Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of baby-friendly hospital practices on breastfeeding in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) developed the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative to improve hospital maternity care practices that support breastfeeding. In Hong Kong, although no hospitals have yet received the Baby-Friendly status, efforts have been made to improve breastfeeding support. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of Baby-Friendly hospital practices on breastfeeding duration. METHODS A sample of 1,242 breastfeeding mother-infant pairs was recruited from four public hospitals in Hong Kong and followed up prospectively for up to 12 months. The primary outcome variable was defined as breastfeeding for 8 weeks or less. Predictor variables included six Baby-Friendly practices: breastfeeding initiation within 1 hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding while in hospital, rooming-in, breastfeeding on demand, no pacifiers or artificial nipples, and information on breastfeeding support groups provided on discharge. RESULTS Only 46.6 percent of women breastfed for more than 8 weeks, and only 4.8 percent of mothers experienced all six Baby-Friendly practices. After controlling for all other Baby-Friendly practices and possible confounding variables, exclusive breastfeeding while in hospital was protective against early breastfeeding cessation (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.42-0.88). Compared with mothers who experienced all six Baby-Friendly practices, those who experienced one or fewer Baby-Friendly practices were almost three times more likely to discontinue breastfeeding (OR: 3.13; 95% CI: 1.41-6.95). CONCLUSIONS Greater exposure to Baby-Friendly practices would substantially increase new mothers' chances of breastfeeding beyond 8 weeks postpartum. To further improve maternity care practices in hospitals, institutional and administrative support are required to ensure all mothers receive adequate breastfeeding support in accordance with WHO guidelines.
How Globalized Really is European Trade

Abstract Using a new set of measures of concentration of trade, I suggest that the opening up of trade to date has been greatly exaggerated. At least judging on the basis of trade concentration, agriculture and service sectors should barely be seen as globalized at all. Contrary to other, recent studies, Europe's main economies lag behind the USA in terms of global openness, and most are behind Japan, Canada and China. The Balkans, Poland and the Czech Republic are near the bottom end of the global openness league table. Since there is a strong correlation between concentration of trade and poor economic performance, this should be of concern to those countries and to the EU.
Factors contributing to patient satisfaction with rehabilitation following stroke

This study charted changes in patient satisfaction with their rehabilitative progress over time, and examined the relative contributions of several factors to satisfaction. Participants were assessed on admission to and discharge from rehabilitation, and six and 12 months after discharge. The study was undertaken in the rehabilitation unit at Repatriation General Hospital, in Adelaide, South Australia. Participants were 60 12-month stroke survivors who had undergone an inpatient rehabilitation programme. Satisfaction with progress in five areas of function was assessed using a five point rating scale. Functional outcome was assessed with the Australian ADL Index (competence and performance), lifestyle activities with the Frenchay Activities Index, knowledge of stroke with the Stroke Care Information Test, depression with the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, family functioning with the McMaster Family Assessment Device, and patients' expectations of rehabilitation by a qualitative assessment. Satisfaction with progress improved with time, particularly for dressing and washing, but for mobility declined after discharge. Satisfaction with progress was consistently influenced by the return to previous lifestyle activities, depression, family functioning, understanding of stroke, and clarity of expectations on admission to rehabilitation. It is important that the concept of successful rehabilitation acknowledges the perspective of the patient.
BRANCH BANKING AND ECONOMIES OF SCALE

WHICH ORGANIZATIONAL FORM, unit or branch, for the banking industry best serves the public welfare? This question has prompted much of the recent research on the organization of the banking industry. This paper focuses on one unresolved aspect of this larger question; namely, which form is most efficient with respect to private costs and benefits. The empirical findings reported here hopefully will complement the recent, excellent research done on the relative ability and desire of branch and unit banks to serve local communities. ' The controversy between unit and branch banking supporters would be simplified if entry into the banking industry was not restricted; then we could say, "let the best bank win. " However, even with free entry and no limitations on the form of organization of banks, it still would not be clear whether the successful banks were those that operated most efficiently or those that were able to maintain oligopolistic market arrangements. Therefore, it is important to determine whether the branch or unit form of bank organization is inherently more efficient. This paper focuses on the costs of banking operations. Excluded from consideration are differences between branch and unit banks that might arise from differences in fund acquiring and fund using opportunities, capital requirements, and ability to get approval from the regulatory agencies to establish new offices. Rather, my inquiry is limited to the costs of processing deposits, loans and securities, of administration, business promotion and occupancy-in short, the costs of operating banks. Differences in operating costs between branch and unit banks may arise from two sources. First, branch banks, per se, may be more or less costly to operate than unit banks of the same size. Second, branch banks may be able to grow larger than unit banks and take advantage of economies that may come from large scale operations. The claims and counter-claims about relative operating efficiencies usually have been supported by descriptive reasoning. For example, opponents of branch banking claim that branch banks have higher operating costs than unit banks that possess the same output because it is costly to coordinate
Effects of phase-locked-loop circuit on a self-commutated BTB system under line faults

A self-commutated BTB (back-to-back) system is an AC-DC-AC power flow controller between two utility grids, and PLL (phase-locked-loop) circuits are typically used for detecting their phase information. The performance of the BTB system during line faults is strongly affected by the dynamic behavior of the PLL circuit in terms of the AC-current fluctuation, the DC-voltage fluctuation, and the DC magnetic flux deviation in the converter-transformers. However, no paper or article has been discussed explicitly on their mutual relationship. The aim of this paper is to establish a design procedure of the PLL circuit which is suitable for the BTB system. This paper also deals with the DC magnetic flux deviation in the converter-transformers under double-line-to-ground (DLG) faults.
Armington Models and Terms-of-Trade Effects: Some Econometric Evidence for North America

Elasticities of substitution among U.S. imports from Mexico, Canada, the rest of the world, and competing domestic production are estimated for twenty-two mining and manufacturing sectors, based on quarterly data for 1980-88. These elasticities will provide a benchmark for computable general equilibrium models of North American trade liberalization. The authors also find that estimated Armington elasticities are low and, therefore, researchers may want to reconsider the device of using high values of Armington elasticities in multicountry computable general equilibrium models to avoid large terms-of-trade losses associated with preferential trade liberalization.
Effects of residents' depression, sleep, and demand for medication on benzodiazepine use in nursing homes.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to identify risk factors associated with the prescription and use of benzodiazepines in nursing homes and to assess the prevalence and determinants of demand for benzodiazepines among nursing home residents. METHODS Data were available for 2,060 residents who had participated in a previous study of use of medications in 18 randomly selected nursing homes in Wisconsin between 1986 and 1989. Data sources included nursing home and pharmacy records; nurses' assessments of residents' behavior, pain, sleep, and demand for medication; and researchers' observations of resident requests for medication. Measures of benzodiazepine use included benzodiazepine prescriptions, prevalence and extent of as-needed drug use, and chronic use as defined by Health Care Financing Administration guidelines. RESULTS A quarter of the residents received prescriptions for benzodiazepines. Of these, 71 percent received prescriptions to aid sleep or to be taken at bedtime; 32 percent used benzodiazepines for a longer period than recommended; and 26 percent requested medication. Logistic regression analysis showed that residents with depression, pain, or sleep problems were more likely to have received benzodiazepines and to have requested medication. Chronic use was significantly higher among residents with depression, sleep problems, or multiple benzodiazepine regimens and among those who requested medication. Demand and sleep problems also were associated with higher rates of any as-needed use and with higher numbers of as-needed doses used. CONCLUSIONS Efforts to improve benzodiazepine use in nursing homes must address the need for better assessment and management of depression, sleep, pain, and residents' demand for these medications.
Impact of Retention Factors on Organizational Commitment in General Education Division of Pakistan

3 Abstract: This study investigates influence of retention factors on organizational commitment among employees working in public schools, colleges and universities of Pakistan. Retention factors used in study are compensationjob characteristics and career development opportunities. Sample of 250 is selected by using random sampling approach. Data has been collected through questionnaires and response rate of questionnaires is 80 percent. Instrument's reliability has been checked with the help of Cronbach alpha. Data has been analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's coefficient of correlation and multiple-regression. Results proven that compensation and job characteristics have significant influence on organizational commitment in general educationdivision of Pakistan whereas career development does not have impact on organizational commitment in general education division of Pakistan. Compensation has higher effect on organizational commitment than job characteristics in general education division of Pakistan.
Brand Western Australia: A totally integrated approach to destination branding

This paper outlines the Western Australian Tourism Commission’s1 (WATC) approach to destination branding. Based on intensive consumer research, Brand Western Australia (Brand WA) resulted in an entire organisational shift and has repositioned Western Australia as a premier nature-based tourism destination in the global market. The cornerstone of the strategy was a partnership between government and industry and this philosophy forms the platform for the future policy direction of the WATC, paving the way for tourism growth in Western Australia. To ensure delivery of the marketing promise, infrastructure development and partnerships with other key government agencies are a fundamental part of the Brand WA strategy. The WATC has adopted a totally integrated and inclusive approach to destination branding tht encompasses marketing and development strategies and, in the process, is crafting a unique identity for Western Australia.
Sex Differences in the Economic Consequences of Separation A Panel Study of the Netherlands

This study examines the economic consequences of separation for men and women in the Netherlands and the sources of the sex differences in the economic consequences. Using panel data from 1984 to 1995, the results show that the economic consequences of separation are more severe for women than for men. Although public and private transfers reduce gender disparities, women still experience a decline of 46 per cent in total household income, whereas men experience a decline of 31 per cent. When the needs of the household are taken into account, the sex difference is larger. Men experience a small increase in adjusted household income, whereas women experience a decrease of 31 per cent. Multivariate analyses show that women do worse than men because they work fewer hours, have a lower level of education, and more often get custody of the children
New Insights into the In Vitro Susceptibility of Pythium insidiosum

ABSTRACT We have determined the in vitro activity of several antibacterial and antifungal drugs against Pythium insidiosum using broth microdilution (BMD), disk diffusion, and Etest methods. The largest zones of inhibition (disk diffusion) and the lowest BMD and Etest MICs were observed for azithromycin, clarithromycin, linezolid, mupirocin, doxycycline, minocycline, and tigecycline. The in vitro activities observed suggest that antibacterials, which act by inhibiting protein synthesis, are promising candidate therapies for the treatment of pythiosis.
The ultraviolet spectra and neurophysiological effects of "veratrine" alkaloids.

The ultraviolet absorption spectra of veratrine, veratridine, cevadine, cevine, veratraldehyde and tiglaldehyde were determined. These demonstrated (a) that "veratrine" is composed of approximately equal amounts, on a gm. weight basis, of veratridine and of cevadine and (b) that the small acid moieties esterified with cevine are responsible for the characteristic spectra of the veratrine components. The negative after-potential induced in the squid giant axon, in crab leg nerve, and in the frog sciatic is consistently different in veratridine and cevadine. It decays exponentially in the pure alkaloids, but the initial amplitude is larger in the latter alkaloid and the time constant of decline is considerably longer in the former. By virtue of these distinctive characteristics, the after-potential induced by veratrine demonstrates the presence of the pure alkaloids and, in the squid axon, permits an estimate of the relative amounts. These alkaloids give rise to repetitive responses to stimuli. In the squid axon this is obviously related to enhanced oscillatory behavior to subthreshold as well as threshold shocks; in the multifibered preparations it is apparently responsible for a "rise phase" of the after-potential, which has never been seen in the single fibers of the squid. Under conditions of repetitive stimulation the addition of after-potentials in crab nerve shows little difference in cevadine and veratridine except initially. Recovery is slower in the latter. Potassium release under similar conditions is the same in the two alkaloids; reabsorption, which occurs following activity, continues longer in the veratridine. The possible significance of these results is discussed for the origin of the after-potential and for in vivo effects.
Price Strategies for Idiosyncratic Goods—The Case of Housing

We determine the mechanism that a rational, profit-maximizing seller would use to revise his reservation price for a heterogeneous or infrequently exchanged good. For instance, while one dimension of a home's quality may be easily determined in competitive markets (e.g., the valuation of floor size, location, etc.), other dimensions of quality may be idiosyncratic (unit specific) and unobservable by the seller (e.g., aesthetics of the home). Here, a seller of a new or infrequently exchanged housing unit may use sales success information to revise his expectation of the unit's market-determined value and hence revise his reservation price. The rational seller will, upon arrival of the first buyer inspecting the unit, determine a sequence of reservation prices for this and expected subsequent buyers. This price sequence falls for subsequent buyers and starts from a lower initial price if the first buyer arrives later than expected. Through this mechanism, we offer an explanation for price dispersion and vacancy durations in housing markets. While we explicitly model the real estate market here, this price revision mechanism is also applicable to rental markets, labor markets, used car markets, and other markets characterized by heterogeneity and infrequent sales. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Automatic Business Process Test Case Selection: Coverage Metrics, Algorithms, and Performance Optimizations

Business processes describe and implement the business logic of companies, control human interaction, and invoke heterogeneous services during runtime. Therefore, ensuring the correct execution of processes is crucial. Existing work is addressing this challenge through process verification. However, the highly dynamic aspects of the current processes and the deep integration and frequent invocation of third party services limit the use of static verification approaches. Today, one frequently utilized approach to address this limitation is to apply process tests. However, the complexity of process models is steadily increasing. So, more and more test cases are required to assure process model correctness and stability during design and maintenance. But executing hundreds or even thousands of process model test cases lead to excessive test suite execution times and, therefore, high costs. Hence, this paper presents novel coverage metrics along with a genetic test case selection algorithm. Both enable the incorporation of user-driven test case selection requirements and the integration of different knowledge sources. In addition, techniques for test case selection computation performance optimization are provided and evaluated. The effectiveness of the presented genetic test case selection algorithm is evaluated against five alternative test case selection algorithms.
Education for requirements elicitation using group-work and role-play

In this paper, the requirement education methods we have proposed using role-play are introduced, and the difficulty for practicing requirements elicitation skill is discussed. In order to lead a system development project to success, skill exhaustively eliciting requirements with a customer's genuine need is definitely required. We propose the way of systematically developing the goal-oriented requirements model. The result for comparing the goal model diagram developed by the proposed way with the previously developed diagram as an answer obviously shows the proposed way is effective.
Environmental Performance, Competitiveness and Management of Small Businesses in Europe

Is it the case that more competitive SMEs have greater capacity to adopt environmental initiatives? The answer is no, according to this study which tried to link small firm environmental performance to factors such as profitability, growth, skills and research and development. This study focuses on three interrelated propositions that are concerned with the impact of environmental initiatives on firm competitiveness; the relevance of management's awareness to environment: the availability of external information and expertise to aid management, and the competitiveness of the firm. The firm's competitive strengths measured variously as above average profitability, firm growth and R&D, skills and modernity of plant and equipment, there was only scattered evidence to suggest any of these was importantly associated with the firm's environmental performance. The study showed that firms with an average economic performance were just as likely to adopt environmental initiatives as their high-performing competitors. Moreover, regardless of managers voicing personal concerns about the environment, most small firms do relatively little about the environment in practice and are reluctant to seek advice about it. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.
Olfactory dysfunction in the APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: Morphological evaluations from the nose to the brain

Olfactory dysfunction is among the signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive impairment. It has been demonstrated Aβ was associated with olfactory impairment observed in both transgenic mice and in AD patients. In this study, we evaluated amyloid deposition in the olfactory circuit of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of AD, which showed olfactory dysfunction in olfactory behavior tests. We found amyloid depositions were widely distributed in the whole olfactory circuit. Moreover, we think these amyloid depositions contribute to neuronal atrophy, dendritic abnormalities, synapse loss and axonal degeneration. Therefore, there was a correlation between olfactory deficits and amyloid deposition. Our findings provide initial insights into the pathological basis of AD‐related olfactory dysfunction.
Characterization of the Calcium-mediated Response to Alkaline Stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae*

Exposure of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to alkaline stress resulted in adaptive changes that involved remodeling the gene expression. Recent evidence suggested that the calcium-activated protein phosphatase calcineurin could play a role in alkaline stress signaling. By using an aequorin luminescence reporter, we showed that alkaline stress resulted in a sharp and transient rise in cytoplasmic calcium. This increase was largely abolished by addition of EGTA to the medium or in cells lacking Mid1 or Cch1, components of the high affinity cell membrane calcium channel. Under these circumstances, the alkaline response of different calcineurin-sensitive transcriptional promoters was also blocked. Therefore, exposure to alkali resulted in entry of calcium from the external medium, and this triggered a calcineurin-mediated response. The involvement of calcineurin and Crz1/Tcn1, the transcription factor activated by the phosphatase, in the transcriptional response triggered by alkalinization has been globally assessed by DNA microarray analysis in a time course experiment using calcineurin-deficient (cnb1) and crz1 mutants. We found that exposure to pH 8.0 increased at least 2-fold the mRNA levels of 266 genes. In many cases (60%) the response was rather early (peak after 10 min). The transcriptional response of 27 induced genes (10%) was reduced or fully abolished in cnb1 cells. In general, the response of crz1 mutants was similar to that of calcineurin-deficient cells. By analysis of a systematic deletion library, we found 48 genes whose mutation resulted in increased sensitivity to the calcineurin inhibitor FK506. Twenty of these mutations (42%) also provoked alkaline pH sensitivity. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that calcium signaling and calcineurin activation represented a significant component of the yeast response to environmental alkalinization.
Human Bocavirus, a Respiratory and Enteric Virus

In Spain, human bocavirus (HBoV) was detected in 48 (9.1%) of 527 children with gastroenteritis at similar frequency as for children with respiratory illness (40/520, 7.7%). Fecal excretion adds new concern about the transmission of HBoV. To our knowledge, this report is the first to document HBoV in human feces.