Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insufficient Bureaucracy: Trust and Commitment in Particularistic Organizations

Many employees in the world are evaluated and rewarded at work based on who they are ("particularism") rather than based on impersonal judgments of their performance ("universalism"). Yet the field of organizational behavior has been virtually silent on how employees react to workplaces dominated by particularism. In an effort to understand the role of particularistic organizational practices, several ideas from comparative institutions theories are applied to questions of organizational behavior, and the model is tested in samples of large manufacturing and service organizations in the United States and Hungary. It was found that employees in a modernist political system (United States) did echo social scientists' claims by reporting that their employers' personnel practices were comparatively more universalistic than those in organizations operating in a neotraditional polity (Hungary). This perception of differences in personnel practices mediated the relationship between political system and employees' trust in one another, their perceptions of coworker shirking, and their organizational commitment.
Itinerant Teachers’ Perspectives of Using Collaborative Practices in Serving Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

In a qualitative study conducted in the southern United States, the researchers explored the perceptions of seven itinerant teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing regarding the formation and maintenance of collaborative relationships during consultation services the teachers provide to general educators. The researchers used the theoretical construct of collaboration proposed by Friend and Cook (1990, 2007) in the analysis of interviews. It was found that itinerants employed elements of collaboration as outlined by Friend and Cook and that these teachers regarded these collaborative relationships as essential to fulfilling their consultative responsibilities. However, as the itinerant teachers strived to establish and maintain collaborative relationships, they faced barriers related to time constraints, insufficient administrative support, and variable perceptions of the necessity of collaborating with general educators.
Site-to-Store or Store-to-Site? Application of One-Way Transshipment in Dual-Channel Retailing

We compare site-to-store and store-to-site strategies for dual-channel integration. The site-to-store (resp., store-to-site) strategy can ll unmet orders in the physical channel (resp., online channel) with the inventory in the online channel (resp., physical channel). With one (physical) retail store, when only one channel should have inventory, it is the channel with stochastically larger or less uncertain demand. Otherwise, with both channels carrying inventory, the optimal channel integration depends on demand uncertainty and product's contribution margin. For high-margin products, the retailer should use the leftover inventory of the low-uncertainty channel to fulfill unmet orders of the other. Furthermore, the site-to-store (resp., store-to-site) strategy becomes more attractive for high-margin (resp., low-margin) products with larger number of retail stores. Also, with many retail stores, channel integration with one-way transshipment achieves most of the risk-pooling benefits, and the additional gain from adding a new direction of transshipment is negligible. We propose a heuristic that only requires a comparison of online demand standard deviation and the sum of demand standard deviations of retail stores in identifying an effective integration strategy. Finally, we apply our results to a circular spatial model for dual-channel retailing systems and obtain insights on the impact of customer purchasing behavior on strategy selection.
Yeast and bacteria analysis of grape, wine and cellar equipments by PCR-DGGE

Aims: Microorganisms play an important role in winemaking. Most of their metabolisms are beneficial to the wine quality but several species have spoilage effects. Microbiological knowledge are crucial for improving species and strains identification and avoiding contamination by spoilage agents. Our objective was to follow wine microbial consortia at each stage of the process from grapes to bottles, and also on cellar equipment surface: barrels for the yeast analysis and tanks for the bacteria analysis.Methods and results: For a global microbial monitoring, molecular tools are particularly efficient. We chose the PCR-DGGE for direct analyses without cultivation step. We used the rpoΒ gene as target for the bacteria, and the 26S rRNA gene for the yeast. Species inventories were made during the whole winemaking process, which had never been done before.Conclusion: From the grape surface to storage in bottles, the microbial diversity decreased. Only the most resistant species were able to survive to the ethanol, SO2, low oxygen and low pH constraints. Among them, Pediococcus parvulus for the bacteria and Brettanomyces bruxellensis for the yeast were the most resistant.Significance and impact of study: The use of a molecular method independent of the culture stage of the microorganisms like the PCRDGGE has allowed to have a more exhaustive vision of the diversity of the bacteria and yeasts species and to follow their evolution during the winemaking and in the cellar environment . These follow-ups could be extended to other estates in order to study the causes and the consequences of certain variations. The detection of these two prejudicial species was an argument for the PCR-DGGE approach in wine microbial studies.
Infectivity, speed of kill, and productivity of a baculovirus expressing the itch mite toxin txp-1 in second and fourth instar larvae of Trichoplusia ni.

A cDNA clone of the gene coding for the paralytic neurotoxin (tox34) from the female straw itch mite, Pyemotes tritici, was created by RT-PCR and inserted into the genome of the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) under the control of the AcMNPV p10 promoter. This recombinant virus, AcTOX34.4, caused a rigid paralysis in infected larvae. The infectivity of AcTOX34.4 was compared to the wild-type parent strain, AcMNPV-C6, in second and fourth instar larvae of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. There were no significant differences in LD(50) values between the recombinant virus and its wild-type parent strain but, as expected, the LD(50) was lower for second instar larvae. The mean time to death and yield of occlusion bodies were measured in second and fourth instar T. ni larvae at a high (100% mortality) and low (<50% mortality) doses of the virus. The mean time to death of recombinant infected larvae was reduced by 50-60% compared to larvae infected with the wild-type strain, depending on virus dose and instar, with these larvae becoming paralysed after approximately 60 h and dying 10-20 h later. This is among the fastest speeds of kill recorded for recombinant baculoviruses. Fourth instar larvae were found to succumb to the recombinant virus more quickly than the second instar larvae. The increase in the speed of kill of the recombinant virus was accompanied by a large reduction of approximately 95% in the yield of progeny virus. The yield of virus showed a highly significant relationship with time to death, but this relationship was complex and varied between the different viruses, concentrations, and instars. The yield per unit weight of the larvae was found to be constant at a low virus dose and increased over time at a high virus dose, irrespective of instar and virus. It is predicted that these changes in the performance of the recombinant virus would act toward reducing its fitness, leading to it being outcompeted by the wild type in field situations.
Psychosocial contributors to mental and physical health in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To delineate psychosocial and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related medical factors that contribute to the mental and physical health of SLE patients. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, 44 women completed standardized instruments assessing daily hassles, social support, psychologic distress, and quality of life and underwent a physician examination to assess disease activity and disease damage. Four multiple linear regression analyses were computed to identify factors associated with the following outcomes: patient-perceived psychologic distress and global physical health and physician-assessed disease activity and damage. Variables entered into the regression analyses were: hassles severity, types of social support, SLE disease activity and damage, age, disease duration, education, ethnicity, and global psychologic distress (for the outcomes of self-perceived global physical health and disease activity and damage). RESULTS The best model explaining global psychologic distress included hassles severity and self-esteem social support. The best model explaining patients' perceptions of their global physical health included hassles severity and tangible social support. Psychologic distress accounted for a significant proportion of variance in both disease activity and damage. CONCLUSION High stress (assessed by hassles severity), poor social support, and psychologic distress--potentially modifiable variables--are associated with the mental and physical health of SLE patients.
Cross-Border Listings And Price Discovery. Evidence From Chinese Companies Triple-Listed In Shanghai, Hong Kong And New York

This paper extends prior cross-listing literature by examining the Chinese stocks triple-listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK), Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). We find that the returns of the triple-listed stocks and the indexes are co-integrated in the long-run across the three markets, indicating both an absence of arbitrage opportunities and long-term equilibrium. By employing the Granger Causality test, we found that the foreign market (NYSE) plays the dominant role in price discovery (where information is impounded into prices), therefore rejecting the home bias hypothesis that the home market generates the most useful information about price movement. While the stock returns of NYSE were able to influence the returns of both the SSE and the SEHK, the SSE market could not affect the NYSE and only on rare occasions affects the SEHK. The same methodology to examine the co-integration and price discovery were employed for 4 distinctive sub-periods: 2000-2003, 2003-2007, 2007-2009, and 2009-2013. It was found that while China was a relatively independent market prior to the financial crisis, its integration with the global markets has increased ever since.
Long-Term Evaluation of Interdigital Neuroma Treated by Surgical Excision

Background: We examined a large cohort of patients who had interdigital neurectomy and evaluated their clinical outcomes by using a previously developed scoring system as well as a visual analog scale (VAS). In addition, we wanted to identify risk factors that may lead to poorer outcomes. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review identified 232 patients who had neuroma excision between 1994 and 2004, after failure of conservative treatment. Each patient was contacted via mail and given a Neuroma Clinical Evaluation Score survey as well as a visual analog score. Each patient received a unique identification number, allowing the evaluation process to be single-blinded. Results: Of the 232 patients contacted, 120 (52%) returned their completed surveys. The average Giannini neuroma score was 53: 61 feet (51%) had good or excellent results, 12 (10%) had fair results, and 48 (40%) had poor results. The average VAS score was 2.5. The only significant (p = 0.027) difference in outcome was the location of the neuroma: second webspace had worse outcomes than third webspace neuromas on both the VAS and neuroma score. Conclusion: This retrospective review identified location in the second webspace as a possible prognostic indicator of poor outcome, but the more important finding may be that outcomes of neuroma excision do not appear to be as successful at long-term followup as previously reported
STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND JOB INVOLVEMENT AND INTERMEDIARY ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AMONG EMPLOYEES OF MASHHAD MELLI BANK

The aim of present study is to explain the relationship between organizational climate and job involvement variables considering the intermediary role of organizational commitment among employees of Mashhad Melli Bank. The statistical population of this study was 1,276 employees of Mashhad Gas Company and 296 employees were selected as sample based on Cochran formula. Allen and Meyer's Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (2010), Edward Zukil Patrick Job Involvement Questionnaire (1984) and Halpin and Kraft Organizational Climate Questionnaire were used to collect data. Lisrel 8.80 and spss16 software were used to analyze data and results of structural equations and Pearson correlation coefficients showed that there is significant relationship between organizational climate and organizational commitment, between organizational commitment and job involvement and between organizational climate and job involvement.
Identification and optimization of critical medium components using statistical experimental designs for enhanced production of xylanase from Aspergillus flavus DFR-6.

Summary The Plackett-Burman screening design (PBSD) and Central composite rotatable design (CCRD) were used to optimize the fermentation parameters for enhanced xylanase production from Aspergillus flavus DFR-6 in submerged cultivation. The PBSD demonstrated that the positive main effects of yeast extract, wheat bran, Tween 80 and NaNO3 were significant at 10 % level of significance. The interactive effects of these factors were deduced using CCRD and finally, the production medium was optimized using Design-Expert soft
Consumer Attitudes towards Products of Foreign Origin: Do They Vary Across Product Classes?

Although a substantial body of literature exists on the country-of-origin bias, the issue of whether or not such perceptions are uniform across product classes has not been resolved. This study examines how quality perceptions of consumers vary across four product classes: electronic items, food products, fashion merchandise, and household goods. Responses obtained from a sample of Nova Scotian consumers suggest that quality perceptions tend to be product-specific. Quality perceptions vary also for the 25 countries studied. A number of policy implications are also offered in the paper.
Randomized Trial of Physical Activity and Calcium Supplementation on Bone Mineral Content in 3‐ to 5‐Year‐Old Children

A meta‐analysis of adult exercise studies and an infant activity trial show a possible interaction between physical activity and calcium intake on bone. This randomized trial of activity and calcium supplementation was conducted in 239 children aged 3‐5 years (178 completed). Children were randomized to participate in either gross motor or fine motor activities for 30 minutes/day, 5 days per week for 12 months. Within each group, children received either calcium (1000 mg/day) or placebo. Total body and regional bone mineral content by DXA and 20% distal tibia measurements by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) were obtained at 0 and 12 months. Three‐day diet records and 48‐h accelerometer readings were obtained at 0, 6, and 12 months. Higher activity levels were observed in gross motor versus fine motor activity groups, and calcium intake was greater in calcium versus placebo (1354 ± 301 vs. 940 ± 258 mg/day, p < 0.001). Main effects of activity and calcium group were not significant for total body bone mineral content or leg bone mineral content by DXA. However, the difference in leg bone mineral content gain between gross motor and fine motor was more pronounced in children receiving calcium versus placebo (interaction, p = 0.05). Children in the gross motor group had greater tibia periosteal and endosteal circumferences by pQCT compared with children in the fine motor group at study completion (p < 0.05). There was a significant interaction (both p ≤ 0.02) between supplement and activity groups in both cortical thickness and cortical area: among children receiving placebo, thickness and area were smaller with gross motor activity compared with fine motor activity, but among children receiving calcium, thickness and area were larger with gross motor activity. These findings indicate that calcium intake modifies the bone response to activity in young children.
Influence of conditioning temperature on the performance, nutrient utilisation and digestive tract development of broilers fed on maize- and wheat-based diets

1. The influence of conditioning temperature on the performance, nutrient utilisation and digestive tract development of broilers fed on maize- and wheat-based diets was examined up to 21 d of age. The experimental design was a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments evaluating two grain types (maize and wheat) and three conditioning temperatures (60°C, 75°C and 90°C). Broiler starter diets, each based on one grain (maize or wheat), were formulated and pelleted at the three temperatures. 2. Increasing conditioning temperature decreased the body-weight gain and feed intake in wheat-based diets, but birds fed on maize-based diets conditioned at 60°C and 90°C had higher body-weight gain and feed intake than those fed on the diet conditioned at 75°C. Increasing conditioning temperature increased feed per body-weight gain in both grain-type diets but improved pellet durability index (PDI) only in wheat-based diets; PDI was unaffected in maize-based diets. 3. In wheat-based diets, increasing conditioning temperature decreased the ileal digestibility of nitrogen and starch. Ileal nitrogen digestibility of maize-based diets conditioned at 60°C and 90°C was higher than at 75°C. Starch digestibility was unaffected by conditioning temperature in maize-based diets. No effect of conditioning temperature was found for apparent metabolisable energy (AME). Increasing conditioning temperature decreased digestible protein and AME intakes in wheat-based diets but, in maize-based diets, birds fed on the diet conditioned at 75°C had lower digestible protein and AME intakes compared to those fed on diets conditioned at 60°C and 90°C. 4. Small intestine was longer in birds fed on diets conditioned at 75°C and 90°C compared with those fed on diets conditioned at 60°C. 5. Overall, the data suggest that while the effects of conditioning temperature on body-weight gain and feed intake of broilers to 21 d of age differed depending on the grain type, feed per body-weight gain was adversely affected by higher conditioning temperatures.
Empowering senior citizens via third places: research driven model development of seniors' empowerment and social engagement in social places

Purpose – This paper aims to report on a qualitative study that explores senior citizen consumers ' empowerment through social engagement in third places and their subsequent loyalty to third places. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via a qualitative research design from four seniors ' clubs in Australia using focus groups (12), and participant observation. The data were analyzed using QSR NVivo software using an interpretive approach. Findings – Ten themes based on 34 codes were identified in the study, which were grouped to develop a conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences of seniors ' empowerment in third places for further testing. The themes under consumer empowerment were important in assisting to understand the significance of place and social engagement within the place to empower seniors with a positive self-image, better access to information and exercise of choices for smarter purchase decisions. The themes under social capital contributed to a better understanding.
The Determinants of Capital Structure: Analysis of Non-Financial Firms Listed in Karachi Stock Exchange in Pakistan

The study finds that determining the exact optimal or best capital structure is not a science, so after analyzing a number of factors, a firm establishes a target capital structure it believes is optimal, which is then used as a guide for raising funds in the future. In Pakistan as well there are different factors that affect a firm's capital structure decision. The finding of the report shows that in Pakistani firms most of the firm tends toward the equity or internal financing instead of the debt. In Pakistan debt or long term financing is not considered as prior to equity financing because the bond market in this country is not yet so developed. Main source of external financing available to the Pakistani firms is commercial bank operating all around the country. These commercial banks encourage short term and secured loans only. Larger firm can easily get loans from commercials as banks likes to advance loan to those firm which are financially sound and can absorb more shock. Where as most of Pakistani firms are of medium size. Therefore firms are less tempted toward the long term loan to finance their future investments. Another possible reason why Pakistani firms try to avoid debt financing is that these firms want to avoid the legal obligations and scrutiny procedures related to the debt financing. Often many firms listed in Karachi Stock Exchange try’s to escape the discipline of capital market for example they don’t pay dividend for years and do not experience significant decline in stock prices. Such shares are not traded and new issues are never announced. Other reason for non debt financing trend of Pakistani, but not yet proven, is that religious teaching regarding the interest or Reba forbids interest bearing loan transactions. This is main reason for slow development of bond market in Pakistan. This study finds that with increase in profitability of Pakistani firms, they less tend toward debt financing, thus confirming the finding of picking theory by Mayer and Mujluf (1984) 28 . One possible reason for this negative relationship between profitability and leverage of the firm is that most of the Pakistani firms try to retain its earning for future requirements as they prefer to pick internal financing over the out financing. However the study finds that with the passage of the Pakistani firms are andwill realize the importance of the debt financing in increase the value of the firm and ultimately the wealth of the share holders.