Determinants of social and institutional beliefs about internet acceptance within developing country’s context: A structural evaluation of higher education systems in Pakistan

This study aims to extend a model of technology acceptance to suit in developing country’s context. The model attempts to identify relationship between social and institutional factors over behavioural intention and usage. Recently, ‘acceptance and adoption of information technology (IT) in multicultural setting’ is becoming topic of interest for IS researchers. In this line, numerous theories and models are proposed to contribute in examining factors of IT acceptance and reluctance. It is argued that the models in published literature are found culturally biased, which successfully present results in only American and European context, however, their validity became questionable when they were tested in south Asian countries context. Additionally, lack of research is observed to predict individual’s cognitive behaviour of acceptance, which are influenced by social factors (i.e. peer influence and superior influence, voluntariness, experience) and institutional factors (i.e. local institutional management influence and top-level governmental policies influence). This study used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS) method to analyse the data. The results reveal that the proposed conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the hypothesised paths are valid

PENERAPAN ASAS SEDERHANA CEPAT DAN BIAYA RINGAN DALAM BERACARA DI PENGADILAN NEGERI KELAS IB BUKITTINGGI

Latar belakang penelitian ini berdasarkan pengamatan yang dilakukan penulis terhadap manusia sebagai subjek hukum dalam melakukan perbuatan hukum sering menemui sengketa dan konflik. Dalam penyelesaian sengketa konflik keefektifan dan keefisien waktu biaya sangat diharapkan maka dari itu, manusia akan menyerahkan permasalahan tersebut ke pengadilan dengan bantuan hakim yang dianggap netral.Adapun rumusan permasalahn pada penelitian ini adalah Bagaimanakah penerapan asas sederhana, cepat dan biaya ringan dalam beracara di Pengadilan Negeri Kelas IB Bukittinggi. Apa saja faktor penghambat yang dialami dalam pelaksanaan dan upaya penyelesaiannya. Adapun tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui penerapan asas sederhana, cepat dan biaya ringan dalam beracara di pengadilan negeri kelas IB Bukittinggi, untuk mengetahui faktor penghambat dan upaya penyelesaiannya. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada pengadilan negeri kelas IB Bukittinggi. Adapun jenis dan sifat penelitian yaitu penelitian hukum sosiologis dengan metode analsia data kualitatif. Populasi pada penelitian ini berjumlah 41 orang. Dengan jumlah sampel 14 orang dengan menggunakan teknik pengambilan sampel yaitu random sampling. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah observasi, wawancara, angket, dan dokumentasi. Sumber data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah data primer dan sekunder.Data primer yaitu data yang diperoleh langsung dari responden yaitu para pihak dan perangkat pengadilan negeri kelas IB Bukittinggi. Data sekunder yaitu data yang diperoleh dari tulisan atau buku-buku dan dokumen-dokumen yang berhubungan dengan dengan penelitian ini. Bahwa penerapan asas Sederhana, Cepat dan Biaya Ringan dalam Beracara di Pengadilan Negeri Kelas 1B Bukittinggi secara umum belum terlaksana dengan baik. Hal ini terlihat dari beberapa faktor yang dapat menghambat berjalannya asas sederhana, cepat dan biaya ringan dalam beracara di pengadilan.Serta jumlah perkara yang masuk dalm 1 (satu) tahun terakhir hampir setengah diantaranya diputus dengan waktu lebih dari 5 (lima) bulan. Adapun faktor penghambat dalam melaksanakan asas sederhana, cepat dan biaya ringan yaitu penundaan jadwal sidang atau pengunduran waktu sidang dari jadwal yang telah ditentukan hal ini berasal dari para pihak, dari Advokat yang mendampingi client dalam beracara di pengadilan. Dalam skripsi ini saran yang dapat disampaikan penulis adalah Para pihak yang bersengketa dalam perkara perdata di Pengadilan Negeri Kelas IB Bukittinggi harus memiliki keseriusan, dan itikad baik untuk menyelesaikan sengketa dengan mematuhi semua ketentuan dalam beracara di pengadilan agar penyelesaian sengketa tidak banyak mengalami penundaan dan dapat diselesaikan dengan cepat, Sebaiknya dibuat suatu aturan mengenai standar panjar biaya perkara di pengadilan negeri, sehingga ada keseragaman mengenai panjar biaya perkara di seluruh pengadilan negeri di Indonesia, Perlu ada aturan yang tegas dalam membatasi penundaan persidangan yang berakibat proses penyelesaian perkara perdata menjadi semakin lama dan biaya perkara menjadi semakin besar

Platelet Function in Stored Heparinised Autologous Blood Is Not Superior to in Patient Platelet Function during Routine Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Background: In cardiac surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and unfractionated heparin have negative effects on blood platelet function. In acute normovolemic haemodilution autologous unfractionated heparinised blood is stored ex-vivo and retransfused at the end of the procedure to reduce (allogeneic) transfusion requirements. In this observational study we assessed whether platelet function is better preserved in ex vivo stored autologous blood compared to platelet function in the patient during CPB. Methodology/Principal Finding: We measured platelet aggregation responses pre-CPB, 5 min after the start of CPB, at the end of CPB, and after unfractionated heparin reversal, using multiple electrode aggregometry (MultiplateH) with adenosine diphosphate (ADP), thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP) and ristocetin activated test cells. We compared blood samples taken from the patient with samples taken from 100 ml ex-vivo stored blood, which we took to mimick blood storage during normovolemic haemodilution. Platelet function declined both in ex-vivo stored blood as well as in blood taken from the patient. At the end of CPB there were no differences in platelet aggregation responses between samples from the ex vivo stored blood and the patient. Conclusion/Significance: Ex vivo preservation of autologous blood in unfractionated heparin does not seem to b

Big data-driven fuzzy cognitive map for prioritising IT service procurement in the public sector

YesThe prevalence of big data is starting to spread across the public and private sectors however, an impediment to its widespread adoption orientates around a lack of appropriate big data analytics (BDA) and resulting skills to exploit the full potential of big data availability. In this paper, we propose a novel BDA to contribute towards this void, using a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) approach that will enhance decision-making thus prioritising IT service procurement in the public sector. This is achieved through the development of decision models that capture the strengths of both data analytics and the established intuitive qualitative approach. By taking advantages of both data analytics and FCM, the proposed approach captures the strength of data-driven decision-making and intuitive model-driven decision modelling. This approach is then validated through a decision-making case regarding IT service procurement in public sector, which is the fundamental step of IT infrastructure supply for publics in a regional government in the Russia federation. The analysis result for the given decision-making problem is then evaluated by decision makers and e-government expertise to confirm the applicability of the proposed BDA. In doing so, demonstrating the value of this approach in contributing towards robust public decision-making regarding IT service procurement.EU FP7 project Policy Compass (Project No. 612133

DNA damage induces reactive oxygen species generation through the H2AX-Nox1/Rac1 pathway

The DNA damage response (DDR) cascade and ROS (reactive oxygen species) signaling are both involved in the induction of cell death after DNA damage, but a mechanistic link between these two pathways has not been clearly elucidated. This study demonstrates that ROS induction after treatment of cells with neocarzinostatin (NCS), an ionizing radiation mimetic, is at least partly mediated by increasing histone H2AX. Increased levels of ROS and cell death induced by H2AX overexpression alone or DNA damage leading to H2AX accumulation are reduced by treating cells with the antioxidant N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), the NADP(H) oxidase (Nox) inhibitor DPI, expression of Rac1N17, and knockdown of Nox1, but not Nox4, indicating that induction of ROS by H2AX is mediated through Nox1 and Rac1 GTPase. H2AX increases Nox1 activity partly by reducing the interaction between a Nox1 activator NOXA1 and its inhibitor 14-3-3zeta. These results point to a novel role of histone H2AX that regulates Nox1-mediated ROS generation after DNA damage

Enhancement of CURB65 score with proadrenomedullin (CURB65-A) for outcome prediction in lower respiratory tract infections: Derivation of a clinical algorithm

Proadrenomedullin (ProADM) confers additional prognostic information to established clinical risk scores in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). We aimed to derive a practical algorithm combining the CURB65 score with ProADM-levels in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and non-CAP-LRTI

Decreased number of mast cells infiltrating into needle biopsy specimens leads to a better prognosis of prostate cancer

Mast cell infiltration is often observed around human tumours. Inflammatory cells such as macrophages, neutrophils and mast cells infiltrating around tumours are known to contribute to tumour growth; however, the clinical significance of mast cell invasion in prostate cancer (PCa) has not been investigated. Mast cell infiltration was evaluated in 104 patients (age range, 45–88 years; median, 72 years), who underwent needle biopsy of the prostate and were confirmed to have PCa. Needle biopsy specimens of prostate were sliced into 5-μm-thick sections and immunostained for mast cells with monoclonal antibody against mast cell-specific tryptase. Mast cells were counted systematically under a microscope (× 400 magnification), and the relations between mast cell numbers and clinicopathologic findings were evaluated. The mast cell count was evaluated for prognostic value by multivariate analysis. Mast cells were immunostained around the cancer foci. The median number of mast cells in each case was 16. The mast cell count was higher around cancer foci in patients with higher Gleason scores than in those with low Gleason scores. The mast cell number correlated well with clinical stage (P<0.001). Prostate-specific antigen-free survival of patients with higher mast cell counts was better than that in patients with lower mast cell counts (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that mast cell count was a significant prognostic factor (P<0.005). The number of mast cells infiltrating around cancer foci in prostate biopsy specimens can be a significant prognostic factor of PCa