Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emerging Aeromonas Species Infections and Their Significance in Public Health

Aeromonas species are ubiquitous bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic milieus. They are becoming renowned as enteric pathogens of serious public health concern as they acquire a number of virulence determinants that are linked with human diseases, such as gastroenteritis, soft-tissue, muscle infections, septicemia, and skin diseases. Proper sanitary procedures are essential in the prevention of the spread of Aeromonas infections. Oral fluid electrolyte substitution is employed in the prevention of dehydration, and broad-spectrum antibiotics are used in severe Aeromonas outbreaks. This review presents an overview of emerging Aeromonas infections and proposes the need for actions necessary for establishing adequate prevention measures against the infections.
Increased 20-HETE Synthesis Explains Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow But Not Impaired Neurovascular Coupling after Cortical Spreading Depression in Rat Cerebral Cortex

Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is associated with release of arachidonic acid, impaired neurovascular coupling, and reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), caused by cortical vasoconstriction. We tested the hypothesis that the released arachidonic acid is metabolized by the cytochrome P450 enzyme to produce the vasoconstrictor 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), and that this mechanism explains cortical vasoconstriction and vascular dysfunction after CSD. CSD was induced in the frontal cortex of rats and the cortical electrical activity and local field potentials recorded by glass microelectrodes, CBF by laser Doppler flowmetry, and tissue oxygen tension (tpO2) using polarographic microelectrodes. 20-HETE synthesis was measured in parallel experiments in cortical brain slices exposed to CSD. We used the specific inhibitor HET0016 (N-hydroxy-N′-(4-n-butyl-2-methylphenyl)formamidine) to block 20-HETE synthesis. CSD increased 20-HETE synthesis in brain slices for 120 min, and the time course of the increase in 20-HETE paralleled the reduction in CBF after CSD in vivo. HET0016 blocked the CSD-induced increase in 20-HETE synthesis and ameliorated the persistent reduction in CBF, but not the impaired neurovascular coupling after CSD. These findings suggest that CSD-induced increments in 20-HETE cause the reduction in CBF after CSD and that the attenuation of stimulation-induced CBF responses after CSD has a different mechanism. We suggest that blockade of 20-HETE synthesis may be clinically relevant to ameliorate reduced CBF in patients with migraine and acute brain cortex injuries.
A Comparative Cost-Benefit Analysis of Micro-Health Insurance Programmes in Bangladesh: Conjoint Analysis

This study analyses Cost per QALY of Micro Health Insurance Programme (MHIP) and determine utility value of MHIPs’ attributes from consumer’s point of view and also examine why insured people need to go to other service provider’s for treatments. The study has used two-stage model construction to examine this issue. First, it determines the factors, which affect the MHIPs’ Cost per QALY values and secondly determine utility values using conjoint technique of Part-Worth model. The findings of the study indicate that cost-effectiveness of MHIPs is statistically significant and important determinants are premium, cost per doctor visit, physical examination, well baby visit and immunization, maternal and child health care, vision coverage, hospitalization coverage, quality of service providers, and prescription coverage. It also reveals that the over-all health status of rural based MHIP participants is lower as compared to the urban based MHIP counterparts. Micro health insurance (MHI) may be one of the viable options for providing financial protection and access to basic health services to the socially disadvantaged (such as poor woman, children and disabled persons) and may be considered a bold step forward in breaking the vicious cycle of vulnerability, illness, and poverty, that restrict the lives of so many people in rural Bangladesh.
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE ABUNDANCE GRADIENT ALONG THE MILKY WAY DISK

Based on a simple model of the chemical evolution of the Milky Way disk, we investigate the disk oxygen abundance gradient and its time evolution. Two star formation rates (SFRs) are considered, one is the classical Kennicutt–Schmidt law (Ψ = 0.25Σ1.4gas, hereafter C-KS law), another is the modified Kennicutt law (υ = αΣ1.4gas(V/r), hereafter M-KS law). In both cases, the model can produce some amount of abundance gradient, and the gradient is steeper in the early epoch of disk evolution. However, we find that when C-KS law is adopted, the classical chemical evolution model, which assumes a radially dependent infall timescale, cannot produce a sufficiently steep present-day abundance gradient. This problem disappears if we introduce a disk formation timescale, which means that at early times, infalling gas cools down onto the inner disk only, while the outer disk forms later. This kind of model, however, will predict a very steep gradient in the past. When the M-KS law is adopted, the model can properly predict both the current abundance gradient and its time evolution, matching recent observations from planetary nebulae and open clusters along the Milky Way disk. Our best model also predicts that outer disk (artificially defined as the disk with Rg ⩾ 8 kpc) has a steeper gradient than the inner disk. The observed outer disk gradients from Cepheids, open clusters, and young stars show quite controversial results. There are also some hints from Cepheids that the outer disk abundance gradient may have a bimodal distribution. More data is needed in order to clarify the outer disk gradient problem. Our model calculations show that for an individual Milky Way-type galaxy, a better description of the local star formation is the M-KS law.
Radiative effects of desert dust on weather and regional climate

C. Spyrou, G. Kallos, C. Mitsakou, P. Athanasiadis, C. Kalogeri, and M. Iacono University of Athens, School of Physics, Division of Environmental Physics-Meteorology, BldgPHYS-V, 15784, Athens, Greece King’s College London, Environmental Research Group, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH, UK Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Viale Aldo Moro, 44 I, 40127Bologna, Italy Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), 131 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, MA02421-3126, USA
Mild Oxidative Stress Induces Redistribution of BACE1 in Non-Apoptotic Conditions and Promotes the Amyloidogenic Processing of Alzheimer’s Disease Amyloid Precursor Protein

BACE1 is responsible for β-secretase cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which represents the first step in the production of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides. Previous reports, by us and others, have indicated that the levels of BACE1 protein and activity are increased in the brain cortex of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The association between oxidative stress (OS) and AD has prompted investigations that support the potentiation of BACE1 expression and enzymatic activity by OS. Here, we have established conditions to analyse the effects of mild, non-lethal OS on BACE1 in primary neuronal cultures, independently from apoptotic mechanisms that were shown to impair BACE1 turnover. Six-hour treatment of mouse primary cortical cells with 10–40 µM hydrogen peroxide did not significantly compromise cell viability but it did produce mild oxidative stress (mOS), as shown by the increased levels of reactive radical species and activation of p38 stress kinase. The endogenous levels of BACE1 mRNA and protein were not significantly altered in these conditions, whereas a toxic H2O2 concentration (100 µM) caused an increase in BACE1 protein levels. Notably, mOS conditions resulted in increased levels of the BACE1 C-terminal cleavage product of APP, β-CTF. Subcellular fractionation techniques showed that mOS caused a major rearrangement of BACE1 localization from light to denser fractions, resulting in an increased distribution of BACE1 in fractions containing APP and markers for trans-Golgi network and early endosomes. Collectively, these data demonstrate that mOS does not modify BACE1 expression but alters BACE1 subcellular compartmentalization to favour the amyloidogenic processing of APP, and thus offer new insight in the early molecular events of AD pathogenesis.
New public management in developing countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the factors influencing the relative success and failure of new public management (NPM) initiatives in the developing world, with particular reference to Singapore and Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approach – Secondary materials have been extensively used, interpreted and reinterpreted to substantiate the arguments. The analysis has been confined to two countries. However, the experiences of NPM initiatives of other countries have also been analysed to strengthen the arguments.Findings – There are some critical factors such as the advanced level of economic development, the existence of a formal market economy, the rule of law, the advanced level of administrative infrastructure and state efficiency for the success of NPM‐oriented reforms. To a large extent, Singapore fulfills these conditions. Bangladesh is lagging behind these conditions, and has achieved very little in NPM initiatives. The findings also indicate that there is still a greater.
An Event Grouping Based Algorithm for University Course Timetabling Problem

This paper presents the study of an event grouping based algorithm for a university course timetabling problem. Several publications which discuss the problem and some approaches for its solution are analyzed. The grouping of events in groups with an equal number of events in each group is not applicable to all input data sets. For this reason, a universal approach to all possible groupings of events in commensurate in size groups is proposed here. Also, an implementation of an algorithm based on this approach is presented. The methodology, conditions and the objectives of the experiment are described. The experimental results are analyzed and the ensuing conclusions are stated. The future guidelines for further research are formulated.
Long-Term Experience of Chinese Calligraphic Handwriting Is Associated with Better Executive Functions and Stronger Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Related Brain Regions

Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) is a traditional art form that requires high levels of concentration and motor control. Previous research has linked short-term training in CCH to improvements in attention and memory. Little is known about the potential impacts of long-term CCH practice on a broader array of executive functions and their potential neural substrates. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 36 practitioners with at least 5 years of CCH experience and 50 control subjects with no more than one month of CCH practice and investigated their differences in the three components of executive functions (i.e., shifting, updating, and inhibition). Valid resting-state fMRI data were collected from 31 CCH and 40 control participants. Compared with the controls, CCH individuals showed better updating (as measured by the Corsi Block Test) and inhibition (as measured by the Stroop Word-Color Test), but the two groups did not differ in shifting (as measured by a cue-target task). The CCH group showed stronger resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) than the control group in brain areas involved in updating and inhibition. These results suggested that long-term CCH training may be associated with improvements in specific aspects of executive functions and strengthened neural networks in related brain regions.
Splenic Dendritic Cell Functions in Mice Trauma-Hemorrhage Induces Depressed

Although Kupffer cell, splenic, and peritoneal macrophage functions are markedly altered following trauma-hemorrhage (T-H), it remains unclear whether T-H also affects splenic dendritic cell (sDC) functions. We hypothesized that sDC functions will also be compromised following T-H. Male C3H/HeN (6- to 8-wk) mice were randomly assigned to sham operation or T-H. T-H was induced by midline laparotomy and (cid:1) 90 min of hemorrhagic shock (blood pressure 35 mmHg), followed by ﬂuid resuscitation (four times the shed blood volume in the form of Ringer’s lactate). Two hours later, the mice were sacriﬁced; sDC were isolated; and the changes in their apoptosis, MHC class II expression, and ability to produce costimulatory cytokines and Ag presentation were measured. The results indicate that sDC Ag presentation capacity was signiﬁcantly decreased and MHC class II expression was also signiﬁcantly decreased following T-H. Moreover, LPS-induced IL-12 production and LPS- or IL-12-induced IFN- (cid:1) production following T-H were signiﬁcantly decreased. Thus, the markedly decreased MHC class II expression and cytokine (IL-12, IFN- (cid:1) ) production following T-H may be the cause for the depressed sDC Ag presentation under those conditions. This depression in Ag presentation could contribute to the host’s enhanced susceptibility to sepsis following T-H. The Journal of Immunology, 2006, 177: 4514–4520.
Tolerance induction during ontogeny. I. Presence of active suppression in mice rendered tolerant to human gamma-globulin in utero correlates with the breakdown of the tolerant state

A specific state of T- and B-cell tolerance to human gamma-globulin (HGG) was induced in utero by intravenous administration of the deaggregated antigen to pregnant BALB/cCr mice. Tolerance persisted in the offspring until the 12th-wk of age and then began to gradually disappear. Suppressor cells could only be found when responsiveness to HGG ultimately appeared in the in utero-treated animals but not when they were completely unresponsives. In contrast, HGG-specific suppressors found in animals made unresponsive to HGG as adults appear to be associated with either the establishment and/or maintenance of the unresponsive state. To the extent that these experiments are consistent with natural self-tolerance to a serum protein, we conclude that active suppression is not a prerequisite from maintenance of unresponsiveness to self.
Work engagement of academic staff in South African higher education institutions

The objectives of this study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for academic staff in South African higher education institutions, and to investigate differences between the work engagement of the different demographic groups. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (n = 595) taken of academics in six South African higher education institutions. The UWES and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Structural Equation M odelling confirmed a three-factor model of work engagement, consisting of three dimensions, namely Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. The three scales of the UWES showed acceptable internal consistency. Statistically significant differences were found between the work engagement of academics with different job levels and qualifications.
Baby Talk: Understanding and Generating Image Descriptions

We posit that visually descriptive language offers computer vision researchers both information about the world, and information about how people describe the world. The potential beneﬁt from this source is made more signiﬁcant due to the enormous amount of language data easily available today. We present a system to automatically generate natural language descriptions from images that exploits both statistics gleaned from parsing large quantities of text data and recognition algorithms from computer vision. The system is very effective at producing relevant sentences for images. It also generates descriptions that are notably more true to the speciﬁc image content than previous work
From Prime Codes to "A New Construction of Frequency-Hopping Codes"

From concatenation view, this letter analyzed the construction of frequency hopping (FH) sequences by Junjie Chen, Guuchang Yang and Chiaming Yang based on prime codes. It is concluded that the object FH sequences can be constructed by concatenating the frequency-shifted or time-shifted versions of prime codes sequences. Upon this conclusion, two new further thoughts are deduced and more families of FH sequences are constructed with properties unchanged.
SHARE Interface in Flash Storage for Relational and NoSQL Databases

Database consistency and recoverability require guaranteeing write atomicity for one or more pages. However, contemporary database systems consider write operations non-atomic. Thus, many database storage engines have traditionally relied on either journaling or copy-on-write approaches for atomic propagation of updated pages to the storage. This reliance achieves write atomicity at the cost of various write amplifications such as redundant writes, tree-wandering, and compaction. This write amplification results in reduced performance and, for flash storage, accelerates device wear-out. In this paper, we propose a flash storage interface, SHARE. Being able to explicitly remap the address mapping inside flash storage using SHARE interface enables host-side database storage engines to achieve write atomicity without causing write amplification. We have implemented SHARE on a real SSD board, OpenSSD, and modified MySQL/InnoDB and Couchbase NoSQL storage engines to make them compatible with the extended SHARE interface. Our experimental results show that this SHARE-based MySQL/InnoDB and Couchbase configurations can significantly boost database performance. In particular, the inevitable and costly Couchbase compaction process can complete without copying any data pages.
Manipulating the Perception of Credibility in Refugee Related Social Media Posts

This paper describes a controlled web-based study (n=126), investigating whether the perception of the credibility of refugee-related Tweets can be influenced by cues already reported in the literature for social media content generally. We provide empirical evidence that both a Tweet's popularity and the presence of links -- even neutral links created by URL shortening services -- may increase a user's belief that the Tweet contains credible information. This is important because the propagation of false information relating to refugees on social media sites has been well documented.
Geographical ecology of the palms (Arecaceae): determinants of diversity and distributions across spatial scales.

BACKGROUND The palm family occurs in all tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Palms are of high ecological and economical importance, and display complex spatial patterns of species distributions and diversity. SCOPE This review summarizes empirical evidence for factors that determine palm species distributions, community composition and species richness such as the abiotic environment (climate, soil chemistry, hydrology and topography), the biotic environment (vegetation structure and species interactions) and dispersal. The importance of contemporary vs. historical impacts of these factors and the scale at which they function is discussed. Finally a hierarchical scale framework is developed to guide predictor selection for future studies. CONCLUSIONS Determinants of palm distributions, composition and richness vary with spatial scale. For species distributions, climate appears to be important at landscape and broader scales, soil, topography and vegetation at landscape and local scales, hydrology at local scales, and dispersal at all scales. For community composition, soil appears important at regional and finer scales, hydrology, topography and vegetation at landscape and local scales, and dispersal again at all scales. For species richness, climate and dispersal appear to be important at continental to global scales, soil at landscape and broader scales, and topography at landscape and finer scales. Some scale-predictor combinations have not been studied or deserve further attention, e.g. climate on regional to finer scales, and hydrology and topography on landscape and broader scales. The importance of biotic interactions - apart from general vegetation structure effects - for the geographic ecology of palms is generally underexplored. Future studies should target scale-predictor combinations and geographic domains not studied yet. To avoid biased inference, one should ideally include at least all predictors previously found important at the spatial scale of investigation.
Talent retention in a changing workplace : an investigation of variables considered important to South African talent

In a workplace characterised by market-driven turnover, organisations attempting to retain those employees considered core to their purpose and continued success (referred to as ‘talent’) face a huge challenge in determining the factors instrumental in minimising turnover amongst this group. This research aimed to identify the variables important to this group of valued employees, with a specific focus on the South African context. In addition, it was aimed to discover the relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic variables to South African talent, particularly when these are considered as factors in their decisions to leave the organisation. It was found that South African talent placed great importance on intrinsic variables, although market opportunities were also considered highly significant in employees’ decisions to leave. The variable of ‘Concern with employment equity and affirmative action’ was revealed as a specifically South African variable, but it was not ranked as one of the participants’ top five most important variables influencing retention.
Impact of drought on the intra-annual growth of Pinus sylvestris L

Climatic scenarios for the Mediterranean Region forecast increasing frequency and intensity of drought events. We analyzed how Pinus sylvestris modifies its cambial phenology and intra-annual growth under enhanced drought conditions. For this purpose, a rainfall exclusion experiment was applied in 2012 to trees located in the lower elevation limit of a mountain forest in Central Spain. Preliminary results show a significantly longer growing season in small trees than in big trees, regardless of the treatment. The tracheid enlargement period was longer in control trees than in trees subjected to rainfall exclusion regardless the size class. Cambial activity and gas exchange rates of Pinus sylvestris responded immediately to drier conditions, which could indicate vulnerability to drought enhancement. Stronger differences between treatments are expected for the second year of the experiment due to the cumulative effect of drought in the rainfall exclusion plots.
The Model Underlying the Measurement of the Impacts of the IIC on the End-Users

mance, it must not only be utilized, but it must also be a satisfactory tool for the critical tasks at hand. As a counter example, Pentland (1989) found that IRS auditors had positive attitudes toward PCs and utilized them extensively, but that the PCs had little positive impact on their performance, or even negative impacts. According to Pentland, this may have been because PCs were utilized for inappropriate tasks, that is, tasks where the technology was not a good fit with task needs. If either the task– technology fit of the technology or its utilization is lacking, the technology will not improve performance.
Finite element method analysis for the frequency selective characteristics of dielectric periodic structure with arbitrary profiles

The dispersion characteristics of the dielectric Frequency Selective Surfaces with arbitrary profiles are analyzed by finite element method (FEM). The periodic structure is truncated to a single unit cell with the introduction of an exact periodic boundary condition, which is set according to Floquet's theorem. The calculation region is truncated by the perfectly matched layer (PML). Finally, the incident wave is treated as the second inhomogeneous boundary conditions on the virtual incident plane. The combination of these boundary conditions simplified the calculation of the open space problems greatly.