Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Political Economy of Work in Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Labour Process Analysis in Two Firms

II CONFERENCE PAPERS . III DECLARATION . IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . VI CONTENTS. VII LIST OF FIGURES . XII LIST OF TABLES . XIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 14 1.1 BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH PROBLEM. 14 1.1.1 Knowledge Gaps and Contributions . 16 1.2 RESEARCH AIM AND QUESTIONS . 18 1.3 RESEARCH DESIGN . 20 1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS . 21 CHAPTER 2: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY APPROACH TO SAUDI CAPITALISM: A CRITIQUE . 23 2.
Quality Management Practices in Namibian SMEs: An Empirical Investigation

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have significantly contributed to growth, innovation and success of several economies across the world. However, SMEs in emerging economies have faced stiff competition in the global market. The purpose of this research is to provide an insight into the status of quality management (QM) practices in Namibian SMEs. This article presents a survey-based approach to evaluate the application of QM practices, the associated critical success factors (CSFs), business performance indicators for quality improvement and the reasons for non-implementation of the quality tools from an emerging economy perspective. An online questionnaire was designed and distributed to 182 Namibian SMEs through stratified random sampling. The overall response rate was 37.86 per cent. Analysis of results showed that the level of application of QM practices was generally low. The main reasons for not implementing QM initiatives were as follows: (a) unknown tools in enterprises, (b) difficulties in data collection and (c) high costs of training. Relative influences of CSFs and the Critical-to-Quality (CTQs) were also evaluated. Intriguingly, top management commitment and support was not a major CSF. Low response rate and context specificity tend to limit the generalization of the results. The study provides insights for policymakers to develop effective policies for QM education and training programmes, hence facilitating effective adoption of QM practices in a developing world context.
A comparison of participation outcome measures and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Sets for traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE To compare the contents of participation outcome measures in traumatic brain injury with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for traumatic brain injury. METHOD A systematic search with an independent review process selected relevant articles to identify outcome measures in participation in traumatic brain injury. Instruments used in two or more studies were linked to the ICF categories, which identified categories in participation for comparison with the ICF Core Sets for traumatic brain injury. RESULTS Selected articles (n = 101) identified participation instruments used in two or more studies (n = 9): Community Integration Questionnaire, Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique, Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 Participation Index, Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale Version-2, Participation Assessment with Recombined Tool-Objective, Community Integration Measure, Participation Objective Participation Subjective, Community Integration Questionnaire-2, and Quality of Community Integration Questionnaire. Each instrument was linked to 4-35 unique second-level ICF categories, of which 39-100% related to participation. Instruments addressed 86-100% and 50-100% of the participation categories in the Comprehensive and Brief ICF Core Sets for traumatic brain injury, respectively. CONCLUSION Participation measures in traumatic brain injury were compared with the ICF Core Sets for traumatic brain injury. The ICF Core Sets for traumatic brain injury could contribute to the development and selection of participation measures.
Validation Study of the Science Literacy Assessment: A Measure to Assess Middle School Students' Attitudes Toward Science and Ability to Think Scientifically

VALIDATION STUDY OF THE SCIENCE LITERACY ASSESSMENT: A MEASURE TO ASSESS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE AND ABILITY TO THINK SCIENTIFICALLY By Tammy R. McKeown, MS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Education Dissertation Chair: Lisa M. Abrams, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Foundations of Education Virginia Commonwealth University, 2017 The present study investigated validity evidence for the Science Literacy Assessment, an instrument designed to assess middle school students’ ability to think scientifically as well as their motivation and beliefs about science (Fives, Huebner, Birnbaum, & Nicolich, 2014). Specifically, three sources of evidence were considered; internal structure, concurrent criterionrelated, and predictive criterion-related. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized to examine the underlying factor structure of each of the instrument’s two components, motivation and beliefs related to science and demonstrated scientific literacy. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated to determine the relationship between scores on the motivation and belief component of the Science Literacy Assessment and two instruments widely used to assess students’ attitudes toward science, the Modified Attitudes Toward Science Inventory (Weinburg & Steele, 2000), and the STEM Career Interest Survey (Kier, Blanchard, Osborne, & Albert, 2014). Finally, the extent to which scores on the Science Literacy Assessment predict scores on a general science knowledge instrument was assessed with the use of bivariate linear regression. Results suggested that, for the middle school student sample, the Science Literacy Assessment has appropriate psychometric properties for use with middle school students. Due to an insufficient high school sample size, validity evidence for this group was inconclusive.
Economic growth determinants in countries with blue carbon: Natural capital as a limiting factor ?

In this paper, we explore the determinants of economic growth in countries with blue carbon, i.e. countries with open access to the sea and high mangrove mitigation potential, to explore the effects of potential antropogenic pressures on these coastal ecosystems. For this purpose, we use a sample of 23 countries across different regions in the world for the period 1960-2009. We find evidence that whereas neoclassical (initial income and investment in physical capital), demography, macroeconomic policy and natural capital are the robust growth theories in countries with blue carbon, investment in physical capital, macroeconomic policy and natural capital are not relevant anymore when using a worldwide sample of countries. The findings on the role of natural capital on economic growth are largely consistent with those of “less developed” countries that our sample represents. Indeed, there is a share over two times lower of national natural capital per capita compared to an average country, and such lower share can be a limiting factor for economic growth. In addition, a too large economic dependence on national natural capital, almost two times higher than in an average country, may also have a negative impact on economic growth. These features, together with the high fertility rates in these countries, highlight the potential antropogenic pressures that coastal areas with blue carbon can be subject to such as land conversion for agriculture or aquaculture, farming run-offs, over-exploitation of blue carbon resources, urbanisation, uncontrolled sewage and public works which, in turn, can degrade blue carbon ecosystems. Given these findings, we empathize the role of central governments to provide incentives for the protection of these nature-based solutions at the level of local policy makers and communities, and of international financial institutions to provide financial support for such initiatives in these “less developed” countries.
Peptide fusion inhibitors targeting the HIV-1 gp41: a patent review (2009 – 2014)

Introduction: As the first peptide HIV fusion inhibitor targeting gp41, enfuvirtide (T20) was approved by the US FDA in 2003 as a salvage therapy for HIV/AIDS patients who failed to respond to the then existing antiretroviral therapeutics. However, its clinical application is limited by its relatively low potency, low genetic barrier to drug resistance and short half-life. Therefore, it is essential to develop new peptide HIV fusion inhibitors with improved antiviral efficacy, drug-resistance profile and pharmaceutical properties. Areas covered: In this paper, we reviewed the patents, patent applications and related research articles for the development of new peptide fusion inhibitors targeting the HIV-1 gp41 published between 2009 and 2014. Expert opinion: To improve enfuvirtide’s anti-HIV efficacy, drug-resistance profile, half-life and pharmaceutical properties, the best approaches include the addition of the pocket-binding domain (PBD) to the N-terminus of T20 and linking of the M-T hook to the N-terminus of PBD, as well as conjugation of cholesterol, serum albumin-binding motif or gp120-binding fragment with a PBD-containing C-terminal heptad repeat-peptide. Therefore, sifuvirtide from Tianjin FusoGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., albuvirtide from Frontier Biotechnologies Co., Ltd., cholesterol-conjugated HIV fusion inhibitor from the Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, 2DLT, a bivalent HIV fusion inhibitor/inactivator, and an enfuvirtide/sifuvirtide combination regimen from the New York Blood Center may all have potential as next-generation HIV fusion inhibitors targeting gp41 for clinical use.
Serum vitamin E concentrations and recovery of physical function during the year after hip fracture.

BACKGROUND Poor nutritional status after hip fracture is common and may contribute to physical function decline. Low serum concentrations of vitamin E have been associated with decline in physical function among older adults, but the role of vitamin E in physical recovery from hip fracture has never been explored. METHODS Serum concentrations of α- and γ-tocopherol, the two major forms of vitamin E, were measured in female hip fracture patients from the Baltimore Hip Studies cohort 4 at baseline and at 2-, 6-, and 12-month postfracture follow-up visits. Four physical function measures-Six-Minute Walk Distance, Lower Extremity Gain Scale, Short Form-36 Physical Functioning Domain, and Yale Physical Activity Survey-were assessed at 2, 6, and 12 months postfracture. Generalized estimating equations modeled the relationship between baseline and time-varying serum tocopherol concentrations and physical function after hip fracture. RESULTS A total of 148 women aged 65 years and older were studied. After adjusting for covariates, baseline vitamin E concentrations were positively associated with Six-Minute Walk Distance, Lower Extremity Gain Scale, and Yale Physical Activity Survey scores (p < .1) and faster improvement in Lower Extremity Gain Scale and Yale Physical Activity Survey scores (p < .008). Time-varying vitamin E was also positively associated with Six-Minute Walk Distance, Lower Extremity Gain Scale, Yale Physical Activity Survey, and Short Form-36 Physical Functioning Domain (p < .03) and faster improvement in Six-Minute Walk Distance and Short Form-36 Physical Functioning Domain (p < .07). CONCLUSIONS Serum concentrations of both α- and γ-tocopherol were associated with better physical function after hip fracture. Vitamin E may represent a potentially modifiable factor related to recovery of postfracture physical function.
Low-impact development: Minimising stormwater runoff in a case study of section 13, Shah Alam, Malaysia

Urbanisation alters the natural system, such as land cover from natural vegetation and agriculture to urban structures. Such changes are due to the demands of development which significantly change stormwater flow and constructed drainage systems. Problems relating to the present stormwater program have been identified; one of the major environmental effects, as a result of improper stormwater management, is flash floods. Hence, this study focuses on the benefits of landscape approach via the use of low-impact development strategies combined with soft landscape engineering in solving flash flood issues. Section 13, Shah Alam, Malaysia was chosen as the study area as it has experienced serious flash flood problems for many years. Regardless of several solutions, the situation remains the same due to the current water peak runoff which has drastically increased since 2003 as a result of 34.8% development. This site was also selected due to its rapid development. For these reasons, its current situation was observed and studied. The management of public spaces have been identified as the key factors in improving the current water peak runoff problems. Therefore, design solutions have been proposed for the study area in which the estimation of water peak runoff can be reduced by 7.9%, which is equal to 81.77 m3/h. It is hoped that this study can be used as a guideline in understanding the process of urban environmental enhancement as well as a tool for solving issues related to flash floods.
Speed of healing and symptom relief in grade II to IV gastroesophageal reflux disease: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Esophagitis healing proportions are often incorrectly called the healing rate. The aim of this study was to compare different drug classes by expressing the speed of healing and symptom relief through a new approach. METHODS A fully recursive literature search to July 1996 identified 43 articles on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (7635 patients) meeting strict inclusion criteria: single- or double-blind randomized studies in adults with endoscopically proven erosive or ulcerative esophagitis. For each drug class, linear regression analysis estimated the average percentage of patients who were healed and heartburn free per week. RESULTS Mean overall healing proportion irrespective of drug dose or treatment duration (< or =12 weeks) was highest with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs; 83.6% +/- 11.4%) vs. H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs; 51.9% +/- 17.1%), sucralfate (39.2% +/- 22.4%), or placebo (28.2% +/- 15.6%). Correcting for patients without baseline heartburn, the mean heartburn-free proportion was highest with PPIs (77.4% +/- 10.4%) vs. H2RAs (47.6% +/- 15.5%). PPIs showed a significantly faster healing rate (11.7%/wk) vs. H2RAs (5.9%/wk) and placebo (2.9%/wk). PPIs provided faster, more complete heartburn relief (11.5%/wk) vs. H2RAs (6.4%/wk). CONCLUSIONS More complete esophagitis healing and heartburn relief is observed with PPIs vs. H2RAs and occurs nearly twice as fast. This semiquantitative expression of speed of healing and symptom relief permits comparisons for future economic evaluation and quality-of-life assessments.
Cost‐effectiveness analysis when the WTA is greater than the WTP

The incremental cost effectiveness ratio has long been the standard parameter of interest in the assessment of the cost‐effectiveness of a new treatment. However, due to concerns with interpretability and statistical inference, authors have suggested using the willingness‐to‐pay for a unit of health benefit to define the incremental net benefit as an alternative. The incremental net benefit has a more consistent interpretation and is amenable to routine statistical procedures. These procedures rely on the fact that the willingness‐to‐accept compensation for a loss of a unit of health benefit (at some cost saving) is the same as the willingness‐to‐pay for it. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggest, however, that in health care the willingness‐to‐accept is about twice as much as the willingness‐to‐pay. We use Bayesian methods to provide a statistical procedure for the cost‐effectiveness comparison of two arms of a randomized clinical trial that allows the willingness‐to‐pay and the willingness‐to‐accept to have different values. An example is provided. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Survival of Schistosoma mansoni in the human host: estimates from a community-based prospective study in Puerto Rico.

Changes over time in the prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma mansoni infection were measured by serial quantitative stool examinations using the modified Ritchie concentration technique in a 9-year prospective study of an endemic Puerto Rican community with a population of about 1,000 persons. The complete interruption of transmission was achieved by snail control during the 2nd year of the study, in February 1973. Annual stool specimens were obtained from all willing community residents. In addition, from 27 of these residents 10 consecutive stools were collected in each of 3 years: 1973, 1976, 1977. After a chemotherapy campaign with oxamniquine in 1980, only eight of these 27 persons remained untreated. Ten consecutive stools were collected from seven of these untreated individuals in 1981. We calculated the rate of decline (beta) in geometric mean egg count in the cohort of 27 over 5 years and in the subcohort of seven over 9 years. Similarly, beta was calculated from the change in the single annual stool counts in 528 persons providing data for all of the first 6 years of the study. Estimates of the average life-span (-1/beta, in a model assuming constant rate of death) of the adult S. mansoni with 95% confidence intervals are for the cohort of 27, 5.5 years (4.0 to 9.1), for the cohort of seven, 37 years (8.0 to infinity), and and for the cohort of 528, 35 years (16 to infinity). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Regulation of Connexin Channels by pH

Protonated aminosulfonate compounds directly inhibit connexin channel activity. This was demonstrated by pH-dependent connexin channel activity in Good’s pH buffers (MES (4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid), HEPES, and TAPS (3-{[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]amino]-1-propanesulfonic acid)) that have an aminosulfonate moiety in common and by the absence of pH-dependent channel activity in pH buffers without an aminosulfonate moiety (maleate, Tris, and bicarbonate). The pH-activity relation was shifted according to the pK a of each aminosulfonate pH buffer. At constant pH, increased aminosulfonate concentration inhibited channel activity. Taurine, a ubiquitous cytoplasmic aminosulfonic acid, had the same effect at physiological concentrations. These data raise the possibility that effects on connexin channel activity previously attributed to protonation of connexin may be mediated instead by protonation of cytoplasmic regulators, such as taurine. Modulation by aminosulfonates is specific for heteromeric connexin channels containing connexin-26; it does not occur significantly for homomeric connexin-32 channels. The identification of taurine as a cytoplasmic compound that directly interacts with and modulates connexin channel activity is likely to facilitate understanding of cellular modulation of connexin channels and lead to the development of reagents for use in structure-function studies of connexin protein.
A Twenty-year Retrospective Study of Pediatric Tuberculosis in Two Tertiary Hospitals in Rome

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is among the top 10 causes of child death worldwide. Nevertheless, childhood disease has been neglected by tuberculosis control programs. Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients < 16 years of age diagnosed with active TB in 2 tertiary hospitals in Rome (Italy), between 1990 and 2009. Results: Two hundred fourteen cases of active tuberculosis were identified (132 definite, 82 probable). Pulmonary involvement was the most common form (75.5%), followed by lymphadenopathy (15.4%) and central nervous system TB (11%). Fever (51.86%) and cough (40%) were the most common presenting symptoms. A total of 23.4% of children were asymptomatic on admission. Sensitivities of the tuberculin skin test and the quantiferon test were 93.4% and 97%, respectively. Both tests performed in 52 children agreed in 49 cases (94%). Sensitivities for culture, Ziehl–Neelsen staining and polymerase chain reaction were 58%, 25% and 66.3%, respectively. The adult source case was identified in 28% of cases. History of contact with a patient with active TB was associated with pulmonary TB (P = 0.0014), whereas negative history of contact was associated with lymph node (P = 0.0064) and central nervous system TB (P = 0.05). Conclusions: Our study emphasizes the difficulty in managing children with suspected TB, because the absence of constitutional symptoms cannot exclude TB, and bacteriologic confirmation is the exception. Immunologic diagnosis can be a valuable tool to identify TB-infected children because the quantiferon test showed high sensitivity in all age groups. This is of primary importance because early identification of children with latent tuberculous infection and appropriate chemoprophylaxis represent, to date, the most important tool to reduce the burden of TB.
Parsing Arabic using treebank-based LFG resources

In this paper we present initial results on parsing Arabic using treebank-based parsers and automatic LFG f-structure annotation methodologies. The Arabic Annotation Algorithm (A3) (Tounsi et al., 2009) exploits the rich functional annotations in the Penn Arabic Treebank (ATB) (Bies and Maamouri, 2003; Maamouri and Bies, 2004) to assign LFG f-structure equations to trees. For parsing, we modify Bikel’s (2004) parser to learn ATB functional tags and merge phrasal categories with functional tags in the training data. Functional tags in parser output trees are then "unmasked" and available to A3 to assign f-structure equations. We evaluate the resulting f-structures against the DCU250 Arabic gold standard dependency bank (Al-Raheb et al., 2006). Currently we achieve a dependency f-score of 77%.
Prevalence of nonpolypoid (flat and depressed) colorectal neoplasms in asymptomatic and symptomatic adults.

CONTEXT Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Prevention has focused on the detection and removal of polypoid neoplasms. Data are limited on the significance of nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasms (NP-CRNs). OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of NP-CRNs in a veterans hospital population and to characterize their association with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Cross-sectional study at a veterans hospital in California with 1819 patients undergoing elective colonoscopy from July 2003 to June 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Endoscopic appearance, location, size, histology, and depth of invasion of neoplasms. RESULTS The overall prevalence of NP-CRNs was 9.35% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 8.05%-10.78%; n = 170). The prevalence of NP-CRNs in the subpopulations for screening, surveillance, and symptoms was 5.84% (95% CI, 4.13%-8.00%; n = 36), 15.44% (95% CI, 12.76%-18.44%; n = 101), and 6.01% (95% CI, 4.17%-8.34%; n = 33), respectively. The overall prevalence of NP-CRNs with in situ or submucosal invasive carcinoma was 0.82% (95% CI, 0.46%-1.36%; n = 15); in the screening population, the prevalence was 0.32% (95% CI, 0.04%-1.17%; n = 2). Overall, NP-CRNs were more likely to contain carcinoma (odds ratio, 9.78; 95% CI, 3.93-24.4) than polypoid lesions, irrespective of the size. The positive size-adjusted association of NP-CRNs with in situ or submucosal invasive carcinoma was also observed in subpopulations for screening (odds ratio, 2.01; 95% CI, 0.27-15.3) and surveillance (odds ratio, 63.7; 95% CI, 9.41-431). The depressed type had the highest risk (33%). Nonpolypoid colorectal neoplasms containing carcinoma were smaller in diameter as compared with the polypoid ones (mean [SD] diameter, 15.9 [10.2] mm vs 19.2 [9.6] mm, respectively). The procedure times did not change appreciably as compared with historical controls. CONCLUSION In this group of veteran patients, NP-CRNs were relatively common lesions diagnosed during routine colonoscopy and had a greater association with carcinoma compared with polypoid neoplasms, irrespective of size.