Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing essential facilities for daily walking in a tropical campus.

New urban life puts emphasis on developing environmental-friendly transportation which, walking and cycling have been promoted as broadly accessible mode of sustainable transportation. Recently, campus planners in University Putra Malaysia (UPM) have been tried to provide cycling and walking access and mobility without destroying campus qualities. This paper presents the influential physical-environmental determinants on encouraging walking and cycling, based on the users’ perceptions. Users’ perceptions data was obtained through a questionnaire survey which was completed by pedestrians and cyclists using the study site. Canopy was on the top of the list as an extremely important facility that should be developed and improved. Moreover, bus stop shelter has sorted in the top priority of pedestrians in terms of facility item. To design a pedestrian environment user’s community survey can help to improve planners’ perspective in providing a user friendly environment.
A Nonlinear Programming and Artificial Neural Network Approach for Optimizing the Performance of a Job Dispatching Rule in a Wafer Fabrication Factory

A nonlinear programming and artificial neural network approach is presented in this study to optimize the performance of a job dispatching rule in a wafer fabrication factory. The proposed methodology fuses two existing rules and constructs a nonlinear programming model to choose the best values of parameters in the two rules by dynamically maximizing the standard deviation of the slack, which has been shown to benefit scheduling performance by several studies. In addition, amore effective approach is also applied to estimate the remaining cycle time of a job, which is empirically shown to be conducive to the scheduling performance. The efficacy of the proposed methodology was validated with a simulated case; evidence was found to support its effectiveness. We also suggested several directions in which it can be exploited in the future.
Organizing for product development projects

How should companies organize to support the development of new products? Erik Larson and David Gobeli assessed the relative effectiveness of five different project management structures by comparing the performance of 540 development projects in terms of cost, schedule and technical performance. The findings contradict Peters and Waterman's popular conclusion that project teams are superior to matrix structures for developing new products and services. Both the balanced matrix and project matrix compared favorably with project teams in terms of cost, schedule and technical performance. Furthermore, the project matrix received a stronger recommendation from managers than the project team. Little support was found for either the functional or functional matrix approach to project management.
Effects of Prolonged and Exclusive Breastfeeding on Child Behavior and Maternal Adjustment: Evidence From a Large, Randomized Trial

OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effects of breastfeeding on child behavior and maternal adjustment. METHODS. We followed up children who were in the Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial, a cluster-randomized trial of a breastfeeding promotion intervention based on the World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. A total of 17046 healthy, breastfeeding mother–infant pairs were enrolled from 31 Belarussian maternity hospitals and affiliated polyclinics; 13889 (81.5%) were followed up at 6.5 years. Mothers and teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and supplemental questions bearing on internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Mothers also responded to questions concerning their relationships to their partner and child and their breastfeeding of subsequently born children. RESULTS. The experimental intervention led to a large increase in exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months (43.3% vs 6.4%) and a significantly higher prevalence of any breastfeeding at all ages up to and including 12 months. No significant treatment effects were observed on either the mother or the teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ratings of total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, or prosocial behavior or on the supplemental behavioral questions. We found no evidence of treatment effects on the parent's marriage or on the mother's satisfaction with her relationships with her partner or child, but the experimental intervention significantly increased the duration of any breastfeeding, and mothers in the experimental group were nearly twice as likely to breastfeed exclusively the next-born child for at least 3 months. CONCLUSIONS. On the basis of the largest randomized trial ever conducted in the area of human lactation, we found no evidence of risks or benefits of prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding for child and maternal behavior. Breastfeeding promotion does, however, favorably affect breastfeeding of the subsequent child.
Research on the Safety Investment Behaviors of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The externality and uncertainty of safety accident and its effect on safety investment of enterprises are discussed and explored.There are many reasons leading to insufficient safety investment in small and medium-sized enterprises,such as underestimate of human life value resulting in lower compensation of accidents,the fact that supply exceeds demand in the labor market,and the lack of scientific decision-making on safety investment in middle and small-sized enterprises.It is concluded that,to increase the safety investment of small and medium-sized enterprises,the only way is to reinforce the motivation and supervision function of government and encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to establish the decision support system for safety investment,because the situation that supply exceeds demand in the labor market can not be changed in a short period of time.
Diversification, branding and performance of knowledge-intensive service firms

Knowledge-intensive service firms (KISFs) are characterized by a high level of intangibility both in term of production and output in a way that secrecy, knowledge codification and asymmetric information take central stage. This article draws attention to the intensity of product/service diversification and brand breadth as two channels through which KISFs manage this intangibility to achieve performance. A sample of US-based management consulting firms represents the test-bed for the hypotheses. US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademarks are functional to capture the properties of firms? diversification and branding. The results show that KISFs? performance is positively associated with diversification, but only when it is confined inside the service domain. Secondly, performance is enhanced by a low brand breadth, namely a portfolio of specialized product/service trademarks.
Clostridium Difficile Colitis: A Call for Aggressive Management

Correspondence: Ali Salim, M.D. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Surgery 8700 Beverly Blvd, Suite 8215N Los Angeles, CA 90048, U.S.A. Email: ali.salim@cshs.org The diagnosis depends on both the presence of diarrhea (increased stool liquidity accompanied by increased frequency of bowel movements) and the detection of toxins produced by C. difficile in the stools. Two principal toxins, enterotoxin A and cytotoxin B, are responsible for the inflammatory process. Both toxins adhere to receptors on the human colonocyte brush border and cause necrosis and shedding of these cells into the lumen. The ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis is the stool cytotoxin assay with high sensitivity (94 to 100 percent) and specificity (99 percent) (6). Other diagnostic tools include Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with acceptable sensitivity (69 to 87 percent) and specificity (99 to 100 percent) (6). C. difficile infection can lead to manifestations ranging from an asymptomatic carrier state to fulminant disease with toxic megacolon and perforation. Symptoms include abdominal pain with or without diarrhea, fever, hypotension, tachypnea, and leukocytosis. Clinical presentation, laboratory data, and occasionally lower endoscopy (suspicious findings include: erythema, friable mucosa, and pseudomembranes) provide additional information. In patients with suspected fulminant C. difficile infection, a computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen is helpful to visualize colonic inflammation and sometimes colonic mucosal enhancement. Prompt diagnosis in patients with fulminant infection is necessary as mortality in these cases can reach up to 47% (7). Treatment for patients with C. difficile-associated diarrhea includes supportive measures – adequate fluid and electrolyte replacement and nutritional support. In addition, withdrawal of current antibiotics therapy and antibiotic treatment to eradicate C. difficile are necessary. Anti-diarrheal medications are contraindicated in C. difficile infection. Standard medical treatment includes oral Vancomycin 10 mg/kg/ dose (up to 125 mg) four times daily for 10 days. Oral Vancomycin is the preferred treatment in severe disease and has a response rate of 90–100% (5). An alternative is Metronidazole 7.5 mg/kg/dose (up to 500 mg) orally three times daily. In severe cases combination therapy with Vancomycin and MetronidaINTRODUCTION
The physiological response of the marine platyhelminth Macrostomum lignano to 1 different environmental oxygen concentrations . 2 Short title : Response of a flatworm to oxygen variation 3 4

Short title: Response of a flatworm to oxygen variation 3 4 G. A. Rivera-Ingraham*, U. Bickmeyer, D. Abele 5 6 Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research. 7 Dept. Functional Ecology 8 Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. 9 10 *Corresponding author: Georgina.Rivera-Ingraham@awi.de / grivera@us.es 11 12 13 14 ABSTRACT 15 Respiration rate of meiofauna is difficult to measure, and the response to variations in 16 the environmental oxygen concentrations has so far been mainly addressed through 17 behavioral investigation. We investigated the effect of different oxygen concentrations 18 on the physiology of the marine platyhelminth Macrostomum lignano. Respiration was 19 measured using batches of 20 animals in a glass microtiter plate equipped with optical 20 oxygen sensor spots. At higher oxygen saturations (>12kPa), animals showed a clear 21 oxyconforming behavior. However, below this values, the flatworms kept respiration 22 rates constant at 0.064 ± 0.001 nmol O2·l ·h·ind down to 3 kPa po2, and this rate was 23 increased in 30% in animals that were reoxygenated after enduring a period of 1.5h in 24 anoxia. Physiological changes related to tissue oxygenation were assessed using live 25 imaging techniques with different fluorophores in animals maintained in normoxic (21 26 kPa), hyperoxic (40 kPa), near anoxic (≈0 kPa) conditions and subjected to anoxia27 reoxygenation. Ageladine-A and BCECF both indicated that pHi under near anoxia 28 increases by about 0.07 to 0.10 units. Mitochondrial membrane potential, Δψm, was 29 higher in anoxic and hyperoxic compared to normoxic conditions (JC1). Staining with 30 ROS sensitive dyes, DHE for detection of superoxide anion (O2• ) formation and C31 H2DFFDA for other ROS species aside from O2• (H2O2, HOO• and ONOO ), both 32 showed increased ROS formation following anoxia reoxygenation treatment. Animals 33 exposed to hyperoxic, normoxic and anoxic treatments displayed no significant 34 differences in O2• formation, whereas mitochondrial ROS formation as detected by C35 H2DFFDA was higher after hyperoxic exposure and lowest under near anoxia compared 36 to the normoxic control group. M. lignano seems to be a species tolerant to a wide range 37 of oxygen concentrations (being able to maintain aerobic metabolism from extremely 38 low po2 and up to hyperoxic conditions) which is an essential prerequisite for 39 successfully dealing with the drastic environmental oxygen variations that occur within 40 intertidal sediments. 41 42
An Effective Approach of AC Signal Detection in DC Power System Based on Wavelet Neural Network

This paper develops and experimentally demonstrates an AC signal detection method in DC power system with a combination of a novel detection circuit and the wavelet neural network method. Aims at dealing with the travelling wave and fault signal cannot be detected accurately with the uncertainty of signal velocity when AC signal injected. In which, the injected AC signal in DC power system is detected via the current transformers and the voltage transformers distributed in different current loops. The acquired signal is taken as original fault signal while the sub-band energy function of wavelet packet decomposition is used as secondary characteristic and the minimum distance is used as the criterion in WNN method. Simulations are carried out to demonstrate the correctness and validity of the proposed method and which gives a good consistency with experimental test. Results show that the AC signals can be detected and located in DC power system accurately with the proposed method applied. DOI : http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i5. 4206
Qespera: an adaptive framework for prediction of queue waiting times in supercomputer systems

Production parallel systems are space‐shared, and resource allocation on such systems is usually performed using a batch queue scheduler. Jobs submitted to the batch queue experience a variable delay before the requested resources are granted. Predicting this delay can assist users in planning experiment time‐frames and choosing sites with less turnaround times and can also help meta‐schedulers make scheduling decisions. In this paper, we present an integrated adaptive framework, Qespera, for prediction of queue waiting times on parallel systems. We propose a novel algorithm based on spatial clustering for predictions using history of job submissions and executions. The framework uses adaptive set of strategies for choosing either distributions or summary of features to represent the system state and to compare with history jobs, varying the weights associated with the features for each job prediction, and selecting a particular algorithm dynamically for performing the prediction depending on the characteristics of the target and history jobs. Our experiments with real workload traces from different production systems demonstrate up to 22% reduction in average absolute error and up to 56% reduction in percentage prediction error over existing techniques. We also report prediction errors of less than 1 h for a majority of the jobs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Physical Layer Secret Key Agreement Using One-Bit Quantization and Low-Density Parity-Check Codes

Physical layer approaches for generating secret encryption keys for wireless systems using channel information have attracted increased interest from researchers in recent years. This paper presents a new approach for calculating log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for secret key generation that is based on one-bit quantization of channel measurements and the difference between channel estimates at legitimate reciprocal nodes. The studied secret key agreement approach, which implements advantage distillation along with information reconciliation using Slepian-Wolf low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, is discussed and illustrated with numerical results obtained from simulations. These results show the probability of bit disagreement for keys generated using the proposed LLR calculations compared with alternative LLR calculation methods for key generation based on channel state information. The proposed LLR calculations are shown to be an improvement to the studied approach of physical layer secret key agreement.
Anti–Dengue Virus Nonstructural Protein 1 Antibodies Cause NO-Mediated Endothelial Cell Apoptosis via Ceramide-Regulated Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β and NF-κB Activation

Immunopathogenetic mechanisms of dengue virus (DENV) infection are involved in hemorrhagic syndrome resulting from thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, and vasculopathy. We have proposed a mechanism of molecular mimicry in which Abs against DENV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) cross-react with human endothelial cells and cause NF-κB–regulated immune activation and NO-mediated apoptosis. However, the signaling pathway leading to NF-κB activation after the binding of anti-DENV NS1 Abs to endothelial cells is unresolved. In this study, we found that anti-DENV NS1 Abs caused the formation of lipid raftlike structures, and that disrupting lipid raft formation by methyl-β-cyclodextrin decreased NO production and apoptosis. Treatment with anti-DENV NS1 Abs elevated ceramide generation in lipid rafts. Pharmacological inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (aSMase) decreased anti-DENV NS1 Ab-mediated ceramide and NO production, as well as apoptosis. Exogenous ceramide treatment induced biogenesis of inducible NO synthase (iNOS)/NO and apoptosis through an NF-κB–regulated manner. Furthermore, activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) was required for ceramide-induced NF-κB activation and iNOS expression. Notably, anti-DENV NS1 Abs caused GSK-3β–mediated NF-κB activation and iNOS expression, which were regulated by aSMase. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3β reduced hepatic endothelial cell apoptosis in mice passively administered anti-DENV NS1 Abs. These results suggest that anti-DENV NS1 Abs bind to the endothelial cell membrane and cause NO production and apoptosis via a mechanism involving the aSMase/ceramide/GSK-3β/NF-κB/iNOS/NO signaling pathway.
A Framework for Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)

ABSTRACT We perceive growing expectations concerning the impact of the purchasing function and the suppliers on overall value creation of a firm. Purchasing is the gateway between the external suppliers and the internal functions creating and delivering value for customers. This shift has incredibly enhanced the importance of the supplier base. While the old arm length collaboration is perfectly suitable for some suppliers others should be treated as close partners. However, an overall framework of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) integrating such different types of suppliers along the course of the relationship remains desirable. Our research aims to contribute by developing a framework for Supplier Relationship Management. For this purpose we are adapting and applying insights from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as well as existing findings in supplier management literature. Finally, managerial implications and future research avenues are discussed.
PREOPERATIVE LOCO‐REGIONAL IMAGING IN RECTAL CANCER

Preoperative staging of rectal cancer can influence the choice of surgery and the use of neoadjuvant therapy. This review evaluates the use of endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the local staging of rectal cancer. Staging for distant metastases is beyond the scope of this review. A MEDLINE search for published work in English between 1984–2004 was carried out by entering the key words of ERUS, MRI and preoperative imaging and rectal cancer. Initially, 867 articles were retrieved. Abstracts were reviewed and papers selected according to the inclusion criteria of a minimum of 50 patients and papers published in English. Papers focusing on preoperative chemoradiotherapy and distal metastases were excluded. Thirty‐one papers were included in the systematic review. The examination techniques and images obtained are discussed and the respective accuracy is reviewed. ERUS and MRI have complementary roles in the assessment of tumour depth. Ultrasound has an overall accuracy of 82% (T1, 2, 40–100%; T3, 4, 25–100%) and is particularly useful for early localized rectal cancers. MRI has an accuracy of 76% (T1, 2, 29–80%; T3, 4, 0–100%) and is useful in more advanced disease by providing clearer definition of the mesorectum and mesorectal fascia. Both methods have similar accuracy in the assessment of nodal metastases. Ultrasound is more operator dependent and accuracies improve with experience, but it is more portable and accessible than MRI. Improvements in technology and increased operator experience have led to more accurate preoperative staging. ERUS and MRI are complementary and are most accurate for early localized cancers and more advanced cancers, respectively.
Assessment of Information and Communication Technology Integration in Teaching and Learning in Institutions of Higher Learning.

Employing survey research design of the ex-post facto type, this study examined information and community technologies integration in teaching and learning in institutions of higher learning in Delta State, Nigeria. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the investigation. Descriptive statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test of significant difference was used to test the hypotheses. A sample of 560 students and lecturers were selected through simple random sampling technique from four out of seven institutions of higher learning in the state. The result obtained showed that the level of availability of ICTs for their effective use in teaching and learning in institutions of higher learning in Delta State is low. The benefits of using ICTs in teaching and learning include improve quality of instruction, caters for different learning styles and increased opportunity for collaborative networking and research. The factors acting as barriers to effective integration of ICT in teaching and learning in the institutions include poor government attitude to ICT policy, inadequate funding of ICT facilities and low level of ICT literacy among students and Lecturers. The strategies for effective integration of ICT in teaching and learning in the institutions were identified to include provision of electronic classrooms and laboratories, provision of pedagogical training in ICT for Lecturers. The study recommends that administrators of institutions of higher learning should incorporate ICT into their strategic plan to ensure that they link the institution with Local Area Network (LAN).
Some Methodological Issues in Macroecology

Recent years have seen the emergence of “macroecology” as a distinct research program in biology. It is concerned with geographical scale patterns in assemblage structure and, as such, of necessity relies heavily on approaches that are nonexperimental and that depend on the availability of reliable information for large numbers of species. This gives rise to a particular set of analytical issues that need to be addressed when conducting studies of macroecological patterns. In this article, we draw attention to nine such issues that we consider to be of particular importance. Our aim is to aid the development of what we believe to be an important subject area by identifying some of the more common problems that may confound studies, as well as some of their solutions.
Millimeter wavelength imaging system based on Flat Parabolic Surface

In this study we will present ongoing research and development of millimeters wavelength (MMW) imaging system based on Flat Parabolic Surface (FLAPS). The conventional reflector antennas used for MMW imaging systems are mechanically cumbersome, complicated for manufacturing and therefore are very expensive. In this study we propose to use FLAPS technology, instead of the conventional reflectors in MMW imaging systems. FLAPS are composing of metal patterns printed on dielectric substrate. In this work we will use copper patterns printed on FR4 substrate much like the common printed circuit boards (PCB's) used in the electronic industry. This will make the manufacturing process of MMW large aperture mirrors for imaging systems very cheap and light weight. Theory, metal patterns and simulation results will be presented in this work.