Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Labour Productivity in State Corporations in Kenya

Engaged employees are enthusiastic and put in a lot of effort in their work, this positively contributes to labour productivity . Labour productivity is concerned with the amount (volume) of output that is obtained from each employee. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between employee engagement and Labour productivity. The study adopted an explanatory research design where census method was used involving 205 State Corporations in Kenya. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. The study established that Employee engagement is positively and significantly related to Labour productivity and employee engagement significantly contributes to labour productivity. The study concludes that highly engaged employees are more productive and contribute positively the performance of an organization. Key word: Employee engagement, labour productivity, employee performance, productivity, input, output
Antecedents to Employee Engagement: A Qualitative Study of 28 Senior Secondary School Teachers in Nigeria

This study explores the antecedents of employee engagement among civil servants. Participants included 28 teachers from 8 government owned senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. The teachers cut across all levels in terms of experience, grade level, and gender. Teachers were interviewed about factors that get them engaged at work. The results revealed six main themes: passion for the job, availability of materials for the job, work environment, relationship and support between employees, training and retraining, and pay and remuneration. The findings are discussed in relation to best practice in engaging employees to work within the public sector.
Double machine learning for set-identified linear models *

Set-identified models often restrict the number of covariates leading to wide identified sets in practice. This paper provides estimation and inference methods for set-identified linear models with highdimensional covariates where the model selection is based on modern machine learning tools. I characterize the boundary (i.e, support function) of the identified set using a semiparametric moment condition. Combining Neyman-orthogonality and sample splitting ideas, I construct a root-N consistent, uniformly asymptotically Gaussian estimator of the support function. I also prove the validity of the Bayesian bootstrap procedure to conduct inference about the identified set. I provide a general method to construct a Neyman-orthogonal moment condition for the support function. I apply this result to estimate sharp nonparametric bounds on the average treatment effect in Lee (2008)’s model of endogenous selection and substantially tighten the bounds on this parameter in Angrist et al. (2006)’s empirical setting. I also apply this result to estimate sharp identified sets for two other parameters a new parameter, called a partially linear predictor, and the average partial derivative when the outcome variable is interval-censored. *I am deeply grateful to my advisors Victor Chernozhukov, Whitney Newey, and Anna Mikusheva for their guidance and encouragement. I am grateful to Josh Angrist for kindly sharing the code and data and for the subsequent guidance on empirical application. I am thankful to Alberto Abadie, Chris Ackerman, Sydnee Caldwell, Denis Chetverikov, Ben Deaner, Mert Demirer, Jerry Hausman, Peter Hull, Tetsuya Kaji, Kevin Li, Elena Manresa, Rachael Meager, Denis Nekipelov, Oles Shtanko, Cory Smith, Sophie Sun, Roman Zarate, and the participants at the MIT Econometrics Lunch for helpful comments. Email: vsemen@mit.edu
Which should be appropriate surgical treatment for subtentorial epidural empyema? Burr-hole evacuation versus decompressive craniectomy: Review of the literature with a case report

Subtentorial empyema is a rare intracranial complication of chronic otitis media. Moreover, if not correctly treated, it is a life-threatening infection. Epidural and subdural empyemas on subtentorial space have different effects. This difference is not mentioned in literature. If the distinction can be made, surgical treatment method will be different, and the desired surgical treatment may be less minimal invasive. A 26-year-old male patient was found to have developed epidural empyema in the subtentorial space. We performed a burr-hole evacuation in this case because there was low cerebellar edema, Also, the general condition of the patient was good, the empyema was a convex image on the lower surface of tentorium on magnetic resonance images, and when the dura mater base is reached during mastoidectomy for chronic otitis media, we were observed to drain a purulent material through the epidural space. After 10 days from surgery increased posterior fossa edema caused hydrocephalus. Therefore, ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion was performed. The patient fully recovered and was discharged after 6 weeks. Complete correction in the posterior fossa was observed by postoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Burr-hole evacuation from inside of the mastoidectomy cavity for subtentorial epidural empyema is an effective and minimal invasive surgical treatment.
Neuropsychological function in young patients with unipolar major depression

Background. While neuropsychological studies have consistently reported impaired cognition in elderly patients with unipolar depression, studies of cognitive function in younger patients with depression have produced equivocal results. The aim of this study was to examine the presence and nature of cognitive deficits in young patients with depression. Methods. Neuropsychological function was assessed in 20 young patients with unipolar depression, in comparison to 20 age-, education- and IQ- matched controls. Subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were employed, as this battery has proved sensitive to deficits in middle-aged and elderly patients with depression. Results. The patients were not impaired for short-term memory capacity, spatial working memory, planning ability, cognitive speed, delayed matching to sample or recognition memory. Compared to controls, the patients showed impaired subsequent movement latencies on the Tower of London task, suggesting deficits in the ability to sustain motor responses in depression. The depression group were also impaired on the task of attentional set shifting, requiring more trials to criterion at the intradimensional stage of the task and being more likely to fail the task at the extradimensional shift stage than controls. Further analysis indicated that half of the depression group failed to complete all stages of the set shifting task. These patients were more likely to have required in-patient hospitalization at some time during their illness. Conclusions. These results indicate that there are specific cognitive deficits in young patients with depression and that their presence may be related to a history of hospitalization.
COMBINING ABILITY OF INBRED LINES FOR MAIZE ( Zea mays L . ) SINGLE CROSS HYBRID PRODUCTION UNDER IRRIGATION

Francisco J. Sánchez-Ramírez1, Ma. del Carmen Mendoza-Castillo1*, Moisés Mendoza-Rodríguez†2, Fernando Castillo-González1, Serafín Cruz-Izquierdo1, Sergio Castro-Nava3, José D. Molina-Galán†1 1Postgrado en Recursos Genéticos y Productividad-Genética, Campus Montecillo, Colegio de Postgraduados. Km 36.5 Carretera México-Texcoco. 56230. Montecillo, Texcoco, Estado de México. (camen@colpos.mx). 2Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo. Km 38.5 Carretera México-Texcoco. 56230. Chapingo, Estado de México. 3Facultad de ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. Centro Universitario Adolfo López Mateos. 87149. Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
Chronic Variable Stress Is Responsible for Lipid and DNA Oxidative Disorders and Activation of Oxidative Stress Response Genes in the Brain of Rats

Chronic environmental stress is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction and the pathogenesis of depression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate biochemical and molecular changes associated with ROS generation in the brains of rats submitted to chronic variable stress. Male Wistar rats (50–55 days old, weighing 200–250 g) were divided in two groups (n = 10): control and stressed. Rats in the stressed group were exposed to stress conditions for 40 days. The animals were decapitated and the brain samples were collected. In prefrontal cortex, we measured the following biochemical parameters: lipid peroxidation and concentration of glutathione—GSH, GSSG, GSH/GSSG ratio, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities. In the hippocampus marker of DNA, oxidative damage and expression of DNA-repairing genes (Ogg1, MsrA) and gene-encoding antioxidative transcriptional factor (Nrf2) were determined. The results demonstrate indirect evidence of ROS overproduction and presence of oxidative stress. They also reveal disruption of oxidative defense systems (decreased GR activity, diminished GSH/GSSG ratio, and decreased Nrf2 expression) and activation of the oxidative DNA repair system (increased Ogg1 and MsrA expression). Together, the presented data suggest that independent activation of oxidative stress response genes occurs in chronic variable stress conditions.
Staphylococcus aureus Mutants Lacking the LytR-CpsA-Psr Family of Enzymes Release Cell Wall Teichoic Acids into the Extracellular Medium

ABSTRACT The LytR-CpsA-Psr (LCP) proteins are thought to transfer bactoprenol-linked biosynthetic intermediates of wall teichoic acid (WTA) to the peptidoglycan of Gram-positive bacteria. In Bacillus subtilis, mutants lacking all three LCP enzymes do not deposit WTA in the envelope, while Staphylococcus aureus Δlcp mutants display impaired growth and reduced levels of envelope phosphate. We show here that the S. aureus Δlcp mutant synthesized WTA yet released ribitol phosphate polymers into the extracellular medium. Further, Δlcp mutant staphylococci no longer restricted the deposition of LysM-type murein hydrolases to cell division sites, which was associated with defects in cell shape and increased autolysis. Mutations in S. aureus WTA synthesis genes (tagB, tarF, or tarJ2) inhibit growth, which is attributed to the depletion of bactoprenol, an essential component of peptidoglycan synthesis (lipid II). The growth defect of S. aureus tagB and tarFJ mutants was alleviated by inhibition of WTA synthesis with tunicamycin, whereas the growth defect of the Δlcp mutant was not relieved by tunicamycin treatment or by mutation of tagO, whose product catalyzes the first committed step of WTA synthesis. Further, sortase A-mediated anchoring of proteins to peptidoglycan, which also involves bactoprenol and lipid II, was not impaired in the Δlcp mutant. We propose a model whereby the S. aureus Δlcp mutant, defective in tethering WTA to the cell wall, cleaves WTA synthesis intermediates, releasing ribitol phosphate into the medium and recycling bactoprenol for peptidoglycan synthesis.
Neovascularization in Biodegradable Inverse Opal Scaffolds with Uniform and Precisely Controlled Pore Sizes

The formation of a stable vascular network in a scaffold is one of the most challenging tasks in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite the common use of porous scaffolds in these applications, little is known about the effect of pore size on the neovascularization in these scaffolds. Herein is fabricated poly(D, L‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) inverse opal scaffolds with uniform pore sizes of 79, 147, 224, and 312 μm in diameter and which are then used to systematically study neovascularization in vivo. Histology analyses reveal that scaffolds with small pores (<200 μm) favor the formation of vascular networks with small vessels at high densities and poor penetration depth. By contrast, scaffolds with large pores (>200 μm) favor the formation of vascular networks with large blood vessels at low densities and deep penetration depth. Based on the different patterns of vessel ingrowth as regulated by the pore size, a model is proposed to describe vascularization in a 3D porous scaffold, which can potentially serve as a guideline for future design of porous scaffolds.
The Effectiveness of Investment Subsidies: Evidence from Survey Data

This paper investigates the effects of investment subsidies on the accumulation decisions of a sample of Italian manufacturing firms. We use survey information on the subjective evaluation of the investment activity that the recipient firm would have undertaken, had it not been financed. We find that the effectiveness of subsidies to stimulate investment is limited. Without subsidies, three quarters of the financed firms would have carried out the same amount of investment at the same date; the remaining share of firms would have mostly carried out the same amount of investment in a future date.
Ju l 2 01 8 Correlation Measurements Between Flow Harmonics in Au + Au Collisions at RHIC

Flow harmonics (vn) in the Fourier expansion of the azimuthal distribution of particles are widely used to quantify the anisotropy in particle emission in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The symmetric cumulants, SC(m,n), are used to measure the correlations between different orders of flow harmonics. These correlations are used to constrain the initial conditions and the transport properties of the medium in theoretical models. In this Letter, we present the first measurements of the four-particle symmetric cumulants in Au+Au collisions at √ sNN = 39 and 200 GeV from data collected by the STAR experiment at RHIC. We observe that v2 and v3 are anti-correlated in all centrality intervals with similar correlation strengths from 39 GeV Au+Au to 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb (measured by the ALICE experiment). The v2-v4 correlation seems to be stronger at 39 GeV than at higher collision energies. The initial-stage anti-correlations between second and third order eccentricities are sufficient to describe the measured correlations between v2 and v3. The best description of v2-v4 correlations at √ sNN = 200 GeV is obtained with inclusion of the system’s nonlinear response to initial eccentricities accompanied by the viscous effect with η/s > 0.08. Theoretical calculations using different initial conditions, equations of state and viscous coefficients need to be further explored to extract η/s of the medium created at RHIC.
Peer Support to Promote Medication Adherence Among People Living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract Since early in the AIDS epidemic, HIV-positive individuals have benefited from the services of peer support or buddy programs. However, little research has focused on the experience of the peer providing support. We conducted qualitative interviews with nine HIV-positive peers who had participated in an intervention designed to provide support to other HIV-positive individuals as one means of promoting antiretroviral therapy adherence. Analyses of the peers' common dialogue about their involvement in the study revealed four main themes: social acceptance, reciprocal support, personal growth and empowerment, and resistance and other challenges. Recommendations for future research and for implementing similar interventions in a health care setting are provided.
Evidences for vagus nerve in maintenance of immune balance and transmission of immune information from gut to brain in STM-infected rats.

AIM To determine whether Salmonella Typhimurium (STM)in gastrointestinal tract can induce the functional activation of brain, whether the vagus nerve involves in signaling immune information from gastrointestinal tract to brain and how it influences the immune function under natural infection condition. METHODS Animal model of gastrointestinal tract infection in the rat was established by an intubation of Salmonella Typhimurium (STM) into stomach to mimic the condition of natural bacteria infection. Subdiagphragmatic vagotomy was performed in some of the animals 28 days before infection. The changes of Fos expression visualized with immunohistochemistry technique in hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and superaoptic nucleus (SON) were counted. Meanwhile, the percentage and the Mean Intensities of Fluorescent (MIFs) of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood were measured by using flow cytometry (FCM), and the pathological changes in ileum and mesenteric lymph node were observed in HE stained sections. RESULTS In bacteria-stimulated groups, inflammatory pathological changes were seen in ileum and mesenteric lymph node. The percentages of CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood were decreased from 42%+/-4.5% to 34%+/-4.9% (P<0.05) and MIFs of CD8+ T cells were also decreased from 2.9+/-0.39 to 2.1+/-0.36 (P<0.05) with STM stimulation. All of them proved that our STM-infection model was reliable. Fos immunoreactive (Fos-ir) cells in PVN and SON increased significantly with STM stimulation, from 189+/-41 to 467+/-62 (P<0.05) and from 64+/-21 to 282+/-47 (P<0.05) individually, which suggested that STM in gastrointestinal tract induced the functional activation of brain. Subdiagphragmatic vagotomy attenuated Fos expression in PVN and SON induced by STM, from 467+/-62 to 226+/-45 (P<0.05) and from 282+/-47 to 71+/-19 (P<0.05) individually, and restored the decreased percentages of CD4+ T cells induced by STM from 34%+/-4.9% to original level 44%+/-6.0% (P<0.05). In addition, subdiagphragmatic vagotomy itself also decreased the percentages of CD8+ T cells (from 28%+/-3.0% to 21%+/-5.9%, P<0.05) and MIFs of CD4+ (from 6.6+/-0.6 to 4.9+/-1.0, P<0.05) and CD8+ T cells (from 2.9+/-0.39 to 1.4+/-0.34, P<0.05). Both of them manifested the important role of vagus nerve in transmitting immune information from gut to brain and maintaining the immune balance of the organism. CONCLUSION Vagus nerve does involve in transmitting abdominal immune information into the brain in STM infection condition and play an important role in maintenance of the immune balance of the organism.
Title Balanced truncation for time-delay systems via approximategramians

In circuit simulation, when a large RLC network is connected with delay elements, such as transmission lines, the resulting system is a time-delay system (TDS). This paper presents a new model order reduction (MOR) scheme for TDSs with state time delays. It is the first time to reduce a TDS using balanced truncation. The Lyapunov-type equations for TDSs are derived, and an analysis of their computational complexity is presented. To reduce the computational cost, we approximate the controllability and observability Gramians in the frequency domain. The reduced-order models (ROMs) are then obtained by balancing and truncating the approximate Gramians. Numerical examples are presented to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
ITGA5 Predicts Dual-Drug Resistance to Temozolomide and Bevacizumab in Glioma

Aims Anti-angiotherapy (Bevacizumab) is currently regarded as a promising option for glioma patients who are resistant to temozolomide (TMZ) treatment. But ongoing clinical research failed to meet therapeutic expectations. This study aimed to explore the pivotal genetic feature responsible for TMZ and Bevacizumab resistance in glioma patients. Methods We downloaded the transcriptomic and methylation data of glioma patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and grouped these patients into resistant and non-resistant groups based on their clinical profiles. Differentially expressed genes and pathways were identified and exhibited with software in R platform. A TMZ-resistant cell line was constructed for validating the expression change of the candidate gene, ITGA5. An ITGA5-overexpressing cell line was also constructed to investigate its biological function using the CCK8 assay, Western blot, periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining, and transcriptional sequencing. Results Change of the cell morphology and polarity was closely associated with TMZ mono-resistance and TMZ/Bevacizumab dual resistance in glioma patients. The expression level of ITGA5 was effective in determining drug resistance and the outcome of glioma patients, which is regulated by methylation on two distinct sites. ITGA5 was augmented in TMZ-resistant glioma cells, while overexpressing ITGA5 altered the cell-promoted TMZ resistance through enhancing vascular mimicry (VM) formation correspondingly. Conclusions Both the epigenetic and transcriptional levels of ITGA5 are effective in predicting TMZ and Bevacizumab resistance, indicating that ITGA5 may serve as a predictor of the treatment outcomes of glioma patients.
Applying Cuckoo Hashing for FPGA-based Pattern Matching in NIDS/NIPS

Pattern matching for network intrusion/prevention detection requires extremely high throughput with frequent updates to support new attack patterns. Most of current hardware implementations have outstanding performance over software implementations. However, the requirement for dynamic update pattern set is still challenging for hardware researchers. This paper describes a novel FPGA-based pattern matching architecture using a recent hashing algorithm called Cuckoo Hashing. The proposed architecture features on-the-fly pattern updates without reconfiguration, more efficient hardware utilization, and higher performance. Through various algorithmic changes of Cuckoo Hashing, we can implement parallel pattern matching on SRAM-based FPGA. Our system can accommodate the latest Snort rule-set, an open source network intrusion detection/prevention system, and achieve the highest utilization in terms of SRAM per character and logic cells per character at 17 bits/character and 0.043 logic cells/character, respectively on major Xilinx Virtex architectures. Compared to others, ours is much more efficient than any other Xilinx FPGA architectures.
A systematic approach to analyse health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: the GEDMA study

Objective: To describe a holistic and comprehensive approach to the assessment of sufferer’s perceptio ns of health-related quality of life (HRQ oL) in a cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods: The G EDMA (Grupo de Enfermedades Desmielinizantes de Madrid, in Spanish) study is an ongoing longitudinal survey using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The baseline cohort consisted of a large sample of MS patients recruited from 13 hospitals in Madrid, Spain. Using a standardized protocol we collected data concerning the sociodemographic and health status characteristics of patients, as well as implementing a modified Spanish version of the Functio nal A ssessment of Multiple Sclerosis quality of life instrument. Primary caregivers were interviewed using a specific protocol combined with the Zarit Burden Interview. Results: The index cohort comprised 371 MS patients (68.7% female) of mean age 38.9 ± 0.9 years. A ge, sex and clinical form distribution were similar to other MS population-based surveys. There were 258 (69.5%) relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients and 113 (30.5%) progressive MS patients. More than one-third of the married patients with progressive MS and almost a quarter of the RRMS patients separated or divorced following a diagnosis of MS; 71.3% of the progressive MS patients as well as 65.8% of the RRMS patients were unemployed as a consequence of the disease. Q ualitative analysis showed that friendship and family relationships and occupational status were the most significant dimensions influenced by MS. O n the other hand, the speech analysis of primary caregivers showed that emotional burden was related to patients’ physical disability. Furthermore, primary caregivers described the influence of MS on their own occupatio nal status, their nonacceptance of the disease, a perceptio n of a lack of support by other members of the family as well as a ‘selfish and intransigent’ attitude of the patients themselves. Conclusions: The analysis of the G EDMA cohort provides valuable information that helps clarify the impact of MS on patients’ HRQ oL.