Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food Safety Practices among Chinese in the U.S.

Improper food handling of Chinese has caused problems that cannot be ignored. Because of great favor on Chinese food and the indispensable role Chinese people play in the U.S., it is thus of our interest to study the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of Chinese population in the U.S. in the aspect of safe food handling. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Health Belief Model (HBM) have been applied widely in researches of health-related behaviors, but they haven’t been extensively used in empirical studies aiming at understanding people’s beliefs and practices of food safety. Based on TPB and HBM models, nine hypotheses were proposed. An English questionnaire was developed, translated to Chinese and distributed via an Internet survey web site. A total of 102 valid responses were collected. Using a linear regression model, attitude toward behavior and self-efficacy were identified as significant indicators of safe food handling
General theory of geometric Lévy models for dynamic asset pricing

The geometric Lévy model (GLM) is a natural generalization of the geometric Brownian motion (GBM) model used in the derivation of the Black–Scholes formula. The theory of such models simplifies considerably if one takes a pricing kernel approach. In one dimension, once the underlying Lévy process has been specified, the GLM has four parameters: the initial price, the interest rate, the volatility and the risk aversion. The pricing kernel is the product of a discount factor and a risk aversion martingale. For GBM, the risk aversion parameter is the market price of risk. For a GLM, this interpretation is not valid: the excess rate of return is a nonlinear function of the volatility and the risk aversion. It is shown that for positive volatility and risk aversion, the excess rate of return above the interest rate is positive, and is increasing with respect to these variables. In the case of foreign exchange, Siegel's paradox implies that one can construct foreign exchange models for which the excess rate of return is positive for both the exchange rate and the inverse exchange rate. This condition is shown to hold for any geometric Lévy model for foreign exchange in which volatility exceeds risk aversion.
Managing the Global Economy and Accounting in the Caribbean

To date, the most important institution in the movement to harmonize international accounting and reporting practices, both in terms of the range of issues addressed and the number of states and firms affected, is the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (Nobes 1991). The IASC was established in 1973 by the professional accounting bodies of nine countries - Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland (jointly), and the United States.The paper is divided into four sections. Section one describes and critiques the structure of the IASC. Section two describes and critiques the process used by the lASC to develop accounting standards. Section three assesses the strategies used by CARICOM states to adopt IASC standards as national accounting policy. The final section of the paper offers suggestions for reforming the accounting policy-making process used by CARICOM states and the international accounting standard-setting machinery to better serve the various stakeholders.
Double‐targeted and double‐enhanced suicide gene therapy mediated by generation 5 polyamidoamine dendrimers for prostate cancer

Herpes simplex virus (HSV)‐thymidine kinase (TK)/ganciclovir (GCV) system is one of the most widely used and efficient suicide gene therapy for prostate cancer, but the lack of favorable gene vector and target limits its application. In this study, we established a novel system using nonviral gene vector G5‐PAMAM‐D to express HSV‐TK and connexin43 (Cx43) gene driven by prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) promoter, and evaluated the anti‐tumor effect of this system. G5‐PAMAM‐D delivered PSMAe/p‐TK‐Cx43 showed expression of TK and Cx43 only in LNCaP cells, but not in PC‐3 and other cells. The transfection efficiency of this system was comparable to lipofectamine 2000 by propidium iodide staining assay. With gemcitabine, folate‐G5‐PAMAM‐D delivered PSMAe/p‐TK‐Cx43 (folate‐G5‐PAMAM‐D/PSMAe/p‐TK‐Cx43) significantly decreased prostate cancer LNCaP cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in vitro. With gemcitabine, the systemic deliver of folate‐G5‐PAMAM‐D/PSMAe/p‐TK‐Cx43 significantly inhibited tumor growth in the LNCaP xenograft animal model. Our study demonstrates that this double‐targeted and double‐enhanced system is effective in inducing cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in vitro and suppressing tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, Cx43 and gemcitabine combined with HSV‐TK/GCV gene therapy using nonviral vector G5‐PAMAM‐D hold great potential as a novel approach for the gene therapy of prostate cancer. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Antinociceptive fatty acid patterns differ in children with psychosomatic recurrent abdominal pain and healthy controls

Stress is considered to trigger psychosomatic recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), but the mechanism behind the pain is unclear. Because the essential fatty acids, omega‐6 and omega‐3, are involved in pain, by regulating lipid mediators, we analysed the fatty acid patterns in children with RAP compared to healthy children.
Evaluating the "logical framework approach": towards learning-oriented development evaluation

The logical framework approach has spread enormously, including increasingly to stages of review and evaluation. Yet it has had little systematic evaluation itself. Survey of available materials indicates several recurrent failings, some less easily countered than others. In particular: focus on achievement of intended effects by intended routes makes logframes a very limiting tool in evaluation; an assumption of consensual project objectives often becomes problematic in public and inter-organizational projects; and automatic choice of an audit form of accountability as the priority in evaluations can be at the expense of evaluation as learning. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diffusible sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus in frog skeletal muscle.

A microvolumetric analytical method has been developed to measure the endogenous concentrations of diffusible elements in muscle cells. Single twitch fibres from frog muscle were skinned under oil and 0.2 nl drops of isosmotic sucrose solution, held in the tips of specially constructed pipettes, were placed in contact with the skinned fibres. After 0‐10 min, the microdrops were removed and analysed with a wave‐length dispersive X‐ray spectrometer. The uptake of Na, K, Mg, and P into the microdrops was well fitted by a single exponential function, while the uptake of Ca was better represented by the sum of two exponential functions. All elements analysed except Ca reached diffusional equilibrium within 5 min of placing the microdrop on the fibre, while Ca was still not equilibrated at 10 min. For freshly isolated muscle fibres, diffusible element concentrations in the microdrops at equilibrium were (in mM, mean +/‐ S.D.): Na, 7.6 +/‐ 7.2; K, 82 +/‐ 36; Mg, 5.8 +/‐ 3.0; P, 51 +/‐ 19. Diffusible Ca concentration (at 10 min elapsed sampling time) was 0.7 +/‐ 0.4 mM. Results from experiments in which microdrops were equilibrated with skinned fibres pre‐soaked in an artificial (Ca‐free) solution support the notion that the exogenous solutes can replace the endogenous diffusible contents of a skinned fibre by soaking the skinned fibre in a relatively large volume of the artificial solution. Total Na, K, Mg, Ca, and P content of whole muscle was measured by electron probe analysis of muscle extracts. In freshly isolated muscle, whole muscle element content was (in mmol/kg wet weight, mean +/‐ S.D.): Na, 21 +/‐ 8; K, 120 +/‐ 26; Mg, 9.7 +/‐ 2.6; Ca, 2.2 +/‐ 0.5; P, 76 +/‐ 18. Extracellular fluid volumes of freshly isolated whole muscles were estimated by compartmental analysis of Na efflux. Extracellular element concentrations were measured by electron probe analysis of frog plasma. Using the extracellular fluid volume and concentration estimates, extracellular contributions were subtracted from measurements of the element content of whole muscle to yield estimates of total intracellular element concentration (in mmol/l myoplasmic water). Based on the values for the intracellular total and diffusible element concentrations, the diffusible/total content fraction in freshly isolated muscle is estimated to be: Na, 0.38; K, 0.48; Mg, 0.42; Ca, 0.22; and P, 0.47.
Combination of subcarrier intensity modulation and spatial modulation for OWC environment

In this paper, We propose a novel optical modulation scheme that combines the spatial modulation (SM) with the subcarrier intensity-modulation (SIM) for optical wireless communication, in order to transmit the signal only on one of the multiple subcarriers every time and find it have the better performance without reduction of data rate compared with conventional SIM.
Marketing small twin-island states

The majority of small twin-island states in the Caribbean depend on tourism as the mainstay of their economies. These islands are constantly seeking to remain or become competitive in a challenging global environment. This article focuses on the most appropriate approach to marketing twin-island states. Tourism marketing experts were interviewed in six states to elicit their views on whether or not twin-island states should be marketed separately or collaboratively. While there was no agreement on the best way forward, there seems to be greater movement towards collaboration versus separate marketing agendas. The interviewees identified five factors that must be considered in marketing these states including institutional arrangements, level of infrastructural development, socio-economic conditions, the nature of the tourism product and the impact on destination image. Based on these findings, it was noted that further research should be conducted on collaborative tourism marketing in Small Island States.
A Heterogeneous Conditional Logit Model of Choice

Aggregate forecasts using McFadden's conditional logit model of discrete choice harbor the unrealistic implicit assumption of a random-utility distribution that is homogeneous across both alternatives and individuals. This article relaxes that assumption. A choice model is developed that describes the random-utility component as a probability-mixture model. Some numerical results illustrate that the derived model is not constrained by the independence-of-irrelevant-alternatives property. An experimental test of visual perceptions demonstrates the potential superiority of the model.
Arsenic trioxide prevents nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide ‐stimulated RAW 264.7 by inhibiting a TRIF‐dependent pathway

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is one of the most potent drugs in cancer chemotherapy, and is highly effective in treating both newly diagnosed and relapse patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Despite a number of reports regarding the molecular mechanisms by which ATO promotes anti‐tumor or pro‐apoptotic activity in hematological and other solid malignancies, the effects of ATO on immune responses remain poorly understood. To further understand and clarify the effects of ATO on immune responses, we sought to examine whether ATO affects the production of nitric oxide (NO) in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. Arsenic trioxide was found to prevent NO production in a dose‐dependent manner. Arsenic trioxide significantly inhibited the increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) at both the mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, our analyses revealed that the inhibitory effect of ATO on iNOS expression was ascribed to the prevention of IRF3 phosphorylation, interferon (IFN)‐β expression, and STAT1 phosphorylation, but not the prevention of the MyD88‐dependent pathway. Taken together, our results indicate that ATO prevents NO production by inhibiting the TIR‐domain‐containing adaptor protein inducing IFN‐β (TRIF)‐dependent pathway, thus highlighting an anti‐inflammatory property of ATO in innate immunity.
Path-following primal-dual interior-point methods for shape optimization of stationary flow problems

We consider shape optimization of Stokes flow in channels where the objective is to design the lateral walls of the channel in such a way that a desired velocity profile is achieved. This amounts to the solution of a PDE constrained optimization problem with the state equation given by the Stokes system and the design variables being the control points of a Bézier curve representation of the lateral walls subject to bilateral constraints. Using a finite element discretization of the problem by Taylor–Hood elements, the shape optimization problem is solved numerically by a path-following primal-dual interior-point method applied to the parameter dependent nonlinear system representing the optimality conditions. The method is an all-at-once approach featuring an adaptive choice of the continuation parameter, inexact Newton solves by means of right-transforming iterations, and a monotonicity test for convergence monitoring. The performance of the adaptive continuation process is illustrated by several numerical examples.
Histologic and Immunohistochemical Classification of 41 Bovine Adrenal Gland Neoplasms

Tumors of the adrenal glands are among the most frequent tumors in cattle; however, few studies have been conducted to describe their characteristics. The aim of this study was to classify 41 bovine adrenal neoplasms from 40 animals based on macroscopic and histologic examination, including electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry for melan A, synaptophysin, chromogranin A, vimentin, pan-cytokeratin, 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide-3′-phosphohydrolase (CNPase), and Ki-67. The tumors were classified as 23 adrenocortical adenomas, 12 adrenocortical carcinomas, 2 schwannomas, 2 pheochromocytomas (1 malignant), and 1 ganglioneuroma. Five histologic features were characteristic of metastasizing adrenocortical tumors: invasion of the capsule, vascular invasion, diffuse growth pattern, spindle-cell morphology, and nuclear pleomorphism. Adrenocortical tumors with at least 3 of these features were classified as malignant. Immunohistochemically, adrenocortical tumors expressed melan A (16/19), vimentin (14/26), cytokeratin (11/26), and chromogranin A (9/27), whereas pheochromocytomas expressed chromogranin A (2/2), synaptophysin (2/2), and vimentin (1/2). Both schwannomas expressed CNPase. An immunohistochemistry panel consisting of antibodies against melan A, synaptophysin, and CNPase was considered most useful to classify bovine adrenal tumors. However, the distinction between benign and malignant adrenocortical tumors was based on histologic features as in human medicine.
Consultation and Legitimacy in Transnational Standard-Setting

The recent financial crisis has generated agreement on the need for new transnational standards for financial regulation. When governments work together to develop transnational standards and rules they do so using processes which are not uniform, which often seem to develop in an ad hoc manner, and which do not necessarily reflect any particular conception of good government. Transnational standard setters have responded to critiques of the legitimacy of their role by emphasizing consultation of stakeholders. The article compares the uses of consultation in the development of policy at the national and supranational levels. It examines weaknesses in the construction of transnational consultations: transnational consultations lack visibility and they are usually carried out in a limited number of languages, or even only in English. These defects undermine the value of transnational consultations as mechanisms of legitimation.
HKR1 encodes a cell surface protein that regulates both cell wall beta-glucan synthesis and budding pattern in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We previously isolated the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HKR1 gene that confers on S. cerevisiae cells resistance to HM-1 killer toxin secreted by Hansenula mrakii (S. Kasahara, H. Yamada, T. Mio, Y. Shiratori, C. Miyamoto, T. Yabe, T. Nakajima, E. Ichishima, and Y. Furuichi, J. Bacteriol. 176:1488-1499, 1994). HKR1 encodes a type 1 membrane protein that contains a calcium-binding consensus sequence (EF hand motif) in the cytoplasmic domain. Although the null mutation of HKR1 is lethal, disruption of the 3' part of the coding region, which would result in deletion of the cytoplasmic domain of Hkr1p, did not affect the viability of yeast cells. This partial disruption of HKR1 significantly reduced beta-1,3-glucan synthase activity and the amount of beta-1,3-glucan in the cell wall and altered the axial budding pattern of haploid cells. Neither chitin synthase activity nor chitin content was significantly affected in the cells harboring the partially disrupted HKR1 allele. Immunofluorescence microscopy with an antibody raised against Hkr1p expressed in Escherichia coli revealed that Hkr1p was predominantly localized on the cell surface. The cell surface localization of Hkr1p required the N-terminal signal sequence because the C-terminal half of Hkr1p was detected uniformly in the cells. These results demonstrate that HKR1 encodes a cell surface protein that regulates both cell wall beta-glucan synthesis and budding pattern and suggest that bud site assembly is somehow related to beta-glucan synthesis in S. cerevisiae.
Cooperative autonomous driving using cooperative perception and mirror neuron inspired intention awareness

In this paper, we present the concept of cooperative autonomous driving using cooperative perception. The cooperative perception can provide upcoming traffic situations ahead, even beyond line-of-sight and field-of-view. From a control perspective, a spatial map for navigation planning is extended up to the boundary of connected vehicles in a see-through manner. By leveraging this augmented perception capability, a better driving decision can be accomplished in terms of traffic flow efficiency and safety improvement. For this purpose, we propose a mirror neuron inspired intention awareness algorithm along with planning and control methods using the algorithm. We demonstrate the feasibility of our proposals through simulations and experiments on the road.
Productivity measurement and enterprise bargaining – the local government perspective

The introduction of efficiency improvements and enterprise bargaining into local authorities has been severely hampered by a failure to agree on a method of measuring service productivity. This paper develops an outcomes measure of productivity which, it argues, meets both externally imposed cost efficiency requirements and clients’ needs for service effectiveness in terms of quality and equity in delivery. Applications of this measure to library and statutory planning services are provided.
The Ton System, an ABC Transporter, and a Universally Conserved GTPase Are Involved in Iron Utilization by Brucella melitensis 16M

ABSTRACT Brucella spp. are gram-negative intracellular facultative pathogens that are known to produce 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA), a catechol siderophore that is essential for full virulence in the natural host. The mechanism of DHBA entry into Brucella and other gram-negative bacteria is poorly understood. Using mini-Tn5Kmcat mutagenesis, we created a transposon library of Brucella melitensis 16M and isolated 32 mutants with a defect in iron acquisition or assimilation. Three of these transposon mutants are deficient in utilization of DHBA. Analysis of these three mutants indicated that the ExbB, DstC, and DugA proteins are required for optimal assimilation of DHBA and/or citrate. ExbB is part of the Ton complex, and DstC is a permease homologue of an iron(III) ABC transporter; in gram-negative bacteria these two complexes are involved in the uptake of iron through the outer and inner membranes, respectively. DugA is a new partner in iron utilization that exhibits homology with the bacterial conserved GTPase YchF. Based on this homology, DugA could have a putative regulatory function in iron assimilation in Brucella. None of the three mutants was attenuated in cellular models or in the mouse model of infection, which is consistent with the previous suggestion that DHBA utilization is not required in these models.
Intellectual capital disclosure: high‐tech versus traditional sector companies

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to compare the level of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) of firms in the high technology and traditional sectors of the economy.Design/methodology/approach – In order to provide a framework to evaluate the level of disclosure of the different categories of intellectual capital (IC), the author develops an IC model based on an integration of the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm, the knowledge management, and IC literature. The model is called the RBV IC model. Content analysis was conducted using the SEC Form 10‐K annual reports of 143 high‐technology companies (HTCs) and 141 traditional sector companies (TSCs) US publicly traded firms for fiscal year 2000 and 2004. The components of IC as delineated in the RBV IC model are the subject of the analysis with the frequency of disclosure being used as the measure of disclosure.Findings – HTCs had a higher frequency of disclosure of customer capital, organizational capital, human capital, and intellectual propert.
Proof of principle: The predisposition, infection, response, organ failure sepsis staging system*

Objective:In an effort to improve upon the traditional sepsis syndrome definitions, the predisposition, infection, response, organ dysfunction (PIRO) model was proposed to better characterize sepsis. The objective of this investigation was to derive and validate a sepsis staging system based on the PIRO concept that risk stratifies patients with suspected infection. Design:Three independent, observational, prospective cohorts were studied. A derivation cohort (n = 2,132) was used to create the PIRO score, identifying independent predictors of mortality. Individual values were assigned to create the weighted integer score for each parameter, yielding the final PIRO score. The prognostic performance was then investigated in independent internal (n = 4,618) and external (n = 1,004) validation cohorts. Setting:Two large U.S. tertiary care centers. Patients:Patients admitted to the hospital from the emergency department with suspected infection. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The PIRO staging system was created by combining components of predisposition (age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver disease, nursing home residency, and malignancy with and without metastasis), infection (pneumonia and cellulitis), response (tachypnea, bandemia, and tachycardia), and organ dysfunction (renal, respiratory, cardiac, metabolic, and hematologic). The derived PIRO score showed stepwise increase in mortality with increasing points and high discriminatory ability with an area under the curve of 0.90 in the derivation cohort, 0.86 in internal validation, and 0.83 in external validation. Conclusions:This study provides evidence-based support for the PIRO approach to sepsis staging. Future efforts may utilize this approach with additional parameters (e.g., genetics and novel biochemical markers) to develop further the PIRO stratification system.