Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spirituality of unity in management - Economy of Communion

Abstract The spirituality of unity in management processes is presented in the paper. The idea of the Economy of Communion (EoC) project and its realization in more than 800 businesses worldwide as an example of the striving for the eradication of poverty and new style of management is analysed. As an implementation of spirituality in management process, a new paradigm of unity in management sciences is proposed. On the basis of analysis of literature and discussions with experts and entrepreneurs of EoC businesses, six content dimensions of the paradigm of unity are formulated and the empirical research on the evaluation of these dimensions by testing the entrepreneurs of 110 businesses from 22 countries as well the management experts is considered. This research allowed verifying the hypothesis that the paradigm of unity shapes a new organizational culture by the creation of a suitable organizational climate in the EoC businesses.
Recent Evolution (1956–2017) of Rodas Beach on the Cíes Islands, Galicia, NW Spain

Sedimentary coastal areas change rapidly and are economically and environmentally important. This research focuses on determining the extent to which natural dynamics and human activity have contributed to visible changes on Rodas, Cíes Islands in southwestern Galicia (NW Spain). The number of visitors to the islands has increased in recent years, and the port infrastructure has therefore been expanded. Previously, this zone experimented with important sand extraction phases. These changes have influenced the ecosystem directly by modifying the sedimentary behavior and indirectly by promoting even greater numbers of visitors to the area. Aerial images and orthophotographs of the study zone were examined to identify changes that have taken place over the last sixty-one years (1956–2017). Changes in the position of the shoreline, defined as the boundary of the dune vegetation, were mapped at different times between 1956 and 2017. Changes in the shoreline were quantified using GIS (Geographic Information System) technology and Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) software. The findings revealed that the system regressed by more than 30 m between 1956 and 1981, in part as a result of sand extraction. We also identified different erosion/accretion phases that occurred before the reformation of the Rodas dock in 2010. The system is currently undergoing important changes, especially in the northern area, with a regression of 14.14 m in the last seven years. In this context, LiDAR analysis from 2010 and 2015 using Geomorphic Change Detection (GCD) tools allowed variations in the dune system to be verified. The elevation in the study zone increased in 83% of the area, mainly in the frontal dune and close to the winter inlet (north sector). However, the variations were very small.
Digital Education of Health Professionals on the Management of Domestic Violence: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration

Background The World Health Organization states that 35% of women experience domestic violence at least once during their lifetimes. However, approximately 80% of health professionals have never received any training on management of this major public health concern. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of health professions digital education on domestic violence compared to that of traditional ways or no intervention. Methods Seven electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials from January 1990 to August 2017. The Cochrane Handbook guideline was followed, and studies reporting the use of digital education interventions to educate health professionals on domestic violence management were included. Results Six studies with 631 participants met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of 5 studies showed that as compared to control conditions, digital education may improve knowledge (510 participants and 5 studies; standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.67, 95% CI 0.38-0.95; I2=59%; low certainty evidence), attitudes (339 participants and 3 studies; SMD 0.67, 95% CI 0.25-1.09; I2=68%; low certainty evidence), and self-efficacy (174 participants and 3 studies; SMD 0.47, 95% CI 0.16-0.77; I2=0%; moderate certainty evidence). Conclusions Evidence of the effectiveness of digital education on health professionals’ understanding of domestic violence is promising. However, the certainty of the evidence is predominantly low and merits further research. Given the opportunity of scaled transformative digital education, both further research and implementation within an evaluative context should be prioritized.
Deterring Fraud by Looking Away

Individuals being audited potentially learn how to exploit the weaknesses inherent in any audit methodology if they face the same method many times. Hence, an auditor better deters fraud by randomizing her choice of methodology over time, thereby frustrating a would-be fraudster's ability to learn. In the extreme, an auditor benefits from refusing to audit, even though audits are costless to her.
The serotonin antagonist mianserin improves functional recovery following experimental spinal trauma

The ability of the serotonin antagonist mianserin to improve neurological recovery after graded impact trauma to the thoracic region of the spinal cord was compared to that of cyproheptadine and ketanserin in pentobarbital‐anesthetized rats. Spinal cord injury was produced at T‐10 by the weight‐drop method and confirmed by the disappearance of the somatosensory‐evoked response during the subsequent 15 minutes. In all experiments, drug or vehicle treatments were randomly administered as a single intravenous bolus 15 minutes after injury. Functional outcome was blindly assessed for 2 weeks after injury using a modified Tarlov scale, and in some cases, the Rivlin‐Tator angleboard test. The survival of descending raphe‐spinal axons was determined by the measurement of serotonin in postmortem spinal tissues located above and below the site of injury. In separate acute experiments, the physiological and hemodynamic correlates of a 50 gm cm injury and either mianserin or vehicle injection were examined, as were the effects on serotonin content and metabolism in spinal tissues harvested 30 minutes after injury. All doses of mainserin were associated with some index of improved recovery following a 50 gm cm injury, with a 1‐mg/kg dose being clearly superior. Both ketanserin (0.1 mg/kg) and cyproheptadine (2 mg/kg) displayed marginal therapeutic actions for 50 gm cm injuries. In acute studies, mianserin at 1 mg/kg was associated with the preservation of posttraumatic spinal cord blood flow at T‐12 as well as a pronounced alteration in postmortem spinal serotonin content and metabolism, in contrast to vehicle control treatments. These data lend further support to a serotonergic hypothesis of secondary spinal cord injury and suggest the potential use of mianserin for the acute treatment of spinal cord injury.
Identifying structural changes and regime switching in growing and declining inbound tourism markets in Australia

This paper examines the dynamic changes in the number of tourists arriving in Australia from 53 markets using monthly data (1991m1–2014m4). A modified capital asset pricing model incorporating Markov switching and Bai–Perron search models is adopted to measure the extent to which individual arrival series exhibit systematic co-movements in relation to total arrivals as a global composite barometer. The study identifies 15 large and growing markets from different countries and regions with the switching/shifting betas greater than +1, suggesting a diverse portfolio that, if properly managed, will continue to sustain Australia's tourism industry. The study presents a series of marketing and promotion strategies to improve marketing efficiency and implications for further research are discussed.
Research on multi-feature front vehicle detection algorithm based on video image

In order to meet the requirements of real time and effectiveness, a multi-feature front vehicle detection algorithm based on video image is proposed. Firstly, the proposed algorithm uses the edge detector algorithm based on wavelet transform to obtain the road mark for reducing the detection region. Secondly, the threshold segmentation algorithm based on weight factor is used for image segmentation. Thirdly, image processing technologies are used to improve the quality of the segmented image. Lastly, vehicle shadow characteristics, vertical edge characteristics, texture characteristics and symmetry characteristics are used to find out the real region of interest. Simulation demonstrates that the proposed algorithm has low mistake rate and miss rate, high detect rate and strong real-time.
Efficient algorithm for routing optimization via statistical mechanics

Many practical routing algorithms are heuristic, adhoc and centralized, rendering generic and optimal path configurations difficult to obtain. Here we study a scenario whereby selected nodes in a given network communicate with fixed routers and employ statistical physics methods to obtain optimal routing solutions subject to a generic cost. A distributive message-passing algorithm capable of optimizing the path configuration in real instances is devised, based on the analytical derivation, and is greatly simplified by expanding the cost function around the optimized flow. Good algorithmic convergence is observed in most of the parameter regimes. By applying the algorithm, we study and compare the pros and cons of balanced traffic configurations to that of consolidated traffic, which provides important implications to practical communication and transportation networks. Interesting macroscopic phenomena are observed from the optimized states as an interplay between the communication density and the cost functions used.
Freshmen In Transition: A Second Year Evaluation to Determine the Program's Impacts on Academic Achievement, Leadership Skills Development, Institutional Loyalty and Integration, and Retention

The purpose of this formative evaluation project was to determine the impact of the Freshmen In Transition program on the academic achievement, leadership skills development, institutional integration and loyalty, and retention of the participants. The FIT program was sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources to provide a smooth transition for traditional incoming freshmen from high school to college life through a variety of interventions. The program was successful in contributing to the academic achievement and retention of the participants, while no changes were observed in the development of leadership skills or institutional integration/loyalty of participants compared to non-participants. The findings of the study suggest further improvements in the program, including a review of the nature and number of interventions that the participants are required to complete.
Comparison of nifekalant and lidocaine for the treatment of shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation.

BACKGROUND Although nifekalant is a class III antiarrhythmic agent without negative inotropic activity, its effect in patients with shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation remains unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation that persisted after 3 shocks from an external defibrillator, intravenous epinephrine, and another shock were retrospectively studied. The patients received lidocaine from January 1997 through June 2001 and nifekalant from July 2001 through December 2004. Short-term survival rates (survival to hospital admission and 24-h survival) were compared between the groups. The study group comprised 120 patients (mean age: 62+/-16 years): 55 received nifekalant and 65 received lidocaine. Age, sex, history of ischemic heart disease, whether arrest was witnessed or not and time to arrival at the hospital did not differ significantly between the groups. As compared with lidocaine, nifekalant was associated with significantly higher rates of survival to hospital admission (67% vs 37%, p<0.001) and 24-h survival (53% vs 31%, p=0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that treatment with nifekalant and early initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation were independent predictors of 24-h survival. CONCLUSIONS As compared with lidocaine, nifekalant may improve short-term survival in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation.
A Service Level Agreement Language for Dynamic Electronic Services

This paper proposes a novel language for Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for dynamic and spontaneous electronic services. In a cross-organizational setting, it is important for customers of a service to obtain, monitor and enforce quality of service (QoS) guarantees by service providers, usually expressed in the form of SLAs. Since the supervision and management of SLAs and the provisioning of corresponding systems should be automated for economic reasons, we need a formal language to define an SLA. If, moreover, providers and customers want to sign custom-made SLAs, the SLA language, correspondingly, must provide a large degree of flexibility.The SLA language described in this paper aims at providing the needed flexibility by means of an XML-based representation and a runtime system for SLAs. Using this language, parties to an SLA can describe how parameters are measured and computed from raw metrics, the guarantees they want with respect to those parameters and the involvement of third parties to, e.g., independently verify SLA compliance.
Staphylococcus aureus PBP4 Is Essential for β-Lactam Resistance in Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Strains

ABSTRACT Recent cases of infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (CA-MRSA) strains in healthy individuals have raised concerns worldwide. CA-MRSA strains differ from hospital-acquired MRSAs by virtue of their genomic background and increased virulence in animal models. Here, we show that in two common CA-MRSA isolates, USA300 and MW2 (USA400), a loss of penicillin binding protein 4 (PBP4) is sufficient to cause a 16-fold reduction in oxacillin and nafcillin resistance, thus demonstrating that mecA, encoding PBP2A, is not the sole determinant of methicillin resistance in CA-MRSA. The loss of PBP4 was also found to severely affect the transcription of PBP2 in cells after challenge with oxacillin, thus leading to a significant decrease in peptidoglycan cross-linking. Autolysis, which is commonly associated with the killing mechanism of penicillin and β-lactams, does not play a role in the reduced resistance phenotype associated with the loss of PBP4. We also showed that cefoxitin, a semisynthetic β-lactam that binds irreversibly to PBP4, is synergistic with oxacillin in killing CA-MRSA strains, including clinical CA-MRSA isolates. Thus, PBP4 represents a major target for drug rediscovery against CA-MRSA, and a combination of cefoxitin and synthetic penicillins may be an effective therapy for CA-MRSA infections.
A Markov-Switching Model for Indian Stock Price and Volume

Using weekly data from the Indian stock market, we examine the relationship between stock price and trading volume. Our framework is Markov Switching-Vector Error Correction Model (MS-VECM). We justify the use of nonlinear model using the Brock, Dechert and Scheinkman (BDS) test and the information criteria. The long-run dynamics are characterised by one cointegrating vector relating the price to trading volume. We find that stock price is weakly exogenous only in the high volatility regime. The MS-VECM with two regimes provides a good characterisation of the Indian stock market and performs well relative to the other linear and nonlinear models. JEL Classification: C32, G12, E32
Automated disease cohort selection using word embeddings from Electronic Health Records

Accurate and robust cohort definition is critical to biomedical discovery using Electronic Health Records (EHR). Similar to prospective study designs, high quality EHR-based research requires rigorous selection criteria to designate case/control status particular to each disease. Electronic phenotyping algorithms, which are manually built and validated per disease, have been successful in filling this need. However, these approaches are time-consuming, leading to only a relatively small amount of algorithms for diseases developed. Methodologies that automatically learn features from EHRs have been used for cohort selection as well. To date, however, there has been no systematic analysis of how these methods perform against current gold standards. Accordingly, this paper compares the performance of a state-of-the-art automated feature learning method to extracting research-grade cohorts for five diseases against their established electronic phenotyping algorithms. In particular, we use word2vec to create unsupervised embeddings of the phenotype space within an EHR system. Using medical concepts as a query, we then rank patients by their proximity in the embedding space and automatically extract putative disease cohorts via a distance threshold. Experimental evaluation shows promising results with average F-score of 0.57 and AUC-ROC of 0.98. However, we noticed that results varied considerably between diseases, thus necessitating further investigation and/or phenotype-specific refinement of the approach before being readily deployed across all diseases.
Detection and quantification of beta-2-microglobulin using mass spectrometric immunoassay.

The use of mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) in analyzing beta-2-microglobulin (beta(2)m) present in human biological fluids (tears, saliva, plasma, and urine) is described. Pipettor tips containing porous affinity frits, derivatized with polyclonal anti-beta(2)m immunoglobulin, were manufactured and used to selectively isolate and concentrate beta(2)m from the biofluids, after which matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to detect beta(2)m unambiguously at its characteristic molecular mass. The affinity tips were found rapid to use, requiring approximately 15 min per analysis, and exhibited low nonspecific binding properties that yielded essentially interference-free analyses. The beta(2)m MSIA was made quantitative by inclusion of an internal standard into the analysis for signal normalization. The resulting assay had a Linear dynamic range (R(2) = 0.983) covering a beta(2)m concentration range of 0.010-1.0 mg/L with a standard error of approximately 5%. In application, urine samples from healthy individuals were screened and compared with sample from an individual suffering from renal infection. Results indicated an approximately 30-fold increase in beta(2)m levels in samples taken from the infected individual. During the screening, MSIA was able to distinguish between wild-type and glycosylated forms of beta(2)m, which made possible the accurate quantification of wild-type beta(2)m without interference from glycosylated versions of the protein. These results demonstrate a new approach to the rapid and accurate detection/quantification of beta(2)m present in biological fluids.
Design and Implementation of Shaped Magnetic-Resonance-Based Wireless Power Transfer System for Roadway-Powered Moving Electric Vehicles

In this paper, the design and implementation of a wireless power transfer system for moving electric vehicles along with an example of an online electric vehicle system are presented. Electric vehicles are charged on roadway by wireless power transfer technology. Electrical and practical designs of the inverter, power lines, pickup, rectifier, and regulator as well as an optimized core structure design for a large air gap are described. Also, electromotive force shielding for the electric vehicle is suggested. The overall system was implemented and tested. The experimental results showed that 100-kW power with 80% power transfer efficiency under 26-cm air gap was acquired.
Procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (P3NP) and lean mass: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Procollagen type III N-terminal peptide (P3NP) is released during collagen synthesis in muscle. Increased circulating P3NP is a marker not only of muscle growth, but also of muscle repair and fibrosis. Thus, P3NP may be a potential biomarker for sarcopenia. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between plasma P3NP and lean mass and strength. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional study of men and women from the Framingham Offspring Study. Participants included a convenience sample of 687 members with a measure of plasma P3NP and lean mass, and 806 members with P3NP and quadriceps strength assessment. MEASUREMENTS Linear regression was used to estimate the association between total and appendicular lean mass and plasma P3NP, and quadriceps strength and P3NP. RESULTS Mean age was 58 years. Median plasma P3NP was similar in men (3.4 mg/L), premenopausal women (3.1 mg/L), and postmenopausal women (3.0 mg/L). In adjusted models, higher P3NP was associated with a modest decrease in total and appendicular lean mass in postmenopausal women [β= -0.13 unit P3NP/kg total lean mass; p=0.003]. A similar trend was found among premenopausal women, although results were not statistically significant [β=-0.10 unit P3NP/kg total lean mass; p=0.41]. No association between P3NP and lean mass was observed in men. P3NP was not associated with strength in men or women. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that plasma P3NP might be a useful biomarker of muscle mass in postmenopausal women if longitudinal studies demonstrate that it has adequate sensitivity and specificity to predict muscle loss.
Disruption of the Mouse mTOR Gene Leads to Early Postimplantation Lethality and Prohibits Embryonic Stem Cell Development

ABSTRACT The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key component of a signaling pathway which integrates inputs from nutrients and growth factors to regulate cell growth. Recent studies demonstrated that mice harboring an ethylnitrosourea-induced mutation in the gene encoding mTOR die at embryonic day 12.5 (E12.5). However, others have shown that the treatment of E4.5 blastocysts with rapamycin blocks trophoblast outgrowth, suggesting that the absence of mTOR should lead to embryonic lethality at an earlier stage. To resolve this discrepancy, we set out to disrupt the mTOR gene and analyze the outcome in both heterozygous and homozygous settings. Heterozygous mTOR (mTOR+/ −) mice do not display any overt phenotype, although mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from these mice show a 50% reduction in mTOR protein levels and phosphorylation of S6 kinase 1 T389, a site whose phosphorylation is directly mediated by mTOR. However, S6 phosphorylation, raptor levels, cell size, and cell cycle transit times are not diminished in these cells. In contrast to the situation in mTOR +/ − mice, embryonic development of homozygous mTOR − / − mice appears to be arrested at E5.5; such embryos are severely runted and display an aberrant developmental phenotype. The ability of these embryos to implant corresponds to a limited level of trophoblast outgrowth in vitro, reflecting a maternal mRNA contribution, which has been shown to persist during preimplantation development. Moreover, mTOR − / − embryos display a lesion in inner cell mass proliferation, consistent with the inability to establish embryonic stem cells from mTOR − / − embryos.