Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Severe Hypocarbia in Preterm Infants and Neurodevelopmental Deficit

ABSTRACT. We report significant neurological abnormality at 18 months of age in 3 of 7 very low birth weight infants (≤ 1500 g), who during mechanical ventilation inadvertently became severely hypocarbic (arterial carbondioxide tension less than 2.0 kPa (15 mmHg)) at some time during the first 24 h of life. Although the number is small the outcome was significantly worse than the outcome in two fairly similar groups of infants selected as controls (p=0.026). The infants in one of the control groups were also mechanically ventilated but remained normocapnic. Germinal layer haemorrhage (GLH) was more frequent among these infants compared with the severely hypocarbic infants (p=0.022). The infants in the other control group was not mechanically ventilated. In all the severely hypocarbic infants the Bayley mental developmental index uncorrected for prematurity was at or below the median for the total sample (p=0.01). The results suggest that neonatal cerebral ischaemia, for instance due to hypocarbia, is of greater prognostic significance than GLH.
What Makes a Maker?

Academic research typically portrays the Maker Movement as a bottom-up emancipatory movement that emerged out of localised, grassroots initiatives. On the basis of a broad media ethnography that gathered data in Germany, Great Britain, and the USA, this article demonstrates the myopia of this assessment. Rather than being a bottom-up movement, the Maker Movement is in fact a pioneer community with intimate connections to the corporate world and the political class maintained by a globally spread organisational elite. The increasingly global sweep of the Maker Movement is a complex act of co-construction involving an abundance of different actors. With its curatorial centre firmly embedded within the offices of the Maker Media company—guiding the discourse on the movement's identity through its periodical Make: and its experiential experiences through international Maker Faires—the Maker Movement has its organisational basis in a franchise model that leaves it open to the flexible influence of an organisational elite who secures the intellectual and physical space for individual practitioners and local groups.
Multiple inflammatory-, tissue remodelling- and fibrosis genes are differentially transcribed in the livers of Abcb4 (−/ − ) mice harbouring chronic cholangitis

Objective. Abcb4 (−/−) mice secrete phosphatidylcholine-free, cytotoxic bile and develop chronic cholangitis. The aim of this study was to identify differentially transcribed genes whose products contribute to the liver tissue pathology during this disease. Material and methods. Hepatic gene transcription was measured in 3-, 6-, 9- and 20-week-old Abcb4 (−/−) mice (FVB.129P2-abcb4tm1Bor/J) using cDNA microarrays, with FVB/NJ Abcb4 (+/+) mice serving as controls. Focus was on inflammatory-, remodelling- and fibrosis genes. Marked differential transcription of inflammatory-, tissue remodelling- and fibrosis genes found by cDNA microarrays was verified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Liver pathology was quantified by histopathology scoring. Results. Transcription of clade A3 Serpin genes showed early, marked down-regulation. The chemokine genes Ccl2, Ccl20 and Cxcl10 were markedly up-regulated. Tissue remodelling- and fibrosis genes exhibiting markedly up-regulated transcription included: Ctgf, Elf3, Lgals3, Mmp12, Mmp15, Spp1, Loxl2, Pdgfa, Pdgfrb, Sparc, Tgfb1, Tgfb2, Tgfbi, Tgfbr2 and Col1a1, Col1a2, Col2a1, Col3a1, Col4a1 genes. Microarray-based recordings of differential gene transcription of the majority of these genes harmonized with the liver histopathology score. Thus, cDNA microarray-based analysis showed increasing differential transcription of several inflammatory-, tissue remodelling- and fibrosis genes during the first 9 weeks of disease and a tendency towards differential transcription to stabilize at an elevated level from 9 to 20 weeks of disease. Conclusions. Multiple genes regulating inflammation, tissue remodelling and fibrosis not previously linked to Abcb4 (−/−) cholangitis are identified as being differentially transcribed in Abcb4 (−/−) livers, where they contribute to the pathogenesis of liver tissue pathology.
Insights in the Physical Damage of $V_{\rm GS} = V_{\rm DS}$ High-K PMOSFET Degradation in AC Switching Conditions

In this paper, the device degradation enhanced by localized drain self-heating (LDSH) effects at <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> = <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> bias condition has been measured and characterized in the pMOSFET transistors of an advanced CMOS HKMG 28-nm bulk technology in both dc (constant voltage) and ac (rectangular pulse) conditions. A comparison with the pMOSFET aging during symmetric (<i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> = 0 V) negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) condition gives experimental evidence that the physical damage generated at <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> = <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> bias conditions is dominated by the quasi-permanent component of a symmetric “NBTI-like” thermally activated process with an effective temperature determined by LDSH effects dominating during switching. Similar to conductive (<i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> ≈ 1/2<i>V</i><sub>DS</sub>) hot carrier phenomena, a quasi-static approximation can be assumed for the <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> = <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> condition during ac switching. In this case, however, the device damage relates to the NBTI response to the effective temperature profile reached during the <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> ≈ <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> transients as well as the relation of the associated duty cycles to the values of the LDSH thermal time constants at the stress conditions. The obtained results clearly show that end-of-life projections using dc models will greatly overpredict the level of <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> = <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> degradation expected in typical digital applications. On the contrary, our study provides experimental evidence that the <i>V</i><sub>GS</sub> = <i>V</i><sub>DS</sub> bias condition is not expected to contribute to device aging during typical digital switching frequencies (<i>f</i> ≈ GHz) and brings further light on the physical mechanism responsible for its observed reduced sensitivity from dc to ac.
Arginine, soy isoflavone and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose have protective effects against obesity in broiler breeder hens fed on high-energy diets

Abstract 1. The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of arginine, soy isoflavone (ISF) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) on obesity in broiler breeder hens. 2. A total of 320 Cobb 500 hens, 45 weeks of age, were assigned to 64 floor pens. The experiment was conducted as a completely randomised design in a factorial arrangement (2 × 2 × 2 × 2) with 4 replicates of 5 hens in each pen. Factors included two concentrations of HPMC (0 and 1%), two concentrations of arginine (8.4 and 12 g/kg), two concentrations of ISF (zero and three times more than that present in basal diets) and two contents of energy (11.7 and 14.6 MJ/kg). Performance criteria and blood characteristics of hens were measured during the experimental period. Expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism was determined in the liver at 55 weeks of age. 3. Hens given high-energy diets showed increased BW (body weight), ovary weight and abdominal fat pad and enhanced plasma glucose, triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, haemoglobin, haematocrit and low lymphocyte percentages. The expression of malic enzyme, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and inducible nitric oxide (iNOS) increased and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1c) decreased with increasing energy content of diets. Arginine addition decreased TG, cholesterol and A1-c haemoglobin concentration and increased PPARα, PPARγ and iNOS expression. Inclusion of ISF and HPMC decreased BW, egg weight, plasma TG, cholesterol and increased egg production and also enhanced PPARγ and iNOS expression. Significant interactions were observed between energy concentration and ISF and HPMC on BW. 4. The results of the current study revealed that ISF, HPMC and arginine have beneficial effects on controlling the metabolism of obese broiler breeder hens and using a mix of these products minimises the harmful effects of obesity.
The influence of clinical supervision on ethical issues in home care of people with mental illness in Sweden.

AIM To investigate in what ways clinical supervision can influence district nurses', psychiatric nurses' and mental health care workers' ethical decision-making in home care of people with mental illnesses. BACKGROUND Nursing staff frequently have to make difficult ethical decisions when caring for mentally disturbed patients in the home. METHODS This study is a descriptive, correlational study. Data was collected by a cross-sectional survey that focused on psychiatric nurses, district nurses and mental health care workers (n = 660). RESULTS Health care professionals, who received supervision as support in their clinical nursing work, perceived that they felt more secure in decision-making, felt safer in their relationship with the patient and had gained a deeper insight into the meaning of security for the patient as well as for the carer. Furthermore, they regarded taking over responsibility for the patient, when necessary, as their moral right and that care and treatment in the patient's home could mean that the patient's integrity was violated. CONCLUSIONS The results emphasize the need for clinical supervision as support for nursing staff, as it leads to their acquiring a greater sense of self-esteem. There is also a need to clarify the professional role of nurses through integration of theoretical and clinical knowledge. The importance of supervision is illustrated by means of previous studies.
Approaches to strategic alignment of business and information systems: A study on application service acquisitions

Purpose – Technology‐related issues have an increasing impact on business. The alignment between overall business objectives and technology‐related decisions, such as decisions on application service acquisitions, resurfaces occasionally in the intense academic discussion on information systems (IS). Prior research indicates that the alignment of business and IS decisions remains a major concern for business practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that drive the consistency in technology‐related decisions and result in diverse modes of business‐IS alignment.Design/methodology/approach – This study investigates application service acquisitions among the top 200 firms in Finland. In this quantitative empirical study, principal component analysis with varimax rotation method is used to examine the companies' drivers for business‐IS alignment. Moreover, the firms are categorized using the cluster analysis method.Findings – This study identifies four factors that drive the achievemen.
Storage and on-demand release of microwaves using superconducting resonators with tunable coupling

We present a system which allows to tune the coupling between a superconducting resonator and a transmission line. This storage resonator is addressed through a second, coupling resonator, which is frequency-tunable and controlled by a magnetic flux applied to a superconducting quantum interference device. We experimentally demonstrate that the lifetime of the storage resonator can be tuned by more than three orders of magnitude. A field can be stored for 18 μs when the coupling resonator is tuned off resonance and it can be released in 14 ns when the coupling resonator is tuned on resonance. The device allows capture, storage, and on-demand release of microwaves at a tunable rate.
Genetic Algorithm Based Optimization of Encoding Sequence for a Reduced Complexity OFDM Time Synchronization Technique

A new Genetic Algorithm (GA) based sequence optimization is here proposed. The studied sequence, which we refer to as Encoding Sequence (ES), is used in a recently proposed OFDM preamble-based synchronization technique. The optimal ES is generated offline by differentially correlating the preamble samples to each other respecting a shift. To determine the frame start at the receiver, the ES is correlated to a version of the received signal generated using differential correlation respecting the same shift as in the ES generation. This treatment, carried online, is of high complexity due to the differential correlation operations. To reduce the computational load at the receiver, the idea here is to replace the differential correlation operations, carried during the synchronization process, by simple sign changes. To this aim, we need to derive the best sub-optimal ES, in terms of providing near optimal performance, from a finite QPSK alphabet (±1±j). Even if this search procedure is carried off-line, considering an exhaustive search over the whole ES candidates within QPSK alphabet results in a prohibitive complexity. As an alternative, we here suggest to use a GA-based approach. Performance comparison of the proposed ES, generated through GA-based search, to the optimal ES, generated from the preamble, and a previously proposed QPSK ES optimized through an iterative algorithm has been conducted. It is demonstrated that compared to the iteratively generated ES, the herein proposed one improves the detection accuracy. The GA-based provides slightly lower detection accuracy with respect to the optimal ES, yet with important reduction in the receiver complexity.
Studying Personality through the Content of Posted and Liked Images on Twitter

Interacting with images through social media has become widespread due to ubiquitous Internet access and multimedia enabled devices. Through images, users generally present their daily activities, preferences or interests. This study aims to identify the way and extent to which personality differences, measured using the Big Five model, are related to online image posting and liking. In two experiments, the larger consisting of ~1.5 million Twitter images both posted and liked by ~4,000 users, we extract interpretable semantic concepts using large-scale image content analysis and analyze differences specific of each personality trait. Predictive results show that image content can predict personality traits, and that there can be significant performance gain by fusing the signal from both posted and liked images.
DECONSTRUCTION OF TAX AMNESTY IN BASED ON PANCASILA VALUES: THE CASE OF INDONESIA

The main objective of this study is to deconstruct tax amnesty based on Indonesia’s Principles (Pancasila) values. A post-modern paradigm is used to deconstruct current tax amnesty. The methodology used in this research is a combination of Derrida’s deconstruction and Latif’s thought on historicity, rationality, and actuality. The results show that the initial design of tax amnesty is repatriation, which is inferior in the development of taxpayers’ character. Materiality, selfinterest, and measurement object are tax amnesty logos. Religiosity, honesty, civility, and mutual cooperation are used in a reverse hierarchy of the before mentioned tax amnesty logos. The result of deconstruction is tax amnesty based on Pancasila in order to construct social justice.Tax amnesty is a current issue; however, only a limited number of research was dedicated on the philosophy of tax amnesty law. The research offers new meaning to tax amnesty based on Pancasila values which may encourage voluntary tax compliance.
Fluid retention index predicts the 30-day mortality in geriatric care

Abstract The incidence and medical consequences of dehydration and fluid retention in senior citizens are unclear. The present study used urine sampling to detect renal conservation of water, which is an early sign of dehydration, and assessed its relationship to mortality in elderly patients admitted for acute hospital care. A urine sample was collected from 256 patients (mean age 82 years) and analyzed for color, specific gravity and osmolality. These markers were used to calculate a composite index of fluid retention, which was indicated by urine color ≥ 4, specific gravity ≥ 1.020 and osmolality ≥ 600 mOsmol/kg as suggested from eight previous studies of exercise-induced dehydration, of which one extends to age 69. Concentrated urine consistent with dehydration was present in 39 (16%) of the patients. This finding was relatively more common among those with confusion and/or dementia, but less common in patients with medical disease, and in those taking diuretics daily. Patients with such fluid retention had a higher 30-day mortality when compared to those who were euhydrated (21% versus 8%; p < 0.03). A difference of 10% remained at three months and one year after the admission to hospital. Concentrated urine consistent with fluid retention was found in 16% of the geriatric patients admitted to hospital for acute care. In these patients the mortality within 30 days was almost tripled compared to those who were euhydrated.
Fixation Stability and Macular Light Sensitivity in Patients with Diabetic Maculopathy: A Microperimetric Study with a Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope

Background: In patients with diabetic maculopathy, evaluation of visual acuity alone may not represent central retinal function sufficiently. Despite good visual acuity, patients may suffer from visual disturbances like waviness, relative scotoma, loss of fixation and decrease of contrast sensitivity. The aim of the study was to assess localized light sensitivity in the central visual field and to determine fixation stability in patients with diabetic maculopathy with moderate visual loss in comparison to healthy controls. Methods: Twenty-seven patients (mean age: 54 ± 15; range 17–81 years) with diabetic maculopathy and 61 controls (mean age: 45 ± 22; range 18–85 years) were included in the study. Light sensitivity was quantified by presenting stimuli with different light intensity with simultaneous real-time monitoring of the retina (intensity: 0–27.9 dB; size: Goldmann III, wavelength: 633 nm). Eye movements were controlled by semiautomatic fundus tracking. Fixation stability was quantified by measuring the area within 75% of all points of fixation. Results: Fixation stability was significantly decreased in diabetic patients in comparison to controls (43 ± 22 vs. 31 ± 16 arc min, p < 0.01). There was a significant difference in macular light sensitivity in diabetic patients compared to controls (19.6 ± 0.5 dB), both in mean difference (15.6 ± 1.4 dB) and if affected with macular edema (16.1 ± 4.5 dB), hard exudates (13.3 ± 6.7 dB), nonperfusion areas (10.3 ± 7.9 dB) and laser burns (3.0 ± 6.1 dB). Temporal parts of the macula were more affected than other parts. No correlation was found between visual acuity and foveal light sensitivity and foveal fixation, respectively. Conclusion: Macular light sensitivity decreased progressively with the kind and severity of retinal alteration independent of visual acuity. The assessment of macular light sensitivity and stability of fixation with automatic threshold microperimetry may help to identify patients with diabetic maculopathy and could improve the management of diabetic maculopathy.
Firms’ performance following the initial resignation of independent directors: evidence from Taiwan

ABSTRACT This study investigates the operating performance of firms listed on the Taiwan stock exchange following the initial resignation of independent directors. The results show that the firms’ operating performance following the resignation of these directors has not only deteriorated, but is also significantly below the industry average. In addition, firms with a relatively severe agency problem, including firms that have lower insider or institutional shareholdings, receive audit opinions other than unqualified opinions or change their auditors prior to the resignation of the independent directors, tend to perform more poorly following the resignation.
Effects of alpha,beta-methylene ATP on the prejunctional purinoceptors of the sympathetic nerves of the rat caudal artery.

The effects of alpha,beta-methylene ATP, an agent known to stimulate and then to desensitize P2-purinoceptors, on the release of endogenous norepinephrine from the electrically stimulated rat caudal artery were determined. Norepinephrine was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection techniques. alpha,beta-Methylene ATP over the concentration range of 1 to 100 microM did not affect the release of norepinephrine evoked by stimulation for 3 min at 1 Hz. In contrast, 2-chloroadenosine, a P1 receptor agonist, and beta,gamma-methylene ATP, a P2 receptor agonist, produced a concentration-related inhibition of the release of norepinephrine presumably by activating prejunctional purinoceptors. The failure of alpha,beta-methylene ATP to inhibit transmitter release was apparently not related to the length of pretreatment with this agent because pretreatments of 0.5 to 15 min yielded similar results. These findings indicate that the ability of alpha,beta-methylene ATP to decrease excitatory junction potentials and vasoconstriction of the caudal artery, as reported by others, is not due to a decrease in the release of transmitter. In spite of not possessing agonistic properties, alpha,beta-methylene ATP does interact with prejunctional purinoceptors as judged by the finding that the inhibitory effects of 2-chloroadenosine and beta,gamma-methylene ATP, but not those of the alpha-2 agonist clonidine, were antagonized by alpha,beta-methylene ATP. alpha,beta-Methylene ATP thus appears to be an antagonist at prejunctional purinoceptors (classified by us previously as P3-purinoceptors). alpha,beta-Methylene ATP also appears to act as an antagonist against endogenously released adenine nucleosides and nucleotides. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Life time prediction of anisotropic conductive adhesive joints during temperature cycling for electronics interconnect

A theoretical model for lifetime prediction of anisotropic conductive adhesive joints during temperature cycling is developed. The model is simple and elegant in the way that it only needs data from two resistance measurements and yet is able to predict the total cyclic life to failure. One of the resistance values chosen is at zero cycles, before the testing, and the other one can be chosen at any given number of temperature cycles. This implies that one can perform a limited number of test cycles and can therefore save a lot of testing time. The model is based on the hypothesis that the anisotropic conductive joint can be treated as a pressure sensitive Holm contact and that the conductivity of the contact is a function of the pressure on the contact point. Finally, the model is based on the fact that a crack is formed during the cycling. The resistance of the joint increases as a function of the increasing crack length and the crack length in turn is a function of the number of cycles.