Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION OF A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A LARGE INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENT

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a popular catchphrase and is perceived by many companies to be an important factor in achieving competitive advantage. CRM is considered to be one of the four key areas of emerging digital firms, seamlessly linking manufacturing plants, offices and marketing in a global economy. CRM has unfortunately been characterized with over 60% failure during 2001. The paper describes the successful implementation of a pilot CRM project for a large independent travel agent operating in the UK with a turnover of £500 million and a work force of over 2,000. The paper describes the CRM trial, supported by a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which showed an increase in sales of £150,000 which, if implemented across the business, would have increased sales by £1.2 million. The paper provides an example of a successful implementation in an area which is categorized with a high failure rate of CRM implementations.
Molecular characterization of two Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 butanol dehydrogenase isozyme genes

A 4-kb segment of DNA containing two previously cloned butanol dehydrogenase (BDH) isozyme genes (D. Petersen, R. Welch, F. Rudolph, and G. Bennett, J. Bacteriol. 173:1831-1834, 1991) was sequenced. Two complete open reading frames (ORFs) were identified (bdhA and bdhB), along with a third truncated ORF (ORF1). The translation products of bdhA and bdhB corresponded to the N-terminal sequences of the purified BDH I and BDH II proteins, respectively. The two isozymes had a high amino acid identity (73%) and showed homology to a newly described class of alcohol dehydrogenases. Northern blots revealed that bdhA and bdhB did not form an operon. Primer extension experiments located single transcriptional start sites 37 and 58 bp upstream of the start codons of bdhA and bdhB, respectively. The -10 and -35 promoter regions for these genes were almost identical. bdhA and bdhB were found to be induced or derepressed immediately prior to significant butanol production in controlled pH 5.0 batch fermentations.
Two Distinct Raf Domains Mediate Interaction with Ras (*)

A key event for Ras transformation involves the direct physical association between Ras and the Raf-1 kinase. This interaction promotes both Raf translocation to the plasma membrane and activation of Raf kinase activity. Although substantial experimental evidence has demonstrated that Raf residues 51-131 alone are sufficient for Ras binding, conflicting observations have suggested that the Raf cysteine-rich domain (residues 139-184) may also be important for interaction with Ras. To clarify the role of the Raf cysteine-rich domain in Ras-Raf binding, we have compared the ability of two distinct Raf fragments to interact with Ras using both in vitro Ras binding and in vivo Ras inhibition assays. First, we determined that both Raf sequences 2-140 and 139-186 (designated Raf-Cys) showed preferential binding to active, GTP-bound Ras in vitro. Second, we observed that Raf-Cys antagonized oncogenic Ras(Q61L)-mediated transactivation of Ras-responsive elements and focus-forming activity in NIH 3T3 cells and insulin-induced germinal vesicle breakdown in Xenopus laevis oocytes in vivo. This inhibitory activity suggests that Raf-Cys can interact with Ras in vivo. Taken together, these results suggest that Ras interaction with two distinct domains of Raf-1 may be important in Ras-mediated activation of Raf kinase activity.
A Probabilistic Graphical Model for Microphone Array Source Separation using Rich Pre-Trained Source Models

Voice based computing applications, such as phone communication and speech recognition, use microphone arrays to capture voice from a human speaker. In many environments of interest, however, sounds from other sources interfere with the speaker's voice, posing severe problems for subsequent processing. This paper describes a new framework for treating this problem, and presents and demonstrates a new algorithm for the cancellation of interfering sounds. Our framework combines techniques from statistical machine learning with ideas from speech and audio processing. An important feature involves training rich probabilistic models on data from different types of relevant sound sources. Those source models are then incorporated into a larger probabilistic model of the observed microphone data. Using that model we derive our algorithm, which is of the expectation-maximization type and infers from data the clean sound of separate individual sources. We report very good results on data recorded in different environments
Life history specializations of monogenean flatworms: A review of experimental and microscopical studies

This review illustrates the use of experimental approaches combined with microscopy to study the biology of monogenean parasites. Studies of feeding, development, reproduction, and systematics have been based on gyrodactylids, flatworms infecting teleost fishes. In a contrasting system involving an amphibian host in a desert environment, analysis of adaptations to extreme conditions has focused on Pseudodiplorchis americanus. The unusual reproductive strategies, particularly the interactions between mother and offspring, are highlighted for both monogeneans. Species of Gyrodactylus are viviparous, maintaining up to three generations of embryos simultaneously in utero, and many of their reproductive specializations are related to progenesis. Embryo nutrition takes place via a metabolically‐active syncytial uterine lining that has close association with the parental gut. Microscopy has also proved an essential adjunct to molecular studies of speciation and host specificity. P. americanus is ovoviviparous and the adaptations for embryo maintenance are unique. The primary keratin‐type eggshell is replaced by a flexible secondary elastin capsule produced by the uterus; parental nutrients are transferred through cytoplasmic connections to the developing embryo. TEM has demonstrated unique adaptations of P. americanus to its micro‐environments, including secretion of tegumental vesicles that provide protection from digestive enzymes during migration through the host gut. This paper highlights the potential of monogeneans for studies of fundamental biological principles. Miscrosc. Res. Tech. 42:186–199, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Strategic framework for social and economic viability in inclusive innovation projects

Entrepreneurs with the ambition to structurally cater the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) market face two challenges. On the one hand, they need to ‘go local’ to ensure local ownership. On the other hand, they have to work towards a scalable business model. This paper presents a framework which combines the innovation phases with the challenges of local ownership (social viability) and scalability (economic viability). The framework is addressed to entrepreneurs developing products or services for end-consumers at the Base of the Pyramid and illustrated with cases from the VOICES project.
The analgesic effect of electrostimulation (WoundEL®) in the treatment of leg ulcers

This study aims to demonstrate the analgesic efficacy of electrostimulation (ES), a recognised treatment for leg ulcers. Patients treated by ES for leg ulcers between 2011 and 2013 were included in the study. The pain score obtained with the numerical rating scale (NRS) was reported before the start of the ES (D0), after 3 days (D3) and 1 week following treatment initialisation. The analgesic treatments (AT) were reported at each assessment. Seventy‐three patients were included (mean age 75·19 years): 31 venous leg ulcers, 21 mixed venous leg ulcers, 2 arterial ulcers, 17 hypertensive ischaemic ulcers, 1 Hydrea®‐induced ulcer and an amputation stump ulcer. The NRS at D0 was on average 5·3 (median = 6) while it was 2·2 at D7 (median = 2), that is P < 0·001. The results were also significant between D0 and D3 (P < 0·001). A decrease in the number of AT used was observed between D0 (2·0 AT per patient on average) and D7 (1·7 AT on average) (P < 0·001). We also observed a decrease in the consumption of grade 3 analgesics on D0 and D7 (P = 0·03). This study demonstrates the rapid analgesic efficacy of ES in leg ulcers, with a clear impact on the NRS score and especially on the decrease in analgesic consumption.
Aksara jawa text detection in scene images using convolutional neural network

Aksara jawa is an ancient Javanese character, which has been used since 17th century. The character is mostly written on stones to describe history or naming such as places, wedding, tombstones, etc. This character is however gradually ignored by people. Thus, it is extremely important to preserve this near loss heritage culture. In this paper, as a step toward preserving and converting visual information into text, we develop Aksara Jawa text detection system in scene images employing deep convolutional neural network to localize the occurrence of Aksara Jawa text. This method mainly differs from the existing Aksara Jawa text works that employ manually hand-crafted features and explicitly learn a classifier. The features and classifier of this method are jointly learned from which the back-propagation technique is employed to obtain parameters simultaneously. A text confidence map is then produced followed by bounding boxes formation which is estimated and formed to indicate the occurrence of text lines. Experiments show encouraging result for the benefit of text analysis on Aksara Jawa.
Using the Characteristics of Documents, Users and Tasks to Predict the Situational Relevance of Health Web Documents

Relevance is usually estimated by search engines using document content, disregarding the user behind the search and the characteristics of the task. In this work, we look at relevance as framed in a situational context, calling it situational relevance, and analyze whether it is possible to predict it using documents, users and tasks characteristics. Using an existing dataset composed of health web documents, relevance judgments for information needs, user and task characteristics, we build a multivariate prediction model for situational relevance. Our model has an accuracy of 77.17%. Our findings provide insights into features that could improve the estimation of relevance by search engines, helping to conciliate the systemic and situational views of relevance. In a near future we will work on the automatic assessment of document, user and task characteristics.
Biotemplates in the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles

This article recapitulates the scientific advancement towards the greener synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Applications of noble metals have increased throughout human civilization, and the uses for nano‐sized particles are even more remarkable. “Green” nanoparticle synthesis has been achieved using environmentally acceptable solvent systems and eco‐friendly reducing and capping agents. Numerous microorganisms and plant extracts have been applied to synthesize inorganic nanostructures either intracellularly or extracellularly. The use of nanoparticles derived from noble metals has spread to many areas including jewelery, medical fields, electronics, water treatment and sport utilities, thus improving the longevity and comfort in human life. The application of nanoparticles as delivery vehicles for bactericidal agents represents a new paradigm in the design of antibacterial therapeutics. Orientation, size and physical properties of nanoparticles influences the performance and reproducibility of a potential device, thus making the synthesis and assembly of shape‐ and size‐controlled nanocrystals an essential component for any practical application. This need has motivated researchers to explore different synthesis protocols.
Diabetes self-management in people with severe mental illness

Diabetes is a common and a serious global health problem, currently affecting an estimated 8.3% of adults - 382 million people worldwide, and taking up 11% of international health expenditure (International Diabetes Federation, 2013). Type 2 diabetes is the commonest type of diabetes and accounts for around 90% of cases. This condition typically develops during adulthood, usually in people over the age of 40 years, but younger onset is becoming increasingly more common. The disease is characterised by poorly regulated blood glucose levels, which may arise from defects in insulin secretion (insulin deficiency), or in its action (insulin resistance), or both. Therefore, the aim of treatment is to manage blood glucose levels to alleviate short-term symptoms and prevent or delay the development of long-term complications. Raised glucose in the blood, known as hyperglycaemia can initially be controlled by lifestyle management such as changes to diet and exercise, but given the progressive nature of type 2 diabetes it is likely that most individuals will ultimately require pharmacological intervention as well. This may initially be with oral hypoglycaemic drugs to increase the production or uptake of insulin and, if the disease remains uncontrolled, insulin therapy
Personality traits and recovery from major depressive disorder

Objective: To study the correlation of personality traits measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) with the prognosis of major depressive disorder in patients treated with either fluoxetine or short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in a randomized comparative study. Method: 35 patients with DSM IV-defined major depressive disorder of mild or moderate severity were randomized to receive either short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy or fluoxetine treatment for 16 weeks. Prior to beginning of the therapy, patients were assessed with TCI. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was used as the outcome measure completed at the baseline and follow-up at 4 months. Results: In the combined group (n=35), Harm Avoidance was associated with the severity of the depression measured by the HDRS at the baseline (P=0.01) and baseline Self-Directedness with the HDRS at 4 months follow-up (P=0.03). In the fluoxetine treatment group, Reward Dependence (P=0.03), Self-Directedness (P=0.01) and Cooperativeness (P=0.02) at the baseline associated with HDRS at 4 months follow-up. No statistically significant associations between personality traits and depression scores at the follow-up were found in the patients treated with psychotherapy. Conclusion: In this whole cohort of depressive patients, baseline high Self-Directedness predicted higher depression scores after 4 months of treatment. In the fluoxetine treatment group, subjects with high baseline Reward Dependence, Self-Directedness or Cooperativeness were likely more severely depressed at the 4 months follow-up. We suggest that associations between personality traits and remaining depressive symptoms after 4 months treatment with fluoxetine could be caused by the potential differences in the placebo effect.
Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Toxin A Variant Strains of Clostridium difficile among Adults and Children with Diarrhea in France

ABSTRACT Toxin A variant strains (toxin A-negative, toxin B-positive strains) of Clostridium difficile have been reported to be responsible for diarrhea or pseudomembranous colitis in humans. These strains lack parts of the repeating sequences of the toxin A gene (tcdA) and are toxin A negative by commercial enzyme immunoassays (EIA). Here, we report the prevalence of the toxin A variant strains in 334 patients with C. difficile-associated diarrhea in France. The repeating segment of the tcdA gene (1,200 bp) was amplified by PCR using the primers NK9 and NK11 (H. Kato et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 36:2178-2182, 1998). In the case of amplified fragments of unexpected size, the entire tcdA gene was studied by PCRs A1, A2, and A3 (Rupnik et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 36:2240-2247, 1998), and strains were characterized by serotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and PCR ribotyping. By PCR with primers NK9 and NK11, C. difficile variant strains were detected in 2.7% of patients. Several variant types were found. A deletion of approximately 1,700 bp was observed in six strains from five patients. These strains belonged to serotype F and were characterized by the same pulsotype and the same PCR ribotype. They were toxin A negative by EIA and exhibited an atypical cytopathic effect on MRC-5 cells. Two other tcdA variant types that exhibited a positive result for toxin A by EIA were identified: one from serotype H with a longer amplified fragment (insertion of 200 bp) and one with a deletion of 600 bp. Diagnosis of C. difficile-associated diseases would have been missed in five patients (1.5%) by laboratories that screen the stools only for the presence of toxin A. This result underlines the need for testing stool by the cytotoxicity assay in patients with a high suspicion of C. difficile-associated diarrhea but a negative immunoassay for toxin A.
Blakeslea trispora Genes for Carotene Biosynthesis

ABSTRACT We cloned the carB and carRA genes involved in β-carotene biosynthesis from overproducing and wild-type strains of Blakeslea trispora. The carB gene has a length of 1,955 bp, including two introns of 141 and 68 bp, and encodes a protein of 66.4 kDa with phytoene dehydrogenase activity. The carRA gene contains 1,894 bp, with a single intron of 70 bp, and encodes a protein of 69.6 kDa with separate domains for lycopene cyclase and phytoene synthase. The estimated transcript sizes for carB and carRA were 1.8 and 1.9 kb, respectively. CarB from the β-carotene-overproducing strain B. trispora F-744 had an S528R mutation and a TAG instead of a TAA stop codon. The overproducing strain also had a P143S mutation in CarRA. Both B. trispora genes could complement mutations in orthologous genes in Mucor circinelloides and could be used to construct transformed strains of M. circinelloides that produced higher levels of β-carotene than did the nontransformed parent. The results show that these genes are conserved across the zygomycetes and that the B. trispora carB and carRA genes are functional and potentially useable to increase carotenoid production.
Transport and metabolism of glucose in isolated enterocytes of the black bullhead ictalurus melas: effects of diet and hormones

The uptake and metabolism of glucose were assessed in enterocytes isolated from black bullhead Ictalurus melas. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of diet and hormone treatment on glucose transport and metabolism, so the enterocyte was the most appropriate preparation. Glucose transport was estimated using specific inhibitors: glucose uptake measured in the presence of phlorizin presumably represents transport at the basolateral membrane, whereas glucose uptake in the presence of cytochalasin B presumably represents transport at the brush border. Feeding bullheads a standard diet resulted in maximum enterocyte rates of glucose uptake of 438.2+/-35.5 nmol mg-1 cells h-1 for transport in the presence of cytochalasin B and 427.0+/-49.7 nmol mg-1 cells h-1 (means +/- s.e.m., N=12) for transport in the presence of phlorizin. These values represent 50 % of the total 3-O-methylglucose transported. The rate of transport in the presence of cytochalasin B was increased in bullheads fed a high-carbohydrate diet. Incubating bullhead enterocytes with glucagon or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP) at 10(-8 )mol l-1 and with dexamethasone or isoproterenol at 10(-6 )mol l-1 significantly increased the rate of brush-border transport, but not the apparent affinity constant (Kt). Activation was dependent on hormone concentration. In contrast, insulin was without effect on transport rates, nor did it counteract activation by glucagon-family peptides. CO2 production rates from d-[14C]glucose indicated that glucose metabolism was not limited by transport rates in the enterocytes. Glucagon and GLP decreased maximal oxidation rates, whereas dexamethasone, isoproterenol and insulin did not alter these rates. The activities of enterocyte hexokinase exceeded the rate of glucose oxidation but not the rate of transport of glucose, at least at maximum activities, implicating this enzyme as one component of the strategy to ensure that glucose is maximally available to the blood of this species.
Toxic levels of mercury in Chinese infants eating fish congee

RESEARCH 5 What’s hanging around your neck? Pathogenic bacteria on identity badges and lanyards Despina Kotsanas, Carmel Scott, Elizabeth E Gillespie, Tony M Korman, Rhonda L Stuart 9 Written advice can provide a safe and acceptable alternative to new patient assessment for selected referrals to haematologists Peter S Ganly, Helen Keeman, Ruth L Spearing, Mark P Smith, Nigel Patton, Eileen G Merriman, Steve S Gibbons
A Pollution Alleviative L2 Cache Replacement Policy for Chip Multiprocessor Architecture

Chip multi-processor exploits both instruction-level and thread-level parallelism effectively. In a typical chip multi-processor architecture, L2 cache is shared by multiple cores. Sharing the L2 cache allows high cache utilization and avoids duplicating cache hardware resources. Unfortunately, the mis-predictions of any processor core could lead the load miss from the wrong path to write some useless data into the shared L2 cache, and cause L2 cache pollution. This may increase additional cache misses and lessen performance of other threads for failing to occupy sufficient L2 cache space, and even cause threads starvation. This paper proposes a light pollution replacement policy for shared L2 cache, called LPR, which priorities swapping of wrong path data to eliminate the pollution caused by the execution of the wrong path load instructions as soon as possible. Under the configuration of dual-core CMP architecture, 32KB private data/instruction L1 cache, 512KB shared L2 cache, simulation results show that LPR improves the IPC from 1.83% to 7.57% averagely, 11.1% mostly, and increases the L2 cache hit rate from 0.47% to 0.85% averagely, 1.91% mostly, due to the pollution alleviation of the shared L2 cache.
JNK Regulates the Release of Proapoptotic Mitochondrial Factors in Reovirus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT Reovirus-induced apoptosis is associated with activation of the proapoptotic mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the JNK-associated transcription factor c-Jun. Here we show that reovirus-induced apoptosis and activation of caspase 3 are inhibited in cells deficient in MEK kinase 1, an upstream activator of JNK in reovirus-infected cells. Inhibition of JNK activity following reovirus infection delays the release of proapoptotic mitochondrial factors and the subsequent onset of apoptosis. In contrast, reovirus-induced apoptosis is not blocked by infection with adenovirus expressing dominant-negative c-Jun, and c-Jun activation does not correlate with apoptosis in reovirus-infected cells. This is the first report demonstrating that JNK is associated with regulation of mitochondrial pathways of apoptosis following viral infection.