Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of lysine requirements amongst eight stocks of laying fowl.

Synopsis An experiment is described in which eight commercial stocks of laying hens were each fed from 25 to 70 weeks of age on six diets of differing lysine contents. The stocks had a range in mean body weight from 1.8 to 2.6 kg and a range in peak egg output from 43 to 51 g/bird d. Three groups of 21 pullets each were used for each stock × diet combination. The different lysine contents of the diets were produced by varying the total protein content, using cereals and sesame meal as the principal sources of protein. It was confirmed in a separate trial that lysine was the first limiting amino acid in the diets used. Clear responses to changes in the intake of lysine were demonstrated. Net efficiency of lysine utilisation changed with age in each stock and maximum efficiency was obtained at the time of peak output (36 to 47 weeks of age). An analysis of responses obtained during this period showed small but significant differences between stocks in the amount of lysine required per g of egg produced and/.
On site-specific propagation models for the evaluation of V2X applications

In this paper, we investigate the use case of an approaching emergency vehicle warning, considering site-specific propagation characteristics. Especially in urban environments, the presence of buildings leads to shadowing properties of the radio signal. In traditional propagation models, these properties are described with stochastic processes. However, for the evaluation of warning use cases where every individual message is important, stochastic models may be too simplistic. Therefore, we implemented efficient ray tracing techniques to identify the specific locations of buildings in the surrounding of the transmitter. Then, we employed adopted models that consider the effects of shadowing, penetration and diffraction to achieve a more accurate result. The comparison of the stochastic and the site-specific models showed that the stochastic models lead to overoptimistic propagation conditions in our scenario. In turn we can rely on a more credible result for the performance of the approaching emergency vehicle warning, when the site-specific models are applied.
A Comparative Study of Various Frameworks for Community Detection in Dynamic Social Network

Social Networks are extensively used in today’s realm. It has engrossed huge amount of people as it is describes the set of people and their relationship with each other. People are considered as entities in the expanse of social networks and the relationship between these entities is preserved by the interaction between them. Social network has its application in many spheres and business areas it has become one of the key areas of interest for the researchers. Community detection is one of the most significant and stimulating research areas in social network analysis. As the activities and interaction between the entities change over time, the speed with which the network is changing is phenomenal. Because of this reckless and frequent change it has become very important to detect the community in dynamic social network. Many methods have been proposed for the community detection in dynamic social network. This paper presents a detail study on various community detection methods and a comparison between them to show the effectiveness of any
Assessment of blood volume, vessel size, and the expression of angiogenic factors in two rat glioma models: a longitudinal in vivo and ex vivo study

Assessment of angiogenesis may help to determine tumor grade and therapy follow‐up. In vivo imaging methods for non‐invasively monitoring microvasculature evolution are therefore of major interest for tumor management. MRI evaluation of blood volume fraction (BVf) and vessel size index (VSI) was applied to assess the evolution of tumor microvasculature in two rat models of glioma (C6 and RG2). The results show that repeated MRI of BVf and VSI – which involves repeated injection of an iron‐based MR contrast agent – does not affect either the physiological status of the animals or the accuracy of the MR estimates of the microvascular parameters. The MR measurements were found to correlate well with those obtained from histology. They indicate that microvascular evolution differs significantly between the two glioma models, in good agreement with expression of angiogenic factors (vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin‐2) and with activities of matrix metalloproteinases, also assessed in this study. These MRI methods thus provide considerable potential for assessing the response of gliomas to anti‐angiogenic and anti‐vascular agents, in preclinical studies as well as in the clinic. Furthermore, as differences between the fate of tumor microvasculature may underlie differences in therapeutic response, there is a need for preclinical study of several tumor models. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Government Employment and Pay: A Global and Regional Perspective

The authors try to replace myths about government pay and employment with reliable facts from a survey for about 100 countries in the early 1900s. The study also outlines the general nature of civil service problems in the different regions. Nevertheless, while the facts are useful to"flag"possible problems and initiate a dialogue, recommendations for reform must be based on country-specific analysis. Globally, government employment is negatively associated with wages, and positively with the fiscal deficit (although the availability of financing is more important) and with per capita income (confirming"Wagner's Law"). But the global results stem almost entirely from strong results for Africa and Latin America. Civil service reform has suffered in the past from an overemphasis on retrenchment for fiscal reasons. Its true objective, for each country, is to achieve a civil service of the size and skill-mix, incentives, professional ethos, and accountability needed to provide public goods, help formulate and enforce the rules, and intervene to remedy market failures -as these government roles happen to be defined in the country in question. Civil service reform can begin with various diagnostic and fact-finding activities. The key measures concern rightsizing, incentives, and accountability. These are all relative notions: the right size of the workforce depends on the roles assigned to government; wage adequacy depends on private compensation levels; and strengthening of accountability must define accountability for what and to whom. When retrenchment is warranted, it must be carried out with great care to avoid skill reduction, demoralization, and lower-quality service. Adequate compensation is a must, and wage compression isto be avoided. But performance bonuses, popular in some advanced countries, have been only marginally effective in improving performance in developing countries, even in the private sector. And they can be dangerous in countries with ethnic, clan, or religious conflicts. Finally, improvements in accountability will most often require greater external openness and systematic feedback from service users.
Fluctuations in attention

Background: Marked impairments in and fluctuation of attention are characteristic of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The comparative impairment of these cognitive domains in PD and PD dementia (PD dementia) has not been studied, and is important to the conceptual understanding of parkinsonian dementias. Method: Detailed evaluations of attention and fluctuating attention (Cognitive Drug Research computerized battery) were undertaken in 278 subjects (50 DLB, 48 PD dementia, 50 PD, 80 AD, 50 elderly controls) from the Newcastle dementia register and the Stavanger PD register (controls, PD, and PD dementia patients were recruited from both centers). DLB, AD, PD, and PD dementia were diagnosed using operationalized criteria. Results: Impairments in reaction time, vigilance, and fluctuating attention were comparable in patients with DLB and PD dementia, but were less substantially impaired in patients with DLB without parkinsonism. Patients with PD had significantly greater impairment of cognitive reaction time than elderly controls, and comparable impairments of cognitive reaction time to patients with AD. Patients with PD, however, did not exhibit fluctuation of attention. Conclusion: The profile of attentional impairments and fluctuating attention is similar in PD dementia and DLB with parkinsonism. The current findings do not support the current arbitrary distinctions between these patient groups. Importantly, patients with PD do not experience fluctuating attention.
Altered Ca2+ Signaling and Mitochondrial Deficiencies in Hippocampal Neurons of Trisomy 16 Mice: A Model of Down’s Syndrome

It has been suggested that augmented nerve cell death in neurodegenerative diseases might result from an impairment of mitochondrial function. To test this hypothesis, we investigated age-dependent changes in neuronal survival and glutamate effects on Ca2+ homeostasis and mitochondrial energy metabolism in cultured hippocampal neurons from diploid and trisomy 16 (Ts16) mice, a model of Down’s syndrome. Microfluorometric techniques were used to measure survival rate, [Ca2+]ilevel, mitochondrial membrane potential, and NAD(P)H autofluorescence. We found that Ts16 neurons die more than twice as fast as diploid neurons under otherwise identical culture conditions. Basal [Ca2+]i levels were elevated in Ts16 neurons. Moreover, in comparison to diploid neurons, Ts16 neurons showed a prolonged recovery of [Ca2+]iand mitochondrial membrane potential after brief glutamate application. Glutamate evoked an initial NAD(P)H decrease that was found to be extended in Ts16 neurons in comparison to diploid neurons. Furthermore, for all age groups tested, glutamate failed to cause a subsequent NAD(P)H overshoot in Ts16 cultures in contrast to diploid cultures. In the presence of cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition, NAD(P)H increase was observed in both diploid and Ts16 neurons. The results support the hypothesis that Ca2+ impairs mitochondrial energy metabolism and may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative changes in neurons from Ts16 mice.
Shotgun proteome analysis of Bordetella pertussis reveals a distinct influence of iron availability on the bacterial metabolism, virulence, and defense response

One of the mechanisms involved in host immunity is the limitation of iron accessibility to pathogens, which in turn provokes the corresponding physiological adaptation of pathogens. This study reports a gel‐free nanoLC‐MS/MS‐based comparative proteome analysis of Bordetella pertussis grown under iron‐excess and iron‐depleted conditions. Out of the 926 proteins covered 98 displayed a shift in their abundance in response to low iron availability. Forty‐seven of them were found to be increased in level while 58 were found with decreased protein levels under iron starvation. In addition to proteins previously reported to be influenced by iron in B. pertussis, we observed changes in metabolic proteins involved in fatty acid utilization and poly‐hydroxybutyrate production. Additionally, many bacterial virulence factors regulated by the BvgAS two‐component system were found at decreased levels in response to iron limitation. These results, together with the increased production of proteins potentially involved in oxidative stress resistance, seem to indicate that iron starvation provokes changes in B. pertussis phenotype that might shape host–pathogen interaction.
Sustained competitive advantage in small firm virtual organisations

This paper examines the factors that affect the sustained competitive advantage of small firm virtual organisations. Virtual organisations are separate firms that for certain activities (transactions) behave as if they were a single firm. A sustained competitive advantage occurs when a strategy is implemented that increases firm value but is not capable of duplication by other firms. The extent of the sustained competitive advantage is illustrated by the longevity of the virtual organisation and benefits derived from the virtual organisation by its members. The virtual organisation is formed to provide the firms within the virtual organisation access to additional resources. The extent of the sustained competitive advantage is related to the characteristics of the resources controlled by the virtual organisation. These characteristics, based on transaction cost economics and the resource-based view of the firm, are value, specificity, rareness, inimitability and non-substitutability. These attributes form the basis for the model of virtual organisation sustained competitive advantage developed in this paper. Because virtual organisations consist of a number of individual firms, electronic commerce technologies are necessary to enable inter-organisational co-ordination and to efficiently conduct transactions between firms within the virtual organisation. Electronic commerce technology diffusion and infusion are hypothesised to also affect the sustained competitive advantage of virtual organisations. The hypotheses will be tested using a case-study approach with firms from south-east Queensland providing the sample.
Morphological and electrical properties of oligodendrocytes in the white matter of the corpus callosum and cerebellum

In the central nervous system, electrical signals passing along nerve cells are speeded by cells called oligodendrocytes, which wrap the nerve cells with a fatty layer called myelin. This layer is important for rapid information processing, and is often lost in disease, causing mental or physical impairment in multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury. The myelin speeds the information flow in two ways, by decreasing the capacitance of the nerve cell and by increasing its membrane resistance, but little is known about the latter aspect of myelin function. By recording electrically from oligodendrocytes and imaging their morphology we characterised the geometry and, for the first time, the resistance of myelin in the brain. This revealed differences between the properties of oligodendrocytes in two brain areas and established that the resistance of myelin is sufficiently high to prevent significant slowing of the nerve electrical signal by current leakage through the myelin.
Formation of z~6 Quasars from Hierarchical Galaxy Mergers

The discovery of luminous quasars at redshift z ~ 6 indicates the presence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of mass ~109 M☉ when the universe was less than 1 billion years old. This finding presents several challenges for theoretical models because whether such massive objects can form so early in the ΛCDM cosmology, the leading theory for cosmic structure formation, is an open question. Furthermore, whether the formation process requires exotic physics such as super-Eddington accretion remains undecided. Here we present the first multiscale simulations that, together with a self-regulated model for the SMBH growth, produce a luminous quasar at z ~ 6.5 in the ΛCDM paradigm. We follow the hierarchical assembly history of the most massive halo in a ~3 Gpc3 volume and find that this halo of ~8 × 1012 M☉ forming at z ~ 6.5 after several major mergers is able to reproduce a number of observed properties of SDSS J1148+5251, the most distant quasar detected at z = 6.42 (Fan et al. 2003). Moreover, the SMBHs grow through gas accretion below the Eddington limit in a self-regulated manner owing to feedback. We find that the progenitors experience vigorous star formation (up to 104 M☉ yr-1) preceding the major quasar phase such that the stellar mass of the quasar host reaches 1012 M☉ at z ~ 6.5, consistent with observations of significant metal enrichment in SDSS J1148+5251. The merger remnant thus obeys a similar MBH-Mbulge scaling relation observed locally as a consequence of coeval growth and evolution of the SMBH and its host galaxy. Our results provide a viable formation mechanism for z ~ 6 quasars in the standard ΛCDM cosmology and demonstrate a common, merger-driven origin for the rarest quasars and the fundamental MBH-Mbulge correlation in a hierarchical universe.
The Transcription Factor GLI1 Interacts with SMAD Proteins to Modulate Transforming Growth Factor β-Induced Gene Expression in a p300/CREB-binding Protein-associated Factor (PCAF)-dependent Manner*

Background: The molecular mechanisms mediating the oncogenic activity of the transcription factor GLI1 remain elusive. Results: GLI1 interacts with SMAD factors and PCAF to regulate TGFβ-induced gene expression. Conclusion: These results define a novel epigenetic mechanism underlying the role of GLI1 as an oncogene. Significance: This study increases our understanding of gene expression regulation in cancer cells and its potential impact in tumor development. The biological role of the transcription factor GLI1 in the regulation of tumor growth is well established; however, the molecular events modulating this phenomenon remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate a novel mechanism underlying the role of GLI1 as an effector of TGFβ signaling in the regulation of gene expression in cancer cells. TGFβ stimulates GLI1 activity in cancer cells and requires its transcriptional activity to induce BCL2 expression. Analysis of the mechanism regulating this interplay identified a new transcriptional complex including GLI1 and the TGFβ-regulated transcription factor, SMAD4. We demonstrate that SMAD4 physically interacts with GLI1 for concerted regulation of gene expression and cellular survival. Activation of the TGFβ pathway induces GLI1-SMAD4 complex binding to the BCL2 promoter whereas disruption of the complex through SMAD4 RNAi depletion impairs GLI1-mediated transcription of BCL2 and cellular survival. Further characterization demonstrated that SMAD2 and the histone acetyltransferase, PCAF, participate in this regulatory mechanism. Both proteins bind to the BCL2 promoter and are required for TGFβ- and GLI1-stimulated gene expression. Moreover, SMAD2/4 RNAi experiments showed that these factors are required for the recruitment of GLI1 to the BCL2 promoter. Finally, we determined whether this novel GLI1 transcriptional pathway could regulate other TGFβ targets. We found that two additional TGFβ-stimulated genes, INTERLEUKIN-7 and CYCLIN D1, are dependent upon the intact GLI1-SMAD-PCAF complex for transcriptional activation. Collectively, these results define a novel epigenetic mechanism that uses the transcription factor GLI1 and its associated complex as a central effector to regulate gene expression in cancer cells.
Computer Mediated Communications and Communities of Practice

Within the Knowledge Management context, there is growing interest in computer support for group knowledge sharing and the role that Communities of Practice play in this. Communities of Practice are groups of individuals with a common purpose and who share some background, language or experience. The community is regenerated as newcomers join the group and old-timers leave. The newcomers have access to the old-timers and learn from them. This generally takes place through situated learning. New group knowledge is also created as members of the community have a problem to solve and swap experiences and anecdotes to solve the problem, possibly arriving at a novel solution. This may then be further shared through anecdotes so that it eventually becomes part of the group's store of collective knowledge. Communities of Practice provide an excellent forum for knowledge sharing and a vital question is whether the new communications media, which provide new possibilities for collaboration and distributed working, could support the existence of such groups in a distributed environment. This question takes on an added relevance with the rapid internationalization of business that can spread the distribution over national boundaries posing problems of cultural and temporal as well as physical distance. This paper reports on a case study which was the first stage in exploring whether Computer Mediated Communications technologies (CMCs) can support distributed international Communities of Practice. The aim of the case study was to explore the possible existence of Communities of Practice in an international organization, to identify such groups and to ascertain the media used.
Assessment of Non-farm Livelihood Diversification of Farmers in Enderta Woreda, Tigray

III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . IV ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . V TABLE OF CONTENTS. VII LIST OF TABLES . X LIST OF FIGURES . XI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY . 1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . 3 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE . 5 1.3. 1 General objective of the study . 5 1.3. 2 Specific objectives . 5 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS. 5 1.5 SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY . 6 1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY . 6 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS PROPOSAL . 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 2.1 THEORETICAL REVIEWS . 8 2.1.1 Basic concepts and Definitions . 8 2.1.2 Characteristics of the rural nonfarm economy . 10 2.1.3 Dynamics of the rural non-farm economy . 11 2.1. 4 Motivations for Diversification into the NF IGAs . 12 2.2 EMPIRICAL REVIEWS . 13 2.2.1 Importance of Rural non-farm diversification . 13 -
Managing by Values

The Fortune 500 list, defined by size and volume, is the current measure of success in the corporate world. This timely book suggests instead a "Fortunate 500" list, based on the quality of service available to customers and the quality of life accessible to employees. Managing by Values shows how all stakeholders in a company can win based on their commitment to a common purpose and a set of shared values emphasizing stability, continuity, and growth, all in an ethical context. More than a "must read," this book is a "must do" that shows organizations, owners, managers, and employees how to create and apply a plan to ensure they survive - and thrive.
Impact of topology on Bluetooth Scatternet

To utilize Bluetooth as a layer 2 multi‐hop subnet for global IP network, there are two missing protocols in current Bluetooth stack: network formation and routing. In this paper, we propose our network formation and routing protocols optimized for such Bluetooth subnset usage scenarios to fill this gap. In this paper, we first present some observations on performance degradations of Bluetooth PAN due to network topologies and topology change when radio independant protocols are implemented. And then we analyze the reason of performance degradation. Based on our analysis, we first propose a flexible scatternet formation algorithm under conference scenario for multi‐hop communication. By using proposed method, scatternet can be formed flexibly with star, mesh, or linked line based on several parameters like number of maximum piconets that a gateway Bluetooth device can participate, and whether loops are needed in the resulting scatternet to achieve better network performance. To utilize topology information in multi‐hop communication, we propose a Cross‐layer Optimized Routing for Bluetooth (CORB) CORB is a QoS‐extended AODV routing protocol with mainly two optimizations between networking layer and underlying Bluetooth MAC layer. The first optimization is to use a new load metric. (LM) in QoS routing protocol instead of number of hops in conventional best effort routing. LM is derived from estimation of nodes’ link bandwidth, which reflects the different roles of nodes in Bluetooth scatternet. This proposal helps routing protocol to bypass heavily loaded nodes, and find route with larger bandwidth. The second optimization is to adjust LM and some MAC layer parameters in response to the unstable network topology caused by movement and change of indoor radio condition. Finally, We present some simulation and experiment results based on implementation, which prove the effectiveness of our protocols.