Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence Of Tsetse Fly And Bovine Trypanosomosis In The Biological Control Of Tsetse Fly Project (Bicot) Within Afia Local Government Area Of Nasarawa State, Nigeria

The prevalence of tsetse fly and bovine trypanosomosis was studied in the biological control of tsetse fly project (BICOT) area within Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa state, Nigeria between May and November 2000. The project area, covering approximately 1500 km2 was virtually freed of Glossina palpalis palpalis and to some extent G tachinoides by Dec. 1984. By 1987, however, sterile male releases were suspended and remained so till the time of this study due to lack of funding. Ten biconical traps were set at an interval of 25 meters along each river/stream in the study area. In all, 466 flies were caught out of which 454 were G.p palpalis while the remaining 12 were G.tachinoides. The result of the dissection of the insects showed that 9 (1.9%) of tsetse flies caught were positive for Trypanosoma vivax. All infected flies were G.p palpalis. Also blood samples were collected from 200 cattle in the abattoir and 200 in the sedentary cattle in the area. The blood samples were examined using standard parasitological techniques. The result showed that, in sedentary cattle, 18(9%) were positive for trypanosomes while in the abattoir 21(10.5%) were positive for trypanosomes. There was however no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the numbers of cases defected in sedentary cattle and abattoir cattle. Most of the infections in sedentary cattle (67%) and abattoir cattle (81%) were due to T. congolense. Keywords : Tsetse fly ,bovine trypanosomosis, biological control, Lafia Journal of Agriculture and Social Research Vol. 8 (1) 2008: pp. 8-12
Optimum quarter-plane autoregressive modeling of 2-D fields using four-field lattice approach

A new orthogonal four-field two-dimensional (2-D) quarter-plane lattice structure with a complete set of reflection coefficients is developed by employing appropriately defined auxiliary prediction errors. This work is the generalization of the three-parameter lattice filter proposed by Parker and Kayran (1984). After the first stage, four auxiliary forward and four auxiliary backward prediction errors are generated in order to obtain a growing number of 2-D reflection coefficients at successive stages. The theory has been proven by using a geometrical formulation based on the mathematical concepts of vector space, orthogonal projection, and subspace decomposition. It is shown that all four quarter-plane filters are orthogonal and thus optimum for all stages. In addition to developing the basic theory, a set of orthogonal backward prediction error fields for successive lattice parameter model stages is presented.
Mirtazapine Orally Disintegrating Tablet Versus Sertraline: A Prospective Onset of Action Study

This multinational, randomized, double-blind study was specifically designed to prospectively compare the onset of antidepressant efficacy of mirtazapine orally disintegrating tablets and sertraline at dosages commonly used in clinical practice. A total of 345 patients with major depressive episode (DSM-IV) received mirtazapine (30–45 mg/d) or sertraline (50–150 mg/d) for 8 weeks. Mirtazapine was administered in the newly developed fast dissolving, orally disintegrating tablet formulation. Assessments were performed at baseline and on days 4, 7, 10, 14, 28, 42, and 56. The primary efficacy variable (mean absolute change from baseline in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAMD] total score [17 items]) showed that mirtazapine was significantly (P < 0.05) more effective than sertraline at all assessments during the first 2 weeks of the study. After this time, HAMD total scores were similar in both groups. These findings were supported by analysis of the HAMD response rate (ie, ≥50% reduction in HAMD total score from baseline), HAMD remission rate (HAMD total score of ≤7), and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Both treatments were well tolerated. In addition, mirtazapine had a greater effect than sertraline on sexual functioning. In conclusion, this first prospective onset of action study using the orally disintegrating tablet indicates that mirtazapine has a faster onset of therapeutic effect than sertraline. The orally disintegrating tablet formulation of mirtazapine used in this study is known to enhance the convenience and compliance by the patient.
Title IX and Financing Intercollegiate Athletics

Abstract Title IX requires equal opportunity in all educational programs including athletics. Despite legal challenges, institutional resistance, and governmental actions, the requirements of Title IX remain and compliance with these continues to challenge athletic administrators. Using the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool (2011), gender comparisons were made for 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, and 2009-2010 among the competitive subdivisions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Over this six-year period in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A) institutions, females' participation opportunities, receipt of grants-in-aid, funding for recruiting, and operating expenses remained largely unchanged and at a level less than fully compliant with Title IX. While FBS institutions over the six years offered more participation opportunities and grants-in-aid to female athletes than did institutions competing in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) and in Divisions II and III (excluding grants-in-aid) with football teams, female athletes in these lower competitive levels fared slightly better in the amount of financial support received for recruiting and operations. Female athletes across the six years and in all four comparative areas fared much better in institutions over all three divisions that do not offer football. These findings provide evidence that institutions have not yet fully complied with Title IX.
Insulin pump therapy in Moslem patients with type 1 diabetes during Ramadan fasting: an observational report.

BACKGROUND Many Moslem patients do observe the fast during Ramadan. There are limited data on insulin pump therapy during Ramadan. We report our experience with type 1 diabetes patients on insulin pumps during Ramadan 2008 (29 days). PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 63 patients were evaluated. Forty-nine patients fasted, and 14 elected not to fast. Those who fasted (24 males, 25 females) were 22 +/- 7 years of age (mean +/- SD) and had had diabetes for 9.6 +/- 5.6 years. Patients used the Medtronic (Northridge, CA) MiniMed 722 model and had been using pump therapy for 20 +/- 10 months. Outcome measures included number of days fasted, hypoglycemia, unusual hyperglycemia, and number of emergency hospital visits. RESULTS Thirty patients (61.2%) fasted the whole month with no problems, nine (18.4%) fasted 27-28 days, eight (16.3%) fasted 24-25 days, and two (4.1%) fasted 23 days. Nearly half of the patients decreased their basal insulin by 5-50% of their prefasting doses. Seventeen patients had hypoglycemia requiring breaking the fast. Fasting was broken on 55 out of 1,450 potential fasting days (3.8%). No severe hypoglycemia was reported by any patient. Unusual hyperglycemia was reported in nine patients (18.4%). Hospital visits were reported for one patient for hyperglycemia (a 16-year-old girl who disconnected her pump). Twelve patients had fructosamine levels measured both before and immediately after Ramadan; pre-Ramadan fructosamine level was 4.0 +/- 0.6 mmol/L, and the post-Ramadan value was 3.6 +/- 0.6 mmol/L (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Fasting during Ramadan is feasible in patients with type 1 diabetes using an insulin pump, with adequate counseling and support.
Is Prolactin a Clinically Useful Measure of Epilepsy?

Use of Serum Prolactin in Diagnosing Epileptic Seizures: Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology Chen DK, So YT, Fisher RS Neurology 2005;65(5):668–675 (Review) Objective The purpose of this article is to review the use of serum prolactin assay in epileptic seizure diagnosis. Methods The authors identified relevant studies in multiple databases and reference lists. Studies that met inclusion criteria were summarized and rated for quality of evidence, and the results were analyzed and pooled where appropriate. Results Most studies used a serum prolactin of at least twice baseline value as abnormal. For the differentiation of epileptic seizures from psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, one Class I and seven Class II studies showed that elevated serum prolactin was highly predictive of either generalized tonic–clonic or complex partial seizures. Pooled sensitivity was higher for generalized tonic–clonic seizures (60.0%) than for complex partial seizures (46.1%), while the pooled specificity was similar for both (approximately 96%). Data were insufficient to establish validity for simple partial seizures. Two Class II studies were consistent in showing prolactin elevation after tilt-test–induced syncope. Inconclusive data exist regarding the value of serum prolactin following status epilepticus, repetitive seizures, and neonatal seizures. Recommendations Elevated serum prolactin assay, when measured in the appropriate clinical setting at 10 to 20 minutes after a suspected event, is a useful adjunct for the differentiation of generalized tonic–clonic or complex partial seizure from psychogenic nonepileptic seizure among adults and older children (Level B). Serum prolactin assay does not distinguish epileptic seizures from syncope (Level B). The use of serum PRL assay has not been established in the evaluation of status epilepticus, repetitive seizures, and neonatal seizures (Level U).
A preparation method for observing intracellular structures by scanning electron microscopy

In order to observe intracellular structures by scanning electron microscopy, excess cytoplasmic matrix must be removed from the fractured surface of cells. Previously we reported an Osmium‐DMSO‐Osmium method devised for this purpose. This method is very effective in revealing intracellular structures, but requires osmium tetroxide for initial fixation with some consequent disadvantages. In the present study, a revised Osmium‐DMSO‐Osmium method is reported, in which an aldehyde mixture is used as the initial fixative instead of osmium tetroxide. As fixation is carried out by perfusion in this revised method, better preservation of fine structures is achieved than by the original method, especially in the central nervous tissue which tends to suffer from post‐mortem degeneration. Moreover this method can be applied to cytochemical studies of intracellular structures with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In this study, acid phosphatase of lysosomes is demonstrated in a coloured SEM micrograph.
Confabulation in healthy aging is related to poor encoding and retrieval of over-learned information

ABSTRACT Normal aging is characterized by deficits that cross multiple cognitive domains including episodic memory and attention. Compared to young adults (YA), older adults (OA) not only show reduction in true memories, but also an increase in false memories. In this study we aim to elucidate how the production of confabulation is influenced by encoding and retrieval processes. We hypothesized that in OA, compared to YA, over-learned information interferes with the recall of specific, unique past episodes and this interference should be more prominent when a concurrent task perturbs the encoding of the episodes to be recalled. We tested this hypothesis using an experimental paradigm in which a group of OA and a group of YA had to recall three different types of story: a previously unknown story, a well-known fairy tale (Snow White), and a modified well-known fairy tale (Little Red Riding Hood is not eaten by the wolf), in three different experimental conditions: (1) free encoding and free retrieval; (2) Divided attention (DA) at encoding and free retrieval; and (3) free encoding and DA at retrieval. Results showed that OA produced significantly more confabulations than YA, particularly, in the recall of the modified fairy tale. Moreover, DA at encoding markedly increased the number of confabulations, whereas DA at retrieval had no effect on confabulation. Our findings reveal the implications of two phenomena in the production of confabulation in normal aging: the effect of poor encoding and the interference of strongly represented, over-learned information in episodic memory recall.
Essays in corporate finance

This thesis explores the different mechanisms behind the heterogeneous success and growth rates of small and medium-sized enterprises. In the first chapter, I investigate the impact of manager turnover on the performance of young firms and examine how this impact varies with different ownership and control structures. To estimate the causal impact of manager departures, I exploit shocks to managers' outside options induced by an area-based policy in support of local businesses and compare firms with different ex-ante manager departure likelihood and different distance to policy regions. Using a novel manager shareholder matched dataset of young firms in the UK, I show that manager departure has a siginificant negative causal impact on the subsequent performance of young firms. Moreover, manager departure leads to a substantial decline in the assets of founder-managed firms and a significant increase in bankruptcy risks of non-founder-managed firms. The second chapter is co-authored with Dr. Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe. We use the Great Recession as a laboratory to dissect the implications of financial constraints in small firms. We exploit firm-level eligibility requirements for a credit guarantee scheme launched in the UK in 2009 as an exogenous determinant of financial access during the crisis. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, and novel small-firm data, we show that eligible firms relatively increased their borrowing, employment, sales, profits, and survival, but disinvested as much as non-eligible businesses. The results show that employment can be more sensitive to financial constraints than fixed assets, likely because fixed assets can be pledged as collateral whereas employees cannot. In the last chapter, I examine how the succession decisions in family firms are affected by the product market competition based on a sample of UK family firms in the manufacturing sector. Using import penetration to measure foreign competition and implementing the import-weighted exchange rate index as an instrumental variable, I find that intense foreign competition causes a significant increase in family manager departures. Specifically, departing family managers are unlikely to be replaced, whereas departing unrelated managers are more often replaced by unrelated managers.
Service Firm Performance Transparency

Calls for increased transparency and reduced information asymmetry between service firms and their customers are getting louder in the marketplace. Yet, it remains unclear what exactly constitutes transparency in the eyes of customers and how, if at all, service firms benefit from it. This research contributes to extant knowledge by articulating the key properties of service firms’ performance transparency and by developing and validating a parsimonious scale to measure it. We show that through a reduction in customer uncertainty, the provision of accessible and objective information about a firm’s service offering is positively associated with customers’ intention to purchase and willingness to pay a price premium for its service. Furthermore, we find that the positive effect of performance transparency is influenced by customers’ perceptions of a firm’s ability to deliver on its service promise. An important managerial implication of the current research is that performance transparency benefits customers by lowering uncertainty, and hence service firms should proactively consider it as a critical measure that helps differentiate their services from competitive offerings, even when customer perceptions of a service firm’s ability are low.
Intervertebral disc disorganisation and its relationship to age adjusted vertebral body morphometry and vertebral bone architecture

Vertebral deformity, intervertebral disc disorganisation, and change to vertebral bone architecture are morphological features that are associated with low back pain. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the morphological disorganisation of the intervertebral disc on vertebral body shape indices and vertebral cancellous bone architecture. Lumbar spines, T12–S1, were collected from 27 cadavers. The motion segments T12–L1, L2–L3 and L4–L5 were selected for the study. There were 8 females aged 35–94 years and 19 males aged 20–90 years. An intervertebral disc grade signifying the severity of disc disorganisation was assigned to each disc using the macroscopic disc grading criteria of Hansson and Roos (Spine, 1981 ; 6:147–153.). Vertebral shape indices and vertebral body bone histomorphometric analyses were performed on the vertebral bodies. Where appropriate, data were age adjusted and the influence of morphological disc disorganisation on vertebral body deformity and cancellous bone architecture analysed. Increased vertebral body axial area and the ratio of vertebral body axial area to sagittal area were associated with an increase in vertebral deformity and disc disorganisation. This suggests that vertebral deformity that remains clinically silent in the general population is influenced by intervertebral disc disorganisation. Vertebral cancellous bone architecture undergoes change associated with increased disc disorganisation, consistent with increased vertebral deformity. Vertebral bodies adjacent to degenerate discs (Grade 4) showed increased BV/TV and Tb.Th and decreased BS/BV. This shows that disc disorganisation may modulate vertebral cancellous bone architecture such that it protects against age‐related bone changes. In addition, vertebral body wedging and concavity are associated with smaller vertebral body size and vertebral body compression is associated with larger vertebral body size and compromised cancellous bone architecture. Anat Rec 262:331–339, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of Price Limits on Informed Trading Strategies and Market Performances

This paper investigates the effect of price limits on strategically informed trading and market performances. We show that a price limit will increase the costs of liquidity traders and volatility spillover by its ex ante effects on strategically informed trading. Our study differs from prior research by focusing on informed traders' strategies and information competitiveness. With long-lived information or less information competitiveness, the price limit rule encourages stealthily informed trading, distorts the price dynamics and increases the trading costs of small liquidity traders. Volatility subsequent to a limit-hit is also increased. By using the listed firms in the Taiwan Stock Exchange, we provide empirical evidences that informed traders switch to trade with small orders when they encounter a price limit and volatility spillover exists. Furthermore, this negative effect is more sever for those stocks with less information competitiveness. Our findings suggest that the ex ante effects of price limits on market performances may be contrary to what the stabilizing mechanism is intended to achieve, especially for those firms with less information competitiveness
Owners, Boards, Managers and the Private Benefits of Control: A Study of Dual Class Stock Firms in an Emerging Market

This paper investigates whether and how various characteristics of CEOs and corporate boards are related to the severity of corporate governance problems within firms. The latter is proxied by private benefits of control, which we measure for dual class stock firms using the voting premium approach. Our empirical analysis is based on data from Russia and takes advantage of the extreme corporate governance problems in the country, considerable variation in corporate governance practices across firms and over time, and presence of a large and exogenously created (during the process of privatization) group of dual class stock companies. The data are assembled from the RTS, SKRIN and SPARK databases and include over 200 firms observed in 1997-2009, with over 1000 observations in total. Our econometric analysis suggests a quadratic relationship between private benefits of control and CEO ownership with a minimum at about 4% CEO ownership, a positive association between CEO tenure and private benefits, and a quadratic in CEO age with a dip in private benefits at about 52 years of age. There is also a quadratic relationship between private benefits of control and board size, implying the optimality of medium-sized (about 9-10 directors) boards. We find no gender effects on private benefits of control.
Using sonic branding in the retail environment — an easy and effective way to create consumer brand loyalty while enhancing the in‐store experience

Retail is no longer simply a point of purchase, it has now become part of a brand's communications strategy. As brands begin to explore the benefits of the retail environment they are mostly failing to utilise fully its ability to communicate with all the senses. Sonic branding has yet to make a significant impact on the retail environment and yet it is a powerful tool in the development of brand loyalty. As brands search for new ways of communicating with consumers both locally and globally, sonic branding will become a key tool in the creation of fully immersive brand experiences. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.
Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Australian

We implement a customized survey to a representative sample of 1,024 Australians to examine the relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning. Overall we find aggregate levels of financial literacy similar to comparable countries with the young, least educated, unemployed and those not in the labor force most at risk. However, unlike the international norm, we find that financial skills increase with age. The role played by the Australia’s mandatory private retirement arrangements, system of defaults, and interactions with the means-tested safety net pension at older ages remain open questions.
Cultural and physiological characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium botulinum isolates from foodborne and infant botulism cases

Isolates Clostridium botulinum from foodborne and infant botulism cases in the United States were compared on the basis of toxigenicity, cultural and biochemical characteristics, metabolic products, and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Seventy-eight strains, including 42 from foodborne and 36 from infant botulism sources, were examined. Cultures on anaerobic blood agar exhibited circular, spindle, and rhizoid (medusa head) colonies. Overall, the characteristics of isolates from foodborne and infant botulism cases were quite similar. We concluded that it was not possible to differentiate C. botulinum isolates associated with foodborne botulism from those recovered from infant botulism cases. All of the 78 strains produced an unidentified indole derivative(s), detected with paradimethylaminocinnamaldehyde reagent, and hydrocinnamic acid, detected by gas-liquid chromatography; all exhibited a high degree of resistance to cycloserine, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim. These characteristics should prove to be useful in the isolation and identification of C. botulinum from mixed microbial populations.