Past Encounters Research Articles

IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND KNOWLEDGE RETENTION ON EMPLOYEES DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE MEDIATION OF SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND MODERATION OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

In advanced time, firms realize that procuring the past information and sharing them among the representatives will increment the improvement and development of the employees and it is the path to pick up a Sustainable Competitive Advantage in a showcase. The study points to center on the development of the workers through supporting the competitive edge. This could be done by legitimate utilize of past information and encounter which is procured and shared among the individuals of an organization. Leaders also play an imperative part within the Knowledge Sharing and Retaining but Transformational Leaders does not make an energetic environment through which they can offer assistance to form sound learning handle. It is since Transformational Leaders frequently don’t know almost the conduct and states of mind of the representatives, their needs and wishes. This study is quantitative and close-ended questions were utilized to expound the relationship of the factors. Information was collected from a test estimate of 200 respondents of the telecommunication sector. The regression technique was used to test the hypothesis relationship. The findings of this study show that Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Retention has a significant positive relation with Employee Development and Sustainable Competitive Advantage mediates significantly between them. While, Transformational Leadership does not significantly moderate the relation between Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Retention, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Further, it describes limitations and the direction for the future. Keywords: Knowledge Sharing, Transformational Leadership, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Knowledge Management, Employee Development JEL Classifications: M1, L1, M0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.9931

Fuzzy Model Development in Green Building Material Selection

Fuzzy logic is a moderately new method for tackling building control issues. This method is regularly used to execute frameworks beginning from simple, small or even inserted up to monster. Fuzzy set hypothesis has been usual model frameworks that are challenging to diagram precisely. As a system, fuzzy set hypothesis joins imprecision and subjectivity into the model definition and arrangement prepare. Probabilistic techniques are being utilized progressively in development building. However, when a parameter is communicated in phonetic as opposed to numerical terms, traditional likelihood hypothesis neglects to consolidate the data. The etymological factors can be converted into scientific measures utilizing fuzzy set and framework hypothesis. A development administration issue i.e., estimation of term of an action, is unrevealed utilizing this hypothesis. The proposed procedure is not touchy to little varieties in the participation values. This is an extremely alluring property. In any case, the strategy is delicate to the decision of the fuzzy relations. The instability in the fuzzy relations can be demonstrated alongside different wellsprings of vulnerability. The mean and difference of the parameters required in the issue under thought are evaluated here utilizing another technique. The strategy boosts the result of the whole of the enrolment relationship for a specific recurrence of event and the comparing recurrence of event. One of the primary favorable circumstances of the proposed method is that it can be effortlessly actualized in existing PC programs for venture planning. In Green building planning viewpoints, material choice assumes a significant part in accomplishing the building guidelines; it is possible that it might be of green or non-green materials. Keeping in mind the end goal to accomplish perspective consummately, essential Fuzzy logic approach is to be actualized in order to choose the best option among different accessible materials. This should be possible by dispensing the essential enrolment values based upon the past encounters and positioning them in a request in view of our development necessities all the while. By utilizing this approach, we can likely choose the best material in view of both subjective and quantitative perspective.

Kinematic study of the association Cyg OB3 with Gaia DR2

ABSTRACT We study the stellar kinematic properties and spatial distribution of the association Cyg OB3 using precise astrometric data from Gaia DR2. All known O- and B-type stars in Cyg OB3 region with positions, parallaxes, and proper motions available are included, comprising a total of 41 stars. The majority of stars are found to be concentrated at a heliocentric distance of 2.0 ± 0.3 kpc. The mean peculiar velocity of the sample after removing Galactic rotation and solar motion is ∼22 km s−1, dominated by the velocity component towards the Galactic centre. The relative position and velocity of the black hole X-ray binary Cyg X-1 with respect to the association suggest that Cyg OB3 is most likely its parent association. The peculiar kinematic properties of some of the stars are revealed and are suggestive of past stellar encounters. The sample includes a previously known runaway star HD 227018, and its high peculiar velocity of ∼50 km s−1 is confirmed with Gaia. We estimated the velocities of stars relative to the association and the star HD 225577 exhibits peculiar velocity smaller than its velocity relative to the association. The star has lower value of proper motion than the rest of the sample. The results suggest a slowly expanding nature of the association, which is supported by the small relative speeds (<20 km s−1) with respect to the association for a majority of the sample stars.

A search for the origin of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov

The discovery of the second interstellar object 2I/Borisov on 2019 August 30 raises the question of whether it was ejected recently from a nearby stellar system. Here we compute the asymptotic incoming trajectory of 2I/Borisov, based on both recent and pre-discovery data extending back to December 2018, using a range of force models that account for cometary outgassing. From Gaia DR2 astrometry and radial velocities, we trace back in time the Galactic orbits of 7.4 million stars to look for close encounters with 2I/Borisov. The closest encounter we find took place 910 kyr ago with the M0V star Ross 573, at a separation of 0.068 pc (90% confidence interval of 0.053–0.091 pc) with a relative velocity of 23 km s−1. This encounter is nine times closer than the closest past encounter identified for the first interstellar object 1I/‘Oumuamua. Ejection of 2I/Borisov via a three-body encounter in a binary or planetary system is possible, although such a large ejection velocity is unlikely to be obtained and Ross 573 shows no signs of binarity. We also identify and discuss some other recent close encounters, recognizing that if 2I/Borisov is more than about 10 Myr old, our search would be unlikely to find its parent system.

Super-spreader resurgence in COVID-19: Past encounters and future repercussion.

To the Editor, Initial epidemiological investigations and contact tracing from India suggested that there was out of proportion of cases of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) linked to vegetable vendors, dairy booths, and grocery stores in different cities. These incidences resurfaced the role of super-spreaders. In epidemiology, super-spreaders are the infected individuals in the susceptible population who disproportionately infect more persons compared to others. Initial consensus based on epidemiological studies was that each person in infected population has equal chance to transmit the disease to others. Basic reproductive number (R0) is the fundamental tool to measure this disease transmission; however, there are lot of inter-individual disparities in infectiousness observed inside a susceptible population which compelled the epidemiologist to look beyond R0. The advent of 20/80 rule also imitates this hypothesis where 20% of the infected person contributes for nearly 80% of the disease transmission.[1] Probably, the first known super-spreader in history was “Typhoid Mary,” responsible for infecting at least 122 individuals, 5 of whom died from enteric fever.[2] The other notorious super-spreader events were documented during MERS-CoV, SARS CoV, and current COVID-19 outbreaks. “Patient 31” from South Korea, who participated in a religious gathering, contributed to the exponential rise in number of cases.[3] The reason for this heterogeneous transmission of disease is still unclear. Host-pathogen interaction, environmental, occupational, and behavioral factors can influence this transmission.[2] Virulent nature of virus (due to mutation) and co-infection are important factors for increased viral shedding. Among host-related factors, genetic susceptibility, immunosuppression, low level of pre-existing immunity, duration and type of contact can determine the super-spreader events. Population density and air recirculation in enclosed spaces are major settings for COVID-19 super-spreader. Lack of adherence to public health advice, inter-hospital patient transfer, underdiagnosis, religious gatherings, frequent air travel, and bypassing geographical barriers are the common practices involved in super-spreader events across the world. The recognition of these potentially modifiable risk factors is fundamental difference between a disease limited to clusters, epidemic, or converting into a full-blown pandemic. Currently, all super-spreaders have been identified only by retrospective epidemiological investigations. Studies based on animal model that can replicate a disease seen in humans could be vital to predict the infectiousness of individual. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) involving super-spreader could provide insight to genetic background of these patients, though feasibility and cost-effectiveness of these studies on large scale population are remains to be seen. Walker et al. described the utility of GWAS in identification of super-spreaders in mycobacterium tuberculosis outbreak.[4] Retrospective comparison of super-spreaders with other patients for characteristics (age, sex, clinical presentation, co-morbidities, environment, and their behavior) can help in better understanding of super-spreader phenomenon. Isolation of virus from known super-spreaders and their genomic analysis for any shared mutation can also provide evidence for enhance virus shedding. The definition of super-spreaders should not be confined to a person and must include other variables like groups, policies, events or a setting which can shape a course of disease transmission. At the same time, efforts should be made to avoid stigmatization and social ostracism of these patients. There should be a clear roadmap to contain super-spreaders in population. Epidemiological analysis and individualistic approach focusing 20% of highly infectious patients could save lot of time and resources for pandemic preparedness plans.[5] Super-spreaders become an important facet in infectious disease management, lesson learned from past pandemics and their application in the formulation of public health policies can determine the future course of outbreak containment and mitigation. Financial support and sponsorship This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Conflicts of interest There are no conflict of interest.

Bloodwork-Free Early Prediction of Gestational Diabetes <i>via</i> Pattern Discovery in Past Medical Encounters

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is associated with adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, increased risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other long-term consequences for both the mother and the offspring. GDM is usually diagnosed around 24-28 weeks of gestation via a complicated sequence of glucose challenge tests (GCT) and repeated blood-work, contributing to increased costs and patient/provider burden. In this study we design a stochastic learning algorithm for GDM prediction with dirty, unprocessed raw data comprising only the records of diagnostic codes generated during past medical encounters from a national US insurance claims database. In computing the Gestational-diabetes Comorbid Risk (GCoR) score, we use no laboratory test results, no medications, demographic, or familial information, and yet achieve a sensitivity greater than 83% at 95% specificity with the corresponding area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 96.87% and a positive predictive value (PPV) >53% at the first prenatal visit for low-risk patients (n=648,784). The AUCs when evaluated one, two and four months before the first prenatal visit is respectively 92.75%, 91.82% and 89.97% for the same cohort. For a general cohort with potentially high risk patients included (n=670,417) we achieve AUCs of 95.42% at the first prenatal visit, degrading to 89.24%, 88.06% and 86.08% at the subsequent time points. And for a high-risk cohort (n=104,946), we achieve AUCs of 94.83%, 89.31%, 87.51%, and 85.80% respectively. We significantly outperform reported tools, achieving a over 200% improvement in sensitivity at 95% specificity for the low risk cohort. Additionally, accurate GDM risk assessment months before pregnancy opens new intervention possibilities, including risk management through lifestyle changes, as well as delaying pregnancy briefly to reduce GDM risk. Additionally, subtle differences in comorbidity patterns suggest the possibility of reducing misdiagnosis of disorders that mimic GDM symptomology such as Cushing's disease, and tumors of the adrenal gland. Funding Statement: This work is funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project #FP070943- 01-PR. The claims made in this study do not reflect the position or the policy of the US Government. DARPA had no role in the authors’ decision to pursue this specific research problem, or authoring this specific article. Declaration of Interests: Authors have no known conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The de-identified insurance claims used in this study was deemed exempt by the relevant Institutional Review Board.

Evidence-based practice versus experience-based practice in orthopedics

Background: Evidence based medicine helps in improving medical decision and service conveyance to patients. Experience based medicine depends on the unequivocal and verifiable learning regulated by the past clinical encounters other than the other social, lawful, and moral systems of the practice. The aim of our study is to find out the evidence-based practice amongst the orthopaedic fraternity and to compare the magnitude of evidence-based practice in different groups allotted based on the experience in the field. Materials and Method: It is a Prospective study done amongst Orthopaedic surgeon in two cities in Tamilnadu Madurai and Chennai. The study populations were Orthopaedics practicing doctors with minimum of 3-year experience. The Orthopaedic Surgeons were given a questionnaire and were asked to fill it. The questionnaire was self-explanatory and they have to tick the best response, which they think was the most appropriate. Questionnaire was prepared based on the AAOS guidelines of clinical orthopaedic practice. The AAOS strong recommendation guidelines were considered as gold standard and the response from the Orthopaedicians were collected and corrected. The main emphasis was given to the second component only. Out of the 120 doctors 14 of them had either one or more wrong answer and only 106 orthopaedicians had given correct answer and their answers only were evaluated. Results: The total percentage of evidence-based practice in our study was 43.4% and experience-based practice was 56.6%. Conclusion: Experienced based practice is comparably more amongst the practicing orthopaedic surgeons. Upcoming Orthopaedic surgeons rely more on evidence to treat their patients than their experience.

Reflections of destination quality on destination image: A case of Kuşadasi

The image of a tourism destination is assembled on various resources including past encounters and marketing communications. However, the utmost important factor in increasing tourist arrivals is creating a high quality of service at a destination in a sustainable manner. The main purpose of this study is to analyze both what image the tourists have about Kuşadası as exemplified in the 15,047 reviews on TripAdvisor through content analysis, and what image the stakeholders have in their minds through interviews. The importance of this study is that it sheds light on the destination image that is stimulated through tourists' user-generated content based on the destination quality attributes.

Behavioral response of naïve and non-naïve deer to wolf urine.

Large carnivores are recolonizing many regions in Europe, where their ungulate prey have lived without them for >150 years. Whether the returning large carnivores will modify ungulate behavior and indirectly affect lower trophic levels, depends on the ability of ungulates to recognize risk based on past encounters and cues indicating carnivore presence. In two case studies, we tested, by means of camera trapping, the behavioral response of deer to wolf urine. The first case study was in the Netherlands where deer (still) live in absence of wolves, and the second in Poland with long-term wolf presence. As controls we used water (no scent) and all-purpose soap (unfamiliar scent). Deer vigilance level on control plots was 20% in both case studies indicating that wolf occupancy per se does not lead to a consistent difference in behavior. Placing wolf urine did not significantly affect deer behavior in either the wolf-absent or the wolf-present area. More intense cues, or a combination of cues, are likely needed to affect deer behavior. Moreover, we found an unexpected reaction of deer towards all-purpose soap of reduced foraging (and tendency for increased vigilance) in the wolf-present area, whereas it did not affect deer behavior in the wolf-absent area. We hypothesize that deer associate all-purpose soap with human presence, causing no response in human-dominated landscapes (the Netherlands), but triggering a behavioral reaction in more remote areas (Poland). This illustrates attention should be paid to controls used in scent experiments as they may be associated differently than intended.

Sex, diurnal variation and retention interval differently affect performance of marmoset monkeys in a recognition memory task for object location

In the spontaneous object-location (SOL) task, the ability to recognize where stimuli were located in a past encounter is assessed. Even if widely used in rodents, several aspects can affect task performance. It is thus important to assess potentially intervening variables in the new monkey SOL task. Here we assessed whether sex (male vs. females), circadian time (morning vs. afternoon) and retention interval (24 vs. 48 h) affect the performance of adult marmosets in this task. Two identical stimuli were initially explored on a 10-min sample trial. Thereafter, preferential exploration of the displaced vs. the stationary object was analyzed on a 10-min test trial. Both sexes similarly explored the displaced object quicker and longer than the stationary item after a 24 h inter-trial interval. This response pattern was also seen when males were similarly assessed in the morning or afternoon. However, males tested after 48 h explored both objects equally and after a similar latency, yet spent more time where the displaced item had been previously located. Task performance was not related to object exploration during encoding and general activity remained constant. Therefore, sex and diurnal variation in circadian time had no effect on this version of the task, whereas place memory naturally decayed after 24 h. Our results underscore the importance of alternative task parameters to evaluate memory decay. Given the widespread use of spontaneous recognition tasks, a more ecologically-inclined task in monkeys will help translate animal data to clinical research.

P2.16-40 Acknowledging Social and Economic Inequities Experienced by Canada’s Inuit: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer

The Inuit living in Canada’s north have the highest rates of lung cancer in the world. Barriers to care are numerous and exist at all phases of the lung cancer journey. Beginning with difficulty in accessing the diagnostic phase of care through to treatment at a tertiary cancer centre located over 2000 km away and little to no palliative care available locally, this population experiences obstacles at each step of their lung cancer journey. The Inuit in Canada’s arctic experience dramatically higher rates of social and economic inequity than the rest of Canada with only one hospital serving a land mass similar to the size of Mexico, access to or from many communities is by air only. This means that diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer is provided thousands of kilometres away from family, community and culture, often for months at a time. Along with geographic barriers to care, Inuit peoples also have a historical mistrust of government and mainstream health care services owing to past encounters with colonization and marginalization. A lack of awareness of Inuit specific culture from health care providers (i.e. discrimination) further compounds this lack of trust. These end result of these traumas contribute to the significant health disparities experienced by the Inuit as compared to other Canadians and may in part explain why approximately 30% of Inuit diagnosed with lung cancer between 2000-2010 did not access cancer care. To better meet the needs of this population, TOHCC hired an Indigenous Nurse Navigator in 2016 with a goal to provide culturally safe care for Inuit patients and their families. Collaborative relationships have been built with key stakeholders in Inuit communities through consistent efforts which in turn have garnered awareness of Inuit specific issues within TOHCC and the surrounding city. In depth semi-structured interviews with Inuit patients, caregivers and community leaders. The Indigenous nurse navigator will interview participants either in person or by video during April and May 2019. The results of these interviews will be presented at the 2019 World Lung Cancer Conference in Barcelona. There is still much work to do in breaking down barriers to accessing care at all phases of the lung cancer journey for the Inuit of Canada’s North. This presentation offers the opportunity to hear directly from a marginalized community who potentially have the greatest lung cancer needs of any population in the world.

Tracing Stellar Close Encounters with Our Sun from GAIA DR2, LAMOST DR4, and RAVE DR5 Catalogues

Our Sun is surrounded by the Oort Cloud (in radius 0.5 pc) which can be perturbed by various external factors. One of those is the stellar close encounter with our Sun. This kind of perturbation can induce the cometary showers in our Solar System. In this work, we attempt to make numerical simulations to trace the orbit of stars which close encounter with our Sun in the cases of Milky Way’s axisymmetric only and with non-axisymmetric potentials. We have 306 selected solar neighborhood stars from GAIA DR2, LAMOST DR4, and RAVE DR5 which have highly precise kinematics.In this work, we find a few stars that have counter parameter (dm) less than or equal to 2 pc in both of past and future close encounters with the Sun. We also find a few stars (ID 283, 290, 297, 298) even with dm ≤ 0.5 pc within their errors, for past close encounters at time tm ≥ 0.5 Myr ago. These stars should have perturbed the Oort Cloud’s stability long time ago. Furthermore, we find a few stars (ID 293, 299, 300) with dm ≤ 1 pc within their errors, at tm > 0.6 Myr for future close encounters. Besides that,cadding non-axisymmetric component of Milky Way does not change the results. This suggests that the non-axisymmetric component of Milky Way potential has small effect in perturbing the orbital motion of stars for short timescale. That’s why the values of dm are relatively similar within their errors, for both cases of the Milky Way potential.

Wrecks Emotional and Unemotional

In August 2018, Bridget Escolme watched approximately 25 performances with mental health themes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Framed by Sara Ahmed's theorisation of cultural histories of taste, and with a focus on scenographies of wreckage, Escolme's paper describes three performances in the Traverse Theatre's festival programme, all of which exhibited elements of theatrical restraint in their depictions of lives 'wrecked' by the emotional effects/affects of class division, violent crime and mental ill health. She then moves to autobiographical works by emerging performers about their own mental health histories; by a performer who was raped by her own partner and who filmed male strangers talking to her in their home environments; and a performance by health service users and workers enacting and recounting past encounters with the NHS. These were, in a range of ways, deliberately messy performances about social and emotional wreckage, which placed audiences in precarious positions of witnessing. They inhabited live theatrical and filmed space in a range of deliberately untidy ways and, to cite a reviewer of one of the performances, 'subvert[ed] the model of what we often think of as good theatre'. Escolme's paper explores the cultural stereotype of the 'emotional wreck' as it was staged and interrogated in these performances and examines the challenges to her own notions of artistic taste and ethical audiencing which they posed.

Hunting practices in northern Australia and their implication for disease transmission between community dogs and wild dogs

This survey aimed to understand hunting practices involving domestic dogs in remote Indigenous communities in northern Australia and, in the context of disease transmission, describe the domestic-wild dog interface and intercommunity interactions of hunting dogs during hunting activities. A cross-sectional survey of 13 hunters from communities of the Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) of Queensland gathered information on demographics of hunters and hunting dogs, hunting practices and past encounters with wild dogs during hunting trips. Social networks that described the connections of hunters between NPA communities from hunting expeditions were developed. Most hunters interviewed were not aware of any diseases that could be transmitted to dogs (n = 11) or humans (n = 9) from wild animals while hunting. More than half (n = 7) of the respondents had experienced at least one wild dog encounter during hunting in the year prior to the interview. A map of the relative risk of interactions between wild and hunting dogs during hunting trips allowed the identification of high-risk areas in the NPA; these areas are characterised by dense rainforests. The social networks at the community level resulted in relatively large density measures reflecting a high level of intercommunity connectedness. This study contributes to our knowledge of Australian Indigenous hunting practices and supports the potential for disease transmission at the domestic-wild dog interface and intercommunity level through contacts between hunting dogs during hunting activities. Insights from this study also highlight the need for educational programs on disease management in Indigenous communities of northern Australia.

The s-process enriched star HD 55496: origin from a globular cluster or from the tidal disruption of a dwarf galaxy?

Abstract We present a new abundance analysis of HD 55496, previously known as a metal-poor barium star. We found that HD 55496 has a metallicity [Fe/H] = −1.55 and is s-process enriched. We find that HD 55496 presents four chemical peculiarities: (i) a Na–O abundance anticorrelation; (ii) it is aluminium rich; (iii) it is carbon poor for an s-process enriched star, and (iv) the heavy second s-process peak elements, such as Ba, La, Ce, and Nd, present smaller abundances than the light s-process elements, such as Sr, Y, and Zr, which is not usually observed among the chemically peculiar binary stars at this metallicity. The heavy-element abundance pattern suggests that the main source of the neutrons is the 22Ne(α,n)25Mg reaction. Taking all these abundance evidences together into consideration strongly suggests that HD 55496 is a ‘second-generation of globular cluster stars’ formed from gas already strongly enriched in s-process elements and now is a field halo object. Our dynamical analysis, however, indicates that the past encounter probabilities with the known globular clusters are very low ($\le \!6{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$). This evidence, together with the retrograde motion, points to a halo intruder possibly originated from the tidal disruption of a dwarf galaxy.

Memory shapes judgments: Tracing how memory biases judgments by inducing the retrieval of exemplars

When making judgments (e.g., about the quality of job candidates) decision makers should ignore salient, but unrepresentative information (e.g., the person’s name). However, research suggests that salient information influences judgments, possibly because memories of past encounters with similar information are integrated into the judgment. We studied eye movements to trace the link between the retrieval of past instances and their influence on judgments. Participants were more likely to look at screen locations where exemplars matching items on a name attribute had appeared, suggesting the retrieval of exemplars. Eye movements to exemplar locations predicted judgments, explaining why names influenced judgments. The results provide insights into how exemplars are integrated into the judgment process when assessing memory retrieval online.

A literature review of the psychological status of asylum-seeking children: implications for nursing practice.

Europe is in the midst of a large-scale migration crisis, which has implications for healthcare provision for asylum-seeking children and families. The authors set out to identify the psychological status of asylum-seeking children and highlight their needs. A search of three electronic databases was carried out, resulting in 15 studies. Data show that asylum-seeking children appear to experience many mental health difficulties, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, self-harm, sleep disturbance and behavioural difficulties. The daily living situation includes a range of psychological stressors, such as lack of space and control; fear of deportation; feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness; poor parental mental health; lack of recreational facilities; communication issues; and financial worries. Since many asylum-seeking children have experienced past trauma, hospitalisation and healthcare encounters may trigger traumatic memories and cause further distress. Awareness of the psychological impact of the situation on children and families may help nurses to provide empathetic, sensitive and culturally competent care.

In Silico Identification of Three Types of Integrative and Conjugative Elements in Elizabethkingia anophelis Strains Isolated from around the World.

Elizabethkingia anophelis is an emerging global multidrug-resistant opportunistic pathogen. We assessed the diversity among 13 complete genomes and 23 draft genomes of E. anophelis strains derived from various environmental settings and human infections from different geographic regions around the world from 1950s to the present. Putative integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) were identified in 31/36 (86.1%) strains in the study. A total of 52 putative ICEs (including eight degenerated elements lacking integrases) were identified and categorized into three types based on the architecture of the conjugation module and the phylogeny of the relaxase, coupling protein, TraG, and TraJ protein sequences. The type II and III ICEs were found to integrate adjacent to tRNA genes, while type I ICEs integrate into intergenic regions or into a gene. The ICEs carry various cargo genes, including transcription regulator genes and genes conferring antibiotic resistance. The adaptive immune CRISPR-Cas system was found in nine strains, including five strains in which CRISPR-Cas machinery and ICEs coexist at different locations on the same chromosome. One ICE-derived spacer was present in the CRISPR locus in one strain. ICE distribution in the strains showed no geographic or temporal patterns. The ICEs in E. anophelis differ in architecture and sequence from CTnDOT, a well-studied ICE prevalent in Bacteroides spp. The categorization of ICEs will facilitate further investigations of the impact of ICE on virulence, genome epidemiology, and adaptive genomics of E. anophelisIMPORTANCEElizabethkingia anophelis is an opportunistic human pathogen, and the genetic diversity between strains from around the world becomes apparent as more genomes are sequenced. Genome comparison identified three types of putative ICEs in 31 of 36 strains. The diversity of ICEs suggests that they had different origins. One of the ICEs was discovered previously from a large E. anophelis outbreak in Wisconsin in the United States; this ICE has integrated into the mutY gene of the outbreak strain, creating a mutator phenotype. Similar to ICEs found in many bacterial species, ICEs in E. anophelis carry various cargo genes that enable recipients to resist antibiotics and adapt to various ecological niches. The adaptive immune CRISPR-Cas system is present in nine of 36 strains. An ICE-derived spacer was found in the CRISPR locus in a strain that has no ICE, suggesting a past encounter and effective defense against ICE.

CRISPRs for Strain Tracking and Their Application to Microbiota Transplantation Data Analysis.

CRISPR-Cas systems are adaptive immune systems naturally found in bacteria and archaea. Prokaryotes use these immune systems to defend against invaders, which include phages, plasmids, and other mobile genetic elements. Relying on the integration of spacers derived from invader sequences (protospacers) into CRISPR loci (forming spacers flanked by repeats), CRISPR-Cas systems are able to store the memory of past immunological encounters. While CRISPR-Cas systems have evolved in response to invading mobile genetic elements, invaders have also developed mechanisms to avoid detection. As a result of an arms race between CRISPR-Cas systems and their targets, CRISPR arrays typically undergo rapid turnover of spacers through the acquisition and loss events. Additionally, microbiomes of different individuals rarely share spacers. Here, we present a computational pipeline, CRISPRtrack, for strain tracking based on CRISPR spacer content, and we applied it to fecal transplantation microbiome data to study the retention of donor strains in recipients. Our results demonstrate the potential use of CRISPRs as a simple yet effective tool for donor-strain tracking in fecal transplantation and as a general purpose tool for quantifying microbiome similarity.

Bilateral multi-issue negotiation of execution contexts by proactive document agents

A proactive document can react to its actual environment by autonomously selecting and performing actions integrated into its body and interact with its user. When migrating over a network of execution devices it may encounter diverse execution contexts, each one set up according to temporal characteristics of a receiving device and preferences of its owner. A concept to augment proactive documents with negotiation capability is proposed - to make them responsive to such dynamically changing contexts, and implemented in a system, where they can migrate as attachments to e-mail messages, owing to a dedicated e-mail client capable of handling them. Negotiation is based on a simple game-theoretic mechanism to minimise computation load on execution devices. Four negotiation algorithms are proposed and two of them evaluated in more detail in a series of experiments, when respectively, negotiating parties do not or do have knowledge on past encounters and negotiated contracts.