Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Building a Curriculum for Social Business Entrepreneurship

Abstract In recent years social entrepreneurship has been emerging as a viable alternative to government policies for addressing some of the society’s most pressing issues. Academics have also started to take note but only a small number of institutions of higher education offer educational opportunities for students who want to become social entrepreneurs. In this paper I show how business schools are well equipped to offer a coherent curriculum for social business entrepreneurs at a relatively low marginal cost and argue that a business-heavy curriculum is appropriate.
Adaptive perceptual preprocessing for video coding

The quantization of block DCT coefficients is too coarse, and will result in much non-uniform artifacts, therefore, blocking and ring artifacts are usually visible in reconstructed video frames especially when the bitrate is not sufficient. In this paper, we present an adaptive perceptual preprocessing (APP) method to reduce the probability of these artifacts generated in video encoding. The APP algorithm employs a novel filter based on just noticeable distortion filter (JNDF) and adaptive bilateral filter (ABF), and they can be adaptively chosen by block characteristics and quantization parameters. Experimental results demonstrate our proposed algorithm can significantly improve the subjective quality of reconstructed image.
Output feedback stabilization for a class of switched nonlinear systems under arbitrary switchings

This paper is concerned with the dynamic output feedback stabilization problem for a class of switched nonlinear systems under arbitrary switchings. Based on the backstepping method, a dynamic output feedback controller is constructed by introducing a common Lyapunov function. It is proved that a switched nonlinear system in strict-feedback form can be globally asymptotically stabilized by a continuous output feedback controller. An example is given to verify the obtained results.
Molecular characterization of DXCF cyanobacteriochromes from the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina identifies a blue-light power sensor

Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are linear tetrapyrrole-binding photoreceptors that sense a wide range of wavelengths from ultraviolet to far-red. The primary photoreaction in these reactions is a Z/E isomerization of the double bond between rings C and D. After this isomerization, various color-tuning events establish distinct spectral properties of the CBCRs. Among the various CBCRs, the DXCF CBCR lineage is widely distributed among cyanobacteria. Because the DXCF CBCRs from the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina vary widely in sequence, we focused on these CBCRs in this study. We identified seven DXCF CBCRs in A. marina and analyzed them after isolation from Escherichia coli that produces phycocyanobilin, a main chromophore for the CBCRs. We found that six of these CBCRs covalently bound a chromophore and exhibited variable properties, including blue/green, blue/teal, green/teal, and blue/orange reversible photoconversions. Notably, one CBCR, AM1_1870g4, displayed unidirectional photoconversion in response to blue-light illumination, with a rapid dark reversion that was temperature-dependent. Furthermore, the photoconversion took place without Z/E isomerization. This observation indicated that AM1_1870g4 likely functions as a blue-light power sensor, whereas typical CBCRs reversibly sense two light qualities. We also found that AM1_1870g4 possesses a GDCF motif in which the Asp residue is swapped with the next Gly residue within the DXCF motif. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that this swap is essential for the light power–sensing function of AM1_1870g4. This is the first report of a blue-light power sensor from the CBCR superfamily and of photoperception without Z/E isomerization among the bilin-based photoreceptors.
Modification of general practitioner prescribing of antibiotics by use of a therapeutics adviser (academic detailer).

AIMS This was a pilot study of the use of a clinical pharmacist as a therapeutics adviser (academic detailer) to modify antibiotic prescribing by general practitioners. METHODS Following a visit by the adviser (March-May), 112 general practitioners were recruited and randomised to control or active groups. A panel of experts prepared a best practice chart of recommended drugs for upper and lower respiratory tract infections, otitis media and urinary tract infections. The adviser made a 10-15 min visit to each prescriber in the active group (June-July), gave them the chart and discussed its recommendations briefly. Doctors in the control group were not visited nor given the chart. Prescription numbers for all prescribers were obtained from the Commonwealth Health Insurance Commission for the pre(March-May) and postdetailing (August-September) periods using a three month lag time for data collection. Data for total numbers of prescriptions and for selected individual antibiotics used in these two periods were analysed using nonparametric statistics. RESULTS Prescribing patterns were similar for the control and active groups in the predetailing period. For both groups, there were significant (P<0.03) increases (45% for control and 40% for active) in total number of antibiotic prescriptions in the post compared with the predetailing period. This trend was anticipated on the basis of the winter seasonal increase in respiratory infections. In line with the chart recommendations for first-line treatment, doctors in the active group prescribed significantly more amoxycillin (P<0.02) and doxycycline (P<0.001) in the post vs predetailing periods. By contrast, doctors in the control group prescribed significantly more cefaclor (P<0.03) and roxithromycin (P<0.03), drugs that were not recommended. The total cost of antibiotics prescribed by doctors in the control group increased by 48% ($37 150) from the preto postdetailing periods. In the same time period, the costs for the active group increased by only 35% ($21 020). CONCLUSIONS We conclude that the academic detailing process was successful in modifying prescribing patterns and that it also decreased prescription numbers and costs. Application of the scheme on a nationwide basis could not only improve prescriber choice of the most appropriate antibiotic but also result in a significant saving of health care dollars.
Investigating the Impact of National Cultures on Performance Management: A Two Country Review

This research investigated the role that national culture plays in performance management when viewed from the prism of performance appraisal. This became necessary in today’s business world as corporations now play more within a global stage. In so doing, the challenge that faces employees and business leaders alike is the ease of applying policies and processes developed from countries of origin to areas of operation across the world. Some have argued for standardization of such practices across the world, particularly to address business challenges of cost efficiency and take advantage of economy of scale. Some others that may have harkened to the voice of cultural studies and international business scholars that culture affects every business process (House et al, 2001; Hofstede, 2005) have called for adaptation of such organizational processes as businesses transcend international boundaries. Using the experience of performance management exercise of a multinational corporation with country of origin being Netherlands and country of active operation being Nigeria – two countries viewed as operating from two different national culture poles of individualism vs communalism (Hofstede, 2005), this research outcome helped to reaffirm and establish the link between national culture and performance management as viewed from the lenses of performance appraisal. The qualitative research methodology followed extensive interviews with twenty nine Managers and employees of different nationalities with experience working in both Nigeria and Netherlands among other countries they have worked, the findings of the study indicate that National culture within the context of individualism and communalism influence the activities of performance management. In other words, this study helped to confirm the fact that national culture as seen from the dimension of individualism and communalism influences appraisal outcomes of organisations operating in different countries. This finding is also confirmed to include the national culture of West African countries, including Nigeria for which research has been hitherto limited.
Fuzzy clustering using linguistic-valued exponent

The purpose of this paper is to study the algorithm FCM and some of its famous innovations, analyse and discover the method of applying hedge algebra theory that uses algebra to represent linguistic-valued variables, to FCM. Then, this paper will propose a new FCM-based algorithm which uses hedge algebra to model FCM's exponent parameter. Finally, the design, analysis and implementation of the new algorithm as well some experimental results will be presented to prove our algorithm's capacity of solving clustering problems in practice.
Development of multichannel real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop radar environment simulator for missile-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar

Radar target/environment simulators are usually developed for testing and evaluating various radar systems. In this paper, we present a novel implementation of real-time radar environment simulator with four channels for missile-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). By using wideband Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technique and parallel computing technique based on the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), the simulator can provide real-time computation capability for raw SAR echo signal generation of extended scenes with a very small computational delay, which is essential for the missile-borne radar Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation. Based on the multichannel and multi-DRFM architecture, the simulator is able to simultaneously generate multichannel SAR echo signals together with jamming signals. Moreover, the simulator is highly scalable and reconfigurable, and is able to meet a various kinds of radar simulation requirements.
Relationships Between Health Literacy and Genomics-Related Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, Perceived Importance, and Communication in a Medically Underserved Population

The increasing importance of genomic information in clinical care heightens the need to examine how individuals understand, value, and communicate about this information. Based on a conceptual framework of genomics-related health literacy, we examined whether health literacy was related to knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceived importance of genetics and family health history (FHH) and communication about FHH in a medically underserved population. The analytic sample was composed of 624 patients at a primary care clinic in a large urban hospital. About half of the participants (47%) had limited health literacy; 55% had no education beyond high school, and 58% were Black. In multivariable models, limited health literacy was associated with lower genetic knowledge (β = −0.55, SE = 0.10, p < .0001), lower awareness of FHH (odds ratio [OR] = 0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.28, 0.90], p = .020), and greater perceived importance of genetic information (OR = 1.95, 95% CI [1.27, 3.00], p = .0022) but lower perceived importance of FHH information (OR = 0.47, 95% CI [0.26, 0.86], p = .013) and more frequent communication with a doctor about FHH (OR = 2.02, 95% CI [1.27, 3.23], p = .0032). The findings highlight the importance of considering domains of genomics-related health literacy (e.g., knowledge, oral literacy) in developing educational strategies for genomic information. Health literacy research is essential to avoid increasing disparities in information and health outcomes as genomic information reaches more patients.
Cutting Edge: Reversal of Murine Lupus Nephritis with CTLA4Ig and Cyclophosphamide1

Cyclophosphamide (CTX) prevents progression of nephritis and prolongs survival in (NZB × NZW)F1 (B/W) mice and is used to treat humans with lupus nephritis. To compare the efficacy of CTLA4Ig with CTX and determine whether there is an incremental benefit to combining CTLA4Ig with CTX, we treated B/W mice with CTX, CTLA4Ig, or both agents. In mice with mild renal disease, treatment delayed the onset of proteinuria and prolonged survival in all groups. In mice with advanced renal disease, treatment with both agents reduced proteinuria in 71% of mice, whereas mice treated with either agent alone had no such improvement. Survival was also markedly improved among mice treated with both agents. Thus, combination treatment with CTX and CTLA4Ig is more effective than either agent alone in reducing renal disease and prolonging survival of B/W mice with advanced nephritis. This striking reversal of proteinuria is unprecedented in animal models of SLE.
Optimal Medications and Appropriate Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator Shocks in Aborted Sudden Cardiac Death Due to Coronary Spasm

Objective Life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias are recognized in patients with coronary spastic angina. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are effective in patients with structural heart disease and ventricular fibrillation. However, the optimal medication for patients with aborted sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to coronary artery spasm after the implantation of ICD remains controversial. Methods We investigated the medications and the numbers of appropriate ICD shocks in 137 patients with a history of aborted SCD due to coronary spasm. Results Appropriate ICD shocks were observed in 24.1% (33/137) of patients with aborted SCD due to coronary spasm during 41 months of follow-up. Only 15 (15.6%) of the 96 patients with ICDs received aggressive medical therapy, including two or three calcium-channel antagonists. The rate of appropriate ICD shocks was significantly higher in Western countries than in Asian countries (42.9% vs. 19.3%, p<0.01), whereas the medications did not differ between the two regions. Appropriate ICD shocks successfully resuscitated 33 patients. Three patients died due to second serious fatal arrhythmias. Conclusion Appropriate ICD shocks were recognized in a quarter of patients with aborted SCD due to coronary spasm and ICD implantation was effective for suppressing the next serious fatal arrhythmia in these patients. We should reconsider prescribing more medications after ICD implantation in patients with aborted SCD due to coronary artery spasm.
Epidemiology of thrombotic risk factors: The difficulty in using clinical trials to develop a risk assessment model

There is a paucity of data assessing the risks and prevention of venous thromboembolism in critical care settings. Consequently, it is difficult to estimate the risk of venous thromboembolism for a typical patient, on an individual basis, and this difficulty leads to underuse of thromboprophylaxis, especially in intensive care unit patients. Thrombosis is a multifactorial disease and patients may present multiple risk factors simultaneously. The problem in quantifying risk factors is to combine these risk factors even when they are not detected in the same multivariate analysis. A model for predicting the risk of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized medical patients has yet to be developed and validated. Meanwhile, other approaches have been proposed to replace the ideal study utilizing a large prospective cohort of hospitalized medical patients. In this context, several scoring systems based on risk assessment models have been proposed, some including the use of computerized electronic prompts, to help physicians prescribe appropriate prophylaxis. This article reviews evidence on the risk of venous thromboembolism associated with different medical conditions and risk factors, and presents a tentative risk-assessment model for risk stratification in hospitalized medical patients.
Vasopressin-induced coronary constriction at low perfusion pressures.

We studied the effects of intracoronary vasopressin on the relationship between pressure and flow in the coronary circulation of anaesthetised swine. In addition to measurements at control levels, diastolic pressure-flow relationships were constructed from steady-state points below a coronary pressure of 50 mmHg, where endogenous vasodilatation is strongly stimulated. At baseline pressures, flow fell 28% with maximal vasopressin effect. At all levels of diastolic pressure below 50 mmHg vasopressin also decreased flow, eg, at 30 mmHg flow was depressed by 40%. The slope of the steady-state pressure-flow relationship fell from 1.21 to 0.75 ml.min-1.mmHg-1. The diastolic pressure at which coronary flow ceased rose slightly from 13 to 15 mmHg. Intracoronary adenosine completely prevented vasopressin's effect, and the vasodilator response to adenosine was not attenuated by simultaneous administration of vasopressin. The porcine coronary circulation will constrict in response to vasopressin, not only at normal perfusion pressure, but also at low levels when metabolic vasodilatation is intense. Our study has implications about the therapeutic use of vasopressin, and demonstrates interaction of vasoactive stimuli in the coronary circulation.
Employee experience: the new human resource management approach

Purpose Organizations must reframe their approach to how they relate to their employees. The new multi-generational workplace demands a new way of thinking about human resource management. Putting the employee’s total experience at the center produces a very different approach, beyond increasing perks or “funifying” the workplace, to engaging the employee in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to reframe the traditional approach to human resource management that better fits that modern workplace and enables the empowerment and engagement that organizations so desperately seek. Design/methodology/approach Design thinking is applied to employee experience in an organization. By viewing employee experience as a set of holistic perceptions of that relationship, human resource management transforms into a more strategic process for engaging the employee through meaning and providing value. Six principles for employing this methodology are specified in this paper. Findings Perks are not the answer to employee engagement. An organization must understand each employee more deeply and co-design experiences with them that demonstrate care. It must embrace expansive and holistic thinking, face the intangible aspects of organizational life and use tools to help make them tangible, experiment and iterate, building solutions organically, while recognizing that the process is just as important, if not more important, than the product. Originality/value Organizations recognize a need for change and struggle with engaging employees. Most modern approaches to engagement and retention foundationally stem from old ways of thinking that will not work in today’s workplace. Design thinking has been applied successfully for customer experience and user experience; it is just beginning to be recognized as an approach for employee experience.
On VIX futures in the rough Bergomi model

Abstract The rough Bergomi model introduced by Bayer et al. [Quant. Finance, 2015, 1–18] has been outperforming conventional Markovian stochastic volatility models by reproducing implied volatility smiles in a very realistic manner, in particular for short maturities. We investigate here the dynamics of the VIX and the forward variance curve generated by this model, and develop efficient pricing algorithms for VIX futures and options. We further analyse the validity of the rough Bergomi model to jointly describe the VIX and the SPX, and present a joint calibration algorithm based on the hybrid scheme by Bennedsen et al. [Finance Stoch. , forthcoming].
Speech-in-noise perception in high-functioning individuals with autism or Asperger's syndrome.

BACKGROUND High-functioning individuals with autism (HFA) or Asperger's syndrome (AS) commonly report difficulties understanding speech in situations where there is background speech or noise. The objective of this study was threefold: (1) to verify the validity of these reports; (2) to quantify the difficulties experienced; and (3) to propose possible mechanisms to explain the perceptual deficits described. METHOD Speech-in-noise perception abilities were measured using speech reception thresholds (SRTs), defined as the speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) at which approximately 50% of the speech is correctly identified. SRTs were measured for 11 individuals with HFA/AS and 9 age/IQ-matched normal-hearing control subjects, using an adaptive procedure, in a non-reverberant sound-attenuating chamber. The speech materials were standardised lists of everyday sentences spoken by a British male speaker. The background sounds were: (1) a single female talker; (2) a steady speech-shaped noise; (3) a speech-shaped noise with temporal dips; (4) a steady speech-shaped noise with regularly spaced spectral dips; and (5) a speech-shaped noise with temporal and spectral dips. RESULTS SRTs for the HFA/AS group were generally higher (worse) than those for the controls, across the five background sounds. A statistically significant difference in SRTs between the subject groups was found only for those background sounds that contained temporal or spectro-temporal dips. SRTs for the HFA/AS individuals were 2 to 3.5 dB higher than for the controls, equivalent to a substantial decrease in speech recognition. Expressed another way, the HFA/AS individuals required a higher SNR, whenever there were temporal dips in the background sound, to perform at the same level as the controls. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the speech-in-noise perception difficulties experienced by individuals with autism may be due, in part, to a reduced ability to integrate information from glimpses present in the temporal dips in the noise.
Lactosylceramide: a lipid second messenger in neuroinflammatory disease

Inflammatory disease plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of many neurological disorders. Astrogliosis and induction of pro‐inflammatory mediators such as chemokines, cytokines and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) are the ‘hallmarks’ of inflammatory disease. Increased activity of lactosylceramide (LacCer) synthase and increased synthesis of LacCer during glial proliferation, and induction of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and iNOS suggests a role for LacCer in these cellular signaling pathways. Studies using complementary techniques of inhibitors and antisense reported that inhibition of LacCer synthesis inhibits glial proliferation, as well as the induction of pro‐inflammatory mediators (cytokines and iNOS). This inhibition was bypassed by exogenous LacCer, but not by other related lipids (e.g. glucosylceramide, galactocerebroside, GD1, GM1), indicating a role for LacCer in inflammatory signaling pathways. Furthermore, inhibition of glial proliferation and induction of inflammatory mediators by antisense to Ras GTPase, PI3Kinase and inhibitors of mitogen‐activated protein kinase indicate the participation of the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3Kinas)/Ras/mitogen‐activated protein kinase/nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) signaling pathways in LacCer‐mediated inflammatory events thus exposing additional targets for therapeutics for inflammatory disease conditions.