Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Citrobacter rodentium translocated intimin receptor (Tir) is an essential virulence factor needed for actin condensation, intestinal colonization and colonic hyperplasia in mice

Citrobacter rodentium infection of mice serves as a relevant small animal model to study enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) infections in man. Enteropathogenic E. coli and EHEC translocate Tir into the host cytoplasmic membrane, where it serves as the receptor for the bacterial adhesin intimin and plays a central role in actin condensation beneath the adherent bacterium. In this report, we examined the function of C. rodentium Tir both in vitro and in vivo. Similar to EPEC, C. rodentium Tir is tyrosine phosphorylated and is essential for actin condensation. Citrobacter Tir and EPEC Tir are functionally interchangeable and both require tyrosine phosphorylation to mediate actin rearrangements. In contrast, Citrobacter Tir supports actin nucleation in EHEC independent of tyrosine phosphorylation, while EHEC Tir cannot replace Citrobacter Tir for this function. This indicates that C. rodentium and EPEC use an actin nucleating mechanism different from EHEC. We also found that Tir is expressed and translocated into mouse enterocytes in vivo by C. rodentium during infections. This represents the first direct demonstration of a type III effector translocated in vivo into a natural host by any pathogen. In addition, we showed that Tir, but not its tyrosine phosphorylation, is essential for C. rodentium to colonize the large bowel and induce attaching/effacing (A/E) lesions and colonic hyperplasia in mice, and that both EPEC Tir and EHEC Tir can substitute for Citrobacter Tir for these activities in vivo. These results thus demonstrate that Tir is an essential virulence factor in this infection model. The data also show that the function of Tir tyrosine phosphorylation and its subsequent actin nucleating activity are not essential for C. rodentium colonization of the mouse gut nor for inducing A/E lesions and colonic hyperplasia, thereby uncoupling colonization and disease from actin condensation for this A/E pathogen.
Dynamic Assignment of Objects to Queuing Agents with Private Values ∗

This paper analyzes the optimal assignment of objects which arrive sequentially to agents organized in a waiting list. Applications include the assignment of social housing and organs for transplants. We analyze the optimal design of probabilistic queuing disciplines, punishment schemes, the optimal timing of applications and information releases. We consider three efficiency criteria: the vector of values of agents in the queue, the probability of misallocation and the expected waste. Under private values, we show that the first-come first-served mechanism dominates a lottery according to the first two criteria but that lottery dominates first-come first-serve according to the last criterion. Punishment schemes accelerate turnover in the queue at the expense of agents currently in the waiting list, application schemes with commitment dominate sequential offers and information release always increases the value of agents at the top of the waiting list. JEL Classification Numbers: C78, D83, R31
Social Assessment for Protected Areas (SAPA) Methodology Manual for SAPA Facilitators

Background IIED working in partnership with UNEP-WCMC, WCS and FFI launched a project to develop and pilot the Social Assessment for Protected Areas methodology in April 2013. It responded to i) concerns that some protected areas are imposing an overall negative impact on some local stakeholder groups, ii) the need to better understand, promote and strengthen the positive contribution of protected areas to local livelihoods, and iii) the need for a relatively simple, rapid, standardised and low cost approach for assessing social impacts. Building on the experience of piloting in five countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Gabon and Zambia), this SAPA methodology manual is the final output of the project. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or the policies of UNEP or contributory organisations. IIED is a policy and action research organisation. We promote sustainable development to improve livelihoods and protect the environments on which these livelihoods are built. We specialise in linking local priorities to global challenges. IIED is based in London and works in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, with some of the world's most vulnerable people. We work with them to strengthen their voice in the decision making arenas that affect them — from village councils to international conventions.
Trap-Tolerant Device Geometry for InAs/Si pTFETs

The influence of channel quantization and interface traps on the performance of InAs/Si pTFETs is analyzed, and a device geometry is predicted which is least sensitive to trap-assisted tunneling (TAT). The good agreement between simulated and measured transfer characteristics validates the reliability of the simulation setup. Simulations show that TAT degrades the sub-threshold swing (SS) of the tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) and that channel quantization reduces its ON-current. The same simulation setup is used to find the device geometry which is least susceptible to interface traps. Scaling down the nanowire diameter below 20 nm inhibits TAT at the oxide/InAs interface. Furthermore, aligning the gate edge with the InAs/Si hetero-junction reduces the degradation of the SS caused by TAT at the hetero-interface. In this way, a gate-aligned InAs/Si nanowire TFET with diameter ~20 nm can deliver sub-thermal sub-threshold swing even in the unavoidable presence of oxide- and hetero-interface traps.
Measuring transit system accessibility using a modified two-step floating catchment technique

Previous research has drawn attention to the importance of measuring accessibility to public transit services for transport planning and decision-making purposes and to the use of GIS to produce accessibility maps. Existing measures have been criticised for their lack of sophistication and reliance on simple operations such as Euclidean buffering. This article introduces an accessibility measure based on enhanced ‘floating catchment’ techniques, which have to date not been applied to measure access to public transport opportunities. We demonstrate that, after essential modifications to reflect the characteristics of transit service provision, this approach captures many detailed aspects of accessibility including proximity, the balance between service supply and demand, cumulative opportunity and temporal availability. We illustrate its application using a case study based in South Wales, integrating publicly available digital transport timetables and information on bus stop locations with geospatial analysis tools to provide a realistic appraisal of bus transit accessibility. Such measures could clearly form the basis of future studies of social exclusion and access to public transport opportunities. We conclude by drawing attention to the potential for including more intelligent demand-side and supply-side modelling inputs and by reiterating the policy importance of developing more accurate evaluations of the current and future state of the public transport network.
ASSESSING THE ROLE OF COMPENSATION STRATEGIES ON NON-TEACHING STAFF PERFORMANCE: A SURVEY OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN UASIN GISHU COUNTY

In the modern organizations, staff determine the success and failure of organizations by the means they deliver the services to the client through interactions. The foremost valuable assets available in every organization are its individuals. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of compensation strategies on performance of permanent non-teaching employees’: a survey of Technical and Vocational Education Training Institutions in Uasin Gishu county.The specific objective was to establish role of nonfinancial compensation on permanent non–teaching employees’ performance in Technical and Vocational Education Training institutions in UasinGishu county.The current study adopted cross sectional survey design based on a sample size of 184 drawn from a target population 0f 384 non teaching staff in public TIVET institutions(Eldoret National Polytechnic, Rift Valley Technical Training Institute and Ziwa Technical Training Institute) in Uasin Gishu County based on Krejcie and Morgan (1970) schedule. Data was collected using questionnaires whose validity was ensured through piloting. For reliability, Cronbach’s coefficient Alpha was 0.83. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics technique using the SPSS version 21.0 and presented on tables. The study found that non-financial compensation (r=0.501, p<0.000), has a significant and positive effect on performance. The study therefore concluded that non-financial compensation has an effect on non-teaching staff performance in TVET institutions. Hence recommends that TVET institutions should strengthen their policies on non-financial compensation strategies (Recognition, Appreciation, Learning and Development and Work Environment) to engender maximal performance amongst the non teaching staff.
Association of fish and n-3 fatty acid intake with the risk of type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of prospective studies

Results from observational studies on the association of fish and n-3 fatty acid consumption with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk are conflicting. Hence, a meta-analysis was performed to investigate this association from cohort studies. A comprehensive search was then conducted to identify cohort studies on the association of fish and/or n-3 fatty acid intake with T2DM risk. In the highest v. lowest categorical analyses, the fixed or random-effect model was selected based on the homogeneity test among studies. Linear and non-linear dose–response relationships were also assessed by univariate and bivariate random-effect meta-regression with restricted maximum likelihood estimation. In the highest v. lowest categorical analyses, the pooled relative risk (RR) of T2DM for intake of fish and n-3 fatty acid was 1·146 (95 % CI 0·975, 1·346) and 1·076 (95 % CI 0·955, 1·213), respectively. In the linear dose–response relationship, the pooled RR for an increment of one time (about 105 g)/week of fish intake (four times/month) and of 0·1 g/d of n-3 fatty acid intake was 1·042 (95 % CI 1·026, 1·058) and 1·057 (95 % CI 1·042, 1·073), respectively. The significant non-linear dose–response associations of fish and n-3 fatty acid intake with T2DM risk were not observed. The present evidence from observational studies suggests that the intake of both fish and n-3 fatty acids might be weakly positively associated with the T2DM risk. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.
Social Class Differences in Complaining Strategies Used by Customers of Central Santosa Finance

This study deals with complaining strategies in different social class. The objectives of this study were to find out the types of complaining strategies used by customers as the complainers and the reasons of the customers used complaint strategies. To achieve the objectives, this study was conducted by applying qualitative research. It is a kind of multi-case study. The subjects of this study were the customers of Central Santosa Finance with different social class, namely working class and middle class. And the objects of this research were the utterances which contained complaining strategies uttered by the customers. The data were collected by using content analysis technique. The data were analyzed based on the theory of complaining strategies proposed by Trosborg (1995) and the interview was conducted to get the answer of the reasons why customers used complaint strategies. Based on the results of this study, the customers from working class dominantly used Explicit Blame and Modified Blame as their complaint strategies. While the customers from middle class tended to use Hints as their complaint strategy which meant that customers form working class were more direct in saying their complaints than customers from middle class. The reasons of they used complaint strategies were Situation and Problem.
Mission statement and performance : An evidence of "Coming of Age"

We elaborate on the role of mission statements (MS, MSs) in shaping mechanisms of organizational attributes intended to enhance performance. We argue that in the process of institutionalizing MSs, Israeli companies "come of age" and realize that such an endeavor constitutes an organizational asset sustaining adequate integration of planning, operation and culture, and eventually improves a firm's performance. Firms with MSs feature higher performance and firms that include key MS constructs or have a high as opposed to low MS content are characterized by higher performance. Bearing on the past empirical studies and theoretical treatises, we advance suggestions for more elaborate research designs.
Predictors of organizational commitment: Evidence from non-governmental organizations in Zimbabwe

The dynamic and harsh environment has led to high employee turnover as employees continue to search for greener pastures. This has pushed Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to look for ways to enforce employee commitment to their organizations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence organizational commitment among employees of NGOs operating in Zimbabwe. Whilst organizational commitment and its determinants have been extensively researched through literature and in other academic platforms, there is dearth of research on organizational commitment in NGOs operating in developing countries, especially Zimbabwe. This cross-sectional study used a quantitative survey design. A survey was conducted in which 200 employees were randomly selected from Harare Province to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which was then analyzed using descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. The results indicate that; employee empowerment, organizational support, employee relationships and teamwork are predictors of organizational commitment. The findings have implications to human resource managers of NGOs in Zimbabwe, who are advised to make efforts of supporting and empowering employees as well as enforcing teamwork and relationships among employees in order to ensure organizational commitment.
Some Self-Rating Measures Related to Hypnotizability

This article describes two new tests that have moderate but statistically significant correlations with hypnotizability. The first test requests S to induce a number of hypnotic-like effects in himself and then to rate the result; for example, to rate how much difficulty he experienced in opening his mouth after concentrating on inability to do this. The second test is a self-rating measure of S's ability to experience semantic satiation. Also described is a procedure for obtaining a continuous measure of S's subjective depth during hypnosis. Results indicate that some Ss experience a paradoxical depth increase during trance termination, that Ss usually do not report a reinstated trance during performance of a simple posthypnotic response, and that only low relationships were found between self-ratings of depth and an objective measure of hypnotic depth.
Double Rayleigh scattering noise in Raman amplifiers using pump time-division-multiplexing schemes

The impact of signal double Rayleigh scattering (DRS) noise in time-division multiplexed counterpropagating Raman pumping schemes is theoretically and experimentally investigated. We show that, for small pump modulation duty cycles, DRS noise can be greatly enhanced with respect to continuous-wave pumping. By increasing the pump modulation frequency, however, this detrimental effect is effectively reduced, providing a powerful technique for noise figure equalization and pump four-wave mixing suppression in large bandwidth discrete and distributed amplifiers.
Effects of Transaction Costs on Rice Farmers’ Adoption of Certified Seeds in the Philippines

The paper uses pooled data consisting of 1,816 farm households to determine the effects of transaction costs and other factors on the adoption and level of utilization of certified seeds. The model was estimated using Cragg‘s double hurdle estimator. Results show that transaction costs generally affect the probability of adoption but not the level of usage of certified seeds. Policies that can mitigate transaction costs can increase the adoption rate but other interventions are needed to improve the level of use of certified seeds of those who are already using them and those that are prospectively going to utilize them. Keywords: transaction costs, technology adoption, double hurdle models
An integrated localization system for robots in underground environments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to design an integrated localization system for mobile robots in underground environments for exploring and rescuing tasks after incidents and detection of hazard gas in tunnels before ingress.Design/methodology/approach – An integrated localization system mainly based on a strap‐down inertial measurement unit and a digital compass is designed for exploring and rescuing task in coal mines and tunnels. After a system model was founded, a filtering algorithm combining a wavelet‐based pre‐filter with unscented Kalman filters was developed for reckoning tracks of robots and localizing it.Findings – Based on this research, an integrated localization system for robots in underground environments can be developed to explore some regions and rescue people. Although errors of localization exist, performance of the integrated system should be improved if some sensors and landmarks or maps of tunnels are introduced.Originality/value – What is proposed in this paper is an integr.
The nonuniform distribution of acidic components on the human placental syncytial trophoblast surface membrane: A cytochemical and analytical study

The surface coat of syncytial trophoblast from term human placentas was studied using cytochemical methods (colloidal iron, alcian bluelanthanum nitrate, dialyzed iron) in coordination with tissue enzyme digestions (trypsin, neuraminidase) and sialic acid analyses. The presence of at least two highly acidic anionic components that contribute significantly to the surface negativity of trophoblast has been demonstrated. The first of these, sialic acid, was removed with neuraminidase. Tissue digestion with this glycosidase was accompanied by a decrease in trophoblast surface staining with colloidal iron, a decrease in tissue sialic acid, and an increase in the concentration of sialic acid in the incubating medium. Results from methylation experiments were consistent with the presence of sialic acid. The second anionic component(s) was identified by removal with trypsin of a glycocalyx constituent that stained with both colloidal iron and lanthanum. After trypsinization, tissue sialic acid levels were not significantly different from control values, and no detectable sialic acid was present in the incubating medium. The identity of this anionic component has not been established. Both sialic acid and nonsialic acid acidic components are distributed in higher density on membrane of microvilli than on intermicrovillous surface membrane. In addition, the sialic acid moieties appear to be clustered in the glycocalyx.
The location of C-protein in rabbit skeletal muscle

Antibodies to C-protein have been used to label fibres of glycerinated rabbit psoas muscle. The labelling patterns observed in the electron microscope show that C-protein is located on 7 stripes, spaced about 43 nm apart in each half of the A-band. Between two and four C-protein molecules per filament are present at each stripe. The labelling patterns also reveal the existence of two previously unrecognized components of the thick filament present in two further stripes in each half of the A-band. The location of C-protein and these other components accounts for many of the stripes seen in sections of the A-band and in negatively stained A-segments and provides new information on the packing of myosin molecules in the thick filament.
Sharing the instruction cache among lean cores on an asymmetric CMP for HPC applications

High performance computing (HPC) applications have parallel code sections that must scale to large numbers of cores, which makes them sensitive to serial regions. Current supercomputing systems with heterogeneous or asymmetric CMPs (ACMP) combine few high-performance big cores for serial regions, together with many low-power lean cores for throughput computing. The low requirements of HPC applications in the core front-end lead some designs, such as SMT and GPU cores, to share front-end structures including the instruction cache (I-cache). However, little work exists to analyze the benefit of sharing the I-cache among full cores, which seems compelling as a solution to reduce silicon area and power. This paper analyzes the performance, power and area impact of such a design on an ACMP with one high-performance core and multiple low-power cores. Having identified that multiple cores run the same code during parallel regions, the lean cores share the I-cache with the intent of benefiting from mutual prefetching, without increasing the average access latency. Our exploration of the multiple parameters finds the sweet spot on a wide interconnect to access the shared I-cache and the inclusion of a few line buffers to provide the required bandwidth and latency to sustain performance. The projections with McPAT and a rich set of HPC benchmarks show 11% area savings with a 5% energy reduction at no performance cost.
Virulence factors among gram-positive bacteria in experimental endocarditis

Tremendous gains have been made in just the past 5 years that delineate virulence factors of gram-positive bacteria that are operative in the production of experimental endocarditis. Powerful molecular techniques used in selective mutagenesis studies have allowed us to make these gains in our understanding of the pathogenesis of heart valve infections. Investigations have examined several purported virulence determinants (Table 1) in a variety of strains of Staphylococcus aureus (9, 10, 12, 32, 35), Staphylococcus epidermidis (47), viridans group streptococci (34, 41, 56), and Enterococcus faecalis (13). This review details the findings of studies that have compared the virulence of parent and mutant strains of gram-positive bacteria in either the rat or rabbit model of experimental endocarditis. Where pertinent, discussions have been included of investigations that have used the same strains in other types of animal infection models and how the results obtained in the nonendocarditis models compare with those of animal endocarditis experiments.
Open Domain Continuous Filipino Speech Recognition: Challenges and Baseline Experiments

In this paper, a new database suitable for HMM-based automatic Filipino speech recognition is described for the purpose of training a domain-independent, large-vocabulary continuous speech recognition system. Although it is known that high-performance speech recognition systems depend on a superior speech database used in the training stage, due to the lack of such an appropriate database, previous reports on Filipino speech recognition had to contend with serious data sparsity issues. In this paper we alleviate such sparsity through appropriate data analysis that makes the evaluation results more reliable. The best system is identified through its low word-error rate to a cross-validation set containing almost three hours of unknown speech data. Language-dependent problems are discussed, and their impact on accuracy was analyzed. The approach is currently data driven, however it serves as a competent baseline model for succeeding future developments. key words: filipino speech, automatic speech recognition, statistical learning