Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loss of the meca gene during storage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Northwestern Nigeria

Preservation of strains in a microbiology laboratory is of great importance for quality control, teaching, and research. Freezing is a very common method of preservation and storage of microorganisms. The evaluation of new diagnostic or in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility tests for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) requires well-defined strain collections. The study was aimed at determining whether loss of mecA gene in MRSA is related to the storage method. A total of 1692 non-duplicate S. aureus isolates were collected from different human clinical specimens at 8 different health institutions in Northwestern Nigeria from February, 2008 to April, 2010. All the isolates were screened for methicillin resistance using disc diffusion method (DDM), screen agar method (SAM) and latex agglutination techniques (PBP). Thereafter, the isolates were stored in 16% v/v glycerol broth at -80°C. In December, 2011, the isolates were retested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which was used to amplify both the S. aureus specific sequence gene andmecA gene of 100 isolates, with the amplicon size of 107 and 532 bp. The prevalence rate of MRSA on DDM, SAM, and PBP were 26.3, 24.2 and 25.0%, respectively. Surprisingly, themecA gene was lost in 95.0% of 100 MRSA isolates after 2 years of storage at −80°C with the Micro bank system (Pro-lab Diagnostics, Austin, Tex.). This study demonstrates thatmecA can be lost from MRSA strains stored at −80°C with the Micro bank system. This finding has important implications for the management of strain collections and is of use for all future biobanking projects. Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),mecA gene, storage, human, Northwestern Nigeria.
Bandwidth Efficient Summed Area Table Generation for CUDA

Summed area table allows filtering of arbitrary-width box regions for every pixel in constant time per pixel. This characteristic makes it beneficial in image processing applications where the sum or average of the surrounding pixel intensity is required. Although calculating the summed area table of an image data is primarily a memory bound job consisting of row or column-wise summation, previous works had to endure excessive access to the high latency global memory in order to exploit data parallelism. In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm for generating the summed area table in the GPGPU environment where the input is decomposed into square sub-images with intermediate data that are propagated between them. By doing so, the global memory access is almost halved compared to the previous methods making an efficient use of the available memory bandwidth. The results show a substantial increase in performance.
Two Views on Text Structure: Using Rhetorical Structure Theory and Register & Genre Theory in Improving Students' Academic Writing

Writers signal the structures of their texts not only on microand macro levels, but also through different aspects of semiosis (i.e. rhetorical structures and generic stages). Several studies have shown that the structures described in these terms agree considerably in certain genres of text and have argued why this might be the case (Taboada 2003; Gruber & Muntigl 2004). Little work, however, has so far been dedicated to the question as to why rhetorical and generic structures do not agree in some cases and what this says about the communicative quality of a text. This question is dealt with in the present paper. Based on a corpus of Austrian university students’ term papers, we firstly show how generic stages and rhetorical relations are signalled on the textual microlevel and then analyse a sample text in which these two structures differ considerably. We go on to show why this problem might have occurred and demonstrate how textual quality may be improved by changing this text in a way that makes generic and rhetorical structure correspond more closely.
The Effects of Intellectual Openness and Gender on Critical Thinking Processes in Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation.

This study examined how intellectual openness and gender affected the extent to which students engaged in dialectic critical discourse in computer-supported collaborative argumentation (CSCA). This study found: a) indications of differences in the number of personal rebuttals posted in reply to direct challenges between more versus less open students (ES = +0.33); b) significant differences in the number of rebuttals posted between males and females (ES = +0.66 ); c) significant differences in number of personal rebuttals posted between the less open versus more open students among the males (ES = +1.32), but not among the females (ES = -0.19); and d) no difference in the types of responses posted in reply to challenges between more open versus less open students. These findings illustrate how the effects of intellectual openness can be mediated by gender, or vice versa, how openness can potentially affect student performance in CSCA, and how process-oriented strategies can be used to analyze and structure discussions to promote critical discourse.
Genetic characterisation of the Blanca Andaluza goat based on microsatellite markers

This is a genetic characterisation of the Blanca Serrana Andaluza goat breed based on microsatellite markers. Fifty animals from five herds were typed with a set of 27 microsatellites proposed by the FAO and ISAG for biodiversity studies. Our results showed that this is an extremely endangered breed, though it still possesses a high level of genetic variability, as demonstrated by the values for the expected and observed mean heterozygosity (0.71 and 0.66, respectively). All microsatellites were polymorphic, showing a mean number of alleles of 8.22. The present situation of the breed indicates that most of the microsatellites (18) show a H-W equilibrium, and the Fis shows a low value (0.07), suggesting a good strategy in the conservation plan of the breed.
MEASUREMENTS OF DIFFUSE SKY EMISSION COMPONENTS IN HIGH GALACTIC LATITUDES AT 3.5 AND 4.9 μm USING DIRBE AND WISE DATA

Using all-sky maps obtained from the Cosmic Background Explorer/Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) at 3.5 and 4.9 μm, we present a reanalysis of diffuse sky emissions such as zodiacal light (ZL), diffuse Galactic light (DGL), integrated starlight (ISL), and isotropic residual emission including the extragalactic background light (EBL). Our new analysis, which includes an improved estimate of ISL using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer data, enabled us to find the DGL signal in a direct linear correlation between diffuse near-infrared and 100 μm emission at high Galactic latitudes ( ∣ b ∣ > 35 ° ? > ). At 3.5 μm, the high-latitude DGL result is comparable to the low-latitude value derived from the previous DIRBE analysis. In comparison with models of the DGL spectrum assuming a size distribution of dust grains composed of amorphous silicate, graphite, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), the measured DGL values at 3.5 and 4.9 μm constrain the mass fraction of PAH particles in the total dust species to be more than ∼2%. This was consistent with the results of Spitzer/IRAC toward the lower Galactic latitude regions. The derived residual emission of 8.9 ± 3.4 nWm−2 sr−1 at 3.5 μm is marginally consistent with the level of integrated galaxy light and the EBL constraints from the γ-ray observations. The residual emission at 4.9 μm is not significantly detected due to the large uncertainty in the ZL subtraction, the same as in previous studies. Combined with our reanalysis of the DIRBE data at 1.25 and 2.2 μm, the residual emission in the near-infrared exhibits the Rayleigh–Jeans spectrum.
Compensatory Mitigation for Streams Under the Clean Water Act: Reassessing Science and Redirecting Policy 1

Doyle, Martin W. and F. Douglas Shields, 2012. Compensatory Mitigation for Streams Under the Clean Water Act: Reassessing Science and Redirecting Policy. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 494‐509. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011. 00631.x
How to Measure the Psychological Contract? A Critical Criteria-Based Review of Measures

In this article we analyse the different ways in which psychological contracts are measured. On the basis of criteria for measurement and scale development psychological contract measurements are put to a test. The criteria are related to the way the measurement is developed and evaluated, and the specific conceptualisations of the content and evaluation of the psychological contract. Existing questionnaires to measure the psychological contract are evaluated. The use of psychological contract measurements of Freese and Schalk, Psycones, or Rousseau is recommended.
Synthesis and Electrocatalytical Application of Hybrid Pd/Metal Oxides/MWCNTs

The performance of Pd electrocatalysts for formic acid electrooxidation was improved by application of metal oxide-multiwall carbon nanotubes composites as a catalyst support. Hybrid oxides/MWCNTs were synthesized by two different methods: chemical reduction method and impregnation method. Pd based catalysts were synthesized by polyol method on the MWCNTs or oxide/MWCNTs composites. The In2O3 was deposited on MWCNTs by impregnation method (In2O3/MWCNTs-IM support) and in the presence of NaBH4 (In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4 support). The physical properties of the Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-IM, Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4, Pd/SnO2/MWCNTs, and Pd/MWCNTs catalysts were characterized and their electrocatalytical performance in formic acid oxidation was compared. During Pd deposition on In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4 support, InPd2 structure was formed as observed by XRD. The electrochemical tests indicate that the two Pd/ In2O3/MWCNTs electrocatalysts have higher electrocatalytic activity than those of Pd/SnO2/MWCNTs and Pd/MWCNTs. The best performance was observed for the catalyst obtained by In2O3 impregnation of MWCNTs denoted by Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-IM.
Gender Differences in the Outcome of Obesity Treatments and Weight Loss Maintenance - A Systematic Review

Obesity is one of the major health concerns of today. The aim of the study was to review existing literature comparing gender differences in Weight Loss (WL) and Weight Loss Maintenance (WLM). A systematic review of published studies (to November 2009) examining WL and WLM and provided results separated by gender was conducted. Two reviewers selected studies for inclusion, assessed quality, and extracted data. The database search identified 1072 references for screening and 229 were selected for possible inclusion. A search update in August 2011 identified an additional 186 references and 62 were selected for possible inclusion. Fifty-four studies were included. Seventeen studies included surgical WL procedures and 37 studies examined nonsurgical WL treatments. For both types of WL treatment, about half of the studies reported higher absolute WL in men whereas the other half of the studies reported no gender differences. The majority of the 12 studies on WLM reported no gender differences. Meta-analysis revealed higher relative weight loss in men compared to women. WL treatment outcome appears to be in favour of WL in men. More research attention should be paid to gender specifics regarding WL treatment and WLM.
Improving Skills Management using Objectives within a Multi-Agent System

Whatever the professional sector of activity, achievements are the results of dedicated processes and skill usage. If a project is successful, the knowledge an d know-how that have been used have to be capitalized for a po ssible use in other projects. However, this is a dynamic process. Skills are always evolving. The issue is how to improve the ma nagement of skills to make them more efficient over time. A new approach is proposed to address this problem. It is based on the management of objectives through a multi agent learning system where skills are represented as agents. Bein g autonomous entities, and having their own learning abilities, skills will enforce project efficiency, capitalizin g on past iterations. The key point of our approach is the ap propriate exploitation of past objectives to help the user id entifying the required skills for the new project.
GEOMATIC METHODOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF TEATRO MASSIMO IN PALERMO (ITALY)

Abstract. This work illustrates the use of geomatics techniques for the documentation of Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Italy), one of the most important and big in Italy and in Europe. The theatre is characterized by a very complex structure and is realized also using innovative solution, studied at the time of the project specifically for this building; for example, an original system was realized for a natural air-conditioning system of the auditorium. Due to his complexity, the documentation of the Teatro Massimo requires studying specific survey solutions for the different parts of the building. In this paper, some studies on two of the most representative parts of the building were described. In particular, a 3D survey of the auditorium was carried out to obtain a first 3D model of the most important internal part; a very accurate monitoring of structure inside the dome of the theatre was also carried out. The survey of the auditorium was realized by a Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), that has allowed the creation of a digital archive of point clouds, showing, however, the some level of criticality due to the complex shapes of building and of architectural details. The work has highlighted that specific strategy to optimize the number of acquisitions needed for the complete documentation of the auditorium. The monitoring of the structure inside the dome was carried out by topographic and photogrammetric techniques. The monitoring was aimed at measuring the displacements of the support devices connecting the iron structure of the dome. The monitoring has allowed to understand and to test the proper functionality of this complex system. Some tests were carried out also by a thermal camera to correlate the displacements of the support devices with the dilatations produced by steel thermal gradients.
IMPROVING THE OPERATION OF ELECTROWETTING-BASED DIGITAL MICRO- FLUIDIC SYSTEMS BY USING WATER-OIL CORE- SHELL DROPLETS

In electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD)-based digital microfluidic devices, discrete droplets are typically transported either directly in air or in an immiscible fluid such as silicone oil. We propose herein an alternative mode of operation in which the droplets are enclosed in a thin oil shell. We show that such water-oil core-shell droplets offer several key advantages. Specifically, this mode of operation not only reduces the voltage required by the devices but also leads to higher transport velocities when compared with the manipulation of droplets directly in air or oil.
Pragmatics and rhetoric for discourse analysis: some conceptual remarks

This paper focuses on discourse analysis, particularly persuasive discourse, using pragmatics and rhetoric in a new combined way, called by us PragmaRhetoric. It can be said that this is a cognitive approach to both pragmatics and rhetoric. Pragmatics is essentially Gricean, Rhetoric comes from a new reading of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, extending his notion of discourse to meso- and micro-discourses. Two kinds of intentions have to be considered: first, communicative intention, and, then, persuasive intention. The fulfilment of those intentions is achieved by a successful persuasive-communicative action. The psychological, philosophical and logical aspects derived from the pragma-rhetorical perspective are crucial in view of its applications in several practical domains.
Parental Absence, Remittances and Educational Investment in Children Left Behind: Evidence from Nepal

This study investigates the causal impact of work-related migration of parents on left behind children's education and investment on schooling. To isolate the direct impact of parental absence, we estimate the effects of parental migration and remittances separately. Using third round of Nepal Living Standard Survey and applying a two-step process to address self-selection into the migration statuses and correct for endogeneity into remittances, we find negative effect of parental absence and positive effect of remittances on education of children left behind. To further explore the heterogeneous impact of parental migration, we extend our analysis allowing the heterogeneity by educational status of mother. We find that the children of educated mother bear relatively less burden from parental migration. Furthermore, we find some evidence for heterogeneous effects of parental migration by child's gender and age.
Visual working memory is enhanced by mixed strategy use and semantic coding

Visual working memory is enhanced by processes related to verbalisation. However, the mechanism underlying this enhancement is unclear. Experiment 1 investigated the potential contribution of the phonological loop of working memory, by assessing the effects of articulatory suppression on two versions of the Visual Patterns Test—one low and one high in availability of verbal coding. The lack of interaction suggested that the phonological loop is not responsible; however, active use of combined verbal and visual strategies, as well as activated semantic knowledge, both appear to be related to increased capacity. Experiment 2 assessed the role of central executive resources. Because central executive suppression removed the benefit of the high verbal coding task version, central executive resources, assumed to relate to the temporary maintenance of multimodal codes in the episodic buffer, appear to underlie the benefit associated with verbalisation.
Genetic characterization of grape varieties in Armenia

Historically, grapes have been an important crop in Armenia. The world‘s earliest known wine-making facility has been discovered in Armenia during excavation of Areni-1 cave between 2007-2010, and analysis has confirmed the discovery of the oldest complete wine production facility ever discovered dated between 6,000 B.C. and 8,000 B.C. Having thousands of years history, Armenian native grape varieties are characterized with high genetic diversity and variability. The study has evaluated the genetic diversity of the Armenian grapevine cultivars within the Vitis collection of the Scientific Center of Fruit Growing, Viticulture and Wine-making (Merdzavan, Armenia) and analysed the relationships of this genetic pool with the international varieties registered in European Vitis Database. The analysis of 59 accessions of grapevines from Armenia at 23 microsatellite markers generated 336 alleles. The most informative locus turned out to be VVS2 (21 alleles, PI = 0.016). Twelve cases of identical genotypes and five cases of homonymy among studied genotypes were identified. The genetic profiles of 28 accessions were unique. Most of them belonged to autochthonous varieties. Genetic analyses tools are highly contributing to the identification and inventory of existing grape varieties. The data generated proves the importance of molecular characterization of grapevines in Armenia especially old ones to support effective preservation of rich diversity of Armenian grape varieties and clones.
Thermo-Physical Properties of Local Materials Used in the Construction of Chad

As earth is the most commonly used construction material in Chad, the purpose of the present study is to characterize it as a whole, and to characterize its thermo physical properties. Various tests were conducted on it and mainly on its thermo-physical characteristics, as these significantly affect the comfort of a house. The study focused on earth taken from a climate zone of Chad, mixed with straw at a given proportion or used alone. Different values of thermal conductivity and diffusivity of these materials as well as their variations in relation with water continence are presented.
Homogeneidad confesional en tiempos de pluralismo religioso: Una encuesta cualitativa con jóvenes españoles sobre religión y educación

La educacion religiosa es un tema candente, polemico y recurrente en la Espana actual. Sin embargo, sorprendentemente y a diferencia de otros contextos europeos, al destinatario final y supuesto beneficiario de esta educacion, la juventud espanola, nunca se le ha preguntado por su vision, su parecer, sus opiniones sobre la religion o sobre el aprendizaje de esta en la escuela. El subsiguiente analisis, que parte de los datos de encuestas cualitativas disenadas y aplicadas en el marco del proyecto comparativo REDCo, representa un primer acercamiento, todavia exploratorio, a las actitudes de la juventud hacia la educacion religiosa y sus experiencias con esta. Como se ilustra en detalle en este articulo, las visiones de los alumnos captadas en diferentes ciudades espanolas, jovenes que son de origen cristiano catolico, musulman (nativos e inmigrantes) y con otras cosmovisiones religiosas o no religiosas, reflejan a menudo los actuales debates que sobre la religion se reproducen tanto en la escuela como fuera de ella: diferentes y/o opuestas posturas sobre la educacion religiosa se discuten acaloradamente casi a diario, en la vida politica y en los medios de comunicacion espanoles en concreto, y por parte de la sociedad civil (madres, padres, etc.) en general. Abstract Religious education is a persistently “hot topic” in the contemporary Spain. Astonishingly, however, the ultimate target and supposed beneficiary of religious education, Spanish youth, are very rarely consulted about their views, opinions and perceptions on religion or learning about religion at school. The views reported in different Spanish cities by Christian Catholic, Muslim and non-religious young people, who are from both native and immigrant backgrounds, often reflect the current debate. Different and opposing positions regarding religious education are livelily discussed on a nearly daily basis in Spanish mass media and politics. The following analysis of a qualitative questionnaire with data designed and collected in the frame of the comparative REDCo project, presents an approach to youngsters’ attitudes and experiences with confessional religious education. Recibido: 22 de junio de 2010 Aceptado: 4 de febrero de 2011
Entrepreneurial cognition: how to make sense of self-efficacy

Entrepreneurship is gaining more and more popularity among professionals and researchers nowadays. Nevertheless little remains known about the knowledge structures entrepreneurs use to make decisions or assessments regarding entrepreneurial opportunity developments. This paper aims to uncover possible factors affecting the opportunity development of entrepreneurs using the concepts self-efficacy and sense breaking. The study does so by firstly studying literature for evidence indicating possible relations between the core concepts. Secondly 35 entrepreneurs conducting business start up activities were studied using qualitative and quantitative measures, hereby the self-efficacy and sense breaking of entrepreneurs is measured as well as the development of opportunities. Thirdly the measured concepts were tested for independence and direction, with self-efficacy as the independent variable, sense breaking as a mediating variable and opportunity development as the dependent variable. Strong associations were found in the study between the sense breaking of entrepreneurs and opportunity developments, meaning if an entrepreneur has an elevated state of sense breaking its opportunities will have increased development. Also a weak relation between the self-efficacy and sense breaking of entrepreneurs was found, suggesting that both studied concepts either directly or indirectly influence the development of opportunities by entrepreneurs.