Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Latin American Banking Fragility: An Assessment of the Role Played by Foreign Banks

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether foreign bank presence has had a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on the Latin American banking sector. Our results suggest that, while "brick and mortar" operations of foreign banks in Latin American countries contribute to the reduction of the probability of a banking crisis, there is no significant effect of direct foreign lending initiated outside the country on the likelihood of experiencing financial distress.
Faster evolution of highly conserved DNA in tropical plants

A faster rate of nuclear DNA evolution has recently been found for plants occupying warmer low latitudes relative to those in cooler high latitudes. That earlier study by our research group compared substitution rates within the variable internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal gene complex amongst 45 congeneric species pairs, each member of which differed in their latitudinal distributions. To determine whether this rate differential might also occur within highly conserved DNA, we sequenced the 18S ribosomal gene in the same 45 pairs of plants. We found that the rate of evolution in 18S was 51% faster in the tropical plant species relative to their temperate sisters and that the substitution rate in 18S correlated positively with that in the more variable ITS. This result, with a gene coding for ribosomal structure, suggests that climatic influences on evolution extend to functionally important regions of the genome.
Radio-frequency ablation as treatment for cardiac arrhythmias.

Radio-frequency catheter ablation has replaced antiarrhythmic-drug therapy for the treatment of many types of cardiac arrhythmia. This article reviews the biophysics and results of radio-frequency catheter ablation and the clinical indications for its use. Catheter-ablation procedures are performed in an electrophysiology laboratory. Usually both the diagnosis and the catheter ablation can be accomplished in a single session.1 Three or four electrode catheters are inserted percutaneously into a femoral, internal jugular, or subclavian vein and positioned within the heart to allow pacing and recording at key sites. The efficacy of catheter ablation depends on the accurate identification of the site of .
Attitude Tracking of Rigid Spacecraft With Bounded Disturbances

The problem of attitude control for a spacecraft model that is nonlinear in dynamics with inertia uncertainty and external disturbance has been investigated. Adaptive law and extended state observer are applied to estimate the disturbance, by which sliding-mode controllers are designed to combine the two approaches in order to force the state variables of the closed-loop system to converge to the reference attitude states. Also, simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the control strategies.
Databases For Mediation Systems Design and Data scaling approach

Context: There is continuous growth in data generation due to wide usage of modern communication systems. Systems have to be designed which can handle the processing of these data volumes eﬃciently. Me-diation systems are meant to serve this purpose. Databases form an integral part of the mediation systems. Suitability of the databases for such systems is the principle theme of this work. Objectives: The objective of this thesis is to identify the key requirements for databases that can be used as part of Mediation systems, gain a thorough understanding of various features, the data models commonly used in databases and to benchmark their performance. Methods: Previous work that has been carried out on various databases is studied as a part of literature review. Test bed is set up as a part of experiment and performance metrics such as throughput and total time taken were measured through a Java based client. Thorough analysis has been carried out by varying various parameters like data volumes, number of threads in the client etc. Results: Cassandra has a very good write performance for event and batch operations. Cassandra has a slightly better read performance when compared to MySQL Cluster but this diﬀerentiation withers out in case of fewer number of threads in the client. Conclusions: On evaluation of MySQL Cluster and Cassandra we conclude that they have several features that are suitable for mediation systems. On the other hand, Cassandra does not guarantee ACID transactions while MySQL Cluster has good support. There is need for further evaluation on new generation databases which are not mature enough as of now.
Band offset induced threshold variation in strained-Si nMOSFETs

Due to the offset in the valence band, strained-Si nMOSFETs exhibit a -100 mV threshold shift and 4% degradation of the subthreshold slope per each 10% increase of Ge content in the relaxed SiGe layer. The correlation between the threshold shift and strained layer thickness is investigated based on device simulations. In a certain range of the strained-Si layer thickness, the threshold and subthreshold slope change gradually, posing a concern of larger device parameter variation. A larger threshold distribution is observed in devices fabricated with a strained layer thickness comparable to the depletion depth.
Word length of pulse transfer function for small sampling periods

Discrete-time systems composed of sampler, zero order hold and continuous-time plants are investigated. The well-known Astrom et al.'s (1984) theorem in a reformulated version is first proved and then utilized for estimating the length of a digital word needed for recording the pulse transfer function parameters, in the case of small sampling periods. The estimated length, assuring a prescribed accuracy of the model, is somewhat larger than that obtained from Kaiser's (1965) condition of nondestabilization of the model. It is shown that only nonzero poles of the plant transfer function cause an increase of the word length; the zero poles and the zeros of the latter transfer function have no influence on this length. The calculations performed for several examples confirm the correctness of the proposed approach.
The Detection of Human Papillomaviruses in Cervical Biopsies by Immunohistochemistry and In Situ Hybridization

The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 16 and 8 in cervical biopsies can be detected by an immunoperoxidase technique using type‐restricted monoclonal antibodies raised against fusion proteins representing the L1 major capsid proteins of these three HPV types. In a retrospective study (n= 54) we have used these antibodies and biotinylated DNA probes of HPV 6.16 and 18 lo detect and type HPV in formalin‐fixed material from the cervix. The biopsies were classified histologically into normals, wart infections without dysplasia, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)and squamous cell carcinomas. Antibody staining showed that 22% of all CIN was positive for HPV 16and 40% of cervical warts were positive for HPV 6, 16 and 18, There was no HPV capsid protein detected in the normals and squamous cell carcinomas using these antibodies, whereas 25% of the tumours were positive for HPV 16 by in situ hybridization. Sections of cervical warts and CIN positive for HPV types by in situ hybridization were also positive by antibody staining which suggests that both techniques are detecting replicating virus. We feel these two techniques complement each other in detection and typing of HPV in cervical biopsies from patients with active disease.
Promoting self-determined motivation for exercise in cardiac rehabilitation: the role of autonomy support.

OBJECTIVE Using self-determination theory (SDT), we examined relationships between cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participants' perceived autonomy support, motivation for exercise, and exercise behavior. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN Male CR outpatients (N = 53; M age = 62.83 +/- 10.78 years). The design was correlational (cross-sectional and prospective), examining relationships between perceived autonomy support and motivation for exercise at Week 4 of CR participation as well as motivation and CR attendance and other indicators of exercise behavior (frequency, duration, total exercise time) at a 1-week follow-up, 10 weeks later. RESULTS Perceived autonomy support was correlated with self-determined motivation, r(53) = . 32, p < . 05. Self-determined motivation predicted total exercise volume at follow-up, r(53) = . 34, p < . 05, as well as length of exercise session duration (R(2) = . 27; beta = . 52, p < . 001). CONCLUSION Results support SDT and the potential for autonomy support from interventionists to affect self-determined motivation and exercise behavior of participants involved in CR.
Chemistry of the Fullerenes: The Manifestation of Strain in a Class of Continuous Aromatic Molecules

Within the wr-orbital axis vector theory, the total rehybridization required for closure of the fullerenes is approximately conserved. This result allows the development of a structure-based index of strain in the fullerenes, and it is estimated that about 80 percent of the heat of formation of the carbon atoms in C60 may be attributed to a combination of v strain and steric inhibition of resonance. Application of this analysis to the geometries of structurally characterized organometallic derivatives of C60 and C70 shows that the reactivity exhibited by the fullerenes may be attributed to the relief of a combination of local and global strain energy. C60 is of ambiguous aromatic character with anomalous magnetic properties but with the reactivity of a continuous aromatic molecule, moderated only by the tremendous strain inherent in the spheroidal structure.
Biohydrogen Production in Continuous‐Flow Reactor Using Mixed Microbial Culture

The goal of the proposed project was to develop an anaerobic fermentation process that converts negative‐value organic wastes into hydrogen‐rich gas in a continuous‐flow reactor under different operating conditions, such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), heat treatment, pH, and substrates. A series of batch tests were also conducted in parallel to the continuous study to evaluate the hydrogen conversion efficiency of two different organic substrates, namely sucrose and starch. A heat shock (at 90°C for 15 minutes) was applied to the sludge in an external heating chamber known as a sludge activation chamber, as a method to impose a selection pressure to eliminate non‐spore‐forming, hydrogen‐consuming bacteria and to activate spore germination. The experimental results showed that the heat activation of biomass enhanced hydrogen production by selecting for hydrogen‐producing, spore‐forming bacteria. The batch feeding at a shorter HRT of 20 hours (or higher organic loading rate) favored hydrogen production, whereas, at a longer HRT of 30 hours, methane was detected in the gas phase. The major organic acids of hydrogen fermentation were acetate, butyrate, and propionate. Up to 23.1% of influent chemical oxygen demand was consumed in biomass synthesis. Batch tests showed that the hydrogen‐production potential of starch was lower than sucrose, and better conversion efficiency from starch was obtained at a lower pH of 4.5. However, addition of sucrose to starch improved the overall hydrogen‐production potential and hydrogen‐production rate. This study showed that sustainable biohydrogen production from carbohydrate‐rich substrates is possible through heat activation of settled sludge.
Clinical immunotoxicity of therapeutic proteins

Therapeutic proteins are proteins engineered in the laboratory for pharmaceutical use. Although they tend to offer a better safety margin than most synthetic small molecules because they are processed by the same pathways as natural proteins in the human body, or mimic or replace natural proteins that are missing or defective, they can induce a variety of adverse effects in human patients among which immunotoxic effects deserve particular attention. Infectious complications and virus-induced neoplasias are the main consequences of intended or unexpected immunosuppression. They have been primarily described with anti-TNF-α drugs and anticancer monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) whose immunosuppressive effects can be largely anticipated from their mechanism of action. Cytokine release-associated adverse reactions ranging from mild-to-moderate flu-like reactions to severe cytokine release syndromes, or exceptionally cytokine storm, are now an issue of chief concern. They have been observed with most of the therapeutic proteins in current use. Acute infusion reactions whose clinical features are somewhat similar have been variably described with many mAbs. Immunostimulatory properties are suspected to account for the occurrence of more frequent autoimmune diseases as seen in patients treated with recombinant cytokines such as the IFNs-α and rIL-2. The risk of more frequent hypersensitivity reactions to unrelated allergens is also suspected to be a potential consequence of immunostimulation but compelling evidence is limited to radiocontrast media-induced hypersensitivity reactions in IL-2 treated cancer patients. In addition, recombinant cytokines can inhibit cytochrome P450 dependent biotransformation pathways with resulting alterations in the pharmacokinetics of the combined drugs at therapeutic dose. Because of their structure and origin, therapeutic proteins are intrinsically immunogenic. Despite extensive laboratory and clinical studies that were instrumental in delineating general concepts about key factors involved in immunogenicity, it is impossible nowadays to anticipate to what extent a novel therapeutic protein will be immunogenic in human patients. Specific antibodies are frequently detected in the sera of treated patients. They are often inconsequential but can also be neutralizing and result in decreased efficacy. Anaphylactic reactions induced by human therapeutic proteins have been rarely reported and true serum sickness extremely rarely. Because the immunotoxic effects of therapeutic proteins are frequent, sometimes severe and even potentially life-threatening, there is an urgent need to improve our capacity to anticipate the immunotoxic risks of novel therapeutic proteins and this could be achieved by the development of clinical immunotoxicology.
Assessment of algorithms for predicting drug-drug interactions via inhibition mechanisms: comparison of dynamic and static models.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT The prediction of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) from in vitro data usually utilizes an average dosing interval estimate of inhibitor concentration in an equation-based static model. Simcyp®, a population-based ADME simulator, is becoming widely used for the prediction of DDIs and has the ability to incorporate the time-course of inhibitor concentration and hence generate a temporal profile of the inhibition process within a dynamic model. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS Prediction of DDIs for 35 clinical studies incorporating a representative range of drug-drug interactions, with multiple studies across different inhibitors and victim drugs. Assessment of whether the inclusion of the time course of inhibition in the dynamic model improves prediction in comparison with the static model. Investigation of the impact of different inhibitor and victim drug parameters on DDI prediction accuracy including dosing time and the inclusion of active metabolites. Assessment of ability of the dynamic model to predict inter-individual variability in the DDI magnitude. AIMS Static and dynamic models (incorporating the time course of the inhibitor) were assessed for their ability to predict drug-drug interactions (DDIs) using a population-based ADME simulator (Simcyp®V8). The impact of active metabolites, dosing time and the ability to predict inter-individual variability in DDI magnitude were investigated using the dynamic model. METHODS Thirty-five in vivo DDIs involving azole inhibitors and benzodiazepines were predicted using the static and dynamic model; both models were employed within Simcyp for consistency in parameters. Simulations comprised of 10 trials with matching population demographics and dosage regimen to the in vivo studies. Predictive utility of the static and dynamic model was assessed relative to the inhibitor or victim drug investigated. RESULTS Use of the dynamic and static models resulted in comparable prediction success, with 71 and 77% of DDIs predicted within two-fold, respectively. Over 40% of strong DDIs (>five-fold AUC increase) were under-predicted by both models. Incorporation of the itraconazole metabolite into the dynamic model resulted in increased prediction accuracy of strong DDIs (80% within two-fold). Bias and imprecision in prediction of triazolam DDIs were higher in comparison with midazolam and alprazolam; >50% of triazolam DDIs were under-predicted regardless of the model used. Predicted inter-individual variability in the AUC ratio (coefficient of variation of 45%) was consistent with the observed variability (50%). CONCLUSIONS High prediction accuracy was observed using both the Simcyp dynamic and static models. The differences observed with the dose staggering and the incorporation of active metabolite highlight the importance of these variables in DDI prediction.
Modellierung spröder Rissbildung an Spannungskonzentrationen mit der Bruchmechanik finiter Risse

Die Entwicklung hochbeanspruchter Strukturen erfordert leistungsfahige Bewertungskonzepte fur konstruktiv oft unvermeidbare Spannungskonzentrationen als potentielle Ausgangspunkte fur Rissbildung und anschliesendes Versagen. Wahrend klassische Versagenshypothesen zur Bewertung schwach inhomogener Spannungsfelder und klassische bruchmechanische Konzepte zur Bewertung hinreichend groser Risse gut geeignet sind, bieten sie jedoch keinen adaquaten Zugang zu theoretisch singularen Spannungskonzentrationen ohne Riss sowie zu diversen Skalierungsphanomenen der effektiven Festigkeit. Durch Kombination klassischer Versagenshypothesen mit einem energetischen Bruchkriterium im Rahmen der Konzeptes der Bruchmechanik finiter Risse ermoglicht ein unlangst vorgeschlagenes hybrides Versagensmodell einen allgemeineren Zugang zur sproden Rissbildung. Dadurch, dass sowohl die Anordnung ohne Riss als auch potentielle Risskonfigurationen untersucht werden mussen, wird die Auswertung analytisch anspruchsvoll und numerisch aufwendig. Bisher wurden nur fur sehr spezielle Konfigurationen analytische und numerische Zugange entwickelt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit hingegen wird ein sehr allgemeiner direkter numerischer Zugang bereitgestellt. Die ebene und quasi-raumliche Diskretisierung mit finiten Elementen fur gerade, von einem Punkt ausgehende Risse ermoglicht die Auswertung des hybriden Versagensmodells am untersuchten Punkt fur nahezu beliebige Beanspruchungen. Mittels einer Optimierungsprozedur wird die Bruchlast als Losung eines nichtlinearen Optimierungsproblems bestimmt. Durch Vergleich mit der neuen direkten numerischen Formulierung konnten anhand von Kerbproblemen bekannte und neu entwickelte, auf asymptotischen Entwicklungen basierende Losungen validiert werden. In vielen Fallen bieten sie eine numerisch effiziente Alternative. Auch der Vergleich mit experimentellen Ergebnissen an Proben aus PMMA zeigte gute Ubereinstimmung. Fur das Problem der Bewertung von Randeffekten in CFK-Laminaten wird mit der neuen Formulierung ein leistungsfahiger Zugang bereitgestellt, wobei der Vergleich mit experimentellen Ergebnissen gute Ubereinstimmung zeigte. Weiterhin wurde das Modell zur Bewertung von Fugungen in Hochtemperatur-Brennstoffzellenstacks angewendet. Auch fur diese realistische Bauteilsituation hat sich das neue Verfahren als ein sehr leistungsfahiges Werkzeug erwiesen, mit dem wesentliches Optimierungspotential aufgezeigt werden konnte.
Row-Diagonal Parity for Double Disk Failure Correction (Awarded Best Paper!)

Row-Diagonal Parity (RDP) is a new algorithm for protecting against double disk failures. It stores all data unencoded, and uses only exclusive-or operations to compute parity. RDP is provably optimal in computational complexity, both during construction and reconstruction. Like other algorithms, it is optimal in the amount of redundant information stored and accessed. RDP works within a single stripe of blocks of sizes normally used by file systems, databases and disk arrays. It can be utilized in a fixed (RAID-4) or rotated (RAID-5) parity placement style. It is possible to extend the algorithm to encompass multiple RAID-4 or RAID-5 disk arrays in a single RDP disk array. It is possible to add disks to an existing RDP array without recalculating parity or moving data. Implementation results show that RDP performance can be made nearly equal to single parity RAID-4 and RAID-5 performance.
An explanation for residual increased tension in striated muscle after stretch during contraction

A recent review article in this journal (Noble, 1992) concluded that 'The effects of stretching actively contracting muscle remain perplexing and unexplained . The puzzlement of Deleze (Deleze, 1961) is reiterated with little modification by myself, after reviewing the literature of the intervening 30 years! ' This paper is intended to show that an explanation is available to account for all the features that puzzled Deleze, Noble and others, and that evidence to support it is growing.
Improved transient hot-spot temperature calculation method of high voltage bushings

The thermal transient is extremely important when evaluating a high-voltage bushing for overload capability. In this paper, we evaluate the previous methods by others in the effort of calculating bushing thermal transient and introduce our improved direct simulation method using ATP. We verify the validity of our method by comparing the simulation and actual test results which shows both match very well. We also use the method to evaluate the bushing overload condition recommended in IEEE C57.19. 100 and the result shows the recommendation is not applicable.
A retrospective analysis of 144 patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: impact of autologous stem cell transplantation in first remission on outcome.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To analyze the impact of a sequential program including autologous stem cell transplantation in first remission on the outcome of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. DESIGN AND METHODS Patients aged less than 60 years old, with an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and at least a partial response after first line therapy (chemotherapy +/- radiotherapy) were included in the study. RESULTS One hundred and forty-four patients were registered: of them 126 reached at least a partial response after first line therapy and 71 ( 56.5%) were then submitted to autologous stem cell transplantation. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the whole population were respectively 70% and 63% at a median follow-up from diagnosis of 51 months (7-115). The PFS of the transplanted group was 93% at a median follow-up from diagnosis of 54 months (20-155); the PFS of the non-transplanted patients was 43.5% at a median follow-up from diagnosis of 30 months (8-109) (p <0.0001). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS The two groups (transplanted vs not transplanted patients in remission after induction therapy) were homogeneous concerning the major risk factors (stage III Eth IV Eth p = 0.26; performance status Eth p = 0.25; B-symptoms Eth p = 0. 3; LDH level Eth p = 0.4; extranodal disease Eth p=0.4; bulky disease Eth p = 0.7): so we compared them in order to discover clinical features at diagnosis adversely affected PFS. In a multivariate analysis, factors which adversely affected PFS were: LDH level Eth p = 0.03; number of extranodal sites Eth p = 0.04; not performing the transplant Eth p = 0.02. When patients were stratified by number of extranodal sites and by LDH level, only the transplant being performed retained its positive influence Eth p = 0.04.