Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Qualitative Study of Agricultural Literacy in Urban Youth: Understanding for Democratic Participation in Renewing the Agri-Food System.

Modern agriculture poses ecological problems and opportunities, which defy simple democratic reform without an educated citizenry. Developing an educated citizenry can be accomplished by further developing agricultural literacy in elementary education. While benchmarks for agricultural literacy have been produced, relatively little attention has been focused on how students conceptualize the food system. Using Piaget’s theories of schemata development, this study compared students’ understanding of agriculture to grade–specific benchmarks for agricultural literacy to uncover relationships between students’ backgrounds, experiences, and understandings of the agri–food system. The population consisted of 18 elementary students from Long Beach, California. Data was collected via 45–minute semi–structured interviews. While almost half had been on field trips to a farm or visited a garden, none had ever grown a plant or raised an animal. Students’ ideas about agriculture were often guesses, underdeveloped, or contradictory to expert conceptions. Students failed to convey an understanding of the types and variety of farms, the purpose of farms, or the cultural practices dominating conventional farming. Results suggest that educators should focus on existing underdeveloped schemata to help learners construct viable ideas about modern agriculture supported by contextually rich formal and informal agricultural experiences.
A study of haptoglobin phenotypes in patients with chronic renal failure

Background: This study has investigated the association between haptoglobin (Hp) polymorphism and the occurrence of chronic renal failure (CRF) in Jordanians. Methods: Blood specimens were collected from 159 patients with CRF resulting from various predisposing conditions and from 200 healthy unrelated controls. Hp phenotyping was conducted using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results: The Hp 2-2 phenotype was over-represented in CRF patients in general (0.547), patients with hypertension (0.622) and patients with diabetes mellitus (0.633). The Hp 2-1 phenotype was over-represented in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (0.549) and patients with reflux nephropathy (0.445). In patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), only Hp 2-1 and Hp 2-2 were detected, occurring at a frequency of 0.214 and 0.786, respectively. The frequency of Hp 2 allele in PKD patients was 0.893 compared with 0.706 in the control group. Hp-type distribution was in agreement with the expectations of a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all groups except for the hypertensive patients. Conclusions: Haptoglobin homozygosity seems to represent a possible risk factor for CRF in hypertensive, diabetic and PKD patients; Hp heterozygosity may lead to chronic glomerulonephritis.
International as opposed to domestic new venturing: The moderating role of perceived barriers to internationalization

This article examines how firm-based and founder-based determinants of international (as opposed to domestic) new venturing are moderated by perceived barriers to internationalization. In order to test the theoretically derived hypotheses, this article applies event history analysis to a sample of technology firms. The results show that the influence of growth orientation, international network contacts and knowledge intensity on international new venturing varies depending on the perceived financial barriers. Thus, this article provides a contingent perspective within the research field and a contrast to the quite categorical discussion regarding determinants of international new venturing and barriers to internationalization.
Revisiting the global market for higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the changes in the international education sector that have taken place over the decade since the authors' book, The Global Market for Higher Education was published in 2001.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an expert opinion that draws on global trends in the international education sector.Findings – Since the publication of the authors' book, the global market for higher education has changed significantly. A decade ago competition was between a few mainly English language instruction countries in the developed world. The principal destination country was the United States followed by Britain, but with Australia, Canada and New Zealand actively competing. In 2012, competition has expanded, with former sending nations (e.g. Singapore, China, India) becoming destinations. Competition among established nations has also intensified.Originality/value – This paper provides a strategic overview of the state of international education and a unique perspe.
Effect of an LHRH agonist on pituitary and testicular function in rhesus monkeys.

Male rhesus monkeys were given 100 micrograms [(imBzl)-D-His6,Pro9-NEt]-LHRH (LHRH-A), a potent LHRH agonist, s.c. daily for 40 weeks. The first dose of LHRH-A caused acute increases (2-4 h after injection) in serum LH (50-fold), FSH (2 X 5-fold) and testosterone (15-fold) concentrations. Chronic treatment led to a 95% decrease in LH and FSH responses. In spite of a marked decrease in LH response the effect on testosterone response was less evident. Administration of 50 i.u. hCG to control and LHRH-A-treated animals showed that the testicular steroidogenic response was unimpaired by the chronic treatment. Evaluation of the electroejaculated semen at regular intervals showed that there was no consistent reduction in the sperm count of LHRH-A-treated monkeys. Testicular biopsies showed that normal spermatogenesis was occurring in all treated animals, but testicular volume was significantly decreased. These results suggest that, in rhesus monkeys, the pituitary is more susceptible to desensitization by chronic LHRH agonist treatment than are the testes, and that LHRH agonists do not have direct antitesticular effect in rhesus monkeys.
Inflation, Taxation, and Interest Rates

This paper demonstrates that the response of nominal interest rates to changes in inflationary expectations should lie between that predicted by the "Fisher" and "Darby" effects. The exact nature of the response will depend on the relative size of the income and capital gains tax rates, and the relative size of the derivatives of investment and savings to their respective after-tax real rates. The other major conclusion of this paper is that capital gains taxation offsets the negative effect on investment produced by treating depreciation on a historic rather than a replacement cost basis. IN THE 1960S AND early 1970s, the economics profession and the financial community increasingly accepted Irving Fisher's analysis of the effect of changes in anticipated inflation on the rate of interest. In the last several years, Darby [4] and Feldstein [5] have elaborated Fisher's theory and have arrived at the conclusion that, in a world with taxes, an increase in inflationary expectations should result in a more than proportional increase in the nominal rate of interest, since investors base their investing and saving decisions on the after-tax and not the pretax expected consequences of their actions. Darby [4] has argued that if income taxes are proportional at rate T and interest receipts are taxable and interest payments are tax deductible, the real after-tax interest rate is
Modeling Conditional Skewness in Stock Returns

Abstract In this paper, we propose a new GARCH-in-Mean (GARCH-M) model allowing for conditional skewness. The model is based on the so-called z distribution capable of modeling skewness and kurtosis of the size typically encountered in stock return series. The need to allow for skewness can also be readily tested. The model is consistent with the volatility feedback effect in that conditional skewness is dependent on conditional variance. Compared to previously presented GARCH models allowing for conditional skewness, the model is analytically tractable, parsimonious and facilitates straightforward interpretation.Our empirical results indicate the presence of conditional skewness in the monthly postwar US stock returns. Small positive news is also found to have a smaller impact on conditional variance than no news at all. Moreover, the symmetric GARCH-M model not allowing for conditional skewness is found to systematically overpredict conditional variance and average excess returns.
Stepping Responses of Infants With Myelomeningocele When Supported on a Motorized Treadmill

Background and Purpose: Infants with myelomeningocele (MMC) have difficulty with, and show delays in, acquiring functional skills, such as walking. This study examined whether infants with MMC will respond to treadmill practice by producing stepping patterns or at least motor activity during the first year after birth. This study also compared the stepping trajectories of infants with MMC across age with those of infants with typical development (TD) to analyze the characteristics of the development of stepping patterns in infants with MMC early in life. Participants: Twelve infants with MMC (lumbar and sacral lesions) and 12 infants with TD were the participants in this study. Methods: The infants were tested on a treadmill at ages 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, with no treadmill practice between test sessions. Infants were supported on the treadmill for twelve 20-second trials. A digital camera and behavior coding were used to determine step rate, interlimb stepping patterns, step parameters, and motor activity level. Results: Treadmill practice elicited steps in infants with MMC (14.4 steps/minute during the year) but less so than in infants with TD (40.8 steps/minute). Responsiveness was affected by lesion level but varied markedly among infants. Interlimb stepping was less readily alternating, but step parameters were similar to those produced by their peers with TD. Finally, holding infants with MMC on a moving treadmill resulted in greater motor activity (17% during the year) than holding infants on a nonmoving treadmill. Discussion and Conclusion: Infants with MMC responded to the treadmill by stepping (but less so than infants with TD) and showing increased motor activity, but they demonstrated a different developmental trajectory. Future studies are needed to explore the impact of enhancing sensory input during treadmill practice to optimize responses in infants with MMC.
Heart Rate Variability in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is observed in approximately 2% of children. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a potentially simple, non-invasive diagnostic screening tool for OSAS. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic potential of HRV using power spectral analysis, numerical titration, sample entropy, and detrended fluctuation analysis. Effects of sleep stages (REM and NREM sleep) are evaluated. The results show that the heart rate chaos intensity, as measured by the noise limit in numerical titration, is significantly higher during REM sleep than NREM sleep in all patient groups. By using the receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the detection of OSAS yielded a specificity of 72.2% and sensitivity of 81.3% using the numerical-titration technique. The findings suggest that sleep state and disordered breathing are important determinants of cardiac autonomic control. Nonlinear techniques such as numerical titration, when used in conjunction with spectral analysis of HRV could be an effective screening tool for pediatric OSAS
Integrating the safety dimension into quality management systems: A process model

Many practitioners advocate that achieving quality and safety performance can help organizations foster a competitive edge. This is attributable to the minimization of financial loss, compliance with legislation, effective allocation of quality and safety responsibilities, and promotion of community goodwill. This paper discusses the factors affecting safety-quality integration in quality management systems. It also compares the compliance requirements of OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management standard with that of ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environmental) management standards. Incorporating the empirical findings from a recent study in Hong Kong, the paper examines the hypothesized links among company size, safety/quality awareness and interrelationship of various factors affecting safety/quality management practices. Finally, a process model of safety-focused quality management (SQM) is proposed along with an implementation guideline. The model is generic in nature and can be applied and modified to suit organizations of different business nature, sizes and locations.
Life Cycle Models for Pacific Island Destinations

Recent studies on the growth of tourist destinations have been based upon extending the concept of the product life cycle to portray the development of a destination. This study suggests that a general destination life cycle model as proposed by Butler does not apply to most Pacific island destinations. At best, the life cycle model can be used after the fact as a diagnostic tool, but it still can be misleading in the case of Pacific island destinations given the large variation in growth patterns.
Does Freezing a Defined Benefit Pension Plan Affect Firm Risk?

This paper examines the impact of a defined benefit (DB) pension plan freeze on the sponsoring firm’s risk and risk-taking activities. Using a sample of firms declaring a hard freeze on their DB plans during the period 2002-2007, we observe an increase in total risk (standard deviation of returns) following a DB plan freeze. This increase in overall risk is attributable to an increase in idiosyncratic risk, as we do not observe any significant change in systematic risk for firms freezing DB plans. Consistent with the increase in risk, yields on bonds issued by firms freezing their DB plans also increase significantly after the freeze event. When we examine investment strategies, we observe a shift in investment from capital expenditures before the freeze to more-risky R&D projects after the freeze. Firms also increase leverage following DB plan freezes. These strategies (increased focus on R&D and higher leverage) increase the operating and financial risk the firm faces. Overall, we observe an increase in risk-taking following DB plan freezes, consistent with theories that DB plans act as “internal debt” that aligns managers’ interests with bondholders.
Specifying Human Capital

A review of the measures of the stock of human capital used in empirical growth research - including adult literacy rates, school enrollment ratios, and average years of schooling of the working-age population - reveals that human capital is mostly poorly proxied. The simple use of the most common proxy, average years of schooling, misspecifies the relationship between education and the stock of human capital. Based on human capital theory, the specification of human capital is extended to allow for decreasing returns to education and for differences in the quality of a year of education. The different specifications give rise to hugely differing measures of the stock of human capital across countries, and development-accounting results show that misspecified human capital measures can lead to severe underestimation of the development effect of human capital. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2003.
Takeover Motives During the Conglomerate Merger Wave

This article examines the stock market response to acquisition announcements during and immediately after the conglomerate merger wave of the late 1960s. The main finding is that acquirer shareholders benefited from diversification acquisitions, which implies that diversification was not driven by managerial objectives. It is also shown that the market responded positively to bidders who retained the management of target companies and negatively to bidders who replaced target management. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the market favored acquisitions intended to exploit managerial synergies. It suggests that the market disliked takeovers that were motivated to discipline target management. Evidence on buyer and target price-earnings ratios is presented that is inconsistent with the conjecture that conglomerates were able to mislead investors by earnings-per-share manipulation.
Tracing Primary PM2.5 emissions via Chinese supply chains

In this study, we examine a supply-chain approach to more effectively mitigate primary PM2.5 emissions in China from the perspectives of production, consumption and their linkages using structural path analysis. We identify the pattern of all supply chain paths using principal component analysis. To address the severe haze problems in China, it is important to understand how final demand purchase initiates production processes and ultimately leads to primary PM2.5 emission. We found that consumers’ demands on power and transportation mainly induce direct emissions, quite different from the demands on construction, industry and service products which largely drive emissions in upstream activities. We also found that nearly 80% of the economic sectors in China follow a similar pattern in generating primary PM2.5 emissions in electricity, cement and the ferrous metal industries; but only the construction sector increases the release of PM2.5 due to the production of non-metallic mineral products. These findings indicate that further reduction of end-of-pipe emissions in the power and transportation sectors will facilitate cleaner production in almost all the economic sectors. However, for urbanization induced emissions, China should mitigate PM2.5 emissions through the supply chain of construction, either severely reducing its life-cycle intensity or carefully planning to avoid extensive, unnecessary building activity.
A case study on entrepreneurship for sustained innovation

Organizations are facing challenges of continuous innovation to stay competitive in the business landscape. The present paper investigates the inter-relationship among entrepreneurship, dynamic capabilities and innovation. Entrepreneur’s foresights and insights of ICT tend to affect their choices of resources and development of dynamic capabilities, leading to different results of innovation. Based on the literature of business innovation and dynamic capabilities, this study provides a model addressing the links between leadership, with insights and foresights for technology exploration and exploitation, and organizational capabilities of resource integration, learning and transformation to accelerate innovation. A comparative analysis of the evolution of two textile manufacturers in Taiwan, Everest and Central revealed a cyclical process between the leadership decisions and dynamic capabilities of leveraging ICT for sustained competitiveness in these two SMEs. The result suggests that to build strong capabilities for continuous innovation in today’s dynamic business environment, firms need to have leadership with both the attitude and behavior of entrepreneurship, combining the foresight to capture opportunities through ICT and the insight to guide and manage internal resources to achieve ICT-enabled innovation.
Bone regeneration properties of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor via neovascularization and osteogenesis.

OBJECTIVES It has been well recognized that appropriate vascularization is emerging as a prerequisite for bone development and regeneration. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that locally applied granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) enhances bone regeneration via revascularization and osteogenesis. METHODS A segmental bone defect (20mm) was created at the diaphysis of the rabbit ulna. The defects were treated with cationized gelatin hydrogel, which was the drug delivery system, with G-CSF, and then bone regeneration, neovascularization, and osteogenesis properties with G-CSF were assessed. RESULTS Radiographic, computed tomography, and histological findings revealed that bone formation was significantly promoted in G-CSF-treated group as early as 2 weeks. Immunohistochemistry, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and flow cytometry studies indicated that angiogenesis/vasculogenesis, which are regulated by mobilization and incorporation of CD34+/G-CSF receptor (CSFR+) cells, and osteogenesis, which is regulated by osteocalcin+/G-CSFR+ cells, were also significantly enhanced in the G-CSF group. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that locally applied G-CSF contributes to an ideal local environment for fracture healing by supplying adequate blood flow and stimulating osteogenesis. G-CSF may have the therapeutic potential for bone regeneration.
Reutericyclin and related analogues kill stationary phase Clostridium difficile at achievable colonic concentrations.

OBJECTIVES The stationary phase of Clostridium difficile, which is associated with the symptoms of the diarrhoeal disease, is refractory to antibiotic killing. The aim of this study was to explore whether probiotic-derived reutericyclin and related synthetic analogues could kill stationary phase C. difficile at concentrations achievable in the gastrointestinal tract. METHODS The bactericidal activities of reutericyclin and lead compound derivatives were examined against logarithmic and stationary phase cultures of different C. difficile strains. The absorption of compounds across the intestinal epithelia was tested using the Caco-2 permeability model. RESULTS Unlike vancomycin and metronidazole, reutericyclins demonstrated concentration-dependent killing, being rapidly bactericidal against both logarithmic and stationary phase cells, at low concentrations (0.09-2 mg/L). The intestinal absorption of unmodified reutericyclin was poor and comparable to that of vancomycin. However, this property varied significantly for the synthetic reutericyclin analogues, ranging from well absorbed to non-absorbed. The non-absorbable compounds were highly effluxed, suggesting this parameter could be modulated to obtain agents with superior efficacy. CONCLUSIONS Reutericyclins showed excellent potency against the lethal non-growing stage of C. difficile at concentrations that may be attained in the gastrointestinal tract. Since these agents represent novel potential treatments for C. difficile infection, further development of this compound class is warranted.
A Great Barrier Reef Sinularia sp. Yields Two New Cytotoxic Diterpenes

The methanol extract of a Sinularia sp. , collected from Bowden Reef, Queensland, Australia, yielded ten natural products. These included the new nitrogenous diterpene (4R*,5R*,9S*,10R*,11Z)-4-methoxy-9-((dimethylamino)-methyl)-12,15-epoxy-11(13)-en-decahydronaphthalen-16-ol (1), and the new lobane, (1R*,2R*,4S*,15E)-loba-8,10,13(14),15(16)-tetraen-17,18-diol-17-acetate (2). Also isolated were two known cembranes, sarcophytol-B and (1E,3E,7E)-11,12-epoxycembratrien-15-ol, and six known lobanes, loba-8,10,13(15)-triene-16,17,18-triol, 14,18-epoxyloba-8,10,13(15)-trien-17-ol, lobatrientriol, lobatrienolide, 14,17-epoxyloba-8,10,13(15)-trien-18-ol-18-acetate and (17R)-loba-8,10,13(15)-trien-17,18-diol. Structures of the new compounds were elucidated through interpretation of spectra obtained after extensive NMR and MS investigations and comparison with literature values. The tumour cell growth inhibition potential of 1 and 2 along with loba-8,10,13(15)-triene-16,17,18-triol, 14,17-epoxyloba-8,10,13(15)-trien-18-ol-18-acetate, lobatrienolide, (1E,3E,7E)-11,12-epoxycembratrien-15-ol and sarcophytol-B were assessed against three human tumour cell lines (SF-268, MCF-7 and H460). The lobanes and cembranes tested demonstrated 50% growth inhibition in the range 6.8–18.5 µM, with no selectivity, whilst 1 was less active (GI50 70–175 µM).