Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Malaysian e-Government Application: Factors of Actual Use

Implementation of Malaysian mega projects, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) (1996- 2020) has been into the third phase (2011-2020). In this phase, among others is the transformation of the Malaysian citizen into knowledge-based society using information and communication technology (ICT) as an executor in all economic sectors to spur productivity and innovation to become a vibrant hub for the production of ICT solutions. In conjunction with the nation's visions, one of the seven flagship applications of MSC are e-Government which promises the citizen to get the services and information online. The implementation of e-Government is destined to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and comprehensiveness of the public services. Government has taken various efforts to encourage the utilization of e-Government. In contrast, the practice of e-Government among Malaysians is still at the disappointing stage. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to design a model of Malaysian citizen's needs towards actual use of e-Government system. A cross sectional studies was done to identify factors that influence actual use of e-Govt system in Malaysia. An initial actual use model was constructed and a set of questionnaire was developed to confirm the model. Questionnaires were administered to e-Govt users in Selangor State in Malaysia. Using two stage least square analysis, t-test and ANOVA, several factors which influence the actual use of Malaysia's e- Govt system were identified. Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, social influence, attitude, trust, intention to use behavior, ICT infrastructure and an individual's background (age, race, level of education, service group, and skills in ICT) were found to be of influence towards the level of actual use. The finding is hoped to be able to assist government agencies in planning, developing, implementing and upgrading the e-Govt system in order to optimize the actual use.
A demographic analysis of brand perceptions: The case of a private label breakfast cereal in South Africa

Private label brands, consisting of merchandise sold exclusively through a particular retail chain, are growing in prominence throughout the world. Although highly advantageous to retailers, these brands exhibit pitifully low penetration rates in South Africa and are typically seen as being inferior to national/manufacturer brands. This study considers three key demographic variables and the impact of these on consumer responses pertaining to the perceptions of a private label brand. In this respect, a range of responses to PLB characteristics are assessed, focusing on perceived quality, risk, relative price and value. Furthermore, antecedents affecting perceived quality, and a moderator variable assessing the impact of entrenched loyalty to national brands, are included in the mix. Lastly, willingness to buy is also probed. The findings reveal that high income households shun PLBs, as do younger adults of 21 to 40 years of age. In contrast, consumers aged 60 and above appear to embrace these brands. There was a negligible difference recorded by the gender divide, although females appeared more inclined to favour private label merchandise. These results may assist retailers in better targeting predisposed consumers, particularly through customisable channels such as Facebook and Google Mail advertisements.
Estimating Oil Risk Factors Using Information from Equity and Derivatives Markets

type="main"> We introduce a novel approach to estimating latent oil risk factors and establish their significance in pricing nonoil securities. Our model, which features four factors with simple economic interpretations, is estimated using both derivative prices and oil-related equity returns. The fit is excellent in and out of sample. The extracted oil factors carry significant risk premia, and are significantly related to macroeconomic variables as well as portfolio returns sorted on characteristics and industry. The average nonoil portfolio exhibits a sensitivity to the oil factors amounting to a sixth (in magnitude) of that of the oil industry itself.
Electrophysiological Effects of Imipramine on Ovine Cardiac Purkinje and Ventricular Muscle Fibers

In man, therapeutic doses of imipramine suppress ventricular arrhythmias, and toxic doses can cause severe intraventricular conduction disturbances and cardiac arrest. To determine the cellular mechanisms responsible for these actions, we studied the effects of imipramine hydrochloride at concentrations from 3 x 1<T to 3 x 10~ g/ml on the transmembrane potentials of sheep and calf Purkinje and ventricular muscle fibers using standard microelectrode techniques. All imipramineinduced changes in transmembrane potentials became more marked with increasing concentration. At 1 x 10"' g/ml (a low therapeutic concentration in man), imipramine shortened the Purkinje fiber action potential (18%) and reduced upstroke velocity slightly (6%). At 1 x 10" g/ml (a high therapeutic or toxic concentration in man), imipramine reduced the upstroke velocity of Purkinje fiber action potential by 23% and of ventricular muscle by 53%; conduction velocity fell by 26%. In Purkinje fibers, imipramine at 1 x 10~ g/ml suppressed spontaneous firing elicited by isoproterenol and hypokalemia, due to a +7.9-mV shift in threshold voltage with little or no effect on spontaneous phase 4 depolarization. Depression of action potential phase 0 and action potential shortening may play a role in the antiarrhythmic effect of imipramine at therapeutic concentrations. At toxic imipramine concentrations, depression of phase 0 is marked and can account for the potentially fatal conduction defects and arrhythmias seen during imipramine toxicity in man. Circ Res 46:167-175, 1980
RESTRUCTURING RETAIL EMPLOYMENT

Retail employment is of considerable importance both to those employed and those employing. The scale of retail employment in terms of numbers and costs has ensured its central place in retail management tasks. The sheer size of the retail employment sector, nationally and internationally, makes it of interest to governments and academics. However, retail employment is not a simple issue and supply and demand pressures affect its levels and remunerations. Advances in management and retail operations have attempted to restructure retail employment in recent years.
Ethanol‐induced in vitro invasion of breast cancer cells: The contribution of MMP‐2 by fibroblasts

Ethanol is a tumor promoter and may promote metastasis of breast cancer. However, the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Overexpression and high activity of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) are frequently associated with metastatic breast cancers and serve as a prognostic indicator of clinical outcome. MMP‐2 is predominantly expressed in stromal fibroblasts and plays a pivotal role in regulating the invasive behavior of breast tumor cells. We hypothesized that ethanol may enhance the invasion of breast tumor cells by modulating the activity of fibroblastic MMP‐2. With in vitro models (HS68 and CCD1056SK human fibroblasts), we showed that ethanol at physiologically relevant concentrations (50–200 mg/dl) activated MMP‐2; conversely, at a higher concentration (400 mg/dl), it inhibited the MMP‐2 activity. Consistently, conditioned medium collected from ethanol (50–200 mg/dl)‐exposed fibroblasts markedly enhanced the invasive potential of breast cancer cells and mammary epithelial cells overexpressing ErbB2/HER2 (BT474, SKBR‐3 and HB2ErbB2 cells) but had little effect on cells with low ErbB2 levels (BT20 and HB2 cells). In contrast, conditioned medium obtained from ethanol (400 mg/dl)‐treated fibroblasts inhibited cell invasion. Selective inhibitors of MMP‐2 (SB‐3CT and OA‐Hy) eliminated ethanol‐stimulated invasion, indicating that the effect of ethanol was mediated by MMP‐2. Ethanol activated conventional PKCs and JNKs in fibroblasts; inhibitors of PKC (Go6850 and Go6976) and JNKs (SP600125) significantly inhibited ethanol‐mediated MMP‐2 activation as well as cell invasion, indicating that PKCs and JNKs play a role in ethanol‐induced MMP‐2 activation and cell invasion in vitro. Thus, ethanol‐promoted breast cancer cell invasion may be mediated by the modulation of fibroblastic MMP‐2. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Determinants of Morphological Patterns in Communities of Darwin's Finches

A procedure is developed and applied to evaluate alternative explanations for morphological patterns in communities of Darwin's ground finches. The first step in the procedure is the computation of expected population density for a hypothetical solitary finch species on an island, as a function of beak depth. This was done for 15 Galapagos islands where food characteristics have been measured. The second step involves construction of hypothetical finch communities for these islands using five different models. Models differ in the extent to which processes of assembly and/or evolution favor species of high expected density, and in the extent to which interspecific competition influences these processes. By comparing predictions of models to actual communities, the roles of food supply and competition could be assessed. Results reveal that expected density is usually a polymodal function of beak depth. Islands differ substantially in the shapes of their density functions. Mean beak sizes of species actually present on each island correspond to local maxima in expected density. However, two species never occupy the same or closely adjacent local maxima. Simple models incorporating the effects of both food supply and interspecific competition on assembly/evolution are shown to accurately predict observed morphological patterns. The results support the hypothesis that both food supply and interspecific competition have determined morphological properties in communities of these finches.
Participative Management Practices for Improving Performance in Public Sector Organizations: Mediating Roles of Performance Feedback

A study examining the effects of participative management practices [i.e., participative decision making (PDM) and a self-managing work team] on organizational performance surveyed 403 employees of public enterprises run by the City of Seoul. This study considered performance feedback as a partial mediating variable. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the causal relationships among the variables in a structural model and to investigate construct validity and model fits in a measurement model. We found that a self-managing work team leads to performance improvements, but PDM failed to achieve an improvement in performance. Additionally, this study found that performance feedback played a partial mediating effect on the relationship between a self-managing work team and performance. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.
Conceptualizing the Influence of the Self-Service Technology Context on Consumer Voice

Abstract The self-service technology (SST) context is characterized by consumer participation in service production and delivery, independent of service personnel; a lack of interpersonal interaction between consumers and service personnel; and consumers being required tointerface and interact with technology. With these features of the SST context in mind, in situations where SSTs fail to perform as promised, some challenges arise: consumers who are dissatisfied do not have the security or reassurance of service personnel to assist them; service personnel do not have the opportunity to prompt consumers to voice their dissatisfaction; and consumers need to initiate their own complaint response. If consumers fail to report their dissatisfaction directly to the organization, organizations will not know that a problem exists and may experience negative consequences such as consumer switching behavior. As reports of consumer dissatisfaction with SSTs become increasingly common, it is important, therefore, to investigate how organizations with SST-based offerings can encourage consumers to voice their dissatisfaction directly to the organization. Although the antecedents of consumer voice are well documented in the interpersonal services context, in the context of SSTs they have been subject to very little conceptual or empirical scrutiny. This paper argues that voice needs to be revisited with respect to SSTs due to their unique characteristics compared to interpersonal services, and presents a conceptual model of the antecedents of consumers' voice behavior in the context of SSTs.
Molecular analysis of inflammatory markers in trauma patients at risk of postinjury complications.

BACKGROUND Genetic differences associated with individual's immune responses appear to be a major contributing factor to the development of trauma- induced sepsis. Thus, effective treatment of sepsis requires the identification of the patients who are at increased risk for sepsis. METHODS Sixty-eight patients, of which the majority had an injury severity score >15, and 118 controls from the same geographic region were genotyped. Cytokine and Toll-like receptor (TLR) genotypes and expressions were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS Fifty percent of African American and 42% of Caucasian patients developed posttrauma sepsis. Frequency distribution of the polymorphism for some cytokine genes such as Interleukin (IL)-10 low/high and interferon (IFN)-gamma low producer were statistically different between the septic and aseptic patients, for others, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, IL-6, and IL-18, there was no statistical difference. The TLR-2 genotypes (A/G) were considered a sepsis risk marker as compared with A/A (62.5% versus 37.5%, p < 0.03; relative risk = 2.5) in African American patients. Cytokine mRNA levels correlated with genotype definition, particularly, for IL-10, IL-6, IL-18, and TNF-alpha. A time course study demonstrated a significant difference in cytokines expression profile in septic and aseptic patients before the development of sepsis. CONCLUSION Monitoring cytokine expression levels before the disease might predict the outcome of sepsis. A large cohort study is needed to assess the diagnostic potential of the genotypes.
CD33 Expression and Its Association With Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin Response: Results From the Randomized Phase III Children's Oncology Group Trial AAML0531.

PURPOSE CD33 is variably expressed on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts and is targeted by gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO). GO has shown benefit in both adult and pediatric AML trials, yet limited data exist about whether GO response correlates with CD33 expression level. PATIENTS AND METHODS CD33 expression levels were prospectively quantified by multidimensional flow cytometry in 825 patients enrolled in Children's Oncology Group AAML0531 and correlated with response to GO. RESULTS Patients with low CD33 expression (lowest quartile of expression [Q1]) had no benefit with the addition of GO to conventional chemotherapy (relapse risk [RR]: GO 36% v No-GO 34%, P = .731; event-free survival [EFS]: GO 53% v No-GO 58%, P = .456). However, patients with higher CD33 expression (Q2 to Q4) had significantly reduced RR (GO 32% v No-GO 49%, P < .001) and improved EFS (GO 53% v No-GO 41%, P = .005). This differential effect was observed in all risk groups. Specifically, low-risk (LR), intermediate-risk (IR), and high-risk (HR) patients with low CD33 expression had similar outcomes regardless of GO exposure, whereas the addition of GO to conventional chemotherapy resulted in a significant decrease in RR and disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with higher CD33 expression (LR RR, GO 13% v No-GO 35%, P = .001; LR DFS, GO 79% v No-GO 59%, P = .007; IR RR, GO 44% v No-GO 57%, P = .044; IR DFS, GO 51% v No-GO 40%, P = .078; HR RR, GO 40% v No-GO 73%, P = .016; HR DFS, GO 47% v No-GO 28%, P = .135). CONCLUSION We demonstrate that GO lacks clinical benefit in patients with low CD33 expression but significantly reduces RR and improves EFS in patients with high CD33 expression, which suggests a role for CD33-targeted therapeutics in subsets of pediatric AML.
PI3K(p110α) Inhibitors as Anti-Cancer Agents: Minding the Heart

The central role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K, p110α) signaling in allowing cancer cells to bypass normal growth-limiting controls has led to the development of PI3K(p110α) inhibitors. A challenge in targeting PI3K(p110α) relates to the diverse actions of the PI3K pathway in numerous cell types. Recent findings in mice deficient in PI3K(p110α) activity in the heart, demonstrate the critical role of this pathway in protecting the heart against pathological insults. Mice deficient in PI3K(p110α) displayed accelerated heart failure in response to dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These results help explain the association of cardiomyopathy in cancer patients given tyrosine kinase inhibitors and raise concerns for the use of PI3K(p110α) inhibitors in cancer patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Interestingly, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (a downstream effector of PI3K), did not have adverse effects on the heart. A more complete understanding of the complex arms and interactions of the PI3K pathway will hopefully lead to the development of anti-cancer agents without cardiac complications.
An Exploration of Australian Petrol Demand: Unobservable Habits, Irreversibility and Some Updated Estimates

We explore a methodological improvement to the standard dynamic demand model for petrol - a general model which allows for slowly evolving, unobservable habits. If this habit formation model is correct, then standard estimation techniques produce inconsistent estimates. We find price elasticities of -0.13 (short-run) and -0.20 (long-run). Importantly, standard techniques are misleading about the precision of elasticity estimates and the confidence interval around the long-run price elasticity is quite wide. We test for price irreversibility and find, in contrast to the USA, almost no evidence that petrol responds differently to price increases and decreases. Copyright © 2009 The Economic Society of Australia.
Cdc42p functions at the docking stage of yeast vacuole membrane fusion

Membrane fusion reactions have been considered to be primarily regulated by Rab GTPases. In the model system of homotypic vacuole fusion in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we show that Cdc42p, a member of the Rho family of GTPases, has a direct role in membrane fusion. Genetic evidence suggested a relationship between Cdc42p and Vtc1p/Nrf1p, a central part of the vacuolar membrane fusion machinery. Vacuoles from cdc42 temperature‐sensitive mutants are deficient for fusion at the restrictive temperature. Specific amino acid changes on the Cdc42p protein surface in these mutants define the putative interaction domain that is crucial for its function in membrane fusion. Affinity‐purified antibodies to this domain inhibited the in vitro fusion reaction. Using these antibodies in kinetic analyses and assays for subreactions of the priming, docking and post‐docking phase of the reaction, we show that Cdc42p action follows Ypt7p‐dependent tethering, but precedes the formation of trans‐SNARE complexes. Thus, our data define an effector binding domain of Cdc42p by which it regulates the docking reaction of vacuole fusion.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WINE ECONOMISTS

We examine the degree of consensus in quality ratings of US among prominent wine publications. Ratings are an important source of information for both wine consumers and wine researchers. For the purpose of wine research, are ratings on the ubiquitous 100 point scale reliable, objective measures of quality? The value of expert judgment has been called into question by a number of studies, especially in the context of wine competitions and tasting events. Our study is part of a much smaller literature focusing on ratings by expert critics. We look at four publications: Wine Spectator (WS) and Wine Enthusiast (WE), which review a broad selection of the wine market, and Wine Advocate (WA) and International Wine Cellar (IWC), which are more selective and focus more on the high-end of the market. We find a similar level of consensus, measured by the correlation coefficient, between some pairs of critics regarding wines from California and Washington as Ashton (2013) does for critics of Bordeaux wine. However, among other pairs the correlation is much lower, suggesting almost no consensus. Consensus is not found to be related to the blinding policies (or lack thereof) of the critical publications. Our findings show that quality ratings have a substantial degree of objectivity to them. *Stuen, Miller and Stone are, respectively, Assistant Professor of Economics, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Accounting in the College of Business and Economics, University of Idaho. We thank Dominic Cicchetti, Omer Gokcekus, Robin Goldstein, Lynne Stokes and other participants at the 2014 AAWE Annual Conference for helpful comments, and thank Stefan Richardson for excellent research assistance.
The epidemiology of preterm labour

Although the definition of preterm birth is birth before 37 completed weeks, the major transition in terms of needing special care occurs between 34 and 37 weeks. The Homo sapiens neonate is born much more immature than other anthropoid species, perhaps because earlier birth has evolved to avoid the large head of the human fetus becoming impacted in the small pelvis of the mother, who has become adapted to a bipedal gait. The main burden of preterm birth exists in developing countries. There are no accurate recent worldwide data, but estimates of preterm birth rates range from 5% in developed countries to 25% in developing countries. The preterm delivery rate has been relatively stable at 5–10% in developed countries for many years. The North Thames database of 517,381 pregnancies demonstrates significant ethnic variation in preterm birth rates, with higher rates in black women. This is associated with an accelerated rate of maturity in the black fetus and neonate, with correspondingly lower gestation‐specific neonatal mortality rates below 38 weeks, and higher at 38 weeks of gestation and beyond. Ethnic differences can explain only a very small proportion of global preterm births. The greatest aetiological factor worldwide is infection, mainly due to malaria and HIV. In developed countries, iatrogenic delivery is responsible for almost half of the births between 28 and 35 weeks; hypertension and pre‐eclampsia are the major pathologies. Other factors include multiple pregnancy, intrauterine growth restriction, maternal stress and heavy physical work.
Critical limitations of prognostic signatures based on risk scores summarized from gene expression levels: a case study for resected stage I non-small-cell lung cancer

Most of current gene expression signatures for cancer prognosis are based on risk scores, usually calculated as some summaries of expression levels of the signature genes, whose applications require presetting risk score thresholds and data normalization. In this study, we demonstrate the critical limitations of such type of signatures that the risk scores of samples will change greatly when they are normalized together with different samples, which would induce spurious risk classification and difficulty in clinical settings, and the risk scores of independent samples are incomparable if data normalization is not adopted. To overcome these limitations, we propose a rank-based method to extract a prognostic gene pair signature for overall survival of stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. The prognostic gene pair signature is verified in three integrated data sets detected by different laboratories with different microarray platforms. We conclude that, different from the type of signatures based on risk scores summarized from gene expression levels, the rank-based signatures could be robustly applied at the individualized level to independent clinical samples assessed in different laboratories.