Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceived Importance of Sustainability and Ethics Related to Fish: A Consumer Behavior Perspective

Abstract Although sustainability and ethics are of increasing public importance, little research has been conducted to reveal its association with fish consumer behavior. Cross-sectional data were collected through a postal self-administered survey (June 2005) from a sample of 381 Flemish women aged 20–50 years. Consumers attach high perceived importance to sustainability and ethics related to fish. However, this perceived importance is neither correlated with fish consumption frequency nor with general attitude toward eating fish. Refusing to eat wild fish is grounded in sustainability and ethical concerns, whereas the decision not to eat farmed fish is associated with a lower expected intrinsic quality rather than shaped by importance attached to sustainability and ethical issues.
An Assessment of External Price Competitiveness for Mozambique

This paper conducts an assessment of external price competitiveness for Mozambique. A variety of indicators suggest that Mozambique has recently lost external price competitiveness with respect to its major trading partners. Consistent with these indicators, an exchange rate assessment indicates that the metical is overvalued by 26 to 41 percent in real effective terms. If sustained, an overvaluation of this magnitude has the potential to retard economic growth and jeopardize external stability, calling for an adjustment of monetary policy to gradually restore external price competitiveness.
The Tourism Development–Quality of Life Nexus in a Small Island Destination

Tourism development (TD) and quality of life (QoL) have been studied mostly from the perspective of how TD affects QoL, but the inverse relationship is less widely researched. Understanding this interrelationship will broaden the definition and goals of development, and will help shifting the debate from an income perspective to a QoL standpoint. This study assesses the linkages between TD, QoL, and economic growth for the island of Aruba. The study contributes to the literature by improving the understanding of the nature of the relationship between TD and QoL, by advancing the theory-building process. The methodology involves multivariate cointegration analyses and Granger causality testing. The results confirm the two-way direct relationship between TD and QoL, with proactive roles for both direct and indirect relationships. The findings highlight the need for recognizing the importance of QoL in determining TD, and understanding the workings of TD and economic growth on QoL dimensions.
Toward a Shortened Measure of Organizational Climate in Tourism and Hospitality

The purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of a shortened, and therefore more conveniently applied, version of the seven dimension Tourism and Hospitality Organizational Climate Scale (THOCS). Responses to the revised instrument, the THOCS-R, from 400 employees of a single, large tourism organization were analyzed. Subscales of the THOCS-R demonstrated levels of reliability ranging from acceptable to high. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the notion that the THOCS-R reliably measured four dimensions of the original instrument. Analyses were also conducted to investigate whether the THOCS-R has any explanatory utility in the prediction of other organizational variables. Regression analyses found the four replicated climate dimensions to explain 19.36% of the variation in employee turnover intentions and 20.07% of the variation in employee perceptions of customer satisfaction. It was concluded that the THOCS-R reliably measures four dimensions of organizational climate in tourism employees and is potentially a useful tool to examine the impact of climate on organizational outcomes.
Design of perfect reconstruction QMF banks by a null-space projection method

A new method is proposed for the design of two-channel linear-phase perfect reconstruction QMF banks. The analysis lowpass filter is first designed by a conventional method, and then the synthesis lowpass filter is obtained by using a null-space projection approach. This method is then extended to the design of two-channel perfect reconstruction QMF banks with low reconstruction delay, which are desirable in some applications. Two design examples are given to illustrate the proposed methods.
Diversity and Structure of Diazotrophic Communities in Mangrove Rhizosphere, Revealed by High-Throughput Sequencing

Diazotrophic communities make an essential contribution to the productivity through providing new nitrogen. However, knowledge of the roles that both mangrove tree species and geochemical parameters play in shaping mangove rhizosphere diazotrophic communities is still elusive. Here, a comprehensive examination of the diversity and structure of microbial communities in the rhizospheres of three mangrove species, Rhizophora apiculata, Avicennia marina, and Ceriops tagal, was undertaken using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and nifH genes. Our results revealed a great diversity of both the total microbial composition and the diazotrophic composition specifically in the mangrove rhizosphere. Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were both ubiquitous and dominant, comprising an average of 45.87 and 86.66% of total microbial and diazotrophic communities, respectively. Sulfate-reducing bacteria belonging to the Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfovibrionaceae were the dominant diazotrophs. Community statistical analyses suggested that both mangrove tree species and additional environmental variables played important roles in shaping total microbial and potential diazotroph communities in mangrove rhizospheres. In contrast to the total microbial community investigated by analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, most of the dominant diazotrophic groups identified by nifH gene sequences were significantly different among mangrove species. The dominant diazotrophs of the family Desulfobacteraceae were positively correlated with total phosphorus, but negatively correlated with the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. The Pseudomonadaceae were positively correlated with the concentration of available potassium, suggesting that diazotrophs potentially play an important role in biogeochemical cycles, such as those of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and potassium, in the mangrove ecosystem.
The Impact of Nominal Rigidities on State-Level Business Cycle Dynamics in the United States

This paper examines the relationship between wage rigidity and business cycle severity in the United States. Using microdata-based estimates of downward nominal and real wage rigidity at the state level, the hypothesis that greater rigidity deepens business cycles is put to empirical scrutiny. We nd that states with high downward nominal wage rigidity experience greater output volatility and endure deeper unemployment cycles between 1981 and 2013. We also nd evidence in support of a positive relationship between business cycle length and downward real wage rigidity. These results are robust to the inclusion of state xed eects and labor market control variables.
Bioavailability of Non-Provitamin A Carotenoids

Abstract: The role of carotenoids in human nutrition has gained increased interest, especially due to their associated health-beneficial effects for a number of chronic diseases, including certain types of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Whereas data is available on the intake and presence of carotenoids in foods, limited information exists on factors influencing their bioavailability, especially for the non-provitamin A carotenoids. However, carotenoid absorption strongly depends on a number of factors which are not entirely understood. These include mainly the release of carotenoids from the food matrix, their incorporation into mixed bile micelles, the transfer of carotenoids from micelles to the mucosa for passive or facilitated absorption (via SR-BI proteins), and the sequestration into chylomicrons. Thus, dietary compounds influencing carotenoid micelle incorporation, e.g. the amount fat present in an ingested meal or components competing for uptake, such as phytosterols and other carotenoids, can have a considerable impact on carotenoid bioavailability. However, the effect of many dietary factors, including dietary fiber, type of fat, or minerals on carotenoid absorption is not well understood. In addition, bioavailability also depends on the carotenoid structure; in general, polar carotenoids are preferably incorporated into mixed micelles and tend to be of higher bioavailability, as may be the case for free vs. esterified xanthophylls, and cis-isomers vs. their trans-form, due to apparent shorter chain-lengths. Whereas their importance as part of a healthy diet warrants an improved understanding of carotenoids, their dietary fate following ingestion, including their stability, efficiency of micelle-incorporation, and pathway of absorption are still marginally understood.
The effects of chronic episodic hypercapnic hypoxia on rat upper airway muscle contractile properties and fiber-type distribution.

OBJECTIVE Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by episodes of upper airway (UA) obstruction due to an inability of UA muscles such as the geniohyoids and sternohyoids to maintain airway patency. This results in chronic episodic hypercapnic hypoxia. Chronic continuous hypoxia and episodic hypocapnic hypoxia affect skeletal muscle structure and function, but the effects of chronic episodic hypercapnic hypoxia on UA muscle structure and function are unknown. DESIGN Rats breathed air and hypercapnic hypoxic gas twice per minute for 8 h/d for 5 weeks in order to mimic the intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia of OSA in humans. Isometric contractile properties were determined using strips of isolated geniohyoid and sternohyoid muscles in physiologic saline solution at 30 degrees C. Fiber-type distribution was determined by adenosine triphosphatase staining. RESULTS For both muscles, chronic episodic hypercapnic hypoxia had no significant effect on twitch or tetanic tension, twitch/tetanic tension ratio, and tension-frequency relationship. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in geniohyoid fatigue (50.5 +/- 6.6% vs 43.6 +/- 5.8% of initial tension), but sternohyoid fatigue was reduced (31.5 +/- 5.2% vs 37.8 +/- 6.0% of initial tension). Geniohyoid type 1 fibers were reduced and type 2B fibers increased, whereas sternohyoid muscle had an increase in type 1 and 2A fibers and a decrease in type 2B fibers. CONCLUSIONS Chronic episodic hypercapnic hypoxia alters UA muscle structure and function, changes that may affect the regulation of UA patency.
Effect of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonism on the Systemic Blood Pressure Responses to Mechanistically Diverse Vasomodulators in Conscious Rats

The effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonism with CGRP8-37 on blood pressure changes evoked by the intravenous administration of the vasoactive modulators angiotensin II, phenylephrine, adenosine, nitroglycerine, and sodium nitroprusside were assessed in conscious rats. The effects of sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine on the blood pressure responses evoked by these vasomodulators also were assessed. The intravenous test dose of CGRP8-37 was validated through block of depressor responses to intravenous CGRP in conscious rats, whereas the intravenous test doses of sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine were validated by reductions in carotid blood flow in anesthetized rats. CGRP8-37 had no significant effects on blood pressure dose-response profiles and individual dose blood pressure responses to any of the vasomodulators tested. In contrast, sumatriptan altered the blood pressure dose-response profiles to angiotensin II and sodium nitroprusside (P < 0.03) and dihydroergotamine altered the blood pressure dose-response profile to sodium nitroprusside (P < 0.02) and tended to alter that of phenylephrine (P = 0.06). Both sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine displayed frequent alterations of individual dose blood pressure responses to all vasomodulators. These findings are consistent with concerns for sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine to alter systemic hemodynamics, whereas CGRP receptor antagonism did not display the same hemodynamic liability.
A New Partisan Voter

The American electorate today is different from that described in The American Voter. Both the 1950s era of ideologically innocent party voting and the subsequent period of partisan dealignment are over. Some political scientists began to describe the New American Voter as a new partisan evolution occurred. What has not been fully appreciated in the twentieth/twenty-first century history of voting studies is how partisanship returned in a form more ideological and more issue based along liberal-conservative lines than it has been in more than 30 years. This is visible in the strength of partisan voting, in the relationship between partisanship and ideology, and in the strength of the relationship of partisanship and self-reported liberal-conservative ideology to the public's economic, social, racial, and religious attitudes and opinions. Not only has the public responded in a striking way to changes in politics and its context, but the current transformation has also appeared to be strikingly enduring and difficult to shake, based on survey evidence for this new partisan voter.
What are the television viewing and eating habits of children in Peru?

While there is already consensus in the scientific community about the deleterious effects of TV exposure, especially through TV advertisements, on children’s beliefs, preferences, and food intake, the link between TV and children’s eating behaviors is under-studied in Peru, a country experiencing a steady economic growth in recent years and currently with a status of upper-middle-income country. Following research about the effects of media exposure on childhood obesity, we report on a qualitative study of TV viewing and the eating habits of children attending elementary schools in Lima, the capital. Data from eight focus groups with 38 boys and girls between 6 and 11 years old, eight focus groups with 36 female caretakers, and in-depth interviews with two fathers provided consistent information about children’s eating habits and media viewing patterns. After dual coding the entire corpus of qualitative data, we found that children watch a great deal of TV during the school season: children watch as early as when they wake up in the morning, then during lunchtime (after returning from school), and then again after completing their homework from 5 pm to 9 pm or 10 pm. Survey data from the parents showed that, on average, children watch about 5 hours of TV on weekdays and more during a weekend-day. This large amount of exposure is concerning, especially because the focus groups revealed that children (1) recall a number of TV advertisements involving food items, (2) request food items seen on TV, and (3) are able to buy food for themselves, which usually involves chocolate, candy, or potato chips. Boys and girls reported different favorite TV shows, suggesting differences in exposure to TV content related to food. In addition, some families reported drinking sodas frequently, underlining a behavior that should be discouraged by public health officials.
Human Serum Albumin Phenotype Activation in Mouse Hepatoma-Human Leukocyte Cell Hybrids

Murine hepatoma cells that secreted mouse serum albumin were fused with human leukocytes that did not produce albumin. The resulting hybrids secreted both mouse and human serum albumin, as demonstrated by immuno-electrophoretic techniques. The activation of the human genome suggests that mapping genes governing specialized functions in somatic cell hybrids may be accomplished by using adifferentiated human cells as a parental line.
BaeSR, Involved in Envelope Stress Response, Protects against Lysogenic Conversion by Shiga Toxin 2-Encoding Phages

ABSTRACT Infection and lysogenic conversion with Shiga toxin-encoding bacteriophages (Stx phages) drive the emergence of new Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains. Phage attachment to the bacterial surface is the first stage of phage infection. Envelope perturbation causes activation of envelope stress responses in bacterial cells. Although many external factors are known to activate envelope stress responses, the role of these responses in the phage-bacterium interaction remains unexplored. Here, we investigate the link between three envelope signaling systems in E. coli (RcsBC, CpxAR, and BaeSR) and Stx2 phage infection by determining the success of bacterial lysogenic conversion. For this purpose, E. coli DH5α wild-type (WT) and mutant strains lacking RcsBC, CpxAR, or BaeSR signaling systems were incubated with a recombinant Stx2 phage (933W). Notably, the number of lysogens obtained with the BaeSR mutant was 5 log10 units higher than with the WT, and the same differences were observed when using 7 different Stx2 phages. To assess whether the membrane receptor used by Stx phages, BamA, was involved in the differences observed, bamA gene expression was monitored by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in all host strains. A 4-fold-higher bamA expression level was observed in the BaeSR mutant than in the WT strain, suggesting that differential expression of the receptor used by Stx phages accounted for the increase in the number of lysogenization events. Establishing the link between the role of stress responses and phage infection has important implications for understanding the factors affecting lysogenic conversion, which drives the emergence of new pathogenic clones.
Anaplasma and Ehrlichia Infection

Abstract: Human and animal infections by Anaplasmataceae are increasingly recognized as important and potentially fatal arthropod‐transmitted diseases. Since the first recognition and implementation of diagnostic methods for human infection by Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the incidence of infections has linearly increased. Moreover, diagnostic and epidemiological testing indicates that “ehrlichia” infections are globally distributed and suggests that additional agents of human and veterinary “ehrlichiosis” will be identified. With increasing disease identification has come recognition that the infections can be severe, with approximately one‐half of patients requiring hospitalization for complications including respiratory distress, myocarditis, neurological complications, hepatitis, a septic or toxic shock‐like disease, opportunistic infections, and death in 0.5 to 3.0%. An understanding of the diseases, pathophysiology, pathogenesis, control, and management will best be developed through fundamental investigations. Advances in comprehension as to the separate contributions of bacteria and host are crucial since most data now suggest that alterations in host neutrophil function and protection from innate and adaptive immunity also contribute to disease manifestations. It is reasonable to operate from the hypothesis that these host cell functional changes ultimately benefit bacterial survival while inadvertently eliciting clinical disease in poorly adapted hosts. A firmer basis for the scientific understanding of Anaplasmataceae biology will allow logical and rational approaches toward infection control, prevention, and treatment.
State Building for Peace: a new paradigm for international engagement in post-conflict fragile states?

Abstract This article is intended to analyse two leading approaches that have guided international efforts to promote peace and development in conflict-afflicted fragile states since the 1990s, namely peace building and state building. In a relatively recent development a growing number of donors has sought to bring these two closer together, based upon the perception that the challenges posed by (post-)conflict fragile states need to be addressed through an approach that combines both—‘state-building for peace’, as the undp has put it. The article thus seeks to explore how the processes of building peace are related to the processes of building more resilient, effective and responsive states in (post-)conflict settings. It provides an overview of the evolution of these two concepts and analyses key complementarities between peace building and state building. It also explores the challenges that arise for both on the basis of these complementarities. The article goes on to examine some of the most significant tensions that arise between the two, and what these tensions may imply for the international assistance community. By way of a conclusion the article offers a few key lessons that emerge from the analysis for improved donor policy and practice in state building for peace efforts.
Some evidence on the relationship between performance-related pay and the shape of the experience-earnings profile

We investigate the relationship between performance-related pay (PRP) and the shape of workers' experience–earnings profiles. In particular, we argue that the slope of the profile depends critically upon the degree of ‘equity’ held by workers in their enterprise as measured by the extent of PRP. The implication is that the slope of the profile for PRP workers falls between those of their zero-equity fixed-wage, and one hundred per cent equity self-employed, counterparts. Our empirical analysis of three British data sets, namely the British Social Attitudes Survey, the British Household Panel Survey, and the British Family Expenditure Survey, supports this prior.
Agent-based Simulations for Examining Stability and Efficiency of Societies with Respect to Partnership Structures

In this paper, we deal with partnership among agents in an economic situation with different production skills and abilities where they are free to form coalitions, alliances or partnerships. And from the viewpoints of stability and efficiency we examine the resulting partnership structure. To take into account restrictions on partner selection, various production skills, and environmental changes, we employ an artificial social model in which such aspects can be incorporated in a relatively easy way, and perform the agent-based simulations for analyzing the partnership structure. From the experimental results, we find that the stability and the efficiency of the partnership structures depend on cost, production function, or number of agent types.
Human Resource Management in Greece

HRM in Greece is in a state of rapid development, as well as fundamental change. With the end of 1992, and the Single European Market approaching, larger firms are upgrading their personnel practices, and personnel managers currently enjoy an increasingly high status. More sophistication is being added to recruitment and selection methods; training is being offered to a considerable number of employees; employee relations are improving and moving towards a stage of consensus and co‐operation. Meanwhile, smaller companies, realizing the importance of HRM, are turning to consultancy firms for advice. Efforts are also being made in the public sector to introduce measures for improving productivity and employee morale. The overall picture appears very favourable for an increase in the significance of HRM in Greece and for the strengthening of its practice.
Chinese equity market and the efficient frontier

This study documents how China's stock market is able to contribute differently and substantially to the diversification benefits of international investment portfolios. Moreover, allowing exposure to the stock market in China allows international investors to span combinations in the risk-return space that are otherwise unavailable by investing only in developed markets such as US, UK, German, and French stock markets. In addition, it is found that the efficient frontier is not sensitive to changes in parameters.