Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Examination of User Resistance in Mandatory Adoption of Enterprise Systems

User resistance is an important issue in the implementation of an Enterprise System (ES). However, despite the prevalence of user adoption literature, user resistance literature is scarce. Although some studies have conceptualized user resistance as the opposite of user adoption, a mandatory, role-transforming system such as an ES clearly shows that users may use a system while resisting it. Although this area is highly relevant, it is theoretically underdeveloped. This study examines user resistance at the individual level of analysis to determine the underlying reasons for user resistance, the types of resistant behaviors, and the management strategies to minimize resistance. It also seeks to understand the types of users that exist during an implementation and in particular, the groups of resisters. This dissertation identifies four categories of reasons for user resistance, which comprise a total of twelve reasons for user resistance. Resistant behaviors are also identified and classified. Three categories of management strategies are also identified, comprising a total of eight management strategies that are useful in minimizing user resistance. Groups of ES users are also described and examined.
THE USE of CONSORTIA for the INTERNATIONALIZATION of FIRMS – MOTA-ENGIL CASE STUDY

Internationalization has been widely studied throughout the years. Broadly, it has been predicted as irrevocable and having increasing impact on firm-related strategy. Within entry modes, consortium, has not received as much attention as others. Hence, it seems important to understand how this specific entry mode allows the entrance of firms in the international markets. This study intends to answer the question of “how” to internationalize, anticipating the consortium as the most feasible way for construction firms to enter certain markets. The reasons that determine its choice concern the specificness of the projects, markets and of the firm. In the first part of the study, we review the existent literature on consortia as an entry mode and as a tool of internationalization used by construction firms. Through this review we build a framework that reveals the motivations that lead to this choice. In the second part, we present the case study of Mota-Engil, as a potential source of valuable information which may contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon under study. This case study corroborates the motivations found to create consortia. The paper closes with its contributions, limitations and suggestions for future researches.
Rewarding Service? Using reward policies to deliver your customer service strategy

The service sector dominates economies in the developed world. Customer service is the cornerstone of contemporary corporate strategies. Yet everyone experiences poor service, and front-line staff often seems to be employed on a “low pay/low skills” basis. Are these two factors related? This article summarizes UK research among 15 service-based organizations. It shows that those organizations delivering the best customer service make greater use of performance-related pay, individual and team recognition and harmonized conditions, as well as work-life balance and career development policies. But the key factor appears to be how they implement and manage these policies to create positive employee commitment to delivering high levels of service to customers.
An information analysis of the interaction between sensory signals and ongoing cortical activity using a novel mechanistic cortical model, behavioural and MEG studies

In this work I present a novel mechanistic cortical model derived from the most current cortical anatomical data. The model is built at the cellular level representing the mean laminar distribution and connectivity of the neo-cortex. From this model I derive an extracellular field potential signal and simulate ongoing cortical activity using top down, local and bottom up sensory input. An information theoretic analysis is applied to the simulation data in the context of a bottom up input. This identifies a relationship between cortico-cortical oscillatory activity across a number of frequencies and the information contained in spiking neurons that have long range afferent connections. From these model predictions three auditory perception experimental paradigms are developed, implemented and analysed. I show that the behavioural data is explained by the model predictions and offer a mechanistic explanation of the effect derived from model behaviour. I perform an information analysis on magnetoencephalography data acquired from a simple 50 % auditory perception task and demonstrate prestimulus ongoing activity frequency power and phase features facilitate perception. In addition there is evidence of attention related interaction between the auditory and visual early cortices.
Measuring Business Ownership Across Countries and Over Time: Extending the COMPENDIA Data Base

Since several years EIM Business and Policy Research maintains a data base on business ownership rates across OECD countries, called COMPENDIA (COMParative ENtrepreneurship Data for International Analysis). EIM harmonizes raw numbers of business owners (self-employed), as published in the OECD Labour Force Statistics, towards a uniform definition. We define the business ownership rate as the number of owner-managers of unincorporated and incorporated businesses, as a fraction of the total labour force. Until recently, data in COMPENDIA were published for a group of 23 OECD countries, starting from 1972 onwards. However, in the most recent version of the data base time series for seven additional countries have been introduced for the first time, so that the COMPENDIA data base now covers 30 OECD countries. The current paper makes four contributions. First, we provide an update of the methodology used to harmonize business ownership rates across countries. In doing so, as a second contribution, we provide two extended country cases (Poland and the United States) which illustrate the many methodological pitfalls that have to be dealt with when measuring the number of business owners. Third, we present business ownership time series for 30 OECD countries including the new countries in our data base: Czech Republic, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Turkey. Fourth and finally, we pay considerable attention to the sizable differences in the level and development of business ownership since 1989 in four Central and East European transition economies in our data base: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovak Republic.
Mass treatment to eliminate filariasis in Papua New Guinea.

BACKGROUND The global initiative to eradicate bancroftian filariasis currently relies on mass treatment with four to six annual doses of antifilarial drugs. The goal is to reduce the reservoir of microfilariae in the blood to a level that is insufficient to maintain transmission by the mosquito vector. METHODS In nearly 2500 residents of Papua New Guinea, we prospectively assessed the effects of four annual treatments with a single dose of diethylcarbamazine plus ivermectin or diethylcarbamazine alone on the incidence of microfilariae-positive infections, the severity of lymphatic disease, and the rate of transmission of Wuchereria bancrofti by mosquitoes. Random assignment to treatment regimens was carried out according to the village of residence, and villages were categorized as having moderate or high rates of transmission. RESULTS The four annual treatments with either drug regimen were taken by 77 to 86 percent of the members of the population who were at least five years old; treatments were well tolerated. The proportion with microfilariae-positive infections decreased by 86 to 98 percent, with a greater reduction in areas with a moderate rate of transmission than in those with a high rate. The respective aggregate frequencies of hydrocele and leg lymphedema were 15 percent and 5 percent before the trial began, and 5 percent (P<0.001) and 4 percent (P=0.04) after five years. Hydrocele and leg lymphedema were eliminated in 87 percent and 69 percent, respectively, of those who had these conditions at the outset. The rate of transmission by mosquitoes decreased substantially, and new microfilariae-positive infections in children were almost completely prevented over the five-year study period. CONCLUSIONS Annual mass treatment with drugs such as diethylcarbamazine can virtually eliminate the reservoir of microfilariae and greatly reduce the frequency of clinical lymphatic abnormalities due to bancroftian filariasis. Eradication may be possible in areas with moderate rates of transmission, but longer periods of treatment or additional control measures may be necessary in areas with high rates of transmission.
Mechanisms Controlling the Extracellular Activity of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Transforming Growth Factor β a

The control of the endothelial cell (EC) phenotype is exercised at many levels. ExtracelMar, intercellular, and intracellular modulators may be utilized for various responses. Two proteins that can have profound effects on EC properties are basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and transforming growth factor /3 (TGF-P). In capillary ECs the response to bFGF includes (1) increased mitotic activity, (2) increased motility, and (3) increased production, of the proteases plasminogen activator (PA) and procollagenase.l The response to bFGF is not limited to ECs, however, since the growth factor stimulates the growth and/or expression of differentiated functions in a variety of cell types. '. 2 The cellular response to bFGF is mediated through a high-affinity plasma membrane receptor that appears to be a tyrosine kinase. Basic FGF also interacts strongly with heparin and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) both in vivo and in vitro.3-5 The 18-kDa form of the growth factor has been visualized in basement membranes6 The endogenous production of bFGF by ECs in vitro can influence cellular motility, protease production, and DNA synthesis. ' Thus, bFGF can function as an autocrine factor for ECs. TGF-/3 is a 25-kDa homodimer produced as an inactive p recu r~or . ~ . ~ TGF-/3 has dramatic effects on cultured ECs and is an inhibitor of EC migration, protease production, and cell It also stimulates the production of inhibitors of PA and metalloproteinases. Thus, the action of TGF-/3 on ECs appears to be opposed to that of bFGF. Although TGF-P is produced by ECs as well as smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and pericytes, it is naturally found as the inactive latent precursor (LTGF-/3). I3 Transient acid treatment (ph 2) is used to activate LTGF-/3. Therefore, TGF-P can also be considered a potential autocrine factor for ECs, except that its in vivo activation is not understood.
Interplay between BDF1 and BDF2 and their roles in regulating the yeast salt stress response

The homologous genes BDF1 and BDF2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae encode bromodomain‐containing transcription factors. Although double deletion of BDF1 and BDF2 is lethal, single deletion does not affect cell viability. The bdf2∆ cells showed normal growth upon salt stress. However, the absence of Bdf1p resulted in a salt‐sensitive phenotype, and the salt sensitivity was suppressed by overexpression of BDF2. In this study, we further demonstrated that BDF2 shows dosage compensation in suppressing the salt sensitivity of bdf1∆. None of the tested domains replaced the function of intact Bdf1p. The 494–626 region in Bdf1p was more important than the other domains for salt resistance. In addition, Bdf1p negatively regulated the expression of BDF2 by binding its promoter at loci −387 to −48. However, Bdf2p did not affect the expression of BDF1. In addition, Bdf1p and its defective functional domain mutants could combine with Bdf2p. This physical interaction increased the salt tolerance of bdf1∆. The mitochondrial dysfunctions caused by BDF1 deletion were restored by overexpression of BDF2 under salt stress conditions.
The evolving role of chemokines and their receptors in acute allograft rejection.

In renal transplantation, the occurrence of one ormore episodes of acute allograft rejection (AAR) is amajor determinant of graft survival [1]. Most episodesof AAR are caused by cell-mediated processes andrequire the inﬁltration of alloactivated T cells into theengrafted organ. These cells are characterized by theexpression of surface markers indicating a memory(CD45ROq)anduor activated (CD25q) phenotype[2,3], which develop subsequent to T-cell receptor(TCR) interactions with MHC–alloantigen complexesor donor MHC in secondary lymphoid tissue [4]. A further result of this process is the expression ofchemokine receptors that direct the trafﬁcking of allo-activated T cells into the graft in response to localproduction of chemokines, initially by resident cells.There is now deep interest in this area that reﬂects therecent identiﬁcation of restricted chemokine–receptorinteractions as key functional events in T-cell recruit-ment and potential therapeutic targets for theprophylaxis of AAR. We discuss this recent evidenceand how it relates to our current knowledge ofchemokine–receptor expression in human renaltransplantation.
Winbest-kit: Windows-based Biochemical Reaction Simulator for Metabolic Pathways

We have implemented an efficient, user-friendly biochemical reaction simulator called Web-based BEST-KIT (Biochemical Engineering System analyzing Tool-KIT) for analyzing large-scale nonlinear networks such as metabolic pathways. Users can easily design and analyze an arbitrary reaction scheme through the Internet and an efficient graphical user interface without considering the mathematical equations. The reaction scheme can include several reaction types, which are represented by both the mass action law (mass balance) and approximated velocity functions of enzyme kinetics at steady state, such as Michaelis-Menten, Hill cooperative, Competitive inhibition. However, since all modules in Web-based BEST-KIT have been developed in Java applet style, users cannot optionally make use of original mathematical equations in addition to the prepared equations. In the present study, we have developed a new version of BEST-KIT (for Microsoft Windows called WinBEST-KIT) to allow users to define original mathematical equations and to customize these equations very easily as user-defined reaction symbols. The following powerful system-analytical methods are prepared for system analysis: time-course calculation, parameter scanning, estimation of the values of unknown kinetic parameters based on experimentally observed time-course data of reactants, dynamic response of reactants against virtual external perturbations, and real-time simulation (Virtual Dry Lab).
Chronic postsurgical pain in patients 5 years after cardiac surgery: A prospective cohort study

Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is a common complication after many surgical procedures, including cardiac surgery. The prevalence of CPSP after cardiac surgery ranges from 9.5% to 56%. Most studies on CPSP after cardiac surgery are retrospective and long‐term prospective studies are scarce. The aim of this study was to follow CPSP and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) prospectively in a cohort of patients, emphasizing the prevalence from 12 months to 5 years.
Visual SLAM with oriented landmarks and partial odometry

In this paper, we describe a system that can carry out visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) in structured indoor environments; this system uses a small-sized low-cost commercial humanoid robot which uses a camera mounted on a pan-and-tilt device (it was designed and built by us) as his head. Almost all of the VSLAM approaches use points 2D like features of the robot's environment for estimate his pose and the structure of his environment. We propose a new approach to get points 3D (i.e. feature's position and orientation with respect to the current robot's position are known) this approach is based in a monocular 3D reconstruction scheme; with this information we can improve the results in classical SLAM EKF method. Experiments had made in a structured environment, we implemented them for two cases, though; the first one was implemented without odometry and second one was carried out with partial odometry information; that means we included robot's orientation in EKF algorithm. This information had gotten with an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), which we installed in the robot. Finally, we want to point out that all the components used into the robotics' platform are low cost.
Bioavailability and poultry fecal excretion of phosphorus from soybean-based diets supplemented with phytase

Five hundred and four 1-day-old Cobb broiler chickens were randomly allotted to 18 treatments and fed a semi-purified basal diet (4 g/kg total phosphorus) supplemented with 2 levels of supplemental P (0.5 or 1 g/kg) during 21 days to evaluate performance and bone mineralization; to assess the relative bioavailability of P (RBP) in wheat meal (WM) and roasted (RS) or extruded soybean meal (ES), with or without phytase (0 or 750 ftu/kg diet), using dicalcium phosphate (DC) as standard; and to estimate phosphorus excretion. Weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), feed to gain ratio (FG), and tibia ash weigh (AW) were assessed. For each source, the RBP was calculated by the slope ratio method, when tibia ash weight was regressed on P ingested. Ingested and fecal P was determined to calculate P intake, and P excretion and excretion rate. Phytase addition increased overall FI, WG, and FG ratio by 3.3, 2.6 and 0.8%, respectively, but differences were not significant. Overall AW was increased by 10.8% after the enzyme inclusion in the diets. The relative bioavailability of phosphorus values of tested WM, RS, and ES were increased by 6.32, 64.32, 76.99%, respectively, in response to supplementation of phytase in diets containing WM, RS, and ES, respectively. Phytase reduced P excretion by 12.7% and the excretion rate by 15.0%, regardless of the phosphorus source or level.
Human pharmacokinetics of xanthohumol, an antihyperglycemic flavonoid from hops.

SCOPE Xanthohumol (XN) is a bioactive prenylflavonoid from hops. A single-dose pharmacokinetic (PK) study was conducted in men (n = 24) and women (n = 24) to determine dose-concentration relationships. METHODS AND RESULTS Subjects received a single oral dose of 20, 60, or 180 mg XN. Blood was collected at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. Plasma levels of XN and its metabolites, isoxanthohumol (IX), 8-prenylnaringenin (8PN), and 6-prenylnaringenin (6PN) were measured by LC-MS/MS. Xanthohumol (XN) and IX conjugates were dominant circulating flavonoids among all subjects. Levels of 8PN and 6PN were undetectable in most subjects. The XN PK profile showed peak concentrations around 1 h and between 4-5 h after ingestion. The maximum XN concentrations (C(max)) were 33 ± 7 mg/L, 48 ± 11 mg/L, and 120 ± 24 mg/L for the 20, 60, and 180 mg dose, respectively. Using noncompartmental modeling, the area under the curves (AUC(0→∞)) for XN were 92 ± 68 h × μg/L, 323 ± 160 h × μg/L, and 863 ± 388 h × μg/L for the 20, 60, and 180 mg dose, respectively. The mean half-life of XN was 20 h for the 60 and 18 h for the 180 mg dose. CONCLUSION XN has a distinct biphasic absorption pattern with XN and IX conjugates being the major circulating metabolites.
Accurate Simulation of the Radiation Performance of a Mobile Slide Phone in a Hand-Head Position

An accurate simulation of the radiation performance of a commercial CAD-oriented slide mobile phone, taking into account the influence of the SAM (specific anthropomorphic mannequin) head and hand, is presented. The simulation was performed using the commercial software SEMCAD, which is based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) Method. The radiation effect on the SAM head and hand close to the phone was also investigated. Throughout the numerical simulations, the return loss, the radiation efficiency, and the near-field distribution of the mobile phone could be obtained, and thus the impact on the human body could be estimated. The slide phone was measured under different conditions. Numerical results were compared with the measurement data, and good agreement was obtained.
The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of the Indian Banking Industry

In today’s intense competitive business world, the customer is educated and smart and commands satisfaction in all services. This paper makes an attempt to understand the dimensions of service quality which affect customer satisfaction in banking services. A sample of 200 customers of the top 10 performing banks in the state of Haryana were selected with the help of random number table. The responses of the customers were analyzed with the help of factor analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The study found that customer expectations and perceptions towards the service quality dimensions of tangibility, competency and empathy have more impact on customer satisfaction. The findings of this study will be useful to banks to better shape and focus their positions in the market and also to provide maximum satisfaction to the customers.
Trade Policy and Labor Services: Final Status Options for the West Bank and Gaza

The author considers the policy options of the West Bank and Gaza with respect to trade and the export of labor services. He concludes that: 1) Nondiscriminatory trade policy is unambiguously superior to a free trade agreement with Israel; 2) The West Bank and Gaza should pursue a nondiscriminatory trade policy with all its neighbors, but only on the condition that the trade policy be open, transparent, and enforced by a credible lock-in mechanism. Otherwise, a customs union with Israel may be preferable; 3) The Palestinian Authority should establish a system of fee-based permits for Palestinians working in Israel; and 4) The Palestinian Authority should consider allowing Jordanians access to the West Bank and Gaza labor market.
Time of quarter effect: an uncontrolled variable in electrodermal research.

Does the time of the academic quarter in which a subject participates in an electrodermal habituation study have an effect upon electrodermal response components—e.g., skin conductance level (SCL), skin conductance response (SCR), and spontaneous fluctuation (SF) activity? Four groups of 24 undergraduates (12 males and 12 females each) participated in an habituation session consisting of a 10-min adaptation period and 15, 5-sec bursts of 85 dB white noise, during the first, fourth, seventh, or tenth week of an eleven-week quarter. Predictably, all three dependent variables were affected by the time of quarter (TOQ) manipulation and/or by the interaction of this variable with the sex of the participant. Relationships between three meteorological variables—temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure—and the electrodermal variables were also quantified. Several of the correlations between these meteorological variables and the electrodermal measures were found to be significantly greater than zero; however, when employed as covariates, these meteorological variables failed to significantly modify the effects of the independent variable manipulations upon the electrodermal measures. Results are discussed in terms of the need to adequately control for this potentially confounding variable in electrodermal research.