Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association between Cultural Practices, Government Policy and Preventive Health Behavior. The Mediating Role of Radio Education Program on HIV Prevention in Jigawa State Nigeria

This study explored the role of radio education program on HIV/AIDS prevention as a mediator of the association between Cultural practices and Government policy and preventive health behavior in HIV prevention. Data were collected from 471 household in Jigawa state, using self- administered questionnaires. SPSS soft ware was used and Sobel mediation text was employed. The major finding of this study is that part of the effect of the Cultural Practices and Government Policy were mediated by radio education program and their indirect effect on Preventive health behavior via radio education program is significant (p= 0.0001). The findings provide evidence for partial mediation, as the result of the test statistics does not drop to zero. The result of the test statistics for Cultural Practices is 0.427, and significance (p=0.0000) and the test statistic for Government Policy is 0.069, and significance (p = 0.003). Thus, it can be concluded that radio education program on HIV prevention is a statistically significant partial mediator of the effect of Cultural practices and Government Policy on Preventive Health Behavior.
Using nonlinear control of resources to achieve differential performance objectives in software systems

In many competitive business domains, software systems have become vital to achieve the business objectives efficiently. In such software systems, maintaining performance properties such as response time and throughput at runtime is important to avoid customer dissatisfaction and violation of service level agreements. This is a challenging task as service providers typically need to share computing resources between service consumers in order to deliver those services efficiently under dynamic and unpredictable environmental conditions. Managing such systems using human-in-the-loop decision making methods at runtime is neither efficient nor cost-effective. As a result, runtime performance management tasks need to be automated. Closed-loop approaches based on control engineering methodologies have been widely investigated, as a way to achieve relative and absolute performance management objectives at runtime, while sharing a limited amount of resources. These approaches are based on linear modelling and control methods. However, linear approaches neglect the prominent nonlinear dynamics of the relative and absolute performance management systems and provide effective control only in a limited operating range. In this thesis, we classify the nonlinearities that exist in the relative and absolute performance management schemes. We then introduce two novel nonlinear feedback control methods to reduce the runtime impact of nonlinearities on the control system. In the first approach, compensators are integrated into the control system to reduce the impact of nonlinearities. In particular, a Hammerstein-Wiener block-oriented model is used for relative performance management while a MIMOWiener model is used for absolute performance management. In the second approach, we represent the dynamics of the nonlinear system with multiple linear models. Multiple models and multiple linear controllers are implemented together with a switching scheme, to select the most suitable controller to provide control under the current operating conditions. In addition, we present a class library of control components, to facilitate the implementation of complex control systems for software systems. The evaluations conducted using simulation studies and experimental real-world case studies indicate that the proposed nonlinear approaches can significantly improve the performance and resource management capabilities compared to other state-of-the-art
Regulatory role of membrane-bound peptidases in the progression of gynecologic malignancies

Abstract Membrane-bound peptidases play a key role in the control of growth, differentiation, and signal transduction of many cellular systems by degrading bioactive peptides. Thus, abnormal changes in their expression pattern and catalytic function result in altered peptide activation, which contributes to neoplastic transformation or progression. In this review, we describe our recent findings along with work from other groups on the expression and biological functions of membrane-bound peptidases in cancer, focusing on the regulatory roles of three peptidases, aminopeptidase A (APA), neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and placental leucine aminopeptidase (P-LAP), in the progression of gynecologic malignancies. APA, NEP and P-LAP are differentially expressed and localized in various gynecologic malignancies including cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and choriocarcinoma in a tumor-type specific pattern. The expression levels are up- or down-regulated depending on histological grade or disease progression. These peptidases play regulatory roles in tumor cell proliferation, invasion or angiogenesis via degradation/inactivation of target peptides such as angiotensin II, endothelin-1 and oxytocin, which act on cancer cells as stimulatory or inhibitory factors. Thus, membrane-bound peptidases may become not only a new diagnostic/prognostic marker, but also a novel molecular target for the treatment of gynecologic malignancies.
Improving practice as a head-teacher through living theory research and communicating meanings of embodied values

As a Head-teacher of a state funded English primary school I have a duty to implement government policy, and a personal and professional commitment to providing children with the best possible educational experience. There are times I, like many other educators nationally and internationally, experience tensions between these two drivers when my values are contradicted. This paper offers my living-theory (Whitehead, 1989), a description and values-based explanation of how I am working to resolve these contradictions and the educational influence I am having in my own learning, the learning of staff and children, and the learning of my school.
The Estimation of Quality-adjusted Rates of Return in Stamp Auctions

The stamp auction market exemplifies markets in which a dominant feature is the quality variation in the traded assets. The observed price changes are a mixture of the "true" price change and the quality variation. This paper applies the time series signal extraction method to obtain estimates of quality-adjusted rates of return and qualityadjusted price indexes for stamp auction price series. The method is applicable to other areas in which there is quality variation or in which values are observed with error. Some features of stamps as an investment are also examined. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN FINANCE during the last 20 years has greatly increased our understanding of risk and returns for members of the important class of capital assets that are regularly and frequently traded on organized exchanges. This class includes assets such as stocks, bonds, bills, commodity futures, and currencies. However, for assets not so traded, such as urban and agricultural land, houses, paintings, and other consumer durables, our knowledge is comparatively meager. In part, this difference in knowledge is due to the amount of data that are available. Price and quantity data that are available for infrequently traded assets are not easily analyzed by standard or well-known techniques, because repeated observations of prices over time are not generally available for the same asset (or a perfect substitute for it). The best that can usually be done is to construct a series from any "similar" items that happen to come to market during the period. The price changes that are observed will be a "mixture" of the "true" price change and the effect of quality variation. The purpose of this paper is to estimate "quality-adjusted" rates of return in the stamp auction market in which quality variation among the items offered for sale is a dominant feature. The need to quality-adjust return data is particularly important for nonfinancial assets. However, it is also of use in financial return series which may be observed with error. For example, Weinstein [27], who examined returns on newly issued corporate bonds, was forced to use returns on portfolios of bonds with the same ratings because new bond issues are not available each period from a given corporation. The changing membership of the
Increased Muscle Glucose Uptake After Exercise: No Need for Insulin During Exercise

It has recently been shown that insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscle glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis is increased after a single exercise session. The present study was designed to determine whether insulin is necessary during exercise for development of these changes found after exercise. Diabetic rats and controls ran on a treadmill and their isolated hindquarters were subsequently perfused at insulin concentrations of 0, 100, and 20,000 μU/ml. Exercise increased insulin sensitivity of glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis equally in diabetic and control rats, but insulin responsiveness of glucose uptake was noted only in controls. Analysis of intracellular glucose-6-phosphate, glucose, glycogen synthesis, and glucose transport suggested that the exercise effect on responsiveness might be due to enhancement of glucose disposal. After electrical stimulation of diabetic hindquarters in the presence of insulin antiserum, insulin sensitivity of 3-O-methylglucose transport was increased to the same extent as in muscle from healthy rats stimulated in the presence of insulin at 50 μU/ml. Furthermore, in muscle depleted of glycogen by contractions, transport of 3-O-methylglucose was increased in the presence of insulin antiserum and in the absence of increased regional perfusate flow. It is concluded that after exercise, increased sensitivity of muscle glucose metabolism to insulin can be found in the absence of insulin during exercise, but still involves increased membrane transport of glucose. At maximal insulin concentrations, the enhancing effect of exercise on glucose uptake may involve enhancement of glucose disposal, an effect that is probably less in muscle from diabetic rats. Finally, after exercise, increased glucose transport in glycogen-depleted muscle does not require increased muscle blood flow and, therefore, involves increased membrane permeability for glucose. The presence of insulin is not necessary for this effect of exercise.
Why Do People Purchase Nature-Based Tourism Activity Products? A Norwegian Case Study of Outdoor Recreation

This paper addresses the need for a better understanding of why people purchase nature-based tourism activity products as a basis for management decisions. In order to satisfy the tourist's needs, wants and goals, businesses must first understand the tourist's motivations for purchasing such products. A factor-cluster segmentation approach was employed for a survey among members from two of Norway's largest nongovernmental outdoor recreation organisations. Four motivation factors: quality improvement, skill development, new activity and social, and five segments: Want-it-all, Try new activity, Social, Performer and Unexplained were identified. These segments differed in terms of their purchase motivation, socio-demographic characteristics and travelling behaviour. Understanding the differences in these segments will help managers of nature-based tourism businesses to target more profitable segments, develop products that better satisfy the needs in targeted segments, and to develop better market communication.
The Electricity Supply Industry: A Study of an Industry in Transition

In 1989 the UK began a process of transferring an almost wholly state-owned electricity supply industry (ESI) into a collection of privately-owned generation, transmission and distribution utilities. Using data from 1960–97, this paper aims to evaluate how the performance of the UK ESI has changed over time and to compare the UK performance with France, Germany and the United States in order to assess the impact of the liberalisation process. The study takes a whole-industry approach, combining the four aspects of electricity production — generation, transmission, distribution and supply. The computation of labour and total factor productivity and the impact on consumer prices are used to shed light on how successful the various industry structures have been in raising performance.
A method for measuring total value towards designing goods and services

It has not been enough to include “quality dimensions” into a product or a service and expect the outcome to be world‐class. Total value signifies a set of multidimensional measures towards realizing a competitive product (goods or services) that the customers would like and are willing to pay a premium price for. A “quality dimensions” set is one of its (total value) multidimensional measures. Such multidimensional value considerations would be vital for a company in maintaining a competitive edge in today’s global and rapidly changing marketplace. The first question is why a “quality dimensions” set has not been enough? The second question is what are those multidimensional sets of measures that make‐up this total value content? The last question is how to determine a cumulative total value‐index that accounts for these sets of measures so that an organization could use this total value‐index to optimize its product realization process and thereby control its (an organization’s) degree of competitiveness. The paper attempts to answer these questions.
Prdm1a is necessary for posterior pharyngeal arch development in zebrafish

Multiple tissue interactions and signaling within the pharyngeal arches are required for development of the craniofacial skeleton. Here, we focus on the role of the transcription factor prdm1a in the differentiation of the posterior skeleton. prdm1a is expressed in the presumptive pharyngeal arch region and later in an endodermal pouch, the otic vesicle, and pharyngeal teeth. prdm1a mutants display a reduction in pharyngeal arch markers, a loss of posterior ceratobranchial cartilages, and a reduction in most neural crest–derived dermal bones. This is likely caused by a decrease in the number of proliferating cells but not an increase in cell death. Finally, a reduction in two key developmental signaling pathways, Fgf and retinoic acid, alters prdm1a expression, suggesting that prdm1a expression is mediated by these signaling pathways to pattern the posterior craniofacial skeleton. Together, these results indicate an essential role for prdm1a in the development of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton. Developmental Dynamics 238:2575–2587, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sample preconcentration by field amplification stacking for microchip‐based capillary electrophoresis

A microchip structure for field amplification stacking (FAS) was developed, which allowed the formation of comparatively long, volumetrically defined sample plugs with a minimal electrophoretic bias. Up to 20‐fold signal gains were achieved by injection and separation of 400 μm long plugs in a 7.5 cm long channel. We studied fluidic effects arising when solutions with mismatched ionic strengths are electrokinetically handled on microchips. In particular, the generation of pressure‐driven Poiseuille flow effects in the capillary system due to different electroosmotic flow velocities in adjacent solution zones could clearly be observed by video imaging. The formation of a sample plug, stacking of the analyte and subsequent release into the separation column showed that careful control of electric fields in the side channels of the injection element is essential. To further improve the signal gain, a new chip layout was developed for full‐column stacking with subsequent sample matrix removal by polarity switching. The design features a coupled‐column structure with separate stacking and capillary electrophoresis (CE) channels, showing signal enhancements of up to 65‐fold for a 69 mm long stacking channel.
The influence of a decision support tool on real estate valuations

An appraisal task involves the rendering of market value, an unobservable and hypothetical construct. Direct feedback against this objective is typically not possible, so alternative feedback such as confirmation of previous appraised values may be employed. This may alter the appraiser’s perception of the valuation objective leading to divergence from the appraisal normative model. The real estate literature suggests appraisers have been susceptible to the influence of previous appraised values, often resulting in biased valuations. This research focuses on the efficacy of a decision support tool in eliminating or subduing this bias in the appraisal process.
Market Dreams: Gender, Class, and Capitalism in the Czech Republic

How have women experienced the transition from socialism to market economy in Eastern Europe? Drawing upon a rich collection of data from focus groups, interviews and textual sources, "Market Dreams" conveys the experiences of female managers and factory workers in the Czech Republic as the country moved from socialism to a market democracy. A clear and compelling account, rooted in rigorous sociological research and comparative feminism, Ellen Weiner's book represents a significant advance for the literatures on transition, and on women in Eastern Europe.
The "Time" Dilemma The Lived Experiences of Educators During Profound Educational Reform

Educators require many kinds of time and they often experience and construct meanings of time differently. Yet existing structures and administrative assumptions frequently limit the meanings of time to notions of time as a commodity or regulator. The rhythms of schools and teachers are often interlocked. In a season of pronounced educational reform it may be necessary to review the nature of time, including how it is organized and expressed. Increasingly the pressure to do more with less, and more quickly, affect how we feel, think and behave. Conflicting views about how to respond to these changes may result in organizational disharmony often with worrying implications. When, for example, do expectations for teachers to act more professionally by government and educational administrators become exploitation? Time to plan and practise, time for curriculum development, time to turn policy into practice, time to teach mandated curriculum expectations, time to assess and report learning, time to support extra-curricular activities, time to share successful practices, time to communicate with parents, time to sell reform, and time for vigilance about the primary purposes of education are concerns commonly encountered by teachers. This study is concerned with issues related to time in intensely political circumstances when the development of policy and the implementation of that policy are shaped by time constraints. In particular, the research examines the way that time as subjective experience is or is not phenomenologically different for educators positioned differently within the schooling system, and therefore is related to the process of changing time in the workplace. The stories of teachers and educational administrators are used to study the meaning of time in everyday reality to show the pervasive way that time influences actions. The focus of the research is on time issues related to intensification, compression of time, increased curriculum expectations, school renewal, short implementation time lines, reduced planning time, continuous change, lack of professional development time, fewer resources, increased testing and accountability, and so on. There are as many times as there are spheres of reality, and in each sphere several times can enter into competition. (Gurvitch, 1971, p. 24) I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not move quickly enough. (Albom, 1997, p. 15) The time of the year, e.g., close to holidays, crummy weather, etc. seems to contribute to misbehaviour. (Teacher) It takes a great deal of time to embrace change and new innovations such as the new standard report card and studentled conferences. (Teacher) Everything is wanted yesterday. There seems to be an unwarranted rush to have everything changed at the same time and quickly. (Administrator)
Design and evaluation of a P2MP MPLS-based hierarchical service management system

This paper proposes a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) based hierarchical service management system. Traditionally, general management systems deployed in some service providers control MPLS label switched paths (LSPs) (e.g. RSVP-TE, LDP) and services (e.g. L2VPN, L3VPN and IP) separately. In order for the dedicated management systems for MPLS LSPs and services to cooperate with each other automatically, a hierarchical service management system has been proposed with the main focus on point-to-point (P2P) TE LSPs in MPLS path management. In the case where P2MP TE LSPs and services are deployed in MPLS networks, the dedicated management systems for P2MP TE LSPs and services must work together automatically. Therefore, this paper proposes a new automatic correlation between P2MP TE LSPs and each service. In particular, this paper proposes a new algorithm for a correlation between P2MP TE LSPs and multicast VPN services. The capacity and performance searching on both a sub-LSP and correlation tables are evaluated, and the results show this system is very scalable within real MPLS production networks. This system, with automatic correlation, appears to be deployable in real MPLS production networks.
NGOs in peace-keeping operations: Their role in Mozambique

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) now play a prominent role in UN peace-keeping operations, mainly in the areas of humanitarian relief, demobilization and resettlement, support for elections, and mine-clearance. This reflects the preference of major donors to use NGO channels for their own aid. This article examines the challenges this expansion poses both to the agencies involved and to the government of the country in question, with particular reference to the 1992-1995 peace-keeping process in Mozambique. The author describes the many practical difficulties facing NGOs in a politically charged post-war environment, and concludes that there is a need for a sharper definition of appropriate roles and minimum operational standards if NGOs are to implement such programmes in ways that neither compromise their integrity nor jeopardize the longer-term reconstruction process.
Coloured oil droplets enhance colour discrimination

The eyes of most diurnal reptiles and birds contain coloured retinal filters—oil droplets. Although these filters are widespread, their adaptive advantage remains uncertain. To understand why coloured oil droplets appeared and were retained during evolution, I consider both the benefits and the costs of light filtering in the retina. Oil droplets decrease cone quantum catch and reduce the overlap in sensitivity between spectrally adjacent cones. The reduction of spectral overlap increases the volume occupied by object colours in a cone space, whereas the decrease in quantum catch increases noise, and thus reduces the discriminability of similar colours. The trade–off between these two effects determines the total benefit of oil droplets. Calculations show that coloured oil droplets increase the number of object colours that can be discriminated, and thus are beneficial for colour vision.