Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contract flexibility and conflict resolution: evidence from African manufacturing

This paper examines the contractual practices of African manufacturing firms using survey data collected in Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Descriptive statistics and econometric results are presented. They show that contractual flexibility is pervasive and that relational contracting is the norm between manufacturers, their suppliers, and their clients. The existence of long-term relations between firms helps them deal with contract non-performance through negotiation. Confrontational methods such as lawyers and courts are used when negotiations fail. Whenever confrontation can be avoided, business is resumed. Correspondence: Marcel Fafchamps, World Bank, 1818 H. Street NW, Washington DC 20433, US. E-mail: fafchamp@leland.stanford. edu. Web address: http://www-leland.stanford. edu/~
Backcalculation of viscoelastic and nonlinear flexible pavement layer properties from falling weight deflections

Appropriate characterisation of individual layer properties is crucial for mechanistic analysis of flexible pavements. Typically in inverse analyses, pavements are modelled as elastic or nonlinear elastic to obtain layer material properties through non-destructive falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing. In this study, a layered viscoelastic–nonlinear forward model (called LAVAN) was used to develop a genetic algorithm-based backcalculation scheme (called BACKLAVAN). The LAVAN can consider both the viscoelastic behaviour of asphalt concrete (AC) layer and nonlinear elastic behaviour of unbound layers. The BACKLAVAN algorithm uses FWD load-response history at different test temperatures to backcalculate both the (damaged) E(t) and |E*| master curve of AC layers and the linear and nonlinear elastic moduli of unbound layers of in-service pavements. The BACKLAVAN algorithm was validated using two FWD tests run on a long-term pavement performance section. Comparison between the backcalculated and measured results indicates that it should be possible to infer linear viscoelastic properties of AC layer as well as nonlinear elastic properties of unbound layers from FWD tests.
In vitro expansion of cord blood does not prevent engraftment of severe combined immunodeficient repopulating cells

Summary. This study aimed to assess the potential of human cord blood (CB) cells to engraft in the xenogenic non‐obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mouse model after in vitro expansion culture. We also studied the quality of human haemopoiesis arising from the transplantation of fresh or expanded cells in this model. Cord blood CD34+ cells were cultured for 3, 7 or 10 d with stem cell factor, Flt3, thrombopoietin, interleukin 3 (IL‐3), IL‐6 and granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor, all at 10 ng/ml in serum‐replete conditions. Transplantation of mice with fresh CB containing 3 × 104 CD34+ cells and 1–2 SCID repopulating cells (SRC) resulted in a median of 7·4% (0·4%‐76·8%) human engraftment. When mice received the expanded product of 1–2 SRC, the ability to repopulate NOD/SCID mice was maintained even after 10 d of in vitro culture. Serial dilution of the expanded cells suggested that in vitro expansion had increased SRC numbers two‐ to fourfold. Expanded SRC produced long‐term culture‐initiating cells, clonogenic cells and CD34+ cells in the same proportions as fresh cells after successful engraftment. Therefore, expanded SRC were able to differentiate in the same way as fresh SRC. There was a trend towards lower levels of engraftment when d 7 cultured cells were transplanted (median engraftment 0·8%, range 0·0–24·0%) compared with 1–2 fresh SRC. Our data suggest that this is owing to reduced proliferation of cultured cells in vivo. By utilizing limiting numbers of CB SRC, we confirmed that the engraftment potential of SRC in the NOD/SCID model was preserved after in vitro expansion. Furthermore, dilution experiments strongly suggest two‐ to fourfold expansion of SRC in vitro. These studies are relevant for developing clinical stem cell expansion strategies.
Modality Specific Cerebro-Cerebellar Activations in Verbal Working Memory: An fMRI Study

Verbal working memory (VWM) engages frontal and temporal/parietal circuits subserving the phonological loop, as well as, superior and inferior cerebellar regions which have projections from these neocortical areas. Different cerebro-cerebellar circuits may be engaged for integrating aurally- and visually-presented information for VWM. The present fMRI study investigated load (2, 4, or 6 letters) and modality (auditory and visual) dependent cerebro-cerebellar VWM activation using a Sternberg task. FMRI revealed modality-independent activations in left frontal (BA 6/9/44), insular, cingulate (BA 32), and bilateral inferior parietal/supramarginal (BA 40) regions, as well as in bilateral superior (HVI) and right inferior (HVIII) cerebellar regions. Visual presentation evoked prominent activations in right superior (HVI/CrusI) cerebellum, bilateral occipital (BA19) and left parietal (BA7/40) cortex while auditory presentation showed robust activations predominately in bilateral temporal regions (BA21/22). In the cerebellum, we noted a visual to auditory emphasis of function progressing from superior to inferior and from lateral to medial regions. These results extend our previous findings of fMRI activation in cerebro-cerebellar networks during VWM, and demonstrate both modality dependent commonalities and differences in activations with increasing memory load.
Optimized gain control for single-frequency relaying with loop interference

This letter derives new gain control schemes for an amplify-and-forward single-frequency relay link in which loop interference from the relay transmit antenna to the relay receive antenna has to be tolerated. The proposed gain control schemes take into account the effect of residual loop interference that remains after imperfect loop interference cancellation. As a result of our gain control strategy, the signal-to-interference and noise ratio can be maximized while, at the same time, transmit power is decreased. Finally, we evaluate system performance by deriving closed-form outage probability expressions for the gain control schemes.
Bowel preparation in “real-life” small bowel capsule endoscopy: a two-center experience

Background Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is an established diagnostic tool for the investigation of small bowel (SB) pathology. Bowel preparation prior to VCE may improve visualization, transit time, and diagnostic yield. We aimed to evaluate the “real-life” experience comparing two different preparation protocols in patients undergoing SB VCE. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from SB VCE procedures, performed in two tertiary care medical centers in Israel. VCE procedures performed at “Sheba Medical Center” used a 2-L polyethylene glycol (PEG) bowel preparation (n=360) while VCEs performed at “Rambam Health Care campus” used a clear liquid diet plus 12-h fast protocol (n=500). A dichotomous preparation scale (adequate, inadequate) was used to classify cleansing quality. Data collection included patient and procedural details. The proportion of VCE procedures with adequate bowel preparation and the overall positive SB findings in the two different bowel preparation protocols were evaluated. Results SB completion rates were higher in the PEG protocol (96% vs. 83%, P<0.001) and SB passage time was significantly faster in the PEG protocol (mean 217±73 vs. 238±77 min, P<0.001). Bowel preparation quality was similar between groups (8% vs. 7% inadequate preparation, P=0.591). Overall positive SB findings were similar between the two groups (57% clear liquid fasting only vs. 51% PEG protocol, P=0.119). Conclusion In this large cohort, a 2-L PEG protocol had similar preparation quality and diagnostic yield compared with clear liquid fasting.
Chronic intermittent hypoxia increases rat sternohyoid muscle NADPH oxidase expression with attendant modest oxidative stress

Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) causes upper airway muscle dysfunction. We hypothesized that the superoxide generating NADPH oxidase (NOX) is upregulated in CIH-exposed muscle causing oxidative stress. Adult male Wistar rats were exposed to intermittent hypoxia (5% O2 at the nadir for 90 s followed by 210 s of normoxia), for 8 h per day for 14 days. The effect of CIH exposure on the expression of NOX subunits, total myosin and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) protein adducts in sternohyoid muscle was determined by western blotting and densitometry. Sternohyoid protein free thiol and carbonyl group contents were determined by 1D electrophoresis using specific fluorophore probes. Aconitase and glutathione reductase activities were measured as indices of oxidative stress. HIF-1α content and key oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activities were determined. Contractile properties of sternohyoid muscle were determined ex vivo in the absence and presence of apocynin (putative NOX inhibitor). We observed an increase in NOX 2 and p47 phox expression in CIH-exposed sternohyoid muscle with decreased aconitase and glutathione reductase activities. There was no evidence, however, of increased lipid peroxidation or protein oxidation in CIH-exposed muscle. CIH exposure did not affect sternohyoid HIF-1α content or aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase, or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activities. Citrate synthase activity was also unaffected by CIH exposure. Apocynin significantly increased sternohyoid force and power. We conclude that CIH exposure upregulates NOX expression in rat sternohyoid muscle with concomitant modest oxidative stress but it does not result in a HIF-1α-dependent increase in glycolytic enzyme activity. Constitutive NOX activity decreases sternohyoid force and power. Our results implicate NOX-dependent reactive oxygen species in CIH-induced upper airway muscle dysfunction which likely relates to redox modulation of key regulatory proteins in excitation-contraction coupling.
Dual Channel Optical Tomographic Imaging of Leukocyte Recruitment and Protease Activity in the Healing Myocardial Infarct

Inflammatory responses after myocardial infarction profoundly impact tissue repair. Yet, efficient tools to serially and noninvasively assess cellular and molecular functions in postinfarct inflammation are lacking. Here we use multichannel fluorescent molecular tomography (FMT) for spatiotemporal resolution of phagocytic and proteolytic activities mediated by macrophages and neutrophils in murine infarcts. We performed FMT imaging to compare the course of efficient and impaired healing in wild-type and FXIII−/− mice, respectively. Mice subjected to coronary ligation received simultaneous injections with Prosense-680, an activatable fluorescence sensor reporting on cathepsin activity, and CLIO-VT750, a magneto-fluorescent nanoparticle for imaging of phagocyte recruitment. On FMT, Prosense-680 infarct signal was 19-fold higher than background (P<0.05). Protease activity was higher in the infarcted lateral wall than in the remote, uninjured septum on ex vivo fluorescence reflectance imaging (contrast to noise ratio 118±24). CLIO-VT750 FMT signal coregistered with contrast enhancement in the hypokinetic infarct on MRI. Microscopic fluorescence signal colocalized with immunoreactive staining for cathepsin, macrophages and neutrophils. Flow cytometry of digested infarcts revealed monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils as the source of the fluorescence signal. Phagocytic activity peaked on day 6, and proteolytic activity peaked on day 4 after myocardial infarction. FMT detected impaired recruitment of phagocytes and protease activity in FXIII−/− mice (P<0.05). FMT is a promising noninvasive molecular imaging approach to characterize infarct healing. Spectrally resolved imaging agents allow for simultaneous assesment of key processes of in vivo cellular functions. Specifically, we show that in vivo FMT detects impaired healing in FXIII−/− mice.
The Right Tool for the Job: Detection of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Areas Co-endemic for Other Helminths

Background Due to the recent increased use of the McMaster (MM) fecal egg counting method for assessing benzimidazole drug efficacy for treating soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, the aim of the current study was to determine the operational value of including the MM method alongside the Kato-Katz (KK) fecal thick smear to increase the diagnostic sensitivity when STHs are co-endemic with trematode helminths (e.g., Schistosoma mansoni). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in school-aged children aged 4-18 years in the northeastern region of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil), where Necator americanus, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and S. mansoni are co-endemic. One fecal sample from each participant was collected and transported to the field laboratory for analysis. Coprological diagnosis was performed on each fecal sample by three different methods: Formalin-Ether Sedimentation (FES), KK and the MM technique. The diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of each technique was calculated using the combination of all three techniques as the composite standard. In order to determine the agreement between the three techniques Fleiss´ kappa was used. Both the Cure Rate (CR) and the Fecal Egg Count Reduction (FECR) were calculated using the two quantification techniques (i.e., the MM and KK). Results Fecal samples from 1260 children were analyzed. The KK had higher diagnostic sensitivity than the MM for the detection of both A. lumbricoides (KK 97.3%, MM 69.5%) and hookworm (KK 95.1%, MM 80.8%). The CR of a single dose of mebendazole varied significantly between the KK and MM for both A. lumbricoides (p = 0.016) and hookworm (p = 0.000), with lower rates obtained with the KK. On the other hand, the FECR was very similar between both techniques for both A. lumbricoides and hookworm. Conclusion The MM did not add any diagnostic value over the KK in areas where both STHs and trematodes were co-endemic. The lower sensitivity of the MM would have an important impact on the administration of selective school-based treatment in this area since if only the MM were used, 36 (13.9%) children diagnosed with A. lumbricoides would have gone untreated.
Multi-class semantic segmentation of faces

In this paper the problem of multi-class face segmentation is introduced. Differently from previous works which only consider few classes - typically skin and hair - the label set is extended here to six categories: skin, hair, eyes, nose, mouth and background. A dataset with 70 images taken from MIT-CBCL and FEI face databases is manually annotated and made publicly available1. Three kind of local features - accounting for color, shape and location - are extracted from uniformly sampled square patches. A discriminative model is built with random decision forests and used for classification. Many different combinations of features and parameters are explored to find the best possible model configuration. Our analysis shows that very good performance (~ 93% in accuracy) can be achieved with a fairly simple model.
Kompozyty elastomerowe zawierające ciecze jonowe

Streszczenie: Ciecze jonowe w postaci soli benzyloimidazoliowych, alkilopirydyniowych, alkilopirolidyniowych i alkilopiperydyniowych zastosowano jako substancje zwiekszaj1ce stopien zdyspergowania nanocz1stek aktywatora wulkanizacji (tlenku cynku) i nape3niacza (krzemionki) w elastomerze butadienowo-styrenowym (SBR). W celu zmniejszenia zawartoœci tlenku cynku w wyrobach gumowych, zamiast tradycyjnego mikrometrycznego ZnO, zastosowano cz1stki tlenku cynku o wymiarach nanometrycznych. Dodatek do mieszanek kauczukowych cieczy jonowych pozwoli3 na otrzymanie jednorodnej dyspersji nanocz1stek w SBR. Dzieki temu uzyskano skrocenie czasu i obni? enie temperatury wulkanizacji oraz zwiekszenie gestoœci usieciowania, stabilnoœci termicznej i odpornoœci na starzenie pod wp3ywem promieniowania UV wytworzonych wulkanizatow. Wulkanizaty te charakteryzowa3y sie o 60 % mniejsz1 zawartoœci1 tlenku cynku ni? probki referencyjne. S3owa kluczowe: ciecze jonowe, elastomer butadienowo-styrenowy, stopien zdyspergowania.
Mating type–dependent constraints on the mobility of the left arm of yeast chromosome III

Mating-type gene (MAT) switching in budding yeast exhibits donor preference. MAT a preferentially recombines with HML near the left telomere of chromosome III, whereas MATα prefers HMR near the right telomere. Donor preference is controlled by the recombination enhancer (RE) located proximal to HML. To test if HML is constrained in pairing with MATα, we examined live-cell mobility of LacI-GFP–bound lactose operator (lacO) arrays inserted at different chromosomal sites. Without induction of recombination, lacO sequences adjacent to HML are strongly constrained in both MATα and RE-deleted MAT a strains, compared with MAT a. In contrast, chromosome movement at HMR or near a telomere of chromosome V is mating-type independent. HML is more constrained in MAT a Δre and less constrained in MAT a RE+ compared with other sites. Although HML and MAT a are not prealigned before inducing recombination, the three-dimensional configuration of MAT, HML, and HMR is mating-type dependent. These data suggest there is constitutive tethering of HML, which is relieved in MAT a cells through the action of RE.
The Dynamin-like GTPase DLP1 Is Essential for Peroxisome Division and Is Recruited to Peroxisomes in Part by PEX11*

Peroxisome division involves the conserved PEX11 peroxisomal membrane proteins and in yeast has been shown to require Vps1p, a dynamin-like protein. We show here that DLP1, the human homolog of the yeast DNM1and VPS1 genes, plays an important role in peroxisome division in human cells. Disruption of DLP1 function by either RNA interference or overexpressing dominant negativeDLP1 mutants causes a dramatic reduction in peroxisome abundance, although overexpression of functional DLP1 has no effect on peroxisome abundance. Overexpression of PEX11 induces peroxisome division in a multistep process involving elongation of preexisting peroxisomes followed by their division. We find that DLP1 is dispensable for the first phase of this process but essential for the second. Furthermore, we show that DLP1 associates with peroxisomes and that PEX11 overexpression recruits DLP1 to peroxisome membranes. However, we were unable to detect physical interaction between PEX11 and DLP1, and the stoichiometry of PEX11 and peroxisome-associated DLP1 was far less than 1:1. Based on these and other aspects, we propose that DLP1 performs an essential but transient role in peroxisome division and that PEX11 promotes peroxisome division by recruiting DLP1 to peroxisome membranes through an indirect mechanism.
Cranberry-containing products for prevention of urinary tract infections in susceptible populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most commonly acquired bacterial infections. Cranberry-containing products have long been used as a folk remedy to prevent UTIs. The aims of this study were to evaluate cranberry-containing products for the prevention of UTI and to examine the factors influencing their effectiveness. METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systemically searched from inception to November 2011 for randomized controlled trials that compared prevention of UTIs in users of cranberry-containing products vs placebo or nonplacebo controls. There were no restrictions for language, population, or publication year. RESULTS Thirteen trials, including 1616 subjects, were identified for qualitative synthesis from 414 potentially relevant references; 10 of these trials, including a total of 1494 subjects, were further analyzed in quantitative synthesis. The random-effects pooled risk ratio (RR) for cranberry users vs nonusers was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.49-0.80), with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I(2) = 43%) after the exclusion of 1 outlier study. On subgroup analysis, cranberry-containing products seemed to be more effective in several subgroups, including women with recurrent UTIs (RR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33-0.83) (I(2) = 0%), female populations (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34-0.73) (I(2) = 34%), children (RR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.69) (I(2) = 0%), cranberry juice drinkers (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.72) (I(2) = 2%), and subjects using cranberry-containing products more than twice daily (RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.84) (I(2) = 18%). CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that cranberry-containing products are associated with protective effect against UTIs. However, this result should be interpreted in the context of substantial heterogeneity across trials.
Myoglobin strikes back

Over the last half century, myoglobin (Mb) has been an excellent model system to test a number of concepts, theories, and new experimental methods that proved valuable to investigate protein structure, function, evolution, and dynamics. Mb's function, most often considered just an oxygen repository, has considerably diversified over the last 15 years, especially because it was shown to have a role in the biochemistry of quenching and synthesizing nitric oxide in the red muscle, thereby protecting the cell. To tackle protein's structural dynamics by innovative biophysical methods, Mb has been the best prototype; laser flash technology made it possible to obtain molecular movies by time‐resolved Laue crystallography (with ps resolution). This approach unveiled the complexity of the energy landscape and the structural basis of the stretched interconversion between conformational substates of a protein.
Wireless Network Coding via Modified 802.11 MAC/PHY: Design and Implementation on SDR

Network coding (NC), in principle, is a Layer-3 innovation that improves network throughput in wired networks for multicast/broadcast scenarios. Due to the fundamental differences between wired and wireless networks, extending NC to wireless networks generates several new and significant practical challenges. Two-way information exchange (both symmetric and asymmetric) between a pair of 802.11 sources/sinks using an intermediate relay node is a canonical scenario for evaluating the effectiveness of Wireless Network Coding (WNC) in a practical setting. Our primary objective in this work is to suggest pragmatic and novel modifications at the MAC and PHY layers of the 802.11 protocol stack on a Software Radio (SORA) platform to support WNC and obtain achievable throughput estimates via lab-scale experiments. Our results show that network coding (at the MAC or PHY layer) increases system throughput-typically by 20-30%.
Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 Open Reading Frame 24 Is Required for Late Gene Expression after DNA Replication

ABSTRACT Open reading frame 24 (ORF24) of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) is conserved among beta- and gammaherpesviruses; however, its function in viral replication has not been defined. Using MHV-68 as a model, we have identified ORF24 as being essential for viral replication. An ORF24-null virus was generated and shown to be defective in late gene expression. Expression of early genes, as well as viral genome replication, was not affected. Furthermore, the defect in late gene expression was likely due to a deficiency in transcription. Thus, we have identified an MHV-68 protein, ORF24, that is essential for the expression of viral late proteins yet dispensable for viral DNA replication.