Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding social stigma in women with hepatitis C.

AIM The aim of this research is to gain a more complete understanding of the impact of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) on women. METHOD This research used qualitative methods. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight HCV-positive women. The interviews explored counselling and testing, social stigma, treatment options, transmission and gender roles, and the influence of reductionism on the experience of HCV-positive women attending services. FINDINGS All the women experienced significant difficulties coming to terms with the diagnosis. Many had worries about transmission and stigma--these worries affected their relationships, including those with sexual partners, family members and children. Most of the women had mixed feelings about knowing their diagnosis and varying levels of satisfaction with treatments and services provided. CONCLUSION Women appear to have individual anxieties related to the transmission of HCV and their ability to carry out their social roles. They were particularly concerned about social stigma, sexual transmission, pregnancy and childcare. These worries affected their close relationships and resulted in concerns about their ability to fulfil expected gender roles.
Management Of Dizziness In Primary Care

Background: We sought to determine the types of dizziness problems that are commonly seen in primary care practices, and to bring to light clinical and demographic factors that predict management decisions. Methods: We undertook a prospective cohort study with a 6-month follow-up using data gathered in nine primary care practices in two North Carolina counties. Subjects were 144 dizziness patients examined by primary care physicians. Data collected included demographic characteristics, a standardized dizziness history, physician estimation of symptom severity and diagnostic certainty, and physician “worry” about arrhythmia, transient ischemic attack, and brain tumor. Physicians reported their management decisions and diagnosis (or differential diagnosis) by responding to a questionnaire after completing the patient encounter. A 6-month follow-up chart review and physician interview were completed on 140 patients (97.2 percent); information obtained included changes in diagnosis and patient mortality. Results: The most common diagnoses were labyrinthitis, otitis media, benign positional vertigo, unspecified presyncope, sinusitis, and transient ischemic attack. The initial diagnosis changed during the 6-month follow-up period in 34 (24.3 percent) of patients. The overall course of these patients was benign, however, with only one death occurring during the 6-month follow-up period. Patients’ dizziness tended to be managed using a combination of strategies, including office laboratory testing (33.6 percent), advanced testing (11.4 percent), referral to a specialist (9.3 percent), medication (61.3 percent), observation (71.8 percent), reassurance (41.6 percent), and behavioral recommendations (15.0 percent). Office laboratory testing was associated with younger patient age, a suspected metabolic or endocrine disorder, and physician worry about a cardiac arrhythmia; advanced laboratory testing was associated with suspected cardiovascular or neurologic disorders. Medication tended to be prescribed for vertigo and severe symptoms and avoided when physicians were worried about a cardiac arrhythmia. Referral to a specialist was associated with suspected neurologic disease. Observation, behavior change, and reassurance were avoided in patients with poorly defined dizziness and tended to be used in older patients. The management approaches employed by the 4 physicians who referred the most subjects to the study varied considerably. Conclusions: Dizziness in primary care represents an extremely broad spectrum of diagnoses. The generally conservative management approach of primary care phyicians in this study is consistent with basic clinical and epidemiologic principles, and patient mortality with this approach is low.
Assessment of the Performance and Barriers to Small-Scale Fish Marketing in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area, Katsina State, Nigeria.

The importance of fishery products and its marketing has always been an important discourse among scholars due to its contribution to gross national product and per capital income of fishermen and marketers in nations with fishing capabilities. In Nigeria, however, given increasing demand for fish, there seems to be a potentially strong market for the product. The study seems to quantify the determinants of factors influencing the performance of small-scale fish marketing in Dutsinma local government of Katsina State. Kendalls coefficient of concordance was used to test the agreement between ranked constraints of small-scale fish marketing in relation to performance. A sample size of (50) Fish marketers were drawn by a simple random technique from a registered population of(102) for two months and a structured questionnaire was used to elicit their responses from the Market. Data was analysed using statistical packaged for social sciences (SPSS). Results of the analysis indicated that age of marketers (p<0.01), years of formal education (p<0.01), annual cost incurred (p<0.01), membership of cooperative society (p<0.01) initial capital invested (p<0.01 are the most influential determinants of small scale fish marketing. The Kendalls coefficient of concordance indicates that there is 78% agreement between the respondents in the ranking of constraints in relation to performance, poor access to credit facilities, poor market infrastructures and poor record keeping habit are the most important constraints faced by small fish marketers. Based on the results we recommend a flexible and favourable policy geared toward helping young entrepreneurs through improved market infrastructures.
The Toxicological Geochemistry of Earth Materials: An Overview of Processes and the Interdisciplinary Methods Used to Understand Them

A broad spectrum of earth materials have been linked to, blamed for, and/or debated as sources for disease. In some cases, the links are clear. For example, excessive exposures to mineral dusts have long been recognized for their role in diseases such as: asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancers (asbestos); silicosis and lung cancer (silica dusts); and coal-workers pneumoconiosis (coal dust). Lead poisoning, particularly in toddlers and young children, has been conclusively linked to involuntary ingestion of soils or other materials contaminated with lead-rich paint particles, leaded gasoline combustion byproducts, and some types of lead-rich mine wastes or smelter particulates. Waters with naturally elevated arsenic contents are common in many regions of the globe, and consumption of these waters has been documented as the source of arsenic-related diseases affecting thousands of people in south Asia and other regions. Exposure to dusts or soils containing pathogens has been documented as the cause of regionally common diseases such as valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) and much rarer diseases such as anthrax. Links between many other earth materials and specific diseases, although suspected, are less clear or are debated. For example, it has been suggested that geographic clusters of diseases such as leukemia are related to exposures to waters or atmospheric particulates containing organic or metal contaminants; however, for many clusters the exact causal relationships between disease and environmental exposure are difficult to prove conclusively. Even for many diseases in which the causal relationship is clear, such as in asbestosis and mesothelioma triggered by asbestos exposure, the minimum exposures needed to trigger disease, the influence of genetic factors, and the exact mechanisms of toxicity are still incompletely understood and are the focus of considerable debate within the public health community. Hence, understanding the health effects resulting from occupational and environmental exposures to a wide variety of …
Characterization of human influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in mice: neuro-, pneumo- and adipotropic infection.

Mice (ddY strain, 4 weeks old) were infected intranasally with the H5N1 influenza viruses A/Hong Kong/156/97 (HK156) and A/Hong Kong/483/97 (HK483) isolated from humans. HK156 and HK483 required 200 and 5 p.f. u. of virus, respectively, to give a 50% lethal dose to the mice when the volume of inoculum was set at 10 microl. Both viruses caused encephalitis and severe bronchopneumonia in infected mice. The severity of lung lesions caused by the viruses was essentially similar, whereas HK483 caused more extensive lesions in the brain than did HK156. This was supported by the results of virus titration of organ homogenates, which showed that the virus titres in brains of HK483-infected mice were more than 100-fold higher than those of HK156-infected mice, while those in lungs were almost equivalent. Both viruses were detected in homogenates of the heart, liver, spleen and kidney and blood of the infected mice. Virus antigen was detected by immunohistology in the heart and liver, albeit sporadically, but caused no degenerative change in these organs. The antigen was not detected in the thymus, spleen, pancreas, kidney or gastrointestinal tract. In contrast, virus antigen was found frequently in adipose tissues attached to those organs. The adipose tissues showed severe degenerative change and the virus titres in the tissues were high and comparable to those in lungs. Thus, infection of HK156 and HK483 in our mouse model was pneumo-, neuro- and adipotropic, but not pantropic. Furthermore, HK483 showed higher neurotropism than HK156, which may account for its higher lethality.
Accuracy and reliability of linear measurements using tangential projection and cone beam computed tomography

Background: Providing a cross-sectional image is essential for preimplant assessments. Computed tomography (CT) and cone beam CT (CBCT) images are very expensive and provide high radiation dose. Tangential projection is a very simple, available, and low-dose technique that can be used in the anterior portion of mandible. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of tangential projection in preimplant measurements in comparison to CBCT. Materials and Methods: Three dry edentulous human mandibles were examined in five points at intercanine region using tangential projection and CBCT. The height and width of the ridge were measured twice by two observers. The mandibles were then cut, and real measurements were obtained. The agreement between real measures and measurements obtained by either technique, and inter- and intra-observer reliability were tested. Results: The measurement error was less than 0.12 for tangential technique and 0.06 for CBCT. The agreement between the real measures and measurements from radiographs were higher than 0.87. Tangential projection slightly overestimated the distances, while there was a slight underestimation in CBCT results. Conclusion: Considering the low cost, low radiation dose, simplicity and availability, tangenital projection would be adequate for preimplant assessment in edentulous patients when limited numbers of implants are required in the anterior mandible.
The consequence of appraisal emotion, service quality, perceived value and customer satisfaction on repurchase intent in the performing arts

Purpose – Organizations must base success on consumer retention predicated on the consumer's desire to repurchase. Some organizations, such as those providing emotionally charged and complex services in the performing arts, find this difficult. Knowledge of the role of emotions in customer judgments is negligible. The relationship of core service quality and peripheral quality on repurchase intent is also understudied. This paper aims to model and test the interrelationship of these constructs in predicting repurchase intention in a performing arts context.Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument tailored to the performing arts was administered to a sample of 250 past and present performing arts audience members, with responses examined using structural equation modeling.Findings – Results indicate repurchase intention is largely based on satisfaction mediated by perceived value. Core service quality, appraisal emotion and peripheral service quality influence perceived value for time and money, w.
Right ventricular function by strain echocardiography

Purpose of review Right ventricular (RV) function is an independent determinant of prognosis in a number of pathologies, but its accurate quantification by echocardiography remains a challenge. With the evolving clinical utility of RV strain and strain imaging, several studies have used it to investigate normal and pathologic conditions. However, marked shape adaptations of the RV and the wide range of possible loading conditions complicate the interpretation of findings, which will be highlighted in this review. Recent findings RV strain and strain rate measurements have been proven feasible and found to offer potential advantages over traditional indices. They allow regional function estimation with less influence from the left ventricle (LV) or overall cardiac motion. However, there are contradictions in recent studies regarding expected values and regional patterns, which may be attributed to differences in imaging techniques but also to the challenging interpretation of findings. Summary Strain and strain rate have a great potential for a more accurate description of RV function and a better understanding of its pathology. The imaging techniques are ready for translation into the clinical arena, but their greatest utility will only be realized once diagnostic values are more clearly defined.
The Sensitivity of Confirmatory Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis to Violations of Measurement Scale and Distributional Assumptions

A large-scale simulation design was used to study the sensitivity of maximum likelihood (ML) factor analysis to violations of measurement scale and distributional assumptions in the input data. Product-moment, polychoric. Spearman's rho, and Kendall's tau-b correlations computed from ordinal data were used to estimate a single-factor model. The resulting ML estimates were compared on the bases of convergence rates and improper solutions, accuracy of the loading estimates, fit statistics, and estimated standard errors. The LISREL maximum likelihood solution algorithm was used to estimate model parameters. The polychoric correlation procedure was found to provide the most accurate estimates of pairwise correlations and factor loadings but performed worst on all goodness-of-fit criteria. LISREL overestimated all standard errors, thus not reflecting the effects of standardization as previously assumed. When the data were categorized, the polychoric correlations led to the best estimates of the standard errors.
Cardamine amara (Brassicaceae) in Serbia and Republic of Macedonia

Distribution data on Cardamine amara L. in Serbia and Republic of Macedonia are presented, together with a short review of the history of taxonomic treatment of C. amara in this area. C. amara subsp. balcanica Marhold, Ančev & Kit Tan is reported as a new taxon both for the flora of Serbia and flora of Republic of Macedonia and the occurrence of C. amara subsp. amara in Serbia was confirmed.
The appearance of pyrimethamine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum following self-medication by a rural community in Ghana.

During the preparatory phase of the Malaria Eradication Pilot Project in Ghana, a weekly pyrimethamine regimen was instituted at two hyperendemic villages, primarily to assess the reliability of self-administration techniques under local conditions.After initial supervised individual administrations, weekly distribution of family drug requirements was made to a responsible member of each household by volunteer community leaders.Although parasite rates fell from 71% to 6.5% after four weeks, recurrence of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia was observed by the 37th week. Resistance in that species was confirmed, associated with successful sporogony in Anopheles gambiae, after supervised pyrimethamine treatment equivalent to twice the routine dosage.Emergence of this high-grade drug resistance was attributable to irregular self-administration by the local population of the tablets collected for each household. It was therefore concluded that under the conditions obtaining, self-medication was not a reliable method for mass distribution of pyrimethamine.
Assessing the impact of organizational learning and innovation on performance in cultural organizations

Product innovation, technological innovation and organizational innovations are the key to helping cultural organizations achieve their social mission and achieve efficiency. This innovation strategy and the outcomes depend on introducing learning orientation into the organization. The current work analyses the relationship between learning orientation, innovativeness and performance for the case of 386 British, French and Spanish museums. Findings indicate that learning orientation significantly influences both innovativeness and performance. Further, whereas technological and organizational innovations are related to economic performance, product innovations have a greater impact on social performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
H2 design of generalized sampling and hold functions with waveform constraints

This paper presents a solution to the sampled-data H2 control problem where the sampling function, the discrete-time controller and the hold function are all available for design. In contrast to previous works, the generalized sampling and hold functions are constrained to have piece-wise impulse and piecewise constant waveforms, respectively. The resulting sampling and hold devices improve the control capabilities over those based on a zero-order hold and on an ideal sampler, yet they are simple and easy to implement on digital hardware, in contrast to the unconstrained ones.
Impact of Diversification Strategies on Performance of Malaysian Public Listed Companies

This study discusses the theoretical issues on diversification, corporate performance and the relationship between these two. It studies 91 listed firms in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia (Trading/Services ranking) for determining the diversification-performance relationship. Generally, the main objective of this research is to find out if different levels of diversification lead to different levels of corporate performance or not? Besides, the study looks for the effect of economic situation on the diversification-performance relationship. The time period of the study was chosen from 1997 to 2010, including the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis and the 2007-2008 Global financial crisis. Two methods were used by the researcher for analyzing the data and testing the hypotheses. Non Parametric Test (Kruskal_Wallis) and Multiple Regression are these two methods. The outcomes show inconsistency among the results of different years of the study. For some years the relationship between diversification and performance is significant and for some years it is not. This means the results of the study were affected by the time period of the study. On the other hand the result of the research shows higher economic performance among the firms which follow lower levels of diversification (i.e. Single and Dominant levels of diversification), this is different from the result of some earlier researchers like Rumelt (1974) and Bettis (1981), etc. which concluded that Related level of diversification leads firms to be more profitable in comparison with firms pursuing Single and Dominant levels of diversification. However the results were similar to the results of some researchers like Grinyer et al. (1980).
Genetic engineering and food: What determines consumer acceptance

Presents experimental work which attempts to understand what psychological mechanisms are likely to influence consumer acceptance of genetically engineered food, and the relationship between consumer attitudes towards the technology and consumer acceptance of its products. Discusses the relationship between consumer risk perceptions and consumer reactions; the influence of public knowledge and understanding of the technology on attitudes; media impact; ethical concern; and the importance of perceived need for the technology. Concludes that the most important determinant of consumer acceptance of genetic engineering in food technology is likely to be perceptions of benefit resulting from application of the technology. Suggests that the success of communication strategies is likely to depend on effective provision of information regarding the tangible benefits of the technology, although it is important that a dialogue be established between communicators and the lay public, so that issues addressed reflect.
Venturing Through Acquisitions or Alliances? Examining U.S. Media Companies’ Digital Strategy

Abstract This paper examined how media firms chose among acquisitions, equity alliances, and non-equity alliances when they decided to venture their digital business. The dataset covered 292 dealsmade by 20 U.S. media companies of the Fortune 1000 in the 2000s. The results showed that the choice was a function of strategic objectives (e.g.,product extension and market extension), market factors (e.g., marketuncertainty and competition), and media firms’ attributes (e.g., technological intensity, relative size, and diversification level).
ISSUES CHALLENGING UNIVERSITIES: A CASE OF TANZANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

For the last decade, Tanzania has suffered setback on number of unemployed graduate. The majority, to certain extent, put on the responsibility to higher institutions because it does not equip graduates with sufficient skills suitable for job demand. This paper highlights the root of such issues, deriving from my experience during three-year teaching assignment in Tanzania. The observation and reviewed on relevant literature revealed that the problem is a result of an ongoing mismanaged education system, starting from lower level of education, and partly the responsible government bodies. Improvements on the system and breakthrough action are salient to provide qualified graduates as the market demands.