An empirical examination of application frameworks success based on technology acceptance model

Framework-based development is currently regarded as one of the most promising software development approaches when it comes to improvements in lead time, productivity and quality. However, many frameworks and projects based on frameworks still report failures, which indicate that there are problems related to both frameworks technology and frameworks usage. The objective of our research was to examine the major drivers that have an impact on a framework’s acceptance and a framework’s success. We used the technology acceptance model (TAM) and Seddon’s information systems success model as our underlying theory. Data collected from an online survey of 389 active framework users was used to test hypothesized models. Data analysis was performed via structural equation modeling. Our findings support the post-adoption version of TAM and the relationship between continuous use and the successful use of systems, where more use also means more net benefits. We found that the successful use of frameworks is mainly dependent on two factors: continuous framework usage intention and the perceived usefulness of the framework. Several practical and theoretical implications can be foreseen including advances in framework development guidelines and insight into the relationship between the acceptance and success of frameworks.     

Linker histone tails and N-tails of histone H3 are redundant: scanning force microscopy studies of reconstituted fibers

The mechanisms responsible for organizing linear arrays of nucleosomes into the three-dimensional structure of chromatin are still largely unknown. In a companion paper (Leuba, S. H., et al. 1998. Biophys. J. 74:2823-2829), we study the contributions of linker histone domains and the N-terminal tail of core histone H3 to extended chromatin fiber structure by scanning force microscopy imaging of mildly trypsinized fibers. Here we complement and extend these studies by scanning force microscopy imaging of selectively reconstituted chromatin fibers, which differ in subtle but distinctive ways in their histone composition. We demonstrate an absolute requirement for the globular domain of the linker histones and a structural redundancy of the tails of linker histones and of histone H3 in determining conformational stability.     

Relationship between smoking and colonic involvement in inflammatory bowel disease

The effects of smoking on the onset and clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been widely debated. Although smoking appears to have a clearly unfavorable effect on the course in Crohn's Disease (CD), the relationship between smoking and localization of the disease is less clear. AIM: To evaluate, in our group of patients, the relationship between smoking and the development of ulcerative colitis (UC) or CD, and between smoking and the localization of CD in the large bowel or in other sites. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The smoking habits of 171 patients at the time of diagnosis were assessed with a questionnaire. Subjects were classified into three subgroups as smokers, nonsmokers and ex-smokers. Current smokers were grouped according to their level of consumption as those who smoked fewer than or more than 10 cigarettes per day. A total of 161 patients were studied (UC n = 69, CD n = 92). Patients with CD were divided into those with colonic disease and those with no colonic involvement. We evaluated the relationship between smoking and the form of IBD, localization (colonic or noncolonic) and the presence of perianal disease (PAD) in CD. The results were analyzed with the chi-squared test. RESULTS: Smoking was more frequent in patients with CD than in those with UC (72.8% vs 31.9%). Among patients with CD, more patients without colonic involvement were smokers (84.6% vs 64.2%). However, among patients with CD involving the colon, smoking was significantly more common (64.2%) than among patients who had UC (31.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm a relationship between smoking and CD. Smoking seems to be associated with some degree of protection of the colonic mucosa, especially in heavy smokers.     

Complete unfolding of the titin molecule under external force

Titin (also known as connectin) is a giant filamentous protein that spans the distance between the Z- and M-lines of the vertebrate muscle sarcomere. Several earlier studies have implicated titin as playing a fundamental role in maintaining sarcomeric structural integrity and generating the passive force of muscle. The elastic properties of titin were characterized in recent single-molecule mechanical works that described the molecule as an entropic spring in which partial unfolding may take place at high forces during stretch and refolding at low forces during release. In the present work titin molecules were stretched using a laser tweezer with forces above 400 pN. The high external forces resulted in complete mechanical unfolding of the molecule, characterized by the disappearance of force hysteresis at high forces. Titin refolded following complete denaturation, as the hysteresis at low forces reappeared in subsequent stretch-release cycles. The broad force range throughout which unfolding occurred indicates that the various globular domains in titin require different unfolding forces due to differences in the activation energies for their unfolding.     

Activated sludge studies of selected contaminants in pressurized fluidized-bed hydroretorting wastewater

Acetone, propionitrile, pyrrole, and thiocyanate were selected as representative compounds of wastewater expected from pressurized, fluidized-bed hydroretorting (PFH) of Eastern oil shales. The PFH process has been the subject of investigation for the purpose of obtaining higher oil yields from Eastern shales than has been possible using conventional retorting methods. Preliminary batch experiments illustrated that acetone, propionitrile, pyrrole, and thiocyanate are aerobically biodegradable by heterogeneous microbiological cultures. The use of three continuous-flow activated sludge reactors to further evaluate the biological treatability of the synthetic waste revealed that the compounds could be removed at hydraulic residence times of as low as 1 day. Three 1 day experiments demonstrated the biological system's capability to accept organic shock loadings without a change in effluent quality. A no-recycle reactor illustrated that the flocculent microbiological population had a high resistance to solids washout. Because a supplementary nitrogen source was not included in synthetic waste treated by the no-recycle unit, it was shown that propionitrile, pyrrole, and/or thiocyanate supplied the nitrogen necessary for biological activity.     

Co-composting of distillery and winery wastes with sewage sludge.

The winery and distillery wastes (grape stalk and marc (GS and GM, respectively), wine lees (WL) and exhausted grape marc (EGM)) are produced in great amounts in the Mediterranean countries, where their treatment and disposal are becoming an important environmental problem, mainly due to their seasonal character and some characteristics that make their management difficult and which are not optimised yet. Composting is a treatment widely used for organic wastes, which could be a feasible option to treat and recycle the winery and distillery wastes. In this experiment, two different piles (pile 1 and 2) were prepared with mixtures of GS, GM, EG and sewage sludge (SS) and composted in a pilot plant by the Rutgers static pile composting system. Initially, GS, GM and EGM were mixed, the pile 1 being watered with fresh collected vinasse (V). After 17 days, SS was added to both piles as a nitrogen and microorganisms source. During composting, the evolution of temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total organic C, total N, humic acid-like C and fulvic acid-like C contents, C/N ratio, cation exchange capacity and germination index of the mixtures were studied. The addition of V in pile 1 produced higher values of temperature, a greater degradation of the total organic C, higher electrical conductivity values and similar pH values and total N contents than in pile 2. The addition of this effluent also increased the cation exchange capacity and produced a longer persistence of phytotoxicity. However, both piles showed a stabilised organic matter and a reduction of the phytotoxicity at the end of the composting process.     

Influence of mineral oils on polystyrene fracture

Polystyrene specimens coated with mineral oils of different viscosities were tested in tension. It was found that craze initiation and tensile fracture stresses, and also the breaking energy decreased with decreasing oil viscosity, all being lower than for specimens tested in air. Crazes formed in oil showed a lower fibril volume fraction and thicker fibrils than air crazes. The most striking difference in the fracture patterns was found in the initiation regions, where a globular morphology appears as a result of fibrils breakage at the stages of slow propagation, these globules becoming bigger with decreasing viscosity of the oil environment. Since the polymer-oil interfacial tensions are similar for the different oils, the trends in mechanical properties and craze and fracture morphologies cannot be attributed to a surface energy effect, but to plasticization because the deterioration in the polymer properties and the increasing craze fibrils thickness go along with the plasticizing ability of the oils.     

Simultaneous presentation of autoimmune thyroiditis and celiac disease in an adult

Celiac disease may be associated with other underlying autoimmune diseases. Among these, thyroid disease has been described in around 10% of the cases with hypothyroidism being the most frequently reported. Clinical suspicion of thyroid involvement in patients with celiac disease is difficult since the symptomatology is scarce or is masked by the picture of malabsorption. Nonetheless, its detection is important since it is not solved by gluten free diet and its correction requires specific treatment. Thyroid function studies, in addition to determination of antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal antibodies, should be considered in celiac patients refractory to conventional dietetic treatment. We herein present the case of a 65-year-old woman who consulted for a malabsorption syndrome in whom celiac disease of the adult was simultaneously presented with hyperthyroidism secondary to autoimmune thyroiditis.     

Partial-solubility parameters of naproxen and sodium diclofenac

The expanded Hansen method was tested for determination of the solubility parameters of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, naproxen and sodium diclofenac. This work describes for the first time the application of the method to the sodium salt of a drug. The original dependent variable of the expanded Hansen method, involving the activity coefficient of the drug, was compared with the direct use of the logarithm of the mole fraction solubility 1nX2 in the solubility models. The solubility of both drugs was measured in pure solvents of several chemical classes and the activity coefficient was obtained from the molar heat and the temperature of fusion. Differential scanning calorimetry was performed on the original powder and on the solid phase after equilibration with the pure solvents, enabling detection of possible changes of the thermal properties of the solid phase that might change the value of the activity coefficient. The molar heat and temperature of fusion of sodium diclofenac could not be determined because this drug decomposed near the fusion temperature. The best results for both drugs were obtained with the dependent variable 1nX2 in association with the four-parameter model which includes the acidic and basic partial-solubility parameters delta(a) and delta(b) instead of the Hansen hydrogen bonding parameter delta(h). Because the dispersion parameter does not vary greatly from one drug to another, the variation of solubility among solvents is largely a result of the dipolar and hydrogen-bonding parameters, a fact that is being consistently found for other drugs of small molecular weight. These results support earlier findings with citric acid and paracetamol that the expanded Hansen approach is suitable for determining partial-solubility parameters. The modification introduced in the expanded Hansen method, i.e. the use of 1nX2 as the dependent variable, provides better results than the activity coefficient used in the original method. This is advantageous for drugs such as sodium diclofenac for which the ideal solubility cannot be estimated. This paper shows for the first time that the method is suitable for determination of the partial-solubility parameters of a sodium salt of a drug, sodium diclofenac.