Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
anine visceral leishmaniasis : A comparative study of real-time PCR , onventional PCR , and direct agglutination on sera for the detection f Leishmania infantum infection

Canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is endemic in northwestern Iran. This study aimed to compare real-time PCR, conventional PCR, and the direct agglutination test (DAT) for the diagnosis Leishmania infantum infection in 167 serum samples of domestic dog. Bone marrow was used for parasitological examination (smears and/or culture) in symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis, and serum was used for detection of L. infantum kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) by both conventional PCR and real-time PCR, while anti-L. infantum antibodies in sera were measured by DAT. The sera were collected from 37 symptomatic and 112 asymptomatic dogs during April to May 2011. Eighteen presumed negative samples were obtained from healthy dogs kept in non-endemic areas with no history of CVL and used as controls. All 18 samples were negative by DAT and Dipstick rK39. DAT confirmed previous exposure to L. infantum for all 149 serum samples collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs in CVL endemic areas of Iran. Among the 37 symptomatic dogs, 20 (54%), 25 (67.6%), 36 (97.3%), and 37 (100%) showed L. infantum infection by parasitological methods, conventional PCR, real-time PCR, and DAT (≥1:80), respectively. Of 112 asymptomatic dogs, 79 (70.5%), 111 (99.1%), and 112 (100%) were shown to be positive by conventional PCR, and DAT (≥1:80), respectively. For ethical reasons, no asymptomatic or healthy control dogs were examined by parasitological methods. Three (16.7%) control dogs were positive by real-time PCR, but were negative by DAT, dipstick rK39, and conventional PCR methods. Parasitemia levels were measured by real-time PCR targeting kDNA using SYBR® green assay. This quantitative technique detected infection in 89.9% (150/167) of the domesred L. infantum kDNA, ranging from 0.01 49 to 310.1 parasites/ml. The tic dogs that harbo average was 16.60 parasites/ml. A good agreement (0.97) was found between real-time PCR and DAT at ≥1:80 titer, used as cut-off value by Kappa analysis. Thus, real-time PCR ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, ehran, Iran. Tel. : +98 21 88951400; fax: +98 21 88968258. E-mail address: mohebali@tums.ac. ir (M. Mohebali). 304-4017/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ttp://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.vetpar. 2012.10.013 84 A. Mohammadiha et al. / Veterinary Parasitology 192 (2013) 83– 90 as a quantitative PCR assay on serum samples represents a valuable tool for initial diagnosis e blood of CVL when whol
Facilitating knowledge management through information technology in hospitality organizations.

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss how hospitality organizations can facilitate knowledge management (KM) better through information technology (IT) tools.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is developed based on a synthesis of previous literature.Findings – Knowledge can be seen as one of the key assets for hospitality organizations. Therefore, KM can help hospitality organizations create and sustain a competitive advantage. Use of IT applications can assist in creating, storing, transferring and using tacit and explicit knowledge. Hospitality organizations can use numerous IT tools in their KM practices, which include competency databases, decision support systems, online search systems, expert networks, e‐mail, groupware, teleconference, intranet, WWW, document management systems, video conferences, data warehousing, and workflow software.Research limitations/implications – Rather than looking at IT applications from a tactical and operational point of view, this article suggests that hospitality.
Integrating qualitative and quantitative techniques in network analysis

Purpose – This article introduces a method for assessing network dynamics over time. It integrates a qualitative approach to data collection with a bifocal approach to data analysis, i.e. where data are interpreted with two lenses: qualitative and quantitative.Design/methodology/approach – The dynamics of an entrepreneurial firm's network are analyzed by combining: content and event analysis of case data and network maps with the use of UCINET 6, a software package developed for social network analysis.Findings – In illustrating the bifocal approach, steps related to data collection, preparation and analysis are discussed. The findings show how the bifocal approach captures change in both a network's structure and its interactions, through a firm's life‐stages.Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation of the approach is that reliance on UCINET 6 statistics oversimplifies network analysis. Thus, optimal use of the approach is best achieved when the structural patterns generated by UCINET 6.
A Concurrent Adaptive Conjugate Gradient Learning Algorithm On Mimd Shared-Memory Machines

A concurrent adaptive conjugate gradient learning al gorithm has been developed for training of multilayer feed-forward neural networks and implemented in C on a MIMD shared-memory machine (CRAY Y-MP/8- 864 supercomputer). The learning algorithm has been applied to the domain of image recognition. The per formance of the algorithm has been evaluated by ap plying it to two large-scale training examples with 2,304 training instances. The concurrent adaptive neural networks algorithm has superior convergence property compared with the concurrent momentum back-propagation algorithm. A maximum speedup of about 7.9 is achieved using eight processors for a large network with 4,160 links as a result of microtask ing only. When vectorization is combined with micro tasking, a maximum speedup of about 44 is realized using eight processors.
Factors Influencing Fishermen's Decisions to Buy Fishing Insurance——A Case Study of Shayang County in Hubei Province

Fishing insurance is an important means to avoid production risk for fishermen.This paper bases its study on field survey data from 130 fishermen of Shayang County in Hubei Province by analyzing the factors that might interfere fishermen's decision to buy fishing insurance with the Logistic model.The results show that the age,the proportion of non-farm income,farming area,whether to participate in fisheries training,whether to have famous products in scale and the degree of calamity in recent years are the main factors which influenced fishermen.Finally,means of developing fishing insurance have been proposed,such as establishing fisheries insurance policy,fostering fishery cooperative organizations and so on.Further research directions including expanding the scope of research and enhancing the applicability of the study are also proposed.
Literature Review on Automatic Text Summarization: Single and Multiple Summarizations

online information available on world wide web is in enormous amount. Search engines like Google, Yahoo were developed to retrieve information from the databases. But actual results were not obtained as the electronic information is increasing day by day. Thus automatic summarization came into demand. Automatic summarization gathers several documents as input and provides the shorter summarized version as output which is informative, unambiguous, save valuable time. Research was done on a single document and moved towards multiple documents. This review categorizes single and multiple summarization methods.
Effects of Donepezil on Central Processing Speed and Attentional Measures in Parkinson’s Disease with Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Background: We examined attention-enhancing effects of the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil in Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease with dementia (PDD) by means of open label study. Methods: 22 DLBs and 23 PDDs were assessed over 20 weeks using the Cognitive Drug Research Computerized Attentional Tasks. We examined how much closer our patients moved towards being normal for their age by comparing them to a non-demented elderly control sample (n = 183, aged 71–75 years). Results: Donepezil treatment improved power of attention, continuity of attention and reaction time variability. The deficit in responses was moved towards normal by 38 and 56% for power of attention and 22 and 10% for continuity of attention in PDD and DLB, respectively. Conclusions: Improvements in attention were found with donepezil in PDD and DLB.
Brain γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) detection in vivo with the J‐editing 1H MRS technique: a comprehensive methodological evaluation of sensitivity enhancement, macromolecule contamination and test–retest reliability

Abnormalities in brain γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) have been implicated in various neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. However, in vivo GABA detection by 1H MRS presents significant challenges arising from the low brain concentration, overlap by much stronger resonances and contamination by mobile macromolecule (MM) signals. This study addresses these impediments to reliable brain GABA detection with the J‐editing difference technique on a 3‐T MR system in healthy human subjects by: (i) assessing the sensitivity gains attainable with an eight‐channel phased‐array head coil; (ii) determining the magnitude and anatomic variation of the contamination of GABA by MM; and (iii) estimating the test–retest reliability of the measurement of GABA with this method. Sensitivity gains and test–retest reliability were examined in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), whereas MM levels were compared across three cortical regions: DLPFC, the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the occipital cortex (OCC). A three‐fold higher GABA detection sensitivity was attained with the eight‐channel head coil compared with the standard single‐channel head coil in DLPFC. Despite significant anatomical variation in GABA + MM and MM across the three brain regions (p < 0.05), the contribution of MM to GABA + MM was relatively stable across the three voxels, ranging from 41% to 49%, a non‐significant regional variation (p = 0.58). The test–retest reliability of GABA measurement, expressed as either the ratio to voxel tissue water (W) or to total creatine, was found to be very high for both the single‐channel coil and the eight‐channel phased‐array coil. For the eight‐channel coil, for example, Pearson's correlation coefficient of test vs. retest for GABA/W was 0.98 (R2 = 0.96, p = 0.0007), the percentage coefficient of variation (CV) was 1.25% and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.98. Similar reliability was also found for the co‐edited resonance of combined glutamate and glutamine (Glx) for both coils. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER CHOICE OF MOBILE TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE CITY OF NAIROBI

The mobile platform has been heralded as the next frontier for modern business creating entirely new paradigms for interactive marketing initiatives. In a growth industry characterized by competition and alternative service providers, consumers have the freedom to choose from among the available alternatives. The research had two objectives. First, it sought to identify factors that influence individual consumer’s choice of a mobile phone service provider in the mobile telephone industry. Secondly, it sought to assess the relative importance of the pertinent factors. In undertaking the study, individual users of mobile telephone services within Nairobi were targeted. Primary data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire. The survey instrument was administered directly to the respondents by the researcher within the selected areas. Out of the targeted 140 respondents, the researcher managed to obtain a response rate of 77.8%. The results of the study showed that 59% of the respondents found costs of the services offered to be the most important factor while 30% stated that countrywide network coverage was the most important factor. Other factors were rated as most important in the following order; other people’s (family members, workmates and friends) choice of service providers (3.7%), clarity in communication (2.8%) and courtesy o f the customer care personnel (1%). The study also revealed that the ability o f a service provider to cover a wider geographical area is considered to a high extent by consumers when making a choice between the service providers. It was also found that the appeal o f the company Chief executive officer was considered to a moderate extent by the consumers in their choice o f Mobile phone service providers. Arising from the research findings, it was suggested that further study be conducted to establish the effect of subscriber demand on the price charged by service providers and to extend the study to other urban as well as rural areas.
Role of Financial Intermediation in Promoting Productivity Growth - Evidence from India

In the theoretical literature, it has long been recognized that financial development can contribute to the growth of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) by either raising the marginal productivity of capital or by improving the allocation efficiency of capital. Financial sector can play an active role in raising productivity through allocating investment funds to projects with higher returns and enhancing technical progress through providing important financial resources for R&D activities. Since there is not much literature to investigate the relationship between financial development and TFP growth for India, this paper attempts to fill this void. In this paper, I have investigated whether different development level of local financial intermediaries in different Indian states has been an important factor in determining its productivity growth in manufacturing industry. Further I have explored the channel through which financial sector development has promoted TFP growth. I have examined, whether financial development contributes to productivity growth through boosting technical progress or through mitigating the inefficiency. To examine the relationship between finance and productivity, I have used a panel data covering 15 major states from the period of 1979-80 to 2003-04 to investigate the impact of financial development on productivity growth of Indian Manufacturing industry. We find that financial development significantly contributes to India's productivity growth. However, empirical evidence suggests that the impact of financial sector development on productivity growth is quite varied across different industry groups. Also the channel through which financial development enhances India's productivity growth depends on industry group. I have found positive association between banking sector development and productivity growth in traditional industry. However, I have not found strong evidences of this association in basic and hi-tech industry.
Voluntary disclosure and risk in an emerging market

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the association between corporate voluntary disclosure and systematic (market or beta) risk for a sample of Egyptian listed companies.Design/methodology/approach – Using panel data analysis, beta is regressed on the level of voluntary disclosure and the following control variables: dividend payout, asset growth, gearing, firm size and book‐to‐market ratio.Findings – The results generally show a negative relationship between voluntary disclosure level and beta, consistent with predictions of a differential information model and theories about the economic consequences of increased disclosure. The results are dependent on the specification of the model and the market index used to estimate beta, suggesting a need for further research on the link between risk and voluntary disclosure in the context of emerging markets.Practical implications – The main implication of these results is that more voluntary information about listed companies seems preferable to less in order .
High performance computing on General Purpose Graphical Processing Units for innovative automotive application

The need for fast and reliable simulations has grown over the last year, together with the growing computing capabilities and sinking prices for hardware. Nevertheless, still there are several complex applications, e.g. aero-acoustics, multi-phase flows or fluid-structure-interaction (FSI), which are too demanding in terms of computation time or resources, to integrate them into a product development cycle. In this paper, we present a feasibility study for integrating such advanced application into the development process by reducing the computational time dramatically. In detail, we are considering a multi-phase flow around moving car geometry. This test case stems from a water wading simulation for the development process of an OEM. To reduce the prediction time by keeping the accuracy, we are applying the simulation framework elbe (efficient lattice boltzmann environment) for the simulation of free-surface flow problems on general purpose graphical processing units (GPGPUs). The elbe code is a versatile, efficient toolkit for the numerical simulation of complex twoand three-dimensional flow problems. It considers non-linear flow behavior with and without a free surface. In detail we apply the lattice boltzmann method (LBM) with free-surface-capturing features to the simulation of the water wading of a detailed car geometry. This simulation problem is a very demanding one, since the capturing of the phase interface in combination with the moving geometry requires massive computational power. Carrying out this simulation with a standard finite volume scheme on a medium size high performance computing cluster will take days or weeks. Our algorithm solves this problem on a NVIDIA graphical processing unit in a standard workstation in hours or days.
Structural Basis for a Cofactor-dependent Oxidation Protection and Catalysis of Cyanobacterial Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase*

Background: Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Synechococcus is an essential enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle of cyanobacteria. Results: Structure of the binary and ternary complex was determined in complex with NADP(H) and/or substrate. Conclusion: The enzyme forms a distinct reaction intermediate in each complex. Significance: Structural and functional analysis of the reaction intermediate highlights details of an oxidation-resistance and a reaction mechanism. Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) from cyanobacterium Synechococcus differs from other SSADHs in the γ-aminobutyrate shunt. Synechococcus SSADH (SySSADH) is a TCA cycle enzyme and completes a 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase-deficient cyanobacterial TCA cycle through a detour metabolic pathway. SySSADH produces succinate in an NADP+-dependent manner with a single cysteine acting as the catalytic residue in the catalytic loop. Crystal structures of SySSADH were determined in their apo form, as a binary complex with NADP+ and as a ternary complex with succinic semialdehyde and NADPH, providing details about the catalytic mechanism by revealing a covalent adduct of a cofactor with the catalytic cysteine in the binary complex and a proposed thiohemiacetal intermediate in the ternary complex. Further analyses showed that SySSADH is an oxidation-sensitive enzyme and that the formation of the NADP-cysteine adduct is a kinetically preferred event that protects the catalytic cysteine from H2O2-dependent oxidative stress. These structural and functional features of SySSADH provide a molecular basis for cofactor-dependent oxidation protection in 1-Cys SSADH, which is unique relative to other 2-Cys SSADHs employing a redox-dependent formation of a disulfide bridge.
Perception Based Color Image Difference

A good image metric is often needed in digital image synthesis. It can be used to check the convergence behavior in progressive methods, to compare images rendered using various rendering methods etc. Since images are rendered to be observed by humans, an image metric should correspond to human perception as well. We propose here a new algorithm which operates in the original image space. There is no need for Fourier or wavelet transforms. Furthermore, the new metric is view distance dependent. The new method uses the contrast sensitivity function. The main idea is to place a number of various rectangles in images, and to compute the CIE LUV average color difference between corresponding rectangles. Errors are then weighted according to the rectangle size and the contrast sensitivity function.
Adaptive Online Profiling Hardware for ICmetrics Based Security

Monitoring circuitry is presented that extracts properties and features from a complex system based on a system-on-chip based device to support ICmetrics, a novel security concept that aims to uniquely identify and secure an embedded system based on its own behavioural identity. The circuits utilise a novel approach to profiling the instruction fetches and data accesses associated with each of the systempsilas component software tasks so that a representation of their address distributions can be generated online when required. By using profiling circuits with adaptive allocation of counters and by exploiting existing debugging infrastructure circuits, the overall resource requirement is kept sufficiently low for real-world applications. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the nature of features that can be obtained.
The Exclusive Value Principle – A Concept for Marketing

Codifies a unique marketing and valuation principle: the exclusive value principle (EVP). This principle relates value creation to “psychic space”. Psychic needs can create enormous margins and other benefits. One can influence price/demand as well a create, stimulate, or help define a need for a customer. Attractive margins result from psychic needs as opposed to pure utility fulfilment. Focuses on psychic needs and relationships to price, margins, risk, value. Provides an overview of psychic dimensions and a multidimensional characterization of utility‐psychic space. Principles and perspectives offered are useful in identifying evaluating, targeting and focussing marketing strategy, plans and in product/service design and delivery of customer needs. Recognition of special factors related to psychological dimensions are critical in matching products and services to needs and are fundamental to delivering products and services in the exclusive value category that offer unusual opportunities for profit. Re.
A POMDP approach to opportunistic spectrum access with feedback

This paper considers opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) at a cognitive network. Since the sensing capacity of a user is limited, the user cannot obtain full observations of the spectrum, this system is usually formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) problem. However, the reward (or cost) of a user in a time slot is also unobservable and it's replaced by the expectation in the traditional algorithms, now, a feedback called error check is added at the ending of the time slot to inform us whether the spectrum access is successful. Consequently, the accurate reward in a time slot can be given and the observations are more precise. The goal is to maximize the expected data throughput, based on the past history of sensing and selection of channels and error checks. Compared with the existing algorithms, it is illustrated through numerical evaluations that this approach performs better.