Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Multiprobe PCR Assay for Simultaneous Detection and Identification to Species Level of Bacterial Pathogens

ABSTRACT We describe a novel adaptation of the TaqMan PCR assay which potentially allows for highly sensitive detection of any eubacterial species with simultaneous species identification. Our system relies on a unique multiprobe design in which a single set of highly conserved sequences encoded by the 16S rRNA gene serves as the primer pair and is used in combination with both an internal highly conserved sequence, the universal probe, and an internal variable region, the species-specific probe. A pre-PCR ultrafiltration step effectively decontaminates or removes background DNA. The TaqMan system described reliabAly detected 14 common bacterial species with a detection limit of 50 fg. Further, highly sensitive and specific pathogen detection was demonstrated with a prototype species-specific probe designed to detect Staphylococcus aureus. This assay has broad potential in the clinical arena for rapid and specific diagnosis of infectious diseases.
Application of Tornado Codes to Transport Coding

In this paper we consider transport coding in a network. The results obtained with this approach indicate, that coding in network helps not only to increase the reliability of the transmitted information, but also can be used to improve such important characteristic of a network, as the mean message delay. It is possible to use quite simple for implementation and having low complexity Tornado codes for transport coding.
Evolution of the doping regimes in the Al-doped SnO2 nanoparticles prepared by a polymer precursor method

In this study, we report on the structural and hyperfine properties of Al-doped SnO2 nanoparticles synthesized by a polymer precursor method. The x-ray diffraction data analysis carried out using the Rietveld refinement method shows the formation of only rutile-type structures in all samples, with decreasing of the mean crystallite size as the Al content. A systematic study of the unit cell, as well as the vicinity of the interstitial position show strong evidence of two doping regimes in the rutile-type structure of SnO2. Below 7.5 mol% doping a dominant substitutional solution of Al+3 and Sn4+-ions is determined. However, the occupation of both substitutional and interstitial sites is determined above 7.5 mol% doping. These findings are in good agreement with theoretical ab initio calculations.
The characterization of the nuclear dynamics of syntenin‐2, a PIP2 binding PDZ protein

Cellular signaling is largely dependent on the presence, that is, assembly/disassembly, of supramolecular complexes. Postsynaptic density protein, Discs‐large, Zona occludens (PDZ) domains play important roles in the assembly of various signaling complexes. Syntenin‐2 (S2) is a PDZ protein that interacts with nuclear phosphatidylinositol 4,5‐bisphosphate (PIP2). Although nuclear lipids emerge as key players in nuclear processes, the global significance of nuclear phosphoinositide‐protein interactions is still poorly understood. Those phosphoinositide‐protein interactions that have been studied in detail appear to have profound physiological effects. To our knowledge none of these were investigated by dynamic studies such as Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), Fluorescence Cross‐Correlation Spectroscopy (FCCS), or Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP). Although the exact function of S2 is unknown, siRNA experiments suggest that this PDZ protein plays a role in the organization of nuclear PIP2, cell division, and cell survival. As a consequence of its PIP2 interaction, its reported self‐association in a yeast two‐hybrid study and its speculated interaction with many, yet unidentified, proteins one can hypothesize that S2 plays an important role in cell signaling. Therefore, we studied the dynamics of S2 using FCS, FCCS, and FRAP, utilizing an active truncated form deleted for the first 94 amino acids (S2‐ΔN). We showed that S2‐ΔN self‐associates and is distributed in three groups. One immobile group, one slow diffusing group, which interacts with the nuclear environment and one fast diffusing group, which is not incorporated in high molecular weight complexes. In addition, our FCS and FRAP measurements on S2‐ΔN mutants affected in their PIP2 binding showed that PIP2 plays an important role in the distribution of S2‐ΔN among these groups, and favors the enrichment of S2‐ΔN in the slow diffusing and immobile group. This work indicates that S2 relies on nuclear PIP2 to interact with practically immobile structures, possibly chromatin. © 2013 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Neural-network-based adaptive dynamic surface control for MIMO systems with unknown hysteresis

This paper focuses on the composite adaptive tracking control for a class of nonlinear multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems with unknown backlash-like hysteresis nonlinearities. A dynamic surface control method is incorporated into the proposed control strategy to eliminate the problem of explosion of complexity. Compared with some existing methods, the prediction error between system state and serial-parallel estimation model is combined with compensated tracking error to construct the adaptive laws for neural network (NN) weights. It is shown that the proposed control approach can guarantee that all the signals of the resulting closed-loop systems are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood. Finally, simulation results are provided to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.
A novel fast back projection algorithm based on subaperture frequency spectrum fusion in Cartesian coordinates

It is known to all that time-domain back projection (BP) algorithm has several advantages for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging[1], such as easily motion compensation for any flight track, unlimited size of the observe scene, arbitrary wide bandwidth and large integration angle. Because of the heavy computational burden of BP algorithm, many fast back projection (FBP) algorithms have proposed in recent years[2-6]. We introduce a novel fast back projection algorithm which can speed up image formation and avoid coordinates transform at the same time. This method mainly utilizes the character of subapertures' oversampling and reconstructs the bandwidth by fusing all the subbands of subapertures. It also analyses the effects and influence factors for the number of subapertures. The simulation result shows that the algorithm can efficiently reduces the computational complexity while keep the image resolution.
The role of differentiation, integration, and governance in developing innovative business models

How can established firms that seek to innovate their business models organize best to achieve high degrees of novelty in the resulting business model designs? Rooted in corporate entrepreneurship literature we develop and test a model that explains why the degree of novelty of business model designs depends on the extent of alignment between differentiation, integration and governance mechanisms. Results from a unique hand-collected sample of 141 business model innovation initiatives in large established companies support the theoretical hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on corporate entrepreneurship and business model innovation.
Bird strike analysis on jet engine fan blade

Bird strike otherwise called as avian ingestion is the collision between the bird and the aircraft. It is a very dangerous situation in the field of aviation. Bird strike usually occurs at low altitude during take-off and landing of the aircraft. The bird strike in the jet engine is very dangerous because when a bird hits the fan blade the fan blade is displaced into other fan blade causing the cascading failure. The main objective of this project is to analyze bird strike on the aircraft jet engine Fan blade. Hemispherical Model is used to design the Bird Model. The Canadian goose and GE-NX 2B engine Fan Blade is taken to perform the analysis. The Calculation of the dimensions of the bird model is done. The fan Blade and Bird Model is designed and then assembled using CATIA V5R20. The material Properties is defined for both Bird Model and Fan Blade. The analysis is done and an attempt is made to discuss Deformation, Stress, and Strain on the Fan Blade depending on the Relative Velocity. ANSYS- Explicit Dynamics was used to analyze the Model.
Lobbying Against Environmental Regulation vs. Lobbying for Loopholes

We analyze the determinants of environmental policy when two firms engage in two types of lobbying against a restriction on allowed pollution: General lobbying increases the total amount of allowed pollution, which is beneficial for both firms. Private lobbying increases the individual pollution standard of the lobbying firm, but has a negative or zero effect on the allowed emissions of the competitor. We determine the lobbying equilibrium and discuss the resulting emission level. In many cases, a higher effectiveness of private lobbying is detrimental for firms and beneficial for environmental quality, as it induces firms to turn towards excessive amounts of relatively unproductive private lobbying.
Should we introduce permissive hypoxaemia into the critical care unit?

718 British Journal of Hospital Medicine, December 2014, Vol 75, No 12 © 2 01 4 M A H ea lth ca re L td Hypoxaemia is a common finding among critically ill patients. A series of ventilatory and non-ventilatory strategies to restore arterial oxygenation have been proposed, advocated or rejected over the years. The harm associated with these interventions is evident, yet the benefit remains unclear. From this, the concept of permissive hypoxaemia was proposed (Abdelsalam, 2006) as the latest in a series of ‘permissive’ strategies, where values outside the physiological range are tolerated in order to minimize the adverse effects of therapeutic interventions to correct them. This approach has the potential to radically change the management of hypoxaemic patients in the critical care unit.
Land Access, Land Rental Markets and Rural Poverty Dynamics in Northern Ethiopian Highlands: Panel Data evidence using Survival Models

There is growing interest in understanding the links between land reforms, land markets and poverty reduction in Africa. The study uses four-wave panel data from Norther highlands of Ethiopia to assess the dynamics of rural poverty taking into account rural households status of participation in the land rental market. Applying both non-parametric (Kaplan-Meier estimator) and semi-parametric survival models that control for duration dependence of poverty transition, results show participation and degree of participation on the supply side of the tenancy market (landlords) have highly significant and positive effect on the chances of escaping poverty while the same cannot be said about the demand side of the tenancy market (tenants). The empirical evidence also confirms that households headed by older and literate people have relatively larger exit rates from poverty as compared to households headed by younger and illiterate ones. Though transacting farmers may engage themselves in win win rental arrangements by the time they join the tenancy market, results indicate that gains are unequal as those tenants who enter the markets from low economic leverage (were poor) are liable to face lower margin of net gains, which may limit their ability to move out of poverty. Acknowledgement : Funding for this research has been received from the Research Council of Norway, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and further finanicial support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets, led byIFPRI. None of these funders were directly involved in the design or implementation of the surveys and analytical work. The authors are not aware of any conflicts of interestrelated to the paper. The authors acknowledge valuable cooperation with Mekelle University and the Ethiopia Development Research Institute. All remaining errors are the sole responsibility of the authors.
Customer Delight, Repurchase Intentions and the Mediating Effect of Positive Word of Mouth

The aim of this study is to examine how customer delight, a proven construct superior to the famous customer satisfaction, affects consumers to generate positive word of mouth and to behave positively to repurchase from the brand. The study also tests the mediating effect of positive word of mouth on the delight-repurchase relationship. The theory-driven model includes customer delight, positive word of mouth, and repurchase intentions. The study involves the participation of 302 consumers to examine the proposed hypotheses. Study findings suggest that customer delight is a significant predictor of positive word of mouth and intentions to buy from the brand of preference. The results also support the notion that positive word of mouth mediate the impact of customer delight on repurchase intentions. Additionally, the study shows that once positive word of mouth is introduced in the model for analysis, it helps to increase substantially the variance explained in dependent variable named repurchase intentions. This study advances the service marketing literature explaining the effect of emotion-customer delight, and the mediating role of positive word of mouth.
Challenges for modeling and interpreting the complex biology of severe injury and inflammation

Human injury is associated with inflammatory responses that are modulated by the acute and chronic activity of endogenous factors and exogenous interventions. A characteristic feature of chronic, severe inflammatory states is the diminished signal output variability of many organ systems, including innate immune responsiveness and endogenous neural and endocrine‐mediated functions. The attenuation of signal/response variability and integration of feedback capacity may contribute to systemic and tissue‐specific deterioration of function. Some well‐intentioned therapies directed toward support of systemic and tissue functions may actually promote the loss of system(s) adaptability and contribute to adverse outcomes in severely stressed patients. In vivo and in silico models of stress, injury, and infection have yet to fully define the influences of ongoing stressful stimulae as well as genetic variation and epigenetic factors in the context of an evolving inflammatory state. Experimental and human models incorporating variable, antecedent stress(es) and altered neuroendocrine rhythms might approximate the altered adaptability in immune and organ function responses. Such models may also provide insights into the salient mechanisms of risk and outcome more precisely than do the constrained study conditions of current animal or human models of systemic inflammation.
Updating weight values for function point counting

While software development productivity has grown rapidly, the weight values assigned to count standard Function Point (FP) created at IBM twenty-five years ago have never been updated. This obsolescence raises critical questions about the validity of the weight values; it also creates other problems such as ambiguous classification, crisp boundary, as well as subjective and locally defined weight values. All of these challenges reveal the need to calibrate FP in order to reflect both the specific software application context and the trend of today's software development techniques more accurately. We have created a FP calibration model that incorporates the learning ability of neural networks as well as the capability of capturing human knowledge using fuzzy logic. The empirical validation using ISBSG Data Repository (release 8) shows an average improvement of 22% in the accuracy of software effort estimations with the new calibration.
Examination of motivations and attitudes of peer-to-peer users in the accommodation sharing economy

ABSTRACT This paper uses a segmented analysis based on age, gender, repeat and first time peer-to-peer accommodation users to examine their motives and concerns influencing their satisfaction. This not only provides an important marketing tool for online accommodation platforms but also informs the traditional accommodation sector on areas for focus to gain back market share. Results show that lack of trust is a significant barrier and more so for the Baby boomers relative to Generation X while the latter age cohort value economic benefits similar to first time users. The sharing economy philosophy on the other hand is important to Generation Y, repeat users, and females. By and large, for the full sample, home benefits, local experience, and social experience also influence satisfaction while locational benefits have no impact. Future research could consider different ethnic groups or international tourists’ preferences as opposed to the sample of domestic travelers in this study.
Analysis of the Job Preferences for Undergraduate Supply Chain Students

The development of an effective recruitment strategy that attracts and secures entry-level logistics talent is essential to maintain corporate performance. To accomplish this, firms need to understand the attribute importance as well as the preferences of job applicants so that information can be used to develop more attractive job offers. To better understand job choice, choice based conjoint analysis was used. Key variables and their corresponding levels of interest in job choice were determined and presented to job seekers. Results of the current study indicate that for university undergraduate supply chain students, the three most important attributes used to evaluate entry level job positions are starting salary, fit with company culture and proximity of the worksite to friends and family. The results also show a preference for worksites located in the suburbs, in an office setting and for manufacturing firms. Below average preference was expressed for worksites in rural areas, those with lots of travel and firms in the retail and wholesale sectors. Implications for firms, educators and students are discussed.
A Preliminary Study of Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Assaultive Patients With Dementia

Carbamazepine was administered in an open pilot study to 13 patients with primary degenerative dementia characterized by aggressive and assaultive behavior refractory to conventional treatment. Tentatively, from this preliminary study, carbamazepine appears to have advantages in the treatment of assaultive patients with dementia. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1988;1:21-23).
Global warming and heat stress among Western Australian mine, oil and gas workers.

The earth is currently experiencing a change in its climate which in some areas is resulting in warmer ambient temperatures. Globally the frequency and severity of heat waves have increased over the last few decades leading to an associated increase in the burden of morbidity and mortality associated with heat waves. Global temperatures are predicted to rise even further in the foreseeable future [1, 2].
Can Investors Benefit from Hedge Fund Strategies? Utility‐Based, Out‐of‐Sample Evidence

We report systematic, out-of-sample evidence on the benefits to an already well diversified investor that may derive from further diversification into various hedge fund strategies. We investigate dynamic strategic asset allocation decisions that take into account investors’ preferences as well as return predictability. Our results suggest that not all hedge fund strategies benefit a long-term investor who is already well diversified across stocks, government and corporate bonds, and REITs. Only strategies whose payoffs are highly nonlinear (e.g., fixed income relative value and convertible arbitrage), and therefore not easily replicable, constitute viable options. Most of the realized economic value fails to result from a mean-variance type of improvement but comes instead from an improvement in realized higher-moment properties of optimal portfolios. Medium to highly risk-averse investors benefit the most from this alternative asset class.
The costs of reproduction in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

We investigated the effect of brood size on nestling growth and survival, parental survival, and future fecundity in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) over a 4-year period (1987–1990) in an effort to understand whether reproductive trade-offs limit clutch size in birds. In addition to examining naturally varying brood sizes in a population on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada, we experimentally modified brood sizes, increasing or decreasing the reproductive burdens of females by two offspring. Unlike previous studies, broods of the same females were enlarged or reduced in up to 3 successive years in a search for evidence of cumulative costs of reproduction that might go undetected by a single brood manipulation. Neither observation nor experiment supported the existence of a trade-off between offspring quality and quantity, in contrast with the predictions of life-history theory. Nestling wing length, mass, and tarsus length were unrelated to brood size. Although differences between means were in the d.
ENDOSCOPIC ENDONASAL RESECTION OF A SYNCHRONOUS PITUITARY ADENOMA AND A TUBERCULUM SELLAE MENINGIOMA: TECHNICAL CASE REPORT

OBJECTIVE The presence of a sellar macroadenoma with a concomitant tuberculum sellae meningioma typically requires a craniotomy for extirpation of the meningioma. We describe a single endoscopic approach for resection of both lesions. PRESENTATION A 52-year-old woman with complaints of continuous headache and right temporal visual field loss was found to have a 1.9 × 2.1 × 1.7-cm enhancing sellar mass on magnetic resonance imaging scans associated with a second enhancing extra-axial lesion at the planum sphenoidale measuring 1.0 × 0.6 cm and encroaching on the right optic nerve. INTERVENTION After the endoscopic transnasal resection of the pituitary tumor, the planum sphenoidale was drilled and the underlying dura was incised. The suprasellar tumor was identified and completely resected. Histological evaluation confirmed the concomitant presence of a meningioma and pituitary adenoma. CONCLUSION With advances in endoscopic and image-guidance technology and increasing understanding of the endoscopic anatomy of the sellar region, surgeons are capable of reaching both intrasellar and suprasellar/anterior cranial base region tumors through a single endoscopic approach. The use of endoscopes in transsphenoidal approaches may obviate the need for additional craniotomies in properly selected patients.
The Challenge of Teaching Rehabilitative Care in Medical School

Rehabilitative care has gained importance because the population is aging, and improved acute and chronic medical care saves and prolongs lives but leaves some patients with temporary or permanent physical impairments. However, despite its importance, the teaching and learning of rehabilitative care in medical school lag behind medical education relating to acute and chronic care. The authors analyze the broad scope of rehabilitative care and the need to include it in the medical school curriculum. They also discuss advantages for students and their patients of learning rehabilitative care in the undergraduate curriculum and suggest methods to improve teaching it.