Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multidisciplinary, therapy-based, team approach for efficient and effective wound healing: a retrospective study.

This paper presents a 4-year retrospective study (1994 to 1998) of therapy-based treatment outcomes for chronic wounds of all stages and most common etiologies. Treatment in this study consists of outpatient wound treatments given by trained therapists and nurses who were supervised by the podiatrist or internist. Many patients were referred to the clinic for last-resort treatment (i.e., electrical stimulation, topical hyperbaric therapy, etc.) before major lower extremity amputations: hip disarticulation, above knee amputation (AKA), below-knee amputation (BKA). This study does not consider age, sex, chronicity, or ethnicity because the authors want to demonstrate the effectiveness of this treatment approach for healing chronic wounds notwithstanding these variables. Wound healing was achieved in 100% of patients who completed their treatment program (233 patients with 242 wounds). This study shows the total average healing time for wounds is 7 weeks for Stage II wounds, 10 weeks for Stage III wounds, and 19 weeks for Stage IV wounds. The average healing time for diabetic wounds is 14 weeks (wounds of neuropathic origin heal in 12 weeks and wounds of ischemic origin heal in 16 weeks). The average healing time for venous stasis wounds is 8 weeks. The study includes patients with ischemia who are not candidates for revascularization. The authors assert that the most effective treatment for wound healing is a therapy-based, multidisciplinary team approach. This retrospective study shows that the goal of complete healing is attainable.
Functional and Aesthetic Information Needs Underlying The Pleasure Travel Experience

Consumer information acquisition has largely focused on decision-making or functional needs. Recently, a set of complementary information needs (i.e., hedonic, aesthetic, and social) have been introduced I the consumer behavior literature. This study examines functional and aesthetic information needs in a tourism consumption context, specifically pre-trip information needs are shown to be at the core of information acquisition with product knowledge, aesthetic imagery and planning efficiency needs at the “periphery. ” Suggestions for destination marketing communication strategies and future research are presented.
Claiming the Political: The Forgotten Terrain of Teacher Leadership Knowledge

This article argues that leadership knowledge should be included in teacher education curricula. The authors discuss the political realities that affect teachers and how these realities are best met with teacher leadership knowledge. Failure to include ideas of educational leadership in teacher education denies teachers an understanding of the activities they practice daily. More important, knowledge of leadership would enable teachers to label what they see and do. Such knowledge would help teachers understand and navigate the micropolitical environments of their work and, therefore, make more informed actions to improve schooling for all and correct some of our democratic injustices as they relate to education more broadly. The article presents examples of three kinds of teacher leadership practices: managerial, professional development, and social responsibility. The authors conclude with proposed opportunities for the teaching profession to reclaim its pedagogical and curricular knowledge and to understand its own acts of leadership.
The use of a spatial model to assess conference market share – a new zealand example

This paper is obtained from research undertaken into seven events and conferences at Palmerston North, New Zealand. It applies a model derived from the Lakshmanan and Hansen retail model to conference centres in New Zealand and was used to assess the level of market share that Palmerston North could expect. The research note describes some of the results and problems found in using the model. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An exploratory analysis of the strategic marketing choices implemented by the UK biopharmaceutical SMEs

The biopharmaceutical sector has known a rapid expansion in the last 25 years. Starting from the late 1970s and early 1980s, a large number of entrepreneurial firms have been created by scientists or by business professionals. Unfortunately, the small firms have been confronted with a complex and hostile environment, characterised by high levels of competition, high risks and large costs for product research and development. In order to survive and develop, these firms have adopted specific strategies or combinations of strategies. This paper attempts to identify and analyse the strategic marketing options adopted by the UK biopharmaceutical enterprises, and the factors that influenced their decisions. Based on a comprehensive analysis of secondary and primary data, this study synthesises the research findings into a dynamic model for representing the firms' evolution in terms of strategic choice.
Decision Support System for Intelligence Analysts

Intelligence analysis is vital for providing decision makers with accurate, timely and appropriate information. A multitude of obstacles stand in the way of the analyst from deception to their own cognitive biases. The Decision Support System (DSS) aims to aid skilled analysts by providing a structured environment for analysis allied with a wiki to encourage collaboration and transparency of process.
Costumer-based brand equity for tourism destinations in Patagonia

We conducted empirical research into brand equity for two mountain tourism destinations, Villa la Angostura (VLA) and Villa Pehuenia (VP), in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Brand equity was measured through four dimensions: brand awareness, perceived image, perceived quality and loyalty. A structured survey was administered to a sample of 400 respondents living in Neuquen city, an important nearby source market for the destinations. Findings indicated high familiarity with both tourism brands. The Neuquen tourism market perceived both brands as nature and snow destinations, with beautiful landscapes and a range of attractions. High levels of perceived quality and positive loyalty attitudes and behaviours were also detected, although evidence was found of a differentiated perceived image for each destination. VLA was identified as a destination with a range of activities and services and better accessibility, while VP was identified as a destination with very hospitable hosts. VP seemed to be a more relaxing and peaceful destination but at the same time less entertaining compared to VLA. This research contributes to the local literature on equity brand measurement; recommendations for destination marketers are also presented.
Motivation model for improving productivity in a manufacturing unit – a success story

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a useful motivational scheme for a practicing manager to improve the performance of a manufacturing unit.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the main causes for the present low productivity of the manufacturing unit are analysed and a multi‐factor group incentive scheme is designed for motivating the employees in order to improve the productivity of a manufacturing unit.Findings – This paper provides information about various factors having a bearing on productivity and performance‐reward relationship in a practical way.Practical implications – The paper is a very useful source of information for practicing managers to motivate the employees for improving the productivity in a manufacturing environment.Originality/value – The model presented in this paper may be of immense help to a practicing manager to improve the productivity of a manufacturing unit by motivating the employees.
Optical Mapping of Transmural Activation Induced by Electrical Shocks in Isolated Left Ventricular Wall Wedge Preparations

Introduction: It is believed that electrical shocks interrupt fibrillation by directly stimulating the bulk of ventricular myocardium in excitable states, but how shocks activate intramural tissue layers is not known. In this study, Vm responses and transmural activation patterns induced by shocks during diastole were measured in isolated coronary perfused preparations of porcine left ventricle.
Achievement of cardiometabolic goals in aware hypertensive patients in Spain: implications for population health.

See related article, pp 898–905 The article by Banegas et al1 published in the present issue of Hypertension provides important population-based data for improving cardiovascular health. The data from a population-based sample of adults in Spain during 2008-2010 include the clinical epidemiology of hypertension and concomitant cardiovascular risk factors, evidence-based pharmacotherapy for cardiovascular risk factor reduction and target organ protection, medical advice, and lifestyle factors. This commentary addresses 3 aspects of their comprehensive report, including a comparison of data in Spain and the United States with regard to the following: (1) clinical epidemiology of hypertension; (2) prevalence of concomitant risk factors, risk factor values, and/or control levels among hypertensive patients; and (3) lifestyle factors. The commentary concludes with a discussion of strategies for improving cardiovascular health in the population. The authors note the higher stroke incidence in Spain than in the United States probably reflects differences between the 2 countries in the clinical epidemiology of hypertension (Table 1). 1-3 More specifically, the prevalence of hypertension is marginally higher in Spain than in the United States, whereas awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension are much lower in Spain than in the United States. Hypertension prevalence, awareness, and control were defined similarly in both countries (Table 1), although blood pressure was measured in triplicate in 2 sets of measurements separated by 90 minutes in the Spain cohort and in triplicate in only 1 set of readings in the US cohort. Blood …
On the conflicts of wildlife management in Africa

SUMMARY The paper analyses the conflict between wildlife conservation and the costs and benefits obtained from it in an East African context. A well defined agency is managing a national park of fixed area. Wildlife is also assumed to be ‘owned’ by the park authority. The park owner has therefore economic incentives to conserve the wildlife. The management policy, however, does not take into account the damage caused to the production of the agropastoralists living in the proximity of the park by the wildlife roaming freely in and out of the park. The conflict is first analysed in a one-species framework. Next, the model is extented to a two-species framework where the species compete for grazing lands.
Money in – brains out? Institutional logics affecting athletes’ preparation for alternative careers

Abstract Competitive sport encourages athletes to put all their effort into excelling in their sport despite the fact that sport careers are short and can be abruptly terminated. This study addresses the issue of dual career preparation among team sport athletes in a sample comprising Norwegian full-professional male soccer players and semi-professional soccer and handball players. Professional athletes hardly spend more time on their sport than do semi-professional top players, but while the latter group of athletes combine sports careers and higher education (or work), professional players tend to spend their leisure time more with family and friends. A competing institutional logics approach is utilised to analyse the data and reflect on social influences on athletes’ choice of career preparation.
3-D Wafer-Level Packaging Die Stacking Using Spin-on-Dielectric Polymer Liner Through-Silicon Vias

In this paper, we report on the processing and the electrical characterization of a 3-D-wafer level packaging through-silicon-via (TSV) flow, using a polymer-isolated, Cu-filled TSV, realized on thinned wafers bonded to temporary carriers. A Cu/Sn micro-bump structure is integrated in the TSV process flow and used for realizing a two-die stack. Before TSV processing, the Si wafers are bonded to temporary carriers and thinned down to 50 μm. The actual TSV and micro-bump process uses 3 masks, two Si-deep-reactive ion etching steps and a polymer liner as a dielectric. The dimensions of the TSV structure are: 35 μm ØTSV, 5 μm thick polymer liner, 25-μm-Ø Cu TSV, 50 μm deep TSV, and a 60 μm TSV pitch.
Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy

Starting from recent analyses that have argued that presidentialism is less favorable for building stable democracy than parliamentary systems, this article argues that the combination of a multiparty system and presidentialism is especially inimical to stable democracy. None of the world's 31 stable (defined as those that have existed for at least 25 consecutive years) democracies has this institutional configuration, and only one historical example—Chile from 1933 to 1973—did so. There are three reasons why this institutional combination is problematic. First, multiparty presidentialism is especially likely to produce immobilizing executive/legislative deadlock, and such deadlock can destabilize democracy. Second, multipartism is more likely than bipartism to produce ideological polarization, thereby complicating problems often associated with presidentialism. Finally, the combination of presidentialism and multipartism is complicated by the difficulties of interparty coalition building in presidential democracies, with deleterious consequences for democratic stability.
Skew Brownian Motion and Pricing European Options

Abstract The volatility smile and systematic mispricing of the Black–Scholes option pricing model are the typical motivation for examining stochastic processes other than geometric Brownian motion to describe the underlying stock price. In this paper a new stochastic process is presented, which is a special case of the skew-Brownian motion of Itô and McKean. The process in question is the sum of a standard Brownian motion and an independent reflecting Brownian motion that is similar in construction to the stochastic representation of a skew-normal random variable. This stochastic process is taken in its exponential form to price European options. The derived option price nests the Black–Scholes equation as a special case and is flexible enough to accommodate stochastic volatility as well as stochastic skewness.
Promoting organizational learning and self‐renewal in Taiwanese companies: The role of HRM

This study identifies key characteristics of human resource management (HRM) practices that contribute to promoting positive learning attitudes and creating a self-renewal organizational climate. We use a behavioral perspective to develop a framework to show the relationships among learning-oriented HRM, positive learning attitudes, and a self-renewal organizational climate. Structural equation analysis is applied to empirically test the relationships and the path model suggests that a learning-oriented HRM plays an important role in either directly creating a self-renewal organizational climate or indirectly facilitating positive learning attitudes that foster organizational self-renewal. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Impacts of New Entry and Horizontal Joint Ventures on Industrial Rates of Return

Data Resources, Inc., Regional Load-Curve Models, vols. 1 and 3 (Aug., Sept. 1981). Engle, Robert, Clive W. J. Granger, Allen Mitchem, and Ramu Ramanathan, "Some Problems in the Estimation of Daily Load Shapes and Peaks," Modelling and Analysis ofElectricity Demand by Time-of-Day, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), EA-1304, Dec. 1979. Engle, Robert F. , Clive W. J. Granger, and Ramu Ramanathan, Regional Load Curs e Models: QUERJ's Model Long Run Forecasts and Sensitidvity Analysis, EPRI, EA-1672, vol. 4 (Sept. 1981). Granger, Clive W. J., Robert F. Engle, Ramu Ramanathan, and Allan Andersen, "Residential Load Curves and Time-of-Day Pricing: An Econometric Analysis,'" Journal ofEconometrics 9 (1979), 13-32. Granger, Clive W. J., et al., A Regional Load Curve Model: Specification and Estimation, Electric Power Research Institute, forthcoming. Graybill, Franklin, Theory and Application of the Linear Model (North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press, 1976). Hanushek, Eric A. , "Efficient Estimators for Regressing Regression Coefficients," The American Statistician 28 (May 1974), 66-67. Mitchem, Allen, A Regional Model of Time of Day Elasticity Demand: A Tiuo Stage Approach, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of California at San Diego, 1981. Poirier, Dale, "Economic Issues in Land Forecasting," Modelling and Analysis of Electricity Demand by Time-oJ-Day, EPRI, EA-1304, Dec. 1979. Ramanathan, Ramu, Robert F. Engle, and Clive W. J. Granger, Regional Load Curlve Models: QUERJ's Model Long Run Forecasts and Sensitivity Analysis, EPRI, EA-1672, vol. 2 (Aug. 1981). University of Arizona Engineering Experiment Station, Modelling and Analysis of Electricity Demand by Time-of-Day, EPRI, EA-1304, Dec. 1979 (proceedings of the EPRI workshop at San Diego). U.S. Department of Commerce, "Notes on TemperatureHumidity Index," L.S. 5922, June 1959.
Empty nest syndrome in China

The empty nest syndrome means the loneliness and depression of parents in response to their children’s departure from home (Long & Martin, 2000). In China, the number of empty-nest families continues to rise (Liu & Guo, 2007) and the age of the parents in empty-nest families is becoming younger. One explanation for this could be the process of urbanization and the development of the economy. For example, some farmers go to the big cities to work and live, while their parents remain living in rural areas (Liu & Guo, 2007). Old age is related to loneliness. Also, economic factors have an important influence on the level of loneliness of the elderly in empty-nest families. The attachment of parents to their children increases their feelings of love; therefore, the departure of children plays a significant role in the loneliness of their parents (Liu & Guo, 2007). Hence, the elderly people of empty-nest families feel more lonely and have a lower quality of life than those of non-empty-nest families (Liu & Guo, 2007). Feelings of loneliness and social isolation are related to many disorders including cardiovascular disease, cancer and asthma, which suggests that it is very important to provide social and emotional support for the elderly across cultures (Liu & Guo, 2008). Support from spouses could decrease feelings of loneliness in the elderly. For example, couples in China are often encouraged to stay together because the Chinese culture discourages divorce and separation (Chen et al., 2006). Moreover, research has suggested that it is very important to provide the elderly with more social support from friends, neighbours and other family members (Liu & Guo, 2007). The formation of a Senior Association is also effective, as it helps the empty-nest elderly to participate in social activities including singing, dancing, calligraphy, fishing and Taijiquan (a kind of traditional Chinese shadowboxing).
Buying decisions towards organic products: an analysis of customer value and brand drivers

Purpose – Many multinational companies have entered the market of organic cosmetics and toiletries (OCT) in the global marketplace. This study attempts to analyze the impact of economic and relational variables on customer and brand values in reference to OCT products in Mexico through empirical investigation in selected department stores that attract high profile customers. The study proposes a framework for future research in measuring the customer value in specific reference to the non‐conventional products.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on the primary data using the information of 369 respondents, who were involved in shopping at chosen retail self‐service stores in Mexico City, administering a semi‐structured questionnaire. The study was conducted in 11 retail self‐service stores in Mexico City including four departmental stores spread over three locations in Mexico. The data has been fit to the model developed for the study using linear equations. One of the prominent features eme.
An Online Coupled Dictionary Learning Approach for Remote Sensing Image Fusion

Most earth observation satellites, such as IKONOS, QuickBird, GeoEye, and WorldView-2, provide a high spatial resolution (HR) panchromatic (Pan) image and a multispectral (MS) image at a lower spatial resolution (LR). Image fusion is an effective way to acquire the HR MS images that are widely used in various applications. In this paper, we propose an online coupled dictionary learning (OCDL) approach for image fusion, in which a superposition strategy is applied to construct the coupled dictionaries. The constructed coupled dictionaries are further developed via an iterative update to ensure that the HR MS image patch can be almost identically reconstructed by multiplying the HR dictionary and the sparse coefficient vector, which is solved by sparsely representing its counterpart LR MS image patch over the LR dictionary. The fusion results from IKONOS and WorldView-2 data show that the proposed fusion method is competitive or even superior to the other state-of-the-art fusion methods.
An examination of the effect of health promotion plan in high school students’ on knowledge and performance on peers suffering from asthma in high schools of district 3 in Esfahan, 2010

Background: Asthma is the most prevalent disease during childhood, known as the most important reason for children's disability adolescences truancies, thanks to their hospitalization and as a result intensification of disease symptom. Material and methods: The present study is quasi-experimental kind, implemented with two groups. Sampling method was straightforward. 80 student's second-grade high school students constitute participants. Both groups were homogenized considering age, gender, education, and parent's vocation. First of all, a letter agreement was received from students. Then, the knowledge and accomplishment of students were measured by means of relevant questionnaire and checklist in advance of educational intervention. In the next step, during 4 sessions, educational content specified beforehand was presented to students via interview, lecture, group discussion, and display methods. The knowledge and accomplishment of both groups’ students was measured through questionnaire and checklist. Finally, the data was analyzed by SPSS 16 and statistical test of t-paired, independent-t, man-Whitney, and ANOVA. Results: The finding demonstrated that group's student accomplishment registered 91.8 ± 1.3 while being 2.2 ± 0.6 before holding session. In addition, their knowledge increased significantly, registering 99.6 ± 1.2 while it had measured as 1.3 ± 0.3 before sessions. The results of paired t-test indicated that the average of difference between knowledge and accomplishment grades of two groups was significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: Regarding the finding of the present study and the fact that asthma is on the rise resulting in an increase in truancies as well as stressing the efficacy of training peers suffering from the disease, the implementation of the curriculum could be necessary.
Effects of transitory consumption and temporal aggregation on the permanent income hypothesis

This paper shows that U.S. monthly consumption data are consistent with the permanent income hypothesis when transitory consumption and temporal aggregation effects are jointly incorporated into the model. In this case, a more appropriate representation for the permanent income hypothesis is the integrated-moving average IMA(1,1) process with a negative MA coefficient, rather than the repeatedly rejected random walk process. Restrictions on the relative importance of transitory and permanent consumption are also discussed, with and without measurement errors. Copyright 1993 by MIT Press.