Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intraspecific Relationships between Resting and Activity Metabolism in Anuran Amphibians: Influence of Ecology and Behavior

The aerobic capacity model, as well as other models for the evolution of aerobic metabolism and the origin of endothermy, requires a mechanistic link between rates of resting and activity oxygen consumption (V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act). The existence of such link is still controversial, but studies with anuran amphibians support a correlation between V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act at both the intraspecific and interspecific levels. Because results at the intraspecific level are based only on a few species, we test for the generality of a link between these two metabolic variables in anurans by studying the intraspecific correlational patterns between mass‐independent V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act in anurans. We focus on 21 Neotropical species from different geographical areas that include remarkable diversity in behavior and thermal ecology. Although uncorrelated, V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act seem to be consistent among individuals. Diverse intraspecific phenotypic correlational trends were detected, indicating that the intraspecific relationships between V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act might be very diverse in anurans. The three possible trends (positive, negative, and absent correlations) were observed and appeared to be predictable from ecological and behavioral variables that relate to evolutionary physiological shifts in anurans. Positive correlations between V̇o2 rest and V̇o2 act were more common in species with active lifestyles (e.g., intense vocal activity) and in species that call at low temperatures (e.g., winter or high‐elevation specialists).
Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis by a Commercial Real-Time PCR Assay for Aspergillus DNA in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Samples from High-Risk Patients Compared to a Galactomannan Enzyme Immunoassay

ABSTRACT Culture-independent molecular techniques such as real-time PCRs offer the potential for early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA), thereby reducing the disease-associated mortality rate. PCR-based testing is presently excluded from disease-defining consensus criteria due to lack of standardization and clinical validation. A single-center prospective study was conducted to investigate the performance of the commercially available MycAssay Aspergillus test for detecting Aspergillus DNA in patients with suspicion of IA. To this end, a total of 158 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid specimens that were consecutively collected from hematology (n = 68) and intensive care unit (n = 90) patients were examined. Sixteen of 17 (94.1%) specimens from patients with proven/probable IA were MycAssay positive, and 15 of these 16 patients were also positive by an “in-house” PCR assay. A total of 139 of 141 (98.6%) specimens from patients without proven/probable IA were MycAssay negative. Fifteen of 16 (94.1%) MycAssay-positive patients were also positive for BAL fluid galactomannan (GM) at an index cutoff of ≥1.0 (index range, 1.1 to 8.3), as were 3 patients without IA but with pulmonary fusariosis. Interestingly, in seven of the PCR-positive BAL specimens that tested culture positive for Aspergillus species, cycle threshold values were earlier than those of specimens with a culture-negative result. In conclusion, the MycAssay Aspergillus PCR appears to be a sensitive and specific molecular test for the diagnosis of IA, and its performance is comparable to that of the GM assay. However, more large studies are necessary to firmly establish its clinical utility in high-risk settings.
PARTICIPATORY ANALYSIS OF HETEROGENEITY, AN APPROACH TO CONSOLIDATE COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVES AT COMMUNITY LEVEL

ABSTRACT Insufficient attention had been given to the development of effective and practicable methodologies to actively involve intra-community groups in constructive discussions about their own heterogeneity and its implications for collaborative action. An approach to participatory analysis of group heterogeneity was tested in three communities in the Eastern Amazon, using four steps: • identification of criteria for heterogeneity, • definition and characterization of stakeholder types within the community, • identification of difficulties, contributions and expectations related to each type, and • discussion of findings The study revealed that the participants of collaboratively working groups at community level are very diverse in their individual characteristics, interests and values. By defining criteria of heterogeneity, developing a typology and using a symbolic language, the groups were enabled to define issues critical to their group and ensure their interest, understanding and acceptance of the aspects discussed. The smallest unit in the typology was in all cases a group member and their related family. Emotional parameters play a key role in people's perceptions of heterogeneity. The proposed approach can be adapted in many ways to facilitate learning about heterogeneity, motivation and the interests of local stakeholders.
Adjustable security for RFID-equipped IoT devices

Over the last years, the number of rather simple interconnected devices in nonindustrial scenarios (e.g., for home automation) has steadily increased. For ease of use, the overall system security is often neglected. Before the Internet of Things (IoT) reaches the same distribution rate and impact in industrial applications, where security is crucial for success, solutions that combine usability, scalability, and security are required. We develop such a security system, mainly targeting sensor modules equipped with Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags which we leverage to increase the security level. More specifically, we consider a network based on Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) which is a widely adopted protocol for the IoT.
Acquisition Announcements and Stock Market Valuations of Acquiring Firms' Alliance Partners

How and why do post-formation events occurring to alliance partners that potentially provoke unexpected disturbances within their alliances influence alliance expected returns? Focusing on acquisitions as events triggering significant disturbances derived from restructurings of business portfolios, we examined the impact of acquisition announcements on market reactions to alliance partners of acquirers. Form a transaction-cost perspective, we argue that the stock market valuations of alliance partners around acquisition announcements are negative, because the stock market recognizes that the unanticipated disturbances will be triggered by the acquisitions, thereby potentially increasing transaction costs for the alliance partners. In addition, the negative impact of acquisition announcements depends on the characteristics of alliances and acquisitions. Using a sample of 347 alliances cases associated with 150 acquisition deals of Japanese public firms from 1995 to 2012, we tested our hypotheses through th.
The Effects of Helplessness Manipulations on Perceptual Responding: A Signal Detection Theory Analysis

This study was concerned with examining the effects of helplessness pre-treatment on performance in a perceptual task. Predictions from two different classes of helplessness hypothesis were considered. Cognitive hypotheses, such as the learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale, 1978; Alloy and Seligman, 1979) suggest that the locus of helplessness effects is found in biases of perceptual and/or expectational mechanisms involved in analysing response-outcome events. These concepts were related to signal detection theory (SDT) and the predictions were that d’ and/or beta would vary as a function of helplessness exposure. In contrast, noncognitive hypotheses (Costello, 1978; Roth, 1975) do not predict that any differences would be reflected in either parameter. They merely stipulate that response factors are influenced by helplessness pre-treatment and do not require that any cognitive mechanisms be involved in producing the effects. Performance on a post-treatment orientation task was assessed using a SDT analysis following different helplessness pre-treatment. The analyses showed that neither d’ nor beta were affected by helplessness pre-treatment in the orientation task, even though the helplessness pre-treatment induced typical helplessness deficits in a parallel study using anagram solving as the post-treatment task. The only significant effects on the perceptual task were found in analyses of reaction times, with helpless individuals having faster responses. The results were most compatible with hypotheses suggesting that induced helplessness effects are the result of increasing levels of anxiety or arousal which affect performance factors such as responding time.
Corporate Parent Effect on Subsidiary Technology and Diversification Strategies

This paper examines the corporate parent effect on the diversification strategies of triad and Asian subsidiaries in the ASEAN region. I find that triad subsidiaries tend to participate in high technology intensive industries, and are more likely to diversify. In addition, I also find that the subsidiary diversification strategy is significantly affected by the number of affiliations under the same corporate parent that perform the same or different activities in the region. These results shed light on the influence of corporate parent on subsidiary-level strategy and the role of the subsidiary within an economically integrated region. Various implications are discussed.
Data-Sluice: Fine-grained traffic control for Android application

Android applications (apps) generate a consistent amount of data traffic. A noticeable share of this generated data traffic is used to convey third party advertisement, or to collect information about the user and its phone, generally with the target of profiling users. Such a traffic is not needed to the correct app execution and can be considered unwanted overhead. In this paper we propose Data-Sluice, a framework for Android devices which dynamically controls the connections opened by apps, enforcing fine grained policies designed to stop advertisement from altering the user experience, avoiding private data leakage and removing or strongly reducing the data traffic overhead. We apply Data-Sluice to a set of popular Android apps to analyze the generated traffic and removing the data overhead. Furthermore, we exploit Data-Sluice to successfully stop the action of a set of malicious apps.
The BASIC marketing planning process: a practical framework for the smaller business

Notes that although in recent years much has been written about the critical, if not overwhelming contribution of effective marketing planning to the achievement of competitive success, most of the literature deals with the application of marketing planning as it relates to big business. By contrast, provides an understanding of how all the key principles can be applied in the smaller business, in the form of a practical step‐by‐step framework for plan development.
Efektifitas Mekanisme Bonding: Kasus Perusahaan-Perusahaan yang Dikontrol Komisaris Independen

The management of the companies is expected to work at the interest of stockholders. To reduce the different interests such as agency problem between the management and stockholders, it is necessary to build an independent party that can monitor the performance of the management. This study examines the effectiveness of dividend and debt bonding for those companies listed on the JSX controlled by independent commissioners. The result of this study shows that the existence of the independent commissioners does not play important roles in minimizing the different interest (agency problem) between the two parties. Keywords: bonding, komisaris independen, hutang dan dividen
Analysis of pressure/flow characteristics in the female rat and their pharmacologic modulation

A new in vivo urodynamic animal model was developed to analyze the micturition characteristics of the rat. This model was used to study the modulating effect of pharmacological agents on vesicourethral function, using cystometry and uroflowmetry. Pressure‐flow studies were done in 25 female rats anesthetized with urethane. Filling cystometry was recorded using a physiological rate of bladder filling through transvesical infusion. Micturition characterization was done by identifying the time course and amount of voided volume. Voided volume was measured by a novel application of a mechanotransducer, which provided the data to measure flow rate and compute the voided volume‐time curve. Flow rate was calculated by differentiating the curve produced by the mechanotransducer. Using this system, comparative tests of pharmacological stimulus were done using anticholinergic stimulation, α1 blocker, and a new N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. The effects of the intravenous use of these drugs in the lower urinary tract were evaluated at various dose levels. The results showed that anticholinergic stimulation produced an increase of bladder capacity and decreases of detrusor pressure and maximum flow rate. Although the α1 blocker decreased detrusor pressure, flow rate did not change significantly. By contrast, NMDA receptor antagonism produced a depressant effect on bladder reflex contraction, and increased bladder capacity in a dose‐dependent way. However, maximum flow rate increased at a dose of 10 mg/kg and decreased at 30 mg/kg significantly. These results suggest that a decrease in flow resistance through the outlet region was due to the effects of NMDA receptor inhibition at lower doses. In conclusion, this model enables the evaluation of drugs regarding lower urinary tract function and provides in small animals the possibility of evaluating the relationships between pressure and flow in various experimental models. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Quality Adaptation of SVC-Based P 2 P Streaming

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) video streaming has become increasingly popular as it is a good enhancement to the traditional Clietn/Server methods in reducing cost and increasing robustness. However, streaming over P2P still suffers from lack of adaptation to the system dynamics. Scalable Video Coding (SVC) shows scalability in partial transmission and decoding. It can support heterogeneous devices in terms of communication bandwidth, display resolution, processing power, and other constraints. In this paper, we propose a P2P streaming architecture leveraging SVC and data scheduling to provide maximum quality adaptation. The proposed quality adaptation mechanisms allow for precise adaptation to device inherent resources limitations and the actual P2P network condition. Moreover, the architecture uses an underlay aware peer selection to improve the P2P overlay topology. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the quality adaptation of the proposed architecture.
Managing Corporate Visual Identity

Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) is a crucial part of the identity of any organization. Most research on managing corporate identity deals with the strategic development of corporate identity and the design and effects of specific elements of the CVI. This study focuses on an aspect of CVI management that has not received much attention—the problem of maintaining consistent use of the CVI in an organization. A comparison is made between manufacturing and service organizations, and between profit-making and nonprofit organizations. For these organization types, the perceived CVI consistency was investigated, as well as the organizational and CVI management characteristics and instruments affecting it. The research was conducted using questionnaires distributed among employees of 20 Dutch organizations. Most of the differences found were those between profit-making and nonprofit organizations. The results showed greater consistency in the CVI of profit-making organizations, in accordance with the amount of effort these organizations put into CVI management.
The Relationship between Audit Experience and Internal Audit Effectiveness in the Public Sector Organizations

Experience on organizational operations plays an important role in ensuring objective achievement of such organizations, likewise internal audit experience within an organizations contribute toward objective achievement of such organization. In line with this, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between audit experience and internal audit effectiveness in the public sector organiza- tions. The paper is a literature review paper and the paper concluded that audit experience can influence the effectiveness of internal auditors in the public sector organizations. The paper needs to be validated empirically.
Induced motion at texture–defined motion boundaries

When a static textured background is covered and uncovered by a moving bar of the same mean luminance we can clearly see the motion of the bar. Texture‐defined motion provides an example of a naturally occurring second‐order motion. Second‐order motion sequences defeat standard spatio‐temporal energy models of motion perception. It has been proposed that second‐order stimuli are analysed by separate systems, operating in parallel with luminance‐defined motion processing, which incorporate identifiable pre‐processing stages that make second‐order patterns visible to standard techniques. However, the proposal of multiple paths to motion analysis remains controversial. Here we describe the behaviour of a model that recovers both luminance‐defined and an important class of texture‐defined motion. The model also accounts for the induced motion that is seen in some texture‐defined motion sequences. We measured the perceived direction and speed of both the contrast envelope and induced motion in the case of a contrast modulation of static noise textures. Significantly, the model predicts the perceived speed of the induced motion seen at second‐order texture boundaries. The induced motion investigated here appears distinct from classical induced effects resulting from motion contrast or the movement of a reference frame.
[Role of beta-catenin signaling pathway in EMT of human prostate cancer induced by HIF-1alpha].

OBJECTIVE Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important process in tumor development. Several studies suggest that the beta-catenin signal pathway may play an important role in EMT. However, there is no direct evidence showing that this pathway actually determines the EMT induced by exogenous signal. Our previous study has successfully proved that over-expression of HIF-1alpha could induce EMT in LNCaP cells, but not in PC-3. So the present study was intended to indicate that the signal of HIF-1alpha for inducing prostate cancer cell to undergo EMT might pass through the beta-catenin pathway. METHODS Firstly, we analyzed the expression of HIF-1alpha and its target proteins in LNCaP/HIF1alpha and PC-3/HIF1alpha by Western blot. And then EMT-associated proteins were detected by Western blot. Furthermore the potency of invasiveness and proliferation of several cell lines were evaluated by transwell and MTT assay. Lastly the expressions of beta-catenin and GSK-3beta in these cells were analyzed by Western blot and RT-PCR. RESULTS HIF-1alpha, Glut-1 and VEGF were highly expressed in LNCaP/HIF1alpha and PC-3/HIF1alpha. And PC-3, LNCaP and PC-3/HIF1alpha were EMT-negative cell lines whereas LNCaP/HIF1alpha and IA8 had undergone EMT process. LNCaP/HIF1alpha, IA8 and PC-3/HIF1alpha exhibited a much stronger potency of invasiveness and proliferation than those of PC-3 and LNCaP. The protein levels of total GSK-3beta and phospho-GSK-3beta in LNCaP/HIF1alpha, IA8 and PC-3/HIF1alpha cells significantly decreased; however, the relative ratios of p-GSK3beta/t-GSK3beta increased. Consistently, beta-catenin protein expression increased in LNCaP/HIF1alpha and IA8 cells, but not in PC-3/HIF1alpha; RT-PCR confirmed these results, except for an enhanced transcription activity of beta-catenin mRNA in PC-3/HIF1alpha. CONCLUSION The activation of the beta-catenin signaling pathway correlates with the characteristic of EMT and potency of invasiveness and proliferation. And it may be one critical factor directly controlling the process of EMT induced by HIF-1alpha in prostate cancer.
Global Positioning System

Global Positioning System by Jacquelyne Ta The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navi­ gation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. GPS was originally intended for military applications. It was de­ signed to assist soldiers and military vehicles, planes, and ships in accurately determining their locations world-wide. However, in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civil­ ian use. Civilian applications are evolving and expanding constantly. To­ day, the uses of GPS have extended to include both the com­ mercial and scientific worlds. Commercially, GPS is used as a navigation and positioning tool in airplanes, boats, cars, and most outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, and kayaking. In the scientific community, GPS plays an important role in the earth sciences. Meteorologists use GPS for weather
Post Asian Crisis Experience on Bank Efficiency and Competition

The transformation in Asian banking came with the aim to recover and improve the banking system performance and soundness. The structural changes in SEA has improved the region banking industry performances and brought significant effects through the regulatory changes as it spur a trend towards consolidation, resulting in the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions. This study investigates the impact of post crisis (1997 – 2005) banking reform on competition and performance of the banking system. Competition level is assessed by employing Panzar and Rosse methodology, while the efficiency is evaluated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) that adjusted to allow slack or surpluses due to the environment variables. Our analysis shows that the region has successfully transformed the banking sectors as the efficiency indicates score displays positive changes. However the relation between efficiency and competition may not be a straightforward impact.
A CRX null mutation is associated with both Leber congenital amaurosis and a normal ocular phenotype.

PURPOSE To identify and characterize new cone rod homeobox (CRX) mutations associated with the Leber congenital amaurosis phenotype. METHODS The human CRX gene was sequenced in 74 consecutive patients carrying the diagnosis of Leber congenital amaurosis. RESULTS Two mutations were identified in CRX that cause frameshifts and predict severe truncations of the encoded protein. One of these, a 1-bp insertion, spares only nine N-terminal amino acids, removing the homeodomain, WSP motif, and conserved OTX domain at the C terminus. Of the CRX mutations described in the literature, this is the first that convincingly represents a null allele of the gene. Although the patient heterozygous for this null allele is affected with Leber congenital amaurosis, it was surprising that her father, who had normal vision, was heterozygous for the same mutation. CONCLUSIONS These results strongly suggest that haploinsufficiency of CRX is not sufficient to cause a retinal disorder. Loss of function alleles of CRX appear to cause Leber congenital amaurosis through a recessive or multigenic mechanism.