Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The reports of thick discs’ deaths are greatly exaggerated : thick discs are NOT artefacts caused by diffuse scattered light

Recent studies have made the community aware of scattered light when examining low-surface-brightness galaxy features such as thick discs. In our past studies of the thick discs of edge-on galaxies in the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S$^4$G) we modelled the point spread function as a Gaussian. We re-examine our results using a revised point spread function model that accounts for extended wings out to more than 2.5arcmin. We study the $3.6\mu{\rm m}$ images of 141 edge-on galaxies from the S$^4$G. We decompose the surface brightness profiles of the galaxies perpendicular to their mid-planes assuming that discs are made of two stellar discs in hydrostatic equilibrium. We decompose the axial surface brightness profiles of galaxies to model the central mass concentration - described by a S\'ersic function - and the disc - described by a broken exponential disc. Our improved treatment confirms the ubiquity of thick discs. The main difference between our current fits and those presented before is that now the scattered light from the thin disc dominates the surface brightness at levels below $\mu\sim26\,{\rm mag\,arcsec^{-2}}$. This does not affect drastically any of our previously presented results: 1) Thick discs are nearly ubiquitous. They are not an artefact caused by scattered light as has been suggested elsewhere. 2) Thick discs have masses comparable to those of thin discs in low-mass galaxies - circular velocities $v_{\rm c}<120\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$ - whereas they are typically less massive than the thin discs in high-mass galaxies. 3) Thick discs and central mass concentrations seem to have formed at the same epoch from a common material reservoir. 4) Roughly 60% of the up-bending breaks in face-on galaxies are caused by the superposition of a thin and a thick disc where the scale-length of the latter is the largest. (Abridged)
Leading indicators of distress in Danish banks in the period 2008-12

Several Danish small and medium-sized banks have become distressed during and after the global financial crisis. In this paper, a multiple logistic regression model is used to identify which factors characterize the distressed Danish banks from 2008-12. The factors are chosen from a broad range of variables, i.e. the model is unrestricted. The estimated model identifies the distressed banks fairly well. The variables that altogether best describe the probability of a bank becoming distressed are: a bank’s excess capital in per cent of risk weighted assets, the 3 year average lending growth lagged 2 years, property exposure, and a benchmark for stable funding (the so-called funding-ratio). The variables are all adjusted with the sector average to account for the general development during the period. Based on experiences from this and past crises the Danish FSA introduced the so-called "Supervisory Diamond" as part of its banking supervision in 2010. A multiple logistic regression model is estimated with deviations from limit values set in the supervisory diamond to assess whether the variables in the supervisory diamond differ from the unrestricted model. Overall, the analyses support the establishment of benchmarks. The results of this analysis show that deviations from the benchmarks concerning property exposure and funding-ratio are statistically significant with expected signs. However, deviations from the benchmarks concerning lending growth, large exposures, and excess liquidity cover are statistically insignificant.  The authors wish to thank Kim Padkjær Abildgren, Niels Lyngård Hansen, Birgitte Søgaard Holm and Jens Lundager for useful comments. The authors alone are responsible for any remaining errors.  Danish Central Bank. Email: bsv@nationalbanken.dk ¥ Copenhagen Business School. Email: jr.fi@cbs.dk
Explorer The BIG 2 . 04 MRC / EORTC SUPREMO Trial-Pathology quality assurance of a large phase 3 randomised international clinical trial of postmastectomy radiotherapy in intermediate-risk breast cancer

Introduction SUPREMO is a phase 3 randomised trial evaluating radiotherapy post-mastectomy for intermediaterisk breast cancer. 1688 patients were enrolled from 16 countries between 2006 and 2013. We report the results of central pathology review carried out for quality assurance. Patients and methods A single recut haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) tumour section was assessed by one of two reviewing pathologists, blinded to the originally reported pathology and patient data. Tumour type, grade and lymphovascular invasion were reviewed to assess if they met the inclusion criteria. Slides from potentially ineligible patients on central review were scanned and reviewed online together by the two pathologists and a consensus reached. A subset of 25 of these cases was double-reported independently by the pathologists prior to the online assessment. Results The major contributors to the trial were the UK (75%) and the Netherlands (10%). There is a striking difference in lymphovascular invasion (LVi) rates (41.6 vs. 15.1% (UK); p =\0.0001) and proportions of grade 3 carcinomas (54.0 vs. 42.0% (UK); p =\0.0001) on comparing local reporting with central review. There was no difference in the locally reported frequency of LVi rates in node-positive (N? ) and node-negative (N-) subgroups (40.3 vs. 38.0%; p = 0.40) but a significant difference in the reviewed frequency (16.9 vs. 9.9%; p = 0.004). Of the Ncases, 104 (25.1%) would have been ineligible by initial central review Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10549-017-4145-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & J. S. Thomas jeremy.thomas@nhslothian.scot. nhs.uk A. M. Hanby a.m.hanby@leeds.ac.uk N. Russell n.russell@nki.nl G. van Tienhoven g.vantienhoven@amc.uva. nl K. Riddle k.riddle@nhs.net N. Anderson n.anderson@ed.ac.uk D. A. Cameron d.cameron@ed.ac.uk J. M. S. Bartlett john.bartlett@oicr.on. ca T. Piper t.piper@igmm.ed.ac.uk C. Cunningham carrie.cunningham@ed.ac.uk P. Canney pg.canney@me.com I. H. Kunkler iankunkler@yahoo.com 1 Department of Pathology, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK 2 Leeds Institute of Cancer and Pathology, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK 3 Department of Radiation Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Postbus 90203, 1006 BE Amsterdam, Netherlands 4 Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, Netherlands 5 Scottish Clinical Trials Research Unit, NHS National Services Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 9EB, UK 123 Breast Cancer Res Treat DOI 10.1007/s10549-017-4145-4
Fork pausing complex engages topoisomerases at the replisome

Replication forks temporarily or terminally pause at hundreds of hard-to-replicate regions around the genome. A conserved pair of budding yeast replisome components Tof1-Csm3 (fission yeast Swi1-Swi3 and human TIMELESS-TIPIN) acts as a ‘molecular brake’ and promotes fork slowdown at proteinaceous replication fork barriers (RFBs), while the accessory helicase Rrm3 assists the replisome in removing protein obstacles. Here we show that Tof1-Csm3 complex promotes fork pausing independently of Rrm3 helicase by recruiting topoisomerase I (Top1) to the replisome. Topoisomerase II (Top2) partially compensates for the pausing decrease in cells when Top1 is lost from the replisome. The C-terminus of Tof1 is specifically required for Top1 recruitment to the replisome and fork pausing but not for DNA replication checkpoint (DRC) activation. We propose that forks pause at proteinaceous RFBs through a ‘sTOP’ mechanism (‘slowing down with TOPoisomerases I-II’), which we show also contributes to protecting cells from topoisomerase-blocking agents.
Trait hierarchies and intraspecific variability drive competitive interactions in Mediterranean annual plants

Both intra‐ and interspecific differences in traits may modulate interactions between plants. Two mechanisms are hypothesized to regulate these effects: competitive hierarchies and trait dissimilarities, but it is unclear how the prevalence of each might depend on environmental conditions and on intra and interspecific differences. We sowed six replicates of all possible pairwise combinations across eight annual species (including conspecific competition and individuals without competitors), in pots under two levels of fertilization. We measured above‐ and below‐ground traits and total biomass of the focal individuals. We expressed competition as the decrease in biomass of focal individuals relative to biomass without competition, and modelled competition using directional (hierarchy) or non‐directional (dissimilarity) trait differences, with or without intraspecific variability (ITV). We found evidence of different trait hierarchies operating under different fertilization conditions but little support for trait dissimilarities. The negative effect of competition on focal plants increased with the height of the competitors in both of fertilization levels. Further, in unfertilized conditions, plants with lower specific leaf area (SLA) and larger root systems experienced less competition. Including ITV in trait hierarchies substantially improved our ability to predict the intensity of competition. This was partly due to ITV reducing competitive hierarchies. Synthesis. Our results underscore the importance of traits in driving interactions among plants. Competitive relationships between species depend on complex interactions between trait intra and interspecific differences and resource availability. ITV appears to be a mechanism capable of reducing trait hierarchies, and hence the intensity of competition between coexisting plants.
Effect of Salicylic Acid (SA) on Growth and Quality of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bert.) Under Salt Stress

Two pot experiments were conducted at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt during consecutive seasons of 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the morphological and chemical behaviors resulting from inducing salinity tolerant in stevia plant induced by salicylic acid foliar application at rates of 0, 50, 75 and 100 mgl under irrigation with different saline water 1 (0.4, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 dSm ). The obtained results indicated that increasing irrigation water salinity level from 1 0.4, 2.5 to 5.0 and/or 10.0 dSm induced significantly decrease in all studied growth characters at all cutting 1 in both seasons. On the other hand, saline water irrigation increased stevioside percentage at all cutting in both seasons. Foliar spraying with salicylic acid at 100 mg/l concentration gave the highest significant values for growth characters in two seasons. The effect of the interaction between salinity and salicylic acid was the most effective treatments for growth characters values when stevia plants irrigated by level of salt concentration 2.5 dSm with foliar salicylic acid at 100 mg/l at all cutting in both seasons. 1
Diagnostic Efficiency of Different Serological Tests and Real time PCR for Detecting Brucella Infection in Camels' Sera

ARTICLE INFO Evaluation of the real-time PCR, rose bengal test (RBT), competitive ELISA, and complement fixation test (CFT) was done on 335 camels sera. Real-time PCR, classified 335 camel serum samples to 268 (80%) as positive and 67 (20%) as negative. Real-time PCR, using species specific primers, distinguished 94/104 serum samples due to B. abortus, 4/104 samples due to B. melitensis and 6/104 due to mixed infection. The results of serological tests revealed that modified mRBT75 using 75 μl of serum, detected the highest number of positive samples 271 (80.9%), while 262 (78.2%), 257 (76.7%), 253 (75.5%) and 245 (73.1%) samples were found to be positive for brucellosis using CFT, cELISA, mRBT50, and RBT25, respectively. Compared to other serological tests, the CFT proved to have the best results in the criteria of test validations, namely; specificity (88%), PPV (96.9%), NPV (80.8%), PLR (7.9), NLR (0.06) and DOR (133.8). The Kappa (K) statistic agreements values between real-time PCR and rose bengal (RBT25), modified (mRBT50), (mRBT75), cELISA and CFT was 0.562 (± 0.053), 0.613 (± 0.052), 0.725 (± 0.048), 0.710 (± 0.047) and 0.801 (± 0.041), respectively. The authors recommend the use of real-time PCR on camel sera to confirm the disease. Article history:
The “5th p” in marketing: corporate political activity and firm performance (an exploratory study of U.S. firms in the global marketplace)

In 1986, Kotler proposed that “politics” be added to the traditional “4P’s” of marketing creating the concept of “megamarketing” (Kotler, 1986). During the intervening two decades a number of papers have addressed corporate political activity (CPA) as an operational option which could be incorporated into the context of the firm’s overall business strategy (cf. Hillman, Keim, and Schuler, 2004). However, to date no study has considered the impact corporate political activities might have on firm performance in the global marketplace. Using data gathered from a sample of U.S. businesses operating in the international arena, this study explores the relationship between firms who engage in corporate political activities and the firm’s performance in the international markets in which the firms operate. Seven types of corporate political activities, used by the sampled firms and reported to be key components of their international business strategy, were compared with performance in international markets over a 5-year period of time. The results show some CPAs are significantly related with performance over the specified time period while others appear to be less effective. The paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.
The Balkans invaded – first record of Ophraella communa LeSage, 1986 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Croatia

Ophraella communa was found for the first time in Croatia. After the accidental discovery, further work was done to ascertain its extent of occurrence, density of adults and severity of host plant attack. Additional data pertaining to its current status in Croatia were also gathered. It was found on ten locations, with the highest recorded density in the SE part of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. The damage levels of attack were never as high as in Italy or Switzerland. It is unknown whether this species was introduced intentionally or accidentally. Future work should focus on monitoring the spread and influence of this alien species in Croatia.
Design of Valve System using Optimization Approach

The mathematical optimization techniques require extensive domain (physical understanding and accurate mathematical model) knowledge to design systems performing the desired functions optimally. However lack of domain knowledge makes the whole exercise futile as the mathematical optimization in such form does not account for all the possible means to accomplish the desired objectives. The situation becomes more complex due to the nature of objectives which are often contradictory. In such situations experimental optimization using Design of Experiments is applied which requires intensive experimentation on the prototype of the designed system. However, at the concept generation stage of the design process, the use of optimization approach which is based on the concept of increasing the ideality of the system is preferable. It ensures that the contradictions are resolved and the harmful functions are identified and reduced. In the present paper the characteristics of the optimization approach is demonstrated by considering the design of a mechanical system. As a case study design of valve system is carried out. The disadvantages of the conventional optimization approach are highlighted and a systematic and scientific procedure for design of valve system using optimization approach is presented.
Mitigation of Moisture Stress in Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) by Foliar Application of Salicylic Acid in Sudan Savanna Agro-Ecology, Nigeria

Field experiment was conducted to study the influence of salicylic acid in the mitigation of moisture stress in sweet pepper. Treatments consisted of four rates (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6gL-1) of salicylic acid and three moisture stress stages (vegetative, flowering and fruit setting). These were laid out in split plot design with three replications. Results of the study revealed that exogenous application of salicylic acid significantly (p< 0.05) decreases canopy temperature in sweet pepper. This however, increases the number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight and fresh fruit yield irrespective of the rate applied. The yield and yield components were also higher from plants that were subjected to moisture stress at vegetative stage and the control. Based on the existing findings, moisture stress in sweet pepper could be mitigated by foliar spray of salicylic acid at the vegetative stage. Further investigation is thus recommended to justify the best rate to apply. Key words: Foliar application, Moisture stress, Salicylic acid, Sweet pepper
Simultaneous cellulose hydrolysis and bio-electricity generation in a mediatorless Microbial Fuel Cell using a Bacillus flexus strain isolated from wastewater

The ability of electrochemically active bacteria to degrade natural wastes suggests a wide array of applications for waste management as well as electricity generation. This study reports the results of an experimentation where five bacteria were isolated from waste water and the electrochemical activity of one of them was confirmed by their use in a Microbial Fuel Cell. The bacterium was identified to be Bacillus flexus with a 99% similarity to the IFO 15715 strain using partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis based on the BLAST results indicated close proximity to Bacillus megaterium, a known exoelectrogen .
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on the initial growth and nutrition of Coffea arabica L. genotypes

ABSTRACT The benefits of mycorrhization occur with the growth of hyphae in colonized roots by promoting an increase of the contact surface which improves the initial growth due to a better absorption of water and nutrients. The objective was to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus clarus inoculation over the initial development and nutritional response of six genotypes of Coffea arabica L. Six genotypes of Coffea arabica L. were used (MGS Aranas, H29-1-8-5, Red Catuai IAC 144, IPR 100, Catigua MG2, Paraíso H 419-1) and with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus - AMF: Rhizophagus clarus and without the application of the fungus. For the production of coffee seedlings, seeds were placed to germinate in plastic trays with sterile sand. After germination, 10 seedlings of each genotype were transferred to 0.120 dm3 polyethylene tubes with substrate. Then the inoculation of five seedlings of each genotype with the AMF R. Clarus was performed. When the seedlings with and without inoculation with the AMF presented six pairs of leaves they were transplanted to 13-liter pots containing soil (Dystrophic red-yellow latosol). The inoculation favored the initial growth of the coffee plants and its intensity varied according to the genotypes. The genotypes H 29-1-8-5, Red Catuai IAC 144 and Catigua MG 2 were the ones that presented higher shoot dry mass, root dry mass, total dry mass and accumulation of P, in relation to MGS aranãs, Paraiso H 419-1 and IPR 100, so they are the most promising to be inoculated with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Capabilities & Building a Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Mobile Phone Operators in Jordan

Purpose -This study is trying to investigate the effect of customer relationship management (CRM (capabilities on building a sustainablecompetitive advantage in the mobile phone operators in Jordan. It is intended to develop a valid measurement model of (CRM) capabilities, and to explore the key factors of CRM that lead to a competitive edge.Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire survey was used to gather data. In order to develop a reliable and valid measurement model of CRM capabilities, questionnaire survey were conducted and hypotheses were tested by utilizing the technique of multiple regression analysis in addition to reliability and multicollinearity tests.Findings – A three-capabilities (customer interaction management, customer relationship upgrading, and customer win-back) measurement model of CRM is developed and tested. Furthermore, results support the hypothesized influences of these three capabilities influence on firms' building a sustainable competitive advantage.Practical implications – This study provides a useful measurement mode of CRM capabilities that managers can use to evaluate the status in quo of CRM of their firms. Managers may also improve their CRM programs more effectively and efficiently by deploying such strategic resources of firms to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value – The paper addresses significant gaps in the current literature by taking a capability view of CRM, developing a valid measurement model of CRM capabilities, and examining how possession of important CRM resources influences the effective deployment of CRM capabilities.
Educational pathways of minority youth in Norway : intersections of gender, ethnicity and social class

Educational aspirations during lower secondary school and choice of upper secondary education are important for young people's future trajectories into higher education and labour market positions. In line with ideas about reflexive, autonomous individuals (Giddens, 1991), choice of education is often represented as a young person' individual decision, and educational guidance as aimed at discovering what ‘fits' an individual's personality, interests and abilities. Educational aspirations and choices are also social patterns that are reproduced. Some population categories represent exceptions from expected patterns of social reproduction of educational level and professions. In several countries, one such category is young people from families with migration experiences (Lauglo, 2000; Modood, 2004). In Norway, students have a legal right to non-compulsory upper secondary schooling and 96 percent of the students continue from lower to upper secondary school. In spite of positive developments regarding minority youths' completion of upper secondary and higher education in later years, studies still persistently show lower educational attainment among minority youth, particularly among boys (Fekjaer, 2006). However, in lower secondary school, minor ity youth tend to have markedly higher educational aspirations and stronger learning motivation than their majority peers, as well as greater effort in school and strong adherence to school values (Lauglo, 2000) despite lower educational attainment or lower socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, gender differences in educational aspirations seem to be smaller among minority youth. The principal objective of the study in progress that will be presented in this paper, is to describe how processes relating to gendered, ethnic and class-based identities influence young people's educational choices. The study is undertaken as a PhD project in social anthropology. The methodological approach is ethnographic longitudinal fieldwork in two multicultural lower secondary schools in Oslo. The study is part of a larger project that also include quantitative analyses of longitudinal data covering 9th graders in Oslo 2006 through four data collections during lower and upper secondary school.