Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fostering Values in Organizations

Today, values hold a prominent place both in business ethics and in organization theory. However, there persists considerable confusion about what these values are and what role they play in these theories and, therefore, how they can be developed both within the individual and within the organization. Therefore, this paper seeks to define a conception of values based on a theory of human action that can provide a basis for an organization theory, and to propose a series of ideas about how personal and organizational values can be fostered.
The Effects of Unions on Research and Development: An Empirical Analysis Using Multi-Year Data

The paper tests for a link between unionization and research and development rates (research and development expenditures divided by output) in thirteen aggregate Canadian industries. A balanced panel of thirteen industries covering 1968 to 1986 reveals a negative relationship between industry unionization rates and research and development. The results hold when using a number of techniques to control for unobserved industry heterogeneity and non-linear responses to unionization. In an industry that moves from the 25th to the 75th percentile of unionization, research and development is predicted to fall by about 40%.
Human T Cell and Antibody-Mediated Responses to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Recombinant 85A, 85B, and ESAT-6 Antigens

Tuberculosis remains a major health problem throughout the world causing large number of deaths. Effective disease control and eradication programs require the identification of major antigens recognized by the protective responses against M. tuberculosis. In this study, we have investigated humoral and cellular immune responses to M. tuberculosis-specific Ag85A, Ag85B, and ESAT-6 antigens in Brazilian patients with pulmonary (P, n = 13) or extrapulmonary (EP, n = 12) tuberculosis, patients undergoing chemotherapy (PT, n = 23), and noninfected healthy individuals (NI, n = 7). Compared to NI, we observed increased levels of IgG1 responses to Ag85B and ESAT-6 in P and PT groups. Regarding cellular immunity, Ag85A and ESAT-6 were able to discriminate P, PT, and EP patients from healthy individuals by IFN-γ production and P and PT groups from EP individuals by production of TNF-α. In summary, these findings demonstrate the ability of Ag85A, Ag85B, and ESAT-6 to differentiate TB patients from controls by IgG1, IFN-γ and TNF-α production.
Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Viroporin 2B Antagonizes RIG-I-Mediated Antiviral Effects by Inhibition of Its Protein Expression

ABSTRACT The role of retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)-infected cells remains unknown. Here, we showed that RIG-I inhibits FMDV replication in host cells. FMDV infection increased the transcription of RIG-I, while it decreased RIG-I protein expression. A detailed analysis revealed that FMDV leader proteinase (Lpro), as well as 3C proteinase (3Cpro) and 2B protein, decreased RIG-I protein expression. Lpro and 3Cpro are viral proteinases that can cleave various host proteins and are responsible for several of the viral polyprotein cleavages. However, for the first time, we observed 2B-induced reduction of host protein. Further studies showed that 2B-mediated reduction of RIG-I is specific to FMDV, but not other picornaviruses, including encephalomyocarditis virus, enterovirus 71, and coxsackievirus A16. Moreover, we found the decreased protein level of RIG-I is independent of the cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma, the induction of cellular apoptosis, or the association of proteasome, lysosome, and caspase pathways. A direct interaction was observed between RIG-I and 2B. The carboxyl-terminal amino acids 105 to 114 and amino acids 135 to 144 of 2B were essential for the reduction of RIG-I, while residues 105 to 114 were required for the interaction. These data suggest the antiviral role of RIG-I against FMDV and a novel antagonistic mechanism of FMDV that is mediated by 2B protein. IMPORTANCE This study demonstrated that RIG-I could suppress FMDV replication during virus infection. FMDV infection increased the transcriptional expression of RIG-I, while it decreased RIG-I protein expression. FMDV 2B protein interacted with RIG-I and induced reduction of RIG-I. 2B-induced reduction of RIG-I was independent of the induction of the cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma or cellular apoptosis. In addition, proteasome, lysosome, and caspase pathways were not involved in this process. This study provides new insight into the immune evasion mediated by FMDV and identifies 2B as an antagonistic factor for FMDV to evade the antiviral response.
The Gendered Bureaucracy

Abstract The implementation of equal opportunity policies across governmental bureaucracies has not uniformly advanced the interests of men, women and minorities therein. This paper examines this common occurrence of the unequal outcomes associated with equal opportunity policies. Political scientists have an abiding interest in equal employment opportunity and affirmative action policies and procedures in governmental agencies because these are a principal means of achieving demographic and substantive representation in government. We find the prevailing approach to analyzing these equal opportunity policies rather inadequate–and, indeed, perhaps even part of the larger problem. We propose a new conceptual framework, one that moves beyond conventional demographic (passive) representation to a consideration of substantive (active) representation. The constraints of moving from demographic representational bureaucracy to substantive representational bureaucracy are examined as we integrate institutional and policy analysis perspectives in our consideration of the gendered bureaucracy.
Machine Learning-Based Malware Detection for Android Applications: History Matters!

Machine Learning-based malware detection is a promising scalable method for identifying suspicious applications. In particular, in today’s mobile computing realm where thousands of applications are daily poured into markets, such a technique could be valuable to guarantee a strong filtering of malicious apps. The success of machine-learning approaches however is highly dependent on (1) the quality of the datasets that are used for training and of (2) the appropriateness of the tested datasets with regards to the built classifiers. Unfortunately, there is scarce mention of these aspects in the evaluation of existing state-of-the-art approaches in the literature. In this paper, we consider the relevance of history in the construction of datasets, to highlight its impact on the performance of the malware detection scheme. Typically, we show that simply picking a random set of known malware to train a malware detector, as it is done in most assessment scenarios from the literature, yields significantly biased results. In the process of assessing the extent of this impact through various experiments, we were also able to confirm a number of intuitive assumptions about Android malware. For instance, we discuss the existence of Android malware lineages and how they could impact the performance of malware detection in the wild.
Block-sequential update schedules and Boolean automata circuits

Our work is set in the framework of complex dynamical systems and, more precisely, that of Boolean automata networks modeling regulation networks. We study how the choice of an update schedule impacts on the dynamics of such a network. To do this, we explain how studying the dynamics of any network updated with an arbitrary block-sequential update schedule can be reduced to the study of the dynamics of a different network updated in parallel. We give special attention to networks whose underlying structure is a circuit, that is, Boolean automata circuits. These particular and simple networks are known to serve as the "engines'' of the dynamics of arbitrary regulation networks containing them as sub-networks in that they are responsible for their variety of dynamical behaviours. We give both the number of attractors of period $p$, $\forall p\in \mathbb{N}$ and the total number of attractors in the dynamics of Boolean automata circuits updated with any block-sequential update schedule. We also detail the variety of dynamical behaviours that such networks may exhibit according to the update schedule.
Autologous Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Associated with Tantalum Rod Implantation and Vascularized Iliac Grafting for the Treatment of End-Stage Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Tantalum rod implantation with vascularized iliac grafting has been reported to be an effective method for the treatment of young patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) to avert the need for total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, there have been unsatisfactory success rates for end-stage ONFH. The authors describe a modified technique using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) associated with porous tantalum rod implantation combined with vascularized iliac grafting for the treatment of end-stage ONFH. A total of 24 patients (31 hips) with end-stage ONFH were treated with surgery; ARCO IIIc stage was observed in 19 hips and ARCO IV stage was observed in 12 hips. All patients were followed for a mean time of 64.35 ± 13.03 months (range 26–78). Operations on only five hips were converted to THA. The joint-preserving success rate of the entire group was 89.47% for ARCO stage IIIc and 75% for ARCO stage IV. The mean Harris hip score of the 31 hips improved significantly from 38.74 ± 5.88 points (range 22–50) to 77.23 ± 14.75 points (range 33–95). This intervention was safe and effective in delaying or avoiding total hip replacement for end-stage ONFH.
Iterative data detection and channel estimation for single-parity check-product coded MIMO wireless communications system

In iterative data-detection and channel-estimation algorithms, the channel estimator and the data detector recursively exchange the information order to improve the system performance. In this paper, maximum a posteriori based iterative data detection and pilot symbol assisted channel estimation of the single parity check product code for multiple antenna wireless communication is studied. Results show the algorithm can converge at a few iteration numbers and improve error probability performance of the system.
[Dental anxiety in an emergency dental service].

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the study was to assess the frequency of dental anxiety and/or fear among patients in an emergency dental service. METHODS Research was based on interviews with 252 patients, aged 18 years old and over, attended at an emergency dentistry service of São Paulo, Brazil, from August to November, 2001. Two methods were used to measure dental anxiety: the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and the Gatchel Fear Scale. The study group answered questions concerning major complaint, how much time had elapsed since their last visit to the dentist and since the initial symptoms leading to the current visit to the emergency service, level of education, family income and previous traumas. Statistical analysis (chi2 and Fisher exact test) was performed to evaluate these characteristics. RESULTS It was found that 28.17% of this sample was dentally anxious, according to the MDAS, and 14.29%, felt fear related to dental treatment according to the Gatchel Fear Scale. Women were more anxious than men at a statistically significant rate (MDAS). The time elapsed since the onset of initial symptoms was more than 7 days for 44.44% of the participants. A large proportion of anxious women returned to treatment during the last year. A previous traumatic experience with dental was identified in 46.48% of the dentally anxious patients. No significant relation between level of education or income and dental anxiety was found. CONCLUSIONS Dentally anxious patients frequent attend emergency care. Females are more likely to report high dental anxiety than males. Previous experience seems to be an important factor contributing to avoidance of dental care.
Evaluation and improvement of global pose estimation with multiple AprilTags for industrial manipulators

Given the advancing importance for light-weight production materials an increase in automation is crucial. This paper presents a prototypical setup to obtain a precise pose estimation for an industrial manipulator in a realistic production environment. We show the achievable precision using only a standard fiducial marker system (AprilTag) and a state-of-the art camera attached to the robot. The results obtained in a typical working space of a robot cell of about 4.5m × 4.5m are in the range of 15mm to 35mm compared to ground truth provided by a laser tracker. We then show several methods of reducing this error by applying state-of-the-art optimization techniques, which reduce the error significantly to less than 10mm compared to the laser tracker ground truth data and at the same time remove e×isting outliers.
Silent myocardial ischemia in prediabetics in relation to insulin resistance

Background: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a powerful diagnostic and prognostic tool for evaluating coronary artery disease (CAD). Several studies have shown Type 2 diabetics are at increased risk for having CAD. In addition, insulin resistance is generally considered to be of major importance in the pathophysiology of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the area of screening prediabetics for CAD remains unclear. Given that glucose intolerance and insulin resistance precede the development of overt diabetes, these factors would be associated with CAD. Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the state of myocardial perfusion in prediabetic adults detected by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in relation to insulin resistance. Patients and Methods: A descriptive study was performed. Out of 113 consecutive prediabetic adults, 32 had insulin resistance (Group A) and 81 had insulin sensitivity (Group B). All were subjected to full medical history and clinical examination including blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index. Biochemical studies including lipids profile, fasting blood glucose, and homeostasis model assessments (HOMA) test. Exercise treadmill technetium (99mTC) sestamibi SPECT scintigraphy were done for assessment of myocardial perfusion assessed by summed difference score as well as occurrence of transient left ventricular dilatation. Results: Significant increase in summed difference score as well as transient left ventricular dilatation was observed in Group A than Group B. It is correlated with insulin resistance, and the correlation appears to be independent of glucose tolerance status and obesity. Similar correlations were observed with age, triglycerides, and waist circumference. Conclusion: Prediabetics have myocardial perfusion defects which represent a pattern of cardiovascular risk. These are predominantly observed in prediabetics with increased HOMA IR and visceral obesity independent of glucose levels.
Information Technology and Farm Households in Niger

This technical report seeks to understand the impact of improved access to information technology on farmers’ agricultural production and marketing practices in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Niger. Related research suggests in that access to mobile telephony can reduce communication and search costs, thereby increasing rural households’ access to price and labor market information. Reducing information asymmetries should, in theory, allow households to better respond to shocks. We find that increased access to a mobile phone via an adult education program increases the diversity of crops planted, particularly marginal cash crops grown by women. This also increases the likelihood that these cash crops are grown, but does not increase the farm-gate price received.
Association between Impulsivity and Weight Status in a General Population

The objective of this study is to examine the association between impulsivity and weight status in a large sample of the adult general population in France, and the influence of gender on this relationship. A total of 11,929 men and 39,114 women participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort were selected in this cross-sectional analysis. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) was used to assess impulsivity. Weight and height were self-reported. The association between impulsivity and BMI was estimated using logistic regressions adjusted for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. Individuals with high impulsivity levels (BIS-11 total score >71) were more likely to be obese (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.80, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.39, 2.33 in men; OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.48 in women) compared to individuals in the average range of impulsivity. The strongest associations between impulsivity and obesity were observed in men, where highly impulsive participants were more likely to be class III obese (BMI > 40 kg/m2) (OR = 3.57, 95% CI: 1.86, 6.85). This large sample analysis supports the existence of a relationship between impulsivity and weight status and the importance of psychological factors in the prevention of obesity.
Direct address translation for virtual memory in energy-efficient embedded systems

This article presents a methodology for virtual memory support in energy-efficient embedded systems. A holistic approach is proposed, where the combined efforts of compiler, operating system, and hardware architecture achieve a significant system power reductions. The application information extracted and analyzed by the compiler is utilized dynamically by the microarchitecture and the operating system to perform energy-efficient and, for many memory references, time-deterministic address translations. We demonstrate that by using application information regarding virtual memory layout, an efficient and conflict-free translation process can be implemented through the utilization of a small hardware direct translation table (DTT) accessed in an application-specific manner. The set of virtual pages is partitioned into groups, such that for each group only a few of the least significant bits are used as an index to obtain the physical page number. We outline an efficient compile-time algorithm for identifying these groups and allocate their translation entries optimally into the DTT. The introduced hardware is minimal in terms of area, performance, and power overhead, while offering the flexibility of software programmability. This is achieved through a small set of registers and tables, which are made software accessible. We have quantitatively evaluated the proposed methodology on a number of embedded applications, including voice, image, and video processing.
Why they persist: Exploring the educational experiences of adult women currently enrolled part time at a Midwest community college

The purpose of this study was to describe, interpret, and analyze the educational experiences and factors contributing to the decision to persist for adult, female, part-time students currently enrolled at a community college in the Midwest. This study sought to expand the research on student retention by describing the perspectives of adult female students who are enrolled part time at a community college in the Midwest. Through the guiding framework of feminist standpoint theory this study described, interpreted, and analyzed the educational experiences of the adult female participants.
Tissue-Specific Effects of Bariatric Surgery Including Mitochondrial Function

A better understanding of the molecular links between obesity and disease is potentially of great benefit for society. In this paper we discuss proposed mechanisms whereby bariatric surgery improves metabolic health, including acute effects on glucose metabolism and long-term effects on metabolic tissues (adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and liver) and mitochondrial function. More short-term randomized controlled trials should be performed that include simultaneous measurement of metabolic parameters in different tissues, such as tissue gene expression, protein profile, and lipid content. By directly comparing different surgical procedures using a wider array of metabolic parameters, one may further unravel the mechanisms of aberrant metabolic regulation in obesity and related disorders.
An Expansion of a Poset Hierarchy Mirna Džamonja and

This article extends a paper of Abraham and Bonnet which gener-alised the famous Hausdorff characterisation of the class of scattered linear orders. Abraham and Bonnet gave a poset hierarchy that characterised the class of scattered posets which do not have infinite antichains (abbreviated FAC for finite antichain condition). An an-tichain here is taken in the sense of incomparability. We define a larger poset hierarchy than that of Abraham and Bonnet, to include a broader class of " scattered " posets that we call κ-scattered. These posets cannot embed any order such that for every two subsets of size < κ, one being strictly less than the other, there is an element in between. If a linear order has this property and has size κ we call this set Q(κ). Such a set only exists when κ <κ = κ. Partial orders with the property that for every a < b the set {x : a < x < b} has size ≥ κ are called weakly κ-dense, and partial orders that do not have a weakly κ-dense subset are called strongly κ-scattered. We prove that our hierarchy includes all strongly κ-scattered FAC posets, and that the hierarchy is included in the class of all FAC κ-scattered posets. In addition, we prove that our hierarchy is in fact the closure of the class of all κ-well-founded linear orders under inversions, lexicographic sums and FAC weakenings. For κ = ℵ 0 our hierarchy agrees with the one from the Abraham-Bonnet theorem. 1 1 The authors warmly thank Uri Abraham for his many useful suggestions and comments .
Behavioral Neuroscience

shrew has an impressive array of whiskers on its snout but very poor eyesight (Catania et al., 2008). Anjum et al. (2006) showed that Etruscan Shrews are highly dependent on their facial whiskers both for searching and directing attacks on their prey. More recently, it was found that the American Water Shrew uses tactile cues during underwater hunting which are likely whisker mediated (Catania et al., 2008). These behavioral observations are in agreement with physiological experiments, which have shown that large parts of sensory cortex are occupied by the S1 and S2 representations of the facial vibrissae (Catania, 2000; Roth-Alpermann et al., 2010). Currently, however, very little is known about how shrews use their whiskers during exploration and object recognition. Because of their small size, shrews make very quick movements and their whiskers are smaller and thinner than most rodents, making them difficult to visualize and track. However, in order to advance our understanding of tactile coding in the shrew whisker system, more detailed analysis of shrew whisker motion is needed. Here we used very small, light reflective tags and high-speed videography to track whisker motion during cricket hunting and capture. We combined this with body tracking to address the following questions: (i) Are the shrew's whiskers under active muscle control and do they periodically sweep their whiskers back and forth during searching (as in rats and mice)? (ii) Does the whisking behavior change over the course of pursuing and capturing their prey? (iii) How does head motion and orientation change to facilitate prey capture? We show that Etruscan shrews actively whisk at approximately 14 Hz while searching for their cricket prey. Upon contacting the cricket, whisking amplitude decreases and