Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roadmap for establishing a common channel for digital skills development

Background: In the past few decades, organizations has shifted towards digitalization. Making it necessary for employees within an organization to acquire the necessary digital skills to cope with digitalization. These skills are necessary for employees to carry out their daily activities without setback. It is therefore important for an organization to provide a channel or an avenue for employees to acquire these skills without stress or difficulty. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to explore an innovative strategy for digital skills development for employees, which can foster communication and collaboration and improve employees work performance within the organization. Method: A qualitative study was used to conduct the research. The authors used semistructured interviews to collect data from employees of the municipalities being studied. The interviewees were employees from Nässjö, Jönköping and Habo municipalities. From the interview findings an analysis was performed comparing the findings between the three municipalities. Conclusion: The results outline some of the benefits of using innovative learning systems for digital skills development of employees and how these leaning systems can improve employees’ performance. Organizations should make it a priority to continually reinvest in developing employees’ digital skills in the public sector and need to be aware about the barriers to adopt innovative learning methods. Some of these barriers are lack of training programs, lack of managerial support among others. A coherent strategy is needed to address these barriers and facilitate skills development process. Further research regarding other alternative methods to improve employees’ digital skills that were not discussed in this research can be explored by other researchers using larger samples, different theories and data collection methods.
TREATMENT WITH SEMECARPUS ANACARDIUM EXTRACT CURTAILS CISPLATIN INDUCED NEPHROTOXICITY AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN MICE

: The nephroprotective evaluation of fruits of Semecarpus anacardium has not been reported so far. It is mostly evaluated for their anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anticancer activities. The present study was focused on the effect of hydroalcoholic extracts of S. anacardium (HASA) against cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in mice. Administration of cisplatin in mice has resulted in acute renal injury which is evident from the biochemical and histological studies. Pretreatment with higher doses (400mg/kg) of HASA significantly reversed the adverse effect of cisplatin on kidney weight, serum urea, creatinine and uric acid indicating their nephro-protective effect. HASA have exhibited significant effect on the regulation of K + ions in cisplatin administered mice. The antioxidant effect of HASA is evident from their significant effect on CAT, GSH-px and lipid peroxidation activities. The histopathological studies revealed that HASA has good protective effect to overcome the cisplatin induced structural damages on kidney.
Comparison of Bilateral Lateral Rectus Recession versus Unilateral Rectus Recession Along With Medical Rectus Resection in Patient with Large Angle Exotropia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To compare outcome of bilateral lateral rectus recession (BLR) versus unilateral lateral rectus recession along with medial rectus resection (RR) in patients with large angle exotropia. Study Design: Randomized control trial Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology Unit, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from January 2017 to November 2017. Materials and Methods: A total of fifty patients (25 in each group) were finally enrolled and underwent surgical correction of extropia. Patients with large angle exotropia of > 100 PD were enrolled and were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Group A underwent BLR and Group B underwent RR procedures. Patients were followed for 6 months and successful alignment rate was estimated. Results : At six month after surgery, 14 patients (56%) in the BLR group achieved successful alignment, while in RR group, 18 patients (72%) patients achieved successful alignments. A total of 10 patients (40%) had under correction of 10-14 PD and 1 patient (4%) had under correction of 25 PD in the BLR group; while RR group showed 4 patients (16%) had under correction of 10-14 PD; 2 patients (8%) had under correction of 25PD and 1 (45) had under correction of 40PD (P =0.221). Conclusion: There is no significant difference in successful alignment rate at six month after surgery in both groups. We suggest further longitudinal studies with larger samples size and with longer duration of follow up.
Multi-Target Counting and Localization in Distributed MIMO Radar Based on Energy Modeling and Compressive Sensing

Target localization is one of the most important research topics in the field of radar signal processing. In this paper, the problem of multi-target counting and localization in the distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar is investigated. We first analyze the theoretical bound of the multitarget localization accuracy in the discrete time signal model. It is determined by the Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the sampling lower bound (SLB) when the SNR is high. Furthermore, an innovative multitarget counting and localization scheme is developed, which is based on the energy modeling of the multiple transmitter-receiver paths and the compressive sensing theory. To solve the sparse vector recovery issue, we design a lightweight iterative greedy pursuit algorithm including the similarity evaluation strategy. The proposal utilizes the samples of the raw signals and belongs to the category of the direct localization. Nevertheless, it has significantly higher computational efficiency and lower communication burden than the conventional direct localization methods, while avoids the complex data association that encountered by the indirect localization methods. Finally, the simulation results validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.
Antigen-Specific Cells Dendritic Cells and Surface Ig of of Targeted to Various Cell Surface Molecules Efficient Presentation of Multivalent Antigens

To study the relation between the form of an Ag and the response to it, we compared presentation in vitro with hen egg lysozyme (HEL)-speciﬁc T cells from TCR transgenic mice of free HEL and liposome-encapsulated HEL by different APC. HEL-speciﬁc splenic B cells or bone marrow-derived dendritic cells were incubated with free HEL or HEL-containing liposomes targeted by Ab to either surface Ig, the Fc receptor, or MHC class I and II molecules. Ag presentation by HEL-speciﬁc B cells was at least 100-fold more efﬁcient for HEL in surface Ig-targeted liposomes than free HEL taken up by the same receptor or HEL in liposomes targeted to class I or II molecules. Ag presentation by dendritic cells from Fc receptor-targeted vesicles was augmented 1,000– 10,000-fold compared with free Ag or nontargeted liposomes, but presentation was also efﬁcient when Ag was targeted to class I or II molecules. These results indicate that Ag-speciﬁc B cells and dendritic cells can be equally efﬁcient in stimulating IL-2 production by Ag-speciﬁc T cells from unimmunized TCR transgenic mice when the Ag is multivalent and taken up by appropriate receptors. In contrast to B cells, which require engagement of surface Ig for optimal presentation, dendritic cells may present Ag by means of several different cell surface molecules. The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 161: 6059–6067. or with the 7.6 anti-Id, PA-anti-DNP Fab conjugate and a concentration of empty DNP-bearing liposomes identical to the number of liposomes sufﬁcient to attain a concentration of 10 nM HEL, if the liposomes had contained Ag. Twenty thousand HEL-spe-ciﬁc T cells were then added. The results correspond to proliferation of CTLL cells incubated in supernatants from duplicate wells obtained after an additional 48-h incubation of APC and T cells. These are data from one experiment representative of three performed.
A Hierarchical Cascade of Second Messengers Regulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa Surface Behaviors

ABSTRACT Biofilms are surface-attached multicellular communities. Using single-cell tracking microscopy, we showed that a pilY1 mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is defective in early biofilm formation. We leveraged the observation that PilY1 protein levels increase on a surface to perform a genetic screen to identify mutants altered in surface-grown expression of this protein. Based on our genetic studies, we found that soon after initiating surface growth, cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels increase, dependent on PilJ, a chemoreceptor-like protein of the Pil-Chp complex, and the type IV pilus (TFP). cAMP and its receptor protein Vfr, together with the FimS-AlgR two-component system (TCS), upregulate the expression of PilY1 upon surface growth. FimS and PilJ interact, suggesting a mechanism by which Pil-Chp can regulate FimS function. The subsequent secretion of PilY1 is dependent on the TFP assembly system; thus, PilY1 is not deployed until the pilus is assembled, allowing an ordered signaling cascade. Cell surface-associated PilY1 in turn signals through the TFP alignment complex PilMNOP and the diguanylate cyclase SadC to activate downstream cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) production, thereby repressing swarming motility. Overall, our data support a model whereby P. aeruginosa senses the surface through the Pil-Chp chemotaxis-like complex, TFP, and PilY1 to regulate cAMP and c-di-GMP production, thereby employing a hierarchical regulatory cascade of second messengers to coordinate its program of surface behaviors. IMPORTANCE Biofilms are surface-attached multicellular communities. Here, we show that a stepwise regulatory circuit, involving ordered signaling via two different second messengers, is required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa to control early events in cell-surface interactions. We propose that our studies have uncovered a multilayered “surface-sensing” system that allows P. aeruginosa to effectively coordinate its surface-associated behaviors. Understanding how cells transition into the biofilm state on a surface may provide new approaches to prevent formation of these communities. Biofilms are surface-attached multicellular communities. Here, we show that a stepwise regulatory circuit, involving ordered signaling via two different second messengers, is required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa to control early events in cell-surface interactions. We propose that our studies have uncovered a multilayered “surface-sensing” system that allows P. aeruginosa to effectively coordinate its surface-associated behaviors. Understanding how cells transition into the biofilm state on a surface may provide new approaches to prevent formation of these communities.
STAR FORMATION ACTIVITY IN CLASH BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES

The CLASH X-ray selected sample of 20 galaxy clusters contains 10 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) that exhibit significant (>5σ) extinction-corrected star formation rates (SFRs). Star formation activity is inferred from photometric estimates of UV and Hα+[N ii] emission in knots and filaments detected in CLASH Hubble Space Telescope ACS and WFC3 observations. UV-derived SFRs in these BCGs span two orders of magnitude, including two with a SFR ≳ 100 M⊙ yr−1. These measurements are supplemented with [O ii], [O iii], and Hβ fluxes measured from spectra obtained with the SOAR telescope. We confirm that photoionization from ongoing star formation powers the line emission nebulae in these BCGs, although in many BCGs there is also evidence of a LINER-like contribution to the line emission. Coupling these data with Chandra X-ray measurements, we infer that the star formation occurs exclusively in low-entropy cluster cores and exhibits a correlation with gas properties related to cooling. We also perform an in-depth study of the starburst history of the BCG in the cluster RXJ1532.9+3021, and create 2D maps of stellar properties on scales down to ∼350 pc. These maps reveal evidence for an ongoing burst occurring in elongated filaments, generally on ∼0.5–1.0 Gyr timescales, although some filaments are consistent with much younger (≲100 Myr) burst timescales and may be correlated with recent activity from the active galactic nucleus. The relationship between BCG SFRs and the surrounding intracluster medium gas properties provide new support for the process of feedback-regulated cooling in galaxy clusters and is consistent with recent theoretical predictions.
Stabbing and Covering Geometric Objects in the Plane

Combinatorial optimization deals with maximizing or minimizing a function with several variables subject to a large number of (in)equality constraints. If the number of variables is constant and the constraints are induced by geometric objects, we call such problems geometric optimization problems. Geometric optimization problems have been well studied in the last decades and many different techniques for solving them have been developed. A very nice and general technique was presented by Timothy Chan in 1999. He showed how certain geometric optimization problems can be reduced to their corresponding decision problems. In addition to the simplicity of his technique, the running time for the optimization problems remains asymptotically the same as that for the decision problem. This fact distinguishes his technique from many other known reductions of optimization problems to their decision problems, e.g., parametric search. In this talk, I will present Chan's randomized optimization technique and give some examples using the technique. Die Disputation besteht aus dem o. g. Vortrag, danach der Vorstellung der Dissertation einschließlich jeweils anschließenden Aussprachen. Interessierte werden hiermit herzlich eingeladen Der Vorsitzende der Promotionskommission Prof. Dr. H. Alt
Radiation and scattering patterns of two-dimensional nonlinear loaded circular cylinder coated with dielectric layer

Two-dimensional excitation problem of the perfect conducting nonlinear loaded circular cylinder coated with the dielectric is solved using integral equations method. It is shown that dielectric coating which depth and dielectric permittivity correspond to the surface wave exciting at the harmonic's frequency changes the cylindrical nonlinear radiator's pattern and raises electromagnetic field (EMF) level at the harmonic's frequency.
Lagrangian Continuum Dynamics in ALEGRA

Alegra is an ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) multi-material finite element code that emphasizes large deformations and strong shock physics. The Lagrangian continuum dynamics package in Alegra uses a Galerkin finite element spatial discretization and an explicit central-difference stepping method in time. The goal of this report is to describe in detail the characteristics of this algorithm, including the conservation and stability properties. The details provided should help both researchers and analysts understand the underlying theory and numerical implementation of the Alegra continuum hydrodynamics algorithm.
Innovative Methods for Soil DNA Puriﬁcation Tested in Soils with Widely Differing Characteristics (cid:1) †

Seven methods of soil DNA extraction and puriﬁcation were tested in a set of 14 soils differing in bedrock, texture, pH, salinity, moisture, organic matter content, and vegetation cover. The methods introduced in this study included pretreatment of soil with CaCO 3 or puriﬁcation of extracted DNA by CaCl 2 . The performance of innovated methods was compared to that of the commercial kit Mo Bio PowerSoil and the phenol-chloroform-based method of D. N. Miller, J. E. Bryant, E. L. Madsen, and W. C. Ghiorse (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:4715–4724, 1999). This study demonstrated signiﬁcant differences between the tested methods in terms of DNA yield, PCR performance, and recovered bacterial diversity. The differences in DNA yields were correlated to vegetation cover, soil pH, and clay content. The differences in PCR performances were correlated to vegetation cover and soil pH. The innovative methods improved PCR performance in our set of soils, in particular for forest acidic soils. PCR was successful in 95% of cases by the method using CaCl 2 puriﬁcation and in 93% of cases at 65°C for 20 min was followed by puriﬁcation with Sigma spin postreaction cleanup columns (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). Fragment analysis was performed at Genomac International, s.r. o. (Prague, Czech Repub- lic) with a 96-capillary sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Statistical analysis. Soil characteristics were correlated using the Spearman rank-order correlation coefﬁcient ( r ). DNA yields among the tested methods were compared using the Friedman test (26). Soil characteristics were related to DNA yields using stepwise linear regression maximizing the Akaike information criterion, with logarithmic transformation of DNA yields as the response and soil characteristics as regressors (11, 25). The logarithmic transformation proved to be necessary to achieve approximate normality in the response. A linear regres- sion was used to predict the inﬂuence of soil clay content on DNA yields. Soil characteristics were related to PCR performance using stepwise logistic regres- sion maximizing the Akaike information criterion, with logarithmic transformation of DNA yields as the response and soil characteristics as regressors. T- RFLPs were treated using the approach of Abdo et al. (1) and statistically compared using Friedman’s test.
What are the costs of atrial ﬁbrillation?

The costs of atrial ﬁbrillation (AF) are linked to the general cost of managing AF patients in different health-care systems, as well as the cost of managing AF-related complications (e.g. hospitalizations and long-term complications, such as stroke). In addition, indirect medical costs, such as care for patients who do not recuperate fully from a vascular event, and non-medical costs such as loss of work force add to the costs of AF. All estimations for cost of AF and cost of AF therapy are based on assumptions and markedly inﬂuenced by these cost deter-minants. This urges for extreme caution not to take cost estimates at their absolute values. In fact, even relative comparisons between interventions may have different consequences in terms of direct and indirect costs in different health-care settings. While newer therapeutic options appear to increase the cost of AF management, newer antithrombotic substances and adequate rhythm control therapy also carry the promise of preventing the two major drivers of AF-related cost, hospitalizations and AF-related complications. Formal assessment of the cost of AF requires adjustment to local practice, and more data are clearly needed especially from primary care to better estimate the ‘real’ cost impact of AF. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Identiﬁcation of Dominant Negative Human Immunodeﬁciency Virus Type 1 Vif Mutants That Interfere with the Functional Inactivation of APOBEC3G by Virus-Encoded Vif (cid:1)

APOBEC3G (A3G) is a host cytidine deaminase that serves as a potent intrinsic inhibitor of retroviral replication. A3G is packaged into human immunodeﬁciency virus type 1 virions and deaminates deoxycytidine to deoxyuridine on nascent minus-strand retroviral cDNA, leading to hyper-deoxyguanine-to-deoxyadenine mutations on positive-strand cDNA and inhibition of viral replication. The antiviral activity of A3G is suppressed by Vif, a lentiviral accessory protein that prevents encapsidation of A3G. In this study, we identiﬁed dominant negative mutants of Vif that interfered with the ability of wild-type Vif to inhibit the encapsidation and antiviral activity of A3G. These mutants were nonfunctional due to mutations in the highly conserved HCCH and/or SOCS box motifs, which are required for assembly of a functional Cul5-E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Similarly, mutation or deletion of a PPLP motif, which was previously reported to be important for Vif dimerization, induced a dominant negative phenotype. Expression of dominant negative Vif counteracted the Vif-induced reduction of intracellular A3G levels, presumably by preventing Vif-induced A3G degradation. Consequently, dominant
Anti‐C1q autoantibodies from systemic lupus erythematosus patients enhance CD40–CD154‐mediated inflammation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a clinically heterogeneous autoimmune disease with complex pathogenic mechanisms. Complement C1q has been shown to play a major role in SLE, and autoantibodies against C1q (anti‐C1q) are strongly associated with SLE disease activity and severe lupus nephritis suggesting a pathogenic role for anti‐C1q. Whereas C1q alone has anti‐inflammatory effects on human monocytes and macrophages, C1q/anti‐C1q complexes favor a pro‐inflammatory phenotype. This study aimed to elucidate the inflammatory effects of anti‐C1q on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
A hybrid direct‐automatic differentiation method for the computation of independent sensitivities in multibody systems

The usefulness of sensitivity analyses in mechanical engineering is very well‐known. Interesting examples of sensitivity analysis applications include the computation of gradients in gradient‐based optimization methods and the determination of the parameter relevance on a specific response or objective. In the field of multibody dynamics, analytical sensitivity methods tend to be very complex, and thus, numerical differentiation is often used instead, which degrades numerical accuracy. In this work, a simple and original method based on state‐space motion differential equations is presented. The number of second‐order motion differential equations equals the number of DOFs, that is, there is one differential equation per independent acceleration. The dynamic equations are then differentiated with respect to the parameters by using automatic differentiation and without manual intervention from the user. By adding the sensitivity equations to the dynamic equations, the forward dynamics and the independent sensitivities can be robustly computed using standard integrators. Efficiency and accuracy are assessed by analyzing three numerical examples (a double pendulum, a four‐bar linkage, and an 18‐DOF coach) and by comparing the results with those of the numerical differentiation approach. The results show that the integration of independent sensitivities using automatic differentiation is stable and accurate to machine precision. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PLANETARY COLLISIONS OUTSIDE THE SOLAR SYSTEM: TIME DOMAIN CHARACTERIZATION OF EXTREME DEBRIS DISKS

Luminous debris disks of warm dust in the terrestrial planet zones around solar-like stars were recently found to vary, which is indicative of ongoing large-scale collisions of rocky objects. We use Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 μm time-series observations in 2012 and 2013 (extended to 2014 in one case) to monitor five more debris disks with unusually high fractional luminosities (“extreme debris disk”), including P1121 in the open cluster M47 (80 Myr), HD 15407A in the AB Dor moving group (80 Myr), HD 23514 in the Pleiades (120 Myr), HD 145263 in the Upper Sco Association (10 Myr), and the field star BD+20 307 (≳1 Gyr). Together with the published results for ID8 in NGC 2547 (35 Myr), this makes the first systematic time-domain investigation of planetary impacts outside the solar system. Significant variations with timescales shorter than a year are detected in five out of the six extreme debris disks we monitored. However, different systems show diverse sets of characteristics in the time domain, including long-term decay or growth, disk temperature variations, and possible periodicity.