Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surfactin triggers biofilm formation of Bacillus subtilis in melon phylloplane and contributes to the biocontrol activity.

The biocontrol activity of many Bacillus species has been traditionally related to the direct antagonism of pathogens. In previous works, we reported that B. subtilis strain UMAF6614 was an efficient biocontrol agent that produced bacillomycin, fengycin and surfactin lipopeptides. Bacillomycins and fengycins were shown to have antagonistic activity towards fungal and bacterial pathogens of cucurbits; however, the functionality of surfactin remained unclear. In this study, the role of surfactin in the biocontrol activity of this strain was investigated. We observed that a deficiency in surfactin production led to a partial reduction of disease suppression by this biocontrol agent, which coincided with a defect in biofilm formation and the colonization of the melon phylloplane. These effects were due to a dramatic reduction in the production of exopolysaccharide and the TasA protein, which are the two major components of the extracellular matrix. We propose that the biocontrol activity of this strain is the result of the coordinated action of the three families of lipopeptides. B. subtilis UMAF6614 produces surfactin to trigger biofilm formation on melon phylloplane, which ensures the long-term persistence and the adequate secretion of suppressive lipopeptides, bacillomycins and fengycins, which efficiently target pathogens.
Innovations—Doomed to fail? investigating strategies to overcome passive innovation resistance

The constant and successful market introduction of new products is of major concern to companies throughout all industries. However, empirical research points to high failure rates of innovations, indicating that most new products fail as they are rejected by consumers due to their resistance to innovation. Several studies have confirmed the importance of passive innovation resistance as a dominant barrier, which has to be overcome before new product adoption can start. However, empirical evidence on how to overcome passive innovation resistance is still lacking. This study intends to address this gap by evaluating the effectiveness of marketing instruments (i.e., mental simulation and benefit comparison) to reduce negative effects of passive innovation resistance on new product adoption. The results of a scenario-based experiment (n = 679) confirm high effectiveness for both instruments. However, the effectiveness varied with the type of passive innovation resistance present. More specifically, mental simulation was found to be the most effective instrument in the case of cognitive passive resistance, whereas benefit comparison was found to be most effective in the case of situational passive resistance. Thereby, the effect of both marketing instruments was stronger the more radical the new product was perceived. Hence, companies should assess the type of passive innovation resistance that is predominant in their target market, and align their choice of marketing instruments that accompany a new product launch to most effectively overcome passive innovation resistance. Employing such new product launch tactics should decrease initial market resistance and thus help companies in reducing innovation failure rates.
Narrowband TL-01 phototherapy for patch-stage mycosis fungoides.

BACKGROUND Although patch-stage mycosis fungoides (MF) has a generally good prognosis, and long-term survival rates with current therapies (UV-B, photochemotherapy, topical nitrogen mustards, electron-beam therapy) are similar, there is concern regarding their potential adverse effects. Narrowband or TL-01 UV-B phototherapy (311 nm), in use for more than 10 years, is more effective than broadband UV-B for the treatment of psoriasis, with an efficacy approaching that of psoralen UV-A. This open study assesses TL-01 as an alternative therapy for patch-stage MF. OBSERVATIONS Eight white patients (4 men, 4 women; age range, 66-83 years) with histologically proven patch-stage MF received TL-01 phototherapy 3 times weekly using a standard protocol. Complete clearance of MF was achieved in 6 cases in a mean of 9 weeks or 26 treatments (range, 20-37 weeks) and 4 patients have had prolonged remissions. Mean duration of clinical improvement has been 20 months (range, 11-40 months). Partial response to TL-01 or poor histologic improvement was associated with rapid relapse. CONCLUSIONS TL-01 is an effective, convenient therapy that may have less risk of long-term adverse effects than current alternatives. Although larger prospective studies are necessary, for some patients intermittent courses of TL-01 may offer effective long-term therapy.
The effect of seasons on Brazilian red propolis and its botanical source: chemical composition and antibacterial activity

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of seasons on the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Brazilian red propolis (BRP) and its plant source. BRP was collected from Maceio, Alagoas state, north-east of Brazil, during one year. Chemical composition was determined by physicochemical analyses and HPLC while antimicrobial activity was assessed against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Staphylococcus aureus and Actinomyces naeslundii by determining the minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC, respectively). The comparative chemical profiles varied quantitatively according to the collection period. Formononetin was the most abundant compound in both propolis and resin, while isoliquiritigenin, (3S)-neovestitol, (3S)-vestitol are suggested to be responsible for antimicrobial activity of Brazilian red propolis. MIC varied from 15.6 to 125 μg/mL, whereas MBC varied from 31.2 to 500 μg/mL. Therefore, season in which propolis and its botanical source are collected indeed influences their chemical compositions, resulting in variations in their antibacterial activity.
Requirement for etoposide in the treatment of Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

PURPOSE We sought to identify the clinical variables most critical to successful treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). PATIENTS AND METHODS Among the factors tested were age at diagnosis (< 2 years or > or = 2 years), time from diagnosis to initiation of treatment with or without etoposide-containing regimens, timing of cyclosporin A (CSA) administration during induction therapy, and the presence or absence of etoposide. RESULTS By Kaplan-Meier analysis, the overall survival rate for the entire cohort of 47 patients, most of whom had moderately severe to severe disease, was 78.3% +/- 6.7% (SE) at 4 years. The probability of long-term survival was significantly higher when etoposide treatment was begun less than 4 weeks from diagnosis (90.2% +/- 6.9% v 56.5% +/- 12.6% for patients receiving this agent later or not at all; P <.01, log-rank test). Multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model demonstrated the independent prognostic significance of a short interval from EBV-HLH diagnosis to etoposide administration (relative risk of death for patients lacking this feature, 14.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 166.7; P =.04). None of the competing variables analyzed had significant predictive strength in the Cox model. However, concomitant use of CSA with etoposide in a subset of patients appears to have prevented serious complications from neutropenia during the first year of treatment. CONCLUSION We conclude that early administration of etoposide, preferably with CSA, is the treatment of choice for patients with EBV-HLH.
Improved Algorithms OF CELF and CELF++ for Influence Maximization

Motivated by the wide application in some fields, such as viral marketing, sales promotion etc, influence maximization has been the most important and extensively studied problem in social network. However, the most classical KK-Greedy algorithm for influence maximization is inefficient. Two major sources of the algorithm’s inefficiency were analyzed in this paper. With the analysis of algorithms CELF and CELF++, all nodes in the influenced set of u would never bring any marginal gain when a new seed u was produced. Through this optimization strategy, a lot of redundant nodes will be removed from the candidate nodes. Basing on the strategy, two improved algorithms of Lv_CELF and Lv_CELF++ were proposed in this study. To evaluate the two algorithms, the two algorithms with their benchmark algorithms of CELF and CELF++ were conducted on some real world datasets. To estimate the algorithms, influence degree and running time were employed to measure the performance and efficiency respectively. Experimental results showed that, compared with benchmark algorithms of CELF and CELF++, matching effects and higher efficiency were achieved by the new algorithms Lv_CELF and Lv_CELF++. Solutions with the proposed optimization strategy can be useful for the decision-making problems under the scenarios related to the influence maximization problem.
Factors limiting usefulness of serum and urinary NGAL as a marker of acute kidney injury in preterm newborns

Abstract Background: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is postulated to be a highly sensitive and specific marker of acute kidney injury (AKI). The aim of this study was to assess the factors affecting serum and urine total NGAL in preterm newborns, limiting the role of this new potential marker of AKI. Methods: Serum and urinary total NGAL concentrations were determined in 57 preterm infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the following points of time: first week of life, between 8 and 14 days of life, and after the fourth week of life. Patients’ clinical conditions were evaluated based on NTISS (Neonatal Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System). Two gestational age subgroups were distinguished: ≤29 and 30 to 35 weeks of gestation. We sought correlation between total NGAL values and gestational age, birth weight, Apgar score and severity of clinical condition, with particular interest in inflammatory status. Results: Serum and urinary total NGAL concentration correlated with inflammatory markers, such as CRP and procalcitonin, as well as with NTISS values. Birth weight and gestational age influence urinary NGAL (uNGAL) values in the first two weeks of life. In AKI (N = 8) patients uNGAL values were significantly higher than in non-AKI newborns. Conclusions: We conclude that inflammatory status and prematurity limits the specificity of total NGAL measurement as a marker of AKI.
Surgical Treatment for Right Colon Cancer Directly Invading the Duodenum

Right colon carcinoma with duodenal invasion is rare, and optimal management remains controversial. Twenty patients demonstrating right-colon carcinoma directly invading the duodenum presented at the Second Xiangya Hospital between 1990 and 2006. Different surgical management strategies were selected based on duodenal involvement, and patient outcomes were evaluated. There was no perioperative death in this series, but three major complications presented during the perioperative period: one case of duodenal stenosis and two duodenal leaks due to gastric or duodenal drainage. Eight of 13 patients treated by en bloc resection survived more than 3 years, including one 10-year survivor and four 5-year survivors. Of the seven patients treated with palliative resection, no patients survived more than 18 months. In conclusion, duodenal invasion by a right-sided colon carcinoma does not necessarily represent incurable disease. If carefully applied based on the extent of duodenal invasion, active surgical management is very useful for improving patient prognosis without increasing the risks associated with surgery.
Talent Management, Work Engagement and Service Quality Orientation of Support Staff in a Higher Education Institution

Despite significant inroads being made in the concept of talent management, the application thereof in higher education institutions remains scant, especially among support staff. This research investigated the relationship between Talent Management, Work Engagement and Service Quality Orientation of support staff (N=60) in a South African Higher Education Institution. A Human Capital Index, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Servqual were administered. The results showed a positive significant relationship between some of the talent management dimensions and work engagement. The results showed a significant positive relationship between all the work engagement dimensions and some of the servqual dimensions. The results showed no significant relationship between Talent Management and Service Quality Orientation. This research highlighted the importance of the effective application of Talent Management practices for support staff in higher education institutions and the outcomes thereof on positive work related behaviours such as work engagement and service quality. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n4p69
Ownership structure and firm value: new evidence from Spain

This paper provides new evidence on the way in which ownership influences firm value. Unlike previous studies, the empirical evidence obtained from our ownership concentration model supports not only the monitoring but also the expropriation effects. Additionally, the insider ownership model provides results that confirm the convergence-of-interest and the entrenchment effects, even though Spanish insiders get entrenched at higher ownership levels than their U.S. and U.K. counterparts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimization Frameworks for Discrete Composite Laminate Stacking Sequences

Composite panel structure optimization is commonly decomposed into panel optimization subproblems, with specified local loads, resulting in manufacturing incompatibilities between adjacent panel designs. Using genetic algorithms to optimize local panel stacking sequences allows panel populations of stacking sequences to evolve in parallel and send migrants to adjacent panels, so as to blend the local panel designs globally. The blending process is accomplished using the edit distance between individuals of a population and the set of migrants from adjacent panels. The objective function evaluating the fitness of designs is modified according to the severity of mismatches detected between neighboring populations. This lays the ground work for natural evolution to a blended global solution without leaving the paradigm of genetic algorithms. An additional method applied here for constructing globally blended panel designs uses a parallel decomposition antithetical to that of earlier work. Rather than performing concurrent panel genetic optimizations, a single genetic optimization is conducted for the entire structure with the parallelism solely within the fitness evaluations. A guide based genetic algorithm approach is introduced to exclusively generate and evaluate valid globally blended designs, utilizing a simple master-slave parallel implementation, implicitly reducing the size of the problem design space and increasing the quality of discovered local optima.
The effects of GBL and learning styles on Chinese idiom by using TUI device

This study investigated how the integration of a game-based learning strategy and a tangible user interface (TUI) device improves the learning achievement of fifth-grade students in studying Chinese idioms. By using the sifting, and sorting, features of Sifteo Cubes, learners, via a gaming situation, manually composed the cubes to the correct idioms, and the system also provided the origins of the idioms, facilitating meaningful learning. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent control-group design was conducted. Both the experimental and control groups were administered a pre-test and post-test, the Idiom Learning Performance Test (ILPT), to investigate the variations between the treatment and groups. Furthermore, the Index of Learning Style for Youth (ILSY) survey was administered to determine how different learning styles and learning strategies affect learning achievement. The results showed that, after the CILS was used, the post-test scores were significantly higher than the pre-test scores in the experimental group. In addition, the post-test scores of active and visual learners were higher than the pre-test scores, and were significantly higher than reflective and verbal learners. The results suggested that the CILS is suitable for active and visual learners. Recommendations for using the CILS and Sifteo Cubes in instruction and further direction research are provided.
The Climate for Service

SUMMARY We develop a framework in which internal employees' diagnoses of their firm's service climate determine their role behavior towards customers and, ultimately, customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and shareholder value. Elements of the framework include: (1) foun dation issues (fundamental human behavior issues like the presence of necessary resources and the quality of leadership), (2) internal service (the quality of service employees report they receive internally from others), (3) service climate (the degree to which management emphasizes service quality in all of its activities), and (4) customer-focused service behavior. How this research is done is reviewed and research supporting elements of the framework is described. How the approach can be adapted for promoting CLV goals is explicated and answers to some frequently asked questions about change to an organization with a service quality and CLV focus are described.
Multicentre phase II study of imatinib mesylate in patients with recurrent glioblastoma: An EORTC: NDDG/BTG Intergroup Study.

1501 Background: Autocrine activation of PDGFα&β receptors yields strong mitogenic effects and activates tumor angiogenesis in malignant gliomas. Preclinical data showed tumor growth inhibition of ras and v-sis transformed BALB/c, 3T3U87 and U343 human glioma xenografts in mice using imatinib mesylate. METHODS To assess the antitumor activity (measured by response and 6-month PFS) and the safety of imatinib mesylate (Glivec) in patients (pts) with histologically proven, CT-scan or MRI documented measurable recurrent glioblastoma, stable/decreasing doses of steroids, no more than one prior chemotherapy regimen, and no surgery or radiotherapy within 3 months prior to enrollment were entered. Imatinib mesylate was given until tumor progression at the daily dose of 600mg (group A) and 800mg (group B) in two cohorts of pts. A Fleming one sample/one stage testing procedure was used. RESULTS A total of 51 pts (M/F: 26/25; median age: 54, range: 27-68; PS 0/1/2: 18/26/7) were entered. 33 pts had been exposed to chemotherapy, 50 to radiotherapy, and 45 had prior resection. 19 pts were entered in group A (70 cycles) and 32 in group B (113 cycles). Grade 3-4 neutropenia was reported in 5 pts (1 in group A and 4 in group B) and was associated with fever in 3 pts. Dose reduction:5 pts (4 in group A, 1 in group B); dose interruption: 21 pts (11 in group A, 10 in group B) pts. Grade 3-4 non hematological toxicity consisted of edema (1 pt), skin rash (2 pts), and reversible ALT elevation (4 pts). One patient presented an intratumoral hemorrhage associated with a documented tumor progression (considered not related to treatment). Three pts (2 in group A and 1 in group B) experienced confirmed partial responses that lasted 10, 10, and 12+ months. Responses slowly occurred after 3, 6 and 7 months of drug exposure. Prolonged ≥6-months tumor stabilizations were reported in 5 pts (1 in group A and 4 in group B). CONCLUSION Imatinib mesylate as single agent displays promising antitumor activity and good safety profile in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. This study is currently extended to patients with malignant oligodendroglioma and anaplastic astrocytoma. [Table: see text].
PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A STUDY OF MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN MALAYSIA

This study attempts to develop a model for perceived organizational support (POS) in medium enterprises and to empirically examine the antecedents of perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational commitment (OC.) Most POS study had been conducted in a Western setting. The current study is conducted in a non-Western setting, specifically in Malaysia. The research particularly focuses on the antecedents of perceived organizational support (POS) that may influence the perceptions on organizational commitment (OC) held by employees of medium enterprises. The effect of national culture and value congruence on organizational commitment will also be examined. A tentative research model is developed based on an extensive literature review. Qualitative field study was carried out to explore perceived organizational support (POS) in selected medium enterprises in Malaysia. Field interviews were conducted with employees and human resource practitioners of selected medium enterprise in the Malaysia manufacturing sector. The data were analysed via content analysis. The results explained the antecedents of perceived organizational support especially among employees of medium enterprises and its effect on organizational commitment.
Earnings Management and Reputation of Venture Capitalists

I investigate whether earnings management in venture-capital-backed IPO firms has any consequence on reputation of venture capitalists. I document that discretionary accruals in the IPO year are negatively related to the number of new IPOs backed by the same lead venture capitalist during the lockup period, the number of new IPOs during the first year after the lockup period, and the number of new IPOs during the second year after the lockup period. In addition, I find that if there is income-increasing earnings management in the IPO year, underpricing is greater for the new IPOs backed by the same lead venture capitalist in the first year after the expiration of lockup period. But there is no significantly positive relationship between the discretionary accruals in the IPO year and the underpricing of new IPOs backed by the same lead venture capitalist in the second year after the expiration of lockup period. Overall, I find some evidence that earnings management imposes costs on lead venture capitalists.
Strong and Weak Convergence Theorems for Common Solutions of Generalized Equilibrium Problems and Zeros of Maximal Monotone Operators

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and study two modified hybrid proximal-point algorithms for finding a common element of the solution set EP of a generalized equilibrium problem and the set for two maximal monotone operators and defined on a Banach space . Strong and weak convergence theorems for these two modified hybrid proximal-point algorithms are established.