Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the bile and gall bladder microbiota of healthy pigs

Bile is a biological fluid synthesized in the liver, stored and concentrated in the gall bladder (interdigestive), and released into the duodenum after food intake. The microbial populations of different parts of mammal's gastrointestinal tract (stomach, small and large intestine) have been extensively studied; however, the characterization of bile microbiota had not been tackled until now. We have studied, by culture‐dependent techniques and a 16S rRNA gene‐based analysis, the microbiota present in the bile, gall bladder mucus, and biopsies of healthy sows. Also, we have identified the most abundant bacterial proteins in the bile samples. Our data show that the gall bladder ecosystem is mainly populated by members of the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. Furthermore, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allowed us to visualize the presence of individual bacteria of different morphological types, in close association with either the epithelium or the erythrocytes, or inside the epithelial cells. Our work has generated new knowledge of bile microbial profiles and functions and might provide the basis for future studies on the relationship between bile microbiota, gut microbiota, and health.
Biological Activities of Ethanolic Extracts from Deep-Sea Antarctic Marine Sponges

We report on the screening of ethanolic extracts from 33 deep-sea Antarctic marine sponges for different biological activities. We monitored hemolysis, inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, cytotoxicity towards normal and transformed cells and growth inhibition of laboratory, commensal and clinically and ecologically relevant bacteria. The most prominent activities were associated with the extracts from sponges belonging to the genus Latrunculia, which show all of these activities. While most of these activities are associated to already known secondary metabolites, the extremely strong acetylcholinesterase inhibitory potential appears to be related to a compound unknown to date. Extracts from Tetilla leptoderma, Bathydorus cf. spinosus, Xestospongia sp. , Rossella sp. , Rossella cf. racovitzae and Halichondria osculum were hemolytic, with the last two also showing moderate cytotoxic potential. The antibacterial tests showed significantly greater activities of the extracts of these Antarctic sponges towards ecologically relevant bacteria from sea water and from Arctic ice. This indicates their ecological relevance for inhibition of bacterial microfouling.
The Cosmic Infrared Background at 1.25 and 2.2 Microns Using DIRBE and 2MASS: A Contribution Not Due to Galaxies?

Using the 2MASS second incremental data release and the zodiacal subtracted mission average maps of COBE/DIRBE, we estimate the cosmic background in the J (1.25 μm) and K (2.2 μm) bands using selected areas representing ~550 deg2 of sky. We find a J background of 22.9 ± 7.0 kJy sr-1 (54.0 ± 16.8 nW m-2 sr-1) and a K background of 20.4 ± 4.9 kJy sr-1 (27.8 ± 6.7 nW m-2 sr-1). This large-scale study shows that the main uncertainty comes from the residual zodiacal emission. The cosmic background we obtain is significantly higher than integrated galaxy counts (3.6 ± 0.8 kJy sr-1 and 5.3 ± 1.2 kJy sr-1 for J and K, respectively), suggesting either an increase of the galaxy luminosity function for magnitudes fainter than 30 mag or the existence of another contribution to the cosmic background from primeval stars, black holes, or relic particle decay.
Genotoxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Mice in Vivo

The toxic and genotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles were studied on injected mice (BALB/c line) in vivo. A water solution of silver nanoparticles (SNP) with particle sizes of 9±6 nm was obtained by means of the original method of biochemical synthesis. The effect of the SNP solution was compared to those of AOT (anionic surfactant used as SNP stabilizer) and silver nitrate (i.e. Ag+ ions) introduced as water solutions. In studies of the toxic effects, the death of mice was registered 12-24 hours after injection only at two maximum dozes of SNP (equivalent to 0.54 and 0.36 gAg/l). It is shown that the toxic effect decreases in the sequence SNP>AOT>>AgNO3. The LE50/30 values for SNP and AOT are equal to 0.30±0.07 gAg/l and 13.3±2.1 gAg/l, respectively. Genotoxic effects were assessed by the abnormal sperm heads test and neutral Comet assay. The frequencies of abnormal sperm heads (ASHs) did not differ after treatment by SNP and AOT, but both were significantly higher than those found with AgNO3 and in control mice. Comet assay showed an increase of the DNA percentage in the comet tail in spleen cells after the injection of SNP and AOT in concentrations of ≤ LE50/30. Tail DNA % was 32.8±1.3 and 26.3±1.7%, respectively, vs 16.2±0.7% for the untreated control. To sum up, these tests showed that the genotoxic effects of the SNP solution are associated with the presence of AOT rather than SNP.
Invest in IT But Don''t Forget the Organisation

Discussion and research on the payoff of the investments in information technology and information systems have long history and there is no general agreement on the subject. Information technology has, however, already penetrated the organisations to the extent that the relevant question is how to get payoff from the already made and future obligatory investments. In this paper, we take the organisational model presented by Leavitt as our starting point in studying the effects of IT investment on the basic organisational elements. We present the results from a case study comparing the technologies from different generations and interpret the results against the backdrop of the model. The findings indicate that despite the noteworthy shortening of the throughput time at the sub-process level, the investment in information technology was not profitable. It seems that the unforeseen effects of the technology on other organisational elements undermine the profitability. Therefore, an IT investment is not profitable in itself, but a precondition or enabler creating opportunities for potential benefits. Realisation of the potential benefits calls for, however, concurrent measures in the other organisational elements, and consequent reallocation of the funds in developing these elements in parallel with IT.
Limit of strong ion coupling due to electron shielding

We show that strong coupling between ions in an ultracold neutral plasma is limited by electron screening. While electron screening reduces the quasi-equilibrium ion temperature, it also reduces the ion-ion electrical potential energy. The net result is that the ratio of nearest-neighbor potential energy to kinetic energy in quasi-equilibrium is constant and limited to approximately 2 unless the electrons are heated by some external source. We support these conclusions by reporting new measurements of the ion velocity distribution in an ultracold neutral calcium plasma. These results match previously reported simulations of Yukawa systems. Theoretical considerations are used to determine the screened nearest-neighbor potential energy in the plasma.
INDUSTRY PROSPECTS AND ACQUIRER RETURNS IN DIVERSIFYING TAKEOVERS

We use a sample of 816 diversifying takeovers from 1978 to 2003 to examine whether takeover announcements release negative information about the future prospects of the acquirer's main industry. We find that rivals that are most similar to the acquirer (homogeneous rivals) experience significant negative cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) around takeover announcements. Takeovers that result in negative wealth effects to acquirers are associated with negative abnormal revisions in analysts' forecasts of homogeneous rivals' earnings per share. We also find a decline in the posttakeover operating performance of rival firms. The decline is especially pronounced for homogeneous rivals and for takeovers with negative wealth effects to acquirers. Our findings imply that CAR-based estimates of acquirer wealth gains from takeovers that do not account for industrywide information releases are significantly biased downward. (c) 2009 The Southern Finance Association and the Southwestern Finance Association.
Globular cluster luminosity functions and the Hubble constant from WFPC2 imaging: the giant elliptical NGC 4365

The turnover, or peak, magnitude in a galaxy's globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) may provide a standard candle for an independent distance estimator. Here we examine the GCLF of the giant elliptical NGC 4365 using photometry of ~ 350 globular clusters from the HST's WFPC2. The WFPC2 data have several advantages over equivalent ground--based imaging. The membership of NGC 4365 in the Virgo cluster has been the subject of recent debate. We have fit a Gaussian and t_5 profile to the GCLF and find that it can be well represented by a turnover magnitude of m_V^0 = 24.2 +/- 0.3 and a dispersion sigma = 1.28 +/- 0.15. After applying a small metallicity correction to the `universal' globular cluster turnover magnitude, we derive a distance modulus of (m -- M) = 31.6 +/- 0.3 which is in reasonable agreement with that from surface brightness fluctuation measurements. This result places NGC 4365 about 6 Mpc beyond the Virgo cluster core. For a V_{CMB} = 1592 +/- 24 km/s the Hubble constant is H_o = 72 (-12,+10) km/s/Mpc. We also describe our method for estimating a local specific frequency for the GC system within the central 5 h^{-1} kpc which has fewer uncertain corrections than a total estimate. The resulting value of 6.4 $\pm$ 1.5 indicates that NGC 4365 has a GC richness similar to other early type galaxies.
Towards optimal distributed consensus

In a distributed consensus protocol all processors (of which t may be faulty) are given (binary) initial values; after exchanging messages all correct processors must agree on one of them. The quality of a protocol is measured here using as parameters the total number of processors n, number of rounds of message exchange r, and maximal message length m, with optima, respectively, of 3t+1, t+1, and 1. Although no known protocol is optimal in all these three aspects simultaneously, the protocols that take further steps in this direction are presented. The first protocol has n>4t, r=t+1, and polynomial message size. The second protocol has n>3t, r=3t+3, and m=2, and it is asymptotically optimal in all three quality parameters while using the optimal number of processors. Using these protocols as building blocks, families of protocols with intermediate quality parameters, offering better tradeoffs than previous results, are obtained. All the protocols work in polynomial time and have succinct descriptions. <<ETX>>
Examining the validity and reliability of the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scales (IT-MAIS) via Rasch analysis

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact gradetd@lsu.edu. Recommended Citation Schubert, Anne Denise, "Examining the validity and reliability of the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scales (ITMAIS) via Rasch analysis" (2013). LSU Master's Theses. 2023. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/2023 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac. uk
A New Wine Tasting Approach Based on Emotional Responses to Rapidly Recognize Classic European Wine Styles

Conventional tasting sheets are widely used to evaluate wine quality in wine tasting competitions. However, the higher scores are mostly obtained by international commercial wines, resulting in lower scores being awarded to the classic European wines. We hypothesize that this is due to the tasting methodology that fails to recognize this wine style. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to show the implementation of a new wine tasting approach to overcome this drawback. The proposed training technique is based on the emotional responses of the taster after smelling two wines of clearly opposite styles. The first wine is characterized by high aromatic intensity but low in-mouth intensity, perceived as disappointing to the taster, here defined as an “easy” wine. The second wine is characterized as a wine with low aromatic intensity but that provides an unexpectedly positive in-mouth experience, here defined as a “difficult” wine. These emotions are explained by the wine sensorial characteristics. The “easy” wine has an intense, simple smell with short persistence while the “difficult” wine has a low intensity, complex aroma, and long persistence. The first style corresponds to the international commercial wines most prized in international wine challenges. The second, frequently rejected by untrained tasters, is consistent with the “so called” classic European wines, and is characterized by light red or yellow straw colors, weak smell intensity, and aggressive mouth-feel. After no more than four training sessions and using the OIV tasting sheet, inexperienced tasters were able to score “difficult” wines equally as “easy” wines and understand their different attributes. In conclusion, this new tasting approach may be used by wine professionals to explain the characteristics of high quality wines that are not easily recognized by untrained consumers.
Prevalence, clinical correlates and therapy cost of mineral abnormalities among haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional multicentre study.

BACKGROUND This study evaluated the proportion of patients who met National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-K/DOQI) guidelines for mineral status, and assessed the cost of therapy for mineral management of patients under haemodialysis treatment in Spain. METHODS Demographic and biochemical data were collected for 1312 patients undergoing standard three-times weekly maintenance haemodialysis at six Spanish centres during December 2003. Age, gender, diabetic nephropathy, haemodialysis duration, serum calcium, phosphorus, calcium-phosphorus product (Ca x P), and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were monitored. Exploratory analyses of associations between demographic and biochemical parameters, were undertaken using bivariate and multivariate regression techniques. RESULTS Mean age of patients was 62 years. 97% were Caucasian, 23% were diabetic. In total, 51% of patients received calcium binders, 21% sevelamer, 16% aluminium hydroxide, and 29% received no binders; 33% of patients received calcitriol. Prevalence of patients outside K/DOQI targets was: calcium 50%, phosphorus 46%; Ca x P 33%; iPTH 77%. Elevated phosphorus (>5.5 mg/dl) was independently associated with younger age [OR 0.972 (95% CI 0.963-0.980), P<0.001] and higher iPTH [OR 1.0005 (95% CI 1.0002-1.0008), P<0.001]. Elevated Ca x P (>or=55 mg(2) x dl(2)) showed a similar relationship. High iPTH levels (>300 pmol/l) were associated with female gender [OR 1.574 (95% CI 1.213-2.041), P<0.001], high serum phosphorus [OR 1.230 (95% CI 1.130-1.338), P<0.001], and longer duration of dialysis [OR 1.003 (95% CI 1.001-1.005), P<0.01]. Poorly controlled serum phosphorus, Ca x P and iPTH were associated with more expensive therapy for mineral management. CONCLUSIONS One in three haemodialysis patients in Spain remains above the upper target range defined in current mineral metabolism guidelines. This abnormal profile is more common in younger patients and females and therapy is more expensive in younger patients.
An Empirical Investigation of PageRank and Its Variants in Ranking Pages on the Web

Web Information Retrieval (IR) has been successful with page-ranking algorithms that order web pages based on their rankings and relevance. These ranking algorithms are one of the success factors behind today's popular web search engines including Ask, Bing, Google, and Yahoo! etc., with Google on the top since long. Besides other ranking signals, Google uses PageRank algorithm in ranking the search results, which makes Google successful and superior to others. Since its inception in 1998, it has been at the heart of Google's ranking system and considered a serious breakthrough in ranking web pages on the Web. Researchers and scientists followed this linkbased strategy and came up with similar ranking algorithms including Weighted PageRank, which together with PageRank, have been the focus of research articles covering several aspects and properties. In this article, we report an empirical investigation of PageRank algorithm and Weighted PageRank algorithm with respect to the property of convergence. Results of the study show that both these algorithms are limited especially with respect to convergence. Based on these results, we propose a new flavor of PageRank called Ratio-based Weighted PageRank that performs better than PageRank and Weighted PageRank algorithms especially in terms of convergence.
ON THE BARYONIC, STELLAR, AND LUMINOUS SCALING RELATIONS OF DISK GALAXIES

We explore how the slopes and scatters of the scaling relations of disk galaxies (Vm–L[–M], R–L[–M], and Vm–R) change when moving from B- to K-bands and to stellar and baryonic quantities. For our compiled sample of 76 normal, non-interacting, high and low-surface brightness (SB) disk-galaxies, we find important changes, which evidence evolution effects, mainly related to the gas infall and star-formation (SF) processes. We also explore correlations among the (B − K) color, stellar mass fraction, fs, mass, M, luminosity, L, and surface density (or SB), as well as correlations among the residuals of the scaling relations, and among these residuals and those of the other relations studied here. Some of our findings are the following: (i) the scale length Rbar is a third parameter in the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation (TFR) and the residuals of this relation follow a trend (slope ≈−0.15) with the residuals of the Rbar–Mbar relation; for the stellar and K-band cases, the scale length is no longer a third parameter and the mentioned trend disappears; (ii) among the TFRs, the B-band TFR is the most scattered; in this case, the color is a third parameter, in agreement with previous works; (iii) the low-SB (LSB) galaxies break some observed trends in diagrams that include SD, color, and fs, suggesting then a threshold in the gas SD, Σg, below which the SF efficiency becomes independent of Σg and of the gas infall rate. Our results are interpreted and discussed in the light of Λ Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM)-based models of disk-galaxy formation and evolution. These models are able to explain not only the baryonic scaling correlations, but also most of the processes responsible for the observed changes in the slopes, scatters, and correlations among the residuals when changing to stellar and luminous quantities. The galaxy baryon fraction, fgal, is required to be smaller than 0.05 on average. We detect some potential difficulties for the models: the observed color–M and SD–M correlations are steeper, and the intrinsic scatter in the baryonic TFR is smaller than those predicted.
An examination of the equivalence of the first grade DIBELS oral reading fluency probes

Given the change in federal legislation allowing the consideration of a Response-ToIntervention (RTI) approach to making eligibility decisions for specific learning disabilities (IDEIA, 2004), it is crucial to establish sufficient evidence for using curriculum-based measurements (CBM) or CBM-like measures (e.g., Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills; DIBELS) for monitoring students’ responses to interventions as part of the identification process for Specific Learning Disabilities. One critical component in an effective RTI model is the availability of parallel measures suited for frequent progress monitoring to index student performance over time. The current study investigated the equivalence of the twenty first grade DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) progress monitoring probes using a one-way ANOVA for repeated-measures. Participants were 68 first grade students (36 females and 32 males) from two Midwestern elementary schools. No selection criteria other than parental consent were used. The DORF probes were given in a pseudo-counterbalanced order across four days at the end of the school year to avoid instruction and practice effects. The standard error of measurement (SEM) of the twenty first grade DORF progress monitoring probes was calculated using alternate form reliability coefficients. Results suggested that the equivalence assumption of the first grade DORF was not held. Most of the probes were significantly different in their difficulty level from each other and did not yield consistent mean levels of performance. The findings also suggested a significant magnitude of score fluctuation at the individual student level. The average SEM value was about 9 (ranging from 8 to 10), similar to previous research findings using test-retest reliability for calculation. Limitations, educational implications for CBM ORF users and researchers, and directions for future research are presented.
You might regret that : unpacking the reputational consequences of corporate irresponsibility

Utilising data on a sample of large US firms, I explore the relationship between corporate irresponsibility and reputation penalties. I find that reputation, derived from the assessments of managers and market analysts, is infrequently influenced by observations of corporate irresponsibility and that different ‘types’ of irresponsibility events have different underlying effects on perceptions of the firm. Specifically, my results demonstrate that variance within firms’ prior social responsibility perceptions, celebrity status, history of irresponsibility and financial performance ‘shape’ stakeholder attributions of irresponsibility and the subsequent reputation penalties associated with these. Moreover, the results of my empirical analysis suggest that reputations tend to be more resilient than previously purported by extant literature and that reputational assessments appear to be largely ‘path dependent’, in that stakeholders’ prior assessments of the firm may determine the impact of revelations of corporate irresponsibility
Dividends and Expropriation

Whereas most U.S. corporations are widely held, the predominant form of ownership in East Asia is control by a family, which often supplies a top manager. These features of "crony capitalism" are actually more pronounced in Western Europe. In both regions, the salient agency problem is expropriation of outside shareholders by controlling shareholders. Dividends provide evidence on this. Group-affiliated corporations in Europe pay higher dividends than in Asia, dampening insider expropriation. Dividend rates are higher in Europe, but lower in Asia, when there are multiple large shareholders, suggesting that they dampen expropriation in Europe, but exacerbate it in Asia.