Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mediating Role of Quality Leadership in Lean Practices and GLCs Performance

Lean practices are expected to eliminate wastes and consequently increase the bottom line profit of an organization. The benefits not only go to the organization, but also to the customers as well. The government-linked companies (GLCs) are always known for their big-sized establishment. Hence, managing the resources of the GLCs is very challenging. Therefore, investigating the leanness of Malaysian GLCs, and how lean practices affect the organizational performance are important. This paper would examine the relationship of lean and performance of the GLCs in Malaysia. A total of 281 managers in the GLCs were surveyed. The direct relationship and mediation effects were analysed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) structural equation modelling. The findings showed that the level of leanness was relatively high among the GLCs, while the lean management practice was significantly related to the organizational performance. The quality leadership partially mediates the relationship between lean practices and organizational performance. The findings suggest that lean practices are critical for the GLCs performance, while quality leadership is significant in order these companies to have better performance. The findings can also be applied to other organizations as well.
Errors in estimating propagation distances in pulse wave velocity.

To the Editor: Recent correspondence1,2 over the report by Lantelme et al3 exposes a more serious problem with the use of the automated pulse wave velocity (PWV) measuring instrument (Complior®). The aortic PWV reported by Lantelme et al (∼14 m/s) was approximately 50% higher than the aortic PWVs obtained by others for similarly aged human subjects, 8.7 m/s.4 In fact, a literature search revealed that other investigators using this instrument have also measured unreasonably high aortic PWVs.5–7 It appears the problem lies with the error in estimation of the propagation distance of the traveling pulse. The manufacturer recommends the use of the absolute distance between the 2 transducers as the propagation distance.8 This approach is not only inconsistent with published data but also introduces a body size bias into the PWV measurements. Using the …
Location aware mobility assisted services for heterogeneous wireless technologies

Mobile user tracking and seamless service continuity in heterogeneous network environments represent an issue, especially when users move from outdoor to indoor environments, and vice versa. Mobile terminals with these properties allow providers to enable new services. In this paper, a location aware mobility-assisted technique for both indoor and outdoor environments is presented. The technique provides local positioning service and non-homogeneous connectivity management for UMTS, IEEE 802.11, and GPS networks.
The changing face of Australian financial planning : the role of relationships : a case study

The paper uses an Australian case study to investigate the changing face of the financial planning arena. It provides an introduction to the establishment of the financial planning industry in Australia. In particular it focuses on the way financial planners have been required to develop relationships with clients as part of the emergence of a financial planning profession. It additionally examines the evolving process by which financial planners have been required to develop further relationships with other professional bodies such as lawyers and accountants in an ever increasingly complex industry. The case study illustrates the emergence of a specialised relationship between the financial planner and experts in a particular area such as taxation law. It highlights how this type of relationship continues to drive the financial planning profession to ensure that the best advice is given to clients. Introduction In the past few years the financial planning industry has undergone many changes. Some of the main reasons for these changes include the following: 1. Increasing complexity of Australian laws surrounding investment and wealth creation opportunities. In particular the taxation system has increased in length and complexity over the past few years with the result that there is a growing need to turn to advisers. Furthermore the increase in
Cloning and sequence analysis of genes encoding xylanases and acetyl xylan esterase from Streptomyces thermoviolaceus OPC-520

Three genes encoding two types of xylanases (STX-I and STX-II) and an acetyl xylan esterase (STX-III) from Streptomyces thermoviolaceus OPC-520 were cloned, and their DNA sequences were determined. The nucleotide sequences showed that genes stx-II and stx-III were clustered on the genome. The stx-I, stx-II, and stx-III genes encoded deduced proteins of 51, 35.2, and 34.3 kDa, respectively. STX-I and STX-II bound to both insoluble xylan and crystalline cellulose (Avicel). Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences encoded by stx-I, stx-II, and stx-III demonstrated that the three enzymes contain two functional domains, a catalytic domain and a substrate-binding domain. The catalytic domains of STX-I and STX-II showed high sequence homology to several xylanases which belong to families F and G, respectively, and that of STX-III showed striking homology with an acetyl xylan esterase from S. lividans, nodulation proteins of Rhizobium sp. , and chitin deacetylase of Mucor rouxii. In the C-terminal region of STX-I, there were three reiterated amino acid sequences starting from C-L-D, and the repeats were homologous to those found in xylanase A from S. lividans, coagulation factor G subunit alpha from the horseshoe crab, Rarobacter faecitabidus protease I, beta-1,3-glucanase from Oerskovia xanthineolytica, and the ricin B chain. However, the repeats did not show sequence similarity to any of the nine known families of cellulose-binding domains (CBDs). On the other hand, STX-II and STX-III contained identical family II CBDs in their C-terminal regions.
Effect of pregnancy on resistance to Listeria monocytogenes and Toxoplasma gondii infections in mice

Studies of the effect of pregnancy on the capacity of mice to resist Listeria monocytogenes and Toxoplasma gondii infection revealed significantly diminished resistance of pregnant mice to infection by both agents as measured by mortality. The development of immunity to listeria was assessed by studying the kinetics of listeria growth in the livers and spleens of virgin and pregnant mice infected intravenously with a sublethal dose of listeria. In both virgin and pregnant mice there was a rise in the number of listeria colony-forming units per organ during the first 3 days after infection. Thereafter, there was a decline in colony-forming units in these organs in virgin mice but a persistence of listeria in spleens and livers of pregnant mice. Paradoxically, during the first 3 days after infection, listeria counts in spleens of virgin mice were significantly higher than those in pregnant mice. Nonspecific resistance to listeria conferred by chronic infection with T. gondii was significantly diminished in pregnant mice when measured by mortality and quantitative cultures of listeria in livers and spleens. These studies demonstrate a remarkably decreased resistance of pregnant mice to two intracellular organisms and a diminished capacity of pregnant mice to develop immunity to listeria. This decrease in resistance may play an important role in congenital transmission of these organisms.
Selective processing of negative emotional information in children and adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

OBJECTIVES Research investigating attentional bias for emotional information using the modified Stroop task in younger anxious populations has produced equivocal results. The present data investigated the replicability in younger participants of the prototypical adult finding of Mathews and MacLeod (1985) with patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). METHOD A sample of 19 child and adolescent patients with GAD and 19 controls completed the modified Stroop paradigm with threat, depression-related, positive and neutral words. RESULTS The data revealed a selective Stroop interference effect for negative emotional information in the GAD patients, relative to the performance of the controls. CONCLUSIONS The results provide evidence of a modified Stroop effect for negative emotional material in children and adolescents with GAD, suggesting that modified Stroop processing in younger generally anxious populations broadly mirrors the profile of results in adults.
Energy-performance optimisation for the dynamic consolidation of virtual machines in cloud computing

Dynamic consolidation of virtual machines (VMs) can reduce energy consumption by switching idle hosts to sleep mode. However, to meet the quality of service of customers, it is necessary to achieve the trade-off between energy and performance. This paper first puts forward a new dynamic threshold adjustment method using the variation coefficient of historical CPU utilisation, actual CPU utilisation and million instructions per second requests by VMs in migration list. Furthermore, it devises a novel VM allocation policy based on the grey correlation degree model, and formulates a conversion model of CPU utilisation for achieving better trade-off between energy consumption and performance. Finally, some experiments are carried out on the CloudSim and the PlanetLab workloads. The experimental results show that the methods proposed in this paper have obvious advantages on the trade-off between energy and performance during the VM consolidation.
The impact of entrepreneurial capital on the performance of youth-owned enterprises in South Africa

II DECLARATION . III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . IV TABLE OF CONTENTS . V LIST OF TABLES . VIII LIST OF FIGURES . IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY . 1 1.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY . 1 1.2. 1 YOUTH . 1 1.2. 2 UNEMPLOYMENT . 2 1.2. 3 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT . 5 1.2. 4 ENTREPRENEURSHIP . 8 1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT . 9 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY . 9 1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS . 10 1.6 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY . 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 13 2.
Candida davenportii sp. nov., a potential soft-drinks spoilage yeast isolated from a wasp.

During a survey of yeast ecology in a soft-drinks production facility, a dead wasp was removed from the sampling tap of an external sugar-syrup storage tank. A yeast isolated from the dead wasp was found to be similar, although not identical, in its physiological characteristics to Candida lactis-condensi and Candida stellata. Sequence analysis of the 26S rDNA D1/D2 variable domain revealed that this isolate was most closely related to C stellata, but differed sufficiently in its D1/D2 sequence to indicate that it belonged to a separate species. The yeast species has been named Candida davenportii sp. nov.; the type strain is NCYC 3013T (= CBS 9069T). C davenportii sp. nov. was osmotolerant, moderately preservative-resistant and able to grow in very acidic conditions, i.e. pH 14. This yeast grew well in fruit-containing soft drinks, cola-type beverages and a synthetic soft drink and is therefore a potential cause of spoilage of soft drinks and other sugary food products. Other related yeast species in the same taxonomic clade as C davenportii sp. nov. are also osmotolerant, growing in < 50% (w/v) sugar. Many of these species are associated with insects, specifically bees, bumblebees and leafcutter bees, and many have been reported as the causative agent of spoilage of sugary foods, such as condensed milk, fruit juices and concentrates. It is proposed that C davenportii sp. nov. and other closely related yeasts are primarily associated with Aculeates (bees and wasps). In turn, bees and wasps are attracted by sugary residues in foods such as fruit juices and concentrates, forming the source of infection of these yeasts and thus instigating spoilage.
Quantitative Research on Country Risk Index of Chinese Overseas Investments

It is vitally important for Chinese overseas enterprises to understand and manage foreign countries? country risks under further and fast developing economic globalization situation. In this paper, through thoroughly investigating Chinese overseas enterprises, foreign country risks are quantified as one single number as the country risk index to forecast the investment risk for Chinese overseas enterprises.
Outcome of duct‐to‐duct vs. Roux‐en‐Y hepaticojejunostomy biliary anastomoses in below 15‐kg pediatric liver transplant recipients

The best type of biliary anastomosis to use in lower weight pediatric liver transplant recipients is debatable. In this study, we share a single center's experience comparing the rate of anastomotic biliary complications based on the type of biliary anastomosis performed in this population of patients. A retrospective review of pediatric liver transplants for recipients weighing <15 kg from 11/2003 till 12/2011 was performed. Patients were grouped based on the type of biliary anastomosis into two groups: duct‐to‐duct (d‐d) and Roux‐en‐Y hepaticojejunostomy (h‐j) anastomoses. A total of 24 patients (12 males, 12 females) with a mean age of 26 ± 20 months and a mean weight of 9.27 ± 2.63 kg (range = 5.3–13.9 kg) were studied. All anastomotic complications occurred in patients who received left lateral segments. No statistical differences were found in the post‐operative biliary (p = 0.86) or vascular (p = 0.99) complications between the two groups. Acknowledging the limited sample size, our data suggest that duct‐to‐duct anastomosis can be performed safely in pediatric liver transplantation recipients weighing below 15 kg.
Distributional semantic models for detection of textual entailment

We present our experiments on integrating and evaluating distributional semantics with the recognising textual entailment task (RTE). We consider entailment as semantic similarity between text and hypothesis coupled with additional heuristic, which can be either selecting the top scoring hypothesis or a pre-defined threshold. We show that a distributional model is particularly good at detecting entailment related to “world knowledge”, and that aligning the hypothesis with the text improves detection of lexical
SELF-SERVICE TECHNOLOGY (SST) SERVICE QUALITY, INTERPERSONAL SERVICE QUALITY, AND RETAIL SUPPORT

The main goal of this study is to examine how two elements of interactive service quality (interpersonal service quality and self-service technology service s. The moderating effects of technology anxiety need for interaction, and age are also prejudicially supported. To increase retail support, it is significant to focus on improving self-service technology service quality as well as interpersonal service quality. The results from this study s.
Genetic structure of reciprocal social behavior.

OBJECTIVE The study examined the genetic structure of deficits in reciprocal social behavior in an epidemiologic sample of male twins. METHOD Parents of 232 pairs of 7-15-year-old male twins completed the Social Reciprocity Scale to provide data on their children's reciprocal social behavior. Scale scores were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. RESULTS Intraclass (twin-twin) correlations for scores on the Social Reciprocity Scale were 0.73 for monozygotic twins (N=98 pairs) and 0.37 for dizygotic twins (N=134 pairs). The best fitting model of causal influences on reciprocal social behavior incorporated additive genetic influences and unique environmental influences. CONCLUSIONS For school-age boys in the general population, reciprocal social behavior is highly heritable, with a genetic structure similar to that reported for autism in clinical samples. Continuous measures of reciprocal social behavior may be useful for characterizing the broader autism phenotype and may enhance the statistical power of genetic studies of autism.
Comparison of Model Reference Adaptive Control and Sliding Mode Control for multi-drug infusion to regulate hemodynaic variables

Cardiac output (CO) and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) are two important measures of the health and function of the cardiovascular system. In normal conditions the cardiovascular system must maintain these hemodynamic variables at desired levels in order for blood to be delivered to all of the organs and tissues, otherwise, which cause lack of adequate perfusion of nurishing blood, heart stroke etc. When this natural control mechanism become insufficient or improper, we need to go for an external medical intervention through drugs. As the manual intervention of drugs are prone to error, an automatic control systems are necessary. In this work, two controllers are designed to regulate CO and MAP using a vasodilator drug Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and an inotropic drug Dopamine (DPM). The first approach is a Model Reference Adaptive Controller (MRAC). This is designed based on Lyapunov stability method which account for plants with uncertain model parameters. The second approach is a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) that account for robustness towards set-point variations and disturbances in the system. These controllers are then evaluated through simulations conducted in MATLAB and the results are compared.
Development of Tenofovir Prodrugs as Rectal Microbicides for HIV Prevention

Receptive anal intercourse is common among men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women, and practiced by women around the world. The risk of becoming infected with HIV through receptive anal intercourse is 20 times greater than vaginal intercourse. Hence, there is an urgent need for the development of rectal specific topical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products. In the current study, our lab developed enemas containing tenofovir (TFV) for rectal application, which may provide some advantages with respect to user acceptability and compliance. In addition to evaluation of TFV in enemas, prodrugs of TFV: tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) and hexadecyloxypropyl (HDP)-tenofovir (CMX157) were evaluated due to their increased potency and better safety profile. In this project, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for TAF was developed and qualified. Preformulation studies for TAF including solubility, hydrolytic, thermal, photolytic, and oxidative stability and preservative compatibility were conducted. TAF was found to be susceptible to hydrolytic degradation in acidic pH (pH≤4) and degraded when exposed in an aqueous solution to temperatures greater than 25°C. TAF hypotonic and isotonic enema formulations (1.76 mg/mL) were developed and characterized with respect to pH, osmolality, and drug content. One-week stability of these enemas was assessed in 40°C/75% RH, 30°C/65% RH and 25°C/60% RH environmental chambers. TAF enemas were stable for one week. In addition to the TAF enema, formulation efforts were initiated with CMX157. A preliminary HPLC method for CMX157 was developed. Prototype CMX157 enemas were prepared and pH and osmolality testing conducted. Additional formulation optimization is required to enhance TAF stability in an enema format. Further investigation of the prototype CMX157 enema developed with respect to its physiochemical characteristics and stability is needed.
In vivo and In vitro Differences in the Charge-injection and Electrochemical Properties of Iridium Oxide Electrodes

The electrochemical response of activated iridium oxide (AIROF) electrodes implanted acutely in the subretinal space of the rabbit is compared with in vitro measurements in model electrolytes. Voltage transients during current pulsing, cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy and open-circuit potential measurements were compared. Subretinal charge injection by constant current pulsing required significantly greater driving voltages due to both higher access resistances (iR) and large electrochemical polarization across the electrode-tissue interface. Differences in the in vivo and in vitro open-circuit potentials were also noted. The data suggest that the buffering capacity in the subretinal space, at least in the acute study, is higher than that in inorganic models of interstitial fluid. Possible origins of these differences in terms of electrode-tissue interactions are discussed
Development of the tourism cluster

Development of cluster structures is a priority for the knowledge and information economy development and an important prerequisite for effective strategic partnership of logistically and geographically related entities of the economic system. The practice of tourism business shows that it is in the conditions of the development of enterprises cluster systems that will be able to form unique competencies, optimally use the resource potential and strategic opportunities, and obtain synergistic and multiplicative economic benefits. Given the situation, tourism clusters development is con- sidered one of the most promising formats of strategic partnership and predetermines the theoretical field of modern scientific research. The need for a constructive rethink- ing of the mechanisms of economic actors’ convergence based on cauterization; definition of preconditions, stages, and processes of formation and development of tourism clusters is an unsolved theoretical and applied problem. The article is devoted to the procedures identification and interpreting the formation of tourism clusters; systematizing the conditions and factors influencing the clasteriza-tion in Ukraine. The work developed recommendations for the successful development of tourism clusters, in particular, the author’s vision of identifying structural and functional components of the tourism cluster; establishing interrelations and relationships between participants; definition of tourist attractiveness of the destination for the development of cluster initiatives; algorithmization of the participant’s entry to the cluster; developing scenarios for the development of tourism clusters in Ukraine. The results of determining the participants’ interaction intensity in the tourism cluster are presented, and the effectiveness of the cluster system development based on a set of economic, social and environmental criteria is evaluated. world tourism in macroeconomic of the
Genetic and epigenetic alterations of the KLF6 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background and Aim: Kruppel‐like factor 6 (KLF6) is a zinc finger tumor suppressor gene that is frequently mutated in several human cancers and is broadly involved in differentiation and development, growth‐related signal transduction, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the potential etiological role of KLF6 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Korea.
An architectural framework for low-power IoT applications

The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting relatively low bandwidth sensing devices to the Internet. Given the IoT computational paradigm, applications that touch every aspect of modern life are now rapidly evolving. In order to keep up with the evolving future, a unified real-time, low-power, low-cost, and reliable IoT framework is needed. This paper proposes such an IoT architectural framework with configurable nodes and multiple sensors that could be utilized in diverse applications. The sensor nodes collect data from the surrounding environment and pass it to the cloud for universal accessibility by the users. The proposed framework can be used for diverse applications and has been verified through hardware implementation for applications such as healthcare, wearables, structural health monitoring, object tracking, and connected vehicles.