Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FACTORS AFFECTING THE PATRONAGE OF INSURANCE SERVICES IN BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated into the factors affecting the patronage of insurance services in Borno state. A sample of four hundred was drawn from the population using qouta sampling techniques. Tables, simple percentage and mean were used for data analysis. The result of the study indicated that lack of trust and confidence on insurance institutions, low educational background, low level of income, ignorance of different types of insurance services among others are the factors affecting patronage of insurance services in Borno state. It was recommended that strong and dynamic marketing strategy will help to reposition insurance industries enhance the patronage of the general public if they want to improve their productivity in this current economic meltdown.
Assessing DSM-5 Section III Personality Traits and Disorders With the MMPI-2-RF

An alternative model for diagnosing personality disorders (PDs) appears in DSM-5 Section III. This model includes a set of dimensional personality traits, which along with impairment in personality functioning can be configured to represent one of six PDs. Although specific assessment instruments for these personality traits have already been developed (e.g., the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 [PID-5]), clinicians will likely continue to use omnibus measures of psychopathology that are familiar to them to inform diagnostic decision making. One such measure, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), will likely remain in the test armamentarium of many practitioners and be employed to assess the DSM-5 dimensional traits. In the current investigation, we examined the associations between MMPI-2-RF scale scores and the PID-5 trait scores and DSM-5 Section III PDs in a combined sample of university students (n = 668) from the United States and Canada. Our results indicated that the MMPI-2-RF scale scores mostly converge with PID-5 dimensional traits as well as the Section III PDs in a conceptually expected manner. As such, we conclude that the MMPI-2-RF is a potentially useful instrument in assessing personality psychopathology as conceptualized in DSM-5 Section III.
The effect of a benzothiadiazide on the isolated toad bladder.

Application of bendroflumethiazide (BHFT) to the serosal surface of the isolated toad bladder promptly reduced short-circuit current (SCC) and conductance and later reduced the transepitheial potential difference. This effect can be reversed by removal of the drug. BHFT depressed the SCC largely by reducing the Na flux from the mucosal to the serosal medium. In control experiments there is a direct correlation between tissue conductance and the passive back flux of Na from serosa to mucosa. Despite the effect of BHFT on conductance, the drug did not consistently affect this flux. Mucosal application of BHFT stimulated SCC and potential difference. The effect of BHFT and that of antidiuretic hormone on SCC were additive. BHFT did not affect water flow or potentiate this effect of antidiuretic hormone. Exposure of both surfaces of the bladder to BHFT transiently stimulated SCC and then depressed it. BHFT entered the tissue from the serosal medium but did not cross into the mucosal medium. The drug did not enter the tissue when it was placed in the mucosal medium. BHFT did not affect tissue potassium concentrations.
Financial and Monetary Cooperation in ASEAN

One result of the 1997 East Asian financial crisis was greater awareness of the need for closer financial and monetary cooperation. This paper makes an inventory of the institutional developments in this area in East Asia, with emphasis on Southeast Asia. The major issues that must resolve include: (i) whether the participation should be limited to ASEAN or expanded to include the whole East Asia region; (ii) the sequencing of activities; and (iii)the institutions that must be consolidated or established to carry out these activities. Since financial and monetary integration remain a distant goal, efforts must focus on monetary and financial cooperation—particularly the latter, mainly in terms of harmonization of standards—that will facilitate greater trade and investment integration and enhance financial stability in the region.
Investing in innovation

This report identifies the investments UK businesses make in intangible assets from R&D to organisational innovation, and the useful life of these investments. To support the work on intangible assets and productivity within NESTA’s Innovation Index project, this paper reports on a new micro survey of intangible assets. The survey of 2,004 UK private sector firms explored the level of (a) spending and (b) life lengths of private sector investments in intangible assets. The survey draws on a statistically representative sample of UK private sector firms, using the UK business register, and was conducted between October 2009 and January 2010. This is a new survey, and it has three main innovative features. First, as well as asking about R&D expenditure, the survey asked firms to detail expenditure on a wider range of spending on intangibles: training, software, branding, design and business process. Second, since much spending on intangibles is in- house, the survey specifically asks firms about both purchased and in-house spending. Third, to estimate depreciation rates for intangibles, the survey also asked about the length of time firms expected to benefit from such spending.
The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Engagement: An Exploratory Study on Mobile Network Business in Thailand

This study explores the antecedents and consequences of customer engagement behavior in the Thai mobile network business. A qualitative research using 15 interviews was conducted to identify the service quality dimensions, customer engagement behaviors and customer loyalty. The respondents’ main concerns were related to technical and functional service quality and their engagement behavior were addressed mostly in offline mode when they interacted with their family, friends and occasionally communicating to the mobile providers. It was found that the approach to switching behavior and cross-buying behavior were connected to customer loyalty behaviors. However, spending behaviors of customers may not be a good indicator for customer loyalty in mobile network business because those who do not have intention to switch to another brand do not necessarily increase their spending. In addition, most respondents are concerned with competitive promotional packages, which influence customer engagement behavior. Hence, it was proposed that service quality and competitive promotional packages are antecedents to customer engagement behaviors and all these factors are important in explaining customer loyalty toward mobile network providers in Thailand.
Structural Validity of the Dutch Version of the Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE-NL) in Patients With Hand and Wrist Injuries

Background Hand and wrist injuries are one of the most common injuries seen in adults. The Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) questionnaire has been developed as a patient-report outcome measure of pain and disability to evaluate the outcome after hand and wrist injuries. Objective The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the structural validity of the existing Dutch version of the PRWE (PRWE-NL) in patients with hand or wrist injuries and (2) to investigate the appropriateness of reporting subscale scores. Design This was a retrospective analysis of cross-sectional data of 368 adult patients. Methods Patients aged 18 to 65 years and treated either surgically or conservatively for an isolated hand or wrist injury were recruited. Patients were excluded if they were unable to speak or read Dutch. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to investigate structural validity, and Cronbach alpha (α) and omega (ω) coefficients were used to investigate internal consistency. Results A series of confirmatory factor analyses revealed that all models (ie, a single-factor model, correlated 2- and 3-factor models, and 2 bifactor models) were associated with adequate model fit. However, inspection of the factor loadings, the explained common variance (ECV), and the different coefficient omega values revealed that the PRWE-NL should be considered a measure of a unidimensional trait. In addition, PRWE-NL subscales were associated with unacceptably low levels of reliability independently of the global PRWE-NL factor. Limitations Although the sample size was adequate, the response rate was 37.1%. Participants were mainly patients with fractures of the wrist or hand, predominantly treated nonsurgically. Conclusion This study suggests that the PRWE-NL measures a unidimensional trait. A single score should be used for the PRWE-NL, without subscale scores.
Information Security Architecture: An Integrated Approach to Security in the Organization

In recent years, information warfare has captured the attention of government officials, information security specialists, and curious onlookers. The term is used to cover a broad spectrum of activity but especially a scenario wherein information terrorists, using not much more than a keyboard and mouse, hack into a computer and cause planes to crash, unprecedented power blackouts to occur, or food supplies to be poisoned. The terrorists might tamper with computers that support banking and finance, perhaps causing stock markets to crash or economies to collapse. None of these disasters has occurred, but the concern is that they, and others like them, could happen, given the ease with which teenagers have been able to romp through computers with impunity--even those operated by the U.S. Department of Defense.
When Does Commitment Lead to Loyalty?

Customer commitment is now regarded as a key variable in marketing relationships. The article investigates the roles played by different forms of commitment in the relationship between customers and their service provider. It was found that when customer commitment is based on shared values and identification, it has a uniformly positive impact on customer loyalty. When customer commitment is based on switching costs and dependence, it has mixed effects on customer loyalty. In addition, it was found that there were significant interactions between these two forms of commitment on customer loyalty. If we are to understand the role of customer commitment, we must have a solid understanding of the nature of commitment present in the relationship. These findings have important implications for the development and management of service relationships because it is not necessarily the case that more customer commitment is better for either the service provider or the customer.
There Is Only One Fourier Transform

Four Fourier transforms are usually defined, the Integral Fourier transform, the Discrete-Time Fourier transform (DTFT), the Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and the Integral Fourier transform for periodic functions. However, starting from their definitions, we show that all four Fourier transforms can be reduced to actually only one Fourier transform, the Fourier transform in the distributional sense.
Flexible budgets and the problems of theirs preparation

There are some methods for business planning and evaluation, but the most effective is budgeting. The aim of the research is to identify the main disadvantages of flexible budgeting and to propose the main ways for improvement of this process. The emphyrical research and analysis of scientific literature shows, that the main problem for preparing budgets is that planning data are not convertible, when business conditions are changed. The research shows the main reasons, why the enterprises do not correct budgets and what problems they meet then. The scheme of internal and external factors, that determine changes of budgets, was prepared as a result of the research. The data of real enterprise were used for preparing of flexible budget that shows that flexible budgets are more informative and controllable.
Stressors Influencing Middle Eastern Women's Perceptions of the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Focus Group Study

To better understand Australia-dwelling Middle Eastern women's lack of service utilization in cardiovascular health, we undertook a study to investigate their understandings and meanings of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. Eight focus groups were conducted in community settings with Turkish, Persian, and Arab women. We found that the women understated their risk of CVD, faced many barriers in reducing their risks, and perceived stress as the most significant contributor to CVD. Women described their stress as primarily emanating from issues surrounding migration and acculturation. Implications for development and delivery of tailored health interventions for Middle Eastern women are discussed.
Improving the Density of Jammed Disordered Packings Using Ellipsoids

Packing problems, such as how densely objects can fill a volume, are among the most ancient and persistent problems in mathematics and science. For equal spheres, it has only recently been proved that the face-centered cubic lattice has the highest possible packing fraction \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \({\varphi}={\pi}{/}\sqrt{18}{\approx}0.74\) \end{document}. It is also well known that certain random (amorphous) jammed packings have φ ≈ 0.64. Here, we show experimentally and with a new simulation algorithm that ellipsoids can randomly pack more densely—up to φ= 0.68 to 0.71for spheroids with an aspect ratio close to that of M&M's Candies—and even approach φ ≈ 0.74 for ellipsoids with other aspect ratios. We suggest that the higher density is directly related to the higher number of degrees of freedom per particle and thus the larger number of particle contacts required to mechanically stabilize the packing. We measured the number of contacts per particle Z ≈ 10 for our spheroids, as compared to Z ≈ 6 for spheres. Our results have implications for a broad range of scientific disciplines, including the properties of granular media and ceramics, glass formation, and discrete geometry.
A L ife Cycle Stakeholder M anagement F ramework for E nhanced Collaboration B etween

Implementation of a life cycle sustainability management (LCSM) strategy can involve significant challenges because of competing or conflicting objectives between stakeholders. These differences may, if not identified and managed, hinder successful adoption of sustainability initiatives. This article proposes a conceptual framework for stakeholder management in a LCSM context. The framework identifies the key sustainability stakeholder groups and suggests strategic ambiguity as a management tool to harness dysfunctional conflict into constructive collaboration. The framework is of practical value as it can be used as a guideline by managers who wish to improve collaboration with stakeholders along the supply chain. The article also fills a gap in the academic literature where there is only limited research on sustainability stakeholder management through strategic ambiguity.
Giant fossil New World primates: arboreal or terrestrial?

L'auteur remet en question les conclusions d'une etude sur le mode de locomotion de deux primates fossiles d'Amerique (Platyrrhiniens), Protopithecus brasiliensis et Caipora bambuiorum dont les restes proviennent de l'est du Bresil, en particulier en ce qui concerne le degre de terrestrialite de leur mode de vie
Centralized Contention Based MAC for OFDMA WLAN

The IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) is the most widely deployed communication standard in the world. Currently, the IEEE 802.11ax draft standard is one of the most advanced and promising among future wireless network standards. However, the suggested uplink-OFDMA (UL-OFDMA) random access method, based on trigger frame-random access (TF-R) from task group ax (TGax), does not yet show satisfying system performance. To enhance the UL-OFDMA capability of the IEEE 802.11ax draft standard, we propose a centralized contention-based MAC (CC-MAC) and describe its detailed operation. In this paper, we analyze the performance of CC-MAC by solving the Markov chain model and evaluating BSS throughput compared to other methods, such as DCF and TF-R, by computer simulation. Our results show that CC-MAC is a scalable and efficient scheme for improving the system performance in a UL-OFDMA random access situation in IEEE 802.11ax. key words: wireless local area networks (WLAN), IEEE 802.11ax, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), UL-OFDMA random access, medium access control (MAC)
Making Customer Relationship Management Work: The Measurement and Profitable Management of Customer Relationships

Customer relationship management (CRM) is perceived to be failing, and there is an urgent need for some practical ways to address this issue. The research presented in this article demonstrates that the implementation of CRM activities delivers greater profits. Using calculations of the lifetime value of customers in two longitudinal case studies, the research finds that customer management strategies change as more is discovered about the value of the customer. These changes lead to better firm performance. The contribution of this article is to show that CRM works and that a relatively straightforward analysis of the value of the customer can make a real difference.
The impact of behavioral counseling on stage of change in fat intake, physical activity, and cigarette smoking in adults at increased risk of coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed stages of change in fat intake, physical activity, and cigarette smoking during a randomized controlled trial of behavioral counseling. METHODS Twenty general practices (primary health care centers) were randomized to lifestyle counseling by behavioral methods or to usual health promotion. A total of 883 patients were selected for the presence of 1 or more of the following risk factors: cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, or a combination of a high body mass index and low physical activity. Stage of change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action/maintenance) was assessed at baseline and after 4 and 12 months. RESULTS The odds of moving to action/maintenance for behavioral intervention vs control patients at 4 months were 2.15 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30, 3.56) for fat reduction, 1.89 (95% CI = 1.07, 3.36) for increased physical activity, and 1.77 (95% CI = 0.76, 4.14) for smoking cessation. The likelihood of achieving action/maintenance was related to baseline stage for all 3 behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Brief behavioral counseling based on advice matched to stage of readiness for change may be valuable in encouraging healthy lifestyles among patients in primary care at raised risk of cardiovascular disease.
Effects of Castration on Thymocyte Development in Two Different Models of Thymic Involution1

Age-associated thymic involution is accompanied by decreased thymic output. This adversely affects general immune competence and T cell recovery following cytoreductive treatments such as chemotherapy. A causal link between increasing sex steroids and age-related thymic atrophy is well established. Although castration has been demonstrated to regenerate the atrophied thymus, little is known about how this is initiated or the kinetics of thymocyte regeneration. The present study shows that although castration impacts globally across thymocyte development in middle-aged mice, the regenerative effects are initiated in the immature triple-negative compartment and early T lineage progenitors (ETP). Specifically, there was a reduction in number of ETP with age, which was restored following castration. There was, however, no change in ETP reconstitution potential in ETP at this age or following castration. Furthermore, in a chemotherapy-induced model of thymic involution, we demonstrate castration enhances intrathymic proliferation and promotes differentiation through the triple-negative program. Clinically, reversible sex steroid ablation is achieved hormonally, and thus presents a means of ameliorating immune inadequacies, for example, following chemotherapy for bone marrow transplantation. By improving our understanding of the kinetics of thymic recovery, this study will allow more appropriate timing of therapy to achieve maximal reconstitution, especially in the elderly.
Proteomics of pulmonary hypertension: Could personalized profiles lead to personalized medicine?

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal syndrome that arises from a multifactorial and complex background, is characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance and right heart afterload, and often leads to cor pulmonale. Over the past decades, remarkable progress has been made in reducing patient symptoms and delaying the progression of the disease. Unfortunately, PH remains a disease with no cure. The substantial heterogeneity of PH continues to be a major limitation to the development of newer and more efficacious therapies. New advances in our understanding of the biological pathways leading to such a complex pathogenesis will require the identification of the important proteins and protein networks that differ between a healthy lung (or right ventricle) and a remodeled lung in an individual with PH. In this article, we present the case for the increased use of proteomics—the study of proteins and protein networks—as a discovery tool for key proteins and protein networks operational in the PH lung. We review recent applications of proteomics in PH, and summarize the biological pathways identified. Finally, we attempt to presage what the future will bring with regard to proteomics in PH and offer our perspectives on the prospects of developing personalized proteomics and custom‐tailored therapies.
Perceptual Skill in Decoding Facial Affect

The perceptual skill in identifying the briefly exposed photographs of facial affect was examined with 75 men and 75 women who were asked to judge six cross-culturally recognizable slides, each expressing one of the six emotions exposed at three different time intervals. Each subject was required to give six judgments and the number of correct responses was considered his score. Analysis by a 3 × 2 factorial design indicated the longer the exposure of the photograph the better the recognition. Although there was no over-all sex difference, analysis by emotions confirmed significantly better accuracy by the women judging ‘sadness’ than by men, and men were more accurate for ‘anger’ than were women.
Treatment and Suicide in Severe Depression: A Case-Control Study of Antidepressant Therapy at Last Contact Before Suicide

Treatment at last contact in 89 persons with severe depression who committed suicide was compared with treatment at a corresponding date in 89 matched persons who did not commit suicide. No difference in electroconvulsive therapy use or prescription of antidepressant medication could be shown between those who committed suicide and those who did not. Neither was there a difference in response to treatment as measured in rates of improvement with treatment. However, continued treatment with antidepressant medication after electroconvulsive therapy was more common in the persons who did not commit suicide than in those who did (46% versus 13%, p < 0.025). None of the persons who committed suicide who were followed during the 6 months before death had received continued treatment after electroconvulsive therapy. This study lends statistical support to the importance of continuing treatment after electroconvulsive therapy to prevent suicide.