Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Who pays? Out-of-pocket health spending and equity implications in the Middle East and North Africa

Ensuring affordable, effective health care and financial protection against the adverse effects of household out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures represents an important policy objective in most countries, yet relatively little evidence exists regarding patterns and implications of household health expenditures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This paper examines the scope of out-of-pocket expenditures and their implications on living standards and policy reforms in six MENA countries including Yemen, the West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, and Lebanon. Results show that OOP payments represent a relatively high share of total national health care financing at 49 percent on average in the MENA region as of 2006. Households pay an average of 6 percent of their total household expenditure on health. Most of this OOP is spent on medications, doctor visits and diagnostic services. Lower-income and rural households generally face greater financial risk; yet this is reversed where private health services are utilized and paid for more frequently by higher-income groups. 7 to 13 percent of households face particularly high OOP payments, or catastrophic expenditures equal to at least 10 percent of household spending. Poverty rates tend to increase by up to 20 percent after health care spending is accounted for. Results are discussed in light of ongoing policy efforts to strengthen social protection for health care.
Ridge regression and direct marketing scoring models

The objective of a direct marketing scoring model is to pick a specified number of people to receive a particular offer so that the response to the mailing is maximized. This paper shows how ridge regression can be used to improve the performance of direct marketing scoring models. It reviews the key property of ridge regression—it can produce estimates of the slope coefficients having smaller mean squared error than ordinary least squares models. Next, it shows that ridge regression can be used to reduce the effective number of parameters in a regression model. Thus, ridge regression can be used as an alternative to variable subset selection methods such as stepwise regression to control the bias-variance tradeoff of the estimated values. This means that direct marketers can include more variables in a scoring model without danger of overfitting the data. Ridge regression estimates are compared with stepwise regression on direct marketing data. The empirical results suggest that ridge regression provides a more stable way of moderating the model degrees of freedom than dropping variables.
Treatment of Schizophrenia: Implications Derived from an Intercultural Hospital Comparison between Germany and Japan

Objectives: The study was aimed at evaluating facets of psychiatric inpatient care of patients with schizophrenia in a German and a Japanese hospital. Methods: Based upon a sample of 865 inpatients of the Psychiatric State Hospital Regensburg (BKR) and 50 inpatients of the Tokyo Women’s Medical University (TWMU) admitted in 1997, data of a psychiatric basic documentation system (BADO) were analysed with regard to essential process and outcome indicators. Results: Despite dissimilarities between both patient groups with respect to schizophrenic subtype, duration of illness as well as severity of illness and psychosocial functioning, the differences regarding therapeutic treatment and outcome were marked. In 1997, the rate of atypical neuroleptics was 18% at the BKR and 12% at the TWMU. Inpatients of the TWMU were given benzodiazepines and anticholinergic drugs significantly more frequently. Male patients of the TWMU showed more severe side-effects. Psychotherapy and sociotherapy were less frequently applied at the TWMU. Although the patient groups did not differ with regard to suicidal behaviour and overt aggressions during hospitalisation, we found a higher rate of mechanical restraints at the TWMU. In 1997, the average length of stay was significantly higher at the TWMU (153 days) than at the BKR (52 days), but inpatients of the TWMU improved only slightly better with regard to global psychosocial functioning (GAF) and severity of illness (CGI). Conclusions: The revealed differences in treatment are likely due to differences in service provision and national practices in Germany and Japan and provide clues for quality improvements. The BADO is a useful tool for continuous quality management and an ongoing international exchange concerning psychiatric inpatient care.
PERSONNEL MARKETING AS A STIMULANT FOR CREATING A NEW COMPANY IDENTITY

The number of companies in the service sector has been growing constantly in the last several years. The appropriate use of staff and professional customer service by employees is possible if the company meets the expectations of employees. Companies pay more attention to the development of such an internal environment that fosters employee satisfaction. This forms a new dimension of the identity of the company, in which ethical norms and values play a crucial role. This paper describes the selected concepts of identity of the organization as the foundation of the creation of the corporate image. The article defines the concepts: personnel marketing, company identity, image of the organization, and explains the relationships between these concepts. The author has tried to find relationship between the Corporate Behaviour and the level of staff satisfaction (new employees) and staff turnover.
Fast-Gaussian SIFT and its hardware architecture for keypoint detection

Scale invariant feature transform(SIFT) is an algorithm to extract distinctive and invariant features from images to achieve reliable object matching between different images in variant scales and rotations. However, SIFT's huge computation impedes its real-time implementation. In this paper, a Fast-Gaussian SIFT(FG-SIFT) is proposed. Keypoint detection is optimized in FG-SIFT. SIFT's 2-D difference of Gaussian(DoG) in Gaussian Scale-Space(GSS) is separated into two 1-D DoG in x and y dimensions, and the level of scales in DoG pyramid is also reduced. The experiment shows that FG-SIFT reduces the computational complexity about 95% in GSS construction, also increases the accuracy of keypoint detection. Subsequently, the accuracy of generated features is increased 162%, and the accuracy of matched features is increased 8%. Apart from optimization in algorithm level, a hardware architecture of FG-SIFT's keypoint detection module is proposed. With a parallel architectural incorporating a five-stage pipeline, the execution time of keypoint detection is only 1.42ms@Xilinx Virtex5. Compared to conventional works, the speed is 21% faster than the fastest solution [9](ASIC), and hardware resources are 70% less than the most resources saved solutions [5] [6](Xilinx Virtex5).
MEMS in RF-filter applications: thin film bulk-acoustic-wave technology

RF-filters based on MEMS technology have started to substitute conventional filters in mobile phones as they offer clear performance and size advantages. Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) and FBAR technologies today dominate the market for US-PCS duplexers and transmit filters which are needed between the power amplifier and antenna in mobile phone applications. No other RF-MEMS component has yet emerged in mobile phone applications. The working principle and fundamentals of RF-MEMS filters - and in particular thin film bulk-acoustic-wave (BAW) filters - are summarized in a comprehensive form. Requirements and key performance parameters for filters in next generation mobile phone applications are reviewed in detail. The presentation includes an outlook on future RF architectures and consolidates the demand for filters. BAW and FBAR technologies in wafer-level-packaging enable the building of complete "system-in-package" (SiP) RF-modules using cheap substrates and established assembly methods as are reviewed in detail. The state-of-the-art in BAW filters and future technology trends are presented. Supplementary information covers manufacturing and commercialization issues.
Pre‐construction project partnering: from adversarial to collaborative relationships

The use of subcontracting within the construction industry has become commonplace with many main contractors only undertaking the management and co‐ordination activities. The reliance on subcontractors has put much stress on the main contractor‐subcontractor relationship. As main contractors have realised that the greatest potential for cost savings lies with the subcontractors, the prevalence of unfair practices has increased. This paper describes a procurement approach, utilising limited competition, developed by a major UK main contractor in order to improve its relationships with subcontractors. The approach developed was based on research which identified: what the main contractor’s professional employees want from subcontractors; what subcontractors want from main contractors; and a study to compare the main contractor’s performance with that of its competitors. It was concluded that this approach offers a number of benefits for the client, the main contractor, partnering subcontractors and professional consultants, such as, lower costs, improved team approach and less confrontation.
Functional and anatomical organization of cardiovascular pressor and depressor sites in the lateral hypothalamic area. II. Ascending projections

Microinjections of L‐glutamate or D, L‐homocysteic acid were used to stimulate cell bodies in the region of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) selectively. Subsequent iontophoretic injections of Phaseolus vulgaris‐leucoagglutinin or pressure injections of wheat germ agglutininhorseradish peroxidase were made into regions containing identified pressor and depressor sites and their connections with the forebrain and cerebral cortex were traced.
ARE BUILD-TRANSFER-OPERATE REGIMES JUSTIFIED?

Are Build-Transfer-Operate Regimes Justified? In recent years, the introduction of a build-transfer (BT) regime is one of the regulatory reforms that has emerged in some developing countries, for example, Indonesia, Lithuania and Thailand. The BT regime has been modified into several forms, for example a build-transferoperate (BTO), a build-operate-transfer (BOT) and a build-lease-transfer (BLT). The main objective of this paper is to examine whether this approach is justified. Because telecommunications in Thailand is regarded as a leader in the use of BTO arrangements, it therefore has been chosen as a case study in this paper. It is found that the structure of telecommunications market is unlikely a natural monopoly, which implies that BTO regimes do not provide cost saving.
Equity-Based Incentives and Effective Signalling Strategies

We investigate how the manager of a publicly traded firm may distort operational decisions to signal product quality when he/she receives equity-based incentives offered by shareholders. We show that the shareholders' optimal incentive contract induces the manager to engage in wasteful actions. However, the cost of such actions can be drastically reduced by optimising the equity-based incentive contract. The price-signalling strategy is nearly as good as the multidimensional strategy, whereas the inventory-signalling strategy is costly for the shareholders. We also quantify how various parameters could affect shareholder wealth and the optimal equity-based incentive contract.
Modeling User Acceptance and Attitudes towards Using e-Government Business Services in the Saudi Private Sectors

Nowadays, the provided services by governments internationally are strongly perform for delivering services via the Internet, particularly as a means of boosting cost-efficiency and reducing time spent on direct interactions with citizens. In Saudi, e-Government services in the private sectors are generally limited by difficulties in finding information related to the business practices along with the lack of computers availability and Internet access for many segments of the general population. Therefore, this paper aims at examining the relevance of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for e-Government websites in the Saudi private sectors through an exploratory research study. This paper investigated the user acceptance and attitude levels towards using e-Government as a business consulting in the Saudi private sectors. An online questionnaire was used for the data collection purposes among 102 users from different business sectors in Saudi.
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right: Music Piracy and Pricing in a DRM-Free Environment

The music industry has widely viewed digital rights management (DRM) as an effective strategy for reducing digital piracy. Digital rights management systems aim to prevent unauthorized copying and to reduce the overall rate of piracy. Therefore, the recent move toward offering DRM-free music by some major online music sellers appears paradoxical. In this article, the authors propose a model that conceptualizes and estimates the concept of hardcore piracy in an attempt to resolve this apparent paradox. Based on two large empirical studies and a validation exercise with a large sample of more 2000 college students, the model results indicate that the music industry can benefit from removing DRM because such a strategy has the potential to convert some pirates into paying consumers. In addition, a DRM-free environment enhances both consumer and producer welfare by increasing the demand for legitimate products as well as consumers’ willingness to pay for these products. The authors find that producers could benefit by lowering prices from currently observed levels. The article concludes with a discussion of the practical implications of the findings for managers within the music industry.
Membrane-mediated structural transitions at the cytoplasmic face during integrin activation

Cytoplasmic face-mediated integrin inside-out activation remains a paradigm in transmembrane signal transduction. Emerging evidence suggests that this process involves dissociation of the complex between the integrin cytoplasmic tails; however, a dynamic image of how it occurs on the membrane surface remains elusive. We show here that, whereas membrane-proximal helices of integrin α/β cytoplasmic tails associate in cytoplasm-like aqueous medium, they become partially embedded into membranemimetic micelles when unclasped. Membrane embedding induces substantial structural changes of the cytoplasmic tails as compared to their aqueous conformations and suggests there may be an upward movement of the membrane-proximal helices into the membrane during their separation. We further demonstrate that the β3 tail exhibits additional membrane binding site at its C terminus containing the NPLY motif. Talin, a key intracellular integrin activator, recognizes this site as well as the membrane-proximal helix, thereby promoting cytoplasmic tail separation along the membrane surface. These data provide a structural basis of membrane-mediated changes at the cytoplasmic face in regulating integrin activation and signaling.
Bovine corpus luteum is an extrapituitary site of prolactin production

Prolactin (PRL) is known to be synthesized not only in the anterior pituitary, but also in other organs including the ovary. Among its various functions, PRL is regarded as the most important constituent of the luteotropic complex in rodents and pigs. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether PRL is produced locally in bovine corpus luteum (CL) and to determine its possible roles in CL. In the present study, we examined changes during the luteal phase in (1) the expressions of PRL and PRL receptors (long form: l‐PRLR, short form: s‐PRLR) in CL and (2) the localization of PRL in CL. We also measured the levels of PRL mRNA in cultured luteal cells and luteal endothelial cells. Furthermore, the effect of PRL on progesterone (P4) and prostaglandin (PG) F2α production by cultured bovine luteal cells was examined. Semiquantitative RT‐PCR analysis revealed that the mRNAs for PRL and its two receptors, l‐ and s‐PRLR, were expressed in all luteal stages examined. PRL mRNA expression was less in the regressed stage (days 19–21 after ovulation) than in the other stages. Both l‐PRLR and s‐PRLR mRNA expressions were higher in the late luteal stage (days 15–17) than in the other stages, while the ratio of l‐PRLR to s‐PRLR was less in the regressed stage than in the other stages. PRL mRNA was also detected in cultured luteal cells and luteal endothelial cells. PRL protein was immunohistochemically detected only in CL of the mid‐ and regressed stages. It was detected in smooth muscle cells of the intraluteal arterioles and endothelial cells but not in luteal cells and other cell types of CL. Exposure of cultured luteal cells obtained from mid‐stage CL (days 8–12) to bovine PRL (100, 200 ng/ml) for 24 hr did not affect P4 and PGF2α production by the cells. The present study demonstrates for the first time the expressions of PRL and PRLR mRNA in bovine CL throughout the luteal phase. The overall results strongly suggest that the bovine CL is an extrapituitary site of PRL production. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
sRNA roles in regulating transcriptional regulators: Lrp and SoxS regulation by sRNAs

Post-transcriptional regulation of transcription factors contributes to regulatory circuits. We created translational reporter fusions for multiple central regulators in Escherichia coli and examined the effect of Hfq-dependent non-coding RNAs on these fusions. This approach yields an ‘RNA landscape,’ identifying Hfq-dependent sRNAs that regulate a given fusion. No significant sRNA regulation of crp or fnr was detected. hns was regulated only by DsrA, as previously reported. Lrp and SoxS were both found to be regulated post-transcriptionally. Lrp, ‘leucine-responsive regulatory protein,’ regulates genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis and catabolism and other cellular functions. sRNAs DsrA, MicF and GcvB each independently downregulate the lrp translational fusion, confirming previous reports for MicF and GcvB. MicF and DsrA interact with an overlapping site early in the lrp ORF, while GcvB acts upstream at two independent sites in the long lrp leader. Surprisingly, GcvB was found to be responsible for significant downregulation of lrp after oxidative stress; MicF also contributed. SoxS, an activator of genes used to combat oxidative stress, is negatively regulated by sRNA MgrR. This study demonstrates that while not all global regulators are subject to sRNA regulation, post-transcriptional control by sRNAs allows multiple environmental signals to affect synthesis of the transcriptional regulator.
The poly(A)-poly(A)-binding protein complex is a major determinant of mRNA stability in vitro

Using an in vitro mRNA decay system, we investigated how poly(A) and its associated poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) affect mRNA stability. Cell extracts used in the decay reactions were depleted of functional PABP either by adding excess poly(A) competitor or by passing the extracts over a poly(A)-Sepharose column. Polyadenylated mRNAs for beta-globin, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and simian virus 40 virion proteins were degraded 3 to 10 times faster in reactions lacking PABP than in those containing excess PABP. The addition of purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae or human cytoplasmic PABP to PABP-depleted reactions stabilized the polyadenylated mRNAs. In contrast, the decay rates of nonpolyadenylated mRNAs were unaffected by PABP, indicating that both the poly(A) and its binding protein were required for maintaining mRNA stability. A nonspecific single-stranded binding protein from Escherichia coli did not restore stability to polyadenylated mRNA, and the stabilizing effect of PABP was inhibited by anti-PABP antibody. The poly(A) tract was the first mRNA segment to be degraded in PABP-depleted reactions, confirming that the poly(A)-PABP complex was protecting the 3' region from nucleolytic attack. These results indicate that an important function of poly(A), in conjunction with its binding protein, is to protect polyadenylated mRNAs from indiscriminate destruction by cellular nucleases. A model is proposed to explain how the stability of an mRNA could be affected by the stability of its poly(A)-PABP complex.
Super steep subthreshold slope PN-body tied SOI FET's of ultra low drain voltage=0.1V with body bias below 1.0V

It was demonstrated that the body bias appearing the super steep Subthreshold Slope (SS) reduces from over 5V to below 1V on the PN-body tied SOIFET's which show the super steep SS with the ultralow drain voltage of 0.1V, when the impurity concentration of the N region on the body tied area is redesigned from the high concentration of the N+ to the low N-. The 3D device simulations also confirmed it and indicated that the optimum length of the N region exits on the different impurity concentration of it for appearing the super steep SS with the low body bias.
WHICH IRON CAGE? ENDO- AND EXOISOMORPHISM IN CORPORATE VENTURE CAPITAL PROGRAMS

Through an inductive study of six corporate venture capital programs, we unravel how new organizational units resolve competing forces from two different institutional environments. The data suggest that the organizational structure of units that enter a new environment depends on whether they “focus their isomorphism” internally toward the parent (“endoisomorphism”) or externally toward the industry (“exoisomorphism”). The focus of isomorphism depends on whom the units seek legitimacy with and on the professionalization of their top management teams. We discuss implications of the findings for institutional theory, corporate venture capital, and corporate venturing more generally.
Small hydropower in Southern Africa - an overview of five countries in the region

This paper looks at the status of small hydropower in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. For each country, an overview will be given of the electricity sector and the role of hydropower, the potential for small hydropower and the expected future of this technology. Small hydropower has played an important role in the history of providing electricity in the region. After a period with limited interest in applications of small hydropower, in all five countries, a range of stakeholders from policy makers to developers are showing a renewed interest in small hydropower. Although different models were followed, all five countries covered in the paper do currently see activities around grid connected small scale hydropower. Particular frameworks that facilitate IPPs and Power Purchase Agreements with the national utility do provide a basis for (local) commercial banks to provide finance. Off-grid hydropower for rural electrification purposes sees activities in the countries with an active (support) role of government in this respect only. Small hydropower, renewable energy technology has large potential across the southern Africa region, both for grid connected and off-grid applications. Historically, small hydropower played an important role in the development of the region. Since the mid-1960s, however, the main emphasis has been on centralised fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Developers and policy makers have only recently begun looking at small hydropower again.