Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of CTX-M-Type β-Lactamase Genes in Fecal Escherichia coli Isolates from Healthy Children in Bolivia and Peru

ABSTRACT A survey was carried out from August to November 2002 to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibilities of fecal Escherichia coli isolates from 3,208 healthy children from four different urban areas of Latin America, two in Bolivia (Camiri and Villa Montes) and two in Peru (Yurimaguas and Moyobamba). Ceftriaxone-resistant E. coli isolates were detected in four children, one from each of the areas sampled. The isolates exhibited a multidrug-resistant phenotype, including resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins and aztreonam, and the MICs of ceftazidime for the isolates were lower than those of cefotaxime. By PCR and sequencing, the blaCTX-M-2 determinant was detected in three isolates and the blaCTX-M-15 determinant was detected in one isolate (from Peru). The CTX-M-2-producing isolates belonged to three different phylogenetic groups (groups A, B2, and D), while the CTX-M-15-producing isolate belonged to phylogenetic group D. The blaCTX-M-2 determinants were transferable to E. coli by conjugation, while conjugative transfer of the blaCTX-M-15 determinant was not detectable. Plasmids harboring the blaCTX-M-2 determinant exhibited similar restriction profiles, and in all of them the gene was located on a 2.2-kb PstI fragment, suggesting a genetic environment similar to that present in In35 and InS21. The findings of the present study confirm the widespread distribution of CTX-M-type β-lactamases and underscore the role that commensal E. coli isolates could play as a potential reservoir of these clinically relevant resistance determinants. This is the first report of CTX-M-type enzymes in Bolivia and Peru and also the first report of the detection of CTX-M-15 in Latin America.
Quantized HMMs for low footprint text-to-speech synthesis

This paper proposes the use of Quantized Hidden Markov Models (QHMMs) for reducing the footprint of conventional parametric HMM-based TTS system. Previously, this technique was successfully applied to automatic speech recognition in embedded devices without loss of recognition performance. In this paper we investigate the construction of different quantized HMM configurations that serve as input to the standard ML-based parameter generation algorithm. We use both subjective and ob-jective tests to compare the resulting systems. Subjective re-sults for specific compression configurations show no significant preference although some spectral distortion is reported. We conclude that a trade-off is necessary in order to satisfy both speech quality and low-footprint memory requirements.
Mapping of Potent and Specific Binding Motifs, GLOGEN and GVOGEA, for Integrin α1β1 Using Collagen Toolkits II and III*

Background: The collagens contain GxOGEx″ integrin-binding motifs, whose identity and specificity are poorly defined. Results: GLOGEN in collagen III is a high affinity ligand, and GVOGEA in collagen II is a specific ligand for α1β1. Conclusion: Collagen Toolkits enable such sites to be identified and compared. Significance: GLOGEN- and GVOGEA-containing peptides can be used to characterize the properties of α1β1. Integrins are well characterized cell surface receptors for extracellular matrix proteins. Mapping integrin-binding sites within the fibrillar collagens identified GFOGER as a high affinity site recognized by α2β1, but with lower affinity for α1β1. Here, to identify specific ligands for α1β1, we examined binding of the recombinant human α1 I domain, the rat pheochromocytoma cell line (PC12), and the rat glioma Rugli cell line to our collagen Toolkit II and III peptides using solid-phase and real-time label-free adhesion assays. We observed Mg2+-dependent binding of the α1 I domain to the peptides in the following rank order: III-7 (GLOGEN), II-28 (GFOGER), II-7 and II-8 (GLOGER), II-18 (GAOGER), III-4 (GROGER). PC12 cells showed a similar profile. Using antibody blockade, we confirmed that binding of PC12 cells to peptide III-7 was mediated by integrin α1β1. We also identified a new α1β1-binding activity within peptide II-27. The sequence GVOGEA bound weakly to PC12 cells and strongly to activated Rugli cells or to an activated α1 I domain, but not to the α2 I domain or to C2C12 cells expressing α2β1 or α11β1. Thus, GVOGEA is specific for α1β1. Although recognized by both α2β1 and α11β1, GLOGEN is a better ligand for α1β1 compared with GFOGER. Finally, using biosensor assays, we show that although GLOGEN is able to compete for the α1 I domain from collagen IV (IC50 ∼3 μm), GFOGER is much less potent (IC50 ∼90 μm), as shown previously. These data confirm the selectivity of GFOGER for α2β1 and establish GLOGEN as a high affinity site for α1β1.
Embodiment of cognition and emotion

The structure of the chapter is roughly as follows. We begin by contrasting embodiment theories with their main competitors—theories that emphasize the amodal, propositional nature of mental representations. We then review some evidence for embodied processing in more cognitive domains. We then move on to a detailed description of research on embodied processing’s role in emotional perception and emotional language comprehension, the role of embodied metaphor in understanding interpersonal relations and morality, and the role of mimicry in social judgment. Finally, we discuss the applicability of embodiment theory to understanding and perhaps helping to ameliorate impairments of social functioning, using autism and depression as two illustrative examples. We conclude with the suggestion that a fully fleshed-out embodied account of information processing is still a work in progress. It may in fact be the case that the embodiment perspective cannot satisfactorily account for some important aspect of cognition and emotion. Still, the embodiment perspective has proved remarkably generative in terms of both producing new findings and explaining major phenomena and is likely to continue being a major force in psychology in general and social psychology in particular.
A Longitudinal Study of an Untreated Sample of Predominantly Late Onset Characterological Dysthymia

The current study represents one of the first psychological investigations that attempts to describe the untreated course of late onset characterological dysthymia. Of 34 dysthymic subjects who were studied for 9 months, six women remitted (18%). Twenty-eight subjects (82%) remained unchanged. Among the nonremitters, we found stable patterns of functioning in the cognitive, coping, personality, interpersonal, and environmental spheres. The destructive nature of these refractory patterns appeared to predispose the individual to a depressionogenic lifestyle. These unchanging features were not found among the remitters. The small size of the remitting group makes our speculations tentative but we did find consistent changes over time across measures of functioning. While the symptom-affective features of the nonremitters remained at clinically significant levels throughout, the depressive symptom levels of the six remitters decreased to nonsignificant clinical levels during the last half of the study. It was noted that, based on these preliminary data, DSM-III-R may be “underdescriptive” in regard to relevant symptom features of characterological dysthymia.
Nucleotide Structure and Characterization of the Murine Gene Encoding the Endothelial Cell Protein C Receptor

Summary The nucleotide sequence of the entire gene encoding the murine endothelial cell receptor for activated protein C (EPCR) has been determined. A total of 5303 bp of DNA was sequenced that included 4 exons and three introns, which constituted the coding region of the gene, as well as 393 bp upstream of the first exon and 841 bp downstream of the last exon. From the locations of the introns in this gene and analysis of the exon structures, it is clear the EPCR gene is a member of the CD1 class of multiple histocompatibility proteins, and its cDNA sequence is nearly identical to that of CCD41, a centrosome-associated protein. All elements needed for RNA polymerase II-based transcription are predicted to exist in the 5’ uncoded region of the gene, and potential 3’ regulatory sequences for efficient polyadenylation have been located at their optimal locations. A variety of highly probable transcription factor binding sites have been located in the 5’ region of the gene. These data suggest that the EPCR gene is under efficient transcriptional control, and support the finding that this gene product may be involved in the inflammatory pathway.
Trust building processes on web-based information-sharing platforms

Identified trust building mechanisms varied according to their complexity and acceptability, especially among low e-skilled companies. Appropriate selection and user friendly implementation can enhance trust and liquidity on the web business platforms. In the paper we present results from two European IST projects Seamless and Fluid=Win focused on trust issues on the web B2B platforms. To identify suitable trust building mechanisms and strategies regarding implementation into a SEAMLESS platform, a questionnaire survey was carried out which was focused on trust building mechanism significance and minimum necessity. The results show the significance of the e-skills of the company, which affect the trust perception in more sophisticated mechanisms. Several interesting implications were revealed, e.g. the banks appear as the most trusted partner for escrow services and generally simpler mechanisms in ODR are more trusted than complex ones. The research can help to build effective trust strategy on B2B web based platforms.
How do SMEs Remain Resilient when Operating within Turbulent Markets? : A Case Study of Five Swedish SMEs Internationalized within the MENA Region

AbstractWith the increasing globalization, large as well as small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs) are seeking for international opportunities to grasp further growth. Seeing itfrom another perspective, the emerging markets are creating the needed platform forabsorbing such opportunities making these markets attractive. When moving operationsto emerging markets as a form of internationalization, companies face many challengeswithin the foreign markets that affect the international activities of the companies.Managing to overcome these challenges, while maintaining a resilient position, mightnot be an easy task to apply within turbulent markets. The purpose of this study is thus to explore how market turbulences affect theinternational activities of Swedish SMEs operating in countries within the MENAregion. In addition to that, the study examines some crucial factors that can impact theresilience of these SMEs during turbulences. The study is conducted through aqualitative case study examining five Swedish SMEs operating in countries within theMENA region. The examination is applied on empirical findings collected from the casecompanies through interviews. The theoretical framework of the study includes theories within the internationalizationprocess theory while highlighting arguments on resilience and other crucial factors.After analyzing the empirical findings, while comparing it with the given theories, thestudy resulted in analysis and conclusion. The study concludes that the factors thatenable companies to remain resilient during times of turbulences within the MENAregion include, the knowledge that a company has, managing the psychic distance andcultural differences, and the ability to balance between the path dependency of the firm,while considering the dynamic capabilities of the company. Further, the resources couldbe seen as factors that enhance the resilience and hinder it at the same time. As for thenetwork and relationship factor, the result indicates that this factor is not with a greatvalue to remaining resilient.KeywordsSMEs, Market Turbulence, Resilience, Emerging Markets, MENA Region,Internationalization of SMEs, International Activities
The Case Studies of Using HR Practices for Improving SQ from Various Service Typologies

In developed countries, service industry production values exceed those of their manufacturing industry. In a report on the service industry production values of various countries, released by the Taiwan Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics in June 2011, the United States service industry production value was 73.6% of GDP in 2009. In the same year, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan were contributed to by the service industry at 75.6%, 72%, and 69.3%, respectively. These figures demonstrate the importance of the service industry to the economies of industrialized countries.
Macroprudential Policy: What Instruments and How to Use Them? Lessons from Country Experiences

This paper provides the most comprehensive empirical study of the effectiveness of macroprudential instruments to date. Using data from 49 countries, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of macroprudential instruments in reducing systemic risk over time and across institutions and markets. The analysis suggests that many of the most frequently used instruments are effective in reducing pro-cyclicality and the effectiveness is sensitive to the type of shock facing the financial sector. Based on these findings, the paper identifies conditions under which macroprudential policy is most likely to be effective, as well as conditions under which it may have little impact.
Investor Capitalism : How Money Managers Are Changing the Face of Corporate America

A behind-the-scenes look at today's kingmakers: institutional investors. Out of the public eye, a small group of professionals--investment experts who handle other people's monies--are exerting ever-greater control over corporate managers, firing CEOs and pushing through 'restructurings' that cost thousands of jobs. Michael Useem's "Investor Capitalism" portrays the quiet, veiled nature of this dance of elephants, and portrays the enormous implications of its results. --John Rekenthaler, Publisher, Morningstar, Inc.
Synthetic Database for Evaluation of General, Fundamental Biometric Principles

We create synthetic biometric databases to study general, fundamental, biometric principles. First, we check the validity of the synthetic database design by comparing it to real data in terms of biometric performance. The real data used for this validity check was from an eye-movement related biometric database. Next, we employ our database to evaluate the impact of variations of temporal persistence of features on biometric performance. We index temporal persistence with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We find that variations in temporal persistence are extremely highly correlated with variations in biometric performance. Finally, we use our synthetic database strategy to determine how many features are required to achieve particular levels of performance as the number of subjects in the database increases from 100 to 10,000. An important finding is that the number of features required to achieve various EER values (2%, 0.3%, 0.15%) is essentially constant in the database sizes that we studied. We hypothesize that the insights obtained from our study would be applicable to many biometric modalities where extracted feature properties resemble the properties of the synthetic features we discuss in this work.
Identifying Modifier Loci in Existing Genome Scan Data

In many genetic disorders in which a primary disease‐causing locus has been identified, evidence exists for additional trait variation due to genetic factors. These findings have led to studies seeking secondary ‘modifier’ loci. Identification of modifier loci provides insight into disease mechanisms and may provide additional screening and treatment targets. We believe that modifier loci can be identified by re‐analysis of genome screen data while controlling for primary locus effects. To test this hypothesis, we simulated multiple replicates of typical genome screening data on to two real family structures from a study of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. With this marker data, we simulated two trait models with characteristics similar to one measure of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Both trait models included 3 genes. In the first, the trait was influenced by a primary gene, a secondary ‘modifier’ gene, and a third very small effect gene. In the second, we modeled an interaction between the first two genes. We examined power and false positive rates to map the secondary locus while controlling for the effect of the primary locus with two types of analyses. First, we examined Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) simultaneous segregation and linkage analysis as implemented in Loki, for which we calculated two scoring statistics. Second, we calculated LOD scores using an individual‐specific liability class based on the quantitative trait value. We found that both methods produced scores that are significant on a genome‐wide level in some replicates. We conclude that mapping of modifier loci in existing samples is possible with these methods.
Phasic, suprathreshold excitation and sustained inhibition underlie neuronal selectivity for short-duration sounds

Significance Understanding how excitatory and inhibitory inputs are integrated to achieve sensory selectivity is an important, but elusive, goal in neuroscience. Whole-cell recordings in vivo have revealed excitation and inhibition, but the computational mechanisms are generally unclear. In the inferior colliculus, neurons exist that respond selectively to short-duration sounds; the mechanistic basis of this selectivity has long been debated. We combined whole-cell recordings, in vivo, with conductance extraction algorithms and focal pharmacological manipulations to show that duration selectivity results from an anticoincidence of suprathreshold excitation and inhibition. These results challenge the widely held view that postinhibitory rebound depolarization must coincide with subthreshold excitation to generate duration selectivity. Sound duration is important in acoustic communication, including speech recognition in humans. Although duration-selective auditory neurons have been found, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. To investigate these mechanisms we combined in vivo whole-cell patch recordings from midbrain neurons, extraction of excitatory and inhibitory conductances, and focal pharmacological manipulations. We show that selectivity for short-duration stimuli results from integration of short-latency, sustained inhibition with delayed, phasic excitation; active membrane properties appeared to amplify responses to effective stimuli. Blocking GABAA receptors attenuated stimulus-related inhibition, revealed suprathreshold excitation at all stimulus durations, and decreased short-pass selectivity without changing resting potentials. Blocking AMPA and NMDA receptors to attenuate excitation confirmed that inhibition tracks stimulus duration and revealed no evidence of postinhibitory rebound depolarization inherent to coincidence models of duration selectivity. These results strongly support an anticoincidence mechanism of short-pass selectivity, wherein inhibition and suprathreshold excitation show greatest temporal overlap for long duration stimuli.
Identification of heavy drinkers by using the early detection of alcohol consumption score.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of routine blood chemistry and hematology tests to detect heavy drinkers among ambulatory subjects. Heavy drinkers were defined as subjects who consumed an average of four or more standard drinks per day if male and an average of three or more standard drinks per day if female, for at least 1 month before sample collection (1 standard drink = 15 ml of absolute ethanol). METHODS A routine blood chemistry panel and the demographic factors of age, sex, and ethnicity were evaluated by using linear discriminant function (LDF) analysis to classify subjects as heavy drinkers or light drinkers. The classification was validated by comparison with drinking patterns established by standardized questionnaire and interview. Subjects (n = 807) were males and females with known drinking patterns recruited from 25 centers that included detoxification and rehabilitation institutions, churches, and community groups in the Milwaukee and Boston areas. RESULTS With LDF, 88% of the heavy drinkers and 92% of the light drinkers were correctly identified by the Early Detection of Alcohol Consumption test. The LDF performed the best when used to identify heavy drinking in ages 40 and above, a group that showed 84% (120 of 143) sensitivity at 97% (152 of 157) specificity. Performance in females showed 73% (76 of 104) sensitivity at 94% (129 of 137) specificity, rates higher than obtained with any single biochemical marker previously examined. Receiver operating characteristic plot analysis showed areas under the curve of 0.94 for females and 0.95 for males (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The Early Detection of Alcohol Consumption score is a practical laboratory screen for detecting heavy drinking based on blood constituents ordered routinely in clinical settings.
The Relationship Between Use of Social Media and Customer Relationship from E-commerce Model Perspective

In recent years, the impact of social media is drawing more attention from researchers and E-commerce companies. Most researchers and e-commerce companies think that using social media may benefit for e-commerce. And some e-commerce companies started to involve social media into their business. However, do social media really make a big contribution to e-commerce? Similarly traditional business, since managing customer relationships is still important work for e-commerce. This study regards customer relationship as one aspect of e-commerce and focuses to identify the relationship between use of social media and customer relationship. To fulfill our research objective, this study adopted a business model approach that applies the concept of customer relationship, an element of the e-business model ontology, as the starting point to develop our research model. And we supposed social media use has a positive relation with customer relationship, as well as its three components. Further, a quantitative empirical study has been used to examine these hypotheses. After the empirical study, we presented the results of our hypotheses and updated our research model. At the end, an indirect relationship between social media use and customer relationship were found. The limitation of this study and recommendations for further study were also addressed in the final section.
The dynamical ages of two low-luminosity young radio sources

Context. Young radio-loud active galactic nuclei form an important tool for investigating the evolution of extragalactic radio sources. To study the early phases of expanding radio sources, we are using the CORALZ sample, which contains 25 compact ( θ< 2 �� )r adio sources associated with nearby galaxies. Aims. In this paper we aim to determine the lobe-to-lobe expansion speeds for two sources in the sample. Comparing the dynamical ages of these relatively low-luminosity objects with ages of powerful sources found in the literature, will serve to test radio source evolution models. Methods. We present our third epoch of VLBI observations, using the EVN+VLBA array at 5.0 GHz, at four and eight years after our previous measurements. Results. We report the detection of a lobe-to-lobe expansion speed of 0.095 ± 0.020 h −1 c for CORALZ J083139+460800, and a 1-σ upper limit to the expansion speed of CORALZ J131739+411545 of 0.074 h −1 c. The detected expansion speed of CORALZ J083139+460800 corresponds to a dynamical age of 245 ± 55 years. Conclusions. The detected expansion speed and upper limit are lower than any presented in the literature for powerful young AGN. This confirms that the expansion speeds of young radio sources are correlated with their radio luminosities.