Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICT Integration Efforts in Higher Education in Developing Economies: The Case of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

A situational modified version of Tearleâ€™s model (2004) is utilized in this study to understand the integration of ICTs in the educational process. The study evaluated self efficacy beliefs, institutional support and policy in the context of developing economies where challenges of inadequate resources and insufficient skills persist. We assess the state of affairs, and the challenges faced by teachers and management at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. The results show that educators are generally appreciative of ICTs role in the teaching/learning process.
Stability analysis of linear time-invariant systems with controller failures

We consider a controller failure time analysis problem for linear time-invariant feedback control systems consisting of an unstable system and a stabilizing state feedback controller. Both continuous-time and discrete-time systems are considered. By using a piecewise Lya-punov function, we show that if the unavailability rate of the controller is smaller than a specified constant and the average time interval between controller failures is large enough, then global exponential stability of the system is guaranteed.
Wine Markets in China: Assessing the Potential with Supermarket Survey Data*

Abstract The emergence of grape wine as a mainstream alcoholic beverage in China is relatively new. However, rapidly increasing wine consumption in China provides a significant trade potential for the United States and other wine exporting countries. This paper investigates the Chinese wine market using retailer data with a focus on imported wines. Supermarkets are identified as major retail outlets for foreign wines, and this paper uses data from a recent supermarket wine survey in China. Our data indicate that about half of our sample stock foreign wines. On average, 21 percent of total wine shelf space is allocated to foreign wines and larger stores are associated with larger shares of shelf space for foreign wines. Among foreign wines, French wine dominates. Of 31 supermarkets that sell foreign wines, 26 stores carry French wine, and in all but two of these stores more than half of the foreign wine shelf space is devoted to French wine. Australia, Chile, Italy and the United States follow in terms of number of stores carrying wines. Supermarkets in our sample allocate most of their shelf space to red wine for both domestic (93%) and foreign (82%) wines. The average median price for foreign wines (94 yuans per bottle) was more than double the equivalent price for domestic wines (42 yuans). (JEL Classification: N55, Q13, Q19)
genetic analysis Association of Common JAK 2 Variants With Body Fat , Insulin Sensitivity and Lipid Profile

The leptin signal is transduced via the JAK2-STAT3 (Janus kinase 2-signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) pathway at the leptin receptor. JAK2 also phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate, integral to insulin and leptin action and is required for optimum adenosine triphosphate–binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1)-dependent transport of lipids from cells to apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-I). We hypothesized that common variation in the JAK2 gene may be associated with body fat, insulin sensitivity, and modulation of the serum lipid profile in the general population. Ten tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the gene were genotyped in 2,760 white female twin subjects (mean age 47.3 ± 12.6 years) from the St Thomas’ UK Adult Twin Registry. Minor allele frequencies were between 0.170 and 0.464. The major allele of rs7849191 was associated with higher central fat (P = 0.030), percentage of central fat (P = 0.014) and waist circumference (P = 0.027) the major allele of rs3780378 with higher serum apoA (P = 0.026), total cholesterol (P = 0.014), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.012) and lower triglyceride (P = 0.023). However, no associations were significant at a level which took account of multiple testing. Although JAK2 is a critical element in leptin and insulin signaling and has a role in cellular cholesterol transport, we failed to establish associations of common SNPs with relevant phenotypes in this human study.
Session Configuration and Network Design in Programmable Networks

This proposal addresses two problems in programmable networks. Speci cally, we are interested in networks that can dynamically deploy applications and session-speci c plugins within network routers, to provide advanced communication services. In the rst half of the proposal, we present a general approach to the problem of conguring application sessions that require intermediate processing in programmable networks. In the second half, we discuss how to provision a programmable network for such sessions by placing and dimensioning link bandwidth and processing resources in an eÆcient way. Session Con guration and Network Design in Programmable Networks 1
On the localization of the gravitational energy

Using a formalism introduced by Feynman, Deser, Grishchuk, Petrov and Popova, the pseudotensors, such as de.ned by Einstein, Tolman, Landau/Lifshitz and Moller, are expessed as gauge dependent tensors in a background space, as the gravitational energy-momentum tensor of Deser, Grishchuk, Petrov and Popova. Using a result obtained by Virbhadra for the energy density in the Reissner-Nordstrom spacetime, it is shown that the action of these gauge transformations on the above tensorial expressions is the same as the action of the coordinate transformations on the equivalent pseudotensorial expressions, meaning that these tensors can be set to zero at a point by a suitable choice of gauge transformation.
Emotional intelligence: enhancing value-based practice and compassionate care in nursing

Commentary on: Rankin B. Emotional intelligence: enhancing values-based practice and compassionate care in nursing. J Adv Nurs 2013;69:2717–25. [OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Nursing school admission officers and educators alike have expressed growing interest in criteria for admission to nursing school beyond those traditionally used (standardised testing scores and previous academic achievement). This interest has grown in a care climate where a greater need for human-centred caring (the patient's experience … [1]: {openurl}? query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BAdv%2BNurs%26rft.volume%253D69%26rft.spage%253D2717%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1111%252Fjan.12161%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23621353%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref? access_num=10.1111/jan.12161&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref? access_num=23621353&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febnurs%2F18%2F1%2F8.atom
Governing for Enterprise Security

Abstract : Governing for enterprise security means viewing adequate security as a non-negotiable requirement of being in business. If an organization's management -- including boards of directors, senior executives, and all managers -- does not establish and reinforce the business need for effective enterprise security, the organization's desired state of security will not be articulated, achieved, or sustained. To achieve a sustainable capability, organizations must make enterprise security the responsibility of leaders at a governance level, not of other organizational roles that lack the authority, accountability, and resources to act and enforce compliance. This technical report examines governance thinking, principles, and approaches and applies them to the subject of enterprise security. Its primary intent is to increase awareness and understanding of the issues, opportunities, and possible approaches related to treating security as a governance concern. In addition, this report identifies resources for enterprise security that leaders can use both within their organizations and with their networked partners, suppliers, and customers.
The role of the basolateral amygdala in stimulus–reward memory and extinction memory consolidation and in subsequent conditioned cued reinstatement of cocaine seeking

The consolidation of cue–cocaine associations and extinction learning (i.e. cue–no cocaine associations) into long‐term memory probably regulates the long‐lasting control of conditioned stimuli (CS) over cocaine‐seeking behaviour, and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) may play a role in this phenomenon. To test this hypothesis, rats previously trained to self‐administer cocaine underwent a single classical conditioning (CC) session, during which they received passive pairings of cocaine infusions and a novel light + tone stimulus complex. After additional self‐administration sessions in the absence of CS presentation and subsequent extinction training sessions, the ability of the CS to reinstate cocaine‐seeking on five test days was assessed. Rats received intra‐BLA microinfusions of vehicle or the Na+‐channel blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX) immediately after CC (consolidation of CS–cocaine associations) or immediately after reinstatement testing (consolidation of extinction learning). TTX administered immediately after CC attenuated subsequent CS‐induced reinstatement. In contrast, TTX administered after the first reinstatement test impaired the extinction of cocaine‐seeking behaviour during a second reinstatement test by disrupting extinction memory. Overall, these findings suggest that Na+ channel‐mediated mechanisms within the BLA mediate the consolidation of both cocaine–stimulus association and extinction learning, two processes that have opposite effects on subsequent cue‐induced cocaine‐seeking behaviour.
A Price Expectations Model of Customer Brand Choice

The authors develop, calibrate, and test a disaggregate model of customer brand choice with customers’ price expectations as the mediating construct. They use a two-stage modeling procedure. The first stage is the determination of how expected prices are formed. In the second stage, brand choice is assumed to depend on the brand's retail price and whether or not that price compares favorably with the brand's expected price. The authors also test the hypothesis of symmetry in customer response to positive deviations (“losses”) and negative deviations (“gains”) of the retail price from the expected price. Analysis of scanner-panel data in the coffee market reveals that the brand choice model in which customers are assumed to respond to retail prices by comparing them with the corresponding expected prices provides a significantly better fit than a traditional brand choice model. Consistent with prospect theory, customers are found to react more strongly to price losses than to price gains. Results from the calibration of the expected price model indicate that expected price is not only dependent on past prices, but is also affected by the frequency with which a brand is promoted, economic conditions, customer characteristics, and the type of store shopped.
The effect of multiknowledge individuals on performance in cross-functional new product development teams

This study examines the effect of multiknowledge individuals (especially those possessing both marketing and technological knowledge) on performance in cross-functional new product development teams. A survey of 62 cross-functional teams shows that the proportion of multiknowledge individuals has an indirect positive effect through information sharing on product innovativeness and a direct positive effect on time efficiency of new product development teams.
Effective organisational control for sourcing risk: from the perspective of small companies in China

This paper aims to examine sourcing risk management issues faced by foreign invested small companies (FISCs) that operate in China. Using a case study approach, this paper investigates the relationship between perceived sourcing risk and organisational control. The research findings show that foreign invested small companies operating in China exercise different types of organisational control to mitigate different sourcing risks. We also suggest managerial insights on effective sourcing in China.
Testing Atmospheric Oxidation in an Alabama Forest

The chemical species emitted by forests create complex atmospheric oxidation chemistry and influence global atmospheric oxidation capacity and climate. The Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) provided an opportunity to test the oxidation chemistry in a forest where isoprene is the dominant biogenic volatile organic compound. Hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperoxyl (HO_2) radicals were two of the hundreds of atmospheric chemical species measured, as was OH reactivity (the inverse of the OH lifetime). OH was measured by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and by taking the difference in signals without and with an OH scavenger that was added just outside the instrument’s pinhole inlet. To test whether the chemistry at SOAS can be simulated by current model mechanisms, OH and HO_2 were evaluated with a box model using two chemical mechanisms: Master Chemical Mechanism, version 3.2 (MCMv3.2), augmented with explicit isoprene chemistry and MCMv3.3. 1. Measured and modeled OH peak at about 10^6 cm^(−3) and agree well within combined uncertainties. Measured and modeled HO_2 peak at about 27 pptv and also agree well within combined uncertainties. Median OH reactivity cycled between about 11 s^(−1) at dawn and about 26 s^(−1) during midafternoon. A good test of the oxidation chemistry is the balance between OH production and loss rates using measurements; this balance was observed to within uncertainties. These SOAS results provide strong evidence that the current isoprene mechanisms are consistent with measured OH and HO_2 and, thus, capture significant aspects of the atmospheric oxidation chemistry in this isoprene-rich forest.
Inhibition of Comt with tolcapone slows progression of polycystic kidney disease in the more severely affected PKD/Mhm (cy/+) substrain of the Hannover Sprague-Dawley rat.

BACKGROUND Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common human inherited diseases. Modifier genes seem to modulate the disease progression and might therefore be promising drug targets. Although a number of modifier loci have been already identified, no modifier gene has been proven to be a real modifier yet. METHODS Gene expression profiling of two substrains of the Han:SPRD rat, namely PKD/Mhm and PKD/US, both harboring the same mutation, was conducted in 36-day-old animals. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (Comt) was identified as a potential modifier gene. A 3-month treatment with tolcapone, a selective inhibitor of Comt, was carried out in PKD/Mhm and PKD/US (cy/+) animals. RESULTS Comt is localized within a known modifier locus of PKD (MOP2). The enzyme encoding gene was found upregulated in the more severely affected PKD/Mhm substrain and was hence presumed to be a putative modifier gene of PKD. The treatment with tolcapone markedly attenuated the loss of renal function, inhibited renal enlargement, shifted the size distribution of renal cysts and retarded cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation and fibrosis development in affected (cy/+) male and female PKD/Mhm and PKD/US rats. CONCLUSIONS Comt has been confirmed to be the first reported modifier gene for PKD and tolcapone offers a promising drug for treating PKD.
HRD policy implementation in Malaysian public universities - an investigation of the relationship between organisational factors and implementation.

There have been major developments in the way organisations are dealing with the changing patterns and increased speed of the workplace. Organisations public and private have to currently wrestle with the need to improve their human capital and to answer the requirements for a highly skilled workforce to address the challenges they are facing in a more dynamic and globalise work environment. The workplace has now been re-orientated to be one of the best and most effective venues for learning. This discovery has prompted the Malaysian government to put added emphasis on developing first class mentality in the human capital in the country. These requirements and the cry for improvements in implementation activities in the public sector have compelled the government to improve competencies of public personnel and service delivery within their workforce. The concern of the population is for a transformation in the implementation system that is currently perceived to be bureaucratic and slow to change with the times. The government’s seriousness in addressing these issues is visible when the Prime Minister set up a body with the sole responsibility of looking into ways to improve implementation and service delivery in the nation. Public policies, procedures, guidelines are the public sector’s mantra towards efficiency. However, without sound implementation, policies and programs will be an utter waste of time and resources. It is on this note that this study has taken place. The objective of this study is to investigate organisational factors influencing policy implementation with special focus on HRD policy within the Malaysian public universities. Factors included in this study are departmental communications, characteristics of implementing departments and dispositions of implementers. This study will also highlight findings pertaining to the relationships between organisational factors and implementation in public universities.
Intrathecal morphine combined with intravenous patient‐controlled analgesia is an effective and safe method for immediate postoperative pain control in live liver donors

The healthy condition of living donors makes their tolerance to pain particularly low, and clinicians are often challenged to come up with an analgesic technique that is effective yet ensures donor safety. This study compared, in donor right hepatectomy, the efficacy and safety of preoperative intrathecal morphine (ITM) combined with intravenous patient‐controlled analgesia (IV‐PCA) with IV‐PCA alone. Forty adult patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups: ITM+IV‐PCA group (n = 20) and IV‐PCA‐only group (n = 20). Patients in the ITM+IV‐PCA group received morphine sulfate (400 μg). The visual analog scale (VAS) at rest and when coughing and supplementary meperidine and IV‐PCA (fentanyl) consumption were assessed at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48 56, 64, and 72 hours after surgery. Also, side effects such as sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and respiratory depression were evaluated. The ITM+IV‐PCA group showed significantly less pain at rest and when coughing for up to 30 hours and 24 hours, respectively. Cumulative postoperative consumption of meperidine and IV‐PCA (fentanyl) were significantly less in the ITM+IV‐PCA group. The incidence of side effects were comparable between the 2 groups except for pruritus; its incidence was significantly higher in the ITM+IV‐PCA group during the first 24 hours, but no treatment was required due to its mild severity. The results of our study suggest that preoperative ITM combined with IV‐PCA may be considered as an effective and safe pain management regimen in living liver donors who have characteristics of low tolerance to pain and postoperative coagulation derangement. Liver Transpl 15:381–389, 2009. © 2009 AASLD.
Two Circadian Timing Circuits in Neurospora crassa Cells Share Components and Regulate Distinct Rhythmic Processes

In Neurospora crassa, FRQ, WC-1, and WC-2 proteins comprise the core circadian FRQ-based oscillator that is directly responsive to light and drives daily rhythms in spore development and gene expression. However, physiological and biochemical studies have demonstrated the existence of additional oscillators in the cell that function in the absence of FRQ (collectively termed FRQ-less oscillators [FLOs]). Whether or not these represent temperature-compensated, entrainable circadian oscillators is not known. The authors previously identified an evening-peaking gene, W06H2 (now called clock-controlled gene 16 [ccg-16]), which is expressed with a robust daily rhythm in cells that lack FRQ protein, suggesting that ccg-16 is regulated by a FLO. In this study, the authors provide evidence that the FLO driving ccg-16 rhythmicity is a circadian oscillator. They find that ccg-16 rhythms are generated by a temperature-responsive, temperature-compensated circadian FLO that, similar to the FRQ-based oscillator, requires functional WC-1 and WC-2 proteins for activity. They also find that FRQ is not essential for rhythmic WC-1 protein levels, raising the possibility that this WCFLO is involved in the generation of WC-1 rhythms. The results are consistent with the presence of 2 circadian oscillators within Neurospora cells, which the authors speculate may interact with each other through the shared WC proteins.
The technology innovation evolution of optical component industry in Taiwan

The study is a longitudinal and qualitative case study of a single industry. An emphasis on the importance of technology innovation process can be extended to the relative explanations in the theories of the competitive advantage sources that companies create. Through an exploration on optical component industry, the study discloses and suggests that during the process of establishment and growth, business organizations must consider how to build, execute and examine an effective innovation method in order to adjust strategic establishment activities, including opportunities identification-positioning of market and technology-resources allocation-developments of market and technology opportunities, etc., thus creating competitive advantages and values.
Dynamic and Competitive Effects of Direct Mailings: A Charitable Giving Application

The authors propose a dynamic direct mailing response model with competitive effects. Purchase and promotion history are incorporated to map the dynamic competitive interactions among the firms sending the mailings. The authors investigate the impact of direct mailings on the revenues of each firm and its competitors over time. The model accounts for endogeneity of the mailing decision and for unobserved heterogeneity across households. The model is considered in a charitable giving setting, in which households often receive many direct mailings of different charities within a short period and competition is strong. The authors construct a unique database by merging the databases of three large charity organizations in the Netherlands. This results in household-level data on the direct mailings households received from and their donations to each of the three charities. The results show that a charity's own mailings are short-term substitutes; that is, an extra mailing cannibalizes the revenues of subsequent mailings. Furthermore, competitive charitable direct mailings tend to be short-term complements; that is, the direct mailings increase the total pie that is divided among the charities. In the long run, these effects die out. The results are also interpreted from a behavioral perspective.