Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management Earnings Forecasts and Book Tax Differences

This study is the first to investigate the incremental usefulness of book-tax differences (BTDs) to discretionary accruals in detecting earnings management to meet quarterly management earnings forecasts. Upward managed earnings that do not affect taxable income result in larger BTDs. This paper uses the ranked tax-to-book income ratio and decomposes BTDs in normal and discretionary BTDs, and tax avoidance activity. The findings show that higher discretionary accruals, larger BTDs, and more aggressive tax avoiding activity are associated with higher probability of meeting management earnings forecasts. The results imply that BTDs are incrementally useful to discretionary accruals in detecting earnings management. Moreover, the analysis shows that firms are more likely to meet management earnings forecasts during the financial crisis of 2008.
An Example‐based Approach to Synthesize Artistic Strokes using Graphs

In this paper, we propose a technique to produce artistic strokes in a variety of drawing material based on example images. Our approach is to divide example strokes scanned from images into small pieces along their stroke directions and synthesize a novel stroke by rearranging them along a user specified curve. The visible quality of a synthesized stroke can be maintained by utilizing the connectivity information stored in a directed graph constructed in the preprocessing step. At run‐time, the graph is traversed to find a path best matching the user specification given as a curve and additional information. The results of our experiments shows that visually convincing strokes of various materials can be generated efficiently.
The Oxford handbook of media psychology

Psychology Learning & Teaching March 2015 14: 3-4, doi:10.1177/1474904115574630 Karen E. Dill (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology. Expertly edited by Lene Arnett Jensen, the Handbook covers the entire lifespan from the prenatal period Cover for The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology. Search for books,journals, articles, and other media owned by the University Libraries. Background Sources. Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology
Oral clefts and behavioral health of young children.

OBJECTIVES This study examined the behavioral health of young children with oral clefts, and effects of satisfaction with facial appearance, cleft team care, number of cleft-related surgeries, and socioeconomic status (SES). SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study included a population-based sample of 104 children aged 2-12 years with isolated oral clefts from the state of Iowa. Behavior was evaluated with the Child Behavior Checklist or the Pediatric Behavior Scale 30, depending on age, compared with normative samples. RESULTS Risks of behavioral problems were not significantly different from normative samples except for higher inattention/hyperactivity risks at age 6-12 years. Low satisfaction with facial appearance was associated with behavioral problems in all domains, except aggression. Team-care effects were not associated with behavioral problems. Number of cleft-related surgeries was associated with increased anxiety/depression and somatic symptom risks. Higher SES was associated with reduced inattention/hyperactivity, aggressive/oppositional behavior, and somatic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Most children with oral clefts may have similar behavioral health outcomes to unaffected children, except for increased inattention/hyperactivity risks at older ages. However, low satisfaction with facial appearance, increased exposure to surgeries, and lower SES may significantly increase behavioral problems. Also, the findings emphasize the need to study the representation of behavioral health professionals on cleft teams and access to behavioral health care.
Comparative studies with milnacipran and tricyclic antidepressants in the treatment of patients with major depression: a summary of clinical trial results

Milnacipran is a novel antidepressant agent which selectively inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline. Seven randomized, double-blind trials with a comparable design have compared the efficacy and tolerability of milnacipran with that of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in patients with major depression. At a dose of 50 mg twice a day, milnacipran therapy is associated with a response rate (50% reduction in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) of 64%. The rate of response to TCAs in these studies was 67%. In contrast to the TCAs, milnacipran was very well tolerated by the patients. The only adverse event that occurred more frequently in milnacipran-treated patients than in TCA-treated patients was dysuria (2.1% of patients treated with milnacipran). Milnacipran is as effective as TCAs in the treatment of patients with major depression and is better tolerated. Milnacipran's lack of effects on cardiovascular function offers improved safety in cases of overdose.
Correlation of Diabetic Nephropathy and HbA 1 C in Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic Patients of Western UP

Insulin resistance is characterized by a subnormal response to a given concentration of insulin and can be measured indirectly by a fasting insulin level. The prevalence of diabetes continues to grow worldwide, disease-related morbidity and mortality is emerging as major healthcare problems. Clearly, type 2 diabetes has a strong genetic component. Diabetic–nephropathy is the leading cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in US and a leading cause of diabetes mellitus related morbidity and mortality. Nephropathy complicates approximately 30% of type 2 diabetic patients. However no study has been performed that compared the HbA1c in type II diabetes mellitus with nephropathy to without nephropathy. Therefore aim of this study was to evaluate the glycosylated hemoglobin and their association with diabetic nephropathy in a western Uttar Pradesh. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (Kg) divided by height (m) squared. Venous blood was collected after 12 hours fasting into two test tubes; with no anticoagulant for serum creatinine, and with Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) for HbA1c.we observed that Incidence of microalbuminuria increases with age as well as with increased duration of diabetes mellitus. Our study also evaluated relationship between diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy and found a significant correlation.
Rate at which glutamine enters TCA cycle influences carbon atom fate in intestinal epithelial cells

Quan, J., M. D. Fitch, and S. E. Fleming. Rate at which glutamine enters TCA cycle influences carbon atom fate in intestinal epithelial cells. Am. J. Physiol. 275 (Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 38): G1299–G1308, 1998. —Glutamine carbon entry into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle was assessed in small intestinal epithelial cells by measuring CO2 production from [1-14C]glutamine, and these data together with [U-14C]glutamine data were used to calculate fractional oxidation rates for glutamine. CO2 production from either [1-14C]glutamine or [U-14C]glutamine showed saturation kinetics, and the concentration needed to achieve the half-maximal rate of CO2 production was 0.7 and 0.4 mmol/l, respectively. Maximal rate for [1-14C]glutamine was twice that for [U-14C]glutamine. Increasing glutamine concentration did not cause proportional increases in glutamine entry into the TCA cycle and glutamine oxidation. Consequently, fractional oxidation of glutamine decreased with increasing glutamine concentration. Fractional oxidation could be predicted from the rate at which glutamine carbon entered the TCA cycle. (Aminooxy)acetic acid, an aminotransferase inhibitor, reduced entry of glutamine into the TCA cycle and increased fractional oxidation of glutamine. Glutamate carbon entered the TCA cycle at about one-half the rate of glutamine-derived glutamate carbon and had a higher fractional oxidation rate when provided at equivalent concentrations to glutamine. These differences in the rate of entry predictably account for the differences in the metabolic fate of glutamine vs. glutamate carbon.
Natural language question answering: the view from here

As users struggle to navigate the wealth of on-line information now available, the need for automated question answering systems becomes more urgent. We need systems that allow a user to ask a question in everyday language and receive an answer quickly and succinctly, with sufficient context to validate the answer. Current search engines can return ranked lists of documents, but they do not deliver answers to the user. Question answering systems address this problem. Recent successes have been reported in a series of question-answering evaluations that started in 1999 as part of the Text Retrieval Conference (TREC). The best systems are now able to answer more than two thirds of factual questions in this evaluation.
How important is acute cellular rejection?

1. The frequency of steroid-resistant rejection has inversely tracked overall patient survival after liver transplantation. 2. Treated acute cellular rejection (ACR) is associated with attenuated patient and graft survival for patients with a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. 3. A single treated episode of mild ACR is associated with relatively superior patient and graft survival for patients without an HCV infection. 4. As the impact of rejection as a cause of graft loss has waned, the impact of the side effects of immunosuppression has increased. 5. The choice of immunosuppression has diverse consequences beyond the likelihood of the development of rejection.
Immunopharmacological activities of 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid-(alpha 2----6)-linked 4-O-phosphono-D-glucosamine derivatives carrying N- and 3-O-acyl substituents

The immunopharmacological activities of 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid (KDO)-(alpha 2----6)-linked lipid A-subunit analogs, 4-O-phosphono-D-glucosamine derivatives carrying N- and 3-O-acyl substituents, were compared with those of the corresponding analogs without KDO, GLA-27, GLA-47, and GLA-60. Among the analogs tested, GLA-60, a 4-O-phosphono-D-glucosamine carrying N-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl and 3-O-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoyl groups, exhibited the most intensive activities in terms of mitogenicity, adjuvanticity, and mediator (tumor necrosis factor and colony-stimulating factor) induction. Binding (alpha 2----6) of KDO to GLA-60 failed to enhance the activities. Similarly, the activities of GLA-27 and GLA-47 were also decreased by introduction of KDO to the O-6 of the analogs. This indicates that the strengths of the activities of the subunit analogs depend on the kinds of N- and 3-O-linked acyl substituents and not on the presence of the KDO linked to the O-6.
The Complement System: A Prey of Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan parasite known to cause Chagas disease (CD), a neglected sickness that affects around 6–8 million people worldwide. Originally, CD was mainly found in Latin America but more recently, it has been spread to countries in North America, Asia, and Europe due the international migration from endemic areas. Thus, at present CD represents an important concern of global public health. Most of individuals that are infected by T. cruzi may remain in asymptomatic form all lifelong, but up to 40% of them will develop cardiomyopathy, digestive mega syndromes, or both. The interaction between the T. cruzi infective forms and host-related immune factors represents a key point for a better understanding of the physiopathology of CD. In this context, the complement, as one of the first line of host defense against infection was shown to play an important role in recognizing T. cruzi metacyclic trypomastigotes and in controlling parasite invasion. The complement consists of at least 35 or more plasma proteins and cell surface receptors/regulators, which can be activated by three pathways: classical (CP), lectin (LP), and alternative (AP). The CP and LP are mainly initiated by immune complexes or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), respectively, whereas AP is spontaneously activated by hydrolysis of C3. Once activated, several relevant complement functions are generated which include opsonization and phagocytosis of particles or microorganisms and cell lysis. An important step during T. cruzi infection is when intracellular trypomastigotes are release to bloodstream where they may be target by complement. Nevertheless, the parasite uses a sequence of events in order to escape from complement-mediated lysis. In fact, several T. cruzi molecules are known to interfere in the initiation of all three pathways and in the assembly of C3 convertase, a key step in the activation of complement. Moreover, T. cruzi promotes secretion of plasma membrane-derived vesicles from host cells, which prevent the activity of C3 convertase C4b2a and thereby may hinder complement. In this review, we aim to present an overview on the strategies used by T. cruzi in order to circumvent the activation of complement and, consequently, its biological effects.
FPGA Implementation of Block Parallel DF-MPIC Detectors for DS-CDMA Systems in Frequency-Nonselective Channels

Multistage parallel interference cancellation- (MPIC-) based detectors allow to mitigate multiple-access interference in direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems. They are considered serious candidates for practical implementation showing a good tradeoff between performance and complexity. Better performance is obtained when decision feedback (DF) is employed. Although MPIC and DF-MPIC have the same arithmetic complexity, DF-MPIC needs much more FPGA resources when compared to MPIC without decision feedback. In this letter, FPGA implementation of block parallel DF-MPIC (BP-DF-MPIC) is proposed allowing better tradeoff between performance and FPGA area occupancy. To reach an uncoded bit-error rate of 10−3, BP-DF-MPIC shows a 1.5 dB improvement over the MPIC without decision feedback with only 8% increase in FPGA resources compared to 69% for DF-MPIC.
The development of a wideband ‘rocket’ phased array feed

We describe a new phased array feed design. The array is composed of elements based on a solid of revolution fed by twin wire transmission lines. An infinite array model is used to simulate the noise performance of the array and this model is compared with a full EM simulation of the finite array and measured noise data. The modelling indicates that this array is an excellent candidate for a phased array feed (PAF) for radio-astronomy applications.
A history of medicine in Sri Lanka

is no modem English word for this ancient concept, but in western literature it appears aspneuma in Antiquity and during the Middle Ages right up to and including the Renaissance. Ifhe felt that the general reader was not sufficiently acquainted with this term it would have been better to retain ch'i and put a explanatory note at the beginning ofthe book or at the first mention. He may have chosen the word "influences" in connexion with astrology but the latter plays a very small part in his description ofChinese medicine, and ch'i appears quite apart from astral speculations. The book, which is part of the series Comparative studies ofhealth systems and medical care, is informative on the swing of the pendulum in modem times, in accordance with government directives, between partial adherence to the Confucian system including shamanistic and demonic features on the one hand, and the Legalist system including rational experimental medicine and the findings of modern science on the other. But such a simplification cannot do justice to the detailed study of the subject contained in this beautifully produced work. The intention of the author-a distinguished local chest physician-was to write a short history, as he states in his preface, at a leisurely pace. Two equally distinguished and influential colleagues encouraged him to complete it in time for the centenary of the Sri Lankan Medical Association (formerly the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association until independence in 1948). After a short introduction, the book begins with ancient medical practices, which embrace Ayurveda and Siddha-a similar system practised only by the Tamils. The first foreign influence was that of the Portuguese, who arrived in Colombo in 1505. As they occupied only the coastal areas, their occupation was marked by incessant hostilities with the Kandyan kings of the interior. The Portuguese medical influence-although Western-had an Oriental flavour as well. They were responsible for Mannar and Jaffna Hospitals. They were subsequently expelled by the Dutch in 1658, who, in turn, occupied the maritime provinces. They governed their territory through the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602. This company built the Colombo Hospital, whose walls were over 50cm thick, not for the local population, but for its own European employees. It was restored in 1985. The Dutch were also responsible for introducing a system akin to the present-day barefoot doctors to cater for the health needs of the local villagers. …
Hierarchical Fog-Cloud Computing for IoT Systems: A Computation Offloading Game

Fog computing, which provides low-latency computing services at the network edge, is an enabler for the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) systems. In this paper, we study the allocation of fog computing resources to the IoT users in a hierarchical computing paradigm including fog and remote cloud computing services. We formulate a computation offloading game to model the competition between IoT users and allocate the limited processing power of fog nodes efficiently. Each user aims to maximize its own quality of experience (QoE), which reflects its satisfaction of using computing services in terms of the reduction in computation energy and delay. Utilizing a potential game approach, we prove the existence of a pure Nash equilibrium (NE) and provide an upper bound for the price of anarchy. Since the time complexity to reach the equilibrium increases exponentially in the number of users, we further propose a near-optimal resource allocation mechanism and prove that in a system with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${N}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> IoT users, it achieves an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-NE in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${O}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>(<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${N}/\epsilon$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) time. Through numerical studies, we evaluate the users’ QoE as well as the equilibrium efficiency. Our results reveal that by utilizing the proposed mechanism, more users benefit from computing services in comparison to an existing offloading mechanism. We further show that our proposed mechanism significantly reduces the computation delay and enables low-latency fog computing services for delay-sensitive IoT applications.
Thirst perception, plasma osmolality and estimated plasma arginine vasopressin concentration in dehydrated and oral saline loaded subjects.

Infusion of hypertonic saline produces an increase in thirst appreciation as well as increase in plasma Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) concentration, which may be estimated using thirst perception and/or plasma osmolality In this study, we examined the changes in thirst perception (TP), plasma osmolality (Posm) and plasma arginine vasopressin concentration (PAVP) as well as their relationships in dehydrated and oral saline loaded subjects. Forty (40) healthy subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 years were divided into 4 groups of 10 subjects (5 females and 5 males) each. Subjects in group A (dehydrated) were subjected to 18 hr fluid restriction, while those in B, C, and D orally ingested 7.1 ml/kg of 0.9%, 1.8% and 2.7% NaCl solutions respectively. TP was rated using the Visual Analogue Scale, VAS. Estimation of Posm was done using the standard formula and was also calculated from TP. PAVP was calculated from TP and Posm. The changes in TP in water restriction and salt loadings were similar in both males and females. However, the 2.7% NaCl sodium chloride solution intake induced a greater increase in TP than the 18 h fluid restriction. In females there was no significant difference between the measured and calculated Posm at 0 min, in groups A and D, whereas, values for group B (278.8±4.2 vs 292.0±2.9 mOsm/kgH2O) and C (282.6±4.1 vs 295.6±2.5 mOsm/kgH2O) differ significantly (p<0.05). At 90 min, the calculated Posm was significantly higher than the measured Posm in group D (283.6±2.1 vs 312.0±0.8 mOsm/kgH2O, p<0.05) only. In male subjects, there was no significant difference between the measured and calculated Posm in all the groups at 0 min, and at 90 min in groups A and B, while the calculated Posm was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the measured Posm in groups C (283.0±4.6 vs 302.4±3.3 mOsm/kgH2O) and D (275.6±4.8 vs 307.2±2.6 mOsm/kgH2O). In both male and female subjects, there was a significant (p<0.05) and positive correlation between TP and measured Posm at 0 min, but not at 90 min. PAVP values correlated significantly (p<0.05) with Posm and TP at 90 min only in group A. When group A was compared to group B, the changes in Posm were significant (p<0.05) in the males at 0 min (298.0±1.6 vs 281.0±4.4 mOsm/kgH2O), and at 90 min (303.0±1.8 vs 270.6±11.0 mOsm/kgH2O), whilst in the females the changes were only significant at 90 min (304.4±3.5 vs 285.0±4.3 mOsm/kgH2O). We can reasonably conclude the relationship between TP, Posm and PAVP may not be maintained during oral hypertonic saline loading, probably due to body fluid changes.
Evaluation of mean platelet volume as a predictive marker for cancer-associated venous thromboembolism during chemotherapy

Mean platelet volume has been proposed as a predictor for venous thromboembolism in cancer. We, therefore, investigated the effects of different anti-cancer drugs on mean platelet volume in order to assess its possible value in the risk prediction of a first thromboembolic episode in cancer outpatients during treatment. Pre-treatment mean platelet volumes were retrospectively evaluated in 589 ambulatory patients at the beginning of a new chemotherapy regimen. Moreover, serial changes were evaluated at baseline and before each chemotherapy cycle on 385 of the 589 patients who consented to have additional blood withdrawals during treatment. Cox proportional hazards survival analysis demonstrated a 2.7 hazard ratio (P=0.01) of developing a first venous thromboembolic episode during chemotherapy for patients with baseline mean platelet volumes below the 10th percentile (<7.3 fL). This index significantly declined during the first three months of chemotherapy (−6%; P<0.0001) reverting to baseline at the end of treatment. Multivariate regression analysis showed that normal baseline volumes (P=0.012) and platinum-based regimens (P=0.017) were both independent predictors of mean platelet volume decline during chemotherapy which, in turn, was associated with a 2.4 hazard ratio (P=0.044) of venous thromboembolism. In conclusion, low pre-chemotherapy mean platelet volume might be regarded as a predictor of increased venous thromboembolism risk in cancer patients and chemotherapy further decreases platelet volumes, possibly due to drug-induced platelet activation and destruction. Changes in mean platelet volumes during chemotherapy might provide additional information on thromboembolic risk of patients treated with anti-cancer drugs, particularly platinum compounds.