Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of Friesian cows with high and low breeding indexes 1. Stall feeding and grazing experiments and performance during the whole lactation

The performance of 38 Friesian cows with either high or low breeding indexes was measured during the whole lactation and in short-term experiments where the cows were individually given cut pasture in stalls, or grazed on pasture. Cows with high breeding indexes produced more milk fat than did cows with low breeding indexes in the short-term experiments, and during the whole lactation. There was close agreement between the expected differences (predicted from breeding indexes) and the measured differences in milk fat yield. When fresh cut pasture was given ad libitum in stalls the intake per cow was the same between genotypes. However, when intake was expressed per unit of metabolic weight, the mean pasture drymatter intake of the high breeding index cows was 1·05 of that of the low breeding index cows, but the difference was significant in only one of the four indoor feeding experiments. The difference between genotypes in size was not regarded as significant because the differences in mean live weight at calving (high breeding index – low breeding index) of the animals purchased in the 1st and 2nd years were –28 and 9 kg respectively. During the whole lactation, low breeding index cows gained significantly more live weight and lost significantly less body condition than did the high breeding index cows. No significant differences in live-weight and body-condition changes could be detected during the shorter periods (4 to 5 weeks) of the indoor feeding and grazing experiments. It can be calculated that the higher milk production of the high breeding index cows could be explained partly because they eat more (per unit metabolic live weight) and more importantly because they divert a higher proportion of the food they eat to milk production and a lower proportion to live-weight gain than do the low breeding index cows.
Which is the Elixir as a Development Policy: Washington Consensus Liberalization or the Restrictive Beijing Model? An Analytical Review

Abstract The essay argues that the influential Washington Consensus neo-liberal economic philosophers assume that market and price mechanisms should be promoted to achieve economic development and calls for economic liberalization undermining the role of state intervention policy instruments. Contrary to this, the Beijing Model development policy advocators pronounce economic liberalization in a closed politics. The success of the Beijing Model posed profound challenge to the discipline of economics as the reform paths pursued by Chinese policy makers embarked on centralization of politics and decentralization of economic affairs to sub-national governments. The essay analyses these presuppositions based on the evidence from the emerging developmental states in the BRICS that pursued multiparty politics (South Africa and Brazil) as well as the democratic India as a comparison to China. It maintains that any development model cannot be universally applicable and the realistic development policy should emerge out of the economic, historical, social and cultural experiences of a country while learning from the best practices of developed and emerging nations within the framework of its own practical realities. Development should be a local choice and development policy must be interpreted in the historical and social context of the society. It then contends that a development policy is neither essentially evil nor good. Development policy is better seen as following from recognitions of its deontological processes and teleological perspectives than dictating a single universal path to prosperity.
Basal superoxide as a sex-specific immune constraint

There is increasing evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS), a group of unstable and highly reactive chemical molecules, play a key role in regulating and maintaining life-history trade-offs. Upregulation of ROS in association with immune activation is costly because it may result in an imbalance between pro- and antioxidants and, hence, oxidative damage. Previous research aimed at quantifying this cost has mostly focused on changes in the pro-/antioxidant balance subsequent to an immune response. Here, we test the hypothesis that systemic ROS may constrain immune activation. We show that systemic, pre-challenge superoxide (SO) levels are negatively related to the strength of the subsequent immune response towards the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin in male, but not female painted dragon lizards (Ctenophorus pictus). We therefore suggest that systemic SO constrains immune activation in painted dragon males. We speculate that this may be due to sex-specific selection pressures on immune investment.
Linking Social Capital to Political Participation: Voluntary Associations and Networks of Recruitment in Sweden

That organizational involvement has a positive impact on political action is a well-established finding in empirical research around the world. To account for this, theorists since Tocqueville have pointed to the returns in human capital, in particular ‘civic skills’, yielded by associations. This article, by contrast, is a study of whether social capital theory can help explain the same effect. According to the logic of ‘weak ties’, organizational involvement provides bridging social capital by connecting the individual to a wider range of people. As a result, the input of requests for participation increases and this ultimately leads to more activity. Unspecified in this argument, however, is what aspect of associational memberships is most conducive to such weak ties: the sheer number of memberships, or the extent to which one's memberships provide links to people of dissimilar social origin. In an unprecedented empirical test based on survey data from Sweden in 1997, it is shown that being connected to multiple voluntary associations is what matters for political activity, not the extent to which one's memberships cut across social cleavages. Moreover, the social capital mechanism of recruitment is more important in explaining this effect than the human capital mechanism of civic skills, since the former can account for why even passive members, not just organizational activists, may become more prone to take political action.
The effect of low-level laser therapy as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy of smoking and non-smoking patients with moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis. METHODS All 36 systemically healthy patients who were included in the study initially received non-surgical periodontal therapy. The LLLT group (n = 18) received GaAlAs diode laser therapy as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy. A diode laser with a wavelength of 808 nm was used for the LLLT. Energy density of 4 J/cm(2) was applied to the gingival surface after periodontal treatment on the first, second, and seventh days. Each of the LLLT and control groups was divided into two groups as smoking and non-smoking patients to investigate the effect of smoking on treatment. Gingival crevicular fluid samples were collected from all patients and clinical parameters were recorded on baseline, the first, third, and sixth months after treatment. Matrix metalloproteinase-1, tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase-1, transforming growth factor-β1, and basic-fibroblast growth factor levels in the collected gingival crevicular fluid were measured. RESULTS The primary outcome variable in this study was change in gingival bleeding and inflammation. At all time points, the LLLT group showed significantly more improvement in sulcus bleeding index (SBI), clinical attachment level, and probing depth (PD) levels compared to the control group (P <0.001). There were clinically significant improvements in the laser-applied smokers' PD and SBI levels compared to smokers to whom a laser was not applied, between the baseline and all time points (P <0.001) (SBI score: control group 1.12, LLLT group 1.49; PD: control group 1.21 mm, LLLT group 1.46 mm, between baseline and 6 months). Transforming growth factor-β1 levels and the ratio of matrix metalloproteinase-1 to tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase-1 decreased significantly in both groups at 1, 3, and 6 months after periodontal therapy (P <0.001). Basic-fibroblast growth factor levels significantly decreased in both groups in the first month after the treatment, then increased in the third and sixth months (P <0.005). No marker level change showed significant differences between the groups (P <0.05). CONCLUSION LLLT as an adjunctive therapy to non-surgical periodontal treatment improves periodontal healing.
Partisanship, Ministers, and Biotechnology Policy

Research in public policy and political economy has provided many insights in the evolution of public resistance against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the last two decades. But how does the partisan composition of a government, its programmatic orientation and the allocation of cabinet offices affect policy making in this specific area? We argue that the regulation of GMOs is determined by the ideological orientation of governments and the presence of parties with a specific ideological background in the cabinet. In addition, we hypothesize that the parties' control over relevant cabinet posts matter for GMO regulation. We test our hypotheses by using an innovative dataset that contains information on biotechnology regulation outputs of European governments in the time period from 1996 until 2013, the partisan composition and policy-area specific positions of governments, and the party affiliation of key cabinet actors. The results show that the presence of a Christian democratic party in a cabinet increases the chances of a ban on biotech crops, in particular if it controls the Ministry of the Environment.
Does one size fit all? An experimental test of household models in East Uganda

We test core theories of the household using variants of a public good game and experimental data from 240 couples in rural Uganda. Spouses do not maximise surplus from cooperation and realise a greater surplus when women are in charge. This violates assumptions of unitary and cooperative models. When women control the common account, they receive less than when men control it; this contradicts standard bargaining models. Women contribute less than men and are rewarded more generously by men than vice versa. This casts doubt on postulates in Sen (1990). We also find strong evidence for opportunism. The results are put in a socioeconomic context using survey data and follow-up interviews, which provides hints of the external validity of our findings; more so for contribution than for allocation behaviour. Taken together, our findings suggest that a `one-size fits all' model of the household is unlikely to be satisfactory.
Relationship Between Annual Report Readability and Corporate Financial Performance

Annual financial reports, which all public corporations are legally required to publish, are the convential means of communication between managers of a firm (who act as agents) and the stockholders (owners) of the firm (who are the principals). These financial reports are also of great interest to other stakeholders in the firm, namely the employees of the firm, its suppliers, customers, bondholders, the investment community, and society at large. Through annual financial reports, management can disseminate information that reduces uncertainty about the firm in the minds of the stockholders: It reassures the employees and bondholders of the firm and suppliers to the firm that their economic stake in the company is secure. It allows the investment community to make forecasts about the future returns to investors from the firm's securities.
Die regionale Agrarumweltpolitik in Deutschland unter dem Einfluss der Förderangebote der Europäischen Union

The article addresses the role the European Union plays in the agri-environmental policy and considers the co-financing of agri-environmental programmes in Germany. First, the development of measures taken under this policy is described from the 1980ies until the present Agenda 2000, taking especially into account the effects of financial promotion by the EU. In addition, a view on nature conservation and water protection reveals the sometimes conflicting interactions between agri-environmental measures and other areas and instruments of environmental policy. In a second part, three sections describe identified problems resulting from the influence of the EU: the effects on the choice and design of agri-environmental policy instruments in the Federal States of Germany, the uncertainties and contradictions resulting in the area of property rights, and the controversially rated income effects. The results are brought together and discussed with reference to the current debate on the disentanglement of agri-environmental policy. Finally, conclusions are drawn for the practical design of agri-environmental policy.
Stress and adult smartphone addiction: Mediation by self‐control, neuroticism, and extraversion

This study employed descriptive statistics and correlation analysis to examine the influence of stress on smartphone addiction as well as the mediating effects of self-control, neuroticism, and extraversion using 400 men and women in their 20s to 40s followed by structural equation analysis. Our findings indicate that stress had a significant influence on smartphone addiction, and self-control mediates the influence of stress on smartphone addiction. As stress increases, self-control decreases, which subsequently leads to increased smartphone addiction. Self-control was confirmed as an important factor in the prevention of smartphone addiction. Finally, among personality factors, neuroticism, and extraversion mediate the influence of stress on smartphone addiction.
Cardiac genes show contextual SWI/SNF interactions with distinguishable gene activities

Recent experimental evidence indicates that cardiac and chromatin remodeling are associated with changes in gene expression mediated by Brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1), a member of the large group of SWI/SNF subunits. The second catalytic member of this family is Brahma (Brm), which shares close sequence homology to Brg1. Despite the sequence similarities, these determinants are found in distinct regulatory complexes; however, the precise nature and role of these remodeling enzymes in the failing heart remains unknown. Here we have hypothesized that Brg1 and Brm form distinct complexes in regulating gene expression in an animal model of cardiac hypertrophy. We have identified that the hypertrophic myocardium is characterized by profound morphological changes associated with increased expression of ANP (Nppa), BNP (Nppb) and β-MHC (Myh7) genes, correlating with reduced expression of the α-MHC (Myh6) and SERCA2A (Atp2a2) genes. Histone deacetylase inhibition prevented left ventricular hypertrophy indicating that the re-expression of gene activity can be associated with both contextual and distinct SWI/SNF interactions. We hypothesize that cardiac hypertrophy and the fetal gene expression program are associated with distinguishable binding of Brm and Brg1 on genes present in distinct complexes, suggesting possible independent-regulatory roles.
Risks perceived by Mainland Chinese tourists towards Southeast Asia destinations: A fuzzy logic model

Tourist risk is a barrier for tourism expansion. Southeast Asia destinations in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore are usually arranged into single package tours for Mainland Chinese tourists. As such, exploring the tourists' risk factor weighting and comparing their perceived risk in these destinations are important for local and regional tourism development targeted for the Mainland Chinese tourist market. From the view of the Mainland Chinese tourists with higher education, Singapore is perceived as the safest destination, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. In terms of risk factor importance, the outcome shows that the seven safety components are in declining order as follows: law & order, hygiene, medical support, accommodation, sightseeing location, transportation and weather. In order to measure tourists' perceived risk quantitatively while considering evaluators' uncertainty of natural language description, this study employs an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to determine the weight of various risk evaluation criteria and applies fuzzy logic to make evaluators' subjective judgments.
On Equilibrium Pricing under Parameter Uncertainty

Abstract Prior theoretical work on estimation risk generally has been restricted to single-period, returns-based models in which the investor must estimate the vector of expected returns but the covariance matrix is known. This paper extends the literature on parameter uncertainty in several ways. First, we analyze asymmetric parameter uncertainty in a model based on payoffs. Second, we explore the effects of both symmetric and asymmetric estimation risk on equilibrium asset prices when the covariance matrix for payoffs must also be estimated. Finally, we investigate the effects on equilibrium of asymmetric parameter uncertainty in a simple multiperiod model.
Flea infestation does not cause a long-term increase in energy metabolism in Gerbillus nanus

SUMMARY Fleas can increase the metabolic rate of their hosts. It has been suggested that a constitutive response, in which the host constantly maintains a relatively high level of energy metabolism to combat the parasite, is advantageous for hosts with high parasite infestation, while an induced response, in which the host increases energy metabolism in response to a parasite attack, is advantageous with low parasite infestation. As free-living Gerbillus nanus show a relatively low flea infestation, we hypothesized that this host uses an induced strategy and, consequently, flea infestation would not impose a long-term effect on energy metabolism. In a previous study in spring, higher field metabolic rate (FMR) was found in free-living parasitized than in non-parasitized G. nanus. In this study, G. nanus were captured at Hazeva in spring; some had fleas (N=14) and some did not (N=10). We brought them to the laboratory, removed the fleas from those that were infested and, after 3 weeks, measured average daily metabolic rate (ADMR) of all rodents. ADMR averaged 8.68±0.95 kJ g–0.54 day–1 for all rodents and was similar between previously parasitized and non-parasitized G. nanus while free living. Thus, the hypothesis that flea infestation does not have a long-term effect on energy metabolism was supported, as was the idea of an induced over a constitutive immune response by G. nanus in combating parasites.
Developments: External Audit Fee Levels in NHS Trusts

This article discusses the external auditing regime of NHS trusts and analyses the fees charged by their auditors. It adapts approaches developed in the private sector to investigate audit fees paid by NHS trusts and finds that, while similar factors are associated with the audit fees of trusts, there is no evidence of a ‘Big 6’ premium and trust audit fees are significantly lower than those of similar private sector organizations. Explanations for this are sought in the different natures of public and private sector audits, which indicate that differences in fees might be anticipated in the public sector, especially with the presence of a quasi-regulator in the form of the Audit Commission.
Mesenchymal-epithelial Transition and Tumor Vascular Remodeling in Eribulin Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM Eribulin mesylate (eribulin) is currently used for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). It is a cytotoxic agent with unique mechanisms that suppress the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells and promote tumor vascular remodeling. In this study, we investigated the expression of markers for EMT and hypoxia in sets of clinical specimens collected before and after eribulin treatment to verify its unique mechanisms. PATIENTS AND METHODS The expression of markers for EMT and cellular hypoxia [E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9)] was examined immunohistochemically in MBC tissues collected from 20 patients before and after chemotherapy with either eribulin (n=10) or paclitaxel (n=10). RESULTS An increase of E-cadherin and decrease of CA9 expression were observed in MBC tissues from patients with objective clinical responses to eribulin treatment. Patients with E-cadherin-positive conversion and CA9-negative conversion had significantly higher response rates (p=0.004 and p=0.024, respectively) and prolonged time to treatment failure (p=0.018 and p=0.038, respectively) than patients without changes in marker expression. CONCLUSION Expression of EMT and hypoxia markers in clinical samples from patients with MBC was suppressed by eribulin treatment. The results provide additional clinical data on improved survival of patients treated with eribulin and the mechanism of response.
Simulated Optimum Sowing Date for Forage Pearl Millet Cultivars in Multilocation Trials in Brazilian Semi-Arid Region

Forage production is primarily limited by weather conditions under dryland production systems in Brazilian semi-arid regions, therefore sowing at the appropriate time is critical. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the CSM-CERES-Pearl Millet model from the DSSAT software suite for its ability to simulate growth, development, and forage accumulation of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. ] at three Brazilian semi-arid locations, and to use the model to study the impact of different sowing dates on pearl millet performance for forage. Four pearl millet cultivars were grown during the 2011 rainy season in field experiments conducted at three Brazilian semi-arid locations, under rainfed conditions. The genetic coefficients of the four pearl millet cultivars were calibrated for the model, and the model performance was evaluated with experimental data. The model was run for 14 sowing dates using long-term historical weather data from three locations, to determine the optimum sowing window. Results showed that performance of the model was satisfactory as indicated by accurate simulation of crop phenology and forage accumulation against measured data. The optimum sowing window varied among locations depending on rainfall patterns, although showing the same trend for cultivars within the site. The best sowing windows were from 15 April to 15 May for the Bom Conselho location; 12 April to 02 May for Nossa Senhora da Gloria; and 17 April to 25 May for Sao Bento do Una. The model can be used as a tool to evaluate the effect of sowing date on forage pearl millet performance in Brazilian semi-arid conditions.
Using Polymorphisms in FKBP 5 to Define Biologically Distinct Subtypes of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Evidence From Endocrine and Gene Expression Studies

Results: In our endocrine study, we found that only risk allele A carriers of rs9296158 showed GR supersensitivity with PTSD; in contrast, baseline cortisol levels were decreased in PTSD only in patients with the GG genotype. Expression of 183 transcripts was significantly correlated with PTSD symptoms after multiple testing corrections. When adding FKBP5 genotype and its interaction with PTSD symptoms, expression levels of an additional 32 genes were significantly regulated by the interaction term. Within these 32 genes, previously reported PTSD candidates were identified, including FKBP5 and the IL18 and STAT pathways. Significant overrepresentation of steroid hormone transcription factor binding sites within these 32 transcripts was observed, highlighting the fact that the earlier-described genotype and PTSDdependent differences in GR sensitivity could drive the observed gene expression pattern. Results were validated by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and replicated in an independent sample (N=98).