Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asymptotic Solution of Stiff PDEs with the CSP Method: The Reaction Diffusion Equation

The computational singular perturbation (CSP) method is employed for the solution of stiff PDEs and for the acquisition of the most important physical understanding. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by analyzing a transient reaction-diffusion problem. It is shown that in the regions where the solution exhibits smooth spatial slopes, a simple nonstiff system of equations can be used instead of the full governing equations. From the simplified system, which is numerically provided by CSP and whose structure varies with space and time, important physical information comes to light. The relation of this method to the class of asymptotic expansion methods is explored. It is shown that the CSP results are identical to the ones obtained by the asymptotic methods. The identifications of the nondimensional parameters and the tedious manipulations needed by the asymptotic methods are performed by programmable numerical or analytic computations specified by CSP. Preliminary numerical results are presented validating the theoretical aspects of the proposed algorithm and providing a measure of its usefulness and its accuracy.
Clonality of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 1 Isolates from Pediatric Patients in the United States

ABSTRACT We compared Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1 isolates causing disease among children in six geographic regions of the United States to determine genetic relatedness. Genomic fingerprints were determined by repetitive element polymorphism PCR (Rep-PCR). Multilocus sequence type characterization was performed on selected isolates. Four different genomic banding patterns were identified by Rep-PCR. One profile (clone 1) was predominant and matched sequence type 227.
Glucagonoma syndrome and necrolytic migratory erythema

The glucagonoma syndrome is a rare disorder, characterized by necrolytic migratory erythema, elevated serum glucagon levels, abnormal glucose tolerance, weight loss, and anemia in association with a glucagon‐secreting alpha‐cell tumor of the pancreas. We present a 67‐year‐old diabetic patient with extensive cutaneous lesions, weight loss, and poor glycemic control. The clinical investigation revealed a pancreatic glucagonoma with resolution of the cutaneous and systemic features after surgical removal. The dermatologic and endocrine approach to this syndrome is discussed here. Early recognition and treatment may prevent metastatic disease and ensure its cure with resolution of the cutaneous and catabolic manifestations.
Some Remarks on Latent Variable Models in Categorical Data Analysis

We present an overview of some important and/or interesting contributions to the latent variable literature for the analysis of multivariate categorical responses, beginning with Lazarsfeld's introduction of latent class models. There is by now an enormous literature on latent variable models for categorical responses, especially in the context of including random effects in generalized linear mixed models, so this is necessarily a highly selective overview. Due to space considerations, we summarize the main ideas, suppressing details. As part of our presentation, we raise a couple of questions that may suggest future research work.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE TURKISH BANKING INDUSTRY AND THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS

ABSRACT Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a relatively new concept in Turkey. Leading companies including banks stress their socially responsible behavior in their marketing activities. The current economic crisis put banks into the center stage again. Turkey was one of the few countries that emerged from the economic downturn relatively quickly. In the initial stages of the crisis, banks faced some criticism for protecting their self-interest more and not acting for the good of society. Later, these criticisms got weaker and less frequent. This paper examines the behavior of banks during the crisis with respect to CSR and social marketing. Particularly, the paper analyzes how the banks behaved during the crisis and supported small and medium scale enterprises and local communities through their CSR strategies and how they communicated these efforts. In addition, the outcome of these strategies is discussed. The findings are based upon desktop research and interviews conducted with selected bank managers and stakeholders.
Developing successful technology‐based services: the issue of identifying and involving innovative users

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to explore the identification of innovative customers and the effectiveness of employing such customers to generate new service ideas in a technology-based service setting.Design/methodology/approach– The first study reported here employs the “technology readiness” (TR) construct and involves telephone surveys with randomly selected Swedish consumers. The second involves a field experiment.Findings– Findings from Study I suggest that the TR is a useful tool for identifying users who exhibit both innovative attitudes and behaviors. The results from Study II show that users with a high TR are highly creative as reflected by the quantity and quality of new service ideas.Research limitations/implications– The sample size for Study II was relatively small and making empirical generalizations with confidence should await results from studies involving larger samples. However, in sum the research demonstrates that TR appears to be an effective tool for identifying innovative customers who would be both willing to participate in new service development and capable of generating creative ideas.Originality/value– Service businesses interested in using customers to help generate new ideas could benefit from this research.
The women’s wear industry in the UK 1993‐2001: a statistical review

The paper charts the evolution of the UK women’s wear industry between 1993 and 2001 in terms of domestic production and trade. UK domestic production fell by 41 per cent in value terms and 52 per cent in volume terms while import penetration rose to 67 per cent in value terms or 96 per cent in volume terms.
Impact of online consumer reviews on sales and price strategies: a review and directions for future research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the growing literature on the relationship between online consumer reviews and sales, with implications on firm actions such as pricing.Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes the form of a literature review.Findings – Interesting results from the literature are organized into six categories: sales and related dependent variables, review dimensions, reviewer characteristics, reader characteristics, product category, and product.Research limitations/implications – The broad overview of the literature provides insights into potential areas for further research. Several suggestions towards this are provided in the paper. The focus is substantive rather than methodological.Practical implications – More detailed understanding of the relevant concepts and phenomena will hopefully lead to improved decision making.Originality/value – While the literature on online reviews is relatively recent, it has expanded quickly during the past five.
A survey of Karakul sheep farmers in Southern Kalahari, Botswana: management practices and constraints to improving production

Karakul sheep breed has a lot to offer to livestock production in many parts of Botswana. This breed of sheep is acclimatised to desert conditions, which prevail in most parts of Botswana. This breed produces a range of products viz meat, milk, fur/pelt and wool, allowing for diversification of farm produce hence reduced risks attached to the production of a single product. The Karakul breed has however, not spread to most parts of Botswana for reasons that are not obvious. There has been scanty research on production attributes and constraints to production faced by local farmers in Botswana. Therefore, the objective of this research was to administer a survey questionnaire to Karakul sheep farmers in order to document management practices farmers employ and also find out problems that they encounter in their production systems and then provide possible solutions. The results showed that on average the 10 interviewed Karakul farmers kept 214.3±196.7 Karakul sheep, 141.1±151.1 beef cattle, mainly Tswana-Brahman crosses and 183.8±68.5 goats, mainly Boer goat and Tswana-Boer goat crosses. Such farming strategy reduces risks attached to one enterprise due to market fluctuations and droughts, which are common in this part of the country. Karakul sheep farmers also keep donkeys, mules and horses that are a source of transport in this sandy part of Botswana. The majority of farmers practice free range grazing systems, supplementing their sheep when ever is necessary. The major constraints to efficient karakul production are lack of animal feeds during periods of scarcity, lack of market for pelts and meat, lack of skilled manpower, lack of capital and diseases. These constraints could be solved by the involvement of the government in aiding Karakul sheep farmers. Firstly, by establishing contacts and contracts with the wetter parts of the country, where feeds can be readily produced. Secondly, by providing skilled labour such as pelt sorters and graders. Thirdly, by providing a similar marketing strategy as for beef cattle and lastly encouraging disease research in Kalahari area. Provision of solution to the current production constraints would tremendously boost farmers production and their income hence leading to the goal of national food security, which has been advocated for sometime now.
Do the victims of school bullies tend to become depressed later in life? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which bullying victimization in school predicts depression in later life and whether this relation holds after controlling for other major childhood risk factors.Design/methodology/approach – As no previous systematic review has been conducted on this topic, effect sizes are based on both published and unpublished studies: longitudinal investigators of 28 studies have conducted specific analyses for the authors' review.Findings – The probability of being depressed up to 36 years later (mean follow‐up period of 6.9 years) was much higher for children who were bullied at school than for non‐involved students (odds ratio (OR)=1.99; 95 per cent CI: 1.71‐2.32). Bullying victimization was a significant risk factor for later depression even after controlling for up to 20 (mean number of six covariates) major childhood risk factors (OR=1.74; 95 per cent CI: 1.54‐1.97). Effect sizes were smaller when the follow‐up period was longer and larger the .
Business relations and reputation - A study on the impact of negative reputation in a buyer-supplier relationship

Research gap: Reputation is seen as an important asset for companies and can create competitive advantages. Within business-to-business the reputation of the company is argued to affect the relationship between buyers and suppliers and although the area is stressed to be important, it is still under-researched. Previous literature is not aligning when it comes to the importance of reputation and the duration of the relationship and it also states trust to have impact on important parts of the relationship, such as affective commitment and the willingness to invest.Purpose: The purpose of the thesis was to measure to what extent the duration of a buyer-supplier relationship affects trust, and to what extent trust affects the affective commitment and willingness to invest, when the reputation of the supplier was negative as the outcome of adverse publicity.Hypothesis: H1a; H1b: The duration of buyer-supplier relationship has a positive impact on Trust (integrity or benevolence) if the reputation of the supplier is negativeH2a; H2b: Trust (integrity or benevolence) has a positive impact on affective Commitment, if the reputation of the supplier is negativeH3a; H3b: Trust (integrity or benevolence) has a positive impact on willingness to invest if the reputation of the supplier is negativeMethod: The study had a quantitative approach and collected the data by a questionnaire sent to manufacturing business-to-business companies by email. 462 companies were contacted which resulted in 72 usable answers.Conclusion:The buyer-supplier relationship was not to a significantly extent affected by negative reputation and the duration of the relationship was not differing to a substantially extent. The different trust increased the buyers’ affective commitment and willingness to invest which demonstrates the importance of trust in the relationship due to negative reputation.
Analysis of Transmembrane Segment 8 of the GLUT1 Glucose Transporter by Cysteine-scanning Mutagenesis and Substituted Cysteine Accessibility*

The GLUT1 glucose transporter has been proposed to form an aqueous substrate translocation pathway via the clustering of several amphipathic transmembrane helices (Mueckler, M., Caruso, C., Baldwin, S. A., Panico, M., Blench, I., Morris, H. R., Allard, W. J., Lienhard, G. E., and Lodish, H. F. (1985) Science 229, 941–945). The possible role of transmembrane helix 8 in the formation of this permeation pathway was investigated using cysteine-scanning mutagenesis and the membrane-impermeant sulfhydryl-specific reagent, p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (pCMBS). Twenty-one GLUT1 mutants were created from a fully functional cysteine-less parental GLUT1 molecule by successively changing each residue along transmembrane segment 8 to a cysteine. The mutant proteins were then expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and their membrane concentrations, 2-deoxyglucose uptake activities, and sensitivities to pCMBS were determined. Four positions within helix 8, alanine 309, threonine 310, serine 313, and glycine 314, were accessible to pCMBS as judged by the inhibition of transport activity. All four of these residues are clustered along one face of a putative α-helix. These results suggest that transmembrane segment 8 of GLUT1 forms part of the sugar permeation pathway. Updated two-dimensional models for the orientation of the 12 transmembrane helices and the conformation of the exofacial glucose binding site of GLUT1 are proposed that are consistent with existing experimental data and homology modeling based on the crystal structures of two bacterial membrane transporters.
Activity-Dependent Developmental Plasticity of the Auditory Brain Stem in Children Who Use Cochlear Implants

Objectives 1) To determine if a period of early auditory deprivation influences neural activity patterns as revealed by human auditory brain stem potentials evoked by electrical stimulation from a cochlear implant. 2) To examine the potential for plasticity in the human auditory brain stem. Specifically, we asked if electrically evoked auditory potentials from the auditory nerve and brain stem in children show evidence of development as a result of implant use. 3) To assess whether a sensitive or critical period exists in auditory brain stem development. Specifically, is there an age of implantation after which there are no longer developmental changes in auditory brain stem activity as revealed by electrically evoked potentials? Design The electrically evoked compound potential of the auditory nerve (ECAP) and the electrically evoked auditory brain stem response (EABR) were recorded repeatedly during the first year of implant use in each of 50 children. The children all had pre- or peri-lingual onset of severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss and received their implants at ages ranging from 12 mo to 17 yr. All children received Nucleus cochlear implant devices. All children were in therapy and in school programs that emphasized listening and required the children to wear their implants consistently. Results Initial stimulation from the cochlear implant evoked clear responses from the auditory nerve and auditory brain stem in most children. There was no correlation between minimum latency, maximum amplitude, or slope of amplitude growth of initial responses with age at implantation for ECAP eN1, EABR eIII and eV components (p > 0.05). During the first year of implant use, minimum latency of these waves significantly decreased (p < 0.01, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). Neural conduction time, measured using the interwave latency of ECAP eN1-EABR eIII for lower brain stem and EABR eIII-eV for upper brain stem, decreased during the period of 6 to 12 mo of cochlear implant use (p < 0.01 (lower), p < 0.0001(upper)). The ECAP wave eN1 and the EABR wave eV showed significant increases in amplitude during time of implant use (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). There were no correlations between the rate of interwave latency decrease and the rate of amplitude increases and the age at which children underwent implantation (p < 0.05). Conclusions Activity in the auditory pathways to the level of the midbrain can be evoked by acute stimulation from a cochlear implant. EABR measures are not influenced by any period of auditory deprivation. Auditory development proceeds once the implant is activated and involves improvements in neural conduction velocity and neural synchrony. Underlying mechanisms likely include improvements in synaptic efficacy and possibly increased myelination. The developmental plasticity that we have shown in the human auditory brain stem does not appear from EABR data to be limited by a critical period during childhood.
Robustness Margin Calculation with Dynamic and Real Parametric Uncertainty

The problem of Robust stability in feedback control systems with real uncertain parameters and unmodeled dynamics where the latter takes the form of one complex block dynamic uncertainty is considered. A robustness margin rm is defined with respect to such model uncertainty structure and robust stability is characterized in terms of it. An algorithm to calculate rm and the closely related Multivariable Stability Margin km and Structured Singular Value ¿ measures of Robust Stability is developed. It is shown that other control problems such as robust performance for real parametric uncertainty can also be handled in this framework.
Training to improve virtual team communication

Abstract. Organizations are utilizing virtual teams, comprising workgroup members who communicate and collaborate with technology, to accomplish tasks. These teams are geographically distributed and communicate via computer‐mediated communication systems (CMCS), and may never or rarely meet face‐to‐face. Relational links among team members have been found to be a significant contributor to the effectiveness of information exchange in the use of CMCS. In most cases, team members receive little or no training to improve the effectiveness of this form of communication. When training is used, it often focuses on software utilization skills, not on interpersonal communication dynamics. This paper discusses the effect of virtual team communication training on group interactions, especially for enhancing these relational links and thereby improving communication and information exchange in virtual teams. It was found that teams that were given appropriate training exhibited improved perceptions of the interaction process over time, specifically with regard to trust, commitment and frank expression between members. Discussion of the role of training on virtual team processes and outcomes is discussed and future research implications are presented.
Ethical Conflicts in Prehospital Emergency Care

This article analyses and presents a survey of ethical conflicts in prehospital emergency care. The results are based on six focus group interviews with 29 registered nurses and paramedics working in prehospital emergency care at three different locations: a small town, a part of a major city and a sparsely populated area. Ethical conflict was found to arise in 10 different nodes of conflict: the patient/carer relationship, the patient’s self-determination, the patient’s best interest, the carer’s professional ideals, the carer’s professional role and self-identity, significant others and bystanders, other care professionals, organizational structure and resource management, societal ideals, and other professionals. It is often argued that prehospital care is unique in comparison with other forms of care. However, in this article we do not find support for the idea that ethical conflicts occurring in prehospital care are unique, even if some may be more common in this context.
Analysis on Credit Card Fraud Detection Methods

Due to the theatrical increase of fraud which results in loss of dollars worldwide each year, several modern techniques in detecting fraud are persistently evolved and applied to many business fields. Fraud detection involves monitoring the activities of populations of users in order to estimate, perceive or avoid undesirable behavior. Undesirable behavior is a broad term including delinquency, fraud, intrusion, and account defaulting. This paper presents a survey of current techniques used in credit card fraud detection and telecommunication fraud. The goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of different techniques to detect fraud.
Model based predictive prefetching

Web caching and web prefetching are two effective techniques to latency reduction. However, most previous research has addressed only one of these two techniques separately. In this work, we propose an integrated web-caching and web-prefetching model, where the issues of prefetching aggressiveness, replacement policy and increased network traffic are addressed together in an integrated framework. The core of our integrated solution is a prediction model based on statistical correlation between web objects. The model is trained on realistic web server logs. By utilizing the predictive power of the model, we develop an integrated prefetching and caching algorithm, Pre-GDSF. We conduct simulations to examine the effectiveness of our algorithm. We show the tradeoff between latency reduction and increased network traffic achieved by Pre-GDSF. We also show why prefetching is more effective for smaller caches than for larger ones.