Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Honey and olive oil as bio-friendly substitutes for formalin and xylene in routine histopathology

Background: Formalin has long been the standard fixative and xylene has been the clearing agent for routine histopathology and immunohistochemistry worldwide. In recent years, as a result of increasing concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of formaldehyde and xylene, attempts have been made to find safer alternatives. In the present study, we considered honey as better alternative for formalin and olive oil as safer substitute for xylene. Aims: The aim of this study was to know whether honey could be a possible substitute for formalin and olive oil could be a possible substitute for xylene. Materials and Methods: Thirty routine biopsy tissues of 1–2 cm were taken. The study group was divided into Group A and Group B. Group A were subjected to normal processing. Group B were fixed into honey for 24 h after which it was taken through routine processing, and then immersed in olive oil instead of xylene. All the sections will be stained with routine hematoxylin and eosin staining. Compare the sections of both the methods. Results and Conclusion: The preservation of tissue by honey giving superior result when compared to that of formalin. Olive oil was found to be effective clearing agent compared to xylene.
Corporate Governance: Can Creditors Fit in with Companies’ Board of Directors?

How do suppliers of finance make sure that firm managers enforce credit contracts, or do not invest in bad projects? This approach is missing in corporate governance research. To bridge the gap, we take steps towards developing a stakeholder perspective with the focus on examining the effects of creditor participation in a firm’s top decisions, in relation to board performance.Based on a sample of 154 questionnaire survey responses from Nigerian public firms, after relating all measured items to every construct in the statistical tests of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), we employed the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach for an in-depth analysis to estimate how well the stakeholder model fits the data. Building upon the construct creditor participation, and based on the proposed theory, we confirmed three dimensions – protect risk projects, protect collateral, and enforce contracts – to be confirmed measures of the latent construct.Significant creditors such as banks interfering in the firm’s board, especially in major board decisions, can reduce the potentials of managers to engage in high-risk projects. This has significant positive effects on the board’s role performance.However, items in the two dimensions – protect collateral and enforce credit contracts show weak measurements after EFA. The consequences are a new research agenda for boards has been set.The agenda will focus on the suppliers of debt finance, as significant to the firms akin with their equity shareholders’ counterparts. This will create knowledge; reduce conflicts of interests, and exploitation; and ensure equitable distribution of firm value.The approach exposes firms to access more inclusive strategic inputs especially on important and less risky projects that will yield better margin and sustainable growth. This may stimulate further debates on other stakeholder researches that are vital to debt financiers and boards, thus becoming actionable for practitioners in decisions on projects.
The hidden medical school: A longitudinal study of how social networks form, and how they relate to academic performance

Background: UK medical schools typically have over 300 students per year, making it impossible for students to know all the others well. Aims: This longitudinal cohort study measured the formation of medical student social networks and their relationship to grades. Method: In November 2009, 215/317 (68%) Year 2 UCL medical students reported their friendships with others in their year, by questionnaire. Multiple regression assessed the relationship between friendships, exam results and background variables (obtained from student records), with permutation testing to assess statistical significance. Results: Students of the same sex, the same ethnic group, and in the same tutor and small groups (to which they were randomly assigned at the start of medical school) were socially closer. Taking into account absolute difference in Year 1 grades, Year 2 pairs who were socially closer in November 2009 had more similar May 2010 grades. Individual student variables did not predict similarity in 2010 grades after taking friendships into account. Conclusions: The results suggest that medical students chose friends of the same sex and ethnic group as themselves; but random allocation of students to tutor groups also influenced friendships. Most importantly, friendships related to subsequent exam performance, suggesting friendship may influence learning.
Laser‐mediated cartilage reshaping with feedback‐controlled cryogen spray cooling: Biophysical properties and viability

Recent studies have indicated that chondrocyte viability decreases with prolonged or repeated laser irradiation. To optimize laser‐mediated cartilage reshaping, the heating process must be finely controlled. In this study, we use high‐power Nd:YAG laser irradiation (λ = 1.32 μm) combined with cryogen spray cooling (CSC) in an attempt to reshape porcine septal cartilage while enhancing chondrocyte viability.
Increase in Kynurenic Acid in Huntington's Disease Motor Cortex

Abstract: Huntington's disease is a neurological disorder characterised by a progressive chorea and dementia. Recent evidence has suggested that dysfunction involving endogenous excitatory amino acids may be important in the pathogenesis of this disease. Following the recent demonstration that kynurenic acid is present in the brain, we examined the levels in various areas of brain from patients who died with Huntington's disease and from age/sex‐matched controls. Blocks (100–500 mg) of cortex (Brodmann's areas 4 and 10) and caudate nucleus and globus pallidus (lateral and medial parts) were obtained from the Cambridge Brain Bank. The tissue was then processed for the extraction and analysis of kynurenic acid. Whereas no differences in the content of kynurenic acid were observed in the caudate nucleus, lateral or medial globus pallidus, or prefrontal cortex (area 10) between controls' brains and those from patients who died with Huntington's disease, there was a 94% (p < 0.01; n = 5) increase in the kynurenic acid content in the motor cortex (area 4) from Huntington's disease brains, relative to those of controls. Some time ago we suggested that a subtle change in the relative concentrations of quinolinic and kynurenic acids might be important in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration. It is possible that the observation of raised kynurenic acid levels supports this supposition. Further work is now in progress to determine whether the change in kynurenic acid is a primary effect or a compensatory response to an increase in excitatory activity.
Asset Ownership, Investor Protection and Technology Adoption

ABSTRACT In market economies, agents who provide labour are distinct from investors who own assets. This paper highlights how such an ‘investor ownership’ arrangement mitigates an external finance problem, especially when new ideas and technologies are adopted in production. When agents are credit constrained, assigning asset ownership to investors, and hold up can be seen as a commitment device that leads to better outcomes. The feature that assets can be used to hold up agents is a productive attribute which I model as an output of production: assets which have been used in past production embody this attribute, and assets which have not, do not. The analysis predicts (i) the share of project specific assets owned by investors increases over time, and (ii) project specific asset values increase then decrease over time, both resulting from a staged financing of new projects. The paper emphasises the importance of investor protection: bargaining power vis-à-vis the agents who produce. Lowering investor protection results in lower production scale and TFP, through partial and general equilibrium effects.
Does prenatal and infancy nurse home visitation have enduring effects on qualities of parental caregiving and child health at 25 to 50 months of life?

OBJECTIVE To examine, during the 3rd and 4th years of life, the health, development, rates of child maltreatment, and living conditions of children who had been enrolled in a randomized trial of nurse home visitation during pregnancy and first 2 years of their lives. DESIGN Prospective follow-up of families who had been randomly assigned to nurse-visited and comparison conditions. SETTING Study conducted in semirural community in upstate New York. Families dispersed among 14 other states during 2-year period after children's second birthdays. PARTICIPANTS Four hundred women were recruited through a health department antepartum clinic and offices of private obstetricians and were registered before 30th week of pregnancy. All women had no previous live births and 85% were either teenaged (< 18 years at registration), unmarried, or from Hollingshead social classes IV or V. Analysis focused on whites, who comprised 89% of sample. INTERVENTION Nurse home visitation from pregnancy through second year of the child's life. MAIN RESULTS There were no treatment differences in the rates of child abuse and neglect or children's intellectual functioning from 25 to 48 months of age. Nurse-visited children, nevertheless, lived in homes with fewer hazards for children; they had 40% fewer injuries and ingestions and 45% fewer behavioral and parental coping problems noted in the physician record; and they made 35% fewer visits to the emergency department than did children in the comparison group. Nurse-visited mothers were observed to be more involved with and to punish their children to a greater extent than were mothers in the comparison group. The functional meaning of punishment differed between the nurse-visited and comparison families. CONCLUSIONS The program does have enduring effects on certain aspects of parental caregiving, safety of the home, and children's use of the health care system, but it may be necessary to extend the length of the program for families at highest risk to produce lasting reductions in child abuse and neglect.
THE INFLUENCE OF CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS ON CONSUMPTION INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIOR

Title of Document: THE INFLUENCE OF CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS ON CONSUMPTION INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIOR Francine da Silveira Espinoza, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Co-Directed By: Professor Dr. Rebecca Hamilton and Professor Dr. Joydeep Srivastava, Department of Marketing This Dissertation comprises two essays that investigate how consumers’ different motivations affect their cognitive responses and consumption behavior. Essay 1 shows that consumers’ motivation to rely on their own opinion and correct their judgments for the influence of a product recommendation moderates source credibility effects on judgment certainty and behavioral intentions. Building upon earlier research showing that correction may decrease judgment certainty, we propose that, contrary to this unidirectional effect, correction has a bidirectional effect on judgment certainty and behavioral intentions, depending on the initial recommendation credibility. In a series of three studies, we provide support for the bidirectional effect of correction and show that when consumers correct for the influence of a high credibility recommendation, their judgment certainty and behavioral intentions decrease, but when they correct for the influence of a low credibility recommendation, their judgment certainty and behavioral intentions increase. Essay 2 examines the influence of consumers’ motivations on product valuation and proposes that while buyers are intrinsically motivated to minimize what they are giving up, sellers are intrinsically motivated to maximize what they are getting. These differential goals lead to a discrepancy in product valuation of buyers relative to sellers. In a series of five studies, we provide support for the motivated valuation explanation for the disparity between buying and selling prices and show that altering the goal pursuit of buyers and sellers moderates the price disparity effect. THE INFLUENCE OF CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS ON CONSUMPTION INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIOR
Prevalence of subclinical mastitis and its association with bacteria and risk factors in lactating cows of Barisal district in Bangladesh

The subclinical mastitis is more serious and is responsible for much greater loss to the dairy industry in Bangladesh. This study was per-formed to determine the prevalence of bovine subclinical mastitis and to isolate and identify the bacterial agents and risk factors associated with subclinical mastitis in randomly selected 200 lactating cows (147 local zebu and 53 crossbreds) of Barisal district in Bangladesh. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was performed on each quarter sample of lactating cows at field condition for determination of subclinical mastitis. Out of 200 lactating cows, 57 were found to be positive for subclinical mastitis by CMT. Out of 57 CMT positive cows, only 15 cows showed strong positive reactions and these samples were used for bacteriological culture to isolate and identify bacterial agents. The overall prevalence of subclinical mastitis was 28.50%. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis was significantly high in crossbreds (45.28%) compared to local zebu (22.45%) (p < 0.05). Based on CMT results of quarters, prevalence of subclinical mastitis was 40.57% (n=212) in crossbreds and 20.92% (n=588) in local zebu cows. The prevalence was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in cows with a daily milk yield of 3-5L and 5-7L. The highest prevalence found in mid lactation was 32.50% and the highest prevalence in the age group of 7 to 9 years was 37.50%. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis was comparatively higher (32.69%) in lactating cows where housed with earthen floor compared to concrete floor (23.17%). Among the pathogens isolated from the strongly positive subclinical mastitis samples, the most frequent bacteria were Staphylococcus spp. (73.33%). For early detection of subclinical mastitis, CMT can be performed regularly as a control measure and emphasis should be given on farm management practices, particularly on milking procedure and udder sanitation. Keywords : Bacteria, CMT, Prevalence, Risk factors, Subclinical mastitis. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE
Missed Distress Signals: Evidence from the Fair Value Option for Liabilities

We test for the presence of adverse selection among firms adopting the fair value option for liabilities (FVOL) embedded in SFAS 159. The FVOL is a controversial accounting choice because it allows firms to increase earnings when credit quality deteriorates. We find that firms with higher credit risk, lower profitability, and negative abnormal stock returns are more likely to adopt the FVOL and that these firms exhibit negative abnormal stock returns over one- to three-year horizons after adoption. We conclude that adverse selection occurs among adopters. While a fair value option for financial liabilities can reduce comparability and information transparency, further tests suggest that this accounting choice effectively reveals private information about a firm’s financial vulnerability. This supports the argument that accounting choice is a valuable tool in standard setting.This paper has been revised to "An Option for Lemons? The Fair Value Option for Liabilities" Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2418459
Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and the Comparative Pathology of Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis (ATH) is a condition characterized by thickening of the arterial intima as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials (mainly cholesterol and cholesterol esters). Lesions of the disease (atheromas or atherosclerotic plaques) have three distinct components, (1) the atheroma which is the nodular accumulation of a soft, flaky yellowish material at the center of the large plaques, composed of macrophages nearest the lumen of the artery, (2) underlying accumulations of cholesterol crystals, and (3) calcification of the older or more advanced lesions. In human beings, ATH is major cause of adult mortality in the developed world [1]. In animals, ATH occurs rarely, and only infrequently leads to a clinical disease such as infarction of the heart and brain. Several studies have indicated that the pig, rabbit, and chicken are susceptible to experimental induction of the disease through feeding of a highcholesterol diet and that the dog, cat, cow, goat, and rat are resistant. Naturally – occurring disease has been reported in aged pigs and birds and in dogs suffering from hypothyroidism that accompanies hypercholesterolemia [2].
AN EXTENDED MARKETING PARADIGM FOR IMPLEMENTING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

The purpose of this study is to examine the shortcomings of the existing marketing paradigm and to identify the extended role of marketing in successful implementation of the supply chain management. The study is basically a ‘ theoretical prescriptive ’ one, which is mainly based upon the review of representative literature from relevant disciplines such as marketing, strategic marketing management, strategic management and supply chain management. The study explores the generally accepted paradigms of marketing and associated criticisms, distinguishes supply chain orientation from market orientation, and the marketing management from supply chain management, and discusses the augmented role of marketing in the successful implementation of supply chain management. The study concludes that marketing organizations have gradually become network organizations and that the aggregation of all components of the value system needs not only conceptual and organizational skills but also the skills to negotiate mutually beneficial returns for the contributions of all participants. Thus, market orientation should be collaborated with the supply chain orientation and the marketing mix should be enriched with the supplier and customer relationship management for successful integration of the network to gain sustainable competitive advantage. The major contribution made by this study is the comprehension it spawns for marketing managers to realize that the traditional paradigms of marketing- market orientation, dyadic exchange relations and marketing mix- themselves along are no longer sufficient in dealing with customers in the network context, that unique structural properties of supply chain demand the market orientation shift away from the dyadic exchange paradigm towards the building of long term relationships with suppliers and channel members, and that linkage capabilities have the ability to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Keywords: Dyadic Exchange Paradigm, Market Orientation, Supply Chain Orientation, Net Work Organization, Sustainable Competitive Advantages For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac. lk
Are Economic Agents Successful Optimizers?: An Analysis Through Strategy in Tennis

We consider the question whether top tennis players in a top tournament (Wimbledon) employ an optimal (efficient) service strategy. We show that top players do not, in general, follow an optimal strategy, and we provide a lower bound of the inefficiency. The inefficiency regarding winning a point on service is on average at least 1.1% for men and 2.0% for women, leading to a possible increase of income for the efficient player of 18.7% for men and 32.8% for women. We use these findings to shed some light on the question whether economic agents are successful optimizers.
The Organizational Predictors of Executive Career Advancement in Career Moves Across Employers

This paper examines the career moves of executives between two different organizations and looks at the characteristics of executivesÂ´ employing organizations as a predictor of the success of the moves. The paper uses a proprietary data set of a retained executive search firm that contains information on the career paths of executives in the financial services industry. The results show that the perceived operational excellence of executivesÂ´ employing organization has a significant signaling power for other employers and strongly impacts the success of executivesÂ´ moves across different organizations.
Spoken language identification based on GMM models

The paper describes application of gaussian mixture models GMM to the task of spoken language identification. The influence of the length of the test utterances on identification error rate was examined. During identification procedure recordings for 15 languages were used, both European and Asian ones. As a language model GMM with full covariance matrix was applied. Obtained results of identification error rate were discussed.
Tracking the Primary Sources of Fecal Pollution in a Tropical Watershed in a One-Year Study

ABSTRACT A study was conducted to determine the primary sources of fecal pollution in a subtropical watershed using host-specific assays developed in temperate regions. Water samples (n = 534) from 10 different sites along the Rio Grande de Arecibo (RGA) watershed were collected mostly on a weekly basis (54 sampling events) during 13 months. DNA extracts from water samples were used in PCR assays to determine the occurrence of fecal bacteria (Bacteroidales, Clostridium coccoides, and enterococci) and human-, cattle-, swine-, and chicken-specific fecal sources. Feces from 12 different animals (n = 340) and wastewater treatment samples (n = 16) were analyzed to determine the specificity and distribution of host-specific assays. The human-specific assay (HF183) was found to be highly specific, as it did not cross-react with nontarget samples. The cattle marker (CF128) cross-reacted to some extent with swine, chicken, and turkeys and was present in 64% of the cattle samples tested. The swine assays showed poor host specificity, while the three chicken assays showed poor host distribution. Differences in the detection of host-specific markers were noted per site. While human and cattle assays showed moderate average detection rates throughout the watershed, areas impacted by wastewater treatment plants and cattle exhibited the highest prevalence of these markers. When conditional probability for positive signals was determined for each of the markers, the results indicated higher confidence levels for the human assay and lower levels for all the other assays. Overall, the results from this study suggest that additional assays are needed, particularly to track cattle, chicken, and swine fecal pollution sources in the RGA watershed. The results also suggest that the geographic stability of genetic markers needs to be determined prior to conducting applied source tracking studies in tropical settings.
Commitment to internationalisation: an extension of the internationalisation process model

Notwithstanding the interest over many years by scholars in modeling the internationalization of the firm, the initial transition for the firm from domestic to international operations remains under-researched. We identify the behavioral factors that are important at the pre-internationalization state and discuss how they may interrelate to influence a decision to commit to internationalization through export commencement. We study export commitment by proposing and constructing an index that incorporates the factors that influence a firm’s propensity to commit to export activities. Utilizing the items from this index in a logistic regression analysis, we distinguish between the pre-internationalization characteristics of exporting and non-exporting firms to better understand the key influences in export commitment. Implications are discussed.