Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apparent eradication of Mycoplasma synoviae in broiler breeders subjected to intensive antibiotic treatment directed to control Escherichia coli

A Mycoplasma synoviae (MS)-free flock of broiler breeders was housed for brooding and rearing on an MS endemic farm. PCR revealed that the flock became infected within nine weeks. At 22 weeks the flock wastransferred to a clean and disinfected house on a previously depopulated farm. The birds were then subjected to three treatments with fluoroquinolones due to recurrent Escherichia coli peritonitis and from the 32 weeks of age they received 600 ppm of oxytetracycline hydrochloride continuously in the feed. Monitoring by PCR showed a decrease in MS positive birds after 34 weeks of age and MS may have been eradicated as judged by consistent negative results in PCR. We conclude that intensive antibiotic treatments supported by adequatebiosecurity could clear MS from infected broiler breeders.
African Diaspora Entrepreneurs

African entrepreneurs in the diaspora are increasingly leveraging the duality of transnational space to expand economic opportunities in their countries of origin. Using the UK (London) and Sub-Saharan Africa migration corridor as a contextual prism, this paper explores the ‘everydayness' of entrepreneurship among African entrepreneurs in relation to how they traverse entrepreneurial spaces linking their countries of origin (home) and country of residence (host). Data collection combined discovery-oriented and ‘observer as participant’ techniques and emerging strands were fully explored using focus group protocols. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the findings indicate that Africans in diaspora contribute to Sub-Saharan African economic development through entrepreneurial investments. Diaspora direct investment (DDI) is an authentic avenue that unlocks untapped investment opportunities, and its objectives are driven by both economic and non-economic factors. Thus policy makers need to focus on harnessing its benefits.
ES cell-derived renewable and functional midbrain dopaminergic progenitors

During early development, midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuronal progenitors (NPs) arise from the ventral mesencephalic area by the combined actions of secreted factors and their downstream transcription factors. These mDA NPs proliferate, migrate to their final destinations, and develop into mature mDA neurons in the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area. Here, we show that such authentic mDA NPs can be efficiently isolated from differentiated ES cells (ESCs) using a FACS method combining two markers, Otx2 and Corin. Purified Otx2+Corin+ cells coexpressed other mDA NP markers, including FoxA2, Lmx1b, and Glast. Using optimized culture conditions, these mDA NPs continuously proliferated up to 4 wk with almost 1,000-fold expansion without significant changes in their phenotype. Furthermore, upon differentiation, Otx2+Corin+ cells efficiently generated mDA neurons, as evidenced by coexpression of mDA neuronal markers (e.g., TH, Pitx3, Nurr1, and Lmx1b) and physiological functions (e.g., efficient DA secretion and uptake). Notably, these mDA NPs differentiated into a relatively homogenous DA population with few serotonergic neurons. When transplanted into PD model animals, aphakia mice, and 6-OHDA–lesioned rats, mDA NPs differentiated into mDA neurons in vivo and generated well-integrated DA grafts, resulting in significant improvement in motor dysfunctions without tumor formation. Furthermore, grafted Otx2+Corin+ cells exhibited significant migratory function in the host striatum, reaching >3.3 mm length in the entire striatum. We propose that functional and expandable mDA NPs can be efficiently isolated by this unique strategy and will serve as useful tools in regenerative medicine, bioassay, and drug screening.
Microeconomics of collaboration and network configuration

Purpose – The past decade has witnessed a trend toward unbundling of enterprises that were once highly integrated in vertical forms or horizontally as conglomerates. The economic forces behind these changes simultaneously enabled collaborative relationships that replaced command‐control coordination. While such change has been widespread, the food industry serves as an example of an industry where such strategies have been incompletely pursued. This paper aims to provide a microeconomic explanation of three bases for the emergence of collaboration and network formation: transaction costs, interdependence in value creation processes, and shared resources.Design/methodology/approach – Within a setting of the food industry, a microeconomic theory of firm level choice of transactions is presented and extended to consider market level equilibrium in where persistent relationships are defined to compose an integrated economic network.Findings – The paper presents a framework for identification of the optimal pa.
Legal multimedia management and semantic annotation for improved search and retrieval

In this work, we study the possibilities of multimedia management and automatic annotation focused on legal domain. In this field,professionals are used to consume the most part of their time searching and retrieving legal information. For instance, in scenarios as e-discovery and e-learning search and retrieval of the multimedia contents are the basis of the whole applications. In addition, the legal multimedia explosion increases the need of Store these files in a structured form to facilitate the access to this information in an efficient and effective way. Furthermore, the improvements achieved by sensors and video recorders in the last years increase the size of these files, producing an enormous demand of storage capability.JPEG2000 and MPEG-7 are international standards by the ISO/IEC organization that allow to reduce, in some degrees, the amount of data needed to store these files. These standards also permit to include the semantic annotation in the considered file formats, and to access to this information without the need to decompress the contained video or image. How to obtain the semantic information from multimedia is also studied as well as the different techniques to exploit and combine this information.
Research on knowledge work efficiency and influencing factors under dynamic network environment

In present paper, the issue of knowledge work efficiency under dynamic network environment is put forward. The mechanism of knowledge work is analyzed. The knowledge work efficiency is defined as cognitive efficiency and group collaboration efficiency in narrow and broad sense, respectively. Six kinds of factors, namely individual factor, work group factor, task factor, work resource factor, management factor and physical environment factor, and 54 specific influencing factors are obtained based on theoretical analysis and investigations through questionnaires in some provinces of China. Finally, 13 major influencing factors are obtained according to factor analysis based on variance maximization of multivariate statistical analysis method.
ZEB Negatively Regulates the Lytic-Switch BZLF1 Gene Promoter of Epstein-Barr Virus

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus capable of establishing a latent state in B lymphocytes. The product of the immediate-early BZLF1 gene, Zta, is a transcriptional transactivator essential for viral DNA amplification and virion production. Previously, we identified a negative cis-acting element within the BZLF1 promoter termed ZV. ZV contains the sequence 5′-CAGGTA-3′ located at nucleotides −17 to −12 relative to the transcription initiation site. It sequence specifically binds a cellular factor, ZVR. Based on sequence binding specificity, we postulated that ZVR may be zinc finger E-box binding factor (ZEB) or a related zinc finger/homeodomain family member. We show here by immunoshift assays that ZVR and human ZEB specifically cross-react with an antibody to δEF1, the chicken homolog of ZEB. Competition electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed that ZEB binds to the ZV element with the same binding specificity as ZVR. Overexpression of ZEB in either B-lymphocytic DG75 cells or mammary epithelial MCF-7 cells repressed Zta-induced activation of the BZLF1 promoter four- to fivefold via the ZV site. Thus, we conclude that the previously identified cellular repressor ZVR is, in fact, ZEB. We also present evidence that other cellular factors likely affect the transcriptional activity of ZEB. Lastly, we identify a ZEB-binding site within the promoter of the lytic BRLF1 gene of EBV. We postulate that ZEB likely plays an important role in regulating the life cycle of EBV.
Monitoring gas and oil fields with reliable wireless sensing and Internet of Things

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and Internet of things (IoT) are playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives. In particular, WSNs and IoT are crucial for observing and monitoring physical phenomena that are critical in environmental, industrial, and scientific applications. Nowadays, a huge number of oil infrastructure including pipelines and refineries need to be continuously monitored by using several parameters such as temperature, pressure, and vibration to prevent accidents and other malfunctioning and to keep track of the overall production system. In this paper, we study WSNs in depth and propose a reliable, secure, and scalable sensing system that focuses on monitoring oil and gas infrastructures.
Dynamic Postural Control During Trunk Bending and Reaching in Healthy Adults and Stroke Patients

Chern J-S, Lo C-Y, Wu C-Y, Chen C-L, Yang S, Tang F-D: Dynamic postural control during trunk bending and reaching in healthy adults and stroke patients. Objectives:Postural stability is often task-demand-dependent and often impaired in stroke patients. The purposes of this study were (1) to compare the difference in the center of pressure measures during forward bending of the trunk and reaching on postural actions between normal subjects and stroke patients and (2) to examine the effects of task demands on the center of pressure measures in both groups. Design:Thirteen normal subjects and 23 stroke patients performed two trials of forward bending of the trunk and reaching for each of the targets at six locations at floor level while standing on a 0.5-m-long pressure mat. Center of pressure excursion, center of pressure average velocity, and bilateral limb weight-bearing ratios characterized the postural actions. Mixed-design analysis of variance was used. Results:A significant target location by group interaction effects was found for all variables except the center of pressure average velocity. All variables except center of pressure average velocity showed significant group differences. The center of pressure excursion and bilateral limb weight-bearing ratio were smaller, and the center of pressure average velocity was larger in stroke patients than in normal subjects. The effects of target location on variables measured were prominent in stroke patients. The posturography of stroke patients was less regular than that of normal subjects. Stroke patients tended to avoid shifting their center of pressure toward the affected side, even when highly necessary. Conclusions:The difference of postural actions between groups depended on task demands. Small center of pressure displacement and fast center of pressure velocity characterized decreased adaptive postural actions. The amount of center of pressure shift and center of pressure velocity were also dependent on the task demands for both groups.
Tourism marketing ethics: an introduction

Discusses the nature of the tourism product, the paradoxes which occur with its development and the role that ethics can play in the marketing of the tourism product. Green tourism is analysed as a response by the industry to ethical considerations – it being promoted as more socially responsible. Concludes that ethics are implicit in tourism marketing and revolve around effective segmentation, communication of appropriate destination messages and realizing the fragility of the environment. However, tourism marketing ethics must now be explicitly debated if the longevity of the tourist resource is to be retained.
Where the United States Spends Its Spine Dollars: Expenditures on Different Ambulatory Services for the Management of Back and Neck Conditions

Study Design. Serial, cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys of noninstitutionalized US adults. Objective. To examine expenditures on common ambulatory health services for the management of back and neck conditions. Summary of Background Data. Although it is well recognized that national costs associated with back and neck conditions have grown considerably in recent years, little is known about the costs of care for specific ambulatory health services that are used to manage this population. Methods. We used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine adult (aged 18 yr or older) respondents from 1999 to 2008 who sought ambulatory health services for the management of back and neck conditions. We used complex survey design methods to make national estimates of mean inflation-adjusted annual expenditures on medical care, chiropractic care, and physical therapy per user for back and neck conditions. Results. Approximately 6% of US adults reported an ambulatory visit for a primary diagnosis of a back or neck condition (13.6 million in 2008). Between 1999 and 2008, the mean inflation-adjusted annual expenditures on medical care for these patients increased by 95% (from $487 to $950); most of the increase was accounted for by increased costs for medical specialists, as opposed to primary care physicians. During the study period, the mean inflation-adjusted annual expenditures on chiropractic care were relatively stable; although physical therapy was the most costly service overall, in recent years those costs have contracted. Conclusion. Although this study did not explore the relative effectiveness of different ambulatory services, recent increasing costs associated with providing medical care for back and neck conditions (particularly subspecialty care) are contributing to the growing economic burden of managing these conditions.
Can the ABILHAND handle manual ability in MS?

Background: Hand dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent interest has focused on incorporating patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments into clinical trials. Nevertheless, examinations are rare in MS of existing manual ability measures. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the 23-item ABILHAND, developed for use after stroke, in people with MS, comparing the findings from two psychometric approaches. Methods: We analysed ABILHAND data from 300 people with MS using: 1) traditional psychometric methods (data completeness, scaling assumptions, reliability, internal and external construct validity); and 2) Rasch measurement methods (including targeting, item response category ordering, data fit to the Rasch model, spread of item locations, item scoring bias, item stability, reliability, person response validity). Results: Traditional psychometric methods implied ABILHAND was reliable and valid in this sample. Rasch measurement methods supported this finding. The three-category scoring function worked as intended and item fit to Rasch model expectations was acceptable. The 23 items (location range −3.16 to +2.73 logits) mapped a continuum of manual ability. Reliability was high (Person Separation Index (PSI) = 0.95). Conclusion: Both psychometric evaluations supported ABILHAND as a robust manual ability PRO measure for MS. Rasch measurement methods were more informative and, consistent with its role of detecting anomalies, identified ways of advancing further ABILHAND’s measurement performance to reduce any potential for type II errors in clinical trials.
Variation of iron loss by manufacturing method of SMC motor core

This paper presents variation of iron loss by manufacturing method of the motor core made of Soft Magnetic Composite (SMC). Iron loss of the motor core shows different value by the manufacturing process. The iron loss of the seven kinds of core has been compared by a B-H analyzer with current amplifier. As a result, only the eddy current loss varies by the manufacturing process.
PH-dependence of the steady-state rate of a two-step enzymic reaction.

1. The pH-dependence is considered of a reaction between E and S that proceeds through an intermediate ES under "Briggs-Haldane' conditions, i.e. there is a steady state in ES and [S]o greater than [E]T, where [S]o is the initial concentration of S and [E]T is the total concentration of all forms of E. Reactants and intermediates are assumed to interconvert in three protonic states (E equilibrium ES; EH equilibrium EHS; EH2 equilibrium EH2S), but only EHS provides products by an irreversible reaction whose rate constant is kcat. Protonations are assumed to be so fast that they are all at equilibrium. 2. The rate equation for this model is shown to be v = d[P]/dt = (kcat.[E]T[S]o/A)/[(KmBC/DA) + [S]o], where Km is the usual assembly of rate constants around EHS and A-D are functions of the form (1 + [H]/K1 + K2/[H]), in which K1 and K2 are: in A, the molecular ionization constants of ES; in B, the analogous constants of E; in C and D, apparent ionization constants composed of molecular ionization constants (of E or ES) and assemblies of rate constants. 3. As in earlier treatments of this type of reaction which involve either the assumption that the reactants and intermediate are in equilibrium or the assumption of Peller & Alberty [(1959) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 81, 5907-5914] that only EH and EHS interconvert directly, the pH-dependence of kcat. is determined only by A. 4. The pH-dependence of Km is determined in general by B-C/A-D, but when reactants and intermediate are in equilibrium, C identical to D and this expression simplifies to B/A. 5. The pH-dependence of kcat. /Km, i.e. of the rate when [S]o less than Km, is not necessarily a simple bell-shaped curve characterized only by the ionization constants of B, but is a complex curve characterized by D/B-C. 6. Various situations are discussed in which the pH-dependence of kcat. /Km is determined by assemblies simpler than D/B-C. The special situation in which a kcat. /Km-pH profile provides the molecular pKa values of the intermediate ES complex is delineated.
GPS user-interface design problems

This paper is a review of human factors problems associated with the user-interface design of a set of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, certified for use in aircraft for instrument non-precision approaches. The paper focuses on design problems associated with the interfaces and specific inconsistencies across the set of interfaces that could cause confusion or errors during operation. Some specific problems to be addressed involve the layout and design of knobs and buttons; control labeling inconsistencies across units; the placement and use of warnings; feedback, or the lack thereof; and the integration of specific flying tasks while using the receivers. Recommendations for solving some of the problems are provided, as well as suggestions to the FAA, GPS manufacturers, and pilots regarding the future development and use of these products.
Consumer Response to Television Commercials: The Impact of Involvement and Background Music on Brand Attitude Formation

Past research has examined the effect of level of involvement (high vs. low) on subjects’ reactions to persuasive communications. The authors suggest that high involvement can be differentiated into two types (cognitive vs. affective). By manipulating involvement level and type (low involvement, cognitive involvement, affective involvement), they show that the three different forms of involvement have different effects on how brand attitudes are formed. They also examine how music, as a peripheral persuasion cue, affects the process of brand attitude formation. The results indicate that the effect of music on brand attitude depends on the type and level of involvement. Music had a facilitative effect on brand attitude for subjects in the low involvement condition and a distracting effect for those in the cognitive involvement condition; its effect for those in the affective involvement condition was not clear. Alternative explanations of these results are offered and implications for advertising research are discussed.
Increased Activities of Enzymes in the Calvin Cycle and in the Sucrose-Biosynthesis Pathway 1

Photosynthetic and metabolic acclimation to low growth temperatures were studied in Arabidopsis (Heynh.). Plants were grown at 23°C and then shifted to 5°C. We compared the leaves shifted to 5°C for 10 d and the new leaves developed at 5°C with the control leaves on plants that had been left at 23°C. Leaf development at 5°C resulted in the recovery of photosynthesis to rates comparable with those achieved by control leaves at 23°C. There was a shift in the partitioning of carbon from starch and toward sucrose (Suc) in leaves that developed at 5°C. The recovery of photosynthetic capacity and the redirection of carbon to Suc in these leaves were associated with coordinated increases in the activity of several Calvin-cycle enzymes, even larger increases in the activity of key enzymes for Suc biosynthesis, and an increase in the phosphate available for metabolism. Development of leaves at 5°C also led to an increase in cytoplasmic volume and a decrease in vacuolar volume, which may provide an important mechanism for increasing the enzymes and metabolites in cold-acclimated leaves. Understanding the mechanisms underlying such structural changes during leaf development in the cold could result in novel approaches to increasing plant yield.
The Role of Human and Social Capital on Small Enterprise Growth· Evidence from Sri Lanka

This paper aims to examine the effect of entrepreneur's human capital and social capital on the growth of small enterprises in Sri Lanka. The data have been collected from 97 manufactur­ ing enterprises that employ less than 50 employees in Colombo district of Sri Lanka. The hypoth­ eses derived from human capital and social capital theories were tested in order to assess the re­ lationship among human capital, social capital and the small enterprise growth. The results sug­ gest that human capital and social capital are important factors in determining small enterprises grolVth. The small enterprises play a very important role in the economies of both developed and developing countries. It is the sustained growth of these businesses that creates the new jobs and other benefits sought by communities while, at the same time hold out to their owners the possibility of wealth, variety, self-fulfillment, and independence (Dobbs & Hamilton, 2007). Human capital and social capital are associated with the performance and related to subsequent growth. Empirical studies support the existence of relationship between the human capital and social capital and firm growth. The majority of those studies have taken in to consideration of only one dimension i.e human capital or social capital. It is therefore important to study the impact of both two dimensions simultaneously on firm
Organizational Responses to Customer Complaints: What Works and What Doesn’t

The purpose of this article is to summarize the current research in the field of complaint handling, specifically to focus on how the organizational response to a customer complaint affects the postcomplaint customer behavior. A model framework is presented that divides these organizational responses into six separate dimensions (timeliness, facilitation, redress, apology, credibility, and attentiveness) and takes an in-depth look at each dimension in turn. Major questions and conclusions are presented for each dimension, which attempt to clarify what is really known or not known about the effect of that dimension on postcomplaint customer behavior. Special topics of future areas of research are discussed and a revised framework is presented to facilitate future research.