Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image Data Compression by Predictive Coding II: Encoding Algorithms

This paper deals with predictive codihg techniques for efficient transmission or storage of two-level (black and white) digital images. Part I discussed algorithms for prediction. Part II deals with coding techniques for encoding the prediction error pattern. First, we survey some schemes fore ncoding if the error pattern is assumed to be memoryless. Then a method is developed for encoding certain run-length distributions. Finally, some experimental results for sample documents are presented.
The Management of Destination Branding: Applying Tourist-Based Brand Equity to Utah as a Tourist Destination

By examining the relevant studies and models in the destination brand equity, this study explored the dimensions of the tourist-based brand equity (TBBE) of a destination. In addition, this study observed and identified the tourists’ perceptions and their experiences with Utah in the context of four dimensions of TBBE and their relationships. This study also applied the proposed TBBE model as a means of measuring brand equity for Utah as a long haul destination in an emerging market to the domestic and foreign tourists. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to verify whether the proposed model fit into the Utah case and results indicated the TBBE model fit the data. The results also showed that a positive relationship exists between brand awareness and brand loyalty. The findings suggest that the Utah tourism industry should measure brand equity more closely and extensively with other dimensions to provide an effective marketing strategy to the prospective visitors/tourists. on brand loyalty based quality and brand loyalty Confirmatory factor analyses indicateandvalidate that the TBBE model fits the data. The findings of this study show that the association between brand awareness and brand image, brand image and brand loyalty, brand quality and brand loyalty were very weak. While previous studies (Pike, 2005; et al., 2010) have found strong associations among four dimensions of brand equity, this study does not validate all positive relationship among the dimensions. However, there were strong associations between brand awareness and brand loyalty. Brand awareness is the foundation of the model and represents more than simple awareness. The brand awareness indicators suggested that Utah is a well-known and recognized tourist destination to visitors. Of the four dimension, the best results for Utah were found in the brand loyalty scale items such as price premium (This destination generates value (benefits/costs) than other destination) and return (I will visit this destination in the future). Utah visitors are needed to be convinced this is a destination catering to their needs, due to the strong association with brand loyalty. The stakeholders of Utah tourism industry need to verify its current strategic marketing activities-destination brand identity in conjunction with these four dimensions and their indicators in order to identify its congruity and deviation toward brand identity perceived by tourist based brand equity (TBBE). Such disagreement between the activities of the supplied site (DMO) and demanded offering (tourists) of Utah is an area of immediate attention and act as benchmarks for Utah community. This study will make an important contribution to Utah community in understanding particular situations of destination brand management and providing better opportunities and benefits to Utah community and positioning its strong brand identity to prospective Utah visitors (i.e., tourists and meeting attendees). As et al., suggest the positive results for the scale items rather
The chaperone toolbox at the single‐molecule level: From clamping to confining

Protein folding is well known to be supervised by a dedicated class of proteins called chaperones. However, the core mode of action of these molecular machines has remained elusive due to several reasons including the promiscuous nature of the interactions between chaperones and their many clients, as well as the dynamics and heterogeneity of chaperone conformations and the folding process itself. While troublesome for traditional bulk techniques, these properties make an excellent case for the use of single‐molecule approaches. In this review, we will discuss how force spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, FCS, and FRET methods are starting to zoom in on this intriguing and diverse molecular toolbox that is of direct importance for protein quality control in cells, as well as numerous degenerative conditions that depend on it.
Interpersonal Callousness, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, Inattention, and Conduct Problems as Precursors to Delinquency Persistence in Boys: A Comparison of Three Grade-Based Cohorts

Boys who exhibit interpersonal callousness (IC), hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), inattention (IN), and conduct problems (CP) may be at risk for exhibiting persistent delinquent behavior. However, few studies have established the distinctiveness of these constructs or examined their relative contributions to the prediction of delinquent behavior across different developmental periods. This study explores these issues using boys from the youngest (1st grade, N = 849), middle (4th grade, N = 868), and oldest (7th grade, N = 856) cohorts of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the 4 constructs are related, yet independent, from childhood to adolescence. After controlling for the overlap among the constructs, CP significantly predicted delinquency persistence in the youngest cohort, whereas CP and IN predicted delinquency persistence in the middle cohort. IC uniquely predicted delinquency persistence for the oldest cohort. The results suggest that the saliency of specific predictors of delinquent behavior may change from childhood to adolescence.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER EXPERIENCES OF EXPATRIATE ACADEMICS IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is facing a major staffing shortage in scarce skills disciplines. Expatriate academics have been sourced by universities to run programmes in these disciplines to create ‘home grown’ talent to solve this problem. This study is based on Lazarova, Westman and Shaffer’s (2010) model relating to expatriate work and family performance. It seeks to examine the experiences of academics at UKZN, as well as provide recommendations on how to improve their experience. The key question of the paper, deals with the how expatriate academics have adjusted to their new environment based on job and work environment challenges, family and lifestyle challenges, organisational support and contextual challenges in the host country. The results showed that the majorityof respondents are well adjusted in terms of their relationships with their host country colleagues and their relationships with family and friends in their home country, as well as in terms of the fulfilment of their workplace expectations. Their experience of organisational support could however be improved. It was found that they did not share close ties with other expatriates or local South Africans at the university or in their communities. The study is exploratory and involves a single professional group, as such the findings are not generalisable to other contexts or respondents. A descriptive quantitative analysis of the career experiences of 83 expatriate academics was done. The study was unique in that it examined all levels of academia in conjunction with management and takes place in a South African context. To improve organisational support, the institution should establish support systems for international faculty Furthermore, it was suggested in the study, that there should be the creation of a mentorship or buddy programme by the university to support the adjustment of new international staff. University management should set up an international staff office similar to the International Student Office manned by dedicated staff who deal only with matters concerning expatriate academics.
Quantitative differences in the distribution of zidovudine resistance mutations in multiple post‐mortem tissues from AIDS patients

Replication of HIV introduces errors into the genome which are responsible for conferring a growth advantage over wildtype virus when drugs such as zidovudine (ZDV) exert a selective pressure. The molecular basis for HIV‐1 resistance to ZDV has been mapped to codons 41, 67, 70, 215 and 219 of the reverse transcriptase gene both in vitro and in clinical samples of blood. This study has investigated the relationship between the quantitative prevalence of ZDV resistance in multiple organs of the same individual. Proviral HIV‐1 load was measured by quantitative‐competitive PCR in 90 samples from organs of 11 patients dying with AIDS. Nine of these patients had been prescribed zidovudine. The distribution of wildtype and mutant sequences at the positions 41, 67, 70, 215 and 219 of the reverse transcriptase was assessed using a point mutation assay. The results showed that the highest proviral loads were predominately found in lymph node, spleen and lung and there was a significant association between viral load and resistance to ZDV (P = 0.008). Inter‐organ distribution of wildtype and mutant sequences at codons 41, 67, 70, 215 and 219 was frequently not uniform and in some patients differed markedly between the lymphoreticular system and other organs. These results demonstrate that treatment of HIV‐1 infection with zidovudine does not exert uniform selective pressures in multiple organs. These findings have implications for the interpretation of resistance data and design of treatment strategies for HIV, arguing in particular that alterations in therapeutic regimens should consider the likelihood of different resistance patterns being present in multiple sites within the same individual. J. Med. Virol. 55:138–146, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Emerging Role of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Heart Failure

Morbidity and mortality due to heart failure remains high in spite of advances in its medical management. Daring the last decade a new modality has emerged that has now proven to be beneficial in a select group of patients with heart failure. This is the cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), which is based on correcting various types of cardiac dyssynchrony that many patients with heart failure have. Though a large number of trials have demonstrated clinical and hemodynamic benefits of CRT, it is only recent that mortality benefits have been shown. The mortality benefit is further improved when CRT is combated with intracardiac defibrillator in selected patients of heart failure. Based on the existing criteria for selection of heart failure patients for CRT (NYHA Ⅲ or Ⅳ, depressed left ventricular ejection fraction＜35% and presence of left bundle branch block with QRS duration＞120 ms). 30-40% patients do not respond favorably. Newer modalities like speckle tracking imaging and three-dimensional echocardiography are being validated to differentiate responder from nonresponder. This is extremely important in view of the high cost of the device. This review article highlights logic behind CRT, criteria for selection of cases, problems of non response, role of combined CRT -defibrillator and other related issues.
Family Factors for Child Meal Skipping in Low-Income Families in Korea

The present study proposed to examine whether family factors are associated with child meal skipping in Korea. Family factors were divided into risk factors and protective factors on conceptual and theoretical bases. The sample was obtained from the Survey of Meal Service for Poor Children conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in 2007. A final sample was composed of 944 children in low-income families who are served by the public meal program. Child meal skipping was positively associated with risk factors and negatively associated with protective factors, as hypothesized. Single-father family, middle or small urban area, presence of caretaker after school, health level of caretaker, caretaker’s concern about child’s diet, and degree of family cohesion significantly predicted child meal skipping. The authors suggest a few implications for practice based on the study findings.
Telling Your Secrets Without

Protected module architectures, such as Intel SGX, enable strong trusted computing guarantees for hardwareenforced enclaves on top a potentially malicious operating system. However, such enclaved execution environments are known to be vulnerable to a powerful class of controlled-channel attacks. Recent research convincingly demonstrated that adversarial system software can extract sensitive data from enclaved applications by carefully revoking access rights on enclave pages, and recording the associated page faults. As a response, a number of state-of-the-art defense techniques has been proposed that suppress page faults during enclave execution. This paper shows, however, that page table-based threats go beyond page faults. We demonstrate that an untrusted operating system can observe enclave page accesses without resorting to page faults, by exploiting other side-effects of the address translation process. We contribute two novel attack vectors that infer enclaved memory accesses from page table attributes, as well as from the caching behavior of unprotected page table memory. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our attacks by recovering EdDSA session keys with little to no noise from the popular Libgcrypt cryptographic software suite.
Expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN/CD147) in pancreatic neoplasm and pancreatic stellate cells

EMMPRIN (extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer, CD147) participates in the progression of various malignancies by stimulating the synthesis of specific matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) from peritumoral fibroblasts. In the present study, the expression and functional role of EMMPRIN was investigated in pancreatic neoplasm. QRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunoblot, and ELISA analyses were used to analyze the expression, localization, and release of EMMRPIN. Silencing of EMMPRIN was performed using siRNA oligonucleotides, and functional consequences were assessed using growth assays, invasion assays, as well as MMP1/MMP2 and VEGF ELISA. EMMPRIN mRNA levels were 2.2-fold increased in pancreatic cancer (n=52) and 2.0-3.5-fold increased in other pancreatic neoplasm (n=105), but unchanged in chronic pancreatitis (n=10) compared to normal pancreatic tissues (n=9). Strong and predominantly membranous immunostaining was observed in the cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells. EMMPRIN serum levels were also significantly increased in pancreatic cancer patients (n=44) (4.13 +/- 0.28 ng/ml) with an AUC of 0.97 compared to healthy volunteers (n=29) (0.95 +/- 0.16 ng/ml; p
Pengaruh Komunikasi, Motivasi dan Kerjasama Tim Terhadap Peningkatan Kinerja Karyawan

The purpose of this study are : 1) to know and analyze the influence of communication, motivation, and team cooperation on employee performance. 2) to know and analyze the variable that has dominant influence to employee performance. The data obtained in this study is the primary data by distributing questionnaires to the respondents. Analyzed data uses multiple linear regression model. The results of this study prove that, 1) communication has a positive and significant effect on the improvement of employee performance. 2) Motivation has a positive and significant effect to the improvement of employee performance. 3) Team cooperation doesn’t have a significant effect to the improvement of employee performance and 4) Communication has the dominant influence in improving employee performance https://doi.org/10.26905/jmdk.v5i1. 1313
Demographic variation in active consumer behaviour: Who searches most for retail broadband services?

Consumers who actively search for better broadband deals may benefit from lower prices or improved service quality compared to those who do not. If, however, consumers differ in their propensity to engage with the market and actively search, these potential benefits may not accrue equally. This paper investigates differences in consumer search activity for telecommunications services across small geographic areas. We exploit rich and novel data from a commercial price comparison site to explore the dispersion of consumer search in the Irish retail broadband market, while controlling for supply-side variations. By linking geo-coded searches to census data on small area socio-economic characteristics, we identify the areas where most search originates and can thus characterise the socio-economic and demographic groups to whom the benefits of search are most likely to accrue. We find evidence that areas populated by many highly educated, married people, commuters, mortgage holders, and retirees are among the most active in search. In contrast, those areas in which many older people, farmers, low-skilled workers and students reside give rise to significantly fewer consumer searches.
Blow fly responses to semiochemicals produced by decaying carcasses

Volatiles from mouse carcasses in decay stages ranging from fresh to 33 days old were used to investigate oriented flight and landings in male and female blow flies of Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Oriented flight increased significantly from 36% towards fresh carcasses to 68%, 61% and 65% towards carcasses aged 3 days, 6 days and 9 days, respectively. Carcasses aged 20 days and 33 days were significantly less attractive, achieving 51% and 41% attraction, respectively. No differences emerged between the sexes in oriented flight, but a significant increase in female landings at the most attractive carcasses was observed. Headspace collections from the different stages of decay showed a succession in the volatile profile emitted from the carcasses and identified nine chemicals which peak in quantity in concurrence with the most attractive stages of decay. Three of these chemicals also showed dose–response effects as indicated by a significant correlation between the amount present and the proportion of flies responding. Blow flies are important pests and efficient traps are needed. The significant interaction between fly sex and carcass age highlights behavioural differences between male and female blow flies which can be exploited in blow fly trapping. Three new volatile chemicals, butylated hydroxyl toluene, 3‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone and nonanal, emitted from dead mice are suggested as potential attractants.
Emotion in the Law and the Lab: The Case of Graphic Cigarette Warnings.

The decision in RJ Reynolds vs. FDA (2012) to invalidate FDA's proposed graphic health warnings was based in part on the reasoning that the proposed graphic warnings cued emotional responses and therefore could not be considered "factual. " However, this reasoning demonstrated the courts' fundamental misunderstanding of current behavioral-science research. In contrast to the courts' artificial separation of emotions from fact, we synthesize and interpret relevant research in basic decision sciences and describe an evidence-based characterization of how emotions influence consumer decision making through multiple mechanisms. We then explore how behavioral research gets "lost in translation" in the legal process and recommend ways that behavioral scientists can work with attorneys to remedy this problem. In order for science-based tobacco regulation to survive legal challenges from the tobacco industry, courts must have access to and be able to understand and apply the relevant research. Accordingly, behavioral laboratory researchers must consider the courts as an additional audience when designing research and reporting results. Researchers wishing to influence policy should also work closely with public health lawyers to have the greatest impact on the legal system.
Self-Reported Collision Risk Associated With Cannabis Use and Driving After Cannabis Use Among Ontario Adults

Objective: This study examined the effects of cannabis use and driving after cannabis use on self-reported collision involvement within the previous 12 months while controlling for demographics, driving exposure, binge drinking, and driving after drinking based on a large representative sample of adults in Ontario. Methods: Data are based on the CAMH Monitor, an ongoing cross-sectional telephone survey of Ontario adults aged 18 and older, conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Data on drivers who reported driving at least one kilometer per week and who responded to the collision item from 2002 to 2007 were merged into one data set (n = 8481). Logistic regression analysis of self-reported collision risk posed by cannabis use (lifetime and past 12 months), driving after cannabis use (past 12 months), and driving after drinking among drinkers (past 12 months) was implemented, controlling for the effects of gender, age, region, income, education, marital status, kilometers driven in a typical week, and consuming five or more drinks of alcohol on one occasion (past 12 months). Due to list-wise deletion of cases the logistic regression sample was reduced (n = 6907). Results: Several demographic factors were found to be significantly associated with self-reported collision involvement. The logistic regression model revealed that age, region, income, marital status, and number of kilometers driven in a typical week, were all significantly related to collision involvement, after adjusting for other factors. Respondents who reported having driven after cannabis use within the past 12 months had increased risk of collision involvement (odds ratio [OR] = 1.84) compared to those who never drove after using cannabis, a greater risk than that associated with having reported driving after drinking within the past 12 months (OR = 1.34). Conclusion: Further investigation of the impact of driving after cannabis use on collision risk and factors that may modify that relationship is warranted.
The effect of servicescape of exhibition and convention facilities in Korea and China on service orientation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment

Abstract This study analyzes the effect of the servicescape components of exhibition and convention facilities on the service orientation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of employees in Korea and China. First, the results show that air-conditioned environment, functionality, and space accessibility have a significant effect on the relationship between servicescape and service orientation. However, esthetic impression and safety have no significant effect. Second, service orientation has a significant effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but job satisfaction has no significant effect on organizational commitment. Third, when comparing Korea and China, the air-conditioned environment was controlled only on the Chinese side, but not estheticism. Functionality, safety, and space accessibility have a moderate effect only on the Korean side. In addition, the relationship between service orientation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment shows moderate effects in both Korea and China, and job satisfaction and organizational commitment did not show any control effect. The study results suggest some servicescape factors that should be complemented to improve the service orientation of employees in exhibition and convention facilities in Korea and China. Furthermore, the results confirm that service orientation relates to job satisfaction and organizational commitment in both Korea and China.