Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The characteristics of the cell-mediated immune response identify different profiles of occult hepatitis B virus infection.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA detection in serum and/or in the liver of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative patients with or without serologic markers of previous viral exposure is defined as occult HBV infection. Because the role of the adaptive response in keeping HBV replication under control in occult infection still is undefined, this study was performed to characterize the features of the HBV-specific T-cell response in this condition. METHODS HBV-specific T-cell frequency and function were tested ex vivo and after in vitro expansion in 32 HBsAg-negative patients undergoing diagnostic liver biopsy for chronic hepatitis C: 18 with occult HBV infection (11 anti-HBc-negative and 7 anti-HBc-positive patients) defined by the detection of intrahepatic HBV DNA by polymerase chain reaction; 14 without detectable intrahepatic HBV DNA (5 anti-HBc-positive and 9 anti-HBc-negative patients). Six patients with chronic hepatitis B and 7 HBsAg-inactive carriers were studied for comparison. RESULTS The presence or absence of serologic HBV markers defined 2 profiles of HBV-specific T-cell responses in occult infection. Anti-HBc-positive patients showed a T-cell response typical of protective memory, suggesting that this condition represents a resolved infection with immune-mediated virus control. In contrast, HBV-specific T cells in anti-HBc-negative patients did not readily expand and produce interferon-gamma in vitro, suggesting the possibility of a low-dose infection insufficient to allow maturation of protective memory. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest different mechanisms of control of viral replication in seropositive and seronegative occult infections. Additional studies aimed at understanding possible different clinical implications are needed.
Antioxidant Activity of Some Selected Medicinal Plants in Western Region of India

The present study was undertaken to find the antioxidant value of certain medicinal plants in Gujarat region. Antioxidants have been reported to prevent oxidative damage caused by free radical and can be used in cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory diseases. The amount of total phenols, flavanoids and radical scavenging activity has been studied. Major amount of phenols were determined in Gemelia leaf followed by stem of Kigella and Hibiscus. Moreover, maximum flavonoid content was found to be present in the leaf of Hibiscus followed by Gemelia and Parthenium. However, high radical scavenging activity was observed in the stem of Kigelia followed by leaf of Hibiscus, Gemelia and Kigelia.
Innovation and Employment Effects in Services: A Review of the Literature and an Agenda for Research

This article addresses the difficult question of the relationship between innovation and employment. Its main objective is to re-examine the literature on innovation in services in the light of the employment issue. In particular, it attempts to assess to what extent and in what way this question is implicitly or explicitly addressed in the literature or deserves to be introduced into it. In pursuit of these objectives, the national and international literature is reviewed and a research agenda proposed. The following three topics are explored in succession: 1) technologist approaches and the employment question; 2) the question of employment in service-based approaches; 3) innovation by services and employment.
Stock Price and Trading Volume Effects Associated with Changes in the MSCI Free Indices: Evidence from Taiwanese Firms Added to and Deleted from the Indices

This study analyzes price-volume relation for Taiwanese listed firms that are added to or deleted from the MSCI free indices in the sampling period from May 17, 1999 to May 21, 2001. Additions to the indices found a positive abnormal return of 3.9% in the run-up window from the announcement day up to one day before the change was implemented. This was followed by a significant reversal on the change day. The deleted firms exhibit an even stronger announcement effect, with a significant abnormal return of -9.1% in the run-up, followed by a reversal of 1.6% on the change day. Even when reversals occurred on the change day, the abnormal returns in the post-announcement window are positive for additions and negative for deletions. The results support the price-pressure and long-run downward-sloping-demand hypothesis and are inconsistent with the efficient market hypothesis. The abnormal trading volume for deletions is negative following the announcement, contradicting the findings of Lynch and Mendenhall (1997). This difference is due to the innate of the Taiwanese stock market, in which no dedicated market makers accommodate block trading. Moreover, the regression results confirm a positive volume-return relation before and a negative relation on and after the change day. Finally, the QFII net buy (sell) the added (deleted) stocks up to ten days after the change was implemented, while the Securities Investment Trusts and Securities dealers, having a shorter frame net, buy the added stocks up to two days after the effective change. Individual investors reversing position on the change day are responsible for the price reversal on the change day.
How do travel agencies obtain a competitive advantage?: Through a travel blog marketing channel

This study explores travel blog marketing channel strategies and the conceptual business model of the marketing channel from travel agency practitioners’ perspective. It is the first attempt to evaluate the external environment forces of adopting a travel blog marketing channel and to discern the motivations for investment in a travel blog marketing channel. In addition to developing travel blog marketing channels’ differentiated strategies and emphasizing the performances of travel blog marketing channels, this study adopts a three-round Delphi research design. According to the findings, Taiwanese travel agencies consider four external environment forces, five internal motivations for investment, four developing differentiated strategies, and four channel performance measurement indicators. This study is quite innovative in that no one else so far has analyzed nor tried to discern the issues of travel blog marketing channel strategies and the business model of travel agency blogs. Finally, the construct of a travel blog marketing channel strategy model for Taiwan’s travel agency industry can help address practical and theoretical needs.
Developing the researcher‐manager interface in the case analysis process

This paper explores the extent to which the use of case analysis as a tool for production of original knowledge on managerial processes is of relevance to relations between the study and practice of management. The paper's hypothesis is that the research strategy adopted by scholars, and thus the methodological approach, can lead to processes capable of building up and reinforcing the bridge between scholars and educators on the one hand, and management practice by professionals on the other. This paper puts forward arguments in favor of the claim that the case analysis process can be characterized by the quality of the communication processes between researcher and manager. In addition, this process contributes to enabling scholars and corporate management involved in research based on case analysis to build up and define a convergent context of formation/elaboration of knowledge on corporate processes. The manner and forms of devising the methodological response to the problems of the discipline‐practice interface deserve in‐depth attention as part of the study of relations between the discipline and practice of management.
Occurrence and distribution of Vibrio vulnificus in tropical fish and shellfish from Cochin (India)

The incidence and distribution of Vibrio vulnificus in marine and brackish‐water fish and shellfish from coastal areas of Cochin on the west coast of India were studied. For marine fish collected in very fresh condition from vessels, a level of incidence of 16·6% was noted. Frequency of isolation was greater from the intestine than from the muscle. The greater Most Probable Number (MPN) count determined by the three tube method ranged from 15 to 910 g−1 in the positive samples.
Streptococcus mutans photoinactivation by combination of short exposure of a broad-spectrum visible light and low concentrations of photosensitizers.

OBJECTIVE Investigate the photodynamic antimicrobial effect by the combination of a novel noncoherent broad spectrum visible light and low concentrations of curcumin and toluidine blue over suspensions of Streptococcus mutans. BACKGROUND DATA Long illumination times to activate photosensitizers (PS) and the use of high concentrations of these drugs in photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) are limitations of its application as an antimicrobial technology in dental practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Planktonic suspensions of S. mutans were standardized and submitted to PACT treatment at low concentrations of curcumin (C) (0.075; 0.75 and 7.5 μM) and toluidine blue (T) (0.25; 2.5 and 25 μM) exposed to 42 J/cm2 (12.2 sec; set power: 3.930 mW) of a white light (WL) (output wavelength range: 400-700 nm; beam diameter: 12 mm) (C+WL+ and T+WL+, PACT groups; incubation time, C: 60 sec; T: 5 min); isolated effect of both C (C+WL-) and T concentrations (T+WL-); effect of light source (C-WL+ and T-WL+) and suspensions neither submitted to PS nor to light-emitting diode (LED) illumination (control groups, C-WL- and T-WL-). Aliquots of each group were diluted and cultured on blood agar plates and the number of colony-forming units (CFU)/mL was recorded, transformed into log10 and analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey's test at a cutoff value at 0.05. RESULTS The groups submitted to PACT presented a bacterial reduction value of>5-log10 to both tested PS in comparison with control groups (p<0.05). PS or light source used alone demonstrated no antimicrobial effect on the number of viable bacterial counts. CONCLUSIONS The combination of a novel noncoherent light at short illumination exposure time with low concentrations of studied PS achieved a lethal photoinactivation of S. mutans, and can be considered an effective antimicrobial in vitro approach for reducing the number of micro-organisms involved with the dental caries process.
The Impact Of Organizational Objectives On The Selection Of Defensive Marketing Strategies: Empirical Evidence From A Small Open Economy

Defensive Marketing Strategies (DMSs) do not receive enough attention as offensive or attacking marketing strategies in literature. This gap in the research constitutes a serious weakness in the marketing field . This paper aims to fill this gap in literature by conducting the first study to explore the determinants of the implemented DMSs in Kuwait. Empirically, this study examines the relationship between eight DMSs, demographics, and organizational objectives to define the most prevalent and appropriate DMSs to be deployed in the small open economy of Kuwait. Factor analysis and canonical correlation are used in this study to analyse the obtained data from surveyed board members, CEOs and executive managers of listed companies in the financial sector of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Results reveal a significant relationship between the eight DMSs and the two sets of identified variables in Kuwait context. Cost leadership strategy ranked the most effective defensive marketing strategy by respondents. Also, results show that organizational objectives are mostly affecting the choice of DMSs.
National Culture and Internal Control Disclosures: A Cross‐Country Analysis

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Question/Issue This study examines the association between national culture and the amount of information on internal controls listed companies disclose in their annual reports. In particular, we argue that culture affects managers' perceptions of the costs and benefits of disclosing information and, consequently, drive managers' disclosure choices. In addition, we investigate whether culture indirectly, via investor protection, determines disclosure decisions. Research Findings/Insights Using unique hand-collected data from a sample of 4,370 firm-year observations for 1,559 firms from 29 countries for the period 2005 to 2007, we find that national culture directly affects such disclosures. Moreover, we show that national culture also indirectly affects disclosures via the level of investor protection in a country. Theoretical/Academic Implications This article is the first to examine cultural determinants of internal control disclosures using a framework in which managers' disclosing decisions are determined by the trade-off between the costs and benefits of disclosing such information. Moreover, we are the first to demonstrate that culture not only directly but also indirectly, via investor protection, influences disclosure choices. Practitioner/Policy Implications This study contributes to the debate on the development and design of corporate governance practices. Accounting scandals and corporate failures in recent years have raised calls for improved internal controls, as well as enhanced reporting about these internal controls. Many of these calls are characterized by the view that there is an optimal way of developing such systems. We show that differences in internal control disclosures are influenced by cultural differences. Therefore, introducing a uniform approach to demanding disclosure of information on internal controls may not necessarily translate into uniform reporting practices.
Estudio exploratorio de los programas de alta implicación de los operarios: Identificación de las dimensiones y propuesta de un cuestionario para medir el grado de uso en las empresas

At the moment, the debate about what human resources practices include as High Involvement Work Practices would have to be considered still open. In this communication we try to make a revision of the theoretical framework. This allows us to identify a set of practices mainly accepted as high involvement. We also validate a questionnaire proposal that measures the degree of use of these practices. The result of the theoretical revision has allowed us to find a set of 27 practices related to the participation, communication, training, compensation and management of the knowledge. The exploratory analysis of the data presents an alternative grouping of items in 7 scales instead of the traditional 5 ones.
Biotic and abiotic effects on the intestinal helminth community of the brown rat Rattus norvegicus from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rattus norvegicus has attracted much attention because of its role as a reservoir of zoonotic pathogens. This work aimed to identify the intestinal helminth species in R. norvegicus and to analyse the effects of temperature, rainfall, host age and sex on the helminth community structure. Moreover, this study investigated the possible associations among helminth species in an urban population of R. norvegicus in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, sampled during the rainy and dry seasons over a span of 2 years. A total of 112 rats were infected by six species of helminths. The nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis was the most prevalent and abundant species, with high mean intensity in both seasons, followed by Strongyloides venezuelensis, Heterakis spumosa, Raillietina sp. , Hymenolepis nana and Moniliformis moniliformis. Co-occurrence was found between N. brasiliensis and S. venezuelensis and between N. brasiliensis and H. spumosa. The occurrence of S. venezuelensis was related to rainfall. The understanding of the helminth community structure in this synanthropic rat provides basic information on parasites of public health importance, as two helminth species (H. nana and M. moniliformis) recovered from rats in the urban area studied can infect humans.
The Dynamic Demand for Capital and Labor

A model of the dynamically interrelated demand for capital and labor is specified and estimated. The estimates are of the first-order conditions of the firm's problem rather than of the closed-form decision rules. This use of the first-order conditions allows a random rate of return and a flexible specification of the technology. The estimates do not imply the very slow rates of adjustment displayed in other, related estimates of the demand for capital. Because adjustment is estimated to be rapid, there is,contrary to the standard view, scope for factor-prices to affect investment at relatively high frequencies.
What Success Factors are Important to Small Business Owners?

Financial criteria are usually considered to be the most appropriate measure of business success, yet many small business owners are motivated to start a business on the basis of lifestyle or personal factors. Non-financial goals could lead to alternative measures of success, particularly in the small business sector. To explore the significance of these two dimensions of success, 290 small business owner-managers in Western Australia were surveyed. Respondents rated the importance of items relating to lifestyle and financial measures, which they used to judge their business success. Findings suggest that both financial and non-financial lifestyle criteria are used to judge business success, with the latter being more important. Personal satisfaction and achievement, pride in the job and a flexible lifestyle are generally valued higher than wealth creation. Personal factors such as age and also business characteristics influenced perceptions on the importance of these factors.
Governance in Democratic Member-Based Organisations

This paper considers issues of governance in democratic memberbased organisations (DMOs), such as cooperatives and mutual societies. It examines the processes whereby members' interests are mediated through the democratic process, and the board; and it explores some of the factors influencing the power of managers. It goes on to argue that the system of governance in DMOs in their institutional context runs the risks of managers becoming powerful and entrenched in poorly performing social economy organisations, unless countervailing measures are adopted.
A protein‐RNA docking benchmark (II): Extended set from experimental and homology modeling data

We present here an extended protein–RNA docking benchmark composed of 71 test cases in which the coordinates of the interacting protein and RNA molecules are available from experimental structures, plus an additional set of 35 cases in which at least one of the interacting subunits is modeled by homology. All cases in the experimental set have available unbound protein structure, and include five cases with available unbound RNA structure, four cases with a pseudo‐unbound RNA structure, and 62 cases with the bound RNA form. The additional set of modeling cases comprises five unbound‐model, eight model‐unbound, 19 model‐bound, and three model‐model protein–RNA cases. The benchmark covers all major functional categories and contains cases with different degrees of difficulty for docking, as far as protein and RNA flexibility is concerned. The main objective of this benchmark is to foster the development of protein–RNA docking algorithms and to contribute to the better understanding and prediction of protein–RNA interactions. The benchmark is freely available at http://life.bsc. es/pid/protein–rna‐benchmark. Proteins 2012; © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Mixed-Form Thin-Stratified Medium Fast-Multipole Algorithm for Both Low and Mid-Frequency Problems

A mixed-form thin-stratified medium fast-multipole algorithm is proposed for fast simulation of general microstrip structures at both low and mid-frequencies. The newly developed matrix-friendly formula of layered medium Green's function is applied in this algorithm. For well-separated interactions, the path deformation technique is implemented to achieve a smoother and exponentially convergent integral. The two-dimensional addition theorem is then incorporated into the integrand to expedite the matrix-vector product. In our approach, multipole expansion (low-frequency fast-multiple algorithm) as well as the plane wave expansion (mid-frequency fast-multipole algorithm) of the translational addition theorem are combined into a single multilevel tree to capture quasi-static physics and wave physics simultaneously. The outgoing wave is represented first in terms of multipole expansion at leafy levels, and then switched to plane wave expansion automatically at higher levels. This seamless connection makes the algorithm applicable in simulations, where subwavelength interaction and wave physics both exist.
Finland-Russia rail transport deregulation: future scenarios of market development

The European Union has opened rail freight transport to competition. Regulating third country bounded transports has been in EU member state government jurisdiction. However, the European Commission has expressed an interpretation that third country transports in the EU area should been seen as intra-EU transport, i.e., under competition. Also Russia is promoting competitiveness of rail transports and proceeding with competition. This research assesses EU-Russia rail transport competition from Finland’s perspective by using qualitative scenario analysis. Three different kinds of scenarios are constructed, and based on this research, it may be concluded that deregulating third country transport would be advisable. This would promote border transports, decrease prices, and attract and boost competition in Finland’s rail transport market.
The Determinants of Auditor Switching from the Perspective of Corporate Governance in China

This paper reports on the association between the internal corporate governance mechanism of firms and their auditor switching types in the Chinese context. Two types of auditor switching – namely switching to a larger auditor or switching to a smaller auditor – are identified and examined. Controlling shareholders have the incentive to seek opaqueness gains. The empirical results demonstrate that to realize opaqueness gains, firms with weaker corporate governance generally are more likely to switch to a smaller auditor rather than to a larger one. The empirical results demonstrate that firm-specific corporate governance devices will affect a firm's auditor switching decision. An effective corporate governance mechanism may inhibit the controlling shareholder from switching to a smaller auditor to exploit the minority shareholders. The emerging economies are usually featured with concentrated ownership and insufficient legal protection of minority shareholders. Compared with prior studies, this paper generates findings more applicable to the emerging economies. This study may facilitate market regulators and participants to maintain close monitoring of the structural arrangement of corporate governance of the listed firms, the independent auditing process and the credibility of financial reporting in an emerging market like China. The findings also suggest that in order to bolster the confidence of the market participants, the Chinese government should promote the reform of the corporate governance system and enforce effective regulations, in particular on firms' auditor switches.
Employee Voice and Working Environment in Post-Communist New Member States: An Empirical Analysis of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

This article examines employee ‘voice’ in workplace health and safety in three Baltic New Member States by means of a cross-national survey. The data point to unresolved problems of voice in the context of rather poor working environments. These present opportunities for collective renewal by trade unions, but paradoxically are more likely to be addressed by employers in the context of significant labour shortages created by a post-European Union accession labour ‘exit’.