residue‐specific chemical information is stored internally, permitting glycoengineering and design. Carbohydrate‐specific applications described herein include virtual glycosylation, loop‐modeling of carbohydrates, and docking of glyco‐ligands to antibodies. Benchmarking data are presented and compared to other studies, demonstrating Rosetta's ability to predict glyco‐ligand binding. The framework expands the tools available to glycoscientists and engineers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Determinants of New FDI Capital Flows into the EC: A Statistical Comparison of the USA and Japan

This article reviews the link between European integration and foreign direct investment (FDI) into the European Community (EC). A model is constructed using comparable US and Japanese data on new FDI flows for 1984‐89. The data are clustered and pooled to enable intra‐EC differences in the model to be investigated. It is found that new FDI has been linked to conventional host characteristics variables, whose effects vary considerably between groups of member countries. Differences between the equations for the USA and Japan are attributed to the contrasting degrees of establishment of US and Japanese affiliates. For Japanese firms, as comparative outsiders (compared with US firms), the impact of the announcement of the single market programme (SMP) has been marked.
Early intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by practice nurse and GP teams: a cluster randomized trial.

BACKGROUND Early detection and intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could potentially slow disease progress and minimize harm. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of early intervention by a practice nurse-GP team on quality of life (QoL) and process of care in patients with newly diagnosed COPD, compared with usual care. Nurses and GPs in intervention practices were educated to develop and implement disease management plans for COPD. METHODS A 12-month, multicentre, pragmatic randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment was conducted. Participants were current and former smokers aged 40 to 85 years newly identified as having COPD on post-bronchodilator spirometry. The primary outcome was health-related QoL, assessed with the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Secondary outcome measures were other QoL measures, lung function, disease knowledge, smoking and immunization status, inhaler technique and health service use. RESULTS Of the 10 234 patients from 36 practices in Sydney invited to a case-finding appointment, 1641 (16%) attended and 287 (18%) were diagnosed with COPD. Nineteen practices (144 patients) were randomized to the intervention group and 17 practices (110 patients) to the control group. Only 15.3% (n = 22) patients in the intervention group saw the nurse for COPD care following case finding. There was no between-group difference in SGRQ score at follow-up (mean difference -0.21; P = 0.86). Influenza vaccination was higher in the intervention group (OR 2.31: P = 0.035), but there were no other significant between-group differences in outcomes. CONCLUSION Intervention uptake was low and had no additional beneficial effect, over usual care, on participants' health-related QoL.
Situational variation in level of moral judgment.

Summary. Reports of research on Kohlberg's stages of moral judgment have assumed that level is general across situations and that a single major factor underlies responses. A partial replication of Kohlberg's research indicated significant variation from situation to situation in the responses of 40 12-year-old boys and 23 university students to the moral judgment interview. A factor analysis indicated two factors underlying responses to the interview: an empathic or role-taking factor and one involving concepts of social rules and structures. The results emphasise the need for more detailed descriptions ofmoral development and more detailed scoring systems.
Internal Auditors' Evaluation of Fraud Factors in Planning an Audit: The Importance of Audit Committee Quality and Management Incentives

We examine internal auditors fraud risk decisions in response to variations in audit committee quality and management performance incentives. Using an experimental approach, we find that internal auditors serving in a either a self-assessment role or a due diligence role were sensitive to variations in management performance incentives, linked these variations to fraud risk assessments and altered their audit plans accordingly. With respect to audit committee quality, internal auditors in both roles were sensitive to variations in quality, but the responses to quality variations depended on whether they were in a due diligence or self-assessment role. With respect to the former, they linked the variation in quality to fraud risk, but did not alter the scope of their planned audit effort. With respect to the latter, they neither linked the variations in quality to fraud risk nor to planned scope.
The Daubert Standard as Applied to Exposure Assessment Modeling Using the Two-Zone (NF/FF) Model Estimation of Indoor Air Breathing Zone Concentration as an Example

T he Daubert standard governs the admissibility of expert witness testimony during all U.S. federal legal proceedings and over half of state proceedings. It allows for the legal challenge of any expert witness testimony. In essence, the expert scientific witness has the burden of proof relative to the validity and acceptability of his or her scientific conclusions. An example of a potential Daubert challenge for exposure assessors or industrial hygienists exists in the use of first principle physical-chemical models of human exposure. We present the relevant details of Daubert in the context of an industrial hygienist providing testimony based on these types of models. As an example, we present the Daubert criteria to address a potential challenge for the Near Field/Far Field (two-zone) indoor air model of breathing zone concentration.
Purification and Partial Characterization of a Cellular Carotenoid-binding Protein from Ferret Liver*

A cellular carotenoid-binding protein was purified to homogeneity from β-carotene-fed ferret liver utilizing the following steps: ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange, gel filtration, and affinity chromatography. The final purification was 607-fold. [14C]β-Carotene co-purified with the binding protein throughout the purification procedures. SDS-PAGE of the purified protein showed a single band with an apparent molecular mass of 67 kDa. Scatchard analysis of the specific binding of the purified protein to β-carotene showed two classes of binding sites, a high affinity site with an apparent K d of 56 × 10−9 m and a low affinity site with aK d of 32 × 10−6 m. The B max for β-carotene binding to the high affinity site was 1 mol/mol, while that for the low affinity site was 145 mol/mol. The absorption spectrum of the complex showed a 32-nm bathochromic shift in λmax with minor peaks at 460 and 516 nm. Except for α-carotene and cryptoxanthin, none of the model carotenoids or retinol competed with β-carotene binding to the protein. Thus, a specific carotenoid-binding protein of 67 kDa has been characterized in mammalian liver with a high degree of specificity for binding only carotenoids with at least one unsubstituted β-ionone ring.
A treatment strategy implementing combination therapy with sitagliptin and metformin results in superior glycaemic control versus metformin monotherapy due to a low rate of addition of antihyperglycaemic agents

Aims: Combination therapy with sitagliptin and metformin has shown superior efficacy compared with metformin monotherapy. In this study, we compare two strategies: initial combination therapy with sitagliptin/metformin as a fixed‐dose combination (FDC) and initial metformin monotherapy, with the option to add additional antihyperglycaemic agents (AHAs) in either treatment arm during the second phase of the study in order to reach adequate glycaemic control.
Conflicting Specifications for Investment Functions in Rationing Models: A Reconciliation

A number of attempts have been made recently (see, a.o., Mulkay [1983], Artus and Muet [1984], Gérard and Vanden Berghe [1984]) to develop and estimate appropriate specifications for investment functions in a rationing context. Some of the specifications proposed are however clearly conflicting, not in the usual sense that they reflect conflicting theoretical premises (between which empirical testing might hopefully discriminate) but in the unacceptable sense that there exists some logical incompatibility between different specifications derived from the same theoretical framework.In this note, we focus our attention on two specifications among the most significant ones proposed recently, show why they are contradictory and then explain what is the correction to be brought to one of them in order to reconcile both specifications. In the course of the discussion, we also seize the opportunity to point to common empirical practices which are clearly unwarranted and could account for some deceptive results encountered (even with a theoretically correct specification).
Secure information flow verification with mutable dependent types

This paper presents a novel secure hardware description language (HDL) that uses an information flow type system to ensure that hardware is secure at design time. The novelty of this HDL lies in its ability to securely share hardware modules and storage elements across multiple security levels. Unlike previous secure HDLs, the new HDL enables secure sharing at a fine granularity and without implicitly adding hardware for security enforcement; this is important because the implicitly added hardware can break functionality and harm efficiency. The new HDL enables practical hardware designs that are secure, correct, and efficient. We demonstrate the practicality of the new HDL by using it to design and type-check a synthesizable pipelined processor implementation that support protection rings and instructions that change modes.
Interest-rate simulation under the real-world measure within a Gaussian HJM framework

This paper studies an interest-rate simulation for risk management under the real-world measure. First, this paper proposes a method to estimate the market price of risk from historical data in a Gaussian Heath, Jarrow, and Morton framework. Next, properties of the simulation are examined in connection with historical data. Finally, the market price of risk is roughly interpreted in regard to the historical change in interest rates. These results are explained through numerical examples.
A multi-commodity flow based approach to virtual network resource allocation

The virtual network (VN) concept has been studied as a useful mean in supporting rapid service creation and deployment. This paper proposes a scheme for allocating resources to VNs with the objective of maximizing the number of VNs that can be accommodated into a network. In our scheme, resources are pre-allocated for each pair of edge nodes, using the solution to the multi-commodity flow problem. A VN creation request consists of a set of edge node pairs and the bandwidth requirements between each pair. A request is satisfied or accepted by utilizing the pre-allocated resource and possibly the residual resource pool after pre-allocation. Extensive simulation studies show that the proposed scheme accepts more VN requests and yields better network resource utilization over traditional approaches. Service providers may potentially boost revenue by a simple switch to a more intelligent resource allocation scheme.
'Effing' the ineffable: opening up understandings of the blockchain

Blockchain, an innovative public ledger of transactions that underpins digital currencies such as Bitcoin, has the potential to open up and offer radical alternatives to civic life, democracy and society. Yet there is currently only a small, technically savvy section of society who understand its principles. Therefore in order to work through and realize the potential of the blockchain and its transferability across society we need to find means to open up and reduce its 'ineffable' nature. This paper presents and reflects on an approach that made the complexity of the blockchain understandable or 'effable' using physical modeling. The design-based approach adopted a tangible system of Lego and colored stickers to allow participant-actors to physically enact transactions on a Blockchain Lego 'block'. This modeled simplification was not designed as a comprehensive or accurate explanation of Bitcoin and Blockchain but rather as a prompt for opening up rich dialogue and insightful lines of questioning.
A Commodity Curse? The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Prices on Fiscal Performance in Latin America

The recent boom and bust in commodity prices has raised concerns about the impact of volatile commodity prices on Latin American countries’ fiscal positions. Using a novel quarterly dataset─ which includes unique country specific commodity price indices and a comprehensive measure of public expenditures─ this paper analyzes the dynamic effects of commodity price fluctuations on fiscal revenues and expenditures for 8 commodity exporting Latin American countries. The results indicate that Latin American countries’ fiscal positions generally react strongly to shocks to commodity prices, yet there are marked differences across countries in observed reactions. Fiscal variables in Venezuela display the highest sensitivity to commodity price shocks, with expenditures reacting significantly more than revenues. On the other side of the spectrum, Chile’s fiscal indicators react very little to commodity price fluctuations, and their dynamic responses are very similar to those seen in high-income commodity exporting countries. A plausible explanation to this distinct behavior across countries could be related to the efficient application of fiscal rules, accompanied by strong institutions, political commitment and high standards of transparency.
An Unsupervised Text Normalization Architecture for Turkish Language

A variety of applications on the problem of short-text messages require text normalization process that transforms ill-formed words into standard ones. Recently, many successful approaches have been applied to text normalization especially for social media text. Since each natural language has its own diﬃculties and barriers, we need to design an architecture to normalize short text messages in Turkish language which has an morphologically rich agglutinative structure. The model proceeds from simple solutions towards more complicated and sophisticated ones to reduce time complexity. A variety of techniques from lexical similarity to n-gram language modeling have been evaluated by exploiting several resources such as high quality corpus, morphological parser and dictionaries. We demonstrate that unsupervised text normalization architecture adapting both lexical and semantic similarity for Turkish domain has shown eﬃcient results that might contribute to other studies.