Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rational Vs Emotional Appeals with Communications to Landholders: A Review of Focus Group Responses

There are many organisations that seek to communicate with landholders for the purposes of engaging them in local environmental or conservation programs and sustainable production. This study examined whether different segments of landholders are likely to respond better to communication based on different appeals (rational or emotional), using different messages and communication channels. Seven hypothetical communication campaigns were designed with specific messages and appeals, each produced in three types of media. Focus groups of three specific landholder groups – „lifestylers‟, traditional and absentee landowners – were held to obtain their responses to the campaigns. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of communications with landholders can be increased by using preferred messages and appeals, and selecting a combination of media appropriate to the landholder group being targeted. ; ;
Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay Using Scorpion Probes and DNA Capture for Genotype-Specific Detection of Giardia lamblia on Fecal Samples

ABSTRACT Two major genotypic assemblages of Giardia lamblia infect humans; the epidemiologic significance of this phenomenon is poorly understood. We developed a single-vessel multiplex real-time PCR (qPCR) assay that genotypes Giardia infections into assemblages A and/or B directly from fecal samples. The assay utilized Scorpion probes that combined genotype-specific primers and probes for the 18S rRNA gene into the same molecule. The protocol was capable of detecting as few as 20 trophozoites per PCR on fecal DNA isolated using a commercial method or 1.25 trophozoites per PCR on fecal DNA isolated using a G. lamblia-specific oligonucleotide capture technique. The assay was specific for fecal specimens, with no amplification of the discordant genotype with the opposite Scorpion probe. When 97 clinical specimens from Bangladesh were used, the multiplex PCR assay detected 95% (21 of 22) of Giardia microscopy-positive specimens and 18% (13 of 74) of microscopy-negative specimens. Microscopy-negative and qPCR-positive specimens had higher average cycle threshold values than microscopy-positive and qPCR-positive specimens, suggesting that they represented true low-burden infections. Most (32 of 35) infections were assemblage B infections. This single-reaction multiplex qPCR assay distinguishes assemblage A Giardia infections from assemblage B infections directly on fecal samples and may aid epidemiologic investigation.
An Algorithm for Mining High Utility Closed Itemsets and Generators

Traditional association rule mining based on the support-confidence framework provides the objective measure of the rules that are of interest to users. However, it does not reflect the utility of the rules. To extract non-redundant association rules in support-confidence framework frequent closed itemsets and their generators play an important role. To extract non-redundant association rules among high utility itemsets, high utility closed itemsets (HUCI) and their generators should be extracted in order to apply traditional support-confidence framework. However, no efficient method exists at present for mining HUCIs with their generators. This paper addresses this issue. A post-processing algorithm, called the HUCI-Miner, is proposed to mine HUCIs with their generators. The proposed algorithm is implemented using both synthetic and real datasets.
Diversity of Thiosulfate-Oxidizing Bacteria from Marine Sediments and Hydrothermal Vents

ABSTRACT Species diversity, phylogenetic affiliations, and environmental occurrence patterns of thiosulfate-oxidizing marine bacteria were investigated by using new isolates from serially diluted continental slope and deep-sea abyssal plain sediments collected off the coast of New England and strains cultured previously from Galapagos hydrothermal vent samples. The most frequently obtained new isolates, mostly from 103- and 104-fold dilutions of the continental slope sediment, oxidized thiosulfate to sulfate and fell into a distinct phylogenetic cluster of marine alpha-Proteobacteria. Phylogenetically and physiologically, these sediment strains resembled the sulfate-producing thiosulfate oxidizers from the Galapagos hydrothermal vents while showing habitat-related differences in growth temperature, rate and extent of thiosulfate utilization, and carbon substrate patterns. The abyssal deep-sea sediments yielded predominantly base-producing thiosulfate-oxidizing isolates related to Antarctic marinePsychroflexus species and other cold-water marine strains of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides phylum, in addition to gamma-proteobacterial isolates of the generaPseudoalteromonas and Halomonas-Deleya. Bacterial thiosulfate oxidation is found in a wide phylogenetic spectrum of Flavobacteria and Proteobacteria.
Avoidance learning: a review of theoretical models and recent developments

Avoidance is a key characteristic of adaptive and maladaptive fear. Here, we review past and contemporary theories of avoidance learning. Based on the theories, experimental findings and clinical observations reviewed, we distill key principles of how adaptive and maladaptive avoidance behavior is acquired and maintained. We highlight clinical implications of avoidance learning theories and describe intervention strategies that could reduce maladaptive avoidance and prevent its return. We end with a brief overview of recent developments and avenues for further research.
Designing and managing the space for creativity. Artistic interventions for strategic development of an organization in resisting environment

Creative interventions as a strategic tool in organizations have gained an increased interest with the hope to handle the complex, chaotic and interactional environments in the global competition. In this study we explore an organization which has involved an artist to facilitate a creative change in its working routines. The study is based on qualitative methods inspired by ethnography. Aesthetic perspective on organizations, design thinking and artistic intervention literature form the main theoretical frame. In the first phase of the two-year-long intervention project we have noticed a lot of problems depending on the differing business logics and the artistic logics, the artistic and designerly methods in practice have shown a lot of similarities.
Semantic enrichment of places: Ontology learning from web

In this paper, we present an approach to a challenge well known from the area of Ubiquitous Computing: extracting meaning out of geo-referenced information. We believe that Public Places can also be an environment where users can be confronted with intelligent services depending on their needs. To make this a reality we need firstly an intelligent way to represent places. The importance of this "semantics of place" problem is proportional to the number of available services and data that are common nowadays. Having rich knowledge about a place, we open up a new realm of "Location Based Services" that can behave more intelligently. Our approach builds on Ontology Engineering techniques in order to build a network of semantic associations between a place and related concepts. We briefly describe the KUSCO system and present some preliminary results.
A new conflict relation for concurrency control and recovery in object-based databases

This paper proposes preservation as a new conflict relation in an object-based database. By explicitly including reverse-operations which bridge the gap between concurrency control and recovery, preservation can be used independently of execution contexts to which different recovery algorithms and/or object models give rise, and further it forms a basis for formulating semantics-based recovery. This paper also makes a t wo-dimensional( i.e., execution cent exts and operations’ specifications) comparison bet ween preservation and other conflict relations. Irr each execution cent ext, our formal comparison reveala that preservationbased concurrency control achieves more concurrency than commutativity-based one.
Cerebral Blood Flow Changes in Glioblastoma Patients Undergoing Bevacizumab Treatment Are Seen in Both Tumor and Normal Brain

Bevacizumab (BEV) is increasingly used to treat recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) with some reported improvement in neurocognitive function despite potential neurotoxicities. We examined the effects of BEV on cerebral blood flow (CBF) within recurrent GBM tumor and in the contralateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory. Post-chemoradiation patients with histologically confirmed GBM were treated with BEV and underwent routine, serial tumor imaging with additional pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (pcASL) following informed consent. Circular regions-of-interest were placed on pcASL images directly over the recurrent tumor and in the contralateral MCA territory. CBF changes before and during BEV treatment were evaluated in tumor and normal tissue. Linear mixed models were used to assess statistical significance. Fifty-three pcASL studies in 18 patients were acquired. Evaluation yielded lower mean tumoral CBF during BEV treatment compared with pre-treatment (45 ± 27 vs. 65 ± 27 ml/100 g/min, p = 0.002), and in the contralateral MCA territory during, compared with pre-BEV treatment (35 ± 8.4 vs. 41 ± 8.4 ml/100 g/min, p = 0.03). The decrease in mean CBF tended to be greater in the tumoral region than in the contralateral MCA, though the difference did not reach statistical significance (31% vs. 13%; p = 0.082). Conclusions BEV administration results in statistically significant global CBF decrease with a potentially preferential decrease in tumor perfusion compared with normal brain tissue.
Optimal Maximal Prefix Coding and Huffman Coding

Huffman coding has been widely used in data, image, and video compression. Novel maximal prefix coding different from the Huffman coding is introduced. Relationships between the Huffman coding and optimal maximal prefix coding are discussed. We show that all Huffman coding schemes are maximal prefix coding schemes and have the shortest average code word length among maximal prefix coding schemes. Moreover, it is proven that, for any maximal prefix code C, there exists a suitable information source I = ( , P) such that C is exactly a Huffman code for I = ( , P). So it is essential to show that the class of Huffman codes is coincident with the class of maximal prefix codes. A case study of applying to data compression is also given. Comparing with the Huffman coding, maximal prefix coding is a more flexible compression method.
How to Forget the Second Side of the Story: A New Method for the One-Mode Projection of Bipartite Graphs

Many relationships naturally come in a bipartite setting: authors that write articles, proteins that interact with genes, or customers that buy, rent or rate products. Often we are interested in the clustering behavior of one side of the graph, i.e., in finding groups of similar articles or products. To find these clusters, a one-mode projection is classically applied, which results in a normal graph that can then be clustered by various methods. For data with strongly skewed degree distributions, a classical one-mode projection leads to very dense graphs with little information. In this article we propose a new method for a meaningful one-mode projection of any kind of bipartite graph $B$ to a sparse general graph $G$, using a modified version of the so-called {\it leverage}. We provide ample experimental evidence that the method creates edges in $G$ only between statistically significant neighbors and that the results are reliable and stable. For this, we present an output sensitive algorithm to compute Kendall's $\tau$. Moreover, for a subset of films in the Netflix prize data set, we can prove that the proposed method not only detects the statistically significantly co-rented films in the data set but that these are also the films that are the most similar ones by content. Thus, our method cannot only be used for the one-mode projection of bipartite graphs in general but also especially for any kind of market basket data to find pairs of most similar products as needed for, e.g., recommendation systems.
3-D computational analysis of the stress distribution on the leaflets after edge-to-edge repair of mitral regurgitation.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Edge-to-edge repair is an effective, recently introduced method to correct mitral insufficiency by suturing the leaflets at the site of regurgitation, though durability of the method has not been proven. To overcome the limitations of the clinical approach, simulations may be used to predict clinical outcome. In this study, the mechanical stress acting on leaflets imposed by the edge-to-edge suture was evaluated as a means of assessing the clinical risk of late fibrosis or tissue degeneration. METHODS A 3-D finite element simulated the stress pattern following edge-to-edge repair. Valve behavior was evaluated both in systole and in diastole. Both 4-mm and 8-mm edge-to-edge sutures were simulated, as well as annular dilation. RESULTS Systolic simulations validated the model by comparison with previous models of the mitral valve. Diastolic stresses were negligible in the native mitral valve; after edge-to-edge repair (8-mm suture), circumferential and longitudinal stress values were 308 kPa and 489 kPa, respectively, and comparable with those observed at systolic peak (449 kPa and 617 kPa, respectively). With a 4-mm suture, longitudinal stresses decreased both close to the suture (-41.5%) and in the annular region (-68%), while circumferential stresses increased (+37%) close to the suture and decreased (-27%) in the annular region. A 20% dilation of the annulus was followed by increased stresses in the annular region and close to the suture. CONCLUSION Leaflet distortion and altered stress distribution occur on the leaflets after edge-to-edge repair. Diastolic peak stress values were comparable with those calculated in systole. The clinical implication is a doubled exposure of valve components to systolic stresses, as if the heart rate were doubled. The use of a prosthetic annuloplasty ring is favorable in the presence of annular dilation to reduce stresses acting on the leaflets after edge-to-edge repair.
Theory Practice Gaps in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Perspective

The last three decades have focused on moving the nursing education from the hospitals toward the universities. The theoretical part has started to gain more popularity in nursing education. The literature shows that there is a clear gap between what is taught in the classroom and what the student nurses experience in the clinical area. This study aimed to identify the reasons for this gap and present suggestions to overcome it. An exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews with thirty students were done. The findings shed light on one main theme "the reasons for theory-practice gap". Many of the students explained that the lack of qualifications of the clinical instructors formed a key stone in increasing the gap between theory and practice. Lack of communication between Theory and Practice teachers was viewed as another reason for this gap. The students showed the complexity of the clinical learning environment in comparison with the theory controlled environment. Poor communication between clinical instructors and lack of support in the clinical training was viewed crucial and was expected to increase the feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction among nursing students. In conclusion, qualitative design used in this study provided deep and rich data about the theory-practice gaps in nursing education in Jordan. The results of this study could be useful for the undergraduate students, the nursing schools, the nursing teachers and the stakeholders in Jordan.
CLINICAL HETEROGENEITY IN SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENTS: SYNTHESIS OF GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS AND THE LITERATURE

Objectives: The aim of this study was to synthesize best practices for addressing clinical heterogeneity in systematic reviews and health technology assessments (HTAs). Methods: We abstracted information from guidance documents and methods manuals made available by international organizations that develop systematic reviews and HTAs. We searched PubMed® to identify studies on clinical heterogeneity and subgroup analysis. Two authors independently abstracted and assessed relevant information. Results: Methods manuals offer various definitions of clinical heterogeneity. In essence, clinical heterogeneity is considered variability in study population characteristics, interventions, and outcomes across studies. It can lead to effect-measure modification or statistical heterogeneity, which is defined as variability in estimated treatment effects beyond what would be expected by random error alone. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity are closely intertwined but they do not have a one-to-one relationship. The presence of statistical heterogeneity does not necessarily indicate that clinical heterogeneity is the causal factor. Methodological heterogeneity, biases, and random error can also cause statistical heterogeneity, alone or in combination with clinical heterogeneity. Conclusions: Identifying potential modifiers of treatment effects (i.e., effect-measure modifiers) is important for researchers conducting systematic reviews and HTAs. Recognizing clinical heterogeneity and clarifying its implications helps decision makers to identify patients and patient populations who benefit the most, who benefit the least, and who are at greatest risk of experiencing adverse outcomes from a particular intervention.
1-Methyl-4-(4-methylstyryl)pyridinium 4-methylbenzenesulfonate

In the title salt, C15H16N+·C7H7O3S−, the dihedral angle between the pyridine and benzene rings of the cation is 5.98 (18)°. In the crystal, adjacent anions and cations are linked by weak non-classical C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.749 (2) Å.
Infant behavior simulation based on an environmental model and a developmental behavior model

A computational approach to understanding comprehensively the behavior of infants and children, which is required in clarification of the dynamics of a system that includes behavior-related accidents, is needed. The present paper describes a method for simulating infant behavior in a virtual environment. The determinant factors of infant behavior are classified into internal factors, such as the physical and cognitive capabilities estimated from the age of the infant, and external factors, such as visual stimuli from surrounding objects. An infant behavior simulator is developed herein by modeling these internal and external factors. The present paper reports the effectiveness of the newly developed simulator. This simulator enables analysis of infant accidents at home from an engineering point of view and supports the design of rooms and houses that are safer for infants.
To Understand God Truly: What's Theological about a Theological School

What are the purposes and the priorities that really govern a theological school? What are realistic expectations of theological education? What would be the ideal theological school, and what is theological about it? Theologian David Kelsey addresses these questions and other concerns regarding theological schooling, and offers suggestions on how to analyze and reconceive "theological schooling" in productive ways.
Risky files: an approach to focus quality improvement effort

As the development of software products frequently transitions among globally distributed teams, the knowledge about the source code, design decisions, original requirements, and the history of troublesome areas gets lost. A new team faces tremendous challenges to regain that knowledge. In numerous projects we observed that only 1% of project files are involved in more than 60% of the customer reported defects (CFDs), thus focusing quality improvement on such files can greatly reduce the risk of poor product quality. We describe a mostly automated approach that annotates the source code at the file and module level with the historic information from multiple version control, issue tracking, and an organization's directory systems. Risk factors (e.g, past changes and authors who left the project) are identified via a regression model and the riskiest areas undergo a structured evaluation by experts. The results are presented via a web-based tool and project experts are then trained how to use the tool in conjunction with a checklist to determine risk remediation actions for each risky file. We have deployed the approach in seven projects in Avaya and are continuing deployment to the remaining projects as we are evaluating the results of earlier deployments. The approach is particularly helpful to focus quality improvement effort for new releases of deployed products in a resource-constrained environment.
Advances in Color Science: From Retina to Behavior

Color has become a premier model system for understanding how information is processed by neural circuits, and for investigating the relationships among genes, neural circuits, and perception. Both the physical stimulus for color and the perceptual output experienced as color are quite well characterized, but the neural mechanisms that underlie the transformation from stimulus to perception are incompletely understood. The past several years have seen important scientific and technical advances that are changing our understanding of these mechanisms. Here, and in the accompanying minisymposium, we review the latest findings and hypotheses regarding color computations in the retina, primary visual cortex, and higher-order visual areas, focusing on non-human primates, a model of human color vision.
Optimal rates for plug-in estimators of density level sets

In the context of density level set estimation, we study the convergence of general plug-in methods under two main assumptions on the density for a given level λ. More precisely, it is assumed that the density (i) is smooth in a neighborhood of λ and (ii) has γ -exponent at level λ. Condition (i) ensures that the density can be estimated at a standard nonparametric rate and condition (ii) is similar to Tsybakov’s margin assumption which is stated for the classification framework. Under these assumptions, we derive optimal rates of convergence for plug-in estimators. Explicit convergence rates are given for plug-in estimators based on kernel density estimators when the underlying measure is the Lebesgue measure. Lower bounds proving optimality of the rates in a minimax sense when the density is Holder smooth are also provided.
QIKS – Quantitative identification of kinase substrates

Signaling networks regulate cellular responses to external stimuli through post‐translational modifications such as protein phosphorylation. Phosphoproteomics facilitate the large‐scale identification of kinase substrates. Yet, the characterization of critical connections within these networks and the identification of respective kinases remain the major analytical challenge. To address this problem, we present a novel approach for the identification of direct kinase substrates using chemical genetics in combination with quantitative phosphoproteomics. Quantitative identification of kinase substrates (QIKS) is a novel‐screening platform developed for the proteome‐wide substrate‐analysis of specific kinases. Here, we aimed to identify substrates of mitogen‐activated protein kinase/Erk kinase (Mek1), an essential kinase in the mitogen‐activated protein kinase cascade. An ATP analog‐sensitive mutant of Mek1 (Mek1‐as) was incubated with a cell extract from Mek1 deficient cells. Phosphorylated proteins were analyzed by LC‐MS/MS of IMAC‐enriched phosphopeptides, labeled differentially for relative quantification. The identification of extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 as the sole cytoplasmic substrates of MEK1 validates the applicability of this approach and suggests that QIKS could be used to identify substrates of a wide variety of kinases.