Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public Sector Officials’ Commitment to Anti-Bribery Management System Implementation: A Case Study in the Malaysian Context

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had introduced the Corruption-free Pledge to be signed by public servants showing their commitment to not engage in any corruption or misconduct throughout their tenure. Even though almost every public sector's officers have signed the pledge, there are still many corruption cases occurring among public sector officers (MACC Arrest Statistic 2019). Thus, the signing of a pledge does not indicate the true commitment of combating corruption. Due to the lack of empirical evidence in understanding factors that could enhance employees’ commitment to mitigate corruption, this study aims to explore whether demographic factors such as gender, age, service category, and the officers’ tenure have the relationships with their commitment in implementing Anti-bribery Management System (ABMS) among Malaysian public sector officers. An independent sample t-test was conducted to compare employees’ commitment in terms of gender, age, and service category. Besides that, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the officers’ tenure in terms of their commitment. The study found that there were significant differences between gender, age, service category and officers’ tenure in relation to ABMS’s commitment implementation.
Corticotropin‐releasing hormone triggers differentiation in HaCaT keratinocytes

Background Corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) is proposed to be involved in the regulation of the proliferative capacity of keratinocytes, based on its significant actions in the skin. These are mediated by CRH‐R1α and represented by adenylate cyclase activation, Ca2+ influx, inhibition of cell proliferation and modifications in intracellular signal transduction by NF‐κB.
Effect of Visuomotor Rehearsal with Videotaped Modeling on Racquetball Performance of Beginning Players

This investigation was designed to assess the effect of visuomotor behavior rehearsal (VMBR) with videotaped modeling on racquetball performance of beginning players. 24 male students in beginning racquetball class were randomly assigned to either VMBR with videotape modeling or relaxation and imagery (no modeling) condition for a 2-wk. training period. All subjects were pre- and posttested on forehand and backhand racquetball skill tests. Analysis indicated an effect for forehand shooting, with those given visuomotor behavior rehearsal with videotaped model exhibiting better performance than the relaxation and imagery group, but no effect for backhand shooting.
Characterization of B7S3 as a Novel Negative Regulator of T Cells1

T cell activation by APCs is regulated by B7-like costimulatory molecules. In this study, we describe a new B7 superfamily member, B7S3, with two differentially spliced isoforms expressed in lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. A soluble B7S3-Ig protein bound to professional APC constitutively as well as to activated but not naive T cells. B7S3-Ig treatment greatly inhibited T cell proliferation and IL-2 production. B7S3-Ig also reduced cytokine production by effector T cells. Interestingly, although human genome appears to contain a single-copy B7S3 homolog, the mouse B7S3 gene has 10 relatives within a 2-Mb region constituting a B7S3 gene family. This study identifies B7S3 as a novel negative regulator of T cells, and suggests evolutionarily divergent T cell regulation mechanisms in mammals.
The effect of saturation history on three‐phase relative permeability: An experimental study

We investigate the effect of different saturation histories relevant to various oil displacement processes (including secondary and tertiary gas injections) on three‐phase gas/oil/brine relative permeabilities of water‐wet sandstone. It is found that three‐phase water (wetting phase) relative permeability is primarily a function of water saturation and shows no dependency upon saturation history. Three‐phase gas (nonwetting phase) relative permeability is also a function of gas saturation as well as the direction of gas saturation change. Three‐phase relative permeability to oil (intermediate‐wetting phase) appears to depend on all phase saturations, and saturation history have no significant impact on it. Three‐phase oil relative permeability shows weak sensitivity to initial oil saturation prior to gas injection. The functional forms of oil relative permeability with saturation, particularly at low oil saturations, are also examined. It is observed that, at high oil saturations where networks of oil‐filled elements govern oil flow, oil relative permeability exhibits a quartic form with oil saturation (kro∝So4) whereas, at low oil saturations where flow is believed to be controlled by layer drainage, it shows a quadratic form (kro∝So2) . The quadratic form of three‐phase oil relative permeability is consistent with the theoretical interpretation of layer drainage at the pore scale.
Sequential eviction of crowded nucleoprotein complexes by the RecBCD molecular motor

In physiological settings, all nucleic acids motor proteins must travel along substrates that are crowded with other proteins. However, the physical basis for how motor proteins behave in these highly crowded environments remains unknown. Here we use real–time single molecule imaging, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and Molecular dynamics simulations to determine how the ATP-dependent translocase RecBCD travels along DNA occupied by tandem arrays of high affinity DNA–binding proteins. We demonstrate that RecBCD forces each protein into its nearest adjacent neighbor, causing rapid disruption of the underlying protein–nucleic acid interface. This mechanism is not simply the same way that RecBCD disrupts isolated nucleoprotein complexes on otherwise naked DNA. Instead, molecular crowding itself completely alters the mechanism by which RecBCD removes tightly bound protein obstacles from DNA. Significance statement Chromosomes are crowded places, and any nucleic acid motor proteins that act upon DNA must function within these crowded environments. How crowded environments affect motor protein behaviors remains largely unexplored. Here, we use single molecule fluorescence microscopy visualize the ATP-dependent motor protein RecBCD as it travels along crowded DNA molecules bearing long tandem arrays of DNA-binding proteins. Our findings show that RecBCD can push through highly crowded protein arrays while evicting the proteins from DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that RecBCD forces the proteins into once another, causing rapid disruption of the protein-DNA interface. These findings may provide insights into how other types of motor proteins travel along crowded nucleic acids.
PENGARUH CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN DENGAN KEPUASAN PELANGGAN SEBAGAI VARIABEL INTERVENING PT. NASMOCO ABADI MOTOR KARANGANYAR (Studi pada pelanggan yang menggunakan jasa bengkel PT. Nasmoco Abadi Motor Karanganyar)

The development of Indonesia’s economic is experiencing tighter competition. The occurance of car sales in Indonesia that up and down, make the entrepreneurs in the automotive has to be more creative and innovative in the face of increasingly tight market competition. This research aims to examine the influence of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on Customer Loyalty through Customer Satisfaction to PT. Nasmoco Abadi Motor. Population in thus research is customer of PT. Nasmoco Abadi Motor Karanganyar using 100 (one hundred) garage service. Data analysis of researcher use regression test, path analysis and mediation test (sobel test) by using program of SPSS 20. The result show that Customer Relationship Management have significant relation with Customer Loyalty through Customer Satisfaction. Variable Customer Satisfaction in this research is intervening variable to Customer Loyalty. The conclusion of this research proves that with the existence of Customer Satisfaction, then the customer’s perception of Customer Loyalty will increase. Furthermore, to achieve Customer Satisfaction, CRM in PT. Nasmoco Abadi Motor Karanganyar has to be further improved so that later will make the customer become loyal.
Are New Faculty Prepared to Teach Diverse Learners

A quality teaching mission not only defines a community college, but also affects the caliber of its faculty (Cohen & Brawer, 1972). In his 1980 study of community-college professional development, J. Ellerbe stated that competent faculty members are critical to quality instruction. Yet he agreed with renowned higher educational researcher J. Gaff, who lamented, “Most faculty members readily confess that they learned to teach by being thrown into the classroom and either sinking or swimming” (as cited in Ellerbe, 1980, p. 1). Years later, another distinguished educational writer, W. Grubb (1999), in his critical exposé on the current quality of communitycollege education, made a similar indictment that new faculty do not enter classrooms any readier to teach their students than many of the students themselves come prepared to learn. Community-college researchers concede that although content mastery is a critical requisite in the faculty selection process, pedagogical proficiency beyond the ability to lecture is rarely a consideration (Miller, Finely, & Vancko, 2000; Roueche, Milliron, & Roueche, 2003). Meanwhile, the 21st-century student population is becoming more diverse, leaving us to wonder whether a new generation of faculty exhibits the necessary skills to address the growing diverse-learner needs. Furthermore, even as faculty members have access to ample professional-development programs, these activities are rarely required or designed specifically for new instructors (Fugate & Amey, 2000; Grubb, 1999).
Dividend Policy of Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises

Abstract The purpose of this research is to identify the factors that influence the dividend policy. The model considered the impact of ownership structure, firm size, growth opportunities, financial leverage, profitability, business risk, age, previous year’s dividends, and global crisis 2008 on dividend payout ratio. Sample in this research is state-owned enterprises listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange between the years from 2004-2013. With using purposive sampling, the total of the sample in this research is 8 state-owned companies. The methodology of this research was multiple regression linier. The result of this research find that firm size, previous year’s divi­dends, and global crisis 2008 significant to dividend payout ratio. Ownership structure, growth opportunities, financial leverage, profitability, business risk, and age do not have significant to dividend payout ratio. This result indicates that the companies management has to consider firm size, previous year’s dividends, and global crisis 2008 in dividend payout ratio.
Biometric template protection for speaker recognition based on universal background models

(Voice-) biometric data is considered as personally identifiable information, that is, the increasing demand on (mobile) speaker recognition systems calls for applications which prevent from privacy threats, such as identity-theft or tracking without consent. Technologies of biometric template protection, in particular biometric cryptosystems, fulfil standardised properties of irreversibility and unlinkability which represent appropriate countermeasures to such vulnerabilities of conventional biometric recognition systems. Thereby, public confidence in and social acceptance of biometric applications is strengthened. In this work the authors propose a binarisation technique, which is used to extract scalable high-entropy binary voice reference data (templates) from speaker models, based on Gaussian mixture models and universal background models. Binary feature vectors are then protected within a template protection scheme in particular, fuzzy commitment scheme, in which error correction list-decoding is employed to overcome high intra-class variance of voice samples. In experiments, which are evaluated out on a text-independent speaker corpus of 339 individuals, it is demonstrated that the fully ISO/IEC IS 24745 compliant system achieves privacy protection at a negligible loss of biometric performance, confirming the soundness of the presented approach.
A Monoclonal Antibody Directed against a Conformational Epitope of the HIV-1 Trans-activator (Tat) Protein Neutralizes Cross-clade

Background: Tat, an essential HIV-1 replication factor and extracellular toxin acting on immune cells, is an interesting target to develop therapeutic antibodies. Results: mAb 7G12 recognizes a conformational epitope of Tat, cross-neutralizes different Tat variants, and blocks Tat uptake. Conclusion: mAb 7G12 could be used in immunotherapy to restore the immunity of patients. Significance: Development of alternatives to antiretroviral therapy is crucial. The identification of a neutralizing mAb against extracellular HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) is important for the development of an efficient HIV-1 treatment. Tat plays an essential role in HIV-1 pathogenesis, not only for HIV-1 replication but also as an extracellular toxin able to disrupt the immune system. We showed previously that immunization of rabbits with Tat Oyi, a variant cloned from an African woman who did not develop AIDS following HIV-1 infection, raised antibodies able to recognize different Tat variants. We carried out mice immunization with Tat Oyi and selected a mAb named 7G12, which had the capacity to cross-recognize heterologous Tat variants by a common three-dimensional epitope. These results highlighted that Tat variants were able to acquire a structure, in contrast to a number of studies showing Tat as an unfolded protein. mAb 7G12 also had the capacity to neutralize the biological activities of these Tat variants by blocking the cellular uptake of extracellular Tat. This is the first study using Tat Oyi to produce a mAb able to neutralize effectively activities of extracellular Tats from different HIV-1 subtypes. This mAb has an important potential in therapeutic passive immunization and could help HIV-1 infected patients to restore their immunity.
Bright Fluorescent Streptococcus pneumoniae for Live-Cell Imaging of Host-Pathogen Interactions

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common nasopharyngeal resident in healthy people but, at the same time, one of the major causes of infectious diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. The shift from commensal to pathogen and its interaction with host cells are poorly understood. One of the major limitations for research on pneumococcal-host interactions is the lack of suitable tools for live-cell imaging. To address this issue, we developed a generally applicable strategy to create genetically stable, highly fluorescent bacteria. Our strategy relies on fusing superfolder green fluorescent protein (GFP) or a far-red fluorescent protein (RFP) to the abundant histone-like protein HlpA. Due to efficient translation and limited cellular diffusion of these fusions, the cells are 25-fold brighter than those of the currently best available imaging S. pneumoniae strain. These novel bright pneumococcal strains are fully virulent, and the GFP reporter can be used for in situ imaging in mouse tissue. We used our reporter strains to study the effect of the polysaccharide capsule, a major pneumococcal virulence factor, on different stages of infection. By dual-color live-cell imaging experiments, we show that unencapsulated pneumococci adhere significantly better to human lung epithelial cells than encapsulated strains, in line with previous data obtained by classical approaches. We also confirm with live-cell imaging that the capsule protects pneumococci from neutrophil phagocytosis, demonstrating the versatility and usability of our reporters. The described imaging tools will pave the way for live-cell imaging of pneumococcal infection and help further understanding of the mechanisms of pneumococcal pathogenesis.
Psychosocial job strain and productivity in human service workers: A test of the demand-control-support model.

The aim of the study was to test the main and interactive effects of the key dimensions of the demand-control-support model in predicting levels of strain (specifically emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and job dissatisfaction) and feelings of productivity and competency (personal accomplishment) in a multi-occupational sample of human service workers (N = 813). Controlling for demographics, negative affectivity (NA), and quadratic terms, structural equation analyses showed some support for the additive iso-strain hypothesis: jobs combining high demands, low control and low support produced the lowest levels of satisfaction in workers. High demands and low supports only were associated with high depersonalization, and high emotional exhaustion. Support was also found for the additive active learning hypotheses: jobs combining high demands and high control produced the highest levels of personal accomplishment. The study supports job redesign interventions for improving worker well-being and productivity.
The effect of music therapy on physiological signs of anxiety in patients receiving mechanical ventilatory support.

AIMS The aim of this study was to investigate if relaxing music is an effective method of reducing the physiological signs of anxiety in patients receiving mechanical ventilatory support. BACKGROUND Few studies have focused on the effect of music on physiological signs of anxiety in patients receiving mechanical ventilatory support. DESIGN A study-case-control, experimental repeated measures design was used. METHOD Sixty patients aged 18-70 years, receiving mechanical ventilatory support and hospitalised in the intensive care unit, were taken as a convenience sample. Participants were randomised to a control group or intervention group, who received 60 minutes of music therapy. Classical music was played to patients using media player (MP3) and headphones. Subjects had physiological signs taken immediately before the intervention and at the 30th, 60th and 90th minutes of the intervention. Physiological signs of anxiety assessed in this study were mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation in blood measured by pulse oxymetry. Data were collected over eight months in 2006-2007. RESULTS The music group had significantly lower respiratory rates, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, than the control group. This decrease improved progressively in the 30th, 60th and 90th minutes of the intervention, indicating a cumulative dose effect. CONCLUSION Music can provide an effective method of reducing potentially harmful physiological responses arising from anxiety. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE As indicated by the results of this study, music therapy can be supplied to allay anxiety in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Nurses may include music therapy in the routine care of patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
Factors associated with life space among community-living rural elders in Japan.

OBJECTIVE The study objective was to identify factors associated with life space to examine the service needs of the elderly. Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE 2,409 community-living elderly in a rural town in Japan. MEASUREMENTS Daily activity level was used as a proxy for life space. Respondents were asked about their daily activity, health status, and psychosocial factors in a self-administered questionnaire. Factors associated with life space were identified using general linear models. Relative associations of each factor with life space were tested using stepwise multiple regression procedure. RESULTS Elderly in a smaller life space were significantly older, had more illnesses, worse activities of daily living (ADL), and poor self-rated health. Poor psychological well-being and fewer social relations were also associated with a smaller life space. Age and ADL difficulty accounted for 51.7% of life space variations. In addition, more elderly with ADL difficulty expressed unmet needs for transportation and socializing opportunities. CONCLUSIONS Life space was related not only to age or health status but also to environmental or psychosocial factors. Appropriate services for a vulnerable population may have a positive effect on elderly health. Moreover, elderly life space may be used as an indicator to identify people at risk in order to provide more effective community-based programs for the elderly.
Resynthesized lines and cultivars of Brassica napus L. provide sources of resistance to the cabbage stem weevil (Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus (Mrsh.))

Abstract The cabbage stem weevil (Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus (Mrsh.)) (Col., Curculionidae) is a serious pest of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. var. oleifera Metzg.) in central and northern Europe. Although host-plant resistance is a key tool in integrated pest management systems, resistant genotypes are not yet available for this species. Resynthesized rapeseed lines (B. oleracea L.×B. rapa L.) are broadening the genetic diversity and might have potential as sources of resistance to pest insects. The host quality, of nine resynthesized rapeseed lines and six genotypes of B. napus to cabbage stem weevil, was evaluated in laboratory screening tests and in a semi-field experiment. In dual-choice oviposition tests, female C. pallidactylus laid significantly fewer eggs on five resyntheses and on swede cv ‘Devon Champion’ than on the moderately susceptible oilseed rape cv ‘Express’, indicating a lower host quality of these genotypes. Results of laboratory screenings were confirmed in a semi-field experiment, in which twelve genotypes were exposed to C. pallidactylus females. The number of larvae was significantly lower in two resyntheses and in cv ‘Devon Champion’ than in oilseed rape cv WVB 9. The total, as well as individual, glucosinolate (GSL) content in the leaves differed substantially among the genotypes tested. The amount of feeding by larvae of C. pallidactylus, as measured by a stem-injury coefficient, was positively correlated with the indolyl GSL compounds 3-indolylmethyl and 4-methoxy-3-indolylmethyl, and with the aromatic GSL 2-phenylethyl, whereas it was negatively correlated with 4-hydroxy-3-indolylmethyl. Thus, the composition and concentration of GSL compounds within the plant tissue might be a key factor in breeding for pest resistance in oilseed rape.