Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal and spatial distribution of the variants of merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) in Plasmodium falciparum populations in Brazil

The polymorphic, merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) of Plasmodium falciparum, an antigen of the parasite's asexual blood-stages, is a major malaria-vaccine candidate. Nucleotide sequences of each variable domain or block of this antigen may be grouped into one of three possible allelic types (K1, MAD20 and RO33), and 24 major types of the msp-1 gene may be defined, as unique combinations of allelic types in these variable blocks. Isolates collected from the Brazilian Amazon, over a period of 14 years, have now been investigated, by PCR-based typing of the msp-1 gene. Thirteen of the 24 possible gene-types were identified, and 336 P. falciparum clones were fully typed among 239 isolates. Most parasites (87%) belonged to one of the seven most frequent gene-types. Marked temporal variation in the distribution of msp-1 variants was found when comparing parasites sampled in the same sites at intervals of at least 5 years. Spatial variations were also found when comparing parasites from both neighbouring and distant sites within the Amazon Basin. The between-population variance in the frequencies of msp-1 allelic types found in Brazil, as estimated by Wright's FST statistic, is of similar magnitude to that found in previous world-wide comparisons. The potential implications of these findings for the development of an MSP-1-based, multivalent malaria vaccine are discussed.
Association of online patient access to clinicians and medical records with use of clinical services.

CONTEXT Prior studies suggest that providing patients with online access to health records and e-mail communication with physicians may substitute for traditional health care services. OBJECTIVE To assess health care utilization by both users and nonusers of online access to health records before and after initiation of MyHealthManager (MHM), a patient online access system. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective cohort study of the use of health care services by members (≥18 years old) who were continuously enrolled for at least 24 months during the study period March 2005 through June 2010 in Kaiser Permanente Colorado, a group model, integrated health care delivery system. Propensity scores (using age, sex, utilization frequencies, and chronic illnesses) were used for cohort matching. Unadjusted utilization rates were calculated for both MHM users and nonusers and were the basis for difference-of-differences analyses. We also used generalized estimating equations to compare the adjusted rates of utilization of health care services before and after online access. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Rates of office visits, telephone encounters, after-hours clinic visits, emergency department encounters, and hospitalizations between members with and without online access. RESULTS Comparing the unadjusted rates for use of clinical services before and after the index date between the matched cohorts, there was a significant increase in the per-member rates of office visits (0.7 per member per year; 95% CI, 0.6-0.7; P < .001) and telephone encounters (0.3 per member per year; 95% CI, 0.2-0.3; P < .001). There was also a significant increase in per-1000-member rates of after-hours clinic visits (18.7 per 1000 members per year; 95% CI, 12.8-24.3; P < .001), emergency department encounters (11.2 per 1000 members per year; 95% CI, 2.6-19.7; P = .01), and hospitalizations (19.9 per 1000 members per year; 95% CI, 14.6-25.3; P < .001) for MHM users vs nonusers. CONCLUSION Having online access to medical records and clinicians was associated with increased use of clinical services compared with group members who did not have online access.
A Model of Involuntary Unemployment and Wage Rigidity: Worker Incentives and the Threat of Dismissal

This paper analyzes a model that highlights imperfect monitoring and the threat of dismissal as microeconomic underpinnings for the efficiency-wage hypothesis. My major innovation is to allow the rules for dismissal as well as the wage to be determined endogenously as the equilibrium of a Stackelberg game played between firms and workers. The key results are as follows. A nontrivial equilibrium (where positive output is produced) must involve involuntary unemployment in that employed workers are strictly better off than are the unemployed. In addition, the equilibrium wage is rigid with respect to exogenous shifts in productivity.
Adaptive static scheduling in IEEE 802.15.4 TSCH networks

TSCH (Time-Slotted Channel Hopping) is a synchronous MAC (Medium Access Control) protocol, introduced with the recent amendments to the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard. Due to its channel hopping nature, TSCH is a promising enabling technology for dependable IoT (Internet of Things) infrastructures that are deployed in environments that are prone to interference. In TSCH, medium access is orchestrated by a schedule that is distributed to all the nodes in the network. In this paper, we propose Adaptive Static Scheduling to improve the energy efficiency of TSCH networks. Adaptive Static Scheduling builds on top of static schedules and allows each pair of communicating nodes to adaptively activate a subset of their allocated slots, effectively reducing the idle listening overhead of unused slots. Moreover, the nodes can dynamically activate more slots when they need to support bursts of high traffic, without the need of redistributing new schedules. Simulation results demonstrate that Adaptive Static Scheduling outperforms static scheduling in dynamic environments, operating nearly as efficiently as an oracle with knowledge of the optimal schedule.
Developmental Properties of the Hertwig’s Epithelial Root Sheath in Mice

Hertwig’s epithelial root sheath (HERS) plays an important role in tooth root formation. In this study, we examined root formation of the first molar in mice, focusing on cell proliferation, cell death, cell migration, and the expression patterns of the signaling molecules, including glycoproteins and proteoglycans between PN8 and PN26. The number of HERS cells decreased during root formation, although HERS retained total length until PN15. The migration of HERS cells did not occur during root formation. Moreover, the immunopositive reaction of laminin beta-3 and syndecan-1 in HERS indicates that both cell adhesion and cell proliferation are essential for HERS development. Bmp-2, Bmp-4, and Msx-2 were expressed in HERS cells during root formation. We also developed an in vitro culture system for investigating the periodontium and suggest that this system provides an excellent vehicle for full exploration, and hence improved understanding, of the development and regeneration of the periodontium. Together, our results provide a comprehensive model describing the morphogenesis of early root development in vertebrates.
Energy Crops: Stakeholder Identification and Analysis - A Case of Belarus

Belarus is subject to serious energy security issues due to limited domestic energy resources; a low diversity in the national energy profile, significant depreciation of capital assets in the Belarusian energy system, a high share of energy resources import, and a dominating dependence on one energy importer The Russian Federation. In response to these issues the country is very interested in diversifying its energy profile, development of non-conventional renewable energy types and increasing the share of local energy resources. Introduction of short rotation willow crops is one strategy under examination. When willow is grown for energy purposes, it has the potential not only to contribute to the energy security enhancement, but also yield co-benefits in economic, environmental and social terms. Currently energy crops based energy is in the stage of early development. Development of this energy option depends on a range of stakeholders, as well as economic and legislative settings. This work involves the identification of stakeholders in relation to short rotation willow crops (on any stage of their life cycle including cultivation and utilization of biomass), and then their interviewing in order to depict their interests, perception of other stakeholders, and existing coordination between them. All stakeholders identified are analyzed then in terms of attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency for defining those stakeholders that influence the development of short rotation willow crops most. The research reveals the general interest in the development of this energy option on the side of the national government, but low current interest on the side of most stakeholders. Moreover, there is a weak interaction between stakeholders, a factor that is held in this work to be mainly attributed to limited knowledge and experience on this technology. However, the current economic and legislative settings do contain tools for stimulation of renewable energy development, inclusive of energy crops. Such items include reduced environmental tax and indexed tariffs for bioenergy that will provide financial incentives and the coming law on nonconventional and renewable energy that will provide for stimulation tools for renewable energy.
Realization of Conformal Phosphor Coating by Ionic Wind Patterning for Phosphor-Converted White LEDs

Conformal phosphor coating is one of the most attractive phosphor layer arrangements for white light-emitting diodes (wLEDs) due to its excellent angular color uniformity (ACU). In this letter, conformal phosphor coating was realized by ionic wind patterning. WLEDs with different average correlated color temperatures (CCTs) were fabricated successfully through adjusting the thicknesses of phosphor layers. The enhancement effects on the light efficiency (LE) and ACU are demonstrated by experiments. Results indicate that compared with the conventional dispensing coating method, the proposed method improves the optical performances significantly. The LE is enhanced from 0.3253 to 0.3287 (1%) at 250 mA and 0.2591 to 0.2719 (5%) at 450 mA. The angular CCT deviations at 350 mA are reduced from 772 to 220 K, 1630 to 488 K, 2420 to 880 K, and 2845 to 1755 K, when the averaged CCTs are about 4500, 5500, 6500, and 8000 K, respectively.
A monolithically integrated 1-Gb/s optical receiver in 1-μm CMOS technology

Results of a monolithically integrated Si optical receiver for applications in optical data transmission and in optical interconnects with wavelengths of 638 and 850 nm are presented. The optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) implementing a vertical p-type-intrinsic-n-type photodiode achieves a data rate of 1 Gb/s for 638 nm with a sensitivity of -15.4 dBm at a bit-error rate of 10/sup -9/. The sensitivity of this OEIC in a 1.0-/spl mu/m CMOS technology is improved by at least a factor of four compared to that of published submicrometer OEICs. A 25-THz. /spl Omega/ effective transimpedance bandwidth product of the implemented amplifier is achieved.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae Survival during Primary Human Cervical Epithelial Cell Infection Requires Nitric Oxide and Is Augmented by Progesterone

ABSTRACT Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an obligate human pathogen that causes gonorrhea. We have shown previously that complement receptor 3 and Akt kinase play important roles in mediating cervical infection. At present, there are limited data to indicate how hormonally induced changes to the mucosal epithelia of the female genital tract mediate the course of gonococcal disease. Hence, I have expanded upon previous work to investigate the interaction of gonococci with primary human cervical epithelial (pex) cells under the variable estrogen and progesterone concentrations likely to be encountered in vivo throughout the female menstrual cycle. My data indicated that the ability of gonococci to survive and to replicate within pex cells was increased under progesterone-predominant conditions. Using bacterial survival, immunological, and kinase assays, I show that progesterone functioned in an additive manner with gonococcal phospholipase D to augment Akt kinase activity. This, in turn, resulted in a parallel increase in nitric oxide synthase expression. Nitric oxide production by pex cells was dependent upon Akt activity and was increased under progesterone-predominant conditions. Whereas both inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase contributed to nitric oxide production, only inducible nitric oxide synthase activity promoted gonococcal survival within pex cells. Collectively, these data provide the first clues as to how steroid hormones potentially modulate the course of gonococcal disease in women. In addition, these data demonstrate that host-derived nitric oxide likely is not protective against gonococci, in vivo; rather, nitric oxide may be required to sustain cervical bacterial disease.
Activity of a combination of three cinchona bark alkaloids against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro

In vitro studies with quinine, quinidine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine showed that despite a similarity of chemical structure, the effectiveness of these cinchona bark alkaloids against several culture lines of Plasmodium falciparum varied widely. Depending on the strain tested, quinidine and cinchonine were 1 to 10 and 1 to 5 times, respectively, more active than quinine. A combination made of equal parts of quinine, quinidine, and cinchonine was found to have several interesting features; it had activity similar to that of quinine against quinine-susceptible strains but was found to be 2 to 10 times more effective against strains resistant to quinine and had a more consistent effect than any of the alkaloids used singly. The potentiation was found to depend mainly on the presence of cinchonine in the mixtures studied. Synergism was also confirmed in a study of 25 P. falciparum strains isolated from Thai patients. Combinations of cinchona bark alkaloids could thus be of interest in areas where P. falciparum is becoming less susceptible to quinine.
One Question, Two Answers Mixed Findings of Information Technology Capability and Firm Performance and Their Implications

This study conducted a conceptual replication on Chae et al. (2014) by utilizing multiple comparison groups of IT leading firms. Empirical testing for the positive association between information technology (IT) capability and firm performance has been a celebrated debate in IS research due to mixed findings; Bharadwaj (2000) and Santhanam and Hartono (2003) confirmed the positive impact of IT capability on firm performance, but Chae et al. (2014) suggested no relationship between the IT capability and performance. Understanding what produces contradictory results is a timely and critical issue because a large body of the business value of IS research has employed IT capability as a key construct. Whereas Chae et al. (2014) investigated the link between IT capability and firm performance by comparing the performance of an IT leader and that of a single matched group from 2001-2004, this study examined the relationship by building multiple comparison groups, which include all firms in the same industry. As a result, contrary to findings by Chae et al. (2014), this research indicated that IT capability has a significant impact on a firm’s financial performance.
Ultrasonography-guided transvaginal endometrial biopsy: a useful technique in patients with cervical stenosis.

BACKGROUND In patients with failed dilatation and curettage due to stenotic cervix, options for endometrial sampling are limited. We propose the ultrasonography-guided transvaginal endometrial biopsy. CASES Two postmenopausal women presented with bleeding and failed dilatation and curettage due to a stenotic cervix. Under direct transvaginal ultrasound guidance, a 20-gauge needle was inserted through the vaginal vault and anterior uterine wall into the endometrium. The endometrium was aspirated, and specimen was submitted to cytology. One patient had endometrial adenocarcinoma and underwent a staging procedure. The other patient had a benign cytology and was followed up clinically. CONCLUSION The ultrasonography-guided endometrial biopsy is a viable option for endometrial sampling in the presence of stenotic cervix.
ANALISIS POTENSI PENGEMBANGAN USAHA PETERNAKAN SAPI PERAH DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN PARADIGMA AGRIBISNIS DI KECAMATAN MUSUK KABUPATEN BOYOLALI

Population enhancement of dairy cattle could be done in a region supported by potential of its own region for the development of dairy cattle. The potencies of the region for dairy cattle enhancement could be done through provide feed availability, human resource knowledge, milk demand, income of the farmer, market infrastructure, loan institution role and local government policies. The purpose of this research was to determine the condition of the dairy farm in sub system of agribusiness in district of Musuk, and the factors that affecting the income of dairy farmers. Twenty villages in Boyolali regency were choosen as survey location. The respondents were chosen by random sampling method, with 6 respondents each village. There were 120 farmers of dairy cattle farmers were chosen in this research. Observation and direct interview methods were used to collect the data. Result of the research showed that income average of the farmers was Rp228.991,27/AU/month. Value of eficiency R/C Ratio was 1.28. Analysis of linear regression showed that age of farmer, total milk production and cost of feed significantly influence the income of dairy farmer. LQ value of dairy catlle population was 10.67 and LQ value of forage was 1.075. Analysis of SWOT showed that total score for internal external factors were 3.15 and 3.18. The result showed that dairy cattle have a potential to be developed in Musuk subdistrict. (Keywords: Dairy cattle, Sustainability paradigm, Income, SWOT, LQ)
Chaotic Learning Equilibria

Chaotic temporary equilibrium trajectories under least squares learning are shown to exist in a standard version of the overlapping generations model. Theses trajectories show forecast errors that never vanish. Thus we do not find convergence to an equilibrium, in which agents have perfect foresight. Complex trajectories can even be found in the case of savings functions, which are monotonically decreasing in the expected gross rate of inflation. In this case no cyclical or chaotic trajectories with perfect foresight exist. Thus learning alone is a source of chaotic dynamic. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D83, D84.
Influence of interactivity on emotions and enjoyment during consumption of audiovisual fictions

The effect of interactivity, content and type of instructions on emotions and enjoyment in audiovisual fictions was observed in order to obtain data on interactive entertainment 310 university students were randomly assigned to one of six experimental situations, combining: modality of consumption (interactive or noninteractive), content (happy or sad ending) and type of instructions (operative or affective). Then, all subjects were asked about the emotions, enjoyment and gratification they experienced while watching the film. Main results show the existence of differences in some emotions depending on the modality of film perception. The interactive modality produces higher levels of interest, surprise and guilt compared to the conventional modality. Besides, the analysis shows that interactivity, in itself, does not affect enjoyment. These and other findings are discussed in relation to media entertainment.
Game of Sketches: Deep Recurrent Models of Pictionary-style Word Guessing

The ability of machine-based agents to play games in human-like fashion is considered a benchmark of progress in AI. In this paper, we introduce the first computational model aimed at Pictionary, the popular word-guessing social game. We first introduce Sketch-QA, an elementary version of Visual Question Answering task. Styled after Pictionary, Sketch-QA uses incrementally accumulated sketch stroke sequences as visual data. Notably, Sketch-QA involves asking a fixed question ("What object is being drawn? ") and gathering open-ended guess-words from human guessers. To mimic Pictionary-style guessing, we propose a deep neural model which generates guess-words in response to temporally evolving human-drawn sketches. Our model even makes human-like mistakes while guessing, thus amplifying the human mimicry factor. We evaluate our model on the large-scale guess-word dataset generated via Sketch-QA task and compare with various baselines. We also conduct a Visual Turing Test to obtain human impressions of the guess-words generated by humans and our model. Experimental results demonstrate the promise of our approach for Pictionary and similarly themed games.
The Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm’s Performance: Evidence from Ethiopian Insurance Companies

The issue of corporate governance has long been ignored in developing economies like Ethiopia. This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the performance of Ethiopian insurance Companies using a panel data model for the period covering from 2009 to 2013.Both descriptive and regression analyses were conducted on the selected samples of 10 insurance companies out of 15 operating in the market. The findings from the study indicated that board meeting and board compensation had statistically significant positive impact on return on equity (ROE) of the Ethiopian insurance Industry. But the results failed to show any significant impact of board size, audit committee, and gender diversity on the proxy of companies’ performance. Moreover, the Size of the companies had a significant positive impact on ROE. Hence, the study recommends that efforts to improve the corporate governance system of insurance companies in Ethiopia should focus on the number of meetings to be held by directors, the level of board compensation, as well as on the size of firms, and these in turn improve the performance of the insurance companies. Finally, the study also recommends the participation of all stakeholders in the industry at the time of developing the governance system of these companies. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Performance,
Can Socially Responsible Firms Survive Competition? An Analysis of Corporate Employee Matching Grant Schemes

Employee matching grant schemes are coordination mechanisms that reduce free-riding by socially conscious employee-donors. Matching schemes coupled with lower take-home pay than offered by non-matching firms will survive capital and labor market competition if employee type is not observable and socially conscious employees are more productive or value working together. Matching can enhance employee welfare and raise more for charity without reducing profits. We document that matching firms have higher labor productivity and are more likely to be ranked as one of the “100 Best” employers. The result is robust to managerial entrenchment concerns and is not confined to the high-tech sector.