Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION LENGTH OF CENTELLA ASIATICA (L.) URBAN DECREASE THE LEVEL OF SOD AND MDA AND IMPROVE BRAIN HISTOLOGICAL CONDITION OF RATS

Medicinal plants have been used for treating many kinds of illness due to their safety, cheap and easy to be accessed by all level of society. This study was aimed to determine the effect of the dosage forms (fresh, boiled and ethanol extracted) and the duration (24 and 42 days) of medicinal plant Centella asiatica to the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and the histopathology of diabetic rat brain. The results showed that administration of various dosage forms of C. asiatica were able to increase the number of pyramid cells and neuroglia in the cerebrum significantly ( P 0.01 ) at the administration length and the interaction between both treatments. This finding resulted in the new traditional herbal medicine that can be used for treating degenerative disorders on nervous system.
Awareness of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) activities among employees of a Nigerian University

Aim: Aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness of NHIS activities among employees of a Nigerian university. Methods: The study was conducted among the employees of University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A 30-question consisting of 5 points response scale was developed for the survey questionnaire. On the 5-point scale, ‘5’ represented the highest mean score while ‘1’ represented the lowest mean score. On the 30-question questionnaire the lowest possible score would be 30 while the highest possible score would be 150. Total awareness mean score above a logical neutral point which was assumed to be 90 i.e. midpoint between 30 and 150, correlates with being aware and vice versa. Levels of awareness were categorised priori: summated mean awareness scores below 90 were considered to be unaware, ‘>90 to 110’ - marginally aware, ‘> 110 to 130’ - moderately aware, and ‘> 130 to 150’ - highly aware of NHIS activities, since high summated score correlates with high level of awareness. Results: A response rate of 87.2% (436 out of 500 questionnaires) was obtained. Awareness was significantly associated with all the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Following summation, the sub total awareness mean scores for objectives of the scheme, responsibilities of the scheme and powers of the scheme council were 32.73 ± 2.16, 34.22 ± 2.48 and 33.27 ± 3.38 respectively while the grand total awareness mean was 100.22 ± 8.02. Conclusion: This study revealed that employees of university of Nigeria were marginally aware of NHIS activities. Demographic characteristics played considerable role on level of awareness of NHIS activities.
Measuring Islamic banks efficiency: the case of world Islamic banking sectors

The paper investigates the efficiency of the Islamic banking sectors in the world covering 25 countries during the period of 2003-2009. The efficiency estimates of individual banks are evaluated using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The empirical findings suggest that during the period of study, pure technical efficiency outweighs scale efficiency in World Islamic banking countries. We find that banks from the high income countries were the leaders by dominating the most efficiency frontier during the period of study.
THE ADOPTION OF ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING IN FLEMISH PUBLIC CENTRES FOR SOCIAL WELFARE: EXAMINING THE IMPORTANCE OF AGENTS OF CHANGE

This study examines the importance of different agents of change in the adoption of public sector accrual accounting. For this purpose, an accounting index is used and applied on a large sample of Flemish local governments to analyse the level of adoption of the altered accounting requirements. The impact of a number of prominent agents is empirically tested on the level of adoption in a cross-sectional way. The study draws on institutional theory to build a framework for analysis and uses additional interviews to interpret the findings. The research shows that the de facto implementation of the new accounting requirements is limited and strongly influenced by local management’s interest and the involvement of professional consultants. In the absence of a sound guidance and monitoring process, the skilful action of dedicated agents of change has become important to implement some far-reaching changes in the organisations’ accounting system.
Behavior analysis by model slope experiment of artificial rainfall

Abstract. In this study, we performed a model slope experiment with rainfall seepage, and the results were compared and verified with the unsaturated slope stability analysis method. In the model slope experiment, we measured the changes in water content and matric suction due to rainfall seepage, and determined the time at which the slope failure occurred and the shape of the failure. In addition, we compared and verified the changes in the factor of safety and the shape of the failure surface, which was calculated from the unsaturated slope stability analysis with the model experiment. From the results of experiment and analysis, it is concluded that the unsaturated slope stability analysis can be used to accurately analyze and predict rainfall-induced slope failure. It is also concluded that in seepage analysis, setting the initial conditions and boundary conditions is very important. If engineers will use the measured porewater pressure or matric suction, the accuracy of analysis can be enhanced. The real-time monitoring system of porewater pressure or matric suction can be used as a warning of rainfall-induced slope failure.
The effects of financial and real wealth on consumption: new evidence from OECD countries

In this article we present new estimates of the effect of household financial and real wealth on consumption. The analysis refers to 11 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Developoment (OECD) countries and takes into account quarterly data from 1997 to 2008. Unlike most of the previous literature on European countries, we measure financial wealth using quarterly harmonized data on household financial assets and liabilities, which have been gathered from the flow of funds. For comparison, we also employ as a proxy for financial wealth national share price indices. We rely on standard static panel and single-country level autoregressive distributed lag estimations. Furthermore, we implement a recent econometric approach that allows for more flexible assumptions in the nonstationary panel framework under consideration. Our results show that both net financial wealth and real wealth have a positive effect on consumption. Overall, the influence of net financial assets is stronger than that of real assets.
Calculating sediment trapping efficiencies for reservoirs in tropical settings: A case study from the Burdekin Falls Dam, NE Australia

The Brune and Churchill curves have long been used to predict sediment trapping efficiencies for reservoirs in the USA which typically experience winter and spring‐dominant runoff. Their suitability for reservoirs receiving highly variable summer‐dominant inflows has not previously been evaluated. This study compares sediment trapping efficiency (TE) data with the predictions of the two established curves for the Burdekin Falls Dam, a large reservoir in northern tropical Australia which receives highly variable summer‐dominant runoff. The measured TE of the reservoir ranged between 50% and 85% and was considerably less than estimates using the Brune and Churchill curves over the 5 year study period. We modified the original equations so that daily trapping can be calculated and weighted based on daily flow volumes. This modification better accounts for shorter residence times experienced by such systems characterized by relatively high intraannual flow variability. The modification to the Churchill equation reasonably predicted sediment TEs for the Burdekin Dam for four of the five monitored years and over the whole monitoring period. We identified four key sediment particle classes: (1) <0.5 µm which exclusively passes over the dam spillway; (2) 0.5–5.0 µm which, on average, 50% is trapped in the reservoir; (3) 5.0–30 µm most (75%) of which is trapped; and (4) >30 µm which is almost totally (95%) trapped in the dam reservoir. We show that the modification to the Churchill equation has broader application to predict reservoir TE provided that daily flow data are available.
LACTATION INDUCTION PROTOCOLS AND COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IN REPEAT BREEDING COWS

The present study was designed with an objective to induce lactation by various lactation induction protocols and to compare the cost benefit analysis of the protocols employed. Forty crossbred, nonlactating cattle with a history of repeat breeding for 15 to 20 months were selected for the present study. They were randomly divided into four equal groups with 10 animals in each group. Four different treatment protocols were used to induce lactation in these animals. Group 1 animals received twice daily 17β-estradiol (0.1mg/kg) and progesterone (0.25mg/kg) from day 1 to 7 daily by subcutaneous route. Reserpine (5mg/animal) and dexamethasone (20 mg/animal) were administered for 4 days (day 14 to 17) by intramuscular route. Group 2 animals received 17β-estradiol (0.1mg/kg) and progesterone (0.25mg/kg) from day 1 to 7 twice daily 12 h apart by subcutaneous route. Metoclopramide (0.1 mg/kg) and dexamethasone (20 mg/animal) were administered for 4 days (d 14 to 17) by intramuscular route. Animals in Group 3 and 4 initially received 2 doses of PGF2a at 10 days apart followed by hormonal therapy similar to Group 1 and 2 respectively. Significant increase (P<0.05) in the 90 day milk yield and higher conception rate (%) was observed for those animals that were synchronized with 2 doses of PGF2a (Group 3 and 4). Though the cost of treatment for the induction protocols used for group 3 and 4 were high, the margin of profit earned was higher for group III and IV compared to other groups.
Economic Reforms, Human Capital, and Economic Growth in India and South Korea: A Cointegration Analysis

By employing a multivariate time series model, this study advances theoretical and empirical research on the role of economic reforms and human capital accumulation in the post-reform economic growth. We construct two indexes £­a human capital index and a composite economic reform index£­ and perform a cointegration analysis of a long-run equilibrium growth path in India and South Korea twelve years after the implementation of reform. The significant positive effect of human capital accumulation is revealed in both India and South Korea. The impact of economic reforms is found to be heterogeneous across countries: the effect is positive, significant, and sizable in South Korea, while it is negative and relatively small in India. This result is suggestive of different degrees of efficiency of reform measures implementation in two countries.
Determinants oOf Trust in B2c E-Commerce and their Relationship with Consumer Online Trust: A Case of Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation

Previous research has established that online shopping is the function of a series of consumer evaluation and assessment of e-commerce sites. However, building and maintaining trust in the virtual environment is indeed a complex process and by extension takes time to fully achieve it. This takes the form of assessing the technology as well as the trustworthiness of the vendor in delivering its promises to the customers The aim of this research was to investigate specific determinants or factors that influence consumer online trust in the B2C e-commerce with a focus on Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation consumers. In other words, constructs such as perceived security, perceived privacy, perceived third party assurance, perceived reputation, perceived familiarity and perceived website quality and their relationship with online trust in the B2C context were studied. In conducting the research, a convenience sampling technique was adopted in carrying out the survey. Questionnaires were distributed to the target respondents and the data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. A PearsonâÂÂs correlation was used to test the six hypotheses identified in this study. Meanwhile, the results showed that five of the hypotheses were statistically significant with p 0.05, making us to reject the hypothesis as it was not statistically significant. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis was also conducted in order to ascertain which of the constructs have a major influence with reference to consumer online trust. The results provided evidence that perceived security has the greatest influence on online trust for EkaterinburgâÂÂs consumer. This was followed closely by perceived reputation and finally perceived privacy. This clearly shows that EkaterinburgâÂÂs e-commerce consumer population considers these factors to be very imperative in engendering their trust in the virtual B2C e-commerce environment. These findings complement previous research findings in the domain of e-commerce trust. Keywords : E-commerce trust; B2C e-commerce; Perceived security; Perceived reputati
The Effects of Servant Leadership on Employee’s Job Withdrawal Intention

This study employed survey research to investigate the effects of servant leadership on employee job withdrawal intention. Employees are valuable assets to organization. Leaders are important to decrease employee's job withdrawal intention. Servant leadership style is important to build a good relationship with their employees. Respondents consist of employees that work at small medium enterprises in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Using questionnaires to collect data and AMOS to analyze data. The results reveal a negative relationship between servant leadership and employee’s job withdrawal intention. Thus, it provides evidence that servant leadership is able to reduce employee’s job withdrawal intention. This study provides some ideas for leader on how to retain quality workers.
Banking integration and co-movements in EU banks’ fragility

The aim of this paper is to verify whether and to which extent co-movements in EU banks’ risk, i.e. their degree of exposures of European banks to common shocks, have increased in time, following the completion of Monetary Union, the introduction of the euro and the process of European banking integration. To this end, we provide a measure of co-movements in bank risk by means of a dynamic factor model, which allows to decompose an indicator of bank fragility, the Distance-to-Default, into three main components: an EU-wide, a country-specific and a bank-level idiosyncratic component. Our results show the commonality in bank risk appears to have significantly increased since 1999, in particular if one concentrates on large banks. We also show that co-movements in EU banks’ fragility are only in part related to common macro shocks and that a banking system specific component at the EU-wide level appears relevant. This has obvious consequences in terms of systemic stability, but may also have far reaching policy implications with regards to the structuring of banking supervision in Europe
A Long-Lasting Relaxation of Seismicity at Aswan Reservoir, Egypt, 1982-2001

The Aswan reservoir seismicity is accepted as an example of reservoir- induced seismicity with the M 5.4 event of 1981, which occurred 15 years after the reservoir impoundment started. During the 1982-2001 period, the Aswan seismicity separates into shallow and deep seismic zones, between 0 and 15 and 15 and 30 km, respectively. These two seismic zones behave differently over time, as indicated by the seismicity rate, depth migration, b-value, and spatial clustering. For the deep events, the rate decreases with time, the depth remains at a constant or increasing depth, and the b-value is lower than for the shallow events, which migrate toward the surface with a close to constant seismicity rate. Of all the previous parameters, only the seismicity rate correlates with seasonal variations of the lake level. This is positive evidence for the Aswan reservoir seismicity to be reservoir triggered in the 1982-2001 period. Clustering over time and space expresses that numerous after- shock sequences are activated, that is, a minimum of 35% of the seismicity, similarly to tectonic seismicity. The observed decrease of the b-value with depth is also a property suggested for natural events. Our results suggest that the Aswan seismicity emerges both from the water-level loading and the interplay between induced earth- quakes themselves through numerous standard aftershock sequences. This latter pro- cess induces stochastic fluctuations in the seismicity patterns that inhibit a recovery of a simple seismic response to water-level changes. Even though aftershock se- quences dominate the temporal fluctuations of seismicity, this does not negate the importance of influence of the reservoir in sustaining this unusual long-lasting seis- mic episode. During the 1982-2001 period, the Aswan seismicity appears as a power- law relaxation response to the 1981 M 5.4 shock, this response being decorated by long-term (larger than 100 days) water-level changes.
A Transdisciplinary Approach to Conservation Land Acquisition

Abstract: Land acquisition is one of the keys to biodiversity conservation, and it is a transdisciplinary endeavor requiring consideration of natural and social phenomena. I integrated principles of conservation biology, ecological economics, and political science to outline an approach to conservation land acquisition in the United States. American political economy, especially, has profound implications for conservation land acquisition, yet these implications have been largely neglected by public land conservation agencies. I derived three general recommendations for the conservation of biodiversity via land acquisition: (1) relatively inexpensive lands in relatively intact ecosystems should be prioritized for acquisition, (2) fee‐title acquisition should be favored over easement acquisition, and (3) low‐lying coastal properties should receive lower priority. These recommendations contribute to an ecologically macroeconomic approach to conservation land acquisition, and each will become more appropriate as the sizes of the U.S. and global economies increase. Ultimately, however, the conservation of biodiversity will require a new political economy predicated on sustainability rather than growth.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its association with various risk factors

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is regarded as a constellation of the altered metabolic profile. It is considered as pro-atherogenic as the adipose tissues are metabolically active to secrete non-esterified fatty acids initiating atherogenic changes. Active adipocytes also secrete proinflammatory mediators and bring about inflammatory changes in various tissues. Being a potent contributor towards cardiovascular disease, it’s a disorder of major concern in public health domain. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of MetS in the study population and its association with different variables. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted during a camp organized by our institute. 246 adult individuals were enrolled for the camp. Following the informed consent, all demographic profile, serum lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured. The study population was categorized into three groups: (i)Non-MS group: those who did not meet the criteria for central obesity, (ii)High risk group: those who had central obesity but did not full fill the other two criteria for MetS and (iii)MS group: those who full filled the criteria for MetS as new International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in this area was observed to be 20.7%. The study reflected significant association with age (p=0.001), gender (p<0.001), waist circumference (p<0.001), BMI (p<0.001), hypertension (p<0.001), FPG (p<0.001) and dyslipidemia (p<0.05). Hypertension has been significantly associated with MetS and found to significantly reduce the risk of developing MetS in subjects with normal BP (OR=0.17,CI:0.06-0.45). Conclusion: The study revealed prevalence of MetS to be 20.7% in the study population and outlined the risk factors associated with it. This study would aid in formulating strategies for lifestyle modification, behavioral therapy, diet education and nutritional therapy.
Analysis of agreement between peak expiratory flow meters and comparison of reference values

Introduction: The peak expiratory flow (PEF) is a practical method that evaluates the caliber of the proximal airways. The ease in handling and the low cost of portable PEF meters made their use frequent. However, few studies have examined the correlation between the different equipment and compared their reference values. Objective: Analyze the correlation of three portable meters of PEF and check if the reference values are applicable in the studied population. Methods: 168 healthy individuals, of both genders, ranging in age from 20 to 80 years, had their PEF measured in Mini-Wright®, Assess® and AirZone® and the values obtained were compared to those predicted by Leiner et al. (1963) and Nunn and Gregg (1989). Statistical analysis was performed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, ANOVA, Wilcoxon test, Spearman correlation and analysis of agreement of Bland-Altman (p< 0.05). Results: There was significant difference in the values of PEF obtained between the Mini-Wright® and Assess® meters in both genders, between the AirZone® and Assess® only in men and between the Mini-Wright® and AirZone® only in women. The predicted values in the three meters have overestimated the obtained in both genders; there was no correlation between the values obtained from three meters due to the great variation of agreement limits and large interindividual variation. Conclusion: The values obtained in the three meters are not interchangeable and the predicted values were unsuitable for the sample.