Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
History and Organizational Change

This research commentary introduces historical consciousness to studying organizational change. Most theories of organizational change contain within them implicit assumptions about history. Made explicit, these assumptions tend to cluster into different models of change that vary by the assumed objectivity of the past and the associated malleability of the future. We explore and elaborate the implicit assumptions of history. We identify four implicit models of history in the change literature: History-as-Fact, History-as-Power, History-as-Sensemaking, and History-as-Rhetoric. We discuss the implications of theorizing organizational change from each of these views of history and outline future directions for studying change with a heightened understanding of history.
Synergistic Protection of Combined Probiotic Conditioned Media against Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis-Like Intestinal Injury

Balance among the complex interactions of the gut microbial community is important for intestinal health. Probiotic bacteria can improve bacterial balance and have been used to treat gastrointestinal diseases. Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening inflammatory bowel disorder primarily affecting premature infants. NEC is associated with extensive inflammatory NF-κB signaling activation as well as intestinal barrier disruption. Clinical studies have shown that probiotic administration may protect against NEC, however there are safety concerns associated with the ingestion of large bacterial loads in preterm infants. Bacteria-free conditioned media (CM) from certain probiotic organisms have been shown to retain bioactivity including anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties without the risks of live organisms. We hypothesized that the CM from Lactobacillus acidophilus (La), Bifidobacterium infantis (Bi), and Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp), used separately or together would protect against NEC. A rodent model with intestinal injury similar to NEC was used to study the effect of CM from Lp, La/Bi, and La/Bi/Lp on the pathophysiology of NEC. All the CM suppressed NF-κB activation via preserved IκBα expression and this protected IκBα was associated with decreased liver activity of the proteasome, which is the degrading machinery for IκBα. These CM effects also caused decreases in intestinal production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α, a downstream target of the NF-κB pathway. Combined La/Bi and La/Bi/Lp CM in addition protected intestinal barrier function by maintaining tight junction protein ZO-1 levels and localization at the tight junction. Double combined La/Bi CM significantly reduced intestinal injury incidence from 43% to 28% and triple combined La/Bi/Lp CM further reduced intestinal injury incidence to 20%. Thus, this study demonstrates different protective mechanisms and synergistic bioactivity of the CM from different organisms in ameliorating NEC-like intestinal injury in an animal model.
CityProphet: city-scale irregularity prediction using transit app logs

Thanks to the recent popularity of GPS-enabled mobile phones, modeling people flow or population dynamics is attracting a great deal of attention. Advances in methods where regular population patterns with respect to factors such as holidays or weekdays are extracted have provided successful results in irregularity detection. With large-scale crowded events such as fireworks, it is crucial that there be enough time to take countermeasures against the irregular congestion, i.e., irregularity prediction. It remains a tough challenge to predict population from GPS trace logs with existing methods. To tackle this problem, we focus here on route search logs, since aggregation of the location-oriented queries of individual plans serves as a mirror of short-term city-scale events, in contrast to GPS mobility logs. This paper presents a brand new framework for city-scale event prediction: CityProphet. By our observation of data where the route search logs related to a future event are in most cases repeatable and accumulated in proportion as the event draws near, we are able to leverage the divergence between the above two properties to predict city-scale irregular events. We demonstrate through experiments using the transit app logs of over 370 million queries that our approach can successfully predict city-scale crowded events one week in advance.
Comparing two genetic overproduce-and-choose strategies for fuzzy rule-based multiclassification systems generated by bagging and mutual information-based feature selection

In [14] we proposed a scheme to generate fuzzy rule-based multiclassification systems by means of bagging, mutual information-based feature selection, and a multicriteria genetic algorithm for static component classifier selection guided by the ensemble training error. In the current contribution we extend the latter component by making use of the bagging approach's capability to evaluate the accuracy of the classifier ensemble using the out-of-bag estimates. An exhaustive study is developed on the potential of the two multicriteria genetic algorithms respectively considering the classical training error and the out-of-bag error fitness functions to design a final multiclassifier with an appropriate accuracy-complexity trade-off. Several parameter settings for the global approach are tested when applied to nine popular UCI datasets with different dimensionality.
Maternal sensitivity in responding during play and children’s pre-mathematical skills: a longitudinal study from infancy to preschool age

Abstract This longitudinal study explored how mothers’ sensitivity in responding to their child’s cognitive and emotional needs in infancy and toddlerhood predicts children’s pre-mathematical skills at early preschool age. The sample consisted of 65 mother–child dyads (N = 130 individuals) videotaped during joint play at ages 1;0 and 2;0. The children’s pre-mathematical skills were tested at age 3;0. The path analyses showed that, in infancy, mothers’ autonomy support and scaffolding are more strongly related than emotional support to children’s later performance on spatial and numerical tasks. The findings are discussed in relation to how maternal sensitivity in responding fosters children’s pre-mathematical development in an optimal way.
Activities of AST, ALT and GGT in clinically healthy dairy cows during lactation and in the dry period.

th day of lactation, the second from the 46th until 90th day of lactation, and the third group from the 91st day of lactation until the end of milk production. Cows in the dry period comprised the fourth group. The highest activity of AST was determined in the first production period, while enzyme activity in the second and third periods was higher than in the dry period. ALT activity showed a statistically significant increase from the 46 th day of lactation until the dry period, and activity in the second and third periods was statistically higher than in the dry period. GGT activity in the first production period and in the dry period was statistically higher in comparison with the second and third periods. Research results showed a significant influence of milk production and the dry period on the activities of examined enzymes in the blood plasma, and we can conclude that there is a need for constant monitoring of the described parameters during production.
Constructing fast and energy efficient 1TnR based ReRAM crossbar memory

ReRAM (Resistive Random Access Memory) is an emerging non-volatile memory technology that exhibits high cell density and low standby power. ReRAM crossbars, while having the smallest 4F2 cell size, suffer from large sneak leakage, which not only wastes dynamic energy but also degrades system performance significantly. In this paper, we propose V-ReRAM, a novel ReRAM crossbar design based on 1TnR cell structure. By reorganizing the peripheral circuit, V-ReRAM greatly reduces the number of half-selected cells and thus the sneak leakage. V-ReRAM further improves RESET performance by exploiting the RESET latency difference among memory cells in ReRAM crossbars. Our experimental results show that, on average, V-ReRAM improves the system performance by 7.3% and reduces memory energy consumption by 72%, comparing to the baseline 1T4R based ReRAM crossbar.
Jaw setting and the California Vowel Shift in parodic performance

Abstract This article explores the intertwining semiotics of language and embodiment in performances of Californian personae. We analyze two actors’ performances of Californian characters in parodic skits, comparing them to the same actors’ performances of non-Californian characters. In portraying their Californian characters, the actors use particularized jaw settings, which we link to embodied stereotypes from earlier portrayals of the Valley Girl and Surfer Dude personae. Acoustic analysis demonstrates that both actors also produce features of the California Vowel Shift in their Californian performances, aligning their linguistic productions with sound changes documented in California. We argue that these embodied stereotypes and phonetic realizations not only co-occur in parodic styles, but are in fact semiotically and corporeally intertwined, one occasioning the other. Moreover, the performances participate in the broader process of enregisterment, packaging these semiotic resources with other linguistic and extralinguistic features to recontextualize Californian personae in the present day. (Parody, performance, California, California Vowel Shift, embodiment, embodied stereotype, enregisterment)*
Successive Refinement for Pattern Recognition

In this paper we examine the achievable rate region for the problem of successive refinement of information for pattern recognition systems. The pattern recognition system has two stages, going from coarse to fine recognition as more resources become available for storing internal representations of the patterns. We present an inner and an outer bound on the true achievable rate region. Using these results we derive conditions under which a pattern recognition system is successively refinable. These conditions are similar to the Markov condition for successive refinement in the rate-distortion problem.
Analysis of Confusion Matrix to Combine Evidence for Phoneme Recognition

In this work we analyze and combine evidences from different classifiers for phoneme recognition using information from the confusion matrices. Speech signals are processed to extract the Perceptual Linear Prediction (PLP) and Multi-RASTA (MRASTA) features. Neural network classifiers with different architectures are built using these features. The classifiers are analyzed using their confusion matrices. The motivation behind this analysis is to come up with some objective measures which indicate the complementary nature of information in each of the classifiers. These measures are useful for combining a subset of classifiers. The classifiers can be combined using different combination schemes like product, sum, minimum and maximum rules. The significance of the objective measures is demonstrated in terms the results of combination. Classifiers selected through the proposed objective measures seem to provide the best performance.
Implementation and evaluation of licklider transmission protocol (LTP) in ns-3

This paper provides performance modeling and validation results for the the ns-3 model of the Licklider Transmission Protocol, the standard transport protocol used to provide transmission reliability in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). DTNs are an emerging type of network used to provide communications in extreme environments characterized by very long round trip delays and intermittent connectivity. Evaluation of some target environments requires the use of modeling since high-fidelity testbeds can be impractical. To our knowledge, we provide the first LTP model for the ns-3 network simulator. In this paper, through a combination of simulation and real-time emulation, we verify and validate this new model of LTP and show that its performance is in line with previously published performance studies of LTP.
Erythrosine is a potential photosensitizer for the photodynamic therapy of oral plaque biofilms.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical plaque disclosing agent erythrosine as a photosensitizer in the photodynamic killing of the oral bacterium Streptococcus mutans grown as a biofilm. METHODS S. mutans biofilms of 200 microm thickness were grown in a constant-depth film fermenter. In addition to determining localization of the photosensitizer within biofilms using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), we compared the bacterial killing efficacy of erythrosine with that of two well-characterized photosensitizers, methylene blue (MB) and photofrin. Incubations were carried out with each photosensitizer (22 microM), and irradiation was for 15 min using a 400 W white light source. RESULTS The CLSM results showed that erythrosine is taken up into S. mutans biofilms, where it is associated with the biomass of the biofilm rather than the fluid-filled channels and voids. Comparison of the cell killing efficacy of erythrosine in S. mutans biofilms of different ages showed that erythrosine was 1-2 log(10) more effective at killing biofilm bacteria than photofrin and 0.5-1 log(10) more effective than MB. The results were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with all three photosensitizers was increasingly effective as biofilm age increased, suggesting that temporal changes in biofilm architecture and composition affect susceptibility to PDT. CONCLUSIONS PDT using erythrosine as photosensitizer shows excellent potential as a treatment for oral plaque biofilms.
Single-channel properties of α3β4, α3β4α5 and α3β4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in mice lacking specific nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits

• Under normal conditions, individual nerve cells express a cohort of several nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes with unique functional properties. Therefore, single‐ channel recordings of such neurons reflect the mixed properties of the various expressed receptors. • Previous attempts to recapitulate the properties of naturally occurring receptors using recombinant receptors of known subunit composition in heterologous expression systems have been largely unsuccessful, as the properties of these receptors vary widely among expression systems. • We measured the properties of specific nAChRs in superior cervical ganglion neurons cultured from mice with targeted deletions of select nAChR subunit genes. Mice lacking both the α5 and the β2 subunits express α3β4 receptors, whereas single‐knockout (KO) mice lacking either α5 or β2 express α3β4β2 and α3β4α5 (plus α3β4) hetero‐oligomeric receptors, respectively. This approach allows one to investigate these receptors at the single‐channel level in their native environment. The single‐channel properties of nACh receptors in superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons from α5β2α7 triple‐KO mice were similar to the properties of receptors measured in α5β2 double‐KO mice. • The principal conductance level of α3β4 receptors was 32.6 ± 0.8 pS (mean ± SEM), and these receptors also displayed both higher and lower secondary conductance levels. The conductance levels of α3β4α5 receptors were identical to α3β4 receptors, but the α3β4α5 receptors had longer open times and burst duration. α3β4β2 receptors had a lower conductance level and longer open times than α3β4 receptors. Interestingly, all three receptor types could be identified faithfully in wild‐type C57Bl/6J SCG neurons.
Chemical and Morphological Studies of Bacterial Spore Formation

The development of both the spore and parasporal protein crystal of Bacillus cereus var. alesti was followed using chemical and cytological techniques. The changes which led to the formation of the fore-spore were similar to those already described for Bacillus cereus. However, adjacent to the developing fore-spore a small inclusion became discernible in phase contrast. This protein inclusion during its growth was differentiated from the chromatin and lipid-containing inclusions by sequential staining techniques. During spore and crystal formation no net synthesis of either nucleic acid was detected. Tracer studies with radioactive phosphorus confirmed that the spore chromatin was derived from that in the vegetative cell. These same studies also indicated that a turnover of ribonucleic acid occurred during the sporulation process. During their formation both the spore and crystal incorporated methionine-35S from the medium and from cellular material into a bound form. Sequential extractions with alkali and with alkaline-thioglycollate reagent revealed that the solubility characteristics of the mature crystal were possibly related to the presence of intermolecular disulphide bonds which developed after the major synthesis of the crystal was complete. The synthetic nature of sporogenesis and crystal formation is discussed with reference to the concept of "endotrophic" sporulation.
The Role of Conventional Risk Factors in Explaining Social Inequalities in Coronary Heart Disease: The Relative and Absolute Approaches to Risk

Background: Various methodologic approaches have been used to estimate the role of risk factors in explaining the social gradient in coronary heart disease (CHD). Our objective was to examine whether there is a discrepancy in results obtained using the relative and absolute approaches. Methods: Data are from the Whitehall II prospective cohort study on 5363 men who were 40- to 62-year-old at the start of the 11-year follow-up period. Results: One or more of the 4 conventional risk factors examined (smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes) were present for 77% of individuals in the low socioeconomic group compared with 68% in the high socioeconomic group. The relative risk for incident CHD in the low socioeconomic group was 1.66 (95% confidence interval = 1.20 to 2.29) compared with the high group. Standardizing the distribution of risk factors in the low and high socioeconomic group to the overall study sample reduced relative risk by 16% and absolute risk by 14%. We also computed the population attributable risk (PAR) to indicate the reduction in CHD if the risk factor were completely removed from the population. The PAR associated with having at least one risk factor was 41% (95% confidence interval = 33% to 57%) in the high and 58% (13% to 91%) in the low socioeconomic group. Conclusions: In situations where the goal is to remove social differences in the distribution of risk factors, conventional risk factors explain a similar proportion of the social gradient in CHD, whether using the relative or absolute approaches to change in risk. This is not comparable to population attributable risk calculations, in which the goal is to completely remove the risk factors from the population. Failure to recognize that these methods address different questions seems to be the reason for discrepancies in previous results.
Valuation Approaches and Metrics: A Survey of the Theory and Evidence

Valuation lies at the heart of much of what we do in finance, whether it is the study of market efficiency and questions about corporate governance or the comparison of different investment decision rules in capital budgeting. In this paper, we consider the theory and evidence on valuation approaches. We begin by surveying the literature on discounted cash flow valuation models, ranging from the first mentions of the dividend discount model to value stocks to the use of excess return models in more recent years. In the second part of the paper, we examine relative valuation models and, in particular, the use of multiples and comparables in valuation and evaluate whether relative valuation models yield more or less precise estimates of value than discounted cash flow models. In the final part of the paper, we set the stage for further research in valuation by noting the estimation challenges we face as companies globalize and become exposed to risk in multiple countries.
Ion Pickup by Finite Amplitude Parallel Propagating Alfvén Waves

Two scenarios of possible ion heating due to finite amplitude parallel propagating Alfvén waves in the solar atmosphere are investigated using a one-dimensional test particle approach. (1) A finite amplitude Alfvén wave is instantly introduced into a plasma (or equivalently, new ions are instantly created). (2) New ions are constantly created. In both scenarios, ions will be picked up by the Alfvén wave. In case 1, the wave scatters ions in the transverse direction leading to a randomization (or heating) process. This process is complete when a phase shift of ±π in the ion gyrospeed is produced between particles with characteristic parallel thermal speed and particles with zero parallel speed. This corresponds to t = π/kvth (k is the wavenumber, and vth is the ion thermal speed). A ring velocity distribution can be produced for a large wave amplitude. The process yields a mass-proportional heating in the transverse direction, a temperature anisotropy, and a bulk flow along the background magnetic field. In case 2, continuous ion creation represents a continuing phase shift in the ion gyrospeed leading to heating. New particles are picked up by the Alfvén wave within one ion gyroperiod. It is speculated that the mechanism may operate in the chromosphere and active regions where transient events may generate finite amplitude Alfvén waves.
Anticancer efficacy of a nitric oxide‐modified derivative of bifendate against multidrug‐resistant cancer cells

The development of multidrug resistance (MDR) not only actively transports a wide range of cytotoxic drugs across drug transporters but is also a complex interaction between a number of important cellular signalling pathways. Nitric oxide donors appear to be a new class of anticancer therapeutics for satisfying all the above conditions. Previously, we reported furoxan‐based nitric oxide‐releasing compounds that exhibited selective antitumour activity in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we demonstrate that bifendate (DDB)‐nitric oxide, a synthetic furoxan‐based nitric oxide‐releasing derivative of bifendate, effectively inhibits the both sensitive and MDR tumour cell viability at a comparatively low concentration. Interestingly, the potency of DDB‐nitric oxide is the independent of inhibition of the functions and expressions of three major ABC transporters. The mechanism of DDB‐nitric oxide appears to be in two modes of actions by inducing mitochondrial tyrosine nitration and apoptosis, as well as by down‐regulating HIF‐1α expression and protein kinase B (AKT), extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK), nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) activation in MDR cells. Moreover, the addition of a typical nitric oxide scavenger significantly attenuated all the effects of DDB‐nitric oxide, indicating that the cytotoxicity of DDB‐nitric oxide is as a result of higher levels of nitric oxide release in MDR cancer cells. Given that acquired MDR to nitric oxide donors is reportedly difficult to achieve and genetically unstable, compound like DDB‐nitric oxide may be a new type of therapeutic agent for the treatment of MDR tumours.