Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blockholder Ownership as Governance Mechanism on Firm Performance: Evidence From Malaysia

We examined the relationship between blockholder ownership and firm performance in the context of high concentrated ownership in Malaysia coupled with weak regulatory framework. Blockholder ownership is used as monitoring device to verify the significant role in managerial decisions accordance with maximizing shareholders’ wealth. Consequently, blockholders may have personal incentive to the expropriation of minority shareholders’ wealth by exercising their corporate control. We found a positive significant relationship with small effect of beta coefficients by both market and accounting based measurements. The positive relationship of blockholders as institutions is the conformity of monitoring hypothesis. The results indicate a very week monitoring impact of blockholders on executives’ decisions that improve the firm performance by reducing the agency costs. Additionally, the significant low positive effect of profit volatility is representing the efficacy of blockholders until a certain level.
Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Introduction: The study was conducted to determine the association of Helicobactor pylori with endoscopic and histological parameters of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken. A total of 79 patients were evaluated prospectively in the endoscopic unit of a gastroenterology department for symptoms compatible with GERD. In all cases, routine endoscopy and Los Angeles grading of GERD were performed. In each subject, biopsies were taken from 3 cm above the squamocolumnar junction and from the antrum and assessed histologically. Results: Majority of the patients presented with complaints of heartburn (84.8%) and regurgitation (75.9%). Nonerosive reflux disease was present in only five patients. Endoscopically, the remaining 74 cases were graded as follows: 25 had GERD A, 10 had GERD B, 35 had features of Barrett's esophagus, and 4 had miscellaneous findings. H. pylori positivity was present in 33.3% of patients with GERD A and 4.8% of those with GERD B. Majority of the histological parameters such as elongation of lamina propria papillae, intraepithelial inflammatory infiltrate, ballooning degeneration, lack of surface maturation, and dilatation and congestion of lamina propria capillaries did not show statistically significant association with H. pylori. The overall H. pylori prevalence was found to be 26.58% (21/79). Conclusion: On endoscopy, with the increased GERD severity, H. pylori incidence decreased. H. pylori was found to have no significant association with majority of the histological parameters.
Assessing mental health services in a rural setting: Service providers’ perspective

ABSTRACT Addressing the inadequate and poor provision of mental health services in rural areas is a world-wide challenge. Most people with mental illness in these areas do not have access to mental health services. Using eight attributes of good mental health service as criteria, the purpose of this study was to assess mental health services at Mashashane, a rural area in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. A survey was conducted with a purposively selected sample of health care professionals from four health establishments serving Mashashane. Data was collected using a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were used. The results show that out of eight attributes assessed only comprehensiveness was positively perceived. This is an indication of the inadequacy of mental health services, hence their inability to improve the well-being of people with mental illness and their families. Lack of resources was identified as the major hindrance to the delivery of appropriate mental health services. The findings highlighted aspects that contributed to the development of a framework for a community-based program to improve the well-being of people with mental illness and their families in a rural setting.
Effects of Powdered Stem Bark of Terminalia avicennioides Made as Dietary Feed Fed to Mice Infected with Plasmodium berghei, on Liver Function

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the antiplasmodial activity and effect of stem bark of Terminalia avicennioides made as dietary feed fed to mice infected with Plasmodium berghei, on some serum biochemistry. Methodology: Twenty (20) mice were divided into four groups. Group 1 was not infected with Plasmodium berghei (normal control), Group 2 was infected with P. berghei but not treated (negative control). Group 3 was infected and treated with 5.0 mg/kg of Arthemeter-Lumefantrine (positive control). Groups 4 was infected and fed with treated feed (T. avicennioides). Treatments were carried out for five days. Blood was taken daily from the tail of the mice before treatment for the assessment of parasitaemia. The animals were sacrificed on the fifth day and the whole blood was collected into EDTA bottle. Serum obtained was used to assay for biochemical parameters. Results: Parasitaemia count was significantly lower (p<0.05) in all the treated groups when compared with the negative control group. The high-density lipoprotein was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the normal control (123.14±3.19) when compared with the positive control (99.18±2.76), negative control (85.29±0.85) and the group treated with T avicennioides (86.14±3.21). The serum alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase level in the group treated with T. avicennioides (167.90±4.13, 15.87±1.32 and 17.50±1.95) respectively were significantly reduced (p<0.05) when compared with the negative control (197.25±5.44, 20.01±1.32 and 26.71±0.45) respectively. The mean bilirubin and albumin level in the negative control showed no significant difference when compared with the group fed with T. avicennioides. Conclusion: The study concluded that T. avicennioides have antiplasmodial activity with a mild adverse effect on liver function.
Controls on the stratigraphic architecture of shallow marine systems in syn-rift basins

Rift basin-fills preserve complicated stratigraphic architectures due to temporally- and spatially-variable interactions of base level, tectonics and sedimentation. This work aims to reduce uncertainty, and improve interpretations and predictions of shallow marine, syn-rift stratigraphy around normal fault blocks, by: i) accounting for architectural complexities arising from along-strike variability in allogenic controls; ii) deconvolving control signals from the depositional record; iii) using quantitative data, techniques, classification and modelling; and iv) proposing an alternative stratigraphic framework to the ratio of accommodation to supply (δA/δS) for tectonically-active basins. Novel geometric and volumetric, 3D approaches are utilised through numerical modelling (new sequence stratigraphic forward model, ‘Syn-Strat’), field and subsurface analysis. Detailed assessment of field data and UAV photogrammetry-based 3D outcrop models is undertaken of coeval and adjacent exposed fan deltas and their interfan area (Gulf of Corinth Greece), and of 3D seismic data imaging footwall-, hangingwall- and axially-derived depositional systems in the subsurface (northern Carnarvon Basin, NW Shelf, Australia). Tectono-sedimentary models are improved through this work by: better constraints of key surface diachroneity; understanding the relative contribution and interactions of multiple sedimentary systems within a basin; consideration of along-strike depositional system asymmetry and sediment routing; and a 3D approach. Documenting along-strike variability of stratigraphic architecture in rift basin enables control signals to be deconvolved and quantified. The ‘non-unique solutions’ theory is only arguable in cases with one-dimensional data and limited regional knowledge. By using a multi-system, along-strike distributed approach with interpretation and modelling based on geological rules, it is possible to invert the stratigraphic record. Several flaws in the δA/δS ratio are highlighted, and a new framework (δAI/δAR) is proposed, which is unbiased, inclusive of all control parameters and possible recorded outcomes. This new approach better allocates time across surfaces and strata in the depositional record, and is applicable to global rift basin analysis.
Analysis of the Quantization Noise in Discrete Wavelet Transform Filters for 3D Medical Imaging

Denoising and compression of 2D and 3D images are important problems in modern medical imaging systems. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is used to solve them in practice. We analyze the quantization noise effect in coefficients of DWT filters for 3D medical imaging in this paper. The method for wavelet filters coefficients quantizing is proposed, which allows minimizing resources in hardware implementation by simplifying rounding operations. We develop the method for estimating the maximum error of 3D grayscale and color images DWT with various bits per color (BPC). The dependence of the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the images processing result on wavelet used, the effective bit-width of filters coefficients and BPC is revealed. We derive formulas for determining the minimum bit-width of wavelet filters coefficients that provide a high (PSNR ≥ 40 dB for images with 8 BPC, for example) and maximum (PSNR = ∞ dB) quality of 3D medical imaging by DWT depending on wavelet used. The experiments of 3D tomographic images processing confirmed the accuracy of theoretical analysis. All data are presented in the fixed-point format in the proposed method of 3D medical images DWT. It is making possible efficient, from the point of view of hardware and time resources, the implementation for image denoising and compression on modern devices such as field-programmable gate arrays and application-specific integrated circuits.
Stability and dynamics of the human gut microbiome and its association with systemic immune traits

Analysis of 1,363 deeply sequenced gut microbiome samples from 946 healthy donors of the Milieu Intérieur cohort provides new opportunities to discover how the gut microbiome is associated with host factors and lifestyle parameters. Using a genome-based taxonomy to achieve higher resolution analysis, we found an enrichment of Prevotella species in males, and that bacterial profiles are dynamic across five decades of life (20-69), with Bacteroidota species consistently increased with age while Actinobacteriota species, including Bifidobacterium, decreased. Longitudinal sampling revealed short-term stability exceeds inter-individual differences; however, the degree of stability was variable between donors and influenced by their baseline community composition. We then integrated the microbiome results with systemic immunophenotypes to show that host/microbe associations discovered in animal models, such as T regulatory cells and short chain fatty acids, could be validated in human data. These results will enable personalized medicine approaches for microbial therapeutics and biomarkers.
Evolutions of equatorial ring current ions during a magnetic storm

In this paper, we present evolutions of the phase space density (PSD) spectra of ring current (RC) ions based on observations made by Van Allen Probe B during a geomagnetic storm on 23–24 August 2016. By analyzing PSD spectra ratios from the initial phase to the main phase of the storm, we find that during the main phase, RC ions with low magnetic moment μ values can penetrate deeper into the magnetosphere than can those with high μ values, and that the μ range of PSD enhancement meets the relationship: S(O+) > S(He+) > S(H+). Based on simultaneously observed ULF waves, theoretical calculation suggests that the radial transport of RC ions into the deep inner magnetosphere is caused by drift‐bounce resonance interactions, and the efficiency of these resonance interactions satisfies the relationship: η(O+) > η(He+) > η(H+), leading to the differences in μ range of PSD enhancement for different RC ions. In the recovery phase, the observed decay rates for different RC ions meet the relationship: R(O+) > R(He+) > R(H+), in accordance with previous theoretical calculations, i.e., the charge exchange lifetime of O+ is shorter than those of H+ and He+.
How do people with multiple long-term health conditions experience the self-management approach to health care? : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

iii constricted self-management approach could wrap around the patient and support them to use their residual agency in a direction of their choosing. Clinicians would be released from their current programmed response be able to more fully utilise their clinical expertise. Clinicians and patients would have the freedom to be more pragmatic around quality of life and the issues that matter to the individual with LTCs.
A drug utilization study in glaucoma patients in ophthalmology out patient department in a tertiary care hospital

According to World Health Organization (WHO) studies Glaucoma is chronic progressive and usually symptomatic disease that damages retinal cells and is one of the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Approximately 60 million people are suffering from glaucoma and this figure is likely to rise to 80 million by 2020. Country like India is spending 30–40% of their total health budget on drugs, some of which are inappropriate and expensive.
873: PSEUDOHYPERNATREMIA DUE TO ESMOLOL A NOVEL CASE REPORT OF DRUG INTERFERENCE IN LABORATORY TESTING

Critical Care Medicine • Volume 46 • Number 1 (Supplement) www.ccmjournal. org Learning Objectives: Drug interference in laboratory testing (DILT) is a well-reported phenomenon in pharmacology and laboratory medicine. A recent review of FDA-approved medications revealed that 134 drugs cause abnormal results of at least one laboratory measurement. We report a case of a 12-month-old patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy placed on an esmolol infusion for rate control. Methods: During the course of treatment, it was noted that plasma sodium levels reported on chemistry panels were elevated compared to blood gas samples (maximal difference: +39 mmol/L, with sodium on a chemistry panel reported as 162 mmol/L and sodium on a blood gas sample reported as 123 mmol/L, at an esmolol dosing of 75 mcg/kg/min). This elevation initially prompted treatment for hypernatremia until simultaneous plasma and whole blood samples revealed the discrepancy. The noted sodium concentration discrepancy worsened with increasing esmolol dosing, prompting further clinical laboratory investigation. In vitro testing with esmolol HCl in NaCl (20 mg/mL) added to pooled serum samples (with known baseline sodium concentrations) demonstrated that increasing esmolol concentrations resulted in falsely-elevated serum sodium concentrations on the laboratory’s two chemistry analyzers (Vitros 5600 Integrated System, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ), but not when measured by two blood gas analyzers (RapidLab 1265, Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA). To our knowledge, this is the first report of esmolol causing pseudohypernatremia on plasma/ serum chemistry testing. Based on our findings, this appears to be due to cross-reactivity with the chemistry analyzer’s ion-selective electrode (ISE). Results: As esmolol is used in ICUs throughout the world, this potential DILT is notable and warrants vigilance on the part of clinical teams who may pursue medical treatments for criticallyill patients based upon falsely-elevated measurements, placing patients at increased risk for adverse events related to hyponatremia. Further investigations of these associations and their mechanisms are underway at our institution.
EFFECTIVENESS OF HORIZONTAL INTEGRATED TEACHING PROGRAMME IN MEDICAL CURRICULUM

Abstract Introduction: Traditional curriculum has several limitations and drawbacks such as repetition, overlapping and lack of correlation among subjects. Medical educationist realized that there was need for integrating basic and clinical medical sciences. Integrated teaching is a step towards learning basic sciences alongwith developing approach to solve clinical cases. It was the first batch of M.B. ,B.S. students in RUHS College of Medical Sciences (RUHS CMS), a constituent medical college of Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, Jaipur and an attempt was made to introduce horizontal integrated teaching aiming towards better understanding of basic sciences so that medical students enhance their diagnostic skills at an early stage and develop interest in pre-clinical subjects. Aims and objectives: To study if integrated teaching helps students understand and apply basic sciences to practice in dealing with patients and to study if integrated teaching programme aids in improving their performance and scores in examinations. Methodology: For implementing Horizontal Integrated Teaching programme, the committee framed a common table for the selected topics in concurrence with other faculty members, which were taught over a period of 4 weeks. To execute the study, 100 students of first year MBBS admitted (year 2014-15) in RUHS College of Medical Sciences, Jaipur were included and divided into two groups. A series of meetings were held to discuss Integrated Teaching Programme. Attempts were made to ensure maximum integration of topics and to avoid repetition. Teaching & learning methods were discussed and finalized to ensure active participation of students. Assessments were taken after integrated teaching sessions and after completion of overall study, student’s feedback in the form of structured questionnaire, based on five point likert scale was collected. Feedback from teaching faculty was also taken. Results and discussion: Database collected in the form of feedback questionnaire and was analyzed. In the present study 93% students responded that horizontal integrated teaching is more interesting than traditional teaching and less repetitive. 81% of students responded that they were able to correlate clinical picture of the disease after integrated teaching sessions and 85% of students were agreed that there was a good correlation of all three pre-clinical subjects. Conclusion: The present study concludes that Student grasp a more authentic understanding when integrated teaching is adopted and performance of majority of students improves.
Platform Cooperativism:

This paper focalizes on the economic model of digital platforms as a new method of coordinating the production of value. We suggest that the advent of “platform capitalism” is symptomatic of a crisis of the model of the firm understood as a space separated from society and based on private ownership. This crisis appears, first, as an inadequacy of the instruments of theoretical economics to take the digital platform model into account, and subsequently as a crisis concerning the ownership of the means of production: ownership seems to be split into intellectual ownership (especially algorithms) and physical ownership of the means of production (which are the prerogative of the platform’s users/producers/consumers). This new proprietary model allows us to revisit the question of the ownership of the means of production and the governance of the firm itself. In this sense, we suggest that in the claims of platform cooperativism, the platform-firm no longer appears as a group of assets that are already owned, but as an institution in which ownership corresponds to governance. In other words, ownership is understood as an institutional arrangement intended to govern the resource itself, which allows us to fully rethink the ownership of the firm according to the model of “the philosophy of the commons. ”
Structural insights into F-actin regulation and sarcomere assembly via myotilin

Sarcomeres, the basic contractile units of striated muscle cells, contain arrays of thin (actin) and thick (myosin) filaments that slide past each other during contraction. The Ig-like domain containing protein myotilin provides structural integrity to Z-discs - the boundaries between adjacent sarcomeres. Myotilin binds to Z-disc components, including F-actin and α-actinin-2, but the molecular mechanism of binding and implications of these interactions on Z-disc integrity are still elusive. We used a combination of small angle X-ray scattering, cross-linking mass spectrometry, biochemical and molecular biophysics approaches. We discovered that myotilin displays conformational ensembles in solution. We generated a structural model of the F-actin:myotilin complex that revealed how myotilin interacts with and stabilizes F-actin via its Ig-like domains and flanking regions. Mutant myotilin designed with impaired F-actin binding showed increased dynamics in cells. Structural analyses and competition assays uncovered that myotilin displaces tropomyosin from F-actin. Our findings suggest a novel role of myotilin as a co-organizer of Z-disc assembly and advance our mechanistic understanding of myotilin’s structural role in Z-discs. Significance Statement Sarcomeres are the primary structural and functional unit of striated muscles, conferring movement in all animals. The Z-disk is the boundary between adjacent sarcomeres, where actin filaments (F-actin) are anchored. Z-disc protein myotilin, is a scaffold protein, which provides structural integrity to the Z-disc by multiple interactions to its central components, including F-actin and α-actinin-2. Here we provide the structure of myotilin, revealing its structural plasticity in solution and the first integrative structural model of its complex with F-actin. We further show that myotilin displaces tropomyosin from F-actin, implying a novel role of myotilin in sarcomere biogenesis beyond being an interaction hub for Z-disk partners. Highlights Myotilin is structurally described as a dynamic ensemble Flanking regions enhance F-acting binding to tandem Ig domains Integrative structural model of myotilin bound to F-actin Myotilin displaces tropomyosin from F-actin, suggesting an organisational role in Z-disc
Students' Perceptions of Teacher Support and Academic Motivation as Predictors of Academic Engagement

Poor performance among secondary school students in national examinations has been a major concern to education stakeholders. Previous research has linked poor performance to student, teacher, home and school factors, giving little attention to the social context within which learning occurs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students’ perceptions of teacher support and academic motivation predicts academic engagement among secondary school students in Machakos County, Kenya. The study adopted a predictive correlational research design. The target population was all year 2019 form three students. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling were used to select 10 public secondary schools and 580 students (294 boys; 286 girls) in Machakos sub-county. Data was collected using self-report questionnaires. Descriptive statistics summarized the data while inferential statistics consisting of Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, multiple regression and ANOVA were used to test the research hypotheses at p < . 05 level of significance. Findings revealed that both students’ perceptions of teacher support and academic motivation had significant and positive relationships with academic engagement. Academic motivation was found to be the best significant predictor of academic engagement than students’ perceptions of teacher support. The study recommended that teachers should create positive relationships with students to support their psychological needs and enhance their academic engagement and achievement. Schools should enforce learner centered learning approaches to nurture students’ autonomy and competence and improve academic achievement.