Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INVESTIGATING EFFECT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR A SURVEY OF LISTED COMPANIES IN KENYA

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the marketing strategies that are widely used in the industrial field for the purposes of creating customer awareness, enhancing product penetration into the market and boosting firm‟s profitability. The study mainly examined the extent to which CSR affect consumer buying behaviour in organizations. The study was in CSR because it is so rich, current, ongoing and challenging. In one way or another, organizations are involved in the CSR as they continue to do business. Many at times, marketers and CSR practitioners in general of various companies have been looking at CSR as just a mere tool for „social concern‟ that is, doing it to be seen as “a good neighbour”. This perception needs to be erased off from the marketers‟ minds and a different approach on in handling the CSR must enter the stage with the resolve of strengthening their firms‟ brand equity.
Differentiable Rigidity for quasiperiodic cocycles in compact Lie groups

We study close-to-constants quasiperiodic cocycles in \begin{document} $\mathbb{T} ^{d} \times G$ \end{document} , where \begin{document} $d \in \mathbb{N} ^{*} $ \end{document} and \begin{document} $G$ \end{document} is a compact Lie group, under the assumption that the rotation in the basis satisfies a Diophantine condition. We prove differentiable rigidity for such cocycles: if such a cocycle is measurably conjugate to a constant one satisfying a Diophantine condition with respect to the rotation, then it is \begin{document} $C^{\infty}$ \end{document} -conjugate to it, and the KAM scheme actually produces a conjugation. We also derive a global differentiable rigidity theorem, assuming the convergence of the renormalization scheme for such dynamical systems.
The potential of collective perception in vehicular ad-hoc networks

Most of today's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADASs) rely on the data of local perception sensors. With the introduction of Vehicle-2-X (V2X) communication, the perception range of next generation vehicles will be extended even further. As a technology relying on the presence of other communication partners (network effect), any measure of increasing the market penetration rate of the technology should be pursued. This paper introduces the concept of collective perception, which aims at publishing the objects perceived by local perception sensors in addition to the envisioned self-announcement procedure of V2X enabled vehicles. The potential of the concept is studied by employing an holistic Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) simulation with a modular extension for local perception sensors. In the simulation scenarios, V2X enabled vehicles publish themselves along with their locally perceived objects. The findings unveil a significant leverage of the technology, especially in the case of low market penetration rates.
Exclusion mapping illustrated by the MNSs blood group

An exclusion mapping method is described which attempts to combine in a compact form negative information from deletion studies and studies on families segregating for existing reference markers, centromere markers and familial translocations. A meiotic map is provided for exclusion mapping. Chromosome 22 is used as a worked example of the exclusion mapping of the MNSs blood group. A particular assignment for MNSs to the q28 or q31 region of chromosome 4 is suggested by this method.
Case report: impressive response to pembrolizumab in a patient with mismatch-repair deficient metastasized colorectal cancer and bulky disease

Here, we report the history of a 42-year-old female patient with sporadic mismatch-repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer and abdominal bulky disease, who received pembrolizumab (200 mg every 3 weeks) after the failure of third-line treatment. Restaging 3 months after initiation of treatment revealed a striking response with shrinkage of the bulky peritoneal tumour mass (baseline size 11×11×14 cm) to nearly 25% of the original tumour volume (6.2×7.1×10.4 cm). Restaging 8 months after initiation showed further downsizing of the tumour mass (5.5×7.0×8.0 cm). Tumour markers CEA and CA 19-9 decreased to normal levels, haemoglobin level increased from 8 to 13 mg/dL and her overall clinical performance status increased from ECOG 3 to 1 within 3 months. Therapy with pembrolizumab was continued and is still ongoing. We emphasise the importance of testing for mismatch-repair status in metastatic disease.
Further Observations on the Source of Nitrogen in Phenazine Biosynthesis

Abstract It is concluded from experiments with (S)-[CO15NH2]glutamine and [15N]ammonium sulphate that the biosynthesis of iodinin (1), in Brevibacterium iodinum, and of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (7), in Pseudomonas aureofaciens, is primarily from a single nitrogen source (glutamine) and that the phenazines are constitued by combination of two units of the same precursor, as. 5. Some observations are made on the inhibition and triggering of iodinin biosynthesis.
Cognitive patterns and progression in multiple sclerosis: construction and validation of percentile curves

Background and objectives: Rate and pattern of progression of cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been clearly identified. The present study aimed to identify correlations between cognitive tests and disease duration, construct longitudinal cognitive curves, and assess pattern of change over time. Methods: The Neuropsychological Screening Battery for Multiple Sclerosis was administered in 150 consecutive MS patients, and tests that correlated with disease duration were identified. Percentile curves were constructed and the pattern of cognitive decline over time explored. The cognitive curves were validated in an additional group of 83 patients with MS. Results: Three of four measures of the spatial recall test (SPART 7/24), and the paced auditory serial addition task for two seconds (PASAT 2′), correlated with disease duration. These tests were used to construct cross-sectional curves identifying the pattern of cognitive decline over time in the MS population. On the basis of this cross-sectional analysis, the earliest cognitive decline occurred in the SPART 7/24 trials 1–5 between one and three years from onset, followed by decline in the SPART delayed recall between three and seven years, and then by decline in the PASAT 2′ after seven years from onset. Conclusions: Verbal fluency and verbal memory appear to be affected earliest in MS. The pattern of cognitive decline is further characterised by a decrease in visuospatial learning, followed by delayed recall, and then by attention and information processing speed. Cognitive percentile curves can be used to evaluate the pattern of progression and identify patients at increased risk.
Silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal miniature devices with slow light enhanced third-order nonlinearities

The effects of the slow-down factor on third-order nonlinear effects in silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal channel waveguides were investigated. In the slow light regime, with a group index equal to 99, these nonlinear effects are enhanced but the enhancement produced depends on the input peak power level. Simulations indicate the possibility of soliton-like propagation of 1 ps pulses at an input peak power level of 50 mW inside such a photonic crystal waveguide. The increase in the induced phase shift produced by lower group velocities can be used to decrease the size and power requirements needed to operate devices such as optical switches, logic gates, and wavelength translators.
Surgical Decompression of High-Grade Spinal Cord Compression from Hormone Refractory Metastatic Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND Spine and nonspine skeletal metastases occur in more than 80% of patients with prostate cancer. OBJECTIVE To examine the characteristics of the patient population undergoing surgery for the treatment of prostate cancer metastatic to the spine. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients treated at our institution from June 1993 to August 2014 for surgical management of metastatic spine disease from prostate cancer. RESULTS During the study period, 139 patients with 157 surgical lesions underwent surgery for metastatic spine disease. Decompression for high-grade epidural spinal cord compression was required for 126 patients with 143 lesions. Preoperatively, 69% had a motor deficit and 21% were nonambulatory, with 32% due to motor weakness. At surgery, 87% of patients had hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and 61% failed prior radiation. Median overall survival for HRPC patients was 6.6 mo (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.6-8.6) while the median overall survival for hormone-sensitive patients was 16.3 mo (95% CI: 4.0-26.6). CONCLUSION The majority of patients undergoing surgery for prostate cancer metastases to the spine were refractory to hormone therapy, indicating that patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer are unlikely to develop symptomatic spinal cord compression or spinal instability. A significant number of HRPC patients presented with neurological deficits attributable to spinal cord compression. Vigilant monitoring for the development of signs and symptoms of epidural spinal cord compression and spinal instability in hormone-refractory patients is recommended. Surgical decision making may be affected by the much shorter postoperative survival for HRPC patients as compared to patients with hormone-sensitive cancer.
N- and C-terminal halves of human annexin VI differ in ability to form low pH-induced ion channels.

Human recombinant annexin VI (AnxVI) or its N- (AnxVIA) and C-terminal (AnxVIB) fragments were expressed in E. coli. Their ability to form voltage-dependent ion channels in membranes, induced by low pH, was measured to verify the hypothesis that, upon acidification, the hydrophobicity of AnxVI at a specific domain significantly increases allowing the AnxVI interaction with lipids in a Ca(2+)-independent manner. By theoretically analyzing changes in protein hydrophobicity, we found that hydrophobicity of AnxVIA significantly differed from that of AnxVIB at low pH. These predictions were confirmed experimentally by using planar lipid bilayers and liposome pull-down assay. We found striking difference between AnxVIA and AnxVIB in the ion channel activity, as well as in the membrane binding, suggesting that the halves of AnxVI maybe functionally different. Moreover, we calculated and predicted that the ion channel activity at low pH should appear in other human annexins, as AnxII, AnxV (as known), AnxVIII, and AnxXIII. The possibility that AnxVI acts as cytosolic component of a transmembrane pH-sensing mechanism is proposed.
Research Synthesis: What Is the Diagnostic Performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Discriminate Benign From Malignant Vertebral Compression Fractures? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Study Design. This study is a research synthesis of the published literature evaluating the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differentiation of malignant from benign vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). Objective. Perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize and combine the published data on MRI for discriminating malignant from benign VCFs. Summary of Background Data. The differentiation between benign and malignant VCFs in the spine is a challenging problem confronting spine practitioners. Methods. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and other databases were searched by 2 independent reviewers to identify studies that reported the performance of MRI for discriminating malignant from benign VCF. Included studies were assessed for described MRI features and study quality. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (OR) of each feature were pooled with a random-effects model weighted by the inverse of the variance of each individual estimate. Results. A total of 31 studies with 1685 subjects met the selection criteria. All the studies focused on describing specific features rather than overall diagnostic performance. Signal intensity ratio on opposed phase (chemical shift) imaging 0.8 or more (OR = 164), apparent diffusion coefficient on echo planar diffusion-weighted images 1.5 × 10–3 mm2/s or less with b value 500 s/mm2 (OR = 130), presence of other noncharacteristic vertebral lesions (OR = 55), presence of paraspinal mass (OR = 33), involvement of posterior element (OR = 28), involvement of pedicle (OR = 24), complete replacement of normal bone marrow in VCF (OR = 19), presence of epidural mass (OR = 13), and diffuse convexity of posterior vertebral border (OR = 10) were associated with malignant VCFs, whereas coexisting healed benign VCF (OR = 0.006), presence of “fluid sign” (OR = 0.08), presence of focal posterior vertebral border convexity/retropulsion (OR = 0.08), and band-like shape of abnormal signal (OR = 0.07) were associated with benign VCFs. Conclusion. Several specific MRI features using signal intensity characteristics, morphological characteristics, quantitative techniques, and findings at other levels can be useful for distinguishing benign from malignant VCFs and can serve as inputs for a prediction model. Observer performance reliability has not been adequately assessed.
Occupational risk of infection by human immunodeficiency and hepatitis B viruses among health workers in south-eastern Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE To assess the occupational risk of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as hepatitis B virus (HBV) among healthcare workers in south-eastern Nigeria. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Three tertiary health institutions in south-eastern Nigeria. SUBJECTS Doctors, nurses, laboratory staff and cleaners. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Observation of the availability and use of protective equipment and materials in the various departments of the hospitals. RESULTS Materials and equipments needed for protective and hygienic practices (adequate water supply, protective clothing and availability of disinfectants) were inadequate in all hospitals. Where available, they were found to be inconsistently used. Health workers in the three institutions were thus constantly exposed unnecessarily to blood and other body fluids which might be potentially infectious as well as injury from used sharps. CONCLUSION The risk of acquiring HIV and HBV infections by health workers in this region of Nigeria in the course of performing their duties is therefore still apparently high. Though distinct viruses, they share similar mode of transmission and risk factors. Use of personal protective equipment and adoption of standard hygienic practices among health workers must be encouraged. Supply of protective materials and equipment should be greatly improved. It is recommended that reduction of occupational risks among health workers using this approach should form part of control strategies for both infections in the country.
Identification of an immunomodulating metalloprotease of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (IMPa)

Phagocytosis by neutrophils is the essential step in fighting Pseudomonas infections. The first step in neutrophil recruitment to the site infection is the interaction of P‐selectin (on endothelial cells) with P‐selectin glycoprotein ligand‐1 (PSGL‐1) on neutrophils. Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes various proteases that degrade proteins that are essential for host defence, such as elastase and alkaline protease. Here we identify PA0572 of P. aeruginosa as an inhibitor of PSGL‐1 and named this secreted hypothetical protease immunomodulating metalloprotease of P. aeruginosa or IMPa. Proteolytic activity was confirmed by cleavage of recombinant and cell‐surface expressed PSGL‐1. Functional inhibition was demonstrated by impaired PSGL‐1‐mediated rolling of IMPa‐treated neutrophils under flow conditions. Next to PSGL‐1, IMPa targets CD43 and CD44 that are also involved in leucocyte homing. These data indicate that IMPa prevents neutrophil extravasation and thereby protects P. aeruginosa from neutrophil attack.
Chromosomal mobilization and reintegration of Sleeping Beauty and PiggyBac transposons

The Sleeping Beauty and PiggyBac DNA transposon systems have recently been developed as tools for insertional mutagenesis. We have compared the chromosomal mobilization efficiency and insertion site preference of the two transposons mobilized from the same donor site in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells under conditions in which there were no selective constraints on the transposons' insertion sites. Compared with Sleeping Beauty, PiggyBac exhibits higher transposition efficiencies, no evidence for local hopping and a significant bias toward reintegration in intragenic regions, which demonstrate its utility for insertional mutagenesis. Although Sleeping Beauty had no detectable genomic bias with respect to insertions in genes or intergenic regions, both Sleeping Beauty and PiggyBac transposons displayed preferential integration into actively transcribed loci. genesis 47:404–408, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sub-Nanogram Detection of RDX Explosive by Monoclonal Antibodies

Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies were raised to protein carrier molecules haptenized with RDX, a major component of many plastic explosives including Semtex. Sera from immunized mice detected RDX protein conjugates in standard ELISA. Clonally purified monoclonal antibodies had detection limits in the sub-ng/mL range for underivatized RDX in competition ELISA. The monoclonal antibodies are not dependent on the presence of taggants added during the manufacturing process, and are likely to have utility in the detection of any explosive containing RDX, or RDX contamination of environmental sites.
Implant treatment planning regarding augmentation procedures: panoramic radiographs vs. cone beam computed tomography images.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging on treatment planning regarding augmentation procedures for implant placement. MATERIAL AND METHODS Panoramic radiographs and CBCT images of 40 patients requesting single-tooth implants in 59 sites were retrospectively analyzed by six specialists in implantology, and treatment planning was performed. Therapeutic recommendations were compared with the surgical protocol performed initially. RESULTS Bone height estimation from panoramic radiographs yielded to higher measures and greater variability compared to CBCT. The suggested treatment plan for lateral and vertical augmentation procedures based on CBCT or panoramic radiographs coincided for 55-72% of the cases. A trend to a more invasive augmentation procedure was seen when planning was based on CBCT. Panoramic radiography revealed 57-63% (lateral) vs. 67% (vertical augmentation) congruent plans in agreement with surgery. Among the dissenting sites, there was a trend toward less invasive planning for lateral augmentation with panoramic radiographs, while vertical augmentation requirements were more frequently more invasive when based on CBCT. CONCLUSIONS Vertical augmentation requirements can be adequately determined from panoramic radiographs. In difficult cases with a deficient lateral alveolar bone, the augmentation schedule may better be evaluated from CBCT to avoid underestimation, which occurs more frequently when based on panoramic radiographs only. However, overall, radiographic interpretation and diagnostic thinking accuracy seem to be mainly depending on the opinion of observers.
Acculturation, social support, and quality of life for Korean immigrant breast and gynecological cancer survivors

Objectives. This study examines the direct and/or indirect pathways among acculturation, social support, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QOL) for Korean immigrant breast and gynecological cancer survivors. Design. The QOL-Cancer Survivor measure was translated and then administered to 51 survivors. This tool measured acculturation by assessing westernization, language barriers, and length of stay. In addition, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 was used to assess depressive symptoms. Social support components were conceptualized as comprising both functional social support and social network structures. Results. Structural equation modeling identified significant relationships among acculturation, social support, depressive symptoms, and QOL. Higher acculturation was associated with positive network structures (larger network size, diversity, and closer social ties) and lower depressive symptoms, which in turn contributed to better QOL. Simultaneously, positive social network structures strongly correlated with better emotional support and, thus, influenced lower depressive symptoms. Conclusions. The evidence that acculturation influences QOL through social support for Korean immigrant cancer survivors should serve as a rationale for developing psychosocial interventions that enhance immigrant cancer survivors’ social participation and adjustment in the unfamiliar US environment.
The replicative DNA polymerase of herpes simplex virus 1 exhibits apurinic/apyrimidinic and 5′-deoxyribose phosphate lyase activities

Base excision repair (BER) is essential for maintaining genome stability both to counter the accumulation of unusual bases and to protect from base loss in the DNA. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is a large dsDNA virus that encodes its own DNA replication machinery, including enzymes involved in nucleotide metabolism. We report on a replicative family B and a herpesvirus-encoded DNA Pol that possesses DNA lyase activity. We have discovered that the catalytic subunit of the HSV-1 DNA polymerase (Pol) (UL30) exhibits apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) and 5′-deoxyribose phosphate (dRP) lyase activities. These activities are integral to BER and lead to DNA cleavage on the 3′ side of abasic sites and 5′-dRP residues that remain after cleavage by 5′-AP endonuclease. The UL30-catalyzed reaction occurs independently of divalent cation and proceeds via a Schiff base intermediate, indicating that it occurs via a lyase mechanism. Partial proteolysis of the Schiff base shows that the DNA lyase activity resides in the Pol domain of UL30. These observations together with the presence of a virus-encoded uracil DNA glycosylase indicates that HSV-1 has the capacity to perform critical steps in BER. These findings have implications on the role of BER in viral genome maintenance during lytic replication and reactivation from latency.
A Unified Cloud Platform for Autonomous Driving

Tailoring cloud support for each autonomous-driving application would require maintaining multiple infrastructures, potentially resulting in low resource utilization, low performance, and high management overhead. To address this problem, the authors present a unified cloud infrastructure with Spark for distributed computing, Alluxio for distributed storage, and OpenCL to exploit heterogeneous computing resources for enhanced performance and energy efficiency.
Iron Isotopic Compositions of Geological Reference Materials and Chondrites

High‐precision iron isotopic compositions for Fe‐bearing geological reference materials and chondrites with a wide range of matrices (e.g., silicates, oxides, organic‐bearing materials) are reported. This comprehensive data set should serve as a reference for iron isotopic studies across a range of geological and biological disciplines for both quality assurance and inter‐laboratory calibration. Where comparison is available, the iron isotopic compositions of most geological reference materials measured in this study were in agreement with previously published data within quoted uncertainties. Recommendations for the reporting of future iron isotopic data and associated uncertainties are also presented. Long‐term repeat analyses of all samples indicate that highly reproducible iron isotopic measurements are now obtainable (± 0.03‰ and ± 0.05‰ for δ56Fe and δ57Fe, respectively).