Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identifying Facilitators and Challenges for IT Adoption at a Local Malaysian Retail Company: The IT Management Perspective

Substantial research that examines the adoption of IT-enabled initiatives by organisations has been conducted in the context of western countries. Existing research shows that IT systems and their adoption are largely shaped by the characteristics of organisations, organisational culture, and business environment. To address the limited understanding of IT adoption practices in developing countries, this paper investigates facilitators and challenges related to technological, organisational and environmental contexts for IT adoption. For this purpose, a case study was conducted with a local Malaysian retail company which experiences enormous competitive pressure from influential international retail giants operating in Malaysia. The findings of the study offer important lessons for organisations operating in developing countries.
Botnet Behaviour Analysis Using IP Flows: With HTTP Filters Using Classifiers

Botnets are one of the most destructive threats against the cyber security. Recently, HTTP protocol is frequently utilized by botnets as the Command and Communication (C&C) protocol. In this work, we aim to detect HTTP based botnet activity based on botnet behaviour analysis via machine learning approach. To achieve this, we employ flow-based network traffic utilizing NetFlow (via Softflowd). The proposed botnet analysis system is implemented by employing two different machine learning algorithms, C4.5 and Naive Bayes. Our results show that C4.5 learning algorithm based classifier obtained very promising performance on detecting HTTP based botnet activity.
Immunotherapy for Melanoma Metastatic to the Orbit

Purpose To present 3 cases of melanoma metastatic to the orbit treated with various traditional modalities including surgery and chemotherapy and being treated with melanoma vaccines and to present background information on immunotherapy. Methods Retrospective review of 3 patients with melanoma metastatic to the orbit who were treated with melanoma vaccines along with conventional treatments. One patient had known orbital involvement before vaccine treatment; 2 patients had orbital metastases subsequent to vaccine administration. Results Patients survived at least 13 months after the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma, with 1 patient surviving 51 months after the onset of metastases and administration of melanoma vaccine. Conclusions Although still unproven, immunotherapy with melanoma vaccines is a promising new treatment modality for metastatic melanoma with few side effects.
Factors which predict the effectiveness of different treatments of mild depression or dysphoria

Las investigaciones sobre la depresion senalan, factores predictores diferentes para el desarrollo de las conductas depresivas. A pesar de ello, el tratamiento cognitivo-conductual se aplica indistintamente a la poblacion general de sujetos depresivos. En este estudio, se forman dos grupos a partir de una muestra de 236 adolescentes con depresion leve o disforia: el grupo "disforico cognitivo" constituido por sujetos con un estilo atribucional depresivo, y el grupo "disforico conductual" formado por sujetos con deficiencias en la conducta social. Utilizamos, estos dos grupos para comparar la eficacia de aplicar un tratamiento emparejado y uno no emparejado con el tipo de disforia. Los resultados del ANOVA indican que el tratamiento emparejado con el tipo de disforia es mas efectivo que el tratamiento no emparejado.
How Behaviors on Social Network sites and Online Social Capital Influence Social Commerce: the Case of Facebook

Following the fast growing of social network sites (SNS) such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook in the cyber world recently, the social commerce has become an important emerging issue in these SNS. The aim of the study is to comprehend the antecedents for SNS users’ social commerce intention (SCI) of giving and receiving shopping information about products or services on SNS. According to the literature review, the study applied SNS behavior (participating and browsing), social capital theory (bonding and bridging) to investigate how these factors influence SCI. The study conducted an empirical research on SNS. After the research survey collected from SNS (facebook) users for one month, the research has several findings. First, SNS behavior and social capital affect SCI simultaneously, and the effects between SNS behavior and SCI are partially mediated by the bonding and bridging social capital. Second, both of browsing and participating behaviors have significantly positive relationships with bonding and bridging social capital. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also discussed providing several future research directions and suggestions to the scholars and SNS operators, respectively.
Prognostic significance of high‐grade dysplasia in colorectal adenomas

Aim Colonoscopy to detect and remove polyps has contributed to a reduction in colorectal carcinoma. Three‐year follow up is recommended for patients considered to be at high risk (at least three adenomas, adenoma ≥ 1 cm, villous or high‐grade features). Our study focused on patients diagnosed with high‐grade dysplasia with regard to initial management and follow up.
High performance silicon-based extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation detector for industrial application

Silicon-based p+n junction photodiodes have been successfully fabricated for radiation detection in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral range. The diode technology relies on the formation of a front p+ active surface region by using pure boron chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which grows delta-like B-doped layers on Si substrates. Therefore, the technique can ensure defect-free, highly-doped, and extremely ultra shallow junctions that significantly enhance the sensitivity to UV radiation with respect to commercial state-of-the-art detectors, as confirmed by near theoretical responsivity (0.266 A/W, at 13.5 nm radiation wavelength). Outstanding performance has also been achieved in terms of extremely low dark current (< 50 pA, at a reverse bias of 10 V) and pulsed response time (< 100 ns) for 0.1 cm2 large area devices. In addition, the fabricated photodiodes exhibit negligible degradation to high-dose radiation exposure. Owing to these features, the presented photodiode technology, which profits from low cost, reduced complexity, and full compatibility with standard Si processing, offers a reliable solution for the implementation of detectors in industrial applications based on EUV radiation, such as next-generation 13.5 nm wavelength lithography.
Business-Driven Long-Term Capacity Planning for SaaS Applications

Capacity Planning is one of the activities developed by Information Technology departments over the years, it aims at estimating the amount of resources needed to offer a computing service. This activity contributes to achieving high Quality of Service levels and also to pursuing better economic results for companies. In the Cloud Computing context, one plausible scenario is to have Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers that build their IT infrastructure acquiring resources from Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers. SaaS providers can reduce operational costs and complexity by buying instances from a reservation market, but then need to predict the number of instances needed in the long-term. This work investigates how important is the capacity planning in this context and how simple business-driven heuristics for long-term capacity planning impact on the profit achieved by SaaS providers. Simulation experiments were performed using synthetic e-commerce workloads. Our analysis show that proposed heuristics increase SaaS provider profit, on average, at 9.6501 percent per year. Analysing such results we demonstrate that capacity planning is still an important activity, contributing to the increase of SaaS providers profit. Besides, a good capacity planning may also avoid bad reputation due to unacceptable performance, which is a gain very hard to measure.
Assessing websites on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer.

BACKGROUND Many cancer patients search the World Wide Web for information on complementary and alternative medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of such information and identify the treatments most frequently discussed. Materials and methods We used a pre-tested search strategy to identify the websites that are most likely to be used by cancer patients and assessed them according to pre-defined criteria. RESULTS Thirty-two websites were included in this analysis. The quality of these sites was scored on a point system and varied between 8 and 14 points with a maximum of 14. Most sites issued recommendations for a plethora of treatments, which are typically not supported by sound scientific evidence. Three sites had the potential for harming patients through the advice issued. The most frequently discussed therapies were herbal medicines, diets and mind-body therapies. CONCLUSION The most popular websites on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer offer information of extremely variable quality. Many endorse unproven therapies and some are outright dangerous.
Activin receptor-like kinase5 inhibition suppresses mouse melanoma by ubiquitin degradation of Smad4, thereby derepressing eomesodermin in cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Varieties of transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) antagonists have been developed to intervene with excessive TGF‐β signalling activity in cancer. Activin receptor‐like kinase5 (ALK5) inhibitors antagonize TGF‐β signalling by blocking TGF‐β receptor‐activated Smad (R‐Smad) phosphorylation. Here we report the novel mechanisms how ALK5 inhibitors exert a therapeutic effect on a mouse B16 melanoma model. Oral treatment with a novel ALK5 inhibitor, EW‐7197 (2.5 mg/kg daily) or a representative ALK5 inhibitor, LY‐2157299 (75 mg/kg bid) suppressed the progression of melanoma with enhanced cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte (CTL) responses. Notably, ALK5 inhibitors not only blocked R‐Smad phosphorylation, but also induced ubiquitin‐mediated degradation of the common Smad, Smad4 mainly in CD8+ T cells in melanoma‐bearing mice. Accordingly, T‐cell‐specific deletion of Smad4 was sufficient to suppress the progression of melanoma. We further identified eomesodermin (Eomes), the T‐box transcription factor regulating CTL functions, as a specific target repressed by TGF‐β via Smad4 and Smad3 in CD8+ T cells. Thus, ALK5 inhibition enhances anti‐melanoma CTL responses through ubiquitin‐mediated degradation of Smad4 in addition to the direct inhibitory effect on R‐Smad phosphorylation.
Epidemiological Analysis of Salmonella enteritidisIsolates from Humans and Broiler Chickens in Thailand by Phage Typing and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

ABSTRACT To determine the phage types (PT) of Salmonella enteritidis found in Thailand and to clarify the potential for human infection by S. enteritidis in broiler chicken meat, human and poultry isolates taken from Thailand between 1990 and 1997 were phage typed and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Ten different PT were found among the 302 isolates phage typed, with PT 4 being the most frequent in human (73.9%) and poultry (76.2%) isolates, followed by PT 1 (8.0%), 8 (3.6%), and 7a (2.2%) in human isolates and by PT 7a (4.9%), 1 (3.7%), and 12 (2.4%) in poultry isolates. Of the 53 isolates analyzed by PFGE, 45 showed an indistinguishable pattern (pattern A) byBlnI-digested PFGE and the other 8 isolates showed a very similar pattern that differed by only a few bands. These results indicate the spread of a genetically identical clone ofS. enteritidis in humans and poultry in Thailand.
Anatomical Image Registration Using Volume Conservation to Assess Cardiac Deformation From 3D Ultrasound Recordings

Myocardial deformation imaging can provide valuable insights in myocardial mechanics and help in the diagnosis, prognosis and follow-up of cardiac diseases. However, extracting these indices in 3D is challenging due to the limitations in spatial and temporal resolution of the current volumetric ultrasound systems. For this purpose, we developed an anatomical free-form deformation image registration framework which is locally adapted to the anatomy of the heart. In this work we explored whether incorporating a myocardial volume conservation regularizer would improve strain estimates. We evaluated our technique on in silico echo sequences featuring realistic speckle textures and showed the volume conservation regularizer to be beneficial in reducing strain errors further when used in combination with a smoothness penalty. This combination led to more physiological boundary conditions. It also made distinguishing ischemic from normal segments easier in clinical images.
The Relationship between Disposition and Duration of Action of a Congeneric Series of Steroidal Neuromuscular Blocking Agents

The renal and hepatic elimination and biotransformation, as well as the relation between disposition and duration of action of pancuronium and two of its analogues, dacuronium and ORG.6368, have been investigated in the cat. In pharmacokinetic studies, appreciable amounts of the latter two compounds were found in the urine, bile and liver 8 h after their intravenous administration. Various proportions of the injected dose of the respective drugs were metabolized. In another series of experiments it was shown that the early hepatic uptake (during the first 3 min after the injection) of ORG.6368 was significantly greater than that of dacuronium and pancuronium. The intensity and duration of action of the neuromuscular blocking effect of the three compounds were studied after intravenous and “close” intraarterial injection. On the basis of these pharmacokinetic and neuromuscular studies, it was concluded that the short duration of action of ORG.6368 is due primarily to its early hepatic uptake. The possibility cannot be excluded, however, that differences in the kinetics of the drug action of ORG.6368 and the other two compounds also contributed significantly to the differences seen in the duration of action of these compounds.
Olanzapine effects on body composition, food preference, glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity in the rat

The atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine induces weight gain and defects in glucose metabolism in patients. Using a rat model we investigated the effects of acute and long term olanzapine treatment on weight gain, food preference and glucose metabolism. Olanzapine treated rats fed a chow diet grew more slowly than vehicle controls but olanzapine treated animals fed a high fat/sugar diet grew faster than control animals on the same diet. These changes in weight were paralleled by changes in fat mass. Olanzapine also induced a strong preference for a high fat/high sugar diet. Acute exposure to olanzapine rapidly induced severe impairments of glucose tolerance and increased insulin secretion but did not impair insulin tolerance. These results indicate the defect in glucose metabolism induced by acute olanzapine treatment was most likely due to increased hepatic glucose output associated with a reduction in active GLP-1 levels and correspondingly high glucagon levels.
Achieving the optimal DoF with feedback and mixed CSIT for the 3×2 X-channel

There is an increasing demand of robust interference management methods which provide strong performance even when channel state information is imperfect. To investigate this aspect, we study the 3 × 2 single-input single-output (SISO) X-channel where each transmitter wants to send an independent message to each receiver. We assume that each receiver is allowed to convey perfect outdated and imperfect instantaneous channel state information to the transmitter (CSIT). Furthermore a single transmitter-receiver pair exists that allows for output feedback. For this model, we establish a lower bound on the sum degrees-of-freedom (DoF) by introducing a new achievability scheme. We show that, finite quality CSIT and partial output feedback together compensate for the absence of perfect CSIT.
The Overall Prevalence of Metastasis in T1 Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Analysis of 295 Patients

Objectives:T1 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has a low, but still present, risk of lymph node (LN) metastasis. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is often applied for T1 ESCC. To achieve successful treatment by EMR/ESD, the risk of LN metastases, LN recurrence, and hematological recurrence need to be better understood. The aim of this study was to determine the precise risk for metastasis in T1 ESCC. Methods:We divided 295 patients with T1 ESCC who underwent surgery and/or ESD/EMR into 6 categories (m1, m2, m3, sm1, sm2, and sm3). Their risks of LN metastasis, LN recurrence, hematological recurrence, and the outcome were determined. Results:The rates of LN metastasis and LN recurrence were 0% in m1 and m2, 9% in m3, 16% in sm1, 35% in sm2, and 62% in sm3 cases. The incidence of hematological recurrence was 0% in m1, m2, m3, and sm1 cases; 9% in sm2 cases; and 13% in sm3 cases. The overall risk of metastasis was 9% in m3, 16% in sm1, 38% in sm2, and 64% in sm3 patients. The 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 100% in m1, m2, and m3; 90.9% in sm1; 78.8% in sm2; and 68.6% in sm3 patients. Statistically, both lymphatic and venous invasion were selected as predictive markers for metastasis. In m3 patients, positivity for either of these had an odds ratio for metastasis of 7.333 (P = 0.093). Conclusions:Our study provides a precise assessment of the comprehensive risk of metastasis and feasible predictive markers for T1 ESCC.
Incidence of recurrent thromboembolic and bleeding complications among patients with venous thromboembolism in relation to both malignancy and achieved international normalized ratio: a retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE Initial heparinization followed by vitamin K antagonists is the treatment of choice for patients with venous thromboembolism. There is controversy whether known malignancy is a risk factor for recurrences and bleeding complications during this treatment. Furthermore, the incidence of such events in these patients is dependent on the achieved International Normalized Ratio (INR). The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of venous thromboembolic recurrence and major bleeding among patients with venous thromboembolism in relation to both malignancy and the achieved INR. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a retrospective analysis, the INR-specific incidence of venous thromboembolic and major bleeding events during oral anticoagulant therapy was calculated separately for patients with and without malignancy. Eligible patients participated in two multicenter, randomized clinical trials on the initial treatment of venous thromboembolism. Patients were initially treated with heparin (standard or low-molecular weight). Treatment with vitamin K antagonists was started within 1 day and continued for 3 months, with a target INR of 2.0 to 3.0. RESULTS In 1,303 eligible patients (264 with malignancy), 35 recurrences and 12 bleeds occurred. Patients with malignancy, compared with nonmalignant patients, had a clinically and statistically significantly increased overall incidence of recurrence (27.1 v 9.0, respectively, per 100 patient-years) as well as bleeding (13.3 v 2.1, respectively, per 100 patient-years). In both groups of patients, the incidence of recurrence was lower when the INR was above 2.0 compared with below 2.0. CONCLUSION Although adequately dosed vitamin K antagonists are effective in patients with malignant disease, the incidence of thrombotic and bleeding complications remains higher than in patients without malignancy.
Stationary graph processes: Nonparametric spectral estimation

Stationarity is a cornerstone property that facilitates the analysis and processing of random signals in the time domain. Although time-varying signals are abundant in nature, in many practical scenarios the information of interest resides in more irregular graph domains. The contribution in this paper is twofold. First, we propose several equivalent notions of weak stationarity for random graph signals, all taking into account the structure of the graph where the random process takes place. Second, we analyze the properties of the induced power spectral density along with nonparametric approaches to estimate it, including average and window-based periodograms.
Regression of Hypertensive Left Ventricular Hypertrophy by Losartan Compared With Atenolol: The Losartan Intervention for Endpoint Reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) Trial

Background—An echocardiographic substudy of the Losartan Intervention for Endpoint Reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) trial was designed to test the ability of losartan to reduce left ventricular (LV) mass more than atenolol. Methods and Results—A total of 960 patients with essential hypertension and LV hypertrophy (LVH) on screening ECG were enrolled at centers in 7 countries and studied by echocardiography at baseline and after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years’ randomized therapy. Clinical examination and blinded readings of echocardiograms in 457 losartan-treated and 459 atenolol-treated participants with ≥1 follow-up measurement of LV mass index (LVMI) were used in an intention-to-treat analysis. Losartan-based therapy induced greater reduction in LVMI from baseline to the last available study than atenolol with adjustment for baseline LVMI and blood pressure and in-treatment pressure (−21.7±21.8 versus −17.7±19.6 g/m2; P=0.021). Greater LVMI reduction with losartan was observed in women and men, participants >65 or <65 years of age, and with mild or more severe baseline hypertrophy. The difference between treatment arms in LVH regression was due mainly to reduced concentricity of LV geometry in both groups and lesser increase in LV internal diameter in losartan-treated patients. Conclusions—Antihypertensive treatment with losartan, plus hydrochlorothiazide and other medications when needed for pressure control, resulted in greater LVH regression in patients with ECG LVH than conventional atenolol-based treatment. Thus, angiotensin receptor antagonism by losartan has superior efficacy for reversing LVH, a cardinal manifestation of hypertensive target organ damage.
The Minnesota Model in the management of drug and alcohol dependency: miracle, method or myth? Part II. Evidence and conclusions.

Summary Claims of impressive outcome figures for the Minnesota Model find some support in published studies, with as many as two thirds of admissions apparently achieving a genuinely good outcome at 1-year follow-up. However, methodological criticisms of these studies indicate the need for further research incorporating control or comparison treatment groups, longer follow-up, more rigorous assessment procedures, and clearly defined diagnostic/outcome criteria. The powerful ideology of the programme provokes criticism but is apparently central to its success. It incorporates a number of therapeutic elements known or suspected to be of value in the management of drug/alcohol dependence. While some clients or patients and professionals alike may react against this treatment model we all have much to learn from it, and many are undoubtedly helped by it.
Comparison of a Fluorimetric Method and a Competitive Protein Binding Assay Kit for the Determination of Plasma Hydroxycorticosteroids

A new competitive protein binding (C.P.B.) assay kit for the determination of plasma hydroxycorticosteroids which uses a gamma emitting isotope, selenium-75, to label the Cortisol was compared with a fluorimetric method in use in a routine laboratory. The mean plasma corticosteroid level in a group of 54 normal subjects was found to be lower with the C.P.B. kit than with the fluorimetric method. The correlation coefficient between the two methods in 131 specimens from healthy subjects and patients under investigation for pituitary or adrenocortical disorders was + 0.92. The precision of the two methods was similar.