Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting microbial sulfate reduction by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans in continuous culture: Limiting nutrients and sulfide concentration

The effects of sulfate and nitrogen concentrations of the rate and stoichiometry of microbial sulfate reduction were investigated for Desulfovibrio desulfuricans grown on lactate and sulfate in a chemostat at pH 7.0. Maximum specific growth rates (μmax), half‐saturation coefficients (Ksul), and cell yield (Yc/Lac) of 0.344 ± 0.007 and 0.352 ± 0.003 h −1, 1.8 ± 0.3 and 1.0 ± 0.2 mg/L, and 0.020 ± 0.003 and 0.017 ± 0.003 g cell/g lactate, respectively, were obtained under sulfate‐limiting conditions at 35°C and 43°C. Maintenance energy requirements for D. desulfuricans were significant under sulfate‐limiting conditions. The extent of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) produced was related to the carbon: nitrogen ratio in the medium. EPS production rate increased with decreased nitrogen loading rate. Nitrogen starvation also resulted in decreased cell size of D. desulfuricans. The limiting C : N ratio (w/w) for D. desulfuricans was in the range of 45 : 1 to 120 : 1. Effects of sulfide on microbial sulfate reduction, cell size, and biomass production were also ivestigated at pH 7.0. Fifty percent inhibition of lactate utilization occurred at a total sulfide concentration of approximately 500 mg/L. The cell size of D. desulfuricans decreased with increasing total sulfide concentration. Sulfide inhibition of D. desulfuricans was observed to be a reversible process. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Red Tape Reduction and Firm Entry: Evidence from an Italian Reform

We estimate the effects of a simplification in the bureaucratic regulation for doing business on firm demographics in Italy, where a 2011 legislation reform required all municipalities to institute a one-stop shop for doing business. We use data for all Italian firms active in private non-financial industries and exploit the staggered implementation of the policy by municipalities in order to identify its causal effect. The results indicate that the one-stop shop increased entry rates and survival probability at one year. This effect is due essentially to sole proprietorships, which are plausibly those that benefit the most from reductions in red tape.
Psychological interventions in the treatment of childhood obesity: What we know and need to find out

This review aims to assess the effectiveness of psychological interventions for treating childhood obesity. Firm conclusions about the effectiveness of psychological interventions to treat childhood obesity remain unclear. Based on current knowledge, the review suggests that a number of interventions may be effective including: multi-component family-based behavioural interventions, interventions aimed at reducing sedentary behaviour and/or increasing physical activity levels as a component of family-based behavioural treatments, in addition to population-based school-wide treatment for girls. Further investment is needed to improve current research and find new, more imaginative ways to research childhood obesity.
Does Country of Origin Matter whilst Evaluating Candidates for Managerial Positions?

Abstract A growing number of foreign country nationals in economies worldwide challenges academics to raise a question whether one’s country of origin (COO) matters when selecting candidates for managerial positions. Thus the aim of this paper is to analyze the COO effect on the evaluation of managerial competence of a foreign individual. The analysis includes both the literature review and the empirical findings from the authors’ pilot research. A focus group interview is the method that was applied in the study. The analysis contributes to the nascent streams in international business and cross-cultural management research that concern the COO effect and the liability of foreignness (LOF) that refers to foreign newcomers (i.e. immigrants, ex/inpatriaties). It also adds some practical implications for the International Human Resource Management literature with that respect. The empirical findings suggest that COO is apparent when managerial skills are evaluated by locals.
The oral health of HIV-infected Brazilian children.

BACKGROUND The number of HIV-infected people has increased almost continuously. Paediatric dentists should be concerned about the oral findings in HIV-infected children and their aetiologic factors, to promote adequate treatment. AIM To present the oral health aspects of Brazilian HIV-infected children and to verify the aetiological factors. DESIGN A cross-sectional study was conducted with HIV-infected children. During the medical appointments, children were submitted to visual-tactile exams of oral soft tissues and teeth. All parents answered questions in a structured interview. Data were analysed using the SPSS, release 10.0 (Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS Of the 57 children examined, 39 (69.6%) presented one or more oral soft tissue manifestations. More than a half suffered from gingivitis and only 12.5% had no visible dental biofilm. A high prevalence of dental surfaces with active carious lesions was observed; mean DMFS-m and dmfs-m scores were 5.41 ± 5.61 and 16.77 ± 19.52, respectively. Caries activity and gingivitis were correlated with the presence of mature dental biofilm. CONCLUSIONS Prevalence of soft tissue lesions, dental caries and gingivitis in HIV-infected children was high and correlated to lack of satisfactory oral hygiene habits, suggesting the need of therapeutic programmes that allow these children to recover their oral health.
Conducting Effective Tailgate Trainings

The California Department of Health Services' Occupational Health Branch and others have identified the construction industry as being at high risk for injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Effective tailgate trainings (brief job site safety meetings) can be a powerful tool to promote hazard awareness and safe work practices. The authors found that many contractors and supervisors conducted ineffective tailgate trainings. They developed the BuildSafe California Project to assist contractors to have more effective programs by holding 25 training-of-trainers sessions reaching 1,525 participants. The needs assessment, intervention, and evaluation results from the first 18 trainings are presented. Eighty-six percent of the participants found the program “very helpful. ” Participants used the materials and made improvements in the quality and frequency of trainings. Supervisors must be skilled at conducting tailgate trainings as part of their responsibilities. There is a serious need to provide more culturally appropriate safety training in a workforce increasingly made up of Latino workers.
Autogenic training to manage symptomology in women with chest pain and normal coronary arteries

Objectives: To explore autogenic training (AT) as a treatment for psychological morbidity, symptomology, and physiological markers of stress among women with chest pain, a positive exercise test for myocardial ischemia, and normal coronary arteries (cardiac syndrome X). Design: Fifty-three women with cardiac syndrome X (mean ± SD age, 57.1 ± 8 years) were randomized to an 8-week AT program or symptom diary control. Symptom severity and frequency, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), and Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI), blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram, and plasma catecholamines were measured before and after intervention and at the 8-week follow-up. Results: Women who underwent AT had improved symptom frequency (8.04 ± 10.08 vs 1.66 ± 2.19, P < 0.001) compared with control women and reduced symtom severity (2.08 ± 1.03 vs 1.23 ± 1.36, P = 0.02) and frequency (6.11 ± 3.17 vs 1.66 ± 2.19, P < 0.001) post-AT compared with baseline within group. Within-group improvements among women who underwent AT include QLI health functioning (17.80 ± 5.74 vs 19.41 ± 5.19, P = 0.04) and CAQ fear (1.53 ± 0.61 vs 1.35 ± 0.56, P = 0.02) post-AT and QLI health functioning (17.80 ± 5.74 vs 20.09 ± 5.47, P = 0.01), CAQ fear (1.53 ± 0.61 vs 1.30 ± 0.67, P = 0.002), CAQ total (1.42 ± 0.54 vs 1.29 ± 0.475, P = 0.04), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory trait anxiety (42.95 ± 11.19 vs 38.68 ± 11.47, P = 0.01), and QLI quality of life (20.67 ± 5.37 vs 21.9 ± 4.89, P = 0.02) at follow-up. Conclusion: An 8-week AT program improves symptom frequency, with near-significant improvements in symptom severity in women with cardiac syndrome X.
New World Orders: Continuities and Changes in Latin American Migration

Although migration from Mexico to the United States is more than a century old, until recently most other countries in Latin America did not send out significant numbers of migrants to foreign destinations. Over the past thirty years, however, emigration has emerged as an important demographic force throughout the region. This article outlines trends in the volume and composition of the migrant outflows emanating from various countries in Latin America, highlighting their diversity with respect to country of destination; multiplicity of destinations; legal auspices of entry; gender and class composition; racial, ethnic, and national origins; and the mode of insertion into the receiving society. The review underscores the broadening of international migration away from unidirectional flows toward the United States to new streams going to Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as to other countries in Latin America itself.
A Qualitative Inquiry into the Systemic Influences upon the Wellness of Home and Community Based Counselor

iv Dedication.vi Acknowledgments.vii List of Tables.xix Chapter I: The Problem.1 Overview.1 Counselor Wellness.4 Wellness Defined.4 Constructs of Counselor Wellness.7 Professional Quality of Life.8 Sense of coherence.8 Individual Factors of Counselor Wellness.9 Self-care behaviors.10 Wellness.11 Years of Experience.12 Organizational Factors of Wellness.13 Special Considerations of Home and Community Based Counselors (HCBCs). 17 Challenges Inherent in Home-based Services.17 The Provision of Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation Services (BHRS). 18 A Unique Home and Community Based Service.18 Statement of the Problem.19
Anchoring Heuristic and Asset Prices

Earnings volatility of a firm depends on a large number of factors. Optimal Bayesian inference requiring accurate assessment of all the relevant factors is generally intractable. Many factors are sector-specific, that is, common to all firms in the same sector, while others are firm specific. A pragmatic approach is to use the sector specific factors to furnish an informative starting point and then attempt to make adjustments for the firm specific factors. This article incorporates this pragmatic approach into the standard consumption-based asset pricing model and shows that such adjustment gives rise to a new mechanism capable of generating the puzzling data patterns. The model also makes a novel prediction: less volatile stocks outperform more volatile stocks. Empirical evidence supports this prediction.
Surfactant “fortification” by topical inhibition of nuclear factor-&kgr;B activity in a newborn piglet lavage model*

Objective:In acute respiratory distress syndrome of term newborn infants, surfactant replacement may be effective because endogenous surfactant is decreased and structurally changed. Inflammation is central to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and hence, attenuation of proinflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-&kgr;B activation in the lung might prevent secondary loss of surfactant function. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the topical use of a NF-&kgr;B inhibitor (I&kgr;B kinase-NF-&kgr;B essential modulator binding domain [IKK-NBD] peptide), together with surfactant as a carrier substance, improves surfactant function by attenuation of pulmonary inflammation during 24 hrs of mechanical ventilation in a neonatal piglet model of acute respiratory distress syndrome by repeated airway lavage. Design:Prospective, randomized, controlled study. Setting:Research laboratory of a university children’s hospital. Subjects:A total of 24 anesthetized, mechanically ventilated newborn piglets. Interventions:After 20 ± 6 (mean ± sd) lavages to induce lung failure and inflammation, a porcine surfactant (100 mg/kg) with (S+IKK) or without (S) 1.25 mg of IKK-NBD peptide, or an air bolus (control) was administered into the airways. Lung function was monitored throughout 24 hrs of mechanical ventilation and completed by ex vivo analyses. Measurements and Main Results:Pao2 (S+IKK, 125 ± 16 mm Hg; S, 105 ± 33; control, 61 ± 20), ventilation efficiency index, functional residual capacity, compliance of the respiratory system, and extravascular lung water (S+IKK, 24 ± 2 mL/kg; S, 30 ± 7; control, 34 ± 8) were all significantly improved in S+IKK piglets after 24 hrs. Decreased leukocyte concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage (S+IKK, 152 ± 94 cells/&mgr;L; S, 202 ± 100; control, 276 ± 57) were observed together with reduced acid sphingomyelinase activity, lowered ceramide concentrations, improved surfactant function (minimum surface tension: S+IKK, 10.8 ± 6.1 mN/m; S, 13.2 ± 3.9; control, 20.9 ± 8.5), and decreased NF-&kgr;B activation in lung tissue. Conclusion:Supplementation of exogenous surfactant with a NF-&kgr;B inhibitor to create a “fortified” surfactant improves gas exchange, lung function, and pulmonary edema during 24 hrs of mechanical ventilation, without a secondary functional relapse. Inhibition of NF-&kgr;B suppressed acid sphingomyelinase activity and ceramide generation, indicating a novel proinflammatory link of NF-&kgr;B.
Multiple Paths to Testable Content? Differentiation in a High-stakes Testing Context

This qualitative case study explores how one secondary world history teacher, teaching in a high-stakes testing context in a district pushing teachers to utilize differentiated instruction, makes sense of this pedagogical approach. We examine teacher sense-making within a conceptual framework of policy realization and ambitious teaching and learning. The teacher made no claims to being an expert on differentiation; yet, the findings indicated that she did possess an understanding of differentiation congruent with the literature and, whether she recognized it or not, used many strategies suggested by Tomlinson and other experts on differentiation. Her thinking about differentiation also appeared to be shaped by relational and contextual issues. Stated differently, the Virginia Standards of Learning exams and the pressure from administration for high pass rates appeared to shape how the teacher thought about her students, her content, her instruction and, ultimately, her approach to differentiation.
The influence of vitamin B2 intake on the activation coefficient of erythrocyte glutation reductase in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of dietetic vitamin B2 on the activation coefficient of erythrocyte glutation reductase (alpha-EGR) of a group of elderly people. DESIGN The study subjects were 133, independently-living elderly people, between 65 and 90 years of age. A dietetic study was performed using a 7-day food record. Riboflavin status was measured by determining the alpha-EGR. RESULTS Some 23.9% of subjects had riboflavin intakes lower than those recommended. At the biochemical level, 9.8% of subjects (7.7% of men and of 10.6% women) showed alpha-EGR>1.2. Those subjects with riboflavin intakes below 90% of those recommended showed significantly higher alpha-EGR levels (1.15+/-0.16), an indication of a poorer riboflavin status at the biochemical level. Those with greater intakes showed lower alpha-EGR values (1.05+/-0.10). Furthermore, the mean consumption of dairy products (an important source of this vitamin) by subjects is insuficiente (341.1+/-159.8 g/day, 2.1+/-1 servings/day). The data show that those with riboflavin intakes below those recommended took 204.7+/-89.4 g/day of milk products (1.3+/-0.5 servings/day) compared to the 384+/-153.1 g/day (2.4+/-1 servings/day) (p<0.001) consumed by those with higher riboflavin intakes. CONCLUSION Although the mean riboflavin intake is acceptable, there remain some insufficiencies that require attention. It would seem advisable to recommend the elderly increase their intake of milk products. This would be especially important for subjects who take less than two rations per day.
Poverty reduction and governance in South Asia.

Over the past 30 years or so South Asia has made substantial progress in reducing poverty improving human development and raising its per capita income. Notwithstanding this progress South Asia remains home to an estimated 450 million poor people which is over 40% of the worlds total poor. A major concern is also that there is worrisome evidence that poverty reduction progress has considerably slowed down in the 1990s despite an acceleration in per capita income growth. Why has poverty reduction slowed down in the 1990s? What will it take to achieve more rapid and sustained progress with poverty reduction in the new millennium? The paper investigates the political economy aspects of poverty reduction in South Asia by developing a framework for measuring governance performance and relating this performance to poverty trends. The paper argues that governance appears to be a significant problem in South Asia with associated adverse implications for poverty reduction. While many of the governance concerns pre date the 1990s the magnitude of the concern and interplay of the various dimensions of weak governance seem to have magnified in the 1990s constraining the progress of poverty reduction. Accordingly a comprehensive resolution of the poverty problem will require addressing the problem of governance. Better governance in combination with other growth enhancing policies would further accelerate economic growth reduce poverty and ensure the sustainability of the growth and poverty reduction efforts in the new millennium. (authors)
Information leakage in the Response Time‐Based Concealed Information Test

The Response Time‐Based Concealed Information Test (RT‐CIT) can reveal when a person recognizes a relevant (probe) item among other, irrelevant items, based on comparatively slower responses to the probe item. For example, if a person is concealing his or her true identity, one can use the suspected identity details as probes, and other, random details as irrelevants. However, in our study, we show that even when participants are merely informed about such probes (i.e., the relevant identity details) before performing the RT‐CIT, their responses will also be slower to these details. Hence, it is more difficult to distinguish such innocent but pre‐informed persons from actually guilty persons. At the same time, we introduce a CIT version with familiarity‐related inducer stimuli, but with no targets, that elicits probe‐minus‐irrelevant RT differences only among guilty participants but not among informed innocent participants. Implications for the theory and the application of CITs are discussed.
Proximity Effects of Metallic Environments on High Frequency RFID Reader Antenna: Study and Applications

We study the proximity effects of metallic environments on the performance of high frequency (HF) radio frequency identification (RFID) reader antenna operating at 13.56 MHz. The performance of a typical HF RFID reader loop antenna in the proximity of various metal plate configurations is experimentally investigated in terms of resonant frequency, field intensity, and field distribution. The study shows that the presence of the metal plates shifts up the resonant frequency of the antenna and weakens its field intensity. The proximity effects are strongly dependent on the size of the metal plate, distance between the plate and the antenna as well as the orientation of the plate. Such effects greatly degrade the reading range and restrict the co-existence of HF RFID systems. A solution to alleviate the effects is to re-tune or co-design the reader antenna in proximity with the metallic objects based on the information from the study. As an example, a loop antenna is co-designed with a metal plate to configure a metal-backed loop antenna, and optimized for an RFID smart shelf system to restrain the interference and enhance the detection accuracy.
Auditory Brainstem Responses in Children with Otitis Media with Effusion

Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were recorded in 14 infants and toddlers and 12 school-age children with a previous history of recurrent otitis media with effusion (OME), or otoscopic and tympanometric evidence of persistent OME, or both. ABR tests were performed immediately before and after myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion in the younger subjects. For the school-age children, ABR tests were performed following otoscopy, tympanometry, and pure tone audiometry. The results demonstrate that the latency of both wave I and wave V of the ABR was sensitive (82% and 100%, respectively) to the presence of OME. Wave I also identified the absence of OME (specificity = 100%) whereas wave V did not (specificity = 25%). ABR latency was significantly decreased postoperatively in ears found to have OME, but not in ears found to have no OME. In the school-age subjects the ABR was used to predict the conductive hearing loss at 4000 Hz with less than a 20 dB error in virtually all subjects. The ABR latency delay was also found to be related to conductive hearing impairment at lower pure tone frequencies and to the average conductive loss at a variety of pure tone frequencies. Predictions of the presence of a conductive hearing loss from these relationships promise to be impressively accurate. The results suggest that the ABR can be a valuable tool for detecting the presence of conductive hearing impairment in infants and young children suspected to have OME and perhaps as an estimate of the degree of impairment.
How Does Customer Participation Impact Service Performance? A Perspective of Role Stress

Existing service marketing literature has not yielded consistent findings regarding the impact of customer satisfaction on service performance. Based on role stress theory, this study aims to explain those different findings, developing a conceptual framework to recognize three interactive characteristics of customer participation (interpersonal interaction, interdepartmental encounter, and task interdependence). Results show that three interactive characteristics have different impacts on role ambiguity and role conflict. In addition, customer market maven moderates the impacts of interactive characteristics on role stress.
Does treatment of asthmatic children with inhaled corticosteroids affect their adult height?

In this retrospective study, adult height was assessed in young adult asthmatics who were treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICs) during childhood (n = 42; 26 boys) and compared to those obtained in asthmatic patients who were never treated with ICs during childhood (n = 43; 23 boys). Standing height of all subjects and their parents was measured. Height data were analyzed using actual length and target height in centimeters, standard deviation scores (SDS), and difference between adult height of the patients and their target height (adult height minus target height).