Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utility of health belief model as a guide for explaining or predicting breast cancer screening behaviours.

AIM The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of HBM as a theoretical guide for predicting breast cancer screening and therefore for guiding intervention studies. BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for middle age women (35-50) and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in all women in the United States (US). Early detection of breast cancer through screening is the only option available to women. However, less than half of all women in the US participate in screening. The health belief model (HBM), which specifies interactions of values and beliefs about health and their influence on choices, has been widely used to explain screening behaviour. METHODS An integrative research review analysed 16 published descriptive studies employing HBM. Literature was located through a search of research based studies listed in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Medline, and cancer literature databases and studies cited in other references between 1990 and 1999. FINDINGS Application of HBM was inconsistent. No study tested nonlinear relationships between variables as specified in the model. At best, the model explained 47% of the variance in screening behaviour when socioeconomic status was included. Otherwise predictive power was low, ranging from 15 to 27%. CONCLUSIONS While the model provides some description of the values, beliefs and behaviours of middle-aged women primarily, HBM does not appear to have the power to consistently predict behaviours. Further research is needed to provide more thorough depiction of the social, nonhealth care meaning of breast cancer.
A Design Proposal for a Benefits Management Method for Enterprise System Implementations

Enterprise Systems (ES) involve relative high investments and long-lasting implementations for its adopters. A business case (BC) is often developed in the beginning to evaluate and justify this investment. This BC explains the expected costs, benefits and risks of the ES implementation. In this paper we especially focus on the problems of the current BC development and present a design proposal based on Benefits Management (BM). Research in cost estimation is matured and BM is perceived as a standard in this domain. We use an iterative design science approach to create our proposal. First, we give a structured overview of current BM methods both from practitioners as well as academia using the methodological framework of Avison and Fitzgerald [1]. Second, we derive our own improved BM method based on the work of Ward and Daniel [2]. During the development process, in five iterations, we interviewed and collaboratively worked with experts towards this method.
The X-ray spectral properties of the AGN population in the XMM-Newton bright serendipitous survey

Context. X-ray surveys are a key instrument in the study of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Thanks to their penetrating ability, X-r ays are able to map the innermost regions close to the central super massive black hole (SMBH) as well as to detect and characterize its emission up to high redshift. Aims. We present here a detailed X-ray spectral analysis of the AGN belonging to the XMM-Newton bright survey (XBS). The XBS is composed of two flux-limited samples selected in the compl ementary 0.5-4.5 and 4.5-7.5 keV energy bands and comprising more than 300 AGN up to redshift∼ 2.4. Methods. We performed an X-ray analysis following two different approaches: by analyzing individually each AGN X-ray spectrum and by constructing average spectra for different AGN types. Results. From the individual analysis, we find that there seems to be an anti correlation between the spectral index and the sources’ hard X-ray luminosity, such that the average photon index for the higher luminosity sources (> 10 44 erg s −1 ) is significantly ( > 2�) flatter than the average for the lower luminosity sources. W e also find that the intrinsic column density distribution ag rees with AGN unified schemes, although a number of exceptions are found (3% of the whole sample), which are much more common among optically classified type 2 AGN. We also find that the so- called “soft-excess”, apart from the intrinsic absorption , constitutes the principal deviation from a power-law shape in AGN X-ray spectra and it clearly displays different characteristics, and likely a different origin, for unabsorbed and absorbed AGN. Regarding the shape of the average spectra, we find that it is best reproduc ed by .
Unemployment Insurance: Survey and Extensions

employment, and they are generally viewed as programmes of social insurance wherein the costs of financing UI benefit payments are shared by all workers and firms in the covered (insured) sector. As is common in such situations, however, problems of "moral hazard" may arise: the frequency and severity of periods of unemployment are to an important degree products of the employment decisions of workers and firms, and these may be affected by the provision of benefits. There may therefore be important causal links between the provision of UI benefits and the magnitude of unemployment. In this paper, we survey some of the major theoretical and empirical issues relating to causal links between UI and unemployment, with particular emphasis on the role played by systems of UI financing. It has long been recognized that the flow of UI benefit payments to unemployed individuals will affect job search decisions and hence their probability of leaving unemployment. More recently, following the work of Joseph Becker (1972), methods of financing UI benefit payments have found a prominent place in the literature. The issues in this area focus primarily on the behaviour of firms in influencing an individual's probability of entering unemployment, and are related to methods of experience rating (or the lack thereof) in determining Ul tax rates. This practice, which is meant to alter UI tax liabilities on the basis of a firm's history of generating unemployment, is unique to UI systems in the United States, although its policy implications are quite applicable elsewhere.2 We believe that the effects of experience rating represent the most important set of unresolved empirical issues in the analysis of UI, and we therefore devote a large portion of our discussion to the theoretical implications of this practice and to potential methods of measuring its effects. By way of introduction, it is worthwhile to consider some simple empirical background, including the magnitude of UI programmes relative to other social insurance and welfare programmes, and the types and sources of potentially compensated unemployment. While these data are for the United States, we expect that the thrust of the argument applies to other UI systems as well. Table 1 gives the percentage distribution of benefit payments by social insurance beneficiary, and each category's benefits as a percentage of total personal income, for the United States over the period 1973-1976. All categories other than UI are dominated by programmes under the Social Security Act, and hence it is clear that UI is small relative to social security. As one might expect, UI's share of social insurance benefits and of personal income moves counter-cyclically, being
The struggle for in situ upgrading of informal settlements: a reflection on cases in Gauteng

The Department of Housing released a new Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme in 2004 that makes in situ upgrading of informal settlements possible with minimal disruption to residents' lives. To date, the new programme is not necessarily the municipalities' choice when intervening in an informal settlement. This paper reflects on the treatment of informal settlements in current urban discourse and practice in South Africa. It presents the case of three informal settlement communities in Gauteng Province that have struggled for recognition of basic principles of the informal settlement upgrading programme. Their requests have been met with great reluctance by local government. Through these cases, the paper points to some of the critical re-skilling and capacity-building areas that are needed before local government can roll out the informal settlement upgrading programme at scale.
INCREASED CELL MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF HEREDITARY SPHEROCYTOSIS.

The hemolytic process in hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is presumed to involve an intrinsic defect in the structure or metabolism of the red cell (1-3). The nature of the basic cellular defect remains enigmatic, although its manifestations are well characterized. Distinctive features of the HS red cell are its more spheroidal shape, small surface area, and high hemoglobin concentration and its exceptional proclivity toward splenic sequestration. However, the most singular feature of these cells is their abnormally rapid spheroidal change and increase in osmotic fragility on sterile incubation in vitro (4-6). This characteristic response of HS red cells has provided the most reliable method for diagnosis of the disorder (7). Efforts to identify a presumed biochemical lesion in HS red cells have had little success. A reported diminution in turnover of organic phosphate esters (8) has not been confirmed (9, 10), nor have abnormalities been found in the concentrations or kinetics of glycolytic intermediates or in glucose consumption of HS red cells (6, 11, 12). More recently, evidence has been presented (13, 14), but later denied (15, 16), that an abnormality exists in the phospholipids of the red cell membrane in this disease. With incubation, increased loss in lipids from spherocytic membranes has also been reported (17, 18). The general presumption in studies of HS red cells has been that a deficit existed in their energy metabolism. This presumption is difficult to reconcile with the findings by Harris and Prankerd (19) and Bertles (20) that the sodium efflux and influx, respectively, across HS cell membranes are
Redevelopment Decisions for Commercial and Industrial Properties

The empirical work in this study serves as a test of the principle that redevelopment of a property will occur when the value of the existing bundle, plus demolition costs, is less than or equal to the price of vacant land. The probability of a commercial or industrial property being redeveloped is predicted using the difference in the estimated value of a parcel in its redeveloped state and its current use, correcting for sample selection bias. The empirical results support the hypothesis that land is redeveloped when its value in the redeveloped state is high relative to its value in the current use.
Exploring the potential of high performance work systems in SMEs

Purpose – Aims to explore aspects of employee relations in firms included within The Sunday Times list of the UK's “Best Small Companies to Work For”, focusing in particular on the use of high performance work systems (HPWS), and the way they impact upon performance in these businesses.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based upon a postal survey supplemented by detailed face‐to‐face interviews with CEOs in 60 per cent of the ranked firms.Findings – The SMEs studied are found to be highly successful in terms of sales and employment growth. Our analysis suggests that the common explanation for enhanced business performance in terms of HPWS (coherent bundles of human resource management practices that function synergistically and thus have more effect than might be expected from the sum of the parts) is a valid but partial. The bundles employed in these businesses are synergetic, but the enhanced outcomes produced need to be understood in terms of the system as a whole, not just the more concrete.
Smad3 Knockout Mice Exhibit a Resistance to Skin Chemical Carcinogenesis

It has been shown that Smad3 exerts both tumor-suppressive and -promoting roles. To evaluate the role of Smad3 in skin carcinogenesis in vivo, we applied a chemical skin carcinogenesis protocol to Smad3 knockout mice (Smad3−/− and Smad3+/−) and wild-type littermates (Smad3+/+). Smad3−/− mice exhibited reduced papilloma formation in comparison with Smad3+/+ mice and did not develop any squamous cell carcinomas. Further analysis revealed that Smad3 knockout mice were resistant to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)–induced epidermal hyperproliferation. Concurrently, increased apoptosis was observed in TPA-treated Smad3−/− skin and papillomas when compared with those of wild-type mice. Expression levels of activator protein-1 family members (c-jun, junB, junD, and c-fos) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-α were significantly lower in TPA-treated Smad3−/− skin, cultured keratinocytes, and papillomas, as compared with Smad3+/+ controls. Smad3−/− papillomas also exhibited reduced leukocyte infiltration, particularly a reduction of tumor-associated macrophage infiltration, in comparison with Smad3+/+ papillomas. All of these molecular and cellular alterations also occurred to a lesser extent in Smad3+/− mice as compared with Smad3+/+ mice, suggesting a Smad3 gene dosage effect. Given that TGF-β1 is a well-documented TPA-responsive gene and also has a potent chemotactic effect on macrophages, our study suggests that Smad3 may be required for TPA-mediated tumor promotion through inducing TGF-β1–responsive genes, which are required for tumor promotion, and through mediating TGF-β1–induced macrophage infiltration.
An Integrative Review of Separation in the Context of Victimization

Given the number of divorces that occur each year as well as the high rates of intimate partner violence, it is critical that divorce/separation and victimization be considered in research and in clinical practice with women. However, the separation/divorce research and victimization research has often been conducted independently, with limited attention to integration. The integration of these two domains is critically important in facilitating the understanding of these issues for women. This article has 5 main purposes: (a) to review the research on the general consequences of separation; (b) to review the research on the consequences of separation when children are involved; (c) to review the research on the consequences of victimization; (d) to integrate the separation and victimization research to examine separation in the context of victimization; and (e) to discuss the implications of separation in the context of victimization for practice and research.
Validation of the parent version of the World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale for adolescents

Abstract Objective: To investigate the validity of a parent version of the World Health Organization Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Self-Report Scale for adolescents (ASRS-AP) and the 6-question screening version (ASRS-AP-S). Methods: Adolescent psychiatric outpatients (N = 112, mean age 15 years, 40% boys) and their parents were interviewed with the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS), and the parents reported on the ASRS-AP/ASRS-AP-S. Results: Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.93 for ASRS-AP and 0.85 for ASRS-AP-S, 0.91 and 0.87 for the inattention subscale, and 0.91 and 0.72 for the hyperactivity subscale, respectively. The concurrent validity (Spearman’s correlation coefficient) between the total K-SADS ADHD symptom severity score and the sum of the score on the ASRS-AP/ASRS-AP-S was 0.75 and 0.66, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy measures for the ASRS-AP and ASRS-AP-S were 78% and 80% sensitivity, 75% and 74% specificity, 73% and 71% positive predictive value (PPV), and 81% and 82% negative predictive value (NPV), respectively. Conclusions: The ASRS-AP and ASRS-AP-S showed high internal consistency and concurrent validity in relation to total K-SADS ADHD symptom severity score. Both scales showed favourable diagnostic accuracy measures.
Dynamics of the yen-dollar real exchange rate and the US-Japan real trade balance

This paper employs cointegration and error correction models to examine the dynamics of the yen-dollar real exchange rate and the US-Japan real trade balance. It uses quarterly data from 1973.I-1993.IV. The unit root tests reveal non-stationarity in both the variables. The ADF test fails to affirm any long-run association between the yen-dollar real exchange rate and the US-Japan real trade balance. Also, there is evidence of bidirectional short-run Granger causality between these two variables with mutual feedbacks.
US housing problems, politics and policies in the 1990s

Abstract Housing policy in the US reflects its general approach to economic and social problems. Among all western democracies, the US relies most on private market forces to provide housing for its population. American housing policy emphasises bolstering market forces and minimising assistance for the poor. Despite its significant achievements (for example, two out of every three American households now owns its dwelling), the US is now facing a severe housing crisis, not only for the poor, but for a sizeable portion of the troubled middle class. To guarantee every American an opportunity to live in decent, safe and affordable housing, the US has to change national priorities and spend more on housing. But it also must spend better: reduce development costs, eliminate bureaucratic waste, and target assistance more efficiently. Following a review of past and current housing programmes, we outline a progressive housing policy agenda and then discuss the political obstacles and opportunities that confront .
Serological, Epidemiological, and Molecular Differences between Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1)-Seropositive Healthy Carriers and Persons with HTLV-I Gag Indeterminate Western Blot Patterns from the Caribbean

ABSTRACT To investigate the significance of serological human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HLTV-1) Gag indeterminate Western blot (WB) patterns in the Caribbean, a 6-year (1993 to 1998) cross-sectional study was conducted with 37,724 blood donors from Guadeloupe (French West Indies), whose sera were routinely screened by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the presence of HTLV-1 and -2 antibodies. By using stringent WB criteria, 77 donors (0.20%) were confirmed HTLV-1 seropositive, whereas 150 (0.40%; P < 0.001) were considered HTLV seroindeterminate. Among them, 41.3% (62) exhibited a typical HTLV-1 Gag indeterminate profile (HGIP). Furthermore 76 (50.7%) out of the 150 HTLV-seroindeterminate subjects were sequentially retested, with a mean duration of follow-up of 18.3 months (range, 1 to 70 months). Of these, 55 (72.4%) were still EIA positive and maintained the same WB profile whereas the others became EIA negative. This follow-up survey included 33 persons with an HGIP. Twenty-three of them (69.7%) had profiles that did not evolve over time. Moreover, no case of HTLV-1 seroconversion could be documented over time by studying such sequential samples. HTLV-1 seroprevalence was characterized by an age-dependent curve, a uniform excess in females, a significant relation with hepatitis B core (HBc) antibodies, and a microcluster distribution along the Atlantic coast of Guadeloupe. In contrast, the persons with an HGIP were significantly younger, had a 1:1 sex ratio, did not present any association with HBc antibodies, and were not clustered along the Atlantic façade. These divergent epidemiological features, together with discordant serological screening test results for subjects with HGIP and with the lack of HTLV-1 proviral sequences detected by PCR in their peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA, strongly suggest that an HGIP does not reflect true HTLV-1 infection. In regard to these data, healthy blood donors with HGIP should be reassured that they are unlikely to be infected with HTLV-1 or HTLV-2.
The Science of a Legislator: The Natural Jurisprudence of David Hume and Adam Smith

Combining the methods of the modern philosopher with those of the historian of ideas, Knud Haakonssen presents an interpretation of the philosophy of law which Adam Smith developed out of - and partly in response to - David Hume's theory of justice. While acknowledging that the influences on Smith were many and various, Dr Haakonssen suggests that the decisive philosophical one was Hume's analysis of justice in A Treatise of Human Nature and the second Enquiry. He therefore begins with a thorough investigation of Hume, from which he goes on to show the philosophical originality of Smith's new form of natural jurisprudence. At the same time, he provides an over all reading of Smith's social and political thought, demonstrating clearly the exact links between the moral theory of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the Lectures on Jurisprudence, and the sociohistorical theory of The Wealth of Nations. This is the first full analysis of Adam Smith's jurisprudence; it emphasizes its normative and critical function, and relates this to the psychological, sociological, and histroical aspects which hitherto have attracted most attention. Dr Haakonssen is critical of both purely descriptivist and utilitarian interpretations of Smith's moral and political philosophy, and demonstrates the implausibility of regarding Smith's view of history as pseudo-economic or 'materialist'.
Performance‐related Pay: Pretexts and Pitfalls

Performance‐related pay (PRP) has grown in importance in the 1980s and is likely to continue growing. The reasons for this growth are examined: labour market factors, changes in organisational objectives, fairness in payment initiatives, weakening of collectivisation, and “fashion”. Problems associated with PRP are also explored. It is argued that PRP has a capacity to subvert the purposes for which it is intended by distorting pay structures, creating unfairness in reward systems and harming team spirit. PRP also detracts from the value of other performance appraisal objectives. Some of the problems inherent in measuring individual job performance are also considered.
The Management of Flexibility in the Upstream Petroleum Industry

This paper is the third in a series that describes how Modern Asset Pricing (MAP) may be used for project evaluation in the upstream petroleum industry. It demonstrates how MAP can be applied to projects where policies for the management of future flexibility must be considered within the context of the valuation. We illustrate this use of MAP by looking specifically at flexibility in the timing of the exploration, delineation, and development of an oil prospect, and the timing of the abandonment of the subsequent developed field. We use examples to show how the value and management of flexibility depends on the amount of oil price and reserve size uncertainty. We find that prospect value increases with both types of uncertainty. We also find that all actions, from exploration to abandonment, occur later with greater oil price uncertainty. Conversely, we find that exploration and delineation occur sooner with greater reserve uncertainty. The reasons for these results are given.
Investigation of routing protocols in a sensor network using resource based models

Energy efficiency is of paramount importance in sensor networks that are constrained by limited resources. Designing an efficient routing protocol for a sensor network is challenging due to factors such as limited resources, concentration of load in a limited portion of the network, and routing of redundant information. An object oriented programming (OOP) paradigm was used to develop a resource-based sensor network model that can be used to study routing protocols. In this work, simulation was used to compare the performance of different exemplary routing protocols in a target tracking application. A concept called localized optimization was introduced to allow routing protocols to be locally optimized at the cluster level. Simulation results demonstrated that the localized optimization algorithm provided a significant improvement in the functional lifetime of the sensor network at the expense of a degradation of tracking performance due to delays introduced in the system.