Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Substance abuse in early adolescents and HIV preventive behaviors: findings from a school-based cross-sectional survey for the period from 2009 to 2013, Bangkok Thailand

ABSTRACT This study is first of its kind in Bangkok, and is a five-year (2009–2013) cross-sectional web-based survey to examine HIV preventive behaviors related to substance abuse among adolescents (N = 16,913). The questionnaire was self-administered. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The relationship between different types of substance abuse with risky and preventive behaviors was assessed. Male participants reported more substance abuse as compared to females. The risk behaviors observed among the substance abusers include increased sexual experience, multiple sex partners, no use of condoms, and injection drug use. The preventive behaviors include having a high self-risk assessment, going for HIV testing (highest in methamphetamine users), and screening for sexually transmitted infection. Logistic regression suggests that risky behaviors (e.g., sexual experience, injection drug use) are more common in substance abusers. Adolescents are clearly at a high risk. Behavioral preventive measures are needed to reduce or delay premature substance exposure to prevent a wide range of health problems and risks such as HIV and AIDS, injection drug use and unprotected sex.
An efficient solution to absolute orientation

The absolute orientation problem arises often in vision and robotics. Despite that robust algorithmic solutions exist for quite some time, they all rely on matrix factorizations such as eigen or singular value decomposition. These factorizations are relatively expensive to compute, therefore might become a performance bottleneck when absolute orientation needs to be repeatedly computed on low-end hardware. The issue is exacerbated by implementations relying on standard numerical software libraries like LAPACK, since the linear algebra factorization routines they include are optimized for large matrices and thus are not the most efficient choice for small ones. Based on an attitude estimation algorithm originating from astronautics, this paper proposes a direct, factorization-free solution to the absolute orientation problem that is both computationally efficient and numerically accurate. Results from an experimental comparison with established methods demonstrate its superior performance.
THE EVOLUTION OF INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TO SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF REAL ESTATE MARKET ACTIVITIES: SOME EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE

Real estate in common with many other business sectors has experienced significant levels of internationalisation in its market activities over the last decade. These range from the internationalisation of key market actors such as real estate service providers and investors to the increasingly cross-border nature of a wide spectrum of real estate involvements. Such developments inevitable have profound implications for individual market structures and the range of market objectives which they accommodate. This paper sets out to examine one aspect of this process specifically the evolution of various institutional arrangements designed to support and facilitate the internationalisation of real estate activities. Using a broadly institutional economics approach to markets the paper first outlines a market rational for institutional arrangements to support the internationalisation of real estate market activities and then examines how such arrangements have evolved in the context of European real estate markets. The paper concludes with an assessment of the sustainability of the institutions which have evolved to support internationalisation in the European context and looks at the case for further supporting institutions specifically related to the areas of regulation and market risk.
Factors Influencing the Strategic Management of Graduate Health Care Distance Education Programs: The Search for a Competitive Advantage

The purpose of the research was to identify and rate the factors that influence the development of a competitive advantage for graduate healthcare distance education programs as perceived by higher education institution administrators. For the purpose of this study, competitive advantage was defined as a benefit held by a higher education institution or program when it develops or acquires a value-creating quality that is not currently implemented by its competitors and is difficult to imitate. It promotes the development of a dominant position in a market. The research was performed using a quantitative, descriptive, and crosssectional approach. An electronic survey was completed by 98 academic administrators (29.3% response rate) who oversee graduate healthcare distance education programs. The results demonstrated that 33 of the 38 suggested factors met the threshold to be considered as influential. Fourteen factors were perceived as “very influential” and 19 were perceived as “somewhat influential”. The strength of the program curriculum, the strength of the learning environment, and the strength of the course delivery methods rated the highest. Overall, the factors contained within the category of internal resources and capabilities were perceived as more influential when compared to the factors within the category of external industry structure and context. The results of this study provide a roadmap for academic programs to better implement their strategies and achieve their mission and goals. It encourages academic administrators to develop specific measures and establish benchmarks for the majority of the factors that influence the development of a competitive advantage. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Education (EdD) Department Executive Leadership First Supervisor Mary S. Collins Second Supervisor Shannon P. Cleverley-Thompson Subject Categories Education This dissertation is available at Fisher Digital Publications: http://fisherpub.sjfc. edu/education_etd/207 Factors Influencing the Strategic Management of Graduate Health Care Distance Education Programs: The Search for a Competitive Advantage By Jean-Nicolas Poirier Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Ed.D. in Executive Leadership Supervised by Mary S. Collins, Ph.D., R.N. , F.A. A.N. Committee Member Shannon P. Cleverley-Thompson, Ed.D. Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education St. John Fisher College
Effects of Sildenafil (Viagra) on Human Myocardial Contractility, In Vitro Arrhythmias, and Tension of Internal Mammaria Arteries and Saphenous Veins

Sildenafil (Viagra) has been proved effective in the therapy for erectile dysfunction. Cardiovascular adverse effects are a matter of continuous debate. The aim of the study was to investigate effects of sildenafil on isolated human cardiovascular tissue directly. Isometric force of contraction was determined in isolated, electrically stimulated (1 Hz, 37°C) human right atrial and left ventricular muscle strips. Vascular tension was determined in rings of human internal mammaria arteries and saphenous veins. Sildenafil (0.0001–10 &mgr;M) neither in human atrium (n = 12) nor in failing (n = 8) or nonfailing (n = 5) ventricle exerted a significant inotropic response. Furthermore, no effect on isoprenaline-elicited arrhythmias was observed. Neither addition of isoprenaline (0.1 &mgr;M) nor addition of the nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) (100 &mgr;M) affected myocardial contractility in the presence of sildenafil (10 &mgr;M). In precontracted arteries and veins, addition of sildenafil (0.1–10 &mgr;M) led to pronounced vasorelaxation (maximal 35.5 ± 2.2% and 45.6 ± 6.3%, respectively, in the presence of 10 &mgr;M sildenafil). In the presence of SNAP (0.03 &mgr;M), this effect was markedly increased in arteries (72.4 ± 10.1%, n = 4, P < 0.02) as well as in veins (73.5 ± 6.3%, n = 6, P < 0.02). Sildenafil exerts potent vasodilatory actions but has no direct influence on human myocardial contractility or proarrhythmic effects in vitro.
Scaling of Vertical InAs–GaSb Nanowire Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors on Si

We demonstrate improved performance due to enhanced electrostatic control achieved by diameter scaling and gate placement in vertical InAs-GaSb tunneling field-effect transistors integrated on Si substrates. The best subthreshold swing, 68 mV/decade at VDS = 0.3 V, was achieved for a device with 20-nm InAs diameter. The ON-current for the same device was 35 μA/μm at VGS = 0.5 V and VDS = 0.5 V. The fabrication technique used allow downscaling of the InAs diameter down to 11 nm with a flexible gate placement.
The psychological assessment of learning potential.

BACKGROUND The paper considers the construct of learning potential (or dynamic assessment) and its use in the psychoeducational assessment of children with learning difficulties. AIMS The principal research aim was to examine the extent to which learning potential (dynamic) assessment can predict which children with severe learning difficulties will gain most from a structured programme of cognitive intervention. SAMPLE The sample consisted of 30 children (mean age 9 years) based in a school for children with moderate/severe learning difficulties. METHODS Half of the children were assessed both before and after the delivery of a 15-month cognitive intervention programme undertaken by the first author. The other half took part in the assessments but continued with their usual classroom programme. Assessments included the use of both dynamic and static measures. On the basis of the assessments, students were divided into high and low potential groups and comparison of gains after the intervention was undertaken. RESULTS The measurement of learning potential appeared to predict subsequent performance in some, but not all, areas. Those who were most likely to make gains were those children deemed as 'high potential' who also received the cognitive intervention. CONCLUSIONS The value of learning potential assessment was not clearly demonstrated. The implications of the results are explored and, in particular, the authors warn of the dangers of drawing upon the results of learning potential measures in an inappropriate fashion. (school) psychologists, the complexity of the measures, ongoing debates validity and applicability and the pressures from resource managers for clearcut psychometric results have tended to deter all but the practitioner.
'I'm actually being the grown-up now': leadership, maturity and professional identity development.

AIM This study reports on an evaluation of an in-house nursing and midwifery leadership programme within a New Zealand District Health Board aimed at improving leadership capacity within clinical environments. BACKGROUND The programme associated with this study is based on Practice Development concepts which aim to improve patient care and service delivery as well as empower practitioners to foster and support a transformational culture. METHODS Mixed methods were used. RESULTS Evidence indicated participants' self-confidence improved leading to a 'growing up'. This was demonstrated in a number of ways: taking more responsibility for individual clinical practice, undertaking quality and safety roles as well as postgraduate study. These findings can be constructed in terms of linking leadership training with the development of professional identity. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that in-house leadership programmes can provide front-line nurses and midwives with opportunities to enhance their professional identity and expand their skills in a variety of ways. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Organisational investment in in-house programmes aimed at leadership skills have the potential to enhance patient care as well as improve the work environment for nurses and midwives. However, in-house programmes should be considered as augmenting rather than replacing tertiary education institutions' leadership courses and qualifications.
Topology and Capacitor Voltage Balancing Control of a Symmetrical Hybrid Nine-Level Inverter for High-Speed Motor Drives

In order to increase the output voltage levels and reduce the isolated dc sources, a symmetrical hybrid nine-level inverter for high-speed motor drive applications is presented in this paper. Each phase of this inverter is composed of a five-level dc/dc converter cell and an H-bridge cell. The dc/dc converter is operated at high frequency with low-voltage devices and the H-bridge is operated at fundamental frequency with high-voltage devices. The three phases are connected to a common dc-link and each drives an isolated winding of an open-winding motor. The operating principles and modulation method are introduced. A detailed analysis of the average currents through the flying capacitor and neutral point of the dc-link is presented and a capacitor voltage balancing method based on phase-shifted pulse-width modulation is proposed. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this topology and control method.
Microbubble destruction with ultrasound augments neovascularisation by bone marrow cell transplantation in rat hind limb ischaemia

Objective: To examine the effects of microbubble destruction with ultrasound (MB) combined with bone marrow derived mononuclear cell transplantation (BMT) into ischaemic tissues in rat hind limb ischaemia. Methods and results: Unilateral hind limb ischaemia was surgically induced in Lewis rats. At postoperative day 7, rats were randomly divided into three groups: a vehicle treated group, an ultrasound treated group, and an MB treated group. MB treatment increased vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA as assessed by real time polymerase chain reaction (3.0-fold, p < 0.05). At four weeks, the MB group had increases in laser Doppler blood flow index (LDBFI; 1.2-fold, p < 0.05), angiographically detectable collateral vessels (angiographic score: 1.4-fold, p < 0.01), and capillary to muscle fibre ratio (1.4-fold, p < 0.01) in ischaemic limbs compared with the vehicle treated group. No differences were seen between the vehicle and ultrasound treated groups. Secondly, rats were allocated to vehicle treatment, BMT (5 × 106 cells/rat), or a combination of MB and BMT (MB+BMT) at seven days after hind limb ischaemia. BMT treatment significantly increased LDBFI, angiographic score, and capillary to muscle fibre ratio compared with vehicle treatment. Interestingly, MB+BMT treatment produced significantly greater LDBFI (1.2-fold, p < 0.01), angiographic score (1.5-fold, p < 0.01), and capillary to muscle fibre ratio (1.5-fold, p < 0.05) than BMT treatment alone. Conclusions: MB may be a useful technique to enhance BMT induced neovascularisation.
p53 Mutation: Critical Mediator of Therapy Resistance against Tumor Microenvironment.

There has been a trend of use of conventional or non-conventional therapies against cancer such as targeting “king pin” tumor cells itself, targeting tumor vasculature lined by endothelial cells, targeting tumor associated macrophages and recently, targeting inhibitory signals on T cells through immunotherapies in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, most of the cases have witnessed therapy resistance flowing a short-term or transient benefit. Despite of several failures in clinical trials targeting tumors and their microenvironments, our understanding is improving every day. It is evident that mutations in tumor cell compartment play a critical role in cancer development as well as therapy resistance. Here, we have discussed studies representing therapy resistance, through p53 as a model mutation and glioblastoma (GBM) as a model tumor.
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 in Childhood: Evaluation of Clinical and Epidemiologic Features as Predictive Factors for Severity

The authors evaluated clinical and epidemiologic features of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) as predictive factors of severity of the disease. The data were retrieved from medical records of 110 children with NF-1 followed up during the period 1974-1991 (mean duration of follow-up 6.7 years). Presence of macrocephaly correlated with higher grade of severity of the disease (P10.018). Familial NF-1 was more common in patients with grade 4 disease than in children with grade 1 severity (P<0.05; odds ratio 2.9, confidence limits 0.85-10.5). The specificity of positive family history and macrocephaly as predictive factors for the grade 4 disease was 90% and 89%, respectively, and sensitivity was 71% and 36%, correspondingly. Positive predictive value of familial NF-1 and macrocephaly was 24% and 31%, respectively. In conclusion, although patients with family history of NF-1 and with macrocephaly tend to have more severe disease, the clinical utility of these features as predictive factors for severity is limited.
Toward Higher Effectiveness for Recall- Oriented Information Retrieval: A Patent Retrieval Case Study

Research in information retrieval (IR) has largely been directed towards tasks requiring high precision. Recently, other IR applications which can be described as recall-oriented IR tasks have received increased attention in the IR research domain. Prominent among these IR applications are patent search and legal search, where users are typically ready to check hundreds or possibly thousands of documents in order to find any possible relevant document. The main concerns in this kind of application are very different from those in standard precision-oriented IR tasks, where users tend to be focused on finding an answer to their information need that can typically be addressed by one or two relevant documents. For precision-oriented tasks, mean average precision continues to be used as the primary evaluation metric for almost all IR applications. For recall-oriented IR applications the nature of the search task, including objectives, users, queries, and document collections, is different from that of standard precision-oriented search tasks. In this research study, two dimensions in IR are explored for the recall-oriented patent search task. The study includes IR system evaluation and multilingual IR for patent search. In each of these dimensions, current IR techniques are studied and novel techniques developed especially for this kind of recall-oriented IR application are proposed and investigated experimentally in the context of patent retrieval. The techniques developed in this thesis provide a significant contribution toward evaluating the effectiveness of recall-oriented IR in general and particularly patent search, and improving the efficiency of multilingual search for this kind of task.
Procurement marketing and environmentalism: the case of German retailers and the personal care products industry

There has been a significant amount of research in the area of environmental marketing and the greening of business since 1970. Much of this research has focused on the German market. Typically it is of a general nature. It offers little specific advice to any company seeking to become a listed supplier to any major German multiple. This thesis rectifies the situation. It establishes the exact nature of the environmental demands placed by major German retail chains on suppliers. The approach adopted comprises both secondary and primary research. The secondary research is a comprehensive review of legislation, consumers, pressure groups, the media and retailer power in Germany. Literature suggests that suppliers may be considerably affected by the impact which German legislation has on the purchasing policy of German retailers and distributors. Similarly, the rise in consumer environmentalism in Germany means that German retailers may subsequently push the demand for higher environmental quality on to suppliers. The activities of pressure groups and the media in Germany may also be making the multiples more aware of the increasing importance of considering environmental quality as a purchasing criterion in the supply chain. The high concentration of German retailers and their subsequent dominance in the supply chain allows them to demand a high level of environmental quality from suppliers. The primary research involved carrying out in-depth interviews with 19 German retailers. This included 13 o f the top 25 retailers in Germany. All 19 retailers together accounted for over 82 per cent of the German retail market. The driving force behind purchasing policy was investigated in the interviews. It was confirmed that legislation, consumers, pressure groups and the media are powerful influencing factors. The interviews revealed that the larger retailers are pursuing a purchasing policy which incorporates a consideration and evaluation of a number of environmental criteria. There are difficulties in implementing this type of purchasing policy. It is predicted that the pursuance of high environmental quality by German retailers will continue and develop in the future. While this thesis is fundamentally a theoretical study, it will be of practical use to companies supplying retailers in the German market. Although this research focuses on the personal care products industry, the findings are applicable to other industries distributing to retailers in Germany.
Does the adoption of IAS-IFRS reduce information asymmetry systematically ?

Using a sample of German firms that switched to IAS-IFRS during the 1999-2002 period, we study whether the increased accounting disclosures associated with the adoption of IAS-IFRS reduces information asymmetry among market participants, information asymmetry being proxied by bid-ask spreads. Using an event study methodology based on temporal fixed-effects panel regressions that allow to abstract from seasonality in spreads, we show that firms switching to IAS-IFRS tend to exhibit after the IAS-IFRS adoption lower bid-ask spreads than before the adoption. However, this effect is surprisingly significant for large firms only. After controlling for various variables expected to affect bidask spreads, we do not notice any significant decline in spreads of small firms during the adoption period. Moreover, the drop of spreads does not occur the year following the IAS-IFRS adoption, but only the subsequent year. Overall these results suggest that switching to IAS-IFRS increases the information content of large firms’ financial statements relative to local GAAP, the additional information set related to the new disclosures requiring about two years to be fully integrated in spreads.
REPORT ON DIRECTORS' REMUNERATION

1) Setting robust long-term performance targets has been difficult in this uncertain environment. As a result, following consultation with our larger shareholders and shareholder protection bodies, the Remuneration Committee made a change to the easyJet Long Term Incentive Plan’s performance measures for awards during the year ended 30 September 2009. The change supported our strategy of creating sustainable returns for our shareholders over the long-term but recognised the unusual short-term challenges that required effective management at the time of the awards.