Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The value of an audit committee at a high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed company

A company’s board of directors is ultimately responsible for putting effective corporate governance (CG) structures in place as mechanisms to enhance its accountability to stakeholders. An audit committee (AC), which is a subcommittee of the board, is one component of the company’s CG structures. In South Africa, legislation, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements, and the King code and report of Governance for South Africa 2009 (King III) deal with the composition and responsibilities of ACs. As the shares of AltX listed companies, which are categorised as high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed companies, are traded publicly, they are required to comply with the Companies Act and to establish an AC according to the Act’s composition requirements to fulfil mandatory responsibilities. In terms of the JSE listing requirements, AltX listed companies must appoint an AC or explain their reason(s) for not doing so. As the total market capitalisation of AltX listed companies has increased by 87% over the past three years, greater numbers of stakeholder groups are being affected. Since stakeholder groups are protected when companies implement effective CG processes, the purpose of this study is to understand the way in which the AC of an AltX listed company, as an example of a high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed company, adds value to the company and its stakeholders. Attributes that contribute to the value added by ACs were identified as being the characteristics of AC members; the fulfilment of responsibilities through optimised activities; and the fulfilment of responsibilities by maintaining healthy relationships with the board and information providers. An explorative qualitative case-based research design was applied in terms of which a single AltX listed company was selected according to predetermined selection criteria. Data were collected using individual semistructured interviews, field notes and company documents. Descriptive open coding techniques were used for data analysis with the findings of the study subsequently being presented in terms of a theoretical framework of the attributes that influence the extent to which the AC adds value. The findings of the study confirm that these attributes of the AC facilitate its ability to add value to the AltX listed company investigated and its stakeholders in terms of enlightened shareholder theory.
Influence of selant fibrin on the wound healing of the pigs vocal folds

Fibrin sealants or fibrin glue are products made from human plasma proteins, which mimic the final pathway of the coagulation cascade. Its application to stimulate the healing process has been a topic of debate in the literature. The use of fibrin sealants in phonosurgery has been empirical; there have been no studies that investigate the action of fibrin sealant in Reinke's space. Aim To evaluate the effect of fibrin glue in healing of the vocal folds of pigs after surgical manipulation. Materials and Methods This was a prospective and experimental study. Six animals had both vocal folds incised. Sealant was applied in one of them; the other served as a control. After three months, the animals were sacrificed and a collagen count was carried out. Results The side on which glue was applied had an average of 27.8% against 20.4% of the side without glue. Conclusion The collagen concentration in the samples where the fibrin sealant was applied was significantly higher compared to samples without glue. Thus, the presence of a fibrin sealant stimulates fibrogenesis in this tissue.
Repetitive Advertising and the Consumer

ABSTRACT This paper is one of 18 selected by the Editorial Review Board of The Journal of Advertising Research to be a ‘classic’ - an article that has withstood the test of time. First published in 1974, Ehrenberg examines the role of advertising by looking at advertising and consumption in general, then discussing competition among brands and the factors affecting brand choice, particularly for established brands of frequently bought goods. He concludes the advertising's main role is to reinforce feelings of satisfaction with brands already bought.
A Multi-objective Ant Colony Optimisation-based Routing Approach for Wireless Sensor Networks Incorporating Trust

In the near future, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are expected to play an important role for sensing applications, in the civilian as well as in the military sector. WSNs are autonomous, distributed, self-organised networks consisting of multiple sensor nodes. Usually, the limited radio range of the nodes, arising from energy constrains, is overcome by the cooperation of nodes. As the Combinatorial Optimisation Problem (COP) of routing is computationally hard, often approximation algorithms are preferred, which are capable of finding near optimal solutions within polynomial time. A simple but robust way of solving the routing COP is the application of Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO)-based routing algorithms. When multiple (conflicting) objectives should be considered, ACO algorithms can be extended to Multi-objective Ant Colony Optimisation (MOACO) algorithms that are capable of considering multiple objectives at the same time within the optimisation process. Normally, the routing in WSNs is susceptible to adversaries due to their deployment in unattended or in hostile environments. Particularly, attacks from compromised nodes (insider attacks) are a severe problem in WSNs. As insider attacks cannot be alleviated by classical security measures, often soft security measures (trust and reputation) are applied to mitigate the impact of these attacks. In this thesis, the idea of using trust as security measure against insider attacks is seized and interweaved with an MOACO-based routing approach. The Multi-objective Ant Colony Optimisation Routing Framework for WSNs (MARFWSN) is developed, a routing framework for WSNs that provides an interface for the docking of MOACO-based algorithms that can be used for the routing. Different MOACO-based algorithms
ADAM 12, a Disintegrin Metalloprotease, Interacts with Insulin-like Growth Factor-binding Protein-3*

Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 binds the insulin-like growth factors with high affinity and modulates their actions. Proteolytic cleavage of IGFBP-3 may regulate insulin-like growth factor bioavailability. IGFBP-3 is extensively degraded in serum during pregnancy; however, as yet the pregnancy-specific protease, or proteases, have not been identified. We utilized a yeast two-hybrid assay and a human placental cDNA library to investigate IGFBP-3-interacting proteins. A disintegrin and metalloprotease-12 (ADAM 12), a member of a family of metalloprotease disintegrins that is highly expressed in placental tissue, was identified as interacting with IGFBP-3. This interaction involved the cysteine-rich domain of ADAM 12. Unlike other members of this family of disintegrin metalloproteases that are membrane proteins, ADAM 12 exists as an alternatively spliced soluble secreted protein. To verify the interaction between ADAM 12 and IGFBP-3, an expression construct containing an ADAM 12-S cDNA was transfected into COS-1 cells. Co-precipitation was observed when conditioned medium was analyzed by immunoprecipitation with an antibody against either ADAM 12 or IGFBP-3 followed by Western blotting with anti-IGFBP-3 or anti-ADAM 12. Although minimal proteolysis of IGFBP-3 was observed in conditioned medium from control cells, this was increased ∼4-fold in conditioned medium from ADAM 12-S-transfected cells. Recombinant ADAM 12-S partially purified from conditioned medium on a heparin-Sepharose column also proteolyzed IGFBP-3. The degradation pattern was similar to that seen with pregnancy serum, and the presence of ADAM 12-S in serum during pregnancy was confirmed. The data suggest that ADAM 12-S has IGFBP-3 protease activity, and it may contribute to the IGFBP-3 protease activity present in pregnancy serum.
New National Air-Kerma Standard for Low-Energy Electronic Brachytherapy Sources

The new primary standard for low-energy electronic brachytherapy sources for the United States is described. These miniature x-ray tubes are inserted in catheters for interstitial radiation therapy and operate at tube potentials of up to about 50 kV. The standard is based on the realization of the air kerma produced by the x-ray beam at a reference distance in air of 50 cm.
Isolation and Characterization of Phenol-Degrading Denitrifying Bacteria

ABSTRACT Phenol is a man-made as well as a naturally occurring aromatic compound and an important intermediate in the biodegradation of natural and industrial aromatic compounds. Whereas many microorganisms that are capable of aerobic phenol degradation have been isolated, only a few phenol-degrading anaerobic organisms have been described to date. In this study, three novel nitrate-reducing microorganisms that are capable of using phenol as a sole source of carbon were isolated and characterized. Phenol-degrading denitrifying pure cultures were obtained by enrichment culture from anaerobic sediments obtained from three different geographic locations, the East River in New York, N.Y. , a Florida orange grove, and a rain forest in Costa Rica. The three strains were shown to be different from each other based on physiologic and metabolic properties. Even though analysis of membrane fatty acids did not result in identification of the organisms, the fatty acid profiles were found to be similar to those of Azoarcusspecies. Sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA also indicated that the phenol-degrading isolates were closely related to members of the genusAzoarcus. The results of this study add three new members to the genus Azoarcus, which previously comprised only nitrogen-fixing species associated with plant roots and denitrifying toluene degraders.
Title Uptake of Aortic 18 F-FDG Is Correlated with Low-Density LipoproteinCholesterol and Leptin in a General Population

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between aortic F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-FDG) uptake and clinical and laboratory findings related to atherosclerosis in a general population. Methods: F-FDG uptake in the ascending aorta was measured on the positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans of 211 Japanese adults. The maximum target-to-background ratio (TBR) was compared with clinical and laboratory atherosclerosis findings. Results: By multivariate regression analysis adjusted for age and sex, TBR-ascending aorta (TBR-A) was significantly correlated with various clinical and laboratory parameters, such as body mass index, log visceral fat area, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), log fasting immunoreactive insulin, log homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, log total adiponectin and log-leptin, in all subjects. Furthermore, by multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors, TBR-A was significantly correlated with LDL-C (b = 0.001, p = 0.03) and log-leptin (b = 0.336, p,0.01) in all subjects. Conclusion: TBR-A was significantly correlated with LDL-C and log-leptin independent from confounding factors. Our results suggest that aortic F-FDG uptake is a good marker of atherosclerosis, even in a general population. Citation: Haraguchi A, Hayashida N, Kamasaki T, Miyamoto I, Usui T, et al. (2014) Uptake of Aortic F-FDG Is Correlated with Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Leptin in a General Population. PLoS ONE 9(11): e111990. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0111990 Editor: Ingo Ahrens, University Hospital Medical Centre, Germany Received July 31, 2014; Accepted October 8, 2014; Published November 6, 2014 Copyright: 2014 Haraguchi et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. All relevant data are within the paper. Funding: These authors have no support or funding to report. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * Email: takamura@nagasaki-u.ac. jp
Why should I believe this? Deciphering the qualities of a credible online customer review

Abstract Online customer reviews have been shown to have a powerful impact on the sales of a given product or service. However, the qualities of a ‘credible’ online customer review are still subject to debate. Existing research has highlighted the potential influence of a range of factors on the credibility of an online customer review, but relies heavily on quantitative methods and a ‘top down’ approach. In turn, this can reduce our understanding of the influence of these factors into merely discerning whether one pre-determined factor is more influential than another is. This paper adopted a ‘bottom up’ thematic analysis of individual qualitative interviews with a purposeful sample of consumers who regularly utilised online customer reviews. The findings uncovered a range of factors that influenced the credibility of an online customer review that were attached to a reader’s personal experience and to the content of a specific review, and inferred the existence of a reciprocal relationship between the constructs of review helpfulness and review credibility.
Dermatologic Manifestations and Update of Cat Scratch Disease

Abstract: Cat scratch disease is a relatively common cause of chronic (three weeks or longer) lymphadenopathy, with 80% of cases occurring in children and adolesents. This self‐limited infection caused by a small, gram‐negative, pleomorphic bacillus has been identified in ocular granuloma, skin inoculation lesions, and lymph node specimens. Dermatologic manifestations observed prospectively in 908 patients included primary cat scratch inoculation papules, pustules or rarely, vesicles. Occasionally, enanthematous mucous membrane (oral, ocular) primary inoculation lesions were observed. About 5% of patients have generalized macular, maculopapular, morbilliform, and rarely petechial, usually nonpruritic exanthem. Rarely, erythema nodosum or multiforme and ecchymoses with petechial rashes are seen. Thrombocytopenic purpura is extremely uncommon. Unusual manifestations such as the oculoglandular syndrome of Parinaud, encephalopathy, or severe systemic disease occur in about 10% of patients. Management consists of symptomatic treatment and occasional aspiration of a suppurative node. The disease usually resolves spontaneously in two to four months.
Aging and falls: causes and prevention.

Studies on age-related changes in neurophysiological and sensory systems date back to the early 19 th century. In general, the many studies undertaken since then have found that for each system studied, age-related functional declines commence in the third decade, and accelerate in older age. However, the extent of such changes is markedly affected by the varying test procedures and definitions of the normal aged individual used in each study. If the selection criteria include only older subjects who are not disadvantaged by poor health or inactivity, are at ease in a laboratory setting and have a high level of motivation for the task, only small age-related increases are observed. Small age-differences are also observed if the tasks required are relatively simple. If the selection criteria are relaxed, or if the tasks are more difficult, greater changes in performance with age have been observed. This paper reviews the published studies on age-related changes in vision, vestibular function, peripheral sensation, strength, reaction time and balance. It also presents findings of work we have undertaken on the inter-relationships among these physiological systems, their contributions to stability and gait, and the role that impairments in these systems play in predisposing older people to fall. A range of screening and assessment tools will be described including the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) 1 . The PPA makes use of normative data derived from large population studies for assessing vision, peripheral sensation, lower limb strength, reaction time and balance. This information is then used to derive a falls risk index score and a physiological profile for identifying specific physiological deficits that require targeted interventions for reducing fall risk. Examples of how the falls risk index score and components have been used in falls prevention randomized control trials and health care settings will be described. Our findings indicate that it is feasible to obtain quantitative measurements of important neurophysiological and sensory systems, and to use these assessments to identify older people at risk of poor outcomes such as falls and institutional placement, and to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs aimed at maximizing physical functioning and independence in old age.
Competitive intelligence and firm's performance in emerging markets: an exploratory study in India

– This paper aims to explore the impact of competitive intelligence (CI) practices on the firm's performance in the emerging market context of India. The paper seeks to answer the following questions: do CI activities have an impact on the market performance of Indian firms? If so, what are the macro and micro environmental drivers of CI for Indian firms? How are CI activities organized within Indian firms? How is the usage and dissemination of CI taking place within Indian firms? , – The study used a stratified sample developed from a variety of mailing lists focusing on Indian firms. The study employed a cross‐sectional, survey‐based methodology. , – The study identifies two key aspects: Indian firms that exhibit higher levels of CI activities indeed achieve better financial performance results; and the current level of CI activities in Indian firms is at a moderate level, thereby suggesting an opportunity for using and implementing more sophisticated CI techniques. , – The findings of this study should assist local and foreign managers in having a more informed understanding of CI activities in the Indian marketplace. Additionally, these findings provide directives to managers regarding the untapped opportunities and potential that CI can offer in a highly volatile and rapidly changing market scenario. , – This is the first study that empirically investigates the relationship between the level of CI activities and firm performance in an emerging market context. It is also the first study of its kind that explores the current state of CI practices in the Indian market.
Efficacies of Cefepime, Ceftazidime, and Imipenem Alone or in Combination with Amikacin in Rats with Experimental Pneumonia Due to Ceftazidime-Susceptible or -Resistant Enterobacter cloacae Strains

ABSTRACT The antibacterial activities of human regimens of cefepime, ceftazidime, and imipenem alone or in combination with amikacin against an isogenic pair of Enterobacter cloacae strains (wild type and its corresponding derepressed cephalosporinase mutant) were compared by using our nonlethal model of pneumonia with 180 immunocompetent rats. Compared with untreated animals, all β-lactam-treated rats, except those inoculated with the mutant isolate and receiving ceftazidime, had significantly lower bacterial counts in their lungs 60 h after the onset of therapy. Although the combination of a β-lactam and amikacin was more bactericidal than each corresponding antimicrobial agent alone, true synergy was noted only with cefepime and imipenem against the constitutive derepressed strain.
The delta psi‐ and Hsp70/MIM44‐dependent reaction cycle driving early steps of protein import into mitochondria.

New steps in the reaction cycle that drives protein translocation into the mitochondrial matrix have been defined. The membrane potential (delta psi)‐ and the mtHsp70/MIM44‐dependent import machinery cooperate in the transfer of the presequence across the inner membrane. Translocation intermediates, arrested at a stage where only the presequence could form a complex with mtHsp70, still required delta psi for further import. Delta psi at this stage prevented retrograde movement, since mtHsp70 did not bind to the presequence with sufficient affinity. In contrast, mature regions of incoming chains adjacent to the presequence were bound by mtHsp70 tightly enough to stabilize them in the matrix. Cycling of the mtHsp70 on and off incoming chains is a continuous process in the presence of matrix ATP. Both MIM44‐bound and free forms of mtHsp70 were found in association with the incoming chains. These data are consistent with a reaction pathway in which the mtHsp70/MIM44 complex acts as a molecular ratchet on the cis side of the inner membrane to drive protein translocation into the matrix.
Short Selling and Price Discovery in Corporate Bonds

We show short selling in corporate bonds forecasts future bond returns. Short selling predicts bond returns where private information is more likely, in high-yield bonds, particularly after Lehman Brothers’ collapse of 2008. Short selling predicts returns following both high and low past bond returns. This, together with short selling increasing following past buying order imbalances, suggests short sellers trade against price pressures as well as trade on information. Short selling predicts bond returns both in the individual bonds that are shorted and in other bonds by the same issuer. Past stock returns and short selling in stocks predict bond returns but do not eliminate bond short selling predicting bond returns. Bond short selling does not predict the issuer’s stock returns. These results show bond short sellers contribute to efficient bond prices and that short sellers’ information flows from stocks to bonds but not from bonds to stocks.
Metronomic S-1 chemotherapy plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE): a promising treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma refractory to TACE.

PURPOSE To assess the efficacy and safety of metronomic S-1 chemotherapy combination with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Stage B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) refractory to TACE. METHODS Twenty six patients met the eligibility criteria and were enrolled. TACE was performed on day 1, and metronomic S-1 chemotherapy on days 2-15. Tumor assessment was performed one month later. The primary endpoints were time to progression (TTP) and adverse events (AE). RESULTS Twenty six patients in total received 176 TACE interventions. There were 101 TACE interventions in 15 patients of metronomic S-1 chemotherapy plus TACE (TS) and 75 in 11 patients of TACE monotherapy (TM). Fifteen TS patients received a total of 55 cycles of treatment with S-1, with a median of 4 cycles (range 2-6). The total dose of S-1 was 6165 mg per day in 15 patients (average 120 mg, range 100-125). Median TTP and overall survival (OS) of TS group were 6 months (95% CI, 4.7-7.3) and 17 months (95% CI, 15.6-18.4), respectively, while for the TM group were 4 months (95% CI, 2.4-5.6) and 15 months (95% CI, 9.2-20.8), respectively. Though there were higher tumor response rate (RR) and disease control rates (DCRs) in patients with TS, no significant differences were detected. Both treatment approaches were tolerable with low grade AE. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, metronomic S-1 chemotherapy plus TACE in the present study was tolerable and associated with a better but not statistically significant TTP, RR and OS. It showed that metronomic S-1 chemotherapy plus TACE may be a promising treatment of BCLC Stage B HCC refractory to TACE.