Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Climate Variability and Oceanographic Settings Associated with Interannual Variability in the Initiation of Dinophysis acuminata Blooms

In 2012, there were exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in early spring in what appeared to be a mesoscale event affecting Western Iberia and the Bay of Biscay. The objective of this work was to identify common climatic patterns to explain the observed anomalies in two important aquaculture sites, the Galician Rías Baixas (NW Spain) and Arcachon Bay (SW France). Here, we examine climate variability through physical-biological couplings, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies and time of initiation of the upwelling season and its intensity over several decades. In 2012, the mesoscale features common to the two sites were positive anomalies in SST and unusual wind patterns. These led to an atypical predominance of upwelling in winter in the Galician Rías, and increased haline stratification associated with a southward advection of the Gironde plume in Arcachon Bay. Both scenarios promoted an early phytoplankton growth season and increased stability that enhanced D. acuminata growth. Therefore, a common climate anomaly caused exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in two distant regions through different triggering mechanisms. These results increase our capability to predict intense diarrhetic shellfish poisoning outbreaks in the early spring from observations in the preceding winter.
The Relationship of Net Income to Comprehensive Income: An Analysis of Fortune 500 Companies

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has recently issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, (SFAS) No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income. That Statement requires companies to report a comprehensive income measure, which includes net income and net‐of‐tax adjustments for changes in unrealized gains/losses on securities, foreign currency gain/loss adjustments, and minimum pension liability adjustments.These latter adjustments were previously reported directly in the stockholders’ equity section of the statement of financial position. This paper analyzes the effects of comprehensive income disclosures for 100 randomly selected Fortune 500 companies. Comprehensive income was computed for these companies and compared with re‐ported net income to determine the number and significance of these other comprehensive income adjustments.The results indicate that a large number of firms may report a comprehensive income amount different from reported net income. Although these differences may be significant for some firms, the majority of these adjustments will not cause comprehensive income to be materially different from reported net income for most firms.
The Political Side of Urban Development and Redevelopment

The fate of planned urban development and redevelopment largely depends on the political system. In the United States, political and governmental fragmentation has crucial consequences for development in physical, social, and political ways. The federal system, whatever its virtues, raises barriers which impede accommodation. The multiplicity of local units of government, not rationally determined, under mines co-ordination, power, and responsibility. The outcome of diffusion of power and dilution of responsibility is rigidity. Urban renewal is limited by the dichotomy of public and private control, tension between federal and municipal agencies, divi sion of power between different federal agencies, and fragmen tation of power at the local community level. Any change will require some adjustments in perspective. The possibilities for change, however, do not rest upon basic changes in political norms but, rather, on experimentation in their application. In conceptions of community, for example, the units have probably been too small, applying to limited, exclusive groups organized around shared activities. These come together, partially and fortuitously, in the urban scene. In that scene, the only en compassing organization is the political community. The political side of urban development and redevelopment is inescapable. —Ed.
Identification of the Sex-Biased Gene Expression and Putative Sex-Associated Genes in Eucommia ulmoides Oliver Using Comparative Transcriptome Analyses

Eucommia ulmoides is a model representative of the dioecious plants with sex differentiation at initiation. Nevertheless, the genetic mechanisms of sexual dimorphism and sex determination in E. ulmoides remain poorly understood. In this study de novo transcriptome sequencing on Illumina platform generated >45 billion high-quality bases from fresh leaves of six male and female individuals of E. ulmoides. A total of 148,595 unigenes with an average length of 801 base-pairs (bp) were assembled. Through comparative transcriptome analyses, 116 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the males and the females were detected, including 73 male-biased genes and 43 female-biased genes. Of these DEGs, three female-biased genes were annotated to be related with the sexually dimorphic gutta content in E. ulmoides. One male-biased DEG was identified as putative MADS box gene APETALA3, a B class floral organ identity gene in the flowering plants. SNPs calling analyses further confirmed that the APETALA3-like gene was probably involved in the sex determination in E. ulmoides. Four other male-biased DEGs were potential sex-associated genes as well with segregated SNPs in accord with sex type. In addition, the SNPs density was 1.02 per kilobase (kb) in the expressed genes of E. ulmoides, implying a relatively high genetic diversity.
Interacting influence of light and size on aboveground biomass distribution in sub-boreal conifer saplings with contrasting shade tolerance.

Plant size often influences shade tolerance but relatively few studies have considered the functional response of taller plants to contrasting light environments. Several boreal and sub-boreal Abies, Picea and Pinus species were studied along a light (0-90% full sunlight) and size (30-400-cm high) gradient to examine the interactive influence of tree size and light availability on aboveground biomass distribution. Sampling was conducted in two regions of Canada: (A) British Columbia, for Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. , the Picea glauca (Moench.) Voss x P. engelmannii Parry ex. Engelm. complex and Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm. ; and (B) Quebec, for Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. , Picea glauca (Moench. Voss) and Pinus banksiana (Lamb.). All biomass distribution traits investigated varied with size, and most showed a significant interaction with both size and light, which resulted in increasing divergences among light classes as size increased. For example, the proportion of needle mass decreased as size increased but the rate of decrease was much greater in saplings growing at below 10% full sunlight. Needle area ratio (total needle area:aboveground mass) followed a similar pattern, but decreased more rapidly with increasing tree size for small trees up to 1 m tall. The proportion of needle biomass (needle mass ratio) was always lower in taller trees (i.e., > 1 m tall) than in small trees (< 1 m tall) and increasingly so at the lowest solar irradiances (0-10% full sunlight). Thus, extrapolating the functional response to light from small seedling to taller individuals is not always appropriate.
A Study on the Implementation of an Activity‐Based Costing (ABC) System in an Australian Oil and Gas Company

This paper reports the results of a study on the implementation of an activity‐based costing (ABC) system in an Australian oil and gas company. The findings suggest that the three most important objectives of implementing an ABC system were: (1) more effective cost management, (2) better cost control, and (3) more accurate costing information. The results reveal that lack of understanding of the ABC methodology was the most important factor that impeded the implementation of the ABC system. The results further suggest that the three most important factors that contributed to the success of the ABC implementation process were: (1) project team were well organized and advised, (2) there were good information flows between users and preparers, and (3) there were sufficient resources provided. Overall, the results of this study are similar to those studies conducted in the manufacturing sectors.
Executive Insights: Global Account Management Capability: Insights from Leading Suppliers

Global account management (GAM) has become a strategic focus among most multinational companies, but there is little empirical research on what type of organizational capability fosters GAM programs. In this article, the authors synthesize selected literature on the topic, examine relevant fieldwork and case studies, and discuss findings from in-depth field interviews with leading global suppliers that have active GAM programs in place. This research clarifies constructs, develops research propositions, and provides an integrated framework that includes GAM processes and performance consequences.
Molecular Architecture of the Sperm Flagella: Molecules for Motility and Signaling

Abstract Sperm motility is generated by a highly organized, microtubule-based structure, called the axoneme, which is constructed from approximately 250 proteins. Recent studies have revealed the molecular structures and functions of a number of axonemal components, including the motor molecules, the dyneins, and regulatory substructures, such as radial spoke, central pair, and other accessory structures. The force for flagellar movement is exerted by the sliding of outer-doublet microtubules driven by the molecular motors, the dyneins. Dynein activity is regulated by the radial spoke/central pair apparatus through protein phosphorylation, resulting in flagellar bend propagation. Prior to fertilization, sperm exhibit dramatic motility changes, such as initiation and activation of motility and chemotaxis toward the egg. These changes are triggered by changes in the extracellular ionic environment and substances released from the female reproductive tract or egg. After reception of these extracellular signals by specific ion channels or receptors in the sperm cells, intracellular signals are switched on through tyrosine protein phosphorylation, Ca2+, and cyclic nucleotide-dependent pathways. All these signaling molecules are closely arranged in each sperm flagellum, leading to efficient activation of motility.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT An Outcomes-based Approach to Curriculum Development in Pharmacy

Objective. To implement an outcomes-based approach to pharmacy curriculum development. Design. Desired learning outcomes were identified; course content, learning activities, and assessment instruments were designed; and evaluation was conducted and feedback obtained to refine the curriculum. Assessment. All professional skills, 4 generic capabilities, and the coherence of the curriculum scales showed significant improvement compared to graduates’ performance under both the old and transitional curriculum. Conclusion. An outcomes-based approach to pharmacy curriculum development provided convincing evidence of enhancement to the curriculum. Such an approach should be considered when implementing or revising pharmacy curriculum.
The Causal Relationship between Government Revenue and Expenditure in China: An Application of Vec and VAR Modelling

Unsatisfied with little evidence provided on various hypotheses concerning the revenue-expenditure relation in China, this paper is an empirical endeavour to fill the gap through a battery of econometric tests for causality based on VEC and VAR models. A more comprehensive testing strategy for unit roots and cointegration has been suggested, and a bi-directional causality pattern has been found in China's government finance. The paper thus concludes that attempts simply to change revenue or expenditure or both without taking into account of the interdependence between the two may be counter-productive, and the effects on aggregate demand of government debt-financing in the presence of inflation may not be as detrimental as some economists would expect.
Interventional Neuroradiology Cases With Intraprocedural Clots: Initial Experience

Objective: Intraprocedural clot formation is rare but potentially serious complication of interventional neuroradiology procedures. We investigate if intraoperative monitoring (IOM) has utility to detect such clots. Intraprocedural clot formation is a rare but potentially serious complication of interventional neuroradiology procedures. Intraoperative monitoring detected nearly half of the included cases first. All of the included patients without improvement of the IOM changes were discharged home at best severely disabled. Methods: The study included patients with thromboembolic events during interventional neuroradiology cases at Barrow Neurologic Institute from 2006 to 2010, with prespecified outcomes. Electroneurodiagnostic recordings were reviewed. Results: Twelve patients were included in this study. All showed changes in their IOM. Five showed a change in IOM recording before a change was seen on the angiogram. Two returned to baseline, four improved but not to baseline, and six did not improve at all. All six patients without IOM improvement were discharged at best severely disabled. Ten of the 12 patients with clots had a subarachnoid hemorrhage before treatment. Conclusions: Intraoperative monitoring recording may be a valuable tool in monitoring patients during endovascular treatment to identify intraprocedural thromboembolic events. Intraoperative monitoring may correlate with poor outcomes when the changed responses do not improve. These data might be important when determining how aggressive to be in treating intraprocedural clots. Electroneurodiagnostic seems to be particularly warranted in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage before treatment. A larger study is needed to validate these findings.
IT excellence starts with governance

Purpose – To explain how information technology (IT) governance enables an organization to achieve three vital objectives: regulatory and legal compliance, operational excellence, and optimal risk management.Design/methodology/approach – Describes the role in IT governance of functions such as value creation (distilling company's mission and strategic direction into business needs for IT applications), value delivery (formal project management methodology and system development life cycle), value preservation (integrated control and risk management program), resource management, performance management (capability maturity model, balanced scorecard, Six Sigma), and oversight. Describes governance frameworks such as COBIT, ITIL, and ISO/IEC 17799: 2000. Offers advice on getting started.Findings – When governance is effective, IT becomes a valued asset, inseparable from the business and regarded as an asset, not a cost.Originality/value – Helps a compliance officer think about the connection between effectiv.
Elected mayors: Lesson drawing from four countries

Countries can and sometimes do copy the institutions and practices of other countries in order to address problems and issues that they have in common with them. The office of directly elected mayor has become an increasingly common feature of local government throughout the developed democracies, spreading from its largely American origins to a range of European states. This paper develops a matrix for the analysis of elected mayors in different countries using as its horizontal axis the formal, informal and individual attributes of elected mayors and, on the vertical axis, their governmental, governance and allegiance roles. The matrix is then applied to analyse studies of elected mayors in four countries: the United States, England, Germany and Greece, in an attempt to derive comparative lessons applicable to the countries included in the analysis, as well as to countries considering or in the process of developing directly elected executive mayors. The issues examined include improving the internal co-ordination of local authorities' departments, the need for network management in increasingly fragmented or 'hollowed out' local government systems and the ways in which mayors attempt to secure their political survival and that of the offices they hold, by securing and retaining the allegiance of voters and stakeholders. It also explores the benefits and dangers of concentrating much formal power and informal influence in a single pair of hands. Its conclusions are offered both to demonstrate ways in which comparative studies of political institutions can be developed and in the hope that they may be of use to mayors and those concerned with the development and reform of local government and governance.
Embryonic temperature affects muscle fibre recruitment in adult zebrafish: genome-wide changes in gene and microRNA expression associated with the transition from hyperplastic to hypertrophic growth phenotypes

SUMMARY We investigated the effects of embryonic temperature (ET) treatments (22, 26 and 31°C) on the life-time recruitment of fast myotomal muscle fibres in zebrafish Danio rerio L. reared at 26/27°C from hatching. Fast muscle fibres were produced until 25 mm total length (TL) at 22°C ET, 28 mm TL at 26°C ET and 23 mm TL at 31°C ET. The final fibre number (FFN) showed an optimum at 26°C ET (3600) and was 19% and 14% higher than for the 22°C ET (3000) and 31°C ET (3100) treatments, respectively. Further growth to the maximum TL of ∼48 mm only involved fibre hypertrophy. Microarray experiments were used to determine global changes in microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA expression associated with the transition from the hyperplasic myotube-producing phenotype (M+, 10–12 mm TL) to the hypertrophic growth phenotype (M–, 28–31 mm TL) in fish reared at 26–27°C over the whole life-cycle. The expression of miRNAs and mRNAs obtained from microarray experiments was validated by northern blotting and real-time qPCR in independent samples of fish with the M+ and M– phenotype. Fourteen down-regulated and 15 up-regulated miRNAs were identified in the M– phenotype together with 34 down-regulated and 30 up-regulated mRNAs (>2-fold; P<0.05). The two most abundant categories of down-regulated genes in the M– phenotype encoded contractile proteins (23.5%) and sarcomeric structural/cytoskeletal proteins (14.7%). In contrast, the most highly represented up-regulated transcripts in the M– phenotype were energy metabolism (26.7%) and immune-related (20.0%) genes. The latter were mostly involved in cell–cell interactions and cytokine pathways and included β-2-microglobulin precursor (b2m), an orthologue of complement component 4, invariant chain-like protein 1 (iclp), CD9 antigen-like (cd9l), and tyrosine kinase, non-receptor (tnk2). Five myosin heavy chain genes that were down-regulated in the M– phenotype formed part of a tandem repeat on chromosome 5 and were shown by in situ hybridisation to be specifically expressed in nascent myofibres. Seven up-regulated miRNAs in the M– phenotype showed reciprocal expression with seven mRNA targets identified in miRBase Targets version 5 (http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk/targets/v5/), including asporin (aspn) which was the target for four miRNAs. Eleven down-regulated miRNAs in the M– phenotype had predicted targets for seven up-regulated genes, including dre-miR-181c which had five predicted mRNA targets. These results provide evidence that miRNAs play a role in regulating the transition from the M+ to the M– phenotype and identify some of the genes and regulatory interactions involved.
Financial risks and the Pension Protection Fund: Can it survive them?

This paper discusses the financial risks faced by the UK Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and what, if anything, it can do about them. It draws lessons from the regulatory regimes under which other financial institutions, such as banks and insurance companies, operate and asks why pension funds are treated differently. It also reviews the experience with other Government-sponsored insurance schemes, such as the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, upon which the PPF is modelled. We conclude that the PPF will live under the permanent risk of insolvency as a consequence of the moral hazard, adverse selection and, especially, systemic risks that it faces.
Wage Differential, the Price of Services and Welfare

A three-goods general equilibrium model is developed to examine the effect of economic growth on the price of services and welfare for poor and rich countries. The presence of intersectoral wage differentials provides an alternative explana tion for the lower price of services in poor countries. The price of services is shown to play a central role in determining the welfare effect of economic growth.
Alginate-Encapsulated Producer Cells: A Potential New Approach for the Treatment of Malignant Brain Tumors

In recent years gene therapy has evolved as a new treatment for brain tumors, where genetically engineered cells can be used to deliver specific substances to target cells. However, clinical success has been limited due to insufficient gene transfer, lack of prolonged gene expression, and immunorejection of producer cells. These obstacles may be overcome by encapsulating producer cells into immunoisolating substances such as alginate. This may provide a stable in situ delivery system of specific proteins, which can interfere with tumor growth and differentiation. This article represents a fundamental study describing the in vitro and the in vivo behavior of alginate-encapsulated producer cells. The viability and cell cycle distribution of encapsulated NIH 3T3 cells was studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and by flow cytometry. The CLSM study showed a high viability of the encapsulated NIH 3T3 cells during 9 weeks in culture. The flow cytometric analysis revealed a change in cellular ploidy after 1 week in culture, with normalization in ploidy after 3 and 9 weeks. The production of the bacterial E. coli β-galactosidase in alginate-encapsulated BT4CnVlacZ cells was studied by x-gal staining, and the cells expressed prolonged β-galactosidase activity. H528 hybridoma cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were encapsulated in alginate, and the mAb release was determined. The release of mAbs stabilized around 400 ng/ml/h after 12 days in vitro. To actually demonstrate that alginate-encapsulated H528 cells potentially inhibit a heterogeneous glioma cell population, cell migration from human GaMg glioma spheroids was studied during stimulation with EGF in the presence of encapsulated H528 cells. The migration in vitro was totally inhibited in the presence of H528 encapsulated cells. Alginate beads with H528 cells were also implanted into rat brains, and after 9 weeks the distribution of mAbs within the brain was studied by immunohistochemistry. It is shown that the alginate entrapped H528 cells produce mAbs inside the brain for prolonged periods and that the mAbs are distributed within all CSF compartments. Encapsulated producer cells represent a potential delivery system for specific proteins to brain tumors. Different producer cells may be encapsulated in alginate to target phenotypic features and microenvironmental factors, which may influence the progressive growth of brain tumors.