Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Extracellular Concentrations of Glutamate, Aspartate, Glycine, Dopamine, Serotonin, and Dopamine Metabolites After Transient Global Ischemia in the Rabbit Brain

Although considerable evidence supports a role for excitatory amino acids in the pathogenesis of ischemic neuronal injury, few in vivo studies have examined the effect of increasing durations of ischemia on the extracellular concentrations of these agents. Recently, other neurotransmittiers (e.g., glycine and doparaine) have been implicated in the mechanism of ischemic neuronal injury. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to examine the patterns of changes of extracellular glutamate, aspartate, glycine concentrations in the hippocampus, and dopamine, serotonin, and dopamine metabolites in the caudate nucleus with varying durations (5, 10, or 15 minutes) of transient global cerebral ischemia as evidence to support their pathogenetic roles. Microdialysis was used to sample the brain's extracellular space before, during, and after the ischemic period. Glutamate and aspartate concentrations in the dialysate increased from baseline by 1‐, 5‐, and 13‐fold and by 4‐, 9‐, and 31‐fold, respectively, for the three ischemic durations. The concentrations returned to baseline rapidly after reperfusion. The peak concentrations of glutamate and aspartate were significantly higher with increasing ischemic duration. Dopamine concentrations increased by approximately 700‐fold in response to all three ischemic durations and returned to baseline within 10 min of reperfusion. Glycine, in contrast, increased during ischemia by a mean of 4‐fold, but remained elevated throughout the 80‐min period of reperfusion. The final concentrations of glycine were significantly higher than baseline levels (p = 0.0002, Mann‐Whitney test). That glutamate and aspartate concentrations in the hippocampus co‐vary with the duration of global ischemia is taken as supportive evidence of their pathogenetic role in ischemic neuronal injury. The observation that dopamine concentrations increased independently of ischemic duration indicates a maximal release with only S min of ischemia and suggests that dopamine's role in the incremental injury seen with increasing ischemic duration is limited to prolonged high concentrations rather than increasing peak levels as seen with glutamate and aspartate. The sustained elevation of glycine concentrations after ischemia may explain the ability of excitatory amino acids to produce delayed toxicity in the reperfusion phase, as glycine has been shown to facilitate glutamate's activity at the N‐ methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor.
Retrobulbar Anesthesia: The Role of Hyaluronidase

The present study was conducted in 100 patients receiving retrobulbar block for ophthalmic surgery to compare the efficacy of local anesthetic solutions with and without hyaluronidase. All patients received 3.5 ml of a mixture of 3 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2 ml of 2% lidocaine. Seventy-five international units of hyaluronidase were diluted in 5 ml of the local anesthetic mixture and used for 50 of the blocks. The remainder did not receive hyaluronidase. A consistently better motor blockade was achieved with hyaluronidase (P < 0.001 at 10, 15, and 20 min). This finding has not been conclusively demonstrated before.
Epidemiology of malignant pleural mesothelioma in the province of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy). A population-based report.

UNLABELLED The aim of this population-based study was to analyze and describe the epidemiological characteristics and trends of malignant pleural mesothelioma in the province of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy), in the period 1992-2010. Data were obtained from the local tumor registry which makes part of a wider registry web, coordinated today by the Italian Association for Tumor Registries. The overall number of malignant pleural mesothelioma cases registered was 70. The male-to-female ratio was 4:1 and the mean age 65.1 years for males and 63.4 years for females. The standardized incidence rates were 1.2/100,000 and 0.3/100,000 and the standardized mortality rates 0.6/100,000 and 0.2/100,000 for males and females respectively. A trend to increase in incidence in recent years was evidenced. This trend seems to follow the general national tendency and it depends on a large diffusion of asbestos usage in the past, delayed legislative interventions and probably a cleaning strategy of residual contamination fonts to intensify. The relative 5 years survival was low, suggesting the necessity to further intensify research and cure methods for the treatment of this extremely aggressive disease. KEY WORDS Asbestos exposure, Mesothelioma, Pleura, Sassari.
Fiber Tracking: A Recursive Stack Algorithmic Approach

In diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI), each voxel is assigned a tensor that describes local water diffusion. In this study, the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the diffusion tensor D are analyzed based on stack linked list algorithm. The aim of the study is to develop a reliable and rapid tractography algorithm. In our sample, 60 diffusion weighted human brain images and a null image namely the T2 image creating a set of intensity images of size 256 times 256 times 60 times 30 have been examined. The eigensystem of D is calculated in every pixel, apparent diffusion coefficient ADC is represented with respect to D. The idea of the proposed method is to accomplish the fiber pathway by starting from a single, selected node taking every node in other words all the information of the eigensystem of the whole brain into account. Developing a reliable and rapid fiber tracking algorithm for the clinical use regarding to the verified results is the future study of the work in progress.
Alternative Drive Systems and Environmentaly Friendly Public Passengers Transport

City transport causes the biggest part of road transport emissions. Besides, by engaging mainly fossil fuels in the city transport, we are responsible for air pollution in urban areas. On the other hand, passengers transport (private and public, individual and mass) may contribute substantially to reduce the negative impact on the environment by application of alternative fuels and declining of the use of fossil fuels. The main alternative fuels for drive systems in transport are the following: electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels. Synthetic fuels are option as a technology. Some of them are very effective but too expensive technologies. Another way is introduction of flexible transport (from door to door, on demand, etc.) which application enables to decrease the number of cars in urban centers to avoid congestions and the negative impact on the environment. This paper points out that public transport has a special role in the process of decreasing fossil fuel dependence, and the necessity for rapid alternative technology implementation, as well as development of the public transport system itself. Proposed is the introduction of public passenger transport from door to door that offers a comfort comparable to personal cars (specifically for handicapped persons) and helps to lowering congestions on the roads. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 14.07. 2018. Accepted 02.08. 2018. Available 30.09. 2018.
Joint ventures in the flag Boshielo irrigation scheme, South Africa: A history of smallholders, states and business

The report analyzes the changing tripartite constellations between South African black smallholders, the pre- and post-apartheid state, and the country’s large-scale agribusiness and irrigation industry. A recent mode of farming is the ‘joint venture’, in which smallholders hand over land and share in the net profits, while a strategic partner manages the cultivation with own inputs and equipment, and markets the output. With a focus on the 13 sub-schemes of the Flag Boshielo irrigation scheme in the former homeland of Lebowa (current Limpopo Province), the report analyzes the emergence of six joint ventures - the collapse of three and the troubled continuation of the other three. For the government’s support to joint ventures as one of the options of the revitalization of smallholder irrigation schemes in former homelands, it is recommended to ensure there is a robust bilateral contract between smallholders and the strategic partner, to strengthen land tenure arrangements, and to diversify irrigation technologies for women and men smallholders.
A long-term trial of alternative user authentication technologies

Modern IT systems have a continued requirement for reliable user authentication at login. However, the majority of systems are still using username/password combinations, in spite of a variety of recognised weaknesses. Identifies the need for improved login authentication, and investigates the suitability of two alternative methods, using cognitive questions and an image‐based PIN. The effectiveness of these techniques has already been evaluated in an earlier study, which assessed users' ability to recall the necessary information after a prolonged period of inactivity. Here, the evaluation is focused on the perceived acceptability of the techniques, based upon users' longer‐term opinions arising from a period of regular usage. Discovers that 56 per cent of the participants would support the use of such techniques as a replacement for traditional password or numeric PIN‐based authentication. However, also discovers that some users have the potential to compromise the security of the methods by using them inappropriately. As such, concludes that, although the use of alternative authentication techniques is viable, further research is needed to refine the approaches and identify the best combination of methods across a larger base of users.
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL ANALYSIS OF FOOD INSECURITY AND COPING STRATEGIES: EVIDENCE FROM ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA.

The study analysed the strategies used by the rural households to cope with food insecurity in Udi local government area of Enugu state. Data were collected through household surveys using semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed to analyse the data for the study. Households were grouped based on their food security status (food secure and food insecure). The study result showed that the two-group household differed significantly in some of their socio-economic characteristics. The study confirms that the coping strategies employed by the vulnerable households were not mutually exclusive, rather a mixed approach comprising multiple strategies were adopted to cushion food insecurity shocks . Furthermore, socioeconomic factors such as income (p<0.01), marital status (p<0.1) and educational level (p<0.01) were found to negatively influence the number of coping strategy adopted by rural households while the dependency ratio (p<0.01) was positively significant. Policy implications were drawn for education promotion, poverty alleviation programs and the creation of sustainable off-farm employment opportunities.
Effect of Human Capital Management on Firm Performance via Balanced Scorecard

Nowadays, there is an increasing reliance on intangible assets as important determinants of firm value. Research was focused on the influence of human capital as an intangible asset on the organizations’ performance. This paper makes insights by exploring the concept of human capital management HCM and the impact of the balanced scorecard BSC on it and the effect of both on firm performance. The model was developed to include HCM indicators, deducted from resource-based and motivation theories, “competence” and “motivation & commitment”. The model also includes the four areas of the BSC: learning & growth, internal business, customer and financial performance; in addition to firm performance as research dependent variable. Data was collected from the 4 telecommunication organizations in Jordan, using 65 questionnaires. The hypotheses were tested using Amos analysis to determine the impact of using Balanced Scorecard BSC on Human Capital Management HCM, and the impact of both variables on Firm performance. The results revealed that the BSC has significant impact of effective human capital management; and both have positive effect on firm performance. They also revealed the primordial inter-functional strategic role of BSC and how important is the investment on commitment & motivation and competencies that would certainly lead to increase firm performance.
Refining Measurement of Social Cognitive Theory Factors Associated with Exercise Adherence in Head and Neck Cancer Patients

Social cognitive theory (SCT) measures related to exercise adherence in head and neck cancer (HNCa) patients were developed. Enrolling 101 HNCa patients, psychometric properties and associations with exercise behavior were examined for barriers self-efficacy, perceived barriers interference, outcome expectations, enjoyment, and goal setting. Cronbach's alpha ranged from.84 to.95; only enjoyment demonstrated limited test-retest reliability. Subscales for barriers self-efficacy (motivational, physical health) and barriers interference (motivational, physical health, time, environment) were identified. Multiple SCT constructs were cross-sectional correlates and prospective predictors of exercise behavior. These measures can improve the application of the SCT to exercise adherence in HNCa patients.
Holistic Facial Composite Construction and Subsequent Lineup Identification Accuracy: Comparing Adults and Children

ABSTRACT When the police have no suspect, they may ask an eyewitness to construct a facial composite of that suspect from memory. Faces are primarily processed holistically, and recently developed computerized holistic facial composite systems (e.g., EFIT-V) have been designed to match these processes. The reported research compared children aged 6–11 years with adults on their ability to construct a recognizable EFIT-V composite. Adult constructor's EFIT-Vs received significantly higher composite-suspect likeness ratings from assessors than children's, although there were some notable exceptions. In comparison to adults, the child constructors also overestimated the composite-suspect likeness of their own EFIT-Vs. In a second phase, there were no differences between adult controls and constructors in correct identification rates from video lineups. However, correct suspect identification rates by child constructors were lower than those of child controls, suggesting that a child's memory for the suspect can be adversely influenced by composite construction. Nevertheless, all child constructors coped with the demands of the EFIT-V system, and the implications for research, theory, and the criminal justice system practice are discussed.
Busy period analysis for an ATM switching element output line

The authors consider an N*N asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching element with output queuing, under a uniformity assumption for the traffic arriving on the various input lines and for the output line address of the incoming cells. The traffic on each input line is modeled as a two-state Markov chain. The distribution of the busy and idle periods for each output line is analytically derived. It is concluded that it is not easy to identify a simple two-state Markov chain model that provides an adequate description for the output traffic. The implications of two different output line address assignment mechanisms for the incoming cells are quantitatively described. An alternative method is outlined for the computation of the steady-state distribution of the number of cells in the system. An analysis of the numerical results is presented. <<ETX>>
Computational Understanding of Image Memorability by Zoya Bylinskii

Previous studies have identified that images carry the attribute of memorability, a predictive value of whether a novel image will be later remembered or forgotten. In this thesis we investigate the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect image memorability. First, we find that intrinsic differences in memorability exist at a finer-grained scale than previously documented. Moreover, we demonstrate high consistency across participant populations and experiments. We show how these findings generalize to an applied visual modality information visualizations. We separately find that intrinsic differences are already present shortly after encoding and remain apparent over time. Second, we consider two extrinsic factors: image context and observer behavior. We measure the effects of image context (the set of images from which the experimental sequence is sampled) on memorability. Building on prior findings that images that are distinct with respect to their context are better remembered, we propose an information-theoretic model of image distinctiveness. Our model can predict how changes in context change the memorability of natural images using automaticallycomputed image features. Our results are presented on a large dataset of indoor and outdoor scene categories. We also measure the effects of observer behavior on memorability, on a trial-bytrial basis. Specifically, our proposed computational model can use an observer’s eye movements on an image to predict whether or not the image will be later remembered. Apart from eye movements, we also show how 2 additional physiological measurements pupil dilations and blink rates can be predictive of image memorability, without the need for overt responses. Together, by considering both intrinsic and extrinsic effects on memorability, we arrive at a more complete model of image memorability than previously available. Thesis Supervisor: Antonio Torralba Title: Associate Professor Thesis Supervisor: Aude Oliva Title: Principal Research Scientist
The relationships among different types of market knowledge, ambidextrous learning, and different types of innovations

In the knowledge economy era, both academia and industry alike have been focused on the impact of market knowledge on innovation performance. However, research addressing the inconsistencies in empirical findings about its impact (such as a negative or insignificant affect) is scarce. Moreover, ambidexterity (exploratory learning/exploitative learning) is one of the central topics in knowledge management. This article marks the first endeavor to adopt the knowledge-based theory and the ambidextrous learning perspective, attempt to create a theoretical framework of knowledge-learning-innovation, and thoroughly examine related causal relationships between different dimensions of the constructs. The empirical results demonstrated the following: market knowledge depth directly and positively impacts process innovation and product innovation; market knowledge breadth indirectly and positively impacts process innovation and product innovation; and there is no significant difference in the effects of the two types of knowledge on the two types of innovation performance. Ambidextrous learning directly and positively affects process innovation and product innovation; ambidextrous organizational learning mediates the effect of market knowledge breadth on process innovation and product innovation, and this mediating effect is more pronounced with exploitative learning; ambidextrous organizational learning does not mediate the effect of market knowledge depth on both types of innovation performance.
Transtheoretical Model Development for Retail Health Clinic Utilization

Primary Care is considered to be in a crisis in the U.S. related to increasing rates of chronic disease, increasing numbers of patients, less physicians, and less money. This dilemma has led to the rise of what could be a disruptive innovation in the form of retail health clinics, health clinics located within retail settings like pharmacies and large retail stores. The core aim of this study was to use a sequential approach to measurement development to develop TTM measures for the Stage of Change, Decisional Balance, and Self-Efficacy for patients’ readiness to utilize retail health clinics using split half validation procedures. The sample consisted of 551 patients with a stage distribution of Precontemplation 24.4%, Contemplation 14.2%, Preparation 20.3%, Action 5.8% and Maintenance 35.3%. Table 3 reports demographics and Stage of Change. Exploratory principle components analyses produced a 2-factor (Pros α=.88; Cons α=.85) 8-item scale for the Decisional Balance measure and a 1-factor 5-item scale for the Self-Efficacy measure (α=.83). Confirmatory analyses replicated the hypothesized factor structures for both the decisional balance (CFI=.958, SRMR=.055, loadings .63-.88) and Self-Efficacy (CFI=.999, SRMR=.019, loadings .73-.84) scales. MANOVA results by stage of change were significant Wilk’s Λ= . 79, F(4, 4,484)= 9.85, p<. 001, multivariate η2=. 076. The Self-Efficacy measure and the Pros scale of the Decisional Balance measure replicated the expected patterns across the stages. The Cons scale deviated from the expected pattern of decreasing from Precontemplation to Maintenance, actually resulting in an increase. Overall, this study supports the application of the
The Status of Naltrexone in the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: Specific Effects on Heavy Drinking

Background: In almost 2 decades of naltrexone research for treating alcoholism, there have been 29 published randomized placebo-controlled trials of opioid antagonists, primarily naltrexone, for the treatment of alcohol dependence. The present review builds on prior systematic reviews while maximizing the number of included studies to date, for the purpose of resolving inconsistencies in naltrexone's reported efficacy across trials. Clinical trial results in this article are evaluated by the type of outcome measure used to determine naltrexone's treatment advantage, that is, measures related to reducing heavy drinking versus those related to increasing abstinence. Methods: We conducted a Medline search to identify double-blind studies from 1990 to the present (2006) that evaluated the use of anopiate antagonist for the treatment of alcohol dependence. There were 29 studies identified, representing 5997 alcohol-dependent patients, which met our study inclusion criteria for this review. Studies were evaluated in this review on 4 prespecified drinking outcomes-2 related to "any drinking" and 2 related to "heavy or excessive drinking. " Results: In the treatment of alcohol dependence, we found that 19 (70%) of 27 clinical trials that measured reductions in "heavy or excessive drinking" demonstrated an advantage for prescribing naltrexone over placebo, whereas only 9 (36%) of 25 clinical trials that measured abstinence or "any drinking" found an advantage for medication over placebo. Conclusion: The majority of double-blind clinical trials in the literature favored prescribing naltrexone for alcohol dependence to reduce heavy drinking. This finding is consistent with our understanding of naltrexone's mechanism of action of decreasing excessive drinking by reducing the reward associated with drinking alcohol. Thus, we conclude that outcome measures related to heavy or excessive drinking are most relevant to defining naltrexone's therapeutic effects. Factors influencing naltrexone response (treatment adherence and distinct patient subgroups) are also discussed.