Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rumen Microbial Population Dynamics during Adaptation to a High-Grain Diet

ABSTRACT High-grain adaptation programs are widely used with feedlot cattle to balance enhanced growth performance against the risk of acidosis. This adaptation to a high-grain diet from a high-forage diet is known to change the rumen microbial population structure and help establish a stable microbial population within the rumen. Therefore, to evaluate bacterial population dynamics during adaptation to a high-grain diet, 4 ruminally cannulated beef steers were adapted to a high-grain diet using a step-up diet regimen containing grain and hay at ratios of 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, and 80:20. The rumen bacterial populations were evaluated at each stage of the step-up diet after 1 week of adaptation, before the steers were transitioned to the next stage of the diet, using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, 16S rRNA gene libraries, and quantitative real-time PCR. The T-RFLP analysis displayed a shift in the rumen microbial population structure during the final two stages of the step-up diet. The 16S rRNA gene libraries demonstrated two distinct rumen microbial populations in hay-fed and high-grain-fed animals and detected only 24 common operational taxonomic units out of 398 and 315, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene libraries of hay-fed animals contained a significantly higher number of bacteria belonging to the phylum Fibrobacteres, whereas the 16S rRNA gene libraries of grain-fed animals contained a significantly higher number of bacteria belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes. Real-time PCR analysis detected significant fold increases in the Megasphaera elsdenii, Streptococcus bovis, Selenomonas ruminantium, and Prevotella bryantii populations during adaptation to the high-concentrate (high-grain) diet, whereas the Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and Fibrobacter succinogenes populations gradually decreased as the animals were adapted to the high-concentrate diet. This study evaluates the rumen microbial population using several molecular approaches and presents a broader picture of the rumen microbial population structure during adaptation to a high-grain diet from a forage diet.
A framework for role-based group deligation in distributed environments

Role-based delegation model (RBDM) based on the role-based access control (RBAC) has proven to be a flexible and useful access control model for information sharing in a distributed collaborative environment. In today's highly dynamic distributed systems, a user often needs to delegate a role to all members of a group at the same time. It presents the challenge of how to build a role-based group delegation framework within RBAC in distributed environment.This paper aims to build a group delegation framework within RBAC. The framework includes a role-based group delegation granting model, group delegation revocation model, granting authorization and revocation authorization. We analyze various revocations and the impact of revocations on role hierarchies. The implementation with XML based tools demonstrates the framework and authorization methods. Finally, comparisons with other related work are indicated.
Audit Committee Members: What Goes on Behind Closed Doors?

Using a qualitative research paradigm, this study examines audit committee effectiveness from the perspective of audit committee members of New Zealand listed companies. The findings reveal that audit committee members perform a range of overlapping tasks and justify their existence in their audit committees by fulfilling the ‘expectations’ that are placed on them. Many quantitative research studies have examined the association between different dimensions of audit committee inputs and financial reporting outputs. The empirical evidence, however, is mixed and remains far from conclusive (Bedard and Gendron 2010). One of the primary reasons for the inconsistent findings is the lack of understanding of the actual process by which audit committees perform their responsibilities. Using a qualitative research paradigm, this study examines audit committee activities, processes and effectiveness from the perspective of audit committee members of New Zealand listed companies. The study argues that performing audit committee duties is an intended process, whereby audit committee members justify their actions and the effectiveness of their audit committees. The paper contributes to the limited literature on how audit committees operate and, by doing so, provides possible explanations for the inconsistent findings of the quantitative audit committee research. In particular, the paper invites further discussion on whether audit committee members can be (or should be assumed to be) independent when discharging their role of overseeing auditing and financial reporting-related matters.
New Keynesian Exchange Rate Pass-Through

Using the theory of optimal local currency pricing, this paper constructs a structural equation to estimate the rate at which foreign producer prices pass through the local currency prices of imported goods in the U.S. This can be viewed as measuring exchange rate pass-through, in line with price stickiness in the New Keynesian Phillips curve literature. We estimate the structural equation using the generalized methods of moments for consistent estimates of exchange rate pass-through. We find that a model with a mix of local currency pricing and producer currency pricing fits the data best. The estimate of price stickiness in import prices is comparable to existing estimates of domestic price stickiness.
Genetic Dissection of Hormonal Responses in the Roots of Arabidopsis Grown under Continuous Mechanical Impedance1[W][OA]

We investigated the role of ethylene and auxin in regulating the growth and morphology of roots during mechanical impedance by developing a new growing system and using the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The Arabidopsis seedlings grown horizontally on a dialysis membrane-covered agar plate encountered adequate mechanical impedance as the roots showed characteristic ethylene phenotypes: 2-fold reduction in root growth, increase in root diameter, decrease in cell elongation, and ectopic root hair formation. The root phenotype characterization of various mutants having altered response to ethylene biosynthesis or signaling, the effect of ethylene inhibitors on mechanically impeded roots, and transcription profiling of the ethylene-responsive genes led us to conclude that enhanced ethylene response plays a primary role in changing root morphology and development during mechanical impedance. Further, the differential sensitivity of horizontally and vertically grown roots toward exogenous ethylene suggested that ethylene signaling plays a critical role in enhancing the ethylene response. We subsequently demonstrated that the enhanced ethylene response also affects the auxin response in roots. Taken together, our results provide a new insight into the role of ethylene in changing root morphology during mechanical impedance.
Immunohistochemical Investigation of Metastasis-Related Chemokines in Deep-Infiltrating Endometriosis and Compromised Pelvic Sentinel Lymph Nodes

Endometriosis is a prevalent benign disease, despite sharing several similarities with malignancies, such as the possibility of lymphatic spread. In malignancies, chemokines play a sovereign role in the process of metastasis. Metastasis-related chemokine axes have not yet been assessed in deep-infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), and this investigation was the aim of our study. The expression of these chemokines was investigated by immunohistochemistry in rectovaginal DIE lesions and in matched pelvic sentinel lymph nodes (PSLNs) of patients with endometriosis (n = 27), and their expression in the eutopic endometrium (EE) of endometriosis-free women (n = 20) was used as controls. Their staining pattern in rectovaginal DIE, in endometriotic lesions affecting the PSLN as well as in the EE of patients without endometriosis was characterized for the first time. Overall, these chemokines were highly expressed in DIE and endometriosis in PSLN. Chemokines might be involved in the spread of endometriosis and should be further investigated.
Detection of circulating candida enolase by immunoassay in patients with cancer and invasive candidiasis.

BACKGROUND Invasive candidiasis is a major nosocomial infection that is difficult to diagnose. Few biochemically defined markers of invasive candidiasis are known. Initial findings suggested that the presence of candida enolase in the blood may be a novel marker for invasive candidiasis. METHODS We tested 170 patients at high risk for invasive candidiasis for candida enolase antigenemia. All the patients had cancer and neutropenia. We detected antigen using a double-sandwich liposomal immunoassay for candida enolase in serially collected serum samples. Invasive candidiasis was proved by finding candida species in deep nonmucosal tissue, blood cultures, or both. Antigen testing was performed with the investigator blinded to tissue or culture diagnosis. RESULTS Among 24 patients with proved invasive candidiasis, 149 serum samples were tested for enolase antigenemia; 80 were positive and 69 negative (sensitivity per sample, 54 percent). Multiple sampling improved the detection of antigenemia, which was found in 11 of 13 proved cases of deep tissue infection (85 percent) and in 7 of 11 proved cases of fungemia (64 percent). Specificity was 96 percent as measured against control groups including patients with mucosal colonization, bacteremia, and other deep mycoses. Antigenemia was detected in the absence of fungemia in 5 cases of deep tissue candidiasis, but was not detected in 6 cases of fungemia alone. CONCLUSIONS Candida enolase antigenemia is a novel marker for invasive candidiasis. It may be a useful indicator of deep infection in patients with cancer and neutropenia and may complement the diagnostic usefulness of blood cultures.
Betting on own knowledge: Experimental test of overconfidence

This paper presents a new incentive compatible method for measuring confidence in own knowledge. This method consists of two parts. First, an individual answers several general knowledge questions. Second, the individual chooses among three alternatives: (1) one question is selected at random and the individual receives a payoff if he or she has answered this question correctly; (2) the individual receives the same payoff with a probability equal to the percentage of correctly answered questions; (3) either the first or the second alternative is selected. The choice of the first (second) alternative reveals overconfidence (underconfidence). The individual is well calibrated if he or she chooses the third alternative. Experimental results show that subjects, on average, exhibit underconfidence about their own knowledge when the incentive compatible mechanism is used. Their confidence in own knowledge does not depend on their attitude towards risk/ambiguity.
Understanding barriers to maternal child health services utilisation in northern Ghana

This study sought to create better understanding about existing barriers to the use of maternal and child health services in northern Ghana. Using the survey research design, the study integrates outcome and process approaches to assessing barriers to the utilisation of maternal health services. Data were collected through primary interviews of 496 pregnancy and delivery episodes cases. The findings show that self-reported antenatal and postnatal attendance was high in all the districts surveyed. However, one major barrier has been the low quality of services provided. The findings also indicate that although health facility delivery is high in the districts surveyed, only the well-to-do non-literate, urbanite women and the educated patronise supervised normal health delivery care. Due to social and physical access constraints, most rural-based, illiterate and poor women perceived supervised delivery as an option only for pregnant mothers experiencing complications of pregnancy or labour. Recommendations to break existing barriers to maternal and child health services in outlying rural communities included the need to improve the quality of maternal and child health service through the supply of major logistic deficiencies, the need to provide support to the facilities with 4-wheel auxiliary drive pickup trucks to facilitate referrals of clients in pregnancy or labour complications as public transport is grossly lacking in the outlying communities, and the need to step up the training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), as an alternative channel for supervised deliveries. KEYWORDS : Barriers, maternal and child health services, northern regions, Ghana, traditional birth attendants
Circular displays: control/display arrangements and stereotype strength with eight different display locations

Two experiments are reported that were designed to investigate control/display arrangements having high stereotype strengths when using circular displays. Eight display locations relative to the operator and control were tested with rotational and translational controls situated on different planes according to the Frame of Reference Transformation Tool (FORT) model of Wickens et al. (2010). (Left. No, Right! Development of the Frame of Reference Transformation Tool (FORT), Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting, 54: 1022–1026). In many cases, there was little effect of display locations, indicating the importance of the Worringham and Beringer (1998. Directional stimulus–response compatibility: a test of three alternative principles. Ergonomics, 41(6), 864–880) Visual Field principle and an extension of this principle for rotary controls (Hoffmann and Chan (2013). The Worringham and Beringer ‘visual field’ principle for rotary controls. Ergonomics, 56(10), 1620–1624). The initial indicator position (12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock) had a major effect on control/display stereotype strength for many of the six controls tested. Best display/control arrangements are listed for each of the different control types (rotational and translational) and for the planes on which they are mounted. Data have application where a circular display is used due to limited display panel space and applies to space-craft, robotics operators, hospital equipment and home appliances. Practitioner Summary: Circular displays are often used when there is limited space available on a control panel. Display/control arrangements having high stereotype strength are listed for four initial indicator positions. These arrangements are best for design purposes.
Vasomotor hot flashes and cardiac repolarization: a randomized placebo-controlled trial of postmenopausal hormone therapy

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of different hormone therapies on cardiac repolarization in recently postmenopausal women with and without hot flashes. Methods: We recruited 150 healthy women: 72 with and 78 without hot flashes. They were randomized and treated for 6 months with transdermal estradiol (1 mg/day), oral estradiol (OE) alone (2 mg/day) or combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA; 5 mg/day), or placebo. Cardiac repolarization was assessed by measuring QT intervals, rate-dependence of QT-end interval, and T waves from 24-hour electrocardiographic recording before and during hormone therapy, comprising a total of over 20 million QT-interval measurements. Results: Hot flashes were accompanied with shortened median T-peak – T-end interval (at RR interval of 700, 800, and 900 ms; P = 0.040, 0.020, and 0.032; &eegr;2 = 0.35, 0.39, and 0.37; respectively) during the use of OE but not transdermal estradiol. In contrast, the addition of MPA to OE lengthened the maximal QT-end (at RR interval of 500 ms, P = 0.016, &eegr;2 = 0.27) and the maximal T-peak – T-end interval (at RR interval of 500 and 600 ms; P = 0.016 and 0.032; &eegr;2 = 0.25 and 0.22, respectively). These effects were not seen in women without hot flashes. Conclusions: Hot flashes predict beneficial shortening in cardiac repolarization during OE, but not if MPA is combined with OE. These data may provide one explanation for MPA-related cardiac hazards in epidemiological studies.
Melatonin promotes proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells subjected to hypoxia in vitro

Abstract: Melatonin, an endogenously produced neurohormone secreted by the pineal gland, has a variety of physiological functions and neuroprotective effects. It can modulate the functions of neural stem cells (NSCs) including proliferation and differentiation in embryonic brain tissue but its effect and mechanism on the stem cells in hypoxia remains to be explored. Here, we show that melatonin stimulates proliferation of NSCs during hypoxia. Additionally, it also promoted the differentiation of NSCs into neurons. However, it did not appear to exert an obvious effect on the differentiation of astrocytes. The present results have further shown that the promotional effect of NSCs proliferation by melatonin involved the MT1 receptor and increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2. The effect of melatonin on differentiation of NSCs is linked to altered expression of differentiation‐related genes. In the light of these findings, it is suggested that melatonin may be beneficial as a supplement for treatment of neonatal hypoxic–ischemic brain injury for promoting the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs.
Supply response of West African agricultural households

This paper explores the implications of preference heterogeneity between wives and husbands in nonresource-pooling rural West African households for the effect of crop price changes on agricultural production, i.e., their supply response. A "semi-cooperative" game-theoretic model of household decisionmaking, in which household members make unilateral time and income allocation decisions and negotiate over who controls these resources, is proposed. The model is used to show that Pareto efficiency in both production and consumption do not hold. It is then employed to simulate the supply response to cotton price increases accompanying agricultural sector liberalization in Burkina Faso in the early 1980s. The simulated semi-cooperative model predicts the cotton supply response of (monogamous) Burkinabe households to be 25 percent below that which would ensue in households facing the same production constraints yet whose members have identical preferences. The analysis indicates that in nonresource-pooling agricultural households, preference heterogeneity can be expected to mute supply response and may do so in a quantitatively significant manner. It illustrates how an intrahousehold approach that allows for such heterogeneity and for disaggregation of resource control by gender contributes to a better understanding of price effects.
Explaining change in the Mexican public sector: the limits of New Public Management

The Mexican public sector has undergone significant transformations in recent decades. This article argues against the view that these changes are the result of New Public Management-style reforms. Even though the Mexican government has applied some of the tools associated with this paradigm, the essential NPM doctrines — granting more autonomy to public agencies and government officials, and using market mechanisms to promote competition in the public sector — have been absent from the agenda. The Mexican experience exposes two erroneous assumptions in the international debate about NPM: that there is a global trend of similar national reforms and that every change in the public sector is part of this new paradigm. Instead, the changes in the Mexican public sector are the result of incremental adjustments to two broader domestic processes: economic liberalization and political democratization — which have led to a smaller and relatively more accountable administration. Points for practitioners This article suggests that not all reforms are the result of New Public Management initiatives. It points towards alternative explanations for change in the Mexican public sector and identifies political democratization and economic liberalization as the main sources of change. This view challenges existing accounts of public sector change in developing countries and suggests a more complex process of reform. The main lesson for practitioners is that, when analysing reform experiences, they should look at the underlying causal processes rather than at the official rhetoric. Moreover, the article reminds practitioners that NPM is only one among several sources of doctrines for changing the public administration.
US power and the crisis of social democracy in Europe's second project of integration

This article draws on the work of Poulantzas to argue that European social democracy is in crisis because European integration since the 1980s has been articulated within a relationship of structural subordination to US-led globalised financial capital, to which European capital has itself increasingly gravitated. This has also been the determining parameter of the state-as-social-relation, and contradicts the post-war welfare settlement. Against this backdrop, Europe has struggled to rearticulate a new social compromise and politics of social mediation. The attendant crisis of legitimisation has primarily benefited right-wing populism, which does not augur well for the health of Europe's synthesis of capitalism with democracy.
Intelligent camera cloud computing

In many industrial automation processes, quality monitoring is based on visual inspection. An example is flat-steel manufacturing, where surface defects need to be monitored. Currently this is performed by extensive image logging and off-line human interpretation. More intensive automation requires gathering quantitative information, but this will easily require a very expensive camera, if feasible at all. Furthermore it poses a burden in guaranteeing proper lighting conditions. The paper describes experiments with a cloud of cameras. It is shown that the use of multiple cameras will not only raise the robustness of the system but also the precision of the measurement. This allows measuring micrometer defects from a distance using a cloud of cheap vision sensors.
The AHNAKs are a class of giant propeller-like proteins that associate with calcium channel proteins of cardiomyocytes and other cells

To explore the function of the giant AHNAK molecule, first described in 1992 [Shtivelman, E. , Cohen, F. E. & Bishop, J. M. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 5472–5476], we created AHNAK null mice by homologous recombination. Homozygous knockouts showed no obvious phenotype, but revealed instead a second AHNAK-like molecule, provisionally designated AHNAK2. Like the original AHNAK, AHNAK2 is a 600-kDa protein composed of a large number of highly conserved repeat segments. Structural predictions suggest that the repeat segments of both AHNAKs may have as their basic framework a series of linked, antiparallel β-strands similar to those found in β-propeller proteins. Both AHNAKs appear to localize to Z-band regions of mouse cardiomyocytes and cosediment with membrane vesicles containing the dihydropyridine receptor, which is consistent with earlier reports that the AHNAKs are linked to L-type calcium channels and can be phosphorylated by protein kinase A. The localization of the AHNAKs in close proximity to transverse tubule membranes and Z-band regions of cardiac sarcomeres raise the possibility that they might be involved in regulating excitation/contraction coupling of cardiomyocytes, but other studies indicate that the association of AHNAKs with calcium channel proteins is more widespread. AHNAK2 is predicted to have a PDZ domain within its N-terminal, nonrepeating domain, which may mediate these interactions.