Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of the Balanced Scorecard on Performance: Case Study of the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance

This study aimed at identifying the extent of the use of the balanced scorecard in the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, as was laid out in the Bank's plans. Therefore, employee and customer surveys were conducted to study both the internal Perspectives of operations, growth, and learning, and to measure customer satisfaction with the bank's services. The study also conducted an analysis of the financial performance compared to the index of the industry related to the Jordanian banks. After analyzing the data and hypotheses, the study found that the use of the balanced scorecard came in line with its strategic plans, and the financial performance of the bank was superior to the banking sector. The study recommends an increased use of balanced scorecards in order to sustain customer satisfaction.
Open and closed states of Candida antarctica lipase B: protonation and the mechanism of interfacial activation

Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are ubiquitous hydrolases for the carboxyl ester bond of water-insoluble substrates, such as triacylglycerols, phospholipids, and other insoluble substrates, acting in aqueous as well as in low-water media, thus being of considerable physiological significance with high interest also for their industrial applications. The hydrolysis reaction follows a two-step mechanism, or “interfacial activation,” with adsorption of the enzyme to a heterogeneous interface and subsequent enhancement of the lipolytic activity. Among lipases, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) has never shown any significant interfacial activation, and a closed conformation of CALB has never been reported, leading to the conclusion that its behavior was due to the absence of a lid regulating the access to the active site. The lid open and closed conformations and their protonation states are observed in the crystal structure of CALB at 0.91 Å resolution. Having the open and closed states at atomic resolution allows relating protonation to the conformation, indicating the role of Asp145 and Lys290 in the conformation alteration. The findings explain the lack of interfacial activation of CALB and offer new elements to elucidate this mechanism, with the consequent implications for the catalytic properties and classification of lipases.
Online Lurkers Tell Why

A Web-based survey of 375 Microsoft Network (MSN) online communities was undertaken to investigate why people do not publicly participate in online discussion groups, i.e., lurk. The most popular reason for lurking, “just reading/browsing is enough”, was noted by more than half of the lurkers (53.9%). Apparently, many lurkers get their needs met through observation rather than public participation. The next but much less prominent reason for lurking is “still learning about the group” (29.7%,). For many respondents lurking may be an initial temporary period of non-posting, and that once this period is over, they may begin to posting. Most importantly, based on the finding that only 13.2% of lurkers indicated they were “going to lurk from the outset”, lurking can be a product of the community interaction itself. Implications for future research are drawn and specific suggestions for managing lurking and developing better community tools are proposed.
Fasting in rodents

Clarification of terms . 1 Interpretation of borderline cases . 2 Legal issues. 2 Norwegian Animal Protection Act. 2 Norwegian Animal Welfare Act . 2 Norwegian Regulation on Experiments with animals. 2 Tradition or science? 4 The effects of fasting. 4 The effects of fasting on emptying of the digestive tract and body weight . 5 The effects of fasting on pharmacological parameters and behaviour. 5 Welfare indicators and fasting. 7 Guidelines on fasting . 7 Alternatives to fasting . 8 Norecopa’s recommendations . 9 References . 10
The Prevalence of Sleep Disturbance and Its Socio-demographic and Clinical Correlates in First-episode Individuals With Schizophrenia in Rural China.

PURPOSE This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the socio-demographic and clinical correlates of sleep disturbance in first-episode individuals with schizophrenia in rural China and the factors that impact sleep among individuals with schizophrenia. DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 104 first-episode individuals with schizophrenia were randomly selected in rural areas in Ningxia, China, in 2015 as the study sample. FINDINGS In first-episode individuals with schizophrenia, the prevalence of sleep disturbance was 78.8% (82/104). Sleep disturbance was significantly associated with economic status, living situation, educational level, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Sleep disturbance is common in first-episode individuals with schizophrenia in rural China and more attention should be paid in clinical practice to improve the sleep quality for individuals with schizophrenia.
NUCLEOSIDES, NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS

Oligonucleosomal fragmentation of nuclear DNA is the late stage hallmark of the apoptotic process. In mammalian apoptotic cells fragmentation is catalyzed by DFF40/ CAD DNase. DFF40/CAD primary activated through site-specific proteolytic cleavage by caspase 3. The absence of caspase 3 in MCF-7 leads to lack of oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation under numerous apoptotic stimuli. In this study it was shown that palmitate induces apoptotic changes of nuclei and oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation in casp3 deficient MCF-7. Activation and accumulation of 40–50 kDa DFF40 like DNases in nuclei and cytoplasm of palmitate-treated MCF-7 were detected by SDS-DNA-PAGE assay. Microsomes of apoptotic MCF-7 activate 40–50 kDa nucleases when incubated with human placental chromatin and induce oligonucleosomal fragmentation of chromatin in cell free system. Both DNases activation and chromatin fragmentation are suppressed in presence of caspase 3/7 inhibitor AcDEVD-CHO. Microsome associated caspase 7 is suggested to play the principal role in induction of oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation of casp3 defitient MCF-7.
A Silent Asymptomatic Solid Pancreas Tumor in a Nonsmoking Athletic Female: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

A silent solid endocrine tumor of pancreas, intraductal adenocarcinoma of pancreas, is the fourth leading cancer-related death in the US. However, it is expected to become the third leading cause by 2030 owing to delayed diagnosis and slow progress in management. Chronic pancreatitis is at risk for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC is diagnostic with transabdominal sonogram, blood test such as carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), and imaging. PDAC has a dismal prognosis. The survival rate in 5 years is barely 6%, while late detection rate is 80–85% with unresectable stage upon diagnosis. Here, we present a 51-year-old asymptomatic female with intermittent constipation and abdominal pain for 1 month with obstructive jaundice with PDAC with liver metastasis.
Broadband Modulation of Terahertz Waves With Non-Resonant Graphene Meta-Devices

Single-layer graphene absorbs a small fraction of incident terahertz waves by intraband transition of Dirac fermions. The amounts of absorption, reflection, and transmission of terahertz waves depend on the doping level of graphene, i.e., the Fermi level, and they exhibit relatively weak frequency dependency at terahertz frequencies. By hybridizing gated single-layer graphene with a non-resonant meta-atom structure, we show that the effective surface conductivity of meta-atom hybridized graphene can be significantly enhanced, and large intensity modulation of transmitted terahertz waves can be achieved without sacrificing the broadband modulation feature of single-layer graphene. For a frequency insensitive response, the meta-atoms are designed so that their resonance is positioned outside the frequencies of interest. Exploiting the enhanced effective surface conductivity with a non-resonant feature, larger modulation was possible over broad operating frequency from 0.3 to 2.3 THz. We anticipate that this electrically controlled graphene meta-device may play an important role in the realization of practical terahertz modulators.
Research on the Factors Affecting the Development of Cultural and Creative Tourism Products—Taking Bai Shuiyang as an Example

With the development of the economy and the progress of society, the lives of ordinary people are getting better and better, and the willingness to go out for holidays is getting stronger and stronger. However, each year the quality inspection department receives a large number of travel complaints, indicating that there are many ills in the tourism market in China, and the satisfaction of tourists is generally not high. Taking Baishuiyang Scenic Spot as an example, this paper studies the development of cultural and creative tourism products from the perspective of tourist experience, and uses factor analysis and multiple regression models to analyze the influencing factors of cultural and creative tourism product development in Baishuiyang Scenic Spot, and then propose corresponding factors for the influencing factors.
Hedge Accounting and Market Value of Quoted Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria: Panel Data Evidence

In a developing economy such as Nigeria, the business environment is characterized with risk that affects the operational efficiency and the performance of quoted firms. There is needed to make policies that will hedge against risk in the operating environment. This study examined the effect of hedge accounting on the market value of quoted oil and gas firms. A sample of 10 oil and gas firms was selected based on data quality and availability to address the requirements of the variables in the regression model. The study modeled market value as linear function of cash flow hedging, investment hedging and fair value hedging. Cross sectional data was sources from financial statement of the selected firms from 2011 to 2016. From the panel data result, (Fixed Effect Model) the study found that cash flow hedging have positive and significant relationship with market value while fair value hedging and investment hedging have positive but not significant relationship with market value of the quoted oil and gas firms. We therefore recommend that hedge accounting policies should be properly integrated to the operational objectives of the firms.
Omnichannel Shopper Segmentation in the Fashion Industry

Abstract The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify groups of omnishoppers based on their main motivations (usefulness, enjoyment, and social influence); and, second, to characterize the omnishopper clusters. To this end, we surveyed a sample of 628 customers of an omnichannel clothing store and analyzed the data using cluster analysis. The results reveal three different segments: reluctant omnishoppers, omnichannel enthusiasts, and indifferent omnishoppers; and significant differences in gender, age, income level, and omnichannel behavior among these segments. In contrast, we found no differences in the use of channels and devices. These results have theoretical and managerial implications.
Do External Funding Sources Affect Research Productivity?: A Departmental-Level Analysis of Seven Former Imperial Japanese Universities

This study examines the research productivity of departments in seven former imperial universities of Japan. We categorize the departments into five academic fields: engineering, health sciences (i.e., medicine, dentistry and pharmaceutical), economics, science, and agriculture. Then, the impact of fundamental and external research funds is examined to see whether they positively affect research productivity—measured by the number of papers accepted in peer-reviewed, international academic journals. Additionally, we investigate whether such external funding sources affect productivity in each of the five fields differently, noting any variation between them. The estimation results reveal that, first, the increase of fundamental and external funds per faculty member is positively correlated with research productivity in the fields of engineering and health sciences. Second, considering the results of further investigation into the effects of external funding, research funding by the public sector can increase productivity in each of the five academic fields. Third, the results pertaining to private research funds show that research funding provided by firms can increase productivity in engineering and health sciences. However, for economics, the increase in external funding from firms is negatively correlated with research productivity. This result might be because the purpose of industry–university collaboration differs according to the academic field. Regarding economics, the output from the resulting collaboration might not result in the production of an academic paper, but rather make policy recommendations or provide consulting using quantitative analysis. This study is the first attempt by any Japanese university to analyze research productivity across several departments. The empirical results show that depending on the discipline, the same resources of research funding impact research productivity differently. Nowadays, the Japanese central government has been about the business of reforming resource allocation systems of universities by evaluating their research performance, basing them more on the quantitative indicators such as the key performance indicators (KPI). However, a key result of this study implies that when a relative evaluation of universities is applied, each university’s situation must be more carefully considered, especially in terms of what kinds of academic departments it has, and which specialties or segments it features.
A Model of the Development of Frontal Lobe Functioning: Findings From a Meta-Analysis

Although past research has provided an initial examination of maturational trends of frontal lobe functioning, it has not yielded a unifying developmental model. The purpose of this study was to generate a model representing the maturation of frontal lobe function as determined principally through neuropsychological tests. A meta-analytic review of the literature on the development of frontal lobe functioning was conducted. Journal articles were identified through an initial search of PsycInfo, Medline, and ERIC for the years 1984-2004 using key words executive function*, frontal function*, development*, and age. Analyses of effect size differences across age groups assisted in determining the developmental patterns for commonly used measures of frontal functioning by providing a common metric of growth. Age-related increases across the different frontal functions were averaged providing overall age-related increases in performance. A plot was made of the development of frontal lobe functioning using the mean effect size of change in performance across age groups. The model of the development of frontal lobe functioning suggests a staging of development that begins in early childhood with the maturation of frontal functioning and continues, although at a decreased rate, into adolescence and early adulthood.
Complete Remission by Primary Chemotherapy of Advanced Non-Seminomatous Germ Cell Tumor in an Intra-Abdominal Testis

Ectopic testis predisposes to a high risk of germ cell tumor development. Treatment of advanced testicular germ cell tumor developing in an uncorrected abdominal testis is based on primary chemotherapy followed by removal of the testis along with residual masses. However, persistence of viable tumor particularly in the testis is always noted since testis penetration of chemotherapeutic agents is reduced. We report a case of complete pathological remission of a patient with advanced non-seminomatous germ cell tumor in intra-abdominal testis by primary chemotherapy alone, with a review of the literature.
Chloroquine containing liposomes in the chemotherapy of murine malaria

SUMMARY In this study, the advantage of the use of chloroquine (CQ) containing liposomes (lipCQ) over free CQ in the chemotherapy of murine malaria (Plasmodium berghei) was demonstrated. The maximum permissible dose per intraperitoneal injection was 0·8 and 10 mg for CQ and lipCQ, respectively. An increase in therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy of lipCQ in comparison with free CQ at a 0·8 mg CQ dose level was found. It was possible to obtain 100% efficacy (injection at day 5 after infection; parasitaemia 4–8%) with one single intraperitoneal injection of 6 mg lipCQ. Moreover, the ability to increase the doses of CQ per injection after liposome encapsulation allowed successful treatment of infections with CQ-resistant Plasmodium berghei which could not be cured by a 7-day course with the maximum tolerable dose of free CQ of 0·8 mg/mouse/day.
Positional Identification of Microdeletions with Genetic Markers

The positional identification of genetic factors for both simple and complex diseases is difficult. There is increasing evidence that small deletions are a fairly common cause for many genetic diseases and some complex diseases. To date, no statistical basis has been available for the identification of microdeletions in family studies. Here, we present an approach to the identification of novel microdeletions for parent-affected offspring trios. We present several different approaches that can be applied to identify microdeletions and also evaluate the statistical behavior of one of these methods in simulated data. The results show that for the study of single nucleotide polymorphisms, the error rate has an approximately linear effect in decreasing the ability to identify microdeletions. On the other hand, heterogeneity of causation, with only some families showing a microdeletion had a more severe influence upon the ability to identify de novo microdeletions.
Epileptiform activity in rat hippocampus strengthens excitatory synapses

Although epileptic seizures are characterized by excessive excitation, the role of excitatory synaptic transmission in the induction and expression of epilepsy remains unclear. Here, we show that epileptiform activity strengthens excitatory hippocampal synapses by increasing the number of functional (RS)‐α‐amino‐3hydroxy‐5methyl‐4‐isoxadepropionate (AMPA)‐type glutamate receptors in CA3–CA1 synapses. This form of synaptic strengthening occludes long‐term potentiation (LTP) and enhances long‐term depression (LTD), processes involved in learning and memory. These changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity, which are fully blocked with N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, may underlie epilepsy induction and seizure‐associated memory deficits.
Future Directions: Emergent Social Media Technologies and the Potential for Higher Education

This chapter considers future directions for emerging social media technologies and their potential for teaching and learning practice in higher education. While technologies that support social media constantly change, it provides some simple and practical guidelines to assist teachers with their practice and use of social media technologies in their classrooms. This chapter acknowledges the evolving nature of the technologies available in today’s teaching and learning context as well as ones that are considered to impact higher educational learning and teaching in the future, including descriptions of augmented and virtual reality and gamification and gamified learning.
Application of Computer-Aided Drug Design to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Computer-aided drug design (CADD) is an interdisciplinary subject, playing a pivotal role during new drug research and development, especially the discovery and optimization of lead compounds. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modernization is the only way of TCM development and also an effective approach to the development of new drugs and the discovery of potential drug targets (PDTs). Discovery and validation of PTDs has become the “bottle-neck” restricted new drug research and development and is urgently solved. Innovative drug research is of great significance and bright prospects. This paper mainly discusses the “druggability” and specificity of PTDs, the “druglikeness” of drug candidates, the methods and technologies of the discovery and validation of PTDs and their application. It is very important to achieve the invention and innovation strategy “from gene to drug”. In virtue of modern high-new technology, especially CADD, combined with TCM theory, research and develop TCM and initiate an innovating way fitting our country progress. This paper mainly discusses CADD and their application to drug research, especially TCM modernization.
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae strains with the capsule‐associated insertion element IS1016 may mimic encapsulated strains

With the elimination of Haemophilus influenzae type b through vaccination, it has been suggested that other types of H. influenzae strains might acquire virulence traits and emerge as important pathogens. The gene sequence IS1016 has been associated with an increased capacity to cause severe infections. It is usually present in encapsulated strains but is sometimes harbored by nontypeable H. influenzae strains. To explore this further, 118 H. influenzae isolates, collected from both patients and healthy carriers, were investigated with PCR with reference to this gene sequence. Isolates positive for the insertion element were bio‐ and serotyped. The presence of hmw genes for adherence, the genetic profile, and the ability to form biofilm in vitro were investigated. A total of 15 isolates were IS1016‐positive, whereof 12 were nontypeable. All 12 nontypeable isolates were obtained from healthy carriers, and 92% of the isolates were biotype I. They cross‐reacted to some extent with type‐specific antisera or exhibited a restricted genetic diversity like encapsulated strains. Furthermore, they lacked hmw‐genes, and their ability to form biofilms was comparable with a capsule‐deficient type b strain. Although this subset of strains mimicked traits usually exhibited by encapsulated strains, the isolation frequency did not seem to have been affected by vaccination.
Maximum reproductive rate of fish at low population sizes

We examine a database of over 700 spawner-recruitment series to search for parameters that are constant, or nearly so, at the level of a species or above. We find that the number of spawners produced per spawner each year at low populations, i.e., the maximum annual reproductive rate, is relatively constant within species and that there is relatively little variation among species. This quantity can be interpreted as a standardized slope at the origin of a spawner-recruitment function. We employ variance components models that assume that the log of the standardized slope at the origin is a normal random variable. This approach allows improved estimates of spawner-recruitment parameters, estimation of empirical prior distributions for Bayesian analysis, estimation of the biological limits of fishing, calculation of the maximum sustainable yield, and impact assessment of dams and pollution.