Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Level Global Competitiveness and Personal Level Development of Aceh Handicraft Entrepreneurs

The aim of this study was to examine the level of global competitiveness and personal development of handicraft entrepreneurs. Differences between the level of competitiveness and educational background, level of labour skills, type of product, market area and sale methods. The total of 155 participants handicraft have business minimum of three years. The data were collected by distributing a questioner which is divided into six part, entrepreneur profiles, business profiles, business support, business market, used of technology, innovation of product and personal entrepreneur development. Questionnaires and instrument was adapted from Nor Aishah (2009) will use to research. Six person already selected were interviewed to further explicate and support the phenomenon this research. This study also determines whether the level competitiveness and personal development have a positive relationship with entrepreneurs. Result of descriptive analysis found that the mean level of the handicrafts entrepreneur competitiveness at a moderately high (min 3.46). Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation but moderate strong between the level of competitiveness and the level of personal development entrepreneurs handicraft with value (r=0.443). One-way ANOVA test results shown there are two significant difference between the level competitiveness with industry type [F (2,152) = 0.042, p<0.05] and the level competitiveness with sale methods [F (2,152) = 6.754, p<0.05]. While there are significant difference between the level of personal development with industry type [F (2,152) = 5.933, p<0.05]. Some implications and recommendations of the study have been submitted for review in the future, especially to institutions, researchers and entrepreneurs of Aceh handicraft to be more competitive and improve business performance at the global level. In this context, competitiveness and personal development of handicraft entrepreneurs needs to be well planned in order to develop successful and competitive global market
Enterprise Architectures for Supporting the Adoption of Big Data

Governments from all over the world are struggling to take advantage of big data developments. Enterprise Architecture (EA) can be used as an instrument to integrate big data (BD) in the existing business processes and ICT-landscape. In this policy paper, we explore the role of EA in the adoption of BD. For this, we adopted a qualitative case study approach and investigated a large administrative organization that was in the process of adopting BD. We found in our case study that the first attempts were focused on integrating big data in the current landscape, but this encountered too many challenges that halt progress. To overcome the challenges, a separate BD department and accompanying infrastructure was created. The strategy was first to reap the benefits of BD and to understand what should be done, and thereafter integrating the working systems in the existing landscape. The findings suggest that current infrastructures might not be suitable for integrating BD and substantial changes are needed first. In the case the role of BD needed to be first clarified before EA could play a role in adopting BD. EA should deal with the uncertainties and complexities by ensuring a configurable landscape, by providing an incremental approach for adapting the infrastructure step-by-step, before the benefits of big data can be gained. Developing an incremental migration plan was found to be a key aspect for the adoption of BD.
New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences

This study is an attempt to analyze the relation between the optimal informal employment ratio and improvement level of the country. Informal employment has advantages and disadvantages. Informal employment causes revenue losses consisting of both tax and social security premium. But also it causes economic growth. The previous study analyzed the optimal informal employment ratio for Turkey and in this study, the relationship between the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and informal employment ratio (IER) for other economies will be analyzed according to their improvement level. Because in the literature there is an opinion about low informal employment ratio for high income countries and high ratio for low income countries. Because of the effect of public policy and economical structure on underground economy, it will be tried to to assess the place of Turkey according to the development level
Customersâ Intention towards Shariah Compliant Credit Cards: A Pilot Study

The Islamic finance industry continues to grow, and the Islamic banking and finance sector has made further progress in accomplishing a comprehensive Shariah based-contract regulatory framework. It is important to note that Islamic banking is built to meet the demand for Shariah compliant products and services. Furthermore, Islamic banking products, specifically the Islamic credit cards (ICCs), are catered for both Muslims and non-Muslims as alternative financing products. Unfortunately, the customers are having negative perception towards ICCs. They claimed that the products are similar to conventional credit cards (CCCs) and just merely change in terminologies. The awareness level also affected as the product is not widely promoted and marketed, and has caused the ICCs to lose competitive edge as compared to CCCs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate individual intention to have Shariah compliant credit cards, and also to examine the factors that influence intention towards Shariah compliant credit cards. The pilot study carried out on quantitative basis by distributing 100 questionnaires in Klang Valley and applying purposive sampling. Data was later undergoing relationship testing using structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS version 3.2.6). This study has developed a model to measure customers’ intention towards Shariah-compliant credit cards (SC-CCs). The objectives of the proposed model are (1) to explore the dimensions of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the integration of Islam Worldview (IWV), (2) to assess the robustness of TPB and IWV with attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), religiosity, knowledge and Shariah compliance in influencing customer behaviour intention towards Shariah compliant financing products. The results showed three constructs i.e. attitude, PBC and Shariah compliance are significant with the intention towards Shariah-compliant credit cards. However, subjective norms, religiosity and knowledge are not significant with intention towards Shariah compliant credit cards.This study will contribute to new strategies of promoting and marketing Islamic financial products. By introducing new innovative approaches; highlighting the key features and benefits of Shariah compliance and compare to the conventional products, and change of product names to Shariah compliant instead of Islamic (e.g. Islamic credit cards to Shariah compliant credit cards), Islamic banking and finance will remain robust and competitive in expanding their market shares.
Diseases caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV)

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are non‐enveloped tumor viruses with a double stranded DNA approximately 8 kilobases in length. The viral genome is enclosed by a spherical capsid with icosahedral symmetry and a diameter of about 55 nm. More than 100 HPV types have been identified. They infect the squamous epithelia of skin and mucosa and usually cause benign papillomas or warts. Persistent infection with high‐risk oncogenic HPV causes all cervical cancers, most anal cancers, and a subset of vulvar, vaginal, penile and oropha‐ryngeal cancers. In recent years cutaneous beta‐HPV types have been associated with the pathogenesis of non‐melanoma skin cancers. Two prophylactic HPV vaccines based on virus‐like particles (VLP) are licensed. These are up to 100% effective in preventing HPV 16 and HPV 18 infections and associated genital lesions in women, who have not been previously infected with these types. One vaccine also prevents genital warts caused by HPV 6 and HPV 11.
JAK2/STAT5 signaling pathway mediates Bojungbangdocktang enhanced hematopoiesis

Bojungbangdocktang (BJBDT) is a medicinal herbal cocktail that has been used for cancer prevention and treatment in traditional Korean medicine. In the current study, BJBDT was demonstrated to regulate hematopoiesis. BJBDT significantly increased the expression of hematopoietic cytokines interleukin (IL)‐3, stem cell factor (SCF), granulocyte‐macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (GM‐CSF), thrombopoietin (TPO) and erythropoietin (EPO) at the level of mRNA and secretion in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Additionally, BJBDT enhanced the phosphorylation of Janus activated kinase 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) and STAT binding to gamma interferon activated sites (GAS) in HSCs. Furthermore, BJBDT significantly enhanced the growth rate of granulocyte erythrocyte monocyte macrophage colony‐forming units (CFU‐GEMM) and erythroid burst forming units (BFU‐E) in vitro. Moreover, BJBDT increased the level of EPO at mRNA in kidney and plasma, and the numbers of erythroid‐specific antigen Ter‐119+ erythroid cells in mice with aplastic anemia induced by 20% benzene. Consistently, histochemical staining revealed BJBDT increased the bone marrow and stromal cells as well as decreased macrophages and adipocytes in bone marrow tissues of mice with aplastic anemia. Taken together, the results suggest that BJBDT can enhance hematopoiesis via hematopoietic cytokine‐mediated JAK2/STAT5 pathway as a potent hematopoietic candidate. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Green Tea and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis of Two Prospective Studies in Japan

BACKGROUND: Although laboratory experiments suggest protective effects of green tea against colorectal cancer, few prospective cohort studies have been conducted. METHODS: We conducted a pooled analysis of two prospective cohort studies among residents in Miyagi Prefecture in rural northern Japan. The first study started in 1984 and included 26,311 subjects. The second study started in 1990 and included 39,604 subjects. The subjects responded to a self-administered questionnaire including an item on green tea consumption. With 7 to 9 years of follow-up, 305 colon and 211 rectal cancers were identified in the two cohorts through record linkage to a regional cancer registry. We used Cox regression to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of colorectal cancer according to the consumption of green tea with adjustment for potential confounders, and pooled the estimates obtained from each cohort by general variance-based method. RESULTS: Multivariate pooled HRs for colon cancer associated with drinking 1-2, 3-4, and 5 or more cups of green tea per day, as compared with less than 1 cup per day, were 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74-1.52), 1.10 (0.78-1.55), 0.97 (0.70-1.35), respectively (trend p = 0.81). Corresponding HRs for rectal cancer were 0.85 (95% CI = 0.56-1.29), 0.70 (0.45-1.08), 0.85 (0.58-1.23), respectively (trend p = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of green tea was not associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer.
Kabuki syndrome: expanding the phenotype to include microphthalmia and anophthalmia

Kabuki syndrome is a rare genetic malformation syndrome that is characterized by distinct facies, structural defects and intellectual disability. Kabuki syndrome may be caused by mutations in one of two histone methyltransferase genes: KMT2D and KDM6A. We describe a male child of nonconsanguineous Irish parents presenting with multiple malformations, including bilateral extreme microphthalmia; cleft palate; congenital diaphragmatic hernia; duplex kidney; as well as facial features of Kabuki syndrome, including interrupted eyebrows and lower lid ectropion. A de-novo germline mutation in KMT2D was identified. Whole-exome sequencing failed to reveal mutations in any of the known microphthalmia/anopthalmia genes. We also identified four other patients with Kabuki syndrome and microphthalmia. We postulate that Kabuki syndrome may produce this type of ocular phenotype as a result of extensive interaction between KMT2D, WAR complex proteins and PAXIP1. Children presenting with microphthalmia/anophthalmia should be examined closely for other signs of Kabuki syndrome, especially at an age where the facial gestalt might be less readily appreciable.
“Without Porn … I Wouldn't Know Half the Things I Know Now”: A Qualitative Study of Pornography Use Among a Sample of Urban, Low-Income, Black and Hispanic Youth

Information about the pornography-viewing habits of urban, low-income youth of color in the United States is lacking. This study was designed to answer the following using a sample of 16- to 18-year-old urban-residing, low-income Black or Hispanic youth: (1) What types of pornography do youth report watching; where and for what purpose? (2) Do youth feel that pornography exposure has an impact on their own sexual behaviors? and (3) How do parents react to their pornography use? The following themes emerged from interviews with 23 youth: (1) Youth primarily reported watching pornography that featured one-on-one sexual intercourse but also reported having seen extreme pornography (e.g., public humiliation, incest); (2) youth reported watching pornography on home computers or smartphones, and that pornography was frequently watched in school; (3) youth reported watching for entertainment, for sexual stimulation, instructional purposes, and to alleviate boredom; many copied what they saw in pornography during their own sexual encounters; (4) pressure to make or to imitate pornography was an element of some unhealthy dating relationships; and (5) parents were generally described as unsupportive of youth's use of pornography but underequipped to discuss it. Approximately one-fifth expressed a preference for pornography featuring actors of their same race/ethnicity.
A robust approach to the detection and tracking of small targets with low contrast

An effective approach to the detection and tracking of small moving targets with low contrast is proposed. In our application, small moving targets are detected and tracked in a low quality video sequence captured from an airborne platform. The detection and tracking system includes three modules. First, the global motion parameters are estimated using fast least trimmed squares (FAST-ITS) regression and hierarchical processing. Once the global motion is robustly estimated, relatively stationary background can be eliminated almost completely through image warping. Then a motion-based fast target detector selects candidate pixels of the moving targets with motions statistically different from that of the background, and a particle filtering tracker examines the temporal consistency of targets to identify them and update their states. Information in the system flows in a closed loop form, in which the tracker instructs the detector where to look for a target, and the detector returns what it has found. Experimental results prove that the proposed method can reliably and effectively detect and track the real small moving target in real-time even if there is strong clutter influence.
Production planning considering undesirable outputs-A DEA

While the conventional DEA based production plans aim to minimize all the inputs consumption and maximize all the outputs production, there are many real world production systems may also generate undesirable by-products. One methodological difficulty associated with the previous DEA-based production planning models is how to incorporate undesirable factors in the planning models, while the simultaneous increase of desirable outputs and decrease of undesirable outputs could be considered. Based on the assumptions that demand changes can be forecasted for the next production season and inputs changes are under control, this paper propose a new DEA based model in a centralized decision making environment, which shares inputs/outputs changes among all of the units in such a way that individual efficiencies do not decrease. The proposed model ensures the improvement of individual units’ performances, in addition to the overall efficiency. An empirical example is used to illustrate the proposed model.
Investigation of Magnetically Isolated Multiphase Modular Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Machinery Series for Wheel-Driving Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a novel multiphase permanent-magnet (PM) synchronous machinery series adopting two adjacent coils per phase and modular stator. Machine design principles, including modular stator design, segmental interior PM-assisted rotor design, and winding factor improvement, are investigated. Moreover, analytical modeling of winding inductance is developed to provide insights into the magnetic circuit of this type of machine. The proposed machinery series is suitable for wheel-driving electric vehicles attributing to their high magnetic isolation feature, good flux-weakening capability, and feasibility of modular fabrication.
Benzene-contaminated toluene and acute myeloid leukemia: a case series and review of literature

We report seven cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with occupational exposure to a toluene-based hydrocarbon solvent. The cases were employed at a facility, which manufactured rubber belts and hoses, between 1950 and 2005 for periods ranging from 21 to 37 total years. Detailed histories were obtained for three workers who were diagnosed with AML within a 3-year period (2003–2005). Death certificates, medical records, and accounts by workers were reviewed. Benzene, a known cause of AML, is typically a contaminant of toluene. Benzene contamination in toluene and other widely used solvents and the potential for concurrent benzene exposure during usage of these solvents in occupational settings are discussed.
An Assessment of the Recognition and Use of Online Shopping by Digital Immigrants and Natives in India and China

ABSTRACT This study describes the adoption and use of online shopping by “digital immigrants” and “digital natives” in India and China. Because the routine Internet methods of customers are not known, we have not been not aware of patterns of online shopping practiced by these two groups. The study methodology entailed a computer-based survey questionnaire directed at volunteers of Wilmington University, The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a scale established and reformed by Davis (1989), was used to process the data. The scale measurements perceived ease of use (PEU), TAM variables, and perceived usefulness (PU). Satisfaction with online shopping and the usage pattern was measured. A modified scale to evaluate Internet trust and privacy was adopted to assess important antecedents for releasing information (Xu, Dinev, Smith, and Hart, 2011). It was predicted that digital natives were more trusting of online shopping. The findings focus on the differences in online shopping styles between digital immigrants and natives in relation to a certain satisfaction level, proposed usefulness, level of trust, and simplicity in usage. The 100 respondents from each country were distributed to measure 50% digital immigrants and 50% digital natives.
International Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Two Hospitals in Miami, Florida

ABSTRACT A total of 202 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) single-patient isolates recovered between January and June 1998 in two hospitals in Miami, Florida, were characterized by a combination of several molecular typing techniques: multilocus sequence typing, spaA typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and determination of the structure of the SCCmec element. The overwhelming majority of the isolates—187of 202, or 93%—belonged to one of three internationally spread epidemic clones which were identified on the basis of their multilocus sequence type (ST) as E-MRSA-16 (ST36), the New York clone V (ST8), and the New York/Japan clone (ST5; SCCmec II) and its single- and double-locus variants. The rest of the isolates (15 of 202, or 7%) were more genetically diverse and were each recovered from a few patients only. Of the 23 MRSA strains isolated from confirmed human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, as many as 17 (or 70%) belonged to a single ST8 clone carrying SCCmec type IV. The data provide further evidence for the conclusion of earlier studies that most MRSA disease in hospitals is caused by relatively few pandemic clones.
Inter-country Analysis on the Financial Determinants of Corporate Cash Holdings for the Large Firms With Headquarters in the U.S. and Korea

본 논문은 기존의 국내자본시장 기업들 대상 현금보유수준에 대한 재무적 결정요인 분석에 대한 확장적 연구이다. 국내 KOSPI 상장기업들과 이에 상응하는 미국의 대기업들에 대한 상호 비교가 실증적으로 검정되었다. 구체적으로는, 동 기업별 현금 보유수준의 적정성을 탐구하기 위하여, 다수의 계량경제적인 모델들을 활용하여 국제금융위기 이후부터 최근까지의 분석기간 (2010년-2015년)동안, 동 현금유동성 수준에 영향을 줄 수 있는 재무적 대용변수들을 활용되었다. 재무적 설명변수들의 선정과 관련하여, 현금유동성 수준의 국제적 기업재무 이론의 근간이 되는 상충관계이론, 자금조달순서이론, 그리고 대리인비용이론을 기준으로 동 변수들이 선별되었다. 각 자본시장별, 현금유동성을 측정하는 종속변수와 동 설명변수들의 계량경제적 관계 분석과 이에 대한 재무이론적 해석 등이 본문 내용 중에 서술되었다. 결론적으로, 동 실증적 결과들은 향후에도 활발히 진행될 것으로 예상되는 국가 간 투자협정들, 특히, 금융서비스 분야에서 자금의 유,출입에도 선순환적인 영향을 줄 수 있을 것으로 판단되며, 미시적으로는 동 결과를 응용한 최적 현금보유수준의 접근을 통하여 기업의 최종 목표인 주주 부의 극대화에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.
Turnover of Hepatitis B Virus X Protein Is Regulated by Damaged DNA-Binding Complex

ABSTRACT Mammalian hepatitis B viruses encode an essential regulatory protein, termed X, which may also be implicated in liver cancer development associated with chronic infection. X protein, also referred to as HBx in human virus and WHx in woodchuck virus, has been reported to bind to a number of cellular proteins, including the DDB1 subunit of the damaged DNA-binding (DDB) complex. Our previous work provided genetic evidence for the importance of WHx-DDB1 interaction in both the activity of the X protein and establishment of viral infection in woodchucks. In the present study, a direct action of DDB1 on the X protein is documented. Physical interaction between the two proteins leads to an increase in X protein stability. This effect results from protection of the viral protein from proteasome-mediated degradation. Protection of WHx is overcome in the presence DDB2, the second subunit of the DDB heterodimer. In keeping with observations reported for HBx, DDB2 was found to directly bind to WHx. Nonetheless, the counteracting effect of DDB2 on X stabilization requires DDB2-DDB1 interaction. Taken together, these findings substantiate the physical and functional connection between the X protein and the DDB1-DDB2 heterodimer, leading to the regulation of the pool of the viral protein.
Purchasing Votes without Cash: Implementing Quadratic Voting Outside the Lab∗

We compare behavior under Quadratic Voting with respect to the conventional One Man One Vote system in a context of a discrete valuation distribution with non zero mean for a binary collective decision. Unlike, the One Man One Vote system, in which a majority rule of 50+1 could yield socially inefficient outcomes if the intensity of the preferences in the minority is larger than in the majority, Quadratic Voting allows subjects to express the intensity of their preferences by purchasing votes at a quadratic cost and overcome the inefficient outcome. Once the votes are counted and a particular outcome or public good is provided, the proceeds from the allocation of voters to votes gets redistributed back to the subjects inversely proportional to their allocation of endowments to votes. We conduct an experiment with university students in which we analyze their understanding of the mechanism and their voting behavior. We use tickets for a raffle of a valuable prize instead of cash as the currency in the experiment, compelling us to round the rebate unlike the original model of Quadratic Voting (Weyl, 2013). As a consequence, the equilibria under Quadratic Voting in our setting is a subset of the equilibria under the One Man One Vote system. We find that the overspending of voters under Quadratic Voting is proportional to their exogenous valuation of the policies voted to be implemented. JEL Classification: C92