Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of mycotoxins on the intestine: are mucus and microbiota new targets?

ABSTRACT There is an increasing awareness of the deleterious effects attributed to mycotoxins during their fate within the gut, particularly for deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisin B1 (FB1), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and patulin (PAT). Evidence indicates that disruption of the epithelial barrier is well established. However, intestinal barrier function on its luminal side involves two other partners, mucus and microbiota, which have rarely been considered in the context of mycotoxin exposure. The current review aimed at providing a summary of DON, ZEN, OTA, FB1, AFB1, and PAT effects on intestinal barrier function, with special focus on mucus and microbiota. DON, ZEN, OTA, FB1, AFB1, and PAT are known to markedly affect epithelial cell integrity and functions. Regarding mucus, DON is the most documentated mycotoxin. In vivo, toxicological impact of DON generally has only been assessed through goblet cell number. Evaluation of the mycotoxins/mucus interplay considering other indicators such as composition, thickness, and penetrability of mucus, mucin O-glycosylation thus warrants further attention. With respect to microbiota, few short-term studies to date have been reported indicating deleterious effects. However, long-term exposure to mycotoxins may also produce significant changes in microbiota composition and metabolic activity, which requires further experimentation. In conclusion, mucus and microbiota are key targets for dietary mycotoxins although assessment of induced effects is preliminary. A significant research effort is now underway to determine the adverse consequences of mycotoxins on mucus and microbiota considered as individual but also as tightly connected gut players.
The Profitability of Innovating Firms

This article seeks to evaluate the effects on corporate profitability of producing a major innovation. We examine two types of effect: innovations can have a direct but transitory effect on profitability associated with the production of a new product or the use of a new process, and innovations can have an indirect effect on how firms generate profits because they signal the transformation of a firm's internal capabilities associated with the process of innovating. Positive direct effects on the order of [[sterling]]2.1 million spread over seven years are observed for a sample of 721 large, quoted U.K. firms. More fundamentally, large indirect effects are also observed, not least because innovating firms seem to be more able to benefit from spillovers and are relatively insensitive to adverse macroeconomic shocks. These indirect effects associated with the transformation of a firm's internal capabilities may be as much as three times larger than the direct effects of innovation.
Downlink Sum-MSE Transceiver Optimization for Linear Multi-User MIMO Systems

We address the problem of Mean Square Error (MSE) transceiver design for point-to-multipoint transmission in multi-user Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. We solve the problem of minimizing the downlink sum MSE under a sum power constraint by jointly optimizing the linear transmitters and receivers. Our result is based on a "duality" between downlink and uplink MSE regions. It states that downlink and uplink share the same achievable MSE region under a sum power constraint. Thus, the problem of downlink design can be solved efficiently by focusing on an equivalent uplink problem.
Urbanization and Community Attachment in Rural Areas

The effects of urbanization on community attachment were examined using data collected in a general population survey from a random sample of individuals in four rural communities with differing levels of urban presence and pressure in Pennsylvania. Building upon Wirth's (1938) theory of urbanism, it was hypothesized that residents of the more rural communities would have higher levels of community attachment than the residents of the most urban community, net of other factors. The data did not support the hypothesis. With respect to two of the three measures of community attachment examined, residents of two more rural communities exhibited statistically significant lower levels of community attachment than those of the most urban site. Possible implications of the findings are advanced.
Antimicrobial resistance among uropathogens that cause community-acquired urinary tract infections in women: a nationwide analysis.

Current recommendations for empirical therapy for community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) in women hinge on knowledge of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in the geographic region of the practitioner. We conducted a survey of antimicrobial susceptibilities of 103,223 isolates recovered from urine samples that were obtained in 1998 from female outpatients nationally and within 9 geographic regions in the United States. Resistance of Escherichia coli isolates to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole varied significantly according to geographic region, ranging from a high of 22% in the western United States to a low of 10% in the Northeast (P<.001). There were no clinically significant age-related differences in the susceptibility of E. coli to any of the study drugs, but the susceptibility to fluoroquinolones of non-E. coli isolates that were recovered from women who were aged >50 years was significantly lower than that of isolates recovered from younger women (P<.001). The in vitro susceptibility of uropathogens in female outpatients varies according to age and geographic region.
Electron mean-free-path filtering in Dirac material for improved thermoelectric performance

Significance Using ab initio simulations, we uncover the electron mean-free-path (MFP) spectrum in Dirac material and specifically show how the thermoelectric efficiency can greatly benefit from a distinct, monotonically decreasing trend of electron MFPs arising from the linear energy-momentum dispersion implied by the Dirac band topology. In the past, it was generally assumed that for the nanostructuring approach to be effective, one should design nanostructures to have characteristic length larger than the electron MFP but smaller than the phonon MFP to reduce thermal conductivity. Our results show that enhancement in thermoelectric performance can be achieved in Dirac materials even when they are smaller than the electron MFP by selectively filtering out long-MFP electrons that are harmful to the Seebeck coefficient. Recent advancements in thermoelectric materials have largely benefited from various approaches, including band engineering and defect optimization, among which the nanostructuring technique presents a promising way to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) by means of reducing the characteristic length of the nanostructure, which relies on the belief that phonons’ mean free paths (MFPs) are typically much longer than electrons’. Pushing the nanostructure sizes down to the length scale dictated by electron MFPs, however, has hitherto been overlooked as it inevitably sacrifices electrical conduction. Here we report through ab initio simulations that Dirac material can overcome this limitation. The monotonically decreasing trend of the electron MFP allows filtering of long-MFP electrons that are detrimental to the Seebeck coefficient, leading to a dramatically enhanced power factor. Using SnTe as a material platform, we uncover this MFP filtering effect as arising from its unique nonparabolic Dirac band dispersion. Room-temperature zT can be enhanced by nearly a factor of 3 if one designs nanostructures with grain sizes of ∼10 nm. Our work broadens the scope of the nanostructuring approach for improving the thermoelectric performance, especially for materials with topologically nontrivial electronic dynamics.
Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating Symptoms in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Eating problems in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be divided into two groups. The first includes the diagnosed eating disorders (EDs), i.e., diseases specifically identified by defined signs and symptoms for which a degree of severity has been established, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, pica, and rumination. The second is the group of disordered eating symptoms (DES), which include behaviors such as dieting for weight loss, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, and laxative or diuretic use; these behaviors cannot be categorized as complete diseases, and, although apparently mild, they must be closely evaluated because they can evolve into true EDs. In this review, present knowledge about the clinical relevance of EDs and DES and the possible preventive and therapeutic measures used to reduce their impact on the course of T1D will be discussed. As adolescents with diabetes are at higher risk of eating disturbances and consequently for higher rates of disease complications, care providers should pay attention to clinical warning signs that raise suspicion of disturbed eating to refer these patients early to an expert in nutrition and mental health disorders. To ensure the best care for adolescents with T1D, diabetes teams should be multidisciplinary and include a pediatric diabetologist, a skilled nurse, a dietician, and a psychologist.
New public management and organisational commitment in the public sector: testing a mediation model

This paper focuses on the attitudes of learning professionals towards New Public Management (NPM). In a survey of the UK further education sector (n = 433), NPM beliefs were found to be positively associated with both affective and normative organisational commitment. However, as expected, NPM beliefs were not found to be related to continuance organisational commitment. The results also show that although perceived organisational support mediates the relationship between NPM beliefs and affective organisational comment, it is only a partial mediator of the relationship between NPM beliefs and normative organisational commitment. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings, and potential directions for future research, are discussed.
Long-Run Economic Performance in the European Periphery: Russia and Turkey

This paper first analyzes the question why did Czarist Russia and Ottoman Turkey fall behind the West? It is argued that interstate rivalry forced West European rulers to respect the private property rights of producers and subjects earlier and to a greater degree than czars or sultans ruling over huge contiguous territories ever had to. Incentives to work were better in Europe than elsewhere. The mobilization of available knowledge for productive purposes was easier than elsewhere. Limited government implied less political obstacles to innovation. Comparatively secure private property ownership in the means of production made the establishment of scarcity prices and the rational allocation of resources easier than elsewhere. Whereas the Western past was feudal, the Russian or Turkish past was patrimonial or even sultanistic. Feudalism is a much better starting point for establishing the rule of law and safe property rights than patrimonialism. The second issue has been the question why Czarist Russia could outperform Ottoman Turkey. Here the political consequences of the Muslim tolerance of slavery and polygyny matter. Being slaves, many members of Ottoman ruling elites were at the mercy of their owner, the sultan. Therefore, they became tools of arbitrary rule. Moreover, the practice of polygyny generated downward social mobility and political instability and thereby added another obstacle to the establishment of safe property rights for producers or merchants. The final issue is the economic prospects of Russia or Turkey. Economic freedom is better in Turkey than in Russia. Moreover, Russia is graying, whereas Turkey may look forward to a growing labor force. Although a rich endowment in natural resources seems to favor Russia, the resource curse has prevented other resource rich countries from developing. Therefore, the Turkish prospect looks much brighter than the Russian one.
The impact of outside‐in open innovation on innovation performance

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of an open outside‐in innovation management strategy on companies' innovativeness and innovation performance. Specifically, it focuses on the adoption of the open innovation paradigm in practice and the extent of collaboration with different stakeholders. , – The proposed hypotheses are tested empirically using survey data collected from stock‐listed companies in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The data include the complete responses from 141 R&D managers for the period from 2004 to 2008. , – The openness of the outside‐in process in R&D management is of crucial importance for achieving high direct and indirect innovation output effects. In particular, openness towards customers, suppliers and universities has a significant positive impact on the different innovation performance measures. Regarding openness towards cross‐sector companies, the analysis reveals a significant negative effect on innovation performance. , – The utilization of cross‐sectional data and its dependency on the perceptions and experiences of the respondents has its limitations. Thus, future research should be based on a more longitudinal design that emphasizes quantitative measurement techniques. , – To date, the adoption of open innovation in practice has not been examined in depth. This study provides empirical insights into the open innovation approaches in German‐speaking countries and, by drawing important conclusions for managers involved in the R&D processes, fills a gap in the innovation management literature.
Genome Mutational and Transcriptional Hotspots Are Traps for Duplicated Genes and Sources of Adaptations

Gene duplication generates new genetic material, which has been shown to lead to major innovations in unicellular and multicellular organisms. A whole-genome duplication occurred in the ancestor of Saccharomyces yeast species but 92% of duplicates returned to single-copy genes shortly after duplication. The persisting duplicated genes in Saccharomyces led to the origin of major metabolic innovations, which have been the source of the unique biotechnological capabilities in the Baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. What factors have determined the fate of duplicated genes remains unknown. Here, we report the first demonstration that the local genome mutation and transcription rates determine the fate of duplicates. We show, for the first time, a preferential location of duplicated genes in the mutational and transcriptional hotspots of S. cerevisiae genome. The mechanism of duplication matters, with whole-genome duplicates exhibiting different preservation trends compared to small-scale duplicates. Genome mutational and transcriptional hotspots are rich in duplicates with large repetitive promoter elements. Saccharomyces cerevisiae shows more tolerance to deleterious mutations in duplicates with repetitive promoter elements, which in turn exhibit higher transcriptional plasticity against environmental perturbations. Our data demonstrate that the genome traps duplicates through the accelerated regulatory and functional divergence of their gene copies providing a source of novel adaptations in yeast.
The case for (social) entrepreneurship education in Egyptian universities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore awareness of social entrepreneurship amongst Egyptian students and to determine what is needed to create more graduate social entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical framework is Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. Data collection is a questionnaire survey of 183 of the 2,000 undergraduates at the British University in Egypt, drawn from the University's three faculties.Findings – The paper finds that, although three organizations, Ashoka Arab World, The Schwab Foundation and Yes Egypt, do much to support and promote social enterprise in Egypt, students are confused over what a social entrepreneur is or does and are largely unaware of existing Egyptian social entrepreneurs. The majority want a career in a multi‐national enterprise but a sizeable number are interested in establishing a social enterprise.Research limitations/implications – The sample is small and limited to one institution but the findings corroborate theory and indicate a.
Antecedents and consequences of audit expectation gap: Evidence from the banking sector in Malaysia

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the effects of individual knowledge/experience on the audit expectation gap of loan officers in Malaysia and the subsequent effect of the audit expectation gap on their loan decision quality. In addition, the mediation role of the audit expectation gap is examined. Design/methodology/approach - Copies of a structured questionnaire were randomly distributed to three hundred and twenty loan officers of the top four commercial banks in Malaysia. A total of 212 completed questionnaires were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings - The findings indicate that the knowledge/experience factors could significantly mitigate the audit expectation gap. More importantly, the audit expectation gap is found to adversely affect the loan decision quality. The mediating role of the audit expectation gap is also supported. Research limitations/implications - The findings of this study may not be generalizable to other economic, cultural and political settings. Practical implications - Banks may narrow their loan officers' audit expectation gap and hence, their non-performing loans through selective recruitment or appropriate knowledge/skill enhancement in-house training programmes. Originality/value - This study provides the needed empirical evidence of the adverse effect of audit expectation gap on the loan decision quality of bank officers in Malaysia. Unlike the 2009 findings of Noghondari and Foong, which was based on an Islamic banking context in Iran, this study, which was based on the conventional banking context, found that accounting-related and job-related work experience of bank officers had significantly mitigated the audit expectation gap. The findings have important implications on the recruitment and training of loan officers by banks.
Factors predictive of airflow obstruction among veterans with presumed empirical diagnosis and treatment of COPD.

BACKGROUND Despite guideline recommendations, patients suspected of having COPD often are treated empirically instead of undergoing spirometry to confirm airflow obstruction (AFO). Accurate diagnosis and treatment are essential to provide high-quality, value-oriented care. We sought to identify predictors associated with AFO among patients with and treated for COPD prior to performance of confirmatory spirometry. METHODS We identified a cohort of veterans with spirometry performed at Pacific Northwest Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers between 2003 and 2007. We included only patients with empirically diagnosed COPD in the 2 years prior to spirometry who were also taking inhaled medication to treat COPD in the 1 year prior to spirometry. We used relative risk regression analysis to identify predictors of AFO. RESULTS Among patients empirically treated for COPD (N = 3,209), 62% had AFO. Risk factors such as older age, prior smoking status, and underweight status were associated with AFO on spirometry. In contrast, comorbidities often associated with somatic symptoms were associated with absence of AFO and included congestive heart failure, depression, diabetes, obesity, and sleep apnea. CONCLUSIONS Comorbidities associated with somatic complaints of dyspnea were associated with a lower risk of having airflow limitations, suggesting that empirical diagnosis and treatment of COPD may lead to inappropriate treatment of individuals who do not have AFO.
Critical Success Factors for Small Hotel Businesses in Turkey: An Exploratory Study

Small-scale businesses play a crucial role in the economies of many developing countries like Turkey. For this reason, it is important to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for successful operation of small-scale businesses in every industry. This study identifies the factors that are critical for success in small hotel businesses. It focuses on CSFs perceived by small hotel managers/owners.The study was undertaken in the Aegean region of Turkey among 155 small hotel businesses.The empirical results indicated that the main critical factors were efficient use of the internet, service quality, financial performance, and marketing. Factor analysis showed that the use of the internet was the most important factor for small hotels. There were some different perceptions among managers/owners as to CSFs, depending on their educational background and work experience. Based on these findings, recommendations for successful small hotel operations are presented.
FGF receptor gene expression and its regulation by FGF signaling during early zebrafish development

The expression of all four fgfr genes was extensively examined throughout early embryogenesis of the zebrafish (Danio rerio). fgfr1 alone was expressed maternally throughout the blastoderm, and then zygotically in the anterior neural plate and presomitic mesoderm. fgfr4 expression was first detected in late blastulae and was gradually restricted to the brain. fgfr2 and fgfr3 expression were initiated in early and late gastrulae, respectively; fgfr2 was expressed in the anterior neural plate and somitic mesoderm, whereas fgfr3 was activated in the axial mesoderm and then in the midbrain and somitic mesoderm. During somitogenesis, each of these fgfr genes was expressed in a characteristic manner in the brain. Using an FGF signal inhibitor, dominant‐negative FGF receptors and fgf8.1/fgf8a mutants, we found that fgfr expression is directly or indirectly regulated by FGF signaling during epiboly and at the end of somitogenesis, revealing the presence of an autoregulatory mechanism. genesis 48:707–716, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Banking technology, technological learning and competition: Comparative case studies in Thai banking

Summary This paper focuses on the five major commercial banks in Thailand (Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Farmers Bank (Kasikorn Bank), Krung Thai Bank and Bank of Ayudhya) with regard to strategies in competition in the banking industry. The paper analyses strategy and the adoption of technology against progress of the banking economy. Over the past few decades, the Thai banking structure has changed from mass automation towards smart automation. Improvements in information and communications technology enable the banking community to launch new types of financial services like electronic banking services and mobile banking services. The study explores the ways the banks improve their technological capabilities (their technological learning process to improve the technological capabilities) and the use of technology strategy in the banking sector. The results show that technological innovation in the banking sector of Thailand is not revolutionary but evolutionary.