Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SYLVATIC AND DOMESTIC TRICHINELLA SPP. IN WILD BOARS; INFECTIVITY, MUSCLE LARVAE DISTRIBUTION, AND ANTIBODY RESPONSE

Thirty-six wild boars were inoculated with Trichinella spiralis, Trichinella nativa, Trichinella britovi, Trichinella pseudospiralis (USSR), T. pseudospiralis (USA), T. pseudospiralis (AUST), Trichinella murrelli, Trichinella T6, and Trichinella nelsoni. The wild boars were killed at 5 and 10 wk postinoculation (PI), and the number of muscle larvae per g (lpg) of tissue was determined for 18 muscles or muscle groups. Five weeks PI, all Trichinella genotypes had established as muscle larvae, but their infectivity varied widely: T. spiralis established in high numbers (mean = 296 lpg), T. britovi, T. nelsoni, and 1 of the T. pseudospiralis genotypes (AUST) in moderate numbers (mean = 53–74 lpg), whereas the remaining genotypes were poorly infective (mean = 2–16 lpg). Because of considerable weight gain of the wild boars, an estimated total larval burden (live weight × lpg) was calculated for each animal. The total larval burden did not change significantly over time for T. spiralis, T. murrelli, T. britovi, T. nelsoni, and T. pseudospiralis (USA and USSR), whereas a significant reduction could be demonstrated for T. nativa, Trichinella T6, and T. pseudospiralis (AUST). Diaphragm and tongue were predilection sites in wild boars, independent of Trichinella genotype and infection level. At low infection levels, a greater percentage of larvae were found in diaphragm and tongue at 10 wk than 5 wk PI. Antibody responses increased rapidly between weeks 3 and 5 PI. For T. spiralis and T. nelsoni, the high antibody level persisted throughout the experimental period, but for T. nativa, T. britovi, T. murrelli, or Trichinella T6, the levels declined. For T. pseudospiralis, the antibody response increased more gradually between weeks 3 to 10 PI. Infection with all genotypes of Trichinella were detected using any of 7 excretory–secretory antigens, which points to the potential use of 1 common antigen for epidemiological studies on Trichinella in wild boars. In conclusion, T. spiralis is highly infective to wild boars, T. britovi, T. nelsoni, T. pseudospiralis (USA), and T. pseudospiralis (USSR) are moderately infective, and T. nativa, T. murrelli, T. pseudospiralis (AUST), and Trichinella T6 are poorly adapted to this host species.
Factors influencing broadband uptake in New Zealand

Summary The global growth of electronic commerce shows that people are becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet for communications and services. The phenomenal growth of the Internet means that the Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry is growing as well. This study explores the ISP industry in NZ concentrating on the broadband residential market. User perspectives were captured by interviews and questionnaires in order to determine the factors that drive user satisfaction and the current situation of broadband in NZ. Results indicate that user satisfaction directly reflects retention. Narrowband and broadband users have slightly different satisfaction requirements. Whereas Connectivity, Speed, Email Service and Customer Support and Service (in order) are significantly important for narrowband users, Broadband users however perceive that Speed and Customer Support and Service (in order) are the two significant importance factors. Male, Preference for Heavy Entertainment Traffic, high General Computer Skills and preference to use longer hours on the Internet per day, are the characteristics of potential broadband users. If ISPs want to increase their broadband customer base, they should target users who fit these characteristics and improve the factors that are important to them. The broadband market in NZ is still in its infancy, the penetration is low and the Cost barrier prevents wider adoption. The future of broadband in NZ looks good, as the infrastructure is ready. However, this will not takeoff unless price is reduced.
Fate of Cryptosporidium oocysts, Giardia cysts, and microbial indicators during wastewater treatment and anaerobic sludge digestion.

The extent of reduction in selected microorganisms was tested during both aerobic wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion of sludge at the wastewater treatment plant in Ottawa to compare the removal of two encysted pathogenic protozoa with that of microbial indicators. Samples collected included the raw wastewater, the primary effluent, the treated wastewater, the mixed sludge, the decanted liquor, and the cake. All of the raw sewage samples were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts, as well as for the other microorganisms tested. During aerobic wastewater treatment (excluding the anaerobic sludge digestion), Cryptosporidium and Giardia were reduced by 2.96 log10 and 1.40 log10, respectively. Clostridium perfringens spores, Clostridium perfringens total counts, somatic coliphages, and heterotrophic bacteria were reduced by approximately 0.89 log10, 0.96 log10, 1.58 log10, and 2.02 log10, respectively. All of the other microorganisms were reduced by at least 3.53 log10. Sludge samples from the plant were found to contain variable densities of microorganisms. Variability in microbial concentrations was sometimes great between samples, stressing the importance of collecting a large number of samples over a long period of time. In all cases, the bacterial concentrations in the cake (dewatered biosolids) samples were high even if reductions in numbers were observed with some bacteria. During anaerobic sludge digestion, no statistically significant reduction was observed for Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus sp. , Cryptosporidium oocysts, and Giardia cysts. A 1-2 log10 reduction was observed with fecal coliforms and heterotrophic bacteria. However, the method utilized to detect the protozoan parasites does not differentiate between viable and nonviable organisms. On the other hand, total coliforms and somatic coliphages were reduced by 0.35 log10 and 0.09 log10, respectively. These results demonstrate the relative persistence of the protozoa in sewage sludge during wastewater treatment.
Relapse following ampicillin treatment of acute Hemophilus influenzae meningitis.

A case of meningitis due to Hemophilus influenzae in a 6-month-old child treated with ampicillin is presented. The child had a recurrence of bacteremia with orbital cellulitis 3 days after the conclusion of 14 days of parenteral treatment with 200 mg per kilogram per day. Although a substantial amount of clinical experience has already been presented as to the value of ampicillin in acute bacterial meningitis due to the common agents, careful observation of each patient for signs of lingering infection is still necessary. This case represents a failure of ampicillin to eradicate H. influenzae infection.
Like a Horse and Carriage or a Fish on a Bicycle: How Well do Local Partnerships and Public Participation go Together?

Partnership and participation have co-evolved as key instruments of New Labour's agenda for the ‘modernisation’ and ‘democratic renewal‘ of British local government. It is often assumed that partnerships are more inclusive than bureaucratic or market-based approaches to policy-making and service delivery. This article argues that partnership working does not in itself deliver enhanced public participation; indeed, it may be particularly difficult to secure citizen involvement in a partnership context. The article explores the relationship between partnership and participation in a wide range of local initiatives, exemplifying difficulties as well as synergies. The article concludes that public participation needs to be designed-in to local partnerships, not assumed-in. A series of principles for the design of more participative local partnerships is proposed.
Effect of exogenous growth hormone on somatic growth, gonadal development, and hepatic CYP2C11 and CYP2C12 expression in prepubertal intact male rats.

The influence of exogenous growth hormone (GH) on pubertal maturation, as assessed by growth, age of preputial separation, testicular development, and hepatic expression of sexually dimorphic cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, was investigated. Treatment of 22-day old prepubertal intact male rats with twice daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of rat recombinant GH (0.12 microg/g body weight) for 12 or 21 days did not affect body weight, skeletal growth, or testicular weight. By comparison, GH suppressed hepatic CYP2C1 enzyme activity, protein, and mRNA levels but induced CYP2C12 expression. GH suppressed CYP2C11 expression by approximately 60% in prepubertal rats as compared with 30% in adult rats, whereas it increased CYP2C12 levels to 80% of the normal female levels but had no effect in adult male rats. Twice daily intravenous injections of GH suppressed CYP2C11 only. Increasing the s.c. dose of GH 30-fold produced little or no additional change in CYP2C11 or CYP2C12 expression, whereas it modestly in creased body weight and skeletal growth and reduced testicular weight. Overall, the present study provides the first demonstration that prepubertal administration (22-33 days of age) of GH at a pharmacologically relevant dose (0.12 microg/g twice daily) suppressed hepatic expression of CYP2C11 in 34-day-old intact male rats, suggesting that in this age group the liver is intrinsically responsive to transcription factors involved in the regulation of GH-dependent, sex-specific CYP gene expression. A higher dose (3.6 microg/g) of GH administered during the prepubertal period was required to elicit a modest effect on somatic growth and gonadal development.
Short-term overreaction, underreaction and efficient reaction: evidence from the London Stock Exchange

We examine short-term investor reaction to extreme events in the UK equity market for the period 1989 to 2004 and find that the market reaction to shocks for large capitalization stock portfolios is consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis, i.e. all information appears to be incorporated in prices on the same day. However, for medium and small capitalization stock portfolios our results indicate significant underreaction to both positive and negative shocks for many days subsequent to a shock. Furthermore, the underreaction is not explained by risk factors (e.g. Fama and French, 1996) calendar effects, bid-ask biases or unique global financial crises.
Investigation of tumour supressor protein p53 in renal cell carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND Investigation of p53 immunoreactivity in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of normal renal tissue and renal cell carcinoma with respect to histopathologic subtype and nuclear grade of RCC. METHODS 42 tissue sections of RCC and 5 samples of normal renal tissue were stained for p53 expression using immunohistochemical assay. The results were analyzed in relation to nuclear grade and histopathologic subtype. RESULTS In total, p53 expression was found to be 4 to 5 times higher (30.8%) in other types of RCC than in the clear-cell type of RCC (6.9%). Further, there was no statistically significant difference in p53 overexpression among the histopathologic subtypes (P>0.05, P=0.063). No association was found between the expression of p53 and nuclear grade (P>0.05, P=0.17). Interestingly, our study also showed weak cytoplasmic positivity in renal tubular epithelium. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that p53 might play an important role in tumour development or progression and it might be used as a new predictor and therapeutic target for RCC.
University Entrepreneurship and Professor Privilege

This paper analyzes how institutional differences affect university entrepreneurship. We focus on ownership of faculty inventions, and compare two institutional regimes; the US and Sweden. In the US, the Bayh Dole Act gives universities the right to own inventions from publicly funded research, whereas in Sweden, the professor privilege gives the university faculty this right. We develop a theoretical model and examine the effects of institutional differences on modes of commercialization; entrepreneurship or licenses to established firms, as well as on probabilities of successful commercialization. We find that the US system is less conducive to entrepreneurship than the Swedish system if established firms have some advantage over faculty startups, and that on average the probability of successful commercialization is somewhat higher in the US. We also use the model to perform four policy experiments as suggested by recent policy debates in both countries.
An epidemiologic study of some characteristics of lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE The principal aim of this study was to determine lung cancer distribution according to some epidemiologic and demographic variables in patients diagnosed to have this disease. METHODS The study included 1731 patients diagnosed to have lung cancer between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1999. Data were gathered from the patients' history of disease and from the bronchoscopy Record book. Establishment of significance in analyzed differences between some statistical series was done using Pearson's chi2 test and Kolmogoroff-Smirnoff test (K-S test) for one and two samples. RESULTS The majority of male patients (out of a total of 1523 males) were in the age range of 60 to 64 years (21.7%). The age range of 65 to 69 was predominant in the female patients (16.3%). The distribution by sex and age showed significant differences (K-S; p < 0.05). 81.4% of the male patients and 39% of the female patients were smokers. This characteristic was significantly associated with the patients' sex (chi2 = 258.12; DF = 1; p < 0.01). Bronchoscopic localization of the pathological process was not significantly correlated with the habit of cigarette smoking (Kruskal-Wallis chi2 = 1.36; DF = 2; p > 0.05). Pathohistological diagnosis and smoking were significantly correlated (chi2 = 49.37; DF = 2; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In the study period, the men fell ill seven times as frequently as the women. The pathological process was most commonly localized in the right and left upper lobes. The predominant histologic type in men was squamous cell carcinoma (SQC), and in women--adenocarcinoma (ADC). Smokers were the greatest number in the patients with SQC and small cell carcinoma. ADC was most common in nonsmokers.
Temporal expression of prostaglandin H synthase type 2 (PGHS-2) and P450(C17)in ovine placentomes with the natural onset of labour.

Labour in the sheep is preceded by increased tissue and plasma prostaglandin (PG) concentrations, and PGs could potentially contribute to the regulation of P450(C17)in placental tissue. Therefore, we determined the cellular localization and temporal pattern of expression of P450(C17)and prostaglandin H synthase type 2 (PGHS-2), the primary PG synthetic enzyme, in intrauterine tissues from three groups of pregnant ewes at term; animals not in labour (NIL;n=5; 140-145 days of gestation), animals in early labour (EL;n=6; 143-149 days) and animals in active labour (L;n=6; 145-149 days). Allocation of animals into the three groups was based on continuous monitoring and assessment of myometrial contractile activity (EMG) and changes in the intrauterine pressure (IUP). Levels of mRNA encoding PGHS-2 and P450C17 were determined by in situ hybridization. Localization and levels of immunoreactive (ir-) P450(C17)and ir-PGHS-2 protein were determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. PGHS-2 mRNA and ir-PGHS-2 were already elevated in placentomes of NIL animals and did not increase further with the progression of labour, whereas P450C17 mRNA increased progressively with labour, and ir-P450C17 rose significantly only in animals in active labour. The rise in P450C17 expression corresponded temporally to a progressive increase in maternal plasma concentration of oestradiol. We suggest that the temporal relationship and subsequent co-localization of PGHS-2 and P450(C17)proteins in the uninucleate trophoblast cells of the placentomes are consistent with the possibility that placental PGs could act to enhance placental output of oestrogen leading to labour and delivery.
Life-Cycle Bias and the Returns to Schooling in Current and Lifetime Earnings

This paper uses a unique data set with nearly career-long earnings histories to provide evidence on the returns to schooling in current and lifetime earnings. We use these results to assess the importance of life-cycle bias in earnings regressions using current earnings as a proxy for lifetime earnings. To account for the endogeneity of schooling, we apply three commonly used identification strategies. Our estimates demonstrate a strong life-cycle bias, often exceeding the bias from assuming that schooling is exogenous. We further explore the problems caused by life-cycle bias in research on the economic returns to schooling, and discuss possible remedies.
Is Corporate Governance Different for Islamic Banks? A Comparative Analysis between the Gulf Cooperation Council and Southeast Asian Countries

Islamic banks are particular financial institutions which generate distinct corporate governance challenges. This study compares the corporate governance attributes between Islamic and conventional banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and in Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, this paper studies the impact of relevant corporate governance variables on the Islamic banks' performance. The sample included 77 large Islamic banks and 85 conventional banks observed over the period 2000-2009. Our findings revealed that there were several divergences between the corporate governance characteristics of Islamic banks and those of conventional banks. These differences originated mainly from the ethical aspects dominating the activities of Islamic banks and the regulatory environment in which they operate. Moreover, we found that board fee, CEO duality and CEO age had a significantly positive effect on the Islamic banks' performance. However, the Shariah board characteristics seemed to be a value creator for Islamic banks.
Asset Pricing with Dynamic CAPM: An Application to 49 US Industry Portfolios

The Sharpe-Lintner Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has been widely criticised from Finance researchers on the basis that the expected returns of assets cannot be explained by the single market factor. This is due to the fact that market beta as predicted by the CAPM is stochastic and not constant which can result in deficiencies in prediction or inability to explain the cross-section of asset returns. In this paper we propose a CAPM assuming that market beta follows either an autoregressive stochastic process with one lag or a pure random walk process. In addition, we extend the latter model to incorporate heteroscedastic errors. We use two Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms and we find that stochastic beta models generate highly precise estimates of parameters in a simulation study. More specifically, our models' estimates are significantly more precise when compared with rolling betas regressions. We also test the stochastic beta models on real data using a 20-year sample of 49 value-weighted industry portfolio returns from the US market. Our results confirm previous studies that industry betas are not stable over time since the underlying beta process of most portfolios shows evidence of high persistence. Furthermore, models that account for time variation of market beta outperform both simple regressions and rolling beta regressions in in-sample and out-of-sample tests. Finally, our findings indicate that stochastic beta models can adequately explain the cross section of sector returns. This is especially essential because it implies that the stochastic beta models can be used as effective asset pricing tools without the adoption of other factors which are difficult to identify and construct.
Are soil conservation technologies "win-win?" A case study of Anjeni in the north-western Ethiopian highlands

This study measures the impact of fanya juu terraces on the net value of crop income in a high‐rainfall area in the Ethiopian highlands using cross‐sectional multiple plot observations. Using propensity score matching methods we find that the net value of crop income for plots with fanya juu terraces is lower than for plots without fanya juu terraces. This finding makes it difficult to avoid concluding that while the technologies might reduce soil erosion and associated off‐site effects, they do so at the expense of poor farmers in the Ethiopian highlands. Therefore, fanya juu terraces cannot be characterized as a “win‐win” measure to reduce soil erosion. New agricultural technologies need to be profitable to the farmer if they are to be adopted and sustained.
Structural embeddedness and innovation performance: Capitalizing on social brokerage in high-tech clusters

Abstract Recent academic discourse on innovation clusters has emphasized the need to analyze cluster pelformance from a micro-level and meso-level perspective. Grounded in literature from economic geography, network theory, and organizational learning, this study discusses the structure of collaborative ties and its effect on the absorptive capacity and innovation perfirmance of cluster firms. Focusing on the concept of social brokerage, the findings show that bridging structural holes and connecting pairs of other actors are conducive to a firm’s absorptive capacity and innovation pelformance. Overall, this study suggests that the locus of innovation lies in the structure of a firm’s external collaboration network as well as internal capabilities to exploit the network externalities.
SSD1 Is Integral to Host Defense Peptide Resistance in Candida albicans

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is usually a harmless human commensal. Because inflammatory responses are not normally induced by colonization, antimicrobial peptides are likely integral to first-line host defense against invasive candidiasis. Thus, C. albicans must have mechanisms to tolerate or circumvent molecular effectors of innate immunity and thereby colonize human tissues. Prior studies demonstrated that an antimicrobial peptide-resistant strain of C. albicans, 36082R, is hypervirulent in animal models versus its susceptible counterpart (36082S). The current study aimed to identify a genetic basis for antimicrobial peptide resistance in C. albicans. Screening of a C. albicans genomic library identified SSD1 as capable of conferring peptide resistance to a susceptible surrogate, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sequencing confirmed that the predicted translation products of 36082S and 36082RSSD1 genes were identical. However, Northern analyses corroborated that SSD1 is expressed at higher levels in 36082R than in 36082S. In isogenic backgrounds, ssd1Δ/ssd1Δ null mutants were significantly more susceptible to antimicrobial peptides than parental strains but had equivalent susceptibilities to nonpeptide stressors. Moreover, SSD1 complementation of ssd1Δ/ssd1Δ mutants restored parental antimicrobial peptide resistance phenotypes, and overexpression of SSD1 conferred enhanced peptide resistance. Consistent with these in vitro findings, ssd1 null mutants were significantly less virulent in a murine model of disseminated candidiasis than were their parental or complemented strains. Collectively, these results indicate that SSD1 is integral to C. albicans resistance to host defense peptides, a phenotype that appears to enhance the virulence of this organism in vivo.