Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Threats to Independence in Assurance of Sustainability Reports

A growing number of companies are submitting their sustainability reports to an external assurance company. However, this fact is raising theoretical questions regarding the independence of the assurance provider. In this context, the objective of this work is to verify how it is possible to threat the independence in assurance of sustainability reports. The research is bibliographical and documentary. Assurance sustainability reports were analyzed from 2007 to 2016. The case is the enterprise Vale S.A. The result shows that there was no concomitant execution of audit and assurance services by the company; there are approaches to reporting independence, either in the title or in a specific paragraph; it exists an identification of the recipient, varying between board of directors, shareholders and other interested parties, nevertheless, throughout 2013-2014, there was no identification. Reports issued from 2013 to 2016 show that improvements need to be made by the assured company. Independence in these cases is questionable, since the assurer may act as a consultant, which demonstrates management interest. Simultaneous audit of the financial statements and assurance services may cause an impression of threats to independence; however, the results did not show it in the analyzed company. Further researches concerning assurance of sustainability reports independence are recommended.
Study on Research Trends on the Internet of Things Using Network Analysis

The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) is indispensable for the spread of Industry 4.0. To develop IoT research, this article analyzes the trends in IoT research from the viewpoint of the importance of IoT research in responding to the global IoT scenario. In this analysis, we perform network analysis and investigate the characteristics of researchers who are related to IoT research. We study the fusion of different fields, such as chemistry and engineering, in IoT research. We also propose four ways of increasing IoT research activities in Japan.
Criteria for judging precision and accuracy in method development and evaluation.

We describe an approach for formulating criteria that can be used to judge whether an analytical method has acceptable precision and accuracy. We derive criteria for several experiments that are commonly used in method-evaluation studies: precision or replicates, recovery, interference, and comparison of patient values between the new method and a proven method. These criteria are based on the medical usefulness of the test results, thus the acceptability of the method is judged with respect to the clinical requirements.
Ras-Dependent Regulation of c-Jun Phosphorylation Is Mediated by the Ral Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor-Ral Pathway

ABSTRACT The transcription factor c-Jun is critically involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation as well as cellular transformation induced by oncogenic Ras. The signal transduction pathways that couple Ras activation to c-Jun phosphorylation are still partially elusive. Here we show that an activated version of the Ras effector Rlf, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) of the small GTPase Ral, can induce the phosphorylation of serines 63 and 73 of c-Jun. In addition, we show that growth factor-induced, Ras-mediated phosphorylation of c-Jun is abolished by inhibitory mutants of the RalGEF-Ral pathway. These results suggest that the RalGEF-Ral pathway plays a major role in Ras-dependent c-Jun phosphorylation. Ral-dependent regulation of c-Jun phosphorylation includes JNK, a still elusive JNKK, and possibly Src.
A miniature real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging system

Progress made in the development of a miniature real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging system is presented. This system is targeted for use in a 5-mm endoscopic channel and will provide real-time, 30-mm deep, volumetric images. It is being developed as a clinically useful device, to demonstrate a means of integrating the front-end electronics with the transducer array, and to demonstrate the advantages of the capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) technology for medical imaging. Presented here is the progress made towards the initial implementation of this system, which is based on a two-dimensional, 16x16 CMUT array. Each CMUT element is 250 um by 250 um and has a 5 MHz center frequency. The elements are connected to bond pads on the back side of the array with 400-um long through-wafer interconnects. The transducer array is flip-chip bonded to a custom-designed integrated circuit that comprises the front-end electronics. The result is that each transducer element is connected to a dedicated pulser and low-noise preamplifier. The pulser generates 25-V, 100-ns wide, unipolar pulses. The preamplifier has an approximate transimpedance gain of 500 kOhm and 3-dB bandwidth of 10 MHz. In the first implementation of the system, one element at a time can be selected for transmit and receive and thus synthetic aperture images can be generated. In future implementations, 16 channels will be active at a given time. These channels will connect to an FPGA-based data acquisition system for real-time image reconstruction.
Age Effects in Implicit Memory: The Role of Response Competition Induced by Relative Word Frequency

Background/Study Context: This study examined the effect of age and response competition on implicit memory performance. Methods: Younger and older adults studied high- and low-frequency words and took a word stem completion test that could be completed with multiple solutions. To manipulate response competition, the test list consisted of word stems that could be completed with target low-frequency words, as well as multiple other solutions with higher frequencies than the target (the high response competition condition) and word stems that could be completed with target high-frequency words, as well as multiple other solutions with lower frequencies than the target (the low response competition condition). Results: Relative to younger adults, older adults showed reduced levels of priming only under conditions of high response competition (low-frequency targets with high-frequency competitors). Conclusion: In support of a response competition mechanism, older adults were more likely to complete stems with nonstudied high-frequency solutions than were younger adults. Results demonstrate that older adults have reduced priming compared with younger adults under some conditions of high response competition.
Synthesis of Novel Purine‐Based Coxsackievirus Inhibitors Bearing Polycylic Substituents at the N‐9 Position

The synthesis of a novel library of purine derivatives bearing various bicyclic and polycylic substituents at the N‐9 position is described. The series includes norbornanes, bicyclo[2.2. 2]octanes, and bicyclo[3.2. 1]octanes attached at the bridgehead position as well as bicyclo[3.1. 1]heptanes, tetrahydro‐1‐naphthalenes, and adamantanes bonded either directly or via a linear chain to the 6‐chloropurine nucleobase. A number of prepared derivatives exerted significant activity against the enterovirus. Despite attempts to correlate the activity against picornaviruses with their phosphatidylinositol 4‐kinase KIIIβ inhibitory activity, it is clear that the inhibition of this host factor cannot explain the observed antiviral potency.
Antiviral properties of ent‐labdene diterpenes of Andrographis paniculata nees, inhibitors of herpes simplex virus type 1

Andrographolide, neoandrographolide and 14‐deoxy‐11,12‐didehydroandrographolide, ent‐labdene diterpenes isolated from Andrographis paniculata showed viricidal activity against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV‐1). None of these compounds exhibited significant cytotoxicity at viricidal concentrations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Discovery and characterization of a unique mycobacterial heme acquisition system

Mycobacterium tuberculosis must import iron from its host for survival, and its siderophore-dependent iron acquisition pathways are well established. Here we demonstrate a newly characterized pathway, whereby M. tuberculosis can use free heme and heme from hemoglobin as an iron source. Significantly, we identified the genomic region, Rv0202c–Rv0207c, responsible for the passage of heme iron across the mycobacterial membrane. Key players of this heme uptake system were characterized including a secreted protein and two transmembrane proteins, all three specific to mycobacteria. Furthermore, the crystal structure of the key heme carrier protein Rv0203 was found to have a unique fold. The discovery of a unique mycobacterial heme acquisition pathway opens new avenues of exploration into mycobacterial therapeutics.
Consumer – green brand relationships: revisiting benefits, relationship quality and outcomes

PurposeThe study aims to develop and test a relationship-building model for green brands. It synthesizes findings on the consumer motives offered by green brands, with relationship marketing and branding literature to the specific context of green brands to build a parsimonious model testing the links amongst four relational benefits, i.e. confidence, socialization, self-expression and altruism; two relational mediators, i.e. satisfaction and relationship quality; three behavioural outcomes, i.e. word-of-mouth, expectation of continuity and cross-buying; and two moderators of the benefits-mediators relationship, i.e. environmental consciousness and relationship length.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from consumers of three brands of natural cosmetic products, totalling 848 questionnaires. Structural equation modelling is used to test the hypothesized relationships across the three brands.FindingsThe results show that confidence benefit has the strongest influence on relationship quality, followed by self-expression and altruism. Relationships quality and satisfaction with the green brand have a significant impact on all three behavioural outcomes. Both environmental consciousness and length of the relationship moderate the hypothesized interrelationships.Research limitations/implicationsA new set of relational benefits for the green context is suggested. Several future research opportunities are suggested.Practical implicationsThe study offers suggestions for managers to leverage relationship benefits for relationship strengthening.Originality/valueNo previous work has studied in an integrated way the relationship benefits and mediators to model the consumer–green brand relationship. The study provides a better understanding of the antecedents of consumer loyalty towards green brands.
An Empirical Study on Service Quality of Star Hotels: Using Servqual Model

Service sector being a significant contributor to the country’s GDP, is a significant factor in the sustainable expansion of a country’s economy. Hotels are a part of the service sector generating huge amounts of profits throughout the years and expanding their branches throughout the tourism attractions. To ensure sustained profits throughout the years the hotels need to have competitive edge over their rivals in the industry by promising high quality of service. This study recognizes the gaps amid the expectations and perceptions of the customers. This research paper has been prepared by using the most acclaimed model, i.e. SERVQUAL model in the 5-star hotels in Bengaluru city. There has been a gap discovered in the course of conducting the SERVQUAL analysis. Though the expectations and perception of different customers were different the places where the quality of the hotels have to be improved have been circled down to some. Thus, the hotels should make the necessary efforts to match the customer’s expectations and perceptions by providing high quality of service and attaining customer loyalty. It is further recommended that the hotels must conduct timely analysis on the service quality provided to ensure constant customer satisfaction by removing gaps identified.
Recommendations Based on User-Generated Comments in Social Media

Recommender systems gather user profile data either explicitly (users enter it) or implicitly (online behavior tracking). Surprisingly, given the prevalence of social media forums, which contain a rich set of user comments, there have been very few attempts to analyze the content of these comments to build up a user profile. In this paper, we compare and contrast a number of strategies for using text analysis to automatically gather profile data from user comments on news articles. We use this data to prototype a news recommender system based on the Guardian newspaper's 'Comment is Free' forum. The paper shows the feasibility of the approach: in a user study with fifty participants, our recommender outperforms a commercial 'best-in-class' system. Furthermore, we show that user comments allow recommender systems to track an evolving conversation related to a news article and can thus provide recommendations that better match the topics of conversation in comments, which maybe quite different from those in the original news article.
Community structure of bacteria and fungi in aerosols of a pig confinement building.

Modern intensive husbandry practices can create poor indoor air quality, with high levels of airborne dust, endotoxins, ammonia, and microorganisms. Air in a sow breeding barn was investigated to determine the biomass composition of bioaerosols using molecular methods supplemented with microscopic and cultivation-dependent approaches. A total of 2.7 ± 0.7 × 10(7) bacterial cells m(-3) air and 1.2 ± 0.3 × 10(6) fungi spores m(-3) were detected, corresponding to the fungal biovolume constituted 98% of the total microbial biovolume (fungal and bacterial). Fifty-two percent of all 4',6-diamidino-2-phenyl indole-stained cells were detectable with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a general bacterial probe mixture. Quantitative FISH of the bacterial consortium revealed Firmicutes as the dominant group with Streptococcus as the major genus, while Actinobacteria constituted 10% of the detectable bacteria. Additionally, the study revealed an abundant and diverse fungal community including species not previously found in similar environments. The most abundant fungal 18S rRNA gene clone sequences identified affiliated with the Aspergillus-Eurotium cluster, but among others, species of Wallemia, Mucorales, and Russulales were detected. For both fungi and anaerobic bacteria, a hitherto undescribed diversity was found in bioaerosols from a modern sow breeding barn, which potentially could create poor indoor air quality, although their effect on the health of farmworkers and stock still is not resolved.
Serotonin and insulin‐like peptides modulate leucokinin‐producing neurons that affect feeding and water homeostasis in Drosophila

Metabolic homeostasis and water balance is maintained by tight hormonal and neuronal regulation. In Drosophila, insulin‐like peptides (DILPs) are key regulators of metabolism, and the neuropeptide leucokinin (LK) is a diuretic hormone that also modulates feeding. However, it is not known whether LK and DILPs act together to regulate feeding and water homeostasis. Because LK neurons express the insulin receptor (dInR), we tested functional links between DILP and LK signaling in feeding and water balance. Thus, we performed constitutive and conditional manipulations of activity in LK neurons and insulin‐producing cells (IPCs) in adult flies and monitored food intake, responses to desiccation, and peptide expression levels. We also measured in vivo changes in LK and DILP levels in neurons in response to desiccation and drinking. Our data show that activated LK cells stimulate diuresis in vivo, and that LK and IPC signaling affect food intake in opposite directions. Overexpression of the dInR in LK neurons decreases the LK peptide levels, but only caused a subtle decrease in feeding, and had no effect on water balance. Next we demonstrated that LK neurons express the serotonin receptor 5‐HT1B. Knockdown of this receptor in LK neurons diminished LK expression, increased desiccation resistance, and diminished food intake. Live calcium imaging indicates that serotonin inhibits spontaneous activity in abdominal LK neurons. Our results suggest that serotonin via 5‐HT1B diminishes activity in the LK neurons and thereby modulates functions regulated by LK peptide, but the action of the dInR in these neurons remains less clear. J. Comp. Neurol. 523:1840–1863, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Evaluating stakeholder attitudes to ICT in the adoption of E-learning in Jordan

E-Learning is gaining increased importance in government agendas and among other stakeholders such as academics, students and technology Providers. This study examines the factors contributing to attitudes towards E-Learning in higher education among stakeholders in Jordan. The research developed a TAM-EL model for predicting the intention to adopt E-Learning based on the constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM-EL proposes that Perception of usefulness of technology, Perception of ease of use of the technology, Patronised (degree support for the technology), and Practised (previous experience with the technology) influence attitude towards adoption of E-Learning. The main research question of the study was: To what extent does the proposed model, in particular the role of the components Perception, Patronised, and Practised, play in the adoption of E-Learning? The TAM-EL model was tested using data collected from a large sample of participants representing E-Learning Users and Providers from universities in Jordan. The partial least square method was used to test the model for the study and regression and multiple regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses of the study.The findings of the study validated the TAM-EL model for technology adoption among Users and Providers of E-Learning in Jordan. Moreover, attitude of Providers towards E-Learning was found to be a very strong predictor of the adoption of E-Learning by the institution, accounting for approximately three-quarters of the variance in prediction of E-Learning. In addition, the degree of support for Providers as measured by the Patronised variable accounted for approximately two-thirds of the variance in Prediction of E-Learning, suggesting that this variable is a significant factor contributing to Attitude and to Prediction.Additionally, the findings and the analysis indicate that Users also have an important role as stakeholders in the adoption of E-Learning in Jordan. While the variable of Attitude contributes to approximately 57% of the variance in the Prediction of E-Learning, the variable of Patronised contributes only approximately 28% of the variance in the Prediction of E-Learning.Moreover, the findings show a marked difference between Users' and Providers' Attitudes towards E-learning and therefore an obvious recommendation is the need to engage Users in a more determined manner.
Impact of the ASEAN-CHINA FTA on Indonesia's AGRO-BASED products

IMPACT OF THE ASEAN-CHINA FTA ON INDONESIA’S AGRO-BASED PRODUCTS by Hamid Rizali Siregar After the success of free t rade agreements among ASEAN countries under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement ( AFTA), A SEAN c ountries e xpand i ts i nternational t rade c ooperation w ith C hina a nd produced the ASEAN-China Free trade Agreement (ACFTA). There were apprehensions on the likely impact of this regional trade agreement. However, agro-based industries which known as one of the mainstay of Indonesia’s industrial development was belived would gain benefit from the agreement . The objective of this study is to explore the ACFTA impact on agro-based products to the economy and i ndustries d uring t hree d ifferent s tages o f t he i mplementation ( pre-ACFTA, E arly H arvest Program a nd P ost-ACFTA). G enerally, t he d ynamics o f s everal indicator sh ows t hat C hina h as become more important market for Indonesia. Several industries emerges in the Early Havest Program and P ost-ACFTA an d sh ows t o h ave co mparative a dvantage r elative t o o ther ACFTA me mbers. However, there are a lot of space for Indonesia to improve i ts trade performance under the ACFTA agreement. Export c omplementarity w ith C hina’s import a nd compatibility be tween e xport pa ttern with its comparative advantage still have to be improved further to satisfy China’s import demand on agro-based product. Copyright by Hamid Rizali Siregar 2014
Education for Community Pediatrics

To have an impact on many of the most vexing child health issues of our era of necessity requires the pediatrician to expand the boundaries of practice well beyond the walls of the clinic or office. Without exception, none of the leading health needs of America’s children will be met without intense community-based work, as well as individual patient/family intervention.1,2 Examples include improving access to health care, ser ving children with special needs (chronically ill and handicapped), modifying the effects of school-related problems, preventing youth and family violence, reducing rates of obesity, and delaying the onset of degenerative diseases. Pediatricians see health problems that are socially determined, but not necessarily linked to low income, such as eating disorders, depression, substance abuse, and motor vehicle injuries. We are also increasingly aware of the effects of disparities in healthcare access and health status among poor children, children of color, and children of new immigrants. Addressing these “non-traditional” issues is a central part of our discipline and our practice.3-6 In community pediatrics, a pediatrician strives to provide services to and advocacy for a population of children in a community regardless of their social status or income to maximize their health and functioning. Community-focused pediatricians provide preventive and curative services and work to understand the determinants and consequences of child health and illness and the effectiveness of services provided. The American Academy of Pediatrics is clear that all pediatricians, generalists and specialists alike, need to practice community pediatrics, defined by all of the following:7
Development of a conceptual model evaluating the humanistic and economic burden of Crohn’s disease: implications for patient-reported outcomes measurement and economic evaluation

The primary objective of this review is to develop a conceptual model for Crohn’s disease (CD) outlining the disease burden for patients, healthcare systems and wider society, as reported in the scientific literature. A search was conducted using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EconLit, Health Economic Evaluation Database and Centre for Reviews and Dissemination databases. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures widely used in CD were reviewed according to the US FDA PRO Guidance for Industry. The resulting conceptual model highlights the characterization of CD by gastrointestinal disturbances, extra-intestinal and systemic symptoms. These symptoms impact physical functioning, ability to complete daily activities, emotional wellbeing, social functioning, sexual functioning and ability to work. Gaps in conceptual coverage and evidence of reliability and validity for some PRO measures were noted. Review findings also highlight the substantial direct and indirect costs associated with CD. Evidence from the literature confirms the substantial burden of CD to patients and wider society; however, future research is still needed to further understand burden from the perspective of patients and to accurately understand the economic burden of disease. Challenges with existing PRO measures also suggest the need for future research to refine or develop new measures.