Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Interdisciplinary Management Research Rational, Truth or Realities?: A Research Agenda for Strategic Management Research in Developing Countries

This paper argues the inability to capture multiple realities of socio-cultural and politico-economic irrationalised behaviours and actions of strategy processes in developing countries from the lenses of rational, functional and liner strategy perspectives and theories to apply and practice context sensitive strategy processes in such contexts. It is widely evidence that issues pertaining to developing countries with significant socio-cultural and political interventions. Examples from the Sri Lankan tea plantations are used to illustrate the necessity to understand the context from actors’ perspectives using rigorous case study research, before making prescriptive recommendations. Current problems faced by the Sri Lankan tea industry are identified as not merely micro-institutional or managerial. It is argued that their roots lie in reproduction of social struggles at the level of production. This study proposes a research agenda, in the doctrine of critical perspective, for exploring the formation and implementation of business strategies in developing countries, using the tea plantation sector as a case. Primary attempt of the study here is to conceptualize strategic management in the context of cultural political economy and to identify central issues to be addressed. Accordingly, it is argued that researching historical dynamics of strategic management facilitates understanding and interpreting the articulation of modes of production in a given social formation. It is further argued that a highly context specific research agenda is required to fully comprehend idiosyncratic characteristics of Sri Lankan strategy structures and organizational forms. Then, it is proposed that explaining the role of social formation in shaping and reshaping strategy relations should be at the centre of the research due to the social significance attached to ‘strategy’. It is therefore proposed to cultural political economy approach to strategy research to understand multiple realities of a context which is culturally, politically, socially, and economically diverse, unique and historically shaped. Finally, methodological and epistemological necessities arising from the nature of strategy relationships are discussed.
Synergistic Activity of the Plant Defensin HsAFP1 and Caspofungin against Candida albicans Biofilms and Planktonic Cultures

Plant defensins are small, cysteine-rich peptides with antifungal activity against a broad range of yeast and fungi. In this study we investigated the antibiofilm activity of a plant defensin from coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea), i.e. HsAFP1. To this end, HsAFP1 was heterologously produced using Pichia pastoris as a host. The recombinant peptide rHsAFP1 showed a similar antifungal activity against the plant pathogen Fusarium culmorum as native HsAFP1 purified from seeds. NMR analysis revealed that rHsAFP1 consists of an α-helix and a triple-stranded antiparallel β-sheet stabilised by four intramolecular disulfide bonds. We found that rHsAFP1 can inhibit growth of the human pathogen Candida albicans as well as prevent C. albicans biofilm formation with a BIC50 (i.e. the minimum rHsAFP1 concentration required to inhibit biofilm formation by 50% as compared to control treatment) of 11.00 ± 1.70 μM. As such, this is the first report of a plant defensin exhibiting inhibitory activity against fungal biofilms. We further analysed the potential of rHsAFP1 to increase the activity of the conventional antimycotics caspofungin and amphotericin B towards C. albicans. Synergistic effects were observed between rHsAFP1 and these compounds against both planktonic C. albicans cells and biofilms. Most notably, concentrations of rHsAFP1 as low as 0.53 μM resulted in a synergistic activity with caspofungin against pre-grown C. albicans biofilms. rHsAFP1 was found non-toxic towards human HepG2 cells up to 40 μM, thereby supporting the lack of a general cytotoxic activity as previously reported for HsAFP1. A structure-function study with 24-mer synthetic peptides spanning the entire HsAFP1 sequence revealed the importance of the γ-core and its adjacent regions for HsAFP1 antibiofilm activity. These findings point towards broad applications of rHsAFP1 and its derivatives in the field of antifungal and antibiofilm drug development.
Optimal multicast overlay placement for realtime streaming media

Multicast is important for realtime delivery of popular streaming media. Proxy-based multicast is an approach to implementing the multicast function by proxy servers at application levels. Many routing algorithms have been proposed to build an overlay network when proxy locations have been determined. On the other hand, the problem of where to place proxies has not been extensively studied yet. A study on the placement problem for proxy-based multicast is presented in this paper. Performance metrics are studied. A number of algorithms are proposed for multicast proxy placement and their performance is compared.
The Future of Work: Does It Belong to Us or to the Robots?.

Today, futurists are discussing the onset of a sweeping technological revolution, one which would rival or surpass the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century in importance . This envisioned social order has been given many names-"postindustrial," "technetronic," or "information" society. At the center of this flurry of interest in technological change is the microprocessor. While computerized automation has been theoretically feasible for more than a decade, large and expensive computer systems could produce cost savings only in the most massive industrial settings, and automated machinery could not be easily adapted to serve various production functions. Now, with the development of the microprocessor, these obstacles have been overcome and the potential uses of computerized machinery at the workplace have dramatically increased. Microprocessor technology is best symbolized by the silicon chip, a miniaturized system of integrated circuits which can direct electrical current and, thereby, generate vast computational power. A silicon chip the size of one square centimeter can perform millions of multiplications per second, and has the capacity to store the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitu-
Dihydrofolate Reductase Gene Variations in Susceptibility to Disease and Treatment Outcomes

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) catalyzes the reduction of dihydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate (THF). THF is needed for the action of folate-dependent enzymes and is thus essential for DNA synthesis and methylation. The importance of this reaction is demonstrated by the effectiveness of antifolate medications used to treat cancer by inhibiting DHFR, thereby depleting THF and slowing DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Due to the pivotal role that DHFR plays in folate metabolism and cancer treatment, changes in the level of DHFR expression can affect susceptibility to a variety of diseases dependent on folate status such as spina bifida and cancer. Likewise, variability in DHFR expression can affect sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs such as the folate antagonist methotrexate. Alterations in DHFR expression can be due to polymorphisms in the DHFR gene. Several variations have recently been described in DHFR, including promoter polymorphisms, the 19-bp deletion allele and variations in 3’UTR. These polymorphisms seem to be functional, affecting mRNA levels through various interesting mechanisms, including regulation through RNA interference. Several groups have assessed the association of these polymorphisms with folate levels, risk of cancer and spina bifida as well as the outcome of diseases treated with MTX. The latter may lead to different treatment schedules, improving treatment efficacy and/or allowing for a reduction in drug side effects. This review will summarize present knowledge regarding the predictive potential of DHFR polymorphisms in disease and treatment.
Tactile and bone-conduction auditory brain computer interface for vision and hearing impaired users

This paper aims to improve tactile and bone-conduction brain computer interface (tbaBCI) classification accuracy based on a new stimulus pattern search in order to trigger more separable P300 responses. We propose and investigate three approaches to stimulus spatial and frequency content modification. As result of the online tbaBCI classification accuracy tests with six subjects we conclude that frequency modification in the previously reported single vibrotactile exciter-based patterns leads to border of significance statistical improvements.
Is Full Employment Possible under Globalization

of Lecture To honor the life work of Professor Sumner Rosen, this lecture examines approaches to promoting full employment at decent jobs within our contemporary era of globalization. The lecture briefly summarizes the theories of unemployment of Marx, Friedman, Keynes and Kalecki. It then addresses the meaning of full employment within the alternative theories and under different historical and country settings. It next considers the issue of the inflation/unemployment trade-off, and the Meidner-Rehn Swedish approach to inflation control under full employment. It concludes by presenting a sketch of something approximating a full employment program for the contemporary U.S. economy, focusing on ending the Iraq war and reallocation public spending toward health care, education, and green growth.
The Effects of Aging on Proteasome Activity, Assembly, and Abundance in C. elegans

Aging is associated with the accumulation of misfolded and damaged proteins. This accumulation is the result of an imbalance of proper protein folding, maintenance, and disposal. Maintaining proteostasis is critical to the health and life of an organism. While studies consistently observe that the proteostasis network diminishes with age, the effects on individual mechanisms have not been determined. Of interest is the effect of aging on protein degradation. Proteasomal degradation is a primary path of protein degradation in all eukaryotes. Though many studies have investigated proteasome activity with age, results vary depending on the organism, tissue, and specific activity of the proteasome tested. It seems as though alterations in proteasome activity can either instigate, or potentially compensate for, a diminished proteostasis network. In order to better understand the effects of proteostasis decline on aging and disease, it is important to determine the role of the proteasome. As in most organisms, C. elegans show an age-related accumulation and aggregation of proteins. This suggests a failure to properly dispose of proteins, potentially by diminished proteasome activity. Surprisingly, we observe a significant increase in proteasome activity with age in the adult worm. The activity increase is apparent in the chymotrypsin-like, trypsin-like, and caspase-like activities. Lifespan extending methods have been shown to ameliorate age related toxic protein accumulation in the worm and have hallmarks of improved proteostasis. Interestingly, we observe a decrease in relative proteasome activity in long lived worms. In aging C. elegans, we determine that proteasome activity increases with age to compensate for the decline in general proteostasis. This increased activity is regulated by increasing proteasome abundance, likely through the regulation of limiting subunits
Methodology for the analysis of rare genetic variation in genome-wide association and re-sequencing studies of complex human traits

Genome-wide association studies have been successful in identifying common variants that impact complex human traits and diseases. However, despite this success, the joint effects of these variants explain only a small proportion of the genetic variance in these phenotypes, leading to speculation that rare genetic variation might account for much of the ‘missing heritability’. Consequently, there has been an exciting period of research and development into the methodology for the analysis of rare genetic variants, typically by considering their joint effects on complex traits within the same functional unit or genomic region. In this review, we describe a general framework for modelling the joint effects of rare genetic variants on complex traits in association studies of unrelated individuals. We summarise a range of widely used association tests that have been developed from this model and provide an overview of the relative performance of these approaches from published simulation studies.
A Robust Human Detection and Tracking System Using a Human-Model-Based Camera Calibration

We present a robust, real-time human detection and tracking system that achieves very good results in a wide range of commercial applications, including counting people and measuring occupancy. The key to the system is a human model based camera calibration process. The system uses a simplified human model that allows the user to very quickly and easily configure the system. This simple initialization procedure is essential for commercial viability.
Towards an Algebra of Actors 1

We present a study of the interaction properties of objects in concurrent object oriented programming. We identify a set of basic interaction mechanisms: object identity, asynchronous message passing, implicit receive primitive, which are closed to those of the actor model. Then, we define a minimal algebra of actors as a basic formalism for representing the semantics of concurrent object oriented programming. Finally, we define a notion of observation equivalence between the actor terms of the algebra which has been proved to be a congruence with respect to the parallel composition operator. 1. This paper has been partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Universities (MURST) and by the ESPRIT BRA Project 9102Coordination. 2. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Informazione, University of Bologna, Piazza Porta S. Donato 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy. E-mail: gaspari@cs.unibo. it
Targets Assignment for Cooperative Multi-UAVs Based on Chaos Optimization Algorithm

Targets assignment is one of crucial problem for multi-UAVs cooperative campaign. By taking furthest campaign benefit and survival probability of UAVs as objective function, the mathematics model of targets assignment is formulated in this paper, and an approach solving targets assignment problem based on chaos optimization is proposed, whereas a new encoding method is introduced, chaos search queues is mapped to solution space of targets assignment problem effectively by defining exchange, shift and insertion operators, and an correcting method is applied to keep the validity of solutions. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by computer simulations.
Fuzzy reasoning decision making on multiviews fuzzy ontologies alignment

We highlighted in this position paper issues on fuzzy reasoning. The paper discusses reasoning application for decision making in medical diagnosis. This is to reason on medical concepts that are viewed on two type ontologies; namely physical and mental. These two types of ontology have been presented to formalize a patient state: mental ontology reflecting the patient mental behavior due to certain disorder and physical ontology reflecting the observed physical behavior exhibited through disorder. Patient observations are reflected on these concepts for similarity calculation that produce decision making based query. We have investigated multi criteria decision making technique to provide better decision on the attributes collected from patient for medical diagnosis. We apply fuzzy AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) for ranking attributes related to physical object. In the same time, we apply bipolar fuzzy decision making logic for ranking attributes related to mental objects. The paper highlights these issues as new challenges extending intelligence reasoning of VDS.
Genetic Networks Required to Coordinate Chromosome Replication by DNA Polymerases α, δ, and ε in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Three major DNA polymerases replicate the linear eukaryotic chromosomes. DNA polymerase α-primase (Pol α) and DNA polymerase δ (Pol δ) replicate the lagging-strand and Pol α and DNA polymerase ε (Pol ε) the leading-strand. To identify factors affecting coordination of DNA replication, we have performed genome-wide quantitative fitness analyses of budding yeast cells containing defective polymerases. We combined temperature-sensitive mutations affecting the three replicative polymerases, Pol α, Pol δ, and Pol ε with genome-wide collections of null and reduced function mutations. We identify large numbers of genetic interactions that inform about the roles that specific genes play to help Pol α, Pol δ, and Pol ε function. Surprisingly, the overlap between the genetic networks affecting the three DNA polymerases does not represent the majority of the genetic interactions identified. Instead our data support a model for division of labor between the different DNA polymerases during DNA replication. For example, our genetic interaction data are consistent with biochemical data showing that Pol ε is more important to the Pre-Loading complex than either Pol α or Pol δ. We also observed distinct patterns of genetic interactions between leading- and lagging-strand DNA polymerases, with particular genes being important for coupling proliferating cell nuclear antigen loading/unloading (Ctf18, Elg1) with nucleosome assembly (chromatin assembly factor 1, histone regulatory HIR complex). Overall our data reveal specialized genetic networks that affect different aspects of leading- and lagging-strand DNA replication. To help others to engage with these data we have generated two novel, interactive visualization tools, DIXY and Profilyzer.
Epidermal growth factor-induced selective phosphorylation of cultured rat hepatocyte 55-kD cytokeratin before filament reorganization and DNA synthesis

We have reported previously that the addition of dexamethasone to cultured quiescent suckling rat hepatocytes in the presence of insulin, a culture condition which does not cause growth activation, induces a selective increase in the synthesis of the 49-kD/55-kD cytokeratin (CK49/CK55) pair over a 24-h period. This increased synthesis coincides with the formation of dense filament networks reminiscent of those observed in situ at the cell periphery (Marceau, N., H. Baribault, and I. Leroux-Nicollet. 1985. Can. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 63:448-457). We show here for the first time that when EGF is added 48 h after insulin and dexamethasone, there is an early preferential phosphorylation of the CK55 of the CK49/CK55 pair, an induced filament rearrangement from the cell periphery to the cytoplasm, and a subsequent entry into S phase and mitosis after a lag period of 8 h. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with monoclonal antibodies to CK49 and CK55 indicate that, while before EGF treatment the cytokeratin filaments were mainly distributed near the cell periphery, the addition of EGF resulted in their reorganization to a predominantly cytoplasmic localization within less than 3 h. Antitubulin and anti-actin antibodies showed no detectable alteration in the distribution of microtubules and microfilaments. Pulse-chase measurements with [35S]methionine showed no apparent change in the turnover of either CK49 or CK55 during the period that precedes the initiation of DNA synthesis. 32P-labeling in vivo followed by SDS-PAGE demonstrated that CK55 was phosphorylated at a much higher level than CK49 in nonstimulated hepatocytes, and that the addition of EGF resulted in a selective stimulation of 32P-CK55 labeling within less than 30 min. Comparative analyses by two-dimensional PAGE of [35S]methionine and 32P- labeled cytokeratins at various times after EGF stimulation demonstrated a rapid increase in a first phosphorylated form of CK55 and the appearance of a second phosphorylated form at 30 min poststimulation. The changes in the relative proportion of nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated forms were confirmed by immunoblotting with the anti-CK55 monoclonal antibody. Determinations of the 32P-labeled phosphoamino acids of CK55 extracted from the gels demonstrated that the radioactivity was mostly in serine residues. Labeling of Triton-permeabilized hepatocytes with gamma 32P-ATP after treatment with EGF for 30 min to 3 h at 37 degrees C, also demonstrated a phosphorylation of CK55 and CK49 as well, implying that the EGF- responsive serine protein kinase is detergent insoluble and probably part of the surface membrane skeleton. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Leave-One-Out Bound for Crammer-Singer Multiclass Support Vector Machine ∗

The selection of parameters in the support vector machine (SVM) is an important step for constructing a high performance learning machine. Minimizing the bound of leave-one-out (LOO) error is an efficient and time-economized approach for the SVM to select parameters. In fact, some famous bounds have been proposed. These researches focus on their issues for binary classification but not multiclass problem. In this paper we derive the leave-one-out error bound for the Crammer-Singer multiclass SVM. The numerical experiments on some benchmarks show that our method is reasonable.
A novel self-routing address scheme for all-optical packet-switched networks with arbitrary topologies

Pure all-optical packet-switched networks in which both header processing and packet routing are carried out in the optical domain overcome the bandwidth bottlenecks of optoelectronic conversions and therefore are expected to meet the needs of next generation high speed networks. Due to the limited capabilities of available optical logic devices, realizations of pure all-optical packet-switched networks in the near future will likely employ routing schemes that minimize the complexity of routing control. In this paper, we propose a novel self-routing scheme that identifies the output ports of the nodes in a network instead of the nodes themselves. The proposed address scheme requires single bit processing only and is applicable to small to medium size pure all-optical packet-switched networks with arbitrary topologies. Unlike traditional self-routing schemes, multiple paths between two nodes can be defined. An hierarchical address structure can be used in the proposed routing scheme to shorten the address.
Macular choroidal thickness profile in a healthy population measured by swept-source optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE To determine choroidal thickness (CT) profile in a healthy population using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). METHODS This was a cross-sectional, noninterventional study. A total of 276 eyes (spherical equivalent ± 3 diopters [D]) were scanned with SS-OCT. Horizontal CT profile of the macula was created measuring subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) from the posterior edge of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to the choroid-sclera junction. Three determinations were performed at successive points 1000 μm nasal and five more temporal to the fovea. Subjects were divided into five age groups. RESULTS The mean SFCT was 301.89 ± 80.53 μm (95% confidence interval: 292.34-311.43). The mean horizontal macular choroidal thickness (MCT) was 258.69 ± 64.59 μm (95% confidence interval: 251.04-266.35). No difference in CT was found between men and women. Mean SFCT of the different study groups was 325.6 ± 51.1 (0-10 years), 316.7 ± 90.1 (11-20 years), 313.9 ± 80.3 (21-40 years), 264.6 ± 79.3 (41-60 years), and 276.3 ± 88.8 μm in subjects older than 60 years (P < 0.001; ANOVA test). Mean horizontal MCT was 286.0 ± 43.5, 277.7 ± 68.2, 264.0 ± 61.9, 223.4 ± 62.2, and 229.7 ± 66.1 μm, respectively (P < 0.001; ANOVA test). The CT profile was different for each age group. CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, this is the first population study of CT of healthy eyes across a broad range of age groups using SS-OCT. As has been determined using spectral-domain OCT, CT decreases with advancing age, especially after age 40. There were no differences due to sex. The greatest CT variation takes place in temporal sectors.