Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipid reserves of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) during pre-spawning in the northwestern Mediterranean

SUMMARY: Lipid reserves are a particularly important attribute of fishes because they have a large influence on growth, reproduction and survival. This study analyses the lipid content of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) pre-spawners in three different areas of the northwestern Mediterranean in relation to trawling activities and river runoff. The muscle lipid was considered as an indicator of the somatic condition of individuals whilst the gonad lipid was used as a proxy of the energy invested in reproduction. The results show that fish with the highest muscle lipid levels inhabited the area where fishing impact was lowest. Since the abundance and biomass of polychaetes, which represent the main food source for red mullet, were found to be lower in trawled zones than in unfished ones, we suggest that differences in the muscle lipid levels between areas might be attributed to variation in prey abundance in relation to fishing impact. However, no impact of river runoff on lipid reserves of red mullet was observed. The results also show that muscle and gonad lipid reserves are not related to each other during pre-spawning.
Vehicles : Empirical Evidence on Determinants and Earnings Management *

We investigate the use, determinants, and earnings effects of special purpose vehicles. Based on a proxy of SPV activity that can be applied to a broad cross-section of firms over time, we find a two-and-a-half fold monotonic increase in the percentage of firms using at least one SPV during the eight-year period from 1997 through 2004. Tobit regressions of the determinants of SPV use show that SPV activity increases with financial reporting incentives and economic and tax motivations, but strong corporate governance tends to mitigate their use. In addition, the evidence is consistent with SPVs arranged for financial reporting purposes being associated with earnings management, whereas the same does not appear to be the case for SPVs set up mainly for economic, tax, and other reasons. JEL Codes: M41, G35
Awareness, acceptability, relevance and congruence of the PNU-Negros Occidental vision, mission, and goals and objectives of the teacher education program

This study aimed to measure the awareness, acceptance relevance, and congruence of the Vision and Mission of Philippine Normal University and Goals and Objectives (VMGOs) of the Teacher Education Program. The descriptive-correlational method of research using a modified questionnaire was employed in this investigation. The participants of this study were the stakeholders of the University which include the faculty, administrative staff, students, alumni, cooperating school official/teacher, industry sector representative, barangay/city officials, and parents. With the use of statistical tools such as the mean, the ttest and the one-way anova, findings revealed that participantsâ€™ awareness, understanding and acceptance of the VMGOs as well as relevance of the VMGOs to the needs and development of the community indicate a very great extent. Furthermore, the study showed that the educational practices and activities on the campus are to a great extent congruent to the Universityâ€™s mission, goals and objectives. When grouped according to the variables of gender, age, civil status, occupation and curriculum, significant differences among participants were observed in the way they perceived the relevance of the VMGOs to the needs and development of the community. Significant differences were also noted in terms of the conformity between educational practices and activities on campus and the mission, goals and objectives of the University and the Teacher Education program respectively. Based on the foregoing, it is recommended that the university must continue her present endeavor, as she intensifies effort in disseminating the VMGOs and explaining the same to the stakeholders especially the students and the members of the community. Educational practices and activities in the university must further be strengthened to fully realize the mission, goals and objectives of the teacher education program.
Spontaneous poisoning by larvae of Perreyia flavipes (Pergidae) in sheep

From a flock of 175 Texel sheep 25 animals died after consumption of a sawfly larvae subsequently identified as Perreyia flavipes. The disease occurred in June-July 2006 on a farm located in the county of Encruzilhada do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Although there were 11 cattle in the same paddock, none of them was affected. High numbers of compact masses containing up to 150 larvae were scattered in the paddock where the animals were grazing. Most affected sheep showed severe apathy during 24-36 h before death, but weakness, muscular tremors and depression were also observed. Necropsy was performed on six sheep and the main macroscopic lesions were hemorrhages in the subcutaneous tissues, endocardium, gallbladder wall, and abomasal mucosa. In all animals was found hydrothorax, hydropericardium, ascites, and mild jaundice. Edema in the abomasal folds, mesentery, perirenal tissues, and gallbladder wall were also seen. The livers were yellowish with disseminated pinpoint hemorrhages in the parenchyma and had an enhanced lobular pattern. Perreyia flavipes larval body fragments and heads were found in the forestomach contents of the six sheep. Feces were scant, dry and formed balls coated by mucus and streaks of blood. Similar contents were also present at the end of the cecum. Prominent microscopic lesions included severe and diffuse periacinar or massive necrosis of hepatocytes associated with multifocal random hemorrhages. Diffuse necrosis of lymphoid follicles in lymph nodes and Peyer's patches, lymphoid depletion and necrosis in germinative centers of the spleen, and diffuse vacuolization in the renal tubular epithelia were also seen.
Patterns of Ageism in Different Age Groups

This paper examines age-based stereotypes in accordance with the Stereotype Content Model in four different age groups: schoolchildren, adolescents, adults and the elderly. Participants were asked to rank graphic portraits of both genders of four age clusters in terms of warmth and competence. The hypothesis that age groups, besides a positive evaluation of their own age cluster, would rate old people in an increasingly negative way as they themselves get older, was not confirmed. On the contrary, young children seem to have the most extreme prejudice against older people. Interestingly, adults and elderly appear to evaluate their own age cluster rather negatively too. Other relations between age groups indicate that ageism does not only affect old people and that it can include positive stereotypes as well. It is also argued, that ageism may have a changing pattern throughout the lifespan.
THE ROLE OF ELECTRONIC WORD-OF-MOUTH IN THE TOURISM MARKET

In the context of contemporary trends in the tourist market, marketing communication has reached a whole new level. As the process of providing information, ideas and emotions, with the ultimate goal of achieving a certain effect, marketing communication is immensely important for the tourism industry. In order to meet the challenges of modern society, marketing experts should recognize the benefits of the concept of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). Its characteristics enable a high level of flexibility related to accessibility, a relatively high level of reliability and the possibility of instantaneously reaching a huge audience. Purpose – Taking into account a number of benefits and advantages of using e-WOM, the purpose of this paper is to determine the role and importance of e-WOM in the travel decision making process. Methodology – The paper is based on theoretical and empirical research. The theoretical part of the paper describes the key concepts. In order to achieve the research purpose, empirical research was conducted on a convenience sample of 129 Croatian citizens. The survey instrument was adapted from previous research (Jalilvand et al. 2011; Bronner and de Hoog 2011; Gruen et al. 2006; Lopez and Sicilia 2014; Xu 2014). The survey was conducted in May 2015 using a 22item structured written questionnaire completed by the respondents. Descriptive and cluster analyses were used to obtain the goals of the research. Findings – Results of the study showed that the effects of e-WOM are the only real indicator of the value of products or services, taking into account their independence and objectivity, and the fact that they are not paid or purchased, fabricated or falsified. Contribution – This paper contributes to both theory and practice. The contribution of this paper is visible in proving the importance of the concept of e-WOM in the travel decision making process. Although it is conducted on a convenience sample, this study can provide good insight into attitudes of the respondents related to e-WOM. At the same time, for a tourist company, eWOM means an objective presentation of products and services at minimum cost, often with a bigger effect on the sales and competitiveness in comparison to other forms of advertising.
Unexpected outcomes of invasive predator control: the importance of evaluating conservation management actions

Decisions regarding the implementation of conservation management actions should be based on the effectiveness of past investments. However, because of limited evaluation of existing data, actions may be prescribed without evidence of producing a beneficial conservation outcome. We analysed empirical data, collected over 23 years across southern Australia, on the impact of fox baiting on malleefowl to determine its effectiveness. We employed data from extensive monitoring surveys to evaluate the observed relationships between investment in fox control, fox baiting intensity, fox presence and two alternative measures of the malleefowl's response: the number of breeding pairs and population growth. This study is the first to quantify the return on investment from fox control in a conservation context. We discovered there is limited quantitative evidence for a benefit of fox baiting on malleefowl, despite it being the main management action implemented for this nationally threatened, well‐studied and iconic species. We found that fox baiting did not significantly decrease the presence of foxes and fox presence was positively correlated with malleefowl conservation. Malleefowl breeding population size increased with investment in baiting, although this relationship depended on the number of years the site had been baited. Nonetheless, most sites had a negative relationship between investment and breeding population. In contrast, malleefowl population growth did not benefit from baiting, suggesting that fox baiting is generally not a cost‐effective management action for the conservation of this species. This study provides a powerful example of why management decisions should be based on evidence, rather than ecological intuition. Even though the malleefowl is one of the best‐monitored species of conservation concern in Australia, we are still uncertain how to cost‐effectively manage this species. We emphasize the urgent need to assess what data we have and determine which species and what actions are most in need of evaluation.
Risk and Resilience in Long-Term Foster-Care

Summary The concept of resilience provides a necessary framework for understanding the varied ways in which some children do well in the face of adversity. The debate on resilience in children has shifted from an emphasis on factors to an emphasis on processes and mechanisms and from identifying resilience to promoting resilience. Children in longterm foster-care have experienced a range of early adversities which continue to affect their self-esteem, self-efficacy and capacity to cope with developmental challenges. Risk and protective characteristics in the foster-child, the foster-carers, the birth family and the agencies involved with the child will interact in complex ways to produce upward or downward spirals. This article reports on a longitudinal study of children in long-term foster-care, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It provides a psychosocial model that links inner and outer worlds, developmental theory and social work practice, to explore why some children appear to be making good progress while others continue to experience multiple developmental difficulties.
The Origin of the Illusory Periodic Changes in the Gravitational Constant

Anderson et al. have found that experimental values for gravitational constant, G, are oscillatory with a period of P = 5.899 +- 0.062 yr and an amplitude of A = (0.001619 +- 0.000103) F, where F is a factor that is the inverse of the 11 powers of ten expressed in SI Base Units. The period P correlates with the 5.9 year periodic signal in length of day (LOD). Previously it was assumed that changes in LOD follow from fluid core motions and inner-core coupling. But the origin of the G/LOD correlation is still not explained. Next, Schlamminger et al. have found that corrections to the G data reported by Anderson et al. significantly weaken the G/LOD correlation. But in Table III there appears the fit sinusoidal function for G with period fixed at 5.93 year. Here, applying the Scale-Symmetric Theory (SST), we show the origin of the periodic changes in LOD and the illusory changes in G and the origin of the experimental amplitude of G that is illusory as well. The calculated period of LOD and illusory period of G are both 5.941 yr whereas illusory amplitude of G is 0.00183 F. Here, the 5.941 year periodic signal in LOD we interpret as due to advection of the virtual cloud, composed of the virtual electron-positron pairs produced by Earth, caused by its interactions with the dark-matter (DM) structures that overlap with the Earth orbit. Such advection follows from the confinement and entanglement of virtual electrons and positrons and DM structures. The advection causes periodic increase in mass of Earth and measuring apparatus. The amplitude of the changes in mass of Earth follows directly from masses of nucleons (we must take into account the nuclear binding energy) and electrons. The changes in mass lead to the illusion of periodic changes in G. The SST results are consistent with experimental data. Moreover, SST shows that the real changes in G can be infinitesimal only.
Effect of Fat Type and Calcium Level Supplementary on Growth Performance, Fat Digestibility, and Ca and P Absorption and Balance in Growing-Finishing Pigs

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of two different fat types (beef tallow and sunflower oil) and level of dietary calcium (high and low) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, calcium ‐ phosphorus absorption and balance in growing-finishing pigs. Four castrated male pigs were designed in 4 · 4 Latin square with two weeks a period. The results showed that the supplementation of calcium tended to increase the apparent fat digestibility and increased significantly (p<0.05) the absorption and balance of calcium, but it was no influence on absorption and balance of phosphorus. It could be concluded that supplementation of vegetable oil with calcium at low level (minimal requirements) are
Genetic algorithm to optimize two-echelon inventory control system for perishable goods in terms of active packaging

Article history: Received 1 July 2011 Received in revised form September, 30, 2011 Accepted 30 September 2011 Available online 12 October 2011 This paper considers an inventory control policy for a two-echelon inventory control system with one supplier-one buyer. We consider the case of deteriorating items which lead to shortage in supply chain. Therefore, it is necessary to decrease the deterioration rate by adding some specification to the packaging of these items that is known as active packaging. Although this packaging can reduce the deteriorating rate of products, but may be increases the cost of both supplier and buyer. Because of the complexity of the mathematical model, a genetic algorithm has been developed to determine the best policy of this inventory control system. © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved
A MULTISCALE MORTAR MIXED FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR SLIGHTLY COMPRESSIBLE FLOWS IN POROUS MEDIA

We consider multiscale mortar mixed finite element discretizations for slightly compressible Darcy flows in porous media. This paper is an extension of the formulation introduced by Arbogast et al. for the incompressible problem [2]. In this method, flux continuity is imposed via a mortar finite element space on a coarse grid scale, while the equations in the coarse elements (or subdomains) are discretized on a fine grid scale. Optimal fine scale convergence is obtained by an appropriate choice of mortar grid and polynomial degree of approximation. Parallel numerical simulations on some multiscale benchmark problems are given to show the efficiency and effectiveness of the method.
Adoption of the balanced scorecard in local government organizations : an exploratory study

Despite the recent attention on the balanced scorecard as a performance measurement system, the extent of adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in different organizational settings is not well known. This study adds to the existing literature on the BSC by examining its use in local governments. The study examines the extent of adoption of the BSC in local governments and the factors that appear to influence its adoption. The findings suggest that the BSC is not widely used by local governments in the Sydney metropolitan area and that a number of organization specific factors as well as the relatively low positive perceptions about the BSC have contributed to its limited adoption to date. Keywords : balanced scorecard, local government, public sector, performance measurement systems, adoption of balanced scorecard.
Verb Particle Errors in Preschool Children With Specific Language Impairment

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the spontaneous language samples of children with specific language impairment (SLI) to those of typically developing children for frequency of verb particle produc- tion and frequency and errors types associated with verb particle production. Method: The language transcripts of 10 children with SLI (age 3;8 (years;months) to 5;7) were compared to those of 10 typically developing children (age 2;11 to 3;4) matched for mean length of utterance (MLU). The transcripts were analyzed for the number of verb particles produced and errors occurring with the verb particles attempted. Three types of errors were identified: verb particle constructions, subject argument omissions, and object argument omissions. Results: No significant difference was noted between groups I
The Impact of Taxation on Dividends: A Cross-Country Analysis

We analyze dividends tax systems in the world and assess their impact on dividend distributions. Using data from 24 OECD countries, we find that the dividend payout is monotonically distributed across tax regimes as firms in classical tax system countries have significantly lower payouts and speed of adjustment to target dividends than companies in partial or full imputation tax system countries. We also report that the type of dividend tax system affects the size of dividend payout while the tax rate differential between dividends and capital gain affects the propensity to pay and the decision to change dividends. Our results hold when we control for the other fundamental determinants of dividends. Finally, we find that ex-day returns are monotonically distributed across the tax systems, suggesting that the dividend taxation is also compounded into stock prices.
AFLP-analysis of genetic diversity in soybean [Glycine max (l.) Merr.] cultivars Russian and foreign selection

Genetic diversity of 11 cultivars of soybean (Glycine max) from a VIR (N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources) collection was analyzed by the AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) technique. From 18 tested primer combinations, both of them were selected for further analysis. From these two primer combinations (E32/M60 and E32/M59), 90 DNA fragments were obtained, 39 (43%) of them were polymorphic. Unique DNA fragments were found in accessions SibNIISHoz 6, Soer-4, Determinant. The Jaccard's similarity indices varied from 0.79 (between Sonata and Ugra) to 0.94 (between Ugra and Garmoniya) with an average of 0.775. Cluster analysis placed the cultivars into the several groups but separation in groups was not related to their origin or biological characteristics, even though cultivars Nordik and Soer-4 (cultivars recommended for Central Black Earth region of Russia) clustered together on the dendrogram. The obtained high values of Jaccard genetic similarity index and low level of polymorphism and differentiation illustrated a relatively low genetic diversity in our studied cultivars, which correlated with different other studies on soybean genetic diversity with AFLP-analysis.
Malignant otitis externa: An assessment of emerging pathogens and the prognostic factors

Although the mortalities from malignant otitis externa (MOE) have greatly reduced, it is still a potentially fatal clinical condition. This study was undertaken to review the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors in MOE and to compare the behavioral pattern of cases caused by pseudomonas and non-pseudomonas organisms. A retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with MOE in a tertiary institution over a 13 year period was conducted. Treatment outcome was divided into survival and mortalities groups. Demographic and disease factors were analyzed regarding mortalities using univariate and multivariate analysis. Seventeen of 22 cases were analysed. Nine (53%) were diabetic while 5 were HIV positive. After average of 7 weeks of antibiotic therapy ± surgical debridement, the disease resolved in 59%. Mortality was 41%. Diagnostic delay, poor blood sugar control, and extensive disease were found to predict mortality (P = 0.051, 0.048, and 0.006 respectively). Age, sex, causative organism, HIV infection, facial nerve and other cranial involvement did not significantly predict mortality. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated in 11 patients. The rest had atypical organisms, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus spp. There was no significant difference in the disease extension, mortality, duration of treatment and facial nerve involvement between pseudomonas and non-pseudomonas groups. However the pseudomonas group were predominantly diabetic (p = 0.03). It is concluded that malignant otitis externa still has a significant mortality despite aggressive therapy. Extensive temporal bone/intracranial disease, poor blood sugar control, and diagnostic delay portend a poorer prognosis. S. aureus is an increasingly important causative organism in MOE especially in non-diabetic patients. Key words: Malignant otitis externa, mortality, risk factors, causative organisms.