Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accounting Exposure Risk Management in the Jordanian Firms An Empirical Study

This study investigated Accounting Exposure Risk Management (AERM) in the Jordanian firms, with special emphasis on exposure through transactions that make them heavily exposed to exchange rate changes through the accounts receivable and accounts payable denominated in foreign currency resulting from exporting and importing. Based on AE theories, which state that firms with higher linkage with a foreign environment would face higher degree of AE and consequently would hedge more, this study examined this normative theory within the context of Jordanian firms taking into consideration the size and industry effects on the levels of AERM that Jordanian firms use. Based on a questionnaire survey that was handed to one hundred and fifty four (154) commercial and manufacturing Jordanian firms, the results of the empirical study suggested that Jordanian firms were not heavy users of the AERM instruments, especially the advanced innovations like currency derivatives. The percentages of foreign to total sales and foreign to total debt were significantly correlated with levels of managing accounting exposure. These results were explained as Jordanian firms which have revenues denominated in foreign currency would be able to obtain loans denominated in the same foreign currency which creates natural offsetting between the in and out foreign cash flows. In addition, while the size seems to have a high effect on the level of managing AE that Jordanian firms use, the sector of the firm revealed insignificant effect on the behaviour of Jordanian firms toward the AE that they face. In sum, it is possible to conclude that AE theories seem to be somehow applicable in the Jordanian firms. However, they do not provide full explanation about the AERM behaviour, which suggests that there are other factors which play roles in determining the AERM behaviour in the Jordanian firms.
Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene Exon III VNTR Variant Influences Smoking Status in Turkish Population.

Introduction Dopaminergic gene variants may affect nicotine dependence through their possible impact on the dopamine reward pathway. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) variant in exon III of the Dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene and genetic predisposition of smoking status in a Turkish population. Methods We performed a study comparing 154 subjects as the smoker group, and 111 subjects as the non-smoker group. Genotyping for the DRD4 VNTR variant was performed using a PCR method. Results There was a significant difference between smoker and non-smoker groups regarding the distribution of the alleles and genotypes of the DRD4 gene (p=0.000, p=0.000, respectively). The 2R allele was higher in the non-smoker group compare to the smoker group (p=0.000). We found that the 2/7 and 4/9 genotypes were more common in smokers than non-smoker group (p=0.037, p=0.028, respectively) while 2/4 genotype was more prevalent in non-smokers than smokers (p=0.000). When the number of repeat alleles (48 bp) are accepted as short (S) if six or less, and as long (L) if seven or more, it was found that the frequency of S/S genotype of the DRD4 VNTR variant was lower in the smoker group and S/L genotype was higher in the smoker group (p=0.006, p=0.006, respectively). The subjects carrying the S/L genotype have a 2.25-fold increased risk for smoking than a non-smoker. Conclusion The results indicated that the subjects carrying DRD4 exon III VNTR S/L genotype have a risk for smoking status in a Turkish population.
Widespread Molecular Alterations Present in Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Fail to Predict Tumor Recurrence

Stage I non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC) of the lung is typically treated with surgery alone, but with a 30 to 40% recurrence rate. Prognostic factors to stratify these patients into high- and low-risk groups would be of significant clinical value, but published data are conflicting. We studied 39 Stage I NSCLC treated with resection alone, followed for a minimum of 5 years, and divided into recurrent (RC) and non-recurrent (NRC) groups (n = 12 and 27, respectively). Allelic imbalance (loss of heterozygosity, LOH) involving genomic regions containing l-myc (1p32), hOGG1 (3p26), APC/MCC (5q21), c-fms (5q33.3), p53 (17p13), and DCC (18q21), and point mutational change in K-ras-2 (12p12) were studied by PCR-based microsatellite analysis and DNA sequencing. Mutations in k-ras-2 were seen in 25% and 19% of RC and NRC tumors, respectively, most frequently in adenocarcinomas. LOH in the RC and NRC respectively were 50% and 37% for l-myc, 60% and 33% for hOGG1, 60% and 50% for APC, 38% and 35% for c-fms, 78% and 75% for p53, and 17% and 45% for DCC. No statistical significance was seen comparing any of the allelic alterations with recurrence. LOH for hOGG1 and l-myc were more commonly seen in squamous cell carcinomas. Stage I NSCLC are genetically heterogeneous with respect to mutation acquisition. The approach of investigating a panel of genes for alterations can be applied to any given tumor type, and provides information on patterns of mutations/LOH that can help us better understand the molecular biology of tumorigenesis.
Peptidoglycan of Staphylococcus aureus Upregulates Monocyte Expression of CD14, Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2), and TLR4 in Human Blood: Possible Implications for Priming of Lipopolysaccharide Signaling

ABSTRACT Previous studies have indicated that peptidoglycan (PepG) from gram-positive bacteria can exert a priming effect on the innate immune response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from gram-negative bacteria. Here, we hypothesized that this priming effect may be preceded by enhanced expression of monocyte CD14, Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and TLR4. In an ex vivo whole human blood model, we observed a substantial synergy between LPS and PepG in the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) over the 24-h experimental period, whereas the effect on IL-8 and IL-10 release was more time dependent. The priming effect of PepG on cytokine release was preceded by a rapid upregulation of CD14, TLR2, and TLR4 expression on monocytes: at 3 hours there was a twofold increase in CD14 expression (P < 0.03), a fivefold increase in TLR2 expression (P < 0.03), and a twofold increase in TLR4 expression (P < 0.03). CD14 and TLR2 remained upregulated throughout the experimental period following exposure to PepG (P < 0.05). Only a transient upregulation of these monocyte receptors was observed following treatment with LPS or LPS plus PepG. In conclusion, the synergistic effect of LPS and PepG on cytokine release is preceded by a reciprocal upregulation of TLR2 and TLR4 by both bacterial cell wall components.
Dynamic Power Management in Cognitive Radio Networks Based on Constrained Stochastic Games

Recent studies have been conducted to indicate the ineffective usage of licensed bands due to the static spectrum allocation. In order to improve the spectrum utilization, the cognitive radio is therefore suggested to dynamically exploit the opportunistic primary frequency spectrums. The interference from the secondary users to the primary user consequently draws the attention to the spectrum and power management for the cognitive radio networks. In this paper, the constrained stochastic games are utilized to exploit the optimal policies for power management by considering the variations from both the channel gain and the primary traffic. Both the underlay and overlay waveforms are considered within the network scenarios for the proposed power management scheme. Constraints for allowable interferences will be applied in order to preserve the communication quality among the primary and the secondary users. According to the formulation of the constrained stochastic games, the existence of the constrained Nash equilibrium will be validated with rigorous proofs, which will be acquired as the optimal policies for the power management problem. Simulation results further validate the correctness of the theoretically-derived policies for dynamic power management.
Potentiometric Determination of Chlorate Impurities in Hypochlorite Solutions

The method of iodometric determination of chlorates impurities in sodium hypochlorite solutions for medical and veterinary purposes was developed. This method does not require sophisticated equipment and can be implemented directly where the solutions are used. The method is based on the different rates of interaction of ClO− and ClO3− with iodide ions depending on the acidity of the medium. We have shown that blank titration is advisable to improve the accuracy of the determination of low concentrations of chlorates in the matrix of hypochlorite which is present in excess since in this case possible systematic errors due to the presence of oxidizing impurities in the reagents are prevented. To quantify the low concentrations of chlorates, we proposed to remove 85-95% of hypochlorite ions by means of reducing their excess with sodium sulfite at pH 10.5. The solution of sodium sulfite does not require standardization before each analysis in the proposed procedure. The possibility of quantitative determination of chlorate impurities in the range of 2-50 mg/L in the presence of 50-500–fold excess of sodium hypochlorite with an error of 5% has been proved. The expanded uncertainty of chlorate determination did not exceed 0.6 mg/L.
Expression of mucosa-related integrin alphaEbeta7 on alveolar T cells in interstitial lung diseases.

The expression of alphaEbeta7 integrin has been related to the selective retention of lymphocytes in mucosal tissues of gut, urogenital tract and lung. To identify potential disease-associated alphaEbeta7 expression patterns on cells accounting for lymphocytic alveolitis in interstitial lung disease (ILD), alphaE expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets was evaluated by dual-colour flow cytometry in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF; n = 18), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP; n = 20) and sarcoidosis (n = 44) in comparison with healthy controls (n = 15). In both healthy individuals and all patient groups the proportion of alphaE-bearing T cells in peripheral blood was < 2%, whereas the vast majority of alveolar CD8+ T cells consistently co-expressed alphaE. Absolute alveolar CD8+alphaE+ cell numbers/ml were up to 30-fold increased in HP patients. Proportions of alphaE-bearing CD4+ cells in BALF were significantly elevated in IPF (74.0 +/- 2.7%) and HP (70.0 +/- 2.4%) compared with normals (30.0 +/- 1.8%) (mean +/- s.e.m.; P < 0.01). In sarcoidosis, the alphaE expression on BALF CD4+ cells displayed subgroup dependency: proportions significantly lower than normal were noted in chest radiographic stage I (14.3 +/- 1.5%), but increased proportions in stages II (50.0 +/- 3.8%) and III (64.0 +/- 4.8%). Correlations between common markers of T cell activation or BALF transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta ) bioactivity and alphaE expression were not noted. We conclude that the vast majority of alveolar CD8+ T cells consistently express alphaEbeta7 and that distinct patterns of alphaEbeta7 expression on alveolar CD4+ lymphocytes in sarcoidosis are related to the diverse manifestations of the sarcoid inflammatory process in the lung.
Plastome Evolution in the Sole Hemiparasitic Genus Laurel Dodder (Cassytha) and Insights into the Plastid Phylogenomics of Lauraceae

Abstract To date, little is known about the evolution of plastid genomes (plastomes) in Lauraceae. As one of the top five largest families in tropical forests, the Lauraceae contain many species that are important ecologically and economically. Lauraceous species also provide wonderful materials to study the evolutionary trajectory in response to parasitism because they contain both nonparasitic and parasitic species. This study compared the plastomes of nine Lauraceous species, including the sole hemiparasitic and herbaceous genus Cassytha (laurel dodder; here represented by Cassytha filiformis). We found differential contractions of the canonical inverted repeat (IR), resulting in two IR types present in Lauraceae. These two IR types reinforce Cryptocaryeae and Neocinnamomum—Perseeae–Laureae as two separate clades. Our data reveal several traits unique to Cas. filiformis, including loss of IRs, loss or pseudogenization of 11 ndh and rpl23 genes, richness of repeats, and accelerated rates of nucleotide substitutions in protein-coding genes. Although Cas. filiformis is low in chlorophyll content, our analysis based on dN/dS ratios suggests that both its plastid house-keeping and photosynthetic genes are under strong selective constraints. Hence, we propose that short generation time and herbaceous lifestyle rather than reduced photosynthetic ability drive the accelerated rates of nucleotide substitutions in Cas. filiformis.
Social surveys in HIV/AIDS: telling or writing? A comparison of interview and postal methods.

We compare a probability sample postal questionnaire survey and a quota controlled interview survey, and review the literature on these subjects. In contrast to other studies, where quota samples were not representative because of biased selection of respondents by interviewers, our quota sample was representative. Response rates were similar in our postal and interview surveys (74 and 77%, respectively), although many previous similar postal surveys had poor response rates. As in other comparison studies, costs were higher in our interview survey, substantive responses and the quality of responses to closed-ended questions were similar, and responses to open-ended questions were better in the interview survey. 'Socially unacceptable' responses on sexual behaviour were less likely in interviews. Quota controlled surveys are appropriate in surveys on HIV/AIDS under certain circumstances, e.g. where the population parameters are well known, and where interviewers can gain access to the entire population. Postal questionnaires are better for obtaining information on sexual behaviour, if adequate steps are taken to improve response rates, and when in-depth answers are not needed. For most surveys in the HIV/AIDS field we recommend the postal method.
Natural Language From Artificial Life

This article aims to show that linguistics, in particular the study of the lexico-syntactic aspects of language, provides fertile ground for artificial life modeling. A survey of the models that have been developed over the last decade and a half is presented to demonstrate that ALife techniques have a lot to offer an explanatory theory of language. It is argued that this is because much of the structure of language is determined by the interaction of three complex adaptive systems: learning, culture, and biological evolution. Computational simulation, informed by theoretical linguistics, is an appropriate response to the challenge of explaining real linguistic data in terms of the processes that underpin human language.
Learning and knowledge sharing in a networking environment

SUMMARY This thesis addresses knowledge sharing and learning among mobile knowledge workers. The main focus is to study how mobile knowledge workers use knowledge sharing in their work and how these different knowledge-sharing situations could be supported by IT. This is further underlined by two research questions: How do mobile knowledge workers use knowledge sharing in their daily work? How can knowledge sharing among mobile knowledge workers be supported? The study was conducted at a large R&D company in Sweden, using qualitative, ethnographic observations of five mobile knowledge workers. The findings established that a large part of the workers days are concentrated around knowledge sharing in different situations, where the personal and work-related network is an important part. The extensive communication between people, both face-to-face and through different mediums, make it important to locate people and to know if they are available for communication. The extensive mobility among the people studied makes these issues uncertain, since the mobile knowledge workers constantly move between the home office and other parts in the building, or travel to other locations in the world. The findings are divided into four different situations of knowledge sharing: Knowing your nodes, Knowledge sharing about meetings, Locating for unscheduled meetings and Communication of availability. Design implications concerning these different situations are presented, where indications about how knowledge sharing and learning in these situations could be supported with IT. These implications contain both guidelines and more concrete examples of possible IT support for specific situations. Acknowledgements First and foremost we wish to thank our tutor Johan Lundin from the Victoria Institute. It was his personal network that made this study possible in the first place. He has from day one until today enthusiastically been involved throughout the entire project and provided invaluable tips and encouragement. Thanks Johan! We wish to thank Jan Wickenberg and Kerstin Forsberg for answering all of our, sometimes fuzzy, questions about the studied organization. Last but not least, we wish to thank our five study objects. Without them, the thesis might have lost a point or two.
Exploring the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Choice of Retail Store When Purchasing Fresh Meat in Malaysia

6 7 This research explores the preferred place for Malaysian consumers to purchase fresh meat. 8 From four focus group discussions, participants indicated that their decision to purchase fresh 9 meat from either a modern retail outlet or the traditional market was influenced by five key 10 variables: perceptions of freshness, Halal assurance, a good relationship with retailers, a 11 competitive price and a pleasant environment for shoppers. Results were subsequently 12 validated in a quantitative survey of 250 respondents in the Klang Valley. Despite the 13 increasing number of supermarkets and hypermarkets, not only are the traditional markets 14 able to coexist with modern retail formats, but they remain the preferred place for 15 respondents to purchase fresh meat. 16 17
IGF-I administration advances the decrease in hypersensitivity to oestradiol negative feedback inhibition of serum LH in adolescent female rhesus monkeys.

Developmental increases in serum LH were assessed in female rhesus monkeys to test the hypotheses that (1) the final stages of puberty are characterized by a decrease in hypersensitivity to oestradiol negative feedback of LH and (2) that increases in IGF-I secretion accelerate this decrease in hypersensitivity. In order to test the first hypothesis, serum LH in the absence of oestradiol and in response to three doses of oestradiol were compared between ovariectomized adult (n = 6) and adolescent female monkeys (control group; n = 6). The control females were not treated with oestradiol until serum LH had risen to within the 95% confidence interval of serum LH observed in ovariectomized adults. Doses of oestradiol achieved serum levels of approximately 80 ('low'), 160 ('intermediate'), and 250 ('high') pmol/l. For control group females, treatment with the next higher dose of oestradiol was not initiated until serum LH was no longer suppressed by the lower dose. Treatment with oestradiol produced a dose-dependent suppression in serum LH in adults. In contrast, low-dose oestradiol maximally suppressed serum LH throughout the initial treatment period in the control group compared with the adult females. The low oestradiol dose effectively suppressed serum LH throughout the study period in 4/6 of the control group and became ineffective at suppressing LH after 8 months of treatment in 2/6 control group females. Initiation of the intermediate dose of oestradiol to these females again maximally suppressed LH compared with adult females. In order to determine whether IGF-I regulates this change in hypersensitivity to oestradiol negative feedback, a second group of ovariectomized, adolescent monkeys (n = 6) were treated chronically with IGF-I to elevate serum IGF-I levels above those of control group females. Using the same protocol described for the control females, developmental changes in serum LH in the absence of oestradiol and in response to oestradiol negative feedback were evaluated. Treatment with IGF-I had no effect on the initial increases in serum LH occurring in the absence of oestradiol. In contrast, the decrease in hypersensitivity to the negative feedback effects of the low oestradiol dose was significantly accelerated in IGF-I-treated females, as the interval from the initiation of treatment to the point at which serum LH was no longer suppressed was shorter in IGF-I-treated (4.4 +/- 0.7 months; mean +/- S.E.M.) compared with control group females (8.4 +/- 1.9 months). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Abscisic Acid Determines Basal Susceptibility of Tomato toBotrytis cinerea and Suppresses Salicylic Acid-Dependent Signaling Mechanisms1

Abscisic acid (ABA) is one of the plant hormones involved in the interaction between plants and pathogens. In this work, we show that tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Moneymaker) mutants with reduced ABA levels (sitiens plants) are much more resistant to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea than wild-type (WT) plants. Exogenous application of ABA restored susceptibility to B. cinerea insitiens plants and increased susceptibility in WT plants. These results indicate that ABA plays a major role in the susceptibility of tomato to B. cinerea. ABA appeared to interact with a functional plant defense response against B. cinerea. Experiments with transgenic NahG tomato plants and benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid demonstrated the importance of salicylic acid in the tomato-B. cinereainteraction. In addition, upon infection with B. cinerea, sitiens plants showed a clear increase in phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity, which was not observed in infected WT plants, indicating that the ABA levels in healthy WT tomato plants partly repress phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity. In addition, sitiens plants became more sensitive to benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid root treatment. The threshold values for PR1a gene expression declined with a factor 10 to 100 in sitiens compared with WT plants. Thus, ABA appears to negatively modulate the salicylic acid-dependent defense pathway in tomato, which may be one of the mechanisms by which ABA levels determine susceptibility to B. cinerea.
Oncologic Outcomes according to the Treatment Strategy in Radiologic Complete Responders after Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer

Objective: This study aimed to compare the oncologic outcomes between treatment strategies for rectal cancer [radical surgery, local excision (LE), and the wait-and-see approach] in radiologic complete responders after neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed rectal cancer patients and included 52 radiologic complete responders after nCRT defined as no residual tumor or residual fibrosis and no suspicious metastatic lymph nodes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Clinicopathologic features and oncologic outcomes were compared according to the treatment strategies. Results: The median follow-up period was 41 months (range, 6-80). Twenty-eight patients underwent radical surgery, whereas 16 underwent LE, and 8 were closely monitored without initial surgery. The pathologic complete response rate was 40.9%. Patients who underwent radical surgery showed better prognosis compared to those who underwent LE or wait-and-see (3-year disease-free survival: radical surgery 85.0% vs. LE 62.5%, wait-and-see 75.0%, p = 0.019; 3-year local recurrence-free survival: radical surgery 96.4% vs. LE 67.0%, wait-and-see 75.0%, p = 0.009). After recurrence, patients who underwent salvage surgery showed a relatively good oncologic outcome. Conclusion: Pursuing LE or the wait-and-see approach instead of radical surgery in rectal cancer patients undergoing nCRT may bring about a detrimental oncologic outcome if clinical complete response is solely determined by MRI.