Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From mishap to model: The origins and utility of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

This special edition of the Biomedical Journal focuses on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, and includes three reviews showing how this model has greatly facilitated our understanding of the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. We also highlight a small single center study which suggests that the use of calcium bone substitutes during core decompression surgery may do more harm than good. Finally, we see how policy changes affect the management of fungal infections in immunocompromised patients and we learn about antibiotic resistance among strains of Streptococcus agalactiae circulating in Taiwan.
Molecular Characterization of the Skin Fungal Microbiota in Patients with Seborrheic Dermatitis

Background: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is an inflammatory disease associated with seborrhea that appears most often on the face, especially the nasolabial folds, scalp, and upper trunk, in sebaceous gland-rich areas of the skin. Although various factors are involved in the development of SD, Malassezia species of skin fungi play an important role in this skin disease. The aim of this study was to obtain basic information to elucidate the mycological involvement in the development of SD by performing a comprehensive analysis of the skin fungal microbiota of lesional and non-lesional sites in SD patients using a pyrosequencing approach. Methods: Scale samples were collected from lesional and non-lesional sites of 24 Japanese patients with seborrheic dermatitis and the skin fungal microbiome in the scale samples was analyzed using a pyrosequencing method. Results: Thirty taxa were detected from a total of 480,186 high-quality sequences. Malassezia species predominated at both lesional and non-lesional sites; however, the fungal microbiota at lesional sites was more diverse than at non-lesional sites. The fungal communities at lesional and non-lesional sites were clearly distinguished on principal coordinate analysis. Conclusion: Our data indicated that the skin fungal microbiota in lesional sites of SD patients was independent of that in non-lesional sites and will be utilized as basic information for understanding the association between skin fungi and development of SD.
Short-chain fatty acids and total parenteral nutrition affect intestinal gene expression.

BACKGROUND The supplementation of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) formulas with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increases glucose uptake and the expression of glucose transporters in parenterally fed animals. Several signals may be involved in intestinal adaptation; however, increased messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for proglucagon and several early-response genes, including c-myc and c-fos, are seen in animals receiving SCFA-supplemented TPN. Although the effects of a mixture of SCFAs are well documented, the relative contribution of individual SCFAs is unknown. Butyrate is a preferred fuel of colonocytes, with documented effects on cellular proliferation and gene expression. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to determine the relative role of butyrate in initiating an adaptive response in nonresected rats receiving TPN. METHODS Animals received standard TPN for 66 hours, followed by 6 hours of either standard TPN, TPN supplemented with a mixture of SCFAs (acetate, propionate, and butyrate, 60 mmol/L total), or TPN supplemented with butyrate alone (9 mmol/L). An oral control group was fed an elemental diet, similar in macronutrient content to the TPN, so that all animals received the same amount of energy daily. RESULTS SCFAs increased ileal glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) mRNA expression compared with the orally fed group. SCFAs also increased proglucagon mRNA expression compared with the TPN group. No changes in Na+K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase or early-response gene expression were found in this study. CONCLUSIONS In a rat model of TPN, the use of 9 mmol/L butyrate did not have the same effect on GLUT2 and proglucagon expression as a 60-mmol/L mixture of SCFAs. This suggests that the effect of a mixture of SCFAs on intestinal gene expression is not butyrate specific.
Global Commodity Governance: State Responses to Sustainable Forest and Fisheries Certification

Commodity Governance in a Globalising World Global Commodities, Sustainable Governance: An Analytic Framework The Forest Stewardship Council and the Marine Stewardship Council Forests and Fisheries Management in Comparative Perspective Forest and Fisheries Certification in Australia Forest and Fisheries Certification in Canada Forest and Fisheries Certification in the United Kingdom Comparative Analysis of State Responses to FSC and MSC Conclusion
Long-term outcome of hemispheric surgery at different ages in 61 epilepsy patients

Objective Hemispheric neurosurgery is an established treatment for severe epilepsy caused by extended unilateral brain pathology. However, it is still an unresolved question at which age surgery should best be performed. In light of decreasing plasticity and the cumulative impact of seizures and anticonvulsants on neurodevelopment, early surgery appears preferable. Methods We retrospectively investigated the medical, cognitive-behavioural and psychosocial long-term outcome (follow-up: 9.4 years (1.1–19.4)) of hemispherectomy as a function of age at surgery (early: <7 years/intermediate: 7–16 years/late: >16 years) based on a structured postal survey in a large patient sample (N=61/81, return rate: 75%). Results At follow-up, 45 (74%) patients were seizure free. Presurgical levels of intelligence were below average in most patients (79%) and postsurgical cognition largely resembled the presurgical capacities. Best seizure outcome was obtained for early surgery patients (90% seizure free). Patients with late surgery, however, exhibited higher presurgical and postsurgical intelligence and better psychosocial achievements. Binary logistic regression identified better presurgical intelligence and higher age at surgery as positive predictors of postsurgical intelligence. Lower presurgical intelligence and postsurgical seizure freedom predicted intellectual pre-post improvements. Conclusions Our data confirm the efficacy and cognitive safety of hemispheric surgeries performed at different ages. Eligible older and high functioning patients can be perfect candidates. Presurgical intelligence serves as indicator of the functional integrity of the contralateral hemisphere, which mainly determines postsurgical cognition and psychosocial outcome. Seizure freedom promotes cognitive improvement. As many unknown factors determined age at surgery, our retrospective data neither question early surgeries nor suggest postponing surgery.
Existence Conditions for an Optimal Affine Leader Function in the Reverse Stackelberg Game

Abstract We investigate the solvability of the reverse Stackelberg game. Here, a leader player acts first by presenting a leader function that maps the follower decision space into the leader decision space. Subsequently, the follower acts by determining his optimal decision variable. Such a game setting can be adopted within a multi-level optimization approach for large-scale control problems like road tolling. However, due to the complexity of the general game, results often rely on specific examples. As a starting point towards developing a systematic approach for the use of reverse Stackelberg games in control, a characterization of cases is given in which the desired leader equilibrium can be achieved by an affine leader function. Here, we focus on the single-leader single-follower deterministic, static (one-shot) case. This characterization follows a geometric approach and extends the special cases considered in the existing literature to also incorporate the more general case in which nonconvex and nonsmooth sublevel sets apply.
A modified extended Kalman filter for bearings-only tracking

In this paper a Modified Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) for the problem of Bearings-Only Tracking (BOT) is proposed. The suggested filter takes into account the amount of nonlinearity introduced through bearing measurements and adjusts the estimated range. In addition, it adds sufficient stabilizing noise to the error covariance matrix to make the filter consistent. Simulation results demonstrate an obvious superiority in terms of precision over the standard Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) tracking scenarios.
The Relationship between Accounting Performance and CEO Turnover: Evidence from Indonesia

This study provides empirical evidence regarding the usefulness of accounting information in the issue of CEO turnovers. Previous research shows inconclusive results about the relationship between accounting performance and CEO turnover. Moreover the topic of CEO turnover is still rarely examined in nonwestern countries, such as in Indonesia. This study used data on all companies that were identified as having undergone CEO, President Director for Indonesia, turnovers from 1998-2006. Other firms were included as a control sample. The sample used for testing included 140 companies, consisting of 81 companies with turnovers and 59 companies as a control. Final samples were determined after considering the availability of data and the confounding effects in the period observed. Hypotheses were tested using Logit regression because the dependent variable used is a binary variable, with the notation 1 for turnover and 0 for others. The results show that accounting performance had a statistically significant negative influence over the turnover decision. However, turnover did not affect accounting performance.
The Impact of Firm Acquisitions on Labor

In this paper, we investigate the changes in wages and employment following a firm's involvement in an acquisition, compared with firms not involved in acquisitions. Contrary to the tenor of popular press coverage of acquisitions, which focuses on hostile takeovers of large firms, we find small (and sometimes positive) changes in wages and employment following an acquisition.
Participation by the poor in Luang Prabang tourism economy: current earnings and opportunities for expansion.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. iii Contents Preface v Acknowledgements v Abbreviations and Acronyms v Executive Summary vi Earnings of semiskilled and unskilled people vi Implications for increasing participation of the poor in Luang Prabang vii Introduction 1 Purpose and structure of this report 1 Methodology, approach, scope and caveats 2 1 Demand for services: Tourism arrivals and segments 4 2 Supply: The tourism economy, enterprises, and the poor 6 Number and types of enterprises 6 Poor and no-longer poor participants 10 3 Aggregate tourism expenditure in Luang Prabang 14 Expenditure per tourist 14 Expenditure per year and per sub-chain in LPB 14 4 Accommodation 16 Financial flows and incomes of the poor 16 Implications and areas for intervention 18 5 Food and drink 20 Financial flows and incomes of the poor 20 Implications and areas for intervention 21 6 Craft spending 23 Financial flows and incomes of the poor 23 Implications and areas for intervention 26 7 Transport and excursions 28 Financial flows and incomes of the poor 28 Implications and areas for intervention 35 8 Overview: Benefit flows and strategies for expansion 38 Overview of financial benefits to the poor 38 Strategic approaches to boosting incomes of the poor 41 9 Recommendations by stakeholder and area of intervention 43 Key factors to address 43 Recommendations to the PTO and tourism stakeholders 43 Beyond the tourism sector: Possible interventions with other sectors 50 Moving forward 51 References, data sources and interviewees 53 Appendices 55 Appendix 1: SNV's work with the Provincial Tourism Office 55 Appendix 2: Information on methodology, scope and caveats 55 Appendix 3: Further details of Tourist Arrivals 58 Appendix 4: Estimates of tourist expenditure 62 Appendix 5: Further detail of the Food Sub-sector 70 Appendix 6: Further detail of the Crafts Sub-sector 71 Appendix 7: Calculations of transport income 74 Appendix 8: Estimates of expenditure in villages 78 iv Boxes, Figures, and Tables Table 1 Summary of semiskilled and unskilled incomes across four chains vii Table 2 Summary of recommendations for pro-poor interventions viii Table 3: Visitors and accommodation supply by budget category 5 Table 4: Inventory of tourism-related businesses in LPB 7 Table 5: Receipts into LPB from tourism, $ per …
A Resolvable Bank

Making banks resolvable is a key component of the regulatory reform programme enacted in response to the crisis. A resolvable bank is one that is “safe to fail”: it can fail and be resolved without cost to the taxpayer and without significant disruption to the financial markets or the economy at large. This paper designs such a bank. The design’s key feature is the separation of investor obligations from customer obligations at the operating bank. This is broadly achieved where the bank issues customer obligations, such as deposits and derivatives, and the parent issues investor obligations to third parties with the investment of the parent in the daughter bank serving as the transmission link for losses at the bank level to losses to investors at the parent level. This transmission of losses to the parent serves to recapitalise the bank-in-resolution. This in turn assures the solvency of the bank-in-resolution and provides the basis for the operating bank to obtain liquidity and continue customer operations. In sum, investors, not taxpayers, bear the cost of resolution and the bank continues to perform critical economic functions. The design works not only for a bank in a single jurisdiction, but also for internationally active banking groups with branches and/or subsidiaries in foreign jurisdictions. Indeed, the design can form the basis for international cooperation among resolution authorities and central banks, so that they can establish “constructive certainty” as to the path they would follow, should a global systemically important bank need to be resolved.
The interaction of two groups of murine genes determines the persistence of Theiler's virus in the central nervous system

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is responsible for a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system of the mouse. The disease is associated with persistent viral infection of the spinal cord. Some strains of mice are susceptible to viral infection, and other strains are resistant. The effect of the genetic background of the host on viral persistence has not been thoroughly investigated. We studied the amount of viral RNA in the spinal cords of 17 inbred strains of mice and their F1 crosses with the SJL/J strain and observed a large degree of variability among strains. The pattern of viral persistence among mouse strains could be explained by the interaction of two loci. One locus is localized in the H-2D region of the major histocompatibility complex, whereas the other locus is outside this complex and is not linked to the Tcrb locus on chromosome 6.
M-COMMERCE VERSUS INTERNET-BASEDE-COMMERCE: THE KEY DIFFERENCES

Is m-commerce just an extension or a subset of Internet-based e-commerce? Will it turn out to be just more hype? To answer these questions it is important for us to understand what are the fundamental differences between m-commerce and Internet-based e-commerce. In this paper we analyze the key differences between mobile commerce and Internet-based e-commerce along three important dimensions: the technologies, the nature of services, and the business models. Our findings could help businesses in developing their mcommerce strategies and turning the hype into real profits.
Maxillo-Nasal Dysplasia (Binder Syndrome): Antenatal Discovery and Implications

Binder syndrome (BS) or maxillo-nasal dysplasia is an uncommon developmental anomaly affecting primarily the anterior part of the maxilla and nasal complex. The characteristic findings are a failure of development in the premaxillary area with associated deformities of the nasal skeleton and the overlying soft tissues. Affected individuals typically have an unusually flat, underdeveloped midface (midfacial hypoplasia), with an abnormally short nose and flat nasal bridge, underdeveloped upper jaw, relatively protruding lower jaw and/or a ‘reverse overbite’ (or class III malocclusion). A case of BS was diagnosed at 24 weeks of gestation using two- and three-dimensional ultrasound. The first sign was an isolated flattened fetal nose in the mid-sagittal plane. Further ultrasound imaging showed the absence of the naso-frontal angle, giving impression of flat forehead and small fetal nose. We discuss about this entity.
Physical activity and spatial differences in medial knee T1rho and t2 relaxation times in knee osteoarthritis.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between knee loading- related osteoarthritis (OA) risk factors (obesity, malalignment, and physical activity) and medial knee laminar (superficial and deep) T1rho and T2 relaxation times. BACKGROUND The interaction of various modifiable loading-related knee risk factors and cartilage health in knee OA is currently not well known. METHODS Participants with and without knee OA (n = 151) underwent magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T for superficial and deep cartilage T1rho and T2 magnetic resonance relaxation times in the medial femur (MF) and medial tibia (MT). Other variables included radiographic Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade, alignment, pain and symptoms using the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, and physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Individuals with a KL grade of 4 were excluded. Group differences were calculated using 1-way analysis of variance, adjusting for age and body mass index. Linear regression models were created with age, sex, body mass index, alignment, KL grade, and the IPAQ scores to predict the laminar T1rho and T2 times. RESULTS Total IPAQ scores were the only significant predictors among the loading-related variables for superficial MF T1rho (P = .005), deep MT T1rho (P = .026), and superficial MF T2 (P = .049). Additionally, the KL grade predicted the superficial MF T1rho (P = .023) and deep MT T1rho (P = .022). CONCLUSION Higher physical activity levels and worse radiographic severity of knee OA, but not obesity or alignment, were associated with worse cartilage composition.
New Perspectives on Implementing Health Information Technology

In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the Library of the University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote from, to copy from, or publish this dissertation may be granted by the author or, in his/her absence, the professor under whose direction it was written or, in his absence, by the Dean of the Robinson College of Business. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for the scholarly purposes and does not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential gain will not be allowed without written permission of the author. Sumantra Sarkar ii NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University Library must be used only in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the Sumantra Sarkar's Dissertation Committee. It has been approved and accepted by all the members of the committee, and it has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctoral of Philosophy in Business Administration in the J. The importance of studying challenges in implementing information technology solutions in health care organizations is highlighted by the huge investments in health care information technology (HIT) which has been spurred by recent government mandates. Information technology can help improve health care delivery cost by facilitating the standardization of work processes or routines and reducing variations among them. Set in a premier 950+ bed hospital in the south eastern part of US, this dissertation consists of two studies examining the challenges involved in implementing HIT solutions. In the first study, we seek to gain deep insights into how the process of creating a patient's chart evolves over time in a health care institution. The second study focuses on the users of Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, investigating the compliance behavior of various providers with respect to patient records in the system. In the first study, through the lens of Activity theory our results show that the charting routine is implicated by the following environmental factors: (1) Tools, (2) Rules, (3) Community, and (4) Roles, and by individual factors: (5) Computer Self-Efficacy and (6) …
Assess The Long Run Effects Of Monetary Policy On Bank lending,Foreign Asset and Liability In MENA Countries

In this empirical study, we perform cointegrated relation to analyze the effects of monetary policy on bank credit to private sector, foreign assets and foreign debts in ten MENA countries include: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunis and Turkey. There are two co-integration techniques, the Johanson co-integration and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) are used to examine long run relationship between the variables. The empirical evidences with aggregate data of ten MENA countries show that bank credit to private sector and foreign asset increasing with a monetary expansion. However, the positions of banks’ foreign debts aren’t similar for different countries. Hence, the aggregate data show that bank lending channel is likely to be an effective monetary transmission mechanism in MENA countries.
Efficacy of oxamyl against Heterodera schachtii on cabbage.

The efficacy of oxamyl in controlling Heterodera schachtii on cabbage was determined by applying various contbinations of soil drenches at 6.7 kg (a.i.)/ha and foliar sprays at 0.04 kg (a.i.)/100 liters of water to cabbage seedlings. Pretransplant drenches provided some control of H. schachtii over a 13-week period. A single foliar spray of oxamyl 1 week before transplanting apparently prevented penetration of H. schachtii larvae; post-transplant sprays were relatively ineffective. A pretransplant or transplant drench combined with a foliar application 2 weeks after transplanting provided the most effective control. The effectiveness of drenches plus post-transplant sprays is probably due to the spray augmenting the action of the drench in inhibiting the development of larvae after penelration.
Octamer Transfer and Creation of Stably Remodeled Nucleosomes by Human SWI-SNF and Its Isolated ATPases

ABSTRACT Chromatin remodeling complexes help regulate the structure of chromatin to facilitate transcription. The multisubunit human (h) SWI-SNF complex has been shown to remodel mono- and polynucleosome templates in an ATP-dependent manner. The isolated hSWI-SNF ATPase subunits BRG1 and hBRM also have these activities. The intact complex has been shown to produce a stable remodeled dimer of mononucleosomes as a product. Here we show that the hSWI-SNF ATPases alone can also produce this product. In addition, we show that hSWI-SNF and its ATPases have the ability to transfer histone octamers from donor nucleosomes to acceptor DNA. These two reactions are characterized and compared. Our results are consistent with both products of SWI-SNF action being formed as alternative outcomes of a single remodeling mechanism. The ability of the isolated ATPase subunits to catalyze these reactions suggests that these subunits play a key role in determining the mechanistic capabilities of the SWI-SNF family of remodeling complexes.