Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Medically Important Yeasts Using PCR-Based Detection of DNA Sequence Polymorphisms in the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 Region of the rRNA Genes

ABSTRACT Identification of medically relevant yeasts can be time-consuming and inaccurate with current methods. We evaluated PCR-based detection of sequence polymorphisms in the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of the rRNA genes as a means of fungal identification. Clinical isolates (401), reference strains (6), and type strains (27), representing 34 species of yeasts were examined. The length of PCR-amplified ITS2 region DNA was determined with single-base precision in less than 30 min by using automated capillary electrophoresis. Unique, species-specific PCR products ranging from 237 to 429 bp were obtained from 92% of the clinical isolates. The remaining 8%, divided into groups with ITS2 regions which differed by ≤2 bp in mean length, all contained species-specific DNA sequences easily distinguishable by restriction enzyme analysis. These data, and the specificity of length polymorphisms for identifying yeasts, were confirmed by DNA sequence analysis of the ITS2 region from 93 isolates. Phenotypic and ITS2-based identification was concordant for 427 of 434 yeast isolates examined using sequence identity of ≥99%. Seven clinical isolates contained ITS2 sequences that did not agree with their phenotypic identification, and ITS2-based phylogenetic analyses indicate the possibility of new or clinically unusual species in the Rhodotorula andCandida genera. This work establishes an initial database, validated with over 400 clinical isolates, of ITS2 length and sequence polymorphisms for 34 species of yeasts. We conclude that size and restriction analysis of PCR-amplified ITS2 region DNA is a rapid and reliable method to identify clinically significant yeasts, including potentially new or emerging pathogenic species.
Exchange Rate Fluctuations, Political Risk, and Stock Returns: Some Evidence from an Emerging Market

Abstract We study the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and political risk on the risk premiums reflected in cross-sections of individual equity returns from Mexico, a country that has experienced significant monetary and political turbulence. Indicators from Mexico's currency and sovereign debt markets are employed as proxies for exchange rate and political risks. We find some evidence of equity market premiums for exposure to these risks. The results suggest common factors in emerging market equity, currency, and sovereign debt markets, and have several implications for corporate and portfolio management and for the use of emerging market data by researchers.
Does Index Futures Dominate Index Spot? Evidence from Taiwan Market

By utilizing vector error correction model (VECM) and EGARCH model, this article uses 5-minute intraday data to examine the interaction of return and volatility between Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) and the newly introduced TAIEX futures. VECM model shows that there exists bi-directional Granger causality between index spot and index futures markets, but spot market plays a more important role in price discovery. The results of impulse response function and information share indicate that most of the price discovery happens in index spot market. The evidence of EGRACH shows that the impacts of spot and futures innovations are asymmetrical, and the volatility spillovers between spot and futures markets are bi-directional. However, the information flow from spot to futures is stronger. These results suggest that the TAIEX spot market dominates the TAIEX futures market in terms of return and volatility.
An importance-performance analysis of food service attributes in gastro-tourism development in Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya

Tourism development has principally focused on the tangible tourism products thereby overlooking the intangible element such as service. This study aimed to evaluate food service attributes in gastro-tourism development in the Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya. A total of 166 top and middle level managers were selected from 62 hotels for this study using multi-stage sampling method. Several food service attributes were identified and used to structure self-administered questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Factor, regression and importance-performance analysis. The findings indicate that perceived importance-performance of food service attributes in gastro-tourism development varied considerably. Three factors identified were food service output, food service input both perceived to be important with good performance; and food service process perceived important but hoteliers’ performance on the same was poor. The findings provide intuitively appealing strategies for hoteliers and tourism promoters in Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya to set priorities for developing gastro-tourism through food service attributes.
Integrated total quality management: Beyond zero defects theory and towards innovation

This paper reviews the benefits of integrating management systems (MSs) and proposes a rationale for the integration in manufacturing companies, contributing to increased competitiveness. Benefits accrue from the integrated implementation of MSs for quality, environment, occupational health and safety, social responsibility, maintenance and energy. integrated total quality management, as the largest system, represents all management sub-systems in the organisation, converging to assure convenient satisfaction to all organisation stakeholders. Additionally, it is widely accepted that quality management strategically supports the management of innovation. However, while the importance of innovation for competitiveness is increasingly acknowledged, countries with a culture less prone to foster innovation increasingly face the need to encourage implementation of effective innovation MSs in companies in order to achieve competitive advantages in the global market, even if not immediately, but upon implementation. Springing from this approach, this paper reviews benefits of integration and intends to emphasise how integration of MSs should consider an innovation MS as a key part. Although available empirical evidence of the benefits of the latter approach is yet hardly significant, preliminary data support the viability of attaining added efficiency in generating competitive advantages in manufacturing companies by integrating the innovation MS within the group of already integrated MSs.
Effect of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate on the survival of peripheral intravenous infusions: A double‐blind prospective clinical study

Phlebitis is the commonest complication of intravenous infusion. It has been suggested that it is initiated by venoconstriction at the infusion site, hence treatment with a vasodilator may reduce its incidence. We carried out a prospective double‐blind controlled study of the effect of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate on the survival of peripheral intravenous infusions in 340 patients. Fifty‐five per cent (94 out of 170) of the infusions failed in the control group compared with 19 per cent (33 out of 170) in the treatment group (χ2 = 45, P < 0.0005). The commonest cause of infusion failure was superficial phlebitis: 47 per cent in the control group and 17 per cent in the treatment group (χ2 = 46, P<0.0005). The estimated median time of infusion survival was 74 h in the control group compared with 127 h in the treatment group (log rank χ2 = 143, P < 0.0001). We conclude that infusion phlebitis is a common problem in hospitalized patients and its incidence can be effectively reduced by transdermal glyceryl trinitrate.
Understanding avian responses to forest boundaries: a case study with chickadee winter flocks

Avian species diversity and territory location are often associated with sharp forest edges, or boundaries. However, our understanding of behaviours underlying avian distribution near forest boundaries, especially species with large home ranges, remains poor. In a two-year study, we measured chickadee flock movements in forests at 0-300 m from boundaries in an agricultural landscape near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Even though flocks foraged in all forested parts of the study area, only six of the 53 flocks studied foraged further from forest boundaries than expected if they had used their home range irrespectively of the distance to boundaries. We found no evidence that the association of chickadee flocks to forest boundaries resulted from vegetation changes near boundaries, or to changes in their foraging sites and foraging success near boundaries. However, chickadee flocks moved parallel to boundaries (<75 m away) twice as frequently as expected from random movement, thus suggesting that forest boundaries act as movement conduits. Even when birds do not apparently seek special features near forest boundaries, they may be closely associated with them, simply because their passive movements are constrained by habitat barriers defined by boundaries.
Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome Components and Oxidative Stress in Elderly Community-Dwelling Mexicans

Aim: To determine the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) components and oxidative stress (OxS) in elderly community-dwelling Mexicans. Methods: We carried out a comparative cross-sectional study on 113 elderly subjects (≧60 years old); 50 of them did not have MetS and 63 did have MetS (based on Adult Treatment Panel III criteria). We measured total antioxidant status (TAS), plasma lipid peroxidation (LPO), antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and calculated the SOD/GPx ratio. High blood pressure (HBP) was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≧140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≧90 mm Hg. Results: We found a statistically significant increase in the percentage of cases of severe OxS in elderly subjects with MetS in comparison to healthy elderly (17 vs. 8%, OR: 7.33, 95% CI: 1.38–42.39; p < 0.01). It was observed that subjects with 5 MetS components had a 10-fold higher risk of developing OxS than subjects with 1 component (OR: 11.00, 95% CI: 1.72–115.17; p < 0.01). A positive correlation between SBP and LPO (r = 0.202, p < 0.05), and a negative correlation of SBP and DBP with TAS activity (r = –0.232, p < 0.05; r = –0.211, p < 0.05) were also observed. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MetS is linked to severe OxS, that the number of metabolic syndrome components is a significant risk factor in the development of OxS, and that HBP is the most important metabolic syndrome component linked to OxS in the elderly.
Effect of Condensed Tannins on Bacterial Diversity and Metabolic Activity in the Rat Gastrointestinal Tract

ABSTRACT The effect of dietary condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) on rat fecal bacterial populations was ascertained in order to determine whether the proportion on tannin-resistant bacteria increased and if there was a change in the predominant bacterial populations. After 3 weeks of tannin diets the proportion of tannin-resistant bacteria increased significantly (P < 0.05) from 0.3% ± 5.5% to 25.3% ± 8.3% with a 0.7% tannin diet and to 47.2% ± 5.1% with a 2% tannin diet. The proportion of tannin-resistant bacteria returned to preexposure levels in the absence of dietary tannins. A shift in bacterial populations was confirmed by molecular fingerprinting of fecal bacterial populations by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Posttreatment samples were generally still distinguishable from controls after 3.5 weeks. Sequence analysis of DGGE bands and characterization of tannin-resistant isolates indicated that tannins selected for Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteroides species. Dot blot quantification confirmed that these gram-negative bacterial groups predominated in the presence of dietary tannins and that there was a corresponding decrease in the gram-positive Clostridium leptum group and other groups. Metabolic fingerprint patterns revealed that functional activities of culturable fecal bacteria were affected by the presence of tannins. Condensed tannins of Acacia angustissima altered fecal bacterial populations in the rat gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a shift in the predominant bacteria towards tannin-resistant gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteroides species.
Spectrum of clinical disease in a series of hospitalized HIV-infected patients from southeast of Iran.

OBJECTIVE To determine the pattern of opportunistic infections (OIs) and non-infectious opportunistic diseases in hospitalized HIV-infected patients in Zahedan, southeast of Iran. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the records of 52 HIV-infected patients (47 male, 5 female; age range, 21-54 years) who were admitted to Boo-Ali Hospital, Zahedan, Iran for evaluation and management of an HIV-related disorders from April 2000 to December 2005. RESULTS Tuberculosis (TB) was the most common opportunistic infections (53.8%) followed by hepatitis C (11.5%), typhoid (9.6%), amebiasis (9.6%), candidal esophagitis (5.7%), acute bacterial pneumonia (3.8%), and cerebral toxoplasmosis (1.9 %). Most of the cases of TB were pulmonary (36.5%). Apart from other well-recognized OIs, 2 cases of HIV-associated lymphoma were encountered. Only 12 patients (23.07%) received antiretroviral therapy. Five patients (9.6%) died during hospital stay due to tuberculosis (4 cases) and typhoid (1 case). CONCLUSION The findings show that opportunistic infections are common in HIV-infected patients in Zahedan, southeast of Iran. Tuberculosis remains the most common OIs and is the most common cause of death in these patients.
Decrease in Activity of Glutathione Reductase Enhances Paraquat Sensitivity in Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum

Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv SR1) with decreased activity of glutathione reductase exhibited enhanced sensitivity to paraquat in the light as evaluated by chlorophyll destruction and electrolyte leakage from leaf discs. This result indicates the involvement of glutathione reductase in the tolerance of plants to photooxidative stress caused by the herbicide.
Growth response, meat yield and carcass characteristics of broilers fed beniseed (Sesamum indicum) and drumstick (Moringa oleifera) leaves as sources of lysine.

Aims: One hundred and thirty five day old Arbor Acres broiler chicks with an average weight of 40g were fed beniseed and drumstick leaves as sources of lysine during eight weeks in order to evaluate growth response, meat yield and carcass characteristics. Study Design: The trial design was completely randomized (CRD). Place and Duration of Study: The trial was conducted between June-July 2010 in the Poultry unit at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Animal Production, School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigera State. Methodology: The birds were randomly allocated into three experimental groups with forty five birds per treatment. Each treatment had three replicates with fifteen birds per replicate. The dietary treatments contained 0.2% lysine (T1), 6% beniseed powder (T2), and 15% drumstick leave powder (T3). The amount of beniseed powder and drumstick leave powder was calculated to supply the same lysine level that the control diet (0.2% lysine). Original Research Article American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 4(10): 1178-1185, 2014 1179 Results: At the end of the feeding trial body weight, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were not significantly among experimental groups (P>0.05). The crude fiber digestibility was significantly different (P<0.05). The average live weight of the birds, breast, back and wing were significantly different among groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that 6% beniseed powder and 15% drumstick leave powder can substitute 0.20% industrial lysine in broilers diets for optimum performance of broilers.
Incentives +: how can REDD improve well-being in forest communities?

REDD initiatives are more likely to succeed if they build on the interests of forest communities and indigenous people. More attention is needed to the balance of incentives, benefits, rights and political participation across levels of decision making, interest groups and administration. Incentives can include payments or other benefits for good practices, developing alternative livelihoods, formalising land tenure and local resource rights and intensifying productivity on nonforest lands. The pressure to reduce deforestation needs to be spread across many levels to reduce the burden on forest communities.
Exploring tourism experience sought: A cohort comparison of Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation

Seniors compose an important segment of the travel and tourism market. With an aging population, and the biggest bulge of `new' seniors beginning to join the mature travel market in the form of Baby Boomers, the question arises as to whether the travel industry and destination organizations fully understand the needs and wants of these aging segments, and whether they are adequately prepared for them. From the perspective of past age-based analysis, what applied to certain age groups yesterday may not now be relevant. Using the Travel Activities and Motivation Survey, this study pursued a comparative assessment of the Baby Boomer generation and the Silent Generation in the tourism experiences sought and actual vacation activities. The findings show that differences in cohort-induced lifestyles and values permeate into vacation experience and activity. It would be unwise to assume that people in similar chronological age and life stages will always have similar travel preferences from generation to generation. The comparison allows the industry to anticipate any changes of emphasis necessary to better serve the up and coming boomer senior travel customer.
Smartphone Based Body Area Network System

Body area network is widely used in remote healthcare area. In this paper, smartphone based body area network system (SBBANS) is proposed. SBBANS is constituted by smartphone and multi parameter monitors, using Bluetooth and serial port for data transmission, and provides comprehensive health information. The system is capable of transferring data with healthcare centre servers over 3G/4G/Wlan. A simple real-time lossless electrocardiogram (ECG) compression algorithm is applied before data transfer. To ensure the stability of the transmission in wireless networks, a "transmit-acknowledge-require-retransmit" mechanism is implemented on the application layer of Internet protocol in this study.
Academy Schools in England

School choice has gained considerable popularity in recent decades as governments struggle to improve quality and reduce the cost of education by increasing competition among schools and decreasing the level of bureaucracy (Chubb & Moe, 1990). Th e trend towards reorganization of public service allocation for education has been a feature of public policy in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and some nations in continental Europe and Scandinavia. In the United Kingdom, the 1988 Education Reform Act adopted the “new public management” model (Ferlie, Ashburner, Fitzgerald, & Pettigrew, 1996) policy. Th is reform policy ushered in the creation of “markets” in education through increased parental choice and administrative autonomy of educational institutions in the form of independent schools. Th ese independent schools represent a public-funded/privateprovision model of schooling, primarily active in England, identifi ed as “Academies” or as “Free Schools. ” Recent government data and research focusing on the performance of these new models of alternative schooling in England opened debates about educational quality and social equity among researchers. Th is article provides an overview of the origins and evolution of the independent schools in England, focusing on the Academy schools, while discussing the ongoing debates about their role and eff ectiveness in addressing the goals of school reform with regard to equality and social justice.
Preferences for destination attributes

This article reports the findings of differences in tourist preferences for short and long breaks. Cluster analysis is employed to explore specific preferences of tourist clusters taking long or short breaks. Four distinct clusters were found for each type of break, exhibiting distinctive demographic characteristics and activity preferences. Different preferences for short versus long breaks were also found. Assumptions that the same customers prefer the same kind of destination and activity when taking either a short or long break are dispelled. Implications for markets include developing distinct campaigns for short- and long-break tourist segments.
The cultural politics of English as an international language

Acknowledgements 1. The World in English Introduction: from Hurt Waldheim to Johnny Clegg The natural, neutral and beneficial spread of English The social, cultural and political contexts of English The worldliness of English Conclusion 2. Discourse and Dependency in a Shifting World Introduction: rethinking internationalism Development, aid and modernization Dependency and imperialism Culture, discourse, difference and disjuncture Criket, English and cultural politics 3. English and Colonialism: Origins of a Discourse Introduction: the complexities of colonialism Anglicism and Orientalism: two sides of the colonial coin English for the few: colonial education policies in Malaya Anglicism and English studies Conclusion 4. Spreading the Word/Disciplining the Language Introduction: anti-nomadic disciplines The disciplining of linguistics The disciplining of applied linguistics The spreading and disciplining of discourse of EIL 5. ELT From Development Aid to Global Commodity From cultural propaganda to global business: The British Council 'The West is better. ': discourses of ELT English Language Teaching practices as cultural practices Conclusion: the compass of discourse 6. The Worldliness of English in Malaysia Contexts Cultural politics after independence Malay nationalism and English English, class and ethnicity English adn Islam English and the media The debates continue 7. The Worldliness of English in Singapore English as a useful language The making of Singapore Singapore English Pragmatism, multiracialism and meritocratism Pragmatic, multiracial and meritocratic English Conclusion 8. Writing Back: The Appropriation of English Postcolonial English Re-presenting postcolonial worlds Worldy texts in a worldly language Decentered voices: writing in Malaysia Centered voices: writing in Singapore From aestheticism to yuppyism: the new writing in Singapore From writing back to teaching back 9. Towards a Critical Pedagogy for Teaching English as a Worldly Language Critical pedagogies Discourse, language and subjectivity Insurgent knowledges, the classroom and the world References Index