Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Organisation of Innovation in Services

This is a timely text that adds new evidence to a much under-researched area of management. It aims to provide new theory on the organisation and management of innovation in services by extending innovation research on manufacturing firms in relation to those three traditional factors in innovation: strategy, technology development and entrepreneurship. The core of the evidence focuses on two in-depth case studies of companies in financial services, whilst also including findings from other companies in this industry, as well as less detailed comparisons with tourism, management consultancy, and catering. The book concludes by arguing that a more appropriate focus of explanation for innovation in services is that of entrepreneurship rather than technology development, and that the relationship between top management and other interest groups regulated innovation in services.
Impact of organ failure and major complications on outcome in acute Type A aortic dissection

Abstract Objectives. Organ failure and major complications after operations for acute Type A aortic dissection impair outcomes. The objective was to analyze the prevalence of organ failure and major complications, their interrelationship and predictors, and their impact on early and late survival. Design. All operative survivors 1990–2009 (n = 335) were retrospectively reviewed. Predictors of organ failure and major complications (bleeding, infection, renal or respiratory failure, neurological dysfunction, and multisystem organ failure) and their influence on in-hospital and long-term mortality were analyzed with multivariable statistical methods. Results. Major complication(s) occurred in 153 patients (46%), most frequently bleeding and permanent neurological dysfunction (19% each). Increasing organ system failure index increased in-hospital mortality markedly: zero (2.9%), one (14%), two (33%), three or more (43%), p = 0.002. Reoperation for bleeding (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) 2.6 [1.1–6.3], multisystem organ failure 4.3 [1.4–13], and permanent neurological dysfunction 14 [6.2–32] were related to in-hospital mortality. The latter two and respiratory failure also entailed increased long-term mortality. Conclusions. Organ failure and major complications were common and impacted negatively on both in-hospital and long-term survival. Strategies to avoid or treat organ failure and major complications should improve early and late survival after surgery for acute Type A aortic dissection.
Friction compensation with estimated velocity

The problem of friction compensation at very low velocity is investigated experimentally. Two published friction compensation strategies, based on two well-known friction models, are evaluated experimentally on a direct drive robot arm. One is an adaptive nonlinear dynamic friction compensation method using the LuGre friction model, and the other is a decomposition-based friction compensation method based on a friction model parameter linearization approach. In the experiments, a new velocity estimation method is implemented. The method significantly improves the effectiveness of friction compensation for all tested methods.
Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Modulation of Breathing Pattern in Mammals a

Understanding the generation and modulation of respiratory pattern requires knowledge of the cellular and network properties of the central nervous system controller. Although considerable efforts have focused on network properties, recent efforts in several laboratories have emphasized the importance of cellular mechanisms. Using a novel experimental in vitro system, we have been able to investigate several classes of cellular mechanisms difficult or impossible to study in vivo or in tissue slices. The conclusions and hypotheses that we have made include the following: 1. Respiratory rhythm and spatiotemporal patterns of (pre)motoneuronal activity are separately generated. 2. Cl- -dependent inhibition is critical in burst pattern formation. 3. Cl- -dependent and at least one type of K+-dependent (GABAB) inhibition is not necessary for rhythm generation. 4. Inhibitory neurotransmitters, including those acting through second messenger systems, can modulate respiratory rhythm and pattern. 5. Pacemakers underlie rhythm generation. 6. Excitatory inspiratory drive to respiratory motoneurons is mediated by an excitatory amino acid, which acts on both post- and presynaptic receptors. The effort to verify these conclusions and test these hypotheses should greatly enhance our understanding of the nervous control of respiration.
Hardware-in-the-loop validation of energy managed home thermal zone

The goal of this paper is to propose a real time solution to validate energy smart-home strategies that support Demand Side Management done by direct control. The validation concerns the appliances under control. An Energy Management System globally controls the appliances of a house, satisfying the subscription power limits. A hardware-in-the-loop test bench, based on a real-time simulator called RT_LAB, is proposed to exemplify the validation mean: it is used to assess the performances of an energy management strategy for a thermal zone based on the control of a heater. Physical devices are introduced into the simulated system to check whether they can support the control strategies.
Multiple Phosphorylation Events Regulate the Subcellular Localization of GGA1

GGAs comprise a family of Arf‐dependent coat proteins or adaptors that regulate vesicle traffic from the trans‐Golgi network (TGN). GGAs bind activated Arf, cargo, and additional components necessary for vesicle budding through interactions with their four functional domains: VHS, GAT, hinge, and GAE. We identified three sites of phosphorylation in GGA1 by tandem mass spectrometry: S268 and T270 in the GAT domain and S480 in the hinge. Expression of HA‐GGA1 in mammalian cells and comparison to endogenous GGA1 confirmed their localization to late Golgi compartments. In contrast, mutations that mimic the phosphoprotein (HA‐GGA1[S268D] or HA‐GGA1[T270D]) at either of the sites in the GAT domain caused a decrease in the colocalization with markers of the Golgi and TGN and an increase in puncta in cytoplasm. Quantitative comparisons of the extent of colocalization of GGA1 proteins with the known components of GGA1 vesicles revealed that the composition of those markers tested in HA‐GGA1[S268D] and HA‐GGA1[T270D] vesicles were indistinguishable from those of HA‐GGA1 vesicles. We conclude that phosphorylation of the GAT domain can stabilize the coat proteins bound and thus regulate the rate of coat protein dissociation.
Correlation of Aflatoxin Contamination With Zinc Content of Chicken Feed

Feed samples from chicken houses in five commercial chicken operations were analyzed for Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cd, and aflatoxin content. Mean aflatoxin content of these samples was 14 ppb (14 ng/g) as opposed to 1.2 ppb in samples taken when the feed was made. Aflatoxin content of the feed samples correlated (r = 0.325) significantly (P < 0.05) with Zn content but not with Mn, Fe, or Cu, all of which correlated significantly with Zn. Zn content of unamended feed (<20 ppm [20 μg/g]) is normally supplemented with a mineral premix containing Zn, Mn, Fe, and Cu to meet the nutrient requirements of chickens (40 ppm of Zn). The mean zinc concentration of the feed samples (117 ppm) was about threefold greater than the nutrient requirement and ranged from 58 to 162 ppm in individual samples. These field survey results parallel earlier reports of augmented production of aflatoxin in monocultures of aflatoxigenic fungi in corn and other ingredients supplemented with Zn. These results suggest that stricter control of Zn levels during manufacture could reduce aflatoxin contamination of feed consumed by chickens.
Pitch-based steganography for Speex voice codec

This paper presents an improved version of a steganographic algorithm for IP telephony called HideF0. It is based on approximating the F0 parameter, which is responsible for conveying information about the pitch of the speech signal. The bits saved due to simplification of the pitch contour are used for the hidden transmission. In our experiments, the proposed method was applied to the narrowband Speex codec working in five different modes, with bitrates between 5,950i? źbps and 24,600i? źbps. We showed that HideF0 was able to create hidden channels with steganographic bandwidths of around 200i? źbps at the expense of a steganographic cost of between 0.5 and 0.7 MOS, depending on the Speex mode. Because of placing the approximation flag in the voice packet header, the improved version of the proposed algorithm yielded a significantly lower decrease in speech quality, when compared with the original version of HideF0. In addition, for low bitrates of the hidden channel i.e., below ca. 50i? źbps it was able to operate without introducing any steganographic cost. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new method for vehicle detection using MexicanHat wavelet and moment invariants

Considering the limits of power and processors in wireless intelligent terminals for vision-based intelligent transportation systems, a new strategy is proposed for vehicle detection in this paper. The contribution of the proposed strategy consists of the adaptive edge detection and feature extraction. In the step of the adaptive edge detection, an adaptive threholding rule is proposed and used for the wavelet modulus maximum method. The threshold rule keeps the edge sharpness and the robustness to noise to improve the detection accuracy. To reduce the computation time, the moment invariants based on Hu moments are calculated to reduce feature data and keep the feature with the invariance of translation, scale and rotation. The real vehicle and non-vehicle images are used to construct the database for experiments. The experimental results show that the average correct rate is about 85%-88% while the running time is less than 1 second. The proposed strategy keeps the balance of the accuracy and running time to a certain extent.
The Relationship between Customer and Supplier Perceptions of the Manufacturer's Market Orientation and It's Business Performance

This study is designed to test the relationship between the manufacturer's downstream (upstream) market orientation and the manufacturer's business performance, using self-reports and customer (supplier) reports of the manufacturer's downstream (upstream) market-oriented behaviours. The findings from a sample of 72 matched sets of suppliers, manufacturers and customers in the Netherlands reveal that the manufacturer's downstream (upstream) market orientation has a positive effect on its business performance, regardless of whether self-reports or customer (supplier) reports are used. The results also reveal that customer reports and self-reports of the manufacturer's downstream market-oriented behaviours are consistent. However, the results show a discrepancy between supplier reports and self-reports of the manufacturer's upstream market-oriented efforts. Of interest to marketers is to what extent this discrepancy affects the manufacturer's long-term business performance.
Proportion of hospital readmissions deemed avoidable: a systematic review

Background Readmissions to hospital are increasingly being used as an indicator of quality of care. However, this approach is valid only when we know what proportion of readmissions are avoidable. We conducted a systematic review of studies that measured the proportion of readmissions deemed avoidable. We examined how such readmissions were measured and estimated their prevalence. Methods We searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to identify all studies published from 1966 to July 2010 that reviewed hospital readmissions and that specified how many were classified as avoidable. Results Our search strategy identified 34 studies. Three of the studies used combinations of administrative diagnostic codes to determine whether readmissions were avoidable. Criteria used in the remaining studies were subjective. Most of the studies were conducted at single teaching hospitals, did not consider information from the community or treating physicians, and used only one reviewer to decide whether readmissions were avoidable. The median proportion of readmissions deemed avoidable was 27.1% but varied from 5% to 79%. Three study-level factors (teaching status of hospital, whether all diagnoses or only some were considered, and length of follow-up) were significantly associated with the proportion of admissions deemed to be avoidable and explained some, but not all, of the heterogeneity between the studies. Interpretation All but three of the studies used subjective criteria to determine whether readmissions were avoidable. Study methods had notable deficits and varied extensively, as did the proportion of readmissions deemed avoidable. The true proportion of hospital readmissions that are potentially avoidable remains unclear.
A review of multi-elements resonant converters topologies

The paper deals with a review of multi-elements resonant converter topologies. The superior performance of the proposed resonant converter provides inherent current protection and very low circulating energy. The proposed resonant converters can operate with a short output circuit. The converter can achieve zero current swathing (ZCS) and zero voltage switching (ZVS)conditions for the primary and secondary-side of the device respectively. The converters achieve 91W/in3 power density and efficiency up to 96% at the full load. The paper includes the basic equations, analysis and simulation of chosen topologies (LCTLC, LCLCL, LCL2C2).
An Empirical Study of the Impact of Corporate Taxation on the Debt Policy of Canadian Firms

This paper discusses the influence of Canadian corporate tax rates on the debt-asset ratios of Canadian firms, 1970-82. Five theoretical models are reviewed and used to construct a linear encompassing model of financial structure. Empirical evidence from Canadian firms from COMPUSTAT files supports the tax loss, bankruptcy cost, managerial incentive and adverse selection models and rejects the Miller model. The most novel and significant finding is that corporate tax rates have a strong, positive, and stable effect on debt-asset ratios.
The Gender Differences in the Effect of Two-sidedness E-WOM Presentation Order on Product Attitude

In the Internet environment, electronic word-of mouth plays an important role in affecting consumers’ attitude toward product and service. However, there exists a widespread situation that consumers may receive two-sidedness e-WOM (An e-WOM has both positive and negative message about the same object), and past research has shown that gender differences and situational involvement affect consumers’ perception of e-WOM. This article demonstrates how presentation order of two-sidedness electronic word-of-mouth and gender influence in consumers’ perception and attitude toward product under different situations. Our study found that two-sidedness e-WOM presentation order and gender influenced product attitude: under low-involvement situation, males (females) exhibited primacy (recency)effects when receiving a two-sidedness e-WOM which containing both positive and negative messages about product. Under high-involvement situation, all respondents appeared to process two-sidedness e-WOM systematically and consider more relevant information in their evaluations. The result revealed that females continued to exhibit recency effects, but the primacy effects with males disappeared, they will exhibit obvious recency effects.
Non-contraceptive benefits of oral contraceptives

The health benefits of the oral contraceptive (OC) pill are numerous and outweigh the risks of OC use. There are unintended but useful preventive side effects and potential therapeutic uses of OCs apart from contraception itself. Unequivocal evidence for the protective influence of combined OCs against ovarian and endometrial cancers, and colon cancer to a lesser extent, has been found. The pill also reduces the incidence of benign breast disease, functional ovar- ian cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease requiring hospitalization, ectopic pregnancy, and iron- deficiency anemia. The pill can be used for the treatment of several gynecologic disorders such as dysmenorrhea, irregular or excessive bleeding, acne, hirsutism, and endometriosis-associated pain, whether prescribed solely to treat these symptoms or prescribed to treat them in addition to providing contraception. These health benefits are often underestimated, as they get too little attention from the mass media.
Identification of gram-positive coccal and coccobacillary vancomycin-resistant bacteria

A total of 84 of 150 vancomycin-resistant (defined as no inhibition of bacterial growth around a 30-micrograms vancomycin disk placed on 5% sheep blood-Trypticase soy agar [BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, Md.]) bacteria were definitively identified by determining the phenotypic criteria. The identity of representatives was also confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridizations. The following strains were identified: 1 Enterococcus faecium, 18 Leuconostoc mesenteroides, 15 Leuconostoc citreum, 9 Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides, 2 Leuconostoc lactis, 20 Pediococcus acidilactici, 5 Pediococcus pentosaceus, and 14 Lactobacillus confusus. The remaining vancomycin-resistant strains were identified as probable Leuconostoc (6 strains), probable Pediococcus (1 strain), and probable lactobacilli (28 strains). A total of 32 strains of gram-positive coccobacillary bacteria remained unidentified. Tests used for the phenotypic identification of strains to the genus level included a Gram stain of bacteria grown in thioglycolate broth, gas production in Lactobacillus Mann, Rogosa, and Sharpe broth, hydrolysis of pyrrolidonyl-beta-naphthylamide, bile-esculin reaction, demonstration of streptococcal group D antigen, and growth at 10 and 45 degrees C and in 6.5% NaCl broth. Strains were identified to the species level by hydrolysis of esculin, reactions in litmus milk, slime production on 5% sucrose agar, acidification of maltose, melibiose, and raffinose broths, deamination of arginine, and growth at 42 degrees C and in 6.5% NaCl broth.
Ten-year follow-up of age-related macular degeneration in the age-related eye disease study: AREDS report no. 36.

IMPORTANCE Providing long-term follow-up of the natural history of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and associated risk factors will facilitate future epidemiologic studies and clinical trials. OBJECTIVE To describe 10-year progression rates to intermediate or advanced AMD. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We observed the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) participants for an additional 5 years after a randomized clinical trial of antioxidant vitamins and minerals was completed. Observation occurred at 11 clinical sites of medical retinal practices from academic institutions and community medical centers. Participants aged 55 to 80 years with no AMD or AMD of varying severity (n = 4757) were followed up in the AREDS trial for a median duration of 6.5 years. When the trial ended, 3549 of the 4203 surviving participants were followed for 5 additional years. EXPOSURE Treatment with antioxidant vitamins and minerals. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Development of varying stages of AMD and changes in visual acuity. The rates of progression to large drusen and advanced AMD (neovascular AMD or central geographic atrophy) were evaluated using annual fundus photographs assessed centrally. Best-corrected visual acuity was measured at annual study visits. RESULTS The risk of progression to advanced AMD increased with increasing age (P = .01) and severity of drusen. Women (P = .005) and current smokers (P < .001) were at increased risk of neovascular AMD. In the oldest participants with the most severe AMD status at baseline, the risks of developing neovascular AMD and central geographic atrophy by 10 years were 48.1% and 26.0%, respectively. Similarly, rates of progression to large drusen increased with increasing severity of drusen at baseline, with 70.9% of participants with bilateral medium drusen progressing to large drusen and 13.8% to advanced AMD in 10 years. Median visual acuity at 10 years in eyes that had large drusen at baseline but never developed advanced AMD was 20/25; eyes that developed advanced AMD had a median visual acuity of 20/200. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The natural history of AMD demonstrates relentless loss of vision in persons who developed advanced AMD. These progression data and the risk factor analyses may be helpful to investigators conducting research in clinic populations.
Retrieving the Past: A Reclamation and Reconstruction of the Social Survey of Bristol, 1937

This article describes the problems presented by the reclamation and reconstitution of historical survey data. The major aim of the article is to identify methodological and practical issues posed by the coding of historical data. It reiterates a critique of post-coding which has become the emergent historical standard. The Bristol Social Survey of 1937, which has survived only in a coded form, provides data and examples which demonstrate the perils and pitfalls inherent in pre-coded historical data.
Causes and consequences of trust in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) is believed to empower consumers, but national surveys indicate declining trust in DTCA. Given the unique characteristics of this category, it is unclear what the likely consequences are of reduced trust in these ads. Furthermore, previous research is inadequate to discern the basis of trust in DTCA. To address this issue, a model of the antecedent and consequent factors connected to trust in DTCA was developed based on prior empirical findings and relevant theory. This paper presents survey findings testing the model. Results show trust is predicted by perceptions of mediated health information sources, advertising in general, pharmaceutical companies, and the perceived value and informativeness of prescription drug ads. Regarding outcomes, results were mixed for the relationship of trust with attention, attitudes, and behavioural intent. Overall, findings suggest trust plays a complex role in shaping consumer reactions to prescription drug ads.
Essays on the dispersion of effective VAT rates in China : causes and consequences

It is well known that tax administration can be subject to an influence of political power, and bad tax administration may lead to an efficiency loss. However, both the extent and the mechanisms of the political intervention and the efficiency loss are still not fully understood in empirical works. Using the Chinese Annual Survey of Manufacturing Firms, digitized data on the turnover of prefectural secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party, and the County Public Finance Statistics Yearbook in China from the year 2000 to 2007, the three chapters in this Ph.D. thesis aim to contribute to our understanding of following three questions: 1. How do local government incentives affect tax enforcement and effective tax rate of VAT? 2. What is the role of local politicians in selective tax enforcement across industries? 3. To what extent does the dispersion in the effective VAT rate across firms lead to production efficiency loss via the channel of resource misallocation? The results suggest that: 1. Weak local government incentives, rather than lack of information on tax base, lead to a low effective VAT rate in China. 2. There is an increasing favouritism in tax enforcement towards capital-intensive industries as the prefectural secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party stay longer in office. On the contrary, labour-intensive industries face tougher tax enforcement. 3. A tax-neutral reform which eliminates the dispersion in VAT rates across firms in the same 4-digit industry produces a gain in aggregate TFP in the order of 7.9% of GDP on average in the period from 2000 to 2007.