Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The determinants of profitability of nationalised banks in Bangladesh

This study intends to investigate the determinants of profitability of four nationalised banks in Bangladesh, during the period of 2010 to 2014. Eight variables are drawn from the banking literature as proxies for bank-internal and macroeconomic determinants such as risk (NPLTL), capital regulation (CAR), liquidity (LIQD), income diversification (INDIV), bank size (SIZE), non-traditional activities (OFBSTA), growth in GDP (GGDP), and inflation (INFLR), and one variable is considered as a measurement of profitability, i.e., return on assets (ROA). This study employs various financial ratios and using SPSS software descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis run to measure the significant determinants of profitability. The empirical results show that among the independent variables, CAR, INDIV, and INFLR are positive and significantly associated with the dependent variable ROA; on the other hand, NPLTL, LIQD, SIZE, and OFBSTA, are negative and significantly associated with the dependent variable ROA. GGDP also negatively associated with profitability, but insignificant impact on ROA. The findings of this study have considerable potential as a tool for exploring bank profitability determinants and for suggesting optimal policies to the policy maker of bank management.
Wellbeing: Causes and consequences of emotion regulation in work settings

Emotion regulation processes are a crucial aspect of the working role in jobs which require employee-customer interactions: What kinds of regulation processes are activated, with what frequency, and what are their correlates and consequences are important aspects to consider because of their potential implications for the well-being of individuals. To investigate these issues, a set of studies was carried out with Italian workers (N = 769) performing service jobs in different sectors. Job-related, socio-demographic, and individual psychological variables were taken into account. The results confirmed the hypothesis that in service job-roles emotional labour (EL) is a component whose negative and positive implications for employees’ well-being need to be considered. Emotional labour, embedded in a net of relationships with such job variables as frequency and duration of client-interaction, can result in high psychological costs for service workers. In particular, surface acting regulation was found to have a personal cost, indexed by the burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.
Modeling the Relationship between Expected Gain and Expected Value

Rational choice theory holds that the alternative with largest expected utility in the choice set should always be chosen. However, it is often observed that an alternative with the largest expected utility is not always chosen while the choice task itself being avoided. Such a choice phenomenon cannot be explained by the traditional expected utility maximization principle. The current study posits shows that such a phenomenon can be attributed to the gap between the expected perceived gain (or loss) and the expected perceived value. This study mathematically analyses the relationship between the expectation of an alternative’s gains or losses over the reference point and its expected value, when the perceived gains or losses follow continuous probability distributions. The proposed expected value (EV) function can explain the effects of loss aversion and uncertainty on the evaluation of an alternative based on the prospect theory value function. The proposed function reveals why the expected gain of an alternative should exceed some positive threshold in order for the alternative to be chosen. The model also explains why none of the two equally or similarly attractive options is chosen when they are presented together, but either of them is chosen when presented alone. The EV function and EG-EV curve can extract and visualize the core tenets of the prospect theory more clearly than the value function itself.
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR AUTOSHAPING IN THE RAT : THE EFFECTS OF LOCALIZABLE VISUAL AND AUDITORY SIGNALS FOR FOOD

Two experiments investigated autoshaping in rats to localizable visual and auditory conditioned stimuli predicting response-independent food. In Experiment 1 considerable conditioned-stimulus approach behavior was generated by a localizable visual conditioned stimulus that was situated approximately 35 cm from the food tray. Using the same apparatus In Experiment 2 we found that the conditioned-stimulus approach was generated only to a visual conditioned stimulus and not to a localizable auditory conditioned stimulus even though subjects (1) could discriminate presentations of the auditory conditioned stimulus, (2) had associated it with food, (3) could localize it, and (4) would approach the auditory stimulus if this behavior constituted an instrumental response to food. The predominant conditioned responses to the auditory stimuli were goal tracking (entering the food tray) and orienting towards the food-paired conditioned stimulus by head turning and rearing and turning. These results imply that rats do not invariably approach a localizable appetitive Pavlovian conditioned stimulus but that stimulus-approach responses depend on the nature and modality of the conditioned stimulus.
Safety of First-line Chemotherapy with Metronomic Single-agent Oral Vinorelbine in Elderly Patients with NSCLC.

BACKGROUND/AIM The optimal therapeutic use of metronomic vinorelbine has not yet been defined. We aimed to assess the safety of metronomic oral vinorelbine in first-line treatment of elderly patients with advanced lung cancer who were unfit for polychemotherapy. Progression-free survival, response rate and overall survival were secondary end-points. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-six patients received 50 mg of oral vinorelbine three times per week, until disease progression, patient refusal or unacceptable toxicity. Patients were evaluated for response and toxicity after one cycle of chemotherapy. The treatment was considered feasible with a grade 3/4 toxicity rate lower than 20%. RESULTS Clinical benefit was observed in 50% of patients. Median overall survival was 8.0 months. Grade 1/2 toxicity was observed in 53 patients (69.7%), grade 3 toxicity in eight patients (10.5%). One patient had grade 4 diarrhea. CONCLUSION Metronomic oral vinorelbine is safe in elderly patients, allowing for long-term disease stabilization with optimal patient compliance.
Does the sharing economy increase inequality within the eighty percent?: findings from a qualitative study of platform providers

The sharing economy has generated controversy for its effects on labour conditions, wages and the distributions of income and wealth. In this article, we present evidence for a previously unrecognized effect: increased income inequality among the bottom 80% of the distribution. On the basis of interviews with US providers on three for-profit platforms (Airbnb, RelayRides and TaskRabbit), we find that providers are highly educated and many have well-paying full-time jobs. They use the platforms to augment their incomes. Furthermore, many are engaging in manual labour, including cleaning, moving and other tasks that are traditionally done by workers with low educational attainment, suggesting a crowding-out effect.
Impact of Including Readmissions for Qualifying Events in the Patient Safety Indicators

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) do not capture complications arising after discharge. This study sought to quantify the bias related to omission of readmissions for PSI-qualifying conditions. Using 2000-2009 California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Patient Discharge Data, the study team examined the change in PSI rates when including readmissions in the numerator, hospitals performing in the extreme deciles, and longitudinal performance. Including 7-day readmissions resulted in a 0.3% to 8.9% increase in average hospital PSI rates. Hospital PSI rates with and without PSI-qualifying 30-day readmissions were highly correlated for point estimates and within-hospital longitudinal change. Most hospitals remained in the same relative performance decile. Longer length of stay, public payer, and discharge to skilled nursing facilities were associated with a higher risk of readmission for a PSI-qualifying event. Failure to include readmissions in calculating PSIs is unlikely to lead to erroneous conclusions.
Incentives for self-management after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background: Chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease are among the most prevalent and costly of all global health problems. Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, including Iran. One aspect of living with chronic illness is self-management which can reduce the impact of illness on daily life and maintain the quality of life. A qualitative understanding of how patients perceive the necessity of self-management is important for self-management support. The current study aims to determine patients’ perception of the need for self-management following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Materials and Methods: We used a content analysis approach to conduct this qualitative study. Data were collected by interviews with 25 patients who underwent CABG surgery at least 1 year prior to the study. Purposeful, followed by theoretical sampling was used until data saturation. Data were analyzed by descriptive qualitative content analysis according to the Graneheim and Lundman approach. Results: Participants had different perceptions regarding the need for self-management. Three themes, “reflective thinking,” “information revision,” and “beliefs influences,” comprised the basis of forming patients’ perceptions to the need for self-management. Conclusions: Patients’ perceptions vary regarding the need for self-management. The difference in perception should be the basis for training programs to guide CABG patients for successful self-management.
Immigrant Families and Early Childhood Programs: Addressing the New Challenges of the 21st Century

Abstract Nowadays children from immigrant families are the fastest growing group of youth in the United States. Despite the fact that emerging research has highlighted the significance of strong partnerships between families and high-quality early childcare/education programs, many immigrant families face numerous barriers in accessing high-quality childcare/early education as well as establishing strong partnerships with centers. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the emerging challenges that immigrant families face in navigating the U.S. early childhood education system. This chapter first briefly reviews the literature on the role of family involvement in early childhood education within the general U.S. population. This is followed by a review of the unique funds of knowledge that immigrant parents engage in while interacting with their children at home. Then this chapter explores the barriers of immigrant families in developing strong partnerships with early childcare/education programs such as, communication, limited parental English proficiency, lack of public funding, acculturation, education, and cultural perceptions of involvement. Furthermore, this is followed by a focus on two distinct rising immigrant populations within the United States, Hispanic (specifically non-refugee) and refugee populations, and their unique sets of obstacles. Lastly, recommendations are provided for future practitioners and policymakers to support the establishment of stronger immigrant family and professional partnerships within early education and childcare settings.
The Social Benefits of Water and Sanitation Projects in Northern Colombia: Cost‐Benefit Analysis, the Water Poverty Index and Beyond

Water and Sanitation projects (WASH) play an important role in alleviating water related poverty in developing countries. There are several methodologies that will not only assess the performance of these projects but will also help to better identify the problem and its characteristics, and to improve the efficiency of the investment. The Water Poverty Index is one of them. It is a very useful tool that helps to measure water stress at the household level in a holistic way, and to identify priorities. It is important, however, to complement it with a Cost Benefit Analysis that will take into account the costs of the project. A case study in Northern Colombia illustrates this point. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
ASPIRE-ing to Excellence at SIUSOM

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. This Personal View article describes the experience of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIUSOM) with the AMEE School Programme for International Recognition of Excellence in Education (ASPIRE) awards program. Institutional leaders considering applying may need something more than the program description to take the plunge. We use narrative to present our reasons for applying, how the application and review process went for us, and the benefits of getting involved. By sharing our story, we hope to motivate other educators who believe in their school’s educational excellence to visualize themselves as applicants and take action.
Immune thrombocytopenia – what are the new treatment options?

Introduction: Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a minor disease for many patients; however, the natural history is variable and unpredictable. Many patients who are in otherwise good health can be left untreated, especially if their platelet counts are close to 20 × 109/l. The overall mortality rate for ITP is < 1%, and the morbidity and mortality associated with treatment can be worse than the disease. Areas covered: ITP is not purely due to platelet destruction and in a significant proportion platelet production is sub-optimal; the review will cover the newer developments with the thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPOrAs) of which two agents, romiplostim and eltrombopag, are now licensed and these will be placed in context to conventional treatment. Expert opinion: There is an increasing understanding of the natural history of ITP and an increasing evidence-based approach to the disease and its management. Treatment should be aimed at the patient with a bleeding risk and should minimise the risk of adverse effects while maximising the chances of response. Few, if any, treatments are curative and treatment strategies need to be designed in ITP that manage patients with what can be a life-long condition with periodic relapses.
Otorhinolaryngological manifestations of HIV/AIDS in Lagos.

A prospective study was carried out at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Lagos. The aims were to determine the prevalence of otorhinolaryngological disease among patients who were HIV+ and or had clinical AIDS and to correlate the presence of ORL disease with the clinical state of HIV infection. The study was done between October 1998 and September 1999. A total of ninety-eight patients were studied. The age range of the patients was between 15 and 69 years with 83% of them being in the age group of 20-49 years. The results showed that while only 17% of the patients were referred because of ORL diseases, 80% of them actually had O.R. L. /head and neck conditions. This difference of proportion is highly significant P = 0.000037. 160.20% of the patients had oral/pharyngeal lesions and 24.5% had identifiable otological disease. Hearing impairment was noted in 30.6% of the patients on pure tone audiometric assessment of which 26.5% were sensorineural. The correlation between O.R. L. /head and neck manifestation and the CDC classification of HIV/AIDS infection did not reveal a definite pattern.
When the Pound in People’s Pocket Matters: How Changes to Personal Financial Circumstances Affect Party Choice

In this article we revisit the often disregarded pocketbook voting thesis that suggests that people evaluate governments based on the state of their own finances. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey over the last 20 years, we measure changes in personal financial circumstances and show that the pocketbook voting model works. Crucially, we also argue that the ability to attribute responsibility for these changes to the government matters. People respond much more strongly to changes in their own finances that are linked to government spending, such as welfare transfers, than to similar changes that are less clearly the responsibility of elected officials, such as lower personal earnings. We conclude that pocketbook voting is a real phenomenon, but that more attention should be paid to how people assign credit and blame for changes in their own economic circumstances.
The K1 capsule modulates trafficking of E. coli‐containing vacuoles and enhances intracellular bacterial survival in human brain microvascular endothelial cells

Escherichia coli K1 has been shown to invade human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) in vitro and translocate the blood–brain barrier in vivo, but it is unclear how E. coli K1 traverses HBMEC. We have previously shown that internalized E. coli K1 is localized within membrane‐bound vacuole in HBMEC. The present study was carried out to understand intracellular trafficking of E. coli K1 containing vacuoles (ECVs) in HBMEC. ECVs initially acquired two early endosomal marker proteins, EEA1 and transferrin receptor. Rab7 and Lamp‐1, markers for late endosome and late endosome/lysosome, respectively, were subsequently recruited on the ECVs, which was confirmed with flow cytometry analysis of ECVs. However, ECVs did not obtain cathepsin D, a lysosomal enzyme, even after 120 min incubation, suggesting that E. coli K1 avoids lysosomal fusion. In contrast, isogenic K1 capsule‐deletion mutant obtained early and late endosomal markers on vacuolar membranes and allowed lysosomal fusion with subsequent degradation inside vacuoles. This observation was consistent with the decreased intracellular survival of K1 capsule‐deletion mutant, even though the binding and internalization rates of the mutant were higher than those of the parent E. coli K1 strain. This is the first demonstration that E. coli K1, via the K1 capsule on the bacterial surface, modulates the maturation process of ECVs and prevents fusion with lysosomes, which is an event necessary for traversal of the blood–brain barrier as live bacteria.
Developing Public Relations Curricula in Agricultural Communications

Agricultural public relations professionals were surveyed to determine the proficiencies in public relations that they perceive to be most important in an agricultural communications curriculum. They also were asked how frequently they used those proficiencies and how best to integrate the proficiencies in the agricultural communications curriculum. The population for the study consisted of public relations professionals who were members of the Agricultural Relations Council and the Cooperative Communicators Association. Most respondents perceived agricultural proficiencies to be less important than general communications or public relations proficiencies. Proficiencies related to use of the computer skills, human relations skills, time management, writing, and editing were among the most frequently used proficiencies by public relations professionals. Based on these results, it is recommended that university faculty consider focusing public relations curriculum toward writing, editing, presentations, time management, conflict resolution, and teamwork. It also is recommended that students take coursework in agricultural policy and government programs and finance/business principles. Finally, it is recommended that faculty stress the importance of meeting deadlines to prepare students for the public relations profession. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. This research is available in Journal of Applied Communications: http://newprairiepress.org/jac/vol89/iss3/3
The Australian Corneal Graft Registry. 1990 to 1992 report.

The aims of the Australian Corneal Graft Registry are to collect and collate statistical information on the practice of corneal transplantation around Australia, to identify risk factors for corneal graft failure, and to provide information on graft and visual outcome. The current report encompasses analyses performed on 3608 corneal grafts (96% penetrating and 4% lamellar) entered into the Registry between May 1985 and July 1991. Sixty-four per cent of grafts have undergone one or more rounds of follow-up by the 189 contributing surgeons and 110 additional referring practitioners: five-year Kaplan-Meier graft survival for penetrating and lamellar grafts is 72% and 84%, respectively. The main indications for penetrating keratoplasty were keratoconus (31%), bullous keratopathy (25%), history of failed previous graft (14%), corneal scars and opacities (11%), and corneal dystrophies (7%). The most common reasons listed for failure of penetrating grafts were rejection (33%), glaucoma (11%), non-viral infections (10%), endothelial cell failure (8%) and herpetic infection (7%). In 19% of cases, the reason for graft failure was unclear. The main indications for lamellar keratoplasty were pterygium (32%), thinning, necrosis or ulceration from old beta-radiation therapy for pterygium (17%), and scleral ulcers, necrosis, ectasia, perforations or melts (29%). The most common reasons for the failure of lamellar grafts were corneal melting (43%) and sloughing of the graft (29%). Among the factors that influenced the survival of penetrating corneal grafts to a significant extent (P < 0.05) in univariate analysis were: the centre effect, indication for graft, graft number, a history of pregnancy or blood transfusion, inflammation before or at the time of graft, corneal vascularisation at the time of graft, a history of raised intraocular pressure, the donor cornea procurement source, the death to donor cornea enucleation time, graft size and large degrees of oversizing, lens status and the type of intraocular lens in situ. In the postoperative period, risk factors for failure included early removal of graft sutures, neovascularisation of the graft, herpetic recurrences in the graft and the occurrence of rejection episodes. The variables that best predicted penetrating corneal graft failure in Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were aphakia or the presence of an anterior chamber of iris-clip intraocular lens, very small or very large grafts, a history of previous ipsilateral graft, an indication for graft that was neither keratoconus nor any of the corneal dystrophies, inflammation at the time of graft, and a postoperative rise in intraocular pressure. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Response of The Cost of Equity To Leverage: An Alternative Perspective

In this paper we examine the change in a corporation’s cost of equity asthe corporation increases leverage. Standard textbook treatments present the wellknownModigliani-Miller hypothesis that the cost of leverage increases linearly withincreases in the debt-to-equity ratio in keeping with a constant cost of capital for thefirm. Less frequently, textbooks present the Modigliani-Miller argument that, if thecost of debt rises with high levels of leverage, the cost of equity will increase at adecreasing rate or even decline in order to keep the overall cost of capital constant.Standard textbook presentations continue with additional discussions concerningtax effects and bankruptcy costs but without mention of the cost of equity. Thesepresentations leave the impression that the cost of equity remains as presentedin the Modigliani-Miller framework. In this paper we present theoretical andempirical arguments in support of our claim that the cost of equity increases slowlywith moderate increases in debt but increases dramatically as leverage increasessufficiently to cause equity investors to fear bankruptcy.