Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roles for Cell Wall Glycopeptidolipid in Surface Adherence and Planktonic Dispersal of Mycobacterium avium

ABSTRACT The opportunistic pathogen Mycobacterium avium is a significant inhabitant of biofilms in drinking water distribution systems. M. avium expresses on its cell surface serovar-specific glycopeptidolipids (ssGPLs). Studies have implicated the core GPL in biofilm formation by M. avium and by other Mycobacterium species. In order to test this hypothesis in a directed fashion, three model systems were used to examine biofilm formation by mutants of M. avium with transposon insertions into pstAB (also known as nrp and mps). pstAB encodes the nonribosomal peptide synthetase that catalyzes the synthesis of the core GPL. The mutants did not adhere to polyvinyl chloride plates; however, they adhered well to plastic and glass chamber slide surfaces, albeit with different morphologies from the parent strain. In a model that quantified surface adherence under recirculating water, wild-type and pstAB mutant cells accumulated on stainless steel surfaces in equal numbers. Unexpectedly, pstAB mutant cells were >10-fold less abundant in the recirculating-water phase than parent strain cells. These observations show that GPLs are directly or indirectly required for colonization of some, but by no means all, surfaces. Under some conditions, GPLs may play an entirely different role by facilitating the survival or dispersal of nonadherent M. avium cells in circulating water. Such a function could contribute to waterborne M. avium infection.
Tourism Research in China: Understanding the Unique Cultural Contexts and Complexities

China provides many interesting opportunities for tourism research owing to its unique historic, economic and cultural background. This paper provides an overview of tourism research in China and provides an insight into the unique cultural contexts and complexities that have influenced tourism development and tourist behaviour. The perspectives, traditions and contexts of Chinese tourism research are explored by focussing on two important research areas: tourism development and tourism cultural studies. As a result of China's increasing openness to the international academic world, Western tourism research has begun to have a significant impact on research in China. However, the uncritical adoption of Western theories and research paradigms is not always appropriate. Key issues for facilitating the future development of tourism research in China are discussed.
A Model of Candidate Location When One Candidate Has a Valence Advantage

that, under some fairly weak assumptions, for all levels of the valence advantage, the advantaged candidate chooses a more moderate position than the disadvantaged candidate. Empirical studies of congressional elections by Fiorina (1973), and Ansolabehere, Snyder, and Stewart (2001) support this result. D~ owns' (1957) seminal work presents a puzzle for scholars of U.S. elections: Why do candidates not converge to the median voter? One of the best explanations is that the candidates themselves have ideological preferences. As Calvert (1985) and Wittman (1977, 1983) have shown, when candidates have such preferences and they are sufficiently uncertain about the preferences of the median voter, then they do not converge, although they may moderate their positions from their ideal point. The basic version of the Calvert-Wittman model, however, does not account for another basic fact of U.S. elections: often one of the candidates has an advantage due to a nonpolicy factor, such as incumbency, greater campaign funds, better name recognition, superior charisma, superior intelligence, and so on. Stokes has dubbed such factors valence factors, and he has noted their importance in U.S. elections (Stokes 1963;1992). 1 In this article I extend the basic Calvert-Wittman model by giving one candidate a valence advantage over the other. I show that if the valence characteristics of the candidates are approximately equal, then when a candidate's valence advantage increases, this causes her to move toward the
Safety of Brucea javanica and cantharidin combined with chemotherapy for treatment of NSCLC patients.

OBJECTIVE To assess the safety of Brucea javanica and Cantharidin combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma. METHOD A consecutive cohort of patients with NSCLC were divided into four groups: experimental group A treated with Brucea javanica injection combined with chemotherapy; experimental group B with Cantharidin injection combined with chemotherapy; experimental group C treated with Brucea javanica and Cantharidin injection combined with chemotherapy; and the control group receiving only chemotherapy. After more than two courses of treatment, safety, quality of life and side effects were evaluated. RESULTS The incidences of myelosuppression in groups A, B and C were lower than that in Control group (p<0.05), but without significant differences among A, B and C. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract also were lower than in controls (p<0.05) without variation amnog the combined treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS Brucea javanica or Cantharidin combined with chemotherapy could in both cases improve quality of life in our cohort of NSCLC patients without any increase in toxicity. However, further clinical experiments should be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Brucea javanica and Cantharidin combined with chemotherapy for patients with NSCLC.
Autophagy Benefits the Replication of Newcastle Disease Virus in Chicken Cells and Tissues

ABSTRACT Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an important avian pathogen. We previously reported that NDV triggers autophagy in U251 glioma cells, resulting in enhanced virus replication. In this study, we investigated whether NDV triggers autophagy in chicken cells and tissues to enhance virus replication. We demonstrated that NDV infection induced steady-state autophagy in chicken-derived DF-1 cells and in primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells, evident through increased double- or single-membrane vesicles, the accumulation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-LC3 dots, and the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II. In addition, we measured autophagic flux by monitoring p62/SQSTM1 degradation, LC3-II turnover, and GFP-LC3 lysosomal delivery and proteolysis, to confirm that NDV infection induced the complete autophagic process. Inhibition of autophagy by pharmacological inhibitors and RNA interference reduced virus replication, indicating an important role for autophagy in NDV infection. Furthermore, we conducted in vivo experiments and observed the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of NDV-infected chickens. Regulation of the induction of autophagy with wortmannin, chloroquine, or starvation treatment affects NDV production and pathogenesis in tissues of both lung and intestine; however, treatment with rapamycin, an autophagy inducer of mammalian cells, showed no detectable changes in chicken cells and tissues. Moreover, administration of the autophagy inhibitor wortmannin increased the survival rate of NDV-infected chickens. Our studies provide strong evidence that NDV infection induces autophagy which benefits NDV replication in chicken cells and tissues.
Cardiac evaluation of anesthetized Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi).

OBJECTIVE To determine ECG and echocardiographic measurements in healthy anesthetized Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi). ANIMALS 20 healthy zebras. PROCEDURES Auscultation, base-apex ECG, and echocardiography were performed on anesthetized zebras. RESULTS Low-grade systolic murmurs were detected in the left basilar region in 4 of 20 zebras. Evaluation of ECGs from 19 zebras revealed sinus rhythm with a predominantly negative QRS complex and a mean +/- SD heart rate of 67 +/- 10 beats/min. Echocardiograms of sufficient image quality were obtained for 16 zebras. Interventricular septal thickness in diastole, left ventricular chamber in diastole and systole, left atrial diameter, and left ventricular mass were significantly and moderately correlated with estimated body weight (r values ranged from 0.650 to 0.884). Detectable swirling of blood in the right and sometimes the left ventricles was detected in 9 of 16 zebras, whereas physiologic regurgitation of blood was detected for the aortic valve in 3 zebras, pulmonary valve in 2 zebras, mitral valve in 2 zebras, and tricuspid valve in 1 zebra. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results of this study provide reference information for use in the cardiac evaluation of anesthetized Grevy's zebras.
The Current Status and Future Direction of Nanotechnology Regulations: A View from Nano‐scientists

This article presents an up-to-date view of leading U.S. nanoscientists' perceptions about the regulation of nanotechnology. Our analysis draws from the results of a 2011 mail survey with 444 of the most prolific nanoscientists in the United States to explore their perceptions about existing nanotech policies, the development of new nanotech policies, and mandatory policies about the implementation of safe lab practices for federally funded nanoresearch. In addition to exploring the scientists' perceptions about these pressing policy issues, we also test relationships between their perceptions about regulation and control variables such as gender, disciplinary affiliation, and political ideology. Last, the results of the 2011 data collection are compared with a similar mail survey that was conducted in 2007 with leading U.S. nanoscientists to explore any changes over the four-year time period in scientists' perceptions about nanotechnology policy making, and governmental involvement in nanotechnology research.
Financial Development, International Trade, and Economic Growth in Australia: New Evidence From Multivariate Framework Analysis

This study investigates the relationship between financial development, international trade and economic growth for Australia over the period of 1965 to 2010. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied to examine the long-run relationship among the series, whereas stationarity properties of the variables are tested by applying two structural break tests. Results confirm the long-run relationship among the variables. Financial development, international trade, and capital appear as the drivers of economic growth in short and long runs. The feedback effect exists between international trade and economic growth. Financial development Granger causes economic growth validating supply-side hypothesis.
Comparison of FDTD Hard Source With FDTD Soft Source and Accuracy Assessment in Debye Media

To radiate electromagnetic energy from a single point of a finite difference time domain (FDTD) grid, there are typically two general classes of electromagnetic wave sources; the soft source which consists of impressing a current, and the hard source which consists of impressing an electric field. The physical meaning of the soft source is well understood and its analytical solution is known, whereas there is no analytical solution for the hard source excitation. Nevertheless, many FDTD works utilize the hard source for its practicality. A novel aspect is that the derivation of a field radiated from the hard source towards the free space is identical to the field radiated from the soft source, provided that a certain relationship holds between the source excitations. This provides us with an analytical solution for the field radiated from the hard source. The assessment of accuracy is then considered for a wide band field radiated from a punctual source into frequency-dependent FDTD Debye media. The quantification of the deviation of the waveform observed in the FDTD space from the analytical solution is demonstrated. The numerical experiments with this quantification show that the waveform observed with the soft source excitation matches the one with the hard source excitation when the minimum wavelength to the spatial discretization ratio is greater than 10. It turns out that the soft source outperforms the hard source when the minimum wavelength relative to the spatial discretization is less than 10 in the case of lossless media. Equivalent accuracy is achievable for both lossless and lossy media even when the minimum wavelength to the spatial discretization ratio is lower than 10 due to the loss tangent which absorbs the spurious frequencies related to the numerical noise.
Fraudulent financial reporting, corporate governance and ethics: 1987‐2007

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review, critique, and integrate certain trends, events, and research streams involving earnings management, fraudulent financial reporting, corporate governance and ethics. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides a brief history of relevant events and trends in financial reporting for the period 1987-2007. Within this historical context, financial reporting and earnings quality are discussed from the academic and practitioner points of view. The influence of corporate governance and the role of ethics and behavior are introduced as part of an integrated discussion of academic and practitioner viewpoints of earnings management and fraudulent financial reporting. The last section of the paper provides final observations and recommendations for future research. Findings - The paper concludes that academic research in earnings management and fraudulent financial reporting has become increasingly narrow in addressing important issues and problems in practice. Research limitations/implications - The paper is limited in its depth of analysis in each individual research stream due to the breadth of research and time period that are addressed. The implications for future research are enhanced by the integration of several streams of research relevant to earnings management and fraudulent financial reporting. Practical implications - The paper may be useful to regulators and policy makers to better understand the significance and relevance of academic research. Originality/value - The paper introduces and integrates ethics and behavior as important aspects for understanding earnings management and fraudulent financial reporting.
Options for Field Diagnosis of Human African Trypanosomiasis

SUMMARY Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) due to Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or T. b. rhodesiense remains highly prevalent in several rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and is lethal if left untreated. Therefore, accurate tools are absolutely required for field diagnosis. For T. b. gambiense HAT, highly sensitive tests are available for serological screening but the sensitivity of parasitological confirmatory tests remains insufficient and needs to be improved. Screening for T. b. rhodesiense infection still relies on clinical features in the absence of serological tests available for field use. Ongoing research is opening perspectives for a new generation of field diagnostics. Also essential for both forms of HAT is accurate determination of the disease stage because of the high toxicity of melarsoprol, the drug most widely used during the neurological stage of the illness. Recent studies have confirmed the high accuracy of raised immunoglobulin M levels in the cerebrospinal fluid for the staging of T. b. gambiense HAT, and a promising simple assay (LATEX/IgM) is being tested in the field. Apart from the urgent need for better tools for the field diagnosis of this neglected disease, improved access to diagnosis and treatment for the population at risk remains the greatest challenge for the coming years.
The Announcement Effects of Off-Market Share Repurchases in Australia

This paper investigates the price and volume behaviour around the announcement of a type of off-market repurchase (equal access repurchases) in Australia. In contrast to US studies which document abnormal returns of around 8% for off-market repurchases, we find much smaller but significant abnormal returns of around 1.2% on the announcement date for equal access repurchases. The evidence suggests that the abnormal returns are related to the discount-to-market price at which the offer is made (which reflects special taxation arrangements). We also document a dramatic increase in trading volume on the announcement and subsequent day and argue that this trading may be motivated by the level of tax benefits passed on to participating shareholders.
Determinants of biased subjective performance evaluations: evidence from a Taiwanese public sector organization

Drawing on the notion of guanxi, which is obligation-bound, in Confucian cultures, this study investigates whether rating leniency and rating compression in performance evaluation are based on supervisor–subordinate acquaintanceship, alma mater ties, and subordinates' physical proximity to their supervisor. After controlling for supervisor–subordinate gender similarity and age difference, this study first finds that public sector supervisors are willing to provide relatively lenient ratings and compressed ratings for their subordinates when their personal acquaintanceship with them is strong, and when there is close physical proximity between them. Second, an alma mater connection with a subordinate leads to rating leniency by the supervisor. Finally, it is worth noting where this study differs from Bol's research (from Western cultures). In particular, while Bol, J.C. [2011. The determinants and performance effects of managers’ performance evaluation biases. The Accounting Review, 86 (5), 1549–1575] demonstrates that age differences between supervisors and subordinates decrease rating leniency, this study documents insignificant results for similar demographic characteristics in age and gender. Bol, J.C. [2011. The determinants and performance effects of managers’ performance evaluation biases. The Accounting Review, 86 (5), 1549–1575] also demonstrates that if a private sector supervisor sharing a work location with subordinates faces relatively lower information-gathering costs, he or she will give less lenient and less compressed ratings. However, this study shows opposite findings for the guanxi norm in Confucian societies.
Can Small Class Policy Close the Gap? An Empirical Analysis of Class Size Effects in Japan

Can a smaller-class at school lead to a better educational outcome and more equality in achievement? We estimate the causal effects of class-size on achievement tests by using discontinuous changes in class-size under the Japanese public compulsory education system. We employ a value-added model using achievement test conducted at two different times during the same school year. Our results show a reduction in class-size has significant positive effects on Japanese language test scores in the sixth grade especially at schools in wealthy areas. That is, we find no evidence that a universal small-class policy closes the achievement gap among schools.
Platform Competition with Partial Multihoming under Differentiation: A Note

A model of a two-sided market with two horizontally differentiated platforms and multihoming on one side is developed. In contrast to recent contributions, it is shown that platforms do not necessarily generate all revenues on the multihoming side by charging a higher price. Also, whether platforms' pricing structures favor exclusivity over multihoming is ambiguous.
Clarifying the Concentration-Stability Controversy in Banking: Evidence from the EU-25.

We use panel data from the EU-25 to estimate the effect of changes in the degree of banking market concentration on the stability of banks by performing separate analyses at the country level and the bank level. The results indicate that the level of analysis matters. Whereas our country-level analysis suggests a negative relationship between market concentration and stability, the sign of the estimated effect is reversed when the analysis is performed at the bank level. We argue that the latter approach is more appropriate because it focuses solely on the within-bank variation in stability and because it allows to control for bank-specific characteristics and unobserved bank heterogeneity. The evidence partly supports the view that increases in the degree of banking market concentration.
Are Investors Influenced by Pro Forma Emphasis and Reconciliations in Earnings Announcements

This study presents the results of an experiment that examines how two underlying characteristics of pro forma earnings announcements, pro forma emphasis and the presence of a quantitative reconciliation, influence nonprofessional investors' and analysts' reliance on pro forma disclosures. The results indicate that the emphasis management places on pro forma earnings, not the mere presence of pro forma earnings, influences nonprofessional investors' judgments and decisions, but that this influence is mitigated by the presence of a quantitative reconciliation. Further analysis reveals that the influence of pro forma emphasis on nonprofessional investors' judgments and decisions seems to be the result of an unintentional cognitive effect as opposed to the perceived informativeness of the earnings figure emphasized by management. Analysts' judgments and decisions were also affected by the presence of reconciliation, but in the opposite direction to those of nonprofessional investors. Specifically, the presen.
17 beta-Estradiol normalizes immune responses in ovariectomized females after trauma-hemorrhage.

Recent studies indicate that immune responses in proestrus females are maintained after trauma-hemorrhage but markedly depressed in ovariectomized females under such conditions. The current study tested the hypothesis that the decreased estrogen levels after ovariectomy are responsible for this immune depression. To study this hypothesis, ovariectomized female CBA/J mice were subjected to laparotomy (i.e., soft tissue trauma) and hemorrhagic shock (35 +/- 5 mmHg for 90 min, then resuscitated) or sham operation. The mice received either 17 beta-estradiol (E2; 100 microg/25 g body wt) or vehicle subcutaneously during resuscitation. Immune cells were isolated 24 h thereafter. Splenocyte proliferation and interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-3 release were significantly depressed after trauma-hemorrhage in vehicle-treated mice, whereas these functions were maintained in E2-treated mice. Peritoneal macrophage IL-1 beta and IL-6 release and splenic macrophage IL-6 and IL-12 release were also significantly depressed in vehicle-treated mice after trauma-hemorrhage, and release of these cytokines was restored by E2 treatment. In summary our findings indicate that the depressed splenic and peritoneal immune responses after trauma-hemorrhage can be normalized by a single dose of E2. Thus estrogen appears to be the causative factor in the maintenance of immunocompetence in females after trauma-hemorrhage, and its administration to ovariectomized or postmenopausal females should be helpful in preventing immune depression under such conditions.