Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outbreak of norovirus infection among river rafters associated with packaged delicatessen meat, Grand Canyon, 2005.

BACKGROUND Norovirus is often transmitted by infected food handlers at the point of service, whereas reports of food contamination before wholesale distribution are rare. In September 2005, we investigated reports of gastroenteritis among rafters who went on unrelated trips on the Colorado River. METHODS We surveyed all companies that launched rafting trips during the period from 14 August through 19 September 2005 to identify trips in which > or =3 rafters became ill. We conducted a case-control study. Case patients were persons who experienced diarrhea or vomiting that commenced < or =72 h after the trip launch; control subjects were persons who did not become ill < or =72 h after launch. We tested stool samples and food specimens for norovirus. We performed a traceback investigation of the suspected food vehicle and inspected the implicated processing plant. RESULTS Three or more rafters developed gastroenteritis during 13 (14%) of 91 trips, for a total of 137 ill persons. Of the 57 case patients who became ill < or =72 h after trip launch, 55 (96%) reported eating delicatessen meat, compared with 75 (79%) of 95 control subjects (odds ratio, 7.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-66.7). All delicatessen meat eaten by case patients came from 1 batch purchased from 1 processing plant and had been sliced, vacuum-packed, and frozen (temperature, -23 degrees C) for 7-28 days. An employee sliced this batch with bare hands 1 day after recovery from gastroenteritis. Identical norovirus sequences were identified in stool specimens obtained from rafters on 3 different trips; 2 of 5 meat packages also tested positive for norovirus by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and DNA hybridization. CONCLUSIONS Food handlers can contaminate ready-to-eat meats with norovirus during processing. Meat-processing practices should include specific measures to prevent contamination with enteric viruses and subsequent widespread outbreaks.
Surgical injuries of pancreatic allografts during procurement

Marang‐van de Mheen PJ, Hilling DE, Dirkes MC, Baranski AG. Surgical injuries of pancreatic allografts during procurement. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 737–743. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
HRM at the coalface: employee responses to performance appraisal at an underground coalmine

Based on a four year empirical study investigating employee responses to the implementation of a performance appraisal (PA) process in an underground coal mine, this paper contributes to the small but growing body of literature that examines employee responses to HRM interventions. The paper is constructed around seven key research questions recentring the employee as the discursive subject of HRM. A careful interrogation of employee responses to having their performance appraised indicates that this individuating HRM process occasions considerable disruption to miners’ occupational selves and leads to unintended consequences for the miners, for their working relationships, and for their contributions to organisational goals.
Knowledge and attitudes among pregnant women and maternity staff about umbilical cord blood banking

Dear Sir, Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a recognised and frequently used source of stem cells for allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation, not only for leukemias and lymphomas but also for bone marrow failure syndromes, haemoglobinopathies, immunodeficiencies and inborn errors of metabolism (Chen et al., 2013). Numerous studies have found the outcome after UCB transplantation to be as good as, or even better, than transplantation with stem cells from matched unrelated donors or siblings (Hwang et al., 2007), with similar leukaemia-free survival and leukaemia relapse (Chen et al., 2013), and lower incidence and severity of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (Rodrigues et al., 2014). However, UCB transplantation is more expensive than matched unrelated donor or sibling transplantation, because health care systems are obliged to compensate the cost of building up and managing UCB stem cell banks. UCB samples are collected from the remaining placental and UCB immediately after delivery and stored into either a public or private UCB bank. Despite substantial technical and scientific improvements in UCB banking and transplantation, the method has not yet reached its full potential to follow the growing demand for stem cells. This is partially caused by relatively small number of UCB samples fulfilling the high-quality standards required for storage in the Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide, mostly due to insufficient amount or quality of stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord. This can be improved, at least in part, by good training of staff assigned to collect UCB immediately after delivery. However, insufficient awareness of expectant parents about UCB banking in general (Palten & Dudenhausen, 2010) as well as insufficient knowledge regarding its usefulness may be another important cause of reluctance for donating UCB due to lack of motivation. In order to determine the awareness, level of knowledge, attitudes and information sources of pregnant women and hospital maternity staff about UCB banking and to explore a possible link concerning the knowledge about UCB banking between maternity staff members directly involved in perinatal care and pregnant women to whom they provide it, we conducted a prospective study in two university hospitals in Zagreb, Croatia, between November 2014 and April 2015. The study was granted approval by the Ethics Committees of both hospitals. Two simple anonymous questionnaires were used for pregnant women
Title : Leucine-rich Repeat Kinase 2 regulates Sec 16 A at ER exit sites to allow ER-Golgi export

As you will see, all referees find your study interesting and referee #3 supports publication of a revised version of your manuscript here. However, referee 1 and 2 think that further insight to reveal the role of LRRK2 at ERES is required as well as some experiments and amendments to better support your conclusions. Given the comments provided, I would like to invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript, addressing all concerns of the referees. More specifically, referee #1 gives very constructive comments and an analysis along the lines suggested by this referee would be very important for further proceedings here. We would also appreciate if you could address minor point 1 of referee #2. Please do not hesitate to contact me in case of further questions.
Categories and Monads in HOL-Omega

We consider HOL-Omega, a recent extension by Homeier to the type system of the HOL theorem prover. We describe how it permits an implementation of categories, where we model the objects of a category as the types of HOL-Omega. This gives a “light-weight” implementation of categories into a theorem prover: we explore how this is sufficient for easily proving some non-trivial results of category theory, although some other results cannot be expressed in HOL-Omega in this way. We illustrate the use of HOL-Omega by first proving the multiple characterisations of an adjoint pair of functors. Then we consider compound monads, where we consider distributive laws and the conditions for compatibility of monads. We show how in HOL-Omega we can express the concept of a monad in the Kleisli category of another monad, and use this to obtain easy proof of some results about distributive laws, including a new result simplifying the conditions of Barr & Wells for compatibility of monads.
Integrin activation involves a conformational change in the alpha 1 helix of the beta subunit A-domain.

The ligand-binding region of integrin beta subunits contains a von Willebrand factor type A-domain: an alpha/beta "Rossmann" fold containing a metal ion-dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) on its top face. Although there is evidence to suggest that the betaA-domain undergoes changes in tertiary structure during receptor activation, the identity of the secondary structure elements that change position is unknown. The mAb 12G10 recognizes a unique cation-regulated epitope on the beta(1) A-domain, induction of which parallels the activation state of the integrin (i.e. competency for ligand recognition). The ability of Mn(2+) and Mg(2+) to stimulate 12G10 binding is abrogated by mutation of the MIDAS motif, demonstrating that the MIDAS is a Mn(2+)/Mg(2+) binding site and that occupancy of this site induces conformational changes in the A-domain. The cation-regulated region of the 12G10 epitope maps to Arg(154)/Arg(155) in the alpha1 helix. Our results demonstrate that the alpha1 helix undergoes conformational alterations during integrin activation and suggest that Mn(2+) acts as a potent activator of beta(1) integrins because it can promote a shift in the position of this helix. The mechanism of beta subunit A-domain activation appears to be distinct from that of the A-domains found in some integrin alpha subunits.
Forbidden Payment: Foreign Bribery and American Business After 1977

The United States prohibits American individuals and corporations from bribing foreign government officials. Legislation enacted in 1976 and 1977 stipulates tax penalties, fines, and even prison terms for executives of American companies that pay illegal bribes. This paper examines the effect of US anti-bribery legislation on the operations of US firms in bribe-prone countries after 1977. Four separate indicators reveal that US business activities in these countries fell sharply after passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. These results suggest that this unilateral action by the United States served to weaken the competitive positions of American firms without significantly reducing the importance of bribery to foreign business transactions.
Design of LDPC-Coded Modulations for Fast Iterative Decoding

In this paper, we propose an EXIT chart-based approach to code design for low-density parity-check (LDPC)coded modulations. In particular, the adopted technique iteratively modifies the LDPC code degree distribution in order to achieve a target bit error rate (BER) at a given (and possibly small) number of iterations. In this paper, we limit ourselves to communication systems on a binary erasure channel (BEC), but the proposed approach is general. The optimized codes for a BEC give significant insights into the impact of the degree distributions on the BER performance.
Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of Single Doses of LXR‐623, a Novel Liver X‐Receptor Agonist, in Healthy Participants

Liver X‐receptor (LXR) agonists have been postulated to enhance reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), a process believed to shuttle cholesterol from the periphery back to the liver. Enhancing RCT via the upregulation of cholesterol transporters such as the adenosine triphosphate—binding cassettes ABCA1 and ABCG1 could therefore inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis. LXR‐623 is a synthetic ligand for LXRs α and β that has shown promise in animal models of atherosclerosis. The authors present results from a single ascending‐dose study of the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of LXR‐623 in healthy participants. LXR‐623 was absorbed rapidly with peak concentrations (Cmax) achieved at approximately 2 hours. The Cmax and area under the concentration‐time curve increased in a dose‐proportional manner. The mean terminal disposition half‐life was between 41 and 43 hours independently of dose. LXR activation resulted in a dose‐dependent increase in ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression. The effect of LXR‐623 concentration on ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression was further characterized via a population pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic analysis, yielding EC50 estimates of 526 ng/mL and 729 ng/mL, respectively. Central nervous system—related adverse events were observed at the 2 top doses tested. The pharmacodynamic effects described here are the first demonstration of “target engagement” by an LXR agonist in humans.
Profit maximization algorithms for utility companies in an oligopolistic energy market with dynamic prices and intelligent users

Dynamic energy pricing provides a promising solution for the utility companies to incentivize energy users to perform demand side management in order to minimize their electric bills. Moreover, the emerging decentralized smart grid, which is a likely infrastructure scenario for future electrical power networks, allows energy consumers to select their energy provider from among multiple utility companies in any billing period. This paper thus starts by considering an oligopolistic energy market with multiple non-cooperative (competitive) utility companies, and addresses the problem of determining dynamic energy prices for every utility company in this market based on a modified Bertrand Competition Model of user behaviors. Two methods of dynamic energy pricing are proposed for a utility company to maximize its total profit. The first method finds the greatest lower bound on the total profit that can be achieved by the utility company, whereas the second method finds the best response of a utility company to dynamic pricing policies that the other companies have adopted in previous billing periods. To exploit the advantages of each method while compensating their shortcomings, an adaptive dynamic pricing policy is proposed based on a machine learning technique, which finds a good balance between invocations of the two aforesaid methods. Experimental results show that the adaptive policy results in consistently high profit for the utility company no matter what policies are employed by the other companies.
The Servitization of European Manufacturing Industries

This paper provides new evidence for the servitization of European manufacturing – the trend that manufacturing firms increasingly offer services along with their physical products. We employ input-output data as well as data from a company survey to give a comprehensive picture of servitization across countries and industries. The share of services in the output of manufacturing industries increased in the large majority of European countries between 1995 and 2005 and between 2000 and 2005. Service output of manu-facturing, however, is still small compared to the output of physical products. The highest service shares are found in small countries with a high degree of openness and R&D intensity. EU-12 Member States have lower shares of service output compared to the EU-15. There is a strong link between servitization and technological innovation at different levels. Countries with the highest shares of services on manufacturing output have also the highest R&D intensities at the aggregate level. The service output of these countries consists predominantly of knowledge-intensive services. Highly innovative sectors reveal also the highest share of firms that offer services and the highest turnover generated with services. Examples are electrical and optical equipment, machinery, or the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. At the firm level, we find a U-shaped relationship between firm size and service output, which indicates that small, but also large manufacturing firms have advantages in servitization. Producers of complex, customized products tend to have a higher share of services in output than producers of simple, mass-produced goods. Moreover, firms which have launched products new to the market during the last two years are more likely to realize higher shares of turnover from services compared to companies which launched no products new to the market.
Contingent Liabilities and Sovereign Risk: Evidence from Banking Sectors

This paper proposes a simple method to estimate contingent liabilities that arise from (implicit and explicit) government guarantees to the banking sector. This method allows us to construct cross-country estimates on potential costs of bank failures. Furthermore, we empirically test whether the contingent liabilities from the banking sector is a significant determinant of sovereign risk based on the data from 32 countries. Our results suggest that a 1% of GDP increase in contingent liabilities is associated with an increase in sovereign CDS spreads of 24 basis points in advanced countries and 75 basis points in emerging economies.
Adapting Information Technology to Boost Sustainable Entrepreneurship through Handy Banking Habits

This article reports the work done after exploring the challenges faced by both the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the banking industry in the management of finances; especially the payment of utility bills and suggests an e-framework that can enhance banking experience for SMEs in Nairobi-Kenya as well as enhance financial gain for the banks. With the advent of newer and innovative computer based technologies such as agent banking, mobile banking and internet banking over the last decade; e-finance generally has become more of a reality than a dream as most financial institutions have moved with encouraging speed to embrace this innovation. Further, this technological revolution has increased access to personal information that potential lenders would normally rely on in granting credit to their customers as well as provision of a unique platform for the management of the SME subsector. The specific objectives of the study were to: Examine the potential benefits brought about by ICT as an interface for SME – bank interaction; Assess the role of steadfastness in financial management in instilling financial discipline in SMEs; Explore the willingness of financial institutions in implementing unique SME solutions; Develop an eframework through which SMEs can channel their daily earnings to enhance financial management; Suggest the integration mechanisms of the e-framework to existing financial systems. Survey research design was used and a population of 10 banks and 100 SMEs formed the sampling frame. The sample for the study consisted of 5 banks and 30 SMEs selected using random sampling. Primary data was collected using questionnaire and direct interviews. Secondary data was collected from reports of past research. The questionnaires were pilot tested for validity and reliability. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented using tables and percentages. Qualitative data was derived from reading the responses of the hypothetical questions and placed in categories fitting the research questions. The findings of this research established that SMEs do indeed face challenges in managing their finances and would greatly welcome a bank-led solution to overcome these challenges. From these findings, it is recommended that banks and the micro-finance industry work together to develop appropriate information technology that will help ease the burden of managing their revenue and expenditure.
A design and implementation of object-oriented framework-based RAD tool (INTRAD)

A framework is defined as a set of reusable designs of all or part of a software system described by set of abstract classes and the way in which instances of those classes collaborate. It is intended to capture the functionality that is common to several similar applications. By developing and reusing frameworks, the reuse also encompasses design and analysis. When programmers develop applications in a specific domain using a RAD (rapid application development) tool with which frameworks are provided, they can focus their attention on their particular problem domain and do not have to start from scratch each time they write applications. In this paper, we design and implement a framework diagram and a framework-based RAD tool, called INTRAD (INTranet RAD). Also, we implement an e-mail framework for the INTRAD system, which supports the development of intranet applications.
Recent Development of High Temperature Superconducting Maglev System in China

After the first man-loading high temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev demonstration had been tested successfully years ago, its future application attracts more and more researchers and engineers. This paper reviews the recent development of HTS Maglev system in China. In the past seven years, quasi-static forces, dynamic characteristics and running performances have been studied by three self-developed HTS maglev measurement systems and 11-ch vibration measurement apparatus. Some practical problems are considered in details for further engineering application of HTS Maglev train, such as running along the forward direction with inhomogeneous magnetic field, construction cost estimation, propulsion optimization, and so on. On the other hand, a systematic method is introduced to analyze or optimize the force interaction between bulk high temperature superconductor and permanent magnetic guideway. Primary running parameters and data are obtained for the safety design of future HTS Maglev system. Furthermore, a low-mid speed HTS Maglev test line is blueprinted with a maximum speed of 100 km/h, which will be the first step of practical HTS Maglev engineering application.
Improving the User Experience of a Mobile Photo Gallery by Supporting Social Interaction

Today, image gallery applications on mobile devices tend to be stand-alone and offline. For people who want to share photos with others, many add-on tools have been developed to connect the gallery applications to Internet services to enable photo-sharing. The authors argue that photo-centric social interaction is best supported when the gallery application is fully integrated with an Internet service. In this case, no additional tools are needed and the userâ€™s image content is fully synchronized with the service. They designed and implemented a service-integrated mobile gallery application with a corresponding Internet service. Moreover, they conducted a field study with 10 participants to compare our application with a state-of-the-art gallery application combined with an add-on photo-sharing tool. Their application was preferred by most participants and it was especially appreciated because of the user experience. Above all, the results show that social activity increased amongst the participants while using our application.
The Governance and Performance of Chinese Companies Listed Abroad: An Analysis of China's Merits Review Approach to Overseas Listings

This paper analyzes the goverance and performace of Chinese companies that are listed in the United States. The analysis comes against the backdrop of increasing concern about such companies' governance practices. This concern is curious given the purported ‘merits’ review that Chinese regulators undertake prior to allowing a cross-listing. Thus, this paper compares Chineses companies listed in the US with other US companies and other non-US companies listed in the US. The paper incicates that Chinese companies do not have significantly worse governance or earnings-management practices. They also appear to have stronger operating performance and are less likely to delist.