Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vivo detection of stem cells grafted in infarcted rat myocardium.

UNLABELLED The evaluation of stem cell-mediated cardiomyoplasty by noninvasive in vivo imaging is critical for its clinical application. We hypothesized that dual-tracer small-animal SPECT would allow simultaneous imaging of (99m)Tc-sestamibi to assess myocardial perfusion and of (111)In-labeled stem cells to delineate stem cell engraftment. METHODS Three to 4 million rat embryonic cardiomyoblasts (H9c2 cells) were labeled with 11.1-14.8 MBq (0.3-0.4 mCi) of (111)In-oxyquinoline and then injected into the border zones of infarcted myocardium of rats. (111)In images were acquired with a SPECT scanner 2, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after the stem cells were injected into the infarcted myocardium. To visualize the perfusion deficit in the infarcted myocardium, we injected 74 MBq (2 mCi) of (99m)Tc-sestamibi (Cardiolite) intravenously 48 h after grafting. Dual-isotope pinhole SPECT was used to image (99m)Tc-sestamibi uptake simultaneously with (111)In to delineate retention of (111)In-labeled stem cells. The presence of labeled stem cells was confirmed by autoradiography and histology. RESULTS SPECT of (99m)Tc-sestamibi was used to delineate perfusion deficits and infarcted myocardium. Bull's-eye plots indicated that the (111)In signal from the labeled stem cells overlapped the perfusion deficits identified from the (99m)Tc-sestamibi images. The (111)In signal associated with the radiolabeled stem cells could be detected with SPECT of the heart for 96 h after engraftment. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated the feasibility of using dual-isotope pinhole SPECT for high-resolution detection of perfusion deficits with (99m)Tc-sestamibi and with (111)In-labeled stem cells grafted into the region of the infarct.
A new packet cipher to secure IP based communications

IP based communications are becoming more and more ubiquitous and hence the need for reliable and faster algorithms that can provide authentication, confidentiality and integrity. However, not much attention is paid to large volume data communications such as VoIP, IPTV, IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), etc. Large volume data communications require simple, easy to implement and extremely fast algorithms and protocols for encryption and decryption. It is also important to establish mathematically the robustness of algorithms and protocols to prove their validity, reliability and usefulness for high-end applications. In this paper we describe an easy to implement, single-key encryption algorithm and a protocol that demonstrates the security of the scheme for IP based communications such as VoIP, IPTV, IMS, and for large volume data communication over the Internet. This scheme can be implemented as bump-in-the-code or bump-in-the-wire.
An empirical multi‐method investigation of price knowledge in food retailing

Purpose – This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides data from one questionnaire and two experimental studies. The aim of the first study was to address price recall. To do so, data were collected on the accuracy of grocery‐shopper price knowledge for 20 carefully selected products. Using the mall intercept method, three trained interviewers queried 300 randomly selected people in the store, but prior to shopping. After a period of four weeks the subjects were contacted by phone and asked whether they would like to participate in a second two‐step experiment. A total of 105 of the original 300 shoppers agreed to take part in the second study, in which a recognition task in terms of a computer experiment was accomplished with and without financial incentives.Findings – The results of these studies confirmed the authors' expectations, based on theoretical considerations that: the .
The marketing and logistics efficacy of online sales channels

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate key differences between web‐only and multi‐channel retailers in terms of five different measures of web activity and three different forms of outsourcing behavior. Specifically, the research examines the marketing and logistics efficacy between business‐to‐consumer (B2C) retailers who sell exclusively via the web and retailers for whom the web offers one additional channel for sales. Finally, it is suggested that how this study may give rise to future research in this area.Design/methodology/approach – This empirical study using the lens of transaction cost economics (TCE) to examine hypotheses regarding customer buying behavior and the retailers' proclivity to outsource is conducted. Secondary data sources provide key metrics for the more than 250 companies found in the sample.Findings – Several key differences exist between the efficacy of web‐only and multi‐channel retailers, which can be explained with the TCE framework. Both web‐only and multi‐cha.
ArmA Methyltransferase in a Monophasic Salmonella enterica Isolate from Food

ABSTRACT The 16S rRNA methyltransferase ArmA is a worldwide emerging determinant that confers high-level resistance to most clinically relevant aminoglycosides. We report here the identification and characterization of a multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica subspecies I.4,12:i:− isolate recovered from chicken meat sampled in a supermarket on February 2009 in La Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. Susceptibility testing showed an unusually high-level resistance to gentamicin, as well as to ampicillin, expanded-spectrum cephalosporins and amoxicillin-clavulanate. Molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA methyltransferases revealed presence of the armA gene, together with blaTEM-1, blaCMY-2, and blaCTX-M-3. All of these genes could be transferred en bloc through conjugation into Escherichia coli at a frequency of 10−5 CFU/donor. Replicon typing and S1 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed that the armA gene was borne on an ∼150-kb broad-host-range IncP plasmid, pB1010. To elucidate how armA had integrated in pB1010, a PCR mapping strategy was developed for Tn1548, the genetic platform for armA. The gene was embedded in a Tn1548-like structure, albeit with a deletion of the macrolide resistance genes, and an IS26 was inserted within the mel gene. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ArmA methyltransferase in food, showing a novel route of transmission for this resistance determinant. Further surveillance in food-borne bacteria will be crucial to determine the role of food in the spread of 16S rRNA methyltransferase genes worldwide.
CIGS module manufacturing with high deposition rates and efficiencies

In this paper we present results of efficiency optimizations in conjunction with increased CIGS deposition rates. Furthermore, we describe Solibro's recent technology improvements for higher module efficiencies and our roadmap for further efficiency improvements. Our results indicate that with co-evaporation of CIGS absorbers high module efficiencies can be realized at high dynamic deposition rates. Various improvements have recently been introduced in Solibro's CIGS production process, which led to a champion module efficiency of 14.4% (total area, externally confirmed). Solibro's efficiency roadmap shows that the technology is capable of producing average efficiencies of 17% within the next 3 years.
An Analysis of Endorsement Effects in Affinity Marketing: The Case for Affinity Credit Cards

In recent years, affinity-marketing strategy has been widely used by for-profit organizations, particularly financial institutions, to leverage the goodwill and endorsement of affinity groups to promote their service offerings to group members. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the underlying factors driving the effectiveness of endorsement as it affects the process by which members make choices. Applying affinity credit cards as the research context, this study examines whether the addition of endorsement effects (i.e., affect transfer effect, perceived quality effect, and cause-related effect) of a positively valued affinity group would have any impact on its members' choice processes as depicted in the traditional hierarchy-of-effects model. The results of this empirical study confirm all the hypotheses, with the exception of affect transfer.
Changes of Passenger Preferences in Air Transportation

Airlines and airport companies often conduct surveys of their passengers to get to know their present and latent needs. The purpose of this article is to reveal the differences between the preferences of business and leisure passengers in general and their recent changes in particular. The basis of this paper is a survey about passengers' travel preferences not taking into account carriers. In the article the preparation of the survey and the results of it are going to be discussed.
Indirect Regulation of CD4 T-Cell Responses by Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors in an Acute Viral Infection

ABSTRACT Despite the well-recognized importance of CD4 T-cell help in the induction of antibody production and cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte responses, the regulation of CD4 T-cell responses is not well understood. Using mice deficient for TNF receptor I (TNFR I) and/or TNFR II, we show that TNFR I and TNFR II play redundant roles in down regulating the expansion of CD4 T cells during an acute infection of mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Adoptive transfer experiments using T-cell-receptor transgenic CD4 T cells and studies with mixed bone marrow chimeras indicated that indirect effects and not direct effects on T cells mediated the suppressive function of TNF on CD4 T-cell expansion during the primary response. Further studies to characterize the indirect effects of TNF suggested a role for TNFRs in LCMV-induced deletion of CD11chi dendritic cells in the spleen, which might be a mechanism to limit the duration of antigenic stimulation and CD4 T-cell expansion. Consequent to enhanced primary expansion, there was a substantial increase in the number of LCMV-specific memory CD4 T cells in the spleens of mice deficient for both TNFR I and TNFR II. In summary, our findings suggest that TNFRs down regulate CD4 T-cell responses during an acute LCMV infection by a non-T-cell autonomous mechanism.
The Disposition Effect Demonstrated on IPO Trading Volume

The disposition effect is known as the reluctance of investors to realize losses and their eagerness to realize gains. The aim of the present research was to examine the impact of the disposition effect at the aggregate (market) level. In order to limit the number of factors affecting the selling decision on the share exchange, the examination was done on Initial Public Offerings. The main factor determining the volume of turnover on the first trading day should be the initial rate of return. Our research shows that a higher turnover volume is associated with a positive initial rate of return and a lower turnover volume associated with a negative initial rate of return. This phenomenon can be explained by the disposition effect. We conduct our research on the emerging market in Poland. The Warsaw Stock Exchange has been recently the second largest IPO market in Europe, after London.
Simulation and design of a Class E power amplifier

Class E switching-mode tuned power amplifier offers high efficiency at high frequencies. Class E power amplifier concept, introduced by Sokal, is not defined by a special topology. The most simple topology for class E power amplifier consists in a single switch device that operate at carrier frequency of the output signal and a load network that must extract only a single spectral frequency component. The load network consists in a capacitor shunting the switch device and a series-tuned output circuit. To derive the basic equations for class E amplifier we use Fourier series techniques. These equations are implemented in Matlab with a friendly interface. This implementation and this interface can be a very useful tool for students that are interested in class E operation and also a good tool for class E circuit design. In this paper you can find a description of class E power amplifier with functional equations.
Urease-independent chemotactic responses of Helicobacter pylori to urea, urease inhibitors, and sodium bicarbonate

Helicobacter pylori CPY3401 and an isogenic urease-negative mutant, HPT73, showed chemotactic responses to urea, flurofamide (a potent urease inhibitor), and sodium bicarbonate. Since urea and sodium bicarbonate are secreted through the gastric epithelial surface and hydrolysis of urea by urease on the bacterial surface is essential for colonization, the chemotactic response of H. pylori may be crucial for its colonization and persistence in the stomach.
Enhancement of power system stability by means of SSSC and STATCOM: A comparative study

In this paper the ability of the SSSC and STATCOM to enhance the dynamical stability of a single-machine infinite-bus (SMIB) power system using linearized Phillips-Heffron model is compared. The design problem of these FACTS devises is formulated as an optimization problem and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique is employed to search for optimal controller parameters. By minimizing the frequency-domain based objective function, in which the deviation in the oscillatory rotor angle of the generator is involved, dynamical stability performance of the system is improved. Simulation results have been carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK show that the SSSC performance is better than STATCOM and it provides higher damping than that of the STATCOM.
Market Reaction to Quantitative and Qualitative Order Backlog Disclosures

Findings in the prior literature on the implications of Order Backlog (OB) for stock returns are both sparse and inconclusive. For example, Rajgopal et al. (2003) show that firms with larger ratios of OB to total assets earn lower subsequent returns than firms with smaller ratios; while Lev and Thiagarajan (1993) find that increases in OB beyond sales increases are positively associated with returns. We provide evidence that quantitative information on increases in OB, coupled with positive qualitative indications by management about the direction of OB, are associated with higher returns; and that there is incremental information content to OB related disclosures over and above earnings surprises. We find this to be the case for annual and quarterly OB disclosures, regardless of whether they are provided in the preliminary earnings releases or in the SEC Form 10-Q (K) filings.
On the effect of finite buffer truncation in a two node Jackson network

We consider a two-node Jackson network in which the buffer of node 1 is truncated. Our interest is in the limit of the tail decay rate of the queue-length distribution of node 2 when the buffer size of node 1 goes to infinity, provided that the stability condition of the unlimited network is satisfied. We show that there can be three different cases for the limit. This generalizes some recent results obtained for the tandem Jackson network. Special cases and some numerical examples are also presented.
High-Mobility Ge pMOSFET With 1-nm EOT $\hbox{Al}_{2} \hbox{O}_{3}/\hbox{GeO}_{x}/\hbox{Ge}$ Gate Stack Fabricated by Plasma Post Oxidation

An ultrathin equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/ GeO<sub>x</sub>/Ge gate stack with a superior GeO<sub>x</sub>/Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) interface and p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (pMOSFETs) using this gate stack have been fabricated by a plasma post oxidation method. The properties of the GeO<sub>x</sub>/ Ge MOS interfaces are systemically investigated, and it is revealed that there is a universal relationship between the interface state density (<i>D</i><sub>it</sub>) at the GeO<i>x</i>/Ge interface and the GeO<sub>x</sub> interfacial layer thickness. Ge pMOSFETs on a (100) Ge substrate using the Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/GeO<sub>x</sub>/Ge gate stack have been demonstrated with an EOT down to 0.98 nm. It is found that the Ge pMOSFETs exhibit the peak hole mobility values of 515, 466, and 401 cm<sup>2</sup>/ V·s at an EOT of 1.18, 1.06, and 0.98 nm, respectively, which has much weaker EOT dependence than the trend of the hole mobility values reported so far, because of low <i>D</i><sub>it</sub> of the present gate stack in the ultrathin EOT region of ~1 nm.
Development and psychometric testing of the patient-reported measure of activity performance of the hand (MAP-Hand) in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To develop and assess the reliability and validity of a patient-reported measure of hand activity performance for persons with rheumatoid arthritis (MAP-Hand). METHODS The development of the measure included a literature review, semi-structured interviews with 60 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and testing of face and content validity by video-observation and classification of the initial items according to standardized methods. Further testing followed 2 surveys of 176 and 134 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and included Rasch analysis and comparing MAP-Hand scores with other measures of symptoms and functional ability. Test-retest reliability was assessed in 35 stable patients with rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS Most of the initial 31 items had good face and content validity. Following Rasch analysis the measure was reduced to 18 items, which had good evidence for unidimensionality, a broad range of item difficulty, good person separation and ordered thresholds in a 4-point scale. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.89, 0.97), indicating high reliability. The results of validity testing generally followed the a priori hypotheses, with MAP-Hand scores having moderate to high correlations with scores for the other measures. CONCLUSION The MAP-Hand is an 18-item patient-reported measure of hand activity performance, which showed good evidence for reliability and validity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Effect of Gen Y's Affective Attitudes Towards Facebook Marketing Communications in South Africa

The ubiquitous role of technology in the lives of Generation (Gen) Y consumers is commonly recognized in scholarly circles, as well as the pervasive use of interactive and social media among younger consumers, which is significant for marketers from an advertising perspective. Widespread usage of social media such as Facebook is generating billions of dollars in advertising revenue, however, little is known about the attitudes of consumers towards advertising on this conduit in developing countries, especially in terms of the effect of various usage characteristics and demographic factors. This study investigates the influence of Facebook advertising on affective attitudes amongst Gen Y in South Africa (SA). The findings of the inquiry revealed a generally positive predisposition towards Facebook advertising vis‐à‐vis affective attitudes, which makes a noteworthy contribution to the limited social media research on hierarchy response theory in developing countries. This investigation should also assist companies and their brands to understand what makes Gen Y like and develop a preference for their products that are promoted on Facebook, as well as the impact of various usage and demographics variables, thereby abetting the development and implementation of more effective marketing communications on this vast digital interactive medium in South Africa.
Adaptive SP-D control of a robotic manipulator in the presence of modeling error in a gravity regressor matrix: theory and experiment

Many controllers have been developed for setpoint control of robotic manipulators. An adaptive proportional and derivative (PD) controller is one of the simplest and most effective setpoint controller in the presence of uncertainty in gravitational force. However, an exact model of gravity regressor is required in the adaptive PD control. In this paper, we propose an adaptive setpoint controller with modeling error in the gravity regressor and show that convergence can be guaranteed even when the gravity regressor is uncertain. A new Lyapunov function is presented for the stability analysis of such problem. As a byproduct of the result, we also show that existing setpoint controllers such as an adaptive saturated proportional-derivative (SP-D) and saturated proportional-integral and derivative (SP-ID) in the literature can be analyzed and designed in a unifying way as special cases of the proposed controller.
Mature franchise systems use multiple unit franchising to leverage learning economies and sustain systemwide growth

Purpose – This paper aims to extend current understanding of organisational choice theory through examining to what extent firm‐level factors influence the growth of franchisee‐owned mini‐chains within Australian franchise systems. In particular, this study examines how the age of the system, corporatisation of management processes, plurality of distribution, levels of intra‐firm conflict and franchise system complexity influence multiple unit franchising adoption.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was adopted to gain a clearer picture of the salient issues influencing multiple unit franchising adoption from the franchisor's perspective.Findings – The research reveals that mature franchise systems in Australia use sequential methods of multiple unit franchising expansion in order to minimise adverse selection costs and leverage learning economies derived from previous experiences in managing intra‐firm channel relationships.Research limitations/implications – Industry‐specific influen.
Scoring Subjectivity and Item Performance on Measures Used to Assess Violence Risk

Although reliability is essential to validity, most research on violence risk assessment tools has paid little attention to strategies for improving rater agreement. The authors evaluated the degree to which perceived subjectivity in scoring guidelines for items from two measures—the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) and the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20 (HCR-20)—were related to indices of interrater agreement reported in the research literature. Nine doctoral students with experience scoring the PCL-R and HCR-20 showed a high level of agreement with respect to the amount of subjectivity required to score items. Decreased subjectivity was associated with increased rater agreement for both tools. For the PCL-R, items on aggregate measures that have the strongest effects in predictive validity research (i.e., Factor 2, Facet 4) were rated as the least subjective. For the HCR-20, items on the Historical scale were rated as the least subjective. Implications for measure development and refinement are discussed.
Robust goal-mouth detection for virtual content insertion

In this paper, we describe a working system that detects and segments goal-mouth appearances of soccer video in real-time. Processing on sub-optimal quality images after MPEG-decoding, the system constrains the Hough Transform-based line-mark detection to only the dominant green regions. The vertical goal-posts and horizontal goal-bar are then isolated by color-based region (pole)-growing. We demonstrate its application for quick video browsing and virtual content insertion.
Demystifying Social Media

Recently, it has been speculated that higher education has neither kept abreast of changing technologies nor taken advantage of the opportunities they offer for use on the college campus (Fischman, 2010). We suggest that social media offers higher education professionals an opportunity to catch up. To this end, we offer an approach to these à la carte technologies that can be adapted and integrated to achieve many productive outcomes for professionals in the academy.