Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diaphragm pacing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A literature review

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains a rapidly progressive fatal degenerative disease of motor neurons for which there are few interventions to slow disease progression or improve quality of life. A diaphragm pacing system was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2011 for ALS under a Humanitarian Device Exemption. News of this approval has been met with a combination of excitement and uncertainty by members of the ALS community. We review the currently available data on the diaphragm pacing system and its use in ALS. Diaphragm pacing appears to be reasonably safe in carefully selected patients, but flaws in the reporting on it thus far preclude conclusions regarding efficacy. Further study is needed. Muscle Nerve 46: 1–8, 2012
Caring as sustainable coaching in elite athletics: benefits and challenges

ABSTRACT Coaches in elite sport must ensure a balance between performance, high pressure and well-being. A caring approach, based on a coach’s commitment to caring for athletes, has the potential to create such a balance and sustainability. The aim of this study was to identify coaches’ caring and problematise their ethics of care in relation to sustainability. We draw on and integrate the theoretical concept of caring into a conception of (un-) sustainable sport. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven Swedish elite athletics coaches. Results show that coaches’ ethics of care is important for creating sustainable elite athletics practices, but that caring also conflicts with sustainability thinking if coaches do not base their actions on practical wisdom and moral and ethical dilemmas.
The First-in-Human Study of the Hydrogen Sulfate (Hyd-Sulfate) Capsule of the MEK1/2 Inhibitor AZD6244 (ARRY-142886): A Phase I Open-Label Multicenter Trial in Patients with Advanced Cancer

Purpose: In part A, the aim was to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the hydrogen sulfate (Hyd-Sulfate) oral capsule formulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor AZD6244 (ARRY-142886). In part B, the aim was to compare the pharmacokinetic profile of the new Hyd-Sulfate capsule with the initial AZD6244 free-base suspension and further characterize the pharmacodynamic profile and efficacy of the new formulation. Experimental Design: In part A, 30 patients received escalating doses of AZD6244 Hyd-Sulfate twice daily. In part B, 29 patients were randomized to a single dose of the Hyd-Sulfate capsule or free-base suspension, followed by a washout, then a single dose of the alternative formulation. Patients received the Hyd-Sulfate capsule twice daily at MTD of part A thereafter. Results: The MTD of the Hyd-Sulfate capsule was 75 mg twice daily. Dose limiting toxicities were Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3 acneiform rash and pleural effusion. Fatigue (65.7%) and acneiform dermatitis (60.0%) were the most frequent adverse events at the MTD. Based on area under curve0-24, exposure of the 75 mg Hyd-Sulfate capsule relative to the 100 mg free-base suspension was 197% (90% confidence interval, 161-242%). Pharmacodynamic analysis showed that inhibition of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate–induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation in peripheral blood lymphocytes was related to plasma concentrations of AZD6244, with an estimated IC50 of 352 ng/mL and maximum inhibition (Emax) of ∼91%, showing target inhibition. A patient with metastatic melanoma bearing a V600E BRAF mutation achieved a complete response persisting after 15 months of therapy. Conclusions: The AZD6244 Hyd-Sulfate capsule formulation has shown a favorable toxicity, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic profile, and is being taken forward in ongoing clinical trials. Clin Cancer Res; 16(5); 1613–23
Which Factors Matter to Investors? Evidence from Mutual Fund Flows

When assessing a fund managerâ€™s skill, sophisticated investors will consider all factors (priced and unpriced) that explain cross-sectional variation in fund performance. We investigate which factors investors attend to by analyzing mutual fund flows as a function of recent returns decomposed into alpha and factor-related returns. Surprisingly, investors attend most to market risk (beta) when evaluating funds and treat returns attributable to size, value, momentum, and industry factors as alpha. Using proxies for investor sophistication (wealth, distribution channels, and periods of high investor sentiment), we find that more sophisticated investors use more sophisticated benchmarks when evaluating fund performance.Received August 14, 2015; accepted May 3, 2016 by Editor Stefan Nagel.
ARE PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS GOVERNANCE CHAMPIONS OR SIMPLY STOCK PICKING SPECIALISTS?#

Matthias Krokera, Marc Steffen Rappb,c, Michael Wolffd,c a Department of Financial Management & Capital Markets, Technische Universität München, Email: matthias.kroker@mytum.de; b Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies, Technische Universität München, Email: msr@m-s-rapp.de; c Center for Corporate Governance, Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL); d Department for Corporate Governance, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Email: michael.wolff@unimainz.de
The Binding Avidity of a Nanoparticle-based Multivalent Targeted Drug Delivery Platform

SUMMARY Dendrimer-based anticancer nanotherapeutics containing $5 folate molecules have shown in vitro and in vivo efficacy in cancer cell targeting. Multivalent interactions have been inferred from observed targeting efficacy, but have not been experimentally proven. This study provides quantitative and systematic evidence for multivalent interactions between these nanode-vices and folate-binding protein (FBP). A series of the nanodevices were synthesized by conjugation with different amounts of folate. Dissoci-ation constants (K D) between the nanodevices and FBP measured by SPR are dramatically enhanced through multivalency ($2,500-to 170,000-fold). Qualitative evidence is also provided for a multivalent targeting effect to KB cells using flow cytometry. These data support the hypothesis that multivalent enhancement of K D , not an enhanced rate of endocytosis, is the key factor resulting in the improved biological targeting by these drug delivery platforms.
On the Validity of Risk Measures over Time: Value-at-Risk, Conditional Tail Expectations and the Bodie-Merton-Perold Put

Over the past decade, risk measurement has received a much needed amount of attention from the . nancial community. Risk measures based on . xed quantiles un- der the actual probability distribution, especially Value-at-Risk and its re.nement the Conditional Tail Expectation, were instrumental in capturing the attention of . nancial decision-makers. However, these were developed in a way that is inconsistent with eco- nomic theory. Consequently, these instruments possess characteristics that make them invalid risk measures for the purposes they intend to serve, be it informing life-cycle investors or guaranteeing the . rm.s capital adequacy through regulation. In particular, in addition to failing to guarantee the intregity of . nancial . rms when used for capital adequacy, these measures can eventually decrease with the investment horizon. Risk-neutral . xed-quantile measures are valid for framing life-cycle decisions because of their economic content. When endowed with a dynamic replication technology, Q- measure . xed-quantile risk measures become least-cost insurance contracts that may be used for capital adequacy considerations. However, no single quantile of the risk-neutral distribution can be used for the procurement of risk capital at all horizons. A risk-neutral varying-quantile instrument is needed. This unique instrument is a put option proposed by Merton-Perold (1993) and Bodie (1995). The Bodie-Merton-Perold Put is universally valid for both risk disclosure to investors and for the regulatory provision of risk capital at all horizons. It is a natural candidate for an industry standard in risk measurement.
Determinant Factors of Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention: a Comparative Study

The research aims to analyze the impact of entrepreneurial education along with Shapero’s theory of entrepreneurial events on students' entrepreneurial intention. The research is also addressed to compare entrepreneurial intention of students lived in Jakarta and Garut city. The research method used is a survey and causal approach. Simple random sampling was used as the technique to select sample (413 respondents) from both cities. The sample size is adjusted to the model of analysis used in structural equation modeling (SEM). The research revealed that entrepreneurship education has a significant impact on perceived desirability, perceived feasibility and perceived propensity to act. This study also found that perceived desirability, perceived feasibility and perceived propensity to act were insignificant to influence students' entrepreneurial intention. The research findings suggest an agenda regarding a modification of entrepreneurship-oriented curriculum and creating school entrepreneurial atmosphere. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
Impact of Internship Programme in Engineering Education

A common opinion suggests that a distinction is somehow developed between the competence of engineering graduates and elemental requirements of the industry. Consequently, many universities in various countries have adapted internship programmes or industrial placement for some of their degree programs. This approach is also accepted and supported by many potential employers in different fields. Internships and placements are a kind of work experience obtained during the undergraduate years. Thanks to internship, the practical knowledge and understanding of students are greatly improved, especially in engineering education. It provides students with an opportunity to gain valuable working experience in their specific field and to enhance their prospects for future employment and engineering career before their graduation. This study is an attempt to evaluate the impact of such programmes on the basis of benefits and challenges. The evolution of internship programmes, alternative methods and basic principles are discussed. On the basis of the experience of Namik Kemal University, it is clear that this programme provides certain advantages for all sides but also many challenges. The students are introduced with the work life before graduation and has the chances of better preparation for the professional life. From the company point of view, they can make a very realistic assessment prior to the employment. The success of the programme depends on the level of co-operation and commitment displayed by internship students, partner companies and university academic staff. The involvement and commitment of students, support and capabilities of the factories outstands as important success criteria.
Effects of Acute Psychosocial Stress on Facial Emotion Recognition

Accurate recognition of the emotions of other people is essential for successful human interactions. Previous studies showed inconsistent results of the impact of acute psychosocial stress on emotion recognition. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating the influence of psychosocial stress on the recognition of facial emotional expressions of different valance. Eighty-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: stress (exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test) and control. Participants of both groups completed a facial emotion recognition test before and after the manipulation. The results demonstrated an enhancement in emotion recognition in the stress group but not in controls. Further analyses revealed that while stress enhanced the accurate recognition of anger, happiness, surprise, and neutral/calmness, it impaired the recognition of fear and had no effect on the recognition of sadness and disgust. The findings are discussed in light of evolutionary assumptions regarding differential processing mechanisms of emotion expressions.
Measurement-based network monitoring and inference: scalability and missing information

Using measurements collected at network monitors to infer network conditions is a promising approach for network-centric monitoring. In this context, an important question arises: given the number and locations of network monitors, how much network management resources (e.g., the number of measurements) are needed to obtain an accurate estimate of network states? We define the scalability of measurement-based network monitoring as the growth rate of the number of measurements required for accurate network monitoring/inference with respect to the size of a network. We develop a framework for investigating the scalability in the context of multicast inference with the monitors at the edges of a network. In such a framework, network monitoring/inference can be formulated as probability density estimation of network states. The growth rate is characterized through the sample complexity, which is the number of measurements needed to accurately estimate the density. The missing data framework is introduced to estimate the growth rate, where the missing data reflect unavailable measurements at the unobservable nodes without resident monitors, and the underlying nodal packet losses. We show that when the missing information is mainly due to the number of unobservable nodes, the number of measurements needed grows linearly with the size of the network, and the measurement-based inference approach is, thus, scalable. When the missing information is mainly due to the underlying nodal packet losses, the number of measurements needed grows faster than linear with the size of the network, and the measurement-based inference approach is, thus, not scalable. Our results provide guidelines for accessing feasibility of the measurement-based inference approach, and the number of probes required. We give numerical examples to illustrate some of our results.
Learning spectral graph transformations for link prediction

We present a unified framework for learning link prediction and edge weight prediction functions in large networks, based on the transformation of a graph's algebraic spectrum. Our approach generalizes several graph kernels and dimensionality reduction methods and provides a method to estimate their parameters efficiently. We show how the parameters of these prediction functions can be learned by reducing the problem to a one-dimensional regression problem whose runtime only depends on the method's reduced rank and that can be inspected visually. We derive variants that apply to undirected, weighted, unweighted, unipartite and bipartite graphs. We evaluate our method experimentally using examples from social networks, collaborative filtering, trust networks, citation networks, authorship graphs and hyperlink networks.
Elastodynamic image forces on dislocations

The elastodynamic image forces on edge and screw dislocations in the presence of a planar-free surface are derived. The explicit form of the elastodynamic fields of an injected, quiescent screw dislocation are also derived. The resulting image forces are affected by retardation effects: the dislocations experience no image force for a period of time defined by the arrival and reflection at the free surface of the dislocation fields. For the case of injected, stationary dislocations, it is shown that the elastodynamic image force tends asymptotically to the elastotatic prediction. For the case of injected, moving dislocations, it is shown that the elastodynamic image force on both the edge and the screw dislocations is magnified by inertial effects, and becomes increasingly divergent with time; this additional effect, missing in the elastostatic description, is shown to be substantial even for slow moving dislocations. Finally, it is shown that the elastodynamic image force of an edge dislocation moving towards the surface at the Rayleigh wave speed becomes repulsive, rather than attractive; this is suggestive of instabilities at the core of the dislocation, and likely resonances with the free surface.
The Deployment of E-Government in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: factors in E-Government adoption

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is one of the countries in the Middle East region that has started to implement e-government as a new technology in order to build knowledge based society. Despite the growing importance of e-government in Jordan, there is a lack of attention in investigating the social factors that may influence the adoption of e-government by the citizens. This paper examines the social factors the might influence e-government adoption by citizens in Jordan. These factors are examined through a literature search and questionnaire and data collected from 400 Jordanian participants, the research explores four different social factors: trust in terms of the security and privacy and trust in government, attitudes and beliefs, education, and accessibility. The Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory (Rogers, 1983) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) is used in this research as the applicable theoretical background in examining social factors influencing e-government adoption in Jordan. This article provides an approach to bridging the gap between the theoretical design of e-government and the actual deployment of e-government services in society through interaction with the Jordanian citizens as end users. In order to form a wide-ranging and prudent framework for e-government adoption in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a model for e-government adoption in Jordan is designed. The constructs of the model are integrated from TAM, DOI Theory and other social factors identified in previous research. The validity of the framework is examined using multiple regression analysis to illustrate the different factors and to formulate the essential constructs of the research model. The findings indicate that website design, beliefs, complexity, and perceived usefulness are significant factors that may influence the intention of Jordanian citizens to use e-government.
Instantons and wormholes in N=2 supergravity

In this paper, we construct Euclidean instanton and wormhole solutions in d=4, N=2 supergravity theories with hypermultiplets. The analytic continuation of the hypermultiplet action, involving pseudoscalar axions, is discussed using the approach originally developed by Coleman, which determines the appearance of boundary terms. In particular, we investigate the conditions obtained by requiring the action to be positive definite once the boundary terms are taken into account. The case of two hypermultiplets parameterizing the coset G{sub 2,2}/SU(2)xSU(2) is studied in detail. Orientifold projections that reduce the supersymmetry to N=1 are also discussed.
Does visual perceptual testing correlate with caregiver and teacher reported functional visual skill difficulties in school-aged children?

Purpose As occupational therapists embrace evidence-informed and occupation-centred practice, the use of standardised visual perceptual tests remains a strong feature of typical paediatric practice. Yet, the research evidence for the use of such tools is inconclusive at best. This study compared the results of the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS) with a checklist of reported functional difficulties in 30 children attending occupational therapy. The purpose of this paper was to determine the usefulness of visual perceptual testing in relation to occupation-centred practice. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive correlational study design was used. Participants were 30 primary school-age children who were on a paediatric occupational therapy caseload. An additional 30 typically developing children participated in the development of the checklist. Findings Correlations were found between reported functional visual skill difficulties and two subtests of the TVPS (visual memory and visual discrimination). No correlation was found between the reported functional difficulties and any of the other five subtests of the TVPS or the total score. Originality/value Results highlight the weak relationship that existed in this study between standardised measures of visual perception, as measured by the TVPS, and functional difficulties. Therapists are cautioned to explore both the evidence base for continued use of standardised visual perceptual measures to inform occupation-centred practice and the need to embrace a more comprehensive person-centred approach to visual perceptual assessment.
Institutional trust and familiarity in online interorganizational relationships

Institutional trust is necessary for inter-organizational relationships in e-commerce. Two types of institutional trust are herein proposed (a) third-party institution-based trust, which deals with intermediary-driven structures, and (b) bilateral institutionalized trust, which deals with dyadic inter-organizational processes. We examine how these two types of institutional trust develop through their underlying dimensions (i) structural assurances, (ii) facilitating conditions, and (iii) situational normality. We focus on how interorganizational trust and online relationship building can be longitudinally facilitated by institutional trust, which can initially substitute and progressively complement the role of familiarity. More specifically, this study focuses on the time-dependent nature of initial trust formation, and specifically on the role of relationship phase (from exploration to maturity), by describing (a) the role of bilateral relative to third-party institutional trust on interorganizational trust, and (b) the transition of the underlying dimensions of institutional trust. This research has implications for (1) the longitudinal nature and role of institutional trust in online relationship building, (2) the literature on initial trust formation, and (3) the strategic design and use of cost-effective trust-building mechanisms.
Improvement in Midwall Myocardial Shortening With Regression of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Despite normal indices of left ventricular (LV) chamber function, patients with LV hypertrophy (LVH) due to hypertension are thought to have depressed midwall systolic shortening compared with normotensives. The aims of the present study were (1) to confirm this observation and (2) to assess the effects of antihypertensive therapy that cause regression of LVH on LV systolic function assessed at both the midwall and endocardium. Thirty-eight previously untreated hypertensive subjects with LVH underwent echocardiography and were compared with 38 normotensive control subjects. Comparisons between the group with LVH and the control group revealed no significant differences in cardiac output (4.32±0.23 versus 4.55±0.21 L/min), ejection fraction (62.5±2% versus 66.4±1.07%), or endocardial fractional shortening (34.5±1.45% versus 37.0±0.82%), but shortening assessed at the midwall was significantly less in the group with LVH (17.9±1.11% versus 21.6±0.63%, P <0.01). Subsequently, 32 patients with uncontrolled hypertension (24 previously untreated and 8 on existing antihypertensive therapy) underwent treatment with ramipril, with the addition of felodipine and bendrofluazide if required, to reduce blood pressure to <140/90 mm Hg. These 32 patients underwent echocardiography at baseline, after blood pressure control, and after an additional 6 months of tight blood pressure control. Good blood pressure control was achieved after 6 months compared with baseline (143/86±2.8/1.4 versus 174/103±4.1/1.9 mm Hg;P <0.01) with significant regression of LV mass index (124±3.4 versus 145±3.8 g/m2, P <0.01). LV fractional shortening assessed at the midwall improved with regression of LVH (21.9±0.84 and 18.7±1.19%, P <0.05), with posttreatment midwall shortening being similar to that of the normal control subjects evaluated in the first study. Hypertensive patients with LVH have depressed midwall systolic shortening despite normal indices of LV chamber function. Regression of LVH after good blood pressure control improved midwall shortening to normal levels.