Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brand Image Evaluations: The Interactive Roles of Country of Manufacture, Brand Concept, and Vertical Line Extension Type

Country-of-origin research has provided inconsistent findings about how the country of manufacture (COM) affects brand image evaluations. The authors examine how the COM, vertical line extension (VLE) type, and brand concept interactively affect brand image evaluations after brands introduce products in their existing product categories. The authors draw on schema congruity theory to develop a conceptual framework and confirm it using experimental methods. Results from a sample of U.S. consumers demonstrate that the COM's influence on brand image should be considered in conjunction with the type of VLE strategy and the intended conceptual meaning of a brand. Manufacturing in a country with a favorable image does not always improve brand image evaluations. Functional brands can improve their image with an upward VLE regardless of the COM; however, if these brands pursue a downward VLE, the COM has little to no effect. For prestige brands, downward VLEs result in lower postextension brand image regardless of the COM. However, a favorable COM appears to soften the negative effect of downward VLE on postextension brand image evaluations.
Minimally Invasive Management of an Advanced Abdominal Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Advanced abdominal pregnancy is a rare, life-threatening condition that presents a number of challenges. CASE: A 29-year-old primigravida with 10 years of secondary infertility and a previous tuboplasty had a 21-week abdominal pregnancy treated with preoperative arterial embolization before laparoscopically assisted fetal delivery. Postoperatively, 4 cycles of methotrexate were administered at 50 mg/m2 intramuscularly every 3 weeks for the retained abdominal placenta. Subsequent spontaneous conception occurred, and a live, full-term infant was delivered by cesarean delivery 17 months later. No adverse sequelae were found during long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: This report demonstrates successful minimally invasive management of an advanced abdominal pregnancy with a multimodal approach that included preoperative arterial embolization, laparoscopically assisted delivery, and judicious use of postoperative methotrexate.
High-frequency AC characteristics of 1.5 nm gate oxide MOSFETs

Results of the high-frequency AC characteristics of 1.5 nm direct-tunneling gate oxide MOSFET's were shown for the first time. Very high cutoff frequencies of more than 150 GHz were obtained at gate lengths of sub-0.1 /spl mu/m regime due to the high transconductance. Excellent NF/sub min/ value of 0.51 dB was obtained at high-frequency operation of 2 GHz. Also, good operation of the 1.5 nm gate oxide CMOS ring oscillator has been confirmed.
Resistance and Rebellion: Lessons from Eastern Europe

List of figures and tables Preface 1. Introduction 2. Mechanisms and process 3. Lithuania, 1940-1 4. Rebellion in an urban community: the role of leadership and centralization 5. The German occupation of Lithuania 6. Post-war Lithuania 7. More cases, more comparisons 8. Resistance in the Perestroika period 9. Fanatics and first actors 10. Conclusions Bibliography Index.
Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein/CD14/TLR4-Dependent Recognition of Salmonella LPS Induces the Functional Activation of Chicken Heterophils and Up-Regulation of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine and Chemokine Gene Expression in These Cells

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) found in the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria and, in mammals, is recognized by the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in conjunction with the serum protein, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), and the CD14 co-receptor. We have found that chicken heterophils constitutively express multiple TLRs including TLR4. Interestingly, ultrapure LPS from Salmonella minnesota directly induced the functional activation of heterophils without the presence of LBP. However, the role of LBP and CD14 in the recognition of LPS and the induction of innate immunity, including cell functional activation and the transcription of cytokine and chemokine genes in chicken heterophils, is not known. As previously seen, in the absence of chicken serum, heterophil exposure to ultrapure LPS from Salmonella minnesota stimulated an increased degranulation response. However, the presence of 5% chicken serum, presumed to be a source of LBP, increased heterophil degranulation by 84%. In addition, the presence of either soluble recombinant human LBP (rhLBP, 68%) or CD14 (39%) also induced the up-regulation of the heterophil degranulation response. Incubation of heterophils with either chicken serum or rhLBP also significantly induced the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18) and chemokine (CCLi4, CXCLi1, CXCLi2, and the CXC receptor 1) mRNA expression. Moreover, polyclonal antibodies directed against rat CD14 and human TLR4, but not antibodies against human TLR2, blocked LPS-mediated degranulation and up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNA expression. These data clearly demonstrate that LBP and CD14/TLR4 engagement is directly involved in LPS-mediated functional activation and innate immune gene expression in chicken heterophils.
The economics of small-scale private pump irrigation and agricultural productivity in Ghana

A key policy strategy towards poverty reduction and ensuring food security in sub-Saharan Africa is to assist poor farmers who over-depend on rainfall to reduce variability in production and increase productivity through small-scale private pump irrigation. Despite the fact that the performances of large scale irrigation schemes have not been efficient and optimal in terms of anticipated economic benefits, not much evidence exist on small-scale private pump irrigation as an alternative investment option in smallholder agricultural production in Africa. Not much emphasis also has been put on the opportunity costs of family labor time in small-scale private pump irrigation, which happens to be one of the key ingredients in the decision making of smallholder farmers who engage in irrigation agriculture. This paper examines the economics of small-scale private pump irrigation and agricultural productivity using a survey data collected in four administrative regions of Ghana, including, the Northern, Upper East, Eastern, and Volta. Mixed method approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative analytical tools are employed in the study. The empirical approach involves estimating a production function in order to derive the shadow wages of family labor directly from the marginal agricultural productivity. Notably, the production functions of small-scale private motor pump irrigators using groundwater and surface water and small-scale private manual pump irrigators are estimated and compared with that of rainfed farmers and gravity flow irrigators after which, the implicit wages of family labor is computed for each irrigation farmer. The paper finds that among the entire small-scale private pumps irrigators, groundwater motor pump irrigators have significantly higher value-added output and tend to do better in terms of financial returns to small-scale private pumps irrigation. The empirical results indicate that small-scale private motor pump irrigators who use groundwater or surface water are able to generate the highest implicit wage rate of family labor, and concludes that small-scale private pump irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa would be successful if it is combined with the efficient use of inputs of production, including seeds, fertilizer, and chemical inputs. The paper contributes to expanding the existing debate on irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa by highlighting on the potential of small-scale private pump irrigation in Ghana. Governments in sub-Saharan Africa should consider irrigation as part of a wider agricultural policy strategy by promoting farmer education and developing market infrastructure to enhance the returns to small-scale private irrigation and attract private sector investors into the irrigation sub-sector.
On International Consumption Risk Sharing, Financial Integration and Financial Development

ABSTRACT This article investigates the empirical link between international consumption risk sharing, financial integration, and financial development for a group of twenty-nine developed and developing countries in the G7, the Euro area, and the OECD. Estimation results indicate that (1) risk sharing in the Euro area is higher than those in the G-7 and the OECD, and (2) a higher degree of risk sharing is associated with a greater degree of financial integration and a lower level of financial development. These results suggest that more financially integrated countries might be better able to insure themselves against idiosyncratic income shocks and countries with more developed financial markets might tend to engage in less consumption risk sharing with other countries thanks to their own sophisticated financial markets. Holding financial integration and financial development equal, countries in the Euro area engage in significantly more risk sharing than the ones in the G7 and the OECD.
Dynamics of the last glacial maximum Antarctic ice-sheet and its response to ocean forcing

Retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Antarctic ice sheet is thought to have been initiated by changes in ocean heat and eustatic sea level propagated from the Northern Hemisphere (NH) as northern ice sheets melted under rising atmospheric temperatures. The extent to which spatial variability in ice dynamics may have modulated the resultant pattern and timing of decay of the Antarctic ice sheet has so far received little attention, however, despite the growing recognition that dynamic effects account for a sizeable proportion of mass-balance changes observed in modern ice sheets. Here we use a 5-km resolution whole-continent numerical ice-sheet model to assess whether differences in the mechanisms governing ice sheet flow could account for discrepancies between geochronological studies in different parts of the continent. We first simulate the geometry and flow characteristics of an equilibrium LGM ice sheet, using pan-Antarctic terrestrial and marine geological data for constraint, then perturb the system with sea level and ocean heat flux increases to investigate ice-sheet vulnerability. Our results identify that fast-flowing glaciers in the eastern Weddell Sea, the Amundsen Sea, central Ross Sea, and in the Amery Trough respond most rapidly to ocean forcings, in agreement with empirical data. Most significantly, we find that although ocean warming and sea-level rise bring about mainly localized glacier acceleration, concomitant drawdown of ice from neighboring areas leads to widespread thinning of entire glacier catchments—a discovery that has important ramifications for the dynamic changes presently being observed in modern ice sheets.
The semantic web, web accessibility, and device independence

Over the past several years there has been a significant increase in awareness of the need for Web accessibility and development of policies relating to Web accessibility in Europe. Techniques for implementations have been standardized and benchmark guidelines accepted (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines -- i.e. WCAG). However, as Web protocols and technologies develop, new opportunities become available, and it may be realistic to open Web content to more and more people, and to develop more powerful accessibility solutions.
What use are fibromyalgia control points?

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between control points and symptom and distress severity in fibromyalgia (FM). METHODS Eighty-four new patients with FM seen at an outpatient rheumatology center from December 1994 through August 1996 underwent tender point and dolorimetry examinations at 18 active and 4 control sites. All completed the assessment scales for fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, global severity, pain, and functional disability, and a composite measure of distress constructed from scores of sleep disturbance, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and global severity -- the Rheumatology Distress Index (RDI). RESULTS Control point positivity was common in FM (63.1%) and was associated with somewhat more severe FM symptoms and general distress, yielding an increase in the RDI of 9.2 units or 0.55 standard deviation units. There was no evidence of particularly worse disease in patients with high counts of control tender points, and increasing numbers of tender points beyond the first positive control point were generally not associated with, or were only weakly associated with, increasing symptom severity. Many patients with positive control points had only mild levels of symptom severity. Finally, we found no clusters of patients with very severe symptoms associated with control points, or with dolorimetry scores, or with ratios of dolorimetry scores from different body regions of varying pain thresholds. CONCLUSION Positive control points are a common feature (63%) in FM, and appear to be a marker for a generally low pain threshold rather than a disproportionate increase in severe symptoms or distress. Control point positivity should not be used to disqualify a diagnosis of FM. Control point measurements do not add much to FM diagnosis or assessment and, perhaps, should be abandoned. At the least, they should be designated "high threshold" points rather than control points. Dolorimetry is considerably less useful in FM assessment than the manual tender point examination.
Epidemiology of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-related death: revisited in a large non-referral-based patient population.

BACKGROUND Death resulting from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), particularly when sudden, has been reported to be largely confined to young persons. These data emanated from tertiary HCM centers with highly selected referral patterns skewed toward high-risk patients. METHODS AND RESULTS The present analysis was undertaken in an international population of 744 consecutively enrolled and largely unselected patients more representative of the overall HCM spectrum. HCM-related death occurred in 86 patients (12%) over 8+/-7 years (mean+/-SD). Three distinctive modes of death were as follows: (1) sudden and unexpected (51%; age, 45+/-20 years); (2) progressive heart failure (36%; age, 56+/-19 years); and (3) HCM-related stroke associated with atrial fibrillation (13%; age, 73+/-14 years). Sudden death was most common in young patients, whereas heart failure- and stroke-related deaths occurred more frequently in midlife and beyond. However, neither sudden nor heart failure-related death showed a statistically significant, disproportionate age distribution (P=0.06 and 0.5, respectively). Stroke-related deaths did occur disproportionately in older patients (P=0.002). Of the 45 patients who died suddenly, most (71%) had no or mild symptoms, and 7 (16%) participated in moderate to severe physical activities at the time of death. CONCLUSIONS HCM-related cardiovascular death occurred suddenly, or as a result of heart failure or stroke, largely during different phases of life in a prospectively assembled, regionally based, and predominantly unselected patient cohort. Although most sudden deaths occurred in adolescents and young adults, such catastrophes were not confined to patients of these ages and extended to later phases of life. This revised clinical profile suggests that generally held epidemiological tenants for HCM have been influenced considerably by skewed reporting from highly selected populations. These data are likely to importantly affect risk stratification and treatment strategies importantly for the prevention of sudden death in HCM.
Learning styles and academic performance in Distance Education: a research in specialization courses

Objective – The objective of the study is to identify whether learning styles impact academic performance and online and face-to-face assessment activities in Distance Education. Design/methodology/approach – Learning styles were mapped using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) of Felder and Soloman (1991). For data analysis, generalized linear models methodology was adopted; the Wald test was used to evaluate the effect of the factors. Theoretical foundation - This research is based on cognitive theory. The model of Felder and Silverman (1988) underlies the ILS of Felder and Soloman (1991), which classifies learning styles into four dimensions: Active / Reflective; Sensory / Intuitive; Visual / Verbal; Sequential / Global. Findings – (i) The predominant profile of the sample consists of the following styles: active, sensory, verbal and sequential; (ii) learning styles impacted academic performance only in the Active / Reflective dimension; (iii) significant differences were found between the mean of online and face-to-face assessment activities only in the Sensory / Intuitive dimension; (iv) the means of online assessment activities are larger in every styles dimensions. Practical implications – Contributions for: (i) professors, as to how to choose and shape teaching strategies, i.e, to adopt teaching techniques that are appropriate to students’ characteristics; (ii) for students, knowing their learning style is important to understand and develop new learning strategies; (iii) educational managers, who can use knowledge about learning styles to structure the LMS with better use of resources and promoting student learning.
THE BRAIN BARRIER SYSTEM–III

THE more closely the brain barrier system is examined, the more its complexity is recognized. I t now appears to be an intricate homeostatic mechanism with metabolitespecific controls that can be influenced, rather than just a passive membrane (see LAJTHA, 1961). Although the uptake of acidic, neutral, and basic amino acids by the brain is impeded when plasma levels are elevated, a rapid exchange of these amino acids occurs between plasma and brain. Such results were obtained with glutamic acid (SCHWERIN, BESSMAN and WAELSCH, 1950; LAJTHA, BERL and WAELSCH, 1959), lysine (LAJTHA, FURST, GERSTEIN and WAELSCH, 1957; LAJTHA, 1958) and leucine (LAJTHA, 1959; LAJTHA and TOTH, 1961). The above findings together with the evidence of competitive inhibition of cerebral tyrosine uptake by other amino acids (CHIRIC~OS, GREENGARD and UDENFRIEND, 1960) and the finding of an increased exchange rate of an amino acid between plasma and brain when the brain level of the amino acid was elevated (LAJTHA and MELA, 1961) pointed to the participation of carrier-mediated rather than passive diffusion processes in the passage of amino acids into and from the brain. This possibility was further underlined by the finding (LAJTHA and TOTH, 1961) of a transport of amino acids from the brain against an elevated plasma level. Further information about the mechanism of passage of cerebral amino acids was hoped to be gained by a study of the egress of amino acids from the brain. In the processes of exit as well as those of uptake, carrier mediated and active transport processes may have a controlling role. This paper presents the results of measurements of the levels of amino acids in the brain at various times after their intracerebral administration.
The age of cows as a factor shaping the antioxidant level during a nutritional experiment with fish oil and linseed supplementation for increasing the antioxidant value of milk.

BACKGROUND So far, in research studies, the age of cows has not been considered as a factor that may influence the changes in the content of milk ingredients with antioxidant properties modified by the feed supplementation. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of supplementation on the content of ingredients having antioxidant properties and to determine the influence of the age of cows taking part in the experiment on these changes. The experiment was conducted using 20 Polish Holstein Friesian cows, 10 primiparous and 10 multiparous. The combined supplementation of fish oil and linseed constituted the experimental factor. RESULTS The milk of primiparous cows after 21 days of supplementation was characterised by a higher content of C18:1 trans-11, C18:2 cis-9, trans-11, α-retinol, α-tocopherol and β-lactoglobulin compared to the milk of multiparous cows, in which a higher level of lactoferrin, C20:5 and β-carotene was recorded. In both groups an increase in the total antioxidant status was noted (a higher level in the milk of primiparous cows). CONCLUSIONS Modification of the diet of cows with fish oil and linseed significantly influenced antioxidant properties of their milk; however, the response of multiparous and primaparous cows was noticeably different to the supplement introduced.
Dynamic Interaction of the Escherichia coli Cell Division ZipA and FtsZ Proteins Evidenced in Nanodiscs*

Background: ZipA provides membrane tethering to septation FtsZ protein. Results: ZipA in nanodiscs moderately binds FtsZ oligomers and polymers equally. FtsZ-binding sequence peptides inhibit binding. The transmembrane ZipA segment has no role in ZipA·FtsZ complex formation. Conclusion: Tethering of FtsZ to the membrane through ZipA shows plasticity. Significance: Acellular system partly reproduces assembly of cell division components. The full-length ZipA protein from Escherichia coli, one of the essential components of the division proto-ring that provides membrane tethering to the septation FtsZ protein, has been incorporated in single copy into nanodiscs formed by a membrane scaffold protein encircling an E. coli phospholipid mixture. This is an acellular system that reproduces the assembly of part of the cell division components. ZipA contained in nanodiscs (Nd-ZipA) retains the ability to interact with FtsZ oligomers and with FtsZ polymers. Interactions with FtsZ occur at similar strengths as those involved in the binding of the soluble form of ZipA, lacking the transmembrane region, suggesting that the transmembrane region of ZipA has little influence on the formation of the ZipA·FtsZ complex. Peptides containing partial sequences of the C terminus of FtsZ compete with FtsZ polymers for binding to Nd-ZipA. The affinity of Nd-ZipA for the FtsZ polymer formed with GTP or GMPCPP (a slowly hydrolyzable analog of GTP) is moderate (micromolar range) and of similar magnitude as for FtsZ-GDP oligomers. Polymerization does not stabilize the binding of FtsZ to ZipA. This supports the role of ZipA as a passive anchoring device for the proto-ring with little implication, if any, in the regulation of its assembly. Furthermore, it indicates that the tethering of FtsZ to the membrane shows sufficient plasticity to allow for its release from noncentral regions of the cytoplasmic membrane and its subsequent relocation to midcell when demanded by the assembly of a division ring.