Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do monetary rewards bring happiness? Comparing the impacts of pay-for-performance in the public and private sectors

Abstract Does money make people happy? Empirical studies have investigated how personal income influences happiness, but the relationship between pay-for-performance (PFP) and happiness remains unknown. To address this gap, we examine the impact of PFP on worker happiness. In particular, we compare the impact between the public and private sectors, because scholars argue that PFP in the public sector often fails to deliver its intended benefits. Using data from the 2002 and 2006 General Social Surveys (GSS), we find that PFP only enhances worker happiness in the private sector, not the public sector. We also find that PFP is negatively related to the perceived relatedness and perceived organizational effectiveness in the public sector.
Neither changes in phosphorus metabolite levels nor myosin isoforms can explain the weakness in aged mouse muscle.

1. The contractile force, phosphorus metabolite levels, intracellular pH and myosin isoforms were compared in isolated soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from young (6 month old) and aged (28 month old) mice, at 23 degrees C. 2. The isometric force per unit cross‐sectional area was significantly lower by 21 +/‐ 5% in soleus muscles from aged mice compared to those from young mice (mean +/‐ S.E.M., n = 11 and 9 respectively). 3. The EDL muscle contained twice as much total creatine and phosphocreatine as the soleus, 1.7 times as much ATP, and 0.4 times the inorganic phosphate (Pi) per unit weight. The intracellular pH and free ADP levels were not significantly different between these muscle types. 4. There was no significant difference in resting metabolite levels between young and old EDL or soleus despite the difference in mechanical strength. 5. Examination of the expression of myosin isoforms by non‐denaturing gel electrophoresis has shown that the percentage of each isoform does not change with respect to age; thus, if there is an atrophic process occurring, it is not fibre type specific. 6. We have determined that neither the Pi levels nor the intracellular pH can explain the differences seen in muscle strength with age. There is also no correlation between muscle weakness and any of the other metabolites responsible for energy transduction (phosphocreatine, ATP or ADP).
Mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic network: functional and regulatory roles.

Article de synthese sur le reseau dopaminergique mesocorticolimbique chez les mammiferes. Synthese sur les caracteristiques fonctionnelles des projections dopaminergiques: striatum, cortex, systeme limbique. Synthese sur le fonctionnement et la regulation de ce reseau dans le cerveau en fonction du comportement et en fonction de l'individu
Comparison of repair of sublethal damage in cultured Chinese hamster cells exposed to sulfur mustard and x-rays.

Summary Survival curves of Chinese hamster cells exposed to graded doses of sulfur mustard are sigmoid; they start with a shoulder and become exponential. As in the case of X-irradiation, this suggests that cells must accumulate damage for a lethal drug effect, and, therefore, survivors are initially damaged sublethally. In spite of the fact that the survival dependence on position in the growth cycle differs for sulfur mustard and X-rays, in both cases surviving cells repair sublethal damage rapidly as they proceed to progress in their growth cycles. (This is clear with asynchronous as well as synchronized cells.) Further, as in the case of X-irradiation, the repair of sublethal sulfur mustard damage can be demonstrated readily at a temperature (24°C) at which very little cell progression occurs. Although sulfur mustard may not be typical of cancer chemotherapy drugs, and cultured Chinese hamster cells may not be typical of cells of interest in man, these results demonstrate the possible importance of repair of damage when therapy involves fractionated drug treatments.
False-negative isolations or absence of lesions may cause misdiagnosis of diseased plants infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi

In a series of growth cabinet, glasshouse and field experiments, tissue samples from living clonal lines of Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) were incubated immediately after sampling on agar (NARPH) selective for Phytophthora. Phytophthora cinnamomi was recovered 3-6 months after inoculation from 50% of samples with lesions and 30% of symptomless samples. However, up to 11% of samples with and without lesions and from which P. cinnamomi was not initially isolated contained viable pathogen. This was shown by removing tissue which had not produced any growth of P. cinnamomi on NARPH plates, cutting it into smaller sections, washing in sterile deionised water repeatedly for 9 days, and replating. Plating stem or bark tissue directly onto NARPH produced false-negative results for nine P. cinnamomi isolates and six jarrah clonal lines. The behaviour of the pathogen indicates that it could be present as dormant structures, such as chlamydospores, that need to be induced to germinate. Alternatively, fungistatic compounds in the tissue needed to be removed to allow the pathogen to grow. These results have important implications for disease diagnosis and management, disease-free certification and quarantine clearance. Additional keywords: collar rot, dieback, hemibiotroph, necrotroph, recovery, root rot,
HOW IS FIRM PERFORMANCE RELATED TO FAMILY OWNERSHIP IN MALAYSIA AND DOES BOARD INDEPENDENCE MODERATE THE RELATIONSHIP

This paper explores whether the performance of publicly-listed family-controlled firms in Malaysia is related to the extent of the families’ ownership. It also explores whether there are any moderating effects from the various attributes of board independence on the ownership-performance relationship of these firms. The findings indicate that increasing families’ ownership is related to better firm performance under the condition that the families do not have absolute ownership and control over their firms. However, giving more control via majority ownership that causes the families to become the only dominant party might enhance their ability to expropriate and cause firm performance to deteriorate. Therefore, proposal to increase ownership as a mean to reduce the classical agency-theory problems should be caveated under the principal-principal perspective. It is also found that the various board independence attributes do not exhibit any moderating influence on the family ownership-firm performance relationship. This finding may indicate the powerlessness of the boards of director in Malaysia when encountered with the influential controlling families whom the directorship tenures and opportunities of the non-family directors depend on. Decisions made by the controlling families which have bearing on firm performance may not have been effectively counter checked by the boards due to the lack of truly independent nature of the boards.
Successor CEO Functional And Educational Backgrounds: Influence Of Predecessor Characteristics And Performance Antecedents

This study seeks to examine if boards consider CEO educational and functional background when choosing a new CEO. It also examines which factors determine whether the board of directors will seek an incoming CEO with a different educational and/or functional background from that of the current CEO. Using a sample of 832 successions between 1992 and 2009, we found that the outgoing CEO characteristics and the firm characteristics influence the selection of the incoming CEO functional backgrounds. We found an increase in the likelihood of firms hiring incoming CEOs with the same functional backgrounds as the outgoing CEOs. Incoming CEOs with functional backgrounds in engineering/manufacturing are more likely to be hired by research-oriented firms. Incoming CEOs with functional backgrounds in accounting/finance are more likely to be hired by poorly performing firms. We also find that firms are more likely to change the functional background of the successor relative to the predecessor when there has been poor prior performance and the firm has higher institutional investor ownership.
Paris-Trousseau syndrome : clinical, hematological, molecular data of ten new cases

Summary Paris-Trousseau syndrome (PTS) is an inherited disorder char-acterized by mild hemorragic tendency associated with 11q chromosome deletion. Here we report ten new patients (5 boys,5 girls) with complete clinical history, biological data, ultra-structural and molecular investigations. Thrombocytopenia is chronic in all the patients except two boys in whom it disappeared during the two first years of life. On Romanovsky stained peripheral blood smears, abnormal platelets with giant granules were detected in all the children and confirmed by electron microscopy (EM). On bone marrow smears, dysmega-karyopoiesis with many micromegakaryocytes was constantly observed. Abnormal alpha-granules were virtually absent from bone marrow and cultured megakaryocytes, while EM detected numerous images of granule fusion within blood platelets. Molecular analyses evidenced that the fli-1 gene is deleted in all the patients except one confirming the crucial role of the transcription factor FLI-1 in megakaryopoiesis. In summary, this study documents ten new cases of PTS with characteristic alpha-granule abnormalities, and shows the putative pathogenic role of fli-1 gene in the pathophysiology of this syndrome.
Significant systemic and mucosal immune response induced on oral delivery of diphtheria toxoid using nano‐bilosomes

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Over the last decade apprehension has been growing over the effectiveness of existing parenteral vaccines for diphtheria and has created an interest in the development of a mucosally active vaccine. Oral immunization appears to be an effective alternative, but is not without the inherent disadvantages of antigen destruction and tolerance. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the incorporation of diphtheria toxoid (DTx) into bilosomes, which could provide protection as well as aid transmucosal uptake and subsequent immunization. Another objective was to determine the oral dose that will produce serum antibody titres comparable with those produced by i.m. doses of DTx.
Learning for Unknown Signal Pattern with Feedback Link

An on¿off sequence of an unknown signal pattern that is time-varying or fixed is dealt with. The optimum analogue feedback signal is obtained, which minimizes the average energy transmitted in the forward direction. The nonsupervised situation is also discussed. The effectiveness of the feedback method over the nonfeedback method is twice for the typical case.
The Effects of Marketing Stimuli Factors on Consumers’ Perceived Value and Purchase of Organic Food in Malaysia

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to examine the effects of marketing stimuli factors on consumers’ perceived value and subsequently on their actual purchase of organic food in Malaysia. Five key marketing stimuli variables were examined in this study, and they were product attributes, price, availability, sales promotion and marketing communications. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted on a sample of 430 organic food consumers in Malaysia. The structural equation modelling was used for data analysis and six hypotheses were tested. The results revealed that product attributes, availability and marketing communication have significantly influenced consumers’ perceived value of organic food. Subsequently, consumers' perceived value is positively correlated to the actual purchase of organic food. There was no significant effect of price and sales promotion on consumers’ perceived value of organic food. Based on the findings, the marketing stimuli strategies should be focused on providing superior value to consumers in the aspects of nutritional value, long term health benefits, environment friendliness, social status symbol and easy accessibility to increase consumers' purchase of organic foods. Keywords: Marketing stimuli; perceived value; product attributes; organic food ABSTRAK Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menguji kesan faktor rangsangan pemasaran terhadap persepsi nilai pengguna and seterusnya pembelian makanan organik di Malaysia. Lima jenis faktor rangsangan pemasaran dikaji, iaitu atribut produk, harga, ketersediaan, promosi jualan dan komunikasi pemasaran. Kajian ini berdasarkan keputusan daripada kaji selidik terhadap 430 pengguna makanan organik di Malaysia. Dengan menggunakan struktur pemodelan persamaan (SEM), enam hipotesis telah dikaji. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan atribut produk, ketersediaan dan komunikasi pemasaran mempunyai kesan signifikasi terhadap persepsi nilai pengguna untuk makanan organik. Seterusnya, persepsi nilai pengguna mempunyai hubungan positif dengan pembelian makanan organik. Tiada kesan yang signifikan bagi faktor harga dan promosi jualan terhadap persepsi nilai pengguna untuk makanan organik. Berdasarkan kajian ini, faktor rangsangan pemasaran perlu ditumpukan terhadap pemberian nilai kepada pengguna dalam aspek nilai nutrisi, manfaat kesihatan jangka panjang, mesra alam, simbol status sosial dan ketersediaan produk untuk menggalakkan pembelian makanan organik oleh pengguna. Kata kunci: Rangsangan pemasaran; persepsi nilai; atribut produk; makanan organik
Does cost of common equity capital effect on financial decisions? Case study companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of common equity cost of capital on financial decisions of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange . The independent and dependent variables of the research are cost of common equity capital and financial decisions (book leverage and market leverage) respectively. The sample consists of 87 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2009 and 2015 and the software used for statistical analysis is Stata 12. Hypotheses have been tested based on single-variable linear regression test. Based on the results from hypothesis testing, the first and second hypothesis suggests that there is a positive and significant relationship between capital costs and office financial and market leverages.
Physician staffing patterns and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients: a systematic review.

CONTEXT Intensive care unit (ICU) physician staffing varies widely, and its association with patient outcomes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between ICU physician staffing and patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE (January 1, 1965, through September 30, 2001) for the following medical subject heading (MeSH) terms: intensive care units, ICU, health resources/utilization, hospitalization, medical staff, hospital organization and administration, personnel staffing and scheduling, length of stay, and LOS. We also used the following text words: staffing, intensivist, critical, care, and specialist. To identify observational studies, we added the MeSH terms case-control study and retrospective study. Although we searched for non-English-language citations, we reviewed only English-language articles. We also searched EMBASE, HealthStar (Health Services, Technology, Administration, and Research), and HSRPROJ (Health Services Research Projects in Progress) via Internet Grateful Med and The Cochrane Library and hand searched abstract proceedings from intensive care national scientific meetings (January 1, 1994, through December 31, 2001). STUDY SELECTION We selected randomized and observational controlled trials of critically ill adults or children. Studies examined ICU attending physician staffing strategies and the outcomes of hospital and ICU mortality and length of stay (LOS). Studies were selected and critiqued by 2 reviewers. We reviewed 2590 abstracts and identified 26 relevant observational studies (of which 1 included 2 comparisons), resulting in 27 comparisons of alternative staffing strategies. Twenty studies focused on a single ICU. DATA SYNTHESIS We grouped ICU physician staffing into low-intensity (no intensivist or elective intensivist consultation) or high-intensity (mandatory intensivist consultation or closed ICU [all care directed by intensivist]) groups. High-intensity staffing was associated with lower hospital mortality in 16 of 17 studies (94%) and with a pooled estimate of the relative risk for hospital mortality of 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.82). High-intensity staffing was associated with a lower ICU mortality in 14 of 15 studies (93%) and with a pooled estimate of the relative risk for ICU mortality of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.50-0.75). High-intensity staffing reduced hospital LOS in 10 of 13 studies and reduced ICU LOS in 14 of 18 studies without case-mix adjustment. High-intensity staffing was associated with reduced hospital LOS in 2 of 4 studies and ICU LOS in both studies that adjusted for case mix. No study found increased LOS with high-intensity staffing after case-mix adjustment. CONCLUSIONS High-intensity vs low-intensity ICU physician staffing is associated with reduced hospital and ICU mortality and hospital and ICU LOS.
Expression of CD25 independently predicts early treatment failure of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)

CD25+ CD34+ CD38 leukaemic cells have been shown to be chemotherapy-resistant and initiate acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in xenograft models, suggesting a leukaemic stem cells (LSC) biology (Saito et al, 2010). High CD25 (also known as interleukin 2 receptor alpha, IL2RA) expression (>10%) at diagnosis in young (<60 years) AML patients in retrospective analysis correlated with a significantly shorter overall survival (OS, P = 0 0005) and relapse-free survival (RFS, P = 0 005). CD25 expression was also associated with FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation, and double positive patients had the poorest OS and RFS (P = 0 001 and P = 0 003, respectively; Terwijn et al, 2009).
Involvement of Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of Yeast Nap1 in Mitotic Progression

ABSTRACT Nucleosome assembly protein 1 (Nap1) is widely conserved from yeasts to humans and facilitates nucleosome formation in vitro as a histone chaperone. Nap1 is generally localized in the cytoplasm, except that subcellular localization of Drosophila melanogaster Nap1 is dynamically regulated between the cytoplasm and nucleus during early development. The cytoplasmic localization of Nap1 is seemingly incompatible with the proposed role of Nap1 in nucleosome formation, which should occur in the nucleus. Here, we have examined the roles of a putative nuclear export signal (NES) sequence in yeast Nap1 (yNap1). yNap1 mutants lacking the NES-like sequence were localized predominantly in the nucleus. Deletion of NAP1 in cells harboring a single mitotic cyclin gene is known to cause mitotic delay and temperature-sensitive growth. A wild-type NAP1 complemented these phenotypes while nap1 mutant genes lacking the NES-like sequence or carboxy-terminal region did not. These and other results suggest that yNap1 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein and that its shuttling is important for yNap1 function during mitotic progression. This study also provides a possible explanation for Nap1's involvement in nucleosome assembly and/or remodeling in the nucleus.
Dietary diversity is a predictor of acute malnutrition in rural but not in urban settings: evidence from Ghana.

Aims: To document the relationships between child dietary diversity and acute malnutrition (wasting) in urban and rural Ghana, controlling for maternal, child and household socio-demographic characteristics. Study Design: Cross sectional survey Place and Duration of Study: Urban and rural Ghana, between September and November 2008. Methodology: The analysis uses data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Data on children aged 6-36 months (n = 1,187) and their mothers who provided reports of child food consumption were analysed. The mother reported the child’s consumption of 16 food types/groups in the 24 hours prior to the survey. A value of 1 was assigned for each food group consumed, and these were summed to create the dietary diversity score (DDS). Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between DDS and childhood wasting. Results: Among rural children, but not urban children, higher DDS was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of wasting after controlling for child, maternal, and household characteristics. A one-point increase in DDS was associated with an 11%
Authoritarianism, Conservatism, Racial Diversity Threat, and the State Distribution of Hate Groups

ABSTRACT On the basis of K. Stenner's (2005) authoritarian dynamic theory, the author hypothesized that there is an interaction between U.S. state conservatism–liberalism and state racial heterogeneity threat, such that greater diversity threat tends to be associated with more hate groups in more conservative states and fewer hate groups in more liberal states. State aggregates of the conservative–liberal ideological preferences of 141,798 participants from 122 CBS News/New York Times national telephone polls conducted between 1976 and 1988 (R. S. Erikson, G. C. Wright, & J. P. McIver, 1993) served as proxies for authoritarian–nonauthoritarian dispositions. For the 47 states with complete data, the hypothesized interaction was tested for 2000, 2005, and 2006 with hierarchical multiple regression strategies and supported. The author's hypothesis was also affirmed with SES and the interaction of SES and diversity threat controlled for. In contrast, SES entirely accounted for simple relationships between threat and hate group frequency.
Role Of Milk Cooperatives In Village Development Of Karnataka State.

This paper aims at studying and revealing the role of the milk cooperatives invillage development through the recovery and growth of the overall dairy chain in Karnataka. The study reviews and analyzes the outcomes of the milk cooperative Development Program implemented by the KMF Marketing Assistance Program and continued by the Center for Agribusiness and village Development. The paper also identifies and discusses the forms of vertical integration occurring in the dairy sector of the State and concentrates on several important issues viz., contractual mechanism between farmers and cooperatives and farmers and processors, problems and challenges milk producers face, farm social investments. The paper also aims at studying the relationships between member farmers and milk marketing cooperatives.
A rat model of chronic moderate alcohol consumption and risk of decompression sickness.

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to establish if chronic, moderate, pre-dive alcohol consumption had any affect upon susceptibility to decompression sickness (DCS) in rats. METHODS A treatment group of 15 rats were given water containing 12 mL ·L ⁻¹ of ethanol for four weeks. Controls (n = 15) were given water. Both groups were compressed with air to 1,000 kPa, followed by staged decompression. An additional 30 control rats from a similar previous experiment were added, raising the control-treatment ratio to 3:1. RESULTS Rats in the treatment group consumed the equivalent of an 80 kg man drinking 2 L of 5 % alcohol by volume beer per day, which is three times the recommended daily limit for men. Overall, comparing the treatment group with the combined control groups neither weight (P = 0.23) nor alcohol consumption (P = 0.69) were associated with DCS. DISCUSSION We observed that chronic, moderate alcohol consumption prior to compression was neither prophylactic nor deleterious for DCS in young, male rats.