Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supply Chain Risk Management: An Agent-Based Simulation to Study the Impact of Retail Stockouts

In today's highly dynamic and competitive environment, companies are under the pressure to improve their supply chain strategy in order to be more responsive to customer demand. However, supply chains are susceptible to unanticipated events that make responsive supply chain management a challenging task. One such disruption event is a product stockout at the retailer. In this paper, we investigate retail stockouts through the development of an agent-based simulation model in order to develop a better understanding of the effect of different stockout lengths for different products (with different consumer response profiles to stockouts) on both the retailer and the manufacturer of the product. We consider the change of market share as a measure of resilience for both the manufacturer and the retailer to examine the impact of the stockout. Insights are developed for manufacturers and retailers in responding to the stockout disruption.
Retinoic acid attenuates ileitis by restoring the balance between T-helper 17 and T regulatory cells.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Retinoic acid (RA), produced by intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and dendritic cells (DCs) promotes the induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and decreases the induction of T-helper (Th)17 cells. METHODS We studied the roles of RA in mice that overproduce tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and develop chronic ileitis (TNF_ARE mice). We assessed the frequency and function of CD103+ DCs, Th17 cells, and Tregs by flow cytometry, and we measured expression of cytokines and retinaldehyde dehydrogenase (RALDH) enzymes in ileum samples, DCs, and IECs by real-time polymerase chain reaction. We quantified RA by electrochemical analysis and examined the effect of RA supplementation on TNF-induced ileitis using histologic, coculture, and suppression assays and flow cytometry. RESULTS Numbers of CD103+ DCs decreased in the inflamed ilea of mice with chronic disease; RA synthetic machinery (RALDH1,2) was down-regulated. Nevertheless, the proportion of CD4+, CD25+, FoxP3+ Tregs increased, indicating an alternate source for RA. IECs responded to reduced levels of RA by up-regulating RALDH3 in vivo and in vitro. Net tissue levels of RA remained lower in TNF+ARE than wild-type mice, indicating that epithelial up-regulation of RALDH3 could not maintain adequate concentrations of RA, probably because of loss of IEC mass. RA supplementation significantly attenuated disease by increasing the number and function of CD103+ DCs and Tregs and reducing Th17 cells. CONCLUSIONS Reduced levels of RA appear to induce IECs to up-regulate synthesis of RA. RA supplementation attenuates ileitis through its effects on CD103+ DCs, Tregs, and Th17 cells. RA supplementation might offer therapeutic benefit in Crohn's disease.
Transitions to Substance Use and Sexual Intercourse Among South African High School Students

This study examined longitudinal patterns of initiating substance use and sexual intercourse among a sample of 1,143 high school students from a low-income township in Cape Town, South Africa. Longitudinal data on lifetime incidence of sexual intercourse and alcohol and marijuana use were collected semiannually from 2004 to 2006. Latent transition analysis (LTA) was used to test competing models of transitions to these behaviors. Participants were more likely to move from no risk behavior to substance use, rather than from no risk behavior to sexual intercourse. At all time points, the proportion of youth who had engaged in sexual intercourse but not substance use was very small. The study's limitations and directions for future research are discussed. This research was funded by NIH Grants R01 DA01749 and T32 DA017629-01A1.
Hippocampal Function and Schizophrenia. Experimental Psychological Evidence a

Some brief explanation is required about the decision to present a paper on hippocampal function in schizophrenia in a Festschrift for Sam Sutton. My first reaction on meeting with Sam over a quarter of a century ago was that here was a man who was essentially an experimental psychologist (in spite of his origins as an auditory physiologist). Although he was working in the fields of neurophysiology and psychopathology, his approach was the same as a worker from mainstream experimental psychology. His astute manipulation of experimental variables was masterly, indeed on some occasions it took all one’s time to follow the intricacies of his designs. It was this approach which engendered my admiration, and consequently I wanted, on this occasion, to present a discussion of work which has its foundations in experimental psychology but which I feel his implications for the study of psychopathology, an enterprise which I hope he would have approved. However, while the essence of the approach of experimental psychology is the hypotheticodeductive method, the application of this method in the field of psychopathology is often not easy or straightforward. Hypotheses do not come easily, rather a productive approach is that of trying to see how a jigsaw of often disparate findings fits together. Sam himself (Sutton, 1973) advocated the process of constructive validation “the use of converging operations-the process of making and testing additional inferences in order to interpret the finding properly” (p. 210). While the preferred method is to use these converging operations in one’s own experiments, it is a good second best to attempt to examine how data in the literature may be used in the same way. This is the aim of the present paper. Almost inevitably, the selection of experiments to be discussed will be biassed. In this context the bias is towards studies which in particular have their origins in general experimental psychology and thus permit the development of ideas of schizophrenic dysfunction from a sound footing. The starting point of the work to be reviewed is the contention that one of the fundamental dysfunctions of schizophrenia is to be found in the area of attention. This was a view being put forward (Venables, 1964) on the occasion of my first
Investigation of multiple human factors in personalized learning

In the past decade, a number of personalized learning systems have been developed and they mainly focus on learners' prior knowledge. On the other hand, previous research suggested that gender differences and cognitive styles have great effects on student learning. To this end, this study examines how human factors, especially gender differences and cognitive styles, affect learners' reactions to a personalized and non-personalized learning systems based on learners' prior knowledge. Forty-four university students participated in this study. The results show that females and Serialists show positive reactions to the personalized learning system, while males and Holists demonstrate similar reactions to the personalized learning system and the non-personalized learning system. The implications of these results for the design of personalized learning systems are discussed.
Torsion of Spermatocele:A Rare M anifestation

Torsion of a spermatocele on its pedicle is an extremely rare clinical condition that mimics acute testicular torsion. This rare condition has not been well characterized. Here, we report a case of torsion of a spermatocele. The present case is the 5th case of torsion of a spermatocele and the first report in a patient with a history of scrotal trauma. A tender cystic mass adjacent to the normally appearing testicle in the scrotum is highly significant for the differentiation from other types of acute scrotum. Torsion of a spermatocele should be considered a differential diagnosis of acute scrotum in adolescents and adults.
Muscle strength, pain, and disease activity explain individual subdimensions of the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index, especially in women with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: To study the extent to which muscle strength and performance, pain, and disease activity are associated with the total Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index and its subdimensions in male and female patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: HAQ for functional capacity was completed by 135 patients with rheumatoid arthritis referred for orthopaedic surgery (74% women; mean (SD) age 62 (10) years; disease duration 19 (13) years, 70% positive for rheumatoid factor). Knee extension, trunk extension and flexion, grip strength, walking speed, and sit-to-stand test were measured to mirror physical function. Radiographs of hands and feet, pain, and the modified 28 joint disease activity score (DAS28) were also assessed. Results: Mean total HAQ was 1.08 (0.68) in women and 0.67 (0.70) in men (p = 0.0031). Women had greater disability than men in five of the eight subdimensions of the HAQ. Grip strength was 48%, knee extension strength 46%, trunk extension strength 54%, and trunk flexion strength 43% lower in women than in men. Knee extension strength was inversely correlated with walking time (r = −0.63 (95% confidence interval, −0.73 to −0.51)) and with sit-to-stand test (r = −0.47 (−0.60 to −0.31)). In an ordered logistic regression analysis in female rheumatoid patients, DAS28, pain, knee extension strength, and grip strength were associated with the total HAQ disability index. Conclusions: Women reported greater disability than men both in the total HAQ and in the majority of its eight subdimensions. In addition to disease activity and pain, muscle strength has a major impact on disability especially in female rheumatoid patients.
Low-voltage high-isolation DC-to-RF MEMS switch based on an S-shaped film actuator

This paper presents a new electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical series switch for switching dc to radio frequency (RF) signals. The device is based on a flexible S-shaped film moving between a top and a bottom electrode in touch-mode actuation. This concept, in contrast to most other microelectrochemical systems (MEMS) switches, allows a design with a low actuation voltage independent of the off-state gap height. This makes larger nominal switching contact areas for lower insertion loss possible, by obtaining high isolation in the off-state. The actuation voltages of the first prototype switches are 12 V to open, and 15.8 V to close the metal contact. The RF isolation with a gap distance of 14.2 /spl mu/m is better than -45 dB up to 2 GHz and -30 dB at 15 GHz despite a large nominal switching contact area of 3500 /spl mu/m/sup 2/.
Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Essential Oils of Dracocephalum heterophyllum and Hyssopus officinalis from Western Himalaya

The essential oils of two representatives of the Lamiaceae, Dracocephalum heterophyllum Benth. and Hyssopus officinalis L. , are described for their antifungal, antibacterial, larvicidal and inect biting deterrent activities. Additionally, the chemical compositions of the essential oils, analyzed by simultaneous GC-MS and GC-FID, and odor descriptions are given. The main components of H. officinalis oil were pinocarvone, cis-pinocamphone, and β-pinene. Citronellol was found as the main compound of D. heterophyllum essential oil. Antibacterial testing by agar dilution assay revealed greater activity of D. heterophyllum against Staphylococcus aureus compared with H. officinalis. D. heterophyllum essential oil also showed promising antifungal activity against Colletotrichum species and was more toxic to Aedes aegypti larvae in a larvicial bioassay. Both essential oils showed high activity in the biting deterrent bioassay.
Prevalence and Recognition of Depressive Disorder in Three Medical Outpatient Departments of General Hospitals in Beijing, China

Abstract This purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and recognition of depressive disorders in cardiology, gastroenterology, and neurology outpatient departments of general hospitals. Patients screened with a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score of 8 or higher were interviewed by psychiatrists using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Prevalence of depressive disorders within the cohort was determined, sociodemographic data were analyzed for correlations to a depression diagnosis, and comparisons between the surveys and the clinical diagnosis were done to assess recognition of depressive disorders by physicians. Of the patients screened for this study (1552 cases), 12.8% were diagnosed with depressive disorders by MINI, with major depressive disorder, depression due to general medical conditions, and dysthymia having prevalence values of 10.8%, 1.4%, and 0.6%, respectively. As compared with MINI, physicians only recognized 27.6% of any of the depressive disorders. Among the complaints examined, both mood problems and sleeping problems predicted the probability of recognition.
The expansion ability but not the quality of HIV‐specific CD8+ T cells is associated with protective human leucocyte antigen class I alleles in long‐term non‐progressors

Studies in long‐term non‐progressors (LTNP) have suggested that the quality of the CD8+ response may involve protective human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles. However, studies examining the expansion ability of different functional CD8+ T cells and their association with HLA class I alleles are lacking. LTNP, untreated typical progressors (TP) and patients successfully on highly active retroviral therapy (HAART) during 1 year (HP) were included. HLA class I typing was performed using a sequence‐specific primer assay. Functional subsets of Gag‐ and Nef‐specific CD8+ cells were analysed based on the production of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)‐1β, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and interleukin (IL)‐2. Their expansion abilities were evaluated after 10‐day culture in the presence of Gag and Nef human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) peptides. No differences were seen when comparing quantitative and qualitative HIV‐specific CD8+ T cell responses according to the presence/absence of protective HLA alleles (B*58 and B*27 supertypes) in each group. However, LTNP with protective HLA alleles showed a higher expansion ability of Gag‐specific MIP+ TNF+ IL‐2+ T cells and Nef‐specific MIP+ TNF+ IL‐2+. HLA‐B*5701+LTNP displayed a higher expansion ability of Gag and Nef‐specific MIP+ TNF− IL‐2+ T cells than HLA‐B*5701‐LTNP. This was not so for HLA‐B*2705. No differences were seen in the expansion ability according to the presence/absence of protective HLA alleles in TP and HP. The expansion ability of polyfunctional CD8+ T cells is modulated by HLA class I alleles and targeted protein. LTNP with HLA class I protective alleles (mainly B*5701) display better expansion ability of polyfunctional HIV‐specific CD8+ T cells than the rest, suggesting that factors other than HLA‐B*5701 must contribute to the control of viral replication in other LTNP. Furthermore, these attributes of HIV‐specific CD8+ T are not restored by HAART; thus, adjuvant therapies and vaccines that induce and/or normalize the expansion ability of HIV‐specific T cells are required.
Signal integrity in pulse-train excited array antennas in time and space - a full TD analysis

Signal integrity in the far-field radiation from pulse-train excited array antennas is studied via full time-domain instruments. The disturbance in the received signal is related to the fidelity factor. At any point in our analysis, the disturbance is evaluated based on a reduced, well defined set of parameters: pulse parameters and pulse repetition rate - temporal dependence, and elementary radiator location - spatial dependence. Their effect is examined by means of illustrative numerical experiments. These results are expedient for enhancing the detectability of the signals radiated by pulse-train excited array antennas, as needed in wireless digital transfer.
The rheological profile of chronic liver disease patients in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND In chronic liver diseases, liver function is adversely affected and the consequent alterations in blood constituents are known to affect vascular and rheological parameters. The aim of the study was to analyze the rheological profile in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients in Nigeria. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy consecutive CLD patients attending the Gastroenterology Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria were studied prospectively over an 8 month period (May-December, 2007). Fifty apparently healthy age-and-sex matched individuals who were prescreened and found serologically negative to HIV 1 and 2, HBsAg and HCV were used as controls. Diagnosis of CLD was based upon histological findings of chronic parenchymal liver disease in the presence of stigmata of CLD. Plasma fibrinogen level was determined by the clot-weight technique. Plasma viscosity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, haematocrit and platelet count were analysed. Clinico-demographic features, treatment modalities and the complications were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 120 subjects comprising 70 CLD patients (50 males (71.4%) and 20 females (28.6%)) and 50 controls were studied. Alcoholic cirrhosis (44.3%) was the main risk factor closely followed by viral hepatitis (41.4%). Haematocrit and platelet count of CLD patients were significantly lower than the controls (p<0.001). Plasma fibrinogen concentration and plasma viscosity in CLD patients were significantly lower compared to the controls (p<0.001). CONCLUSION CLD patients had low blood viscosity and low fibrinogen level (hypofibrinogenamia) when compared to controls. This may have contributed to the hypocoagulable state and therefore the bleeding tendency encountered in these patients.
Should central banks target investment prices

Central banks nearly always state explicit or implicit inflation targets in terms of consumer price inflation. If there are nominal rigidities in the pricing of both consumption and investment goods and if the shocks to the two sectors are not identical, then monetary policy cannot stabilize inflation and output gaps in both sectors. Thus, the central bank faces a tradeoff between targeting consumption price inflation and investment price inflation. In this setting, ignoring investment prices typically leads to substantial welfare losses because the intertemporal elasticity of substitution in investment is much higher than in consumption. In our calibrated model, consumer price targeting leads to welfare losses that are at least three times the loss under optimal policy. A simple rule that puts equal weight on stabilizing consumption and investment price inflation comes close to replicating the optimal policy. Thus, GDP deflator targeting is not a good approximation to optimal policy. A shift in monetary policy to targeting a weighted average of consumer and investment price inflation may produce significant welfare gains, although this would constitute a major change in current central banking practice.
A randomized clinical trial of oxidized regenerated cellulose adhesion barrier (Interceed, TC7) alone or in combination with heparin.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of heparin-saturated oxidized regenerated cellulose absorbable adhesion barrier, Interceed (TC7; Johnson and Johnson Medical Inc., New Brunswick, NJ) to oxidized regenerated cellulose alone for the prevention of postoperative adhesions. DESIGN Clinical trial. By random assignment, one ovary was wrapped in oxidized regenerated cellulose, and the contralateral ovary was wrapped in oxidized regenerated cellulose saturated with a heparin solution (1,000 U/mL). PATIENT(S) Forty women with defects on both ovaries due to adhesiolysis and/or ovarian cystectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Adhesion formation and raw ovarian surface area were assessed at second-look laparoscopy 10 days to 16 weeks later. RESULT(S) At the second-look laparascopy-adhesions were present on 52.5% (21/40) of the ovaries treated with oxidized regenerated cellulose plus heparin and in 65% (26/40) of the contralateral ovaries treated with oxidized regenerated cellulose alone. For ovaries treated with oxidized regenerated cellulose plus heparin, the raw surface area was reduced from 9.41 +/- 1.27 cm2 (mean +/- SE) at laparotomy to 1.33 +/- 0.52 cm2 at second-look laparoscopy. The corresponding figures for ovaries treated with oxidized regenerated cellulose alone were from 10.24 +/- 1.08 to 1.92 +/- 0.54 cm2, respectively. The mean difference between the reductions in raw surface area (85.9% for oxidized regenerated cellulose plus heparin; 81.3% for oxidized regenerated cellulose alone) was not significantly different from zero (difference = - 0.24 cm2; 95% confidence interval = -2.56 to 3.04). CONCLUSION(S) Adding heparin did not enhance significantly the adhesion-reducing capacity of oxidized regenerated cellulose adhesion barrier when applied to ovarian surfaces after cystectomy and/or ovariolysis at laparotomy. This conclusion is subject to the possibility of a type II error.
Subthreshold depression in adolescence and mental health outcomes in adulthood.

BACKGROUND There is increasing interest in the extent to which individuals with subthreshold depression face increased risks of subsequent major depression and other disorders. OBJECTIVE To examine linkages between the extent of depressive symptoms (asymptomatic, subthreshold, major depression) at ages 17 to 18 years and mental health outcomes up to age 25 years in a New Zealand birth cohort. DESIGN Data were gathered during the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 25-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 New Zealand children (635 males, 630 females). SETTING General community sample. PARTICIPANTS The analysis was based on 1006 participants who represented 80% of the original cohort. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition symptom criteria for major depression and anxiety disorder, treatment-seeking, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt. RESULTS There were significant associations (P<.01) between the extent of depression at ages 17 to 18 years and rates of subsequent depressive symptoms, major depression, treatment for depression, anxiety disorder, treatment for anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. After adjustment for covariate factors, the extent of depression at ages 17 to 18 years remained associated with later depression and suicidal tendencies. Planned comparisons showed that sample members with subthreshold depression had a similar prognosis to those meeting criteria for major depression. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that sample members with subthreshold depression are a group with elevated risks of later depression and suicidal behaviors. Current diagnostic procedures, which classify people with subthreshold depression into complex discrete groups, might obscure the fact that depressive symptoms are dimensional and range from none to severe.
The IS6110 Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism in Particular Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains May Evolve Too Fast for Reliable Use in Outbreak Investigation

ABSTRACT To study possible nosocomial transmission of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis, strain types and other information on 24, mostly human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, were collected. Isolates from 11 patients had identical IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns as well as spoligotype patterns and resistance profiles. Noticeably, nine other isolates from related cases also exhibited identical spoligotypes but slightly different RFLP patterns. These results indicate that for some MDR strains, the evolutionary clock of IS6110 RFLP may run too fast for reliable interpretation of strain typing results over a period of a few years.