Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantificação, valoração e mapeamento de serviços de ecossistema na bacia superior do rio Sabor (concelho de Bragança)

The study conducteded in this dissertation aimeds to contribute to the knowledge of ecosystem services provided in the Sabor river`s upper basin, an area located in northeastern Portugal, Braganca. We evaluated four provisioning services (wild mushrooms production, agricultural production, firewood production and timber production) and two cultural services (game and fisheries). Based on data from official statistics, institutional databases and land use/land cover change mapping, economic valuation and mapping of services changes were quantified for 1990 and 2006. The estimates, made on the basis of current production (demand) and applying the market prices methodindicated that the services analyzed contributed to the economic activity in the areawith near € 10.5 million in 1990 and € 8.2 million in 2006. There was a decrease of 21% in the value of these services within the period under consideration. The landscape change scenarios developed for2020indicate that the forest areas expansion is the best-case scenario in terms of wild mushrooms production, timber production and firewood production provision. If the trend observed between 1990 and 2006 towards the expansion of forests is maintained in the futureit can be expected an increase in the supply of these ecosystem services in Sabor river s upper basin. Palavras-passe: Ecosystem services; provisioning services; recreation services; economic valuation; mapping.
Frequent attenders in out-of-hours general practice care: attendance prognosis.

OBJECTIVE We aimed to describe the use of out-of-hours service and analyse attendance prognosis for frequent attenders and other groups of attenders, and to present a concept describing frequent attendance over time. METHODS All adult attenders in 1990 were included in a 4-year follow-up study. Frequent attenders (FAs) were defined as those 10% among the attenders who most frequently used the out-of-hours service during a calendar year (12 months). This gave an intersection point of four or more contacts for frequent attenders. Three more groups were defined according to whether they had one, two or three contacts per year. The setting was out-of-hours general practice in Aarhus County, Denmark. Data were collected from the database of the Public Health Insurance, Aarhus County. The county had approximately 600,000 inhabitants, of whom 465,000 were aged 18 years and over. The subjects were 101,321 individuals aged 18 years and over who contacted the out-of-hours service in 1990. Outcome measures were attendance per year, age and sex. RESULTS FAs made 42% of the out-of-hours contacts in 1990, and 33% of those who were FAs in 1990 were also FAs in 1991. Among the 1990 FAs, 67% contacted the out-of-hours service at least once in 1991, 25% contacted the service at least once in each of the following 4 years and 7% remained FAs in the following 4 years. The probability of being an FA rose with the duration of previous frequent attendance. Age above 50 years significantly predicted future status as an FA. Females made up two-thirds of FAs, but sex did not predict future frequent attendance. CONCLUSION Frequent attendance could be regarded as a short-lived phenomenon. On the other hand, FAs were the most stable attenders of all groups of attenders over the years. Older FAs had the highest probability of remaining FAs.
Purchase decision-making within professional consumer services

This article analyses purchase decision-making for products and services that are acquired and used by consumers, but chosen by professional service providers. This is done by comparing the distinct characteristics of purchase decision-making in the contexts of professional consumer services and organizational and consumer buying. Three aspects are elaborated on: the actors involved, the purchase-decision task, and the nature of the decision-making process. It is concluded that professional consumer services represents a unique setting for purchase decision-making and cannot be considered equivalent to the organizational or consumer setting. The article proposes a theoretical framework incorporating the typical characteristics of professional services as a decision-making context, specified in a set of propositions regarding the relative influence of the parties on the purchase decision. Practical and research implications are also presented.
Adoption of Internet banking among sophisticated consumer segments in an advanced developing country

This descriptive study was conducted to develop an understanding of consumers' attitudes and adoption of Internet banking among sophisticated consumers. Based on a random sample of academicians, demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral characteristics of Internet banking (IB) users and non‐users were examined. The analyses revealed significant differences between the demographic profiles and attitudes of users and non‐users. IB users were further investigated, and three sub‐segments were defined according to a set of bank selection criteria. Finally, based on the similarities between various Web‐based bank services, four homogeneous categories of services were defined.
Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies

Tourism, the world s fastest growing industry, is now entering a more mature phase. During the 1970s and 1980s mass tourism, with its rigid, standardized packages, developed rapidly and provided many consumers with their first experiences of international travel. Today, a complex and multi-faceted industry, tourism faces growing pressures - consumer demand for more individually tailored holidays, an increasingly competitive operational environment, opportunities provided by new technology and growing environmental concerns. This book analyzes the major challenges facing tourism today. The author highlights the central role of information technology in creating mass tourism by the mid-1970 s, and how this technology and innovation is creating a new best practice of flexibility, market segmentation and diagonal integration within tourism. The book demonstrates how companies in the industry can enhance their competitiveness in the market place. Aimed at both academics and industry practitioners, this original and challenging work will attract a wide readership. "
The distribution and morphology of LGN K pathway axons within the layers and CO blobs of owl monkey V1

Abstract The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of primates contains three classes of relay cells, the magnocellular (M), parvocellular (P), and koniocellular (K) cells. At present, very little is known about either the structure or function of the K relay cells in New or Old World monkeys (simian primates). In monkeys, K cells are located between the main LGN layers and adjacent to the optic tract. For convenience, these intercalated cell layers are numbered K1-K4 starting closest to the optic tract with K1. The objective of this study was to examine the details of K axon morphology in the primary visual cortex (V1) of owl monkeys and to determine if different K layers give rise to distinct axon types. For this purpose, injections of WGA-HRP or PHA-L were made into specific K LGN layers and the distribution and morphology of the resulting labeled axons were analyzed. Injections of fluorescent tracers also were made within the superficial layers of V1 to further document connections via analysis of the patterns of retrogradely labeled cells in the LGN. Our main finding is that K axons in owl monkeys terminate as delicate focused arbors within single cytochrome oxidase (CO) blob columns in cortical layer III and within cortical layer I. Overall, the morphology of the K axons in these monkeys is quite similar to what we described previously for K geniculocortical axons in the distantly related bush baby (prosimian primate), suggesting that the basic features of this pathway are common to all primates. Our results also provide evidence that the axon arbors from different K layers are morphologically distinct; axons from LGN layer K1 project mainly to cortical layer I, while axons from LGN layer K3 chiefly terminate in cortical layer III. Taken together, these results imply that the basic features of axons within the K pathway are conserved across primates, and that the K axons from different K layers are likely to differ in function based upon their different morphologies.
Nine drivers of knowledge transfer between universities and industry R&D partners in South Africa

This article presents part of the findings of the Research Marketing and Technology Commercialization Survey conducted in South Africa during 2005 and 2006. Part IV (Q4) of this survey was designed to examine nine drivers of knowledge transfer between South African universities in their research and development (RD (b) the perception that knowledge is a valuable resource; (c) the emphasis on getting a return on investment in research; (d) the need to protect knowledge for competitive advantage; (e) the need to close the knowledge gap; (f) international trade; (g) the need to protect intellectual property such as patents and trademarks; (h) geographic proximity between the knowledge source and recipient; and (i) war, terrorism and natural disasters.
Um estudo sobre a divulgação de informações de gestão ambiental nas homepages de grandes municípios brasileiros

This study investigated the dissemination level about environmental management information in websites of Brazilian large cities; also, which municipalities’ characteristics may contribute to explain this dissemination level. The assumption is that there is an association between socioeconomic status and information dissemination levels. The dissemination level was verified from an observation model that included information about environmental management such as preservation and conservation, environmental control, recovery of degraded areas, water resources, meteorology and basic sanitation. Empirical evidence indicates low dissemination levels, which is considered incompatible with the socioeconomic development level of the municipalities.
Ownership Structure and The Public / Private Equity Choice

We take advantage of both the relatively high concentration of insider ownership in Australian firms, absent the dominance of founding families, and the widespread issuance of non-tradable rights to examine the heterogeneous influence of insider and monitor shareholders in shaping the firm’s public/private choice. Specifically, by focusing on determinants of the underwriting arrangements in these issues, we highlight monitoring demand, not control dilution avoidance, as the key driver of the public/private choice in this general setting of firms controlled by non-founding insiders. Results show firms with larger, more concentrated pre-issue monitor shareholdings are more likely to undertake private placements. Further, post-issue ownership changes reveal this demand dependent on pre-issue ownership concentration: While firms with low monitor concentration use private placements as a means of acquiring additional monitoring, those with higher concentration use private placements to substitute insiders for monitors, reducing the level of independent oversight.
Robust Structured and Unstructured Low-Rank Approximation on the Grassmannian

The thesis deals with low-rank approximation methods for static and temporally evolving subspaces and for additional linear structural constraints, assuming a low-rank-and-sparse data model. Algorithms for Robust PCA, Robust Subspace Tracking and Robust Structured Low-Rank Approximation are discussed, which involve optimization on the Grassmannian, the manifold of low-dimensional subspaces. A smoothed non-convex loss function is proposed to improve the sparsifying behavior compared to convex relaxations. Applications are Big Data problems, Video Segmentation and Time Series Analysis.
Inventory management support systems for emergency humanitarian relief operations in South Sudan

Purpose – To develop and test three different inventory management strategies as applied to the complex emergency in south Sudan.Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative modeling, simulation, and statistics.Findings – This research identified critical system factors that contributed most significantly to inventory system performance, and identified strengths and weaknesses of each inventory management strategy.Research limitations/implications – This research represents a first step in developing inventory management systems for humanitarian relief. Future work would include modeling correlation among relief items, multiple items, and considering the impact of information.Practical implications – In a domain that has seen limited application of quantitative models, this work demonstrates the performance benefits of using quantitative methods to manage inventory in a relief setting.Originality/value – This research has value for relief organizations by providing a real‐world application of quantitative i.
E-GOVERNMENT: AN ENGINE TO POWER E-COMMERCE DEVELOPMENT *

E-government initiatives have made governments participants in e-commerce. Through e-government activities, governments function as consumers and suppliers of e-commerce services, thus transforming their role from one of pure policy or regulatory oversight to one of participation. In so doing, governments have the potential to make a positive contribution to e-commerce development. Governments that recognize this opportunity may gain a competitive advantage by using e-government operations to assist in driving e-commerce growth.
Mass customisation systems: complementarities and performance consequences

Mass customisation (MC) is considered to be an important competitive tool to increase the performance of manufacturers. Due to the importance of MC as part of the manufacturing process, there is an increasing amount of research devoted to exploring the nature of MC and how to effectively implement MC processes. Based on the theory of complementary assets, this study investigates the relationships between different MC practices and the effects of these practices on the firm's financial performance. In this study, simultaneous equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis are applied to data collected from a large-scale survey in China. The results show that different MC practices positively affect each other, and that the interactions between the MC practices positively influence a firm's financial performance. This indicates that the complementary adoption of MC practices is important for a firm's success, requiring the simultaneous deployment of elicitation, process-flexible technology and logistics practices.
A large outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 associated with eggs from overseas

SUMMARY In February 1989 the largest reported outbreak to date in the United Kingdom of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 (PT4) infection occurred following a wedding reception at a hotel. One hundred and seventy-three people met the case definition of illness of whom 118 had the organism isolated from their stools. A further 17 were found to be S. enteritidis PT4 positive, but were asymptomatic. Lightly-cooked, egg-based sauces were the epidemiologically proven vehicles of infection. Investigations showed this outbreak to be the first to implicate imported European eggs as the source of infection. An unusual feature of this outbreak was a reported incubation period of less than 3 h for some of the confirmed cases of salmonellosis.
MOLECULAR CHANGES IN PROXIMAL TUBULE FUNCTION IN DIABETES MELLITUS

1. Diabetic kidney disease is initially associated with hypertension and increased urinary albumin excretion. The hypertension is mediated by enhanced volume expansion due to enhanced salt and water retention by the kidney. The increased urinary albumin is not only due to increased glomerular leak, but also to a decrease in albumin reabsorption by the proximal tubule. The precise molecular mechanisms underlying these two phenomena and whether there is any link between the increase in Na+ retention and proteinuria remain unresolved.
Restraining The Dissolution Of Faltering Exchange Relationships: The Influence Of Relationship Trust And Switching Barriers On Customer Complaining, Loyalty, And Defection

Notwithstanding the advantages conferred by relational exchange, few buyer-seller relationships survive changes in the needs, expectations, or satisfaction levels of exchange partners indefinitely. In order to investigate the role that barriers play in restraining relationship dissolution after a service failure, a relationship dissolution model in which relationship trust and switching barriers are represented as exogenous predictors of relationship dissolution behaviors was developed and tested. Results suggest that switching barriers, and to a lesser extent relationship trust, influenced customer complaining, loyalty, and defection following a core service failure. However, when sellers restrained relationship dissolution by imposing economic costs on buyers, longer-term customer loyalty was reduced. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.
Job Market Signaling und die Frauenquote

Die EU-Kommission hat gerade einen Entwurf für eine gesetzliche Frauenquote in Aufsichtsräten beschlossen. Da ist ein Wort der Warnung angebracht: In dem hier dargestellten Modellrahmen ist die Maßnahme nur unter Umständen sinnvoll – nämlich dann, wenn die Diskriminierung der Frauen vor allem im ökonomischen Kontext stattfindet. Ist sie dagegen tiefer in unserer Gesellschaft, im sozio-kulturellen Bereich verwurzelt, kann eine gesetzliche Frauenquote die Position der Frauen sogar verschlechtern.
Having a Human Resource Manager in a Canadian Small Business: What Difference Does It Make?

Abstract This study examined the influence of having a human resource (HR) manager in a small organization (less than 500 employees) in terms of the types of HR practices that are employed. Results indicated those organizations with no HR manager were less likely to utilize effective interviewing techniques, link pay to performance, or have formal training in place, when compared to those that did have an HR manager. There were no differences between the groups in terms of use of paper and pencil or behavioural testing for selection. Implications of these findings for small organizations and future research in this area are discussed.
Stability Analysis and Design Procedure of Multiloop Linear LDO Regulators via State Matrix Decomposition

This paper presents the application of the state space approach to analyze stability and robustness of multiloop linear low dropout (LDO) regulators. Because of the increasing complexity of the LDO architecture, the stability study consisting of an open-loop ac analysis is more and more difficult to apply. In this paper, we demonstrate how a state matrix decomposition of a system allows the stability analysis in closed loop to be performed where the open-loop ac analysis failed. Based on this technique, a methodology of design, a time response criterion, and a Monte Carlo analysis are proposed. The efficiency of this approach is illustrated comparing the classical open-loop ac study with the state matrix decomposition analysis of a complex innovative architecture LDO. The results are verified experimentally.
Evolution of Renal Interstitial Inflammation and NF-κB Activation in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Lymphocytes and macrophages infiltrate the kidney of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and interventions leading to their reduction are associated with improvement of the hypertension. The present studies examined the evolution of the interstitial inflammation in the natural course of the SHR to gain insight on the potential role of interstitial immune cell accumulation in the development of hypertension. We studied SHR and control WKY rats at 3 weeks (SHR-3wk group, n = 11 and WKY-3wk group, n = 10), 11 weeks (SHR-11wk group, n = 5 and WKY-11wk group, n = 5) and 24 weeks (SHR-24wk group, n = 10 and WKY-24wk group, n = 10). The SHR-3wk group was normotensive and older SHR developed hypertension that was severe in the SHR-24wk group. Tubulointerstitial accumulation of lymphocytes, macrophages, angiotensin II-positive cells, cells expressing the p65 DNA-binding subunit of NF-ĸB and activation of NF-ĸB in the kidney were all significantly increased (p < 0.01) in the prehypertensive SHR-3wk group and augmented progressively, with the highest values in the SHR-24wk group. The SHR-24wk group showed increased (p < 0.001) helper (CD4) T cell infiltration and a high CD4/CD8 ratio. These findings are consistent with the possibility that activation of NF-ĸB and renal interstitial infiltration of immune cells may be part of the pathophysiologic process that drives hypertension in the SHR.
The role of cumulative online purchasing experience in service recovery management

The research presented here extends the traditional theoretical model of service failure and service recovery to the online shopping environment by investigating the moderating role of cumulative online purchasing experience. Using a multigroup structural equation modeling approach to assess differences across two groups with low and high levels of online purchasing experience, the study provides empirical support that cumulative online purchasing experience moderates several key attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of the service failure/recovery encounter. Specifically, in the group with less online purchasing experience, the perceived fairness of the remedy offered by the seller has a greater impact on post-recovery satisfaction. Further, if dissatisfied following a service failure encounter, the group with low levels of purchasing experience is more likely to engage in negative word of mouth. Finally, post-recovery satisfaction is more predictive of repurchase intentions in the highly experienced group than the less experienced group.
A multifactorial intervention to reduce the risk of falling among elderly people living in the community.

BACKGROUND Since falling is associated with serious morbidity among elderly people, we investigated whether the risk of falling could be reduced by modifying known risk factors. METHODS We studied 301 men and women living in the community who were at least 70 years of age and who had at least one of the following risk factors for falling: postural hypotension; use of sedatives; use of at least four prescription medications; and impairment in arm or leg strength or range of motion, balance, ability to move safely from bed to chair or to the bathtub or toilet (transfer skills), or gait. These subjects were given either a combination of adjustment in their medications, behavioral instructions, and exercise programs aimed at modifying their risk factors (intervention group, 153 subjects) or usual health care plus social visits (control group, 148 subjects). RESULTS During one year of follow-up, 35 percent of the intervention group fell, as compared with 47 percent of the control group (P = 0.04). The adjusted incidence-rate ratio for falling in the intervention group as compared with the control group was 0.69 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.52 to 0.90). Among the subjects who had a particular risk factor at base line, a smaller percentage of those in the intervention group than of those in the control group still had the risk factor at the time of reassessment, as follows: at least four prescription medications, 63 percent versus 86 percent, P = 0.009; balance impairment, 21 percent versus 46 percent, P = 0.001; impairment in toilet-transfer skills, 49 percent versus 65 percent, P = 0.05; and gait impairment, 45 percent versus 62 percent, P = 0.07. CONCLUSIONS The multiple-risk-factor intervention strategy resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of falling among elderly persons in the community. In addition, the proportion of persons who had the targeted risk factors for falling was reduced in the intervention group, as compared with the control group. Thus, risk-factor modification may partially explain the reduction in the risk of falling.