Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting the Voluntary Use of Internal Audit

The objective of this study is to explore the use of internal audit and to identify factors that lead listed companies to voluntarily use internal audit. Drawing on the Institute of Internal Auditors’ definition of internal auditing, we develop hypotheses which predict that the use of internal audit is associated with factors that increase the need for risk management, strong internal controls and strong corporate governance. We test these hypotheses using data from a questionnaire survey combined with information from annual reports. Our results indicate that only one third of our sample companies use internal audit. While size appears to be a dominant driver of internal audit use, we find a strong association between the level of commitment to risk management and the use/size of internal audit. We also find support for our prediction that internal audit is associated with strong corporate governance.
Muslim consumers' perception and purchase intention toward GM food.

The attention on genetically modified (GM) food industry is increasing due to the flourishing of biotechnology. However, there are some debates on the associated benefits and risks of employing modification technology in food industry. This study strives to examine the causes that determine consumers’ benefit and risk perceptions on GM foods. Besides, the influence of perceived benefit and risk of GM food on consumers’ attitude is investigated. The empirical results of this study showed that GM food knowledge, and GM food characteristics have been acting as important predictors of both benefits and risks perceptions. Further, it is also found that perceived benefits showed significant positive influence on attitude, and attitude affects purchase intention towards GM food. Research implications to policy makers, scientists, and market practitioners are covered, in which suggestions and recommendations are provided to these parties. Lastly, research implications and recommendations to future research are discussed.
Comparison of Virtual Unenhanced Images Derived From Dual-Energy CT With True Unenhanced Images in Evaluation of Gallstone Disease.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare gallstones on virtual unenhanced images and true unenhanced images acquired with dual-energy CT (DECT). MATERIALS AND METHODS We enrolled 112 patients with right upper quadrant pain and clinically suspected acute cholecystitis or gallstone who underwent DECT--including unenhanced, arterial, and portal phases. Eighty-three gallstones with composition proven by semiquantitative Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy from 45 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy (40 cholesterol gallstones from 21 patients, 43 calcium gallstones from 24 patients) were included. CT images were retrospectively evaluated for stone size, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of gallstone to bile, and visibility and density of gallstones for each image set. The visibility of each type of stone was compared with a paired t test. RESULTS Both cholesterol and calcium stones measured smaller on virtual unenhanced images than on true unenhanced images, yielding a lower sensitivity of virtual unenhanced images for detecting small gallstones. Mean CNR of cholesterol stones was 2.45 ± 1.32 versus 1.67 ± 1.55 (p < 0.032) and that of calcium stones was 10.59 ± 7.15 and 14.11 ± 9.81 (p < 0.001) for virtual unenhanced and true unenhanced images, respectively. For calcium stones, two readers found 43 of 43 (100%) on true unenhanced images; one reader found 41 of 43 (95%) and the other, 37 of 43 (86%) on virtual unenhanced images. For cholesterol stones, one reader found 20 of 40 (50%) and the other 19 of 40 (47%) on true unenhanced images versus 34 of 40 (85%) and 30 of 40 (75%), respectively, on virtual unenhanced images. The visibility of cholesterol stones was higher on virtual unenhanced images, but that of calcium stones was lower. CONCLUSION Virtual unenhanced images at DECT allow better visualization of cholesterol gallstones, but true unenhanced images allow better visualization of calcium and small gallstones.
Metabolomics as a novel approach for early diagnosis of pediatric septic shock and its mortality.

RATIONALE Septic shock is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. Early recognition of septic shock and appropriate treatment increase survival rate; thus, developing new diagnostic tools may improve patients' outcomes. OBJECTIVES To determine whether a metabolomics approach could be useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of septic shock in pediatric intensive care unit (PICUs). METHODS Serum samples were collected from 60 patients with septic shock, 40 PICU patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (not suspected of having an infection), and 40 healthy children. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy spectra were analyzed and quantified using targeted profiling methodology. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to detect specific patterns in metabolic profiles and to highlight differences between patient samples. Supervised analysis afforded good predictive models and managed to separate patient populations. Some of the metabolite concentrations identified in serum samples changed markedly, indicating their influence on the separation between patient groups. These metabolites represent a composite biopattern of the pediatric metabolic response to septic shock and might be considered as the basis for a biomarker panel for the diagnosis of septic shock and its mortality in PICU. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that nuclear magnetic resonance metabolite profiling might serve as a promising approach for the diagnosis and prediction of mortality in septic shock in a pediatric population and that quantitative metabolomics methods can be applied in the clinical evaluations of pediatric septic shock.
Pattern of epistaxis in Sokoto, Nigeria: a review of 72 cases.

BACKGROUND Epistaxis remains a common otorhinolaryngological emergency in most hospital emergency departments with varied manifestations. The pattern as seen in a tertiary health institution in Sokoto, Nigeria is the subject of this paper. METHOD This is a 5 year retrospective study (January 1995-December 1999) of all cases of epistaxis presenting at or referred to the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto, Nigeria whose data were analyzed. RESULTS A total number of 72 cases were seen with epistaxis out of 3,706 new cases seen at the ENT clinic. The incidence of epistaxis amongst UDUTH ENT patients was 19/1000. There were 45 males (62.5%) and 27 Females (37.5%) with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. Their ages ranged between land 70 years with the 0-10 age range recording the highest number (26.4%). The commonest cause of epistaxis was idiopathic (29.2%), followed by trauma (27.8%) and hypertension (18.0%). Non surgical methods (97.2%) such as observation alone (34.7%) without active intervention to arrest bleeding, and nasal packing (34.7%), being the commonest intervention measures used to actively arrest bleeding followed by cauterization of the bleeding points (11.1%) were the frequent treatment measures. Surgical extirpation was carried out in 2 cases (2.8%) to arrest the epistaxis. CONCLUSION Although epistaxis is a common otorhinolaryngological emergency and varied in its manifestation, it affects mainly the young people (<30 years (62.5%)) in this environment with idiopathic, trauma, and hypertension being the common causes which are amendable to treatment with excellent results.
Young Stars Near the Sun

▪ Abstract Until the late 1990s the rich Hyades and the sparse UMa clusters were the only coeval, comoving concentrations of stars known within 60 pc of Earth. Both are hundreds of millions of years old. Then beginning in the late 1990s the TW Hydrae Association, the Tucana/Horologium Association, the β Pictoris Moving Group, and the AB Doradus Moving Group were identified within ∼60 pc of Earth, and the η Chamaeleontis cluster was found at 97 pc. These young groups (ages 8–50 Myr), along with other nearby, young stars, will enable imaging and spectroscopic studies of the origin and early evolution of planetary systems.
Molecular tools for studies on the transmission biology of Echinococcus multilocularis

Two novel approaches for diagnosis of intestinal Echinococcus multilocularis infection, the detection of E. multilocularis-specific coproantigens in ELISA and of copro-DNA by PCR, have been successfully implemented. These methods have proven their value for the post mortem and the intra vitam diagnosis of E. multilocularis in definitive hosts. They have also made novel approaches possible to study the transmission biology of the parasite as they allow detection of the infection in faecal samples collected in the environment. Coproantigen detection is the diagnostic method of choice as it is sensitive, fast and cheap. Studies on faecal samples collected in the field revealed that coproantigen detection did reflect the different prevalences in fox populations as assessed from foxes at necropsy and also the effect of deworming efforts in foxes as achieved by long-term distribution of praziquantel-containing baits. The use of PCR for routine diagnostic or large-scale purposes is hampered by the fact that DNA extraction from faecal material is a very laborious task. Therefore, PCR is rationally used for confirmatory purposes of copro-antigen-positive samples. As taeniid eggs cannot further be differentiated morphologically, PCR is the method of choice to identify E. multilocularis infections in faecal or environmental samples containing taeniid eggs. In intermediate rodent hosts, PCR is routinely used in epidemiological studies for identifying E. multilocularis from liver lesions which are often very small, atypical or calcified.
Stakeholder model representing consumer preferences for housing in Saudi Arabia

Adequate housing is an important issue for any society; no one can ignore the importance of providing adequate housing for citizens in any country. Purchasing a home is a major investment; it takes a huge part of people’s income. Therefore, it is important to know what in the market is suitable for consumers, to categorise and analyse consumer preferences, and understand their changes in behaviour, looking at the differences in the demographics and the population segment in order to create a better home environment. However, solutions that are not consistent with consumer ambitions and self-concepts will not help to resolve the housing problem or provide satisfaction for consumers. Thus, it is important for policymakers to identify and understand both the consumers’ preferences and the housing problem in order to devise effective spatial policies to manage housing demand. Housing in Saudi is an interesting and strategically important issue, because of the low level of home ownership, and the fact that the available homes do not match consumer demand. It would be interesting to understand consumer preferences and be able to provide a model clarifying the important home variables, and also to identify the cultural, economic and demographic influences on home buying. This could help stakeholders such as the government, developers and consumers themselves plan suitable homes. This study combines inductive and deductive approaches to investigate the housing problem in Saudi and to identify a suitable model of consumer preferences. Firstly, literature reviews were used to identify theories and put forward the relevant home variables. Secondly, mixed methods were used in the study for data gathering sequentially, by doing quantitative questionnaires in Saudi Arabia (with 752 respondents in the consumer survey and 102 in the professional survey), and qualitative interviews. Moreover, the inferential analysis of the questionnaires clarifies the differences in the answers between the genders, the regions where respondents live, and their occupations, and shows significant difference in some variables. The final home preferences model has been designed by using inductive factor analysis. Furthermore, the result shows differences between the consumers and professionals’ views. As a final phase, the model was validated by conducting a focus group, from which some variables were added to the model.
Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Financial Performance and Institutional Ownership: Evidence from Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), as well as institutional ownership (IO) in the Malaysian Public Listed Companies (PLCs). Panel data analysis involving 200 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia during the period of 1999 to 2005 was conducted. The results reveal that CSR and all its dimensions are significantly positively related to CFP. It was also found that CSR and only two of its dimensions, namely, employee relations and product dimension are significant positively related to IO. The empirical findings of this study pave the way for embarking on promising and relevant future research, which is needed to substantiate and enrich the academic understanding and managerial practice of the relationship between CSR and CFP as well as IO, particularly in an emerging market such as Malaysia.
Method for cluster heads selection in wireless sensor networks

Recently wireless sensor networks have become one of the most interesting networking technologies since it can be deployed without the need of a communication infrastructure. Several applications such as wild life sensing, surveillance, premise monitoring and in space environment exploit the strengths of wireless sensor networks. In general, there is one major concern with this technology. That is, it should have a long lasting system lifetime. One of the key factors to achieve this is to resourcefully utilize sensor nodes' energy. Cluster-based sensor networks are one of a kind. In such systems node's energy, which is the main factor, is used to select cluster heads. However, node's energy should not be the primary factor to select cluster heads. A system called HYENAS which employs both centralized and distributed algorithm to form clusters is proposed in this paper. This system takes into consideration not only node's energy, but also node's location and movement to select cluster heads.
STEM-CELL KINETICS AFTER IRRADIATION.

SummaryThe response of stem cells to irradiation has been studied in polycythaemic and normal mice. The sensitivity of stem-cell reproductive integrity to irradiation was found to have a D0 of approximately 65 rads. After a dose of 150 rads, stem-cell response to erythropoietin recovered to normal by the seventh day, and exceeded control values by a factor of two by the 12th day. Increased stem-cell integrity at this time was associated with a normal blood haematocrit, a twice normal reticulocyte percentage, a higher red-cell utilization of radio-iron and a greater resistance to lethal irradiation.
Glucocorticoid insufficiency, achalasia, alacrima with autonomic motor neuropathy.

We report the case of a patient with adrenal disease with achalasia and alacrima, which appear to be part of a widespread defect in adrenal and nervous system function. A 21-year-old white woman at age 6 had had hypoglycaemia, hyperpigmentation, low plasma cortisol level (30 nmol/L; normal, 200 to 600), and a lack of cortisol response to cosyntropin. Alacrima had been noted since infancy but there were no other abnormal neurologic features. A roentgenogram of the chest at age 9 showed bilateral pulmonary opacities presumed due to aspiration; these have persisted. Nocturnal cough, vomiting of undigested food, and recurrent chest.
Power Optimization by Mass Tuning for MEMS Piezoelectric Cantilever Vibration Energy Harvesting

A cantilever with an end mass is one of the most popular designs for piezoelectric MEMS vibration energy harvesting. The inclusion of a proof mass near the free end of a micro-cantilever can significantly enhances the power responsiveness of a vibration energy harvester per unit acceleration. However, the accommodation of the proof mass comes at the expense of the active piezoelectric area. This paper numerically and experimentally investigates this compromise, and explores the optimal proof-mass-to-cantilever-length ratio for power maximization. It was found that an end mass occupying about 60%-70% of the total cantilever length is optimal within linear response, and they notably outperform comparable cantilevers with 40% and 50% of end mass. In addition, nonlinear squeeze film air damping within the chip package was found to adversely affect the cantilevers with larger mass more significantly. A harvester prototype with 70% of the length covered by end mass (5 mm3) was able to generate 1.78 μW at 0.6 ms-2 and up to 20.5 μW at 2.7 ms-2 and 210 Hz when not limited by nonlinear damping. This result outperforms the previously reported counterparts in the literature by nearly an order of a magnitude in terms of power density normalized against acceleration squared.
Individual and Organizational Learning in a Top Management Game

A wide variety of methods have been used to assess the validity of a business game experience. This paper employed Chooâ€™s (1998) theory of the knowing organization to judge the efficacy of a strategic management-type game. A contiguous three-part organizational learning system comprised of knowledge crea-tion, environmental sense making and actionable decision mak-ing was used in a before/after research design. All companies increased their knowledge levels as decision-making groups. Within each team learning levels were uneven. The firms with the greatest learning gains were the most profitable. A top-performing company was one that had at least one high-performing player and a high average knowledge level. The group was also superior at mobilizing the knowledge it pos-sessed and in applying that knowledge to the challenges pre-sented by the game they played.
Spontaneous thyroiditis in thymectomized and irradiated Wistar rats.

Thyroiditis and autoantibodies to thyroglobulin were found to develop spontaneously in 60% of randomly bred Wistar rats subjected to thymectomy and whole body irradiation after weaning. Antinuclear antibodies were found in approximately 10% of these animals. Thyroiditis was seen in rats which were whole body irradiated without thymectomy but at a much lower incidence (22%). Control rats given irradiation to the thyroid region alone showed no such effects. The histology of the thyroid gland was similar to that seen in Hashimoto thyroiditis in man. The majority of rats which developed severe thyroiditis were found to be lymphopenic and to have negligible mitogenic responses to phytohaemagglutinin as well as other changes which in view of the thymectomy and irradiation may be considered to be indicative of impaired T cell function. It is concluded that these findings support the hypothesis that thymus-derived lymphocytes play an important part in the control of organ specific autoimmune disease.
Acute dim light at night increases body mass, alters metabolism, and shifts core body temperature circadian rhythms

The circadian system is primarily entrained by the ambient light environment and is fundamentally linked to metabolism. Mounting evidence suggests a causal relationship among aberrant light exposure, shift work, and metabolic disease. Previous research has demonstrated deleterious metabolic phenotypes elicited by chronic (>4 weeks) exposure to dim light at night (DLAN) (∼5 lux). However, the metabolic effects of short-term (<2 weeks) exposure to DLAN are unspecified. We hypothesized that metabolic alterations would arise in response to just 2 weeks of DLAN. Specifically, we predicted that mice exposed to dim light would gain more body mass, alter whole body metabolism, and display altered body temperature (Tb) and activity rhythms compared to mice maintained in dark nights. Our data largely support these predictions; DLAN mice gained significantly more mass, reduced whole body energy expenditure, increased carbohydrate over fat oxidation, and altered temperature circadian rhythms. Importantly, these alterations occurred despite similar activity locomotor levels (and rhythms) and total food intake between groups. Peripheral clocks are potently entrained by body temperature rhythms, and the deregulation of body temperature we observed may contribute to metabolic problems due to “internal desynchrony” between the central circadian oscillator and temperature sensitive peripheral clocks. We conclude that even relatively short-term exposure to low levels of nighttime light can influence metabolism to increase mass gain.
The effect of feeding protein and urea on the renal concentrating process.

The role of dietary protein in the treatment of renal disease remains a controversial one, in part because the influence of diets high or low in protein upon normal renal function is not completely understood. water free of solute (TmCH,O) could be measured in 5 to 16 separate determinations within a range of urine flows from 10 to 35 cc. per min. Freezing points of serum and urine were determined using the Fiske osmom-eter. Clearances of inulin (6), creatinine (7), urea (8), sodium and potassium (9) were also determined. The "t" test of "Student" was used in analyzing the data. Each subject was studied after three days on a Low- Protein diet, containing approximately 20 grams of protein per day, and a High-Protein diet, containing 150 to 200 grams of protein per day. The latter was achieved by the use of 100 to 200 grams per day of a high-protein, low-sodium supplement.5 Both diets were approximately isocaloric; in some subjects the low-protein diet consisted chiefly of carbohydrate, in others fat predominated. Two subjects were studied on a Regular diet, containing about 90 gramns of protein per day. Other variations in dietary regimen will be described under Results.
Putting Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Studies in Context: Axonal Damage and Disability in Multiple Sclerosis

Recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) techniques have focused the attention of the multiple sclerosis (MS) research community on reanalysis of classic pathological approaches that have suggested significant axonal injury in this demyelinating disease. There now is abundant evidence from animal work that substantial "innocent bystander" damage to axons can occur with central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. Given the close interactions between axons and glia, it is no surprise that glial damage leads to secondary axonal changes. MRI, MRS, and MRS imaging studies have emphasized that axonal loss or damage in MS can be both substantial and early. The dynamic observations that are allowed by these noninvasive measures of pathology have demonstrated direct correlations between these axonal changes and disability, making a compelling case for increased emphasis on finding treatments of MS that may limit damage to CNS axons or salvage injured axons.