Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Granisetron Transdermal System for Gastroparesis: A Prospective Study using the GCSI-Daily Diary

Granisetron transdermal system (GTS; Sancuso®), a patch delivering a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, has been shown to improve nausea and vomiting in gastroparesis. Recent FDA guidance on gastroparesis suggests daily scoring of symptoms to show efficacy. Aim: Determine the efficacy and onset of therapeutic response of GTS in improving specific symptoms and overall symptoms of gastroparesis in patients with gastroparesis using a daily symptom diary for gastroparesis. Methods: Symptomatic patients with diabetic or idiopathic gastroparesis with nausea and/or vomiting were enrolled. Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index Daily Diary (GCSI-DD) captured severity of symptoms at baseline for one week and during two weeks of treatment with GTS. Key results: 14 patients (age 41.5 ± 17 years; 13 females) with refractory gastroparesis (5 idiopathic, 9 diabetic) participated in this open label study. Nausea, early satiety, postprandial fullness, abdominal pain, GCSI-DD composite score, and overall symptom severity significantly improved (p<0.05) during treatment when compared to the baseline week. Nausea significantly decreased on day 5 (p<0.01) of treatment. Episodes of vomiting did not significantly change. Side effects included pruritus (2 patients) and redness (1) at the patch site, headache (1), constipation (1), and poor patch adherence (5). Conclusions and Inferences: GTS significantly reduced nausea severity in patients with gastroparesis. There were also significant improvements in early satiety, postprandial fullness, and abdominal pain. Nausea improvement occurred on the fifth day of treatment. Thus, GTS has therapeutic effect on nausea, as well as other gastroparesis symptoms, in patients with gastroparesis as captured using a daily diary for gastroparesis. Key Points: Granisetron transdermal system (GTS; Sancuso®), a patch delivering a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, has been shown to improve nausea and vomiting in gastroparesis. Daily symptom scoring, using a patient reported outcome, may help document efficacy for agents to treat gastroparesis: determining which symptoms improve and when. GTS has therapeutic effect on nausea, as well as other gastroparesis symptoms, in patients with gastroparesis as Research Article
O ct 2 01 3 Cohomological obstructions in locally variational field theories

We study cohomological obstructions to the existence of global conserved quantities. In particular, we show that, if a given local variational problem is supposed to admit global solutions, certain cohomology classes cannot appear as obstructions. Vice versa, we obtain a new type of cohomological obstruction to the existence of global solutions for a variational problem. 2000 MSC: 58A20,58E30,46M18. keywords: jet, gauge-natural bundle, conserved quantities, cohomology.
Evaluation of project outcomes

The evaluation of the outcome of construction projects has been the subject of unresolved debate for many years. This paper argues that previous views have tried to find a simple solution to a complex problem. The complexities of the issues which underlie the evaluation of project outcomes are derived from project goals, participants' behaviour and the performance of project organizations. Earlier studies did not recognize the manner by which individuals' perceptions of project outcomes were influenced by the range of factors in each person's perception. A model is constructed with two levels of outcome developed from the fundamental behaviour-to-performance-to-outcome (B-P-O) cycle in industrial/organizational psychology. It is postulated that the valence of the first-level outcome (project success) is dependent on the instrumentality relating to the second-level outcome (participant satisfaction). The identification of factors of influence, such as self-efficacy, project complexity, commitment, expectancy, rewards, goals and environmental variables, are shown to be fundamental in understanding an individual's perception of the merit of the outcome of a project.
Deadlock Prevention in Manufacturing Systems With AGV Systems: Banker’s Algorithm Approach

An important issue in the operational control of an automated job shop is the prevention and resolution of shop deadlocks. In this paper, we discuss the problems and solutions of deadlocks in manufacturing systems with automated guided vehicle systems, describe a banker’s algorithm for the control of material flow in job shops, and present the results of simulation experiments to compare the performance of several deadlock handling methods.
In situ polyaniline coating of Prussian blue as cathode material for sodium-ion battery

Prussian blue (PB) has great potential for use as a sodium cathode material owing to its high working potential and cube frame structure. Herein, this work reports a two-step method to synthesize PB with ascorbic acid as the ball-milling additive, which improves the electrochemical rate performance of PB during the traditional co-precipitation method. The obtained PB sample exhibited a superior specific capability (113.3 mAh g−1 even at 20 C, 1 C = 170 mA g−1) and a specific capacity retention of 84.8% after 100 cycles at 1 C rate. In order to enhance the cycling performance of the PB, an in situ polyaniline coating strategy was employed in which aniline was added into the electrolyte and polymerized under electrochemical conditions. The coated anode exhibited a high specific capacity retention of 62.7% after 500 cycles, which is significantly higher than that of the non-coated sample, which only remains 40.1% after 500 cycles. This development has shown a great potential as a low-cost, high-performance and environment-friendly technology for large-scale industrial application of PB.
Interest Groups Repairing Unconstitutionality: India’s Ninth Schedule

Scholars have called for greater judicial scrutiny to block rent seeking and lobbying by interest groups. What happens when independent judicial review successfully blocks interest groups’ rent-seeking efforts? Do they abandon their efforts? This paper argues that, faced with unfavorable judicial review, interest groups lobby to repair the unconstitutionality of benefits by changing constitutional rules, shifting rent-seeking activity to the constitutional level. In India, entry to the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of India converts statutes previously declared unconstitutional by the judiciary into constitutionally protected statutes—a goal often pursued by interest groups to repair unconstitutionality. The expansion and slowdown of the Ninth Schedule list demonstrates that interest groups determine the forum for repairing unconstitutionality by evaluating the relative costs of constitutional appeal versus constitutional amendment. The Indian experience demonstrates the limits of judicial review in curtailing rent seeking and the importance of constitutional structures in light of Epstein’s contributions.
Insolvency Institutions, Pledgeable Assets, and Efficiency

This paper models two insolvency institutions—bankruptcy and foreclosure—that financially distressed firms may use and analyzes their effects on firms’ ex ante capital and asset structure decisions. A firm chooses between secured debt (which is easy to foreclose on) and unsecured debt (which is hard to foreclose on and more likely to lead to bankruptcy) according to the trade-off between two inefficiency costs, those from inefficient liquidations and those from productive inefficiencies. This trade-off occurs because firms may overinvest in pledgeable assets to increase their assets’ liquidation value, which reduces funding costs. This overinvestment generates productive inefficiencies but reduces the cost of inefficient liquidations. As foreclosure (a more creditor-friendly procedure than bankruptcy) has a better liquidation technology, firms have incentives to overinvest in pledgeable assets when they expect to use it in the case of default, at the expense of productive inefficiencies and more inefficient liquidations than under bankruptcy.
A robust effect size measure Aw for MANOVA with non-normal and non-homogenous data

A common research question in psychology entails examining whether significant group differences (e.g. male and female) can be found in a list of numeric variables that measure the same underlying construct (e.g. intelligence). Researchers often use a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), which is based on conventional null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST). Recently, a number of quantitative researchers have suggested reporting an effect size measure (ES) in this research scenario because of the perceived shortcomings of NHST. Thus, a number of MANOVA ESs have been proposed (e.g. generalized eta squared η Λ 2 , generalized omega squared ω Λ 2 ), but they rely on two key assumptions—multivariate normality and homogeneity of covariance matrices—which are frequently violated in psychological research. To solve this problem we propose a non-parametric (or assumptions-free) ES (Aw) for MANOVA. The new ES is developed on the basis of the non-parametric A in ANOVA. To test Aw we conducted a Monte-Carlo simulation. The results showed that Aw was accurate (robust) across different manipulated conditions—including non-normal distributions, unequal covariance matrices between groups, total sample sizes, sample size ratios, true ES values, and numbers of dependent variables—thereby providing empirical evidence supporting the use of Aw, particularly when key assumptions are violated. Implications of the proposed Aw for psychological research and other disciplines are also discussed.
Design considerations for integrated mobile phone antennas

Based on the investigation of the board effect on the bandwidth of integrated antennas for mobile phones a concept for a tripleband antenna suitable for GSM/DCS/PCS is developed. The antenna concept comprises a parasitic element to enlarge the bandwidth. The performance of the antenna is analyzed by means of numerical simulations based on the FDTD method.
Circulating concentrations of citrulline, neopterin, kynurenine, and tryptophan during chemoradiation in patients with cervical carcinoma

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in circulating concentrations of citrulline, neopterin, kynurenine, and tryptophan during the course of chemoradiation in patients with cervical cancer. Sixteen patients with histologically confirmed carcinoma of the uterine cervix, aged 53 ± 15 years (range 29–76 years), were included in this study. Plasma neopterin, kynurenine, and tryptophan were determined with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma citrulline was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. Compared to baseline, citrulline concentration was markedly and statistically significantly decreased at visits 2, 3, and 4, while returning to pretreatment concentrations at visit 5. A significant increase in serum neopterin concentrations was observed at visits 4 and 5. With the exception of decreased kynurenine/tryptophan ratio at visit 3, no significant changes were observed in the concentrations of kynurenine, tryptophan, and kynurenine/tryptophan ratio throughout the course of the treatment. In conclusion, present data demonstrate that citrulline concentrations decrease early and neopterin concentrations increase late during the course of chemoradiation in patients with cervical carcinoma. Citrulline represents a biomarker of intestinal toxicity in this population.
Comparison of total nutrient recovery in aquaponics and conventional aquaculture systems

Abstract Introduction More eco-friendly aquaculture technology is required to reduce environmental pollution which has become a major issue in aquaculture industries in the last few decades. Aquaponics system is a culture technology to solve this waste issue. Thus, this study aimed at comparing growth performances, feed utilization efficiency, and nutrient recovery in aquaponics and conventional aquaculture system. Materials and methods Twenty-four juveniles of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) weighing 1.12 ± 0.1 g were cultured in either aquaponics systems or conventional aquaculture systems for 30 days. Each system had three culture systems as replicates. The fish were fed the same amount with a commercial pellet three times a day. Results The result showed that the Nile tilapia reared in the aquaponics system had a significantly higher specific growth rate than that of fish reared in the conventional system, 7.5 and 6.3% BW/day, respectively. Similarly, the feed utilization efficiency of fish reared in the aquaponics was also significantly better than that of fish in the conventional system. Furthermore, the total biomass harvested from the aquaponics system was nearly eight times higher than the total biomass harvested from the conventional system. Conclusion Growth, feed utilization efficiency, and total nutrient recovery in terms of biomass were higher in the aquaponics system. These results suggest that aquaponics is not only an eco-friendly aquaculture system, but also could produce more biomass than a conventional aquaculture system, and therefore, could be scaled up in a commercial scale.
The Single-Cavity Multiple-Device Oscillator

The output power from 12 IMPATT diodes has been combined in a single-cavity multiple-device oscillator. The oscillator is free from the well-known moding problem of multiple-device oscillators. The objective of this paper is to present the oscillator-circuit theory, which clearly indicates why this particular circuit configuration can give a stable operation free from moding problems. To handle the formidable equations necessary for the analysis, the eigenfunction approach is extensively used. The condition for stable operation, the noise performance, and the locking behavior of the oscillator are all discussed. The noise performance is similar and the locking behavior identical to those of single-device oscillators.
Organisational factors for success in new product development

This paper describes an attempt to produce an evaluation taxonomy and framework to enable companies to assess their new product development (NPD) performance and the factors leading to success. This framework is based on a product's complexities (structural and functional) and related factors and commercial constraints. In particular, it looks at the management and organisational factors involved in NPD and how these may be enhanced to increase NPD success rates. An assessment tool and methodology (ATM) is described which evaluates a company's NPD activities and process performance. Significant findings relating to success in product development are shown from the initial results comparing successful product developments from a variety of companies. Also described are the results of a survey of company based NPD performance improvement approaches and the related NPD performance measurement systems and metrics being used. The results from the use of the ATM with Japanese companies within Japan are also included as a comparison.
A Virtual Tool for Prediction of Turbocharger Nonlinear Dynamic Response: Validation Against Test Data

Advances on the modeling of nonlinear rotor-bearing models for prediction of the dynamic shaft response of automotive turbochargers (TCs) supported on floating ring bearings (FRBs) are presented. Comprehensive test data for a TC unit operating at a top speed of 65 krpm serves to validate the model predictions. The static forced performance of the support FRBs considers lubricant thermal effects, thermal expansion of the shaft and bearings, and entrance pressure losses due to centrifugal flow effects. The bearing analysis also yields linearized rotordynamic force coefficients for the inner and outer lubricant films. These coefficients are used with the rotor model to predict the synchronous response to imbalance and the system natural frequencies and stability. A method renders an accurate estimation of the test rotor imbalance by using the actual vibration measurements and influence coefficients derived from predictions using linearized bearing force coefficients. Predicted ring rotational speeds, operating radial clearances, and lubricant viscosities for the inner and outer films are the main input to the nonlinear time transient analysis. The nonlinear response model predicts the total shaft motion, with fast Fourier transforms showing the synchronous response, and amplitudes and whirl frequencies of subsynchronous motions. The predicted synchronous amplitudes are in good agreement with the measurements, in particular at high shaft speeds. The nonlinear analysis predicts multiple frequency subsynchronous motions for speeds ranging from 10 krpm to 55 krpm (maximum speed 70 krpm), with amplitudes and frequencies that correlate well with the test data. The comparisons validate the comprehensive rotor-bearings model whose ultimate aim is to save TC design time and accelerate product development.
Evaluating Benefits and Challenges of Knowledge Transfer Across Projects

Abstract: The complex and unpredictable nature of projects generates serious challenges for managers of projects and project-based organizations. Knowledge represents one of the key project capabilities that enables projects and project-based organizations to cope with these challenges. Knowledge transfer across projects moves knowledge from project sources of knowledge to project recipients with the goal of improving performance and capabilities. The goal of this study is to examine the associations between the level of knowledge transfer across project effort, the body of knowledge of projects obtained from other projects, and the project performance. A survey of 46 closed projects provided the data to test 3 hypotheses. The results show that the body of knowledge of projects obtained from other projects is positively associated with project performance. Other results demonstrate that the level of knowledge transfer across project effort is associated with an increase in the capabilities and performance of projects. Managers of projects and project-based organizations can use the results of this investigation to further understand the benefits and challenges of knowledge transfer across projects. The results of this investigation can be used for further research and development in the areas of project management, knowledge management, and projects' knowledge systems.
Manufacturing excellent engineers: skill development in a Masters programme

Abstract An MPhil programme, delivered by the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge, claims to be excellent at preparing graduates for manufacturing industry careers. The course uses a combination of different educational experiences, including industry-based assignments, industrial visits and practical exercises. This research explores how problem solving skills are developed during the first module, Induction, which is designed to enable students to undertake their first industrial assignment. From the literature, four conditions necessary for skill development were identified: Provision of a skill description, making explicit key components A number of different experiences with a range of contextual variables A teaching process which includes regular feedback and student reflection Students motivated to learn. These were used to construct a skill development framework (SDF). Using a case study research design, multiple types of evidence were collected to test for the above conditions using both classroom observation and questionnaire methods. The results confirmed the presence of the SDF conditions at different levels, with reflection aspects considered the weakest. Conflicting results were obtained regarding the students’ self-awareness of skill levels. A plausible explanation is a change in the students’ frame of reference. This initial study set out to develop a better understanding of the process of skill development. Whilst the SDF appears reasonable, there is a need for further work in three broad areas of defining skills, assessing skills and developing reflection skills.
Intra-Annual Wood Formation of Cryptomeria fortunei and Cunninghamia lanceolata in Humid Subtropical China

Monitoring cambial activity is important for a better understanding of the mechanisms governing xylem growth responses to climate change, providing a scientific basis for tree-ring-based climate reconstructions and projections about tree growth under future climate scenarios. It plays an even more important role in investigating evergreen tree growth in regions with less distinct seasonal cycles. Subtropical evergreen forests have been studied in recent years for their sensitivity to climate change, but it remains unclear how xylem growth is driven by subtropical climates. To further understand the climate-growth response strategies of subtropical conifers, we micro-cored Cryptomeria fortunei and Cunninghamia lanceolata weekly in 2016 and 2017 at the humid subtropical Gushan Mountain in southeastern China. Our weekly growth monitoring showed that the vegetation periods of these two species were both approximately 2–3 months longer than trees in temperate and boreal forests. The growth of C. fortunei in 2016 and 2017 and C. lanceolata in 2017 showed a bimodal pattern of xylogenesis, which was induced by summer drought. The results also indicated that the earlier end of the xylem formation was related to the yearly drought stress. These findings provide more specific information about tree growth and evidence of how climate influences wood production at the cellular level in subtropical regions.
Fetal Undernutrition Programming, Sympathetic Nerve Activity, and Arterial Hypertension Development

A wealth of evidence showed that low birth weight is associated with environmental disruption during gestation, triggering embryotic or fetal adaptations and increasing the susceptibility of progeny to non-communicable diseases, including metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and arterial hypertension. In addition, dietary disturbance during pregnancy in animal models has highlighted mechanisms that involve the genesis of arterial hypertension, particularly severe maternal low-protein intake (LP). Functional studies demonstrated that maternal low-protein intake leads to the renal decrease of sodium excretion and the dysfunction of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system signaling of LP offspring. The antinatriuretic effect is accentuated by a reduced number of nephron units and glomerulosclerosis, which are critical in establishing arterial hypertension phenotype. Also, in this way, studies have shown that the overactivity of the central and peripheral sympathetic nervous system occurs due to reduced sensory (afferent) renal nerve activity. As a result of this reciprocal and abnormal renorenal reflex, there is an enhanced tubule sodium proximal sodium reabsorption, which, at least in part, contributes directly to arterial hypertension development in some of the programmed models. A recent study has observed that significant changes in adrenal medulla secretion could be involved in the pathophysiological process of increasing blood pressure. Thus, this review aims to compile studies that link the central and peripheral sympathetic system activity mechanisms on water and salt handle and blood pressure control in the maternal protein-restricted offspring. Besides, these pathophysiological mechanisms mainly may involve the modulation of neurokinins and catecholamines pathways.
ALB: A Methodology for the Simulation of the Producer-Consumer Problem

Stenographers agree that cacheable communications are an interesting new topic in the field of highly-available stochastic robotics, and experts concur. In fact, few electrical engineers would disagree with the development of wide-area networks. Our focus here is not on whether journaling file systems and gigabit switches can agree to surmount this challenge, but rather on introducing new symbiotic symmetries (ALB).