Factors Affecting the Cloud ERP: A Case Study of Learning Resources Department at Jordanian Education Ministry

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been used by organizations for years, whereas Cloud ERP systems gained an audience a few years ago from practitioners and academicians. As such, there is a migration from the traditional ERP to the Cloud ERP system, and employees in most organizations are accustomed to the traditional ERP system. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Cloud ERP system used in the operation stage. Organizations must research the factors that impact users' satisfaction and managerial decision-making. There are a lot of prior studies that measured users' adoption of ERP systems using a technological acceptance model (TAM). Thus, this study also utilized the TAM model to examine the factors influencing users' adoption of Cloud ERP systems. To get the maximum value of the validity and reliability of the findings, the study was conducted in two folds: pre-implementation and post-implementation. In addition, structural equation modelling was employed to reach the findings. Finally, the study identified the technology factor, employee factor, perceived usefulness and ease of use as important variables affecting Cloud ERP adoption; and as essential antecedents influencing managerial decision-making. This study is the first to employ the TAM model in the Cloud ERP area in two waves: pre-post implementation phases. Interestingly, the relationships between the pre-and post-implementation variables do not differ significantly

Locomotor differences in Mongolian gerbils with the effects of midazolam administration in the form of eye drops

Background: Midazolam is a sedative-hypnotic agent with amnestic and anticonvulsant properties that can be administrated to mammals through various routes, such as intravenous, intramuscular, oral, intrathecal, rectal, and buccal. Midazolam administration in the form of eye drops through the conjunctiva is not reported in the literature. Aim:This study aims to demonstrate the possible central nervous system effects of midazolam administration as eyes drops in Mongolian gerbils. Materials and Methods: Fourteen gerbils were randomly assigned to one of two equal sized groups. The active arm received 2 ml of 10 mg midazolam as eye drops in both eyes. Control group received a total of 2 ml of physiological saline(0.9% NaCl). We subjected the gerbils to an adapted “Open Field” to determine the possible effects on central nervous system of midazolam. Gerbils were allowed to move freely in the open field. Before and after the drug administration, locomotor activities of each gerbil have been recorded. Frequency of loss of righting reflex was quantified. Results: Conjunctival Midazolam administration resulted with the transient loss of righting reflex (p=0.017) and suppressed exploration motion (p=0.018) in the open field test compared to control subjects. Conclusions: In the present study, administration of conjunctival midazolam as an eye drop may affect gerbil’s locomotor activities and open field behaviors. We argue that, using a sedative and anticonvulsive drug such as midazolam via conjunctival route may be useful in some clinical situations. Therefore, it could be beneficial to develop a new conjunctival formulation of midazolam. Also, there is a need for trials in humans with pharmacokinetic studies.Keywords: Righting reflex; Conjunctival Midazolam; Gerbillinae; Midazolam; Eye drop; New administration routeAfrican Health sciences Vol 14 No. 1 March 201

Short-term outcome of early electrical cardioversion for atrial fibrillation in hyperthyroid versus euthyroid patients*

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac complication of hyperthyroidism. The influence of the time of cardioversion on hyperthyroidism-induced AF remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare short-term outcomes of early electrical cardioversion for AF in hyperthyroid and euthyroid patients. Methods and Results: Sixty-seven subjects with persistent AF (duration, 10 days–12 months) were divided into two groups according to thyroid function: Euthyroid (Group 1, n = 36, female/male: 23/13, mean age: 61.77 ± 10.45 years) and hyperthyroid (Group 2, n = 31, female/male: 10/21, mean age: 65.43 ± 6.40 years). Two patients were excluded for unsuccessful cardioversion (one in each group). In Group 2, 19 patients had clinical and 11 had subclinical hyperthyroidism. Following transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, cardioversion was performed until the highest energy was reached (270 J) or until sinus rhythm was achieved. AF recurrence was detected in 13 of 35 patients (37.1%) in Group 1 and in 11 of 30 patients (36.9%) in Group 2 (p = 0.96) at one month. Recurrence rate was higher in the clinical hyperthyroid patients than in the subclinical hyperthyroid patients (52.6% vs 9.1%, p = 0.021), but neither the clinical nor the subclinical hyperthyroid subgroups were significantly different from Group 1 in terms of recurrence rate (p = 0.27 and p = 0.13, respectively). Conclusions: Electrical cardioversion should be performed for patients with persistent AF and hyperthyroidism as soon as possible. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 1: 53–60

Optical Counterparts of ULXs and Their Host Environments in NGC 4490/4485

We report the identification of the possible optical counterparts of five out of seven Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) in NGC 4490/4485 galaxy pair. Using archival Hubble Space Telescope ({\it HST}) imaging data, we identified a single optical candidate for two ULXs (X-4 and X-7) and multiple optical candidates for the other three ULXs (X-2, X-3 and X-6) within $\sim$ 0\farcs2 error radius at the 90\% confidence level. Of the two remaining ULXs, X-1 has no {\it HST} imaging data and photometry could not be performed due to the position of X-5 in NGC4490. Absolute magnitudes ($M_{V}$) of the optical candidates lie between $-5.7$ and $-3.8$. Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) have been used to investigate the properties of counterparts and their environments. The locations of the counterparts of X-2, X-4, and X-6 suggest possible association with nearby group of stars while others have no association with a star cluster or group of stars. For comparison purposes, we analyzed previously unused three archival XMM-Newton observations. The long-term X-ray light curves of the sources (except transient X-7) show variability by a factor of three in a time scale more than a decade. The use of disk blackbody model for the mass of the compact objects indicates that these objects might have masses most likely in the range 10$-$15 M_{\sun}.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Ap

Predictive value of atrial electromechanical delay for atrial fibrillation recurrence

Background: We investigated the predictive value of atrial electromechanical delay (AEMD) for recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) at 1-month after cardioversion.Methods: Seventy-seven patients with persistent AF were evaluated and finally 50 patients (12 men, 38 women) were included. All patients underwent transthoracic electrical DC cardioversion under amiodarone treatment. AEMD was measured as the time interval from the onset of the P wave on electrogram (ECG) to the beginning of late diastolic wave (Am) from the ventricular annulus and atrial walls on tissue Doppler imaging, in the apical 4-chamber view 24 h after cardiversion. P wave maximum-duration (Pmax), P wave minimum-duration (Pmin) and P wave dispersion-duration (Pdis) were calculated on the 12-lead ECG at 24-h postcardioversion. We followed the heart rate and rhythm by 12-lead ECG at 24-h, 1-week and 1-month.Results: At 1-month follow-up after cardioversion, 28 (56%) patients were in sinus rhythm (SR), whereas 22 (44%) patients reverted to AF. The AEMD durations were longer in AF group than SR group (p < 0.001) and were signifi cantly correlated with Pmax and Pdis (p < 0.001 for both). For AF recurrence; duration of AF, left atrial (LA) diameter, maximum LA volume index, mitral A velocity and LA lateral AEMD were significant parameters in univariate-analysis, however LA lateral AEMD was the only significant parameter in multivariate-analysis (OR: 1.46; 95% CI 1.02–2.11; p = 0.03).Conclusions: Our results suggest that AEMD is associated with an increased risk of recurrence of AF within 1-month. These data may have implications for the identification of patients who are most likely to experience substantial benefit from cardiversion therapy for AF

Sustained release formulation of an anti-tuberculosis drug based on para-amino salicylic acid-zinc layered hydroxide nanocomposite

Background: Tuberculosis (TB), is caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its a threat to humans since centuries. Depending on the type of TB, its treatment can last for 6-24 months which is a major cause for patients non-compliance and treatment failure. Many adverse effects are associated with the currently available TB medicines, and there has been no new anti-tuberculosis drug on the market for more than 50 year, as the drug development is very lengthy and budget consuming process.Development of the biocompatible nano drug delivery systems with the ability to minimize the side effects of the drugs, protection of the drug from enzymatic degradation. And most importantly the drug delivery systems which can deliver the drug at target site would increase the therapeutic efficacy. Nanovehicles with their tendency to release the drug in a sustained manner would result in the bioavalibilty of the drugs in the body for a longer period of time and this would reduce the dosing frequency in drug administration. The biocompatible nanovehicles with the properties like sustained release of drug of the target site, protection of the drug from physio-chemical degradation, reduction in dosing frequency, and prolong bioavailability of drug in the body would result in the shortening of the treatment duration. All of these factors would improve the patient compliance with chemotherapy of TB.Result: An anti-tuberculosis drug, 4-amino salicylic acid (4-ASA) was successfully intercalated into the interlamellae of zinc layered hydroxide (ZLH) via direct reaction with zinc oxide suspension. The X-ray diffraction patterns and FTIR analyses indicate that the molecule was successfully intercalated into the ZLH interlayer space with an average basal spacing of 24 Å. Furthermore, TGA and DTG results show that the drug 4-ASA is stabilized in the interlayers by electrostatic interaction. The release of 4-ASA from the nanocomposite was found to be in a sustained manner. The nanocomposite treated with normal 3T3 cells shows it reduces cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner.Conclusions: Sustained release formulation of the nanocomposite, 4-ASA intercalated into zinc layered hydroxides, with its ease of preparation, sustained release of the active and less-toxic to the cell is a step forward for a more patient-friendly chemotherapy of Tuberculosis

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Data Integration in Functional Analysis of MicroRNAs

The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), about a decade ago, has completely changed our understanding of the complexity of gene regulatory networks. It has already been shown that they are abundantly found in many organisms and can regulate hundreds of genes in post-transcriptional level. To elucidate the individual or co-operative effects of miRNAs, it is required to place them in the overall network of gene regulation and link them to other pathways and systems-level processes. One key step in this effort is predicting targets of individual miRNAs. Although current tools are helpful in predicting miRNA-mRNA binding to a considerable extent, they are not able to model many-to-many relationships between miRNAs and their targets using solely sequence information. Therefore, other types of information sources have been employed for better prediction of these functional relationships. This report focuses on the state-of-the-art solutions and current challenges on mining miRNA-related data to discover the systems-level role of miRNAs, with an emphasis on the integration of different information sources. We aim to provide new insights for fusion of different types of biochemical and experimental information sources which may facilitate functional analysis of miRNAs

The realion between public expenditures and economic growth comparison of developed and developing countries

İktisat tarihini incelediğimizde klasik iktisadi düşüncenin sınırlı devleti, yani devletin sadece belli hizmetleri gerçekleştirmesi gerektiğini savunduğunu, modern iktisadi düşünce sisteminin ise devlete ilave yükler yüklediğini görürüz. Dolayısıyla klasik iktisatçılar devletin sınırlı kamu harcamaları yapması gerektiği savunurken, modern iktisatçılar ise devletin daha geniş kapsamda kamu harcaması yapması gerektiğini savunurlar. Kamu harcamalarıyla ilgili tarihsel sürece baktığımızda bu alanda önemli çalışmaların 19. yüzyıldan itibaren yapılmaya başlandığını görürüz. Alman İktisatçı A. Wagner birçok ülkeyi kapsayan çalışmalarında kamu harcamalarının sürekli olarak arttığını tespit etmiştir. Bu artışın genel bir nitelik taşıdığı kabul edilerek Wagner kanunu olarak tanımlanmıştır. Daha sonra birçok bilim adamı bu konuda çalışmalar yapmıştır. Kamu harcamalarının sürekli olarak büyümesi bu artışın reel bir büyümemi yoksa rakamsal bir büyümemi olduğu sorusunu akla getirmiştir. Reel olarak kamu harcamalarının artmasına gerçekte artış rakamsal olarak artmasına ise görünüşte artış denilmektedir. Kamu harcamaları, devletin ekonomiye müdahale araçlarından biridir. İktisatçılar bu aracın ne kadar kullanılması gerektiğini sürekli olarak sorgulamışlardır. İktisatçılar bu sorgulamalarda kamu harcamalarıyla ekonomik büyüme arasında bir ilişkinin olduğunu tespit etmişlerdir Ekonomik büyüme topluma sunulan mal ve hizmet kalitesini artıran, ülkeyi sosyal ve ekonomik açıdan güçlendiren bir olgudur. Bu artışın gerçekte veya görünüşte olması ekonomik büyüme üzerinde farklı etkiler meydana getirecektir. Bu çalışmanın amacı kamu harcamaları ve ekonomik büyüme kavramlarını teorik çerçevede ortaya koymak, gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkeler bakımından kamu harcamalarının etkilerini analiz etmektir. Çalışmamızda yüksek gelirli, orta üst gelirli ve düşük orta gelirli ülkeler için kamu harcamaları ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişki incelenmiştir. Çalışmada ARDL (Autoregresive Distribute Log) yaklaşımı kullanılarak bu ülkeler bakımından kamu harcamaları ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişki test edilmiştir.When we examine the history of economics, we observe that classical economics advocate limited state, i.e. state’s delivering only certain services, while modern economic thought puts additional burdens to the state. Thus, while classical economists advocate limited public spending, modern economists argue for more extensive public spending. When we look at the historical process related with public spending, we see that significant studies in this field started to be engaged in 19th century. German economist A. Wagner, in his studies that cover several countries, confirmed that public spendings have increased on a regular base. Assuming that this increase a general fact, this increase is defined as Wagner’s Law. Later, a lot of scientist engaged in studies on this topic. Constant increase of public spending raised a question of whether this increase is real or numeric. Real increase in the public spending is called increase in real, numeric increase is called as increase in appearence. Public spending is one of the tools of state intervention. Economists, on a constant base, have been questioning the extent of usage of this tool. Economists, in their studies, detected relation between public spending and economic growth. Economic growth is a phenomenon that promotes higher quality of goods and services provided to society, and strenghtens country in economic and social terms. The real increase and increase in appearence have different impacts on economic growth. The goal of the study is to put concepts of public spending and economic growth in a theoretical context, and to analyze the effects of public spendings in developed and developing countries. In our study, the relation between public spending and economic growth in high income, middle income and low income countries. In the study, the relation between public spending and economic growth is tested and concluded through adoption of Autoregresive Distribute Log approach