Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and application of normal limits for left ventricular ejection fraction and volume measurements from 99mTc-sestamibi myocardial perfusion gates SPECT.

UNLABELLED Gated SPECT is a reproducible method for assessing left ventricular volume (LVV) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from 99mTc-sestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging studies. LVV and LVEF measurements by this approach correlate well with those obtained from other cardiovascular imaging techniques. Nevertheless, the lack of criteria for abnormal test findings has limited the potential clinical application of this new imaging technique. METHODS Gated SPECT measurements were evaluated for 214 patients with a low Bayesian likelihood (< 10%) of coronary artery disease (CAD) before performance of 99mTc-sestamibi stress-rest myocardial perfusion SPECT. The patients were grouped into normotensive patients (n = 98), hypertensive patients without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (n = 80), and hypertensive patients with LVH on resting electrocardiography (n = 36). Gated SPECT measurements for left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) index, left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) index, and LVEF were obtained according to a published method, using a modified Simpson's rule technique. RESULTS Similar results were obtained for mean LVV and LVEF measurements between normotensive patients and hypertensive patients without LVH. Hence, these groups were combined (as group 1). By contrast, hypertensive patients with LVH (group 2), had significantly lower LVEF values (P = 0.01) and higher mean LVESV index values than normotensive patients (P = 0.03). Sex differences were marked: women had significantly higher mean resting LVEF values than men (P < 0.0001) and significantly lower mean resting LVEDV index values (P < 0.0001). A significant relationship was seen between LVEDV index and LVEF (r = -0.60; P < 0.0001) and between LVEDV index and heart rate (r = -0.26; P < 0.001). The normal limits were LVEF > or = 41% in men and > or = 49% in women, LVEDV index < or = 76 mL/m2 in men and < or = 57 mL/m2 in women, and LVESV index < or 38 mL/m2 in men and < or =26 mL/m2 in women. Among hypertensive patients, 22% with LVH had an abnormally low LVEF and 19% had an increased LVEDV index according to these test criteria. By contrast, no hypertensive patients without LVH had an abnormally low LVEF, and only 6% had volume abnormalities. CONCLUSION Using a cohort of low-likelihood patients, we generated sex-specific normal limits for LVV and LVEF for myocardial perfusion gated SPECT. Application of these findings resulted in the detection of occult left ventricular dysfunction in approximately one fifth of hypertensive patients for whom concomitant LVH was found through resting electrocardiography. These normal limits can now be evaluated prospectively for their potential clinical value.
Facial identification in very low-resolution images simulating prosthetic vision

Familiar facial identification is important to blind or visually impaired patients and can be achieved using a retinal prosthesis. Nevertheless, there are limitations in delivering the facial images with a resolution sufficient to distinguish facial features, such as eyes and nose, through multichannel electrode arrays used in current visual prostheses. This study verifies the feasibility of familiar facial identification under low-resolution prosthetic vision and proposes an edge-enhancement method to deliver more visual information that is of higher quality. We first generated a contrast-enhanced image and an edge image by applying the Sobel edge detector and blocked each of them by averaging. Then, we subtracted the blocked edge image from the blocked contrast-enhanced image and produced a pixelized image imitating an array of phosphenes. Before subtraction, every gray value of the edge images was weighted as 50% (mode 2), 75% (mode 3) and 100% (mode 4). In mode 1, the facial image was blocked and pixelized with no further processing. The most successful identification was achieved with mode 3 at every resolution in terms of identification index, which covers both accuracy and correct response time. We also found that the subjects recognized a distinctive face especially more accurately and faster than the other given facial images even under low-resolution prosthetic vision. Every subject could identify familiar faces even in very low-resolution images. And the proposed edge-enhancement method seemed to contribute to intermediate-stage visual prostheses.
The Role of Online Promotion and Its Effect on Destination Loyalty

This study aims to analyze the influence of online promotion on destination loyalty directly or indirectly through destination awareness and tourist satisfaction. This study also examined the influence of destination awareness on tourist satisfaction. A sample of 250 domestic tourists was recruited as respondents using purposive sampling method. Data were collected with survey design and analyzed using hierarchical regression model. The results show both destination awareness and tourist satisfaction are important variables that should be considered by marketers to capture the opportunity of tourists visit. It is found that information from online promotion will trigger awareness and increase tourist satisfactionKeywords: online promotion, destination awareness, tourist satisfaction, destination loyalty
Quantified abundance of magnetofossils at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary from synchrotron-based transmission X-ray microscopy

Significance The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) is an abrupt global warming event that occurred at about 55.8 Ma and is closely linked to a large carbon isotope excursion. What caused the PETM is unresolved. An unusual abundance of single-domain magnetite particles in PETM sediments on the Atlantic Coastal Plain might represent condensates from a comet impact. Alternatively, the magnetic nanoparticles may be of biogenic origin. We are now able to quantify the concentration of those magnetic grains that are distinctly of biogenic origin using synchrotron-based transmission X-ray microscopy. These and related findings allow us to exclude magnetofossils as a significant source of magnetization of the PETM sediments and point to an impact condensate origin of the magnetite particles. The Paleocene–Eocene boundary (∼55.8 million years ago) is marked by an abrupt negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that coincides with an oxygen isotope decrease interpreted as the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum. Biogenic magnetite (Fe3O4) in the form of giant (micron-sized) spearhead-like and spindle-like magnetofossils, as well as nano-sized magnetotactic bacteria magnetosome chains, have been reported in clay-rich sediments in the New Jersey Atlantic Coastal Plain and were thought to account for the distinctive single-domain magnetic properties of these sediments. Uncalibrated strong field magnet extraction techniques have been typically used to provide material for scanning and transmission electron microscopic imaging of these magnetic particles, whose concentration in the natural sediment is thus difficult to quantify. In this study, we use a recently developed ultrahigh-resolution, synchrotron-based, full-field transmission X-ray microscope to study the iron-rich minerals within the clay sediment in their bulk state. We are able to estimate the total magnetization concentration of the giant biogenic magnetofossils to be only ∼10% of whole sediment. Along with previous rock magnetic studies on the CIE clay, we suggest that most of the magnetite in the clay occurs as isolated, near-equidimensional nanoparticles, a suggestion that points to a nonbiogenic origin, such as comet impact plume condensates in what may be very rapidly deposited CIE clays.
Comparison of several approaches for the segmentation of texture images

In this paper, several approaches including K-means, fuzzy K-means (FKM), fuzzy adaptive resonance theory (ART2) and fuzzy Kohonen self-organizing feature mapping (SOFM) are adapted to segment the texture image. In our tests five features, energy, entropy, correlation, homogeneity, and inertia, are used in texture analysis. The K-means algorithm has the following disadvantages: (1) supervised learning mode, (2) slow real-time ability, (3) instability. The FKM algorithm has improved the performance of the instability by means of the introduction of fuzzy distribution functions. The fuzzy ART2 has advantages, such as unsupervised training, high computation rates, and a great degree of fault tolerance (stability/plasticity). Fuzzy operator and mapping functions are added in the network to improve the generality. The fuzzy SOFM integrates the FKM algorithm into fuzzy membership value as a learning rate and updates stratifies of the Kohonen network. This yields automatic adjustment of both the learning rate distribution and update neighborhood, and has an optimization problem related to FKM. Therefore, the fuzzy SOFM is independent of the sequence of feed of input patterns whereas final weight vectors by the Kohonen method depend on the sequence. The fuzzy SOFM is `self-organizing' since the `size' of the update neighborhood and learning rate are automatically adjusted during learning. Clustering errors are reduced by fuzzy SOFM as well as better convergence. The numerical results show that fuzzy ART2 and fuzzy SOFM are better than K-means algorithms. The images segmented by the algorithms are given to prove their performances.
Corporate Social Responsibility: A Qualitative Analysis on the Strategy Formulation Process

The urge for firms to contribute positively towards the society and the environment is increasing significantly. Demands of employees, customers, governments, NGOs and many more are putting firms under pressure to respond accordingly. Thus, it is vital for firms nowadays to formulate effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies which provide guidelines for the firm’s commitment towards the challenges of the society and environment. Plenty of research exists on the components of CSR strategy formulation, particularly regarding stakeholders, organizational vision and the CEO’s influence. However, it is important to consider the whole process of the strategy formulation and to link the components together. By means of a qualitative analytical approach, I show that the internal input provided by the CEO and the CSR team plays an important role in deciding on certain CSR initiatives. Furthermore, the strategic fit between the potential CSR issues and the core business is a significant criterion. Through assessing the potential value creation, and thus the expected impact scope, prioritizations of CSR issues take place. The continuous monitoring and evaluation of the stakeholders’ needs form an iterative process which leads to a constantly changing CSR strategy focus of the firm. My aim in this paper is to contribute to the understanding of CSR strategy formulation through a CSR strategy formulation process model. The model provides insights into firms’ CSR strategy formulation from which I derive implications for management and further research. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Strategy Formulation, Sustainability
Endometrial safety and tolerability of triphasic sequential hormone replacement estradiol valerate/medroxyprogesterone acetate therapy regimen

Objective Two randomized comparative multicenter studies were conducted to establish the endometrial safety and tolerability of a triphasic sequential hormone replacement estradiol valerate/medroxyprogesterone acetate (E2V/MPA) therapy regimen. Methods Study 1 was a randomized, double-blind, clinical phase III study in 399 postmenopausal women, following parallel-group design with two groups. The duration of study treatment was 12 or 13 cycles of 28 days. A double-dummy technique was used to ensure blinding in the study. The investigational drugs were E2V/MPA triphasic and E2V/MPA biphasic (Diviseq® and Divina®, respectively; Orion Pharma). In study 2, a total of 341 subjects were randomly allocated by computer into two parallel groups receiving either E2V/MPA or estradiol/norethisterone acetate triphasic (E2/NETA, Trisequens? ; Novo Nordisk A/S) for 12–13 cycles. The study was an open, clinical phase III trial with a randomized, parallel-group design. Endometrial biopsies combined with transvaginal ultrasound were undertaken before and at the end of treatment during the progestogen phase. Bleeding patterns and symptom control were assessed throughout both studies. Results E2V/MPA triphasic was found to have similar endometrial effects and bleeding patterns to those with E2V/MPA biphasic and E2/NETA triphasic. Climacteric symptoms were relieved as quickly and effectively as with the two comparator treatments. No adverse drug reactions specific to E2V/MPA triphasic were observed. At the end of the study, the proportions of secretory samples were 67.1% for the combined E2V/MPA triphasic groups, 65.6% for the E2V/MPA biphasic group and 71.6% for the E2/NETA triphasic group. One case of hyperplasia occurred in the E2V/MPA triphasic group. Thus the incidence of hyperplasia for the combined groups was 0.33%. Conclusions The triphasic E2V/MPA regimen was well tolerated and produced endometrial effects similar to those of the two comparators. Extending estrogen during the so-called treatment-free week with a lower dose of estradiol was effective in controlling vasomotor symptoms.
Dose Response of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors Treated with Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy Using 177Lu-DOTATATE

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is a promising treatment for patients with neuroendocrine tumors, giving rise to improved survival. Dosimetric calculations in relation to PRRT have been concentrated to normal organ dosimetry in order to limit side effects. However, the relation between the absorbed dose to the tumor and treatment response has so far not been established. Better knowledge in this respect may improve the understanding of treatment effects, allow for improved selection of those patients who are expected to benefit from PRRT, and avoid unnecessary treatments. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the dose–response relationship for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors treated with PRRT using 177Lu-DOTATATE. Methods: Tumor-absorbed dose calculations were performed for 24 lesions in 24 patients with metastasized pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors treated with repeated cycles of 177Lu-DOTATATE at 8-wk intervals. The absorbed dose calculations relied on sequential SPECT/CT imaging at 24, 96, and 168 h after infusion of 177Lu-DOTATATE. The unit density sphere model from OLINDA was used for absorbed dose calculations. The absorbed doses were corrected for partial-volume effect based on phantom measurements. On the basis of these results, only tumors larger than 2.2 cm in diameter at any time during the treatment were included for analysis. To further decrease the effect of partial-volume effect, a subgroup of tumors (>4.0 cm) was analyzed separately. Tumor response was evaluated by CT using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors. Results: Tumor-absorbed doses until best response ranged approximately from 10 to 340 Gy. A 2-parameter sigmoid fit was fitted to the data, and a significant correlation between the absorbed dose and tumor reduction was found, with a Pearson correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.64 for tumors larger than 2.2 cm and 0.91 for the subgroup of tumors larger than 4.0 cm. The largest tumor reduction was 57% after a total absorbed dose of 170 Gy. Conclusion: The results imply a significant correlation between absorbed dose and tumor reduction. However, further studies are necessary to address the large variations in response for similar absorbed doses.
Metamaterial based compact antenna design for UWB applications

In this paper, a compact Ultrawideband (UWB) high gain microstrip patch antenna using planar metamaterial structures is proposed. The antenna has two layers of metamaterial structure which are made by etching π-shaped slot on main radiating patch and crossed shaped slots on the ground plane. The inductances and capacitances developed due to the ground plane and patterned radiating patch leads to the left handed behavior of the metamaterial. The proposed antenna has compact size 27.6×30.8mm2 with height 1.6mm and designed on low cost FR4 substrate. The impedance bandwidth (-10dB) of the antenna is 3-12GHz with average gain of 4dBi and the peak gain 5.8 dBi at 9.5 GHz. The results obtained from the simulation studies shows that the antenna has good radiation characteristics for the UWB applications.
Industrial development of car disassembly - ergonomics and system performance

Car disassembly is at the edge of extensive rationalisations due to increased legislative demands for recycling. This study focused on (1) assessing current mechanical exposures (physical work loads) for comparison with future rationalised systems, with particular emphasis on time aspects, (2) analysing disassembly work in terms of time consumption and exposures in constituent tasks as deﬁned by a loss analysis technique, and (3) predicting the consequences of car disassembly rationalisation for mechanical exposures. The study showed that disassembly implied pronounced circulatory loads, and that more walking and higher lumbar peak loads were found than in studies of assembly work. Value-adding tasks comprised 30% of the total working time, and implied higher postural exposures for the head, arm, trunk and wrist, as well as less opportunities to recover, as compared to non-value-adding tasks. Organisational-type rationalisations can be expected to increase the time spent in value-adding work, thus increasing local exposures for the average worker, while a concurrent increase in mechanisation level might reduce circulatory exposures, the amount of walking, and peak lumbar loads.
Major Depression and Cognitive Decline After 11.5 Years: Findings from the ECA Study

*Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21287; †Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California; ‡Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health: 1RO1-MH47447 (Dr. Eaton) for the Baltimore ECA follow-up, and by 1RO1-MH56511 (Dr. Lyketsos) and 1RO1-MH60626 (Drs. Lyketsos and Rosenblatt). Send reprint requests to Dr. Rosenblatt. Copyright © 2003 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins DOI: 10.1097/01.nmd. 0000100927.83451. 63
Frequency Selective Surfaces: Design of Broadband Elements and New Frequency Stabilization Techniques

Abstract : Two important features of a frequency selective surface (FSS) are bandwidth and frequency stability. Methods of increasing FSS bandwidth include, among others, decreasing inter-element spacing and increasing the thickness of the supporting dielectric layer. The shape of the FSS element also determines its bandwidth. To achieve any desired bandwidth, a combination of these methods is often required. The present work focuses on designing an FSS element where shape alone is the most important feature in determining its bandwidth. The elements are a combination of two known FSS elements with close resonant frequencies but not located in the same frequency band. The FSS's are designed to act as reflectors. The second part of this paper discusses frequency stabilization techniques, focusing on rectangular arrays of tripoles and cross dipoles. These elements have poor frequency stability with angle of incidence for parallel polarization. Dielectric loading and skewed arrays help minimize the problem. In the present work, a new method based on varying the element's impedance by partially removing the conducting patch at the center of the element is introduced.
Understanding impulse purchase in Facebook commerce: does Big Five matter?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the Big Five Model (BFM), the urge to purchase (UP) and urgency (UR) on impulse purchase (IP) in Facebook commerce (F-commerce), with the F-commerce purchase as control variable. It also investigates the influence of BFM and UR on UP and the effects of BFM on UR. Design/methodology/approach The survey instrument was rigorously validated via content validity index by expert panel, Q-sort procedure for construct validity by practitioners in pre-test, followed by evaluation of construct reliability in the pilot test. Data gathered from 808 usable questionnaires were analyzed using SmartPLS 3. Findings The study showed that BFM, UP, UR and F-commerce purchase are significant predictors of the F-commerce IP. UP is influenced by BFM and UR. BFM has a significant positive relationship with UR. F-commerce experience has insignificant moderating effect. Practical implications This study provides some useful practical implications for the F-commerce administrators, advertisers, dealers and promoters. Originality/value Existing studies focus on the antecedents of IP in conventional stores and online businesses; however, IP in F-commerce has been largely overlooked. The study investigates the impacts of personality traits on IP and its effects on UR and UP. The mediating effects of UR and UP were also examined. The study is able to predict 64.4, 68.0 and 49.0 percent variance in IP, UP and UR, respectively.
Liquid-Phase Hydrogenation Kinetics of Multicomponent Aromatic Mixtures on Ni/Al2O3

The hydrogenation reactivity of some aromatic compounds used to model diesel fractions was examined under sulfur-free conditions. Reactions of toluene, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (tetralin), and naphthalene, separately and as mixtures, were studied using a commercial Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The reactivity decreased in the following order: naphthalene ≫ tetralin > toluene. Because of competitive adsorption and subsequent inhibition, naphthalene severely reduced the other hydrogenation rates in mixtures, whereas the hydrogenation rate of naphthalene was little affected by the concentration of toluene or tetralin. A kinetic model based on the general form of the Langmuir−Hinshelwood equation was developed. The activation energies of toluene, tetralin, and naphthalene were found to be 52.9, 40.4, and 58.7 kJ/mol, respectively, and the reaction orders of the monoaromatic and diaromatic compounds were about 1.4 and 2.1, respectively. Furthermore, simulations showed that the reaction kinetics in mixtures can be s.