Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of the Porcine Intestinal Epithelium (PIE)‐Assay to analyze early stages of colonization by the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Virulence of C. albicans strains can be tested using a mouse model of haematogenously disseminated Candida cells. Initial steps of host‐pathogen contact such as adhesion and colonization are not taken into account due to the injection of Candida cells into the blood stream. Here we describe an assay, based on the ex vivo usage of porcine intestinal epithelium (PIE), that is useful to monitor the early stages of a C. albicans infection. The ability of C. albicans to undergo morphogenetic switching between yeast and hyphal stages is thought to contribute to its virulence. We found that hyphal formation was required to allow cells to colonize the PIE. The non‐filamentous mutant strains efg1/cph1 which lacks two of the central transcription factors that are required to promote hyphal growth and wal1 that carries a deletion of the C. albicans homolog of the human Wiskott‐Aldrich Syndrome Protein and is deficient in endocytosis showed only weak adherence. Furthermore, the wal1 mutant was found to be reduced in virulence using the mouse tail vein injection assay. We also analyzed the colonization properties of a variety of other mutant strains carrying deletions of either secreted aspartyl proteinase (SAP)‐family genes or amino acid permease encoding genes (GAP1, SSY1, and PUT4). Interestingly, the nag5 strain which lacks an N‐acetylglucosamine kinase showed enhanced filamentation and invasive growth as well as increased resistance against farnesol. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
BARE-BONES LITERATURE REVIEW Cancer Registration Literature Update (2006-2008)

Using Cancer Registration and Registry as search items with PubMed, a survey of the relevant literature for the years 2006-2008 was performed. A total of 207 abstracts were scanned for core findings and classified under general incidence and mortality, methodology and specific organ headings, these accounting for 27%, 5% and 68% of papers, respectively. Further sub-division into geographical area and country showed 34% from Europe, less than 1% from Africa, 42% from Asia (almost half in the APJCP), 2% from Australasia and the remaining 21% from the Americas. Breast cancer was the most common specific cancer covered, followed by colorectal and childhood, then lung and urinary tract, but clear differences were noted in the focus of different countries, partially reflecting variation in prevalence. The distributions across and within continents point to geographical areas and countries in which assistance might allow a more comprehensive picture of cancer incidence and mortality to be generated, facilitating worldwide efforts for cancer control. Variation within countries also appears to require more emphasis in the future.
The Role of Ar-Rahn in Enhancing Financial Inclusion: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between financial inclusion and the adoption of ar-rahn financing in enhancing the well-being of its customers throughout Malaysia. Data distributed via questionnaire to 239 respondents were analyzed using descriptive and structural equation modeling. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between financial inclusion and ar-rahn’s financing adoption. In addition, the adoption of ar-rahn among customers improves the well-being of individuals and society. This paper contributes to the existing literatures and provide new insights on how financial inclusion could increase the adoption of ar-rahn financing and consequently the individual and societal well-being. Keywords: Financial inclusion; ar-rahn adoption; individual well-being; societal well-being. ABSTRAK Kajian ini menganalisis hubungan yang wujud antara inklusif kewangan dan penggunaan pembiayaan ar-rahnu dalam meningkatkan kesejahteraan pengguna seluruh Malaysia. Data yang diedar melalui soal selidik kepada 239 responden dianalisis menggunakan model persamaan struktur. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang positif antara inklusif kewangan dan penggunaan pembiayaan ar-rahnu. Selain itu, penggunaan pembiayaan ar-rahnu juga meningkatkan kesejahteraan individu dan masyarakat. Kajian ini menyumbang kepada literatur sedia ada dan pandangan baharu bagaimana inklusif kewangan mampu meningkatkan penggunaan pembiayaan ar-rahnu dan seterusnya kesejahteraan individu dan masyarakat. Kata kunci: Inklusif kewangan; penggunaan ar-rahnu; kesejahteraan individu; kesejahteraan masyarakat.
Nailfold microcirculation in normotensive and essential hypertensive subjects, as assessed by video-microscopy

Objective: To compare morphological and hemodynamic parameters of skin microcirculation in the fingertip in patients with essential hypertension and normotensive control subjects. Design: Consecutive sample of patients. Methods: Digital capillary blood flow measurements under normal and cooled conditions were assessed by nailfold video capillaroscopy using the technique of flying spot. Results: There was a significant reduction in capillary density in hypertensive patients, compared with normotensive subjects There was a correlation between capillary density and mean diastolic blood pressure. After local cooling, the frequency of the blood flow stop was significantly higher in hypertensive patients. Conclusion: The finding of abnormal vasoconstriction in finger microcirculation in essential hypertension suggests a vasospastic tendency in the disease.
Guided Imagery And Progressive Muscle Relaxation as a Cluster of Symptoms Management Intervention in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Randomized Control Trial

Objective Patients receiving chemotherapy often experience many different symptoms that can be difficult to alleviate and ultimately negatively influence their quality of life. Such symptoms include pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and retching, anxiety and depression. There is a gap in the relevant literature on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural and relaxation techniques in symptom clusters. The study reflects this gap in the literature and aimed to test the effectiveness of Guided Imagery (GI) and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) on a cluster of symptoms experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods This was a randomized control trial with 208 patients equally assigned either in the intervention or the control group. Measurements in both groups were collected at baseline and at completion of intervention (4 weeks). Patients were assessed for pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and retching, anxiety and depression. The overall management of the cluster was also assessed based on the patients’ self-reported health related quality of life-HRQoL. Chi-square tests (X2), independent T-tests and Linear Mixed Models were calculated. Results Patients in the intervention group experienced lower levels of Fatigue (p<0.0.0225), and Pain (p = 0.0003) compared to those in the control group and experienced better HRQoL (p<0.0001) [PRE-POST: Intervention: Pain 4.2(2.5) - 2.5(1.6), Fatigue 27.6(4.1) - 19.3(4.1), HRQoL 54.9(22.7) - 64.5(23), Control: Pain 3.5(1.7) - 4.8(1.5), Fatigue 28.7(4.1) - 32.5(3.8), HRQoL 51.9(22.3)– 41.2(24.1)]. Nausea, vomiting and retching occurred significantly less often in the intervention group [pre-post: 25.4(5.9)– 20.6(5.6) compared to the control group (17.8(6.5)– 22.7(5.3) (F = 58.50 p<0.0001). More patients in the control group (pre:n = 33-post:n = 47) were found to be moderately depressed compared to those in the intervention group (pre:n = 35-post:n = 15) (X2 = 5.93; p = 0.02). Conclusion This study provided evidence that the combination of GI and PMR can be effective in the management of a cluster of symptoms in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. These techniques can complement existing management measures to achieve a comprehensive management of this symptom cluster and increase patients HRQoL. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01275872
Supervision Contributes for Success of Megawon Village Fund Program Jati District Kudus Regency Central Java Indonesia by Using Good Governanceas a Contingency Variable

This research aims to analyze supervision which is able to contribute to improve clean government by using good governance as a moderator. Sample from this research is village’s administrators who are involved with village fund and village supervisory administrator in total 26 persons. Sample retrieval technique uses Multiple Regresion Analysis. The result from this research explains that good governance can be contingency variable. Thus, to create clean government and authoritative; it needs maximum supervision and to be succeed village fund program.
The impact of customer bank brand value congruence on online customer engagement behaviour. A study in the Dutch retail banking sector

The financial crisis almost caused retail banks in The Netherlands to bankruptcy. Even now traditional retail banks are still dealing with an image problem, which makes it hard to maintain and develop profitable relationships with their clients. Value congruence, the similarity between a customer’s personal values and their perceptions of bank brand values, has been found to increase important relationship dimensions such as satisfaction, trust, affective commitment, and loyalty. This study expands that knowledge by investigating the impact of value congruence on new online customer engagement behaviours. These include positive online word-of-mouth, participation in online co-creation projects, online community participation and mobile banking app usage. Structural equation modelling technique Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyse data gathered from 271 clients of Dutch retail bank brands ABN AMRO, ING, and Rabobank. The results show customer-bank brand value congruence increases positive online word-of-mouth and participation in online co-creation projects. This effect is fully mediated by satisfaction and affective commitment, trust does not play a role as mediator. Contrary to expectations online community participation decreases when there is good fit between the customer’s and bank brand values, and no significant effect on mobile banking app usage was found. Additional analysis reveals benevolence and self-direction are the strongest influencing value dimensions, these consist of values such as honest, helpful, responsible, choosing own goals, self-respect and independence. This knowledge can be used in marketing practice to change customers’ perceptions of the bank brand, and by this increase relationship quality and online engagement behaviours. 2 THE IMPACT OF VALUE CONGRUENCE ON ONLINE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT BEHAVIOUR Chapter
Evaluation of tularemia cases focusing on the oculoglandular form.

INTRODUCTION Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis. The oculoglandular form is one of the rarest forms. In this study, evaluated tularemia patients, focusing on the ocular form and the efficacy of early antibiotic therapy. METHODOLOGY During a tularemia outbreak, the epidemiological and clinical findings, laboratory assays, and drugs used for the treatment of 48 patients were recorded prospectively. The diagnosis of tularemia was confirmed with microagglutination test (MAT) as well as clinical findings. RESULTS The mean age of the subject was 48.6 years; 23 (47.9%) of them were female. Thirty-six (81.25%) patients had clinical presentation compatible with oropharyngeal tularemia, seven (14.58%) with oculoglandular tularemia, and two (4.1%) with ulceroglandular tularemia. The most common symptoms were fever (91.6%) and sore throat (81.2%), and the most common findings were lymphadenopathy (91.6%) and tonsillopharyngitis (81.2%). In the oculoglandular form, fever, lymphadenopathy, periorbital edema, conjunctival injection, and chemosis were found. The most distinctive ophthalmic feature was follicular conjunctivitis and conjunctival epithelial defects. Forty-five cases had positive serological results with MAT. All the patients were treated with antibiotics considered effective against F. tularensis, and topical antimicrobial treatment was given to the patients with oculoglandular tularemia. Twenty-six (54.16%) patients, who were admitted within three weeks of the onset of symptoms, recovered without sequel. CONCLUSIONS During tularemia outbreaks, ocular involvement should be considered carefully. The early administration of appropriate treatment will be more effective in resolving the infection and preventing complications. Along with systemic antibiotic therapy, topical treatment will help recovery.
Firm determinants of risk disclosure: Evidence from Italian listed companies

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relationship between firm characteristics and risk disclosure in the Italian context. Analysing a sample of 183 non-financial Italian listed companies, a regression model was run to examine the influence of some firm determinants, such as size, industry, board of directors independence, ownership structure and leverage (independent variables), on the extent of risk disclosure measured through an index based on the information disclosed in annual report (dependent variable). In particular, from the methodology standpoint, both the bivariate (Pearson correlations) and the multivariate (OLS regression model) statistics have been used, while content analysis was carried out to find the useful information to build the risk index. Findings show a positive relationship between firm size and the extent of risk disclosure. Contrarily, there is no statistically significant evidence between information provided by Italian companies regarding their risks and the other firm determinants. The results suggest that, in the Italian context, despite the recent interventions from the legislator to improve risk disclosure in corporate reporting, there is a remarkable difference between the disclosure provided by large and small sized companies. The findings could be conducive for regulators and policy-makers, in order to enhance risk disclosure practices and to enhance transparency in the annual report.
Perceived stress and burnout among volunteer caregivers working in AIDS care in South Africa.

AIMS To conduct a quantitative investigation of stress and the relationship with burnout among AIDS care volunteers. BACKGROUND Volunteer caregivers experience stress that could lead to burnout. Yet, very few studies quantify stress and its relationship with burnout among AIDS care volunteers. DESIGN This study uses a cross-sectional, exploratory survey design. METHODS Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 126 volunteer caregivers working in 13 semi-rural communities (townships) in Durban, South Africa in April 2009. All participants were women, Christian and with low levels of education. A 22-item instrument was drawn from Pearlin et al.'s role overload and role captivity scales, Van Dyk's stress factor scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. RESULTS Most of the volunteers had moderate-to-high levels of stress. 'Role/work overload' 'lack of support' and 'overwhelming nature of the disease' explained most of the variance in stress. Volunteers' age and number of patients in their care were predictors of stress. Caring for only AIDS patients, lack of support, stress emanating from perceived stigma and lack of training; and the overwhelming nature of AIDS were predictors of burnout. CONCLUSION High levels of stress could negatively impact volunteers' health and well-being and on-the-job performance. Policy makers must develop and fund home-based care models that take into account the stressors associated with AIDS care, by reducing the work load, providing ongoing psychosocial support and recruiting nurses to assist volunteers. The small non-probability sample used in this study highlights the need to treat the findings with caution.
Characteristics of vortex packets in turbulent boundary layers

Stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure all three instantaneous components of the velocity field in streamwise–spanwise planes of a turbulent boundary layer at Reτ=1060 (Reθ=2500). Datasets were obtained in the logarithmic layer and beyond. The vector fields in the log layer (z+=92 and 150) revealed signatures of vortex packets similar to those proposed by Adrian and co-workers in their PIV experiments. Groups of legs of hairpin vortices appeared to be coherently arranged in the streamwise direction. These regions also generated substantial Reynolds shear stress, sometimes as high as 40 times −uw. A feature extraction algorithm was developed to automate the identification and characterization of these packets of hairpin vortices. Identified patches contributed 28% to −uw while occupying only 4% of the total area at z+=92. At z+=150, these patches occupied 4.5% of the total area while contributing 25% to −uw. Beyond the log layer (z+=198 and 530), the spatial organization into packets is seen to break down.
Network Intrusion Detection Using a Hidden Naïve Bayes Binary Classifier

Using data mining techniques in intrusion detection systems is common for the classification of the network events as either normal events or attack events. Naïve Bayes (NB) method is a simple, efficient and popular data mining method that is built on conditional independence of attributes assumption. Hidden Naïve Bayes (HNB) is an extended form of NB that keeps the NB's simplicity and efficiency while relaxing its independence assumption. Our experimental research claims that the HNB binary classifier model can be applied to intrusion detection problem. Experiment results using classic KDD 1999 Cup intrusion detection dataset indicate that HNB binary classifier has better performance in terms of detection accuracy compared to the traditional NB classifier. Keywordsintrusion detection systems, data mining, machine learning, classifiers, Naïve Bayes, Hidden Naïve Bayes (HNB)
Entry Into Emerging Industries - How should Norwegian companies enter the emerging offshore wind industry?

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to discover how firms should enter emerging industries. As these industries carry great economic potential, knowing how to enter and exploit this potential is believed to be valuable for firms facing such decisions. Methodology Empirical data from the emerging offshore wind industry is used, both through industry research and a multiple case study, to investigate emerging industry entry. Empirical findings will be anchored in theoretical literature on industry entry and emerging industries in order to generalize the findings. Findings It was found that the characteristics of emerging industries affect how firms view industry entry. The characteristics of uncertainty and risk, complexity, turbulence and capital requirements was observed to have the most significant impact on emerging industry entry. The study thereof conclude that having relevant pre-entry resources to cope with high technological complexity, and a flexible organizational structure is beneficial in order to handle industry turbulence. Further, network relations should be exploited in order to gain informational advantages and help find suitable partners. Moreover, new firms should enter early due to capital requirements, while established firms are recommended to delay entry due to industry uncertainty and preferably consider entry through a real options logic. Implications This study is believed to be valuable to managers of firms, both new and established, considering entry into emerging industries as well as students and scholars. As the research is driven by empirical data and further anchored in theoretical literature on industry entry and emerging industries, this thesis contributes with insight into such industries.
Epidemiological study of udder and teat diseases in dairy cows.

An epidemiologic study was conducted on 581 dairy cows (indigenous and its crosses 371, exotic crosses 210) of 4 government establishments to find prevalence of udder and teat diseases and their association with udder and teat characteristic, milk yield and milk flow rate in dairy cows. Mastitis (25.5%) was most common disease followed by udder skin diseases (15.0%) and teat diseases (12.6%). Prevalence of injuries and other lesions was higher in the skin of fore left udder quarter (22.7%) and teat (17.7%) and rear left teat end (4.5%). Mastitis was found to be associated with Sahiwal and Sindhi cross cow, poor body condition, bottle shaped teat, teat with round end, injuries and other lesions to the udder and teat skin and teat diseases. Udder skin diseases were strongly associated with indigenous cows, cow aged 5-10 years, small milk vein, larger front udder, and bottle shaped teats and flat end teats. Milk flow rate was higher in Sahiwal and Sindhi cross cows, large milk vein, larger front udder, funnel and cylindrical teats and pointed teat ends. Risk factors of udder and teat diseases, milk yield and milk flow rate in high yielding indigenous and its cross cows were not similar to those of exotic cows and their crosses. The relationship of udder and teat diseases; and udder and teat characteristics varies with the genetic composition of the dairy cows. Therefore, further genomic study needs to confirm association of udder and teat diseases with host characteristics.
Angiotensin II Induces Interleukin-1β–Mediated Islet Inflammation and β-Cell Dysfunction Independently of Vasoconstrictive Effects

Pathological activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is associated with the metabolic syndrome, and the new onset of type 2 diabetes can be delayed by RAS inhibition. In animal models of type 2 diabetes, inhibition of the RAS improves insulin secretion. However, the direct effects of angiotensin II on islet function and underlying mechanisms independent of changes in blood pressure remain unclear. Here we show that exposure of human and mouse islets to angiotensin II induces interleukin (IL)-1–dependent expression of IL-6 and MCP-1, enhances β-cell apoptosis, and impairs mitochondrial function and insulin secretion. In vivo, mice fed a high-fat diet and treated with angiotensin II and the vasodilator hydralazine to prevent hypertension showed defective glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and deteriorated glucose tolerance. Application of an anti–IL-1β antibody reduced the deleterious effects of angiotensin II on islet inflammation, restored insulin secretion, and improved glycemia. We conclude that angiotensin II leads to islet dysfunction via induction of inflammation and independent of vasoconstriction. Our findings reveal a novel role for the RAS and an additional rationale for the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients with an IL-1β antagonist.
Macro and micro impacts evaluation of public innovation policies : evidence from European regions and French firms

This thesis aims at measuring the effects of innovation policies. It first focuses on the effects of the European Union (EU) policy titled Framework Programmes for Research and Development (FPs) on the regional innovation of the EU 27 countries. Thereafter, it brings a deep analysis of the effects of the French Competitiveness Clusters policy on firms’ innovation process and on their performances.The originality of the thesis lies in the mobilization of innovative macro and micro-econometric techniques to evaluate public policies. The results of this work will inform the role and effectiveness of the Framework Programmes for Research and Development in regional innovation dynamics, but also the effectiveness of the Competitiveness Clusters policy on French firms’ performances in terms of innovation, incentives for private investments, job creation and market competitiveness.