Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Information Technology (IT) Identity: A Conceptualization, Proposed Measures, and Research Agenda.

ion, e.g. addressing identity issues and IT use from a platform-dev elopment perspective. VI. CONCLUSION Identity is an important concept and the relationship between IT and identity needs to be explored further, since ITs have become an essential component of the interactions in which identities are constructed. To this end, we conducted an explorator y study of young adults’ interactions with their mobile phones to discover whether young adults’ personal identities are shaped through their interactions with these de vic s. Based on our findings, in consultation with relevant literature, we conceptualized mobile phone identity as having three interrelated dimensions that vary based on the meanings y ou adults attribute to their mobile phone use. Our findings imply that mobile phone identity is developed over time, as individuals’ interactions with their mobile phones become embedded in their daily lives. Further, we found that acting in ways that are congruent with the self-meanings attached to mobile phone use fosters a positive sense of se lf in young adults that can, in turn, affect the way they perceive, and interact with, t he world around them. On this basis, we suggested potential opportunities for future studies to advance research on IT and identity beyond the context of young adults and mobile phones. Developing understanding of the meanings individuals’ attach to the self in
Phonology in Teacher Education in Nigeria: The Igbo Language Example

The goals of education cannot be achieved without language. Language is actively involved in the production of qualified teachers who will teach at various levels of the educational system. Furthermore, linguistics is the area of study that is concerned with objective and empirical study of language, and phonology undoubtedly is a crucial aspect of this set up. This paper addresses the issues of phonological facilitation and interference in both teacher training and general education in sub-Saharan Africa. These phonological phenomena are critically examined as they feature in Igbo, one of the major African languages, spoken predominantly in South-Eastern Nigeria. The sound system of Igbo influences that of the English of the native Igbo speakers. Therefore, this paper recommends that the language instructor should focus on the variations in the English of the native Igbo speakers in order to achieve a near Standard English by the Igbo speakers of English.
T Follicular Helper Cells As a New Target for Immunosuppressive Therapies

Over the past decade, antibody-mediated (humoral) rejection has been recognized as a common cause of graft dysfunction after organ transplantation and an important determinant for graft loss. In humoral alloimmunity, T follicular helper (Tfh) cells play a crucial role, because they help naïve B cells to differentiate into memory B cells and alloantibody-producing plasma cells within germinal centers. In this way, they contribute to the induction of donor-specific antibodies, which are responsible for the humoral immune response to the allograft. In this article, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on the effects of immunosuppressive therapies on Tfh cell development and function, and discuss possible new approaches to influence the activity of Tfh cells. In addition, we discuss the potential use of Tfh cells as a pharmacodynamic biomarker to improve alloimmune-risk stratification and tailoring of immunosuppression to individualize therapy after transplantation.
Development by Decree: The Limits of ‘Authoritarian Modernization’ in the Russian Federation

The apparent success of state-managed market economies has challenged the conventional wisdom that liberal democracy is the norm around which all capitalist countries tend to converge. If the link between democracy and development is more tenuous than we often think, the authoritarian variety of capitalism is not without its own problems, especially with respect to political legitimacy, innovation and regional development. This article explores these issues through the prism of ‘authoritarian modernization’ in Russia. We argue that this strategy is unlikely to succeed, even in its own terms, because (1) the political system fails to create favourable institutional conditions for modernization; (2) the economic system is beset by deeply embedded structural problems; and (3) the regional policy apparatus is torn between the goals of spatial equalization and spatial agglomeration. The article focuses on the Skolkovo Innovation Centre, the main symbol of Russian modernization, to demonstrate the territorial repertoire of the mega-project, a state-sponsored development strategy to create innovation clusters from above because they cannot emerge from below.
A new estimation method for the semiparametric accelerated failure time mixture cure model

The proportional hazard (PH) mixture cure model and the accelerated failure time (AFT) mixture cure model are usually used in analysing failure time data with long‐term survivors. However, the semiparametric AFT mixture cure model has attracted less attention than the semiparametric PH mixture cure model because of the complexity of its estimation method. In this paper, we propose a new estimation method for the semiparametric AFT mixture cure model. This method employs the EM algorithm and the rank estimator of the AFT model to estimate the parameters of interest. The M‐step in the EM algorithm, which incorporates the rank‐like estimating equation, can be carried out easily using the linear programming method. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we conduct a simulation study. The results of the simulation study demonstrate that the proposed method performs better than the existing estimation method and the semiparametric AFT mixture cure model improves the identifiability of the parameters in comparison to the parametric AFT mixture cure model. To illustrate, we apply the model and the proposed method to a data set of failure times from bone marrow transplant patients. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Silibinin inhibits hepatitis C virus entry into hepatocytes by hindering clathrin‐dependent trafficking

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health concern infecting 170 million people worldwide. Previous studies indicate that the extract from milk thistle known as silymarin and its main component silibinin inhibit HCV infection. Here we investigated the mechanism of anti‐HCV action ofsilymarin‐derived compounds at the molecular level. By using live‐cell confocal imaging, single particle tracking, transmission electron microscopy and biochemical approaches on HCV‐infected human hepatoma cells and primary hepatocytes, we show that silibinin potently inhibits HCV infection and hinders HCV entry by slowing down trafficking through clathrin‐coated pits and vesicles. Detailed analyses revealed that silibinin altered the formation of both clathrin‐coated pits and vesicles in cells and caused abnormal uptake and trafficking of transferrin, a well‐known cargo of the clathrin endocytic pathway. Silibinin also inhibited infection by other viruses that enter cells by clathrin‐mediated endocytosis including reovirus, vesicular stomatitis and influenza viruses. Our study demonstrates that silibinin inhibits HCV early steps of infection by affecting endosomal trafficking of virions. It provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of action of silibinin against HCV entry and also suggests that silibinin is a potential broad‐spectrum antiviral therapy.
Obama's Online Success and European Party Organizations: Adoption and Adaptation of U.S. Online Practices in the Norwegian Labor Party

ABSTRACT The article addresses the influence of U.S. online campaign practices on West-European party organizations. The empirical case is the Norwegian Labor Party: To what extent did Labor adopt the online practices of the Obama campaign, and in what sense was the online strategy adapted to fit existing campaign and organizational structures? Based on the diffusion of technology and a hybridization perspective on campaign change, it is suggested that the literature on political parties and the network party model in particular is helpful to understand this process. The findings show that the Norwegian Labor Party was highly influenced by Obama's online campaign and U.S. online practices. However, the practices were adjusted to an existing campaign style and organizational structure. Moreover, an essential part of the online strategy was a thematic network structure that aimed to lower the threshold for participation and thereby engage and activate party members, as well as recruit new members. Hence, U.S. campaign practices diffuse to Norwegian electoral politics, and the adopted U.S. practices are implemented based on the ideals of the network party.
Association between the metabolic syndrome and high tumor grade and stage of primary urothelial cell carcinoma of the bladder.

PURPOSE To compare histopathologic findings of patients who underwent transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR-B) between groups with and without the metabolic syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed data of 535 patients who underwent TUR-B in our department between October 2005 and March 2011. All patients had primary urethelial cell carcinoma (UCB). Histologic stage, grade, the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, HDL and trigliseride levels were evaluated. The TNM classification was used, with Ta tumor accepted as lower stage and T1 and T2 tumors as higher stage bladder cancers. Also, the pathological grading adopted by the 2004 World Health Organization grading system were applied. Non-invasive papillary urothelial neoplasms of low malignant potential were regarded as low grade. RESULTS Among the total of 509 patients analyzed in our study, there were 439 males (86.2%) and 70 females (13.8%). Metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with high histologic grade, and high pathologic stage (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The patients with metabolic syndrome were found to have statistically significant higher T stage and grade of bladder cancer. Further studies with more patients are needed to confirm our study.
Perceived organizational support, employee health and emotions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine work‐related emotion as a mechanism explaining the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and employee physical health.Design/methodology/approach – Study participants were employees at a large Canadian health care organization (n=72). A survey methodology was utilized.Findings – POS was positively related to physical health. Negative emotion fully mediated this relationship between POS and health, and positive emotion was found to partially mediate this relationship.Research limitations/implications – Cross sectional survey data is one potential limitation. Findings suggest that further investigation of the links between POS, positive and negative job‐related emotion and physical health would be a fruitful avenue of research.Practical implications – Organizations can increase POS through actions that have been investigated in past research. Increasing POS would appear to be one avenue that an organization can utilize to positively inf.
Enhancement of Antimycotic Activity of Amphotericin B by Targeting the Oxidative Stress Response of Candida and Cryptococcus with Natural Dihydroxybenzaldehydes

In addition to the fungal cellular membrane, the cellular antioxidant system can also be a viable target in the antifungal action of amphotericin B (AMB). Co-application of certain redox-potent natural compounds with AMB actually increases efficacy of the drug through chemosensitization. Some redox-potent chemosensitizers and AMB perturb common cellular targets, resulting in synergistic inhibition of fungal growth. Chemosensitizing activities of four redox-potent benzaldehydes were tested against clinical and reference strains of Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, and Cryptococcus neoformans in combination with AMB, based on assays outlined by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing. Two dihydroxybenzaldehydes (DHBAs), i.e., 2,3-DHBA and 2,5-DHBA, significantly enhanced activity of AMB against most strains, as measured by lower minimum inhibitory concentrations and/or minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs). A non-hydroxylated benzaldehyde, trans-cinnamaldehyde, showed chemosensitizing activity through lower MFCs, only. Contrastingly, a methoxylated benzaldehyde (3,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde) had no chemosensitizing activity, as all strains were hypertolerant to this compound. Bioassays using deletion mutants of the model yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, indicated DHBAs exerted their chemosensitizing activity by targeting mitochondrial superoxide dismutase. This targeting, in turn, disrupted the ability of the yeast strains to respond to AMB-induced oxidative stress. These in vitro results indicate that certain DHBAs are potent chemosensitizing agents to AMB through co-disruption of the oxidative stress response capacity of yeasts. Such redox-potent compounds show promise for enhancing AMB-based antifungal therapy for candidiasis and cryptococcosis.
Framework for inter-operative e-Procurement marketplace

Pre-award is an important phase of overall processes in e-Procurement. This research work is based on project VortalWay and IMAGINE which made an extensive study to address interoperability between e-procurement platforms. This paper aims at presenting a theoretical model and implementation strategy to connect independent procurement platforms to form a common e-marketplace with least possible efforts within the scope of the pre-award business process. This paper presents a formal framework for realization of inter-operative marketplaces for e-procurement platforms along with implementation of prototype application for easy flow of messages during various processes of pre-award phase.
Non‐Local Sparse and Low‐Rank Regularization for Structure‐Preserving Image Smoothing

This paper presents a new image smoothing method that better preserves prominent structures. Our method is inspired by the recent non‐local image processing techniques on the patch grouping and filtering. Overall, it has three major contributions over previous works. First, we employ the diffusion map as the guidance image to improve the accuracy of patch similarity estimation using the region covariance descriptor. Second, we model structure‐preserving image smoothing as a low‐rank matrix recovery problem, aiming at effectively filtering the texture information in similar patches. Lastly, we devise an objective function, namely the weighted robust principle component analysis (WRPCA), by regularizing the low rank with the weighted nuclear norm and sparsity pursuit with L1 norm, and solve this non‐convex WRPCA optimization problem by adopting the alternative direction method of multipliers (ADMM) technique. We experiment our method with a wide variety of images and compare it against several state‐of‐the‐art methods. The results show that our method achieves better structure preservation and texture suppression as compared to other methods. We also show the applicability of our method on several image processing tasks such as edge detection, texture enhancement and seam carving.
FPGA Implementation of a HOG-based Pedestrian Recognition System

With respect to road crash statistics, on-board pedestrian detection is a key task for future advanced driver assistance systems. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a realtime pedestrian recognition system that combines FPGA-based extraction of image features with a CPU-based object localization and classification framework. In terms of features, we have implemented the Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) descriptor that is state-of-the-art in the field of human detection from a moving camera. While past HOG-related publications presented simplified FPGA-based HOG variants, often sacrificing classification performance, we implemented the original descriptor with minor modifications on dedicated hardware. Evaluation on the INRIA pedestrian database shows potential for deploying the system in practice. The descriptor computation runs on a PCIe frame grabber with embedded FPGA that can be directly integrated into an automotive computer of a test vehicle for evaluation purposes.
Diagnosis and Management of Waldenström Macroglobulinemia: Mayo Stratification of Macroglobulinemia and Risk-Adapted Therapy (mSMART) Guidelines 2016

Importance Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), an IgM-associated lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, has witnessed several practice-altering advances in recent years. With availability of a wider array of therapies, the management strategies have become increasingly complex. Our multidisciplinary team appraised studies published or presented up to December 2015 to provide consensus recommendations for a risk-adapted approach to WM, using a grading system. Observations Waldenström macroglobulinemia remains a rare, incurable cancer, with a heterogeneous disease course. The major classes of effective agents in WM include monoclonal antibodies, alkylating agents, purine analogs, proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors. However, the highest-quality evidence from rigorously conducted randomized clinical trials remains scant. Conclusions and Relevance Recognizing the paucity of data, we advocate participation in clinical trials, if available, at every stage of WM. Specific indications exist for initiation of therapy. Outside clinical trials, based on the synthesis of available evidence, we recommend bendamustine-rituximab as primary therapy for bulky disease, profound hematologic compromise, or constitutional symptoms attributable to WM. Dexamethasone-rituximab-cyclophosphamide is an alternative, particularly for nonbulky WM. Routine rituximab maintenance should be avoided. Plasma exchange should be promptly initiated before cytoreduction for hyperviscosity-related symptoms. Stem cell harvest for future use may be considered in first remission for patients 70 years or younger who are potential candidates for autologous stem cell transplantation. At relapse, retreatment with the original therapy is reasonable in patients with prior durable responses (time to next therapy ≥3 years) and good tolerability to previous regimen. Ibrutinib is efficacious in patients with relapsed or refractory disease harboring MYD88 L265P mutation. In the absence of neuropathy, a bortezomib-rituximab–based option is reasonable for relapsed or refractory disease. In select patients with chemosensitive disease, autologous stem cell transplantation should be considered at first or second relapse. Everolimus and purine analogs are suitable options for refractory or multiply relapsed WM. Our recommendations are periodically updated as new, clinically relevant information emerges.
On the KK-theory of strongly self-absorbing C*-algebras

Let $\Dh$ and $A$ be unital and separable $C^{*}$-algebras; let $\Dh$ be strongly self-absorbing. It is known that any two unital $^*$-homomorphisms from $\Dh$ to $A \otimes \Dh$ are approximately unitarily equivalent. We show that, if $\Dh$ is also $K_{1}$-injective, they are even asymptotically unitarily equivalent. This in particular implies that any unital endomorphism of $\Dh$ is asymptotically inner. Moreover, the space of automorphisms of $\Dh$ is compactly-contractible (in the point-norm topology) in the sense that for any compact Hausdorff space $X$, the set of homotopy classes $[X,\Aut(\Dh)]$ reduces to a point. The respective statement holds for the space of unital endomorphisms of $\Dh$. As an application, we give a description of the Kasparov group $KK(\Dh, A\ot \Dh)$ in terms of $^*$-homomorphisms and asymptotic unitary equivalence. Along the way, we show that the Kasparov group $KK(\Dh, A\ot \Dh)$ is isomorphic to $K_0(A\ot \Dh)$.
Borrelia-infection rates in tick and insect vectors accompanying human risk of acquiring Lyme borreliosis in a highly endemic region in Central Europe.

The methods of spatial statistics were applied to assess the geographical pattern of risk of Lyme borreliosis in Central Bohemia, the Czech Republic, based on retrospective data on disease contractions. The statistical risk was then compared at 15 selected localities with the infection challenge presented by ticks and insects carrying borreliae. Over 5,000 Ixodes ricinus (L.) ticks and 390 haematophagous dipterans were screened by direct immunofluorescence method, and the spatial and seasonal variance of infection rates were studied. Infected ticks were found at each locality throughout the warm season; in nymphs, sample infection rates ranged from 4.9% to 23.1% with a mean of 14.5% in spring, from 7.7% to 28.7% with a mean of 16.1% in summer, and from 7% to 20.6% with a mean of 13.6% in autumn. The statistical risk was found to correlate well with an average nymphal infection challenge, i.e. I. ricinus nymphal abundance x infection rate, at a given locality. Statistically significant cumulation of insect-history recalling patients into several, generally wetland, areas was ascertained; borreliae were revealed in 0.5% of the dipterans examined.
Leader behavior impact on staff nurse empowerment, job tension, and work effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE The authors tested a model linking specific leader-empowering behaviors to staff nurse perceptions of workplace empowerment, occupational stress, and work effectiveness in a recently-merged Canadian acute care hospital. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA An integration of Kanter's organizational empowerment theory and Conger and Kunungo's model of the leader empowerment process constituted the theoretical framework for the study. Few published studies were found in which specific leader behaviors were linked empirically to staff nurses' workplace empowerment. METHODS Staff nurses (n = 537) were surveyed shortly after a merger of two large tertiary hospitals. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the proposed model. RESULTS Leader-empowering behaviors significantly influenced employees perceptions of formal and informal power and access to empowerment structures (information support, resources, and opportunity). Higher perceived access to empowerment structures predicted lower levels of job tension and increased work effectiveness. The amount of explained variance in the final model was 42%. CONCLUSIONS Support for the model tested in this study highlights the importance of nurse managers' leadership behaviors within current turbulent healthcare organizations.
Narcolepsy and low CSF orexin (hypocretin) concentration after a diencephalic stroke

Idiopathic narcolepsy usually results from a loss of the hypothalamic neuropeptide orexin (hypocretin), but the cause of secondary narcolepsy resulting from focal brain lesions is unknown. The authors describe a young man who developed narcolepsy after a large hypothalamic stroke. His lesion included much of the hypothalamic region in which orexin is produced, and his CSF concentration of orexin was low. The authors hypothesize that a loss of orexin neurons or their relevant targets may be the specific neuropathology causing this and many other cases of secondary narcolepsy.