Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel in vitro systems for prediction of veterinary drug residues in ovine milk and dairy products

A new in vitro tool was developed for the identification of veterinary substrates of the main drug transporter in the mammary gland. These drugs have a much higher chance of being concentrated into ovine milk and thus should be detectable in dairy products. Complementarily, a cell model for the identification of compounds that can inhibit the secretion of drugs into ovine milk, and thus reduce milk residues, was also generated. The ATP-binding cassette transporter G2 (ABCG2) is responsible for the concentration of its substrates into milk. The need to predict potential drug residues in ruminant milk has prompted the development of in vitro cell models over-expressing ABCG2 for these species to detect veterinary drugs that interact with this transporter. Using these models, several substrates for bovine and caprine ABCG2 have been found, and differences in activity between species have been reported. However, despite being of great toxicological relevance, no suitable in vitro model to predict substrates of ovine ABCG2 was available. New MDCKII and MEF3.8 cell models over-expressing ovine ABCG2 were generated for the identification of substrates and inhibitors of ovine ABCG2. Five widely used veterinary antibiotics (marbofloxacin, orbifloxacin, sarafloxacin, danofloxacin and difloxacin) were discovered as new substrates of ovine ABCG2. These results were confirmed for the bovine transporter and its Y581S variant using previously generated cell models. In addition, the avermectin doramectin was described as a new inhibitor of ruminant ABCG2. This new rapid assay to identify veterinary drugs that can be concentrated into ovine milk will potentially improve detection and monitoring of veterinary drug residues in ovine milk and dairy products. Graphical Abstract
WorldSpace's Satellite-Delivered Radio Service and the Market for Digital Receivers in the Middle East and Africa

The dream of improving the sound quality of international radio broadcasting has become a reality. Even with satellite-delivered studio-to-transmitter links, international radio reception via shortwave (officially the radio spectrum below 30 MHZ) or mediumwave (standard AM) has sound-quality limitations, especially in the age of FM stereo radio, CD-quality home sound systems, and high-quality radio via webcasting on the Internet. Several technical developments will give international radio listeners not only better quality reception, but also more program choices. This paper explores one of these technologies. Washington, DC-based Worldspace has launched the first of three satellites that will provide direct-to-radio digital sound and data services in the L-band (1467-1492 MHZ), allocated at an International Telecommunications Union conference in 1992. The first satellite launched in October 1998 covers the Middle East and Africa; it officially started service on October 1, 1999. The Worldspace Corporation has spent a great deal of time and money developing and publicizing its transmission and receiving technology, for which it has received a U.S. Patent. It has further heavily promoted the number of people who could be reached by its three satellites. What this corporation seemingly has not done is to determine the potential adoption rates for WorldSpace receivers. This paper attempts to determine the market potential for the Middle East and Africa, the footprint area for Afristar, its first operational satellite.
In Defense of Product Quantization

Despite their widespread adoption, Product Quantization techniques were recently shown to be inferior to other hashing techniques. In this work, we present an improved Deep Product Quantization (DPQ) technique that leads to more accurate retrieval and classification than the latest state of the art methods, while having similar computational complexity and memory footprint as the Product Quantization method. To our knowledge, this is the first work to introduce a representation that is inspired by Product Quantization and which is learned end-to-end, and thus benefits from the supervised signal. DPQ explicitly learns soft and hard representations to enable an efficient and accurate asymmetric search, by using a straight-through estimator. A novel loss function, Joint Central Loss, is introduced, which both improves the retrieval performance, and decreases the discrepancy between the soft and the hard representations. Finally, by using a normalization technique, we improve the results for cross-domain category retrieval.
Bondholder Wealth Effects surrounding Bond Offering Announcements

Extant literature provides scarce and inconclusive evidence on the announcement impacts of bond issuance on prices of the firm’s existing bonds. In this paper, I provide empirical evidence on the impact of announcements of new bond issuances on the bond and stock prices of issuers. The results are generally consistent with predictions suggested by the wealth transfer model developed by Merton (1974). I find that average abnormal standardized bond returns on issuers’ existing bonds over a three-day event window surrounding the first announcement of the planned issues are negative and statistically significant. In contrast, the average abnormal stock returns of the issuers are positive but insignificant. Bond market announcement returns are more negative for larger bond offerings, longer-term existing bonds, when the bonds to be issued will mature before the existing bonds, and when newly raised funds are to be used for expansions. This suggests that existing bondholder’ losses are a function of asset dilution, the level of bond default risk and the potential misuse of newly raised funds. Additionally, existing bond prices react negatively and in greater absolute terms while stock prices react positively and to a greater extent around the announcement when a firm has longer-term existing bonds, and when newly raised funds are to be used for stock repurchases. Consistent with a combination of wealth transfer and signaling, I find more negative bond returns and negligible stock returns when a firm intends to use newly raised funds for expansions.
Cytomegalovirus infection in lung transplant recipients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients. Lung transplant recipients are particularly at risk given the intense immunosuppression required. Areas covered: The Detailed review of the literature related to CMV infection, its direct and indirect effect on lung allograft function, as well as diagnosis, immune monitoring, treatment options and prevention strategies. Expert commentary: In lung transplant recipients, CMV infection is associated with pro-inflammatory and immune inhibitory effects that increase the risk of graft dysfunction and loss. Diagnosis of CMV infection remains challenging. Treatment options remain relatively limited.
Evaluation of Access to Public Water Supply in Two Major Cities in Nigeria

The issue of access to portable public water supply in the last three decades has been a topical issue of high interest to several individuals, communities, organizations and governments. In the face of dwindling and depleting water resources, there is the general concern of how people will have unhindered access to portable water supply. This paper against this background examined differences in public perception of access to portable water supply on the basis of some socio-economic and demographic factors such as gender, socio-economic background and marital status. The findings showed that there was a significant difference in public perception based on gender while there were no differences on the basis of marital status and socio-economic background. The implications of these findings for water resources management was discussed and recommendation made as to how access to public water supply can be easily guaranteed and sustained over time.
HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF THE SPIRUOID NEMATODE PROCAMALLANUS LAEVICONCHUS IN THE STOMACH AND INTESTINE OF NILE CAT FISH CLARIAS GARIEPINUS

Examination of the intestinal tract of Clarias gariepinus showed that Procamallanus laeviconchus infects both the stomach and hind gut of the intestine. In the stomach of the infected fish, the parasite penetrated to the submucosal layer. The presence of the parasite was found to be accompanied by goblet cell hyperplasia, cellular infiltration, degeneration of connective tissue, and formation of compact fibrous capsule around the cephalic end of the parasite. In the intestine, the nematode parasite was found to penetrate through the mucosal and submucosal layers. In the mucosal layer, the parasite caused complete elimination of the epithelial cells at the point of attachment and degeneration of host tissue, accompanied by blood cell leakage into the lumen of the intestine. In the submucosal layer, the loose connective tissue was completely eroded.
Low Temperature Treatment at the Young Microspore Stage Induces Protein Changes in Rice Anthers*S

Male reproductive development in rice is very sensitive to various forms of environmental stresses including low temperature. A few days of cold treatment (<20 °C) at the young microspore stage induce severe pollen sterility and thus large grain yield reductions. To investigate this phenomenon, anther proteins at the early stages of microspore development, with or without cold treatment at 12 °C, were extracted, separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and compared. The cold-sensitive cultivar Doongara and the relatively cold-tolerant cultivar HSC55 were used. The abundance of 37 anther proteins was changed more than 2-fold after 1, 2, and 4 days of cold treatment in cv. Doongara. Among them, one protein was newly induced, 32 protein spots were up-regulated, and four protein spots were down-regulated. Of these 37 protein spots, we identified two anther-specific proteins (putative lipid transfer protein and Osg6B) and a calreticulin that were down-regulated and a cystine synthase, a β-6 subunit of the 20 S proteasome, an H protein of the glycine cleavage system, cytochrome c oxidase subunit VB, an osmotin protein homologue, a putative 6-phosphogluconolactonase, a putative adenylate kinase, a putative cysteine proteinase inhibitor, ribosomal protein S12E, a caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase, and a monodehydroascorbate reductase that were up-regulated. Identification of these proteins is available upon request. Accumulation of these proteins did not vary greatly after cold treatment in panicles of cv. Doongara or in the anthers of the cv. HSC55. The newly induced protein named Oryza sativa cold-induced anther protein (OsCIA) was identified as an unknown protein. The OsCIA protein was detected in panicles, leaves, and seedling tissues under normal growth conditions. Quantitative real time RT-PCR analysis of OsCIA mRNA expression showed no significant change between low temperature-treated and untreated plants. A possible regulatory role for the newly induced protein is proposed.
Teacher Evaluation in Oman : Policy , Implementation and Challenges

Teacher evaluation is a significant means for ensuring accountability and promoting teacher professional development. However, the road to good implementation of teacher evaluation system rarely goes without challenges and constraints. The fourteen interviewees who participated in this study faced several constraints in implementing teacher evaluation in the Sultanate of Oman. Some of these obstacles were: Lack of incentives; inadequate evaluators’ training; heavy burden of administrative duties with less empowerment; lack of teachers and evaluators’ commitment towards teacher evaluation system. These organizational and technical factors inhibit the performance of teachers and evaluators alike. The study recommends that teachers and evaluators must be given the needed assistance so that the evaluation process is implemented effectively for the teacher development and performance improvement.
The Diffusion of Services

Many of the products introduced during the past two decades have been services rather than goods. An important influence on the growth and long-term profits of these services is customer attrition, which can occur at the category level (disadoption) or between firms (churn). However, the literature has rarely modeled how services penetrate a market and has not evaluated the effect of attrition on growth. The authors combine diffusion modeling with a customer relationship approach to investigate the influence of attrition on growth in service markets. In particular, the authors model the effects of disadoption and churn on evolution of a category and on growth of individual firms in a competitive environment. The authors show how neglecting disadoption can bias parameter estimation and, especially, market potential. They also derive an expression for the customer equity of a growing service firm and apply it to valuation of firms operating in competitive industries. The results for six of seven firms in four service categories are remarkably close to stock market valuations, an indicator for the role of customer equity in valuations of growing service firms.
Localized Leishmania Lymphadenitis Etiologic Agent Identified as Leishmania tropica Using Gene Sequencing.

Leishmaniasis include several clinical manifestations, mostly cutaneous, visceral and mucosal (1, 2). Various species can lead to diverse clinical presentations. Thus species identification contribute to proper management (3). Localized Leishmania Lymphadenitis (LLL) is a distinct entity in clinicopathologic field presenting with isolated lymphadenitis and possible cocomitant cutaneous lesion in the absence of systemic visceral involvement (4). Species identification has been acceptable by conventional microscopic evaluation, serologic methods such as isoenzyme and monoclonal antibody detection and particularly PCR. However, definite identification and confirmation of parasite without gene sequencing have always been doubted (5).
Public perceptions of food‐related hazards: an application to Portuguese consumers

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to assess public perception of food‐related hazards by Portuguese consumers at major metropolitan areas. A contrast was searched between controllable and non‐controllable hazards.Design/methodology/approach – The Perceived Food Risk Index developed by Fife‐Schaw and Rowe, was administered to a sample of 666 subjects through a door to door interview using a random route walk procedure and following a quota sampling controlled for sex, age and location. Risk perception was evaluated over ten risk characteristics, for each of the hazards.Findings – Through principal component analysis, two main components were identified: “Knowledge” and “Dread”. A perceptual map of the hazards was built over these two dimensions. A high level of worry and concern associated with fatty foods was found, clearly contradicting the expected attenuation of risk perception associated to greater perceived personal control. Contrarily to previous findings for other populations, GMOs yielded .
The impact of improvisation training on service employees in a European airline: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the value of improvisation training, as used in schools of acting, in preparing front‐stage service employees perform their roles when interacting with customers as cabin crew in Aer Arann, a regional Irish airline.Design/methodology/approach – To discern the relevance and impact of improvisation training, a case study methodology was employed. The subjects of the investigation were seven recently hired cabin crew personnel for Aer Arann. Data for the case study were collected from the new hires at three different times.Findings – The study shows that participants both enjoyed the improvisation training and found it to be very valuable as preparation for their roles in the airline. A key finding was that the new hires strongly recommended that improvisation training be incorporated into the airline's regular induction training programme. Specifically, participants felt the improvisation training improved their confidence, effectiveness, ability to adapt, s.
Risk and Return of Merger Arbitrage in the UK: 2001 to 2004

This paper replicates the core underlying merger arbitrage strategy using daily data from the United Kingdom to generate three simulated merger arbitrage portfolio return series, for the period 2001 through to 2004. Past empirical evidence indicates that the merger arbitrage strategy generates large risk adjusted returns. More recent evidence indicates that the strategy has a return distribution equivalent to a short put option on a stock index. These prior studies have generally focused on monthly returns in the North American stock markets. For the UK market we find evidence that the merger arbitrage strategy exhibits little systematic risk and generates significant risk adjusted returns. Contrary to prior research we find no evidence of an increase in systematic risk in depreciating equity markets.
Factors Affecting Hong Kong Customers' E-loyalty and Repeated Purchase Intention in Online Chinese Retail Stores and the Moderating Effect of Electronic Word-of-Mouth

Online shopping is no longer new to Hong Kong people. Since the low production cost in China, the products sell in China online retail stores are much cheaper than those in Hong Kong. In view of this, an increasing number of Hong Kong people buy from these stores instead of local online retail stores. Famous China online shopping websites are Taobao (淘 寶), Paipai (拍拍) and Tuan800 (團 800) which attract many Hong Kong people to purchase products. However, there are only a few studies focus on investigating the relationship between Hong Kong consumers’ E-loyalty toward China online retail stores and its antecedents as well as how this E-loyalty produces repeated purchase intention of Hong Kong customers. The main purpose of this study is to reexamine the factors influencing Hong Kong consumers’ E-loyalty toward China online retail stores. This study also finds out that how E-WOM acts as a moderator in the relationship between the E-loyalty and each of its antecedents. The findings of our study reconfirm that perceived service and product quality, trust beliefs and design of web are levers of E-loyalty and E-loyalty subsequently influences repeated purchase intention. Notably, E-WOM positively moderates the effect of perceived service and product quality on E-loyalty but E-WOM has no effect between the relationship of trust beliefs and design of web. Our research opens new insights of studies in Hong Kong customers’ E-loyalty of China online retail stores. Table of Content
Foundations of Game-Based Learning

In this article we argue that to study or apply games as learning environments, multiple perspectives have to be taken into account. We first define game-based learning and gamification, and then discuss theoretical models that describe learning with games, arguing that playfulness is orthogonal to learning theory. We then review design elements of games that facilitate learning by fostering learners' cognitive, behavioral, affective, and sociocultural engagement with the subject matter. Finally, we discuss the basis of these design elements in cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural foundations by reviewing key theories from education and psychology that are the most pertinent to game-based learning and by describing empirical research on learning with games that has been or should be conducted. We conclude that a combination of cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural perspectives is necessary for both game design and game research to fully capture what games have to offer for learning.
The Systematic Risk of Private Equity

This paper introduces a novel econometric approach to estimate the systematic risk and abnormal returns of illiquid assets based only on their observable cash flows. Our model assumes that the returns of a private equity investment are generated by the standard market model, and that the dividends from the investment occur at a stochastic, yet increasing rate from its unobservable interim values until the investment finally liquidates. Using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), we then estimate the systematic risk and abnormal returns of private equity by minimizing the distance between the model expected dividends and the cross-section of observed dividends over time. Our methodology generates asymptotically consistent estimates and we confirm its validity via a detailed Monte Carlo simulation in which all model parameters are randomly distributed, and the individual dividend rates of each investment are further correlated with the market returns and dependent on the individual risk and return profile of each investment. We apply our model to two research-quality datasets containing the net cash flows of over 1,000 mature buyout and venture capital funds, and the gross cash flows of almost 15,000 portfolio company investments. This allows us to study the risk and return characteristics at each level individually. Our estimations show that that the exposure to systematic risk is notably higher than previously estimated and widely assumed, with beta coefficients ranging from 2.5 to 3.1. While carried interest provisions reduce the exposure to systematic risk, we find that management fees effectively offset this effect. Our estimations also suggest that buyout deals have generated gross alphas of around 5% per annum, relative to the total returns of the S&P 500, whereas venture capital investments have generated alphas of more than 10%. As expected, both management fees and carried interests have a negative effect on the abnormal returns delivered to institutional investors. For buyout funds, annual alphas are slightly negative but statistically insignificantly different from zero. Net alphas of venture capital funds remain positive and range from 2% to 5%. Relative to the total returns of the Fama-French all U.S. stock market index, we find slightly lower market betas around 2.4 and consistently positive net alphas for both buyout and venture capital funds. In all estimations, our model shows excellent goodness-of-fit properties, explaining up to 95% of the cross-sectional variation in the observed monthly dividends.
Blind insights: a new technique for testing a priori hypotheses with qualitative methods

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and illustrate blind qualitative hypothesis testing, which is a qualitative research technique that further generalizes the well‐known notion of “blindness” in research to include a qualitative researcher. The technique introduces a method to test a priori hypotheses using qualitative, emergent observation and analysis without the biasing influence of prior knowledge of the hypotheses being tested.Design/methodology/approach – In essence, the proposed technique is as follows. After forming a set of a priori predictive hypotheses, a theoretical researcher (who may or may not be a qualitative researcher) engages the cooperation of a qualitative researcher to perform an empirical study. The qualitative empirical researcher is given adequate guidance to perform a study but is kept blind to the hypotheses. After the qualitative empirical researcher makes observations and forms his or her conclusions, the qualitative empirical researcher and the theoretical rese.