Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polyphasic identification of Pseudomonas fuscovaginae causing sheath and glume lesions on rice in Australia

Pathogenic fluorescent pseudomonads associated with sheath brown rot disease symptoms on near-mature rice were characterised by a polyphasic study. Twelve strains of Pseudomonas fuscovaginae from the International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants (ICMP), which represent those strains lodged in several world culture collections, were used for comparison. Two strains, ICMP 9997 and 9999, were considered to have no similarity at all to P. fuscovaginae and a further two strains, ICMP11283 and 11284, were considered, by fatty acid analysis, to be more closely related to P. putida. These two strains were related to P. marginalis according to Biolog, and to P. tolaasii according to 16s and rpoB data. The Australian rice isolates were all identified as P. putida Biotype A by fatty acid analysis or as P. asplenii (4 isolates), P. fuscovaginae (2 isolates) or P. fluorescens (1 isolate) by Biolog. Sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene placed the rice isolates with P. fuscovaginae and P. asplenii, whereas rpoB gene sequence analysis showed a higher similarity to P. fuscovaginae than to P. asplenii. This is the first report of P. fuscovaginae in Australia.
Alliance competence, resources, and alliance success: Conceptualization, measurement, and initial test

This research examines the effect of an alliance competence on resource-based alliance success. The fundamental thesis guiding this research is that an alliance competence contributes to alliance success, both directly and through the acquisition and creation of resources. Using survey data gathered from 145 alliances, empirical tests of the hypotheses provide support for the posited explanation of alliance success. The findings indicate that an alliance competence is not only antecedent to the resources that are necessary for alliance success but also to alliance success itself.
Households’ Willingness to Pay for Improved Urban Waste Management in Mekelle City, Ethiopia

Cities in developing countries experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth too often lack the financial resources and institutional capacity to provide needed municipal infrastructure for adequate solid waste management, despite citizens’ demand for it. This paper uses a cross-sectional survey of 226 randomly selected households in Mekelle City, Ethiopia, to assess the current municipal sanitation fees and the willingness to pay (WTP) of residents for improved urban waste management, and suggests mechanisms for cost recovery. We used Tobit and probit models in the empirical analysis to determine the factors that influence households’ WTP for improved solid waste management. Results reveal that residents’ WTP for improved solid waste management is significantly related to income and awareness of environmental quality, among other factors. Study results reveal that the current city fee for sanitation is far below the WTP of the residents. The mean WTP we found can be a guide for municipal officials in setting a more appropriate fee that can finance improvements in city SWM, where all households receive collection services, waste is disposed of properly, and recycling and composting features are added.
Whither the Click? How Online Advertising Works

ABSTRACT Online advertising spending in the United States exceeds $20 billion annually. However, click rates on display advertisements average only 0.1 percent. Are low click rates evidence that display advertisements have no impact on consumer behavior? Or, does display advertising work in a manner similar to traditional “branding” advertising, with multiple exposures being required to effect a change in consumer behavior? This article shows that the click is not an accurate indicator of the effectiveness of online display advertisements. Even when click rates are minimal, display advertisements can generate meaningful increases in site visitation, trademark search, and both online and offline sales.
Behavioral Characteristics of White-Collar Crime and the Pre-Employment Hiring Process

In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the Library of the University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote from, copy from, or publish this dissertation may be granted by the author or, in her absence, the professor under whose direction it was written or, in his absence, by the Dean of the Robinson College of Business. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and must not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation that involves potential gain will not be allowed without written permission of the author. All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University Library must be used only in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. 2015 v ACCEPTANCE This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the Connie O'Brien Dissertation Committee. It has been approved and accepted by all members of that committee, and it has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Executive Doctorate in Business in the J. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As this marathon journey comes to a close, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people to share this accomplishment with, to merely say thank you does not seem satisfactory. To my children Breanna, Brennin, Brittany and Bridgit, thank for being the inspiration and encouragement you have always been. For all the ways you have helped me and made this possible, thank you. I love and adore each of you. I could not have done this without each of you. Anastasia and Patrick, I am so grateful for each of you and all the wonderful things you have done and continue to do. You have made this journey, with all its challenges, possible and fun. Thank you! I am so glad all of you are part of my family. I love you. Counterproductive behaviors. Defined as any intentional behavior by an organizational member viewed by the organization, as contrary to its legitimate interests (Sackett, 2002). Criminal thinking. Refers to the pattern of thinking observed when a person justifies and rationalizes his or her norm-violating behavior by focusing on a social injustice to minimize the …
The Global Financial Crisis and the Role of Ownership Structure on Cost of Capital

This paper explores the relationship between ownership structure and cost of capital. Prior studies have established links between ownership structure, firm performance and cost of capital but their results are mixed and inconclusive. As ownership structure is one of the important issues faced by corporates, especially in listed companies, the objective of this study is to explore the relationship between ownership structure and cost of capital in listed companies. In addition, the role ownership structure plays is regarded as important; the expectation of managers and shareholders is to determine the optimal ownership structure that protects companies in normal and in crisis situations as well. Therefore, this study explores the role ownership structure plays in determining the cost of capital during and after the financial crisis period. After employing the panel regression method, we report a negative relationship between the ownership structure and cost of capital during a global financial crisis.
Making SWOT Analysis Work

The analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses, and Opportunities and Threats is probably the most common and widely‐recognised tool for conducting a strategic marketing audit. The authors suggest SWOT analysis has suffered from familiarity breeding contempt and that the technique is normally used very badly and to little effect. The article draws on experience of marketing planning process management in a variety of companies to propose a five‐point approach to make SWOT analysis work effectively.
Counselling encounters between banks and entrepreneurs: a gender perspective

Purpose – To examine how customers, both men and women entrepreneurs, perceive service quality of the latest counselling encounters with their banks, and to find out if men and women differ in their satisfaction for two or more counselling encounters.Design/methodology/approach – A combination of research methods is used. First, data have been collected through focus‐groups interviews in a pilot‐study; second, data have been collected through a survey study. The focus is on perceived service quality and customer satisfaction and further business, personal and situational factors are included. A total of 215 women and 487 men participated in the survey.Findings – There are few gender‐related significant differences among women and men in their perceptions of service quality, and no signs which indicate that women perceive the service quality as less good. One group of women, in retail services, has perceived the service quality as being significantly different and positive compared with a group of men. Fur.
Does the Fama-Franch three-factor model work in the financial industry? Evidence from European bank stocks

The Fama-French three-factor model (Fama and French, 1993) has been subject to extensive testing on samples of US and European non-financial firms over several time windows. The most accepted evidence is that size premium and value premium as well as market risk premium help explain time-series changes in stock returns. However, scholars have always paid little attention to the financial industry because of the intrinsic differences between financial and non-financial firms. The few studies that have tested the model on financial firms have found mixed evidence regarding the role of size and the book-to-market ratio in explaining stock returns. We find, on a sample of European banks, that size and book-to-market (B/M) ratio seem to be sources of undiversifiable risks and should therefore be included as risk premiums for estimating the expected returns of financial firms. Small and high-B/M banks seem to be more risky. Smaller banks are not systemically important financial institutions and therefore do not benefit from government protection. High-B/M banks are likely to be unprofitable, without growth opportunities, and close to financial distress.
Differential pattern of cytokine expression by macrophages infected in vitro with different Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotypes

It has been shown recently that different genotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis induce distinct immune responses in the host, as reflected by variations in cytokine and iNOS expression. Because these molecules are probably regulated by multiple factors in vivo this complex phenomenon was partially analysed by assessing cytokine and iNOS expression by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in an in vitro model of bone marrow‐derived macrophages infected with three different M. tuberculosis genotypes: Canetti, H37 Rv and Beijing. Although the three genotypes induced production of iNOS and the different cytokines tested at 24 h post‐infection, macrophages infected with the Beijing isolate expressed the highest levels of mRNA for iNOS, interleukin (IL)‐1β, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, IL‐12 cytokines and lower levels of IL‐10 compared with cells infected with other genotypes. This expression pattern has been associated with infection control, but during infection in vivo with the Beijing genotype it is lost upon progression to chronic phase. The failure to control infection is likely to be influenced by cytokines produced by other cell types and bacterial molecules expressed during the course of disease. Results presented in this work show that each genotype has the ability to induce different levels of cytokine expression that could be related to its pathogenesis during infection.
Darwinians, Communitarians and Missionaries: The Role of Founder Identity in Entrepreneurship

Drawing on social identity theory, we explore the identities, behaviors, and actions of 49 firm founders in the sports-related equipment industry. Our analysis suggests the existence of three pure types of founder identities and shows how these identities systematically shape key decisions in the creation of new firms, thereby “imprinting” the start-ups with the founders’ distinct self-concepts. We synthesize our findings in a typology that sheds light on the heterogeneous meanings that founders associate with new firm creation and that improves understanding as to why fundamental differences in firm creation processes and outcomes exist.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) RESPONSES TO CEO COMPENSATION EQUITY

of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) RESPONSES TO CEO COMPENSATION EQUITY By Eric Alan Fong May, 2004 Chair: Henry L. Tosi Major Department: Management This dissertation examines the interactive effects of CEO underand overpayment inequity and CEO power (outsider ratio, duality, and ownership structure) on changes in firm size, changes in firm performance, changes in diversification strategy, and CEO withdrawal. Using variables from both the CEO compensation literature as well as the equity theory literature, I develop a measure of CEO underand overpayment inequity and use this measure to test hypotheses concerning the above independent variables. I tested the hypotheses using a sample of 1342 CEOs from 800 U.S. publicly traded corporations from 30 industries for the years 1990-1999. A multi-level methodology is utilized that allows for the specification of models that include factors at the time-, CEO-, and industry-levels necessary to test the hypotheses. Results show that CEO underand overpayment are related to changes in firm performance and CEO withdrawal and that CEO reactions are dependent upon the level of discretion they possess. This dissertation reveals that CEOs may react to compensation
The effect of perioperative allergic conjunctivitis on corneal lymphangiogenesis after corneal transplantation

Introduction Perioperative allergic conjunctivitis accelerates the speed of corneal allograft rejection. This study examines the effect of allergic conjunctivitis, with and without dexamethasone treatment, on the early inflammatory response and lymphangiogenesis in the host cornea following corneal transplantation. Methods Allogeneic fully MHC-mismatched C57Bl/6 strain donor corneas were transplanted into naive A/J mice and into A/J mice with active allergic conjunctivitis. Further groups of allograft recipients with allergic conjunctivitis were treated post-operatively with twice daily topical dexamethasone 0.1% or phosphate-buffered saline. Mice were killed on days 2 and 6 and corneas were examined by (i) fluorescent immunohistochemistry of frozen sections using anti-CD11b, anti-F4/80 and anti-Gr-1 antibodies, or (ii) whole-mount staining with anti-LYVE-1 antibody. Lymphatic ingrowth and numbers of cells infiltrating the host cornea were compared between groups. Results There were significantly higher numbers of CD11b+ cells and LYVE-1+ vessels in the host cornea at day 2 in allergic compared with naive recipients, but no differences between naive and allergic recipients at day 6. In allergic eyes, dexamethasone treatment significantly inhibited LYVE-1 expression at days 2 and 6, and significantly improved allograft survival in recipients with allergic conjunctivitis if maintained for a week. Conclusions The innate immune response to allogeneic corneal tissue is more vigorous in the presence of allergic conjunctivitis than in naive eyes and is associated with accelerated lymphatic ingrowth to host cornea. Topical dexamethasone inhibits lymphatic ingrowth and this may be one mechanism by which topical steroid enhances graft survival.
Communication pitfalls of traditional history and physical write-up documentation

Background An unofficial standardized “write-up” outline is commonly used for documenting history and physical examinations, giving oral presentations, and teaching clinical skills. Despite general acceptance, there is an apparent discrepancy between the way clinical encounters are conducted and how they are documented. Methods Fifteen medical school websites were randomly selected from search-engine generated lists. One example of a history and physical write-up from each of six sites, one teaching outline from each of nine additional sites, and recommendations for documentation made in two commonly used textbooks were compared for similarities and differences. Results Except for minor variations in documenting background information, all sampled materials utilized the same standardized format. When the examiners’ early perceptions of the patients’ degree of illness or level of distress were described, they were categorized as “general appearance” within the physical findings. Contrary to clinical practice, none of the examples or recommendations documented these early perceptions before chief concerns and history were presented. Discussion An examiner’s initial perceptions of a patient’s affect, degree of illness, and level of distress can influence the content of the history, triage decisions, and prioritization of likely diagnoses. When chief concerns and history are shared without benefit of this information, erroneous assumptions and miscommunications can result. Conclusion This survey confirms common use of a standardized outline for documenting, communicating, and teaching history-taking and physical examination protocol. The present outline shares early observations out of clinical sequence and may provide inadequate context for accurate interpretation of chief concerns and history. Corrective actions include modifying the documentation sequence to conform to clinical practice and teaching contextual methodology for sharing patient information.
Effects of psyllium on metabolic syndrome risk factors

High‐fibre intake has been shown to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS), cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Psyllium is one of the most widely used fibre supplements because it is reasonably cheap and is better tolerated than other fibre supplements. The review of the literature supports the notion that the consumption of psyllium provides benefits to many components of the MS. Psyllium supplementation does improve glucose levels and insulin response, blood pressure, as well as lipid profile in both animals and humans, thereby reducing metabolic risk factors. Appetite has also been reported to decrease after the consumption of psyllium in most studies. Collectively, psyllium supplementation could be promoted to patients who present MS risk factors, such as hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and hyperglycaemia. It may also play a role in controlling body weight, body composition, appetite and hypertension, but further investigation is still required.
How to recover trust in the banking industry? A game theory approach to empirical analyses of bank and corporate customer relationships

Purpose – Trust is a crucial element of a viable banking industry. In the corporate market though, the characteristics of the relationships between each corporate customer and the bank is a double-sided problem. Both parties might trust the other or choose to behave opportunistically. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have analyzed the effects of inter-organizational trust and opportunism on the perception of risk. The paper presents a structural equations model based on a prisoner's dilemma logic to analyze the unique effects of trust between corporate customers and their banks and its corporate customers. Findings – The results based on 252 bank – corporate bank customers relationships reveal an intriguing mixed strategy between trust from one party and opportunism from the other. Research limitations/implications – The implication is that mutual trust seems to reduce the perception of risk in the market while bank opportunism significantly escalates perce.
Cooperative Effect of Exogenous Heparin-Like Compounds and Secreted Glucocorticoid-Induced Inhibitor on Plasminogen Activator in 3T3 Cell Cultures

Balb/c 3T3 cultures grown in the absence of serum release both plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor in the culture medium. Cellular transformation with SV-40 virus increased the level of the activator, whereas dexamethasone increased the level of the inhibitor. Heparin added to the medium potentiated the glucocorticoid-induced inhibitory activity, strongly decreasing or completely abolishing the activity of plasminogen activator. Heparin sulfate showed similar effects to heparin, although at higher concentrations. It is suggested that heparin-like compounds are involved in the regulation of plasminogen activator, acting as inhibitory cofactors.
Specific pattern of ionic channel gene expression associated with pacemaker activity in the mouse heart

Even though sequencing of the mammalian genome has led to the discovery of a large number of ionic channel genes, identification of the molecular determinants of cellular electrical properties in different regions of the heart has been rarely obtained. We developed a high‐throughput approach capable of simultaneously assessing the expression pattern of ionic channel repertoires from different regions of the mouse heart. By using large‐scale real‐time RT‐PCR, we have profiled 71 channels and related genes in the sinoatrial node (SAN), atrioventricular node (AVN), the atria (A) and ventricles (V). Hearts from 30 adult male C57BL/6 mice were microdissected and RNA was isolated from six pools of five mice each. TaqMan data were analysed using the threshold cycle (Ct) relative quantification method. Cross‐contamination of each region was checked with expression of the atrial and ventricular myosin light chains. Two‐way hierarchical clustering analysis of the 71 genes successfully classified the six pools from the four distinct regions. In comparison with the A, the SAN and AVN were characterized by higher expression of Navβ1, Navβ3, Cav1.3, Cav3.1 and Cavα2δ2, and lower expression of Kv4.2, Cx40, Cx43 and Kir3.1. In addition, the SAN was characterized by higher expression of HCN1 and HCN4, and lower expression of RYR2, Kir6.2, Cavβ2 and Cavγ4. The AVN was characterized by higher expression of Nav1.1, Nav1.7, Kv1.6, Kvβ1, MinK and Cavγ7. Other gene expression profiles discriminate between the ventricular and the atrial myocardium. The present study provides the first genome‐scale regional ionic channel expression profile in the mouse heart.
Embedding a patchwork text model to facilitate meaningful reflection within a medical leadership curriculum

No abstract required. In the UK following the Francis report there has been a focus on clinical leadership and medical engagement as it is recognised this is essential to improving patient care, safety, organisational performance and innovation. This has resulted in the development of competency frameworks, the inclusion of clinical leadership within medical education and leadership and management standards for all doctors. Reflection is key to good medical practice. A reflective outlook raises consciousness, prompts movement from the routine of practice to its critical appraisal and drives change. It is central to appraisal and medical revalidation.Revali-dation is the process by which all UK doctors demonstrate to the General Medical Council, though annual appraisals, they are up-to-date and fit to practise.8 In order to provide this evidence, UK doctors complete a National Health Service reflective portfolio. However the current process has been perceived as a ‘tick box’ exercise. In order for reflection to become meaningful it must be critical, the challenge is how to develop a curriculum where reflection is meaningful, authentic and tailored to the individual.