Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender, Ethnic and Age Diversity of the Boards of Large Malaysian Firms and Performance

Board diversity is important especially in countries which practice a one-tier board system, such as Malaysia. Under the system, board appointments are usually controlled by the firm’s substantial shareholders, and as a result, directors are chosen based on “the old-boy” network or “people like us”, who are typically middle-aged males and from similar ethnicity which could lead to “group think”. Board diversity ensures breadth and depth of the board’s judgments. To this end, this study examines board diversity of the top 100 non-financial Malaysian firms, specifically directors’ gender, ethnicity and age and their effects on firm performance. Data are collected from the 2007 annual reports of the sample firms. The evidence indicates the lack of diversity of the Malaysian boards of directors. Results from the multivariate analyses reveal that gender diversity is negatively associated with Tobin’s q and rOA. Age diversity is found to be negatively related to rOA. Ethnic diversity, on the other hand, is found to be positively associated with rOA. Hence, findings on the effect of board diversity and firm performance are mixed. Nevertheless, this study offers insights to policy makers in enhancing corporate governance in Malaysia where diversity is one of the areas that could strengthen the effectiveness of the board.
Sunflower meal and supplementation of an enzyme complex in diets for growing and finishing pigs

Braz. J. Vet. Res. Anim. Sci., São Paulo, v. 51, n. 1, p. 49-59, 2014 Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the inclusion of sunflower meal and an enzyme complex supplement on the performance and carcass parameters in swine from 30 to 100 kg live weight. A total of 96 pigs with average live weight of 32.19 ± 3.27 kg were distributed in a randomized blocks design with a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (four levels of sunflower meal-SM: 0, 8, 16 and 24%, with or without inclusion of an enzyme complex-EC), factorial arrangement with six replicates and two animals per experimental unit. The analyzed variables were feed intake (kg), weight gain (kg), feed conversion (kg/kg), backfat thickness (mm), carcass muscularity (kg), hot carcass weight (%), lean meat carcass percentage (%), and lean meat carcass weight (kg). There was no interaction between factors for any of the studied variables. Feed conversion of animals from 30 to 70 kg live weight was improved by the inclusion of EC. This enzyme complex inclusion did not affect carcass characteristics. Increasing levels of SM in the test subject feed diet rations presented a quadratic effect on weight gain and on backfat thickness that reached maximum values in parameters of 7.26% and 8.16%, respectively.
TURMERIC (CURCUMA LONGA) WSR TO CURCUMIN

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is well known Ayurvedic herb has been practicing for the treatment of various ailment i,e, Fever, Inflammation, Sore throat, fresh wound healing, and it is observed that most of time the turmeric is used in Ayurveda along with milk or cow butter. The myriad benefits of turmeric have been widely studied and proven. The problem with turmeric supplementation is that the active components, curcuminoids, are very poorly absorbed. A pure turmeric extract will not reach the blood supply in any meaningful or therapeutic level. Its effects, while still quite powerful, will be limited to the intestines. It is so poorly absorbed in fact that in one study even at a dose of 2g/kg, blood levels of curcuminoids were barely detectable, if at all. [1] For a 150 pound person that means eating almost a third of a pound of turmeric will still not result in significant systemic distribution. In response, the supplement industry has spent millions of dollars to bioengineer products with improved assimilation. Thousands of years ago in India, Ayurveda developed techniques that greatly enhanced the absorption of haldi as it is called. There are two widely accepted methods to increase turmeric absorption; take it with some kind of fat, or with black pepper, or more specifically piperine. Most available preparations for turmeric that boast increased assimilation are based on these methods. Curcuminoids are lipophilic substances. This means that they will not dissolve in water which makes them poorly absorbed by our intestines. However, they do dissolve in fats which are themselves readily absorbed by the intestinal lining for absorption and utilization. Turmeric is just along for the ride. Hence the use of phospholipid phytosomes and other creative approaches using fatty substances for increasing absorption in many modern turmeric preparations. Piper nigrum, or black pepper, contains the alkaloid piperine, which gives pepper its distinct spicy flavor. This compound inhibits glucuronidation. Glucuronic acid is added to molecules by the World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research SJIF Impact Factor 7.523 Volume 6, Issue 7, 740-753. Review Article ISSN 2277–7105 Article Received on 06 May 2017, Revised on 26 May 2017, Accepted on 16 June 2017 DOI: 10.20959/wjpr20177-8826 *Corresponding Author' Dr. Chakrapany Sharma
Autophagy Regulation after Diet and Exercise in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Along with the rise in obesity, rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have also increased. NAFLD may begin with fat accumulation in the liver, but can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and eventual cirrhosis. With no pharmacological treatment for NASH, lifestyle interventions appear vital to maintaining liver health. Previous work has shown aberrant mitochondrial content/quality and autophagy in models of NAFLD. Exercise is known to improve mitochondrial health and possibly autophagy, thus autophagy may be a key regulatory factor for treatment of obesity induced-NAFLD. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to examine how weight loss from diet or diet combined with physical activity impacts hepatic mitochondrial content, autophagy and mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) in NAFLD. METHODS: 48 Male C57BL/6J mice were divided into 1 of 4 groups: low fat diet (LFD, 10% fat, 18 wks), high fat diet (HFD, 60% fat diet, 18 wks.), weight loss by diet (D, 60% fat diet for 10 wks then 10% fat diet for 8 wks) or weight loss by diet and physical activity (D/PA, 60% fat diet for 10 wks, then 10% fat diet plus a running wheel for 8 wks). After interventions, livers were collected and analyzed via Western blot for markers of mitochondrial content and autophagy. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with α set at 0.05. RESULTS: COX-IV and PGC-1α protein contents were approximately 50% less in HFD compared to LFD, and were restored and increased with D/PA, respectively. BNIP3 content was 45% lower in HFD compared to LFD; D/PA had 50% more BNIP3 compared to LFD controls. PINK1 content was 40% higher in D and D/PA animals compared to LFD. P-PARKIN/PARKIN levels were 40% lower in HFD, D, and D/PA compared to LFD. Whereas p-Ub was 3-fold higher in HFD animals. LC3II/I ratio was 50% greater in HFD and D/PA animals, yet p62 protein content was 2.5 fold higher in HFD animals compared to LFD, D, and D/PA, with no further differences observed. CONCLUSION: High-fat diet causes disruptions in mitochondrial content, mitophagy and macroautophagy. Diet combined with physical activity are able to ameliorate these derangements. Thesis formatted for submission to Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
The effects of the European sovereign debt crisis on major currency markets

Since the European sovereign debt crisis (ESDC), the euro has been weakening, leading currency users to believe that the ESDC has impacted the major currency markets. To examine the basis of the perceptions of currency market participants, we developed a regression model using the relationship between the currency price in terms of the euro and its denominated sovereign bond price. The Australian dollar (AUD), Canadian dollar (CAD), British pound (GBP), Japanese yen (JPY), Swiss franc (CHF) and US dollar (USD) were the sample currencies used in this study. Interestingly, our findings reveal that European sovereign bond investors have three distinct views about the major currency markets: (1) JPY and USD are safe-haven currency and their denominated government bonds are better alternatives in which to invest; (2) AUD- and CAD-denominated government bonds are not trustworthy investments; and (3) GBP- and CHF-denominated bonds are not appropriate investments in the context of the ESDC. This study provides an important lesson for currency users and sovereign bond investors by indicating that the ESDC affected a limited number of currency markets rather than all major currency markets.
Feasibility of improving a priori regional climate model estimates of Greenland ice sheet surface mass loss through assimilation of measured ice surface temperatures

Abstract. The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) has been the focus of climate studies due to its considerable impact on sea level rise. Accurate estimates of surface mass fluxes would contribute to understanding the cause of its recent changes and would help to better estimate the past, current and future contribution of the GrIS to sea level rise. Though the estimates of the GrIS surface mass fluxes have improved significantly over the last decade, there is still considerable disparity between the results from different methodologies (e.g., Rae et al., 2012; Vernon et al., 2013). The data assimilation approach can merge information from different methodologies in a consistent way to improve the GrIS surface mass fluxes. In this study, an ensemble batch smoother data assimilation approach was developed to assess the feasibility of generating a reanalysis estimate of the GrIS surface mass fluxes via integrating remotely sensed ice surface temperature measurements with a regional climate model (a priori) estimate. The performance of the proposed methodology for generating an improved posterior estimate was investigated within an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) framework using synthetically generated ice surface temperature measurements. The results showed that assimilation of ice surface temperature time series were able to overcome uncertainties in near-surface meteorological forcing variables that drive the GrIS surface processes. Our findings show that the proposed methodology is able to generate posterior reanalysis estimates of the surface mass fluxes that are in good agreement with the synthetic true estimates. The results also showed that the proposed data assimilation framework improves the root-mean-square error of the posterior estimates of runoff, sublimation/evaporation, surface condensation, and surface mass loss fluxes by 61, 64, 76, and 62 %, respectively, over the nominal a priori climate model estimates.
Effect of low glycaemic index meals on insulin secretion in diabetic and apparently healthy subjects

One of the potential effects of low glycaemic index (low-GI) diets is to reduce insulin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes. The effects of low GI meals (Acha, Rice and Eba) on serum insulin were elicited in diabetic type 2 subjects. Ten diabetic and 6 healthy individuals participated in the study. Fasting blood samples were taken and after consumption of the reference (glucose) and test meals (Acha, Rice and Eba) every 30 minutes until two and half hours post - consumption. Serum blood glucose level was determined using glucose oxidase method while insulin level was determined using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Insulin responses to the various meals in the diabetic subjects were initially lower (p<0.05) compared to those in the control and also the insulinogenic indices were significantly lower in the diabetics than the control (p<0.05). In the type 2 diabetic patients however, despite higher increments of serum glucose, only modest changes of plasma insulin occurred initially but later the insulin responses continued to increase up to two and half hour but the hyperglycaemia continued leading to a much lower ratio. This is to show that there is a state of impaired pancreatic beta-cell function since insulinogenic index is a measure of â -cell secretary function and also the insulin produced is not effective. Therefore, diabetic individuals consuming low glycaemic meals may not be producing effective insulin to clear the hyperglycaemia being produced by these meals. Keywords : type 2 diabetics, low glycaemic index, insulin, insulinogenic indices
Residents’ Perceptions of the Impact of Major Annual Tourism Events in Macao: Cluster Analysis

This study examines how local residents perceive major tourism events in Macao, China. A cluster analysis revealed three clusters of residents with distinct views toward these events. Although the similarities of the major findings to those in previous studies are apparent, this study extends the others by identifying a new factor regarding the impact of events on a community. Also, unlike other studies that have focused on a single event, this study looked at a set of major events, thereby providing decision makers a more complete view of event tourism in a community.
Promising substrates to increase the production of tannase under solid state fermentation (SSF) by Penicillium spp.

Tannase (tannin acyl hydrolse, E.C.3.1.1.20) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of ester and depside bonds of hydrolysable tannins. Among the filamentous fungi the genus Penicillium is recognized as the second best producer of tannase. This enzyme presents applications in several industrial segments, such as in the production of judges and teas. The industrial production of tannase can be performed through solid state fermentation (SSF) by the use of tannin rich fruit residues, in order to minimize production costs. In the present study 31 species of Penicillium isolated from Caatinga and Atlantic Forest were tested quantitatively for the production of tannase. The species were kept in the Collection of Cultures Micoteca - URM (WDCM604) under mineral oil. The enzyme production was carried out under SSF using “caja” (Spondias lutea L.) and Manga (Mangifera indica L.) residues that are rich in tannins. Mango residue proved to be the best inducer of the production of tannase by Penicillium species, most of which presented high tannase activity, ranging from 14.48 to 89.48 U mL-1. The three best producers were Penicillium rolfssi URM6216 with 89.49 U mL-1, Penicillium janthinellum URM5993 with 85.93 U mL-1 and Penicillium glabrum URM6092 with 59.26 U mL-1. Therefore, P. rolfssi URM6216 is being indicated for optimization of tannase production by SSF, using mango residue as a substrate. This is the first study on the potential of hog-plum (caja) and mango wastes as substrates for tannase production by filamentous fungi. Key words: Penicillium rolfssi URM6216, tannin acyl hydrolase, waste, mango, caja.
Returns to Low Risk Investment Strategy

The paper studies the low risk anomaly in the Indian market using entire National Stock Exchange (NSE) as sample from January 2001 to June 2016. It provides evidence that low risk portfolio sorted for total risk, systematic risk as well as unsystematic risk individually for the large cap, mid cap, small cap and the entire NSE universe give higher returns to the investor as compared to high risk portfolio. The difference of returns from low risk portfolio versus high risk portfolio is positive as well as economically and statistically significant for all the risk measures. The results also prove that low risk portfolio investing strategy returns outperform the benchmark portfolio. Using either total volatility, idiosyncratic volatility or beta as a risk measure in stocks, the low risk portfolio gives higher returns even after controlling for the well-known size, value and momentum factors. The excess returns are the highest for low risk portfolio sorted for volatility of large cap stocks. Most of the low risk portfolios consists of growth and winner stocks. In conclusion, the low risk portfolio investment strategy is independent of size and gives positive excess returns as compared to high risk portfolio in the Indian stock market.
GENERATION OF INTERNAL WAVES IN THE DEEP OCEAN BY BAROTROPIC TIDES

and . The velocities and are the major and minor axes of the tidal ellipse, respectively, and the -axis has been chosen to lie along the major axis. denotes the Fourier transform of the bottom topography: where . In eq. (2) the total energy flux has been written as an integral over spectral space. Equivalently, it may be written as an integral over real space. The product of the two functions and in spectral space then translates to a convolution integral between the two corresponding inverse transforms, and , respectively. We obtain
The Link Between Responsive Classroom Training and Student–Teacher Relationship Quality in the Fifth Grade: A Study of Fidelity of Implementation

Abstract. The Responsive Classroom (RC) approach is an instructional delivery and social–emotional learning intervention designed to provide teachers with skills needed to create caring, well-managed classroom environments that are conducive to learning. This study examines the extent to which RC training predicts close student–teacher relationships, as well as negative relationships. Sixty-three fifth-grade teachers and 387 students in 20 schools participated in this study. Schools in the study were randomly assigned to the treatment (RC) or a waitlist control. Observers rated teachers' use of RC practices, and teachers reported their use of RC practices and relationship quality with each child. RC training did not directly predict close or conflictual student–teacher relationships; however, an indirect effect was noted. Training in the RC approach increased teachers' use of RC practices, which in turn related to increased closeness. No indirect effect emerged when predicting conflict. Findings suggest that, with sufficient dosage and adherence, RC practices are one way of boosting close student–teacher relationships.
In situ FTIR assessment of dried Lactobacillus bulgaricus: KBr disk formation affects physical properties

The overall protein secondary structure, heat-induced protein denaturation, membrane phase behaviour, and glassy behaviour of Lactobacillus bulgaricus dried with sucrose were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) using two sample preparation methods. Samples for FTIR analysis were either prepared by mixing dried sample with KBr and compression into disks or by air-drying of cell/sucrose suspensions on CaF2 windows. The results show that KBr compression causes protein unfolding and affects the thermo-physical properties of dried cells when compared with cells that were dried on CaF2 windows and directly used for FTIR analysis without further manipulation. The protein denaturation temperature of samples prepared in KBr disks was decreased by more than 70 ◦ C compared to that of samples dried on CaF2 windows. In addition, hydrogen bonding interactions of the glassy cell/sucrose matrix were drastically affected by KBr compression. In contrast with samples dried on CaF2 windows, samples in KBr disks were not in a glassy state at room temperature. The membrane phase behaviour of the dried cells was also affected by preparation of the sample into KBr disks. We conclude that the KBr compression method for preparing samples for FTIR analysis affects conformation and physical properties of biomolecules in the dried state.
The Components of Spirituality in the Business Organizational Context: The Case of Malaysia

Although the phenomenon of spirituality in the workplace has received enormous attention from other religious faiths, the construct of Islamic spirituality has not been much explored. This empirical study attempts to enrich the understanding of the spirituality in the workplace phenomenon from Islamic management perspective. The survey data used for this empirical research was drawn from 405 Muslim employees in business organizations in Malaysia. After yielding an instrument to measure Islamic spirituality, exploratory (using SPSS version 18.0) and confirmatory (using AMOS version 18.0) factor analyses were conducted. The construct validity of Islamic spirituality led to the major finding of the research, thus, Islamic spirituality in the business organizational context is explained by four determinants; Rituals (Ibadat), Forgivingness/Repentance (Al a’fw), Belief (Iman) and Remembrance of Allah (Dhikrullah).
Extracting Inner‐Heliosphere Solar Wind Speed Information From Heliospheric Imager Observations

We present evidence that variability in the STEREO‐A Heliospheric Imager (HI) data is correlated with in situ solar wind speed estimates from WIND, STEREO‐A, and STEREO‐B. For 2008–2012, we compute the variability in HI differenced images in a plane‐of‐sky shell between 20 to 22.5 solar radii and, for a range of position angles, compare daily means of HI variability and in situ solar wind speed estimates. We show that the HI variability data and in situ solar wind speeds have similar temporal autocorrelation functions. Carrington rotation periodicities are well documented for in situ solar wind speeds, but, to our knowledge, this is the first time they have been presented in statistics computed from HI images. In situ solar wind speeds from STEREO‐A, STEREO‐B, and WIND are all are correlated with the HI variability, with a lag that varies in a manner consistent with the longitudinal separation of the in situ monitor and the HI instrument. Unlike many approaches to processing HI observations, our method requires no manual feature tracking; it is automated, is quick to compute, and does not suffer the subjective biases associated with manual classifications. These results suggest we could possibly estimate solar wind speeds in the low heliosphere directly from HI observations. This motivates further investigation, as this could be a significant asset to the space weather forecasting community; it might provide an independent observational constraint on heliospheric solar wind forecasts, through, for example, data assimilation. Finally, these results are another argument for the potential utility of including a HI on an operational space weather mission.
Astronomical and Meteoritic Evidence for the Nature of Interstellar Dust and Its Processing in Protoplanetary Disks

Here we compare the astronomical and meteoritic evidence for the nature and origin of interstellar dust, and how it is processed in protoplanetary disks. The relative abundances of circumstellar grains in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are broadly consistent with most astronomical estimates of Galactic dust production, although graphite/amorphous C is highly underabundant. The major carbonaceous component in meteorites and IDPs is an insoluble organic material (IOM) that probably formed in the interstellar medium, but a solar origin cannot be ruled out. GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfide) that are isotopically solar within error are the best candidates for interstellar silicates, but it is also possible that they are Solar System condensates. No dust from young stellar objects has been identified in IDPs, but it is difficult to differentiate them from Solar System material or indeed some circumstellar condensates. The crystalline silicates in IDPs are mostly solar condensates, with lesser amounts of annealed GEMS. The IOM abundances in IDPs are roughly consistent with the degree of processing indicated by their crystallinity if the processed material was ISM dust. The IOM contents of meteorites are much lower suggesting that there was a gradient in dust processing in the Solar System. The microstructure of much of the pyroxene in IDPs suggests that it formed at temperatures >1258 K and cooled relatively rapidly (~1000 K/hr). This cooling rate favors shock heating rather than radial transport of material annealed in the hot inner disk as the mechanism for producing crystalline dust in comets and IDPs. Shock heating is also a likely mechanism for producing chondrules in meteorites, but the dust was probably heated at a different time and/or location to chondrules.