Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparative Analysis of Customers' Satisfaction for Conventional and Islamic Insurance Companies in Pakistan

Islamic finance and insurance are penetrating in international markets especially after world economic crisis since 2008. This research is an attempt to analyze customers’ satisfaction for the services of conventional and Islamic insurance companies in Pakistan. A modified SERVQUAL model is used to measure the service quality in the constructs of reliability, responsiveness, empathy, convenience and Shariah compliance. For this purpose primary data of 400 customers, 173 from conventional and 227 from Islamic insurance companies, is estimated through propensity score matching as well as linear, non-linear and non-parametric classification techniques. The results on service quality indicate significant gap between expectation and perception of overall insurance industry. No significant difference of service quality is found between conventional and Islamic insurance companies in the constructs of reliability, responsiveness, convenience and empathy. The findings suggest a significant improvement in the service quality of conventional and Islamic insurance industry. Particularly, the conventional insurance companies need to focus on young people, private employees and lower income groups, whereas the Islamic insurance companies have to put more efforts to improve Shariah compliance and to attract self-employed and higher income groups.
Redox Properties of 8-Quinolinol and Implications for its Mode of Action

8-Quinolinol (oxine, 8-hydroxyquinoline) is a simple aromatic alkaloid with allelopathic, antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities. Generally, it is assumed that 8-quinolinol toxicity depends on transition metal chelation that negatively affects their availability for metalloenzymes in the cell or reactive oxygen species generation (ROS), which are formed following reduction of molecular oxygen by autoxidation of the redox active metal central atom of the 8-quinolinol complex. On the contrary, beneficial effects of 8-quinolinol and its derivatives in the medication of certain degenerative diseases are known. In this context, the activity of 8-quinolinol derivatives is attributed to their antioxidant activity following iron complex formation. To address this controversial issue, we explore the possible anti- or pro-oxidant effects of 8-quinolinol and its iron complexes in the deoxyribose degradation assay, by cyclic voltammetry and in a biological assay. The antibacterial effects of 8-quinolinol and its complex with iron were evaluated on Curtobacterium flaccumfacies and Paenibacillus amylolyticus. 8-Quinolinol showed strong antioxidant activity in the deoxyribose degradation assay. This activity may not depend exclusively on iron chelation, but probably more on the notable reducing properties of 8-quinolinol; it proved to be a more efficient antioxidant than the flavonoids catechin and quercetin. By contrast, 8-quinolinol showed no pro-oxidative effects in the deoxyribose degradation assay, both in free form and in complex with iron, as it may occur with redox cyclers. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed this too. 8-Quinolinol significantly inhibited bacterial growth and respiration. Idiosyncratically, its 50:1 mixture with iron(III) ions was less active compared with free 8-quinolinol; it even caused a U-shaped nonlinear hormetic effect on growth and failed to inhibit respiration as totally as the pure mixture; the respiration was even accelerated compared with the control as a result of lower stress. Our results support the notion that complex formation with either iron or other transition metals affects the reducing power of 8-quinolinol, but, in contrast to general assumptions, this study finds no support that complex formation with iron represents the major mode of action.
Learning Enhances Sensory Processing in Mouse V1 before Improving Behavior

A fundamental property of visual cortex is to enhance the representation of those stimuli that are relevant for behavior, but it remains poorly understood how such enhanced representations arise during learning. Using classical conditioning in adult mice of either sex, we show that orientation discrimination is learned in a sequence of distinct behavioral stages, in which animals first rely on stimulus appearance before exploiting its orientation to guide behavior. After confirming that orientation discrimination under classical conditioning requires primary visual cortex (V1), we measured, during learning, response properties of V1 neurons. Learning improved neural discriminability, sharpened orientation tuning, and led to higher contrast sensitivity. Remarkably, these learning-related improvements in the V1 representation were fully expressed before successful orientation discrimination was evident in the animals' behavior. We propose that V1 plays a key role early in discrimination learning to enhance behaviorally relevant sensory information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Decades of research have documented that responses of neurons in visual cortex can reflect the behavioral relevance of visual information. The behavioral relevance of any stimulus needs to be learned, though, and little is known how visual sensory processing changes, as the significance of a stimulus becomes clear. Here, we trained mice to discriminate two visual stimuli, precisely quantified when learning happened, and measured, during learning, the neural representation of these stimuli in V1. We observed learning-related improvements in V1 processing, which were fully expressed before discrimination was evident in the animals' behavior. These findings indicate that sensory and behavioral improvements can follow different time courses and point toward a key role of V1 at early stages in discrimination learning.
A Class of Discrete-Time Models for the Study of Hospital Admission Systems

This paper presents a class of discrete-time models for the study of the control of hospital in-patient admissions. It contends that the use of non-homogeneous Markov chains is appropriate to the problem and allows a wide choice of possibilities to suit many different situations. The restrictions imposed by the Markov property are discussed and methods of generalizing the process are suggested. In particular, the way is opened for models based on a length of stay with Pascal distribution and on scheduling patients with several days' notice.
Thoracic epidural analgesia for coronary artery surgery. A bridge too far?

Worldwide close to 1 million patients a year undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Current estimations of postoperative mortality and morbidity in the form of myocardial infarction following grafting are 1.7% and 2.4%, respectively [1]. Despite these impressively low figures they translate into a very unimpressive 17 000 deaths and 24 000 postoperative infarcts worldwide every single year. Can we do better? One of the major worldwide controversies currently being debated amongst cardiac anaesthetists is whether thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) improves outcome after CABG surgery and if so, is it safe to do so in view of the prerequisite for intraoperative iatrogenic coagulopathy. Current recommendations regarding thoracic epidural analgesia and CABG are notable for their absence. Clinical practice in North America reflects this controversy. A survey of cardiothoracic anaesthetists in the USA found that only 7% of anaesthetists incorporated an epidural into the management of adults undergoing cardiac surgery. Forty percent inserted the epidural before induction, 12% after induction, 33% after surgery and 15% on the first postoperative day [2]. International and national variations in current practice reflect the lack of consensus on this subject [3–5]. A recently published meta-analysis assessed whether there is any evidence for improved outcomes with thoracic epidural analgesia in CABG patients [6]. Fifteen trials involving 1178 patients were included in the meta-analysis which concluded that there were no differences in the rates of postoperative mortality or myocardial infarction after CABG with thoracic epidural analgesia. Whether this result is caused by insufficient power from a limited sample size or by a true lack of treatment effect is unclear and this is acknowledged by the authors. However, there were faster times to extubation, reduced pulmonary morbidity, decreased incidence of cardiac dysrhythmias and lower postoperative pain scores. On the basis of these findings is thoracic epidural analgesia for CABG worth the risk? Cardiac anaesthesia should ideally provide intraoperative cardiovascular stability together with a stable and pain free recovery, thereby maintaining a balance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, perioperative myocardial ischaemia is most commonly observed during the immediate postoperative period (25–38% incidence) and this is related to patient outcome [7,8]. It is recognized that inadequate analgesia and increased stress-response hormones (norepinephrine, epinephrine and cortisol) during the postoperative period may result in myocardial ischaemia, muscle catabolism, impaired immunity and haemostatic sequelae, such as platelet activation and impaired fibrinolysis [9–11].
Application of a 4‐h human patch test method for comparative and investigative assessment of skin irritation

A human 4‐h patch test has recently been developed for testing the irritation hazard potential of chemicals. The original method was developed for comparative irritation assessments relative to benchmark irritants using simple statistical tests. In this context, the method has been shown to be robust in intra laboratory testing over time. Recent inter laboratory testing has also established the consistency of the method in assessment of the relative irritation potential of selected chemicals. These data help to position the method as a suitable replacement for animal test methods in assessment of skin irritation hazard. In addition, the method has great utility for investigating different parameters of clinical skin irritation. Using kinetic response patterns and curve fitting analysis, we have compared the relative irritation potential of chemicals in greater detail, using as a basis the time required for test subjects to respond as well as the incidence of positive responses. Also, using the response to 20% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a benchmark, we've been able to examine the intersubject variation in clinical skin irritation responses. In general, subjects most reactive to 20% SDS, in terms of the exposure time required to produce a positive response, were relatively more sensitive to a 2nd irritant chemical as well. However, this was not an absolute correlation in that some test subjects showed divergent patterns of response. The method was also used to compare directly the relative skin reactivity of different populations, based on race (Caucasian versus Asian) or on neurosensory skin sensitivity. Our results using this acute exposure test method indicate little difference in visually assessed skin irritation among these diverse human subpopulations.
Histochemical and immunocytochemical evaluation of copper and metallothionein in the liver and kidney of copper‐loaded rats

Histochemical methods do not always show a good correlation with analytical measurement of copper content and consequently immunoreactive staining techniques for metaliothionein (MT) have recently been employed for the differential diagnosis of copper‐associated diseases. This study compares histochemical with immunocytochemical methods for the assessment of copper status. Male rats were fed a high copper (1 g/kg) diet for 16 weeks and killed sequentially during this period. The livers and kidneys were analysed for copper and zinc (atomic absorption spectrophotometry), and sections were stained with rubeanic acid and rhodanine for copper and for immunoreactive MT using the DNP localization system. Immunoreactive stains for MT corresponded better with copper content than histochemical stains and were more sensitive, albeit less selective, indicators of copper accumulation. Moreover, major differences in intracellular staining were apparent between the two methods, attributed to differences in copper binding and microcompartmentalization of metal.
Source monitoring and memory confidence in schizophrenia

Background. The present study attempted to extend previous research on source monitoring deficits in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that patients would show a bias to attribute self-generated words to an external source. Furthermore, it was expected that schizophrenic patients would be over-confident regarding false memory attributions. Method. Thirty schizophrenic and 21 healthy participants were instructed to provide a semantic association for 20 words. Subsequently, a list was read containing experimenter- and self-generated words as well as new words. The subject was required to identify each item as old/new, name the source, and state the degree of confidence for the source attribution. Results. Schizophrenic patients displayed a significantly increased number of source attribution errors and were significantly more confident than controls that a false source attribution response was true. The latter bias was ameliorated by higher doses of neuroleptics. Conclusions. It is inferred that a core cognitive deficit underlying schizophrenia is a failure to distinguish false from true mnestic contents.
4‐Quinolones cause a selective loss of mitochondrial DNA from mouse L1210 leukemia cells

The 4‐quinolone antibiotics nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin and potent inhibitors of the bacterial type II topoisomerase DNA gyrase. Treatment of mouse L1210 leukemia cells with these drugs resulted in a delayed inhibition of cell proliferation. Prior to inhibition of cell proliferation, there was a time‐dependent decrease in the cellular content of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The decrease in mtDNA was associated with a decrease in the rate of mitochondrial respiration and an increase in the concentration of lactate in the growth medium. Inhibition of cell proliferation by 4‐quinolones was reversible upon drug washout. However, there was a 2‐ to 4‐day lag before the growth rate returned to normal levels. This was preceeded by an increase in mtDNA content and mitochondrial respiration. These studies suggest that inhibition of mammalian cell proliferation by 4‐quinolone drugs is related to the selective depletion of mtDNA. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Endowment Effect: Evidence of Losses Valued More than Gains

It has long been assumed that an individual’s valuations of a good are independent of his or her entitlement to the good. In the absence of a wealth (or income) effect, the maximum sum a person would agree to pay to obtain the good should be equal to the minimum amount the person would demand to give it up. The traditional view that, “. we shall normally expect the results to be so close together that it would not matter which we choose” (Henderson, 1941, p. 121) (when the usual income effects are allowed for) is central to conventional economic theory. This view also provides the working assumption of economic practice in such diverse situations as predicting market responses, assessing damages for environmental harms, and the design of public policies. There is, however, little or no empirical support for the empirical assertion of people’s symmetrical valuations of gains and losses and the presumed economic choices and behavior that results from them. Instead, tests consistently indicate that people value the loss of an entitlement more, and usually far more, than a fully commensurate gain and make choices accordingly. The early empirical evidence of a wide disparity between people’s valuations of gains and losses appeared in results of contingent valuation studies in which respondents were asked both how much they would be willing to pay to prevent a loss of an environmental or other amenity, and what sum they would demand to accept its loss. In perhaps the first of these, duck hunters were reported to be willing to pay an average of $247 to prevent the loss of an area of duck habitat but demanded $1044 to accept its loss (Hammack and Brown, 1974). Many similar results were subsequently reported of people’s valuations of environmental as well as other goods. Thaler (1980), for example, found that the minimum compensation people demanded to accept a . 001 risk of death was one or two orders of magnitude greater than the maximum amount they would pay to avoid the same risk.
The Influence of Risk and Psychopathy on the Therapeutic Climate in Sex Offender Treatment

The current study examines the relationship between therapeutic climate of sexual offender treatment groups, risk level, psychopathy and phase (i.e., early/later) of treatment. The participants were 137 sexual offenders detained indefinitely under Wisconsin’s Sexually Violent Person’s Law who attended a treatment group based on their level of psychopathy: higher levels of psychopathy (i.e., PCL-R scores of 25 or above) or lower levels of psychopathy (i.e., PCL-R scores of less than 25). Using MANOVA with aspects of the therapeutic climate as the dependent variables, the therapeutic climate did not differ as a function of the risk level of the participants. However, the overall therapeutic climate of the two treatment tracks (Lower vs. Higher PCL-R) differed significantly. The mean therapeutic climate scores for both treatment tracks were in the medium to high range (with exception of group cohesion, which was low in the Higher PCL-R track), indicating a fairly positive therapeutic climate in both treatment tracks overall. The therapeutic climate also differed as a function of phase of treatment for each of the treatment tracks, with some aspects being rated more positively early in treatment and others in more positively in later phases. In particular, group cohesion was viewed more positively for the Higher PCL-R group in later phases of treatment.
Parental Distress: The Initial Phase of Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Fitting

The results of previous cross-section studies suggest that childhood hearing impairment may lead to parental psychosocial stress. The present study investigated whether modifications in parental psychic state can be ascertained in connection with the child's treatment events and the child's hearing and speech status, in a prospective study design. Data were available on 116 fathers and mothers regarding the pre—cochlear implant examination or hearing aid fitting of their child. In the course of the child's treatment, parental quality of life improved from a low to a normal level. Among children who were at the stage of pre-examination for a cochlear implant, better hearing and speech capacity was linked to more severe impairment of the parental state. It is emphasized that the parents whose children showed comparatively good language development at the time of pre-examination for a cochlear implant were especially subjected to stress.
Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Caused by Aspergillus Species in Ethiopia

Groundnut is an important cash crop for domestic markets as well as for foreign trade in several developing and developed countries. It is also one of the most valuable cash crops in eastern Ethiopia. However, its production is constrained by Aspergillus species, which cause quantitative losses and produce highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical substances known as aflatoxins. This article critically reviews Aflatoxin Contamination in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Ethiopia and Its Management. Although groundnut has a huge potential as a cash crop to improve livelihoods of farmers and traders in various parts of Ethiopia, its market is declining and export of the crop has come to a standstill. This is due to aflatoxin contamination of the crop and the difficulty of meeting tolerance limits by importers and food processors, leading to rejection of the crop and reduction in market demand. Aflatoxin contamination is both a pre-harvest and postharvest problem. Therefore, management of aflatoxin contamination of groundnut in Ethiopia is very important using cultural practice such as habitat management, soil amendments and pre- and post-harvest managements, using physical control methods, using biological control methods, using resistance groundnut varieties and using chemical control methods.
Effects of Assessment and Processing Techniques on the Shape of Arterial Pressure-Distension Loops

The dynamic mechanical characteristics of the arterial wall, especially its alinearity and viscoelastic behaviour, are revealed by pressure-distension loops, where the change in diameter (distension) of a lumen is plotted as a function of the change in transmural pressure. For linearity, the pressure-distension loop should be closed and straight, while viscous behavior results in an open loop. For a correct interpretation of the loops, it is essential that both distension and pressure are recorded simultaneously at the same location and processed by circuitries having the same frequency characteristics. The present paper aims at quantifying the effect of misalignment in recording position and of mismatch in frequency characteristics by analyzing the distension and pressure waveforms obtained at known locations in a phantom rig under pulsatile conditions with equipment with a validated frequency response. It is concluded that misalignment of only a few millimeters or mismatch in frequency response, even if the cutoff frequencies are far beyond the signal frequencies of interest, strongly affects the shape of the pressure-distension loop. If the forward and reflected pressure wave partially coincide, position misalignment cannot adquately be corrected for. The frequency mismatch, however, can be corrected for by crosswise preprocessing a waveform by a filter with the frequency response of the registration equipment used for the recording of the other waveform. It is important to consider these artifacts in interpreting pressure-distension loops in the clinical situation.
CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE Original Studies CoronaryReperfusionandClinicalOutcomesAfterThrombus Aspiration During Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Findings From the HORIZONS-AMI Trial

Objectives: To assess the quality of coronary reperfusion and long-term clinical outcomes of patients enrolled in the HORIZONS-AMI trial according to the use of thrombus aspiration (TA). Background: The impact of manual TA on microvascular perfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) is unsettled. Methods: In this retrospective, nonrandomized, subgroup analysis, the authors evaluated thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow, tissue myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG), ST-segment resolution (STR), net adverse clinical events (NACE), and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients undergoing pPCI with or without manual TA. Results: A total of 318 patients had pPCI with upfront TA, and 2,917 patients had pPCI without TA. Patients who had TA were more likely to have TIMI 0/1 flow at baseline (75.1% vs. 63.7%, P < 0.0001). There was no difference in the rates of final TIMI 3 flow (90.2% vs. 92.3%, P 5 0.19) or dynamic TMPG 2-3 (77.4% vs. 76.4%, P 5 0.68). STR 70% was similar in both groups at 60 minutes but higher in the TA group at discharge (71.8% vs. 64.6%, P 5 0.02). After multivariable adjustment, TA did not predict MACE at 30 days (HR 0.96 [0.51–1.80], P 5 0.90), 1 year (HR 1.03 [0.68–1.55], P 5 0.89), or 3 years (HR 1.13 [0.86–1.48], P 5 0.39). Stent thrombosis did not differ at 1 year or 3 years. Conclusions: In STEMI patients undergoing pPCI, the use of manual TA was associated with improved STR at discharge, but not with any difference in final TIMI flow, TMPG, or MACE. VC 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.