Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Leptospira spp. isolated from environmental, human and animal sources in Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with worldwide distribution caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. The aim of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of isolates obtained from different hosts. A total of 65 Leptospira isolates from humans (n = 1), zoonoses (rat, n = 60; dog, n = 1; swine, n = 1) and environment (n = 2) were tested against six antibiotics. All the isolates were resistant to trimethoprim and sulphamethoxazole and had high MIC toward chloramphenicol (MIC90: 6.25 μg/ml). All except one environment isolate were sensitive to ampicillin, doxycycline and penicillin G.
Farmers’ Strategies for Adapting to and Mitigating Climate Variability and Change through Agroforestry in Ethiopia and Kenya

I would like to thank the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, for providing funds through the USAID Linkage Project to initiate collaborative research, student and faculty exchange, and the exchange of scientific information between Oregon State University and the World Agroforestry Center. Also, Oregon State University, the Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia, the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (IBC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Probing the integrin-actin linkage using high-resolution protein velocity mapping

Cell migration is regulated in part by the connection between the substratum and the actin cytoskeleton. However, the very large number of proteins involved in this linkage and their complex network of interactions make it difficult to assess their role in cell migration. We apply a novel image analysis tool, spatio-temporal image correlation spectroscopy (STICS), to quantify the directed movements of adhesion-related proteins and actin in protrusions of migrating cells. The STICS technique reveals protein dynamics even when protein densities are very low or very high, and works in the presence of large, static molecular complexes. Detailed protein velocity maps for actin and the adhesion-related proteins α-actinin, α5-integrin, talin, paxillin, vinculin and focal adhesion kinase are presented. The data show that there are differences in the efficiency of the linkage between integrin and actin among different cell types and on the same cell type grown on different substrate densities. We identify potential mechanisms that regulate efficiency of the linkage, or clutch, and identify two likely points of disconnect, one at the integrin and the other at α-actinin or actin. The data suggests that the efficiency of the linkage increases as actin and adhesions become more organized showing the importance of factors that regulate the efficiency in adhesion signaling and dynamics.
Eyeglasses-free display

Millions of people worldwide need glasses or contact lenses to see or read properly. We introduce a computational display technology that predistorts the presented content for an observer, so that the target image is perceived without the need for eyewear. By designing optics in concert with prefiltering algorithms, the proposed display architecture achieves significantly higher resolution and contrast than prior approaches to vision-correcting image display. We demonstrate that inexpensive light field displays driven by efficient implementations of 4D prefiltering algorithms can produce the desired vision-corrected imagery, even for higher-order aberrations that are difficult to be corrected with glasses. The proposed computational display architecture is evaluated in simulation and with a low-cost prototype device.
Corporate social responsibility disclosure and corporate reputation in developing countries: the case of Libya

This paper uses stakeholder theory to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and corporate reputation (CR) using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper was undertaken in Libya, because Libya has an important standing in the world economy as well as a different political and economic system (Wallace & Wilkinson 2004). Moreover, it is a particularly interesting country, as socialist and Islamic factors have impacted on the nature of CSRD. As a result, the level of CSRD has increased in Libya since 2000 due to pressures from stakeholders for information which may influence organisational performance for Libyan companies (Pratten & Mashat 2009). The quantitative data used to measure level of CSRD consists of 110 annual reports of 40 Libyan companies and 149 questionnaires collected from managers and employees to measure corporate reputation. In the qualitative data, thirty one financial managers and information managers express their perception about the relationship between CSRD and corporate reputation. The results confirm that a high level of CSRD is strongly associated with company reputation for stakeholder groups.
Assessing Component Language Deficits in the Early Detection of Reading Difficulty Risk

This article focuses on some of the linguistic components that underlie letter-sound decoding skills and reading comprehension: specifically phonology, morphology, and syntax. Many children who have reading difficulties had language deficits that were detectable before they began reading. Early identification of language difficulties will therefore help identify children at risk of reading failure. Using a developmental psycholinguistic framework, the authors provide a model of how syntax, morphology, and phonology break down in children with language impairments. The article reports on a screening test of these language abilities for preschool or young school-aged children that identifies those at risk for literacy problems and in need of further assessment.
Some Tractable Combinatorial Auctions

Auctions are the most widely used strategic gametheoretic mechanism in the Internet. Auctions have been mostly studied from a game-theoretic and economic perspective, although recent work in AI and OR has been concerned with computational aspects of auctions as well. When faced from a computational perspective, combinatorial auctions are perhaps the most challenging type of auctions. Combinatorial auctions are auctions where agents may submit bids for bundles of goods. Given that nding an optimal allocation of the goods in a combinatorial auction is intractable, researchers have been concerned with exposing tractable instances of combinatorial auctions. In this work we introduce polynomial solutions for a variety of non-trivial combinatorial auctions, such as combinatorial network auctions, various sub-additive combinatorial auctions, and some restricted forms of multi-unit combinatorial auctions.
A Geometric Model of the Normal Human Aortic Root and Design of a Fully Anatomic Aortic Root Graft

Objective Available aortic root grafts generally flare outward in the sinus region, and this feature improves procedural ease. However, no current device is based on normal aortic root geometry, and a fully anatomic aortic root graft could further facilitate valve-sparing root operations. Methods To develop a model of the normal human aortic root, high-resolution computed tomographic angiogram images from 11 normal human aortas generated high-density x, y, z coordinates of valve and root structures in Mathematica. Three-dimensional least-squares regression analyses assessed geometry of the aortic valve and root. Shapes and dimensions were quantified, and minor variations in geometry were simplified during graft design. Results Normal aortic valve and root geometry was represented as three leaflet-sinus general ellipsoids nested within a cylindrical aorta. Sinotubular junction diameter was 5 mm larger than the valve base—with a slight funnel-shaped outward commissural flare but cylindrical geometry above the midvalve. The valve base was elliptical, but the midvalve and the sinotubular junction were circular above the midvalve level. Commissural locations on the base circumference were equidistant. On the basis of average three-dimensional geometry, a root graft was designed for root remodeling procedures—to be used with an internal geometric annuloplasty ring of the same design. Conclusions An aortic root graft was designed on the basis of mathematical analyses of computed tomographic angiogram images. The design incorporated three anatomic sinuses, commissural symmetry, and compatibility with geometric ring annuloplasty. The anatomic graft may prove useful for restoring aortic root geometry toward normal during aortic valve and root surgery.
On Cross-Cultural Comparative Studies with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

By means of pseudorandom procedures factor similarity indices are computed that come close in numerical values to those taken by H. J. Eysenck and associates as sufficient evidence for metric identity of EPQ scales across cultures. It is argued that considerable bias in the results by no means can be ruled out and that intercultural comparison of mean scores obtained on EPQ scales is unwarranted.
Strength and Cross-Sectional Areas of Reciprocal Muscle Groups in the Upper Arm and Thigh During Adolescence

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development in muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and strength capability of the reciprocal muscle groups in the upper arm and thigh. Subjects were 130 boys aged 7 to 18 years; 7-9 yr aged-group (n = 30), 10-12 yr (n = 30), 13-15 yr (n = 35), and 16-18 yr (n = 35). Anatomical CSAs of elbow flexors (EF), elbow extensors (EE), knee flexors (KF) and knee extensors (KE) were determined with a B-mode ultrasound apparatus. Isokinetic strength during elbow or knee extension as well as elbow or knee flexion was measured by using a Cybex II isokinetic dynamometer at the pre-set constant velocity of 60 degrees/s. The effect of age associated with a significant increase in both CSA and strength with a marked increase in 13-15 yr. The elder aged-groups had a significantly higher ratio of strength to muscle CSA than in the lower aged-groups. The effect of age on EF/EE CSA ratio was not significant, but EF/EE strength ratio was the highest in 16-18 yr and the lowest in 7-9 yr. With advancing age, KF/KE CSA ratio had a tendency to increase, but KF/KE strength ratio remained almost unchanged. These results indicate that (1) children in the pre-puberty or the early stage of puberty do not develop strength in proportion to their muscle CSA, and (2) the flexors and extensors in limbs have reciprocally different growth rates in either CSA or strength even in the same region.
Indigenous and Immigrant Students in Transition to Higher Education and Perceptions of Parental Influence: A Bourdieusian Perspective

This article aims to compare and contrast the perceptions of parental influence of indigenous middle-class students and immigrant students in Cyprus, and to investigate how their family's capital mediates students' educational choices for studies in higher education. This study draws on interview data with two students and their parents and discusses the findings from a Bourdieusian theoretical perspective. It was noted in the data that indigenous middle-class students have a ‘feel for the game’ when they come to make their choices for future studies in higher education. Indigenous middle-class students often ‘misrecognise’ parental influence on their educational choices; this is conceptualised as a form of symbolic violence after Bourdieu. On the contrary, immigrant students explicitly refer to their parents' influence on their educational choices and they usually mention the devaluation of their parents' cultural capital. Arguably, while immigrant students try to adapt their habitus to the new educational field, they become more conscious of their parents' influence on their educational choices. This finding is interpreted as a reflexive process of the ‘hysteresis effect’ (after Bourdieu) which immigrant families are experiencing. It is argued that social inequalities are still experienced by immigrant students in transition to higher education and this is interpreted drawing on Bourdieu's theory.
Use of Verification Techniques for Components Testing

In this paper, we report about the use of the model checker SPIN to generate test cases. We have adapted the SPIN tool for automatically generating test cases for an embedded component. The generation of the latter is based on the counter-example generation mechanism of SPIN. For that purpose, we have implemented inside SPIN our test generation algorithm that allows to generate a test case for each test objective to be covered. The strategy of our algorithm permits to manage the state space explosion in combination with the efficient existing algorithms of SPIN to handle large state spaces. We define in this paper how we characterize the behavior of the embedded component. Given a PROMELA model of the complete specification, i.e with the component, our method helps to generate efficiently tests from a test purpose written in Propositional Linear Temporal Logic Formulas. Finally, we exercise our prototype on a case study and obtain first promising results.
Successful use of feedback to improve antibiotic prescribing and reduce Clostridium difficile infection: a controlled interrupted time series.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of reinforcing a narrow-spectrum antibiotic policy on antibiotic prescription and Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) rates by feedback of antibiotic use to doctors, as part of a departmental audit and feedback programme. DESIGN A prospective controlled interrupted time-series (ITS) study, with pre-defined pre- and post-intervention periods, each of 21 months. SETTING Three acute medical wards for elderly people in a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS Six thousand one hundred and twenty-nine consecutive unselected acute medical admissions aged >or=80 years. INTERVENTIONS A 'narrow-spectrum' antibiotic policy (reinforced by an established programme of audit and feedback of antibiotic usage and CDI rates) was introduced, following an unplanned rise in amoxicillin/clavulanate (Augmentin) use. It targeted broad-spectrum antibiotics for reduction (cephalosporins and amoxicillin/clavulanate) and narrow-spectrum antibiotics for increase (benzyl penicillin, amoxicillin and trimethoprim). Changes in the use of targeted antibiotics (intervention group) were compared with those of untargeted antibiotics (control group) using segmented regression analysis. Changes in CDI rates were examined by the Poisson regression model. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) acquisition rates acted as an additional control. RESULTS There was a reduction in the use of all targeted broad-spectrum antibiotics and an increase in all targeted narrow-spectrum antibiotics, statistically significant for sudden change and/or linear trend. All other antibiotic use remained unchanged. CDI rates fell with incidence rate ratios of 0.35 (0.17, 0.73) (P=0.009). MRSA incidence did not change [0.79 (0.49, 1.28); P=0.32]. CONCLUSIONS This is the first controlled prospective ITS study to use feedback to reinforce antibiotic policy and reduce CDI. Multicentre ITS or cluster randomized trials of this and other methods need to be undertaken to establish the most effective means of optimizing antibiotic use and reducing CDI.
Advances in Elliptic Curve Cryptography: Cryptography from Pairings

This chapter presents a survey of positive applications of pairings in cryptography. We assume the reader has a basic understanding of concepts from cryptography such as public key encryption, digital signatures, and key exchange protocols. A solid grounding in the general area of cryptography can be obtained by reading [218]. We will attempt to show how pairings (as described in Chapter IX) have been used to construct a wide range of cryptographic schemes, protocols and infrastructures supporting the use of public key cryptography. Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in this topic, inspired mostly by three key contributions: Sakai, Ohgishi and Kasahara's early and much overlooked work introducing pairing-based key agreement and signature schemes [260]; Joux's three party key agreement protocol as presented in [167]; and Boneh and Franklin's identity-based encryption (IBE) scheme built from pairings [36]. The work of Verheul [305] has also been influential because it eases the cryptographic application of pairings. We will give detailed descriptions of these works as the chapter unfolds. To comprehend the rate of increase of research in this area, note that the bibliography of an earlier survey [250] written in mid-2002 contains 28 items, while, at the time of writing in early 2004, Barreto's website [14] lists over 100 research papers. 1 Thus a survey such as this cannot hope to comprehensively cover all of the pairing-based cryptographic research that has been produced. Instead, we focus on presenting the small number of schemes that we consider to be the high points in the area and which are likely to have a significant impact on future research. We provide brief notes on most of the remaining literature, and omit some work entirely. We do not emphasise the technical details of security proofs, but we do choose to focus on schemes that are supported by such proofs. 1 A second source for papers on cryptography from pairings is the IACR preprint server at http://eprint.iacr. org. Another survey on pairings and cryptography by Joux [168] covers roughly the same topics as this and the previous chapter.
Plasticite Cerebrale et Restauration Des Fonctions Nerveuses

Abstract The paper presents briefly recent developments in the functional restoration of the CNS. Although the assumed processes for the restoration are the same as given in the XIXth century, today they are tested empirically. The mechanisms involved can be summarized into two groups: redundancy (restitution) and reorganisation (substitution). Facilitating or debilitating factors for the restoration are overviewed as a function of the individuaľs characteristics (age, sex, species and prior experience), the nature of the lesion and postlesional conditions. Postlesional problems are given a new perspective by the discovery of axonal or collateral regeneration of the CNS. Although its clinical importance is still controversial, it seems clear that some reorganization of the immature CNS is possible. One has to take into account two other processes: hypersensitivity of denervation and synaptic derepression.
Extracting Dense Bipartite Graph Block in Web Community Discovery

Community is a very important structure in the Web. The discovery of these communities is a challenging task. In many researches, it is an effective way of exhaustively extracting dense sub graphs to find communities. The pioneer works in[1], [2] uses a CBG(Complete Bipartite Graph) as a signature of a community core and discovers many implicit communities. However, the CBG is too strict and it excludes many possible community structures. Therefore, instead of CBG, DBG(Dense Bipartite Graph) is chosen as a signature. For instance, Reddy et al. [3] proposed degree-based (a, ß)density, Gibson et al. [4] and Dourisboure et al. [5] use a ratio-based ? -dense function to qualify the density of a DBG. In this paper, we analyze two previous density measurements and point out that in low density the structure of bipartite graph may be unreasonable because of the existence of cutting nodes. For this reason, we introduce DBGB(Dense Bipartite Graph Block). Subsequently, we employ two-step expansion to construct bipartite graph which decreases the number of unnecessary nodes and edges. In order to get optimal bipartite structure, we propose max DBGB and design an extracting algorithm. The new method is tested under 4 datasets collected by a Web crawler and dense cores have been extracted. We check 200 random sampling cores and 89 percent of them make sense. Meanwhile, we apply Dourisboure's method on one of the datasets with different scale and the cores extracted contain many cutting nodes. Consequently, the experiment results show that our method is effective.
The relationship between employee personality traits and preferred leadership style

Abstract : The purpose of this study is to examine how employee personality traits are related to a preferred leadership style and how the differences between preferred and actual leadership style relate to employee perceptions of leader satisfaction and effectiveness. Respondents completed a survey questionnaire that consisted of the commonly used Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X to assess employee leadership preferences and the NEO-FFI to identify personality traits. The relationship between employee personality traits and their preferred leadership style is significant to leaders who believe that it is possible to adjust a leadership approach to improve organizational performance. Agreeableness is positively related and age is negatively related to a transformational leadership preference. The results also indicate a negative relationship between the difference between preferred and actual leadership and ratings of employee satisfaction and ratings of leader effectiveness. Last, employee satisfaction is positively related to ratings of leader effectiveness.
Ieee Transactions on Information Forensics and Security 1 Plausible Deniability in Web Search – from Detection to Assessment

—We ask how to defend user ability to plausibly deny their interest in topics deemed sensitive in the face of search engine learning. We develop a practical and scalable tool called PDE allowing a user to detect and assess threats to plausible deniability. We show that threats to plausible deniability of interest are readily detectable for all topics tested in an extensive testing program. Of particular concern is observation of threats to deniability of interest in topics related to health and sexual preferences. We show this remains the case when attempting to disrupt search engine learning through noise query injection and click obfuscation. We design a defence technique exploiting uninteresting, proxy topics and show that it provides a more effective defence of plausible deniability in our experiments.
Nanoscale segregation of actin nucleation and elongation factors determines dendritic spine protrusion

Actin dynamics drive morphological remodeling of neuronal dendritic spines and changes in synaptic transmission. Yet, the spatiotemporal coordination of actin regulators in spines is unknown. Using single protein tracking and super‐resolution imaging, we revealed the nanoscale organization and dynamics of branched F‐actin regulators in spines. Branched F‐actin nucleation occurs at the PSD vicinity, while elongation occurs at the tip of finger‐like protrusions. This spatial segregation differs from lamellipodia where both branched F‐actin nucleation and elongation occur at protrusion tips. The PSD is a persistent confinement zone for IRSp53 and the WAVE complex, an activator of the Arp2/3 complex. In contrast, filament elongators like VASP and formin‐like protein‐2 move outwards from the PSD with protrusion tips. Accordingly, Arp2/3 complexes associated with F‐actin are immobile and surround the PSD. Arp2/3 and Rac1 GTPase converge to the PSD, respectively, by cytosolic and free‐diffusion on the membrane. Enhanced Rac1 activation and Shank3 over‐expression, both associated with spine enlargement, induce delocalization of the WAVE complex from the PSD. Thus, the specific localization of branched F‐actin regulators in spines might be reorganized during spine morphological remodeling often associated with synaptic plasticity.