Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An ecologic study of nitrate in municipal drinking water and cancer incidence in Trnava District, Slovakia.

Contamination of drinking water by nitrate is an evolving public health concern since nitrate can undergo endogenous reduction to nitrite, and nitrosation of nitrites can form N-nitroso compounds, which are potent carcinogens. We conducted an ecologic study to determine whether nitrate levels in drinking water were correlated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cancers of the digestive and urinary tracts in an agricultural district (Trnava District; population 237,000) of the Slovak Republic. Routinely collected nitrate data (1975-1995) for villages using public water supplies were computerized, and each village was categorized into low (0-10 mg/L), medium (10.1-20 mg/L), or high (20.1-50 mg/L) average levels of total nitrate in drinking water. Observed cases of cancer in each of these villages were ascertained through the district cancer registry for the time period 1986-1995. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all cancer and selected cancer sites were calculated by indirect standardization using age- and sex-specific incidence rates from the entire district. For all cancer in women, SIRs increased from villages with low (SIR=0.87; 95% CI 0.72-0.95) to medium (SIR=1.07; 95% CI 1.00-1.13) to high (SIR=1.14; 1.06-1.22) levels of nitrate (P for trend <0.001); there was a similar trend for all cancer in men from low (SIR=0.90; 95% CI 0.81-0.99) to medium (SIR=1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.16), but not for high (SIR=0.94; 0.88-1.02), nitrate levels (P for trend <0.001). This pattern in the SIRs (from low to high nitrate level) was also seen for stomach cancer in women (0.81, 0.94, 1.24; P for trend=0.10), colorectal cancer in women (0.64, 1.11, 1.29; P for trend <0.001) and men (0.77, 0.99, 1.07; P for trend=0.051), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in women (0.45, 0.90, 1.35; P for trend=0.13) and men (0.25, 1.66, and 1.09; P for trend=0.017). There were no associations for kidney or bladder cancer. These ecologic data support the hypothesis that there is a positive association between nitrate in drinking water and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and colorectal cancer.
EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAM ( FTLRP ) AND HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN ZIMBABWE

In Zimbabwe, food security had been at the centre of all its developmental goals and strategies since independence in 1980. The first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to halve the proportion of people living on less than US$1 a day and those who suffer from hunger before 2015. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) and house household food security in Zimbabwe. A total of one hundred and forty four respondents were used for the study. Questionnaires were used; Descriptive and Inferential Statistics were also used in analyzing the data. Findings indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between FTLRP and household food security. Recommendations included the diversification of the economy and entrepreneurial policies be put in place to improve people’s disposable income so that Model A1 households are able to access food in the event of extreme drought.
Cooperative R&D and strategic trade policy

In this paper three different cooperative R&D arrangements in a strategic trade policy model are examined. A policy game between two governments is analysed, where each government chooses a particular cooperative R&D policy in order to maximize national welfare. Allowing cooperation in R&D is also compared with the use of R&D subsidies. It is jointly optimal for both governments to allow their firms to participate in the same type of cooperative R&D, and allowing cooperation in R&D can be superior to the use of R&D subsidies.
Selenium supplementation during in vitro maturation enhances meiosis and developmental capacity of yak oocytes.

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of selenium (Se) supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the developmental capacity of yak (Bos grunniens) oocytes. Nuclear maturation, DNA integrity, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, subsequent embryonic development, and gene expression after in vitro fertilization (IVF) were evaluated. The Se concentrations in yak plasma and follicular fluid were 0.142 and 0.069 μg/mL, respectively. The DNA damage in cumulus cells decreased significantly with 2 and 4 μg/mL supplementation of sodium selenite to IVM medium (P < 0.05). Total GSH-Px activity in oocytes increased in all Se supplementation groups, and the 2 and 4 μg/mL groups were significantly higher than the control group (0 μg/mL). However, the cleavage rate was not significantly different after Se supplementation (P > 0.05). The IVF blastocyst formation rates of 0, 1 and 4 μg/mL sodium selenite groups were 47.7%, 51.2% and 58.9%, respectively. The 2 μg/mL sodium selenite group had the highest blastocyst formation rate (60.5%). Gene expression analysis revealed that the quantity of transcripts associated with selenoprotein and protein synthesis were high in the 2 and 4 μg/mL groups. In conclusion, both GSH-Px activity of oocytes and DNA integrity of cumulus cells significantly increased with supplemental Se during oocyte IVM. Considering that embryonic development is responsive to Se supplementation, we inferred that appropriate Se concentrations during IVM were beneficial for yak oocyte maturation and subsequent development.
Difficulties in diffusion of tacit knowledge in organizations

To manage intangible assets such as knowledge is perceived as an important capability for competition. One of the main matters for managing knowledge resources is diffusion of knowledge within organizations. Knowledge management needs different forms according to the possibility to code knowledge. Internal individual processes like experience and talent obtain tacit knowledge that is difficult to code. Therefore it cannot be managed and shared as explicit knowledge. To rely on personal tacit knowledge is risky. Conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit or at least ability to share it offers greater value to an organization. But what are the difficulties related to sharing tacit knowledge? Different difficulties are to be found related to perception, language, time, value and distance.
Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: Cointegration Techniques

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been considered as one of the major factors underlying the economic growth experienced by many developing countries. In Malaysia, FDI has played an important role not only in stimulating economic growth, but has also contributed significantly to the growth of the industrial sector and the transformation of the Malaysian economic structure from agricultural to a major producer and exporter of manufactured goods. However, the race for FDI has become increasingly competitive, especially in view of the emergence of China as a new destination for FDI. This paper examines the influence of FDI on the growth of Malaysia for the period 1970-2003. It is found that FDI has significant influence on the growth rate of the Malaysian economy. In addition, multiple regression analyses are performed to determine the relationship between the specific determinants and FDI inflow to the country. The results of the FDI determinants model, firstly, reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between FDI and the variables involved; and secondly, that GDP, exchange rate, public development expenditure, openness of the economy and labor cost have a direct impact on FDI.
Metabolic Regulation in Developing Barley Seeds - Novel Insights from Transcriptome Analyses

The barley (Hordeum vulgare) seed, termed caryopsis, is of high importance for feed and food industry. In addition, it provides an excellent model to study the development and physiology of starch-storing cereal seeds. Gene expression in caryopses, like all plant organs, is to a large extent regulated by the cellular sugar status. As part of the sugar signalling cascade, we have previously identified the sucrose-inducible barley WRKY transcription factor SUSIBA2 which activates an isoamylase gene involved in starch biosynthesis. Subsequently, the aims of this thesis work were i) to clarify the phylogenetic relationship of SUSIBA2 with other WRKY genes and ii) to investigate the effects of diurnal changes and heat stress on metabolite levels and global gene expression in order to identify new potentially sugar status-dependent processes in developing barley caryopses. A total number of 45 barley WRKY gene family members were identified. Based on comparative phylogenetic analyses with genes from Arabidopsis (A. thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa), barley WRKY genes putatively involved in development and stress response were assigned. In an attempt to non-invasively study the effect of altered sugar levels, we applied the 22K Barley1 GeneChip microarray to monitor the diurnal changes of global gene expression in barley caryopses. Among 2,091 diurnally regulated genes, almost 900 were highly correlated or anti-correlated to sugar levels, and, thus, potentially sugar status-regulated. Investigations of the shortterm (0.5h, 3h and 6h) exposure to heat identified stress response mechanisms and revealed a global repression of carbon metabolism-related genes after as short as 3h of heat stress. Summarized, this thesis provides the barley research community with a repository of genes involved in metabolic regulation of barley caryopsis development during its adaptation to diurnal changes and heat stress. Candidate genes were identified which merit further investigation of their functions in order to understand and, thereon, modify sugar signalling and carbon metabolism in the barley caryopsis as a model for cereal seeds.
Sources of TFP growth in the Malaysian Islamic banking sector

This paper attempts to empirically analyse productivity changes of the Malaysian Islamic banking sector during the period of 2001–2004 by applying the non-parametric Malmquist productivity index method. During the period of study, the empirical findings suggest that the Malaysian Islamic banking sector has exhibited productivity progress during the earlier years before declining during the latter years. The results suggest that foreign banks have exhibited higher productivity levels compared with their domestic counterparts during the earlier years, while the domestic banks’ productivity levels were relatively higher compared with the foreign banks during the latter years.
An Accurate Performance Approximation for Beyond 3G Wireless Broadband Systems With QoS

Beyond third-generation (3G) wireless systems will support real-time (inelastic) and nonreal-time (elastic) traffic over a common packet-switched radio channel using quality-of-service (QoS) mechanisms to differentiate the traffic. A key challenge in accurately modeling user and system performances is to be able to simultaneously account for the impacts of mixed traffic types, QoS mechanisms, and varying radio channels. This paper presents a novel way of extending and combining a number of techniques into a single approximate analytic methodology for providing fast and accurate performance analysis of multiple inelastic- and elastic-traffic classes, which is subject to preemptive priority for the inelastic traffic. The methodology is compared with the simulation for a range of guaranteed bit-rate requirements for the inelastic traffic and overall system traffic loads, with the results showing excellent agreement between the model and simulation.
Assessment of stress‐related gene expression in the heavy metal‐exposed nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: A potential biomarker for metal‐induced toxicity monitoring and environmental risk assessment

The toxicity of cadmium, lead, chromium, and arsenite on Caenorhabditis elegans was investigated to identify sensitive biomarkers for environmental monitoring and risk assessment. Effects of these metals on stress‐related gene expression, growth, reproduction, and mortality of C. elegans were investigated under laboratory conditions. The possibility of using C. elegans as a biosensor for environmental toxicity monitoring was also tested using a green fluorescent protein transgenic nematode. The 24‐h median lethal concentrations of cadmium, lead, chromium, and arsenite in C. elegans were 846, 34, 115, and 92 mg/L, respectively. Cadmium exposure led to an increase in the expression of most of the genes tested. The degree of increase was more than threefold compared to control in heat shock protein 16.2, heat shock protein 70, metallothionein 2, cytochrome P450 family protein 35A2, glutathione‐S‐transferase 4, superoxide dismutase 1, catalase 2, C. elegans p53‐like protein 1, and apoptosis enhancer 1 genes. The lead‐, chromium‐, and arsenite‐exposed nematode, on the other hand, showed little change in gene expression. Alterations in growth and reproduction were observed in cadmium‐ and chromium‐exposed worms. To consider a transgenic nematode as a biosensor for toxicity monitoring, the responses of stress‐related gene promoters need to be tested with a variety of metals. The overall results suggest that cadmium exhibits a high level of tolerance compared to the other metals tested. Use of the responses of stress‐related gene expression therefore has considerable potential as a sensitive biomarker for the diagnosis of cadmium contamination, and C. elegans seems to be a good biological model for this approach.
Effects of an Online Alcohol Education Course Among College Freshmen: An Investigation of Potential Mediators

The authors investigated possible mediating effects of psychosocial variables (perceived drinking norms, positive and negative alcohol expectancies, personal approval of alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies) targeted by an online alcohol education course (AlcoholEdu for College) as part of a 30–campus randomized trial with 2,400 first–year students. Previous multilevel analyses have found significant effects of the AlcoholEdu course on the frequency of past-30-day alcohol use and binge drinking during the fall semester, and the most common types of alcohol-related problems. Exposure to the online AlcoholEdu course was inversely related to perceived drinking norms but was not related to any of the other psychosocial variables. Multilevel analyses indicated at least partial mediating effects of perceived drinking norms on behavioral outcomes. Findings of this study suggest that AlcoholEdu for College affects alcohol use and related consequences indirectly through its effect on student perceptions of drinking norms. Further research is needed to better understand why this online course did not appear to affect other targeted psychosocial variables.
Dental Caries and Associated Factors in Children Aged 2-4 Years Old in Mbeya City, Tanzania

Statement of the Problem: Dental caries in infants and young children is prevalent worldwide; its magnitude and associated factors vary between communities because of cultural and social economic differences. No such information was available for pre-school children in Mbeya city. Purpose: To determine dental caries status and associated factors in 2 to 4-year-old children in Mbeya city. Materials and Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among 525 children aged 2-4 years and their parents/caregivers. Caries was assessed using caries assessment spectrum and treatment index, oral hygiene by visual inspection for visible plaque on index teeth, and dietary and oral hygiene habits by a questionnaire. Kappa statistics was used to test reliability of study instruments, χ2-test and logistic regression was employed for studying associations. Results: Caries free children for dmft1, dmft2 and dmft3 were 79.8%, 83.8% and 94.7% and caries experience was 0.49 (1.23), 0.4 (1.14) and 0.10 (0.53) respectively. Older age [(OR =2.722 (1.617-4.582) p=< 0.001)]; and frequent consumption of factory made sugary foods/snacks at age 1-2 years [(OR=3.061 (1.188-7.887) p=0.021] were associated with caries. Prolonged breastfeeding for more than 1 year and breastfeeding at night had no association with dental caries. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental caries was very low. Older age and frequent consumption of factory made sugary foods at age 1-2 years were associated with higher odds of developing dental caries. Prolonged breasfeeding and breastfeeding at night had no association with dental caries. Prevention of dental caries should be instituted as soon as primary teeth start erupting, especially through discouraging consumption of factory made sugary foods/snacks.
Cellular composition of long‐term human spinal cord‐ and forebrain‐derived neurosphere cultures

In vitro expanded neural precursor cells (NPCs) may provide a stable source for cell therapy. In search of the optimal cell source for spinal cord repair, we investigated influences of gestational age, regional heterogeneity, and long‐term in vitro propagation. The cellular content of neurosphere cultures prior to and after in vitro differentiation was studied by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry. Human forebrain and spinal cord NPCs deriving from first‐trimester tissue were cultured as neurospheres in the presence of epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and ciliary neurotrophic factor. Proteins characteristic for embryonic stem cells, i.e., Tra‐1‐60, Tra‐1‐81, and SSEA‐4, were present in ≈0.5% of the cells in donor tissues and neurospheres. The proportions of nestin‐ and proliferating cell nuclear antigen‐immunoreactive (IR) cells were also maintained, whereas the CD133‐IR population increased in vitro. Glial fibrillary acidic protein‐IR cells increased in number, and in contrast the fraction of β‐tubulin III‐IR cells decreased, at and beyond passage 5 in spinal cord but not forebrain cultures. However, dissociated and in vitro‐differentiated forebrain‐ and spinal cord‐derived neurospheres generated similar proportions of neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Gestational age of the donor tissue, which ranged from 4.5 to 12 weeks for forebrain and from 4.5 to 9.5 weeks for spinal cord, did not affect the proportion of cells with different phenotypes in culture. Thus, cellular composition of human neurosphere cultures differs as a result of long‐term in vitro propagation and regional heterogeneity of source tissue, despite expansion under equal culture conditions. This could in turn imply that human spinal cord and forebrain NPCs present different repair potentials in in vivo settings. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Learned perceptual image enhancement

Learning a typical image enhancement pipeline involves minimization of a loss function between enhanced and reference images. While L1 and L2 losses are perhaps the most widely used functions for this purpose, they do not necessarily lead to perceptually compelling results. In this paper, we show that adding a learned no-reference image quality metric to the loss can significantly improve enhancement operators. This metric is implemented using a CNN (convolutional neural network) trained on a large-scale dataset labelled with aesthetic preferences ofhuman raters. This loss allows us to conveniently perform back-propagation in our learning framework to simultaneously optimize for similarity to a given ground truth reference and perceptual quality. This perceptual loss is only used to train parameters of image processing operators, and does not impose any extra complexity at inference time. Our experiments demonstrate that this loss can be effective for tuning a variety of operators such as local tone mapping and dehazing.
STRATEGIC AND OPERATIVE LEVEL FRONT-END INNOVATION ACTIVITIES — INTEGRATION PERSPECTIVE

The front-end phase is in the literature generally regarded as the most critical phase of the innovation process. Front-end management has a strategic nature since important decisions related e.g. to target markets and the main functionalities of products are done in the front-end phase. This article examines how the integration of strategic and operative level front-end activities is perceived by top managers in the product innovation context. The findings indicate that companies exploit different strategy-making processes, and that each strategy-making mode is prone to particular integration challenges. The results show that the effectiveness of integration of strategic and operative level front-end activities is dependent on the level of concreteness of the defined business strategies, the amount of business-minded decision making, and the balance between control and creativity.
Board Models in Europe – Recent Developments of Internal Corporate Governance Structures in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy

Abstract The struggle for efficient internal management control is the centre of the corporate governance debate in Europe since the incorporation of the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie in 1602. Recent developments in Europe indicate growing convergence of internal control mechanisms independent of board structure. The revisions of the Combined Code in the United Kingdom and of the Principles of Corporate Governance in France (from 2003) increase the presence of independent directors on one-tier boards in Europe while the German two-tier structure is incorporating a key advantage of the one-tier model by strengthening the strategic role of the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) in the new German Corporate Governance Code of 2002. A trend to greater structural flexibility on the board level is strongly triggered by the introduction of a threefold board model choice under the French Loi Nouvelles Régulations Économiques of 2001 and under the Italian Vietti-Reform which has been in force since January 2004.
The Capital and Risk Adjustment Under Regulatory Pressure of Chinese Commercial Banks

This paper analyzes the adjustment of Chinese commercial banks’ capital and risk after the implementation of Measures for the Management of Capital Adequacy Ratios of Commercial Banks, using 3SLS technique and a simultaneous equation model (Shrieves and Dahl, 1992) with data of 28 commercial banks. The results suggest that banks increase the capital level in order to meet the reqirement of capital regulation; the regulation pressure increases the risk taken by banks with inadequate capital, and increases the capital level in banks with adequate capital. Key words: Capital Adequacy Ratios; Regulation Pressure; Risk Taking
Complex Interactions Among a Nematode Parasite (Daubaylia potomaca), a Commensalistic Annelid (Chaetogaster limnaei limnaei), and Trematode Parasites in a Snail Host (Helisoma anceps)

abstract: Many biotic interactions can affect the prevalence and intensity of parasite infections in aquatic snails. Historically, these studies have centered on interactions between trematode parasites or between trematodes and other organisms. The present investigation focuses on the nematode parasite Daubaylia potomaca and its interactions with a commensal, Chaetogaster limnaei limnaei, and a variety of trematode species. It was found that the presence of C. l. limnaei indirectly increased the mean intensity of D. potomaca infections, apparently by acting as a restraint for various trematode parasites, particularly the rediae of Echinostoma sp. In turn, Echinostoma sp. rediae adversely affected the mean intensity of D. potomaca by their consumption of both juvenile and adult nematodes present in tissues of the snail. These organisms not only belong to 3 different phyla but occupy distinct trophic levels as well. The complex interactions among these 3 organisms in the snail host provide an excellent example of biotic interactions influencing the infection dynamics of parasites in aquatic snails.