Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bridging organizations and innovative sustainable development partnerships

ABSTRACT Cross Sector Partnerships are heralded as a key to solving complex development challenges. With reference to the analysis of fourteen projects implemented in Uttar Pradesh, India, this research develops a Composite Value Creation Framework to advance the understanding of Bridging Organizations and their role in creating innovative sustainable development partnerships. The research shows that Bridging Organizations capable of convening, negotiating, mediating and trust building and able to design and execute strategic interventions can effectively combine the strengths of different stakeholders to produce partnerships with positive social outcomes, and that, in the Uttar Pradesh context, played a critical role in building trust, improving policies and changing mind sets.
Analysis of Some Bioactive Constituents from Carthamus lanatus

Maya Mitovaa, Rilka Taskovab, Simeon Popova, Ralf Günter Bergerc, Ulrich Kringsc, and Nedjalka Handjievaa* a Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. Fax: ++3592-8700225. E-mail: nechy@orgchm.bas. bg b Institute of Botany, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria c Institut für Lebensmittelchemie, Universität Hannover, 30453 Hannover, Germany
The Implementation and Reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility in Malaysian Chemical Industries

Objective : The first objective of this article is to map the CSR reporting in Malaysian chemical industries while second objective is to assess the CSR reporting in Malaysian chemical industries based on types of company, types of product and service, as well as indicators reported Method : This study focused on the 626 chemical companies in Malaysia that are registered with the Federation of Malay- sian Manufacturers (FMM), the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia (CICM) and the Companies Commission of Ma- laysia (SSM). The annual reports of the recent year (i.e. 2014) were the primary sources. The data gathered and analyzed were the types of company, types of product and service and indicators reported their reports Result: Out of 626 chemical companies, only 208 companies have disclosed their CSR initiatives and all PLCs disclosed their CSR initiatives compared to MNC, SME and Non-PLC. The chemical companies that produce multiple products and services are more likely to disclose their company reporting. There are 62 indicators were reported by 208 chemical com- panies in their company reporting. Conclusion : The results reported in this article provide an overview of CSR reporting in Malaysian chemical industries. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, chemical industries, environment, social, economy
Modélisation statistique de la mortalité maternelle et néonatale pour l'aide à la planification et à la gestion des services de santé en Afrique Sub-Saharienne

L'objectif de cette these est de proposer une methodologie statistique permettant de formuler une regle de classement capable de surmonter les difficultes qui se presentent dans le traitement des donnees lorsque la distribution a priori de la variable reponse est desequilibree. Notre proposition est construite autour d'un ensemble particulier de regles d'association appelees "class association rules". Dans le chapitre II, nous avons expose les bases theoriques qui sous-tendent la methode. Nous avons utilise les indicateurs de performance usuels existant dans la litterature pour evaluer un classifieur. A chaque regle "class association rule" est associee un classifieur faible engendre par l'antecedent de la regle que nous appelons profils. L'idee de la methode est alors de combiner un nombre reduit de classifieurs faibles pour constituer une regle de classement performante. Dans le chapitre III, nous avons developpe les differentes etapes de la procedure d'apprentissage statistique lorsque les observations sont independantes et identiquement distribuees. On distingue trois grandes etapes: (1) une etape de generation d'un ensemble initial de profils, (2) une etape d'elagage de profils redondants et (3) une etape de selection d'un ensemble optimal de profils. Pour la premiere etape, nous avons utilise l'algorithme "apriori" reconnu comme l'un des algorithmes de base pour l'exploration des regles d'association. Pour la deuxieme etape, nous avons propose un test stochastique. Et pour la derniere etape un test asymptotique est effectue sur le rapport des valeurs predictives positives des classifieurs lorsque les profils generateurs respectifs sont emboites. Il en resulte un ensemble reduit et optimal de profils dont la combinaison produit une regle de classement performante. Dans le chapitre IV, nous avons propose une extension de la methode d'apprentissage statistique lorsque les observations ne sont pas identiquement distribuees. Il s'agit precisement d'adapter la procedure de selection de l'ensemble optimal lorsque les donnees ne sont pas identiquement distribuees. L'idee generale consiste a faire une estimation bayesienne de toutes les valeurs predictives positives des classifieurs faibles. Par la suite, a l'aide du facteur de Bayes, on effectue un test d'hypothese sur le rapport des valeurs predictives positives lorsque les profils sont emboites. Dans le chapitre V, nous avons applique la methodologie mise en place dans les chapitres precedents aux donnees du projet QUARITE concernant la mortalite maternelle au Senegal et au Mali.
Reranking CCG parser for Jazz chord sequences

When listen to the music, specifically chord progression, each person can have more than one understanding or feeling about what they heard which we call musical intuitions of listeners or human capacity of musical understanding. To disambiguate the chord progression, Granroth-Wilding et al. have employed Probabilistic Combinatory Categorial Grammar (PCCG), and they acquired the recall value of 88.78%, and the precision value of 90.18%. Because this chord progression parser only outputs the one with the highest probability, the correct solution may still reside in the following candidates. In this paper, we use the reranking model to improve the performance of the parser. By selecting a set of simple n-gram features and configuring perceptron algorithm for finding optimizing parameters, we have improved performance of the system by 2.2%, and even 6.57% when we could perfectly pick up correct candidates from 5000-best results.
Influence of experimental venue on phenotype: multiple traits reveal multiple answers

Summary 1. Experiments in ecology occur in the laboratory, mesocosm or field. The choice of venue can influence the outcome and may be associated with trade-offs involving realism and precision. 2. We evaluated these trade-offs in an experiment measuring effects of venue on larval traits of Rana temporaria tadpoles. The design included laboratory, mesocosm and field venues, crossed with two treatments (presence and absence of caged Anax imperator dragonfly larvae). Realism of venues was evaluated by comparing experimental with wild tadpoles. 3. Venue influenced nearly every trait we measured, but some were more sensitive to venue than others. Larval and metamorphic performance, external morphology and predator-induced plasticity in many traits varied among venues, while behaviour was less dependent on venue. Tadpoles in mesocosms were most similar to those in field enclosures and the wild, although the phenotypic response to predation risk was greatest in the mesocosm venue. The laboratory environment triggered highly distinctive morphology. Precision was not higher in the laboratory than in other venues. 4. This study suggests that both constraints and research questions must be considered when choosing an appropriate experimental venue.
Phenotyping drug polypharmacology via eicosanoid profiling of blood[S]

It is widely accepted that small-molecule drugs, despite their selectivity at primary targets, exert pharmacological effects (and safety liabilities) through a multiplicity of pathways. As such, it has proved extremely difficult to experimentally assess polypharmacology in an agnostic fashion. Profiling of metabolites produced as part of physiological responses to pharmacological stimuli provides a unique opportunity to explore drug pharmacology. A total of 122 eicosanoid lipids in human whole blood were monitored from 10 different donors upon stimulation with several inducers of immunological responses and treatment with modulators of prostaglandin (PG) and leukotriene biosynthesis, including clinical and investigational molecules. Such analysis revealed differentiation between drugs nominally targeting different eicosanoid biosynthetic enzymes, or even those designed to target the same enzyme. Profiled agents, some of them marketed products, affect eicosanoid biosynthesis in ways that cannot be predicted from information on their intended targets. As an example, we used this platform to discriminate drugs based on their ability to silence PG biosynthesis in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide, resulting in differential pharmacological activity in an in vivo model of endotoxemia. Some of the observed effects are subject to variability among individuals, indicating a potential application of this methodology to the patient stratification, based on their responses to benchmark drugs and experimental compounds read on the eicosanome via a simple blood test.
E-participation service in Saudi Arabian e-Government websites: The influencing factors from citizens' perspective

In keeping pace with the rapid developments in information and communication technology, the Saudi government has invested heavily, in recent years, in the development of e-participation services in e-government websites with the aim of enhancing citizens’ interaction with the government and thereby making the latter more responsive and accountable to citizens’ needs. However, despite its significant efforts, a low level of use of the online opportunities by the citizens for interacting with the government is an endemic problem faced by the Saudi government. In contrast, many countries stand in very good positions compared to Saudi Arabia in terms of citizens’ rate of adoption of e-participation services. This suggests that there are influencing factors that have a significant impact on citizens’ intention to use e-participation services in e-government websites in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this research aims to explore the factors, from a citizen perspective, that affects individuals’ intention to use e-participation services in Saudi Arabian e-government websites. In addressing its objective, this research commenced with a literature investigation which revealed that there are very few previous studies that have specifically examined the antecedents of citizens’ intention to use e-participation services. Much of the existing literature on citizens’ intention to use e-government services have focused predominantly on the transactional services. Additionally, most of these studies have concentrated more on validating popular behavioural models in the context of citizens’ use of e-services rather than looking at contextual factors that could impact individual’s decision to use such services. Therefore, by reviewing different theories and empirical findings, a conceptual framework has been proposed in this study for understanding Saudi citizens’ intention to use eparticipation. The framework consists of five constructs, including, intention to use eparticipation, attitude, trust, website design, and culture. The relationship between these constructs form the basis for the research hypotheses which will be tested using a quantitative research approach. Specifically, a survey will be used for gathering data from a sample of Saudi citizens and statistical methods will be used for analysing the quantitative data generated from the primary research. The findings of this research can assist the Saudi government and governments of other culturally similar countries in developing more effective citizen-centric e-participation services, thus implying that this study has significant practical implications as well.
Public value and public sector accounting research: a structured literature review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and impact of accounting within the fragmented field of public value theory literature.Design/methodology/approachThe work develops a structured literature review (SLR) and seeks to shed light on the state of public value research, with particular emphasis on the role of accounting scholarship.FindingsThe lack of empirical research and the limited number of accounting papers reveal how accounting scholars need to achieve a deeper understanding of the public value conceptualization, creation and measurement process.Originality/valueThe paper develops the first wide-ranging SLR on public value accounting. It is a starting point to develop new research avenues, both in the fields of accountability/external reporting, and management accounting and performance management.
Mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in calves cloned by using adult somatic cell

Adult somatic cell cloned calves were produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer prepared by fusion of cultured ear fibroblast from a Holstein cow into enucleated oocytes of Luxi Yellow cow. In order to determinate the source of mitochondrial DNA of cloned calves, we designed the breed‐specific PCR primers by aligning the known D‐loop sequences of Bos taurus and analyzed the displacement loop sequences of five live cloned calves by breed‐specific primers PCR. The results demonstrated that mtDNA originated from Holstein breed and that from Luxi breed co‐exist in all five live calves. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 67:207–214, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An overlay management strategy to improve peer stability in P2P live streaming systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) live streaming systems rely on utilizing peers' free resources to alleviate the load on streaming servers. In these systems peers join and leave the overlay based on interest in the stream and streaming quality. Therefore, to ensure scalable streaming a large number of stable peers are required in the system. In this work we propose an overlay management strategy to improve peer stability. The stability of a peer depends on various metrics like startup delay, stream quality and number of stable peer links. Therefore, two steps are taken to improve the peer stability. First, the tracker creates virtual sources which helps in reducing startup delay and improving peer's initial streaming quality. Second, peer stability is predicted using some parameters which ensures that only stable peers are selected as partners. The partner selection procedure improves the streaming quality of peers and reduces playback interruptions. Using simulations we compare the performance of the proposal with an existing strategy. Results demonstrate that there is an improvement in the quality of service, which further improves peer stability.
Overview of the INEX 2012 Tweet Contextualization Track

The use case of the Tweet Contextualization task is the fol- lowing: given a new tweet, participating systems must provide some con- text about the subject of a tweet, in order to help the reader to under- stand it. In this task, contextualizing tweets consists in answering ques- tions of the form \what is this tweet about? " which can be answered by several sentences or by an aggregation of texts from dierent doc- uments of the Wikipedia. Thus, tweet analysis, XML/passage retrieval and automatic summarization are combined in order to get closer to real information needs. This article describes the data sets and topics, the metrics used for the evaluation of the systems submissions, as well as the results that they obtained.
Making market research work in Saudi Arabia

Market research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is becoming increasingly important for mainly two reasons. First, because its population is growing with a significant shift to the younger generation of Millenials (Generation Y) and Post-Millenials (Generation Z) and, second, because the economy is moving away from its dependence on oil. Researchers from both national and foreign research agencies, companies, and higher education institutions are therefore required to consider these changes when studying Saudi consumers. Especially for those who are not familiar with the cultural and societal peculiarities of the KSA, we highlight some key considerations for survey design to get quality data. We argue that several issues remain sensitive, cultural factors such as power distance have great relevance, and, inter alia, give recommendations regarding sampling and interviewing respondents.
The effectiveness of motivational interviewing as a form of care for adults with type 2 diabetes: A descriptive review

Background: The incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased rapidly worldwide during the last two decades.Lifestyle and behavioral factors such as diet, exercise and self-care have a crucial role in the prevention and managementof T2D. The motivation behind the desire to change is a cornerstone of adopting a healthier lifestyle. Motivationalinterviewing (MI) is a counseling technique that emphasizes to individuals incentives to change rather than just givinginformation. There is a lack of scientific evidence to indicate whether MI is a suitable form of care among patients withT2D. The aim of this study was to identify the outcomes of Motivational Interviewing in the context of care of adults withtype 2 diabetes. Methods: A descriptive review of studies published between January 2001 and March 2011 describing motivationalinterviewing in the care of patients with type 2 diabetes was conducted by interrogating electronical databases (CINAHL,Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus) and conducting a manual search. Two researchers selected the studiesand assessed their quality independently. Results: Five studies were selected for inclusion in this review. Our results show that studies describing MI used as a formof therapy in the care of T2D patients yield mixed results. Statistically significant effects for some clinical outcomes andamong behavioral and psychological outcomes were reported. Conclusions: The studies reviewed indicate that although MI seems to be a promising form of care among patients withT2D, further research into applying MI within T2D care is urgently needed.
The Impact of a Quality Improvement Program on Systems, Processes, and Structures in Medical Clinics

Objective:We sought to assess whether participation in a quality-improvement collaborative changed care processes, systems, and organization of outpatient human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinics. Methods:We surveyed clinicians, medical directors, and HIV program administrators before and after an 18-month quality improvement collaborative at 54 intervention and 37 control clinics providing HIV care. Surveys assessed clinic structures, processes, systems, and culture. During the collaborative, a clinician–administrator team from each intervention clinic attended 4 2-day sessions on quality improvement techniques. Conference calls, a website, and an e-mail list provided support and facilitated communication among collaborative participants. Results:Survey response rates were 85% or greater. Six of 54 organizational measures differed significantly between baseline and follow-up. Intervention clinicians reported greater computer availability (82% vs. 67%, P = 0.03) and use (3.13 vs. 2.68, P = 0.02; 4-point scale), attended more local (14.2 vs. 8.6, P < 0.01) and national (4.1 vs. 2.9, P = 0.01) conferences, and rated leaders’ ability to implement quality improvement higher (3.8 vs. 3.4, P = 0.01; 5-point scale). Intervention directors were more likely to compare quality data to other clinics (79% vs. 54%, P = 0.04). For the set of 54 measures, intervention clinics were more likely to have higher post-intervention scores than controls (sign test, mean = 14.5, P < 0.0001). Conclusions:A quality-improvement collaborative for HIV clinics resulted in modest organizational changes. Achieving greater change may require more focused and/or intensive interventions, greater resources for participating clinics, and better developed information technology.
Improvements in Hardware Transactional Memory for GPU Architectures

In the multi-core CPU world, transactional memory (TM) has emerged as an alternative to lock-based programming for thread synchronization. Recent research proposes the use of TM in GPU architectures, where a high number of computing threads, organized in SIMT fashion, requires an effective synchronization method. In contrast to CPUs, GPUs offer two memory spaces: global memory and local memory. The local memory space serves as a shared scratch-pad for a subset of the computing threads, and it is used by programmers to speed-up their applications thanks to its low latency. Prior work from the authors proposed a lightweight hardware TM (HTM) support based in the local memory, modifying the SIMT execution model and adding a conflict detection mechanism. An efficient implementation of these features is key in order to provide an effective synchronization mechanism at the local memory level. After a quick description of the main features of our HTM design for GPU local memory, in this work we gather together a number of proposals designed with the aim of improving those mechanisms with high impact on performance. Firstly, the SIMT execution model is modified to increase the parallelism of the application when transactions must be serialized in order to make forward progress. Secondly, the conflict detection mechanism is optimized depending on application characteristics, such us the read/write sets, the probability of conflict between transactions and the existence of read-only transactions. As these features can be present in hardware simultaneously, it is a task of the compiler and runtime to determine which ones are more important for a given application. This work includes a discussion on the analysis to be done in order to choose the best configuration solution.
Deduction of Novel Genes Potentially Involved in Osteoblasts of Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatic Approaches

The role of osteoblasts in peri-articular bone loss and bone erosion in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has gained much attention, and microRNAs are hypothesized to play critical roles in the regulation of osteoblast function in RA. The aim of this study is to explore novel microRNAs differentially expressed in RA osteoblasts and to identify genes potentially involved in the dysregulated bone homeostasis in RA. RNAs were extracted from cultured normal and RA osteoblasts for sequencing. Using the next generation sequencing and bioinformatics approaches, we identified 35 differentially expressed microRNAs and 13 differentially expressed genes with potential microRNA–mRNA interactions in RA osteoblasts. The 13 candidate genes were involved mainly in cell–matrix adhesion, as classified by the Gene Ontology. Two genes of interest identified from RA osteoblasts, A-kinase anchoring protein 12 (AKAP12) and leucin rich repeat containing 15 (LRRC15), were found to express more consistently in the related RA synovial tissue arrays in the Gene Expression Omnibus database, with the predicted interactions with miR-183-5p and miR-146a-5p, respectively. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified AKAP12 as one of the genes involved in protein kinase A signaling and the function of chemotaxis, interconnecting with molecules related to neovascularization. The findings indicate new candidate genes as the potential indicators in evaluating therapies targeting chemotaxis and neovascularization to control joint destruction in RA.