Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phage typing of Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O 157 isolated in the United Kingdom: 1989–91

SUMMARY Between 1989 and 1991 a total of 1092 Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O 157 isolated in the United Kingdom were phage typed in the Laboratory of Enteric Pathogens (LEP). Twenty-three phage types was identified, the most frequent being types 2 (36·1%), 49 (29·6%), 1 (10·3%) and 4 (8·9%). Although isolations of O 157 VTEC have increased each year from 1 in 1982 to 532 in 1991, the predominant phage types have remained unchanged although the proportion of strains belonging to types 2 and 49 has increased. O 157 VTEC from 17 outbreaks were phage typed during this period with phage type 49 predominating (7 of 17 outbreaks).
Dental implant loss in older versus younger patients: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective studies

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate implant loss in younger and older patients. An electronic search of four databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS and the Cochrane Library) was undertaken until May 2016 without time restriction and was supplemented by manual searching. Prospective cohorts were included if they met the following criteria: (i) presence of an exposed group (older subjects) with a minimum age of 60 years; (ii) presence of a control group (younger subjects) with a maximum age of 59 years; and (iii) outcome data considering implant survival or loss. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of ageing on implant failure. Of 4152 potentially eligible articles, four were included in the qualitative analysis and quantitative synthesis. The pooled estimates suggest that the risk of implant loss in older patients is not significantly higher (RR = 0·92; 95% CI 0·43-1·96, P = 0·83) when compared to younger subjects. This systematic review suggests that age is not a limiting factor for dental implant therapy.
Understanding: Its importance to the management of community pharmacies in Australia

This paper explores the themes of business management competence that are regarded as most important for educating Australian community pharmacy managers. The business and health system environments of community pharmacy in Australia are changing significantly. Community pharmacy owners and managers have been slow to respond, with evidence that poor management capability is a cause. Ten key community pharmacy stakeholders, deemed to be national profession-leaders or experts in management, participated in a semi-structured focus-group interview. The findings highlighted the theme of 'understanding' as crucial to the development of the critical areas of management competence. These findings provide an informative departure point for further research which seeks to better understand management competence required by community pharmacists and how competence may be improved.
Prostate cells express two isoforms of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 with different affinities for fibroblast growth factor‐2

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) mRNA can be alternatively spliced to generate isoforms containing (FGFR1α) or lacking (FGFR1β) the first immunoglobulin‐like domain. We examined which isoforms are expressed by cultured prostate cells, their affinities for FGF‐2, and the effect of heparin on FGF‐2 binding.
A Stripe-Oriented Write Performance Optimization for RAID-Structured Storage Systems

In modern RAID-structured storage systems, reliability is guaranteed by the use of parity blocks. But the parity-update overheads upon each write request have become a performance bottleneck of RAID systems. In some ways, an attached log disk is used to improve the write performance by delaying the parity blocks update. However, these methods are data-block-oriented and they need more time to rebuild or synchronize the RAID system when a data disk or the log disk fails. In this paper, we propose a novel optimization method, called SWO, which can improve RAID write performance and reconstruction performance. Moreover, when handling a write request, the SWO chooses reconstruction- write or read-modify-write combining with the log information to further minimize the number of pre- read data blocks. We have implemented the proposed SWO prototype and carried out some performance measurements using IOmeter and RAIDmeter. We have implemented the main idea of RAID6L in RAID5 and call it RAID5L. At the same time, we have evaluated the reconstruction time and the synchronization time of the SWO. Our experiments demonstrate that the SWO significantly improves write performance and saves more time than Data Logging and RAID5L when rebuilding and synchronizing.
Modus Operandi of Crowd Workers

The ubiquity of the Internet and the widespread proliferation of electronic devices has resulted in flourishing microtask crowdsourcing marketplaces, such as Amazon MTurk. An aspect that has remained largely invisible in microtask crowdsourcing is that of work environments; defined as the hardware and software affordances at the disposal of crowd workers which are used to complete microtasks on crowdsourcing platforms. In this paper, we reveal the significant role of work environments in the shaping of crowd work. First, through a pilot study surveying the good and bad experiences workers had with UI elements in crowd work, we revealed the typical issues workers face. Based on these findings, we then deployed over 100 distinct microtasks on CrowdFlower, addressing workers in India and USA in two identical batches. These tasks emulate the good and bad UI element designs that characterize crowdsourcing microtasks. We recorded hardware specifics such as CPU speed and device type, apart from software specifics including the browsers used to complete tasks, operating systems on the device, and other properties that define the work environments of crowd workers. Our findings indicate that crowd workers are embedded in a variety of work environments which influence the quality of work produced. To confirm and validate our data-driven findings we then carried out semi-structured interviews with a sample of Indian and American crowd workers from this platform. Depending on the design of UI elements in microtasks, we found that some work environments support crowd workers more than others. Based on our overall findings resulting from all the three studies, we introduce ModOp, a tool that helps to design crowdsourcing microtasks that are suitable for diverse crowd work environments. We empirically show that the use of ModOp results in reducing the cognitive load of workers, thereby improving their user experience without affecting the accuracy or task completion time.
The Cost of Banking Panics in an Age before 'Too Big to Fail'

How costly were the banking panics of the National Banking Era (1861-1913)? I combine two hand-collected data sets - the weekly statements of the New York Clearing House banks and the monthly holding period return of every stock listed on the NYSE - to estimate the cost of banking panics in an era before “too big to fail. ” The bank statements allow me to construct a hypothetical insurance contract which would have allowed investors to insure against sudden deposit withdrawals and the cross-section of stock returns allow us to draw inferences about the marginal utility during panic states. Panics were costly. The cross-section of gilded-age stock returns imply investors would have willing paid a 14% annual premium above actuarial fair value to insure $100 against unexpected deposit withdrawals The implied consumption of stock investors suggests that the consumption loss associated with National Banking Era bank runs was far more costly than the consumption loss from stock market crashes.
A Sib-Pair Regression Model of Linkage Disequilibrium for Quantitative Traits

A multiple-regression model is described for the detection of linkage disequilibrium in quantitative trait loci. The model is developed for application to large numbers of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers genotyped on small nuclear families. Parental data are not required by the method, although it provides a direct means to test quantitative trait locus-marker allele association and to determine whether any such association is attributable to linkage disequilibrium or population admixture. Analytical expectations for the regression coefficients are derived, allowing direct interpretation of the parameter estimates. Simulation studies indicate a substantial improvement in power over classical linkage studies of sibling pairs and show the effects of population admixture on the model outcomes.
Earnings Management in Brazil: Motivation and Consequences

This paper has the purpose to present empirical evidence that Brazilian public companies practice earnings management as a response to capital market incentives. After a brief literature review, it will be documented evidences that Brazilian public companies manage their earnings to: a) Avoid reporting losses; b) Sustain recent performance and c) Income smoothing. The study period of the empirical analysis is between 1995 and 1999, and the most important source of information is Economatica. As part of the research, It was implemented a multiple regression model to estimate discretionary accruals, that are used as proxies for earnings management. In terms of performance in the stock market, it was documented that companies that artificially manage their results, towards income decreasing or income increasing, can fool the market in the short run, but in the long run the investors realize the procedure, and their stocks will underperform the market.
Benefits of Linkage to the National Death Index in the Longitudinal Study of Aging

To reduce the potential bias resulting from differential loss to follow-up in the Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA), information obtained from household contact methods was supplemented with information from the National Death Index (NDI). This article examines the degree of agreement in the vital status data from two sources (reinterview contacts and the NDI system) and evaluates the potential gains of using the NDI data as a supplement to define participants' vital status. Results reveal that NDI information, used to supplement reinterview information, can substantially reduce bias due to the differential loss of participants to follow-up. Reliance on reinterview information alone was less likely to capture those deaths occurring in study participants who at the initial contact lived alone, were below the poverty index, were interviewed without use of a proxy, did not supply a phone number, and did not own a home.
Testing wound dressings using an in vitro wound model.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether or not there are any significant differences in the effects of wound dressings on bacterial bioburden. METHOD A selection of non-occlusive, non-adhesive dressings was tested for their effect on bacterial bioburden. The dressings selected included two dressings with antimicrobial properties (one containing silver and one containing PHMB), a cotton-based dressing enclosed in a perforated sleeve of poly(ethylene terephthalate), a carboxymethyl cellulose-based dressing, a fibre-free alginate dressing, and a 12-ply 100% cotton gauze. Using the colony-drip flow reactor (DFR) model, a meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm was grown underneath a dressing sample. Biofilm growth was examined via plate counts, fluorescent microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS The dressings containing antimicrobial agents had the greatest effect on bacterial load. In the MRSA experiments, both antimicrobial dressings produced lower bacteria counts than the other dressings (p<0.001), while in the P. aeruginosa experiments, only the silver-containing sample had fewer bacteria (p<0.0001). However, neither antimicrobial dressing was able to completely eradicate the bacteria when testing with either microorganism. CONCLUSION The results presented herein illustrate that bacteria can grow unchallenged within the dressing environment and that an antimicrobial dressing can limit this bacterial growth. DECLARATION OF INTEREST None.
The Perceived Success Factors and Problems of Small Business Owners in Africa

Approximately 600 micro and small business owners in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria were surveyed to better understand their perceived success factors and ongoing problems. According to the entrepreneurs, hard work, good management skills and good customer service are the most important ingredients for success. Fifteen of the 17 success items could be broken into four factors. The factor for controllable non-managerial items was seen as the most important factor governing success for entrepreneurs from all three countries. The most significant problems as reported by entrepreneurs were a weak economy and unreliable employees. A factor analysis of the problems revealed significant differences among the three countries. Ghanaian entrepreneurs were less concerned about their lack of training and locational issues and more concerned about their lack of capital. Compared to Ghanaian and Kenyan entrepreneurs, Nigerians had greater concern with the factor related to safety, location and employees.
Physical Condition and Activity of Daily Living among HIV Patients Infected through Blood Products in Japan

Objective: To examine the present status and trends in physical condition and activity of daily living (ADL) among patients infected HIV by blood products in Japan. Methods: Data from a survey of 605 HIV patients infected through blood products were available quarterly between April 1997 and March 2000. Physical condition (summary index of 13 symptoms) and ADL in the first quarter of 2000 were assessed by comparing proportions of patients in good physical condition and having good ADL according to the level of CD4 counts and the use of antiretroviral treatments. Trends in those proportions during the study period were investigated, and these trends were also assessed by the changes in CD4 counts and antiretroviral treatments. Results and Conclusions: The proportion of patients in good physical condition was 70.6% and having good ADL was 65.7% in the first quarter of 2000, which was associated with the CD4 counts and antiretroviral therapy. The proportion of patients in good physical condition decreased from 79.2% to 66.2%, and ADL also decreased from 72.1% to 61.3% during the study period. These declines were presumably associated with the changes in CD4 counts and antiretroviral treatments.
Growth-inhibitory action of melatonin and thiazolidinedione derivative CGP 52608 on murine 16/C breast cancer cells.

OBJECTIVES Melatonin may influence directly tumor cells through the specific binding sites. The best known melatonin binding sites are membrane receptors. Recently, the participation of nuclear signalling via estrogen as well as RZR/ROR receptors in oncostatic action of melatonin on the breast cancer has been widely discussed. The aim of present study was to investigate effects of melatonin, the selective ligand for nuclear RZR/ROR receptors - CGP 52608, and methotrexate on growth of murine 16/C breast cancer cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS The experiment was performed in vitro. The breast cancer cells were incubated for 2 days in the presence of melatonin, CGP 52608 (at concentrations of 10(-5)M, 10(-7)M, 10(-9)M, 10-(11)M ) and methotrexate (at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.125 microg/ml). The growth of cells was measured using the modified Mossman method. RESULTS All examined compounds significantly inhibited the growth of cancer cells. The effects of MLT and CGP 52 608 were comparable with suppression caused by methotrexate. The significant differences of efficacy between two examined concentrations of methotrexate were not observed. CONCLUSION The obtained data together with our previous results indicate that nuclear receptors RZR/ROR play an important, although not sufficiently recognized role in the oncostatic action of melatonin.
Real-time traffic support for ad hoc wireless networks

Ad hoc wireless networks are multihop packet radio networks which do not have any fixed infrastructure. A group of nodes using a single frequency spectrum, communicate with each other by resolving access to the shared broadcast channel. Providing support for real-time traffic in this environment where the topology is highly dynamic is very challenging due to the fact that efficient resource reservation mechanisms are very difficult. In this work we propose a MAC layer protocol, Realtime MAC (RTMAC) for ad hoc wireless networks, which provides a bandwidth reservation mechanism. The core concept of this protocol is the flexibility of placement of reservation slots in the super-frame, by which the protocol can make use of the holes (short free slots in the super-frame which otherwise cannot be utilized) in the super-frame. We have simulated our protocol using GloMoSim and compared it with MACA/PR (Lin and Gerla, 1997) for different performance evaluation metrics such as average end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio, call blocking ratio, and out-of-order packets. Results show that the real-time traffic in RTMAC is less affected by the presence of best-effort traffic when compared to MACA/PR. Also, we found that RTMAC outperforms MACA/PR in call blocking ratio, average end-to-end delay, and packet delivery ratio.
Printing industry off shoring: Perspectives from US based printers

Purpose – This paper aims to report on how US printers perceive offshoring trends in the printing industry, and explore how they are responding to its opportunities and challenges. Design/methodology/approach – The authors relied on data collection comprising three stages: exploratory interviews, an industry survey, and follow-up interviews. Findings – Many printers perceive offshoring as a threat, and some groups are being affected by it. Firms that offer quick and variable printing and/or non-standard IT services (with the exception of data management) are less likely to suffer from job loss due to the offshoring. To respond to the threat of offshore outsourcing, printers are trying to either focus on ‘‘safe’’ products, introduce new services, or offshore themselves. Most US printers do not have a global footprint, so few have taken advantage of the opportunities opened up by globalization, by offshoring their supply chain or selling abroad. Research limitations/implications – Due to a low response rate, performance data are not in the analysis. This limitation is common for researchers of the printing industry where little public data are available. Practical implications – While many US printers are feeling the negative effects of offshoring, few are taking advantage of its benefits. Originality/value – Most offshoring studies to date have relied on publicly available data, which has significant limitations. This study uses a mix of both survey and interview data to attain a more nuanced view of how the US printing industry is being affected by, and responding, to offshoring.
Application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) Techniques in E-Governance

E-Governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective. Effective and efficient e-Governments deploy Information and Communication Technology Systems (ICT) to deliver services through multiple channels that are accessible, fast, secure, reliable, seamless, and coherent. To implement better G2G, G2B, G2E and G2C services we should not only utilize ICT, we have to be also serious about implementing Natural Language Processing (NLP) Techniques to reach up to the masses and make e-governance successful one. This paper shows the need of applying NLP technologies in the field of e-governance and also tries to focus on the issues, which can be resolved very easily with the help of these modern technologies. It also shows the advantages of applying NLP in e-governance.
Optimizing Cloud-Service Performance: Efficient Resource Provisioning via Optimal Workload Allocation

Cloud computing is being widely accepted and utilized in the business world. From the perspective of businesses utilizing the cloud, it is critical to meet their customers’ requirements by achieving service-level-objectives. Hence, the ability to accurately characterize and optimize cloud-service performance is of great importance. In this paper a stochastic multi-tenant framework is proposed to model the service of customer requests in a cloud infrastructure composed of heterogeneous virtual machines. Two cloud-service performance metrics are mathematically characterized, namely the percentile and the mean of the stochastic response time of a customer request, in closed form. Based upon the proposed multi-tenant framework, a workload allocation algorithm, termed max-min-cloud algorithm, is then devised to optimize the performance of the cloud service. A rigorous optimality proof of the max-min-cloud algorithm is also given. Furthermore, the resource-provisioning problem in the cloud is also studied in light of the max-min-cloud algorithm. In particular, an efficient resource-provisioning strategy is proposed for serving dynamically arriving customer requests. These findings can be used by businesses to build a better understanding of how much virtual resource in the cloud they may need to meet customers’ expectations subject to cost constraints.
Did Federal Funds Target Rate Changes Affect the Market Value of Insurance Companies?

In this paper, we study the sensitivity of insurance companies’ stock returns with respect to expected and unexpected changes in the Federal funds target rate over the period 1988-2007. We confirm Bernanke and Kuttner (2005) that, as stocks in general, insurance stock returns are only sensitive to the unexpected changes in the Federal funds target rate, but not to the expected ones. However, market-adjusted stock returns do only show a reaction for the non-life insurers. For life insurers, there does not seem to be an industry specific effect on their market value. This can be explained by the business models life and nonlife insurers adopt.
Augmented Internet: An Information-Centric Approach for Real-World / Internet Integration

The Internet contains a lot of information that can be very useful to support users in real-world activities and while on the go. Unfortunately, this information is currently very cumbersome to access and accessing the information disrupts the users' workflow. Internet services that offer those information with a seamless real-world integration are missing. In this paper, we argue that such Internet services are currently difficult to develop on a large scale because conceptual support for such applications is missing. Therefore, we propose a new paradigm, the Augmented Internet, that integrates a conceptual connection between the Internet and the real world into the next generation Internet. Requirements for the next generation Internet are analyzed based on multiple use cases. From this analysis, we conclude that it is feasible and advantageous to implement real- world integration as integral part of an information-centric network approach. To enable this, future information-centric network research has to take some additional requirements into consideration, resulting in minor but critical changes to the information-centric network approach, as will be discussed in this paper. I. INTRODUCTION
Making sense of research.

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