Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The product innovation process of quick‐service restaurant chains

Purpose – This paper aims to outline the innovation process activities described by quick‐service restaurant (QSR) managers and to compare it with an earlier QSR process model and with those used in other food service settings.Design/methodology/approach – Six semi‐structured interviews with QSR chain executives in the USA were conducted to better understand the underlying factors and dimensions that describe successful innovation process practices.Findings – For new QSR menu innovations, the development teams follow a structured approach to reduce the likelihood of failure due to issues such as poor consumer demand or implementation. QSR screen new food innovations approximately five times during the development process. Furthermore, today's QSR innovation process integrates more sophisticated market research technology and a post‐audit is carried out after the new food concept has been launched. In comparison with studies of Michelin‐starred chefs QSR development teams use an approach that is much more .
Mispricing of Sovereign Risk and Macroeconomic Stability in the Eurozone

This article presents evidence that a significant part of the surge in the spreads of the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) countries in the eurozone during 2010–11 was disconnected from underlying increases in the debt‐to‐GDP (gross domestic product) ratios, and was the result of negative market sentiments that became very strong since the end of 2010. It is argued that the systematic mispricing of sovereign risk in the eurozone intensifies macroeconomic instability, leading to bubbles in good years and excessive austerity in bad years.
Can Fundamentals Predict Japanese Stock Returns

The Japanese stock market has captured the attention of a growing number of money managers in the U.S. and other countries. The dramatic surge in Japanese stock prices during the 1980s fueled this interest in the Tokyo market. But it is the market's sheer size that commands attention, even through the more recent fall-off in prices in the early '90s. At the end of 1990, the equity markets of Japan and the U.S. each accounted for about 35% of the total capitalization of the Salomon-Russell Index. Of course, intercorporate holdings of equity are more prevalent in Japan than in the U.S.; after adjustment for these cross-holdings, the U.S. market represented 44% of the Salomon-Russell Index at yearend 1990, while Japan represented 27%. This is still more than twice the value of the nextlargest market (the U.K.).
Outcome of Patients With Low-Gradient “Severe” Aortic Stenosis and Preserved Ejection Fraction

Background— Retrospective studies have suggested that patients with a low transvalvular gradient in the presence of an aortic valve area <1.0 cm2 and normal ejection fraction may represent a subgroup with an advanced stage of aortic valve disease, reduced stroke volume, and poor prognosis requiring early surgery. We therefore evaluated the outcome of patients with low-gradient “severe” stenosis (defined as aortic valve area <1.0 cm2 and mean gradient ⩽40 mm Hg) in the prospective Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) study. Methods and Results— Outcome in patients with low-gradient “severe” aortic stenosis was compared with outcome in patients with moderate stenosis (aortic valve area 1.0 to 1.5 cm2; mean gradient 25 to 40 mm Hg). The primary end point of aortic valve events included death from cardiovascular causes, aortic valve replacement, and heart failure due to aortic stenosis. Secondary end points were major cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death. In 1525 asymptomatic patients (mean age, 67±10 years; ejection fraction, ≥55%), baseline echocardiography revealed low-gradient severe stenosis in 435 patients (29%) and moderate stenosis in 184 (12%). Left ventricular mass was lower in patients with low-gradient severe stenosis than in those with moderate stenosis (182±64 versus 212±68 g; P<0.01). During 46 months of follow-up, aortic valve events occurred in 48.5% versus 44.6%, respectively (P=0.37; major cardiovascular events, 50.9% versus 48.5%, P=0.58; cardiovascular death, 7.8% versus 4.9%, P=0.19). Low-gradient severe stenosis patients with reduced stroke volume index (⩽35 mL/m2; n=223) had aortic valve events comparable to those in patients with normal stroke volume index (46.2% versus 50.9%; P=0.53). Conclusions— Patients with low-gradient “severe” aortic stenosis and normal ejection fraction have an outcome similar to that in patients with moderate stenosis.
Industrial Linkage Development Paths in Growth Poles: A Research Methodology

The research methodology developed in this article borrows heavily from process analysis and behaviouristic theories of the firm, and concentrates on the individual production and decision-making unit. The methodology is composed of two major parts: the first, a system for classifying the products, processes, and the technical and legal linkages between industrial plants according to the growth pole framework; and the second, a behaviouristic model of the linkage development of the firm within the growth pole. The first classification system for the growth pole draws on the techniques developed by Luttrell and Tosco in their research projects connected with the Mezzogiorno and North-west England. The second model postulates alternative linkage development paths which the firm may take both in terms of location and production—process structure over time.
Prospective comparison of 3-dimensional volume rendered computerized tomography and conventional renal arteriography for surgical planning in patients undergoing laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

PURPOSE We prospectively assessed the accuracy of 3-dimensional (3-D) volume rendered computerized tomography (CT) and conventional renal arteriography to visualize renovascular anatomy in patients undergoing laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 60 consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (left side in 46 and right side in 14) prospectively underwent 3-D CT and renal angiography. A short videotape of 3-D CT was prepared using volume rendering software that demonstrated the anatomical location, number, anomalies and spatial interrelationships of the renal arteries and veins. These 3-D videotapes and arteriogram findings were directly correlated with intraoperative surgical findings at laparoscopy and during ex vivo bench preparation of the harvested kidney. The perceived intraoperative value of 3D-CT to delineate renovascular anatomical detail was scored subjectively by the laparoscopic surgeon for each case on a 10-point scale of 0--completely inaccurate to 10--completely accurate. RESULTS There were no complications related to the 3-D CT protocol and volume rendering was successful in all patients. Three-D CT accurately identified the number of renal arteries in 59 patients (98%). In 1 patient with 3 renal arteries 3-D CT and arteriogram each identified only 2. In the 46 patients undergoing left donor nephrectomy 3-D CT accurately identified the number of veins and venous anomalies in 45 (98%), including 2 with a circumaortic left renal vein. Another case of circumaortic vein was misdiagnosed as 2 renal veins. On the right side in 14 patients 3-D CT accurately identified the renal veins in 13 (94%) and missed 1 vein in a patient with 2 renal veins. Angiography correctly identified the number of renal veins in only 52 cases (87%). Furthermore, it misdiagnosed all 3 cases of circumaortic left renal vein. The laparoscopic surgeon believed that 3-D CT accurately identified the location and anatomical interrelationship of the renal vessels with precision. Mean subjective score +/- SEM was 8.5 +/- 1 for the arterial system, 8.6 +/- 1.1 for the venous system and 9.2 +/- 0.5 for any vascular anomalies. CONCLUSIONS Three-D CT accurately identifies renal vascular anatomy in a manner that may facilitate renal hilar dissection during laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, especially during the initial surgeon experience. This imaging modality integrates essential information from angiography, venography and excretory urography into a single study, and it can obviate the need for more invasive vascular imaging in most cases.
Incremental Verification Techniques for an Updated Architectural Specification

This paper explores the utility of making use of previously proved component properties and available simulation traces at the component and system level of a composite design for proving a newly added architectural property of the design. We present two techniques of reusing these prior verification results for proving or disproving the architectural property without doing full-scale formal verification of it on the total design from scratch, which runs into capacity issues, or running the already run simulations once again with this new property as an assertion, which is extremely time-consuming and leads to significant wastage of validation effort. We have experimented with our proposed approach on AMBA AHB example and have obtained encouraging results. Keywords - Formal Verification, Incremental, Simulation, Traces, Properties
Inhibition of glutamate:glyoxylate aminotransferase activity in tobacco leaves and callus by glycidate, an inhibitor of photorespiration.

The effect of glycidate (2,3-epoxypropionate), an inhibitor of glycolate synthesis and photorespiration in leaf tissue, was studied on glutamate:glyoxylate and serine:glyoxylate aminotransferases and glycine decarboxylase activities in particulate preparations obtained from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) callus and leaves. Glycidate specifically and effectively inhibited glutamate:glyoxylate aminotransferase. The inhibition was dependent on glycidate concentration and, to a lesser extent, on substrate concentration. The enzyme was not protected by either substrate. Even with saturating substrate concentrations the glycidate inhibition was only partially reversed. Under the in vitro assay conditions, glycidate inhibition of the aminotransferase was reversible. Glutamate:glyoxylate aminotransferase is the only enzyme of the glycolate pathway thus far examined which is severely inhibited by glycidate. However, in leaf discs, pretreatment with glycidate decreased both glutamate:glyoxylate and serine:glyoxylate aminotransferase activities suggesting binding by glycidate in vivo.Glycidate increased the pool sizes of both glutamate and glyoxylate in leaf discs. It has been shown that increases in concentration of either of these metabolites decrease photorespiration and glycolate synthesis and increase net photosynthesis. It is proposed that glycidate inhibits photorespiration indirectly by increasing the internal concentrations of glutamate and glyoxylate, as a consequence of the inhibition of glutamate:glyoxylate aminotransferase activity.
1 LC-MS / MS Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of 2 Phenolic Compounds and Pentacyclic Triterpenes in 3 Antifungal Extracts of Terminalia brownii ( Fresen ) 4

Decoctions, macerations and fumigations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii 20 Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as pesticides on field crops and in 21 traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii is commonly used for protecting wooden 22 houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc diffusion and macrodilution methods, eight extracts 23 of various polarities from the stem wood and bark were screened for their growth inhibitory effects 24 against filamentous fungi commonly causing fruit, vegetable and grain decay, as well as infections 25 in the immunocompromised host. Ethyl acetate extracts of the stem wood and bark gave the best 26 antifungal activities, with MIC values of 250 μg/ml against Nattrassia mangiferae and Fusarium 27 verticillioides, and 500 μg/ml against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Aqueous extracts gave 28 almost as potent effects as the ethyl acetate extracts against the Aspergillus and Fusarium strains, and 29 were slightly more active than the ethyl acetate extracts against Nattrassia mangiferae. Thin layer 30 chromatography, RP-HPLC-DAD and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), were employed to 31 identify the chemical constituents in the ethyl acetate fractions of the stem bark and wood. The stem 32 bark and wood were found to have a similar qualitative composition of polyphenols and 33 triterpenoids, but differed quantitatively from each other. The stilbene derivatives, cis(3) and trans34 (4) resveratrol-3-O-β-galloylglucoside, were identified for the first time in T. brownii. Moreover, 35 methyl-(S)-flavogallonate (5), quercetin-7-β-O-di-glucoside (8), quercetin-7-O-galloyl-glucoside (10), 36 naringenin-4`-methoxy-7-pyranoside (7), 5,6-dihydroxy-3`,4`,7-tri-methoxy flavone (12), gallagic acid 37 dilactone (terminalin) (6), a corilagin derivative (9) and two oleanane type triterpenoids (1) and (2) 38 were characterized. Our results justify the traditional uses of macerations and decoctions of T. brownii 39 stem wood and bark for crop and wood protection and demonstrate that standardized extracts could 40 have uses for the eco-friendly control of plant pathogenic fungi in African agroforestry systems. 41 Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 31 October 2017 doi:10.20944/preprints201710.0194. v1 © 2017 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license. Peer-reviewed version available at Antibiotics 2017, 6, 37; doi:10.3390/antibiotics6040037
The Pacific Islands and the Globalization Agenda

Gi lobalization is now a central theme in the affairs of the Pacific Islands, and Pacific Islands governments are caught up in the rhetoric, the ideol ogy, and the economic policies of globalization. Policymakers in govern ments and regional organizations pepper their conversations with phrases drawn from that branch of politics called economics. These include "achieving effective private-public sector partnerships," "improving the attractiveness of the foreign investment regime," "facilitating investment transparency," "adopting free and open trade amongst our Island coun tries," "reducing public sector subsidies," "promoting integration into the world economy," "enabling public enterprises to operate on commercial principles," "providing a policy environment to encourage commercial activity," and "encouraging the development of the private sector so that it assumes a leading role as the primary engine of growth. " Where did this language and these ideas come from? To answer these questions, it is first necessary to define globalization, a term with many meanings in the fin-de-siecle conversation about the state of the world, signifying everything from the expansion of Europe since Columbus to the emergence of a global, Americanized consumer culture. These wider historical and cultural definitions are too broad to be useful for my argu ment, which focuses on the economic dimensions of globalization. So I follow two economists, Paul Bairoch and Richard Kozul-Wright, in call ing globalization a "process in which the production and financial struc tures of countries are becoming interlinked by an increasing number of cross-border transactions to create an international division of labor in which national wealth comes, increasingly, to depend on economic agents
Cardioacceleratory function of the neurohormone CCAP in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

SUMMARY Crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP) is a highly conserved arthropod neurohormone that is involved in ecdysis, hormone release and the modulation of muscle contractions. Here, we determined the CCAP gene structure in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, assessed the developmental expression of CCAP and its receptor and determined the role that CCAP plays in regulating mosquito cardiac function. RACE sequencing revealed that the A. gambiae CCAP gene encodes a neuropeptide that shares 100% amino acid identity with all sequenced CCAP peptides, with the exception of Daphnia pulex. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that expression of CCAP and the CCAP receptor displays a bimodal distribution, with peak mRNA levels in second instar larvae and pupae. Injection of CCAP revealed that augmenting hemocoelic CCAP levels in adult mosquitoes increases the anterograde and retrograde heart contraction rates by up to 28%, and increases intracardiac hemolymph flow velocities by up to 33%. Partial CCAP knockdown by RNAi had the opposite effect, decreasing the mosquito heart rate by 6%. Quantitative RT-PCR experiments showed that CCAP mRNA is enriched in the head region, and immunohistochemical experiments in newly eclosed mosquitoes detected CCAP in abdominal neurons and projections, some of which innervated the heart, but failed to detect CCAP in the abdomens of older mosquitoes. Instead, in older mosquitoes CCAP was detected in the pars lateralis, the subesophageal ganglion and the corpora cardiaca. In conclusion, CCAP has a potent effect on mosquito circulatory physiology, and thus heart physiology in this dipteran insect is under partial neuronal control.
On the nonexistence of event-based triggers that preserve Gaussian state in presence of package-drop

State estimation is a core objective in cyber-physical systems. In the state estimation problem over linear systems, the Kalman filter is the standard solution. The filter is the format on which the solutions to subsequent estimation problems are based. Among these problems are the estimation problem in the presence of packet drops and estimation problem involving event-based triggers. We study in this paper both phenomena simultaneously. In an attempt to find the Kalman-like filter, which proves the Gaussianity of the state and offers a set of update equations, our paper shows that no such filter exists. More precisely, one cannot find an event-based trigger such that under possible packet drops, the state variable remains a Gaussian variable. This conclusion can be reasonably extended to a more general setting.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Fukuoka City, Japan, in the Early 1980s and 1997–1998: Emergence of High-Level Fluoroquinolone Resistance

Resistance to fluoroquinolones in gonococcal isolates has recently become a significant problem in Far East Asia including Japan (2). In the present study, we examined the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibilities of gonococcal isolates from 1997 to 1998 in Fukuoka City, Japan, to various agents, in order to investigate the emergence of high-level fluoroquinolone resistance. A total of 186 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were isolated from men with urethritis attending a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic in Fukuoka City from March 1997 through March 1998. Of the 186 isolates, 157 were included in this study, while the remaining 29 were from patients known to have received fluoroquinolones or other antibiotics and were excluded. For comparative purposes, antimicrobial susceptibilities of 27 N. gonorrhoeae strains, 14 β-lactamase producing and 13 not β-lactamase producing, that were urethral isolates obtained at an STD clinic in the city between 1981 and 1984 were also tested. The MICs for all isolates were determined by an agar dilution technique and twofold dilutions of antibiotic (2). The criterion for high-level ciprofloxacin resistance in N. gonorrhoeae isolates was a MIC of 1 to 16 μg/ml (1). There are no established criteria that define resistance to other fluoroquinolones. Therefore, we set the criteria for high-level resistance as follows: ≥2 μg/ml for norfloxacin, ≥0.5 μg/ml for levofloxacin, ≥0.5 μg/ml for sparfloxacin, and ≥0.25 μg/ml for DU-6859a. The proportions of strains from 1997–1998 with high-level resistance to the five fluoroquinolones were compared with those of strains from 1981 to 1984 by the chi-square test. Of the 157 strains from 1997–1998, 37 (23.6%) showed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin (MIC ≥ 1 μg/ml), while none of the 27 strains from 1981 to 1984 showed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin. The proportions of the 1997–1998 strains showing high-level resistance to norfloxacin (MIC ≥ 2 μg/ml), levofloxacin (MIC ≥ 0.5 μg/ml), sparfloxacin (MIC ≥ 0.5 μg/ml), and DU-6859a (MIC ≥ 0.25 μg/ml) were 32.5, 28.7, 21.7, and 8.3%, respectively. On the other hand, none or only one of the 27 isolates from 1981 to 1984 were highly resistant to these fluoroquinolones (Table ​(Table1). 1). These differences in prevalence of high-level resistance to the five fluoroquinolones between the strains from 1997–1998 and those from 1981 to 1984 were statistically significant (P < 0.0001). In the present study, the emergence of high-level resistance not only to older fluoroquinolones such as norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin but also to newer ones such as levofloxacin and sparfloxacin was found in N. gonorrhoeae isolates obtained in 1997–1998 in Fukuoka City. However, no significant reductions in the susceptibilities of the 1997–1998 strains to β-lactams, tetracycline, azithromycin, or spectinomycin were observed. TABLE 1 Distribution of antimicrobial susceptibilities of N. gonorrhoeae isolates to fluoroquinolones
Improvising Prescription: Evidence from the Emergency Room

Global medical practice is increasingly standardizing through evidence‐based approaches and quality certification procedures. Despite this increasing standardization, medical work in emergency units necessarily involves sensitivity to the individual, the particular and the unexpected. While much medical practice is routine, important improvisational elements remain significant. Standardization and improvisation can be seen as two conflicting logics. However, they are not incompatible, although the occurrence of improvisation in highly structured and institutionally complex environments remains underexplored. The study presents the process of improvisation in the tightly controlled work environment of the emergency room. The authors conducted an in situ ethnographic observation of an emergency unit. An inductive approach shows professionals combining ostensive compliance with protocols with necessary and occasional ‘underlife’ improvisations. The duality of improvisation as simultaneously present and absent is related to pressures in the institutional domain as well as to practical needs emerging from the operational realm. The intense presence of procedures and work processes enables flexible improvised performances that paradoxically end up reinforcing institutional pressures for standardization.