Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Induction of Human β-Defensin 2 by the Probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 Is Mediated through Flagellin

ABSTRACT Human β-defensin 2 (hBD-2) is an inducible antimicrobial peptide synthesized by the epithelium to counteract bacterial adherence and invasion. Proinflammatory cytokines, as well as certain bacterial strains, have been identified as potent endogenous inducers. Recently, we have found that hBD-2 induction by probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 was mediated through NF-κB- and AP-1-dependent pathways. The aim of the present study was to identify the responsible bacterial factor. E. coli Nissle 1917 culture supernatant was found to be more potent than the pellet, indicating a soluble or shed factor. Chemical analysis demonstrated the factor to be heat resistant and proteinase digestible. Several E. coli Nissle 1917 deletion mutants were constructed and tested for their ability to induce hBD-2 expression in Caco-2 cells. Deletion mutants for flagellin specifically exhibited an impaired immunostimulatory capacity. Reinsertion of the flagellin gene restored the induction capacity to normal levels. Isolated flagellin from E. coli Nissle 1917 and from Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis induced hBD-2 mRNA significantly in contrast to the flagellin of the apathogenic E. coli strain ATCC 25922. H1 flagellin antiserum abrogated hBD-2 expression induced by flagellin as well as E. coli Nissle 1917 supernatant, confirming that flagellin is the major stimulatory factor of E. coli Nissle 1917.
Corporate social responsibility and organizational commitment of semiconductor companies in Kulim High Tech Park, Kedah : Employees perspectives

The fact that corporate social responsibility has been an increasing focus in today‟s business world cannot be denied. Numerous organizations have started to understand that they should adopt corporate social responsibility practices as a strategy to gain and sustain their competitive advantages. Due to the little attention given to CSR strategies related to employee‟s commitment until recent years, Malaysia has remained largely unexplored. The aim of this research is to investigate the influences of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) toward organizational commitment in Malaysia. This study will investigate CSR through four dimensions of responsibilities, namely, economic responsibility, law responsibility, ethically responsibility and discretionary responsibility. Social exchange theory and social identity theory will help explore the preferences toward CSR dimensions, and to identify relationship between CSR and organizational commitment. This study was conducted in semiconductor companies at Kulim High Tech Park in Kedah. The model was tested on a sample of 150 executive officers working in Kulim High Tech Park. Findings indicated a significant positive relationship between CSR practices and employee organizational commitment. Meanwhile, ethical responsibility was the most significantly related of the factors to influencing organizational commitment. Organizations should emphasize the CSR action for enhancing employee‟s organizational commitment and improving organizational performance by emphasizing more on ethical actions related to CSR activities.
Chronic methylphenidate treatment during early life is associated with greater ethanol intake in socially isolated rats.

BACKGROUND Methylphenidate (MPH) is a stimulant prescribed to treat attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Its primary mechanism of action is in the dopamine system, alterations of which are associated with vulnerability to alcohol abuse. There are concerns that juvenile MPH treatment may influence adult drinking behavior. This study examined the interaction of MPH treatment and environmental rearing conditions, which are known to independently influence ethanol (EtOH) drinking behavior, on anxiety-like behavior and vulnerability to alcohol abuse in a juvenile rodent model. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were housed in enriched, standard, or isolated conditions for 4 weeks, starting at postnatal day 21. Rats were concurrently treated with 8 mg/kg/d MPH or saline, delivered via osmotic minipump. Anxiety-like behavior was determined at the end of the treatment session, and 5 weeks later. After MPH treatment, rats were exposed to a 2-bottle choice EtOH drinking procedure that lasted 3 weeks. RESULTS Early life chronic MPH treatment was associated with greater EtOH intake and greater EtOH preference, but only in socially isolated animals. Isolated animals had greater levels of anxiety-like behavior than standard-housed or enriched animals after 4 weeks of exposure to the housing conditions, a difference that persisted even after all animals had been individually housed for an additional 5 weeks and exposed to EtOH. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that early life MPH treatment may increase vulnerability to EtOH drinking in adulthood in a subset of the population. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of early rearing condition for establishing long-lasting behavioral phenotypes. Environmental histories should be considered when prescribing MPH treatment to young children.
60GHz dual-polarized dielectric resonator antenna

In this paper, a dual-polarized dielectric resonator antenna is demonstrated for 60GHz WiFi RF front-end. The antenna is composed of an alumina ceramic cube and fed by a single layer microstrip structure. The simple antenna topology allows for an ideal solution for antenna-in-package at 60GHz. The demonstrated antenna features 22.6% bandwidth around 60GHz with 90% radiation efficiency simulated across 10GHz bandwidth. Isolation between the two orthogonal polarizations is better than 18dB across the bandwidth.
Plants used in traditional healthcare of livestock by Gujjar community of Sub-Himalayan tracts, Uttarakhand, India

community of Sub-Himalayan tracts in Garhwal Himalaya. This tribe is a nomadic one, lives with their livestock’s in the forests, roaming from one place to other in different habitats. Their herds of livestock constituted a substantive role, as their economy is totally dependent on selling milk and other dairy products. They are dependent on the surrounding vegetational wealth for the treatment of various ailments of their livestock, following traditionally based knowledge system. They also have distinct folk concepts regarding the diagnosis of cattle ailments. The following study includes 54 plant species belonging to 32 families, commonly employed in ethnoveterinary practices by the community.
The pathogenic mechanisms of polyglutamine diseases and current therapeutic strategies

Expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeat within the coding region of several genes results in the production of proteins with expanded polyglutamine (PolyQ) stretch. The expression of these pathogenic proteins leads to PolyQ diseases, such as Huntington’s disease or several types of spinocerebellar ataxias. This family of neurodegenerative disorders is characterized by constant progression of the symptoms and molecularly, by the accumulation of mutant proteins inside neurons causing their dysfunction and eventually death. So far, no effective therapy actually preventing the physical and/or mental decline has been developed. Experimental therapeutic strategies either target the levels or processing of mutant proteins in an attempt to prevent cellular deterioration, or they are aimed at the downstream pathologic effects to reverse or ameliorate the caused damages. Certain pathomechanistic aspects of PolyQ disorders are discussed here. Relevance of disease models and recent knowledge of therapeutic possibilities is reviewed and updated.
Open-Sourcing: on the road to the ultimate global source

Open-sourcing is a relatively new term and indicates a less explored theme within the overall perspective of global sourcing. Until recently the term has usually been taken to refer to commercially controlled and created proprietary software which switches, partially or fully to open source licenses – an example would be Netscape and the Mozilla browser. More recently the term has come to take a rather different meaning, implying a deeper link between the open source movement and the tradition of IT/IS outsourcing. Thus open-sourcing has been defined as ‘outsourcing to a global but largely unknown workforce’ (Agerfalk et al., 2006a). This paper explores this emerging though tentative trend and charts eight basic sourcing models drawn from the outsourcing and open source domains and which converge towards open-sourcing. In the spirit of a substantial link between open source software processes and outsourcing of IT/IS activities, the paper analyses the characteristics of open-sourcing, and suggests when and why companies might adopt the approach. This draws on the broader literature on open source adoption, both of the products of open source and the processes. Based on this analysis we propose a detailed framework of opensourcing. The framework places open-sourcing in perspective from the point of view of global perspectives on IT/IS outsourcing but also as an emerging strand of the open source movement.
Corporate social responsibility reporting in Hong Kong: Case study of three note-issuing banks (2003-2006)

The increasing public concern on the state of the world’s environment and the impact of mankind on the ecology of the world has lead to the increased scrutiny of the operations and performance of organisations. Organisations are now expected to be able to demonstrate that they are aware and are addressing the impact of their operations, both direct and indirect, on the environment and society in general. Financial institutions due to the nature of their business generally do not contribute directly to the degradation of the environment however they do provide the funds for many organisations’ projects which do directly impact on the environment. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this paper will review the environmental reporting practices of the three note issuing banks in Hong Kong; the Hongkong and Shangihai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the Standard Chartered Bank (SBC) and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) for the period of 2003 to 2006. The evaluation of their environmental reporting practices will be based on the voluntary Equator Principles, first introduced in 2003, which outline how financial institutions can reflect the current environmental and social concerns associated with project funding. Secondly, this paper will add to the literature on the social constructionalist perspective of legitimation theory upon which this study is based. Unlike legitimacy theory, which focuses on the result [legitimacy], this paper will focus on the processes these three banks use to establish a relationship between their actions and their values through the use of environmental performance reports [legitimation].
Cellular Telephones and Driving Performance: The Effects of Attentional Demands on Motor Vehicle Crash Risk

This study examines the effects of conversation mode and split‐attention communication training on driving performance. The study is based on an experiment where drivers with and without communication training (pilots vs. nonpilots) completed a simulated driving course while involved in one of three conversation modes: no conversation, conversation with passenger, or conversation on a hands‐free cellular telephone. Results indicate that cellular telephone conversations consume more attention and interfere more with driving than passenger conversations. Cell phone conversations lack the nonverbal cues available during close‐contact conversations and conversation participants expend significant cognitive resources to compensate for the lack of such cues. The results also demonstrate that communication training may reduce the hazardous effects of cell phone conversations on driving performance.
Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Lysis Inhibited by Viable HIV Mutants

Immune evasion by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is unexplained but may involve the mutation of viral antigens. When cytotoxic T lymphocytes engaged CD4-positive cells that were acutely infected with HIV bearing natural variant epitopes in reverse transcriptase, substantial inhibition of specific antiviral lysis was observed. Mutant viruses capable of these transactive effects could facilitate the persistence of a broad range of HIV variants in the face of an active and specific immune response.
A Novel Wide-Angle Scanning Phased Array Based on Dual-Mode Pattern-Reconfigurable Elements

A novel linear phased array design for wide-angle scanning applications is presented in this letter. Eight pattern-reconfigurable antennas (PRAs), capable of switching their patterns from quasi-broadside to monopole-like radiation with the help of p-i-n diodes, are used as the basic elements. By combining the scans of the PRAs working at two symmetrical modes in two subspaces, the phased array is able to scan its beam from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$-$</tex-math></inline-formula>81<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to +81<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula> in the E-plane with a gain fluctuation less than 3 dB. The proposed array is simulated, fabricated, and measured. The simulated and measured results show that the performance of the phased array is superior to that of the former designed arrays using PRAs due to its less reconfigurable modes, simpler biasing network, and wider beam-scanning coverage.
Growth Options, Unwritten Call Discounts and Valuing the Small Firm

Why do small firms sell at lower multiples of earnings than large firms? Are small firms being consistently undervalued or is there some other rational explanation? We develop a rationale why valuing the smaller firm is not the same as valuing a smaller scaled, large firm in much the same way that a child is not a miniature adult. We have identified a factor we name the "real unwritten call" against the firm's value. The unwritten call refers to the ability of potential competition to enter the product market and destroy value. Firms do not operate in a static environment, but rather in a dynamic ever changing one. For example, when Wal-Mart opens a new store that destroys a traditional local retailer's value, it is a dynamic change. Thus, for a small firm merely projecting past financial data into the future is extremely naive. While a changing environment affects large firms also, larger firms have more resources that enable them to better adjust to changes and thus avoid permanent losses in value. Considering real market attributes is a major contribution to understanding and improving the pricing of small public firms. While it is well known that the lack of information about small firms creates the information asymmetry and liquidity costs that increase the investor's required return on the right hand side of the balance sheet, the cost of real market changes also affect the firm's ability to produce future cash flows from their investments. These smaller firms have fewer resources with which to create barriers to entry and react to changes in the real markets. We present empirical evidence consistent with our premise. We find evidence of a real call option against value. The option is greater for smaller firms. Finally, our results are consistent with some, and help explain other, anomalies such as the pricing of equity carve-outs relative to their parent, and the low earnings multiples at which closely held firms are actually sold.
Left-handed-media simulation and transmission of EM waves in subwavelength split-ring-resonator-loaded metallic waveguides.

At microwave frequencies, hollow metallic waveguides behave in certain aspects as a "one-dimensional plasma. " This feature will be advantageously used for simulating the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in left-handed metamaterials provided the hollow waveguide is periodically loaded with split ring resonators. It will be shown that EM transmission in this structure is feasible within a certain frequency band even if the transverse dimensions of the waveguide are much smaller than the associated free-space wavelength. This effect can be qualitatively and quantitatively explained by the left-handed metamaterial theory, thus providing a new experimental validation for such a theory.
Changes in subjective estimates of well-being during the onset and remission of motion sickness symptomatology in the slow rotation room.

Abstract : The onset of motion sickness is characterized by a decline in generalized feelings of well-being. In this study, an attempt was made to quantify these subjective changes during the experimental production of motion sickness in the Slow Rotation Room. A simple eleven-point rating scale was used to measure the well-being state. The nature and the time of onset of symptoms were recorded independently. Systematic relationships were obtained between the amount of stimulation required to produce the Malaise 111 endpoint and the rate of change of well-being. In general, relatively susceptible individuals showed on immediate decline in well-being at the onset of the stimulus which continued to fall sharply until the endpoint was reached. With increasing resistance to motion sickness, this point of rapid decline ('avalanche phenomenon') was proportionately delayed. The point on the rating scale at which this rapid decline began was relatively consistent across all subjects. Various positions along the well-being scale were consistently associated with specific constellations of symptoms. The recovery of well-being, following the cessation of the stimulus, appeared to be slower in individuals of low susceptibility than in those who were highly susceptible. (Author)
FAAL: Fog computing-based patient monitoring system for ambient assisted living

From the last few years, Wireless body area networks (WBANs) have attracted a lot of attention from both academia and industry due to an increase in real-time data capturing and processing for patient monitoring. This has become possible due to the technological advancements in which high computing and communication facilities are available for most of the modern handheld devices. In this environment, computing resources are available close to the proximity of the end users using the most popular technology called as Fog computing (devices used in the fog computing are called as fog devices). Most of the solutions reported in the literature for this purpose have used the traditional cloud-based infrastructure in which there may occur a long delay for getting the response even for data which is not of very huge amount which may cause a performance degradation for most of the implemented solutions (such as for treatment of neurological diseases where a real-time monitoring is required) in this environment. Hence, to cope up these issues, in this paper, we proposed a fog computing based patient monitoring system for ambient assisted living (FAAL). Data traces of the movement of the patients (for neurological diseases) are collected using sensor nodes using body area networks (BANs) and are passed using the fog gateways. To reduce the load on the communication infrastructure, an efficient clustering algorithm for data transmission is also presented in the paper. Performance of the proposed solution has been evaluated using the parameters such as-latency, and data overloading. Results obtained clearly show the superior performance of the proposed scheme as compared to the non-fog computing based environment.
Managing to discriminate

Part 1 Theoretical studies of sex discrimination in the recruitment process: managing the labour market gender and the labour market controlling recruitment formalizing recruitment. Part 2 Empirical studies of sex discrimination in the recruitment process: managing to recruit rationalizing discrimination males for sales risking women. Conclusion: the vicious circles of job segregation.
Creating a Bigger Pie? the Effects of Employee Ownership, Profit Sharing, and Stock Options on Workplace Performance

This paper uses data from NBER surveys of over 40,000 employees in hundreds of facilities in 14 firms and from employees on the 2002 and 2006 General Social Surveys to explore how shared compensation affects turnover, absenteeism, loyalty, worker effort, and other outcomes affecting workplace performance. The empirical analysis shows that shared capitalism has beneficial effects on all outcomes save for absenteeism and that it has its strongest effects on turnover, loyalty, and worker effort when it is combined with: a) high-performance work policies (employee involvement, training, and job security), b) low levels of supervision, and c) fixed wages that are at or above market level. Most workers report that cash incentives, stock options, ESOP stock, and ESPP participation motivate them to work harder. The interaction of the effects of shared capitalism with other corporate policies suggests that the various shared capitalist and other policies may operate through a latent variable, "corporate culture".
Identifiability of delayed singular systems

In this paper we derive a condition for delayed singular system to be identified with input-state data. Identifiability condition is given for a singular system with input delays. Dynamics of singular systems can be seen as a combination of dynamics from regular system and nilpotent system, i.e., coefficient matrix of differentiation of state is nilpotent matrix. Dynamics of nilpotent system is well analyzed in terms of distribution theory. Therefore identifiability property of singular system is well-analyzed in terms of distribution theory. We show that identifiability of delayed singular system is related with weak S controllability.
New advances in the treatment of atrial fibrillation: focus on stroke prevention

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and brings about significant mortality and morbidity as a result of heart failure and ischemic stroke. Besides vitamin K antagonists (VKA), several new pharmacological agents (nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants [NOACs]) and procedures have since been developed to improve stroke prevention efforts in AF. Areas covered: This paper will discuss the antiplatelet agents, VKA and NOACs, and their efficacy and safety for stroke prevention in AF. Focus will be placed on the NOACs, their limitations and special considerations. A short assessment of other nonpharmacological antithrombotic procedures will also be made. An extensive PubMed search was used to identify suitable papers. Expert opinion: Despite the advent of NOACs, the VKAs will remain as an important oral anticoagulant due to its versatility. However, convenience and limited food or drug interactions will make NOACs attractive options. The choice between various NOACs will depend on several important factors as illustrated below. Over time, the role for antiplatelet agents will gradually diminish. Left atrial appendage occlusion devices have shown promising results and may have the potential to change the way clinicians manage thromboembolism risks related to AF.