Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Richness and Diversity of Bacterioplankton Species along an Estuarine Gradient in Moreton Bay, Australia

ABSTRACT Bacterioplankton community diversity was investigated in the subtropical Brisbane River-Moreton Bay estuary, Australia (27°25′S, 153°5′E). Bacterial communities were studied using automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA), which amplifies 16S-23S ribosomal DNA internally transcribed spacer regions from mixed-community DNA and detects the separated products on a fragment analyzer. Samples were collected from eight sites throughout the estuary and east to the East Australian Current (Coral Sea). Bacterioplankton communities had the highest operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, as measured by ARISA at eastern bay stations (S [total richness] = 84 to 85 OTU) and the lowest richness in the Coral Sea (S = 39 to 59 OTU). Richness correlated positively with bacterial abundance; however, there were no strong correlations between diversity and salinity, NO3− and PO43− concentrations, or chlorophyll a concentration. Bacterioplankton communities at the riverine stations were different from communities in the bay or Coral Sea. The main differences in OTU richness between stations were in taxa that each represented 0.1% (the detection limit) to 0.5% of the total amplified DNA, i.e., the “tail” of the distribution. We found that some bacterioplankton taxa are specific to distinct environments while others have a ubiquitous distribution from river to sea. Bacterioplankton richness and diversity patterns in the estuary are potentially a consequence of greater niche availability, mixing of local and adjacent environment communities, or intermediate disturbance. Furthermore, these results contrast with previous reports of spatially homogeneous bacterioplankton communities in other coastal waters.
Consumer adoption of an aggregated electronic bill presentment and payment solution in South Africa using the technology acceptance model

This study tries to identify the key factors that influence the acceptance of an aggregated electronic bill presentment and payment solution in South Africa. As technology acceptance models are primarily developed and validated in developed countries, a new model had to be respecified to fit the South African context. Two constructs, namely perceived usefulness from the Technology Acceptance Model and a new construct “confidence”, including antecedents, were formulated from our literature review. Using a research instrument of an online survey, we measured the 81 responses received from a judgemental sample of South African internet users. The data was analysed by using linear regression analysis to test the model as well as individual hypotheses. Our respecified model was found to be highly significant providing 31, 2% explanatory power to influence adoption. The confidence construct was only marginally significant and may be an area for future research. The key themes emanating from our research indicates that consumers who value “time savings” and are “self-identified adopters” are likely to be the early adopters of EBPP. Concern for privacy and the perceived advantage to current methods of paying bills online are eminent; however, a majority (96, 3%) of the respondents indicated a willingness to adopt EBPP with 58% indicating regular levels of usage.
Percolation and Scale-Free Connectivity for Wireless Sensor Networks

Based on complex network analysis and percolation theory, this letter proposes a method called LTPT to generate scale-free topology for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), with required connectivity and lifetime. The problem is divided into logical topology (LT) and physical topology (PT) analysis. With LTPT, we generate a robust logical topology of power-law degree distribution and build a physical topology of guaranteed connectivity and lifetime. This is the first time the connection between logical and physical connectivities is set up analytically.
Contributions to computing and modeling multiple whole-genome alignments

Recent advances in sequencing technologies have opened up the opportunity to study whole genomes at the nucleotide level. Similarities in the nucleotide sequences of genomes provide new insights in the relationships of organisms and species. Multiple whole-genome alignments represent these similarities, however their computation is challenging. In contrast to approaches for other sequence alignment problems, genome alignment methods have to deal with very long sequences and with non-colinearity of similarities. is thesis makes three contributions to the development of multiple whole-genome alignment methods. e prevailing strategy of such methods is to combine a set of local alignments to a global genome alignment. is thesis suggests an ecient and fully sensitive local alignment approach, compares graph data structures for representing genome alignments, and describes hidden rearrangement breakpoints that become visible only in the comparison of more than two genomes. All three contributions provide potential for signicant improvements to the computation or modeling of genome alignments. In a comparison to other local alignment approaches, the new local aligner is the fastest of three fully sensitive ones and competitive with seed-and-extend approaches despite having full sensitivity. e assessment of graph data structures describes for the rst time all graphs using the same terminology, and demonstrates how the graph structures dier in their information content. Finally, an analysis of breakpoints in simulated genome alignments suggests that hidden breakpoints are abundant and relevant for measuring the accuracy of genome alignments. In summary, the three contributions provide a promising basis for future genome alignment methods.
Obesity, borderline personality symptomatology, and body image among women in a psychiatric outpatient setting.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body weight, borderline personality symptomatology, and several measures of body image among women presenting for psychiatric evaluation. METHOD Forty-eight women in a university-based psychiatric outpatient clinic completed the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R) and several measures of body image and indicated lifetime prevalence of depression histories. RESULTS PDQ-R scores correlated (r = 0.44, p < 0.01) with body mass index (BMI). Also, there were significant relationships between PDQ-R scores and measures of body image even after controlling for BMI. DISCUSSION In a psychiatric outpatient setting, borderline personality symptomatology is associated with higher body weight as well as body-image issues that are not necessarily due to larger body size.
Levels of Asset Specificity in Relational Contracting

Standard property rights theory (whether static or dynamic) assumes assets are specific, but once this assumption is in place, the level of asset specificity has no bearing on the make-or-buy decision. While there are good reasons to doubt the universality of transaction cost economics' prediction that the more specific the asset, the more likely is vertical integration to be optimal, this is an issue that cannot be addressed within the existing property rights framework. In this paper, I provide a simple and straightforward way of incorporating these different levels of asset specificity in a relational-contracting property-rights model of the firm, and show that they matter even in a static model. Using the Outside Option principle in bargaining results in a model in which the integration choice is affected in a non-trivial way by realized asset specificity. For instance, I find that vertical integration is the efficient response to widely varying supply prices as long as the level of asset specificity is low enough. When asset specificity is high, on the other hand, the incentives of the upstream party are best aligned with those of the downstream party and incentives may be best provided under outsourcing. In general, under bargaining with outside options, the first best is easier (harder) to achieve with outsourcing than with integration when the degree of asset specificity is high (low).
An empirical investigation of environmental performance and the market value of JSE listed companies

In the recent past, there has been increasing awareness of, and concern for, the impact that many companies are having on the natural and social environment. This has seen the emergence of a triple bottom line approach to business, with environmental and social metrics being used in addition to financial metrics when evaluating company performance. Despite the growing level of investment in corporate sustainability, it is not clear whether these investments are viewed positively by the market, and to what extent it creates shareholder value. To shed light on the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, this research assignment used the event study methodology to investigate whether there is statistically significant stock market reactions to announcements relating to the environmental performance of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. A total of 260 news announcements related to environmental performance were collected from a variety of news sources. The 260 news announcements represented 67 different companies across 11 different industry sectors. News announcements were collected from several prominent business news sources including the Business Day, Financial Mail and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange News Service. Abnormal share returns were estimated for a three day event window around the announcement date by using the market model approach. Results were aggregated based on four different categories of environmental performance, including corporate environmental initiatives, environmental awards and certificates, negative environmental publicity and, environmental reporting, permits and licences. Consistent with related research in developed countries, this study found that the market rewards certain categories of positive environmental performance but penalises certain categories of negative environmental performance more severely. The results show that there is a significant positive market reaction to announcements of corporate environmental initiatives on the trading day following the announcement. This result indicates a positive relationship between corporate environmental initiatives and financial performance, as measured by market value. In terms of negative environmental performance, it was found that the market responds negatively to the broad category of negative environmental publicity. In particular, negative announcements from civil society and environmental groups seem to result in more significant market reactions than negative announcements from local or national government. In contrast to some studies done in developed countries, no statistically significant relationship was found between announcements of environmental awards and certificates and the market value of companies. Neither was there a statistically significant relationship between environmental reporting, permits and licences and the market value of companies. These results therefore Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za
Organizational social context in primary health care

The recognition and assessment of organizational social context (culture, climate and morale) is particularly valuable in primary health care. Both culture and climate have been shown to be associated with work morale and to predict job satisfaction, organizational commitment and voluntary turnover of employees in nursing. This study aims to describe the social contexts of primary health care centers from the viewpoint of health care professionals. A descriptive study using an organizational social context instrument for data collection was undertaken. From 29 teams in 18 public primary care centers of one Lithuanian county, 344 health care professionals participated. The results of the study show that different organizational cultures, climates and levels of morale existed in primary health care centers, at both team and organizational levels. The differences between teams were significant in terms of culture rigidity and resistance. Climate differences were found at both team and organization levels in regard to stress and functionality. A variance of about 7% in work morale was seen in teams and organizations. Managers should recognize the different kinds of social contexts in which teams work, in order to enable them to co-work efficiently in evidence-based primary care settings.
Account planning in the new marketing and communications environment (has the Stephen King challenge been met

This paper briefly outlines the origins and development of the account planning function within advertising agencies. The transformation of the marketing communications environment during the 1990s is discussed together with the evolution of marketing theory and practice. The main focus of the paper examines if and how account planning has responded to the challenges of the marketing environment during the 1990s and the increasing demand for integrated marketing communications. It questions the extent to which account planning is meeting marketing communications needs in the new millennium both in terms of its traditional internal agency functions and the much debated topic of media neutral planning. The term media neutral planning is analysed and the distinction is drawn between media neutral ideas and neutrality in channel choice. The paper concludes that planning is an inherently flexible discipline and that its prime function is to place the consumer at the heart of creative marketing and communications planning.
“Behind Closed Doors”: opportunity identification through observational research

Purpose – To thrive in today's competitive marketplace, businesses constantly need to search for opportunities to develop and be tuned into consumers as innovators. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to further understandings of the ways in which consumers transform ordinary products to serve their everyday needs; and broaden appreciation of the role observational research plays in opportunity identification.Design/methodology/approach – A hermeneutic approach to observational research is adopted, incorporating both subjective personal introspection (SPI) and videography to discover one family's unusual usage behaviours.Findings – Analysis, following Holbrook's typology of consumer value, reveals examples of innovative behaviours for the four active consumer value types of efficiency, status, play and ethics, while identification of the reactive value types of aesthetics, esteem, excellence and spirituality proves more difficult.Research limitations/implications – This research suggests alter.
Corn Starches as Film Formers in Aqueous-Based Film Coating

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the film formation ability and mechanical stress–strain properties of aqueous native corn starches, using free films and film coatings applied to tablets. Free films were prepared from high-amylose corn (Hylon VII), corn and waxy corn starches, using sorbitol and glycerol as plasticizers. The tablets and pellets were film-coated using an air-suspension coater, and characterized with respect to the film coating surface topography, cross-sectional structure and thickness (SEM), and dissolution in vitro. The amylose content of the starch film formers affected both the tensile strength and the elongation. The elongations were under 5% for even the plasticized starches, and in most cases, no plasticization effect was seen by either of the plasticizers. Dissolution of native corn starch film-coated tablets (weight gain 1%) did not differ from uncoated ones. A notable delay in dissolution of the drug was found by increasing Hylon VII film coating thickness, suggesting controlled-release characteristics.
Planck intermediate results - XXIV. Constraints on variations in fundamental constants

Any variation in the fundamental physical constants, more particularly in the fine structure constant, α, or in the mass of the electron, me, affects the recombination history of the Universe and cause an imprint on the cosmic microwave background angular power spectra. We show that the Planck data allow one to improve the constraint on the time variation of the fine structure constant at redshift z ~ 103 by about a factor of 5 compared to WMAP data, as well as to break the degeneracy with the Hubble constant, H0. In addition to α, we can set a constraint on the variation in the mass of the electron, me, and in the simultaneous variation of the two constants. We examine in detail the degeneracies between fundamental constants and the cosmological parameters, in order to compare the limits obtained from Planck and WMAP and to determine the constraining power gained by including other cosmological probes. We conclude that independent time variations of the fine structure constant and of the mass of the electron are constrained by Planck to Δα/α = (3.6 ± 3.7) × 10-3 and Δme/me = (4 ± 11) × 10-3 at the 68% confidence level. We also investigate the possibility of a spatial variation of the fine structure constant. The relative amplitude of a dipolar spatial variation in α (corresponding to a gradient across our Hubble volume) is constrained to be δα/α = (−2.4 ± 3.7) × 10-2.
External control, corporate strategy, and firm performance in research‐intensive industries

This paper explores the proposition that the divergence of interest between managers and stockholders has implications for corporate strategy and firm profitability. Stockholders prefer strategies which maximize their wealth. Managers prefer strategies which maximize their utility. It is theorized that in research-intensive industries, when stockholders dominate, innovation strategies are favored. When managers dominate, diversification strategies are favored. In addition, innovation is argued to be associated with greater firm profitability than diversification. This theory is tested on 94 Fortune 500 firms drawn from research-intensive industries. The results largely confirm theoretical expectations.
Hypnosis as an intervention in pain management: A brief review

While there is a consensus that psychosocial factors play an important role in the experience of pain, clinical interventions for acute and chronic pain remain primarily biomedical. This pattern persists despite a body of recent empirical work supporting the effectiveness of a number of behavioral and relaxation interventions for these problems. One of these interventions is hypnosis. We briefly discuss hypnotic analgesia and describe how hypnosis can be integrated into biomedical treatment for acute and chronic pain. Special attention is given to indications and contraindications, preparation of patients, and technique.
Roles of Bioavailable Iron and Calcium in Coal Dust-induced Oxidative Stress: Possible Implications in Coal Workers' Lung Disease

Marked regional differences in prevalence of pneumoconiosis are apparent in the US despite comparable dust exposure. In the present study, we examined the ability of 28 coal samples to release bioavailable iron (BAI) and calcium, as well as other metals such as Cr, Ni, Cu, and Co, from three coalmine regions in Utah (UT), West Virginia (WV), and Pennsylvania (PA), respectively. BAI is defined as iron (both Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ) released by the coals in 10 mM phosphate solution, pH 4.5, which mimics conditions of the phagolysosomes in cells. We found that coals from the UT, WV, and PA regions released average levels of BAI of 9.6, 4658.8, and 12149 parts per million (ppm, w/w), respectively, which correlated well with the prevalence of pneumoconiosis from that region (correlation coefficient r =0.92 ). The low levels of BAI in the UT coals were due to the presence of calcite (CaCO 3 ), which was shown to be preferentially acid solubilized before iron compounds. Release of iron by two coal samples from the PA and UT regions was further examined in vitro in human lung epithelial A549 cells. We found that the coal from PA, with a high prevalence of pneumoconiosis, released BAI in a dose-dependent manner, both in tissue culture media and in A549 cells. At 2 w g/cm 2 , levels of lipid peroxidation induced by the PA coal were increased 112% over control cells at 24 h treatment, and were sustained at this level for 3 days. The coal from UT, with a low prevalence of pneumoconiosis, induced a marginal increase in cellular iron at 5 and 10 w g/cm 2 treatments and had no effect on lipid peroxidation. Calcium levels in the cells treated with the PA and UT coals were 8.6 and 11.5 w moles/10 6 cells, respectively, and were significantly higher than that in the controls (53 w moles/10 6 cells). Our results suggest that the differences in the BAI content in the coals may be responsible for the observed regional differences in the prevalence of pneumoconiosis. Therefore, BAI may be a useful characteristic of coal for predicting coal's toxicity.
Expandable Endoprosthesis Reconstruction in Skeletally Immature Patients With Tumors

Between September 1984 and January 1996, 32 expandable endoprostheses were used for limb reconstruction after resection of malignant bone tumors in patients who were skeletally immature. The 20 boys and 12 girls ranged in age from 3 to 15 years (mean, 9.7 years). One patient had a Stage IIA tumor, 22 patients had Stage IIB tumors, and seven patients had Stage III tumors according to the classification of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society. There also were two patients with parosteal osteosarcomas. The histologic diagnosis was osteosarcoma in 23 patients and Ewing's sarcoma in nine. All patients except the patients with parosteal osteosarcoma received standard neoadjuvant therapy. Twenty-two Lewis Expandable Adjustable Prostheses, four modular Wright Medical prostheses, four modular Howmedica prostheses, and two Techmedica expandable prostheses were used. Thirteen patients died, two have no evidence of disease, and 17 are continuously disease free. Sixteen of 32 patients (50%) have not had an expansion procedure because of early death in 10 and early amputation in three. Three patients are waiting to undergo an expansion procedure. Sixteen of the 32 patients (50%) have undergone 32 expansion procedures, to a maximum of 9 cm, without any infection. To maintain range of motion before the expansion procedure, a complete resection of the pseudocapsule was done routinely. Fourteen of the 32 patients did not have complications. Eighteen of the 32 patients had 27 complications. All Lewis Expandable Adjustable Prosthesis endoprostheses and the two nonmodular Techmedica prostheses were associated with a large amount of titanium debris. The children's functional results were similar to the results reported for adults with an average Musculoskeletal Tumor Society rating of good to excellent at the knee, fair to good at the hip, and fair about the shoulder. Rehabilitation of the knee in very young patients (5-8 years) remains problematic and careful selection of patient and family is necessary. The Lewis Expandable Adjustable Prosthesis probably should be reserved for very young patients (5-8 years) and modular systems should be used for large preadolescent and adolescent children.