Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adult Ocular Toxocariasis Mimicking Ciliary Body Malignancy

Purpose. To discuss an unusual presentation of ocular toxocariasis. Methods. Case report. Results. A 40-year-old woman presented with decreased vision in the left eye with a long history of recurrent red eye from uveitis. Eosinophilia and positive ELISA titers for Toxocara canis favored the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Over 3 months, an anterior scleral mass had a rapid growth raising the possibility of medulloepithelioma, which rarely can mimic uveitic syndromes. Surgical plan changed from local excision to enucleation. Histopathology demonstrated a large homogeneous mass of chronic inflammatory cells with inflammation of the overlying thinned out sclera, medial rectus insertion, and limbal cornea. The triad of peripheral granuloma, eosinophilia, and positive blood serology established the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Conclusions. Ocular toxocariasis can mimic ocular malignancy such as medulloepithelioma in adults and rarely presents as an anterior scleral mass.
Host Niches and Defensive Extended Phenotypes Structure Parasitoid Wasp Communities

Oak galls are spectacular extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes in host oak tissues and have evolved complex morphologies that serve, in part, to exclude parasitoid natural enemies. Parasitoids and their insect herbivore hosts have coevolved to produce diverse communities comprising about a third of all animal species. The factors structuring these communities, however, remain poorly understood. An emerging theme in community ecology is the need to consider the effects of host traits, shaped by both natural selection and phylogenetic history, on associated communities of natural enemies. Here we examine the impact of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness on 48 ecologically closed and species-rich communities of parasitoids attacking gall-inducing wasps on oaks. Gallwasps induce the development of spectacular and structurally complex galls whose species- and generation-specific morphologies are the extended phenotypes of gallwasp genes. All the associated natural enemies attack their concealed hosts through gall tissues, and several structural gall traits have been shown to enhance defence against parasitoid attack. Here we explore the significance of these and other host traits in predicting variation in parasitoid community structure across gallwasp species. In particular, we test the “Enemy Hypothesis,” which predicts that galls with similar morphology will exclude similar sets of parasitoids and therefore have similar parasitoid communities. Having controlled for phylogenetic patterning in host traits and communities, we found significant correlations between parasitoid community structure and several gall structural traits (toughness, hairiness, stickiness), supporting the Enemy Hypothesis. Parasitoid community structure was also consistently predicted by components of the hosts' spatiotemporal niche, particularly host oak taxonomy and gall location (e.g., leaf versus bud versus seed). The combined explanatory power of structural and spatiotemporal traits on community structure can be high, reaching 62% in one analysis. The observed patterns derive mainly from partial niche specialisation of highly generalist parasitoids with broad host ranges (>20 hosts), rather than strict separation of enemies with narrower host ranges, and so may contribute to maintenance of the richness of generalist parasitoids in gallwasp communities. Though evolutionary escape from parasitoids might most effectively be achieved via changes in host oak taxon, extreme conservatism in this trait for gallwasps suggests that selection is more likely to have acted on gall morphology and location. Any escape from parasitoids associated with evolutionary shifts in these traits has probably only been transient, however, due to subsequent recruitment of parasitoid species already attacking other host galls with similar trait combinations.
Functional Plant Types Drive Plant Interactions in a Mediterranean Mountain Range

Shrubs have positive (facilitation) and negative (competition) effects on understory plants, the net interaction effect being modulated by abiotic conditions. Overall shrubs influence to great extent the structure of plant communities where they have significant presence. Interactions in a plant community are quite diverse but little is known about their variability and effects at community level. Here we checked the effects of co-occurring shrub species from different functional types on a focal understory species, determining mechanisms driving interaction outcome, and tested whether effects measured on the focal species were a proxy for effects measured at the community level. Growth, physiological, and reproductive traits of Euphorbia nicaeensis, our focal species, were recorded on individuals growing in association with four dominant shrub species and in adjacent open areas. We also recorded community composition and environmental conditions in each microhabitat. Shrubs provided environmental conditions for plant growth, which contrasted with open areas, including moister soil, greater N content, higher air temperatures, and lower radiation. Shrub-associated individuals showed lower reproductive effort and greater allocation to growth, while most physiological traits remained unaffected. Euphorbia individuals were bigger and had more leaf N under N-fixing than under non-fixing species. Soil moisture was also higher under N-fixing shrubs; therefore soil conditions in the understory may counter reduced light conditions. There was a significant effect of species identity and functional types in the outcome of plant interactions with consistent effects at individual and community levels. The contrasting allocation strategies to reproduction and growth in Euphorbia plants, either associated or not with shrubs, showed high phenotypic plasticity and evidence its ability to cope with contrasting environmental conditions.
A Role for the Retinoblastoma Protein As a Regulator of Mouse Osteoblast Cell Adhesion: Implications for Osteogenesis and Osteosarcoma Formation

The retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is a cell cycle regulator inactivated in most human cancers. Loss of pRb function results from mutations in the gene coding for pRb or for any of its upstream regulators. Although pRb is predominantly known as a cell cycle repressor, our data point to additional pRb functions in cell adhesion. Our data show that pRb regulates the expression of a wide repertoire of cell adhesion genes and regulates the assembly of the adherens junctions required for cell adhesion. We conducted our studies in osteoblasts, which depend on both pRb and on cell-to-cell contacts for their differentiation and function. We generated knockout mice in which the RB gene was excised specifically in osteoblasts using the cre-lox P system and found that osteoblasts from pRb knockout mice did not assemble adherens junction at their membranes. pRb depletion in wild type osteoblasts using RNAi also disrupted adherens junctions. Microarrays comparing pRb-expressing and pRb-deficient osteoblasts showed that pRb controls the expression of a number of cell adhesion genes, including cadherins. Furthermore, pRb knockout mice showed bone abnormalities consistent with osteoblast adhesion defects. We also found that pRb controls the function of merlin, a well-known regulator of adherens junction assembly, by repressing Rac1 and its effector Pak1. Using qRT-PCR, immunoblots, co-immunoprecipitation assays, and immunofluorescent labeling, we observed that pRb loss resulted in Rac1 and Pak1 overexpression concomitant with merlin inactivation by Pak1, merlin detachment from the membrane, and adherens junction loss. Our data support a pRb function in cell adhesion while elucidating the mechanism for this function. Our work suggests that in some tumor types pRb inactivation results in both a loss of cell cycle control that promotes initial tumor growth as well as in a loss of cell-to-cell contacts, which contributes to later stages of metastasis.
Citizens and the State

Fears that representative democracy in western Europe is in crisis are examined on the basis of trends in mass attitudes over the past two or three decades. The evidence suggests not crisis but a changing relationship between citizens and the state. This change poses a democratic transformation in the countries of Western Europe. Series Description This set of five volumes is an exhaustive study of beliefs in government in post-war Europe. Based upon an extensive collection of survey evidence, the results challenge widely argued theories of mass opinion, and much scholarly writing about citizen attitudes towards government and politics. The series arises from a research project sponsored by the European Science Foundation Series ISBN: 0-19-961880-1
Response to Wyssusek's "On Ontological Foundations of Conceptual Modelling"

Several current developments indicate that IS and enterprise models and ontologies will become increasingly important in the years to come, including the OMG’s model-driven architecture (MDA) initiative (www.omg.org/mda), the semantic web initiative (Berners-Lee et al. 2001) and increasingly modeldriven enterprise systems. Given its long tradition of modelling research, the IS field should play a central role in this development. Yet the IS field has produced few broad theories that can guide the direction of modelling research, assist in interpreting findings and serve as a core for knowledge to accumulate around. A few frameworks for language and model evaluation are much used, including the SEQUAL framework (e.g., Krogstie 2002), based on the work of Lindland, Sindre and Solvberg (1994). But evaluation is only a part of the modelling picture, and few broader theories are available. The FRISCO framework was an early theory proposal (Falkenberg et al. 1998), but it is unfortunately used too little today.
THE meaning of effectiveness

As the Industry Commission prepares to engage in its examination of the Australian nonprofit sector as defined in its draft terms of reference, it confronts what it should regard as a fundamental dilemma; the meaning of the construct `effectiveness'. I should at this point state clearly that the potential difficulties are not unique to the task of the Commission, but have instead plagued human service evaluation for many a long year. At the level of human service or welfare practice, a favoured method of resolving the conundrum has been to dismiss it as irrelevant to the human services as it pursues its task of working for human betterment however understood. Such a response highlights a fundamental characteristic of the human services generally, not only in the nonprofit arena: their relative freedom from evaluation. While there are many reasons for this, some of which we will canvass later in this paper, one stems from a lack of clarity about the meaning of effectiveness coupled with a lack of consensus about its purpose.
Intellectual Capital in Egyptian Software Firms

The distribution of knowledge around the world varies significantly with developed countries possessing most of the world's current intellectual capital (IC) compared to developing countries. Most IC research has been conducted in a variety of international settings such as the UK, Scandinavia, Australia, Canada, Austria, Malaysia, the USA, and Ireland. However, no empirical research has been conducted at the organizational level in the field of IC in Arab countries. These nations are socially, economically, and culturally different from most countries in the aforementioned list. This study describes the IC in Egyptian software firms. The study's objective is to contribute to the IC theory development by building a measurement system in an unique context. This paper highlights the key IC indicators as reported by Egyptian CEOs. Ultimately, the resultant report provides them with a direction for building a strong knowledge base for future IC development.
Interleukin-1 Modulation of Human Placental Trophoblast Proliferation

During early pregnancy, interleukin-1 (IL-1) is mainly produced and secreted by maternal decidua. Yet, its biological function on placental cells is not well defined. In this study, we employed JAR choriocarcinoma cell line as a model of human placental trophoblast to study the effect of IL-1. Treatment with recombinant human IL-1β resulted in significant inhibition of JAR proliferation (P < .05) paralleled with increased cytotoxicity. The inhibitory effect was blocked by both IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and antihuman IL-1β monoclonal antibody. Analyzing the mode of action, IL-1β was found to induce cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase and triggered apoptotic cell death. These findings demonstrated that IL-1 regulates human trophoblast growth by induction of cell cycle delay and cell death.
It's a Magical World, Hobbes, Ol' Buddy... Let's Go Exploring! State Translation in No-limit Poker Examining Committee

One way to create a champion level poker agent is to compute a Nash Equilibrium in an abstract version of the poker game. The resulting strategy is then used to play in the full game. With this approach, translation is required between the full and abstract games in order to use the abstract strategy. In limit poker this translation step is defined when the abstraction is chosen. However, when considering no-limit poker the translation process becomes more complicated. We formally describe the process of translation and investigate its consequences. We examine how the current method, hard translation, can result in exploitable agents and introduce a new probabilistic method, soft translation, that produces more robust players. We also investigate how switching between strategies with different underlying abstractions affects the performance of an agent.
Avoiding Bad Press: Interpersonal Influence in Relations between CEOs and Journalists and the Consequences for Press Reporting About Firms and Their Leadership

In this study we consider how and when interpersonal relations between chief executive officers (CEOs) and journalists can influence the content of journalists' reporting about corporate leaders and their firms. Specifically, we draw from the social psychological literature on interpersonal influence and social exchange to suggest (i) how the disclosure of relatively low corporate earnings may prompt the CEO to engage in ingratiatory behavior toward journalists, and (ii) how such behavior may be effective in prompting journalists to issue relatively positive reports about the CEO's firm. We also extend our theory to consider how relatively negative journalist reports may prompt CEOs to retaliate against individual journalists by limiting or cutting off communication with the offending journalist, and how such retaliation may deter other journalists from issuing negative reports about the firm in the future. We find support for our hypotheses in a unique data set that includes large-sample survey data on CEO--journalist relations. We discuss how our research contributes to the growing literature in organization theory and strategy on the social processes by which corporate leaders influence the behavior of information intermediaries and other external constituents toward their firms. Moreover, we suggest that an implication of our findings is that top executives can actively influence the reputation of their firms, as well as their own reputations as corporate leaders, by engaging in interpersonal influence processes toward journalists.
Frequencies of mitogen-reactive B cells in the mouse. II. Frequencies of B cells producing antibodies which lyse sheep or horse erythrocytes, and trinitrophenylated or nitrodophenylated sheep erythrocytes

The B-cell mitogens LPS and lipoprotein stimulate 20-35 percent of all B cells in the spleen of 6- to 8-wk old C3H/Tif mice, as determined by limiting dilution analysis of precursors. Each reactive cell grows to a clone of IgM-secreting PFC, enumerated in a hemolytic plaque assay detecting all IgM secreting cells, regardless of v-region specificity. We have used these mitogens to reveal the total repertoire of Ig specificities produced by these mitogen-reactive B cells. We have determined in plaque assays with six different target erythrocytes the number of spleen cells limiting to one the number of mitogen-reactive B cells detected as specific IgM-secreting clones in each of these plaque assays. By this method, the absolute frequencies of precursor B cells with defined v-gene specificities could be calculated, for at least, one third of all B cells. The frequencies of specific IgM-plaque-forming B-cell clones within the total pool of mitogen-reactive B cells was 1 in 10 for NIP(12),-SRC, 1 in 50 for TNP(12)- SRC, 1 in 100 for NIP(1)-SRC, 1 in 160 for TNP(3)- SRC, 1 in 500 for HRC, and 1 in 1,000 for SRC. These frequencies were the same in the LPS- and in the lipoprotein-reactive B-cell population for TNP(30)- SRC and SRC.
TCP performance improvement considering ACK loss in ad hoc networks

In mobile ad hoc networks, packet loss is unavoidable due to MAC contention, link failure or the inherent characteristics of wireless link. Since TCP relies on the timely reception of TCP ACK packets to progress the transmission of the TCP DATA packets, ACK loss obviously affects the performance due to two main problems: (a) Frequent occurrence of spurious retransmissions caused by timeout events and (b) impairment of the fast retransmit mechanism caused by the lack of a sufficient number of duplicate ACK packets. In particular, since most reactive routing protocols force the packets buffered over a path to be discarded while performing a route recovery, the performance degradation becomes more serious due to such ACK loss. In this paper, therefore, TCP with two piggybacking schemes (called TCP-pgy) is proposed in order to resolve the above-mentioned problems over reactive routing protocols. Through extensive simulations using the ns-2 simulator, we prove that our proposed schemes contribute to TCP performance improvements.
Investment Performance of Common Stocks in Relation to their Price-Earnings Ratios

IN AN EFFICIENT CAPITAL MARKET, security prices fully reflect available information in a rapid and unbiased fashion and thus provide unbiased estimates of the underlying values. While there is substantial empirical evidence supporting the efficient market hypothesis,' many still question its validity. One such group believes that price-earnings (P/E) ratios are indicators of the future investment performance of a security. Proponents of this price-ratio hypothesis claim that low P/E securities will tend to outperform high P/E stocks.2 In short, prices of securities are biased, and the P/E ratio is an indicator of this bias.3 A finding that returns on stocks with low P/E ratios tends to be larger than warranted by the underlying risks, even after adjusting for any additional search and transactions costs, and differential taxes, would be inconsistent with the efficient market hypothesis.4 The purpose of this paper is to determine empirically whether the investment performance of common stocks is related to their P/E ratios. In Section II data, sample, and estimation procedures are outlined. Empirical results are discussed in Section III, and conclusions and implications are given in Section IV.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 What Has Been Missed for Predicting Human Attention in Viewing Driving Clips?

Recent research progress on the topic of human visual attention allocation in scene perception and its simulation is based mainly on studies with static images. However, natural vision requires us to extract visual information that constantly changes due to egocentric movements or dynamics of the world. It is unclear to what extent spatio-temporal regularity, an inherent regularity in dynamic vision, affects human gaze distribution and saliency computation in visual attention models. In this free-viewing eye-tracking study we manipulated the spatio-temporal regularity of traffic videos by presenting them in normal video sequence, reversed video sequence, normal frame sequence, and randomised frame sequence. The recorded human gaze allocation was then used as the 'ground truth' to examine the predictive ability of a number of state-of-the-art visual attention models. The analysis revealed high inter-observer agreement across individual human observers, but all the tested attention models performed significantly worse than humans. The inferior predictability of the models was evident from indistinguishable gaze prediction irrespective of stimuli presentation sequence, and weak central fixation bias. Our findings suggest that a realistic visual attention model for the processing of dynamic scenes should incorporate human visual sensitivity with spatio-temporal regularity and central fixation bias.
Improving the information environment for analysts

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to document the relationship between intellectual capital disclosure and analyst following for biotechnology firms listed at the Copenhagen Stock Exchange during the period between 2001 and 2010. Design/methodology/approach: Intellectual capital disclosure was computed from financial statements, while analyst following data was retrieved from I/B/E/S. Findings: The results show that analysts are more likely to follow firms with high intellectual capital disclosure. This finding is consistent with the fact that analysts wish to follow those firms for which they have more information. Our results also show that intellectual capital disclosure related to employees and strategic statements are the most important disclosures for analysts. Research limitations/implications: More relevant methods, such as survey or interviews with management, may be used to improve the information content of intellectual capital disclosure. Analysts, probably, deduce intellectual capital of a firm from interaction with management rather than financial statements. Practical implications: Firms in biotechnology sector can improve their information environment by disclosing more information regarding their intellectual capital in financial statements. Originality/value: Our findings shed light on the importance of intellectual capital in biotechnology sector for analysts.
Optical identifications and spectroscopy of a faint radio source sample: the nature of the sub-mJy population

Deep imaging and spectroscopy have been carried out for optical counterparts of a sample of 68 faint radio sources (S > 0.2 mJy) in the Marano Field. About 60 per cent of the sources have been optically identified on deep CCD exposures (limit R ≃ 24.0) or ESO 3.6-m plates (limit bJ≃ 22.5). 34 spectra (50 per cent of the total radio sample) were obtained with the ESO 3.6-m telescope and 30 redshifts were determined. In addition to a few broad-line active galactic nuclei, three main spectroscopic classes have been found to dominate the faint radio galaxy population. (1) Early-type galaxies (without emission lines in their spectra) having 0.1 0.8) radio galaxies with moderate-to-strong [O ii] emission. All of them have B > 22.5 and most of them have S1.4 GHz > 1 mJy. They have spectra, colours and absolute magnitudes similar to those of the classical bright elliptical radio galaxies found in surveys carried out at higher radio fluxes. Star-forming galaxies do not constitute the main population of our radio sources identified with galaxies. In fact, even at sub-mJy level the majority of our radio sources are identified with early-type galaxies. This apparent discrepancy with previous results is due to the fainter magnitude limit reached in our spectroscopic identifications. Moreover, using mainly the large radio-to-optical ratio and the information from the available limits on the optical magnitudes of the unidentified radio sources, we conclude that the great majority of them are likely to be early-type galaxies, at z > 1. If correct, it would suggest that the evolution of the radio luminosity function of spiral galaxies, including starbursts, might not be as strong as suggested in previous evolutionary models.