Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taxi driver training in Madagascar: the first step in developing a functioning prehospital emergency care system

Background Prehospital care in developing countries is severely lacking. Few countries can afford the relatively expensive formalised Western model of a prehospital emergency medical system. The WHO has highlighted the development of layperson first responder programmes as the most basic step in the development of a functioning prehospital system. Aim To describe the first training programme of its kind, run in Mahajanga, Madagascar. The faculty was invited by Mahajanga Medical School. Methods and Results Local input was taken into account in developing the curriculum. 26 taxi drivers were invited to attend in cooperation with the local municipality. The faculty consisted of five instructors from the Division of Emergency Medicine and EMSSA, plus local doctors from University Hospital Mahajanga. The 1-day course included workshops on prehospital scene management, bleeding and broken bones, immobilisation and patient movement, and labour and delivery. The workshops made use of commonly available items only including packets, string and towels; French and Malagasy translators were available throughout. Conclusions Both faculty and candidates deemed the course a success and plans for formal evaluation of knowledge and skill retention are underway. Future plans are to continue the training using local instructors and in rural districts.
Marketing planning and corporate culture: A conceptual framework which examines management attitudes in the context of marketing planning

This paper examines the marketing planning process of a number of British Companies. It finds that the companies who subscribe to what is described in the paper as a “complete marketing planning process”, are further along an organizational evolutionary development path than their semi‐planning and non‐planning counterparts. While the marketing planning process appears on the surface to be just a series of procedural steps, it does in fact embrace a set of underlying values and assumptions. Only the more developed and mature organizations seem likely to have the corporate culture which is capable of sustaining these values. Corporate culture is often intangible to the outsider, but can be very real to those within the company. It develops partly through the way the company has triumphed over adversity in the past, and partly through the so‐called “culture carriers”. These are the influential figures who, by their behaviour, communicate the organizational values they wish to see espoused. Because marketing.
Livestock Products and Environment

Increasing demand for livestock products, together with changes in international trade, is placing pressure on the livestock sector both to adapt and expand. There is an increasing tendency to greater selectivity as to parts of the animal used for food and therefore, there is a trend from multi-purpose to single-purpose animals, with the production of animal protein the overriding objective. The aim of this paper is the examination of livestock products effects on environmental quality as agricultural trade liberalization happens in the six countries of Gulf Persian region, over 1980-2012. Our results show that this is an N-shaped EKC between income and the agricultural land expansion in this region. We find that livestock production decreases the percentage annual growth of agricultural land area use in this region as trade in agriculture sector is libered and the form of EKC has not changed when we enter livestock production index of the different countries, as agriculture trade is libered, in our model.
Estimation of VLDL, IDL, LDL, HDL2, apoA-I, and apoB from the Friedewald inputs—apoB and IDL, but not LDL, are associated with mortality in type 1 diabetes

Background. There is an unmet need for a straightforward and cost-effective assessment of multiple lipoprotein risk factors for vascular diseases. Aims. 1) To study the relation of various lipoprotein lipid and apolipoprotein (apo) measures on the Friedewald inputs, i.e. plasma triglycerides (TG), cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). 2) To build up regression models for the appropriate measures based solely on the Friedewald inputs. Methods. Data were available for 1,775 plasma samples, from which very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and HDL were also isolated by ultracentrifugation. For HDL2-C and apolipoproteins, 343 and 247 samples were available, respectively. Results. Accurate models were obtained for VLDL-TG (cross-validation r=0.98), LDL-C (r=0.91), HDL2-C (r=0.92), apoA-I (r=0.92), and apoB (r=0.95). A semi-quantitative model was obtained for IDL-C (r=0.78). Due to the anticipated role of IDL-C in atherosclerosis, it was still kept within the accepted models and pursued further. The associations of the estimates with premature deaths were studied in 4,084 patients with type 1 diabetes. The associations of IDL-C and LDL-C were markedly different, the best predictors of mortality being apoB, apoB to apoA-I ratio, and IDL-C. Conclusions. The new models allow identification of clinically relevant lipoprotein profiles with no added cost to the conventional Friedewald formula.
Observation of heavy cosmic-ray primaries over the wide energy range from ~100 GeV/particle to ~100 TeV/particle: Is the celebrated "knee" actually so prominent?

We have exposed a new type of emulsion chamber of area 1.53 m 2 at an atmospheric depth of 11.7 g/cm 2 for 22.2 h. The chamber makes extensive use of screen-type x-ray films, which have recorded the tracks due to over 100 000 cosmic-ray heavy primary nuclei of Z ≥ 8. With this experiment we have succeeded in determining the absolute intensities of the heavy primaries over a pretty wide energy range from a few GeV/nucleon up to ∼ 1 TeV/nucleon, using a single detector and a unified charge-and-energy determination method. In the present paper we give a report of our results on silicon and heavier components, accompanied by a detailed account on our newly adopted energy determination method and a discussion of its accuracy
The effect of capture on performance of multichannel slotted ALOHA systems

The author presents an exact analysis to evaluate the effect of capture on the multichannel slotted ALOHA protocol. The author derives the probabilities of the successful transmission. These probabilities are used to calculate the throughputs, average packet delays for both IFT (immediate-first-transmission) and delayed-first-transmission protocols and numerically compare the performance of the systems with and without capture. Numerical results show that when a quantitative capture restriction u is considered, in a multichannel system having a fixed total bandwidth, depending on parameter u and channel number M, an improved system performance such as the average channel utilization and average packet delay can be obtained. >
Neuronal cdc2-like kinase: a cdc2-related protein kinase with predominantly neuronal expression.

Recent studies have shown that there exists a family of protein kinases structurally and functionally related to the yeast cell cycle regulatory kinase cdc2 [Meyerson, M. , Faha, B. , Su, L. -K. , Harlow, E. & Tsai, L. -H. (1991) Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 56, 177-186 and Meyerson, M. , Enders, G. H. , Wu, C. -L. , Su, L. -K. , Gorka, C. , Nelson, C. , Harlow, E. & Tsai, L. -H. (1992) EMBO J. 11, 2909-2917]. Two members of cdc2 family, p34cdc2 (also named cdk1) and cdk2, have been identified in mammalian cells. cdk1 kinase regulates the progression from G2 to M phase, and cdk2 kinase has been proposed to regulate the progression from G1 to S phase. In this work, we have cloned and structurally characterized a third member of the cdc2 kinase family with 58% amino acid sequence identity to mouse cdk1 and 61% identity to human cdk2. We call this kinase neuronal cdc2-like kinase (nclk) because, in contrast to either cdk1 or cdk2, nclk is expressed at high levels in terminally differentiated neurons no longer in the cell cycle. Previous studies have shown [Hisanaga, S. , Kusubata, M. , Okumura, E. & Kishimoto, T. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 21798-21803 and Guan, R. J., Hall, F. L. & Cohlberg, J. A. (1992) J. Neurochem. 58, 1365-1371] that cdk1 kinase, but not other structurally defined protein kinases, could phosphorylate the repeated Lys-Ser-Pro (KSP) motifs found in mammalian high and middle molecular mass neurofilament subunits in vitro, but the precise molecular nature of the endogenous neuronal KSP kinase has remained undefined. The structural similarity of nclk to cdk1 kinase and its high level of expression in terminally differentiated neurons suggest that nclk may play a role in the phosphorylation of the neurofilament KSP repeats in vivo, a function distinct from cell cycle regulation.
An exploration of reverse logistics practices in three companies

Purpose – This paper seeks to report a case study that focuses on identifying what may be considered a typical or generic RL process flow as well as the key strategic issues that a firm may use for competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approach – The research involves mainly interviews and plant visits to three companies, all of which manage some RL activities.Findings – Highlighted are what type of RL process flow can be considered as generic, the type of technology innovation and IT a firm needs in order to operate an effective RL system and how these are integrated across the supply chain, the resource commitment (personnel, financial, upper‐level management) that a company needs to make to support successful RL efforts, and finally, the values firms derive from RL and the key performance indicators to measure these values for the RL operations.Originality/value – A typical returns flow process is provided that can guide managers efficiently on their RL activities. Strategic activities are also pres.
Drug-induced reversal of early diabetic microangiopathy.

We performed three oral glucose-tolerance tests and three muscle biopsies over a period of approximately three years in 41 asymptomatic patients with chemical diabetes. At base line, 13 (32 per cent) had an increased capillary basement-membrane width in muscle. Twenty-three patients received glipizide, a new oral hypoglycemic compound, and 18 received placebo. In the patients receiving placebo the mean width of the muscle capillary basement membrane increased from 135.9 +/- 9.0 nm (S.E.M.) to 169.3 +/- 9.5 nm (P = 0.01), but in those receiving glipizide the value decreased to a level no different from that in subjects without diabetes: from 152.9 +/- 2.9 to 127.5 +/- 5.1 nm (P = 0.01). These findings suggest that microangiopathy, as indicated by an increased capillary basement-membrane width in muscle, may be present in a considerable number of patients with asymptomatic diabetes and that the changes can be reversed by early drug treatment.
Student Intercultural Proficiency From Study Abroad Programs

In the past decade, study abroad programs (SAPs) have more than doubled, where today, about 223,000 U.S. college students study abroad, immersing themselves in foreign language, culture, and business practices. It is customary to hear students describe these experiences as “life changing,” yet little empirical evidence exists to establish the specific areas of personal development achieved in a SAP. This study investigates several of the potential intercultural influences of a semester abroad for students from the United States. Findings reveal that students who study abroad may have greater intercultural proficiency, increased openness to cultural diversity, and become more globally minded than those students remaining in a traditional campus setting. Students who participate in SAPs perceive themselves as being more proficient, approachable, and open to intercultural communication.
Gender diversity leads to better science

OPINION Correction for “Opinion: Gender diversity leads to better science,” by Mathias Wullum Nielsen, Sharla Alegria, Love Börjeson, Henry Etzkowitz, Holly J. Falk-Krzesinski, Aparna Joshi, Erin Leahey, Laurel Smith-Doerr, Anita Williams Woolley, and Londa Schiebinger, which appeared in issue 8, February 21, 2017, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (114:1740–1742; 10.1073/pnas.1700616114). The editors note that, due to a printer’s error, references 7 and 8 were each inadvertently repeated in the text, in the second and third full paragraphs on page 1741, respectively. The extraneous callouts to references 7 and 8 have now been removed.
Contribution of CRM Strategies in Enhancing Customer Loyalty

This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of CRM strategies in enhancing customer loyalty in the motor industry. The motor industry is facing intense competition both locally and internationally. The paper analyses trust and commitment as antecedents of customer loyalty, the benefits of database marketing and key account management, categories of loyalty, as well as challenges affecting the effective implementation of database marketing and key account management. The research design was descriptive and exploratory. A sample size of 297 respondents was used which included 150 business customers and 147 employees. The major finding was that trust and commitment have a role to play as they led to customer loyalty. It was therefore concluded that CRM contributes significantly towards customer loyalty in the motor industry, thus it was recommended that the motor industry could make optimum use of information technology in order to fully implement CRM strategies.
A Lithium Chloride-Extracted, Broad-Spectrum-Adhesive 42-Kilodalton Protein ofStaphylococcus epidermidis Is Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase

ABSTRACT To identify novel putative staphylococcal adhesins, lithium chloride extraction (an established method for selective surface molecule solubilization) was employed. N-terminal sequencing and functional assays identified a 42-kDa fibronectin-binding protein fromStaphylococcus epidermidis as ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCTase). However, OCTase was not recognizable extracellularly, and this fact together with the fact that LiCl induced DNA release and a decrease in viability suggests that LiCl extraction may not be the method of choice for selective surface molecule extraction from staphylococci.
Determinants of Analyst Replacement

I examine why a brokerage firm replaces an analyst who follows a specific firm for a long run period. Studies exploring regular analyst turnover find earnings forecast accuracy to be a strong factor and suggest that analysts with lower forecast accuracy are more likely to turn over. Thus, the possibility of analyst replacement is higher for analysts with lower earnings forecast accuracy. At the same time, I infer that the brokerage firm is more likely to replace an analyst with a direct competitor in the firm. The better the performance of the direct competitor, the more likely the analyst is replaced. Higher quality analysts (for example, with greater industry experience, higher earnings forecast accuracy, more experience in coverage, or better relationship with the covered firms' executives) likely have a greater chance of survival. The empirical results are consistent with my predictions. I also explore whether the performance of replacement decision is positively related to the increment in quality between the new and the replaced analyst. I find that the performance of replacement decisions is positively related to the increment in quality between the new and the replaced analyst. In addition, the results are not driven the changes in regulations. This study provides new insights into factors that affect the analyst replacement. I demonstrate that the factors that impel brokerage firms to replace, though not fire, an analyst covering a specific firm. The results suggest that analysts need to provide unique and useful guidance to their clients to make themselves indispensible.
2015 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Management of Adult Patients With Supraventricular Tachycardia: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society.

Jonathan L. Halperin, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chair Glenn N. Levine, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chair-Elect Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, FACC, FAHA, Immediate Past Chair [¶][1] Nancy M. Albert, PhD, RN, FAHA[¶][1] Sana M. Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA Kim K. Birtcher, PharmD, AACC Biykem Bozkurt, MD, PhD, FACC
The effects of reputation systems in online marketplaces

This dissertation aims to verify the effects of reputation systems in online marketplaces. While there are already a plethora of studies which have examined this research topic (usually using empirical data collected from eBay) and provided meaningful insights, there are several gaps in these studies. (1) The empirical findings on the relationships between seller reputation and auction outcomes in the online auction marketplace are inconsistent or even contradictory. These inconsistent findings may confuse researchers and practitioners regarding the effects of reputation systems. (2) Existing studies have focused on the online auction marketplace, and have overlooked the online retailing marketplace. However, the online retailing marketplace is different from the online auction marketplace, thus the research findings in the online auction marketplace may not be applicable in the online retailing marketplace. (3) The existing literature presumed that consumers and sellers are strangers before transactions, and ignored consumers’ purchase experience. However, accompanied with the prevalence of online marketplaces, consumers may already have purchase experiences with specified sellers before their transactions. Given that consumers already have purchase experiences, the effects of seller reputations on transaction outcomes may be changed. To address these three gaps, this dissertation includes three related sub studies. In study 1, we comprehensively review the existing studies on the effects of seller reputation on transaction outcomes in the online auction marketplace. By a meta-analysis method, we synthesize the research findings, and conclude that reputation systems do have effects on auction outcomes in the online auction marketplace. We also identify and verify several moderators which may influence the effects of seller reputation on auction outcomes.
Probabilistic prediction of Alzheimer's disease from multimodal image data with Gaussian processes

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is an extremely serious health problem, and one that will become even more so in the coming decades as the global population ages. This has led to a massive effort to develop both new treatments for the condition and new methods of diagnosis; in fact the two are intimately linked as future treatments will depend on earlier diagnosis, which in turn requires the development of biomarkers that can be used to identify and track the disease. This is made possible by studies such as the Alzheimer’s disease neuroimaging initiative which provides previously unimaginable quantities of imaging and other data freely to researchers. It is the task of early diagnosis that this thesis focuses on. We do so by borrowing modern machine learning techniques, and applying them to image data. In particular, we use Gaussian processes (GPs), a previously neglected tool, and show they can be used in place of the more widely used support vector machine (SVM). As combinations of complementary biomarkers have been shown to be more useful than the biomarkers are individually, we go on to show GPs can also be applied to integrate different types of image and non-image data, and thanks to their properties this improves results further than it does with SVMs. In the final two chapters, we also look at different ways to formulate both the prediction of conversion to Alzheimer’s disease as a machine learning problem and the way image data can be used to generate features for input as a machine learning algorithm. Both of these show how unconventional approaches may improve results. The result is an advance in the state-of-the-art for a very clinically important problem, which may prove useful in practice and show a direction of future research to further increase the usefulness of such methods
Down's syndrome, cardiac anomalies, and nuchal translucency

Papers p 81 Since the first report on the ability of nuchal translucency measurement to detect pregnancies affected by Down's syndrome by Nicolaides et al in 19941 over 20studies have been published on the issue. Despite all these efforts, however, the exact performance of nuchal translucency measurement in detecting Down's syndrome is still unknown. Recent large studies in low risk populations have evaluated the performance of nuchal translucency measurement in detecting Down's syndrome, but the result of the nuchal translucency measurement had already been used in the risk assessment (by identifying cases of Down's syndrome that would never have reached term). In these studies fetuses affected by Down's syndrome which have an increased nuchal translucency are thus more likely to be detected than those affected fetuses with a normal nuchal translucency‐and this may inflate the reported detection rate of nuchal translucency measurement.2–4 Even the two largest studies reported detection rates as different as 72%5 and 54%. 6 As a consequence, the choice between nuchal translucency measurement and serum screening for Down's syndrome remains subject to debate. 78 The paper by Hyett et al in …
Myeloid-Specific Expression of Human Lysosomal Acid Lipase Corrects Malformation and Malfunction of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in lal−/− Mice

Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) cleaves cholesteryl esters and triglycerides to generate free fatty acids and cholesterol in lysosomes. LAL deficiency causes expansion of CD11b+Gr-1+ immature myeloid cells, loss of T cells, and impairment of T cell function. To test how myeloid cell LAL controls myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis, a myeloid-specific doxycycline-inducible transgenic system was used to reintroduce human lysosomal acid lipase (hLAL) expression into LAL gene knockout (lal−/−) mice. Expression of hLAL in myeloid cells of lal−/− mice reversed abnormal myelopoiesis in the bone marrow starting at the granulocyte–monocyte progenitor stage and reduced systemic expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Myeloid hLAL expression inhibited reactive oxygen species production and arginase expression in CD11b+Gr-1+ cells of lal−/− mice. Structural organization of the thymus and spleen was partially restored in association with reduced infiltration of CD11b+Gr-1+ cells in these mice. In the thymus, reconstitution of myeloid cell LAL restored development of thymocytes at the double-negative DN3 stage. Myeloid cell LAL expression improved the proliferation and function of peripheral T cells. In vitro coculture experiments showed that myeloid hLAL expression in lal−/− mice reversed CD11b+Gr-1+ myeloid cell suppression of CD4+ T cell proliferation, T cell signaling activation, and lymphokine secretion. Blocking stat3 and NF-κB p65 signaling by small-molecule inhibitors in MDSCs achieved a similar effect. Injection of anti–Gr-1 Ab into lal−/− mice to deplete MDSCs restored T cell proliferation. These studies demonstrate that LAL in myeloid cells plays a critical role in maintaining normal hematopoietic cell development and balancing immunosuppression and inflammation.