Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Latent Styles of German Newspaper Coverage of Allied Prisoners of War During the Gulf War

The present paper applies Latent Class Analysis to obtain empirical evidence for some aspects of a propaganda model developed by Herman & ChOlnsky (1988) in order to explain why some subjects are preferably dealt with by the news media whereas no attention is paid to others. An essential criterion for this is the usefulness of a topic. Herman & Chomsky, therefore, refer to "worthy" und "unworthy victims": victims of national or international violence, whose torments, though comparable from an objective point of view, are useful as a weapon against an actual enemy in one case, while they are useless, and hence devoid of interest, in another. If responsibility for violence lies in one's own sphere of influence, any reporting on its victims would be unfavorable to one's national interest.
Anaesthetic effects of chloral hydrate, pentobarbitone and urethane in adult male rats

Chloral hydrate, pentobarbitone and urethane were evaluated and compared for onset, duration and depth of anaesthesia, cardiovascular and respiratory effects, nociception and mortality in adult male rats. Chloral hydrate (300 and 400 mg/kg) severely depressed the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Duration of anaesthesia was linearly related to dose, and anaesthetic depth and analgesia were excellent. Pentobarbital (40 mg/kg) produced a short period of light surgical anaesthesia. Moderate to severe respiratory and cardiovascular depression occurred. Duration of anaesthesia was not related to dose. Urethane (1·2 and 1·5 g/kg) caused moderate cardiovascular depression. In addition, mortality was high at the 1·5 g/kg dose. Duration of anaesthesia was greater than 24 h for most animals. Anaesthesia depth and analgesia were excellent.
An ecologic analysis of maternal mortality ratios.

Ecological associations have provided the basis for numerous programs to reduce maternal mortality. The authors argue that indices ecologically associated with maternal mortality ratios are highly intercorrelated and do not necessarily indicate that improving one aspect of the health system such as the skills of delivery attendants will in fact reduce maternal deaths. In 1993 they conducted an ecologic analysis of the correlates of maternal mortality from the data published by UN Childrens Fund in 1999 from 84 countries in order to evaluate the potential of promising interventions. Variables such as receipt of antenatal care tetanus toxoid immunization contraceptive prevalence adult literacy skilled attendant at delivery and institutional delivery were included in the analysis. A backward stepwise linear and fitted regression analyses for contraceptive prevalence and institutional deliveries using these variables to predict the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was conducted. Overall results noted that MMR was inversely proportional with the variables included in the analyses. With the exception of tetanus toxoid for immunization it is noted that all the remaining variables were positively associated with one another. Moreover the study indicated that lower national MMRs were associated with skilled attendant at delivery and high contraceptive prevalence rates. Based on the results the authors argue that ecological indices associated with MMR are highly intercorrelated and do not necessarily indicate that the improvement of one aspect of the health system can reduce maternal mortality.
Impact of Technology Interventions on Student Achievement in Rural Nigerian Schools

Impact of Technology Interventions on Student Achievement in Rural Nigerian Schools by Aderonke Bello MEd, Abilene Christian University, USA, 2010 MSc, University of Lagos, Nigeria, 1993 BSc, University of Lagos, Nigeria, 1987 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
A Proposed Scale for Measuring E-service Quality

With rapid growth of the Internet and the globalization of market, companies accepted and adopted the new information and communication technology to offer e-services to their customers. This paper addresses e-service quality issue in the electronic marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to extend what are the main service quality dimensions in the realm of e-service. The paper explores e-service quality dimensions based on a review of the development of e-service quality scales and the SERVQUAL scale. It proposes an 8-dimension scale for measuring e-service quality with rewording and modifying of the SERVQUAL instrument: Website design, reliability, fulfillment, security, responsiveness, personalization, information and empathy. This paper concludes by discussing the findings of this study and highlighting areas for the future research in the realm of e-service quality. With rapid growth of the Internet and the globalization of market, companies accepted and adopted the new information and communication technology in the performance of their activities, not only to support traditional activities, but also to support those arising from new opportunities, mainly from the Internet. Electronic commerce and online business stand out among these opportunities. Most companies are establishing Websites, which are regarded as a new channel to conduct business transaction, and customers can make purchase through companies’ Websites. It enables companies to access a global market with low operating cost, to offer information in depth, and to provide customers electronic service (e-service) with superior quality by means of the interactivity of the Internet, which increases the competition among companies. Both concepts of e-service and e-service quality have become increasing important issues in research. E-service is different from traditional service, which is based on interactive information flow between customers and service providers. E-service quality has been regarded as having the potential not only to deliver strategic benefits, but also to enhance operational efficiency and profitability [12, 26]. E-service is becoming even more critical for companies to retain and attract customers. What brings online customers back to company’s websites is a sense of loyalty that comes from good services offered by companies. Oliveria et al. (2002) suggest that companies can achieve competitive capabilities by offering good eservices to customers [24]. Service quality has strong impacts on customer satisfaction on the performance of companies. Improving e-service quality to satisfy and retain customers is becoming a challenging issue. There are a range of studies on the dimensions, measures and attributes of e-service quality. The purpose of this paper is to uncover and interpret the current researches in the dimensions of e-service quality, and propose a theoretical scale to measure e-service quality, which provides fresh insight into the dimensions of e-service quality.
“Sustainable University” – empirical evidence and strategic recommendations for holistic transformation approaches to sustainability in higher education institutions

Sustainable development, and the process of institutional transformation this requires, remains a considerable challenge for universities. Worldwide, only a few universities are to date confronting these challenges. Through its initiatives “Agenda 21 and the University of Luneburg” (1999-2001) and “Sustainable University – Sustainable Development in the Context of University Remits” (2004-2007), as well as through the UNESCO Chair of Higher Education for Sustainable Development, the University of Luneburg has been among the first European universities to view the institution as a whole and to attempt to initiate processes in all working areas which point the way towards the integration of sustainability into each of the different areas in which it is active.
Insights on virulence from the complete genome of Staphylococcus capitis

Staphylococcus capitis is an opportunistic pathogen of the coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS). Functional genomic studies of S. capitis have thus far been limited by a lack of available complete genome sequences. Here, we determined the closed S. capitis genome and methylome using Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing. The strain, AYP1020, harbors a single circular chromosome of 2.44 Mb encoding 2304 predicted proteins, which is the smallest of all complete staphylococcal genomes sequenced to date. AYP1020 harbors two large mobile genetic elements; a plasmid designated pAYP1020 (59.6 Kb) and a prophage, ΦAYP1020 (48.5 Kb). Methylome analysis identified significant adenine methylation across the genome involving two distinct methylation motifs (1972 putative 6-methyladenine (m6A) residues identified). Putative adenine methyltransferases were also identified. Comparative analysis of AYP1020 and the closely related CoNS, S. epidermidis RP62a, revealed a host of virulence factors that likely contribute to S. capitis pathogenicity, most notably genes important for biofilm formation and a suite of phenol soluble modulins (PSMs); the expression/production of these factors were corroborated by functional assays. The complete S. capitis genome will aid future studies on the evolution and pathogenesis of the coagulase negative staphylococci.
Joint low-complexity blind equalization, carrier recovery, and timing recovery with application to cable modem transmission

SUMMARY We present a receiver structure with joint blind equalization, carrier recovery, and timing recovery. The blind equalizer employs a decomposition transversal ltering technique which can reduce the complexity of convolution to about a half. We analyze the performance surface of the equalizer cost function and show that the global minima correspond to perfect equalization. We also derive proper initial tap settings of the equalizer for convergence to the global minima. We describe the timing recovery and the carrier recovery methods employed. And we describe a startup sequence to bring the receiver into full operation. The adaptation algorithms for equalization, carrier recovery, and timing recovery are relatively independent, resulting in good operational stability of the overall receiver. Some simulation results for cable-modem type of transmission are presented.
Conflict at Work and External Dispute Settlement - A cross-country comparison

The focus of both academic and public debate on the expression of work-related conflict has long been focused on strikes. Substantial declines in collective disputes have been associated with more harmonious and less conflict-laden employment relations. This research deals with another, often forgotten form in which conflict is manifested, namely the settlement of individual conflicts through labour courts or employment tribunals. Its aim is to explore and explain differences in application rates to national judicial bodies both across countries and over time. Using a novel database on 23 European Union Member States, it is found that a substantial degree of variance exists; claim rates across Europe differ substantially, and countries have developed along different lines. The explosion of court applications is found to be exceptional, and stability or volatility is identified in the large bulk of EU Member States. In order to explain cross-sectional and time differences, the research draws on wide range of literature, develops a new procedural concept of conflict, and proposes a comparative neo-institutionalist framework accounting for both institutions and actors.The theoretical discussion elaborates three sets of arguments to predict claim incidence. First, it is argued that the existence of comprehensive collective industrial relations institutions, particularly employee workplace representation and collective agreements, tend to reduce the frequency of labour court claims. Second, the amount and complexity of employment regulation is argued to have an impact on the incidence of court applications. Finally, cyclical economic conditions and individual characteristics of the potential grievant are expected to predict the phenomenon.Empirical evidence is presented from a range of different data sources, such as national administrative data and large-scale surveys for three country case studies on France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Findings support that all three sets of explanations contribute to the explanation of the incidence of labour court claims. Moreover, data seem to confirm the need for an interdisciplinary approach drawing on different bodies of literature.
Acid-Fast Bacilli Other than Mycobacteria in Tuberculosis Patients Receiving Directly Observed Therapy Short Course in Cross River State, Nigeria

The information on the contribution of non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) to mycobacterial infections in Africa is scarce due to limited laboratory culture for its isolation and identification. One hundred and thirty-seven sputum smear positive patients were recruited into a study on the molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Cross River State. Following sputum culture, 97 pure isolates were obtained and identified using Capilia TB-Neo and further confirmed by the GenoType Mycobacterium CM kit. Of the 97 isolates, 81 (83.5%) isolates were Capilia TB-Neo positive while 16 (16.5%) were Capilia TB-Neo negative. Further confirmation with the GenoType Mycobacterium CM kit revealed that 4 (25%) of the 16 isolates belonged to NTM and included M. fortuitum I, M. fortuitum II/M magaritense, M. abscessus, and M. avium ssp. The remaining 12 (75%) Capilia TB-Neo negative isolates were not members of the genus Mycobacterium despite their AFB appearance. Six (33.3%) of the Capilia TB-Neo negative were from HIV positive tuberculosis patients. All subjects in this study were placed on DOTS shortly after the AFB results were obtained. The implication of isolation of 16.5% nontuberculous isolates further emphasizes the need for culture of sputum specimen especially in HIV positive patients prior to administration of antituberculosis therapy.
News Media Framing and Risk Communication: A Content Analysis of British Columbia’s 2014 Measles Outbreak

Given their agenda setting function, the news media can play an important role in framing our understanding of health issues. Immunization in particular is considered a public health success story. Nonetheless, growing hesitancy towards immunization for a variety of reasons has resulted in outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) across North America. Using British Columbia’s 400-case measles outbreak in 2014, the present research employs a mixed method content analysis to examine news media framing of the outbreak in the Vancouver Sun and The Vancouver Province between March 1st-May 24th 2014. Key quantitative findings from the present study suggest that the dominant attribution of blame for the measles outbreak was religion (41%), medical/science sources were overwhelmingly relied upon in the coverage (80%), a greater degree of diligence was taken to avoid false balance, and finally there was a general lack of mobilizing information provided in the coverage. Key findings from the qualitative analysis suggest that while mandatory vaccination policies were seen as a positive solution to outbreaks, they could have polarizing implications. Thus, this study supports prior research calling for a national immunization registry. The present research concludes by presenting risk communication suggestions for public health authorities and the media.
Improving Accuracy of the Vehicle Attitude Estimation for Low-Cost INS/GPS Integration Aided by the GPS-Measured Course Angle

This paper presents a method using the Global Positioning System (GPS)-measured course angle to improve the accuracy of the vehicle attitude estimation for low-cost inertial navigation system/GPS (INS/GPS) integration. Observability properties of the error states in the low-cost integration navigation system are first analyzed, indicating that the attitude estimation is severely affected by vehicle maneuvers, particularly the yaw angle. The pitch and roll angles are strongly observed; hence, the observability of these two angles is nearly free of influence caused by vehicle maneuvers, and these two angles can be accurately estimated. To improve the yaw-angle estimation, we propose a cascaded Kalman filter to deal with the yaw angle separately with the aid of the GPS-measured course angle. Additionally, two switching rules are established to remove the influence caused by the sideslip angle and GPS noise. The experimental results validate the observability analysis of the low-cost INS/GPS system and show that the proposed attitude estimation method can effectively improve the accuracy of the vehicle attitude estimation, suggesting that this technique is a viable candidate for many control applications used in cars.
Probing embryonic tissue mechanics with laser hole drilling

We use laser hole drilling to assess the mechanics of an embryonic epithelium during development—in vivo and with subcellular resolution. We ablate a subcellular cylindrical hole clean through the epithelium and track the subsequent recoil of adjacent cells (on ms time scales). We investigate dorsal closure in the fruit fly with emphasis on apical constriction of amnioserosa cells. The mechanical behavior of this epithelium falls between that of a continuous sheet and a 2D cellular foam (a network of tensile interfaces). Tensile stress is carried both by cell–cell interfaces and by the cells' apical actin networks. Our results show that stress is slightly concentrated along interfaces (1.6-fold), but only in early closure. Furthermore, closure is marked by a decrease in the recoil power-law exponent, implying a transition to a more solid-like tissue. We use the site and stage dependence of the recoil kinetics to constrain how the cellular mechanics change during closure. We apply these results to test extant computational models.
Orientation Selectivity in Macaque V1: Diversity and Laminar Dependence

We studied the steady-state orientation selectivity of single neurons in macaque primary visual cortex (V1). To analyze the data, two measures of orientation tuning selectivity, circular variance and orientation bandwidth, were computed from the tuning curves. Circular variance is a global measure of the shape of the tuning curve, whereas orientation bandwidth is a local measure of the sharpness of the tuning curve around its peak. Circular variance in V1 was distributed broadly, indicating a great diversity of orientation selectivity. This diversity was also reflected in the individual cortical layers. However, there was a tendency for neurons with high circular variance, meaning low selectivity for orientation, to be concentrated in layers 4C, 3B, and 5. The relative variation of orientation bandwidth across the cortical layers was less than for circular variance, but it showed a similar laminar dependence. Neurons with large orientation bandwidth were found predominantly in layers 4C and 3B. There was a weak correlation between orientation selectivity and the level of spontaneous activity of the neurons. We also assigned a response modulation ratio for each cell, which is a measure of the linearity of spatial summation. Cells with low modulation ratios tended to have higher circular variance and bandwidth than those with high modulation ratios. These findings suggest a revision to the classical view that nonoriented receptive fields are principally found in layer 4C and the cytochrome oxidase-rich blobs in layer 2/3. Instead, a broad distribution of tuning selectivity is found in all cortical layers, and neurons that are weakly tuned for orientation are ubiquitous in V1 cortex.
Central extensions of the families of quasi-unitary Lie algebras

The most general possible central extensions of two whole families of Lie algebras, which can be obtained by contracting the special pseudo-unitary algebras of the Cartan series and the pseudo-unitary algebras , are completely determined and classified for arbitrary p and q. In addition to the and algebras, whose second cohomology group is well known to be trivial, each family includes many non-semisimple algebras; their central extensions, which are explicitly given, can be classified into three types as far as their properties under contraction are involved. A closed expression for the dimension of the second cohomology group of any member of these families of algebras is given.
Complements or Substitutes? New Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence on the Imports and FDI Relationship

Central and Eastern European countries with the liberalisation process and the recent accession to the EU are, nowadays, well engaged in trade with partner countries and at the same time receive significant and increasing interest from foreign investors. Trade and Foreign Direct Investment can potentially enhance economic growth and development as widely evidenced in the literature; hence their relationship may be of particular interest for the region especially in the context of an enlarged EU. This paper addresses the imperative need to understand the relationship of FDI and trade as well as international investors' behaviour by developing a new theoretical approach and providing empirical evidence. We use the most expanded data span in the current literature, from the early stages of transition in 1992 to 2006 and an enriched dataset of countries, sectors and location factors. In regards to the inward FDI vs. imports relationship, results comply with our theoretical formulation and strongly indicate an overall complementarity with each other. In the case of FDI we find strong locational characteristics such as the large market size, the gradual improvement of the macro-environment and finally the quality of labour force to play a positive role.
Activation of the p21ras pathway couples antigen receptor stimulation to induction of the primary response gene egr-1 in B lymphocytes

The primary response gene egr-1 encodes a sequence-specific transcription factor whose expression is necessary for antigen receptor- stimulated activation of B lymphocytes. The molecular processes involved in linking egr-1 induction to antigen receptor signaling have not been defined. The present study demonstrates that expression of an activated form of p21ras results in egr-1 induction similar to that previously shown after antigen receptor cross-linking. In addition, both antigen receptor cross-linking and p21ras use the same element in the egr-1 promoter to exert their effects. Using dominant-negative mutants of p21ras and raf-1, we demonstrate that induction of egr-1 after antigen receptor cross-linking is mediated by activation of the p21ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. While regulation of the p21ras pathway during B cell activation has been intensively studied, this report represents the first description of a biologically relevant event associated with its activation.