Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Information Technology on the Business World

This paper will address the effects of Information Technology on the business world. Technology is increasingly play- ing a crucial role in the success of organizations in the information age. The impact of Information Technology on business has been enormous. Computers and the information they process and store have permeated every aspect of the business world. The fundamental role of Information Technology is to enable businesses to find new ways to drive down the costs of prod- ucts, processes, and improve performance. We use examples from five different companies/industries to show the different and dramatic effects that IT can have on a business. The television industry is using high-speed Internet to send digital dailies from location to directors and producers in Holly- wood. The use of this technology eliminates the old method of dubbing tapes and then sending them via FedEx back to L.A. General Motors has used aggressive outsourcing and web-based services to increase production time. Where it used to take up to four years to get a vehicle on the market, it now takes less than two. With new management and a greater focus on quality and customer satisfaction, an aircraft company has seen its $ 15 million in debt turn into $ 243 million in revenues. These increased revenues were attained by using new software to help it get better organized. AT&T, the once Titan of the phone industry, utilized IT to get out of debt. Specifically, AT&T used web-services to allow all of its different systems to communicate. By using new software to translate three different business processes into one usable code, Cybex International used IT to fix its supply-chain mess.
Disciplinary Crisis and Curriculum Repositioning: A Case Study on the Sustainable Development of English Departments in China

The unprecedented expansion of English as a Lingua Franca has largely shaped the state of English language education worldwide, particularly in Asian countries where a number of countries used to be British colonies. With English being spoken as a second or foreign language in almost all Asian countries and required as an essential skill for nearly every profession, English majors, who in the past possessed the competitiveness of being proficient English users, are rapidly losing their advantages. English departments are criticized for developing graduates who can merely use English as a tool but lack critical, independent and innovative thinking skills. This phenomenon, significantly evident in China, is mainly caused by the outdated design of national curriculum for English majors. The present research takes the form of a case study in a Chinese university English department. Classroom observation and in-depth interviews are employed to investigate the problems of and solutions to the current curriculum. Participants believe that excessive language training has led to the weakening of English Language and Literature as an academic discipline and that a return to the humanities-oriented approach for future development of English departments should be adopted. A language plus liberal arts curriculum model is proposed and relevant issues regarding disciplinary construction are discussed. It is hoped that research questions in this study can be further explored with a larger sample elsewhere in China and that the findings could shed some light on the development of English departments in other Asian countries.
Interactions of synapsin I with phospholipids: possible role in synaptic vesicle clustering and in the maintenance of bilayer structures

Synapsin I is a synaptic vesicle-specific phosphoprotein composed of a globular and hydrophobic head and of a proline-rich, elongated and basic tail. Synapsin I binds with high affinity to phospholipid and protein components of synaptic vesicles. The head region of the protein has a very high surface activity, strongly interacts with acidic phospholipids and penetrates the hydrophobic core of the vesicle membrane. In the present paper, we have investigated the possible functional effects of the interaction between synapsin I and vesicle phospholipids. Synapsin I enhances both the rate and the extent of Ca(2+)-dependent membrane fusion, although it has no detectable fusogenic activity per se. This effect, which appears to be independent of synapsin I phosphorylation and localized to the head region of the protein, is attributable to aggregation of adjacent vesicles. The facilitation of Ca(2+)-induced liposome fusion is maximal at 50-80% of vesicle saturation and then decreases steeply, whereas vesicle aggregation does not show this biphasic behavior. Association of synapsin I with phospholipid bilayers does not induce membrane destabilization. Rather, 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrated that synapsin I inhibits the transition of membrane phospholipids from the bilayer (L alpha) to the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase induced either by increases in temperature or by Ca2+. These properties might contribute to the remarkable selectivity of the fusion of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic plasma membrane during exocytosis.
Returns on Cyclical and Defensive Stocks in Times of Scarce Information about the Business Cycle

We study the implications of the quality of information about the business cycle for the pricing of defensive and cyclical stocks in a general equilibrium framework. We rely on a two-tree Lucas-style endowment economy in which the business cycle is modeled as an unobservable mean reverting process that influences one of the two assets. The representative Epstein-Zin investor learns about the latent business cycle variable from past dividends and from an additional signal. We find that expected excess returns on both cyclical and defensive stocks increase when information quality deteriorates, i.e. when the signal becomes more noisy. Variance reacts in an asymmetric way: a lower information quality induces a higher return variance of cyclical stocks and a lower return variance of defensive stocks. These findings are in line with stylized facts from the data when we use the dispersion in analysts' GDP forecasts as a measure for information quality.
Risk factors for renal replacement therapy in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS), Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Report No. 26.

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The purpose of this study is to assess the risk factors for renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS). METHODS We examined demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the 2226 subjects with complete laboratory data enrolled in the ETDRS. The primary renal variable evaluated was the time to development of renal replacement therapy, defined as the need for dialysis or transplantation. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess risk factors for type 1 and type 2 diabetes separately. RESULTS The 5-year estimated incidence of RRT in the entire ETDRS population was 10.2% and 9.8% for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Of those patients with complete data, 127 of 934 (14%) of patients with type 1 diabetes, and 150 of 1292 (12%) patients with type 2 diabetes required RRT during the study. Baseline risk factors common to type 1 and type 2 diabetes included elevated total cholesterol, and serum creatinine; and low serum albumin and anemia. Other risk factors significant in type 1 diabetes included body mass index (BMI), shorter duration of diabetes, elevated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), elevated systolic blood pressure, and the development of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Risk factors significant in type 2 diabetes, but not type 1 diabetes, included younger age, proteinuria, and elevated triglycerides. CONCLUSION In this study, major modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia were found to be predictive of RRT. Other predictors were markers of vascular pathology and inflammation, proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and increased serum creatinine. Controlled clinical trials with treatment strategies that improve serum lipid levels, systemic blood pressure, glycemic control, and markers of inflammation may be important in furthering our knowledge on the pathogenesis of diabetic complications such as nephropathy and ESRD.
Management of Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at high risk for acute exacerbations. Strategies that may prevent exacerbations are smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation, and influenza vaccination. Therapy includes bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics. Rapid‐acting β2‐agonists are bronchodilating agents of choice. Ipratropium should be considered in patients who fail or cannot tolerate β2‐agonists. Data do not support combining anticholinergics and β2‐agonists in acute exacerbations; however, new data do support systemic corticosteroids for their role in reducing airway inflammation. Antibiotics should be included in the regimen if two of the three following are present: increased dyspnea, increased sputum volume, and increased sputum purulence. Many exacerbations may be caused by viruses or noninfective sources, in which case antibiotics are not indicated. Oxygen administration with or without assisted ventilation may be required for short‐term management.
Changes on image texture features of breakfast flakes cereals during water absorption

Normally breakfast cereal flakes are consumed by pouring them into a bowl and covering them with fresh or cold milk. During this process the liquid uptake causes changes in the surface and internal matrix of breakfast cereals that influence texture and integrity. Some breakfast cereal as flakes have a translucent structure that could provide information about the solid matrix and air cells and how they change during liquid absorption. The objective of the study was to assess the image texture changes of corn flakes and frosted flakes during water absorption at 5, 15 and 25 °C, employing 11 image feature textures extracted from grey-level co-occurrence matrix and grey-level run length matrix (at three directions) and to relate the fractal dimension (FD) of images with rupture force (RF) reduction during soaking of both flakes at 5 °C. The most relevant result from principal component analysis calculated with a matrix of 54 (soaking times) × 22 (texture features), shows that it was possible to distinguish an isolated group consisting of different soaking times at the same water temperature in each breakfast cereal flakes evaluated, corroborating that superficial liquid imbibition is important during the liquid absorption process when flakes are soaked. Furthermore, standardized FD could be related to RF in the period when samples tend to search for an equilibrium state.
Pattern of Dietary Intake and Consumption of Street Foods among Nigerian Students

An assessment of the food and nutrient intake of 81 male and 35 female University students was conducted using structured questionnaires and 24-hr. diet recall procedures. The contribution of Street Foods (SF) to their nutrients intakes was also assessed. The major dietary sources of nutrients for both groups were Cereals, Roots and Tubers and Legumes. Energy intake by males (9.81 MJ or 83.9% RDA) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than intake (8.59 MJ or 81.8% RDA) by female subjects. Street Foods contributed 50.3% and 48.3% of energy to male and female subjects respectively. Total Protein intake approximated RDA for both groups although on average only 25% of this was from animal sources. Intakes of minerals and vitamins were generally below RDA except for Calcium and vitamin A. Female subjects had significantly higher intakes of Iron, Thiamin and vitamin A than males. Overall Street food's contribution to RDA ranged from 23.0% (Iron in males) to 80.0% (vitamin A, also in males).
Transient Translocation of the B Cell Receptor and Src Homology 2 Domain-Containing Inositol Phosphatase to Lipid Rafts: Evidence Toward a Role in Calcium Regulation1

Membrane microdomains (lipid rafts) are enriched in selected signaling molecules and may compartmentalize receptor-mediated signals. Here, we report that in primary human B lymphocytes and in Ramos B cells B cell receptor (BCR) stimulation induces rapid and transient redistribution of a subset of engaged BCRs to lipid rafts and phosphorylation of raft-associated tyrosine kinase substrates. Cholesterol sequestration disrupted the lipid rafts, preventing BCR redistribution, but did not inhibit tyrosine kinase activation or phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular regulated kinase. However, raft disruption enhanced the release of calcium from intracellular stores, suggesting that rafts may sequester early signaling events that down-regulate calcium flux. Consistent with this, BCR stimulation induced rapid and transient translocation of the Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol phosphatase, SHIP, into lipid rafts.
Ethephon treatment reduced Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) gas exchange rate and gene expression of Rbcs

The study was carried out to evaluate if foliar ethephon application could promote photosynthesis rate of Mondo grass. Methods – Net photosynthesis rate (P n ) and stomatal conductance (g s ) of Mondo grass was measured at various time points after ethephon treatment. In addition, a full-length enriched complementary DNA (cDNA) library from ethephon (0.5 g L -1 ) treated Mondo grass leaves was constructed to explore the underlying gene expression profile. Results – Ethephon treatment (ranging from 0.2 g L -1 to 1.5 g L -1 ) reduced Mondo grass P n . Real time quantitative PCR results implied that ethephon inhibited Mondo grass leaf photosynthesis through down-regulating gene expression of Rubisco small subunit ( Rbcs ). Conclusion – Application of ethephon will not be an effective way in promoting P n of Mondo grass. Moreover, our data provide the first extensive set of full-length cDNA sequence resources for Mondo grass and these resources will be useful for important genes discovery, functional analysis and understanding various molecular mechanisms for Mondo grass.
Factors that alter body fat, body mass, and fat-free mass in pediatric obesity.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of exercise treatment programs on changes in body mass, fat-free mass, and body fat in obese children and adolescents. METHODS By using the meta-analytic approach, studies that met the following criteria were included in our analyses: 1) at least six subjects per group; 2) subject groups consisting of children in the 5- to 17-yr age range; 3) pretest and posttest values for either body mass, percent body fat, or fat-free mass (FFM); 4) used exercise as a mode of treatment (e.g., walking, jogging, cycle ergometry, high-repetition resistance exercise, and combinations); 6) training programs >or= 3 wk; 7) full-length publications (not conference proceedings); 8) apparently "healthy" children (i.e., free from endocrine diseases and disorders); and 9) published studies in English language journals only. RESULTS A total of 120 investigations were located that addressed the issue of exercise as a method of treatment in pediatric obesity. Of those, 30 met our criteria for inclusion. Across all designs and categories, fixed-effects modeling yielded significant decreases in the following dependent variables: 1) percent body fat (mean = 0.70 +/- 0.35; 95% CI = 0.21 to 1.1); 2) FFM (mean = 0.50 +/- 0.38; 95% CI = 0.03 to 0.57); 3) body mass (mean = 0.34 +/- 0.18; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.46); 4) BMI (mean = 0.76 +/- 0.55; 95% CI = 4.24 to 1.7), and 5) VO2max (mean = 0.52 +/- 0.16; 95% CI = 0.18 to 0.89), respectively. Significant differences were found as a function of the type intervention groups (exercise vs exercise + behavioral modification; P < 0.04); body composition assessment methods (skinfold vs hydrostatic weighing, DEXA, and total body water; P < 0.006); exercise intensity (60-65%, vs >or= 71% VO2max; P < 0.01); duration (<or= 30 min vs > 30 min; P < 0.03); and mode (aerobic vs aerobic + resistance training; P < 0.02). Stepwise linear regression suggested that initial body fat levels (or body mass), type of treatment intervention, exercise intensity, and exercise mode accounted for most of the variance associated with changes in body composition after training. CONCLUSIONS Exercise is efficacious for reducing selected body composition variables in children and adolescents. The most favorable alterations in body composition occurred with 1) low-intensity, long-duration exercise; 2) aerobic exercise combined with high-repetition resistance training; and 3) exercise programs combined with a behavioral-modification component.
Targeting antioxidative signal transduction and stress response system: control of pathogenic Aspergillus with phenolics that inhibit mitochondrial function

Aims: The aim of this study was to show whether antioxidative response systems are potentially useful molecular targets for control of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus. Selected phenolic agents are used in target‐gene‐based bioassays to determine their impact on mitochondrial respiration.
Assessing knowledge of the patient bill of rights in central Saudi Arabia: a survey of primary health care providers and recipients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Little is known about the implementation of the patient bill of rights (PBR) in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore to what extent health care recipients and providers know about the bill and its implementation. DESIGN AND SETTING A cross-sectional survey conducted on health care professionals and patients at Primary Health Care Centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during July 2010. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study employed a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 500 patients (aged 18 years or older) and 500 health care providers (physicians and nurses) in primary health care (PHC) centers in Riyadh. Data was collected on the respondents’ knowledge of the existence and contents of the bill, the extent to which the bill is implemented, and the obstacles that may hinder bill implementation. The data was analyzed and presented in a descriptive fashion. RESULTS More than three quarters of patients and one third of PHC providers did not know about the existence of the bill. Among those who knew about its existence, about three quarters of patients and almost half of PHC providers had little (or very little) knowledge about the bill contents. In general, patients scored lower means of perception than PHC staff about the implementation of the bill’s aspects. PHC staff reported several obstacles that may hinder the implementation of the PBR in Saudi Arabia. CONCLUSIONS Patients and health care providers lack necessary knowledge about the PBR. More dissemination of information about the bill, taking into account the particularities of the Saudi population is needed. Future research is required to establish measures that are effective in ensuring that patients rights are ensured.
Increasing Prevalence and Intensity of Foodborne Clonorchiasis, Hengxian County, China, 1989–2011

During 1989–2011, three parasitic disease surveys were conducted in Hengxian County, China, where soil-transmitted helminthiases and foodborne clonorchiasis are endemic. We compared the data and found that the prevalence of helminthiases decreased and the prevalence and intensity of clonorchiasis increased over time, especially among men. Clonorchiasis control/intervention measures are urgently needed in this area.
Physical Origins of Threshold Voltage Variation Enhancement in Si(110) n/pMOSFETs

Threshold voltage Vth variations in scaled (110) n/pMOSFETs are systematically investigated. Vth variations in (110) nMOSFETs and pMOSFETs with high channel dose are larger than those in (100) nMOSFETs and pMOSFETs, respectively. Physical origins of Vth variation enhancement in (110) MOSFETs are analyzed on the basis of the substrate impurity concentration dependence of the body effect and S factor variations. It is found that the depletion width variations due to boron ion channeling and the interface trap density variations enhance Vth variations in boron-doped (110) nMOSFETs and that the interface fixed charge variations enhance Vth variations in arsenic-doped (110) pMOSFETs. An undoped channel combined with a steep boron profile and moderate phosphorus doping into the surface are desirable to minimize Vth variations in (110) nMOSFETs and pMOSFETs, respectively.
Maternal antenatal anxiety and children's behavioural/emotional problems at 4 years. Report from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

BACKGROUND Animal experiments suggest that maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy have long-term effects on the behaviour of the offspring. AIMS To test the hypothesis that antenatal maternal anxiety predicts behavioural problems at age 4 years. METHOD Data were collected on multiple antenatal and postnatal assessments of maternal anxiety and depression, antenatal and obstetric risks, psychosocial risks and children's behavioural/emotional problems (n=7448). RESULTS Antenatal maternal anxiety predicted behavioural/emotional problems in boys (OR=2.14, 95% CI 1.48-3.10) and girls (OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.3-2.69) after accounting for covariates. When covarying maternal anxiety up to 33 months postnatally, antenatal anxiety continued to predict total problems in boys (OR=1.56, 95% CI 1.02-2.41) and girls (OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.22-2.81). CONCLUSIONS There could be a direct effect of maternal mood on foetal brain development, which affects the behavioural development of the child.
Estimating Labor Supply Elasticities with Joint Borrowing Constraints of Couples

Conventional estimates of Frisch labor supply elasticities are biased in the presence of borrowing constraints. We develop an incomplete-markets model with two-earner households and derive a new estimation approach for the Frisch elasticity that yields unbiased estimates even in samples that include borrowing-constrained households. Our approach exploits that the strength of the estimation bias depends on individuals’ relative contribution to household earnings. It takes the form of a simple interaction term model with minimum data requirements. Using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, we estimate Frisch elasticities of about 0.7 for men and rather homogeneous Frisch elasticities across the population.
Investigation of the Defect Structure of Congruent and Fe-Doped LiNbO3 Powders Synthesized by the Combustion Method

Fe-doped LiNbO3 synthesized by the combustion method to seek new multiferroic materials exhibits room-temperature ferromagnetism, as reported in our previous work. In this work, the defect structure of congruent and Fe-doped LiNbO3 (0.57–3.3 mol %) powders was investigated in detail by several methods. The molar ratio of [Li]/([Li]+[Nb]) was determined by the Curie temperature (Tc) via DSC. Two peaks of Tc were observed due to phase splitting, and the phase at lower Tc disappears as the Fe doping concentration increases. The coexistence of two different oxidation states of Fe ions in LiNbO3 was probed by XPS and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The Raman spectra exhibit displacements along the c axis of Li and Nb ions, and a deformation of the NbO6 framework owing to Fe doping. Several doping models were applied in the Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray diffraction collected by synchrotron radiation. The fitting by the Nb vacancy model leads to an improbably distorted structure of congruent LiNbO3. In Fe-doped LiNbO3, we conjecture that Li and Nb vacancies coexist in the lattice structure; Fe+2/Fe+3 ions are substituted for Li ions at the regular Li site and may push the anti-site NbLi ion back to the regular Nb site.