Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local Vibrio Isolates Exhibit Molecular Characteristics Distinct from Reference V. harveyi and V. campbellii Strains

Six Vibrio isolates identified biochemically as Vibrio campbellii from Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in Tigbauan, Iloilo, were characterized by 16 rDNA sequence, total protein profile, and DNA profile analyses. Genomic DNA from the isolates were subjected to PCR using four sets of primers targeting gene fragments of hemolysin and toxR based on sequences from reference Vibrio harveyi (IFO15634), V. campbellii (IFO1563), and local isolates identified as V. harveyi. Total protein profile could not distinguish the isolates from one another and from the reference V. harveyi (IFO15634) and V. campbellii (IFO15631). Analysis of 16s rDNA sequences revealed high degree of sequence similarity (96% - 99%) of the six local isolates with other Vibrio species including V. campbellii and V. parahaemolyticus, indicating that this analysis will not be useful in resolving their identity. All six isolates exhibited characteristic reference V. harveyi PCR profile when a primer set designed to amplify a 308-bp fragment of hemolysin gene in that species was used. However, no amplicons were generated for these isolates using primers that amplify toxR gene fragments in V. harveyi. This suggests that the six isolates were not bonafide V. harveyi strains. The isolates also did not exhibit V. campbellii characteristics since the primer designed to target the toxR gene in V. campbellii could not amplify DNA from any of the six isolates, suggesting that they were not bonafide V. campbellii strains either. The toxR gene from the six isolates could be amplified using a primer based on toxR gene sequences from a SEAFDEC isolate previously identified as V. harveyi (PN-9801). These data suggest that the six isolates previously identified as V. campbellii as well as PN-9801 may be classified in one group separate from bonafide reference V. harveyi and reference V. campbellii strains, based on the identical results in the molecular analyses performed in this study.
Dividend Payout, Corporate Governance, and the Enforcement of Creditor Rights in Emerging Markets

In this paper I examine the relationship between the strength of creditor rights, their enforcement, corporate governance and corporate dividend payout in a sample of 281 emerging market firms. I show that the outcome model of dividends, which states that corporate dividend payout increases in the strength of corporate governance, holds in emerging markets, but only where the legal enforcement of creditor rights is strong. Where legal enforcement is weak, the shareholders of better-governed firms are not able to use their legal rights to extract large dividends from firms. The shareholders of better-governed firms are unable to extract large dividends from firms irrespective of the strength of creditor rights. That is, differences in creditor rights are not systematically related to dividend payout in the way predicted by the agency costs of debt and equity version of the outcome model of dividends.
ON IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT : THREE RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENTS WITH FINANCIAL ANALYSTS Rio de Janeiro – RJ 2015

This thesis aims to explore the concept of impression management from the financial analysts’ point of view. Impression management is the definition of the act of an agent manipulating an impression that another person have of this agent, in the context of this thesis it happens when a company make graphics to disclosure financial-accounting information in order to manipulate the market’s perception of their performance. Three types of impression management were analyzed: presentation enhancement (color manipulation), measurement distortion (scale manipulation) and selectivity (the disclosure of positive information only). While presentation enhancement improved only the most impulsive financial analysts’ perception of firm’s performance, the measurement distortion improved the perception of performance for both groups of financial analysts (impulsive and reflective). Finally, selectivity improved the financial analysts’ perception of firm’s performance for both groups (impulsive and reflective), although impulsive financial analysts assigned lower ratings when compared to their reflective peers, on average, to a hypothetical company.
Spherical cap harmonic analysis

The solution of Laplace's equation, in spherical coordinates, is developed for the boundary value problem appropriate to fitting the geomagnetic field over a spherical cap. The solution involves associated Legendre functions of integral order but nonintegral degree. The basis functions comprise two infinite sets, within each of which the functions are mutually orthogonal. The series for the expansion of the potential can by design be differentiated term by term to yield uniformly convergent series for the field components. The method is demonstrated by modeling the International Geomagnetic Reference Field 1980 at the earth's surface and upward continuing it to 300 and 600 km. The rate of convergence of the series is rapid, and standard errors of fit as low as the order of a nanotesla can be obtained with a reasonable number of coefficients. Upward continuation suffers from not considering data outside the cap, the deterioration being confined to the boundary at low continuation altitudes but spreading inward over the cap with increasing altitudes. At 600 km the standard error of upward continuation is about 5 times the standard error of fit. Both the fit and the upward continuation can be greatly improved at a given truncation level by subtraction of a known spherical harmonic potential determined from data from the whole earth.
The Symbiosis between Frankia alni and Alder Shrubs Results in a Tolerance of the Environmental Stress Associated With Tailings from the Canadian Oil Sands Industry

Alders are well recognized for their ability to colonize the harsh environments created by either natural processes or human activity. They establish symbiosis with the actinomycete Frankia which supplies 70 to 100 % of the plant’s nitrogen requirements. An important challenge facing the oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada, is management of the toxicity of Tailing Sands (TS) that are alkaline, saline and contain Naphthenic Acids (NA). In order to begin to understand how alders, Frankia and their symbiosis perform and adapt to these challenging environmental conditions, the tolerance of the microsymbiont (Frankia), the host plants (alders) and their symbiosis to specific compounds found in TS was studied. In addition, the metabolic response of Frankiaalni ACN14a to the presence of NA was characterized. The Frankia strains tested tolerated both high pH and NA levels in addition to salts near or at the concentrations found in TS. Furthermore, actinorhizal symbiosis can establish itself under these conditions. NaCl was observed to exert the greatest stress on the establishment of symbiosis, decreasing the efficiency of the actinorhizal symbiosis. Inoculation of the alder plants with Frankia induced a significant increase in aerial biomass allocation. Finally, intracellular proteins in Frankiaalni ACN14a whose expression level were influenced by naphthenic acids were identified. Together, these results demonstrate that actinorhizal alders show significant promise for use in the revegetation of lands affected by the mine tailings of the Canadian petroleum industry.
Service quality evaluation of technical institutions using data envelopment analysis

In the present emerging global economy, the focus has been shifted from manufacturing to service sector necessitating the quality assessment in service sector as an important issue. Education sector, especially Technical Education System (TES), is characterised as highly process oriented, intangibility and multistakeholder situations. Therefore, difficulty arises in evaluating quality of education being imparted aggregating the inputs and outputs of the system. This paper proposes an alternative method viz. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) which can aggregate the input and output components in such situations for obtaining an overall performance measure. Selected technical institutions in India are assessed for their service quality using DEA and suggestion is put forward for the non-performing institutions. The result shows significant difference between the conventional system of evaluation and DEA methods.
Good governance and organization performance in public sector: A proposed framework

The matter of governance has become an essential and a critical issue for the public sector particularly in Malaysia.Most of government leaders have stressed and given more focus on the issues of governance, which called for the public sector to work in a system of check and balance.Further, the public service servant, including professional management group and support group recommended to emulate a value system that stress more on the subject of ethics, openness, accountability, transparency, and wholeness in the public sector.This issue needs to be addressed accordingly as it gives bearing on the operation of an establishment.This paper performs to propose a study of good governance on the performance of the organization in the Malaysian public sector.
Hepatocellular carcinoma: hepatocyte-selective enhancement at gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging--correlation with expression of sinusoidal and canalicular transporters and bile accumulation.

PURPOSE To investigate the mechanism of enhancement of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on gadoxetic acid-enhanced hepatobiliary phase magnetic resonance (MR) images and to characterize HCC thus enhanced. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and patient informed consent for research use of the resected specimen was obtained. MR images in 25 patients (20 men, five women; mean age, 68 years; range, 49-82 years) with 27 resected hypervascular HCCs (one well, 13 moderately, 13 poorly differentiated) that demonstrated hepatocyte-selective enhancement on gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR images, were quantitatively studied, and findings were correlated with results of immunohistochemical staining for a sinusoidal transporter, organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 (OATP1B1) and/or OATP1B3 (OATP1B1 and/or -1B3), and a canalicular transporter, multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2), and also with bile accumulation in tumors. Statistical analysis was performed with the Student t test and Scheffé post hoc test. RESULTS Combined with positive OATP1B1 and/or -1B3 expression (O+), two patterns of MRP2 expression contributed to high enhancement: decreased expression (M-, n = 3) and increased expression at the luminal membrane of pseudoglands (M+[P], n = 3). Nodules without OATP1B1 and/or -1B3 expression (O-, n = 13) and nodules with O+ associated with increased MRP2 expression only at the canaliculi (M+[C], n = 8) induced significantly lower enhancement than those with the two expression patterns described before (O+/M- group vs O- group, P = .002; O+/M- group vs O+/M+[C] group, P = .047; O+/M+[P] group vs O- group, P < .001; O+/M+[P] group vs O+/M+[C] group, P < .001). Nodules with bile pigment (n = 12) showed significantly higher enhancement (P = .004); all five nodules (one well differentiated HCC, four moderately differentiated HCCs), which were enhanced more than adjacent liver parenchyma, contained bile pigment. CONCLUSION High hepatocyte-selective enhancement is induced by expression patterns of transporters, which may result in accumulation of gadoxetic acid in cytoplasm of tumor cells or in lumina of pseudoglands. An HCC with gadoxetic acid enhancement is characterized by bile accumulation in tumors.
TQM HEALTH PRACTICES AND CLIENT SATISFACTION IN A SELECTED HEALTH FACILITY IN GHANA

Total Quality Management (TQM) for health care delivery provides a model to help hospitals organize, communicate, monitor, and continuously improve all aspects of health care delivery. The literature concerning service quality dimensions in the healthcare industry is replete with studies from the developed world. Researchers from developing countries are yet to fully demonstrate the impact of TQM health practices on client satisfaction. The current study aimed to establish the TQM health practices (adequacy of health facility and health care amenities, doctor-patient relationship, pharmacy staff service delivery, and nurses and midwives service delivery) that determine client satisfaction in a selected Health facility in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey of 150 patients between the ages of 18 - 60+years who were sampled randomly. The sample consisted of 72 male (48%) and 78 female (52%) clients. We used Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and Multiple regression models for analysis. Results of the correlation analysis revealed that, condition of health facility, doctor-patient relationship, and nurses and midwives service delivery significantly relates to client satisfaction of health care delivery ( r = 0.261, 0.348 and 0.638; p = 0.001, 0.000 and 0.000 respectively). The Standard multiple regression analysis also revealed that only nurse and midwives service delivery is a unique and statistically significant predictor of clients' satisfaction. We recommend consistent review of health care practices that seek to promote the positive correlate in this study to enhance sustenance and growth in health care delivery in Ghana.
Atorvastatin May Delay Cardiac Aging by Upregulating Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors in Rats

Aims: To investigate the effect of atorvastatin on cardiac aging in rats. Materials: Ninety 20-month-old Wistar rats were administered oral atorvastatin (AVT; 10 or 1 mg·kg-1·day-1) or saline for 4 months. At the end of the experiment, age-related changes in hearts were measured. Results: Compared with young rats, obvious increases were found in the aging rats in left ventricle thickness, diameter of cardiocytes, collagen deposition, the ratio of type I/type III collagen, β-galactosidase and malondialdehyde (MDA), and obvious decreases were found in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS). The treatment with AVT led to significant decreases in the thickness of the left ventricle, diameter of cardiocytes, collagen deposition, I/III collagen ratio, MDA, β-galactosidase and increases in the activity of SOD, CAT and NOS. Some aging-related inflammatory cytokines like interleukin (IL)-1β, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 were found to be overexpressed in the aging rats. AVT treatment could inhibit the expression of IL-1β, TNF-α and MMP-9 on both the mRNA and protein levels, and increase the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR-α/β/δ/γ). Pretreatment with PPAR inhibitors attenuated the inhibitory effect of AVT on the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Conclusion: AVT may retard the cardiac aging process by upregulating PPARs.
Sorption Properties of Clay and Pectin-Containing Hydrogels

As is known, polymeric polyelectrolyte hydrogels are superabsorbents that are capable of absorbing moisture in amounts many times greater than their own mass. Numerous studies have shown that besides water absorption and retention, they can also be effectively used as sorbents to purify water from heavy metals. In many works, attempts are made to improve the sorption properties of polyelectrolyte hydrogels by creating polymer composites based on them. Organic/inorganic composite materials frequently exhibited desired hybrid performance superior to their individual components and cost-efficient characteristics. The composites derived from natural polysaccharides and inorganic clay minerals are of special interest by virtue of their unique commercial and environmental advantages, which means that the design and development of environmentally friendly superabsorbents, introducing natural ingredients, have long been necessary. In this paper, we consider polymer hydrogels based on a copolymer of acrylic acid and acrylamide filled with pectin and bentonite. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of chemical conditions on hydrogels and their composites, kinetic, and absorption behavior toward metal ions in the presence of the chelating agent. In this chapter, an investigation of the kinetic patterns of swelling, deswelling, and sorption of the hydrogels and their composites will be presented.
YouTube for Information on Rheumatoid Arthritis — A Wakeup Call?

Objective. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common debilitating autoimmune disease, with unmet need for knowledge among patients and the general population. YouTube is a popular, consumer-generated, video-sharing website, which can be a source of information on RA. We investigated the quality of information on RA on YouTube and analyzed audience interaction. Methods. YouTube was searched using the term “Rheumatoid Arthritis,” for videos uploaded on RA. Two physicians independently classified videos as useful, misleading, or patient views, and rated them on a 5-point global quality scale (GQS; 1 = poor quality, 5 = excellent quality). Useful videos were rated for reliability and content, on a 5-point scale (higher scores represent more reliable and comprehensive videos). Source of videos was also noted. Audience interaction was assessed through video viewership. Results. A total of 102 relevant videos were identified; 54.9% were classified as useful (GQS 2.9 ± 1.0) and 30.4% deemed misleading (GQS 1.3 ± 1.6). Mean reliability and content score of useful videos was 3.2 (± 1.0) and 2.5 (± 1.2), respectively. All videos uploaded by university channels and professional organizations provided useful information but formed only 12.7% of total videos, whereas 73.9% of medical advertisements and videos by for-profit organizations were misleading. There was no difference in the viewership/day (10.0 vs 21.5; p = nonsignificant) of useful and misleading information. Conclusion. YouTube is a source of information on RA, of variable quality, with wide viewership and potential to influence patients’ knowledge and behavior. Physicians and professional organizations should be aware of and embrace this evolving technology to raise awareness about RA, and empower patients to discriminate useful from misleading information.
Measuring intersectoral technology spillovers estimates from the European and US patent office databases

This paper presents several new methods for measuring intersectoral knowledge spillovers, and applies these methods in an analysis of productivity growth in manufacturing for a cross-country, cross-sectional sample for the 1980s. It is argued that existing methods of measuring such intersectoral knowledge spillovers are mostly aimed at measuring so-called crent spillovers'. The methods developed here are aimed at measuring knowledge spillovers—an additional aspect of the spillover process. The empirical analysis shows that there are indeed differences between these two types of spillover measure.
The Rise in House Prices in China: Bubbles or Fundamentals?

The dramatic rise of house prices in many cities of China has brought huge attention from both the governmental and academic circles. There is a huge debate on whether the increasing house prices are driven by market fundamentals or just by speculation. Like Levin and Wright (1997a, 1997b), we decompose house prices in China into fundamental and non-fundamental components. We also consider potential nonlinear feedback from the historical growth rate of house prices on the current house prices and propose a semiparametric approach to estimate the speculative components in the model. We demonstrate that the non-fundamental part contributes a relatively small proportion of the rise of house prices in China.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Elderly Population: Atypical Presentation and Diagnostic Challenges

OSA impacts every aspect of daily functioning in the elderly population. Obstructive sleep apnea is widely prevalent in the elderly population yet it is underdiagnosed due to factors such as lack of awareness of the condition and atypical presentation of the disorder. Understanding the atypical presentation of obstructive sleep apnea in the elderly population is vital for the early diagnosis and health care cost control as this disorder causes wide variety of disease affecting cardiovascular, pulmonary and central nervous systems. Furthermore, it affects the psychological status and the social well being of the elderly population.
THE JOINT-DETERMINANTS OF LEVERAGE AND DIVIDEND POLICY: A BALANCED PANEL STUDY OF NON FINANCIAL FIRMS OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN.

This study aims to identify the joint determinants of leverage and dividend policy of non-financial firms in Pakistan and India. For analysis purpose, the data is gathered from the annual reports of companies from India and Pakistan during years 2010-2014. Multiple regression analysis is used on reduced form equations to see the impact of variables on dividend policy and leverage of the firms. Literature from finance indicates that liquidity, profitability, tangible assets, institutional ownership of firm and firm size, all affect the decisions regarding leverage and dividend payment. Regression results are used to see the effect of these variables and compare them with theories from finance. The results indicate that only size of the firm positively impacts the decision to take additional debt, while all other variables have negative effect on debt policy. From second regression, both profitability and liquidity negatively impact dividend policy while remaining variables impact it positively. Additionally, only liquidity of a firm jointly determines both leverage and dividend policy.
A New Triglycyl Peptide Linker for Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) with Improved Targeted Killing of Cancer Cells

A triglycyl peptide linker (CX) was designed for use in antibody–drug conjugates (ADC), aiming to provide efficient release and lysosomal efflux of cytotoxic catabolites within targeted cancer cells. ADCs comprising anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (anti-EpCAM) and anti-EGFR antibodies with maytansinoid payloads were prepared using CX or a noncleavable SMCC linker (CX and SMCC ADCs). The in vitro cytotoxic activities of CX and SMCC ADCs were similar for several cancer cell lines; however, the CX ADC was more active (5–100-fold lower IC50) than the SMCC ADC in other cell lines, including a multidrug-resistant line. Both CX and SMCC ADCs showed comparable MTDs and pharmacokinetics in CD-1 mice. In Calu-3 tumor xenografts, antitumor efficacy was observed with the anti-EpCAM CX ADC at a 5-fold lower dose than the corresponding SMCC ADC in vivo. Similarly, the anti-EGFR CX ADC showed improved antitumor activity over the respective SMCC conjugate in HSC-2 and H1975 tumor models; however, both exhibited similar activity against FaDu xenografts. Mechanistically, in contrast with the charged lysine-linked catabolite of SMCC ADC, a significant fraction of the carboxylic acid catabolite of CX ADC could be uncharged in the acidic lysosomes, and thus diffuse out readily into the cytosol. Upon release from tumor cells, CX catabolites are charged at extracellular pH and do not penetrate and kill neighboring cells, similar to the SMCC catabolite. Overall, these data suggest that CX represents a promising linker option for the development of ADCs with improved therapeutic properties. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(6); 1311–20. ©2016 AACR.