Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of demographics as moderator in mobile banking adoption

The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether demographic characteristics influence user attitude towards mobile banking. Although earlier studies on technology adoption have received considerable empirical validation, most of the studies did not consider moderating variables. Among those which consider moderating variables, primarily explored are gender, age and income. By including other moderator variables in the model, we hope to lessen the inconsistencies found in past research studies. Two methods, viz. multiple linear regression and Fisher Z transformation have been used to test the moderating effects. The sample comprise of users of online banking in India. Results show that gender, age, qualification, experience, occupation, income and marital status were significant moderating variables. However, educational background did not show any moderating effect. Our results suggest that by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory, the research provide insights into the moderating effect of demographics.
Energy Prices and Investment in Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Chinese Industry 1997-2004

This paper develops and implements a methodology for assessing the role of energy prices in reducing energy intensity in Chinese industry. For the short run, the paper estimates contemporaneous energy price elasticities; for the long run, the paper examines the impact of energy prices on energy-saving investment. A central approach of the paper is to identify those subsets of China’s industrial firms that are the largest energy consumers and likely to be the principal potential sources of energy conservation. Analyzing a unique panel data set which reports firm-level energy consumption and energy prices, the paper shows three stylized facts: (i) real energy prices, which are regulated by government, are typically lowest for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), followed by domestic non-SOEs, and highest for foreign-funded firms; (ii) energy prices tend to be lowest for the most energy-intensive industries; and (iii) in the short run, SOEs tend to be somewhat less responsiveness than their domestic non-SOE counterparts and foreign-funded firms. However, over the long-run, by investing in new energy-efficient capital, SOEs tend to be more responsive to rising energy prices; the same price-investment channels are less robust for non-SOEs or foreign-funded firms. The key policy implication is that to achieve substantial energy conservation across the full range of enterprises, the Chinese Government needs to be cognizant of the ways in which investment behavior and incentives interact with energy prices in for the purpose of achieving China’s industrial energy objectives.
What Explains the Declining Corporate Debt Maturity of Pakistani Firms? The Analysis of Demand and Supply-Side Factors

The debt-maturity structures of listed firms in Pakistan have shown significant decline over the last decade. In this study, we investigate changes in both the demand-side and supply-side factors that are responsible for this decline. For this purpose, we study 364 firms for a period of seventeen years, i.e. 1996 to 2012. Analysis of the demand-side factors reveals that the decrease in debt maturity is significantly explained by agency and maturity matching theories while information asymmetry theory has limited explanatory power. Further, analysis of the supply-side factors such as loans granted to private sector explains much of the reason of decrease in debt maturity structures. Overall, both demand and supply-side factors are responsible for the declining debt-maturity structures of Pakistani firms; however, much of the decrease is attributed to supply-side rather than firms’ own characteristics or demand-side factors.
Tolevamer, a novel nonantibiotic polymer, compared with vancomycin in the treatment of mild to moderately severe Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea.

BACKGROUND Current antibiotic therapies for Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea have limitations, including progression to severe disease, recurrent C. difficile-associated diarrhea, and selection for nosocomial pathogens. Tolevamer, a soluble, high-molecular weight, anionic polymer that binds C. difficile toxins A and B is a unique nonantibiotic treatment option. METHODS In this 3-arm, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, parallel-design phase II study, patients with mild to moderately severe C. difficile-associated diarrhea were randomized to receive 3 g of tolevamer per day (n = 97), 6 g of tolevamer per day (n = 95), or 500 mg of vancomycin per day (n = 97). The primary efficacy parameter was time to resolution of diarrhea, defined as the first day of 2 consecutive days when the patient had hard or formed stools (any number) or < or = 2 stools of loose or watery consistency. RESULTS In the per-protocol study population, resolution of diarrhea was achieved in 48 (67%) of 72 patients receiving 3 g of tolevamer per day (median time to resolution of diarrhea, 4.0 days; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-6.0 days), in 58 (83%) of 70 patients receiving 6 g of tolevamer per day (median time to resolution of diarrhea, 2.5 days; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-3.0 days), and in 73 (91%) of 80 patients receiving vancomycin (median time to resolution of diarrhea, 2.0 days; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-3.0 days). Tolevamer administered at a dosage of 6 g per day was found to be noninferior to vancomycin administered at a dosage of 500 mg per day with regard to time to resolution of diarrhea (P = .02) and was associated with a trend toward a lower recurrence rate. Tolevamer was well tolerated but was associated with an increased risk of hypokalemia. CONCLUSIONS Tolevamer, a novel polystyrene binder of C. difficile toxins A and B, effectively treats mild to moderate C. difficile diarrhea and merits further clinical development.
Approaches to Pricing Design Services: Evidence from Architectural Firms in Nigeria

The approaches adopted by firms in pricing design services have hitherto been a matter of speculation. Professional bodies often specify percentage and time charges, but there are indications that these firms use other approaches. The approaches adopted by architectural firms in pricing design services were therefore the object of this study. A sample of architectural firms from Nigeria, were asked to rate the prevalence of use, perceived benefits, and difficulties of the pricing approaches. The data were analyzed using mean ranking to obtain the level of use; and regression analysis to investigate the perceptions, which influence the use of the pricing approaches. The findings reveal that percentage fees were the most popular approaches adopted by most of the firms in the study in pricing design services. The perceptions, which influence the use of the different approaches, were also presented. Samples were taken from only architectural firms in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria, where there is a concentration of registered architectural firms. The results may therefore not be generalized to other service firms. In addition only design services were considered. The results suggest the reasons approaches may be used for pricing design services and may serve as a guide to upcoming firms. Implications for further research were also drawn. The value of this study lies in the fact that it represents one of the first attempts at examining the approaches used by architects in pricing design services.
Impact of Leverage on Profitability of Textile Industry of Bangladesh: A Study on Listed Companies in Dhaka Stock Exchange

This study is an endeavor to focus on the relationship between leverage and profitability of textile sector operating in Bangladesh. The aim of this study is to focus on the impact of leverage on profitability of textile companies operating in Bangladesh. Elucidating the role of leverage is one of the primary objectives of this research. The degree of operating leverage (DOL), degree of financial leverage, and degree of total leverage (DTL) have been computed and compared with return on investment (ROI). 10 textile companies as sample which is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange from the period 2007 to 2015 has been used for analysis. For data analysis, regression model is used. This study finds the use of leverage has statistically significant impact on firm’s profitability based on the level of riskiness inherent to each firm. To dig deeper the impact of leverage, some significant ratios have been calculated, which helped us to come to a conclusion that there is a significant relationship with DOL and ROI (P = 0.010). However, this study will help financial manager with the better understanding about the use of leverage. Aus. J. Acc. Eco. Fin. Vol 3(2), October 2017, P 51-57
Kinetics of protein folding. A lattice model study of the requirements for folding to the native state.

A three-dimensional lattice model of a protein is used to investigate the properties required for its folding to the native state. The polypeptide chain is represented as a 27 bead heteropolymer whose lowest energy (native) state can be determined by an exhaustive enumeration of all fully compact conformations. A total of 200 sequences with random interactions are generated and subjected to Monte Carlo simulations to determine which chains find the ground state in a short time; i.e. which sequences overcome the folding problem referred to as the Levinthal paradox. Comparison of the folding and non-folding sequences is used to identify the features that are required for fast folding to the global energy minimum. It is shown that successful folding does not require certain attributes that have been previously proposed as necessary for folding; these include a high number of short versus long-range contacts in the native state, a high content of the secondary structure in the native state, a strong correlation between the native contact map and the interaction parameters, and the existence of a high number of low energy states with near-native conformation. Instead, the essential difference between the folding and the non-folding sequences is the nature of the energy spectrum. The necessary and sufficient condition for a sequence to fold rapidly in the present model is that the native state is a pronounced energy minimum. As a consequence, the thermodynamic stability of the native state of a folding sequence has a sigmoidal dependence on temperature. This permits such a sequence to satisfy both the thermodynamic and the kinetic requirements for folding; i.e. the native state predominates thermodynamically at temperatures that are high enough for folding to be kinetically possible. The applicability of the present results to real proteins is discussed.
Benefits, risks, and costs of stratospheric geoengineering

Injecting sulfate aerosol precursors into the stratosphere has been suggested as a means of geoengineering to cool the planet and reduce global warming. The decision to implement such a scheme would require a comparison of its benefits, dangers, and costs to those of other responses to global warming, including doing nothing. Here we evaluate those factors for stratospheric geoengineering with sulfate aerosols. Using existing U.S. military fighter and tanker planes, the annual costs of injecting aerosol precursors into the lower stratosphere would be several billion dollars. Using artillery or balloons to loft the gas would be much more expensive. We do not have enough information to evaluate more exotic techniques, such as pumping the gas up through a hose attached to a tower or balloon system. Anthropogenic stratospheric aerosol injection would cool the planet, stop the melting of sea ice and land‐based glaciers, slow sea level rise, and increase the terrestrial carbon sink, but produce regional drought, ozone depletion, less sunlight for solar power, and make skies less blue. Furthermore it would hamper Earth‐based optical astronomy, do nothing to stop ocean acidification, and present many ethical and moral issues. Further work is needed to quantify many of these factors to allow informed decision‐making.
Stereotype Threat Undermines Intellectual Performance by Triggering a Disruptive Mental Load

Research on stereotype threat has repeatedly demonstrated that the intellectual performance of social groups is particularly sensitive to the situational context in which tests are usually administered. In the present experiment, an adaptation of the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Test was introduced as a measure of cognitive ability. Results showed that individuals targeted by a reputation of intellectual inferiority scored lower on the test than did other people. However, when the identical test was not presented as a measure of cognitive ability, the achievement gap between the target and the control group disappeared. Using heart rate variability indices to assess mental workload, our findings showed that the situational salience of a reputation of lower ability undermined intellectual performance by triggering a disruptive mental load. Our results indicate that group differences in cognitive ability scores can reflect different situational burdens and not necessarily actual differences in cognitive ability.
Metabolism of stavudine-5'-[p-bromophenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate], stampidine, in mice, dogs, and cats.

We examined the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the experimental nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor compound stampidine in mice, dogs, and cats. Also reported is the identification of p-bromophenyl sulfate (p-Br-Ph-S) as a major in vivo phase II metabolite of stampidine. Liver cytosol was shown to take part in the hydrolysis of stampidine to form alaninyl-STV-monophosphate (Ala-STV-MP), 2',3'-didehydro-3'-deoxythymidine (STV), and p-bromophenol; p-bromophenol was further sulfonated by sulfotransferase to form p-Br-Ph-S. Notably, plasma concentrations of stampidine >4 logs higher than its IC(50) value can be achieved in both dogs and cats after its p.o administration at a 100-mg/kg dose level. In dogs as well as cats, stampidine was metabolized to yield micromolar concentrations of the active metabolites ala-STV-MP and STV, which is similar to the metabolism of stampidine in mice. These findings encourage the further development of this new antiviral agent for possible clinical use in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.
Association of genetic variants in the TMCO1 gene with clinical parameters related to glaucoma and characterization of the protein in the eye.

PURPOSE Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common subtype. We recently reported association of genetic variants at chromosomal loci, 1q24 and 9p21, with POAG. In this study, we determined association of the most significantly associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4656461, at 1q24 near the TMCO1 gene, with the clinical parameters related to glaucoma risk and diagnosis, and determined ocular expression and subcellular localization of the human TMCO1 protein to understand the mechanism of its involvement in POAG. METHODS Association of SNP rs4656461 with five clinical parameters was assessed in 1420 POAG cases using linear regression. The TMCO1 gene was screened for mutations in 95 cases with a strong family history and advanced disease. Ocular expression and subcellular localization of the TMCO1 protein were determined by immunolabeling and as GFP-fusion. RESULTS The data suggest that individuals homozygous for the rs4656461 risk allele (GG) are 4 to 5 years younger at diagnosis than noncarriers of this allele. Our data demonstrate expression of the TMCO1 protein in most tissues in the human eye, including the trabecular meshwork and retina. However, the subcellular localization differs from that reported in other studies. We demonstrate that the endogenous protein localizes to the cytoplasm and nucleus in vivo and ex vivo. In the nucleus, the protein localizes to the nucleoli. CONCLUSIONS This study shows a relationship between genetic variation in and around TMCO1 with age at diagnosis of POAG and provides clues to the potential cellular function/s of this gene.
Immunohistochemical study of neurons containing corticotropin‐releasing factor in Alzheimer's disease

In the brains of controls and individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), antisera to corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) were used to immunostain neurons and their processes. In AD, we identified abnormal CRF‐immunoreactive axons as well as neurites associated with deposits of amyloid in brain regions showing senile plaques. The number of immunoreactive fibers was decreased in individuals with AD. In contrast, CRF immunoreactivity was markedly increased in some neurons located within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. These findings support previous neurochemical studies indicating that certain CRF systems are affected in AD.
Long-term Outcomes of Anterior Spinal Fusion With Instrumentation for Thoracolumbar and Lumbar Curves in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Study Design. A retrospective review of the long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of anterior spinal fusion with instrumentation for thoracolumbar and lumbar curves in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Objective. To evaluate a group of patients based on Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-30 and Oswestry data as well as radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and report the results of long-term follow-up of this surgical treatment for this particular curve pattern in AIS. Summary of Background Data. Anterior spinal fusion with instrumentation has been used for many years in the treatment of thoracolumbar and lumbar curves in AIS. However, the long-term radiographic and functional outcomes of this procedure are not well known. Methods. During 1984 to 1995, 31 patients with the diagnosis of AIS underwent anterior spinal instrumentation and fusion for thoracolumbar or lumbar scoliosis at our institution. A retrospective review of this patient group was performed to evaluate patient satisfaction, functional outcome, curve progression, implant failure, and disc degeneration. Radiographs and lumbar MRIs were obtained along with SRS-30 Questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index data. Results. Eighteen patients were available for review. Average follow-up for this study was 16.97 years. Based on SRS-30 and the Oswestry Disability Index data, most patients had good function scores and acceptable pain levels. Radiographs demonstrated no progression of the thoracolumbar or thoracic curves. Implant failure was identified in 2 patients. Radiographic changes of early degenerative disc disease were identified in most patients but had no correlation with SRS or Oswestry data. These degenerative changes were evident on both radiographs and MRI. Conclusion. The anterior approach in the treatment of thoracolumbar and lumbar curves in AIS offers good long-term functional outcomes for patients. Despite expected degenerative changes, patients scored well on the SRS and Oswestry tests, and were able to pursue careers and family activities.
Clinical Supervision of a Client With Traumatic Brain Injury in a Host Home Placement Using Video Teleconferencing: A Case Study

ObjectiveTo examine the use of video teleconferencing (VTC) technology in the supervision of a 41-year-old man with expressive aphasia during community reintegration in a host home setting 3 years after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). DesignUsing a 3-month A-B-A design, weekly VTC meetings were substituted for in-person visits by the client's case coordinator. Main outcome measuresWeekly ratings of satisfaction with the medium of communication used (VTC vs in-person meetings) by each participant. ResultsThe client and the case coordinator found VTC meetings to be as effective as face-to-face supervision visits for communication of clinical concerns and problems. The client reported feeling self-conscious about having the equipment in his living space because of privacy concerns. The mentor reported that VTC helped focus on questions and answers in goal-oriented conversations, was easier to schedule, and had the advantage of not requiring preparation of the house for in-person meetings. Reported disadvantages included feelings of camera shyness as well as impatience due to slow video transmission speed at times. The case coordinator also found VTC meetings easier to schedule and reported savings in travel time and expense. Reported disadvantages included reduced transmission quality and speed on some occasions. The cost break-even point for VTC was reached at 1 year with substitution of VTC sessions for half of weekly case coordinator home visits and 2 home visits per year by the coordinator's supervisor. ConclusionVTC might be liberally substituted for in-person supervision visits in the context of an ongoing clinical relationship during community reintegration following TBI.
The limbic circuitry underlying cocaine seeking encompasses the PPTg/LDT

The direct glutamatergic projection from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the nucleus accumbens plays a critical role in mediating the reinstatement of cocaine seeking behavior. The mPFC also sends glutamatergic projections to the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) and laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT), which in turn send glutamatergic and cholinergic efferents to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) where they synapse on dopaminergic cells that innervate limbic structures including the nucleus accumbens. The goal of these experiments was to examine a potential role for the PPTg/LDT in the reinstatement of cocaine seeking. All rats were trained to self‐administer cocaine (0.25 mg, i.v.) on a fixed‐ratio 5 schedule of reinforcement. Cocaine self‐administration behavior was extinguished and a series of subsequent pharmacological experiments were performed to assess the potential role of the mPFC, PPTg/LDT and VTA in the reinstatement of cocaine seeking. Administration of the D1‐like dopamine receptor agonist SKF‐81297 (1.0 μg) directly into the mPFC produced a small, but statistically significant, increase in cocaine seeking behavior. Furthermore, microinjection of the ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonist CNQX (0.3 μg) into the PPTg/LDT attenuated the reinstatement of drug seeking induced by a priming injection of cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.). Intra‐VTA administration of CNQX, the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (10.0 μg) or the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine (24.0 μg) also blocked cocaine seeking. Taken together, these results suggest that cocaine priming‐induced reinstatement of drug seeking is mediated in part by a serial polysynaptic limbic subcircuit encompassing the mPFC, PPTg/LDT and VTA.
Fear of recurrence: the importance of self‐efficacy and satisfaction with care in gay men with prostate cancer

Limited research has investigated the psychosocial processes that underpin the effect of physical symptoms on fear of cancer recurrence. Additionally, despite evidence of increased vulnerability of marginalized populations to negative outcomes, few studies have examined the unique experience of gay men coping with the cancer process. The goals of this study were to determine whether disease‐related self‐efficacy and satisfaction with medical care mediated the relationship between greater physical symptoms and worse fear of recurrence among gay or bisexual prostate cancer survivors.