Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of mental health centre staff turnover on HIV/AIDS service delivery integration

This study examined the effects of mental health service provider turnover rates on system integration. System integration was defined as appropriate referrals and the freeflow exchange of information among three components: mental health care, primary health care, and dedicated HIV care coordination services. From a sample of 17 mental health centres across a midwestern state, higher staff turnover rates did not negatively impact integration, with the exception of within-centre services. Mental health service providers are aware of who other network providers are, but integration breaks down at a level of implementation in terms of contacts, exchange of information and referrals. Integrative efforts focused on care coordination with little to no evidence of bidirectionality.
Cutting Edge: IL-1β Processing during Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection Is Mediated by Neutrophil Serine Proteases and Is Independent of NLRC4 and Caspase-1

To examine the role of caspase-1 and the NLRC4 inflammasome during bacterial infection, C57BL/6, IL-1β−/−, caspase-1−/−, and NLRC4−/− mouse corneas were infected with ExoS/T- or ExoU-expressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found that IL-1β was essential for neutrophil recruitment and bacterial clearance and was produced by myeloid cells rather than resident cells. In addition, neutrophils were found to be the primary source of mature IL-1β during infection, and there was no significant difference in IL-1β processing between C57BL/6 and caspase-1−/− or NLRC4−/− infected corneas. IL-1β cleavage by human and mouse neutrophils was blocked by serine protease inhibitors and was impaired in infected neutrophil elastase (NE)−/− corneas. NE−/− mice also had an impaired ability to clear the infection. Together, these results demonstrate that during P. aeruginosa infection, neutrophils are the primary source of mature IL-1β and that IL-1β processing is dependent on serine proteases and not NLRC4 or caspase-1.
FSH induction of sensitivity to LH: one cause of sexual maturation in the male rat.

The sensitivity of the testicular response to exogenous LH and FSH has been evaluated in sexually immature and mature animals. Male rats were hypophysectomized at 21 days of age (weaning) and 87 days of age (sexually mature). Five days later, NIH—LH—B7 was administered daily for 5 days in doses ranging from 0.04-400 μ/100 g bw/day. Sexually immature males showed no response to any dose of LH, while sexually mature animals responded to 0.66 μg and showed a maximal response to 20 μg. However, the sexually immature 5-day hypophysectomized animal responded to NIH—FSH—S4; 8 μg/100 g bw/day, given over 5 days, significantly increased testicular wt, and 300 μg produced a maximal response. FSH alone failed to stimulate prostate wt. The minimal effective dose of testosterone required to increase prostate wt was identical in immature and mature animals. Thus, failure of prostate wt to respond to LH stimulation was not due to interference with testosterone action. Pretreatment of sexually immature, 5-day hypophysect.
31P NMR Detection of Subcellular Creatine Kinase Fluxes in the Perfused Rat Heart

The subcellular fluxes of exchange of ATP and phosphocreatine (PCr) between mitochondria, cytosol, and ATPases were assessed by 31P NMR spectroscopy to investigate the pathways of energy transfer in a steady state beating heart. Using a combined analysis of four protocols of inversion magnetization transfer associated with biochemical data, three different creatine kinase (CK) activities were resolved in the rat heart perfused in isovolumic control conditions: (i) a cytosolic CK functioning at equilibrium (forward, F f = PCr → ATP, and reverse flux,F r = ATP → PCr = 3.3 mm·s−1), (ii) a CK localized in the vicinity of ATPases (MM-CK bound isoform) favoring ATP synthesis (F f = 1.7 × F r ), and (iii) a mitochondrial CK displaced toward PCr synthesis (F f = 0.3 and F r = 2.6 mm·s−1). This study thus provides the first experimental evidence that the energy is carried from mitochondria to ATPases by PCr (i.e. CK shuttle) in the whole heart. In contrast, a single CK functioning at equilibrium was sufficient to describe the data when ATP synthesis was partly inhibited by cyanide (0.15 mm). In this case, ATP was directly transferred from mitochondria to cytosol suggesting that cardiac activity modified energy transfer pathways. Bioenergetic implications of the localization and activity of enzymes within myocardial cells are discussed.
Commodity Murabahah Programme (CMP): An Innovative Approach to Liquidity Management

Liquidity is an important characteristic of banks. By their very nature, banks transform the term of their liabilities to have different maturities on the asset side of the balance sheet. At the same time, banks must be able to meet their commitments such as deposits at the point at which they become due. Thus, liquidity management lies at the heart of confidence in the banking operation. Customers place their deposits with a bank, confident they can withdraw the deposit when they wish. If the ability of the bank to pay out on demand is questioned, all its business may be lost overnight. The importance of liquidity transcends the individual institution, since a liquidity shortfall at a single institution may invoke systemic repercussion causing harm to the whole financial stability of a country. Therefore it is important for banks to have adequate liquidity potential when it can obtain sufficient funds promptly and at a reasonable cost. For Islamic banks, liquidity risk is a significant risk owing to the limited availability of Shariah-compatible money market instruments and lender-of-last-resort (LOLR) facilities. Hence, the recent introduction of commodity murabahah instrument based on tawarruq concept by Central Bank of Malaysia is deemed as an innovative approach to liquidity management. It certainly adds to the list of instruments for Islamic banks to manage their liquidity more effectively and efficiently. This paper reviews the structure and mechanism of commodity murabahah particularly for liquidity management purpose. As will be evident in this paper, this instrument has its own advantage which appeals to *
Trait and perceived environmental competitiveness in achievement situations.

OBJECTIVE Trait and perceived environmental competitiveness are typically studied separately, but they undoubtedly have a joint influence on goal pursuit and behavior in achievement situations. The present research was designed to study them together. We tested the relation between trait and perceived environmental competitiveness, and we tested these variables as separate and sequential predictors of both performance-based goals and performance attainment. METHOD In Studies 1a (N = 387 U.S. undergraduates) and 1b (N = 322 U.S. undergraduates), we assessed participants' trait and perceived environmental competitiveness, as well as third variable candidates. In Study 2 (N = 434 MTurk workers), we sought to replicate and extend Study 1 by adding reports of performance-based goal pursuit. In Study 3 (N = 403 U.S. undergraduates), we sought to replicate and extend Study 2 by adding real-world performance attainment. The studies focused on both the classroom and the workplace. RESULTS Trait and perceived environmental competitiveness were shown to be positively related and to positively predict separate variance in performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal pursuit. Perceived environmental competitiveness and performance-based goal pursuit were shown to be sequential mediators of the indirect relation between trait competitiveness and performance attainment. CONCLUSIONS These studies highlight the importance of attending to the interplay of the person and the (perceived) situation in analyses of competitive striving.
A Study of the Behavior of a Uniaxially Oriented Polyethymene Tape/Oil Insulating System Subjected to Electrical and Thermal Stresses

The occurrence of discharges in an insulation system consisting of lapped uniaxially oriented polyethylene tapes impregnated with dodecylbenzene oil and the behavior of air bubbles injected into the structure have been investigated. This insulation system should be suitable for use in power transmission cables because the tape is generally compatible with the oil and has suitable mechanical properties for cable manufacture in a conventional cable taping machine. The behavior of bubbles in the systems was monitored with a transparent electrode and a video system. An electronic protection system was used to remove the applied voltage just before breakdown so that the damage done by discharges to the tape structure could be measured. The discharge inception voltage was found to decrease with increasing butt gap depth and with increasing temperature. Bubbles were found to divide repeatedly and eventually to disperse at stresses above discharge inception. The rate of dispersal increased with increasing applied stress and temperature. Examination of the damage done to tapes showed a high level of correlation between the total energy of discharges in the insulation structure and the total surface area of visible damage. Measurement of the total discharge energy appears to be a promising diagnostic tool.
DIGITAL SERVICE OFFERING MODULARITY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

Based on extant service design and innovation literature, we propose a framework for digital service modularity. The framework can be used to describe how firms develop digital service offerings. In the empirical part of this study a case study of 15 companies from traditional publishing industry was conducted to analyse ways firms embed modularity to their service architecture and service design when transforming to digital service business. The empirical findings suggest that modular service design for digital landscape is largely moderated by the offline traditional service offering.
Improvement of Ultrasound-based System Using Sine Wave Detector and CAN Network

This paper presents an improved indoor localization system based on RF and ultrasonic signal which we named SNSH system. This system composes of a transmitter mounted in a mobile target, and a series of receiver nodes which are managed by a coordinator. By measuring Time Delay of Arrival (TDoA) of RF and ultrasonic signal from the transmitter, distance from target to receiver node is calculated and sent to the coordinator through CAN network, and all the information are gathered in PC to estimate 3D position of the target. Sine wave detector and dynamic threshold filter are applied to provide excellent accuracy of range measurement from TDoA result, and multilateration algorithms is realized to optimize coordinate determination accuracy. Specifically, Linear Least Square and Non-linear Least Square techniques are implemented to contrast their performances in target coordinate estimation. RF signal encoding/decoding time, time delay in CAN network and math calculating are carefully considered to ensure optimal system performance and get ready for field application. Experiments show that sine wave detector algorithm has greatly improved range measurement accuracy, with mean error at 2.2mm and maximum error at 6.7 mm, for distance below 5m. In addition, 3D position accuracy is greatly enhanced by multilateration methods, with mean error in position stay under 15mm, and 90% confident error values at 23mm for LLS, 20mm for NLS. Overall system update period has been verified in real system operation, with maximum rate at 25ms, and compared with other existing researches.
Identifying Visitor Service Quality in Australian Regional Botanic Gardens

Abstract A considerable bulk of literature on service quality in leisure and recreation is set in, and driven by, conceptual frameworks based on commercial transactions. Little research reported in English deals with service quality in popular, public leisure settings such as botanic gardens or museums. This paper presents findings from a study of visitors’ perceptions of service quality at four regional botanic gardens in Australia, a replication study of a similar exploration of service quality in botanic gardens of six Australian capital cities. Perceptions of service quality, demographic profiles, and measures of behavioural intentions post‐visit were collected from more than 1000 adult visitors in 2008. Factor analysis of 17 visitor‐defined attributes of service quality identified three underlying dimensions of service quality. Subsequent hierarchical linear regression identified considerable explanatory effects of these factors for visitor service quality of visitors’ overall satisfaction with their visit, their level of recommendation of the garden, and their likelihood to revisit the garden. There appeared to be significant and meaningful predictive power of visitors’ intended behaviour based on their ratings of particular visitor service quality attributes. Results of the study included a call for replication studies and engagement with related attempts to understand the meaning of service quality for visitors to regional public institutions where recreation and leisure experiences are clear outcomes for visitors. For researchers, implications include the need to consider further refinement to the concept and measurement of service quality for public and non‐profit organisations providing popular leisure experiences and visitor benefits.
Effect of thalidomide in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND Congestive heart failure (CHF) is characterized by enhanced immune activation, which possibly plays a pathogenic role in this disorder. We therefore examined whether immunomodulation with thalidomide could improve cardiac performance in patients with CHF. METHODS Nine patients with chronic symptomatic CHF and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <40%, who were receiving "optimal" conventional cardiovascular treatment, were given 200 mg thalidomide daily in an open design for a period of 6 weeks. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and LVEF were measured at baseline and on completion of the study. RESULTS Two patients withdrew because of side effects. Sedation was common and required dose reduction in 6 of 7 patients completing the study. Plasma levels of TNF-alpha were elevated at baseline compared with levels in healthy control patients, but decreased significantly from 33.9 +/- 10.1 pg/mL to 19.3 +/- 6.1 pg/mL during therapy (P <.05). LVEF increased in all patients from 26% +/- 9% to 34% +/- 10% at the end of the observation period (P <.05). CONCLUSIONS In this pilot study, therapy with thalidomide in patients with CHF resulted in decreased TNF-alpha levels and increased cardiac performance. Although few patients were included, our results suggest that thalidomide should be further investigated as an immunomodulating agent in CHF.
Holins kill without warning

Holins comprise the most diverse functional group of proteins known. They are small bacteriophage-encoded proteins that accumulate during the period of late-protein synthesis after infection and cause lysis of the host cell at a precise genetically programmed time. It is unknown how holins achieve temporal precision, but a conserved feature of their function is that energy poisons subvert the normal scheduling mechanism and instantly trigger membrane disruption. On this basis, timing has been proposed to involve a progressive decrease in the energized state of the membrane until a critical triggering level is reached. Here, we report that membrane integrity is not compromised after the induction of holin synthesis until seconds before lysis. The proton motive force was monitored by the rotation of individual cells tethered by a single flagellum. The results suggest an alternative explanation for the lysis “clock,” in which holin concentrations build to a critical level that leads to formation of an oligomeric complex that disrupts the membrane.
Hearing loss and connexin 26.

Hearing impairment is a sensory disability that affects millions of people all over the world. Though not life-threatening, it can become a major burden in social and professional life. In the industrialized world, deafness of infective and/or environmental origin has become less frequent, with a consequent rise in the proportion of hereditary hearing impairment. Deafness occurs in 1:1000 neonates1 and the cause is hereditary in about half. This type of hearing impairment is sometimes referred to as prelingual, as it affects the child before the age of speech development. A distinction can be made between syndromic deafness, in which the deafness is accompanied by other specific abnormalities, and non-syndromic deafness (about 75%), in which there are no additional abnormalities. Approximately three-quarters of the non-syndromic forms are caused by a recessive disorder1,2,3,4. Table 1 gives an overview of some epidemiological features. Table 1 Epidemiological features of prelingual hearing loss Between 1997 and today, many non-syndromic hereditary forms of deafness have been localized on the human genome by genetic linkage techniques. Depending on the pattern of inheritance of the deafness, these loci are designated DFNA (autosomal dominant), DFNB (autosomal recessive) or DFN (X-linked). They are numbered in chronological order of discovery. For the majority of these loci the underlying disease-causing genes have not been identified so far. On the Hereditary Hearing Loss Homepage5 all these currently known forms of hereditary deafness are summarized. Tables ​Tables22,​,33,​,44,​,5, 5, derived from this homepage, illustrate the achievements in this field of research. Certain research groups, having found preliminary evidence of a new locus, have claimed (‘reserved’) loci in advance. ‘Withdrawn’ indicates those which turned out not to be correct. Most of these genetic types of hearing impairment are quite rare, with the exception of DFNB1. This paper addresses DFNB1, which is caused by mutations in the connexin 26 gene. Table 2 Loci and genes associated with autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment, with the year of publication Table 3 Loci and genes associated with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing impairment, with the year of publication Table 4 Loci and genes associated with X-linked non-syndromic hearing impairment, with the year of publication Table 5 Mitochondrial mutations associated with non-syndromic hearing impairment, with the year of publication
The Role of Visual Representations within Working Memory for Paired-Associate and Serial Order of Spoken Words

Caplan and colleagues have recently explained paired-associate learning and serial-order learning with a single-mechanism computational model by assuming differential degrees of isolation. Specifically, two items in a pair can be grouped together and associated to positional codes that are somewhat isolated from the rest of the items. In contrast, the degree of isolation among the studied items is lower in serial-order learning. One of the key predictions drawn from this theory is that any variables that help chunking of two adjacent items into a group should be beneficial to paired-associate learning, more than serial-order learning. To test this idea, the role of visual representations in memory for spoken verbal materials (i.e., imagery) was compared between two types of learning directly. Experiment 1 showed stronger effects of word concreteness and of concurrent presentation of irrelevant visual stimuli (dynamic visual noise: DVN) in paired-associate memory than in serial-order memory, consistent with the prediction. Experiment 2 revealed that the irrelevant visual stimuli effect was boosted when the participants had to actively maintain the information within working memory, rather than feed it to long-term memory for subsequent recall, due to cue overloading. This indicates that the sensory input from irrelevant visual stimuli can reach and affect visual representations of verbal items within working memory, and that this disruption can be attenuated when the information within working memory can be efficiently supported by long-term memory for subsequent recall.
Enzymatic Synthesis of Glycosaminoglycan Heparin

Heparin and its low molecular weight heparin derivatives, widely used as clinical anticoagulants, are acidic polysaccharide members of a family of biomacromolecules called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Heparin and the related heparan sulfate are biosynthesized in the Golgi apparatus of eukaryotic cells. Heparin is a polycomponent drug that currently is prepared for clinical use by extraction from animal tissues. A heparin pentasaccharide, fondaparinux, has also been prepared through chemical synthesis for use as a homogenous anticoagulant drug. Recent enabling technologies suggest that it may now be possible to synthesize heparin and its derivatives enzymatically. Moreover, new technologies including advances in synthetic carbohydrate synthesis, enzyme-based GAG synthesis, micro- and nano-display of GAGs, rapid on-line structural analysis, and microarray/microfluidic technologies might be applied to the enzymatic synthesis of heparins with defined structures and exhibiting selected activities. The advent of these new technologies also makes it possible to consider the construction of an artificial Golgi to increase our understanding of the cellular control of GAG biosyntheses in this organelle.
The Impact of Size on Credit Risk Management Strategies in Commercial Banks: Empirical Evidence from India

In recent times, Credit Risk Management (CRM) has come under increasing scrutiny in both academia and practice. It is commonly believed that CRM strategies followed vary with bank-specific characteristics. However, a study focusing on examining the association between size of the bank and CRM strategies in India does not seem to have been attempted so far. Drawing upon primary data of 35 Indian commercial banks during 2007-2008, this study aims to explore the extent to which bank size impacts on the choice of a broad set of CRM strategies relating to four elements of CRM, namely, CRM organization; CRM policy; CRM operations and systems at transaction level; and (4) CRM operations and systems at portfolio level. For this purpose, sample banks were classified on the basis of their value of advances portfolio into three size categories, namely, small, medium and large banks. The findings obtained using discriminate analysis together with chi-square test suggested significant association between the size of bank and some of the CRM strategies, particularly with regard to CRM organization and CRM operations and systems at transaction level. It was concluded that large-sized banks generally emphasized the elements of specialization and centralization in the choice of their CRM strategies. The findings also indicated that a mix of the credit risk avoidance, credit risk mitigation and credit risk control approach was commonly followed by all the sample banks, irrespective of their size.
Methods of Palm Oil Processing in Ogun state, Nigeria: A Resource Use Efficiency Assessment

Data for this study were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaire. A total of 70 questionnaires were administered to the palm oil farmers/ producers with the response rate of 95.71 %. The data were analysed by the use of descriptive statistics, multiple regression and costs and returns tools. The results obtained revealed that although mechanized palm oil processors were not fully economically efficient in the use of resources, mechanized palm oil processing was still more profitable relatively. Palm oil processors should therefore adopt good management strategies and practices in order to ensure efficient utilization of existing and available resources.