Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis B Vaccine Coverage and the Immune Response in Children under ten years old in Sana'a, Yemen.

OBJECTIVES The study was undertaken, first, to determine the coverage rate of hepatitis B (HB) vaccine and second to evaluate the immune response to HB vaccine among children under 10 years old by measuring the level of circulating anti-HB surface antigen (anti-HBs) antibodies after immunisation with three doses. METHODS First, 840 children were randomly selected from 4 randomly selected sites in Sana'a city to study the coverage rate of the vaccine; of these, 504 children vaccinated against HBV prior to the study, were tested (56% males and 44% females). Sera were tested for anti-HBs antibodies by ELISA quantitative technique. Each individual's data was collected in a pre-designed questionnaire including: vaccination date, sex, and age at the time of the study. RESULTS The coverage rate of HBV vaccine was only 69.9%, being slightly higher among male children (72.1%) than female children (66.8%). A total of 276 (54.8%) of the 504 children responded to the vaccine with anti-HBs antibody level ≥ 10 mIU/ml, while 228 (45.2%) of the 504 children had non-protective anti-HBs antibodies levels (<10IU/ml). Children of ages 3-5 years had the highest protective rate (63.6%), and the lowest protective rate was in the 9-10 years age group. CONCLUSION This study revealed a low coverage rate of HBV vaccine and a low protective rate against HBV infection. A considerable proportion of vaccinated children should be considered for either revaccination or booster doses. There is also the need to complete HBV vaccine coverage among the child population in San'a, Yemen.
Rift Valley Fever, Mayotte, 2007–2008

After the 2006–2007 epidemic wave of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in East Africa and its circulation in the Comoros, laboratory case-finding of RVF was conducted in Mayotte from September 2007 through May 2008. Ten recent human RVF cases were detected, which confirms the indigenous transmission of RFV virus in Mayotte.
Review of wheat improvement for waterlogging tolerance in Australia and India: the importance of anaerobiosis and element toxicities associated with different soils.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The lack of knowledge about key traits in field environments is a major constraint to germplasm improvement and crop management because waterlogging-prone environments are highly diverse and complex, and the mechanisms of tolerance to waterlogging include a large range of traits. A model is proposed that waterlogging tolerance is a product of tolerance to anaerobiosis and high microelement concentrations. This is further evaluated with the aim of prioritizing traits required for waterlogging tolerance of wheat in the field. METHODS Waterlogging tolerance mechanisms of wheat are evaluated in a range of diverse environments through a review of past research in Australia and India; this includes selected soils and plant data, including plant growth under waterlogged and drained conditions in different environments. Measurements focus on changes in redox potential and concentrations of diverse elements in soils and plants during waterlogging. KEY RESULTS (a) Waterlogging tolerance of wheat in one location often does not relate to another, and (b) element toxicities are often a major constraint in waterlogged environments. Important element toxicities in different soils during waterlogging include Mn, Fe, Na, Al and B. This is the first time that Al and B toxicities have been indicated for wheat in waterlogged soils in India. These results support and extend the well-known interactions of salinity/Na and waterlogging/hypoxia tolerance. CONCLUSIONS Diverse element toxicities (or deficiencies) that are exacerbated during waterlogging are proposed as a major reason why waterlogging tolerance at one site is often not replicated at another. Recommendations for germplasm improvement for waterlogging tolerance include use of inductively coupled plasma analyses of soils and plants.
Test-bed implementation of a cross-layer framework for video streaming over IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc wireless network

Video streaming over bandwidth constrained and highly unpredictable wireless environment has prompted innovative cross-layer design strategies in the literature. However, most of the existing cross-layer designs lack the experimental validation of their real-life performance capability. In this paper, we have developed a test-bed that implements a recently proposed cross-layer framework for video streaming applications over IEEE 802.11 based ad-hoc wireless networks. The test-bed allows joint adaptation of the transcoding rate (at the application layer) with the number of redundant forward error correction packets (at the data link layer). When the proposed framework is invoked, the experimental results show that the video transcoding rate is adapted according to the channel, resulting in a reduced number of lost video frames, which contributes to a better video quality.
The Multifunctional PE_PGRS11 Protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Plays a Role in Regulating Resistance to Oxidative Stress*

Mycobacterium tuberculosis utilizes unique strategies to survive amid the hostile environment of infected host cells. Infection-specific expression of a unique mycobacterial cell surface antigen that could modulate key signaling cascades can act as a key survival strategy in curtailing host effector responses like oxidative stress. We demonstrate here that hypothetical PE_PGRS11 ORF encodes a functional phosphoglycerate mutase. The transcriptional analysis revealed that PE_PGRS11 is a hypoxia-responsive gene, and enforced expression of PE_PGRS11 by recombinant adenovirus or Mycobacterium smegmatis imparted resistance to alveolar epithelial cells against oxidative stress. PE_PGRS11-induced resistance to oxidative stress necessitated the modulation of genetic signatures like induced expression of Bcl2 or COX-2. This modulation of specific antiapoptotic molecular signatures involved recognition of PE_PGRS11 by TLR2 and subsequent activation of the PI3K-ERK1/2-NF-κB signaling axis. Furthermore, PE_PGRS11 markedly diminished H2O2-induced p38 MAPK activation. Interestingly, PE_PGRS11 protein was exposed at the mycobacterial cell surface and was involved in survival of mycobacteria under oxidative stress. Furthermore, PE_PGRS11 displayed differential B cell responses during tuberculosis infection. Taken together, our investigation identified PE_PGRS11 as an in vivo expressed immunodominant antigen that plays a crucial role in modulating cellular life span restrictions imposed during oxidative stress by triggering TLR2-dependent expression of COX-2 and Bcl2. These observations clearly provide a mechanistic basis for the rescue of pathogenic Mycobacterium-infected lung epithelial cells from oxidative stress.
Enforced Self-Regulation, Prescription, and Conceptions of Compliance within Small Businesses: The Impact of Enforcement*

Enforced self-regulation is increasingly used to control risks created by businesses. This paper examines the way that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make compliance decisions when faced with self-regulatory and prescriptive law, drawing upon empirical research undertaken within food-industry SMEs. It evaluates the impact of enforcement approaches on compliance decisions and compliance levels. It finds that within food-industry SMEs in the United Kingdom, compliance is conceptualized as the negotiated outcome of the regulatory encounter. This leads to heavily reactive decision making, in which the enforcer becomes the predominant driver, which poses huge challenges for the successful implementation of enforced self-regulation, and is an explanation for the lack of empirical evidence supporting deterrence theory in business compliance.
New Immigrant and Low-Income Parent and Student Voices on Technology

Results and educational implications from this research project exploring new immigrants and low-income parents and students voices on the relative utility of educational technology, indicate that computer and Internet Access in the classroom alone do not help in bridging the equity gap. Educational and community policies must extend beyond the classroom for this transformation to occur. The educational community must understand that for technology to become ubiquitous, they must be aware of the true definition as defined by Webster dictionary and others as “Existing or being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time; omnipresent”. This presentation will share parent and student raised concerns regarding such things as teachers and the education systems naivete to this definition. Teachers need to use Internet activities and other classroom projects to embrace the “Least Common Denominator” model, rather than the “what’s new and the latest software the school has” model.
Do governments mean business when they derogate? Human rights violations during notified states of emergency

Whether international human rights treaties constrain the behavior of governments is a hotly contested issue that has drawn much scholarly attention. The possibility to derogate from some, but not all, of the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) during declared and officially notified states of emergency provides a hitherto unexplored test case. If governments were increasingly violating non-derogable rights during derogation periods then this provides evidence that the ICCPR has no sufficient constraining effect on state parties. I analyze whether specific individual human rights as well as two aggregate rights measures are systematically more violated during derogation periods in a global sample over the period 1981 to 2008. I find that regime type matters: autocracies step up violation of both non-derogable and derogable rights, anocracies increasingly violate some derogable and some non-derogable rights, whereas democracies see no statistically significant change in their human rights behavior during derogation periods. This result suggests that the main general international human rights treaty fails to achieve its objective of shielding certain rights from derogation where, as in autocracies and anocracies, a constraining effect would be needed most.
Gate-to-Source/Drain Nonoverlap Device for Soft-Program Immune Unified RAM (URAM)

A soft-program immune structure for a unified RAM (URAM) is presented. A unique feature of URAM is the multifunctionality of a flash and capacitorless 1T-DRAM in a single transistor. However, charge trapping into O/N/O during a cyclic 1T-DRAM operation can cause an undesirable threshold voltage shift, resulting in an unstable URAM operation called a soft program. In a gate-to-source/drain nonoverlap structure with a nonextended O/N/O layer under the gate spacer, the impact ionization region is steered out from the gate, which is located under the spacer. In the 1T-DRAM mode of URAM, the programming biases are selected so that impact ionization can occur under the gate spacer, thereby alleviating the soft program. The nonoverlap device relieves the operational voltage constraint imposed by the soft program. In addition, nonvolatile flash memory and capacitorless 1T-DRAM perform an acceptable performance without interference.
The impact of market orientation on family firm performance

This study aims to investigate the effect of market orientation in a specific organisational context, namely family firms. Market orientation (MO) provides a firm with market-sensing and customer-linking capabilities. Because of their long-term strategies and customer-value orientation, family firms support the development of MO. It is proposed that responsive and proactive MO has a positive impact on the share of regular customers (repeat buyers), success with new products/services and sales growth of family firms. Based on a sample of 344 family firms, regression models confirm that MO shows positive correlations with success with new products/services and share of regular customer's but not with sales growth. The typically strong orientation towards customer bonding and loyalty may prevent family firms from the acquisition of new customers and therefore hinder sales growth.
Foreign Manufacturing Investment in the United Kingdom and the Upgrading of Supplier Practices

POTTER J., MOORE B. und SPIRES R. (2003) Foreign manufacturing investment in the United Kingdom and the upgrading of supplier practices, Reg. Studies 37 , 41-60. This paper shows that the practices and competitiveness of UK suppliers have been improved by inward foreign manufacturing investment. Greenfield, large and North American or European investors were the most likely to have such impacts, particularly on their manufacturing suppliers. Benefits were transmitted through a mix of passive mechanisms, such as contractual arrangements, and active mechanisms, such as supplier visits. Regional policymakers should recognize the impacts on supplier upgrading when justifying foreign investment attraction and embedding initiatives. However, they should also recognize that there are some barriers to direct intervention in spillover processes. POTTER J., MOORE B. et SPIRES R. (2003) L'investissement direct é tranger au Royaume-Uni et l'amélioration des pratiques des fournisseurs, Reg. Studies 37 , 41-60. Cet article cherche à démontrer que l'investissement industriel direct étranger a contribué à l'amélioration des pratiques et de la compétitivité des fournisseurs britanniques. Les importants investisseurs les usines nouvelles, et les investissements americains ou européens ont été les plus susceptibles d'avoir de telles retombées, notamment sur leurs fournisseurs industriels. Les avantages ont été transmis par voie d'un mélange de mécanismes passifs, tels des accords contractuels, et de mécanismes actifs, tels les visites des fournisseurs. En justifiant l'attrait de l'investissement direct étranger et en ancrant les initiatives, les décideurs régionaux devraient reconnaître les retombées de l'amélioration des pratiques des fournisseurs. Cependant, ils devraient reconnaître aussi qu'il existe quelques obstacles à l'intervention directe dans les retombées. POTTER J., MOORE B. und SPIRES R. (2003) Auslandsinvestierungen in die Produktion des Vereinigten Königreichs und Ausbau der Verfahrensweisen von Lieferanten, Reg. Studies 37 , 41-60. Dieser Aufsatz zeigt, daß Verfahrensweisen und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Lieferanten im Vereinigten Königreich von Großbritannien durch Auslands- investitionen in die Produktion verbessert worden sind. Unternehmen auf dem Grüngürtel, nordamerikanische oder europäische, sowie Großinvestitionen waren am Erfolg versprechendsten, besonders in Hinsicht auf ihre Auswirkung auf Produktionslieferanten. Vorteile ergaben sich durch verschiedene passive Mechanismen, wie z.B. vertragliche Abmachungen, und durch aktive, wie Lieferantenbesuche. Führungskräfte der Regionalpolitik sollten sich bei der Rechtfertigung der Anziehungskraft von Auslandsinvestierungen und Einbettungsinitiativen der Auswirkungen auf den Ausbau der Verfahren von Liferanten bewußt sein. Sie sollten jedoch auch zugeben, daß bei Ü berschwappvorgängen direktem Eingreifen Grenzen gesetzt sind.
Advances in spatial theory and dynamics

Progress in Spatial Theory and Dynamics: A Prefatory Review (D.F. Batten, P. Nijkamp) Competition, Specialization and Technological Change . The Dynamics of Oliogpolistic Location: Present Status and Future Research Directions (R.E. Kuenne). Dynamics of Product Substitution (D.F. Batten, B. Johansson). Quality and Process Improvements in Dynamic Production Processes (J.-P. Aubin). Faciliting Technical Change: The Role of Women (L. Chatterjee). An Oil-Exporting Region versus an Industrialised Region (J.M. Hartwick, M. Spencer). Direct Equilibria of Economies and their Perfect Homogeneity Limits (B. Dejon, B. Guldner, G. Wenzel). Rivalrous Consonance: A Theory of Mature Oligopolistic Behaviour in a General Equilibrium Framework (R.E. Kuenne). Spatial Interaction . On Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Capital and Labor (T. Puu). Finite Spectral Analysis of Multiregional Time Series (T. Smith). Spatial Interaction Models and their Micro-Foundation (G. Haag). Modelling Nonlinear Processes in Time and Space (W. Barentsen, P. Nijkamp). Urban and Regional Infrastructure. Dynamics of County Growth (E.S. Mills, G. Carlino). Some Theoretical Aspects of Spatial Equilibria with Public Goods (A.E. Andersson, K. Kobayashi). A General Dynamic Spatial Price Equilibrium Model with Gains and Losses (A. Nagurney). Infrastructure and Economic Transformation (T.R. Lakshmanan). On the Dynamics of Regulated Markets (J.M. Quigley, P. Varaiya). Dynamic Energy Complex Analysis for Metropolitan Regions (H.-H. Rogner). Taste Changes and Conservation Laws in the Housing Market (K. Kobayashi, W. Zhang, K. Yoshikawa). List of Contributors. Index.
Global outsourcing of back office services: lessons, trends, and enduring challenges

Purpose – To identify key lessons, trends and enduring challenges with global outsourcing of back office services.Design/methodology/approach – The authors extract lessons, project trends, and discuss enduring challenges from a 20 year research program conducted by these authors and their extended network of co‐authors and colleagues.Findings – The authors identify seven important lessons for successfully exploiting the maturing Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) markets. The lessons require back office executives to build significant internal capabilities and processes to manage global outsourcing. The authors predict 13 trends about the size and growth of ITO and BPO markets, about suppliers located around the world, and about particular sourcing models including application service provision, insourcing, nearshoring, rural sourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, freelance outsourcing, and captive centers. The authors identify five persistent, prickly issues.
Optimal Quality-of-Service Scheduling for Energy-Harvesting Powered Wireless Communications

In this paper, a new dynamic string tautening algorithm is proposed to generate the most energy-efficient off-line schedule for delay-limited traffic of transmitters with non-negligible circuit power. The algorithm is based on two key findings that we derive through judicious convex formulation and resultant optimality conditions, specifies a set of simple but optimal rules, and generates the optimal schedule with a low complexity of O(N2) in the worst case. The proposed algorithm is also extended to on-line scenarios, where the transmit schedule is generated on-the-fly. Simulation shows that the proposed algorithm requires substantially lower average complexity by almost two orders of magnitude to retain optimality than general convex solvers. The effective transmit region, specified by the tradeoff of the data arrival rate and the energy harvesting rate, is substantially larger using our algorithm than using other existing alternatives. Significantly more data or less energy can be supported in the proposed algorithm.
Graph Products and Cannon Pairs

A pair (G, A) consisting of a group G and a finite generating set A is a Cannon pair if the language of all geodesics in the associated Cayley graph is regular. We prove that the Cannon pair property is preserved by graph products and indicate applications of this result to the geodesic and spherical growth series of graph products.
Improvement in lower-extremity peripheral arterial disease by nocturnal hemodialysis.

A 42-year-old man with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was referred for conversion to nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) therapy from conventional hemodialysis (CHD) therapy because of refractory intermittent claudication secondary to peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The patient was initiated on CHD therapy in 1976 and subsequently had undergone two unsuccessful renal transplantations. While on CHD therapy, his clinical course was complicated by worsening vascular and soft-tissue calcification. Extensive dystrophic soft-tissue calcification was noted bilaterally in his hands, lower extremities, and sacral region, requiring surgical excision. Lower-extremity arterial Doppler scans documented vascular calcification and a pronounced decrease in peripheral arterial flow bilaterally. After conversion to NHD therapy (7.5 h/session five times weekly), the patient became symptom free and had significant clinical improvements in (1) hemodynamics, measured by clinic blood pressure and two-dimensional echocardiography, (2) biochemical profile, and (3) a sustained improvement in arterial Doppler flow measured by duplex Doppler ultrasound. We conclude that NHD was able to improve lower-extremity PAD in our patient. Further observational and interventional studies are required to investigate the therapeutic potential of NHD for the treatment of PAD in patients with ESRD.
Aplicação da metodologia DEA na análise da eficiência do setor hoteleiro português: uma análise aplicada às regiões portuguesas

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze and to compare the evolution of efficiency in the Portuguese hotel industry, by geographical regions, in 2006 and 2008. It is also intended to find companies which may be used as a reference to the least efficient ones, to achieve higher levels of productivity. Efficiency is analyzed through the study of technical productivity, using a technique of linear programming: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Contrary to the economic context, there is a general and significant improvement in the productivity of the Portuguese hotel industry from 2006 to 2008, with the exception of the insular regions. In 2006 there was a higher efficiency average in the northern and insular regions whereas in 2008 only the northern region excelled. In the time frame comprised by this research, 30 firms were found to be efficient: 7 in the north, 11 in the center, 5 in the south and 7 in the islands.
Medical comorbidity of sleep disorders in children and adolescents

Purpose of review Sleep disorders in children and adolescents often present with various medical comorbidities. The aim of this review is to present the recent literature findings on this issue. Recent findings The major medical comorbid conditions that accompany insomnia or short sleep duration in children and adolescents are obesity and metabolic syndrome, growth hormone deficiency, allergic conditions, various disorders accompanied by chronic pain, neoplasms and blood malignancies, and genetic and congenital disorders. Hypersomnia is mainly related to malignancies. Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome or sleep-disordered breathing may suffer from obesity and metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovaries, hypothyroidism, asthma, epilepsy, various ear nose throat disorders, congenital malformations or genetic conditions. Parasomnias may be comorbid with some medical conditions, but the main challenge in their evaluation is the differential diagnosis from nocturnal epileptic seizures. Summary The co-occurrence of sleep disorders and medical conditions in childhood and adolescence is quite frequent and has an impact on general health and quality of life.