Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Export Information System: An Empirical Investigation of Its Antecedents and Performance Outcomes

Marketing literature has widely acknowledged the significant contribution of information-processing activities to export organizations’ success. The export information system (EIS) comprises four key dimensions: information sources, information acquisition, information dissemination, and information utilization. The current research develops and empirically tests a comprehensive conceptual framework that assesses (1) the chain of effects linking the four key dimensions of the EIS, (2) the influence of organizational structure (i.e., formalization and centralization) on the efficiency of export information dissemination, and (3) the relationship between the EIS and export performance. The authors also investigate the moderating effects of certain environmental forces (i.e., market turbulence and intensity of competition). The findings support the critical role of information processing in the success of small and medium-sized exporters. The authors conclude by discussing the study's implications for academic researchers and practitioners as well as directions for further research in the field.
Dysfunctional BLK in common variable immunodeficiency perturbs B-cell proliferation and ability to elicit antigen-specific CD4+ T-cell help

Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most prevalent primary antibody deficiency, and characterized by defective generation of high-affinity antibodies. Patients have therefore increased risk to recurrent infections of the respiratory and intestinal tract. Development of high-affinity antigen-specific antibodies involves two key actions of B-cell receptors (BCR): transmembrane signaling through BCR-complexes to induce B-cell differentiation and proliferation, and BCR-mediated antigen internalization for class-II MHC-mediated presentation to acquire antigen-specific CD4+ T-cell help. We identified a variant (L3P) in the B-lymphoid tyrosine kinase (BLK) gene of 2 related CVID-patients, which was absent in healthy relatives. BLK belongs to the Src-kinases family and involved in BCR-signaling. Here, we sought to clarify BLK function in healthy human B-cells and its association to CVID. BLK expression was comparable in patient and healthy B-cells. Functional analysis of L3P-BLK showed reduced BCR crosslinking-induced Syk phosphorylation and proliferation, in both primary B-cells and B-LCLs. B-cells expressing L3P-BLK showed accelerated destruction of BCR-internalized antigen and reduced ability to elicit CD40L-expression on antigen-specific CD4+ T-cells. In conclusion, we found a novel BLK gene variant in CVID-patients that causes suppressed B-cell proliferation and reduced ability of B-cells to elicit antigen-specific CD4+ T-cell responses. Both these mechanisms may contribute to hypogammaglobulinemia in CVID-patients.
Renal Function in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Background: Despite the poor prognosis of patients with both cirrhosis and renal failure, most reports on renal function and outcomes of cirrhosis have come from liver transplant registries. The present study aimed to investigate the association between renal function and cirrhosis in a broader population. Methods: 3,857 patients were enrolled after the exclusion of patients with incomplete data. The most recent demographic data after the latest laboratory measurements obtained at outpatient or inpatient department were collected. Results: In predicting renal function, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was found to be dissociated from Child-Pugh points (β = –0.01, p = 0.691), different causes of cirrhosis, and presence of diabetes (β = –0.03, p = 0.112). In terms of predicting in-hospital mortality, the sensitivity (60–82%) and specificity (70–90%) of the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score increased with the decrease in eGFR. However, the blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/creatinine ratio was better than the MELD score in patients with normal eGFR. Conclusion: In contrast to prerenal causes of kidney injury, the underlying causes of cirrhosis or diabetes had relatively minor effects on renal function in cirrhotic patients. The BUN/creatinine ratio was a better index than the MELD score in predicting in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with normal renal function.
Genetics of the Drosophila flight muscle myofibril: a window into the biology of complex systems

This essay reviews the long tradition of experimental genetics of the Drosophila indirect flight muscles (IFM). It discusses how genetics can operate in tandem with multidisciplinary approaches to provide a description, in molecular terms, of the functional properties of the muscle myofibril. In particular, studies at the interface of genetics and proteomics address protein function at the cellular scale and offer an outstanding platform with which to elucidate how the myofibril works. Two generalizations can be enunciated from the studies reviewed. First, the study of mutant IFM proteomes provides insight into how proteins are functionally organized in the myofibril. Second, IFM mutants can give rise to structural and contractile defects that are unrelated, a reflection of the dual function that myofibrillar proteins play as fundamental components of the sarcomeric framework and biochemical “parts” of the contractile “engine”. BioEssays 23:1047–1063, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Immune Complex Pathophysiology

Abstract: Antigen–antibody (Ab) interactions that lead to the formation of immune complexes (ICs) are subtle biochemical processes determining health or disease according to the outcome. Good laboratory practice (GLP)‐acknowledged IC detection methods reveal that plasma levels of up to 15 μg/mL heat‐aggregated immunoglobulin G (IgG) equivalents are normal, indicating the physiological role of ICs. Among the major variables that influence the equilibrium association constant Ka, are specificity and epitope density of the antigen, Ig class/subclass of the Ab, IC complement (C)‐activating capacity, Fc receptor (FcR) interaction, and cytokine activation pattern. The Ka of antigen–Ab binding at ∼20°C ranges from low affinity (105) to high affinity (107–1011). Beneficial ICs serve to remove and/or neutralize infectious or toxic antigens, following an infectious attack in immune and vaccinated hosts. Circulating ICs are more prone for benefit than tissue‐bound ICs, which reflect in situ formation and/or undesired deposition in tissues due to overflow from insufficient reticuloendothelial system (RES) removal. The classical textbook topic on ICs still holds true but is under revision because of the improved knowledge of effector systems, such as C, cytokine, and FcR apparatus. Therapeutic options to treat IC‐associated diseases include intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) at their onset and monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed at C activation products and/or cytokines.
EU-12 Countries In The Context Of European Social Model Types

The European social model is a vision of society that combines sustainable economic development with ever-improving living and working conditions. The issue whether or not it is possible to use one so-called European social model in the European Union countries, including in new member states and what it should be like, has been a topic of debates for a long time already. In reality, there are several different social models used in Europe, which interpret the concepts of efficiency and equality differently. The theoretical part of this paper will discuss the European social model and its typology based on research by various authors. We shall compare the social outputs of countries grouped into different model types on the basis of different socio-economic indicators. In the empirical part, we carry out a cluster analysis for positioning new European Union (EU-12) countries into mix of European social models. We concentrate on two of the most important aspects of social systems - monetary poverty/inequality and public policy - and try to classify European Union countries according to their social policy. In the analysis, we also evaluate whether the distribution of EU-15 countries, on the basis of Esping-Andersen’s typology, is the same today after a major enlargement of the European Union. We use different clustering methods such as hierarchical and k-means clustering. The analysis is based on EUROSTAT data; clusters are formed on the basis of 2008 socio-economic indicators for EU-27 countries.
Dynamic Adjustment in Us Agriculture Under Climate Change

We construct a stochastic dynamic dual model to investigate the structural adjustment of two aggregate output and three aggregate input categories in US agriculture under stochastic climatic change. More than a century of national annual data (1910–2011) is used in the empirical analysis. No constraints on asset fixity are imposed. Results indicate that, with rational expectations, both output categories as well as all input categories exhibit quasi-fixity in response to market change and stochastic climate change. Crops adjust more than twice as fast as livestock—49% versus 20% of the way toward their long-run equilibrium in one year. Fertilizer adjusts most rapidly toward equilibrium levels (88% in one year), and capital adjusts most slowly (5% in one year). Labor oscillates rather than converging smoothly toward equilibrium; its distance from equilibrium is the same as if it adjusted 59% of the way toward its optimal level in one year. Failing to anticipate climate change dramatically slows the estimated rate of adjustment for two netputs and modestly speeds the rate for two others, thus likely increasing overall adjustment costs. Failing to account for uncertainty in anticipated climate change has little impact on adjustment rates.
Electron tomography of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites reveals core cellular events that underpin erythrocyte invasion

Erythrocyte invasion by merozoites forms of the malaria parasite is a key step in the establishment of human malaria disease. To date, efforts to understand cellular events underpinning entry have been limited to insights from non‐human parasites, with no studies at sub‐micrometer resolution undertaken using the most virulent human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. This leaves our understanding of the dynamics of merozoite sub‐cellular compartments during infectionincomplete, in particular that of the secretory organelles. Using advances in P. falciparum merozoite isolation and new imaging techniques we present a three‐dimensional study of invasion using electron microscopy, cryo‐electron tomography and cryo‐X‐ray tomography. We describe the core architectural features of invasion and identify fusion between rhoptries at the commencement of invasion as a hitherto overlooked event that likely provides a critical step that initiates entry. Given the centrality of merozoite organelle proteins to vaccine development, these insights provide a mechanistic framework to understand therapeutic strategies targeted towards the cellular events of invasion.
Innovation and Sustainability and Quality of Life

As important current and increasing future sources of innovative economic initiatives, universities are unavoidably confronted by the challenging issues of sustainability and quality of life. The harmonization of social and economic goals will impact very significantly on their innovative activities in relation to both processes and outcomes. Approaches and objectives will be selected which combine potential economic significance with due concern for the physical environment and social well-being. The special characteristics of universities suggest that they are uniquely well suited to clarify the conceptual basis underlying the complex relationships between economic growth, sustainability and quality of life. This pressing task must be carried out so that governments, business and other social institutions are able to reflect the results in their policies and operational interrelationships.
Performance Evaluation and Simulation of Binary Signalling with EGC in Generalized Flat-Fading Channels

In this paper, a performance investigation of Equal Gain Combining (EGC) multichannel receiver over Generalized Flat-fading channels is presented. The Generic-Gamma fading model has been used here which is versatile enough to represent most of the short term fading conditions as well as long term Shadowing. The Average Bit Error Rate (ABER) has been evaluated for Coherent and Differentially-Coherent binary modulation formats. With the aid of Moment based approach, computationally efficient rational expressions have been derived. Using these novel expressions, the performance of multichannel wireless receiver with EGC and without diversity combining has been evaluated in variety of generalized flat-fading conditions. The results have been validated through simulations which shows perfect match.
Tobacco Use, Exposure to Secondhand Smoke and Cessation Training among Third-Year Medical Technology Students in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE Compare tobacco use, exposure to second-hand smoke, and smoking cessation training among third-year medical technology students in Thailand between 2006 and 2011. MATERIAL AND METHOD The medical technology student survey was carried out with Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) between October and November 2011. The population of the present study was all students in nine medical technology schools. There were 773 students enrolled in this study yielding a response rate of 95.1%. RESULTS The prevalence of current cigarette smokers had decreased from 2006 to 2011 (4.8% to 1.4%, respectively). Rates of exposure to second-hand smoke at home were 36.3% in 2006 and 39.7% in 2011, while rates of exposure to second-hand smoke in other places did not change. Most students recognized that they should give patients counseling to quit smoking, but only 20.6% in 2006 and 28.4% in 2011 of them had received formal training in tobacco cessation counseling. CONCLUSION There were low percentages of current cigarette smoking but high percentages of exposure to second-hand smoke among medical technology students. The percentage of cessation training was still low among students. Therefore, medical technology schools should provide formal training in tobacco cessation for all students to help improve their ability in providing advice to patients.
Competition, variety and the geography of technology evolution

Change in evolutionary economics proceeds through the creative destruction of variety in firm characteristics. Firm routines, relational assets and the institutional environments in which firms operate shape the creation and destruction of variety. Despite the centrality of the concept of variety in evolutionary economics, analysis of the extent and the persistence of firm heterogeneity is rare. Notwithstanding the theoretical pronouncements of economic geographers who champion the difference that space makes, empirical investigation of firm variety over space is even rarer still. This paper attempts to remedy some of these empirical shortcomings exploring the spatial evolution of variety in techniques of production within three US manufacturing industries. The results suggest that technological variety exists and persists over time and that geography explains a significant portion of this variation.
Low-delay Dynamic QoS Scheduling for Assured Service in Diffserv Network

The delay guarantee has become an important issue for the Internet. Diffserv is a promising scalable technology to enable QoS control. The control functions for Diffserv disregard the relations between flows in applications and secure bandwidth for each service class collecting multiple flows. This enables a scalable QoS control. This paper proposes a new queue management scheme for AF services guaranteeing minimum bandwidth. This proposal method uses RIO, WFQ, and EDD. The threshold of RIO and the allocation band of WFQ are dynamically controlled by referring to the stay time in the node and the size of the packet, respectively. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme reduces the packet delay time and packet loss probability for higher priority classes.
Risks of thromboembolism and bleeding with thromboprophylaxis in patients with atrial fibrillation: A net clinical benefit analysis using a ‘real world’ nationwide cohort study

Summary It was the aim of this study to determine the efficacy and safety of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), with separate analyses according to predicted thromboembolic and bleeding risk. By individual levellinkage of nationwide registries, we identified all patients discharged with non-valvular AF in Denmark (n=132,372). For every patient, the risk of stroke and bleeding was calculated by CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and HAS-BLED. During follow-up, treatment with VKA and ASA was determined time-dependently. VKA consistently lowered the risk of thromboembolism compared to ASA and no treatment; the combination of VKA+ASA did not yield any additional benefit. In patients at high thromboembolic risk, hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for thromboembolism were: 1.81 (1.73–1.90), 1.14 (1.06–1.23), and 1.86 (1.78–1.95) for ASA, VKA+ASA, and no treatment, respectively, compared to VKA. The risk of bleeding was increased with VKA, ASA, and VKA+ASA compared to no treatment, the hazard ratios were: 1.0 (VKA; reference), 0.93 (ASA; 0.89–0.97), 1.64 (VKA+ASA; 1.55–1.74), and 0.84 (no treatment; 0.81–0.88), respectively. There was a neutral or positive net clinical benefit (ischaemic stroke vs. intracranial haemorrhage) with VKA alone in patients with a CHADS2 score of ≥ 0, and CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥ 1. This large cohort study confirms the efficacy of VKA and no effect of ASA treatment on the risk of stroke/thromboembolism. Also, the risk of bleeding was increased with both VKA and ASA treatment, but the net clinical benefit was clearly positive, in favour of VKA in patients with increased risk of stroke/thromboembolism.
NEUROLOGICAL SIGNS IN CONGENITAL IODINE‐DEFICIENCY DISORDER (ENDEMIC CRETINISM)

Neurological examinations were made of 67 children and adults with congenital iodine‐deficiency disorder (endemic cretinism) in four rural villages in highland Ecuador. There was a distinct and readily identifiable pattern of neurological deficits. These included, to varying degrees: deaf‐mutism or lesser degrees of bilateral hearing‐loss or dysarthria; spasticity, particularly involving the proximal lower extremities; mental deficiency of a characteristic type; and rigidity and bradykinesia. Not all of these elements were found in all cases. Less common features were strabismus, kyphoscoliosis and frontal‐lobe signs. There were exceptional cases with hypotonia. In contrast, cerebellar function was largely spared, as were functions of emotion and attention, vegetative and autonomic functions, social interaction, and probably memory, except in the most severely involved.
Academia?private sector collaborations in the Costa Rican Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cluster

Costa Rica has two large public universities. They educate the workforce of the Costa Rican Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cluster, which transformed a small coffee-exporting country into the first Latin American ICT producer per capita. They also created the engineers and technicians that have attracted investments from several knowledge-intensive Multinational Corporations (MNCs), including Intel, and account for a far larger share of Research and Development (R&D) expenditure than the Latin American average. Yet, there are only three cases of collaboration between universities and the private sector. This study discusses how they emerged, their developmental effects, and questions why such collaborations are so uncommon.
Risk assessment model of occupational exposure to nanomaterials

Recent development of nanotechnology allows precise assessment of the risks workers are exposed to. To assess the risks, a specific risk assessment model has been developed with reference to workplaces where nanoparticles are present. This model allows identification and quantification of the health hazards for workers. The use of nanomaterials presents some uncertainties regarding effective level of danger, and risk assessment takes this into consideration with the help of an appropriate index. An evaluation algorithm considers both normal work conditions and abnormal/emergency situations. Evaluation outcome consists of several risk levels with several subdivisions. For each single level, it is possible to develop specific behavioral guidelines. The present evaluation model has been implemented in research laboratories. The results are middle to high-level risks.
Thermal Conductivity of Single-wall Carbon Nanotubes Filled with Argon

Thermal conductivities of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) filled with argon (Ar) with types (10, 10) and (15, 15) respectively, are calculated over a temperature range of 500-1200 K using equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulation method. The Tersoff potential for C-C bonding interactions and the Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential for Ar-C nonbonding interactions are employed. The effects of filled argon on the thermal conductivity of SWNTs as well as the temperature dependence of their thermal conductivities are investigated. It is found that the thermal conductivities of filled (10, 10) and (15, 15) SWNTs, showing qualitatively similar behavior to that of a bare unfilled nanotube, decrease as the temperature increases. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the thermal conductivity of nanotubes filled with argon is much higher than that of an empty nanotube at all temperatures. This increase is perhaps attributed to the heat transfer derived from the Ar-nanotube interaction, and the mass transport due to the active movement of the Ar atom in SWNTs
Employment Decisions of U.S. and Foreign Doctoral Graduates: A Comparative Study

A U.S. doctoral graduates from academic years 2001–09 in the fields of science, engineering, and health (SEH), 89% reported at the time of their graduation the intent to live in the United States, a measure referred to as the expected stay rate.2 The actual stay rate (the proportion living in the United States) in 2010 tracks the expected stay rate closely for U.S. citizen graduates, but noticeable differences are observed for doctoral graduates who were temporary visa holders at the time of graduation. For this group, the actual and expected stay rates diverge as time since graduation increases (figure 1), indicating that a fraction of those who initially reported
Pengaruh Intellectual Capital Terhadap Kinerja Perusahaan Perbankan Yang Terdaftar Di Bursa Efek Indonesia (Bei) Tahun 2009-2011

The objectives of this study are to analyze the impact of intellectual capital on firm performance(ROA,ROE,RG,EP) . This research to analyze the impact of HCE,SCE,CEE on firm performance(ROA,ROE,RG,EP) and VAIC on firm performance (ROA,ROE,RG,EP). This research used banking company data that listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) 2009-2011. The model that used to measure intellectual capital was Pulic model agregatly-using Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) or separately-using Human Capital Efficiency (HCE) , Structural Capital Efficiency (SCE) , dan Capital Employed Efficiency (CEE) . The result show: (1) SCE an impact on ROA. (2) SCE an impact on ROE. (3) VAIC an impact on ROE.