Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food and agriculture global value chains: Drivers and constraints for occupational safety and health improvement

Moussa Oumarou holds diplomas from the Institut Universitaire de Technology of Bethune, the Ecole Normale Nationale de Lyon and the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (CNET/CFIET). He also undertook studies at the African Center of Management and Executive Development (CAMPC). Before joining the ILO, Mr. Oumarou occupied many positions in Teaching and in Public Administration which led him to occupy several positions of responsibility such as that of Inspector in Technical Studies and Vocational Training and Secretary-General of the Ministry of National Education. He was appointed Minister of Public Service, Labour and Employment of the Government of Niger from 1997 to 1999. After leaving the Government in 1999, Mr. Oumarou first worked as Coordinator of a national project for the Promotion of the ILO Declaration of Principles and Fundamental Rights at Work. Then, he became Chief Technical Advisor of the Regional Programme for the Promotion of Social Dialogue in French-speaking Africa. He joined the ILO Headquarters in 2006. He was appointed Director of the Governance and Tripartism Department in 2013. He has authored several publications on Social Dialogue and Labour Administration. His career earned him the decoration of Chevalier des Palmes Académiques (Academic Order) and Chevalier de L’Ordre National de Niger (National Order of Niger). Moussa Oumarou, Director, ILO Governance and Tripartism Department.
Automobile, car and BMW: horizontal and hierarchical approach in social tagging systems

Social tagging systems have recently emerged as an effective way for users to annotate and organize large collections of resources on the Web. Moreover, they also facilitate an efficient sharing of vast amounts of resources among different users. In this paper, we analyze tags' usage pattern in real world data sets and find that among tags representing the same concept, some tags are less popular, resulting in reduced exploring effectiveness in the current social tagging systems. Another limitation is that users cannot roll-up or drill-down the concept hierarchy of tag queries, resulting in the limited scope of service and a failure to meet users' dynamic information needs which often change with the current information provided. In order to overcome these shortcomings, we propose a novel three-phase approach as the following: (1) finding semantically-related tags for tag query; (2) constructing clusters of tags representing the same concept; and (3) building hierarchical relationships among clusters of tags. Based on our approaches, horizontal and hierarchical exploration can be implemented. Experiments employing real world dataset show encouraging results and confirm that the proposed approaches are very effective.
Multi-object tracking driven event detection for evaluation

This paper describes a monocular object tracker, able to detect and track multiple object classes in non-controlled environments. Our tracking framework uses Bayesian per-pixel classification to segment an image into foreground and background objects, based on observations of object appearances and motions in real-time. Furthermore, semantically high level events are automatically extracted from the tracking data for performance evaluation. The reliability of the event detection is demonstrated by applying it to state-of-the-art methods and comparing the results to human annotated ground truth data for multiple public datasets.
Two-way File Synchronization Mechanism in Cloud Storage System

In cloud storage system, file synchronization schemes are widely used for efficient use of storage system. It reduces network traffic and processing time extremely. However, there exist several weak point in handling file synchronization for multiple clients. In this paper, to tackle this problem, we propose a bidirectional file synchronization scheme to efficiently deal with file copying between the client and the server. Experimental result shows that the proposed scheme can reduce data traffic efficiently using bidirectional file synchronization. [Young Jun Yoo, Chang Gun Song, Seon Woo Lee, Jin Kim, Young Woong Ko. Two-way File Synchronization Mechanism in Cloud Storage System. Life Sci J 2014;11(7):726-729] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 106
Decreased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Depends on Amyloid Aggregation State in Transgenic Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease

Downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cortex occurs early in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since BDNF plays a critical role in neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, and memory, BDNF reduction may contribute to synaptic and cellular loss and memory deficits characteristic of AD. In vitro evidence suggests that amyloid-β (Aβ) contributes to BDNF downregulation in AD, but the specific Aβ aggregation state responsible for this downregulation in vivo is unknown. In the present study, we examined cortical levels of BDNF mRNA in three different transgenic AD mouse models harboring mutations in APP resulting in Aβ overproduction, and in a genetic mouse model of Down syndrome. Two of the three Aβ transgenic strains (APPNLh and TgCRND8) exhibited significantly decreased cortical BDNF mRNA levels compared with wild-type mice, whereas neither the other strain (APPswe/PS-1) nor the Down syndrome mouse model (Ts65Dn) was affected. Only APPNLh and TgCRND8 mice expressed high Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios and larger SDS-stable Aβ oligomers (∼115 kDa). TgCRND8 mice exhibited downregulation of BDNF transcripts III and IV; transcript IV is also downregulated in AD. Furthermore, in all transgenic mouse strains, there was a correlation between levels of large oligomers, Aβ42/Aβ40, and severity of BDNF decrease. These data show that the amount and species of Aβ vary among transgenic mouse models of AD and are negatively correlated with BDNF levels. These findings also suggest that the effect of Aβ on decreased BDNF expression is specific to the aggregation state of Aβ and is dependent on large oligomers.
Análisis de Redes Sociales mediante Diagramas Estratégicos y Diagramas Estructurales.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es definir un marco teorico que permita analizar la estructura de una red a nivel individual, para ello se ha integrado el analisis de palabras asociadas con el analisis de redes sociales. Como resultado de este estudio, se han obtenido una serie de diagramas que llamamos ? diagramas estructurales? Con estos diagramas asignamos a cada nodo de la red un patron, asi como clasificamos una red dentro de un conjunto de tipologias. La informacion proporcionada por este marco teorico mejora la comprension de la dinamica de los sistemas modelados en forma de redes. Dentro de este contexto podemos utilizar la tecnica de los diagramas estructurales para mejorar las estrategias de exploracion visual de las redes, asi como para orientar la definicion de actuaciones que permitan transformar la tipologia de una red en otra. Como ejemplo concreto de una aplicacion real de este marco teorico, se analiza la red social de la comunidad cientifica de las Jornadas de Ingenieria del Software y Bases de Datos (JISBD), obtenida a partir de su red de co-autorias.
Performance analysis of wind turbine-driven permanent magnet generator with matrix converter

Wind energy, among all of the renewable energy sources, has made rapid developments and significant inroads in electrical power systems. With the increased use of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs), several technologies have been developed. Since WECSs are more cost competitive, the comparison of different wind generator systems is the need of the hour. Permanent magnet generators employing these technologies have some significant advantages over conventional generators, such as no need of excitation, low volume and weight, high precision, and deletion of the gearbox. A variable-speed WECS with a permanent magnet generator and a matrix converter is proposed in this paper. The traditional power conversion stages consist of a rectifier followed by an inverter and bulky DC link capacitor. It involves 2 stages of power conversion and, subsequently, the efficiency of the overall WECS is reduced because of power quality issues mainly based on total harmonic distortion. The matrix converter is mainly utilized to control the output voltage and frequency, and its input current and output voltage are closer to a sine wave. The matrix converter is a simple and compact AC-AC converter. The proposed WECS with matrix converter is modeled using PSIM and results were checked with an experimental setup.
Essential Role for the Major Autolysin in the Fibronectin-Binding Protein-Mediated Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Phenotype

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates are capable of producing at least two distinct types of biofilm mediated by the fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs) or the icaADBC-encoded polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA). Deletion of the major autolysin gene atl reduced primary attachment rates and impaired FnBP-dependent biofilm production on hydrophilic polystyrene in 12 clinical methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates but had no effect on PIA-dependent biofilm production by 9 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates. In contrast, Atl was required for both FnBP- and PIA-mediated biofilm development on hydrophobic polystyrene. Here we investigated the role of Atl in biofilm production on hydrophilic polystyrene. The alternative sigma factor σB, which represses RNAIII expression and extracellular protease production, was required for FnBP- but not PIA-dependent biofilm development. Furthermore, mutation of the agr locus enhanced FnBP-dependent biofilm development, whereas a sarA mutation, which increases protease production, blocked FnBP-mediated biofilm development. Mutation of sigB in MRSA isolate BH1CC lowered primary attachment rates, in part via reduced atl transcription. Posttranslational activation or inhibition of Atl activity with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and polyanethole sodium sulfonate or mutation of the Atl amidase active site interfered with lytic activity and biofilm development. Consistent with these observations, extracellular DNA was important for the early stages of Atl/FnBP-dependent biofilm development. Further analysis of atl regulation revealed that atlR encodes a transcriptional repressor of the major autolysin and that an atlR::Tcr mutation in BH1CC enhanced biofilm-forming capacity. These data reveal an essential role for the major autolysin in the early events of the FnBP-dependent S. aureus biofilm phenotype.
Refined moment calculation using image block representation

This paper deals with effective calculation of moments of binary images. Recently, Spiliotis and Mertzios (see ibid., vol.7, p.1609-15, Nov. 1998) published a method based on image block representation (IBR). We propose a refinement of their method which yields exact results and performs even more effectively.
Affirmative action in Australia – employment statistics can′t tell the whole story

The Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, requires all private sector employers in Australia with more than 100 employees to report annually on programmes they have developed to improve women′s employment opportunities. A criterion sampling approach was used to identify organizations whose public reports to the Affirmative Action Agency in 1992, contained at least some evidence of affirmative action programme development. There were 288 organizations identified in this way. The employment profiles of these 288 organizations for the period 1991‐1993 are compared with a random sample of another 288 organizations reporting to the agency over the same period. There are no clear conclusions which can be drawn from the employment profiles. What does emerge from the analysis is that simple quantitative measures of the effects of affirmative action are clearly inadequate to capture women′s employment experiences.
Possible Involvement of an Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase (SodA) as a Radical Scavenger in Poly(cis-1,4-Isoprene) Degradation

ABSTRACT Gordonia westfalica Kb1 and Gordonia polyisoprenivorans VH2 induce the formation of an extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) during poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) degradation. To investigate the function of this enzyme in G. polyisoprenivorans VH2, the sodA gene was disrupted. The mutants exhibited reduced growth in liquid mineral salt media containing poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) as the sole carbon and energy source, and no SOD activity was detectable in the supernatants of the cultures. Growth experiments revealed that SodA activity is required for optimal growth on poly(cis-1,4-isoprene), whereas this enzyme has no effect on aerobic growth in the presence of water-soluble substrates like succinate, acetate, and propionate. This was detected by activity staining, and proof of expression was by antibody detection of SOD. When SodA from G. westfalica Kb1 was heterologously expressed in the sodA sodB double mutant Escherichia coli QC779, the recombinant mutant exhibited increased resistance to paraquat, thereby indicating the functionality of the G. westfalica Kb1 SodA and indirectly protection of G. westfalica cells by SodA from oxidative damage. Both sodA from G. polyisoprenivorans VH2 and sodA from G. westfalica Kb1 coded for polypeptides comprising 209 amino acids and having approximately 90% and 70% identical amino acids, respectively, to the SodA from Mycobacterium smegmatis strain MC2 155 and Micrococcus luteus NCTC 2665. As revealed by activity staining experiments with the wild type and the disruption mutant of G. polyisoprenivorans, this bacterium harbors only one active SOD belonging to the manganese family. The N-terminal sequences of the extracellular SodA proteins of both Gordonia species showed no evidence of leader peptides for the mature proteins, like the intracellular SodA protein of G. polyisoprenivorans VH2, which was purified under native conditions from the cells. In G. westfalica Kb1 and G. polyisoprenivorans VH2, SodA probably provides protection against reactive oxygen intermediates which occur during degradation of poly(cis-1,4-isoprene).
Agents in Overalls: Experiences and Issues in the Development and Deployment of Industrial Agent-Based Systems

Agent technologies have steadily matured in moving from the research laboratory to industrial application over the last ten years. Numerous systems have been deployed or are under advanced development with strong industrial support. These systems suggest important lessons for both industry and researchers. From an industrial perspective, these examples reflect trends in both business and technology that make agents an increasingly attractive commercial tool. From a research perspective, these examples identify important gaps in agent technology that merit the attention of academicians.
appA, a novel gene encoding a trans-acting factor involved in the regulation of photosynthesis gene expression in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1

A new gene, the product of which is involved in the regulation of photosynthesis gene expression in the anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4. 1, has been identified. The isolation of this gene, designated appA (activation of photopigment and puc expression), was based on its ability, when provided in extra copies, to partially suppress mutations in the two-component PrrB-PrrA regulatory system. The presence of extra copies of the appA gene in either prrB, prrA, or wild-type strains resulted in an activation of puc::lacZ expression under aerobic conditions. Constructed AppA null mutants did not grow photosynthetically and were impaired in the synthesis of both bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoids, as well as the structural proteins of the photosynthetic spectral complexes. When grown anaerobically in the dark, these mutants accumulated bacteriochlorophyll precursors. The expression of lacZ fusions to several photosynthesis genes and operons, including puc, puf, and bchF, was decreased in the AppA mutant strains in comparison with the wild type. To examine the role of AppA involvement in bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis, we inactivated an early gene, bchE, of the bacteriochlorophyll pathway in both wild-type and AppA- mutant backgrounds. The double mutant, AppA- BchE-, was found to be severely impaired in photosynthesis gene expression, similar to the AppA- BchE+ mutant and in contrast to the AppA+ BchE- mutant. This result indicated that AppA is more likely involved in the regulation of expression of the bch genes than in the biosynthetic pathway per se. The appA gene was sequenced and appears to encode a protein of 450 amino acids with no obvious homology to known proteins.
Layering Predictions: Flexible Use of Dialog Expectation in Speech Recognition

When computer speech recognition is used for problem solving or any plan based task, predictable features of the user's behavior may be inferred and used to aid the recognition of the speech input. The MINDS system generates expectations of what will be said next and uses them to assist speech recognition. Since a user does not always conform to system expectations, MINDS handles violated expectations. We use pragmatic knowledge to dynamically derive constraints about what the user is likely to say next. Then we loosen the constraints in a principled manner to generate layered sets of predictions which range from very specific to very general. To enable the speech system to give priority to recognizing what a user is most likely to say, each prediction set dynamically generates a grammar which is used by the speech recognizer. A different set of grammars is created after each user utterance. The grammars are tried in order of most specific first, until an acceptable parse is found. This allows optimal performance when users behave predictably, and displays graceful degradation when they do not.
Anxiety Management through Psychophysiological Techniques: Relaxation and Psyching-Up in Sport

The purpose of this article is to describe the employment of relaxation and psyching-up techniques within the scope of support currently provided by psychologists in the Sports Science Department of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. The psychophysiological methods described here are used in the mental training of elite athletes in order to assist them in anxiety management and arousal regulation. The general principles of the practice of relaxation and psyching-up are presented, as well as the specific characteristics and procedures of each of the main techniques. This information is intended for sport consultants, coaches and other practitioners who use psychophysiological methods in their professional activities.
Evolutionary ecology of insect adaptation to Bt crops

Transgenic crops producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins are used worldwide to control major pests of corn and cotton. Development of strategies to delay the evolution of pest resistance to Bt crops requires an understanding of factors affecting responses to natural selection, which include variation in survival on Bt crops, heritability of resistance, and fitness advantages associated with resistance mutations. The two main strategies adopted for delaying resistance are the refuge and pyramid strategies. Both can reduce heritability of resistance, but pyramids can also delay resistance by reducing genetic variation for resistance. Seasonal declines in the concentration of Bt toxins in transgenic cultivars, however, can increase the heritability of resistance. The fitness advantages associated with resistance mutations can be reduced by agronomic practices, including increasing refuge size, manipulating refuges to increase fitness costs, and manipulating Bt cultivars to reduce fitness of resistant individuals. Manipulating costs and fitness of resistant individuals on transgenic insecticidal crops may be especially important for thwarting evolution of resistance in haplodiploid and parthenogenetic pests. Field‐evolved resistance to Bt crops in only five pests during the last 14 years suggests that the refuge strategy has successfully delayed resistance, but the accumulation of resistant pests could accelerate.
Feedback interactions between MKP3 and ERK MAP kinase control scleraxis expression and the specification of rib progenitors in the developing chick somite

Cells in the early vertebrate somite receive cues from surrounding tissues, which are important for their specification. A number of signalling pathways involved in somite patterning have been described extensively. By contrast, the interactions between cells from different regions within the somite are less well characterised. Here, we demonstrate that myotomally derived FGFs act through the MAPK signal transduction cascade and in particular, ERK1/2 to activate scleraxis expression in a population of mesenchymal progenitor cells in the dorsal sclerotome. We show that the levels of active, phosphorylated ERK protein in the developing somite are crucial for the expression of scleraxis and Mkp3. MKP3 is a dual specificity phosphatase and a specific antagonist of ERK MAP kinases and we demonstrate that in somites Mkp3 transcription depends on the presence of active ERK. Therefore, MKP3 and ERK MAP kinase constitute a negative feedback loop activated by FGF in sclerotomal progenitor cells. We propose that tight control of ERK signalling strength by MKP3 is important for the appropriate regulation of downstream cellular responses including the activation of scleraxis. We show that increased or decreased levels of phosphorylated ERK result in the loss of scleraxis transcripts and the loss of distal rib development, highlighting the importance of the MKP3-ERK-MAP kinase mediated feedback loop for cell specification and differentiation.
Pathogenesis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia: Additional clues regarding the involvement of the endothelin system

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) has an incidence of around 1/3,000 births. The pathogenesis of this developmental anomaly remains largely unknown and the description of small chromosomal imbalances in cases of CDH is of major interest for the identification of candidate genes. We report on a tandem 4q31.23 triplication encompassing the EDNRA gene identified by array‐CGH in a male presenting an isolated left postero‐lateral CDH. This copy number variation was inherited from the asymptomatic father, carrier of a size‐identical duplication. We demonstrate that EDNRA mRNA is over‐expressed in the proband in blood tissue. Consistent with the expression of EDNRA in the developing diaphragm and the observation that the endothelin system is up‐regulated in human and animal models of CDH, we conclude that the EDNRA triplication may be the cause of CDH in our patient. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.