Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cell Wall Carbohydrate Compositions of Strains from the Bacillus cereus Group of Species Correlate with Phylogenetic Relatedness

ABSTRACT Members of the Bacillus cereus group contain cell wall carbohydrates that vary in their glycosyl compositions. Recent multilocus sequence typing (MLST) refined the relatedness of B. cereus group members by separating them into clades and lineages. Based on MLST, we selected several B. anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis strains and compared their cell wall carbohydrates. The cell walls of different B. anthracis strains (clade 1/Anthracis) were composed of glucose (Glc), galactose (Gal), N-acetyl mannosamine (ManNAc), and N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). In contrast, the cell walls from clade 2 strains (B. cereus type strain ATCC 14579 and B. thuringiensis strains) lacked Gal and contained N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc). The B. cereus clade 1 strains had cell walls that were similar in composition to B. anthracis in that they all contained Gal. However, the cell walls from some clade 1 strains also contained GalNAc, which was not present in B. anthracis cell walls. Three recently identified clade 1 strains of B. cereus that caused severe pneumonia, i.e., strains 03BB102, 03BB87, and G9241, had cell wall compositions that closely resembled those of the B. anthracis strains. It was also observed that B. anthracis strains cell wall glycosyl compositions differed from one another in a plasmid-dependent manner. When plasmid pXO2 was absent, the ManNAc/Gal ratio decreased, while the Glc/Gal ratio increased. Also, deletion of atxA, a global regulatory gene, from a pXO2− strain resulted in cell walls with an even greater level of Glc.
Reference process for the development of an engineering strategy

The critical influence of functional strategies on business success is undisputed, as well as the impact of engineering. Surprisingly, research on functional strategies for engineering organizations is scarce. Purpose: this contribution aims to provide engineering organizations with a guideline for the development and implementation of engineering strategies. Approach: first, a literature review determines the state of research for functional strategies i.e. which functional strategies are in the focus of research. The review also aims to evaluate approaches for the development of functional strategies. Then, a market analysis gives an overview of consulting offers for strategy development. To gain insight on how engineering strategies are developed in industrial practice, seven projects which focused on strategy development were analyzed. Findings: based on the analysis of seven functional strategy development projects a reference process for the planning and implementation of an engineering strategy is presented. Originality: there is a large body of literature on business and corporate strategies. On a functional level research focuses on marketing, procurement and manufacturing strategy. Functional strategies for engineering received no attention in the literature yet.
AN INVESTIGATION OF GENERAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE IT WORKFORCE

The perception that employees have of information technology or computing professionals is one that can potentially impact an array of issues from an organizations decisions to outsource IT or the employee turnover rate of IT professionals. While a significant amount of interest and research has looked at high school and college students perceptions as a factor in a student choosing or not choosing a technology major there has been little work of the perceptions of people in business. In order to establish a baseline of what the perceptions are of IT professionals, students in online MBA classes that consisted of both technical and non-technical persons were given the opportunity to state what their perceptions of technology professionals were in a discussion group. This paper presents an analysis of these comments and along with a discussion on the potential interventions that can be taken to alter such perceptions.
Direct metal patterning by two-step transfer printing of conductive metal nano-inks

Recently there are growing interests in reliable and economical processes for the printed electronics fabrication. In this article we present a new direct metal patterning method by two-step transfer printing process of conductive metal nano-ink solution. This fabrication process consists mainly of two steps: (1) transfer of metal nano-ink solution from the ink-substrate to the polymer stamp, and (2) transfer of metal nano-ink solution from the polymer stamp to the target-substrate. This fabrication method allows simple direct patterning of various microscale metallic structures. Further, low temperature and pressure process conditions are compatible with the fabrication of electronic structures and devices on flexible polymer substrates.
Dollars, “Free Trade,” and Migration

Driven by new conditions of desperation and alienation, mass migration in postwar El Salvador has continued unabated. While this migration could be seen as a way of “opting out” of ongoing class struggle, we argue that it instead represents a critical dissipation of class relations and struggle. In the postwar context, the ruling class and the Salvadoran state seek to capitalize on the alienation of their own people and their responses to that alienation—migration and the remittances it generates. The ruling class has ensured its economic domination regardless of who controls the state. Seeking to legitimize and maximize the seizure of citizens’ income as it flows across borders as a matter of “economic” and “development” policy, the ruling class has depleted the productive base through which class struggle would ordinarily occur, creating new forces of alienation in El Salvador and increasing the need for many Salvadorans to migrate. Impulsada por las nuevas condiciones de desesperación y alienación, la migración masiva en El Salvador posguerra no ha disminuido. Aunque esta migración podría ser vista como una forma de abandonar la lucha de clases en curso, en realidad representa una disipación crítica de las relaciones de clase y de lucha. En el contexto de la posguerra, el Estado salvadoreño busca capitalizar de la alienación de su propio pueblo y sus respuestas a esa alienación—migración y las remesas que genera. La clase dominante ha asegurado su dominio económico independientemente de quién controla el Estado. Tratando de legitimar y maximizar la captura de la renta de los ciudadanos a medida que fluye a través de las fronteras como parte de la política económica y del desarrollo, la clase dominante ha agotado la base productiva a través del cual la lucha de clases que normalmente se produce, creando nuevas fuerzas de alienación en El Salvador y aumentando la necesidad de muchos salvadoreños a emigrar.
Optimal Oil Exploration under Climate Treaties

In this paper we focus on how an international climate treaty will influence the exploration of oil in Non-OPEC countries. We present a numerical intertemporal global equilibrium model for the fossil fuel markets. The international oil market is modelled with a cartel (OPEC) and a competitive fringe on the supply side, following a Nash-Cournot approach. An initial resource base for oil is given in the Non-OPEC region. However, the resource base changes over time due to depletion, exploration and discovery. When studying the effects of different climate treaties on oil exploration, two contrasting incentives apply. If an international carbon tax is introduced, the producer price of oil will drop compared to the reference case. This gives an incentive to reduce oil production and exploration. However, the oil price may increase less rapidly over time, which gives an incentive to expedite production, and exploration. In fact, in the case of a rising carbon tax we find the last incentive to be the strongest, which means that an international climate treaty may increase oil exploration in Non-OPEC countries for the coming decades.
Is there Evidence of Learning‐by‐Exporting in Turkish Manufacturing Industries?

Abstract Exporting has always been thought of as one tool to improve productivity and, consequently, to spur economic growth in low‐ to middle‐income economies. However, empirical evidence of this so‐called ‘learning‐by‐exporting’ effect has been limited. This article determines whether learning‐by‐exporting is evident in two Turkish manufacturing sectors—the textile and apparel (T&A) and the motor vehicle and parts (MV&P) industries. A semi‐parametric estimator that controls for problems associated with simultaneity and unobserved plant heterogeneity is used to test the learning‐by‐exporting hypothesis. After controlling for these issues, our results suggest statistically stronger learning‐by‐exporting effects in the T&A than in the MV&P industry. The highly concentrated and capital‐intensive nature of the MV&P industry is the main reason for the lower learning‐by‐exporting effect in this sector. From a policy perspective, this implies that targeting export‐enhancing policies to industries with significant learning‐by‐exporting effects may lead to more productivity gains and would better stimulate an export‐led growth.
Unstimulated basophils in atopic and nonatopic subjects express intracellular interleukin‐4: detection by flow cytometry

Background IgE‐stimulated cultured basophils from atopic subjects are capable of secreting interleukin‐4 (IL‐4). We describe a flow‐cytometric technique which identified intracellular IL‐4 in unstimulated basophils unseparated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in both atopic (AT) and nonatopic (NC) volunteers.
EGFR and erbB2 mutation status in Japanese lung cancer patients

Much evidence has accumulated that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its family members are strongly implicated in the development and progression of lung cancers. Somatic mutations of the EGFR gene were found in about 25–40% of Japanese lung cancer patients. More recently, erbB2 mutations are found in about 4% of European‐derived lung cancer patients. We have investigated EGFR and erbB2 mutation status in 95 surgically treated nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases from Nagoya City University Hospital. Seventy‐five adenocarcinoma cases were included. The presence or absence of EGFR and ernB2 mutations of kinase domains were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) amplifications and direct sequences. We have also investigated erbB2 mutation status in 27 surgically treated NSCLC cases followed by treatment with gefitinib from Kinki‐chuo Chest Medical Center. EGFR mutations (CTG→CGG; L858R) were found from 14 of 95 lung cancer patients. We also detected the deletion 1a‐type mutations from 9 patients and deletion 4‐type mutations from 6 patients in exon 19. In exon 20, 4 mutations including 2 novel mutations were found. Total EGFR mutations were present in 35 patients (36.8%). These mutation statuses were significantly correlated with gender (women 73.3% vs. men 20%, p < 0.0001), smoking status (never smoker 69.4% vs. smoker 16.9%, p < 0.0001), pathologic subtypes (adenocarcinoma 45.1% vs. nonadenocarcinoma 12.5%, p = 0.0089) and differentiation status of the lung cancers (well 51% vs. moderately or poorly 18.4%, p = 0.0021). On the other hand, erbB2 mutation was only found from 1 of 95 patients, at exon 20. This patient was female and a never smoker with adenocarcinoma. This 12 nucleotide insertion mutation (2324–2325 ins ATACGTGATGGC) was located in the exon 20 at kinase domain (775–776 ins YVMA). There was no erbB2 mutation in 27 gefitinib‐treated NSCLC patients. In total, we have found only 1 erbB2 mutation from 122 (0.8%) Japanese NSCLC patients. There was a significantly higher erbB2 positive (2+/3+) ratio in EGFR mutant patients (13/25, 52.0%) compared to EGFR wild‐type patients (10/62, 16.1%; p = 0.0247). The NSCLC specimen with erbB2 mutation showed 1+ immunoreactivity. The EGFR mutation status might correlate with the clinicopathologic features related to good response to gefitinib, such as gender, smoking history and pathologic subtypes of lung cancers. However, erbB2 mutation is rare from Japanese lung cancer and is of limited value for molecular target therapy. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Critical Systems Thinking: A Creative Approach to Organizational Change

This article argues that change initiatives often fail to meet anticipated objectives as a result of change approaches not being holistic or creative enough. The study takes the position that managers must adopt a systemic approach, based on the creative use of different systems methodologies and methods and explains how critical systems thinking can provide a creative approach to organizational change. Critical systems thinking, through its commitments to critical awareness, improvement, and methodological pluralism, provides a way of being both holistic and creative at the same time, and could therefore provide a suitable alternative to change approaches. Viewing the problem situation from a holistic perspective, adopting systems concepts and perspectives, and being creative in the choice and use of methodologies and methods will provide a new approach to organizational change and make a significant contribution to improving organizational performance.
Maze: a social peer-to-peer network

Tianwang Maze system is a hybrid peer-to-peer system. Maze employs the idea of social networks to help peers discover each other, and as a result, reduces the load on the heartbeat server. Maze network is a dynamic network in which peers connect to each other according to their social relation, group of peers with common interest is naturally formed, and similar resources are found in neighborhood. This paper will discuss how Maze realizes a social network, and how the social relationships help to discover peers and resources on the Internet
Iceberg discharges of the last glacial period driven by oceanic circulation changes

Significance Periodic episodes of massive iceberg discharges from the large Northern Hemispheric ice sheets into the North Atlantic Ocean occurred throughout the last glacial cycle. It is still not clear whether they resulted from internal ice dynamics alone or were possibly externally driven. Results of our simulations of the Laurentide Ice Sheet forced by oceanic circulation changes support the hypothesis that these ice discharges were induced by the collapse of a buttressing ice shelf and the subsequent acceleration of inland ice streams. This provides a new basis for understanding the dynamics of the coupled cryosphere–climate system of glacial cycles. Additionally, it has strong implications for the stability of the marine parts of the Antarctic ice sheet given anthropogenic oceanic warming. Proxy data reveal the existence of episodes of increased deposition of ice-rafted detritus in the North Atlantic Ocean during the last glacial period interpreted as massive iceberg discharges from the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Although these have long been attributed to self-sustained ice sheet oscillations, growing evidence of the crucial role that the ocean plays both for past and future behavior of the cryosphere suggests a climatic control of these ice surges. Here, we present simulations of the last glacial period carried out with a hybrid ice sheet–ice shelf model forced by an oceanic warming index derived from proxy data that accounts for the impact of past ocean circulation changes on ocean temperatures. The model generates a time series of iceberg discharge that closely agrees with ice-rafted debris records over the past 80 ka, indicating that oceanic circulation variations were responsible for the enigmatic ice purges of the last ice age.
Determinants of seed removal distance by scatter-hoarding rodents in deciduous forests.

Scatter-hoarding rodents should space food caches to maximize cache recovery rate (to minimize loss to pilferers) relative to the energetic cost of carrying food items greater distances. Optimization models of cache spacing make two predictions. First, spacing of caches should be greater for food items with greater energy content. Second, the mean distance between caches should increase with food abundance. However, the latter prediction fails to account for the effect of food abundance on the behavior of potential pilferers or on the ability of caching individuals to acquire food by means other than recovering their own caches. When considering these factors, shorter cache distances may be predicted in conditions of higher food abundance. We predicted that seed caching distances would be greater for food items of higher energy content and during lower ambient food abundance and that the effect of seed type on cache distance variation would be lower during higher food abundance. We recorded distances moved for 8636 seeds of five seed types at 15 locations in three forested sites in Pennsylvania, USA, and 29 forest fragments in Indiana, U.S.A. , across five different years. Seed production was poor in three years and high in two years. Consistent with previous studies, seeds with greater energy content were moved farther than less profitable food items. Seeds were dispersed less far in seed-rich years than in seed-poor years, contrary to predictions of conventional models. Interactions were important, with seed type effects more evident in seed-poor years. These results suggest that, when food is superabundant, optimal cache distances are more strongly determined by minimizing energy cost of caching than by minimizing pilfering rates and that cache loss rates may be more strongly density-dependent in times of low seed abundance.
Dimeric (isoquinoline)(N-salicylidene-D,L-glutamato)copper(II) ethanol solvate.

The title racemic complex, bis[mu-N-(2-oxidobenzylidene)-D,L-glutamato(2-)]bis[(isoquinoline)copper(II)] ethanol disolvate, [Cu(2)(C(12)H(11)NO(5))(2)(C(9)H(7)N)(2)]. 2C(2)H(6)O, adopts a square-pyramidal Cu(II) coordination mode with a tridentate N-salicylideneglutamato Schiff base dianion and an isoquinoline ligand bound in the basal plane. The apex of the pyramid is occupied by a phenolic O atom from the adjacent chelate molecule at an apical distance of 2.487 (3) A, building a dimer located on the crystallographic inversion center. The Cu.Cu spacing within the dimers is 3.3264 (12) A. The ethanol solvent molecules are hydrogen bonded to the dimeric complex molecules, forming infinite chains in the a direction. The biological activity of the title complex has been studied.
An attempt to measure service quality at a Belfast maternity hospital: Some methodological issues and some results

Abstract The research referred to in this paper is part of a wider comparative study of quality in maternity services. Methodological issues relating to the conceptualization of service quality and its measurement are discussed. The objectives of the reseach carried out in the Belfast maternity hospital are outlined, as are the design and specific methodologies employed. In this case, service quality was conceptualized as perceptions minus importance (P- I) . The study identified relevant service factors and divided them into clinical and non-clinical categories. Both external customers (patients and partners) and internal customers (staff) of the hospital were required to prioritize and evaluate factors in both categories. Gaps between priorities and perceptions were highlighted. The use of a specific decision rule identified service 'fail points', and provided a useful means of guiding management at the hospital, in terms of where attention and resources should be targeted in an attempt to improve quali.
Liability for Pharmaceutical Products: a Critique of the ‘Learned Intermediary’ Rule

Under English law, a manufacturer is generally required to provide adequate information to the ultimate user of its products, including details of any latent dangers known to be inherent therein. This article examines the provision of warning information in relation to pharmaceutical products, and argues that the general law applies to non-prescription drugs only. It postulates that the manufacturer of a prescription drug is required to convey warning information to an intermediary, namely the physician, rather than to the patient. The operation of this 'learned intermediary rule' and its relationship to the principle of 'informed consent' to treatment is considered. It is suggested that the approach of the English courts to informed consent may leave an injured patient unable to attain redress, even where a doctor has failed to act as learned intermediary. The English position is compared to the situation in the United States of America, where it is generally accepted that the learned intermediary rule applies to prescription drugs. In recent years, some American courts have developed exceptions to this rule, principally in the context of the provision of oral contraceptives and vaccines. An attempt is made to account for this, and to determine whether the English courts are likely to adopt similar exceptions.
Measuring weak-form of market efficiency: the case of Dhaka stock exchange

This study tests the weak form of efficiency of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) for daily, weekly and monthly observed and corrected (corrected for thin and non-synchronous trading) returns of DSE General Index (DGEN). The research applies both parametric and nonparametric tests. Results of autocorrelation tests show that the market does not follow random walk, which is supported by the runs test. Variance ratio of weekly observed and corrected returns also confirms the finding. However, daily and monthly observed and corrected returns at homoscedastic and heteroscedastic increments under variance ratio test shows that DSE follows random walk. We further check the robustness of these findings analysing the returns of DSE 20 index. Results obtained here support the conclusions drawn based on DGEN.
Hemoglobin Vesicle Improves Recovery of Cardiac Function After Ischemia–Reperfusion by Attenuating Oxidative Stress in Isolated Rat Hearts

Abstract Hemoglobin vesicle (HbV) could be a useful blood substitute in emergency medicine. The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of HbV on cardiac function after ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) ex vivo. Isolated rat hearts were perfused according to the Langendorff method. An ischemia–reperfusion group (n = 6) was subjected to 25 minutes of global ischemia and 30 minutes of reperfusion. HbV (hemoglobin, 0.33 g/dL) was perfused before ischemia–reperfusion for 10 minutes (HbV group, n = 6). Hemodynamics were monitored, and tissue glutathione contents were measured. The redox state of reactive thiols in cardiac tissues was assessed by the biotinylated iodoacetamide labeling method. Left ventricular developed pressure was significantly recovered in the HbV group after 30 minutes of reperfusion (56.3 ± 2.8 mm Hg vs. ischemia–reperfusion group 27.0 ± 8.0 mm Hg, P < 0.05). Hemodynamic changes induced by HbV were similar to those observed when NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester was perfused for 10 minutes before ischemia–reperfusion (L-NAME group). The oxidized glutathione contents of cardiac tissues significantly decreased, and biotinylated iodoacetamide labeling of thiols was maintained in both the HbV and the L-NAME groups. HbV improved the recovery of cardiac function after ischemia–reperfusion in isolated rat hearts. This mechanism is dependent on functional protection against thiol oxidation.