Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparison of two commercially available anti‐HEV IgG kits and a re‐evaluation of anti‐HEV IgG seroprevalence data in developed countries

In developed countries, the incidence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and the resulting seroprevalence are uncertain. Published estimates of seroprevalnce in these populations range from 0.26% to 31%, which may in part reflect the variety of assays used by different studies. This study compared the performance of two commercial assays (Genelabs [Singapore] and Wantai ‘Beijing, China’ HEV IgG EIA kits) and reviewed published estimates of anti‐HEV seroprevalence in developed countries. The assays were compared using the WHO anti‐HEV reference serum, sera from UK‐acquired cases of genotype 3 HEV infections and 500 UK blood donor sera. The PE2 assay was found to be more sensitive than the GL assay (lower limit of detection for HEV IgG 0.25 vs. 2.5 WHO units/ml); it was positive in more sera from proven cases (98% vs. 56%), remained positive for longer post infection and resulted in a substantially higher estimate of seroprevalence in blood donors (16.2% vs. 3.6%). these results suggest that published studies of HEV seroprevalence using the GL assay have underestimated the true figure and that a properly validated method is required to make meaningful comparisons of HEV seroprevalence between populations. J. Med. Virol. 82: 799–805, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of ovulation-oviposition patterns in the domestic fowl by telemetry measurement of deep body temperature.

Continuous temperature records in relation to time of oviposition and behaviour associated with it are summarized for 13 laying strain pullets with a regular pattern of oviposition and for a further 10 pullets which were either 'internal layers' , or natural or induced layers of membranous-shell eggs. The records of five pullets, in which the most recently ruptured follicle was excised within 2-5 h after ovulation, and of four control pullets are also included.
Cross‐cultural similarities and differences in motives to forgive: A comparison between and within cultures

Recently, researchers have begun to explore people's motives to forgive those who have offended them. Using a recall method, we examined whether such motives (relationship-, offender- or self-focused) differ between and within cultures that are more collectivistic (Moluccan Islands in Indonesia) or more individualistic (the Netherlands) and whether this depends on people's relationship with the offender. More specifically, we examined the idea that other-focused motives should be more important in cultures that are more collectivistic and that self-focused motives should prevail in more individualistic cultures. We found that Moluccan participants indeed endorsed relationship- and offender-focused motives more than Dutch participants. Moluccan and Dutch participants did not, however, differ in the extent to which they endorsed self-focused motives. Furthermore, Dutch participants were more likely to endorse relationship motives (especially in close relations) than self-focused motives. For Moluccan participants, relationship-, offender- and self-focused motives were equally important and also did not depend on how close they were with the offender. Differences between the samples could not be explained by the extent to which people defined themselves as more independent or interdependent. The implications of these findings for future research on forgiveness motives are discussed.
Bank Online Reporting: Comparative Advantage, Formalism of Fashion?

This paper aims to explore voluntary and mandatory online reporting practice of banks in the Republic of Croatia and its linkage to bank-specific attributes. Taking into consideration national banking and accounting regulation that has recently been fostered in direction of extending financial reporting requirements, online annual reports of banks are intended to be evaluated using financial disclosure index. Hypothesis on the link between bank’s performance and size with quantity and quality of its financial disclosure on the Internet is expected to be empirically verified. However, the originality of this study in comparison to our previous work is expected to be visible in empirical evidence on website disclosure of social responsibility activities in the Croatian banking sector. In that way, vacuum in empirical researches on banks’ social responsibility reporting in emerging countries in post-transitional era should be somewhat fulfilled. Disclosure on social activism is expected to be significantly attributed to bank size or more precise to large banks while this kind of self-promotion of their role and relevance in a society is not yet being recognized by the small sized banks. At last, discussion on the use and usefulness of more complete website reporting as well as on socially responsible behavior of banks will follow.
Anisotropic scattering for a magnetized cold plasma sphere

The transformation of parameter tensors for anisotropic medium in different coordinate systems is derived. The electric field for a magnetized cold plasma sphere and the general expression of scattering field from anisotropic target are obtained. The functional relations of differential scattering cross section and the RCS for the magnetized plasma sphere are presented. Simulation results are in agree with that in the literatures, which shows the method used and results obtained are correct and the results provide a theoretical base for anisotropic target identification etc.
TCP Veno revisited

Diverse links (i.e., wireless links, satellite links and ADSL links) are being widely deployed in current Internet, unlike wired links, these heterogeneous links are causing significant performance degradation of TCP. Recently one sender-side enhancement of TCP, called Veno TCP, is proposed to mainly eliminate TCP's suffering in wireless environments. Real network measurements and live Internet results validated Veno's throughput improvement and its harmonious co-existence with legacy TCP connections. In this paper, we revisit Veno TCP and evaluate its performance in more practical way. Specifically, we measure Veno from four metrics - compatibility, flexibility, robustness and deployablity. Our extensive arguments not only prove Veno's advantages, but also illuminate some basic philosophies behind Veno, which could provide helpful guidelines for future protocol design.
Validity Comparison of Three Dental Methods for Age Estimation Based on Tooth Root Translucency

Age estimation of nonliving subjects plays a very important role in identifying human remains. When adult remains are in question, this process becomes even more complex. Among the numerous dental methods that exist for adults aging, the evaluation of root translucency is one of the most useful. This study studies the correlation between age and root translucency by investigating monoradicular teeth affected by pathological processes using the equations proposed by Lamendin, Prince & Ubelaker and from Singhal et al. The average age values calculated according to the three methods were compared with the values of known age. Age estimation using the Student's t‐test resulted as more accurate in the methods by Singhal et al. and by Prince & Ubelaker, with respect to that of Lamendin. Age estimation based solely on the percentage of radicular dentinal translucency has been found to be more accurate when diseased teeth are involved.
Increased risk for pulmonary embolism in patients with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the increased risk for pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with manic-depressive psychosis/bipolar disorder (BD). Affective patients show increased mortality compared with the background population. METHODS A register study was carried out in which somatic and psychiatric information in 25,834 BD patients and 117,815 controls was extracted from The Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register, The National Register of Patients, The Danish Central Person Register and The Danish Register of Causes of Death, with similar information about patients with schizophrenia and anxiety for comparison. RESULTS Patients with BD had a significantly increased occurrence of PE [increased incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.61; 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.38, 1.88)]. An association was also found in schizophrenic patients [IRR=1.78; 95% CI (1.27, 2.51)] and in anxiety patients [IRR=1.49; 95% CI (1.10, 2.02)]. CONCLUSIONS Increased occurrence of PE in patients with BD is one of the explanations of increased mortality in the affective patient group. A similar finding in females with schizophrenia and females with anxiety suggests 'mental disorder' as the risk factor for PE. The causes for the increased occurrence of PE in BD patients (and other diagnostic groups) need further investigation.
Ionic calcium levels in oviduct explant-conditioned media from an Australian marsupial, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and its relevance to in vitro fertilization

Gametes from the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), an Australian marsupial, require exposure to oviductal cells and/or their secretions before sperm binding and penetration of the zona pellucida can occur. Sperm-egg fusion, the next critical step in fertilization has not previously been reported in vitro. Here we describe the refinement of an oviduct epithelial cell (OEC) explant culture system using two different media to obtain in vitro sperm-egg fusion in the brushtail possum for the first time. Conditioned media from OEC explant cultures were supplemented with either 1% fetal calf serum (FCS) or 1mg/ml polyvinyl alcohol and used for co-culture of epididymal sperm and superovulated eggs. Under these conditions zona penetration rates varied from 0 to 46% and sperm-egg fusion from 0 to 20%. Analysis of explant conditioned media indicated that qualitative and quantitative differences between batches could account, at least partially, for the large variability in zona penetration rates. Conditioned media that contained approximately 1mM of ionic calcium were most effective for achieving sperm capacitation, zona binding, and penetration and sperm-egg fusion. The reorientation of the sperm head to T-shape, an indicator of capacitation in the brushtail possum, was closely linked with the concentration of calcium present in vitro.
Ability to learn inhaler technique in relation to cognitive scores and tests of praxis in old age

Clinical observations have shown that some older patients are unable to learn to use a metered dose inhaler (MDI) despite having a normal abbreviated mental test (AMT) score, possibly because of dyspraxia or unrecognised cognitive impairment. Thirty inhaler-naive inpatients (age 76–94) with an AMT score of 8–10 (normal) were studied. Standard MDI training was given and the level of competence reached was scored (inhalation score). A separate observer performed the minimental test (MMT), Barthel index, geriatric depression score (GDS), ideational dyspraxia test (IDT), and ideomotor dyspraxia test (IMD). No correlative or threshold relationship was found between inhalation score and Barthel index, GDS, or IDT. However, a significant correlation was found between inhalation score and IMD (r = 0.45, p = 0.039) and MMT (r = 0.48, p = 0.032) and threshold effects emerged in that no subject with a MMT score of less than 23/30 had an inhalation score of 5/10 or more (adequate technique requires 6/10 or more), and all 17/18 with an inhalation score of 6/10 or more had an IMD of 14/20 or more. The three patients with a MMT >22 and inhalation score <6 had abnormal IMD scores. Inability to learn an adequate inhaler technique in subjects with a normal AMT score appears to be due to unrecognised cognitive impairment or dyspraxia. The MMT is probably a more useful screening test than the AMT score in this context.
Evaluating the strength of the internal audit function : the case of Sudanese Banks

To date, the focus of the research in the area of auditing, in particular, the strength of internal audit function and its relationship with external auditing has been mainly conducted in developed countries. Adding to the very few studies carried out in developing countries, this is the first study attempt to investigate the issue in the Sudanese context. This study aims to investigate the strength of internal audit function in Sudanese banks in terms of internal audit departments' objectivity, competence and work performance and monitoring of internal controls and furthermore; the relationship between internal and external audit functions in term of external auditors' reliance decision on the work of internal auditors. Twenty-one hypotheses are developed to explore the relationships between the demographic variables and the above factors by surveying 117 banks internal auditors in 21 banks and external auditors responsible for banks' audits using self-administered questionnaire. Furthermore, 8 interviews were conducted with external auditors (partners) and banks' directors of internal
Development and validation of a socioculturally competent trust in physician scale for a developing country setting

Trust in physicians is the unwritten covenant between the patient and the physician that the physician will do what is in the best interest of the patient. This forms the undercurrent of all healthcare relationships. Several scales exist for assessment of trust in physicians in developed healthcare settings, but to our knowledge none of these have been developed in a developing country context. Objectives To develop and validate a new trust in physician scale for a developing country setting. Methods Dimensions of trust in physicians, which were identified in a previous qualitative study in the same setting, were used to develop a scale. This scale was administered among 616 adults selected from urban and rural areas of Tamil Nadu, south India, using a multistage sampling cross sectional survey method. The individual items were analysed using a classical test approach as well as item response theory. Cronbach's α was calculated and the item to total correlation of each item was assessed. After testing for unidimensionality and absence of local dependence, a 2 parameter logistic Semajima's graded response model was fit and item characteristics assessed. Results Competence, assurance of treatment, respect for the physician and loyalty to the physician were important dimensions of trust. A total of 31 items were developed using these dimensions. Of these, 22 were selected for final analysis. The Cronbach's α was 0.928. The item to total correlations were acceptable for all the 22 items. The item response analysis revealed good item characteristic curves and item information for all the items. Based on the item parameters and item information, a final 12 item scale was developed. The scale performs optimally in the low to moderate trust range. Conclusions The final 12 item trust in physician scale has a good construct validity and internal consistency.
An Immunohistochemical Study of Gastrointestinal Endocrine Cells in the BALB/c Mouse

The distributions and frequencies of some endocrine cells in the eight portions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of BALB/c mouse were studied. Endocrine cells were stained using immunohistochemical method with seven types of antisera against bovine chromogranin (BCG), serotonin, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK)‐8, somatostatin, glucagon and human pancreatic polypeptide (HPP), and the regional distributions and their relative frequencies were observed in the eight portions of the GIT of BALB/c mice. All seven types of immunoreactive (IR) cells were identified. Most of the IR cells in the intestinal portion were generally spherical or spindle in shape (open type cell) while round‐shaped cells (closed type cell) were found in the intestinal gland and stomach regions occasionally. Their relative frequencies varied according to each portion of the GIT. BCG‐IR cells were observed throughout the whole GIT except for the rectum and they were most predominant in the pylorus. Serotonin‐IR cells were detected throughout the whole GIT and they showed the highest frequency in the fundus. Gastrin‐ and CCK‐IR cells were restricted to the pylorus and duodenum with a majority in the pylorus and rare or a few frequencies in the duodenum. Compared with other mammals, somatostatin‐IR cells were restricted to the fundus and pylorus with a few frequencies, respectively. In addition, glucagon‐ and HPP‐IR cells were restricted to the fundus and duodenum, respectively, with relative low frequencies. Some species‐dependent unique distributions and frequencies of endocrine cells were observed in the GIT of BALB/c mouse compared with other rodents.
Corporate Culture and Financial Reporting Risk: Looking Through the Glassdoor

We study whether financial reporting risk is associated with job satisfaction, company culture, and opinions of senior leadership. We use novel data on employees’ perspectives obtained from the website Glassdoor, covering 14,282 firm-years in the period 2008-2015. We argue that poorly implemented performance objectives leads to pressure and creates a boiler room effect, negatively impacting the corporate climate of the firm and increasing the propensity to manipulate performance metrics. We find that firms with lower levels of job satisfaction (as measured by employees) and lower levels of “culture and values” are more likely to be subjected to SEC fraud enforcement actions and securities class action lawsuits. Consistent with the boiler room effect, we find that a negative corporate climate is also associated with an increased likelihood of narrowly meeting or beating market earnings expectations. Conversely, we find job satisfaction and positive employee opinions of senior leadership to be associated with lower abnormal accruals. We also find that the association between firms’ culture and financial reporting risk is stronger for firms with weaker board independence. Thus, the work environment, as perceived by employees, appears to play a critical role in financial reporting risk.
Orthotopic tumorgrafts in nude mice: A new method to study human prostate cancer

In vivo model systems in prostate cancer research that authentically reproduce tumor growth are still sparse. While orthotopic implantation is technically difficult, particularly in the mouse, most models favor subcutaneous tumor growth. This however provides little information about natural tumor growth behavior and tumor stroma interaction. Furthermore, established prostate cancer cell lines grown as in vivo xenografts are not able to reflect the variety of tumor specific growth patterns and growth behavior in men. Primary cell cultures are difficult to handle and an induction of orthotopic tumors has not been successful yet. Therefore, a tumorgraft model using tumor tissue from prostatectomy specimens was developed.
Assignment1 of TTC4 to human chromosome band 1p31.3 and a pseudogene TTC4P to 7p14→p13 by in situ hybridization

TTC4 is the fourth member of a human gene family that encodes proteins containing a conserved tetratricopeptide repeat motif. The cloning of TTC4 cDNA has recently been reported, together with a provisional assignment within a region of chromosome 1 frequently lost in breast cancer (Su et al., 1999). We have mapped the gene precisely by FISH, and have excluded it as the target for loss in breast cancer. We report the genomic structure of TTC4 and we have additionally identified a pseudogene which maps to chromosome 7p14→ p13.
The Determinants and Consequences of Shareholder versus Stakeholder Corporate Governance Disclosure Policies: Evidence from Post-apartheid South Africa

This study examines the drivers of shareholder versus stakeholder corporate governance (CG) disclosures and their consequences. Based on a hand-collected dataset of 1470 firm-years in South Africa (SA), we develop disclosure indices using 72 CG provisions from the King III report of CG. We find that CEO age, foreign ownership, board size, racial diversity and audit committee increase total voluntary disclosure. Also, whilst board size and the presence of an audit committee increase both shareholder and stakeholder CG disclosures, foreign ownership have a positive (negative) relationship with shareholder (stakeholder) CG disclosures. Further, racial diversity of the board increases stakeholder disclosure but not shareholder disclosure. Our results further indicate that, ceteris paribus, the extent of shareholder CG disclosure relative to stakeholder CG disclosure is (1) higher with CEO age, foreign ownership, institutional ownership, and audit committee; and (2) lower with board size and racial diversity of the board. We find that, in the absence of higher level shareholder CG disclosures, the disclosure of stakeholder CG provisions can be a vehicle for managerial entrenchment that reduces pay-performance link. Our findings are robust across a raft of econometric techniques.
Nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME has no effect on 86Rb accumulation in rat renal cortical slices.

UNLABELLED The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME on the 86Rb uptake in rat renal cortical slices. Rats were divided into three groups: 1. CONTROL. 2. Acute: L-NAME (10 mg/kg i.v.) as a bolus 15 min before the excision of the kidneys. 3. Sub-chronic: L-NAME (10 mg/kg/day) per os for 4 days. Renal cortical slices were incubated for 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 180 seconds in Krebs-Ringer solution containing 50 kBq 86Rb/100 ml (T = 37 degrees C, PO2 approximately 159 mm Hg). 56Rb accumulation (S/M) was calculated as the ratio of the radioactivity of the cortical slices (S) and the radioactivity of the incubating medium (M). The S/M ratio can be described as a function of time by the following equations. CONTROL y = 0.265 ln(x) - 0.220, r(xy) = 0.886; acute L-NAME: y = 0.224 ln(x) - 0.171, r(xy) = 0.921; sub-chronic L-NAME: y = 0.331 ln(x) - 0.496, r(xy) = 0.942. (y = S/M, x = t). p < 0.001 in all of the groups, but there is no difference between the groups. In conclusion, L-NAME administered in vivo failed to influence the in vitro 86Rb accumulation in rat renal cortical slices.
Assessing the Impact of Publicly Funded Business Advisory Services on Entrepreneurial Outcomes

Given the mixed evidence for the impact of various publicly funded initiatives that aim to foster entrepreneurial activity, this paper empirically examines the efficacy of publicly funded business advisory services in relation to entrepreneurial outcomes. Based on a sample of 228 early-stage firms, of which 101 used business advisory services focused on helping companies secure 1 rounds of financing and start generating revenues, we examine the firm-level impact such services can have on sales growth, innovation, finance and alliances. We find services are positively associated with firms’ sales growth, patents, finance and alliances. We assess statistical and economic significance, and assess robustness to controls for the non-randomness of the firm’s matching with the business advisory service program, as well as endogeneity of advisors’ hours spent with firms, among other robustness checks. We find significant robustness of hours spent on sales and finance, but sensitivity of the effect of hours on patents and alliances after controlling for endogeneity.