Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VIABILIDADE DE UM PROCESSO DE VIGILÂNCIA TECNOLÓGICA PARA ORGANIZAÇÕES DE PESQUISAS AGROPECUÁRIAS

BACK, Luani. Feasibility of a process of technological surveillance for agricultural research organizations. 2014. 84 p. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia de Produção) Federal University of Technology Paraná. Ponta Grossa, 2014. Accompany technological advancement through the dissemination of information is an alternative to lessen the obstacles related to the rapid technological growth market. The survey information technological nature can occur through technological surveillance which consists of a tool for managing information. Seen the importance of agriculture for Brazil, and the many research efforts for this sector, this paper aims at facilitating a process of technological surveillance of agricultural research organizations. To achieve this goal we analyzed systematically the available the literature database for the construction of a theoretical framework that served as the basis the other phases of the study, which comprised the identification of management practices on agricultural information technology events, by the centers agricultural research, and analysis of information sources of agricultural research organizations available on the web, aimed at disseminating information and technology transfer between these rural agricultural research organizations and producers. It was found that it is necessary improve the management of technological information produced by the studied events, so that it cannot generate knowledge for the public participant of the event, as well as improve the technical management of technological information used by research organizations concerned since users find it difficult to access information and in some cases even lack of them. With the study of a sequence of steps for the development of technological surveillance, presented in the literature and adapted to the scenario studied, it was found that it is feasible to develop a monitoring process that applied to agricultural research organizations, which enable obtaining information to apply new technologies, create new products and to assess the possible impacts of an event or change in the environment, reducing risks to users of the information disseminated and ensuring the survival of agriculture and agribusiness. These informations can also serve to support innovation, since agriculture is necessary to identify the sources of innovation for the sector, based on the technological trajectories, involving the generation of knowledge that begins with the results of technological surveillance.
The Hemostatic System as a Regulator of Angiogenesis*

Angiogenesis is the process of sprouting and configuring new blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels, whereas the hemostatic system maintains the liquid flow of blood by regulating platelet adherence and fibrin deposition. Both systems normally appear quiescent, yet both systems remain poised for repair of injury. With vessel injury, a rapid sequence of reactions must occur to occlude the vessel wall defect and prevent hemorrhage. Activated platelets link the margins of the defect and form a provisional barrier that is quickly enmeshed with polymerized fibrin. This clot structure initially requires immobilized vascular endothelial cells to anchor the clot and prevent further bleeding. Thereafter, endothelial cells at the clot margins become mobile, dismantling and invading the cross-linked fibrin structure to rebuild a new vessel wall. Although the positive and negative regulators that control the delicate balance of platelet reactivity and fibrin deposition have been elucidated over the past four decades, analogous proteins that control endothelial cell growth and inhibition have only been discovered within the past decade. Hemostasis and angiogenesis are becoming increasingly inter-related. Proteins generated by the hemostatic system coordinate the spatial localization and temporal sequence of clot/endothelial cell stabilization followed by endothelial cell growth and repair of a damaged blood vessel. We focus here on the regulation of angiogenesis during vessel repair mediated by proteins secreted by platelets and derived as cryptic fragments from the coagulation cascade and fibrinolytic system.
Efficient Data Sharing In Cloud With Third Party Auditor: A Reviw Study

In this paper we discuss the evolvement of cloud computing paradigm and present a framework for secure cloud computing through third party auditing. The contribution of the paper is to understand the implication of cloud computing and what is meant secure cloud computing via third party auditing rather than propose a new methodology and new technology to secure cloud computing. Our holistic approach has strategic value to those who are using or consider using cloud computing because it addresses concerns such as security, privacy and regulations and compliance. In this article, we focus on cloud data storage security, which has always been an important aspect of quality of service. Including: data update, delete and append. Extensive security and performance analysis shows that the proposed scheme is highly efficient and resilient against Byzantine failure, malicious data modification attack, and even server colluding attacks.
Computerized analysis for classification of heart diseases in echocardiographic images

The classification of ultrasonic heart (echocardiographic) images is studied by making use of some texture features, including the angular second moment, contrast, correlation and entropy which are obtained from a gray-level cooccurrence matrix. Features of these types are used as inputs to the input layer of a neural network (NN) to classify three sets of echocardiographic images: normal heart, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) (18, 13 and 10 samples, respectively). The performance of the NN classifier is compared to that of decision-theoretic (D-T) method. Moreover, fractal dimension (FD) is also used as an independent feature of images for discrimination. Our results show that the NN, D-T method and FD method produce about 94%, 89%, and 84% correct classification, respectively. The results indicate that the method of feature-based image analysis using the NN has potential utility for computer-aided diagnosis of the DCM, HCM and other heart diseases.
Relationships Between Medical Student Burnout, Empathy, and Professionalism Climate

Background Medical student burnout is prevalent, and there has been much discussion about burnout and professionalism in medical education and the clinical learning environment. Yet, few studies have attempted to explore relationships between those issues using validated instruments. Method Medical students were surveyed at the beginning of their fourth year using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student Version, and the Professionalism Climate Instrument. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and Spearman correlation analysis was performed. Results Scores indicative of higher medical student burnout were associated with lower medical student empathy scores and with lower professionalism climate scores observed in medical students, residents, and faculty. Conclusions Investigators observed relationships between medical student burnout, empathy, and professionalism climate. These findings may have implications for the design of curriculum interventions to promote student well-being and professionalism.
Just Follow the Yellow Brick Road: A Manager's Guide to Implementing Value Creation in Your Organization

The topic of value creation has become of utmost importance over the last few years; however, most managers have still not implemented it in their organizations. One reason for the delay is the lack of a blueprint as to how to do it, and what it entails. This article seeks to remedy that problem by laying out the steps for the creation of the Chief Customer Feedback Officer (CCFO), the nine different functions his office is entrusted with, and how they create value for the organization by providing a customer compass for the strategic direction of the organization. Some of the nine functions currently exist in the organization but are out of place and cannot influence the strategic direction of the organization. It is only by implementing all nine functions with the backing of top management that an organization can successfully become customer-centric, creating value for all of its stakeholders.
Pose interpolation for industrial manipulators under manual guidance

Human Robot Collaboration (HRC) has shown great promise across a wide range of disciplines. The role of robots often ranges from being an assistant to even a co-worker. This paper discusses a collaborative framework, whereby a robot assists the human in achieving smooth tool pose transitions during the course of a tooling task. The human operator manually teaches the robot a set of orientations at specific key locations on the workpiece, prior to the commencement of the task. Subsequently, a spatial field of virtual frames is generated through Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation, which in turn governs the tool orientation at each instance of robot motion. Afterward, a guided curve tracing task on a three dimensional surface is performed to analyze the effectiveness of the approach.
Crisis in the Irish Banking System

Ireland has had one of the most catastrophic experiences of financial crisis in the developed world, in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008. Unlike the US or Britain though, Ireland’s enormous banking exposure was almost entirely related to property speculation and to the unchecked domestic housing bubble of the preceding ten years. This paper analyses the conditions that led to the crisis, taking account of patterns of corporate governance, regulatory institutions and practices, and the linkages between the banking sector and the political system.
The Myxococcus xanthus asgA gene encodes a novel signal transduction protein required for multicellular development

The Myxococcus xanthus asgA gene is one of three known genes necessary for the production of extracellular A-signal, a cell density signal required early in fruiting body development. We determined the DNA sequence of asgA. The deduced 385-amino-acid sequence of AsgA was found to contain two domains: one homologous to the receiver domain of response regulators and the other homologous to the transmitter domain of histidine protein kinases. A kanamycin resistance (Kmr) gene was inserted at various positions within or near the asgA gene to determine the null phenotype. Those strains with the Kmr gene inserted upstream or downstream of asgA are able to form fruiting bodies, while strains containing the Kmr gene inserted within asgA fail to develop. The nature and location of the asgA476 mutation were determined. This mutation causes a leucine-to-proline substitution within a conserved stretch of hydrophobic residues in the N-terminal receiver domain. Cells containing the insertion within asgA and cells containing the asgA476 substitution have similar phenotypes with respect to development, colony color, and expression of an asg-dependent gene. An analysis of expression of a translational asgA-lacZ fusion confirms that asgA is expressed during growth and early development. Finally, we propose that AsgA functions within a signal transduction pathway that is required to sense starvation and to respond with the production of extracellular A-signal.
EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY SUPPORT AND MOTIVATION AT WORK AS ANTECEDENTS OF EMPLOYEE LOYALTY AMONG PRIVATE ISLAMIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN KELANTAN, MALAYSIA

Employee loyalty is an important indicator of an organization’s work environment and the quality of its management. Loyal employees represent a cost savings over recruiting and training new workers, and loyal employees can be incredible assets to a growing company. The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between family support and motivational factors on employee loyalty among 100 teachers in nine private Islamic schools in Kelantan. The sample was determined using systematic random sample and data was gathered using a self administered research questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was utilized to describe the respondents and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to assess the influence of the independent variables on its dependent. The result indicates the positive significant relationship between variables and supports the hypotheses. This study suggests that family support along with the motivational factors employed in this study have a positive significant relationship with employee loyalty to the organization, and therefore both factors should be utilized by managers as a mechanism to promote organizational citizenship among employees.
Entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the interaction effect of customer capital

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to advance research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO), resource-based view (RBV), customer (relational) capital, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by examining how the interaction effect of customer capital shapes the relationship between EO and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This research is considered as a correlational rather than a casual study with 150 questionnaire returned from manufacturing SMEs. This cross-sectional study tested all hypotheses that are related to the research questions and use statistical software SPSS 17 to analyze data. Findings – The study found that a high customer capital strengthens the link between two dimensions of EO (innovativeness and risk taking) and weakens the link between another dimension of EO (proactiveness) and firm performance. Research limitations/implications – First, future studies would benefit from an enhanced development in the measurement of EO dimensions, which relies on richer and more re.
Apoptosis and inflammation in renal reperfusion injury

Ischemia followed by reperfusion (I/R) has cardinal implications in the pathogenesis of organ transplantation and rejection. Apoptosis and inflammation are central mechanisms leading to organ damage in the course of renal I/R. General aspects of apoptosis, morphology, induction, and biochemistry are discussed. Activated caspases, the classical effector enzymes of apoptosis, are able to induce not only apoptosis but also inflammation after I/R in experimental models. This redefines the involvement of apoptosis in I/R injury toward a central and functional role in the development of organ damage. Our purpose is to assess aspects of apoptosis and inflammation in terms of involvement in the pathogenesis of I/R-induced organ damage. Moreover, the implications of recent experimental advances for diagnosis and treatment of renal I/R injury in clinical practice will be discussed.
TLR8 Couples SOCS-1 and Restrains TLR7-Mediated Antiviral Immunity, Exacerbating West Nile Virus Infection in Mice

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic ssRNA flavivirus that can cause encephalitis, meningitis, and death in humans and mice. Human TLR7 and TLR8 and mouse TLR7 recognize viral ssRNA motifs and induce antiviral immunity. However, the role of mouse TLR8 in antiviral immunity is poorly understood. In this article, we report that TLR8-deficient (Tlr8−/−) mice were resistant to WNV infection compared with wild-type controls. Efficient WNV clearance and moderate susceptibility to WNV-mediated neuronal death in Tlr8−/− mice were attributed to overexpression of Tlr7 and IFN-stimulated gene-56 expression, whereas reduced expression of the proapoptotic gene coding Bcl2-associated X protein was observed. Interestingly, suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 directly associated with TLR8, but not with TLR7, indicating a novel role for TLR8 regulation of SOCS-1 function, whereas selective small interfering RNA knockdown of Socs-1 resulted in induced IFN-stimulated gene-56 and Tlr7 expression following WNV infection. Collectively, we report that TLR8 coupling with SOCS-1 inhibits TLR7-mediated antiviral immunity during WNV infection in mice.
Systolic Left Atrial Failure in Elderly Women with Severe Aortic Stenosis: Mitral and Pulmonary Vein Doppler Analysis by Transesophageal Echocardiography

We studied prospectively 35 elder women aged 65–82 years, with isolated severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, referred for aortic valve surgery. We assessed diastolic function by TEE before and after cardiac surgery, although follow‐up data were collected in 26 patients. The examination was performed prior to surgery and 6 months after. The control group consisted of 32 patients referred for TEE. In the preoperative study, the velocities and integrals of the waves in the pulmonary vein flow were similar to the people of their same age, except the A‐wave of atrial contraction and the integral of the systolic wave, which were significantly smaller (Control A‐wave 26.1 ± 5.1 vs preoperative A‐wave 22.6 ± 5.6, P = 0.009 and control double product A vel ×A dur 2,748 ± 835 vs preoperative 2,273 ± 968, P = 0.03; systolic integral 14.6 ± 3.8 vs 11.3 ± 4, P = 0.0009). Six months after surgery, the PV flow was similar to the control group except for the wave of atrial contraction, which was significantly smaller but tended to normalization (postoperative A‐wave 23.3 ± 5, P = 0.04 vs control, and postoperative double product A vel × A dur 2460 ± 893, P = 0.21 vs control). Mitral flow parameters did not change in the preoperative and postoperative period. Left ventricular mass index changed from 166 ± 54 g/m2 to 105 ± 39 g/m2 (P< 0.0001). The results of this study show that in elderly women with symptomatic severe AS, diastolic function does not change, left ventricular mass reduces, with improvement in symptoms, and the left atrium function, considered by pulmonary vein flow, is preoperative depressed and tends to mild recovery in the postoperative period, suggesting systolic LA failure. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 21, April 2004)
Effect of seawater-freshwater cross-transplantations on viral dynamics and bacterial diversity and production.

Dilution experiments were carried out to investigate the community composition and the metabolic response of seawater and freshwater bacteria to cross-transplantation, and the effects of non-indigenous bacterial hosts on viral dynamics. Changes in viral and bacterial abundance and production, as well as bacterial respiration, carbon demand and diversity were regularly monitored over a 6 d period. Bacterial production in the transplanted seawater (SB-t) and freshwater (FB-t) bac- teria treatments was stimulated up to 256 and 221%, respectively, compared to controls. The stimu- lation of bacterial production and carbon demand was accompanied by a decrease in bacterial rich- ness. Net viral production was stimulated by 81% in SB-t and repressed by 75% in FB-t. Transplantation increased the virus-induced mortality of marine bacteria, but decreased it for fresh- water bacteria. These results suggest that (1) marine bacteria can readily oxidize freshwater dis- solved organic matter, and (2) freshwater viruses might be able to infect marine hosts, thus highlight- ing their potential role in fueling bacterial growth under resource stress or nutrient-depleted conditions.
VO2MAX AND TEAM SPORTS PERFORMANCE

FITSTATS The ultimate fitness assessment software for team and individual sports! Because of the intermittent, repetitive and high intensity character of the plays encountered during team sports, it is often believed that a high aerobic power (i.e.: VO2max) plays an important role in enhancing the repeated sprint ability. Although this may seems surprising, recent sport science research shows a poor relationship between VO2max and the recovery capacity between repeated sprints. Furthermore, some studies point the fact that for athletes having a similar VO2max, significant recovery capacity differences exist following maximal effort. This is the reason why, some authors consider VO2max as a poor indicator of repeated sprint performance capacity (Cooke et al., 1997).
Improved cell segmentation with adaptive bi-Gaussian mixture models for image contrast enhancement pre-processing

The accurate detection and segmentation of cells from time-lapse microscopic video sequences provides a critical foundation for understanding dynamic cell behaviours and cell characteristics when using automatic cell tracking systems. However, general object segmentation methods in computer vision are susceptible to errors due to the severe microscopic imaging conditions in time-lapse cell videos. To address the low image intensity contrast typical in cell images, this paper investigates the use of an adaptive, shifted bi-Gaussian mixture model to enhance the contrast prior to cell segmentation. Rather than using a model with fixed parameters across an entire video sequence as in existing approaches, this paper proposes the adaptive derivation of the mixture model parameters to match the intensity histogram for each video frame to adaptively address changes in the video background. Experimental results across a cell database show improved segmentation accuracy compared with existing image contrast enhancement methods. The pre-processed cell image exhibits greater differentiation between the cell foreground and background, whilst also maintaining the original intensity histogram features.
Regulation of cell cycle-related genes in rat hepatocytes by transforming growth factor beta1.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is a potent inhibitor of the proliferation of many cell types. We investigated the effects of TGF-beta1 on cyclin D1, cyclin A, p21, p27, and p53 mRNA expressions in primary cultured rat hepatocytes by the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. TGF-beta1 decreased the level of cyclin A mRNA in a dose-dependent manner, while it had little effect on the level of cyclin D1 mRNA. p21 mRNA expression was greatly induced by TGF-beta1 in a p53-independent mechanism, while p27 mRNA expression was not affected by TGF-beta1. These results suggest that TGF-beta1 may inhibit liver cell proliferation by regulating p21 and cyclin A mRNAs.
Costs of planning and implementing the CDC's Colorectal Cancer Screening Demonstration Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiated the Colorectal Cancer Screening Demonstration Program (CRCSDP) to explore the feasibility of establishing a large‐scale colorectal cancer screening program for underserved populations in the United States. The authors of the current report provide a detailed description of the total program costs (clinical and nonclinical) incurred during both the start‐up and service delivery (screening) phases of the 4‐year program.
Does Yik Yak Promote Risky Health Behavior on College Campuses?

ABSTRACT This study offers an analysis of how healthy and risky behaviors are discussed on an emerging social media platform. We sought to understand what behaviors are communicated and if they are encouraged or discouraged. We completed a content analysis of messages (n = 3,776) posted to Yik Yak captured three times a day on 4 days of the week across two separate weeks. We analyzed messages to determine the category of the behavior, an appraisal of the behavior, and normative voting feedback. Our results show that risky behaviors were discussed with greater frequency and received more user votes than healthy behaviors. Exposure to these messages could influence other students’ perceptions of norms associated with these risky behaviors. We suggest further research to determine how Yik Yak may affect normative perceptions on college campuses.