Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance contracting and strategy evaluation in state corporations in Kenya

By design, performance contracts are intended to implement strategic plans of organizations. It is argued that, the results obtained from the performance contracts give the extent to which organizations strategic plans have been implemented and that these results should inform the evaluation of the very strategies. This study set to establish the link between performance contract and strategy evaluation in State Corporations in Kenya. To achieve this objective, primary data was used. The data was collected from individual State Corporations by email and drop and pick. The findings realized suggest that, to a less extent, the State Corporations' performance contract results inform their strategy evaluation. The findings also suggest that strategic plans of State Corporations are not comprehensively developed and miss out on clear intentions. This in turn affects the process of target setting, implementation and evaluation of performance contracts. The results may have been constrained by the level of understanding on the relationship between the organizations' strategic plan and the performance contract. An understanding of this would have further enhanced the research findings. There should be put in place measure to ensure that performance contracts are designed in such a way that they comprehensively cover issues in the strategic plans. The government needs to develop policies that direct institutions to evaluate their strategies annually, along the performance contract timelines and using the performance contract results. At the same time, it should be declared during the public pronouncement of the performance contract results that the results obtained in the performance contract are a reflection of the level of implementation of the institutions' strategic plan and that these results must be the building blocks in the evaluation of the strategy and in the development of new strategic direction.
H5N1 Virus Attachment to Lower Respiratory Tract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) may cause severe lower respiratory tract (LRT) disease in humans. However, the LRT cells to which the virus attaches are unknown for both humans and other mammals. We show here that H5N1 virus attached predominantly to type II pneumocytes, alveolar macrophages, and nonciliated bronchiolar cells in the human LRT, and this pattern was most closely mirrored in cat and ferret tissues. These findings may explain, at least in part, the localization and severity of H5N1 viral pneumonia in humans. They also identify the cat and the ferret as suitable experimental animals based on this criterion.
Team Potency and Ethnic Diversity in Embodied Physical Action (EPA) Robot- Supported Dyadic Teams

In this study, we examined the impact of team potency and ethnic diversity on the individual performance and perceptions of viability among individuals in robot-supported teams that employ embodied physical action (EPA) robots. We conducted a between-subjects experiment with individuals in 30 teams. Results showed that team potency was a strong predictor of individual performance of robot operators, but the impact was moderated by team ethnic diversity. Team potency increased performance in ethnically diverse teams but had no impact on performance in ethnically homogeneous teams. Surprisingly, team potency also decreased viability in ethnically diverse teams. These results have several theoretical and practical implications for the literature on team potency in technology-supported teams.
APPLICATION OF A NOVEL HYDRODYNAMIC CAVITATION SYSTEM IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

In the present work, a novel hydrodynamic cavitation system has been used for the treatment of activated sludge, in order to evaluate the solubilisation of matter, the biodegradability improvement, and the effects on microbial activity. Experiments performed in this study indicate that solubilisation of chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased with specific supplied energy applied. For specific energy input of 1,250 kJ/kg of total solids, the microbial activity of the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria investigated was preserved, while specific energy input of 2,500 kJ/kg of total solids damaged the bacterial cells. Based on the results, in this paper different fields of applications of the novel hydrodynamic cavitation system in wastewater treatment schemes are suggested.
Automatic discovery of locally frequent itemsets in the presence of highly frequent itemsets

Many alternatives have been proposed for the mining of association rules involving rare but 'interesting' itemsets in a dataset where there also exist highly frequent itemsets. Nevertheless, all the approaches thus far suggested that we knew which those interesting itemsets are, as well as which is the right support value for them. None of the approaches proposed a way of automatically discovering such items. In this work we introduce the notion of locally frequent itemsets and support their existence as the biggest and most frequently appearing category of rare but interesting itemsets especially at commercial applications, based on the opinion of field experts. Subsequently we propose two algorithms for finding and handling these itemsets. The main idea is to divide the database into partitions according to the problem needs and besides searching for itemsets which are frequent in the whole database to search also for itemsets which are frequent if considered within these partitions. Our approach proves very effective and also very efficient as compared to the traditional algorithms both in synthetic and real data.
Effect of mTHPC-mediated photodynamic therapy on 5-fluorouracil resistant human colorectal cancer cells

The primary or acquired cancer chemoresistance is a major problem in the treatment of cancer patients. It could be overcome by non-overlapping treatment regimens such as photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT is based on the oxidation of cellular components which occurs when a light-excited photosensitizer generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study the effect of mTHPC mediated PDT (mTHPC-PDT) on 5-FU resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cells HCT116 was investigated. The results show that mTHPC-PDT overcomes 5-FU resistance and is effective against chemoresistant colorectal carcinoma cells.
Determination of Life-Span in Caenorhabditis elegans by Four Clock Genes

The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a model system for the study of the genetic basis of aging. Maternal-effect mutations in four genes—clk-1, clk-2, clk-3, and gro-1— interact genetically to determine both the duration of development and life-span. Analysis of the phenotypes of these mutants suggests the existence of a general physiological clock in the worm. Mutations in certain genes involved in dauer formation (an alternative larval stage induced by adverse conditions in which development is arrested) can also extend life-span, but the life extension of Clock mutants appears to be independent of these genes. The daf-2(e1370) clk-1(e2519) worms, which carry life-span-extending mutations from two different pathways, live nearly five times as long as wild-type worms.
The actin domain of Gardner-Rasheed feline sarcoma virus inhibits kinase and transforming activities

The transforming gene product, P70gag-actin-fgr, of Gardner-Rasheed feline sarcoma virus (GR-FeSV) is a single polypeptide composed of regions derived from cellular and viral genes. Gamma actin and c-fgr genes are the two known cellular components of the GR-FeSV genome. In the present study, sequences representing each cell-derived gene were deleted and the resulting constructs were tested for transforming activity by transfection of NIH 3T3 cells. Constructs lacking a portion of the c-fgr proto-oncogene failed to induce focus formation, demonstrating the essential nature of this component for GR-FeSV oncogenic activity. In contrast, the construct lacking the actin domain was more active than GR-FeSV DNA in transformation assays. Protein specified by the actin deletion mutant possessed a 2.4-fold greater specific protein-tyrosine kinase activity compared with that of the wild-type gene product. Furthermore, the actin domain had no detectable effect on the ability of the fgr kinase to associate with cytoskeleton or to phosphorylate unique cellular proteins on tyrosine. Our findings demonstrate that the actin domain inhibits focus formation and impairs protein-tyrosine kinase activity.
A Study of Factors Influencing Chinese Customer Intention to Select an International Medical Tourism Destination

본 연구는 중국 잠재고객들이 해외 의료관광 목적지 선택 시 의료구성요소 및 관광매력도가 해외 의료관광 목적지 선택의도에 미치는 영향에 대하여 규명하고자 하였다. 이를 검증하기 위하여 질병의 경중도 및 고객들의 해외경험을 조절변수로 고려하였다. 중국 국내에 경제적으로 발전되어 있는 주요도시를 중심으로 1,717명 잠재고객을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였다.
[Early results of bone marrow cell transplantation to the myocardium of patients with heart failure due to Chagas disease].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate early effects of bone marrow cell transplantation to the myocardium of patients with heart failure (CHF) due to Chagas disease. METHODS We studied 28 patients (mean age 52.2 +/- 9.9), of whom 24 were male. Despite optimized treatment, 25 patients were in NYHA class III and three patients, in NYHA class IV. The procedure consisted of aspiration of 50 mL of bone marrow, separation of the mononuclear fraction, and intracoronary injection. Effects on left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), distance walked in the six-minute walking test, quality-of-life, NYHA class, arrhythmogenic and biochemical parameters, were all evaluated. RESULTS There were no complications directly related to the procedure. Baseline left ventricular ejection fraction was 20.1 +/- 6.8%, and 60 days after transplantation it increased to 23.0 +/- 9.0%, p = 0.02. Significant improvements were observed in the NYHA class (3.1 +/- 0.3 to 1.8 +/- 0.5; p < 0.0001); quality-of-life (50.9 +/- 11.7 to 21.8 +/- 13.4; p < 0.0001); and distance walked in six minutes (355 +/- 136 m to 443 +/- 110 m; p = 0,003). The number of ventricular premature beats in 24 hours tended to increase (5,322 +/- 4,977 to 7,441 +/- 7,955; p = 0,062), but without increase in ventricular tachycardia episodes (61 +/- 127 to 54 +/- 127; p = 0.27). CONCLUSION Our data demonstrate for the first time that intracoronary injection of bone marrow mononuclear cells is feasible and suggest that it may be potentially safe and effective in patients with CHF due to Chagas disease.
Event-related potential map differences depend on the prestimulus microstates.

The dependency of the landscapes of visually evoked, 47-channel, event-related potential (ERPs) on the functional microstates (momentary map landscape) just before stimulus arrival was investigated, in 12 volunteers. The prestimulus microstates were determined using the map at the last peak of Global Field Power before the stimulus. The landscapes of these maps were described by the electrode locations of the positive and negative extreme potentials, and assigned to basic classes. The two most frequently occurring map-classes were used (left anterior-right posterior, and right anterior-left posterior). ERP map series were averaged for each subject and each prestimulus microstate class. The Randomization-Monte Carlo MANOVA test was used to test the significance of the difference between the ERP map landscapes at each sample point (n = 128, 500 ms) associated with the two prestimulus microstates. At 16 samples the difference was significant at p < 0.05. The longest uninterrupted sequence (n = 9) of significant differences occurred between 164 and 195 ms, i.e. during the conventional component P200. The results demonstrate that the brain electric microstate at stimulus arrival crucially influences the active neuronal populations that contribute to the ERP. This suggests that the processing of information will differ as a function of the momentary brain microstate at information arrival.
Spatial soil moisture scaling structure during Soil Moisture Experiment 2005

Soil moisture state and variability control many hydrological and ecological processes as well as exchanges of energy and water between the land surface and the atmosphere. However, its state and variability are poorly understood at spatial scales larger than the fields (i.e. 1 km2) as well as the ability to extrapolate field scale to larger spatial scales. This study investigates soil moisture profiles, their spatial organization, and physical drivers of variability within the Walnut Creek watershed, Iowa, during Soil Moisture Experiment 2005 and relates the watershed scale findings to previous field‐scale results. For all depths, the watershed soil moisture variability was negatively correlated with the watershed mean soil moisture and followed an exponential relationship that was nearly identical to that for field scales. This relationship differed during drying and wetting. While the overall time stability characteristics were improved with observation depth, the relatively wet and dry locations were consistent for all depths. The most time stable locations, capturing the mean soil moisture of the watershed within ± 0·9% volumetric soil moisture, were typically found on hill slopes regardless of vegetation type. These mild slope locations consistently preserve the time stability patterns from field to watershed scales. Soil properties also appear to impact stability but the findings are sensitive to local variations that may not be well defined by existing soil maps. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
I-Q TCM: reliable communication over the Rayleigh fading channel close to the cutoff rate

This paper presents some trellis codes that provide high coding gain to channels with slow, non frequency-selective Rayleigh fading. It is shown that the use of two encoders in parallel-used to specify the in-phase and quadrature components of the transmitted signal-results in greater minimum time diversity than the conventional design in which a single encoder is used. Using this approach-which we label "I-Q TCM"-codes with bandwidth efficiencies of 1, 2, and 3 bits/s/Hz are described for various constraint lengths. The performance of these codes is bounded analytically and approximated via simulation; the results show a large improvement in the bit error rate (BER) when compared with conventional trellis-coded modulation (TCM) schemes when perfect channel state information (CSI) is available to the receiver. Indeed, when this approach is applied to channels with independent Rayleigh fading, the resulting coding gain is close to that implied by the cutoff rate limit, even for only moderately complex systems. The proposed codes are also simulated under less ideal assumptions. For instance, results for a 1-bit/s/Hz IQ-TCM code without CSI show a significant gain over conventional coding. Finally, simulations over channels with correlated fading were undertaken; it is concluded that an interleaver span of 4/spl nu/ yields performance close to what is achieved with ideal interleaving.
A long and abundant non-coding RNA in Lactobacillus salivarius

Lactobacillus salivarius, found in the intestinal microbiota of humans and animals, is studied as an example of the sub-dominant intestinal commensals that may impart benefits upon their host. Strains typically harbour at least one megaplasmid that encodes functions contributing to contingency metabolism and environmental adaptation. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)transcriptomic analysis of L. salivarius strain UCC118 identified the presence of a novel unusually abundant long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) encoded by the megaplasmid, and which represented more than 75 % of the total RNA-seq reads after depletion of rRNA species. The expression level of this 520 nt lncRNA in L. salivarius UCC118 exceeded that of the 16S rRNA, it accumulated during growth, was very stable over time and was also expressed during intestinal transit in a mouse. This lncRNA sequence is specific to the L. salivarius species; however, among 45 L . salivarius genomes analysed, not all (only 34) harboured the sequence for the lncRNA. This lncRNA was produced in 27 tested L. salivarius strains, but at strain-specific expression levels. High-level lncRNA expression correlated with high megaplasmid copy number. Transcriptome analysis of a deletion mutant lacking this lncRNA identified altered expression levels of genes in a number of pathways, but a definitive function of this new lncRNA was not identified. This lncRNA presents distinctive and unique properties, and suggests potential basic and applied scientific developments of this phenomenon.
Competition, ownership and bank performance in transition

This paper examines how competition among banks and their ownership influence the margins and costs of banks in the post-communist transition. To allow the parameters of the margin and cost functions to change over time, we divide the entire sample period in half (1995 to 1998 and 1999 to 2001). In the earlier period, we find that privatised banks earned higher margins than newly established banks or state-owned banks, while newly established foreign banks had significantly lower marginal costs. In the later period, the differences in margins and costs among private banks were no long significant, but state-owned banks earned significantly lower margins. These findings suggest that initially the privatisation of state-owned banks was associated with greater demand for lending and deposit taking services and the entry of new foreign banks with lower costs. However, these effects did not endure and private banks became more similar over time. At the same time, the performance of remaining state-owned bank weakened.
Factors influencing the adoption of cell phone banking by South African students

Technology has transformed banking beyond the bricks and mortar bank concept. The modern bank can now be represented by innovations such as cell phone banking. These technologies, when adopted, present a win-win situation for both financial institutions and customers. Increased revenues and cost savings for banks; cheaper and more convenient forms of banking for customers. Although globally cell phone banking (CPB) is among the fastest growing remote banking innovations, in South Africa adoption levels are still very low. Against this background, this study investigates the perceived attributes of cell phone banking and their influence on its adoption, as well as the marketing implications of such. A survey, in which a sample of 282 university students from a South African university participated, was conducted. Statistical techniques were applied to analyse the data. Results suggest self-efficacy, complexity, and relative advantage as being the important factors influencing adoption. Specific marketing interventions tailored to the student market segment are discussed. Key words: Cell phones, cell phone banking, South Africa, students.
Causes of Visual Loss Associated with Uveitis in a Singapore Tertiary Eye Center

Purpose: To identify the causes of visual loss associated with uveitis and its risk factors. Methods: Review of 359 patients attending a uveitis service. Results: Anterior uveitis (n = 229, 63.8%) was most common, followed by panuveitis (n = 55, 15.3%). There were 82 infective cases with 29.3% associated with tuberculosis. Visual loss occurred in 100 (27.9%) patients, of which 27 (7.5%) had severe visual loss. The main causes of visual loss were cataract (26%) and glaucoma (12%). Cystoid macular edema (14.8%) accounted for severe visual loss. Panuveitis was predictive for visual loss (p = 0.022, odds ratio (OR) 2.22) and severe visual loss (p = 0.01, OR 3.47). Posterior uveitis (p = 0.005, OR 5.01) and chronic uveitis (p = 0.008, OR 3.83) also showed higher risk for severe visual loss. Conclusion: With panuveitis being the second most common presentation, early specialist referral is essential in preventing visual loss.
Biochemical and proteomic effects in Procambarus clarkii after chlorpyrifos or carbaryl exposure under sublethal conditions

In vivo effects of two sublethal doses of chlorpyrifos and carbaryl were studied in Procambarus clarkii after 2 and 7 days of exposure, and after pesticide removal. Chlorpyrifos inhibited carboxylesterase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, but acetylcholinesterase was less sensitive. Compared with chlorpyrifos, carbaryl had a less marked effect on esterase activity. The effects of selected pesticides on biotransformation or oxidative stress biomarkers were contradictory. Chlorpyrifos lowered ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), catalase and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels but raised glutathione-S-transferase activity, while carbaryl raised EROD, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase, but lowered glutathione peroxidase and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. The effects on protein expression patterns depending on pesticide type and the tissue used for analysis were studied in parallel by 2-DE. In gill and nervous tissue about 2000 spots (pI 4–7) were resolved, with quite different expression patterns. Chlorpyrifos altered 72 proteins, mostly in nervous tissue, and carbaryl 35, distributed evenly between organs. Several specific spots were selected as specific protein expression signatures for chlorpyrifos or carbaryl exposure in gills and nervous tissue, respectively.
The Combined Effect of Moderate Pressure and Chitosan on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus Cells Suspended in a Buffer and on Natural Microflora of Apple Juice and Minced Pork

The effect of chitosan and pressure of 193 MPa at –20 °C on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus cells suspended in a buffer at pH=5.8 as well as on the natural microflora of minced pork and apple juice has been evaluated. Immediately after pressure treatment of the tested bacteria in the presence of chitosan, the synergistic antimicrobial effect was higher against E. coli than against S. aureus, which amounted to additional 3.6 and 0.7 log cycles, respectively, compared to either treatment acting alone. However, incubation of S. aureus cells for 20 h at 37 °C after pressure treatment in the presence of chitosan led to complete inactivation of these bacteria. The combined effect of moderate pressure and chitosan did not decrease the total bacterial or psychrophilic and psychrotrophic count in minced pork in comparison with meat treated only with one factor, but the growth of psychrophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria was inhibited during storage up to 8 days at 5 °C. In apple juice, the combined effect of moderate pressure and chitosan only slightly increased the inactivation of bacterial population. However, during storage of samples at 5 °C for 15 days, the total bacterial count was about 1 log cycle lower than after the pressure treatment, while psychrophiles and psychrotrophs were not detected in 1 mL of the samples. The yeasts in apple juice were inactivated after pressure treatment alone. Synergistic reduction of moulds amounted to 2 log cycles and increased during storage at 5 °C. After 5 days, moulds were not detected in 1 mL of the samples.
Intelligent Accreditation System: A Survey of the Issues, Challenges, and Solution

International educational institutes are aiming to be accredited by local and international accreditation agencies such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and so forth to be recognized by stakeholders. The institutes are striving to meet the stakeholders’ expectations by integrating quality in all standards of educational practices and guarantee a continuous improvement. This study has acknowledged the principal barriers that need to be addressed and resolved such as collection & population of data, time constrains, compensation and lack of guidance and expertise. A web-based survey was conducted to identify the obstacles and the respondents’ expectations in the optimization process for accreditation. This research proposes an Intelligent Web-Based Accreditation System (IWBAS) that addresses the above issues and streamline the accreditation process.